SUMMER FUN





 

 Thank you Oma and Funny Grandpa for summer fun memories at the lake! :)

SIMPLE

I've been in a simplifying frame of mind lately. (Am I ever not simplifying??) I need simple...probably because my brain is anything but simple...probably because my family is definitely not simple. And yet, we are. We choose to be.

 

It's ironic how much effort and intentionality is required to attain the polar opposite...

 

Simple.

 

Lately, we've been quiet. Still. Saturated in prayer. Thinking deeply. Pondering God's will for our family's next move.
Could a move be what He has in store? Time will tell, I suppose.

 

Simple.

 

In the meantime, I'm simplifying around here {again} and that includes this blog. I also recently started a homeschool blog where I can compartmentalize some of our journey through home education...just one more way to simplify my mom-mind.

 

Simple.

 

As a visual person, I get easily overstimulated by what I see. My eyes crave...simple.

A friend once said of my very white and decidedly simple house,

"It's the blank canvas on which to paint your life."

Really, she said that! And I never forgot it. Ha! So true! Our colorful rainbow-life swirls prismatic across the blank.

 

Simple.

 

So, we're pairing down and simplifying hearts and closets and minds and messes and activities and priorities as we hone in on the one simple truth that means most to us.

 

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

This is the great and first commandment.

And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Matthew 22:37-39

It's really rather simple, that which Jesus said to do. 

LINDA'S ADOPTION VIDEO

 

Click the photo to watch Linda's adoption video. We're so happy to welcome our newest family member home!!

 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

John 14:18

UPDATE ON NOBLE

It was just over a week after his bout with malaria that Noble went in for extensive oral surgery. It was a rough couple of weeks! Our poor little sweet guy had so much dental corrosion, he lost nearly all of his teeth in the operation and he dealt with much pain, but praise the Lord! he gained a fresh start.

In Noble's young life, he has endured more pain emotionally and physically than most grown ups ever will. But he is amazingly resilient. He has the most beautiful heart and possesses attributes that are surely gifts from God.

Noble is kind. He is sensitive. He is obedient and gentle. He has integrity and compassion that delve well beyond his age. Noble is tender. Noble is special. Noble is LOVED.

When Noble's surgery left him without all 6 of his front teeth, we felt for him and wished there was something we could do to help. His dentist said there wasn't a good option, but a generous orthodontist friend from our church believed otherwise. He handcrafted a new top row of teeth for Noble in his own free time and was successful in what seemed to be a tough case.

 

We are deeply grateful!!

Noble still thanks Jesus for "Doctor" every time he prays. He too is grateful for the gift he was given. Even though it was a lot to get used to at first, he's still enamored with his new teeth and thinks they're just GREAT!

We're finally used to seeing our precious boy with something we can easily take for granted...teeth...and we think they're great too! A great gift from our GREAT God! It's a pleasure to see Noble's journey of restoration progress one small triumph at a time and we're blessed to be a part of his/His story.

We sure do LOVE this little boy!!

 

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:13

LINDA'S HOME!

It's odd how familiar, natural, and comfortable it was yesterday to welcome sweet Linda home!

We all feel as though we've known her always. She's going to fit right in.

 

We were quite the welcoming committee, my sister and I with our tribe.
We came fully prepared with masses of strollers, snacks, & buddies in full effect.

Linda's adoption story is a beautiful one, filled with twists and turns of God-ordained fate.

We love stories like Linda's!

 Meeting Linda...I'll admit I derailed the first time I saw these photos of Linda dancing with her BaBa.

 

What a beautiful portrayal of her heart!

 

 

Linda has been blessed with one of the kindest daddies around... :)

 

...and one of the most doting, loving sisters (and brothers & mommies) too!



Now she's home after 2 weeks with her daddy and sister in China. The family is reunited and their future together begins. Linda is a very blessed little girl to have been placed in such a God-honoring home. She will be pointed toward Jesus' love for her, loved consistently, adored, cherished, and gently guided with every support a child deserves in her new family.
 

 Linda taking in her new mommy...She has waited a long time for this!
 

God has a precious plan for Linda's life. It's a privilege to be able to watch it all unfold!

Follow Linda's journey at:

www.adoptjoy.blogspot.com

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY, LINDA!

WE ALL LOVE YOU SO MUCH ALREADY!!

 

"God settles the solitary in a home."

Psalm 68:6

 

INSPIRING MUSIC

A friend from church shared the music of Matt Papa with me this week thinking it would resonate with us...she was right! He sings some seriously inspiring songs with seriously challenging lyrics. We've been inspired...and challenged.

Especially this week as we pray through big decisions, our hearts couldn't be more encouraged by the direction God is leading us in the next season of our lives. We're encouraged. And I'm pretty sure that's why he/He wrote these songs. :)

"And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?'

Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'"

Isaiah 6:8

"And the King will answer them,

‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’"

Matthew 25:40

CHINA ADOPTION UPDATE #1

It's been a week filled with detours, decisions, question marks, and lots and LOTS of prayer. One of the most difficult to digest has been some tough news about our China adoption process.

We set out on this road to adopt a precious boy we've loved from afar for over two years knowing full well we might miss him, knowing the outcome may be different than we hope. It's likely this will be the case,

but not impossible because God can do anything!

“What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

Luke 18:27

It seems that even though we've raced to get our dossier compiled in preparation for this adoption, the timeline is cutting close. We've just found out he will most likely be ready for adoption very soon and we still have a few months to go. This risk was always a possibility but we leaped headlong anyway...because of LOVE.

"For the love of Christ controls us."

2 Corinthians 5:14

We love this little boy. We love Jesus who loves this little boy more than we do. We love enough to take the risks we've taken. And, it's hard not to wonder right now if God employed that love for a purpose other than our sights see right now.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:8-11

Could God have used our love for this child as the catalyst for His different plans? Could He have allowed our love for one child to ready us for another? Will He work a miracle and display His power by accomplishing what seems impossible right now?

 

Is this child we love our son??

These questions don't have answers yet, but the prospect of loss is just around the corner. Not that we're surprised, but it's not easy to imagine letting go of someone deeply embedded in heart. We're not giving up...not yet. Neither is our adoption agency. They've been incredibly supportive. They're fighting for us, for him. They get it. It's beautiful.

No matter the outcome, we're prayerful. We're praying still that God move mountains if He must to unite us with this boy we hold in our hearts. We're prayerful for him no matter where God has ordained he end up...we always will be. We're prayerful that we might trust the One who orchestrates all and loves each one of us more than we can fathom. We're prayerful that God be glorified through this adoption as we follow His lead by faith, even if it means painful letting go.

  

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts

to your children, how much more will your Father

who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"

Matthew 7:11

We believe this, so we're asking. We're asking God to do what we know He can do. We're asking Him to give us courage as we trust His plans even when they take us through detours, through valleys, through painful loss even.

Without expectations, we're asking.

God CAN do this...the question is WILL He? We trust Him.

 

Will you please pray with us?

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Matthew 11:24

CLEAN ON THE INSIDE

Sometimes I like to think of my kitchen cupboards, bathroom drawers, toy trunk catch all places as metaphors for our hearts.

I ponder the exterior in light of what's underneath and realize in both instances (physical and spiritual)
it's important to me that we be as clean (if not cleaner) on the inside than out.

 

"First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean."

Matthew 23:26

It's not uncommon for me on any given day to pick a hidden area of our home, spend a little time, and exhaust some intentional efforts toward cleaning out, organizing, removing waste from inside hidden crevices of lesser-seen places.

Likewise, I often take time to consider my own heart, my husband's heart, my children's hearts and all the lesser-seen hidden crevices there too. Working through the tangible helps me grasp metaphorically the intangible. It's eye opening.

"For the LORD sees not as man sees:

man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7

And if He does (He does), I want to offer a sweet aroma from well within that honors Him in all we do, think, are. I want to be pure before Him. I long to encourage my children and husband likewise to strive for pure hearts before the Lord.

How tempting is it to shove the junk behind surfaces that appear shiny, to ignore what needs attention? How easy is it to stuff the clutter and convince ourselves it doesn't exist behind the "clean" on the outside. But God...He sees it all and He loves us anyway.

The inside matters to Him, so it should matter to us.

"And he said to them,

'You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.'"

Luke 16:15

So, today, as we spend some of our Quantity Time At Home sifting through cabinets, buckets, and the muck that can dwell behind closed doors, I'm asking God to sift through our hearts just the same in hopes that He who sees the depths of all might be pleased to make us clean on the inside.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

Psalm 51:10

"Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart."

Psalm 24:3-4

HAITI

One of the poorest countries in the world, if not the poorest...

Haiti, it's captured our heart's attention.

We have served with Kids Around the World doing food packings for Haiti for years now and we love what they do. Now, for the first time, some of our family members actually got to GO (June 2013) deliver the food, build the playgrounds, and minister in the name of Jesus to those who receive it.

Before the trip, we had the opportunity to load the container here with the equipment to be shipped to Haiti. It was a great opportunity for those of us who are the senders to participate in the mission as well.

 

It was a privilege for Brodie and our two oldest children to have the opportunity to go and serve at Respire Haiti with Kids Around the World. I'm so grateful that the Lord was able to use them and also work in their hearts as they went and worked hard and gave and loved all in Jesus' name!

(CLICK THE PHOTO TO SEE THE HAITI TRIP VIDEO)

 

CLICK HERE to see photos and read about the trip.



CLICK HERE to see more Haiti photos.

 

"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

1 John 3:16-18