My hubby is home today. He's downstairs, I'm upstairs. Isn't that nice? I had some stuff to do for our neighborhood and the boys' school, so I came up to the office to work. His ankle is throbbing...we have a cold front moving in, and I think this is the reason why it hurts so much. You can pray for him if you want...he'd appreciate it.
I am our neighborhood's coordinator, and I did NOT ask for this job. It fell into my lap three years ago when the old ones resigned, and the job is officially supposed to belong to Todd and our neighbor, Brian. Yeah, right. I took over since they didn't seem to have enough extra time. Note: both men are fathers of four children, active in church, and active in sports. They were given that job. This job was one of the reasons I came upstairs...to work on our get together and some school stuff for the boys' teachers. I'm officially resigning from this coordinator job as of next Tuesday. It's not really that hard, you just have to plan the event once a year, but I have enough other stuff to be doing without having this to add to it. Especially with my new job!
I thought I'd share some verses that jumped out at me this morning...taken from the NIV translation...
Amos 4:13 He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth~the LORD God Almighty is his name.
Micah 7:7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Nahum 1:7 The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him.
Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
Haggai 2:9 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house', says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace',declares the LORD Almighty.
I really like this one. It reminds of my brother and sister in law who have been in the throes of adopting a Guatemalan baby for the past 2 years. They just got word last night that they can pick him up next week! They will leave on Sunday as a family of three and return on Thursday, a brand new family of four. Praise God! I will include a picture of sweet little Joseph Max Goodwin, 2 1/2 years of age at the end of this blog.
Tim and Tracy began this adoption process when Joseph (then named Elder Antonio) was only a few weeks old. He was blessed to have a wonderful foster home with 'parents' who loved him. And though not biological to him, they were his parents at that time, because they loved him and took care of him. Now he's blessed to meet his NEW parents, who have loved him since birth. Before birth even, because they'd been praying for a baby for quite some time. Tim, Tracy and Nathan (who's just a few weeks younger than Jonah and Noah), have watched Joseph grow up through pictures on the computer. They did get to visit him two different times...the first time, together, and the second time, just Tracy went.
They've had one problem after another for the past two years, but the worst was when they weren't sure if they'd be allowed to adopt him. They wanted so badly to go and visit little Joseph again, but with the high cost of traveling and the unsure future, they were advised not to return. Even though times were tough, their faith and dependency on God carried them through...all the way up to the phone call they received last night telling them they could pick him up on Tuesday October 7th!!! Please pray for them when you're finished reading this blog...for traveling mercies next week, for Tracy as she prepared for this last process of paperwork and now traveling with Nathan to Guatemala, and mostly, for the transition process as they bring Joseph home. He'll have to get to know his new mommy and daddy, and his new big brother, and learn a new language. It'll definitely be an adjustment, but God has been faithful this far, and I know He will see them through this to the very end.
Lamentations 3:22 & 23 because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS.
Jennifer, thank you so much for posting this!! We have been truly amazed to see God carry us through this process. I am beyond words right now. Just very thankful to serve such a loving and merciful God. I love you!!!
ReplyDeleteTracy
PS- Isn't he adorable??? I can't wait to kiss his fat little cheeks!