11.24.2010

Jesus

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together- Colossians

I could (and probably should) name the laundry-list of blessings from God that I am thankful for.  But, it is easy for me to get lost is the blessings of God...blessings of stuff and people...and omit the Ultimate Blessing. 

Jesus Christ.

If it were not for Christ--fully-God and fully-man, yet slain for me--everything in my life would be utterly meaningless...completely devoid of any purpose or value.  Though I was once spiritually dead to God, I am now alive in Christ.  I am a new creation in Jesus.  And I am being liberated from the deceptive desires of my selfish flesh, and am now able to know God...rest is His grace...and walk in freedom!

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the bodya and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them- Ephesians


But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
 
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed- 1 Peter
 
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
 
Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord"- 1 Corinthians


So tomorrow (and everyday for that matter), I will sing from the mountain tops what my God has done for me in Christ Jesus.  And I will declare that His love is better than life!

11.16.2010

tickets purchased!

Our consulate appointment has been scheduled, and 3-going/4-returning airline tickets have been purchased!  And, they were less expensive than I was expecting! 

Wish I had more to share, but my mind is a mushy-mess right now!

11.15.2010

travel approval!!

We got it!!
Today!
We're going to China -- Judah will be home for Christmas!!
Right now, we're waiting for our agency to confirm our consulate appointment before they can issue us concrete travel dates...but...it looks like we'll be leaving in about 2 weeks!!

For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?

URGENT! children in Haiti need our help!!

via Lifeline Children's Services:

URGENT ACTION CALL - We have just learned that the International Adoption Simplification Act - S. 1376 and the Help Haiti Act of 2010 - HR 5283 will be put on the suspension calendar early this week and maybe as soon as Monday afternoon. We must act now. Call or email your U.S. Representative today (no need to contact your Senator at this time).


Please contact your House member to ask them to support the International Adoption Simplification Act -S. 1376- and the Help Haiti Act of 2010 HR 5283. To pass this bill, we will need a total of 290 votes. Currently, there are 255 Democrats and 178 Republicans so please contact both your Republican and Democrat Representatives. Again, please do not mail anything but fax, email or call your Representatives and if possible, speak to the adoption staffer. Please also have your family and friends call as well.

All house members and office numbers can be found at www.house.gov

A brief reminder of the International Adoption Simplification Act - S. 1376
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include in the definition of "child" a child adopted under the age of 18 (16 under current law) who has been: (1) in the custody of, and has resided with, the adopting parent of parent for at least two years; or (2) battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by the adopting parent of a family member residing in the same household.
Includes in the definition of "child," and thus in the exemption from required admissions vaccination documentation, certain children who have been adopted in a foreign country that is a signatory to the Hague or who are emigrating from such a country for U.S. adoption.

and

Help Haiti Act of 2010 HR 5283.
Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to adjust to permanent resident status an alien who: (1) was granted parole admission into the United States pursuant to the humanitarian parole policy for certain Haitian orphans announced on January 18, 2010, and suspended as to new applications on April 15, 2010; (2) is physically present in the United States; (3) is admissible as an immigrant; and (4) files an application for adjustment not later than three years after enactment of this Act.

11.12.2010

a boy and his...

...old, worn-out Basset Hound.







book give-away WINNER

Thank you to everyone who entered to win Carla's book!  We had entries from China, Mexico and Canada!!  Wow!  What a blessing it has been to read your verses...especially as we're endlessly waiting for our China travel dates!
And, as you can see, I broke-out my crystal for this very special occasion...um, the second time it's ever been used! 

{drum roll, please}

The winner

 is


Jamie is a fellow-adoptive mommy -- you can meet her family here: Mom on a Journey
The verse that Jamie shared is:
1John 3:1 "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."
Amen, Jamie!


Need your own copy of Carla's Parenting Moment by Moment, click here!

Follow these links to keep up with Carla's mentoring ministry!
http://www.parentingmomentbymoment.com/
www.facebook.com/momentbymomentministries
www.twitter.com/mbmministries (@MBMMinistries)

11.09.2010

"parenting moment by moment" GIVE-AWAY!!

A dear friend of ours, Carla Maclachlan (from our church family in Springfield, MO), has recently published an amazing book:
Parenting Moment by Moment, Training Your Children to Apply Biblical Truth
We are rejoicing with Carla regarding this project because we know how deeply her mentoring has touched our lives -- and we are so excited about all the new families who will be blessed by her wisdom and Biblical-parenting approach.

In celebrating with her, I'd like to give-away a copy of her book!!   Here's how you can enter:  leave me a post (don't forget your name), with one of your favorite life verses about being a child of God!!  Anyone one can enter!!  I'll draw a name on Friday morning!!

You can read more about her book here!

11.06.2010

china travel update

I've been waiting to post an update, in hopes of having exciting news
to share -- but since we're not sure when to expect our travel
approval, here's an update, before the update :)

Our agency felt like we might receive our travel approval from China
at the end of last week -- but they now think we could be waiting
another 1-2 weeks. And depending on when consulate appointments are
available, it could be mid-Dec before we leave.

We are eager to get to China, we're eager to hold Judah, and eager
just to have solid dates -- but that said, our hearts are at rest in
the Lord. He has shown our family immeasurable kindness throughout
this process...and we trust fully the He will complete His work in
pefect timing!

Sent from my iPhone

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