Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Paperwork, Assignments and Strikes OH MY!

We could have been stranded in Bogota during this ongong judicial strike if not for the paperwork glitch which delayed our assignment. We are so thankful that God has protected us.

"The strike by 40,000 court employees over wages continues in Colombia after the union that represents the striking workers decided not to call off the strike that began 17 days ago."http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/sep2008/wkrs-s23.shtml

Colombia judician strike strand would-be adoptershttp://colombiareports.com/colombian-news/news/1299-colombian-judicial-strike-strands-would-be-adopters.html

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2

Friday, September 12, 2008

Why the assignment has been delayed.

Apparently, there was a problem with one of the children's documents and it had to be sent back to be fixed. The good news is that it has been fixed and they have received it back in the Bogota regional office again (just yesterday). So now all we need is for them to hold an Adoption Committee meeting and they'll make the assignment.

Do you feel it...Sunday is almost here!

Monday, September 8, 2008

WAITING...Waiting....waiting

Some days the waiting is just not easy. So, I searched for some encouragement:

What you are waiting for is never as important as how you wait
Powerful statement, isn’t it? No, it is not my quote but I think it applies to this adoption wait in a huge way. And since you won’t find it in the Bible, I’ll not stake a claim that it’s a universal truth. But it’s a wise declaration. When I first heard it, I found it unsettling and it raised a combative spirit in me. How can the child I am pining for be less important than the seemingly trivial way I spend my day?
Throughout scripture, God calls us to obedience.
Not to strive for that which we cannot see, but faith, obedience in the things we can see.
“Cease striving and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10. This speaks to me of God’s Hand upon His master plan and that today, while I wait, I am to be still, to stop striving and to rest in a sovereign, holy God. I hear a gentle reminder that He is God, a reminder that I am not. And perhaps as I am still, I will know that He really is God, the God capable of delivering me from want.
“Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.” Proverbs 16:3. This verse is “backwards,” at least to my way of thinking. I had to read this over and over to believe that it really says what it says. So often, I want to submit my finely-crafted blueprints to God, get His stamp of approval and move on with my plans. As God’s economy is opposite the world (“the first shall be last”), He calls me to obedience in my daily walk. Do I commit my works to the Lord? Every day, each moment? Only then will my plans, my desires be established.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1. So faith is the assurance. Not the things we hope for or the things we cannot see. God is calling us to choose and to choose faith. A faith in our holy, sovereign God.
Is the goal as important as the wait? I have a finished, settled and permanent home in heaven, sealed by Jesus Christ. I’ve been left here to become more like Him, to make the daily choice of faith to spend my wait honoring Him. Heaven is important, the goal precious. But that is in the capable Hands of God. He calls me to a daily walk of obedience. That little child is precious, so very important. But she is in the most capable Hands of the God Who can say,
“I am God.” Let’s commit our works to the Lord today and honor Him in the wait.
http://adoptedbydesign.typepad.com/waiting/2008/04/what-you-are-wa.html#more

If we ever wondered why waiting on the Lord is so hard, need we look any further than the great patriarch Abraham and his wife, Sarah? Their loss of confidence in the Lord’s timing led to “family planning” choices that dishonored God and to this very day result in bloodshed around the world.While our adoption waits may not impact the world forever, they will have eternal consequences. How best to use the time God gave us during the wait? No matter how often I insist that Proverbs 16:3 is a typo, it still reads:“Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.”Oh, how I wish it were reversed so it would align with my view of the world! Nonetheless, that which God asks of us is, in a word, obedience. He will take care of the rest. Our goal during your journey is that you might invest time in the kingdom and become more like Christ. That as you commit your works to the Lord, your plans will be established.Join us as we share our journeys down the road to adoption. We’ve learned that God is sufficient, He is worthy but He is never early! And as my wife is prone to say, “God will never send you where He is absent!” http://adoptedbydesign.typepad.com/waiting/