the Ethiopia flag

"Praise the LORD, How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!" Psalm 147:1

Adoption update:

Praise the LORD! The results of the vote at yesterday's meeting were 95% in favour of reconsrtucting the agency! What an answer to prayer! We will need to pray for continued patience as we will need to continue to wait -possibly until next spring, to find out which child God has chosen to be with us. We are very thankful for this answer to prayer!

One Thousand Gifts

I am on my way to counting 1000 blessings in my life. This was inspired by the blog, "Holy Experience". Every Monday (at least I will try every Monday), I will join many others across the nation as we are blessed by asking God to open our eyes to the numerous blessings that we have in our lives. Here are my first 5 (not in order of importance).


1) Christian Education and Christian teachers "Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge." Proverbs 23:12


2) Nature
"...the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His work." Psalm 104:13



3) Christian Parents and Spiritual Mentors
"Honour your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." Exodus 20:12



4) Traditions (having fun tenting in the backyard every Labour Day weekend)
"(God) will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy." Job 8:21

5) Outdoors

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-His eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen..." Romans 1:20

Beauty

"The LORD does not look at the things human beings look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

The other day, my husband and I enjoyed a lovely tour through someones greenhouse (while eating lots of tasty food too). The flowers were absolutely gorgeous. I don't know how many times I heard the word "beautiful" as we strolled through the isles soaking in the beauty of the flowers. The topic of beauty is something that I have wrestled with for many years. The Collins Gage dictionary describes beauty as, "a quality that gives great pleasure to the senses and to the mind." Scripture's view on beauty differs; it says in Proverbs 31:30, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised." This is true beauty! Yet, this can be so difficult to attain.

I struggle with so many questions in my mind such as:

Why am I overly concerned about how I look? Or not care at all on some days.

How do I compete with how the women in the magazines look like? (even though there's a lot of photo shop editing happening there!)

Why is it difficult to graciously receive a compliment?

How do I respond to my skinny minny 9 year old son who doesn't want seconds at supper because he doesn't want to get fat?

How do I explain to my daughter that she's beautiful just the way she is as I'm putting my make-up on (almost) every morning?

I was given a clearer view to this whole topic of "beauty" as I was reading a chapter from Martha Peace's book, "Damsels in Distress." She writes, "The New Testament describes the adornment of a truly beautiful woman as one who is adorned with modest and discrete clothing, good works, and a 'gentle and quiet spirit'". She then quotes from 1 Tim. 2:9-10 where it says, "Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garment, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness." Also 1 Peter 3:3,4 says, Your adornment must not be merely external- braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelery, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God."

It is my prayer that I will be content and grateful to God for making me who I am and that my adornment will not be "merely external", but that I will ask God to help me adorn myself with the fruit of the Spirit. I pray that my priority will not be how I look but on glorifying my Heavenly Father, and teaching this to my children as well, for they (we) are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14).

Daily Walk

"This is what the LORD says: 'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls'". Jeremiah 6:16

It just seems like yesterday that our children were just crawling around the floor, and now they are all walking the halls of their school. Mixed emotions flood my soul when I send our children off of to school. I am entrusting them into the care of our Heavenly Father and into the care of our very capable, loving teachers. It is my daily prayer that God will protect their hearts. I pray that God will direct their every path as they "stand at the crossroads" that they will look to Him and follow Him. I pray that our children will have a desire to follow the LORD from their hearts, out of gratitude and love for the immeasurable love that God has shown to us and continues to show to us every day.

Patience

"Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD." Psalm 27:14 (NLT)

This picture was made by Curtis when he was 4 years old. It is a picture of our house to Ethiopia. We have been praying for over a year and a half for our baby sister that we are hoping to adopt from Ethiopia. We read Psalm 27:14 at our family devotions one morning, and again I was reminded to be patient and trust in the LORD's timing. The author in the devotional wrote, "God will bless. God will help us. At the right time." I need to keep praying that I can fully trust in Him and in His perfect timing.

Adoption update:

One week from today, we as creditors will vote on the proposal that has been made regarding reconstructing the agency. If the majority vote yes, then the agency will be up and running again, the LORD willing, by October/November. Matches, or referrals probably will not begin to be made until the new year (which would mean more waiting)!! God has a plan, and I need to keep trusting in Him.

Refiner's Fire

"But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver." Malachi 3:2,3

We very much enjoyed our days of camping this summer. A particularly fond memory of our camping trips is relaxing and having fun by the campfires. As I look at our fire pictures, I'm reminded of the words "refiner's fire." These words took on a whole new meaning for me a few years ago when a dear friend stated that Paul and I were going through the refiner's fire during our marriage difficulties. I see now, more than ever what she meant by those words. Both Paul and I (and our marriage) had to get rid of a lot of garbage in our lives. We were being put through the refiner's fire to be made more pure, just as gold and silver is made purer through the fire.

We are still in the process of being purified. Although our struggles were difficult, I rejoice that we have grown so much through those difficult times. God is not trying to destroy us in the fire, but rather to purify us and help us to become more like Him. I know that I have a long way to go, but I pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in my heart to be made purer, and to continue to get rid of the many impuritites in my life. It is my true desire to be set apart for my LORD.

Purify my heart

Let me be as gold and precious silver

Purify my heart

Let me be as gold,

pure gold

Refiner's fire

My heart's one desire

Is to be holy

Set apart for You Lord

I choose to be holy

Set apart for You my Master

Ready to do Your will

Brian Doerksen / 1990 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing

Running the Race

"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith..." Hebrews 12:1,2

It's been a year now since I made the big purchase of new running shoes and began my jogging regime. There is still a lot of progress to be made, but I'm pleased with the goals that I have been able to meet.

It wasn't until recently when I gathered my jogging gear, I was reminded of the verses from Hebrews 12. It was a nice relief in the spring when I was able to jog without all of my winter apparel. Similarly, how often I allow things to hinder my race that God has set before me. I carry burdens that God more than willingly will carry and I allow my many sins such as pride, busy schedules, selfishness, judgemental thoughts, etc. etc. to get in my way of growing closer to God.

As I reach my "half way point" when jogging, I realize that I am starting to slow down, and I need to persevere. I also feel this in my personal life. I particularly feel this as we continue to wait for our adoption and news regarding our adoption agency. We try to remain hopeful and patient. God has marked out a race for all of us that we need to run with perseverence. It is my prayer that I can keep my eyes set on Jesus and that I can run the race that he has made for me. I desperately need God's help in running the race, especially as I try to do so with perseverence and patience.