Lovers of God

HAIRBRUSH, an EXPERIENCE of BETH MOORE at an AIRPORT

2008-11-27T11:48:00.004-05:00

HAIRBRUSH, an EXPERIENCE of BETH MOORE at an AIRPORT
Beth Moore is an outstanding speaker and Bible teacher, and the author of several excellent Bible studies. She and her husband of a number of year live in Texas and have two grown daughters. This is one of her experiences:

April 20, 2005, at the Airport in Knoxville, waiting to board the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say this because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise. Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons, not the least of which is your ego.

I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones.

The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man.

I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport....an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere? There I sat; trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him.

Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man.

I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing.

I immediately began to resist, because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. "Oh, no, God, please, no." I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, "Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!"

There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, "Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane."
Then I heard it... "I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair."

The words were so clear, my heart leapt into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No-brainer. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, "God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man."

"I'm on this Lord. I'm your girl! You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am going to witness to this man."

Again as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. "That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair."

I looked up at God and quipped, "I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?" God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word: "I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:17)

I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story, my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely as possible, "Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?"

He looked back at me and said, "What did you say?"

"May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?"

To which he responded in volume ten, "Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that."

At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out, "SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?"

At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Longlocks. Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, "If you really want to." Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, "Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But, I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush."
"I have one in my bag, "he responded.

I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull.

A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange, but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I - for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while.

The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. This man's hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's.

I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees and said, "Sir, do you know my Jesus?"

He said, "Yes, I do." Well, that figures, I thought.

He explained, "I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior." He said, "You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride."

Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it. Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft.

I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, "That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?"

I said, "Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!"

And we got to share.

I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted, you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or, He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need!

I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way. . . all because I didn't want people to think I was strange. God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.

John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We Have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Life shouldn't be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly shouting, "Wow! What a ride! Thank You, Lord!"

Don't tell God how big your troubles are - tell your troubles HOW BIG your GOD is!

May you always have love to share, health to spare, and friends that care.

Rick Warren: still driven by Purpose

2008-08-01T11:39:00.006-04:00

In an interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond, In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body - but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillion of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act, the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life: The goal is to grow in character, In Christ-likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you got to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believ'e that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain."

But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people...You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instanfly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before.

I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for you to own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan - to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better...God didn't put me on earth just to fulfil a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

What's on your "to do" list???

2008-07-12T21:02:00.002-04:00

Giddy up!!!

Teenagers raising the dead.... check it out!

2008-07-07T03:16:00.000-04:00

Here's an excert from a recent email. Cool stuff.....

Dear friends,

This is a testimony from a young lady in our church ( 14) , who was part of team used by God to raise a stillborn baby from the dead in Guatemala. We know this young lady personally. Her character and integrity are without reproach. You are about to read a bonafide, contemporary Lazarus resurrection story. This is as close to the flame of a literal resurrection from the dead as we have ever been!

BIG blessings,
Dave and Anita

Testimony from Abby:

My name is Abby. I am 14 years old. I live in western North Carolina. During the summer of 2008, I went on a ministry trip to Guatemala. During part of the trip, we divided up into small ministry teams (5 to 7 people) and visited different villages in the San Pedro La Laguna area. We traveled from village to village telling the Indian people about Jesus. On one particular day, we were visiting in the home of young woman. She lived in a small village of about 14 or 15 houses. We were trying to lead the young lady to Christ, but it was not going very well. After awhile, we decided to move on. Before leaving, we asked the woman if we could pray with her about anything in her life. She told us that just the day before, she had given birth to a stillborn baby and that we could pray with her about that.

In Guatemalan culture there is great shame and condemnation on mothers who give birth to deformed or stillborn children. We prayed a simple prayer that everything would go well with the funeral and burial of the baby and that the mother would be spared the shame and condemnation associated with having given birth to a stillborn child. As we were praying this simple prayer, my friend and fellow ministry team member, Julia (age 17), told me that we needed to pray over the baby's body. I thought she was crazy to suggest this and that it was not a good idea. Julia was persistent. She said again that we really needed to pray over the baby's body. She told me to ask the mother if she still had the baby's body. When I asked, the mother told us the baby's body was wrapped up in a burial cloth in the backroom. I asked her if we could pray over the body. The mother hesitantly said, yes. We went into the backroom and saw the baby's body wrapped up in a bundle on the bed. Julia poked her head out of the back room and asked if she could unwrap the baby's head. The mother said, yes, if we wrapped it back correctly when we were done. Julia picked up the body and unwrapped the head. The baby's head was tiny and pale. The baby was stillborn and had been dead outside the womb for 27 hours. Her skin had turned shades of purple. Our entire ministry team, five of us, began crying and praying over this baby. We prayed for thirty to forty minutes. At the end of that time, Julia screamed out to God, telling him that she believed with all of her heart that this baby could be raised from the dead. After Julia screamed out, everyone was silent. We were quietly interceding and praying. Within a few minutes, the baby started moving. Then the baby coughed and began crying. The mother came rushing into the room. She was screaming, what is going? No one could answer her. We were just staring at the baby, who had come back to life. The mother asked us again, what is going on? She began crying as she saw that her baby was alive. She ran out of the house and banged on every door in the village, telling all of the people that God is real because her baby was alive. Within about thirty minutes, the baby's skin tone and movements had become completely normal.

The other villagers came to the house to see this amazing miracle. They asked us which of the Indian gods we had prayed to for such a miracle to happen. We told them we had prayed to the biggest God ever and we began to explain to them about Jesus. Soon, we realized we would not have time to minister salvation to each person individually. So, we gathered all the villagers together, turned on our little sound system and explained the way of salvation. Everyone in the village, 80 to 90 people, prayed to receive Jesus. Each of them was baptized in the Holy Spirit and began speaking in tongues. Many would fall to the ground as the power of the Holy Spirit came on them.

Five days later, we returned to the village to check in on the mother and the baby. The village had prepared a big dinner in honor of our team. We enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship together. The baby, whom they named Julia, was perfectly healthy and had gained weight. Even after five days, the mother was still shaking from the impact of God on her life through the resurrection of her child. Two days after our follow-up visit, the mother brought baby Julia to church. The mother was still shaking from the power of God on her life following this astounding miracle.
Abby

Yours, Mine, and Ours

2008-07-01T05:40:00.000-04:00

Didn't think of this one....

Last week the five of us went out to eat at a local Korean restaurant. The owner/chef lady came out of the back and was talking to us as we stood by the door to leave. (Tim ALWAYS makes friends with the owners of these Asian places! They adore him!) Anyway, I was watching her look our three girls over and could tell she just couldn't figure things out! Tim was holding baby Kate, and the older two were standing close by. Finally, with a crinkled brow, she asked me:

"So. Is she [Kate] his? And these two [Callie and Claire] yours?"

Yep. He dumped his Asian bride. I left my white man, and we hooked up. Cool family, huh?!

She was still scratching her head as we left! I love it!

On the run

2008-06-30T11:02:00.005-04:00

Today I'm especially running after my God..... My hands and feet have more pain than "normal", and I'm being s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d to trust my Lord and my hubby to watch over my sweet 8 year old who is on her first trip to Six Flags (someone was just killed there 2 days ago).

We should continually RUN after our Lord. Our Lover. Our Bridegroom. Not just on days that we are seeking refuge, but CONTINUALLY.

How 'bout you? Got your Nike's on???

What Jesus do you pray to???

2008-06-26T10:52:00.011-04:00

Sunday our pastor preached on "My Relationship with God is Dependent upon my Concept of God!"

How do you view your Heavenly Father? Jesus? The Holy Spirit? When you pray, what mental image do you have of the Divine Being to whom you're conversing??? We all do that. We all have a picture in our heads of God when we pray. And being creatures of habit, that image is probably one we've had for a very long time.... What do you think Jesus, the Father, and the Spirit are like???

My image of the God-head varies. My picture of the Father is something like my earthly father ~ with potential for wrath, but mostly loving, compassionate, patient and gentle. I like to picture myself sitting on His lap and Him holding me. I like to listen for His heartbeat, though I know He doesn't have a physical one.

My picture of Jesus changes vastly. I love to see Him as a love-sick Bridegroom counting the minutes until the wedding feast. I love to see Him as my Best Friend. My Lover. My King. My Saviour. This picture is by far the best way I love to visualize my Jesus:

The Holy Spirit's image is a little more illusive to me. I pretty much picture Him as a very sensitive Spirit-Being.

Our pastor used an excerpt from a movie scene as an illustration ( he didn't necessarily recommend the movie BTW):

dinner scene: (Ricky begins dinner prayer):
"Dear Lord baby Jesus lying in a manger...."

His wife interrupts: "Jesus did grow up you know!"

He replies: "I like the baby Jesus. When I pray that's who I like to pray to! When you pray, you can pray to grown-up Jesus, teenage Jesus, or bearded Jesus, whatever YOU want!"

He begins to pray again: "Dear Lord baby Jesus, with a fleeced diaper, wrapped up all snug and warm, curled up asleep in a manger...."

Grandpa then confronts him: "He was a man! He had a beard for Christ's sake!"

Ricky then states: "Well, I like the baby Jesus the best!"

His friend Cal says: "I like to picture my Jesus in a tuxedo T-shirt, because it says, 'I want to be formal, but I'm here to party' ~ cause I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party too!"

One of his sons then says: "I like to picture my Jesus as a ninja fighter fighting off all the evil samurai."

His friend Cal says: "I like to picture my Jesus with large eagles wings and singing lead vocal for Lynard Skynard and a huge angel band!"

So, WHAT DOES YOUR JESUS LOOK LIKE???? Is he a stern father figure sitting on a golden throne waiting to bash you for wrong doings? Is He a large, grandfather figure with a long white beard like Gandalf? Is He the sweet baby Jesus in the manger? Do you always picture Jesus as a Caucasian male???

Do tell!

Love shoes??!

2008-06-19T09:36:00.004-04:00

Good friends of ours just opened a fabulous shoe store here in town. Do you live close? Do you love stylish, comfortable, casual, did I mention ADORABLE footwear? Check it out....
On Walnut, behind Talbots. One of a kind!

Why DID the chicken cross the road???

2008-06-11T17:36:00.001-04:00

BARACK OBAMA:
The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN MC CAIN:
My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON:
When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure -- right from Day One! -- that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn ' t about me.......

DR. PHIL:
The problem we have here is that this chicken won ' t realize that he must first deal with the problem on ' THIS ' side of the road before it goes after the problem on the ' OTHER SIDE ' of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he ' s acting by not taking on his 'CURRENT' problems before adding ' NEW ' problems.

OPRAH:
Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I ' m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

GEORGE W. BUSH:
We don ' t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL:
Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road...

ANDERSON COOPER - CNN:
We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

JOHN KERRY:
Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken ' s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

NANCY GRACE:
That chicken crossed the road because he ' s GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN:
To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART:
No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer ' s Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS:
Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I ' ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY:
To die in the rain. Alone.

JERRY FALWELL:
Because the chicken was gay! Can ' t you people see the plain truth? ' That ' s why they call it the ' other side. ' Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media white washes with seemingly harmless phrases like ' the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It ' s as plain and as simple as that.

GRANDPA:
In my day we didn ' t ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS:
Isn ' t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE:
It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON:
Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES:
I have just released eChicken2007, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra...#@&&^(C% ......... reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN:
Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

BILL CLINTON:
I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE:
I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS:
Did I miss one?

DICK CHENEY:
Where's my gun?

AL SHARPTON:
Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

My baby girl is ONE today!!!

2008-06-11T00:16:00.001-04:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Today is already tomorrow

2008-06-10T13:47:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow, June 11, Kate Ha Mee will be one year old! But, it's already tomorrow in Korea. I knew I would be thinking about her birth mother and foster mother tomorrow, but TODAY I'm totally consumed in thought of both of them. It is overwhelming to think this child, my child, has been so dearly loved by THREE mothers. Birth mother, foster mother, adoptive mother. Kate Ha Mee has already been on a tremendous journey in her short life, but with a triple blessing.

Father God does the same for each of us. No matter how hard our journey, He ALWAYS gives us what we need in advance, and in abundance ~ no matter what the circumstances seem like.

Move over Rachel Ray!

2008-06-02T19:16:00.003-04:00

My friend Marianne is known for the STELLAR birthday parties she throws for her kids. I'm talking all out, over the moon kind of fun! One year she served up these WONDERFUL chicken fingers she made from scratch. I had to have the recipe and we've been eating them ever since. I just made them again the other night and thought, gosh, these are just tooooooo good not to share!!!

BREADED CHICKEN FINGERS

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
~~~~
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon Tony Chachere's original creole seasoning

Combine the top four ingredients and refrigerate 2-4 hours, or overnight. Mix together remaining ingredients. Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture and dredge in flour mixture. Fry til golden in small amount of oil in a nonstick pan. Yummmm!

So, what are you doing to conserve?

2008-05-31T11:03:00.006-04:00

With gas closing in on $4. a gallon, food prices rising, and the cost of living heading through the roof, are you finding ways to conserve your resourses? Here's what I'm doing:

consolidating trips for errands

keeping the thermostat at a higher temperature

running the dishwasher on a timer in the middle of the night (hopefully a cheaper time frame to use it)

making baby food / baby wipes (can't make myself use cloth diapers!)

considering an outdoor clothes line

being more conservative / creative with leftovers

doing my own hair color / pedicures

realizing how big a treat it REALLY is to eat out!

OK, a lot of this stuff I did anyway! But, now I'm way more aware of them! What about you? Any tips to share?

What's up with that.....

2008-05-29T09:20:00.000-04:00

The evolution of man and TV

I stole this from another blog. Thought it was great!

Mama said there'd be days like this....

2008-05-27T13:47:00.003-04:00

Nice, relaxing holiday weekend is over, and my butt is so dragging today. Kicker is, we relaxed all weekend! Tim's back to work, laundry is piled up, groceries to be bought, attitudes to be checked, and oh, I'm soooo tired today....

I love this poem, and I'm trying to keep it in mind as I do my mommy stuff today:

Three Mothers

Once a woman came upon three mothers at work.

"What are you doing?" she asked one of them.

"I'm doing the weekly washing," answered the first.

"I'm doing a bit of household drudgery," replied the second.

"I'm mothering three young children who someday will fill important and useful spheres in life, and wash-day is a part of my grand task in caring for these souls who shall live forever," replied the third.

Only she had caught the vision of the great work she was doing.

Isn't she lovely....

2008-05-25T20:15:00.009-04:00

Kate has been home 10 1/2 weeks, and boy, has it been a wild ride! A little over a year and a half ago, I cried for 2 weeks when I realized Tim was serious about a third baby! (God just had to take us both down special paths to prepare our hearts for her!) Now, I can't imagine my life without my three girls! I've been asked repeatedly, "How does it feel to now be the mother of three?" I can tell you that it feels wonderful. My life feels so incredibly full, complete, and happy. I don't know exactly what it is, but I seem to treasure the moments more... I guess with Callie now 8, I'm realizing that life, indeed, is incredibly fast, and before I turn around, Kate will be as old as Callie. It feels easier, and even more fun the third time around! Kate brings us so much joy!

Of course, it is a lot easier to say this now that full adjustments to her homecoming have been made. Claire and Callie both have adapted beautifully and love for Kate continues to blossom in the hearts of all of us.

The emotional side of adoption amazes me. It's true. What I've always heard. I love Kate just as much as my biological daughters. To me, that's miraculous. I know it's just a reflection, a picture, of the love my Heavenly Father has for me....

"In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will ~ to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding...."

Ephesians 1:5-8

It's just incredible, practically incomprehensible, that our Heavenly Father loves us as much as His Son, Jesus. And, that it was "in accordance with His pleasure and will" that He predestined us to be adopted into His family. He wanted us, just like we wanted Kate! It was His pleasure to welcome us as His child, just like it is our wonderful pleasure to welcome Kate into our family and make her a co-heir. Think about it! (AND, I'm sure God didn't cry for 2 weeks at the thought of adding more kids to His family!)

Lose yourself in a good book this summer

2008-05-20T16:07:00.011-04:00

Lose more than yourself ~ Lose your religious ideologies of God.

I just finished this today. This book will leave you longing to cozy up to the Triune Godhead of the universe. It's an easy reading novel (not boring theologies) that will blow the lid off the box you've kept God in for so long.....

"This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's that good!" - Eugene Peterson

Mackenzie Allen Philip's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgement he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

Square in a round world...

2008-05-19T21:15:00.000-04:00

"A round watermelon can take up a lot of room in a refrigerater and the usually round fruit often sits awkwardly on refrigerator shelves. Smart Japanese Farmers have forced their watermelons to grow into a square shape by inserting the melons into square, tempered glass cases while the fruit is still growing on the vine."

It's all good...

2008-05-18T20:45:00.005-04:00

We're finally back in a routine! Every time my previous post came up with the photo of Kate crying in her bed, my four year old, sweet Claire kept saying, "That's poor. That's poor. That's poor." I wasn't quite sure what she meant by that... poor blogging, poor photo, but I suspect she was trying to say, "poor Kate"! It was the very next night, as I was questioning my sanity, that Kate whimpered a moment, then slept 11 solid hours. Oh, that's rich!

Coffee anyone?

2008-05-15T19:33:00.001-04:00

So, I've been following another adoptive / blogging family who have a baby girl from Ethiopia (she's SO cute!) They have a passion to help orphans worldwide and started Gobena Coffee where 100% of the proceeds goes towards orphan care.... So cool! I'm thinking Father's Day presents for my hubby and father-in-law. Click on the name above to get to the store. Buy something. Help an orphan. Enjoy a cup of joe.

Keepin' it REAL!

2008-05-14T20:46:00.004-04:00

So this is the flip side of our wonderful beach trip (below)! Uguh! (sometimes it bothers me everything in blogger - land seems so perfect, ya know?!) Yes, I did take a picture of my screaming child..... just wanted to share the joy! When we went to the beach she got s-p-o-i-l-e-d sleeping in the pack-n-play by our bed.... Now we're back to sleep training. Poor thing. Didn't we just do this?!When we left home she loved her crib...... Yikes!

We found sunshine!

2008-05-13T08:33:00.000-04:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I honor my mother

2008-05-10T20:51:00.005-04:00

Peter Marshall's Challenge

Peter Marshall, one - time chaplain to the U.S. Senate, exhorting American women,

said the following:

The modern challenge to motherhood is the eternal challenge ~ that of being godly women. The very phrase sounds strange in our ears. We never hear it now.

We hear about every other kind of women ~ beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career women, talented women, divorced women.

But so seldom do we hear of a godly woman ~ or of a godly man either, for that matter.

I believe women come nearer fulfilling their God-given function in the home than anywhere else.

It is a much nobler thing to be a good wife than to be Miss America.

It is a greater achievement to establish a Christian home than it is to produce a second-rate novel, filled with filth.

It is a far, far better thing in the realms of morals to be old-fashioned than to be ultra-modern.

The world has enough women who know how to hold their cocktails, who have lost all their illusions and their faith.

The world has enough women who know how to be smart.

It needs women who are willing to be simple.

The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant.

It needs some who will be brave.

The world has enough women who are popular.

It needs more who are pure.

We need women, and men, too, who would rather be morally right than socially correct.

Let us not fool ourselves ~ without Christianity, without Christian education, without the principles of Christ inculcated into young life, we are simply rearing pagans.

Physically, they will be perfect. Intellectually, they will be brilliant.

But spiritually, they will be pagan. Let us not fool ourselves.

The twentieth century challenge to motherhood ~ when it is all boiled down ~ is that mothers will have an experience of God.... a reality which they can pass on to their children.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To my mother ~ who walks with God in the cool of the day as well as the heat of battle...

There is none that I admire more....

Thank you for passing your reality on to us.

Wii finally caved

2008-05-01T20:58:00.006-04:00

Tim's the cultured one with 13 something years of music lessons ~ but I got to tell ya, if learning the scales was as fun as Guitar Hero, I might have stuck with it a little longer than the ummmmm, couple months that I did.....

Hey, this has got to count for some sort of home school music credit, right?!!!

Cookin' in my kitchen and what do I see...

2008-04-30T16:05:00.000-04:00

Sweet little Kate smilin' back at me!

And the Lord Remembered

2008-04-22T11:49:00.003-04:00

Tiffany Ann Lewis: "And the Lord Remembered"

Are you feeling like your promise is always just around the corner and never in your hand? You have received words upon words, promises upon promises from the Lord and you know that fulfillment is just around the corner, yet it seems like your corner never comes. I guess at a subconscious level I was feeling this way, so the Lord woke me up one morning with these encouraging words, "And the Lord remembered."

The first time we see this phrase in the Bible is in Genesis 8:1 as Noah and the crew were enclosed in the ark for the duration of the flood. As the waters prevailed on the earth, the ark was tossed to and fro in the storm. Day after day they waited for the land to be dry again. Talk about something that seems to be just around the corner.
"Then God remembered..." Genesis 8:1

This does not imply that God forgot; rather, it announces that the fulfillment of His promise is finally at hand. In Hebrew, the word for remembered is Zakar (Strong's Concordance # 2142). It is a verb, an action word, meaning to recall something, to remember, to call it to mind. God remembered the previous commitment He had given to Noah. It was now time for Him to activate the promise He made. God was about to act on His word.

Notice the Scripture reference, 8:1. Eight is the number of new beginnings; Noah and the crew were on the threshold of a new beginning. The rains have ceased and the storm is over. The ark has come to rest and the waters are beginning to subside and it looks as though the corner is finally here and their promise is at hand. But wait, there is still more waiting. At the end of forty more days, Noah opened the window and sent out a raven and a dove (Genesis 8:6-8). The raven just kept flying back and forth on its own, but the dove returned to the ark because there was no other resting place for her feet. This signaled to Noah that it was not yet time to leave the safety of the ark.

Beloved, often when it feels as though we are "stuck in our ark" God is really keeping us enclosed to protect us from something. Wisely, Noah waited seven more days before sending the dove out for the second time (verse 10). This time she came back with a freshly picked olive leaf in her mouth, signaling the corner was really just around the corner, but Noah waited yet another seven days before sending the dove out for the third time (verse 12). The dove didn't return this time, yet still Noah waited until he heard the Lord speak and give the command to leave the ark (verse 15). The dove and the raven have symbolic importance here. If we follow the raven's example, we will fly around and around, never finding rest for our weary soul. However, the dove, which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit, will guide us and lead us into all truth as we wait on Him. (See John 16:13.)

God Helps Us Wait

The problem that arises during the waiting process is that our minds begin to wander, and we can drift through the doorway of doubt. Even if you are a seasoned Christian, it does not mean that you are immune to the devil's schemes. We may not even realize it, but in these moments of vulnerability the devil gets in there and says, "Has God indeed said _____???" (Genesis 3:1b) Fill in the blank yourself. What has God said to you? We can become disappointed as we wait on and on and it looks as though God is not going to come through. We may even begin to wonder if we heard Him correctly in the first place.

Disappointments are painful and they can trigger negative emotions like doubt, worry and fear. Doubt--"Nothing good ever happens to me." Worry--"What if my corner never comes?" Fear--"Did God forget me?" These feelings only become magnified as we witness others coming into their promises while we wait on. In our conscious mind we know God is faithful, but some place deep in our subconscious a wave of doubt might be stirring. These thoughts act like an undertow pulling us out into the sea of uncertainty as we wonder if we'll ever come upon dry land again.
The Bible does not tell us that Noah experienced any of these feelings, but the reality is that most of us do. Maybe today you are feeling a bit discouraged in the waiting. I know I was, and that is why the Lord spoke to me in a dream and a vision. God encourages us along the way--just look at Noah. He had a lot of waiting to go through--we all do--but each step of the way God sent him encouragement. The rains did come to an end, the waters did subside, and the dove did return with an olive branch. God helps us wait! I needed to be encouraged desperately; I was buying the lies that the devil was telling me. I was growing weary and doubting if the corner would ever come when, suddenly, the Lord took me firmly by the shoulders and said, "Tiffany Ann, be still!! ...and know that I am God."

Quoting myself from February's Monthly Manna 2008, "It takes tremendous faith to 'be still, and know that I am God'" (Psalm 46:10). It takes a faith we don't possess to be still in the midst of the storm and remain convinced that He has not forgotten us or the promise He made. These storms come in many different forms such as financial hardships, sickness, regret, failure and even death. "O death, where is thy sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:55). O yes, there is life after death, hallelujah, but meanwhile there is a life to live, and the burning sting of disappointment can throw us way off course.

It's okay to feel hurt and disappointed; we just can't let those feelings cause us to fly around and around like the raven, or else we'll be exhausted both physically and spiritually. If Jesus had not held me still that day, I would have remained discouraged, doubtful, and worse--I would have remained, spiritually, right where I was and not move forward into my destiny.
God Cannot Escape His Faithfulness--He Gave His Word

I believe the Lord is trying to bring us to the place where we can wait without worry, a type of faith place where we won't wrestle with our thoughts and emotions all the time. A place of peace where we can fly as the dove did above the floodwaters that are in our lives and find rest as we wait in Him, our Ark. This waiting is what will bring us to the threshold of our Genesis 8:1, "Then God remembered..." It's our new beginning where we will see the fulfilled promises of God manifested.

Beloved, the promises of God are received in one place, the Promised Land, and it's our heart-convinced faith that will bring us there. It is shocking when we realize in Hebrews 3:19 that many did not enter into the Promised Land because of their unbelief. Can you see why Jesus addresses this issue with His disciples over and over again? The disciples were the believers, yet Jesus is addressing their beliefs, or rather their lack of them. Can you see why He told Peter He was going to pray for his faith? Can you see why He invited Thomas to touch His hands and side? Can you see why He would give me a dream and vision?

He is encouraging us, building up our faith. Beloved, God wants us to trust Him and take Him at His word so we can enter in. The devil's taunting words of, "Has God said?" should never have power over us as believers! God cannot escape His faithfulness; He is moved by His very character to fulfill all His promises. He gave His Word!
"God is not a man, that He should lie." Numbers 23:19

Maybe you are waiting on the promise of a restored relationship, health, happiness, peace, joy, love, or financial prosperity. These aren't Christian fairy tales; these are part of the abundant life that Jesus said He came to give. God is faithful. Maybe God told you to write a book, sing a song, start a church, feed the hungry or visit the lonely, yet every step you take forward the devil pushes you back two with that same old phrase, "Has God indeed said?" We can't let it distract us one more time from who we are and who God called us to be. We must not give up. It's in the waiting that we will see God's promises fulfilled. We are on the threshold; the corner really is just around the corner.

Beloved, never forget, God always remembers and He will complete His destiny in your life. Amen! "But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

Tiffany Ann LewisDancing with the Flame of the Lord MinistriesEmail: tiffanyann@tiffanyannlewis.com

Tiffany Ann Lewis is a prophetic worship leader and speaker whose heart has been passionately awakened by a God who sees us in our shortcomings and loves us in spite of it all (Ezekiel 16). It is this message of Hope--God's burning love for humanity--that she desires to share through word or song wherever she goes.Tiffany Ann has been ministering for over 10 years in prophetic worship throughout the Body of Christ. She worships with her family at Northway Church in Malta, New York, where she serves on the worship team.

Tiffany Ann Lewis' Itinerary: May 4, 2008 - 9:30 a.m. Worship at Spirit & Truth Christian ChurchSchenectady, NY

Permission is granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own websites. We ask only that you keep ElijahList website, email contact info, and author contact information intact.
ElijahList Publications310 2nd Ave SE, Albany, OR 97321 www.elijahlist.com email: info@elijahlist.netPhone 1-541-926-3250

So, what are we missing???

2008-04-16T16:20:00.002-04:00

Most of you know I struggle with arthritis. For some reason, my first pregnancy seemed to trigger it's evolution. For eight years I've daily struggled with pain. Most of the time it's very liveable. A few times a year, the arthritis "flares" causing a tremendous increase in pain. I have had it in my toes, both my feet, both my knees, my fingers, wrists, jaw, and possibly my neck. No fun. I've asked God to take it away. I've asked the Holy Spirit why it's there and what can be done about it. I've been prayed over more times than I can count. I've cursed it, cast it out, rebuked it, sought roots to it. I've seen multiple doctors, taken unconventional therapies, and been on extremely restrictive diets for very extended periods of time. Some of it has seemed to help for a season, but always I'm back to pain.

I'm puzzled, annoyed, perplexed, dismayed, and when I'm hurting really bad, I'm totally distraught. My ever increasing bewilderment is this... WHY? With His stripes, Jesus paid a high price for me to walk in complete restoration. So why can't I get there?

I know He wants me to walk in wholeness. With every fiber of my being I know He can, and perhaps even already has made me whole, but why do I still hurt?

As the body of Christ why don't we daily walk in the supernatural? Jesus commanded us to preach the gospel, cast out demons, raise the dead and HEAL THE SICK. Why don't we? The Old Testament prophets did, the New Testament apostles did, what's our problem?

If we're born again, filled with the Spirit, seeking His face and hearing His voice WHAT ARE WE MISSING???

Are you avoiding me?

2008-04-16T16:07:00.001-04:00

So, if you purposefully avoided answering my question to the gas pump post because you were embarrassed to tell the TRUTH, you're a big WEENIE!

You probably guessed since I posted the question I was struggling with the pervasive American thought, "Of course, FILL UP! It's their mistake. They have to honor that price. It's not stealing ~ we are paying for it after all!"

I don't like the "WWJD" marketing theme. Though a brilliant slogan, I just saw it on too many t-shirts, bracelets and coffee mugs for it to produce any fond affection in my heart anymore. With that said, I truly do have a hard time seeing Jesus pull away from the 35 cent gas pump, having just filled his suburban up for $7.00, instead of $70.00, his long hair blowing in the wind, a big smile on His face, saying to Himself, "Omniscience ROCKS! That was one SWEET deal!"

I'm reminded of a verse, I Cor. 10:23 & 24. It says:
"Everything is permissible ~ but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible ~ not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others."

I'm sure we're all thinking, "Is too beneficial!" Beneficial to my wallet! But, is it beneficial to your conscience?

We are called to answer to a higher Authority.

Thanks to the THREE that responded!

Fuel for thought

2008-04-14T14:04:00.003-04:00

So this morning on the radio I heard about that gas station over in Wilmington, North Carolina, where the attendant accidently programmed the premium pumps for 35 cents per gallon instead of $3.35. It started about 9 am. People called their friends, and those people called more people until there was so much traffic the police were called for crowd control. The mistake was finally realized late that afternoon.

Would you have filled up???

My Crayola Wonder

2008-04-11T12:07:00.006-04:00

Does this mean blue poop cometh?

Our social worker came last evening for our first post - placement visit. She needed 8 photos to send in with her report, which will be forwarded to Korea. (Ummm, she won't be getting this pic!) She will return 2 more times, June and September for 2 additional reports and then we can meet with an attorney and finalize Kate's adoption! (Korea doesn't finalize in-country like some other countries do)

Kate is 10 months TODAY!

Makin' Jook

2008-04-10T11:50:00.000-04:00

Kate's foster mother lovingly packed her some food for her journey home. Included was some sort of mushy, gooey rice resembling oatmeal that smelled heavenly. We asked her, via our interpreter how to make it, but a lot was lost in the translation process. When I got home, I threw the question out to an adoption forum that I had been a part of and found out it's called "Jook". I was told it's the baby food of choice for all Korean mothers. It's just sticky rice with lots and lots of water cooked for a long time (sort of like a risotto). The rice falls apart, become glutenous, and is seasoned with meat, broth, bouillon, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, vegetables, dried seaweed, sesame oil, soy sauce or whatever you wish to add. I'm so glad I found out how to make it. Gerber just wasn't doing it for Kate when she arrived, and I honestly don't know what I would do without it! I now make it about once a week ~ it's such a big staple item for her. I know there are lots of other Korean families that peek in here from time to time, so I just wanted to make sure you knew about Jook! Here's a couple of links if your interested in trying it:

http://whatscooking.jdpages.com/kellys_jook_rice_porridge.html

http://www.xanga.com/item.aspx?user=koreancooking&tab=weblogs&uid=365967081

Rewards for a home school mom....

2008-04-09T14:04:00.003-04:00

Callie used to HATE to read. Today after she finished reading her assignment out loud to me, she curled up in the corner to continue reading ahead by herself ~ now a common occurrence around here! I'm a happy mommy!

Victory at the baking drawer!

2008-04-07T14:26:00.006-04:00

So, do you kid-proof your house, or house train your child???

Kate loves to play in my baking drawer just underneath the oven ~ a very good thing. Yesterday she was carelessly banging my favorite glass loaf pans together ~ very bad thing. Instead of rearranging my whole kitchen and removing the glass loaf pans, I sat down on the floor with her and began baking drawer lesson 101. I pointed to the glass loaf pans and calmly said, "No, no." As expected, her chubby little hand almost instantly reached for the glass pans. I flicked her knuckles with my finger and gently repeated, "No, no". Then I showed her she could play with all the other drawer contents, just not the glass loaf pans. This exact scenario repeated itself several times. Finally, she made a choice to reach for something else. A decision that I highly praised with lots of smiles and accolades. She played contentedly there for some time.

Today she again opened up the drawer. I saw her curious hand start toward the glass pans. Halfway there she started waving that hand in the air and redirected it elsewhere in the drawer. She looked at me to see if I had noticed. Of course I had. Many more praises, smiles and accolades came her way. She's a happy member of the house.

We've found removing all "off limits" objects is a disservice to a child's world. Taking a minute to establish a boundary helps them to feel secure, and lays a lifelong foundation in obedience and self control. (Of course we remove the dangerous and harmful stuff!) And, oh, how rewarding it is for your child to walk in obedience, even at 9 months! (They're happier, too!)

Drool bombs

2008-04-03T14:16:00.001-04:00

Strategically placed by our youngest to sabotage unsuspecting bare feet everywhere!

Transitions...

2008-03-29T13:39:00.008-04:00

We have been home 2 and a half weeks and I can honestly say we have been wrapped in layers and layers of grace while transitioning to a family of five. Kate fits in to our family perfectly, of course, and she has transitioned to different time zones, a crib, a car seat, new foods and formula's, new languages and new faces better than I ever dreamed! She adores the girls, and just plays and explores contentedly all day! She has definitely bonded with me, but I can leave the room without causing her distress, and she just smiles sweetly when I return! Wow! Thank you so much, Lord! And, thank you for your prayers....

Each of us has been face to face with major life changes in these past weeks, and I think outwardly, Claire has struggled the most. My sweet, sensitive, mild-mannered Claire has moments where she just seems to "go wild". Here's a photo of her climbing up the frig. Honestly, I've caught her doing it a couple of times....

She definitely has a nurturing spirit and the gift of servanthood though, and responds so well if given a specific task to "help Mommy". I'm praying for creativity and wisdom on how to continue to reassure her during her continued adjustment phase!
On a funny note, our social worker called us yesterday. It was Saturday afternoon, and even though we have been waiting for her to contact us to set up some visits to complete our process, I totally was not thinking she would call "after hours". Well, Claire was having some Daddy tickle time (which includes LOTS of happy but very loud screaming). I heard the phone, looked at the caller ID and thought it must be a telemarketer. Even after our SW introduced herself, it still didn't register with me for a few moments who exactly it was! Then it hit me! And the screaming is CONTINUING in the background. I tried to "hide" in our pantry with the phone, but eventually had to come out to consult my calendar. I asked her to hang on a second while I got to it, and in the meantime, hit the "mute" button and rushed to the living room. It was one of those moments you REALLY hope the mute button actually works!!! It's a wonder when I got back to her she didn't say, "Ummmm, do you think I need to make a visit today??!!"

Homecoming slideshow

2008-03-24T14:11:00.003-04:00

Isn't this the cutest doll??!

2008-03-21T11:29:00.002-04:00

I know, I know, more pictures of our girls coming soon.... I'm working on a slide show of our homecoming ~ stay tuned!

My big girl is EIGHT today!!!

2008-03-17T21:19:00.003-04:00

Callie really wanted us to be home from Korea before her birthday, and I'm so grateful the Lord accommodated her request! Hooray! Hard to believe eight years have already passed! Blessings upon you, my eldest daughter!

We made it!

2008-03-13T21:27:00.004-04:00

Checking in at Incheon airport

The LONG ride home!
On the plane, playing in the bassinet
Three sisters, together at last!
Kate, exploring her new home!
Ahhhh, we are home safe! What a wonderful feeling! Our journey home was really all we could of asked for it to be! Our flight was on time, very little turbulence, no motion sickness (just a teeny bit queasy just before our wheels touched down in Atlanta ~ thanks for praying), all our bags arrived with us, and Kate did beautifully. She woke up happy on our departure day, and basically played the whole flight. The last 3 hours were hard, as she started crying for her foster mother again. Those were a LONG three hours, but it wasn't constant. The flight attendants would carry her around and speak to her in Korean ~ she really liked that. She was just exhausted, plus missing her foster family, and just couldn't settle herself (very understandable, I think). She was fine once we arrived in Atl and pretty much slept the whole rest of the way home in the car! Wow! We're blessed!

It has been so fun getting to know her little personality. She does extremely well when she sees strangers, she just plays contentedly and only seems to fuss if she's sleepy, or misses her foster mother. She seems to be getting more and more used to us and comfortable in her surroundings. She slept all night last night, fussing only for about 2 hours or so, off and on. I thought that was extremely good. We tried to keep her up a lot today, to get her used to the time change. She took three naps, and is now already in bed (in her crib, I might add!!!). Huge, huge milestones taking place already!!! (In Korea she slept on the floor next to her foster mother) We are so thankful to the Lord for bringing her into our family and blessing us with her! Our girls just love her and constantly want to do everything for her ~ even to the point of tears if they don't get to feed her as long as the other sister did! It's a wonderful time as we adjust to being a family of five. More picture to come (my camera battery finally died!)....

Thanks again to everyone for all your prayers in our journey! I felt them! And thanks again for all your notes on our blog. We did not call home while in Korea, and I couldn't get our email for some reason, so our blog was our only contact with friends and family. It was a special treat to wake up each morning and read what you had written that day! So encouraging! I will continue to post here on my blog, it just may not be every day like it was in Korea!

Forever ours....

2008-03-11T06:30:00.005-04:00

Today is our "Gotcha Day"! Kate is now ours, forever! The foster mother and father came and met with us at 5:30. The foster mother was weeping before we even met. The senior Dr. Kim came and prayed a blessing over Kate, as he does for each child before they leave. It was extremely difficult for the foster mother to relinquish Kate, and it was terribly difficult for Tim and I to watch. The social worker pretty much took Kate from her arms and handed her to Tim. Ohhhh, it was tough! The foster mother had prepared food for Kate for the journey ~ sooo sweet! We took Kate up to our room and she played on the bed for about 5 minutes and then started to cry. Silly me, yesterday wondering what we were going to "do" with her until bedtime! Kate screamed for about 45 minutes (I was expecting a lot longer), and then mercifully fell asleep for a short nap, snubbing heavily and sucking her thumb. When she awoke, she cried for a short time, but is now playing with Tim. I think we're going to be OK! In retrospect, Tim and I agree, it's nicer getting this time with Kate tonight, rather than on the way to the airport!

Continue to keep us in your prayers as we travel home. That Kate will continue to adjust. That we will all get some rest. For traveling mercies. No motion sickness. Safety.

Girls, we just cannot wait to see you! It's been a LONG time! We love and miss you dearly and are REALLY looking forward to seeing you at the airport in the morning! LOVE YOU!!!!

This will be our last post from Seoul. Hopefully, our next post we will have pics of us all TOGETHER!!! Thank you ALL for all your kind words, comments, and encouragement on our blog while we were here! They have been a tremendous source of encouragement for us! USA, here we come!!!

The baby is coming!!!

2008-03-10T07:02:00.003-04:00

We volunteered in the nursery again this morning (Tim's idea!!!), and then we had lunch with Dr. Kim, the founder of ESWS (our orphanage). He is pictured below. He is 93 years old and is the founder of this agency. I believe, without checking my notes, that he said they have placed over 43,000 children since the orphanage began in the 70's. He is an amazing man, a lover of God, and was born in North Korea. It was an absolute privilege and high honor to meet with him.

During our lunch, we also got to talk with 2 other families who are here picking up their children as well. It was so fun. We planned to all eat dinner together tomorrow evening (Tuesday), BUT..... we found out later we're having a baby instead!!!!

We met with Kate and her foster family after lunch. The foster mother, father, and oldest son (19 ~ I think), all came to meet with us. I have wonderful photos, but I don't think I'm supposed to post them, for privacy reasons. They brought a HUGE cardboard box with gifts for us and Kate. When the lid came off, and the foster mother started explaining what she "packed", I just completely lost it! I'm even fighting tears now as I type. Their generosity and obvious love for Kate was totally overwhelming. First of all, she had prepared a large photo album for us that has pictures of Kate since she came into their home. She very frequently took Kate to a professional photographer and got her pictures made..... ALL of them are outstanding. Then, she had a box with a brand new outfit for her, and a traditional Korean handbok (traditional dress). The handbok is absolutely the MOST beautiful one I have ever seen. 100 percent something I would have picked out myself. The foster mother also had packed a new bottle of probiotic vitamins that she has been giving Kate, her special "organic" baby lotion, baby wash, and powder, 2 boxes of her favorite baby cookies, a present for me and Tim, and a gift for Callie, one for Claire, and cards from each family member. I was totally and completely floored and just amazed at God. The foster mother also brought with her a container of homemade rice "cereal" to show us and told us how to prepare it for Kate. It smelled soooo good. I have my doubts that I can reproduce it!

It is customary with our agency not to receive custody of our child until right before we leave for the airport. Tim and I were fine with that. It makes sense for the baby and us to be able to get good rest before the long flight home. However, Wednesday morning we are going to have to depart for the airport at 7 am, and because the foster family lives some distance from the orphanage, they decided that it would be best for us to get Kate Tuesday evening about 5:30. Wowzers!!!! This is a wonderful surprise! Pray that we will be creative in what we can "do" with her until bedtime!!! We're not supposed to leave the building with her until we depart for the airport, and there really isn't anyplace for her to crawl around (except downstairs in an "observation room")!!! Hopefully we will all be able to get some sleep before our long day of travel!

Delivery happens sometimes unexpectedly (right Lynnda?!!!)! But, there's always grace in the circumstance! We are totally excited! In just hours, Kate HaMee will be placed in our arms forever!

From orphanages to palaces ~ Our day in pictures

2008-03-09T07:47:00.001-04:00

Sunday memos

2008-03-09T07:38:00.002-04:00

God brings us all a long way, doesn't He??? Adopting us into His royal family!!!

For some reason I'm stuggling with my post today! The computer wouldn't let me upload photos like I have the past several days so I tried again to get them in a slideshow.... Now it won't let me add my comments underneath! Oh boy! It's a challenge using this computer (the prompts are mostly in Korean!) I'm really trying!!!!

Tomorrow we have a lunch scheduled with the administration of the orphanage. We then have an appointment to meet Kate again at 1:30. We will ask final questions of the foster mother, and make arrangements to receive Kate before our flight home Wednesday morning!!!

We are doing well. My arthritis is well under control now. Thanks for praying! Tim and I are getting ready to go eat supper! Have a wonderful day today!

Hello girls! It won't be much longer and we will be home with your new sister! I know you will love her! Hope you have a wonderful time in church this morning! Daddy and I love and miss you so much! Thank you for being good for Yada!

Kristy, tell Yuna her "Where's the bathroom" 3X5 card has been a life saver!!!!

It's all about Seoul

2008-03-08T06:55:00.010-05:00

I don't know what these are, but they are DELICIOUS!

Happy birthday to me!!!!

Street venders are everywhere

Apartments ~ I have not seen a house.
Squatty potty
Seoul Tower

There are people everywhere!
Everybody has black hair! (I'm not being smart ~ it's just weird seeing ALL black hair!)
This is the 10th foreign country I've been in, and the first time I look like a minority!
The Korean's seem content.
There are seas of people. Everybody bumps into each other, and nobody minds.
Most of the women wear high heels.
Most people dress in black / dark colors.
It's clean.
The children are not whiny.
I have not seen a Wal-Mart
A lot of the women / girls walk arm in arm.
Green means go, red means stop ~ sort of.
People ignore Tim, but they look twice at me, especially children.
You really have to search for a garbage can on the street.
Kids giggle and love the yell, "HEY!" when they see me!
If I yell, "HEY!" back, they are thrilled and brag to their friends!

SHE SMILES!!!!!

2008-03-07T02:48:00.013-05:00

Oh my goodness!!! What can words say?! It has been an incredible morning! So, I had never seen a picture of Kate smiling and I often wondered if she did! Well, you can clearly see that she does ~ often!!!! We got to meet Kate and her foster mother this morning, and I just have to say, it was all so natural! I got a little teary when we met for the first time, but was soon so distracted by everything going on. Tim and I both really, really, really liked the foster mother. She is just a wonderful lady. She truly loves Kate. The case manager was there as well, so we were able to ask the foster mother all sorts of details about Kate. The foster mother said she loves to smile, alot, and does so for all the neighbors. Kate did not seem shy around us one bit. She came to us very easily and played and smiled constantly. The foster mother broke out some fresh strawberries and began feeding them to her. She LOVES to eat, the foster mother reported! Can you tell?! After a while, the case worker and the foster mother left the room so we could be alone with her. Again Kate did not cry, she just kept playing with us. After a while she began to get a teeny bit fussy, everybody returned and the foster mother reported it was close to her nap time. We will meet Kate again along with her foster mother and foster father on Monday. I presented the foster mother with some gifts that we had brought. After we explained about the presents she began to cry, and then really started to cry! Ohhhh, I felt so bad for her. The case worker ushered us out to let her be alone for a while, and that was the end of our meeting! Kate is the first baby for this foster mother and I'm sure parting is going to be very difficult for her. I'm already praying for her comfort.....

The journey over

2008-03-07T02:30:00.001-05:00

As we are headed out the door ~ last photo as a family of four!

Our jet plane!
Waiting to board
Yummy lunch!
First views of Korea
Eastern Social Welfare Society (our Korean agency) Our room
View from our room

Good night, my big girls!

2008-03-06T19:07:00.002-05:00

Just sending sweet kisses to my big girls as you prepare for bed tonight!!! I love you bunches! We are preparing to meet Kate in less than an hour! Mommy is a little nervous! Hopefully, we will have a story and pictures for you when you wake up! Sweet, sweet dreams!

Mommy, if you need to send me a message, posting a reply on the blog is the best way.... Thank you for all your doing! Love you!

Seoul arrival!

2008-03-06T06:51:00.002-05:00

The second day that the sun never set! As we embraced the girls good-bye early this morning, Callie had big tears on her sweet cheeks. Witnessing her emotion brought on my own, full force, as I crawled into the shuttle van taking us to the airport. All the hectic packing, phone calls, planning and arrangements finally done and the good-bye's said, now I could feel the magnitude of the moment. It would have been easy to melt into a puddle of tears, but a short dialog developed with the passengers aroujnd me. The man sitting behind me was amazingly also on his way to Seoul. He was a soldier from Chattanooga fulfilling his last deployment assignment as a mechanic on apache helicopters at the US Army base in S. Korea. He was to be gone an entire year, and I could tell he was having a hard time leaving his wife and newly purchased home. Suddenly a week away from my home, family and girls didn't seem quite so hard.

Our plane was awesome! A giant 747 packed with lots of people (mostly Asian). The stewardesses were all so beautiful ~ like in a magazine (and they stayed that way the WHOLE flight!) Our seats had a pillow, blanket, and bottle of water waiting for us. Each seat back had it's own movie / computer screen so you could watch any number of movies, listen to music, play games, or my personal favorite, follow along on the flight path! The screen would tell you your current location, altitude, distance, speed, distance, etc. I had fun tracking the little airplane icon across the satellite map throughout our journey. I thought we would fly due west, but, we went north instead, over Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Ontario, the Hudson Bay, vast amounts of frozen white stuff, and then down into Seoul. We literally followed the sun! It never set until after we reached Korea! Shortly after take off we were given a little courtesy pack with socks, sleeping mask and a little toothbrush and toothpaste. So cute! Tim and I opted for the Korean lunch, Bibimbap. It was delicious! I passed on the seaweed soup, though. It tasted like warm ocean water ~ no real surprise there!

We arrived in Seoul about 3am your time, and after we cleared customs we found our driver that the agency had sent us. So nice! He took us on the 30-40 minute drive to ESWS, the agency we are working with here. We are staying in the guest house at ESWS and have already met up with another parent here. I am very, very tired and am headed to bed for the night (but it's now 7 am your time, so I hope I can sleep!). We will be meeting Kate and her foster mother in the morning (Friday) at 10 am ~ that's my time, and I'm too tired at the moment to figure out when that would be for you..... I have pictures, too, but haven't figured out all the computer components over here yet. I'm actually typing now in an office downstairs. Hopefully I can get those posted soon.

Thank you for praying! I had absolutely NO motion sickness. None on ascent, descent, in between, or even in the van here! TOTALLY INCREDIBLE! Thank you, Lord! Can I get you to now pray for my arthritis.... It's incredibly bad in my hands and feet ~ I'm suspecting being inactive in the plane for so long really aggravated it!

Girls, I love you so much, and miss you already!!!!
More as soon as I can! I'm off to sleep......

Leavin' on a jet plane!!!

2008-03-04T14:11:00.012-05:00

This time tomorrow, Lord willing (and I think He is!), we will be well on our way to the land of my husband and daughter's birth. Oh, what an incredible journey this is! No matter how prepared I thought I was to "get the call", things have suddenly gone crazy around our house! It's such an exciting time ~ truly it has yet to sink in for me! Probably once I get on the plane I will realize this is all really happening!!! For now, my mind is going in ten different directions as I'm trying to sum up last minute preparations and packing!!!!

Our girls will be staying with my mother while we are away. They are soooo excited about all the special things they have planned! I told Callie yesterday one of the hardest things for me was to leave she and Claire. She assured me, in truest Callie fashion, it was going to be harder for me than for her!!! I am so thankful for my mother!!!! Buckets and buckets of blessings and grace to you, Mommy!

Interesting trip tid-bits:

We got our travel call one year and one day after we mailed in our initial application

Our travel call came 2 days shy of 3 months after our referral

We will be flying on a Boeing 747

We are leaving at 12 noon on Wednesday and will arrive in Korea 5:10 pm on Thursday!

We will leave Korea next Wednesday at 10:05 am and arrive in Atlanta at 10:45 am the same morning!

Our flight over is 15 hours and 5 minutes

Our flight back is 13 hours and 40 minutes

Prayer requests

Traveling safety / mercies

That Tim will walk in grace and peace as he returns to his homeland

That I will NOT get motion sick!

That we will not "pick up" anything undesirable ~ in any area!

That Kate will be prepared for us!

Thanks to everyone for all your prayers for us. Us going, and us staying! Stay tuned for our next post, FROM SEOUL!!!!

OH, WOW!!!

TRAVEL CALL!!!!

2008-03-03T17:53:00.004-05:00

Wahoooo!!! WE'RE GOING TO GET OUR BABY!!!! Our case worker called us this morning while the girls and I were on our way to a field trip near Atlanta! Kate is ready to come home!!!! Oh, happy day!!! We are going to leave Wednesday morning!!!! Things have suddenly gone NUTS around here! I'll post more details after a while!

What's your opinion....

2008-03-01T15:33:00.005-05:00

Do you think Kate will feel "left out" because her name doesn't start with a "C"?????

I like spelling it with a "K" because I think it's pretty, it's classic, and it's simple (no explanations necessary). I certainly don't want to give her something else to work through, but, I wasn't necessarily thinking to continue the "C" trend anyway...... Tell me what you think!

Psalm 42:5a

2008-02-29T13:44:00.012-05:00

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise Him,

my Savior and my God.

Each step closer to Kate, makes it emotionally harder and harder to wait. Sometimes I wonder if this is really for real!? I feel like I'm losing it..... I just want to move on already!!! This endless waiting and forever expecting is tough on the nerves! We are now "in the clear". My phone just needs to ring.... Every day that passes, we say, "maybe tomorrow......".

We have Visa Interview!!!!

2008-02-27T12:26:00.002-05:00

Kate is scheduled for her visa interview tomorrow at 1pm at the Embassy in Seoul. (that's today already in "Korean time")!!! The Embassy should grant her a visa within 24 hours of that appointment, and once our agency has that in hand, we can go!!! Wahoooo!

Sweet dreams....

2008-02-25T22:06:00.005-05:00

So last week I was real discouraged about waiting longer than we thought to travel to Korea. It was a real struggle for about 3 days. I just couldn't shake the dissapointment off. Then, I had a dream, and I woke up thinking it was a present from my God! I dreamed I was with a group of women and we were being taken into the labor room at the hospital. We were all in various stages of labor. One got taken almost immediately back to the delivery room (someone from our agency that had just welcomed their daughter home days before). It was a happy time for all of us there, because every one in the labor room knew delivery was IMMINENT! The dream was so incredibly "real" to me, and after a 3 day discouragement battle, I was so encouraged that God indeed knows and understands our hearts! After that dream, I woke up with NO discouragement and all hope was amazingly restored! What a great God we have!

I need an EPIDURAL!!!! NOW!

2008-02-19T14:56:00.007-05:00

There comes a point in every birthing process when you would rather be knocked in the head and wake up blissfully as they are placing your baby in your arms. TODAY is MY day! After waiting expectantly for many days, anticipating EVERY phone call to be our agency saying we are free to travel, I learned this morning we might be waiting a couple MORE weeks.... Uggghhhh! How many times have we thought, "just a couple more weeks". Apparently Kate still has not been scheduled for her visa interview at the embassy in Seoul (which is the FINAL step in the process).

I was overwhelmed with saddness and disapointment this morning. A family in our agency that received their referral AFTER us, is welcoming their baby home TODAY. There never seems to be a "rhyme or reason" to anything in this paper pregnancy process. I'm estatic happy for them, but battling a pity party for me. The ONLY way I made it to cell group at church this morning was deliberately taking my saddness and laying it at the feet of my Lord. (I had to do it many times, and am having to continue to determine not to go back and pick it up through out my day). He is a good God. He is in control.

Pressing on....

The real St. Valentine

2008-02-14T08:03:00.002-05:00

Valentine, along with Marius and his family helped and served the Christians who were imprisoned and martyred under the persecution of Claudius 11.

Eventually he stirred up the wrath of Claudius and Valentine himself was arrested and sent by the Emperor to the Prefect of Rome.

The Prefect tried to make him recant of his faith by promising all kinds of favors. When these had no effect on Valentine and he insisted that Christ was the only way and continued to condemn the idols, he commanded him to be beaten with clubs, and beheaded on the Flaminian Way on February 14th 270AD. A Roman officer, Asterius, was converted together with his wife and family.

He refused to retract his praise of Christ when he was beaten and went gladly to prison. It was said that during his stay in prison he prayed for the jailer’s daughter, who was blind. She was healed and when Valentine went to the executioner for execution, he left her a farewell note of encouragement - "From Valentine."

His name is celebrated as that of a godly servant and martyr in many martyrologies.
Julius is said to have built a church in Valentine’s honor near Ponte Mole and gave name to the gate now called, Porta Del Popolo, formerly Porta Valentini. His remains are now in the church of St. Praxedes.

from:www.goodnews.netministries.org

Oh, happy day!

2008-02-11T13:45:00.000-05:00

Sweet baby Kate is 8 months old today! Perhaps this time next month, you'll be here with us!

He's got the whole world in His hands

2008-02-09T14:10:00.000-05:00

New President-Elect of South Korea is an Outspoken, Committed Christian
Teresa Neumann (February 7, 2008)

"God must have been so pleased with Lee's outspoken endorsement of Him because the divine entity blessed Lee in his running for the presidency. Otherwise, how else can Lee—a person who attributes all matters of life to God's divine providence—explain his victory?" (Beijing)—

The new president-elect of South Korea, Lee Myungbak, is a committed Christian. As mayor of Seoul in 2004, Myungbak declared: "I declare that the City of Seoul is a holy place governed by God; the citizens in Seoul are God's people; the churches and Christians in Seoul are spiritual guards that protect the city...I now dedicate Seoul to the Lord." (Photo: Wikipedia)

Reporter Sunny Lee noted that Myungbak was born into a devout Christian family and later became an elder in his church. He also noted that upon winning the nomination from the Grand National Party as its presidential candidate, Lee visited the Christian Council of Korea (CCK), where Reverend Lee Yong-kyu, head of CCK, greeted him saying, "I congratulate you on being nominated as the party's presidential candidate, which was possible because of God's power and authority that was behind you in your going through this difficult time. I trust that God will lead you to the eventual victory."

Said Sunny of Lee: "His unconcealed self-identifying with Christianity [could have] undermined his presidential candidacy because South Korea historically has a huge Buddhist population, in spite of the very aggressive evangelism outreach of Christians, seen in its recent history...but, apparently, God must have been so pleased with Lee's outspoken endorsement of Him because the divine entity blessed Lee in his running for the presidency. Otherwise, how else can Lee—a person who attributes all matters of life to God's divine providence—explain his victory?"

Referring to the history of Christianity in Korea, Sunny said that among other things, Koreans had a positive image of Christianity, "particularly after the Korean War in the 1950s when American church groups and missionaries helped the poverty-stricken nation by providing food, setting up hospitals and schools. During the dictatorship period under President Park Chung-hee, church leaders fought for the nation's democracy. And many Christians volunteered to hand in their gold and other jewelry in a mass effort to bail out the bankrupt nation during the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98.

"The president-elect attends the Somang Presbyterian church. Some non-Christian detractors are already complaining, saying that the new government should be called the "Somang government" after the name of the church, but ironically, the word somang means "hope" in Korean. South Korea is a religiously divided country, possibly on the verge of a tipping point for a sweeping revival. Pray that this new president will allow God to use him to achieve His purposes.
Source: Sunny Lee - Asia Times

In the meantime...

2008-02-01T14:12:00.000-05:00

We are in the final stages of our wait to bring home baby Kate. We expect to receive a call within the next 2-3 weeks letting us know that we are cleared for travel.... It's a heart-pounding, extremely exciting time in our house! In the meantime, would you pray for SMOOTH TRANSITIONS for us all! That Tim and I would be submerged in grace and mercy, that Callie and Claire would quickly and happily adjust to another sibling, and mostly for Kate ~ who will be facing the greatest changes of all. Everything she knows is about to change: familiar places and smells, the sound of the Korean language, a major time change, her formula, her foods, her surroundings, sleeping in a crib, new faces, riding in a car seat for the first time.... the list is endless! It is to be expected that Kate will most likely have a period of grieving. Mainly for the loss of her foster mother. Grief is a good thing. Please pray that her grief be healthy, and hopefully short-lived, and that she will then bond and attatch to Tim and I quickly and in a healthy way. Pray with me that the Holy Spirit will groom her heart for these changes, and that she may embrace us readily!

Bet your Wal-Mart doesn't have one of these!!!

2008-01-28T21:39:00.001-05:00

OK, so when we went to Ohio a couple of weeks ago we had to stop in Wal-Mart because I had forgotten to pack the children's toothpaste! No, they can't use mine. The whines, groans, and drama of it just being "too hot" is totally over the top. So, I was glad to run in, not once, but twice. (Who knew "Burstin' Bubble Gum" flavor is "hot" too???!!) Yeah, well, the cool thing is this Wal-Mart is smack in the middle of Amish country. Oxymoron? Probably. But, over beside the "Tire & Lube" center they have this cool parking lot for Amish buggys! The sign in the middle says, "Buggy Parking Only"! Statistically, their parking spaces were just as full as the ones for cars!

Can't wait to hold you!!!

2008-01-24T21:22:00.000-05:00

Our agency director went to Seoul on business two weeks ago and graciously brought us back new pictures!!!!! We just received these tonight! Look at those yummy cheeks!!!!

Kate, we are getting so close!!!!

2008-01-22T15:32:00.000-05:00

OK, we have incredible news... When we returned from OH we had a message that Kate has gotten her passport (this is hurdle 2 of 3 - see previous post). Very exciting.

Well, it get's better... I then emailed the Atlanta immigration office to let them know that she was "clear" on the Korean side. ATL emailed me back the next day (miracle in itself), and just told me, moments ago, that her orphan petition was approved TODAY! This is absolutely HUGE! THIS is what you have been praying for! THIS is essentially unheard of in the ATL office. I KNOW there is another family still waiting on ATL, and their paperwork has been there 6 weeks already. I've heard quotes of 8-10 weeks. Kate was approved in LESS THAN THREE!!! I'm ashamed at my unbelief....

All major hurdles are clear. Washington and Seoul have to communicate and we will be given a green light to travel.... Hopefully Tim's work schedule will cooperate with this accelerated time frame! Small potatoes, right!!! My palms are clammy...

Lighter moments from our OH trip...

2008-01-20T18:52:00.001-05:00

In loving memory

2008-01-20T11:11:00.000-05:00

PARKMAN — Mardean Lynn ‘‘Mardy’’ Regal, 56, died Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008, at University Hospital in Cleveland of natural causes.She was born June 22, 1951, in Chardon, a daughter of Marilyn I. Crislip and Philip P. Petersen.Mrs. Regal was the CEO of Reactive Material and was a member of the First Assembly of God Church in Warren.She is survived by her husband, Thomas; her parents, Marylin and Samuel Mullett of Parkman; six sons, Timothy C. of Rocky Face, Ga., Jeffrey B. of Akron, Daniel L. of Parkman, Thomas J. of Akron, William L. of Parkman and Michael P.G. of Parkman; four daughters, Heather S. Sullivan of Southington, Melissa R. Regal of Parkman, Teresa M. Robinson of Columbia, S.C., and Amy Regal of Georgia; 10 grandchildren; two brothers, Jim Petersen of Chardon and Nels Petersen of Claridon; and a sister, Dee Lehmann of Crofton, Md.Calling hours will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Carl W. Hall Funeral Home. Services will be 11 a.m. Thursday at First Assembly of God Church. Burial will be at Overlook Cemetery.

Walking hand in hand with grief, again

2008-01-14T10:45:00.000-05:00

Not even 2 months since my Daddy went to be with Jesus, Tim's mother has suddenly passed away at age 56. A couple weeks before Christmas she was nauseated and couldn't keep anything down. Thinking it was a stomach flu, she went to the doctor and they found a stomach tumor during an endoscopy. The biopsies of the tumor came back postivie for a rare and aggresive form of cancer. The doctors were thinking they could remove the tumor; however, last Thursday during surgery they saw that the cancer had spread beyond surgical repair. She has lived with a heart condition for over 30 years, and apparently the stress of the surgery and the illness was too much strain for her weakend heart. She passed away unexpectedly Sunday afternoon while still at the hospital recovering from surgery.

We would so appreciate your prayers as we travel to Ohio this week. For traveling mercies as we go, for Tim, and especially extra grace for Callie as she walks through the death of another grandparent (mercifully, Claire still doesn't fully grasp what's happened). Tim's parents have 10 children. Many are not walking with Jesus. You can also pray that this occasion will be a catalyst to their salvation.

The morning of Mardy's surgery I heard this popular song on the radio, and for the first time I really heard the words:

My heart is to praise Him, no matter what storms come.
He's worthy of it!

And her name shall be called...

2008-01-12T12:38:00.000-05:00

Martin Luther is one of my all time heros. Not to be confused with the, "I have a dream...." Martin Luther King; no, go further back to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany where Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses ~ an act that sparked the Protestant Reformation.

Living in a time when the edicts of the Catholic church were law, when there was no Bible in the common language, when church services were all in Latin, when the common people paid for the privilege of viewing "relics", and were frightened into purchasing "indulgences" for the pardon of sins, Martin Luther "challenged the authority of the papacy by teaching that salvation comes through faith, that Scripture is the sole source of religious authority, and that baptized Christians are a part of a gerneral priesthood". These concepts are widely embraced in today's church, however, in the 1500's they were viewed as heresy, punishable by death ~ most commonly, burning at the stake.

Did you know Martin Luther had a wife???? Yeah, so this renegade monk married a runaway nun! After becoming dissatisfied in their "religion", 12 nuns contacted Martin Luther and asked for his assistance to flee their convent (an offense also punishable by death). Martin Luther had it arranged so that they were smuggled out in herring barrels. Martin later married one of those nuns! She "is often considered one of the most important participants of the Reformation because of her role in helping to define Protestant family life and setting the tone for clergy marriages". She was an incredible woman, standing by Martin Luther's side, risking her own life, in support of his Biblical convictions.

I believe the church today is on the verge of yet another reformation. I believe the Holy Spirit is about to turn Christendom on it's head! So many are already becoming dissatisfied in their "religion", and looking for something MORE. In 1983, Mike Bickle, head of the International House of Prayer, heard the Holy Spirit say that in one generation the definition of church would be changed!!! WOW! That will be the generation of my children. My heart's desire is for them not to be "satisfied" in their Christian walk, but to have an insatiable thirst for more of the heart of the Father through the Holy Spirit.

So, we have decided to name our daughter Kate. In the tradition of Katherina von Bora, the wife of Martin Luther, who left all that was comfortable to her (the abby), to persue more of Christ.

Kate, soon you will be leaving all that is familiar and comfortable to you; but, our prayer is that you will follow hard after God all the days of your life. And, just as Katherina, may you support every reformation birthed through the Holy Spirit!

Kate Ha Mee, we welcome you!!!

Please pray for our family

2008-01-09T11:32:00.000-05:00

Just before Christmas Tim's mom was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive stomach cancer. She had been throwing up for a little while and thought it was a stomach flu. When she went to the Dr they found a stomach tumor during an endoscopy. The biopsies showed signet ring cell carcinoma. She has met with a couple of surgeons, and this Thursday (tomorrow) has a major surgery scheduled. They plan to remove her stomach, spleen, and some of her small intestines. We don't know what her prognosis is yet, but we should know more after the surgery. It's been quite an unexpected blow.

Praying James 5:16 That the "fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much".

Preparing a place for you....

2008-01-08T19:59:00.000-05:00

Carpet was installed upstairs in our baby's room this past week! Now we just need to decorate!!!!! Got any ideas???

We have EP!!!

2008-01-03T14:41:00.000-05:00

OOOhhhh my goodness!!!! Our case worker called this morning to tell us we have EP ~ Emigration Permisson from the Korean government! What does this mean? Just this, Korea has acknowledged that Ha Mee meets the criteria as an orphan and she has been granted permisson to leave the country. Holy Molie!

This is one of the three hurdles left before she can come home. One down, two to go!!! Now, she will proceed to getting her Korean passport (hurdle #2). In the meantime, the paperwork that we sent to Atlanta (previous post) must get processed ~ our gov't. giving her permission to immigrate here (this is hurdle #3 - the BIGGIE!). When all three of the hurdles are cleared, she will be ready to come home!

Do you know those pneumatic tube systems they have at the bank drive through? You know, the tubes you put your money in, and it whiskes it off to the teller inside? That's what I'm praying for ~ that our daughter's paperwork will get whisked off to the right person (not hanging out in unnecessary la-la land), and then on to the next appropriate stop. Can you pray that with me?

Full Circle

2008-01-02T20:55:00.000-05:00

OK, so the Hebrew New Year started back in September. We Gentiles are a little behind (as always).

Something soooo cool ~ this is the Hebrew year 5768 ~ The Year of the Full Circle of Life. Two of the most important men in my life will come "full circle" this year. My Dad has already gone "full circle" ~ I'm sure He's blissfully soaking in the Father's presence in heaven; and Tim will come "full circle" when we travel to Korea to pick up our daughter, having been adopted from Korea himself.

Pretty cool to think about. Are there any "full circles" in your life this year???

Here today, gone today!

2007-12-31T14:22:00.000-05:00

So, our paperwork arrived this morning! Yipee! This is the BIGGIE! We were waiting on papers to arrive from Korea (Ha Mee's birth certificate and proof of gaurdianship). The US government will use this info to verify that she meets their criteria of an orphan and that it's okay for her to immigrate to the USA!!! WOW!

Since it only took about 30 minutes to fill out these forms (instead of the days and days required with other steps in our paper journey),

I quickly, but oh, so carefully, filled in every required section.... checked my work a ba-zillon times....

We said a prayer over the finished product, comissioning heavenly angels to deliver it efficiently,

AND, put it right back in the mail to Atlanta!!! As far as I know, our paperwork to bring her home is DONE!!! Now, we can just pray that it gets processed in God's timing, and WAIT a little longer..... I'm EXCITED!!!!

Our girls, minus one...

2007-12-30T20:48:00.000-05:00

It's in the mail....

2007-12-28T20:37:00.001-05:00

Our case manager called today. Our papers have arrived from Korea! Hooray! We should get them Monday. THEN the real stuff starts!!! More then...

Take a breather....

2007-12-27T20:02:00.000-05:00

Set aside the holiday hustle a moment and crank this up....

We've got the light on....

2007-12-26T18:20:00.000-05:00

STILL absolutely NO word from Korea :(
And we still have not finalized a name,
BUT we do have a light in your window, sweet baby girl!
It's been on since the first day we saw your picture and knew you were ours! We'll keep it on till you arrive safely home! Hugs and kisses to you tonight.....

Sophistication is overrated

2007-12-21T17:00:00.000-05:00

So, I'm not a very sentimental type. I could honestly not put up a Christmas tree and be happy, but, I do enjoy making things look nice. I've loved making our tree elegant and sophisticated with a basic monochromatic look. All my ornaments are beige, gold, or clear. I like it that way. It "goes" with the rest of the house, ya know?? I've even been tempted to buy wrapping paper to match the tree decor... You know my type, a little, ummmm persnickety??? ( I think the word today is "anal", but I'm trying to go easy on myself here!)

Ok, well, several weeks ago my girls wanted to help decorate the tree. I was so proud of myself that I LET them. But, you get the idea, the tree was SERIOUSLY bottom heavy. All the ornaments about 3 feet up. I was even prouder of myself that I LEFT it that way (didn't rearrange after they went to bed! HUGE!) Well, today, they decided it wasn't quite festive enough, so they brought down their "dress up" box and embellished the tree with plastic necklaces, bracelets, and rings. I even saw a Polly Pocket hangin' out on the limb with the herolding angel! Since when did she ascend to such heavenly rank?

Well, now I'm really patting myself on the back. For some reason, this year it doesn't bother me.... Perhaps I'm older, perhaps just don't have the energy, perhaps thinking about Ha Mee half way around the world without her Mommy, perhaps after reading my previous post about Christmas in North Korea, things just seem like THINGS this year. And you know what.... I smile to myself as I walk by this tree! Monochromatic sophistication didn't do that for me!

Christmas in North Korea

2007-12-19T13:46:00.000-05:00

"Christians do reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ. Only they can't just go along to church to sing or listen to a sermon. They can't even visit one another to read the Bible together. Being a Christian in North Korea is very lonely."
Jerry Dykstra (December 18, 2007)

(Santa Ana, CA)—No bright lights, no Christmas dinner and not even a Christmas Eve service for the followers of Jesus Christ in North Korea.

This Christmas—just like any other day in the year—there are no festive lights in the streets of Pyongyang. The city is largely shrouded in darkness. North Korea is the only country in the world where the Cold War is not yet over, and one of the few countries in which it is not permitted to celebrate Christmas at all.

Yet even here, Christians find ways to celebrate Christmas. There is an active underground Church which celebrates the birth of Christ in their hearts.

"But, of course, Christians do reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ," says brother Simon, who coordinates the work of Open Doors—an international Christian ministry which strengthens and encourages persecuted believers around the globe—from a secret location. "Only they can't just go along to church to sing or listen to a sermon. They can't even visit one another to read the Bible together. Being a Christian in North Korea is very lonely."

Simon's thoughts turn to Sundays in North Korea. It happens only sporadically that Christians think it is safe enough to meet together in small groups. Usually gatherings consist of only two people.

Simon notes: "For example, a Christian goes and sits on a bench in the park. Another Christian comes and sits next to him. Sometimes it is dangerous even to speak to one another, but they know they are both Christians, and at such a time, this is enough. If there is no one around, they may be able to share a Bible verse which they have learned by heart and briefly say something about it. They also share prayer topics with each other. Then they leave one another and go and look for Christians in some other part of their town. This continues throughout Sunday. A cell group usually consists of fewer than 20 Christians who encourage and strengthen one another in this way. Besides this, there are one-to-one meetings in people's homes."

Christmas, too, is celebrated in this way. There are no Christmas services for Believers in North Korea, but a meeting with another Christian.

"Christmas is mainly celebrated in the heart of the Christian," says Simon. "Only if the whole family has turned to Christ is it possible to have something like a real gathering. For fear of retribution it is necessary to keep your faith hidden from the neighbors. It is sometimes possible to hold a meeting in remote areas with a group of 10 to 20 people. Very occasionally, it is possible for Christians to go unobtrusively into the mountains and to hold a 'service' at a secret location. Then there might be as many as 60 or 70 North Koreans gathered together."

Just like on other days of the year, at Christmas time there will be Christians who perish in the death camps of North Korea, ranked No. 1 on the Open Doors World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the greatest persecution. The state is working hard to wipe out Christianity. Nowhere in the world is such a high price paid as in this country with its tyrannical regime. Besides this, in both North Korea and in China, North Koreans are regularly arrested. They are tortured to death or thrown into labor camps.

Despite all this, the Church is growing, Simon states on the basis of information from his networks. This is mainly due to refugees who come to faith in China and then return.

Over 2,000 years ago, God's Son came to the world. Because of His sacrifice on the cross, there is still hope for North Korea. This hope is living in countless people who are prepared—if necessary this Christmas—to give their lives for their Lord. To sign up to pray with Open Doors, for North Korea, CLICK HERE.
To find out more about Open Doors, use the Source Link provided.
Source: Jerry Dykstra – Open Doors USA

Pray with me....

2007-12-18T19:18:00.000-05:00

Father, I ask that you release Ha Mee's "legals" from Korea. I ask that you let ESWS (the orphanage) gather her paperwork and get it to Dillon (our agency) quickly. Let Dillon then forward the paperwork to us ASAP so we may start the next portion of the process to bring our baby home. Thank you, Father, for your perfect timing in all things. In Jesus' name, Amen.

So, what now???

2007-12-14T20:10:00.001-05:00

Several people have been asking, so what happens now to get Ha Mee home??? Well, we have already sent our assignment papers back to our agency. A BIG thank you to the VERY kind lady at our bank who notarized over 20 pages with NO complaints!!

Our agency will forward those documents (our official acceptance) to Korea and the agency there will start the paperwork for Ha Mee's passport and official Emigration Permission from the Korean government.

While that is going on in Korea, we will be filing with our government to obtain a visa. This is a BIG step, and can potentially be lengthy, depending on how many applications the immigration office has at the time.

I plan to keep our blog as up to date as I can. I'm already praying for an unencumbered, smooth and efficient process. As we get farther into the paperwork, there will be several occasions for specific prayer, and I'll be certain to let you know when that is! Right now, we are waiting for "Legals" (official record of her birth and a statement that the agency in Korea is the child’s guardian and transfer of the guardianship to the agency in America). After we receive those, the big stuff starts!!!

Stay tuned......

NINE years ago today!

2007-12-12T11:06:00.000-05:00

NINE years ago today Tim and I tied the knot, exchanged vows, got hitched, entered into Biblical covenant with each other in marriage! NINE years ~ hard to believe. I was 28, almost 29, when Tim and I married. It was a LONG process of praying, and trusting my heavenly Father to bring the right one for me. At times, I wasn't sure "he" was out there, but God, in his faithfulness, indeed introduced me to the right man.

I am so glad God intersected our lives! My love for Tim has grown incredibly deeper through these nine years. He is such a wonderful balance for me, and has helped me to grow and mature. He is a wonderful provider and a great daddy to our girls! Even though there is ups and downs, just like with everybody, I can honestly say its' been a wonderful life! Happy anniversary to us! I love you, Tim!

We have a BABY!

2007-12-07T13:52:00.000-05:00

Oh my gracious! It's hard to believe! We have a baby GIRL!

Oh, it's all surreal to process after thinking and dreaming about the moment! OK, I was walking in my backdoor, arms loaded with groceries, when my cell phone went off in my purse. I precariously answered it leaning over the clothes dryer (only spot I've found to give a couple seconds of reception!). It was our case worker from our adoption agency! Of course I called her right back on our regular phone line and she gave me all the details. After seriously expecting a BOY, it was quite a shocker that a little girl needed us the most! Our case worker was amazed too. She said, "I don't know where all these girls are coming from! We keep telling people to expect boys, but we're getting so many girls!"

Well, she emailed Tim and I 3 pages of birth and medical information. We reviewed everything, prayed, asked for counsel, and were filled with so much peace and excitement! Tim asked our girls if a little sister was OK instead of the little brother they had been thinking about.... the vote was unanimous! When we got to see her photos, we were all smitten! WOW! We think she's just adorable!

Introducing our new daughter, Ha Mee. Born June 11, 2007 in South Korea!

The earliest photo we have of Ha Mee.

Ha Mee

Ha Mee with her foster mother, Mrs. Lee.

One of the coolest things.... Ha Mee's referral call came December 5, my Daddy's birthday! He loved to give gifts to others on his own birthday. This year we got the best gift of all, Ha Mee.

Of course we can't wait to get her home. In my next post I'll tell you how all that happens and what you can do to PRAY her through!

Thanks for sharing in our excitement!

Book report.....

2007-12-04T10:19:00.000-05:00

Which person of the Godhead do you feel you can relate to the most??? Is it the Son- Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Father God???

I recently finished this book, Experiencing the Father's Embrace; Finding Acceptance in the arms of a Loving God, by author Jack Frost. If you're wanting to understand your Father God in a deeper way - this book is for you. There's even a workbook available if you'd enjoy doing it with others as well.

One of my favorite quotes/prayer in the book: "Father, how can I receive Your love and then give it away to the next person I meet?"

Here is an exerpt from the back cover:

"Forget everything you've ever heard about love, and get ready to experince a life-changing introduction to Father God's unconditional love. It's the kind of love that changes everything - forever. Untie yourself from religious duty. Learn how to "be" in God's plan and His presence! You'll be motivated and challenged to pursue unconditional expressed love and place it high abouve any other human emotion. And then the fun begins!"

Put it on your Christmas with list!!!

Oh, rescue me!!!

2007-12-02T10:39:00.000-05:00

Gracious day! OK, the week of Thanksgiving Callie got sinusitis! It was the sickest I think she has been yet in her short life!!! She was soooo miserable! (but, oh my goodness, the DRAMA it inspired; Wowsers!!!) Well, now she's on the mend but has seemingly passed it along to me. I have a huge, stuffy head!!! AND, Claire woke up a couple of nights ago burning with fever!! Oh dear!!!

Thankfully, our dear pediatrian gave me a refill on Callie's antibiotic just in case she passed it along to Claire. (how cool was that!) Hopefully she won't have it as bad. Me, though, I'm sleeping with the humidifier instead of my sweet hubby, and have tissue boxes stratigically placed around the house! I certainly can't complain, though! We seem to have very little illness around here!

I'm thankful my Daddy is free!

2007-11-25T19:50:00.000-05:00

After a 27 month struggle with a serious illness, my sweet Daddy is now free from all pain and suffering! Though we have sad hearts, my family and I are rejoicing on this day of Thanksgiving, that my wonderful Daddy is in a much better place! I wrote this out on Thanksgiving morning moments after I found out....

I am thankful my precious Daddy is now with Jesus.
I am thankful I had an earthly Father that gave me a glimpse of my heavenly Father.
I am thankful my Daddy led me in the sinner's prayer when I was 6 years old.
I am thankful my Daddy loved my Mommy.
I am thankful my Daddy was loving, kind, wise, and always helping others.
I am thankful my Daddy taught me how to work hard, and how to play hard.
I am thankful my Daddy prepared me for life.
I am thankful my Daddy was willing to tread unchartered waters.
I am thankful my Daddy was a man of integrity.
I am thankful my Daddy was a generous man.
I am thankful my Daddy wasn't afraid to say "I love you."
I am thankful my Daddy loved Jesus.
I am thankful my Daddy could fix my leaky faucet.
I am thankful God gave me a daddy just like MY Daddy!

It truly is well with my soul.
Chelle

Dr. Seuss and adoption??!

2007-08-14T21:30:00.000-04:00

Would you think zany children's books could have an underlying message of character, integrity and a focus on the sanctity of life?

Anybody a Dr. Suess fan? Honestly, I have found it a struggle to read most of his exhausting, tongue-twisting, wacky books to my children. I love the unique, funny characters, but in the end I was usually left with a cotton-dry mouth, gasping for air, and scratching my head wondering what exactly it was that I just read!

All that changed several months ago when I found two Dr. Seuss books I could believe in! I was listening to a man of God delivering a message about prayer and intercession for our nation. He drew a parallel between Dr. Seuss's book Horton Hears a Who, and the pro life movement. Additionally, he compared Horton Hatches the Egg to adoptive families. Have you read either of these?

In Horton Hears a Who, the kind and lovable elephant Horton hears a voice coming from a speck of dust. He's convinced there's a person living there. The other animals in the Jungle of Nool laugh and poke fun at Horton since they don't believe there's any such creature as small as that, and they try to destroy the dust speck to prove to Horton wrong. Horton has a determined resolve to save his friends because he believes "a person's a person, no matter how small!"

Horton Hatches the Egg brings back this kindhearted elephant. He makes a promise to Mayzie to watch her bird egg, but is surprised when she never returns. Through terrible storms, freezing snow, jeering friends, and the threat of death and misery, he sticks to his promise because "he meant what he said and he said what he meant; an elephant's faithful, one hundred percent." Horton shows us rewards come to those who are patient and loyal.

Can you see the connections??? I'm now a huge Horton fan! These two books are truly worth the read! Something substantial and brimming with the strong character you want your children to have! I bet you won't look at them the same! YOPP!!