T - 7

One week from tomorrow I will be boarding a plane for a trip of a lifetime.  A trip that will will change my life forever.  A trip that I never will forget. I will be boarding a plane to go and see my baby girl and I cannot hardly stand the wait!!!
I don't really have much to say today but I am asking for some specific prayers this week ....

• There is what's called a "birth parent" interview scheduled for tomorrow, Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of us so it actually could be in the next few hours.  Since LyLah does not have "birth parents" available as she was abandoned, it will be an interview with a representative from the orphanage where she was first brought in and a representative from my agency.  Pray that this interview goes very well and that all info needed is available.
• Pray that all of my paperwork and MOWA letter is complete and where it needs to be by the time of my court date so my court decree can be issued right away and is not delayed.
• Pray for my heart to be prepared to go from pure joy the day I have my daughter in my arms for the first time, to complete sadness just a few short days afterward when we have to leave.
• Pray that we would see with His eyes, a world full of poverty and brokeness and that we would be His hands and feet.
• Pray that God would be glorified in everything about this trip!

"Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking Him with a thankful heart"  Philippians 4:6

Love,

amy

I Got a Date!!!!

... a court date, that is! Ha! Yes, the time has finally come when I can say, "I WILL BE ON THE PLANE TO ETHIOPIA IN 15 DAYS!!!"
Overwhelmed ... overjoyed .... overwhelmed .... excited .... overwhelmed .... oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness!  Today is definitely another one of those days I will remember forever!
I got the phone call from the program director of my agency while I was at work.  I waved my hand to a girl in the office and was pointing to the phone and she knew without a doubt what that call was for.  By the time I got off the phone my co-workers were lined up in the gym and hooting and hollering as I gave them the date!  Ahhh how absolutely spoiled rotten (still) and blessed that I am! Thank you, Jesus!
My court date has been set for August 7th but my travel arrangements are still in the works.  My niece, Kaylee, will be traveling with me! I am super excited to be able to spend some quality time with her on the plane, as well as for her to get to share in the experience of meeting my daughter, her cousin, for the very first time!
Even though I am filled with such a joy that is unexpainable right now, I have dreaded this trip from day one as I know I am going to have to leave her.  I get to meet my baby girl, the one that was chosen specifically for me, in a country halfway around the world, after I have loved on her and kissed those chubby cheeks and told her I am her momma.  I can't imagine how this is going to feel but I know that I will not be alone!  With His strength I will do it and then I will be that much closer to bringing her home for good!
Praise God that He is an almighty and wonderful God!  Praise God for continued answers to prayer!  Praise God for His perfect timing!  Praise God for Jesus!
Pray for more of Himself to be revealed to you daily - Pray for guidance as you live and move and breathe in Him - Pray for His word to become engraved on your heart, that it would come to mind freely with each circumstance we are faced with - Pray with us daily at 6:30 am for peace and trust in Him and His plan, as well as that He would continue to make things move!

"I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me ..." Psalm 34:4

Love,
amy

'Cause I gotta have faith-a-faith-a-faith!

So I pretty much had a terrible week.  I was struggling BIG time with the adoption process.  I had sent an email to the program director first thing Monday morning and was expecting to hear back from him by Tuesday at the latest.  I asked him for any information he might have on my paperwork.  The day went on and I had yet to hear anything .... nothing at all except for an email back from my coordinator, not the program director, saying he had no news.  There was lots of information given that day, however.  Four out of the six of us from our prayer group heard "something" about their case.  Praise God!
Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed that I was one of the remaining two that heard nothing.  I feel like I have done fairly well really as far as being emotional throughout the process.  Give or take a few rough times, for the most part I feel like I've held it together ... until this week.  And I do believe that this week it all let loose! I'm pretty sure I made up for lost times in merely two days this week.  I even sent an email to my prayer girls about how down I was and of course that followed with a flood of encouraging emails giving me hope!
Last night I was on the phone with a friend, telling her about how upset I was and told her about the email I sent to the prayer gals. I told her that I pretty much have acted like a big baby all week long. I proceeded to tell her that I could just imagine God moving my paperwork and being submitted early next week and then how dumb I would feel after all the whining I did and just plain being down this week.  We even talked about how submissions usually happen in the beginning of the week.
This morning I had just sent another email to the prayer girls, again about being down all week but still holding strong to my faith that God would make things move.  And then I received an email from Jim, the program director.....I WAS SUBMITTED TO COURT TODAY!!!  Praise Jesus! Hallelujah! God heard yet another one of our prayers and answered it!  Just minutes after that I received an email from the girl who was submitted on Monday saying she received her court date TODAY and would be traveling in less than 3 weeks!!!  Yet, another prayer answered!
God showed me that He is in complete control today .... still!  He did not wait until Monday, like I had "assumed" He might do. No, He did it TODAY and you don't have to be submitted in the beginning of the week either, Friday's work too!! Praise God!
The next step is to await a court date from the judge and then travel to Ethiopia to meet my daughter!
Praise God that it only takes a moment for Him to move!  Praise God that He's got everything under control even when it might not "look" that way!  Praise God that He loves us despite our whining and complaining!  Praise God for Jesus!
Pray for a peace of mind knowing God's in control of everything - Pray for eyes to see more of those "moments" in which He does in fact move - Pray for an overwhelming sense of joy knowing He is our Lord and Savior - Pray with us daily at 6:30 am as we have 3 more gals we need to get submitted with 4 court dates before they close!

"You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it." Matthew 21:22

Love,
amy

Focus!

I have been struggling quite a bit lately with keeping my focus.  Not only at work and at home, but also during prayer as well.  There was a day this week when God gave me two scriptures, one right after the other, and you can probably take a pretty good guess on what they might have been related to. Ha! The first one being Psalm 131:2 and the second Matthew 11:28-30.  One speaks of stilling and quieting your soul ... just what I have NOT been doing.  The other says 'come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest'.
I can very easily get caught up in trying to be faithful in prayer and reading the Word so much that I can't keep up with myself in what I am trying to keep up with! Wow! Did ya follow that?!  See what I mean!
My mind has been wandering and I can't keep focus and Satan knows that and is using it to the best of his ability right now.  BUT thankfully I have a God who reminded me this week of just what I need to do.
I need to first go to God ( come to me ) and ask Him to help me in this period of distraction, knowing He will give me rest.  Next I need to just "be" instead of shuffling around for just the right words to pray at just the right times during the day (be still and quiet yourself).  I need to come to Him and be still, wait quietly and see just what He might have to tell me!
I am in desperate need of a good refreshing and that is exactly what I'm gonna attempt to do!  It is so important to stay focused as Satan can creep in pretty fast when you're not ready for his attacks.  Then it becomes that much easier to fall into temptation or to become fearful, worried and weary.  You can prepare yourself for battle against him by putting on your armor, but unless you are completely focused, he's gonna keep creepin.
As far as my adoption process goes, I have no news to share this week.  As far as my prayer group goes, we have a gal who is going to be submitted this week! Praise God!  Another answer to prayer!  Knowing that things usually happen in groups, the rest of us our praying to get submitted as well and then of course for court dates and decrees to come before they close! We also are praying for the gal who has already been to court to get her embassy submission as well! Submissions, court dates, embassy dates ... He can do it all and I know that He will!
Praise God for His Word!  Praise God for watching out for us!  Praise God for His rule and authority over everything!  Praise God for Jesus!
Pray for a better understanding of who God really is - Pray that God would help us to quiet ourselves when we become distracted - Pray for awareness of Satan's presence and to be fully focused and armed for battle - Pray for my sweet baby LyLah and for the rest of my prayer group daily at 6:30 am!

"But I have stilled and quieted my soul ... " Psalm 131:2

"Be Still"  The Fray

http://youtu.be/5nUuBjz4Vhc

Love-
amy