More Than Conquerors

Hello friends!  I thought today would be a good day to update everyone on the process.  The last week has been an emotional time for us, but also a focused time, and a time to remind us that this process is in the Lord’s hands. 

 I know that most folks don’t know what is involved to adopt internationally.  Let me tell you that it is labor intensive!  We are compiling a dossier for the adoption of each child.  Just to give you an idea:

This dossier includes:  forms from our doctors clearing us physically, TBI background checks, information from the county about what our home is worth, info from our mortgage company about how much we owe on our home, marriage certificates, birth certificates, passport copies, snapshots of our bank accounts, letters of recommendation, clearances from a social worker, immigration clearances, shot records for our dog (good grief)…I could go on.  There are probably 20 more forms I haven’t listed, but you get the idea.  THEN, there is the whole issue of the dates on each of these pages.  Many of them expire a year from the date issued and when we send them to the government of the country we’re adopting from, they won’t take anything that expires in the next 6 months.  On top of all that, each page has to be notaried, then certified by the county clerk’s office at $4 per page (Aaaaaaah), then apostilled by the Secretary of State at a rate of $5 per page (my blood pressure is rising).  Now remember, all those forms….times 3!!!

I’m not trying to bore you with details, but I know that much of what we learned about the adoption process, we learned from blogs so we want to give our readers a taste of what we’re experiencing.  We did a LOT of reading and research over the last couple of years, so there haven’t been too many surprises along the way.  We have been blessed with a pretty smooth journey so far and feel very thankful that God has allowed the door to remain open thus far for Fedya, Anya and Alexa to come home to be part of our family forever.

We got a phone call from our dear adoption facilitator, Lyndi last Monday.  Our hearts kind of jump into our throats when we see that she’s calling, because she is the bearer of news, good or bad.  Here’s what Lyndi said…she said that the country where the children live now, will be closing to international adoptions in about 2 months. 

This is overwhelming news.  Everything just kind of goes white in my mind… “IMPOSSIBLE!” is what my flesh screamed.  Getting everything done by October seemed insurmountable last week! 

Hmmm….

How many times…did God overcome on behalf of the Israelites?  How many prophecies has He fulfilled?  How many miracles did He perform?  He has defeated armies, parted the ocean, Healed the sick, overcome physical temptation, fed the masses with 5 loaves and 2 fish (ahem $?), forgiven the unforgivable, loved the unlovable and conquered the grave!!!  He has OVERCOME this world!  Hallelujah!  If His will is to fold those babies into our family, then that is EXACTLY what He will do.

I thought 6 months was impossible for us to do.  Maybe this is God’s way of pointing out that I can’t do it….that “His power is made perfect in my weakness.”(1 Cor. 12:9)  If this is done in two months, we will not be able to claim victory as a result of our efforts, but only in His perfect power. He will be glorified! He’s saying “Let me show you what I can do!”

Here is what my “Jesus Calling” said for today’s devotional:

“Peace is My continual gift to you.  It flows abundantly from My throne of grace.  Just as the Israelites could not store up manna for the future but had to gather it daily, so it is with My peace.  The day-by-day collecting of manna kept My people aware of their dependence on Me.  Similarly, I give you sufficient peace for the present, when you come to me by prayer and petition with thanksgiving.  If I gave you permanent peace, independent of My presence, you might fall into the trap of self-sufficiency.  May that never be!

I have designed you to need Me moment by moment.  As your awareness of your neediness increases, so does your realization of my abundant sufficiency.  I can meet every one of your needs without draining My resources at all.   Approach my throne of grace with bold confidence, receiving my peace with a thankful heart. 

Exodus 16:14, Phillipians 4:6-7 and 19, Hebrews 4:16”

Peace (blood pressure stabilizing)…freedom from worry…laying it at His feet…

            …so thankful and blessed

Meg

This Side of Heaven

My soul has so much more to offer in worship than my little white lungs can accommodate…but I try.  Just ask all the Rockvale, Christiana and Bell Buckle folks that I “bless” with my worship in the middle of the night occasionally.  It’s just me, the angels, crickets and frogs and the open country road.  I can think of no more fulfilling moments of worship than those.  You know…when I get to heaven, I kinda think my glorified body is gonna be that of a big black lady.  Cause when I sing “How Great Thou Art, or “It is Well” or “The Revelation song, it’s gonna require lungs like Jennifer Hudson, a heart like Mandisa and the soul of Aretha.  In the midnight hour, there are no little voices from the backseat telling me to turn it down and not so gently reminding me that I haven’t yet achieved “Aretha-ness”.  It’s weird I know, sneaking out in the middle of the night for a date with God.  Just know, that on that day ya’ll find my car flipped over somewhere along a country road in the middle of the night, I went with Glory on my mind and Heaven in my heart!   I was probably doing something ridiculous like trying to raise my hands in worship or close my eyes to pray….or dancing like a fool…yeah, I do that too.  God smiles though, I’m his fool and my voice sounds like Aretha’s to him and I dance like…well, I don’t know any dancers that I wanna dance like. 

That moon is mine tonight, he made it just for me.  It’s got that foggy glow all around it.  Can’t see the stars, but we know they’re there, right?  Just like those moments, when we can’t trace His hand…we have to trust His heart.  The low chorus of frogs slowly  subsides, then crescendos, drowning that one little night bird I hear chirping….and the sweet melodies of Selah soar over all of it. 

My heart is full…longing after my Father.

"Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty

Who was and is and is to come

with all creation I sing

praise to the King of Kings

You are my everything

and I will adore you!"

Meg

Cause and Effect

This week my task was to get the required letter from the bank about our house. The bank was very accommodating in providing the letter and notary, I was very grateful at how helpful they were. After leaving the bank I headed to the county clerk's office to get the certification. I wasn't to sure if they lady helping me was to thrilled about helping. When she came back to the desk with the stamped documents, I noticed they were slightly overlapping some text and not straight, which can cause the documents to be rejected. I was thinking what her reaction was going to be when I asked her to redo the documents. It just so happened she made a mistake with the dates, and was going to have to redo the documents any way. As I asked her since she was having to redo it if she would mind not stamping it over any text and keep it up right. The look given was less than cordial, however as I explained why, the question came "Is this for an adoption?". I responded yes it is for an adoption. The next question "What age?" After this response,1,2,4 and the ages of our biological kids, her demeanor changed. After a small discussion about the adoption and my sanity, I left with certifications and a request to return with pictures.

~Craig