This is our journey of the unexpected adoption of a princess with Down syndrome waiting for us in China making us a family of 7!

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Goodbye 2014...Hello 2015!

As we get ready to say goodbye to the year 2014 and hello to 2015, I am excited and looking forward to the new year because, God willing, it will be the year our girl comes home! Although we don't have any word on her file still, we are moving forward with preparing our home study and documents to send to China when her file does arrive.  China is installing a new computer system with new guidelines for their adoptions as we speak so that will most likely cause some delays, although we pray it does not.  We have completed most of the home study paperwork and are waiting for our first of two interviews.  We have also taken our first set of fingerprints (Katelyn included since she is now 18 and living at home...maybe we should kick her out until the paperwork is finished, haha!) and have our physicals scheduled.  We are hoping to have our home study done by early February so we can work on getting our paperwork to China!  Praying we can travel by October or November at the latest!  So to pass the time I think I will share a devotional out of my very favorite devotional "Seeds of Change" made by Show Hope, every 10 days or so until we travel.  Praying we travel before I make it through the devotional!  So here's day 1, enjoy!

"We were created for adventure.  The evidence is there in our movies, our stories, and even our lives, as the constant battle is waged between striving to remain safe verses bravely stepping out to live the full life that God offers.  We've all heard the saying, "Be careful what you ask for," and as a songwriter, I've learned to be careful of what I sing in my songs.  I have talked about saddling up my horse and going on a great adventure, taking the leap of faith and diving in, waking the neighbors and living out loud; and it's almost overwhelming to think about how God has taken me at my word and led our family on the incredible adventure of adoption-not once but three times.  It wasn't until our second adoption that I began to really understand what God was doing with my family.  I walked into church on September 1, 2002, whole-heartedly convinced that one adoption was enough and that we were not going to adopt another child.  During that service, our good friends, who have four biological and five adopted children, were brought up on stage for the dedication of their latest adopted child, a boy with special needs.  What happened next was almost as if God lifted my chin, and as clearly as I've ever heard Him, He said to my spirit, "I've heard you pray that you really want to know Me and experience Me.  There it is; that's my heart you see on that stage.  That's your story; that's my story.  There in front of you is a picture of the Kingdom of Heaven." And it was this family with whom Mary Beth and i have walked through some of the darkest parts of adoption.  We've gone with them into treatment centers and have shed many tears together.  They knew exactly what they were getting into by adopting again, but still, here they were saying, "THIS IS WHAT GOD HAS CALLED US TO DO.  WE KNOW IT'S MESSY; WE KNOW IT'S UNCOMFORTABLE, AND IT'S GOING TO TURN OUR LIVES UPSIDE DOWN, BUT THIS IS GOD'S HEART." I realized that God was reminding me of His Word where He says that "[He] delights in setting the lonely in families." God was showing me that He was going to keep pouring out His love for orphans, and He was looking for hearts to pour his love into, for people who really want to do what He is doing.  He didn't say, "Caring for orphans is your duty, and if you don't do this, I'm going to be disappointed with you."  Instead, it's as if, as a Dad, god put His arm around me and said, "You don't have to do this, but I'm inviting you in, because I want you to know Me, and I want our relationship to go deeper.  If you really want to see Me show up, I want to take you on another adventure."  God was saying, "I'm going to provide for these children, but I want to invite you to be a part of that.  I'm going to glorify Myself through this."  There was nothing safe about God's invitation.  All adventures carry with them some level of excitement and hazard, and we cannot remain safe and comfortable and still go on a God-sized adventure.  But God doesn't call us to be safe; He calls us to be bold and courageous, and we can trust that even our safety will be taken care of by the One who invites us to bravely step out in faith.  As C.S. Lewis says in Chronicles of Narnia when speaking of Aslan, "Of course He isn't safe, but He is good."  It has been amazing to take God up on His invitation.  And to think, if I had chosen to simply remain safe, I could've missed it.  I could have missed Him.  Do you really want to know God?  Do you really want all He has for you, the abundant life He promised you?  It may take getting a little uncomfortable, and it may take risking a little of what the world tells us to hold on to.  But He is good, and what He has for us is worth far more than all the world has to offer.  Are you willing to step out boldly and follow Him wherever He may lead?  What might that look like for you today?" ~Steven Curtis Chapman