My God is Able!

Praise God! Thank you Jesus! Thank you Mike and Wendy!  Thank you EVERYone who helped out today! Thank you Church!!
All I gotta say is "MY GOD IS ABLE!"  For those of you who may be unaware, there was a luncheon held after church today with a free will offering with all proceeds going towards my adoption.  I don't like to talk about money specifically on the blog BUT today is different.  God showed me He was going to provide in the very beginning of the adoption process as a donation was given for the exact amount of my first two expenses.  One might believe that this was just a coincidence OR you might believe that it was in fact God. 
This morning as I was praying for the luncheon, I had in mind the exact dollar amount that I still was in need of for when the referral comes.  I knew that God was able but was I truly expecting it would  happen?? Yeah, not so much, but I'm here to tell you that He provided just that plus a little!! God moved people to give and that's exactly what they did!  He not only proved to me that He was able, but He proved to me that He is able and then some!  For anyone who might think this is crazy, I got news for ya! You.Are.Wrong!! This is not crazy, this is our God and how He works.  My words can't even begin to express how excited, overwhelmed, grateful I am so I'm gonna leave you with a song instead ...
Give God some glory with me, will ya?!

Hillsong  "God is Able"

http://youtu.be/wZ0hPRqd1ow

God is able
He will never fail
He is almighty God
Greater than all we seek
Greater than all we ask
He has done great things
Lifted up
Defeated the grave
Raised to life
Our God is able
In His name we overcome
For the Lord
Our God is able

God is with us
God is on our side
He will make a way
Far above all we know
Far above all we hope
He has done great things

Lifted up
Defeated the grave
Raised to life
Our God is able
In His name we overcome
For the Lord
Our God is able

God is with us
He will go before
He will never leave us
He will never leave us
God is for us
He has open arms
He will never fail us
He will never fail us

Lifted up
Defeated the grave
Raised to life
Our God is able
In His name we overcome
For the Lord
Our God is able
For the Lord
Our God is able
For the Lord
Our God is able

Love-
amy

G is for Giraffe

Over the last few weeks I have began turning what was a spare bedroom, into something that just might be suitable for a sweet baby girl coming from the land of Africa.  I certainly was hesitant in the beginning as I was sure that people would think I was crazy for doing such a thing, as I am still in just the early stages and have yet to receive my referral.  I would think, "so I get this room all ready to go and then it doesn't go through .... then what?" The disappointment, the sadness, the heartache .... I just don't know if I could handle that.  Then with a teeny little nudge to go for it, I began the project! Yes, I said  "teeny little" because it didn't take much as my excitement equalled my hesitation.  I was concerned about the color scheme of the room initially as it definitely is not something I would have chosen for a little girls room, but as it is turning out I LOVE IT!  I decided to go with an Africa theme so am using quite a bit of giraffe decor and again I have to say that I am blessed to have people in my life who are creative and gifted in "room design" as well, lol,  taking away the expense it could be adding up to! God continues to provide!  And of course, Grandma and Grandpa are doing there fair share of adding to the room.  My baby girl already has her first 4 1/2 foot stuffed giraffe sitting in her room! Now, as long as Harley doesn't decide it's a tree and pee on it, we'll be in good shape!
As I continue to prepare the room and get ready to paint her name on the wall, Hebrews 11:1 comes to mind.  I can be confident that my sweet baby girl will one day be at home with me BECAUSE my Father put her in my heart.   I have yet to see her and have no idea the time or day this will happen, but I can be assured that it will when He decides it is best. So why wouldn't I pick out her name or get her room ready?  I'm sticking with the confidence that He has given me from the very beginning that this is exactly what He wants me to do!  My God and Father has me, His child, engraved on the palm of His hand so I too, am engraving little LyLah Lucille not only on the palm of my hand, but in my heart as well.
As for the adoption process the only thing new this week was an email from the program director saying the process time from court date to Embassy date continues to get longer....which means the longer I will have to wait to see her again, after I go to court that first time and get to meet her =(   I am still awaiting the referral.  I have not heard yet if my Dossier is in Ethiopia so am assuming it is not.  I go this Thursday at 8:00 am to Des Moines for my second set of fingerprints, thank you Jesus that the forecast is looking good! 
Praise God for the hope that we have in Him - Praise God that we can be assured of things unseen through faith - Praise God that He loves us enough to engrave each and every one of our names on the palm of His hand - Praise God for Jesus!
Pray that my fingerprint appointment in Des Moines goes well and that the weather will remain good - Pray for all of the families who are having to wait longer to go back to Ethiopia to bring their kids home - Pray for all of those who might be thinking of adoption, that God would lead and they would listen - Pray for my sweet baby LyLah Lucille, that she would know in her heart, no matter how young she might be, that I am waiting here for her ...

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see" Hebrews 11:1

Love-
amy

Code Orange .... Africa?

It was Tuesday night and I was listening to one of my favorite pastors (other than Rod of course!) online by the name of Steven Furtick.  Steven pastors a mega-church in Charlotte, North Carolina called Elevation which is one of the fastest growing churches in America.  This week they are in the middle of what is called "Code Orange Revival", a 12 day period where they are focusing on how God is going to move in the year 2012.  They have different speakers every night giving a message and a time of praise and worship prior to each message.  So Tuesday night a guy named Perry Noble spoke and was telling about all of the ways that Elevation Church has "seen" God move from the time the church began 6 years ago until now, and then he said but the best is yet to come.  Okay so I already had an emotional breakdown during the praise and worship time with the song "Stronger" by Hillsong and now this!  Yes, the tears began streaming down my face once again.  I have had SO many times where I have gone back and forth, trusting in God's plan with this adoption and then wavering in my faith that He is going to bring my baby girl to me once again.  At that very moment in time I was actually wavering.  Thoughts were going through my head, is the best really yet to come ... if God was really going to make this happen .... if my baby girl would really be lying in my arms someday.  All of this wavering came after God had already spoke to me earlier this week about how faith is believing in advance what will happen in reverse.  God had put that on my heart just a couple of days before and I STILL was wavering.  And then I received a text message, it was a picture message actually.  Odd as it may sound, God spoke to me yet again but this time it was through a picture of an orange!  Ha!  Yes, a picture of an orange that was part-way peeled and the remaining part of the rine was none other than the shape of Africa! Thank you, Jesus!  Thank you, Kaylee!  How crazy for that to happen to my niece, Kaylee, and for her to send the picture to me not even an hour after I had been an emotional basketcase! Crazy? I think not. That my friends was God! Yes, God speaks to us sometimes through unusual things BUT as long as are eyes are open and on Him, He will be sure we don't miss whatever it is He wants us to see!
As for the adoption process, my Dossier is now in Washington DC at the Ethiopian Embassy to get authenticated.  It should take approximately 7-10 days there, before it's ready to be sent to Ethiopia! My coordinator, Leigh Ann, emailed yesterday to give me this news and she also wanted me to reconfirm my preference on the child which was a girl age 2-3 years with my approval being up to 4 years.  She then let me know that they have not received any referrals for toddlers either boy OR girl for quite some time so she could not give me an estimated time for my referral.  With this information, I came to the conclusion that if there is a child out there who needs a home and someone to love on them, that is exactly what I want to do ... even if it is an infant!  The thought of an infant was a bit scary to me at first, but if that is what God has planned for me then that is what I want! This is in His hands, not mine.  Today I received another email from Leigh Ann stating that if I want an infant I am #7 on the waiting list and if I want a toddler, #5.  With the number of infants being given up over the number of toddlers at this time, and the fact that I'm #7, a Biblical number with meanings of "completion" and "perfection", I felt like God was leading me towards the infant!
Praise God for speaking to us through things as odd as an orange - Praise God that He is in control and not us - Praise God for every single one of you that He put in my life for a reason - Praise God for Jesus!
Pray for the church, that our eyes and ears and hearts would be open to see what God sees and hear what God hears - Pray that we would trust and have faith and not waver - Pray that my Dossier gets to Ethiopia without difficulty - Pray for my sweet baby girl ... whatever age she may be!

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it. Matthew 13:16-17

Love-
amy

Desperate for Grace

In a previous blog, I was eager to mention the fact that "oh how I love to be refined".  Well little did I know God was going to take that literally!  I have been hearing the song "Busted Heart" by For King and Country over the last several weeks and there is a line in the song that stuck out to me every time I heard it.  "I'm desperate for grace."  I hadn't really put much thought into what that means to me, those just happened to be the words that stuck out every time .... until yesterday. God brought to my attention yet another area in my life that needs refining and how I am so very desperate for His grace.  God brought before me a time in my life that I was careless with my choice of words on many occasions and in turn brought hurt and pain.  The scary thing about it is that these words were spoken quite some time ago, and I was clueless of the effect that they had all this time.  The words that we say can sometimes be spoken without even thinking or simply as a response to an emotion, but they definitely have the ability to cause some pretty major damage if we are not careful.  And these words that we speak, they are not forgotten, they may be forgiven, but they are usually not forgotten and might even have a lasting effect.  I was letting my emotions take over and the words that followed were pretty ugly.  In fact, they were hurtful, not only hurtful to other people but hurtful to God as well.   I am so very grateful that He brought this to light now and has given me another oppurtunity to repent and change before I have a little one who is going to hear EVERY word that I say.
As I reflect on each area in my life that has been refined or is in the process of being refined, I can't help but think of the undeserved favor that I have been granted.  There have been so many times when I was so desperate for grace and I wasn't even aware of the need for it.  It makes me sick to my stomach to think about how many other things that I do or I've done but God has granted me grace to continue on anyway.  With all of this said, the one thing that gives me a feeling of peace, is knowing that the God we serve is a loving God who in deed gives us that grace that we are oh so desperate for ..... even when we don't know it and in His perfect timing it will be revealed if He chooses to do so.  It is by grace that we are saved .... nothing else .....  are you desperate?  I know I am.
Yay God! Thank you, Jesus! My Dossier is complete and should be in Georgia right now!  I am still awaiting clearance from the USCIS but I did get my appointment in the mail this week for my next set of fingerprints ... this time they are done in Des Moines.  Ha!  The things you have to do for your child!   Once those are done my clearance should not be far behind.  It is definitely a huge relief to have the bulk of the paperwork finished.  And, now I get to wait ... and wait some more!  The next thing I'm waiting for is my referral!  I may not be carrying a baby inside my stomach but I have been carrying one inside of my heart since September 18th and I can't hardly wait to be able to put a picture with the thought of her.
Praise God for His amazing Grace - Praise God for the many ways He speaks to us - Praise God for all of the bending and breaking -  Praise God for Jesus!
Continue to pray that I would get clearance from the USCIS - pray that my Dossier is processed and sent onto Ethiopia in good timing - pray that I would use this time of waiting wisely, working on the areas in my life that still need change - pray for my sweet baby girl!

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Love-
amy

$13.97

To most of us, this measely amount of money doesn't mean a whole heck of alot.  $13.97 .... what on earth can you do with that? Well, let me tell you just what you can do with this generous amount of money!  You can take it and hold onto the absurd amount of love and kindness that went into it, and then you use it just like you would any other given amount you might have. 
Sunday at church I was handed a bag of change with a card.  On the inside of the card it said, "for your baby".  Can you guess how much money was in that bag of change?  Yup! You got it! $13.97!  Every time I tell this story my heart begins to melt even moreso than it did that very day.  A six year old boy had a big enough heart to begin saving money for the sake of another child. He not only saved the money, he gave it away.  He wanted to give and the exact amount of money in that bag did not matter.  It did not matter because the fact of the matter was that he wanted to give.  The little value we might have placed on this particular sum of money might well have been ginormous in the eyes of that child, as it should be.  I'm wondering how much more our giving would be, not only monetary but in our acts as well, if only we could do so with a heart like a child.  I certainly have held back at times because I thought it might not be "good" enough or should I say "big" enough.  So where do we draw the line at just how "good" enough or "big" enough, is enough?  I can tell you right now that our God most certainly does not have a set dollar amount to what might be good enough to give.  He also has no particular size or measured amount of acts of kindnesses that are big enough.  As long as it comes from the heart it is MORE than enough!  So the next time you hold back on the giving of your time, your talents or whatever it may be you are giving, because you just don't think it's good enough .... remember the ginormous value that a measely $13.97 had!
My adoption process continues to roll on!  I have all the documents to my Dossier completed! Leigh Ann has them and is in the process of reviewing them. I am anxiously awaiting a go-ahead email from her, hopefully this weekend, stating I can get the completed version in the mail very soon!  I continue to struggle on with the wait.  The love that God has put in my heart for that sweet baby girl is so extremely big that my heart nearly explodes at times ... at least it feels like it's exploding ... actually, it is breaking.  My heart breaks for her and I can't hardly stand it BUT I have to and so I will to the best of my ability. 
Pray that my Dossier would be just as it needs to be and for Leigh Ann as she reviews it - Pray for all of the families who are waiting court dates, embassy dates, referrals, etc - Pray that we would have a heart like a child when it comes to giving, not putting the importance on the amount, but where it is coming from, the heart - Pray for my sweet baby girl!
Praise God for all of those parents who are teaching their little ones to have a giving heart at such a young age - Praise God for the little ones whom we can learn big lessons from - Praise God for Jesus, the giver of all givers!

"So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 18:4

Love-
amy