Path of Hope

Everyone has a different path in life... one that God has created specifically for each and every person!  Each one an adventure.  There are roads He takes us on that are lovely and clear and refreshing, but there are also those paths that are, well... scary!  Believe it or not, both paths are beautiful as long as the Lord is the One leading the way.

 

Baby's life looks very different from a lot of our lives and very similar to a lot of other people's as well.  This is the life God gave her!  Many would look at it in pity.  We choose to look at it as something SO very beautiful.  A beautiful life is one that points and brings glory to Christ.
Even at 10 or 11 months old, this little lady has pointed many people (probably more than we even know) to her Creator!  She can't even speak yet and she's already a missionary!  We have heard many stories already of people who have turned their lives to the Savior or who are seeking the Lord now that they've heard Baby's story. 

 

This is a quote from the book, "War of Words" by Paul Tripp (great book by the way!)

"Hope = a confident expectation of a guaranteed result.

The Lord will never put you in a situation without giving you everything you need to do what He has called you to!"

Thankfully our hope is in the Lord and not in man!  Yes, including the doctors, nurses and modern medicine, even though I do believe God uses people like this to accomplish His will.

 

 

Some might say it's "unfair" for something like this to happen to a baby.  And I confess I have been one of those.  I have wished to take away her struggle and pain and take it on myself.  I've asked God why it didn't happen to me instead of this little one.  I kept thinking there should have been something I could have done to prevent this from happening in the first place.  These are human failings.  What right have I to question our Omnipotent God?  Because it was Baby who God chose to use in this way, lives all over the world have been changed!  The same God who created the heavens and the earth just by SPEAKING it into existence is the same God who created Baby... fearfully and wonderfully!  He knew her in her mother's womb!  He spoke and she came to be!  Yes, even in her birth situation.  Some may say she was an "accident".  The typical thinking of foster children's parents is that people who can't take care of kids shouldn't have kids.  I'm not writing about that, what I am writing about is the one fact that NO child is here because of "accident"!  God created every single human being.  Red, brown, yellow, black and white... aborted (murdered) ones and ones that get to live because of the decisions of their mother.  It doesn't matter if we're here because of sinful acts or God glorifying ones.  God. created. US!!!  You never know how God is going to use your life!  If we yield our lives to Him and live in His will, He can work mightily through us!  We should choose to see each trial as an opportunity that God is giving us to draw others to Himself.  Nothing happens that is outside of God's control.

 

I appreciated a nurse the other night who said, "You are so blessed to have her!".  Isn't that the TRUTH!  Many have said it the other way around... that SHE is blessed to have US.  We are honored to have been to have been chosen to care for and love Baby!  Even if that meant only having her for a short time.  We are extremely thankful God saw fit to let us enjoy her and learn from her for a while longer!  We are blessed by this blessing!  God has great plans for Baby and I am excited to see what adventures He has for her as He leads her on this path!  I pray she will continue to tell of God's amazing grace with any other hardship or joy that the Lord leads her through!

 

 

Psalm 33
Shout for joy in the LORD,
O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre;
make melody to Him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to Him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings with loud shouts.

For the word of the LORD is upright,
and
ALL HIS WORK IS DONE IN FAITHFULNESS.
He loves righteousness and justice;
THE EARTH IS FULL OF THE STEADFAST LOVE OF THE LORD!

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of His mouth all their host.
He gathers up the waters of the sea as a heap;
He puts the deep in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him!
FOR HE SPOKE AND IT CAME TO BE;
HE COMMANDED AND IT STOOD FIRM.

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
the plans of His heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people whom He has chosen as His heritage!

The LORD looks down from heaven;
HE SEES ALL THE CHILDREN OF MAN;
from where He sits He sees all the inhabitants of the earth,
HE WHO FASHIONS THE HEARTS OF THEM ALL AND OBSERVES ALL THEIR DEEDS.
The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is nt delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by it's great might it cannot rescue.

BEHOLD, THE EYE OF THE LORD IS ON THOSE WHO FEAR HIM,
ON THOSE WHO HOPE IN HIS STEADFAST LOVE,
THAT HE MAY DELIVER THEIR SOUL FROM DEATH AND KEEP THEM ALIVE IN FAMINE.

 

OUR SOUL WAITS FOR THE LORD;
HE IS OUR HELP AND OUR SHIELD,
OUR HEART IS GLAD IN HIM,
BECAUSE WE TRUST IN HIS HOLY NAME.

 

LET YOUR STEADFAST LOVE, O LORD, BE UPON US EVEN AS WE HOPE IN YOU!

One Week

Wow! Where were we exactly one week ago at this time? Our whole family was relaxing, the babies sleeping soundly in bed with NO idea that our lives were about to change drastically. In one hour it will mark one week since Baby had her first seizure. In so many ways it seems like a month ago and in others just yesterday. So much has happened in these last few days that it's hard to wrap my mind around it. We've prayed for other families going through similar situations in the past, but I never thought we'd walk this path. Here we all are... where God is guiding us through. A 48 hour seizure-free baby sleeping soundly in the big hospital bed in front of me.

I am SO thankful! Thankful for so much. For this little life, for the doctors, the nurses, this hospital, modern medicine and my wonderful family. I'm also thankful that we are allowed to be here with her 24/7, for the sunny weather outside, the comfy (for a hospital) beds we have. I am so, so thankful God saw fit to bring Baby into our lives almost 11 months ago. We have been so blessed by this little one!!! So incredibly changed forever!

We are especially thankful for all our friends and the MANY and countless blessings you have been to us. Thank you for the encouraging music, blogs and letters you have all sent. Thank you for spreading the word to get people praying for Baby! We have had total strangers write and call us with encouragement! How beautiful is the body of Christ! Thank you for being here for us, calling us, feeding us and mostly for lifting Baby and our whole family up in prayer. You'll never know what a gift you are to us!

We can't help but wonder about all the unsaved people around us. How do they handle this? We've seen first hand how they handle it... they don't. They can't. Because they don't HAVE a Hope! I can only hope and pray that by seeing all this, because of Baby's life, they will see Jesus.

We have an extremely long and uncertain road in front of us. So many unknowns to us poor humans. Thankfully we trust in our Father who created this little lady and He knows her from the inside out. Every cell, vessel and muscle was crafted by Him! He knows what's "working" and what's not. He holds Baby in His hands. His eyes have never been off of her for a second since even before she was born! He knew her and loved her before any of us even had a thought of her! He loves her even more than we do. She is HIS child! Not the court's, not her birth parents, not ours. HIS alone. And He has her days all planned out. He will reveal His plan through His power.

Praise the Lord! Remember He came to save us. He died for us. He rose for us. And He lives even today, for us. Let us bring Him glory!

 

"Broken"

Good Friday. 

My Savior died for me, Baby, our whole family, my friends, everyone else here at the hospital, the WHOLE world!  He died to save all of us broken people. 

 

My mind is every which way these days and I hardly remembered we celebrate our Lord's resurrection this Sunday!  I pray we (and everyone else who is praying for Baby) will remember the sacrifice Jesus did out of love for us.  Why? I'll never know.  But I know He did!  And the same One who held the world in the palm of his hand on that darkest of days is the SAME One who holds the world and this precious baby in His powerful hands today!  So as our hearts and minds are filled with prayers for Baby, let's also remember He has a plan and even when it seems to all be going "wrong", it's still His beautiful and perfect plan!  He works all things together for good!

 

 

A friend of ours wrote this beautiful post... I hope she doesn't mind my sharing it.  But it's quite beautiful!

http://writingcanvas.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/five-minute-friday-a-broken-baby-please-pray/

Pray for a Miracle

Our foster baby is in the hospital and is not doing well.  The doctors today gave us the facts.  Right now she needs a miracle.  PLEASE pray for her!!!

 

Seizures that will not stop, high fever that will not be controlled and unknown reasons for all this.  I only know the One who knows these answers and am BEGGING Him to spare her life.  I know that may not be His plan and I pray we will be able to handle that. 

 

Lord be glorified and magnified in all this!

Beautiful Colors

I hate the term "race" when it is used to refer to one's skin color.  Why can't we just say "skin color"? 

 

 I am not of the "white race", I am of the "human race".  Our Little Man is not of the "black race", but is also of the "human race"... same as me and you.

 

When I'm filling out a paper and am asked to give my race, I am SO tempted to just put "human" down and see what happens. 

 

Yesterday a little girl was telling our 2 year old that she was black.  I don't think it was meant to be mean or anything, she was just stating a fact.  And today our 4 year old told me he didn't want me to rub his lotion in, but let it stay on top of his skin so he could be "white, white, white".  I told him God made him beautiful brown because He knew he would look the most handsome that way.  But this little man insisted that he really wanted to be white.  So I told him about when I was little and prayed that God would turn me a beautiful brown, but God didn't answer that prayer because He created me just the color He wanted me to be.  We went on talking about all the other people we know who have beautiful colors on their skin and how many pretty colors God made us in and how God made every single color we see.  God didn't make any of these colors to be better or more beautiful than others.  All of us are beautiful colors!

 

Check out this perfect video for kids (and adults too *wink*)!

://www.answersingenesis.org/assets/scripts/kidsVideoPlayer.html?vidUrl=http://media.answersingenesis.org/video/ondemand/check-this-out/cto-3_races.flv&vidTitle=The Origin of Races&vidSku=30-9-381&TB_iframe=true&height=370&width=400

Illegal Truth

 

This is the film we made with some friends several years ago and entered into the San Antonio Independant Christian Film Festival where it placed as a finalist. 

 

My dear friend Samantha has worked a long time to get the rights to the beautiful song at the end so we could post it on YouTube... and we were finally able to!

 

This film is set in what might be future America.  If we continue to head the direction we are going, we will become like so many other countries where the Truth is illegal. 

 

 

 

We are so very spoiled here in America. We have so many Bibles, studies, radio stations, churches, books, apps, videos etc and yet we are probably some of the weakest Christians in the world. Believers who have to gather in secret are sometimes tortured and martyerd for Chirst. Are we willing to still follow our Lord when things get that bad?  Pray for our country!  And VOTE in the elections!!!  Be a voice.  Sometimes we step back and say, "God's will".  And yes, it IS His will that will be done, but He uses us to fullfill His perfect plan!

Where You Are



God showed me very recently that I really am needed right where I am.

  This probably isn't a huge shock to any of you, but was a great revelation to me.  Satan often whispers his lies to make us doubt and stray from where God wants us.  Sometimes I feel dumb and useless and in the way, but it's Satan distracting me from doing what I should be doing right here and right now.  The Evil One has used that for me to waste precious time and moments that I could have been using to build up my Lord's Kingdom.  Most women my age have graduated college, started careers or are raising their own families, but I have done none of that and to the world I'm sure my life looks very squandered.  But God has had a different plan for me.  One that I am still wondering what He has up His sleeve, but a beautiful one specifically for me!  When He created me, He knew all my days and I just need to be living for Him every moment of every day.  So instead of wanting a bigger and "more important" task, I should be faithful to work heartily at the one He has given me right now.

 

 

Our family has a ministry right here in our home.  I don't need to travel thousands of miles away and live in a third world country to serve His babies.  He has brought many orphans into my life to love and show Christ's love to HERE and right now.  I am so thankful for those He has called out!  I'm not saying He isn't calling me somewhere else someday, because I hope He will, but right now isn't the time.  I need to be faithful and use the life He has given me for His glory right now.  I squander so many of the opportunities He brings.  I neglect so many areas that I could be using to bring Him the honor and glory He deserves.  Maybe it's because I know myself too well.  I know my faults and short-comings and know that I can't do things they way they "should" be done and the way God deserves. 
 

When I think of missionaries, I tend to think of those people living in remote areas, right with the tribes and such.  God uses them mightily as they live and work where He has called them!  But they are not the only missionaries out there.  As Christians we should ALL be missionaries wherever God has us!  While some are called to live in far off lands, some are called to serve in their work place, with their extended family, in nursing homes or their very own children!  It's is all equally important and fullfills the Great Commission. 

 

 God has grown and stretched me as I wrestled with everything swirling in my head and heart.  I would do it all over again to have learned this lesson. 

Don't waste your life waiting for the right time or opportunity to serve the Lord.  We are where we are for a reason.  There are no surprises for Him!  He has placed each of us the place He wants us to serve Him.  We need to be sensitive to His leading if He is bringing us to another place, but that doesn't mean where we are now isn't important and useful to further His kingdom!