Friday, July 25, 2008

Nothing New

As we are closing in on the end of the month, there is no news out there on referrals yet. Usually about this time rumors start to fly but I am wondering with all the hype about the Olympics what is going to happen? It will be very interesting to see what the CCAA will do this month. As soon as I hear anything I will post it. Just keep praying for us and all those little babies in the orphanges that need families!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Asking for Prayer

My nephew, Abram and his wife Missie just had their first baby July 16, 2008 but complications sent him to Cincinnati's Childrens Hospital. He had to have emergency surgery last Saturday night and is still in critical condition. I am asking that everyone would just keep him in your prayers. Thanks!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Walk By Faith




Jeremy Camp has an awesome testimony. Sometimes in this world, we don't always understand God and his timing but when we walk by faith and leave it all up to God, everything is perfect, even through the tough times. Please watch this video, I hope that it will touch you as it did me.

Monday, July 14, 2008

It's my Birthday!

Today is my Birthday! I decided several(?) years back...(probably when I hit 40) that I wasn't going to celebrate anymore birthdays but I am feeling blessed today! God has given me another year! In waiting for Kara and learning patience, God has showered me with so many blessings! Sometimes we take life for granted...I am so thankful that God has given me an awesome husband, a wonderful loving family and extended family, a beautiful home, a good job, good health....the list could go on. So today, on the day that I was born, I just want to Thank God for it all. Without him, life is meaningless! Happy Birthday to ME!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Our Heavenly Dwelling

2 Corinthians 5

Our Heavenly Dwelling

1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.


Today would have been my Mom's 75th Birthday. She was called home on February 2, 2008 after a short battle with cancer. She was a strong women with a great love for Jesus. When she found out just how terrible the disease was, her response was "Well, I am ready to see Jesus". One of her favorite sayings was "Absent from the body, Present with the Lord", which brings me to this passage in the Bible. This was read to my family hours before she left us and it will always be a favorite of mine. Our ultimate hope when we are experiencing terrible illness, persecution, or pain is the realization that this life is not all there is-there is life after death! Knowing that we will live forever with God in a place without sin and suffering can help us live above the pain we face today. Paul was not afraid to die because he was confident of spending eternity with Christ. Of course, facing the unknown may cause us anxiety, and leaving loved ones hurts deeply, but if we believe in Jesus Christ, we can share Paul's hope and confidence of eternal life with Christ. Death is only a prelude to eternal life with God. We will continue to live! Let this hope give you confidence and inspire you to faithful service.

May this be a tribute to my beautiful Mom, I love and miss her so!

Monday, July 7, 2008

Referrals

Well, my agency has received referrals for families with a LID of January 23, 2006. It looks like January 25, 2006 is the cut off date. This is a real bummer!
Oh well, patience, patience, patience!

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:1

Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy 4th of July!


As we celebrate our freedom and independence, let us not forget that freedom is not free. May God bless each and everyone who has fought to give us this freedom, may He bless those who are still fighting and I pray that He will watch over our troops and bring them home soon.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

No News

Rumors are flying that the referral cut off date is Jan. 25th. It is still too early to tell, so I am not getting too excited about it. It is crazy...looking back over the past referrals, I can tell you that it took 5 months to get through Nov '05,
4 months to get through Dec '05 and it looks like at least 5 months to get through Jan '06. Lets do a little math...with the average of 5 months for one month of referrals, and we are 11 months away from our LID then that equals about 55 months. That is another 4 1/2 years! We just hit the 18 month mark for waiting on our referral. By the time we get her it may be that we waited 6 years for her. I pray that the program speeds up, that referrals will come to those who are waiting faster than we are expecting. Please just keep us in your prayers as well. As the saying goes, "Good things come to those who wait".

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Time

Does anyone else feel like time flies by too quickly? Here it is July 1st already (where did June go?) and in the adoption world it is time for referrals to start arriving. This is when we see how fast the CCAA is moving. CCAA stands for China Center of Adoption Affairs. This is the part of their government that controls the adoptions in China. They are very dedicated to doing what is best for each and every baby in their system. The beginning of each month referrals are sent to those lucky families that have been matched with a baby. It is all according to the LID (Log in Date) of your adoption. If you remember, our LID is December 31, 2006. Last months referrals were through the date of January 20, 2006. So what does this mean? Well, we hope to see that the referrals this month move into at least February. It is very heartbreaking when it takes 4-5 months to get through one month of LIDs. This is what has happened in the past and has slowed down the process so much. Several reasons I have heard why this is happening is that the economy is getting better in China, Chinese are adopting their own, and that the number of babies being abandoned is down. Whatever the case, my prayers is that God will protect the babies until their new families are found. I also pray for peace for the mothers of these babies, that in their heart they will know that their child is loved.