"For by him all things were created, ...all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
Colossians 1: 16-17
We received an email yesterday, October 18th, that our dossier in on the way to Ethiopia! The official wait time from here is 6-8 months until we receive our referral. Please pray with us that we and all involved will be "filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding...may we walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." Colossians 1: 9-10
WE CAN'T WAIT!!!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Abundance from Him
"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think...to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forevere and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21
On September 12, 2010, Matt and I were blown away by God's abundant gift to us from our church family. During the evening worship service, the church celebrated the 5 years we have been at Wynne Baptist Church. It was such a sweet service and time of worship with our brothers and sisters.
We were overwhelmed when the church presented us with a check-- A check that should pay for the rest of our adoption of Baby E! God has so richly provided in so many ways. He is the Giver of ALL good things. We were humbled by the graciousness and thoughtfulness of our church family. Matt and I are still blown away and find it hard to comprehend the depth of this gift. We thank you WBC for loving us and for loving the nations. To God be the glory! Great things He hath done and promises to do! May we be found faithful.
On September 12, 2010, Matt and I were blown away by God's abundant gift to us from our church family. During the evening worship service, the church celebrated the 5 years we have been at Wynne Baptist Church. It was such a sweet service and time of worship with our brothers and sisters.
We were overwhelmed when the church presented us with a check-- A check that should pay for the rest of our adoption of Baby E! God has so richly provided in so many ways. He is the Giver of ALL good things. We were humbled by the graciousness and thoughtfulness of our church family. Matt and I are still blown away and find it hard to comprehend the depth of this gift. We thank you WBC for loving us and for loving the nations. To God be the glory! Great things He hath done and promises to do! May we be found faithful.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Restored to Rescue
"In you the orphan finds mercy." Hosea 14:3
Matt closed his sermon on the book of Hosea with this point on Hosea 14:3:
"When we embrace the love of God, this propels us to tell the world. When it lands on you that He rescued you- it causes you to GO!"
Because the Lord has shown us mercy by adopting us, this becomes our mission with Him- to rescue the orphan- All for His glory only by His mercy.
Matt closed his sermon on the book of Hosea with this point on Hosea 14:3:
"When we embrace the love of God, this propels us to tell the world. When it lands on you that He rescued you- it causes you to GO!"
Because the Lord has shown us mercy by adopting us, this becomes our mission with Him- to rescue the orphan- All for His glory only by His mercy.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Finding Mercy
"In you the orphan finds mercy." Hosea 14:3
Oh, the mercy of the Father.
Mercy- "to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection, have compassion"
The heart of the Father toward His children is seen in His provision and tenderness for His children. How he cares for the fatherless and goes to great lengths to defend His orphan in His sweet mercy and compassion. Can you imagine how the Father's heart must yearn for these children? He promises to defend them and care for them out of His compassion and mercy for them. He has done the same for us as His adopted children by being rich in His love and mercy and bringing us into His family by the blood and perfection of Jesus.
Matt is preaching out of Hosea tonight, so this morning I was finishing the book and came to this verse. What a promise! With mercy, the Father defends His orphans by defending us even in the midst of the warfare of this pursuit for His name to be known. Have mercy, O Lord. I can't wait to hear what my favorite pastor has to say tonight about the book of Hosea and God's great plan from eternity past to rescue and redeem His people.
Oh, the mercy of the Father.
Mercy- "to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection, have compassion"
The heart of the Father toward His children is seen in His provision and tenderness for His children. How he cares for the fatherless and goes to great lengths to defend His orphan in His sweet mercy and compassion. Can you imagine how the Father's heart must yearn for these children? He promises to defend them and care for them out of His compassion and mercy for them. He has done the same for us as His adopted children by being rich in His love and mercy and bringing us into His family by the blood and perfection of Jesus.
Matt is preaching out of Hosea tonight, so this morning I was finishing the book and came to this verse. What a promise! With mercy, the Father defends His orphans by defending us even in the midst of the warfare of this pursuit for His name to be known. Have mercy, O Lord. I can't wait to hear what my favorite pastor has to say tonight about the book of Hosea and God's great plan from eternity past to rescue and redeem His people.
Friday, August 20, 2010
BabyECakes!
aka..Baby Cakes
"Out of the mouth of infants and babes you have prepared praise." Matthew 21:16
The Lord ordained that praise would come from His people. It is our hope that through adoption one or two more Ethiopian children will be praising the Lord with all their heart and soul because they have heard of God's matchless grace and salvation for their souls. So... today is the official beginning of BabyECakes! BabyECakes are bite-sized cake truffles dipped, sprinkled, dotted anyway you want them. (Thanks to my sweet friend, Dallas, who introduced me to this new yummy way to have your cake and eat it, too!) Any extra money made from this project will aid and help our adoption of Baby E!
Monday, August 16, 2010
The Defender of Orphans
"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." Psalm 68:5
"...to bring justice to the fatherless..."Isaiah 1:17
O the deep, deep love of the Father to rescue His children so we might be with Him forever! These verses are for the orphans in our world today- He promises to defend the fatherless. And these verses are for all of His sons and daughters. Jesus Christ rose to defend us, to protect us, to bring justice and make us right with Him only by His blood and righteousness. How we desire to share this love story with the orphans of the world. He will rise to their defense and bring them into His Kingdom, His family just as he has adopted those who believe into His family. What a sweet and tender God and Father of mercy.
"...to bring justice to the fatherless..."Isaiah 1:17
O the deep, deep love of the Father to rescue His children so we might be with Him forever! These verses are for the orphans in our world today- He promises to defend the fatherless. And these verses are for all of His sons and daughters. Jesus Christ rose to defend us, to protect us, to bring justice and make us right with Him only by His blood and righteousness. How we desire to share this love story with the orphans of the world. He will rise to their defense and bring them into His Kingdom, His family just as he has adopted those who believe into His family. What a sweet and tender God and Father of mercy.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Beach Boys!
We have recently returned from Gulf Shores! We had a blast as a family of 4. But...we HOPE that possibly next summer or fall there will be more of us!
Fingerprints: Complete!
Our fingerprints have been taken. Our dossier is waiting to be translated and authenticated. Now… we wait! Over the next year, as we wait with great expectancy, our task is to educate ourselves on transitioning our family and Ethiopia. The African culture and heritage is so rich. We have much to learn. As we also do about parenting in an adoptive home. A helpful website I have found is www.babeofmyheart.com , as well as Dr. Karyn Purvis’ book, The Connected Child. We are so excited and so blessed to be meeting with another couple from our church who are adopting from Ethiopia, every other week to walk through A Christian’s Guide to The Connected Child. There are ex citing days ahead at Wynne Baptist as sweet Ethiopian children will be brought home! Praise His Name!
Why Ethiopia?
Why Ethiopia?
“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…” Revelation 5:9
There are 163 million orphans in the world. Deciding where to even begin can be overwhelming. God’s Word tells us that at least one from EVERY nation and tribe will be worshipping at His throne in Heaven for all of eternity. Could it be that God would use our adoption story to rescue ONE from a tribe or nation who might not ever have an opportunity to hear of God’s gracious, merciful, unstoppable, never-ending love? Oh, may it be so!
We believe that God sovereignly chose Ethiopia for our family! Early in the process, the time came for us to declare a country we wanted to pursue for adoption. When deciding on a country, a list of requirements and restrictions comes with the country adoption information. “It just so happens…” that Ethiopia is the one country we are currently eligible for at this time. We are so thankful the Lord clearly made His will evident to us. We would have it no other way!
“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…” Revelation 5:9
There are 163 million orphans in the world. Deciding where to even begin can be overwhelming. God’s Word tells us that at least one from EVERY nation and tribe will be worshipping at His throne in Heaven for all of eternity. Could it be that God would use our adoption story to rescue ONE from a tribe or nation who might not ever have an opportunity to hear of God’s gracious, merciful, unstoppable, never-ending love? Oh, may it be so!
We believe that God sovereignly chose Ethiopia for our family! Early in the process, the time came for us to declare a country we wanted to pursue for adoption. When deciding on a country, a list of requirements and restrictions comes with the country adoption information. “It just so happens…” that Ethiopia is the one country we are currently eligible for at this time. We are so thankful the Lord clearly made His will evident to us. We would have it no other way!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
How can we NOT adopt?
From the beginning…
Why adopt? Why not adopt? HOW can we NOT adopt?
In October 2009, this became our question: HOW can we NOT adopt? Matt and I have always loved the idea of international adoption, but have never seriously pursued God’s will for our family regarding adoption until the reality of Ephesians 3: 1-14 hit our souls.
God brought us to a point in our own walk with Him to understand what desperate sinners we are in need of our Precious Savior’s forgiveness and perfection. Without the blood of Jesus Christ, we, ourselves, would be orphans. Apart from God’s Sovereignty and His purchase of our salvation, we would have no hope. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son… so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)
God used our good friend, David Platt’s message to our church in October to confirm what He had begun in our hearts toward adopting a child internationally to become part of our family. One of the greatest ways we can show our love for Christ and the Gospel is to be a living picture of the love God shows for us. “He is the Father of the fatherless.” (Psalm 68:5) Would we miss out on radical joy by not being radically obedient? Unhesitant Obedience.
Life becomes more than bloodlines. Life becomes about love for the Gospel’s sake. This is the Gospel. May the Gospel come alive through God’s provision for the fatherless. We cannot wait to see where this road leads us!
Why adopt? Why not adopt? HOW can we NOT adopt?
In October 2009, this became our question: HOW can we NOT adopt? Matt and I have always loved the idea of international adoption, but have never seriously pursued God’s will for our family regarding adoption until the reality of Ephesians 3: 1-14 hit our souls.
God brought us to a point in our own walk with Him to understand what desperate sinners we are in need of our Precious Savior’s forgiveness and perfection. Without the blood of Jesus Christ, we, ourselves, would be orphans. Apart from God’s Sovereignty and His purchase of our salvation, we would have no hope. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son… so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)
God used our good friend, David Platt’s message to our church in October to confirm what He had begun in our hearts toward adopting a child internationally to become part of our family. One of the greatest ways we can show our love for Christ and the Gospel is to be a living picture of the love God shows for us. “He is the Father of the fatherless.” (Psalm 68:5) Would we miss out on radical joy by not being radically obedient? Unhesitant Obedience.
Life becomes more than bloodlines. Life becomes about love for the Gospel’s sake. This is the Gospel. May the Gospel come alive through God’s provision for the fatherless. We cannot wait to see where this road leads us!
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