God's Plan

I would just like to share the poem that was in the card we received this last Thursday in hope of encouraging others who follow this blog.

God has a plan for each of us.

And I have a feeling that there is

such a wonderful plan for you!

I pray that the paths you walk

and the roads you travel will take

you to amazing places.  Places where

you see the possibilities, where you

discover what it's like when dreams

come true, and where you come

to understand the promise and the

potential of all the wonderful

qualities inside you.

I pray that God's plan for you will

gradually unfold before your eyes,

and that - like guiding lights

continually showing the way - you

will find glimmers of hope and

happiness shining every single day.

I pray that the people in your life

appreciate what it's like to be in the

presence of someone as special as

you are.  You have the kind of gifts

that are given to so few.

God has a plan for each of us...

and I think there is an especially

wonderful one...for you.

We were so blessed by this poem.  It really touched my heart.  I just hope that sharing this poem here could pass along that blessing to someone else who needed it today.

Touched By an Angel... Twice!

Have you ever heard an awesome story where you think to yourself: “That’s awesome!  I wish something like that would happen to me.”  I know I’ve felt that way sometimes when hearing about people in need who were at the end of their rope and just when all seemed lost, God took care of their needs.  Well I’m here to tell you: IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU!  The trick is to give it all to God and truly trust Him to supply all your needs.

 A year or two ago, I had switched jobs and our income was much less than it had been.  Christmas was coming and we were just scraping by.  We had all these gifts we needed to buy for our families and there just was no money for it.  We really didn’t have much of a choice, we prayed and told God: “There is no way we can do this on our own.  God we need you to do something.”  And then we waited.

It was late November and we were at church checking our mail folder for our next Sunday school lesson sheet.  Usually that’s all that’s in there but with Christmas just around the corner we got a few Christmas cards and this one small pudgy envelope.  I opened it as we were headed out of church, but when I opened the card inside I froze.  It seemed like the whole world just stopped.  I grabbed Jared and whispered in his ear: “Jared.... there’s a huge wad of cash in here!”  I handed the card to Jared to have a look.  He was just as shocked as I was!  We looked around to see if anyone was watching us, looked over the envelope and card for a name... nothing.  There was a tone of smiley face stickers inside and this verse:

“Anything you did for even the least of My people here, you also did for Me”

Matthew 25:40

When we got to the car we counted the cash and it was exactly, to the dollar, how much we needed to by presents for our families!

That’s awesome, right!?  Kind of a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience thing; that’s what I thought... until this past Thursday!

We’d just gotten home from a supper party, and as we pulled in I noticed something stuck in the door.  I thought, “Invitation for something...? Canvassing...? Flyer...? Who knows?”  Inside was a card, a letter and another smaller envelope.  It was a beautiful card with a poem all about God’s plan (I will share that with you in the next post).  The letter talked about how this person (or people?) was praying for us and our adoption process.  They encouraged us and even shared a short poem.  At the end of the letter was an explanation about the additional envelope.  It said we were to use it on ourselves, to enjoy it, and make it special.  Upon opening the smaller envelope we found a number of gift cards to perfectly cover the costs of a very special date night!  It was so funny, because just a few hours earlier, Jared and I had been talking about ‘if’ and ‘what’ we would do for Valentine’s Day!

If you are reading this and you are one of the angels God sent to bless us, we are grateful beyond words!  Jared and I pray that you too would be blessed, in the perfect way, at just the right time!

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus

Philippians 4:19

Awesome Song

We sang this song in church yesterday and I just loved it

'Tree' By Justin Rizzo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPuzJFzXgU4

Verse:
I want to be unmovable and unshakable
So let my roots go down deep
Unmovable and unshakable in You
Chorus:
I, I want to be like a tree
Planted by the streams of living water
Tag:
This’ll be my song, God; this’ll be my prayer
Till the end, till the end

Wedding Prep

Well, my baby sister is getting married this coming weekend!  It’s really exciting, really busy, and a little bit sad.  ‘The Kid’ is growing up.  It’s been fun putting together her slide show, looking back at old pictures.  There are so many times when you think or say: ‘That’ll come up at your wedding!”  But when the day finally comes to reveal all idiocy in your past, you can’t remember it!  Ah well, I’ve got a few cracks to put in the speech to keep everyone laughing!

The Holy Spirit gave me a verse during my devotion time the other day that I thought that I might share on here.  Psalm 62:1-2, 5-8, 11-12

¹ Truly my soul finds rest in God;
   my salvation comes from him.

² Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
   he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

⁵ Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
   my hope comes from him.

⁶ Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
   he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
⁷ My salvation and my honour depend on God^[c];
   he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

⁸ Trust in him at all times, you people;
   pour out your hearts to him,
   for God is our refuge.

¹¹ One thing God has spoken,
   two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,

¹² and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;
and, “You reward everyone
   according to what they have done.”

More Encouragement

Isaiah 40:31

Yet those who wait for the Lord

will gain new strength;

They will mount up with

wings like eagles, They will

run and not get tired, They

will walk and not become weary.

'The task ahead of you is never as great as the power behind you'

Hebrews 11:1

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Psalm 33:20

We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.

In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His Holy name.

May Your unfailing love rest upon us,

O Lord even as we put our hope in You.

What a week!  This has been amazing!  God has been speaking and just encouraging me SO much.  Yesterday some very special children prayed for me, and I can see their prayers in action.  God has really blessed us by surrounding us with so many amazing people; both adults and children!

God Speaks

We're only half way through the week and God has showed me SO much!

Our church encourages members to fast in pray during the month of January.  I decided to do a fast in hopes of hearing from God regarding our future baby.  There are also a number of people whom we volunteer with that are also fasting on our behalf.  What an amazing church family!  So in hopes of encouraging others in a similar life situation who may read this blog, I thought it might be good to share a few things!

'Be ready at all times'

'This fast is like your wait for a child.

The longer you wait the better it will be at the end

of the wait'

Psalm 29:11

The Lord gives strength to his people;

the Lord blesses his people with peace.

Psalm 30:1

...you lifted me out of the depths

and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

Psalm 30:3

You spared me from going down into the pit

Psalm 30:4

...praise his Holy name

Psalm 31:24

Be strong and take heart

all you who hope in the Lord.

Psalm 33:11

The plans of the Lord stand firm forever

For those of you unfamiliar with fasting, fasting isn't always from food.  You can fast from media, games, computer time... but then replace it with spending time with God!  You can get more information about fasting off our church website:  http://www.mysouthland.com/

I also wanted to say a special thank you to all my friends and family with children.  You guys are the best, letting me hold your babies and learning from your mistakes!  Lol!  Just kidding.  You have and will continue to play a big part in the parent I become.  I have learned so much from you!  Thank you SO much!

Another way to put it

We have the greatest cell group and this week was just what I needed.  We talked about things we wished God would change in our lives and why we thought he didn't.  Then we prayed and asked God to reveal Himself to us in those areas of our life.  It was super awesome.  While I was sharing, I got a bit stuck trying to explain how I feel when other people announce their pregnancies.  One of our cell members has gone through a time of waiting as well and she put it sort of like this (this is not a direct quote):

''It's like in ministry.  You see someone in their area of ministry and it's going exceptionally well for them.  You are happy for them because you know it's a good thing!  But when you look back at your own ministry it doesn't look like there's.  When you’re put the ministries side by side it looks to you like their ministry is doing so much better than yours, and you might get discouraged.  What you might not see is that your ministry is doing well too, just in a completely different area.''

That is totally true for Jared and I.  We've definitely had some rough times in the last 2 years waiting for a baby, but our relationship has grown so much stronger through it all; and not only our relationship with each other, but also our relationship with God.

We are SO grateful for amazing cell group!  You guys have helped us out so much, more than you could possibly know.  We've really appreciated the way you guys pray for us or just let us vent, or say just exactly what we're feeling.  We love you all SO much!

I Will Praise You In This Storm

Casting Crowns - I Will Praise You In This Storm

I was listening to the radio and this song came on.  It really touched my heart so I decided to share it in hopes that it could bless others aswell!