Hope

Hope ~ to cherish a desire with anticipation; to trust.

I received an e-mail today with the following scriptures in it:

Lamentations 3:21-25 “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;”

Romans 15:4 “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Hoping, waiting, on God. Knowing that He is always faithful. Knowing His compassions never fail. Knowing He is good to those who seek Him. Such a wonderful reward for putting our hope and our trust in Him. This immediately made me think of several journeys in life, that although I did have hope and trust in God, knowing that He was always faithful to His children, I didn't always seek Him first... I tried to handle it alone, figuring out the hard way that He was the one that would provide. I'm so thankful He is compassionate and forgiving. I'm thankful, that He still provides even when we slip into "control freak" mode and forget to put complete faith and trust in Him. Knowing always, He has a plan for us... in His time.

I'm so thankful that when I didn't know His plan for me back in 2000, He gave me hope and sent me my first son, Jacob. I'm so thankful that in 2003, when we had waited 1 1/2 years for a second child he brought me Amberlee. I'm so thankful that in His time, he brought me Mason, a child conceived in the "traditional" way that we never thought was possible. When I lost hope in God's plan for our family, He showed us the plan He had carved out specifically for us. Now, these things remind us daily of God's plan for us.

Thank You, Father. For loving us, forgiving us, and having great compassion for us. Thank You for being good to us when we seek You. Thank You for giving us Hope and Trust. Thank You for still loving us and providing for us even when we lose our trust in You. Please help us to always place our Hope and our Trust at Your feet and to have the Faith to leave it there. We know You always know our path and will guide us in it... even when it's difficult. Thank You, Father, thank You.

patience, easier said than done

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2

Patience, something I struggle to have on a daily basis. I was reminded today of just how patient God is with me. So, why is it so hard for me to patient with others? All I have to say today is...

Thank you Father. Thank You for Your willingness to be patient with me. Thank You for forgiving me when I fail You over, over, and over again. Please help me to have the strength to have the patience with my children and my husband the way You have patience with me. Help me to show my children to be "quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger" (James 1:19). Help me to be "slow to anger so that I may have great understanding" (Proverbs 14:29). And, Lord, help me to be patient with myself as I am working daily to serve You.

a new beginning

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

I love how God has a plan for us. A plan we can't even begin to imagine. I enjoyed looking through a photo album of some dear friends of ours trip to Ethiopia to pick up their two year old son Solomon. It brought back so many emotions. Emotions of joy, emotions of fear, emotions of sorrow. Joy for the new birth into the family, fear of all the unknowns, and sorrow for the loss that birth families will face every day, every year, as they long for Solomon's presence. I always knew and have told my children that God created them from the moment they started growing in their birth mothers' tummies just for me. I truly believe that, otherwise, why would God tells us He has a plan for us! I'm thankful for His plans, for the Hope and future He gives us...

Dear Lord, thank you for creating these three beautiful children and placing them in my hands. Thank you for adoption and for birth. Thank you for all the wonderful families who find it in their hearts to see your plan for them... through adoption. Thank you for the birth mothers who make such a sacrifice to bless so many children and families. Please bring them peace when they have times of sorrow. Please continue to bless my children with the understanding that the only plan You ever had for them was to be my children. Thank you, Lord, for having a plan for us and for giving us hope. Always.

the WOW factor

So have you ever thought about what Mary thought the first time she saw Jesus perform a miracle? Do you think she knew he had this gift prior to the wedding in John where He turned the water to wine? Talk about being "wowed". Could you imagine watching your son do such amazing things? Then, could you imagine watching your son being harassed, tortured, beaten, spat upon, etc.? Could you imagine watching these things and knowing that this was God's plan for Him and stand back without interfering? Not me! After watching the Passion years ago, I gained a new respect for Mary. I had never thought of the suffering and sacrifice she went through during Jesus' persecution. It hurts me so much just to see Jacob stand on the sidelines with a broken arm or Amberlee crying because she fell and hurt her knee or Mason fussing because his belly hurts. What an amazing woman she was! What an example of praying for your children, teaching them God's way, and allowing Him to place His plan for them on their hearts... and letting go!

Lord, I pray You will give me the strength to give my children totally back to You. I know that You have only placed them in my hands for a short time to prepare them to come back to You. Please help me to love them and teach them to seek Your way and Your will for them. Help me to show them by my life how to put complete trust and faith in You. Forgive me and help them to forgive me for the mistakes I make daily. Please give me patience so that I can be a strong woman and mother, like Mary, for my children. Please Lord, help them to "walk in truth" always. Help them fight Satan... and always win.

I have no greater joy than to know my children walk in truth. III John v.4

Heartaches and Bone Breaks

Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Well, what a day it has been! Not only have we now suffered our first football injury, we have also had the first broken bone. Jacob was diving for a loose football this morning in PE, another kid came in on top of him... and snap... his Radius is broken in two. It was a clean break, thankfully. However, they had to reset it and put it in a cast. It was not fun... needless to say! He's sad too... because he's out of football for 6 weeks. I have felt so helpless as a mom. We try so hard to protect them from hurting. Then, you are faced with situations like this where you know it will hurt them, but it is the best thing for them. I believe it may be the hardest thing at this point in life, I have ever dealt with as a mom.

Jacob and I read Romans 12:12 and talked about it after we got home from the doctor today. We talked about how we have to be joyful in knowing that we have hope he will heal. We also have to be patient while it is healing... which is the hardest. He asked me this afternoon if this was the end or the beginning of the first week. Poor little guy. And then, we prayed, faithfully, for all of these things.

Thank you dear Lord for giving us the gift of prayer. A way to talk to you when we are in pain... and a way for us to teach our children You are always there... no matter the circumstances. Please help not only Jacob, but all of us to remember to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. Thank you for sending your angels to watch over sweet Jacob today. Thank you for giving him such a strong spirit. Thank you for giving him a healthy body and healthy mind. Thank you for giving us the PCA family who have placed their arms around us physically and their prayers around us spiritually. You KNOW what we need in our lives... thank you! And, please, be with Jacob as he is healing... help him to be as pain free as possible and to heal fast.

A Lifetime Together

Marriage is that relation between man and woman in which the independence is equal, the dependence mutual, and the obligation reciprocal. Louis K. Anspacher

I came across this quote and thought it was great! Drew and I have found over the last almost 14 years, that we are very independent people. However, we are very dependant on one another. And, the obligation... well, that's a must from the beginning. Although we have had and will have ups and downs in our marriage, Drew is absolutely my very best friend. I would not want to spend this life on earth with anyone else. I am very independent, but... I can't imagine living life without depending on Drew. He is my soul mate. I know God created him just for me (bless his heart). And for that, I am forever grateful. He loves me on good days and he loves me on bad days. He loves me when all is well and he loves me when it feels like the world is tumbling down upon us. He is the best daddy any woman could want for her children. He is an amazingly Godly man that leads our family spiritually in everything he does. He is and will forever be the love of my life. I look forward to today, the rest of our days on this earth, and knowing that we will be in heaven together eternally.

Lord, thank you for creating marriage. Thank you for creating friendship. Thank you for creating Drew just for me and me for him. Thank you for our life together... even the tough days. Please help us to always keep you the center of our marriage. Help us to always respect each others independence, cherish each others dependence, and stay committed to the obligation.

I Corinthians 13 -- Love is patient, love is kind...

I say rejoice...

Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.
Philippians 4:4

After praying with the kiddos tonight before bed, I realized how much children rejoice through prayer. Thank you for this, thank you for that...

How often do we forget to be rejoiceful? Instead, we ask, ask, ask... or at least I do! God gives us so much to rejoice about. Just the fact that we are here and know that we have a way to get Home is enough to make me rejoice!

Lord, thank you for all the blessings you have given us. Thank you for sending your son for us to follow. Thank you for loving us no matter what. Thank you for giving us children to remind us how to have a loving heart and spirit. Thank you...