Day 198 Prayer Request

Please pray for our girls as we transition back into a school schedule.

Reagan (Momma to 4)

Day 197 Prayer Request

Please pray that I won't give up my joy for anything.

Jane (Momma to 2)

Day 196 Prayer Request

Please pray for God to show us His grace and mercy in very real ways this Christmas.

Annette (Momma to many)

Worship

I am so giddy excited today.  This is the first day, in a long line of days, that I don't have to go anywhere, or no one is expected to arrive.  I don't even have to shower, at all.

I awoke to silence, which is wonderful, yet frightening at the same time. 

I approached the kitchen and found this....

 

 

...twins, sitting at the farm table spending "quiet time" with Jesus(my heart skipped a beat at this glorious sight).

 

 

And quiet time is not really "quiet time" unless you are in the know of where your beloved ones are.  Thus, the beautiful blond girl, with her curling iron, etc., the six-shooter, and maglight,...

 





...the new grandbaby (the running joke in this house) snuggled safely in her stroller.

 

 

 

The house is clean, the laundry is almost all caught up, and since I don't have anything to do,...

 

...ok, who am I kidding?  There are lesson plans to write, at least four hours of beautiful black curls to tame, and we probably need to eat today, but...

 

...today I will worship long with much music, a paintbrush, and powertools.

 

Jesus and I.  He inspires, teaches, allows me freedom to create. 

 

I love my time with Him. 

Day 195 Prayer Request

Please pray that our son will know that we are his forever family and that he can trust in that.

Marie (Momma to 4)

2 Corinthians 9:15

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."

2 Corinthians 9:15

 

 

Day 194 Prayer Request

Please pray that we can experience a special time connecting as family over Christmas break.

Ann (Momma to 6)

Day 193 Prayer Request

Please pray that we would enjoy our Christmas break with our kiddos. 

Danielle (Momma to 3)

Day 192 Prayer Request

Please pray for safe and peaceful Christmas travels.

Marie (Momma to 4)

Merry Christmas

 

 

 

 

"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.  Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.'

 

And suddenly there was with the angel a mulitude of the heavenly host praising God saying:

'Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'"

Luke 2:8-13

 

 

Merry Christmas.

 

May Jesus' light shine on you and your precious families.

 

Day 191 Prayer Request

Please pray for my sensory-seeking girls' bodies to stay under control during all the transitions of Christmas festivities.

Reagan (Momma to 4)

Miracles Abound

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miracles abound.

It is breathtaking, the blanket He laid this morning.  The shining sparkle exciting our hearts for His coming.

We sat long on the wood floor right outside the sliding glass doors.  She said she was pretending to sit in the snow.  And, who wouldn't want to sit in a blanket prepared especially by the King?

I dared imagine she sat there to be close to me. 

Soaking in His warming rays, that was the concensus.

His love enveloped, hugged us in tight, invited us to stay.

She sat long in my arms last eve, laid her head against my shoulder as the prayers were lifted.  Tears ran down my cheeks, overwhelmed with grace of family gathered round, crying upwards for a child.

I gently stroked her brow, washed her nose with a tear.  She squeezed tighter, releasing the dammed up tears to overspill.

Yes, dear Jesus, we eagerly await You.  The greatest Gift, the Hope for the world. 

And we watch in anticipation for this story to unfold.  Your revealing of Yourself in and through this broken mess.

My heart overflows.

 

Day 190 Prayer Request

Please pray He will provide the funding for the therapy our child is already involved in and needs to continue.

Susan (Momma to 1)

Day 189 Prayer Request

Please pray that our daughter will learn the tone she speaks in is as important as the words she uses.

Ann (Momma to 6)

Day 188 Prayer Request

Please pray for our neighbors and friends hearts to be prepared for the gift He has led our family to give this year.  Please pray He will bring many to Himself.

Susan (Momma to 1)

Day 187 Prayer Request

Please pray that we would be still and listen to what direction God would like to take our family.

Marie (Momma to 4)

Light in the Storm

She is pulling her hair out.  Literally.

The stress level in this home has risen so rapid, we are each surviving with our chosen coping method.

Joy pulling hair out. 

Hope hiding in the basement. 

Faith relentlessly twirling. 

Promise knawing her fingernails to extinction.

The Daddy Warrior buried in work. 

Momma cleaning.

I glance over at the twinkle lights, those trees standing tall in the corner so calmly, bringing some sense of peace, light within this storm.

I have been pretending this storm into a shower.

But a shower this is not.  No, this is the real deal, the terrifying dark cumulus, hovering, covering in every direction my eyes travel.

He created me a seeker, and so I am.  I am searching for the root, the cause of this storm.  But the wind, the darkness are clouding my vision, wearing me down to dry.

"If you faint in the day of adversity,

Your strength is small."

Proverbs 24:10

I read it this morning, let my reality pierce the heart deep.  My pride desires to be a pillar, not a brittle twig.

I read it last night, how Mordecai sent word to Queen Esther, called her to look outside the gates.  Perhaps she was purposely made for such a time as this, to risk her comfort, her very life to save the lives of her own people (Esther 4:10-17).

My heart thumps a bit harder with a spark of desire to run away, serve the hungry, the fatherless, the abandoned, the needy - the ones living outside my gate. 

I never imagined those living inside my gate would be the hungry, the fatherless, the abandoned, the needy.
 

  
I look at the Babe, laying there in the manger on the mantle and know, know He understands. 

He came tiny, helpless, homeless right into the storm of this world.

He came to love those who would not love Him in return.

He came to give Himself away over and over again without any hope of return.

I feel the sun shining brightly, warming the back of my neck. 

No, He must have had hope.  Hope that His chosen would surrender to the Cross, believe in His deep love and sacrifice, and humbly surrender to Him.

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

John 1:5

In the midst of this storm, I need supernatural strength.  I cannot rely on my own.  I cannot surrender hope.  He has to be my strength.

He is chasing me, capturing my attention with the little glints of light.

I will keep chasing them, guiding them to the sparks. 

There is a purpose for this storm, and for every heart struggling within. 

We need a Savior.   

Day 186 Prayer Request

Please pray for my children to get along without a school schedule and the excitement of Christmas.

Marie (Momma to 4)

Day 185 Prayer Request

Please pray for patience for me as I start break alone (without my husband) on Friday. 

Ann (Momma to 5)

The Greatest Tool

We have upside down seven chairs,

...a suspension device,

 

 

...a pull-up bar,

 

...a compression swing,

 

 

...a punching bag,

 

 

...snack bowls,

 

 

...an australia,

 

 

...hooded blankets,

 

 

...an indoor trampoline,

 

 

...balls for bouncing,

 

 

...a trapeze bar,

 

 

...a kindness tree,

...stretchy bands,

 

 

...a sensory diet schedule,

 

 

...a treadmill for Momma.









 

 

All gifts-true helps for my sensory-seeking treasures, but even with all the prescribed tools, it's never truly enough; never the answer.

 

In this house, we are eagerly anticipating the Answer, the little One who left His magnificence, wrapped on human skin, entered this broken world as a tender babe.

 

 

The One who has experienced every emotion, every temptation, every trial (Hebrews 4:15) sympathizing with our weakness, without a single sin.

 

Because without Him, no man-made tool is effective.

 

We have been walking the truly hard for the past few weeks.  And I find it no coincidence in His timing.  During this season of advent, where we look to Him expectantly-for our hope, joy, purification, we need a reminder that He is the only Light, the true Light of the world.  

 

And what better way than to lavish His love where they don't believe He will travel. 

 

He is entering broken, fighting, hurting hearts in this house with His gentle whisper of the Gift.

 

The Savior born to love and rescue.

 

The Savior born to establish intimacy and relationship.

 

The little Babe that entered this world with full knowledge of the brokenness, and will not settle for the brokenness to remain.

 

The Bridegroom who gathers His chosen in close, walks the winding upward right beside, and never, ever refuses love to His fallen bride.

 

Yahweh, who wrote His letter of love, freely gave the Spirit to guide through the greatest tool available.

 

 

My mind ponders if two little six-year-olds can fully comprehend this Wonderful when my own mind can hardly grasp this Beauty, this Light.

 

 

Jesus.

 

Day 184 Prayer Request

Please pray for a meeting with administrators and teachers today regarding accommodations for academics and behavior for my child. 

Danielle (Momma to 3)

Jesus is the heart of Christmas.

Day 183 Prayer Request

Please pray for wisdom and clear direction in dealing with our child's misbehavior.

Reagan (Momma to 4)

Day 182 Prayer Request

Please pray for wisdom and patience as we help our kids focus on Jesus this season.

Ann (Momma to 5)

Day 181 Prayer Request

Please pray for healing in our adopted children's relationship with each other.

Ann (Momma to 6)

Day 180 Prayer Request

Please pray for my boys to get along.

Marie (Momma to 4)

A Place You Belong

To my beautiful sisters in Friday morning adoption moms support group:

When I first read the name, A Place I Didn't Belong, my heart cringed.  I believe in a sovereign God whose hands guide my every step.

Will He really ever take me to a place I don't belong?

Does He ever have something other than good for me?

He has always used my deepest wounds as His invitation to reveal His unconditional love, His great mercy, His magnificent character.

My trauma has always landed me right into His tender, yet so-strong hands.

I want to encourage your heart.  You are never alone.

You are part of His chosen family

(Galatians 3:26-29).

 

He will use your beautiful, hard story to rebuild (Isaiah 61:1-7).

 

He is always right beside you, ready to satisfy your weary and languished soul (Jeremiah 31:25).

Sister, we have been given a terrific glimpse into His beautiful adoption of each of us.  And if He loves us so much to adopt, call us His own, you better believe He loves your adopted one more than you can imagine.

He gave your precious one the gift of you.  Don't ever underestimate your calling!  What a blessing to be written right into His redemption plan.

You are right where you belong, loved and safe in His arms, vessels ready and willing to share your adoption into Him with your precious one.

Praying for you!

Day 179 Prayer Request

Please pray for academic issues and reactive attachment disorder complications.

Annette (Momma to many)

Day 178 Prayer Request

Praise Him that my kids are healing from sickness.

Annette (Momma to many)

Day 177 Prayer Request

Please pray for patient endurance.

Jane (Momma to 2)

Psalm 113:3

 

"From the rising of the sun to its setting,

the name of the LORD is to be praised!"

Psalm 113:3

Day 176 Prayer Request

Please pray for protection for my children's hearts during their sibling's tantrums.

Danielle (Momma to 3)

Day 175 Prayer Request

Please pray for patience for me.

Danielle (Momma to 3)

Day 174 Prayer Request

Please pray for peace for our children when they see their birth mother they have not seen in seven years.  Pray that we can handle the aftermath with wisdom and grace.

Ann (Momma to 6)

Little Days

 

 

 

Get through your little days

Go on with your little ways

They are not as little as you think

How God will make us bread is not

for us to say.

The tiny acts

The mundane things

may shine

Through all these lesser means.

The sacrifice that seems

so small

is more

When hands are His.

 

Grace

 

 

 

Day 173 Prayer Request

Please pray for more energy for the mommas!

Marie (Momma to 4)

Day 172 Prayer Request

Please pray for wisdom and discernment.

Annette (Momma to many)

Day 171 Prayer Request

Please pray I will see her as He imagined and put aside my hurt feelings.

Reagan (Momma to 4)

Oceans

He answers the cry of the heart, sometimes in the most terrifying ways.

This Momma thing is not for the sissy!

I stood with her, held her close, let her hysterical crying irritate our surroundings.

I put on my plastic mask, the one with the soft smile, pretended not to care how I appeared to others.  I'm sure my heart was peeking out though as I bit down on my shaking lip, battled back tears.

All this on the eve of asking for prayer for control of her impulses, some comprehension of the consequence of her behavior.

Yes, He faithfully provides the opportunity.

I hear the violin playing, listen to the words repeating over and over in my mind:

"You call me out upon the waters,

the great unknown,

my feet may fail."

 

I am treading, carrying her weight and mine.  I may fail.  I am not in control of the consequence.



 

"And there I find You in the mystery,

in oceans deep,

my faith will stand."

 

The waves of this ride are rocking hard, and I fight to keep my thoughts captured.  Fear creeps up, but I can choose.



 

"And I will call upon Your name,

and keep my eyes above the waves.

 When oceans rise,

my soul will rest in Your embrace.

For I am Yours,

and You are mine."

 

In this I trust.  He is leading us both, pushing us far from our comfort, teaching His character.

 

And with each reluctant step I take deeper into this mystery, my trust expands as He draws me in tight, reveals more of Him.

 

Many moons ago, long before she existed, I prayed for this - this intimacy, this strength. 

 

"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders,

Let me walk upon the waters,

wherever You would call me.

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander,

and my faith will be made stronger

in the presence of my Savior."