I Took Down the Christmas Tree

So that you don't think I'm the worst grinch ever, let me explain.

We normally have two trees in our house. One the kids pretty much decorate in our family room. The second tree I decorate with our prettiest ornaments and this one is in our living room. This year we got decorated the kids' tree and we got the other tree up. I put the ribbon on it. I put the berries on it and it sat there for a few weeks with no ornaments. Honestly, it looked fine without the ornaments, but every time I looked at it, it just screamed at me, "Please finish decorating me". And so, I just took it down. Done. The second tree is no longer adding stress to my life because it's back in the box until next year.

If you're my Facebook friend, then you know I'm asking lots of questions this year about how we do Christmas.

Blogs like this one and this one really make me think that I become so weighed down with the stress of Christmas and shopping and all that comes with it, that I miss the very heart of Christmas and the heart of my Savior. I don't think He would ever want His birthday celebration to be the most stressful month of the year.

And so I decided that 2012 would be different. Derek and I have already started talking about how things might be different for our family in December 2012. But then I heard this sermon and I realized that I needed to make changes in 2011. The title is "I won't survive the holidays". The takeaway from this sermon is "I won't get lost in lesser things. I will make the most of Jesus." It's a sermon from Luke 10 about Mary and Martha and it's one of the best sermons on that passage of Scripture that I've heard. Everyone's always so hard on Martha, but where would the world be without Marthas? The problem was that Martha was distracted with the preparations. She should've prepared the best she could and then just let it go to sit at the feet of Jesus. Anyway, it's really worth the listen if you have 40 minutes of time.

After hearing the sermon yesterday, I decided to remove a distraction from my life (namely a tree that needed to be decorated). And so the tree is down and I don't feel bad about it at all.

Tuesday's Takeaway

Sometimes you just need a reminder that our God is still in the miracle working business. Sometimes you need a reminder that nothing is impossible with God. This book was that reminder and it was a good read.



The title is Sun Stand Still...What Happens When You Dare to Ask God for the Impossible by Steven Furtick

It's based on a passage in Joshua 10 when Joshua prayed and asked for the sun to stand still in the sky so that they could continue to fight a battle. God heard and answered a prayer that was prayed with audacity. I'm thinking that it doesn't ever hurt to have audacious faith!

Here are a few quotes from the book:
"The people who accomplish the most astounding things for God's glory aren't the people who feel the least fear. Often they're the ones who deal with the most intense fear. But instead of letting that fear disable their dreams, they start increasing their capacity for faith. They act on the part of God's direction they do understand. And they leave the rest up to him."

"Our audacious faith is not built on the fault line of feelings or the flood plain of our performance. We build our faith on solid ground. Higher ground. We build on the faithfulness of God."

"Audacious faith does not guarantee a crisis-free life. But audacious faith does enable you to seize the opportunity to see God's glory in the midst of every crisis in your life."

The book is full of stories from people in Scripture and people in his church who have prayed with audacious faith. And God has answered some Sun Stand Still prayers. Steven says, "If you're not daring to believe God for the impossible, you may be sleeping through some of the best parts of your Christian life."

I'm not willing to sleep through the rest of mine and so I'm believing God for the impossible. I'm praying with audacious faith and believing that God is going to answer some Sun Stand Still prayers.

If you're like me, then pick up the book and read it. It'll encourage you to believe God for more!

Finding Favor

I heard a sermon recently about being a "favor finder". This was in reference to God's favor in our lives. We pray for it, but then sometimes we don't even recognize when it when it comes.

I've been more intentional the last two weeks about looking for "favor" or those "sweet kisses from God".

Here are just a few simple ones.

A close parking spot at the mall.

I paid for a stranger's meal at the McDonald's drive thru one day and this woman went crazy with gratitude. She was blowing her horn and yelling out the window how I had just made her day. I meant to be a blessing, but instead I was majorly blessed. It made me want to pay for someone's meal every day! :)

Elizabeth has a solar system project at school (NOT my thing...projects...they may be the death of me this month of December). Anyway, a trip to Joann's today to buy dowel rods and styrofoam balls of all sizes and acrylic paint, etc. As I stood in the aisle staring at styrofoam balls, there was one, just one, solar system kit on the aisle. All items included in this kit. Honestly, I wanted to shout hallelujah in the store. I didn't, but I did just stop right there and thank God that I found favor at Joann's.

And so during this busy month of December, I have found favor at the mall, at McDonald's, at Joann's and who knows where else it's been and I didn't even recognize His favor.

Are you looking for His favor? I promise you'll find it if you just look.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Psalm 84:11

Rejoice With Those Who Rejoice

More than 12 years ago, Derek and I made a church visit to a house in Franklin. Little did we know when we knocked on the door that night, that this family would become lifelong friends. God is so good in that He gives us what we don't even know we need.

And then about 7 years ago, another friend showed up to help us unpack our boxes and boxes of things. She specifically organized my kitchen. We were more acquaintances then and now we are so much more. I love that God sends us friends that we don't even know we need. But He knows what's coming in our lives and He knows exactly which friendships need to be formed. And He ordains our steps so that our paths will cross and our hearts will be knit together.

And so, I rejoice tonight with tears in my eyes all that this picture represents. It represents two very dear friends that I do not deserve. It represents a country that I love very dearly and two precious boys from there. And it represents that God is faithful and that even when we can't see it, He is working and He is good. And now two boys are in their forever home because of one family's incredible faith and tenacity and because God always keeps His Word. He puts the lonely in families and He sends us family and friends that we don't even know we need.

Hupomeno

This post has been rolling around in my head for weeks, but I just never took the time to write it because well...I've been wrestling with God for a few weeks. And God just kept saying "hupomeno" to me over and over.

Our adoption has taken several series of setbacks and just when I think things can't get more complicated, they do. The details are much too complicated to even try to explain on this blog, but we're just in a season of uncertainty. And uncertainty just isn't my thing. If I knew how this was all going to turn out, then I could handle it better (or so I think). But it's not really faith if you know exactly how things are going to turn out.

I heard a sermon about trials and life being hard awhile back. Derek and I had gone to Chattanooga to hear James MacDonald...one of my all time favorite preachers. Funny thing was at the time, life was good and I didn't feel like I was in the middle of a trial. You've heard it before...you've either just come out of a trial, you're in one right now or you're about to be in one. And so, the Lord let my ears hear the message because He knew I would need it for a later date.

You may be familiar with the passage in James 1, consider it all joy when you encounter various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance (patience, steadfastness). The Greek word for endurance or patience or steadfastness...yes, you guessed it, it's hupomeno.
hupo means "under", meno means "remain"

So God sends us trials and testing and we need to "remain under" them. That's not what I want to do. I want to run. Get the pressure off of me. It doesn't feel good. I want to quit. This feels uncomfortable and I don't like it. I want to just fuss that this isn't fair or that He's asking too much of me. I want to give up and quit. But God....He wants me to "remain under" because when it's all said and done, He tells us that we will come forth as gold. We will be refined. And so, it's only by us "staying under" the trial until God removes it that we become more like Christ.

And so, I press on and I keep believing God for the impossible. I keep begging for the mountains to be removed. But most of all, I just "remain under" and I trust God.

Why? Because the nail that doesn't remain under the hammer will never reach the goal; because the rough diamond that doesn't remain under the chisel will never become a precious jewel; because the gold that doesn't remain under the fire will never be a thing of beauty; because the Christian who doesn't remain under the hand of God will never see His purpose for the trial accomplished and will never experience the blessing on the other side. From When Life is Hard by James MacDonald

Trials are "various". They come in different forms and sizes. Yours isn't mine and mine isn't yours, but this I can tell you, God doesn't want you to run. He doesn't want you to quit. He doesn't want you to give up. He wants you to "hupomeno" or remain under. He has good things planned for you on the other side!

October Pictures

The last few days have been busy.....

We carved pumpkins. This pumpkin was my favorite.

Matthew and Elizabeth ran in the Grey Ghost Run. For Elizabeth, this was primarily a social event. At one point, she and Taylor were just walking holding hands chatting about something...during the race.

We visited with my grandpa (the kids' great-grandpa) before he went back to Michigan.

We then spent some time collecting way more candy than we need. It's been a fun couple of days!

Wrestling with God

Genesis 32:24-32...are you familiar with the story? Jacob is wrestling with God and he says, "I will not let you go unless you bless me". Jacob, now Israel, walked with a limp because the Lord had touched him on his thigh as they wrestled. Maybe Israel always walked with a limp and that was just a reminder of his encounter with the Lord.

This is where I feel like I am personally right now. Wrestling with God and hanging on for dear life. I'm begging and pleading and asking him to answer our prayers regarding our adoption and some days I feel like it's going to happen and other days, it just seems impossible. You don't need all the details, but the adoptions in this particular country are becoming more and more complicated and difficult. I am begging the Lord to bless me and to give me the desire of my heart. And I'm hanging on until He does. But really, it's not about the blessing. It's about the encounter with the Lord. I know His blessing will come, but what that will look like in my life, I don't know.

I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say that there's a part of me that fears or wonders if we'll walk with a limp the rest of our lives. If at some point in this journey, we will have a broken heart. It's possible. But it's also possible, that God will move the mountains that need to be moved and we'll have an incredible testimony of God's goodness in the story of our son. And whichever way God chooses, I know that His ways are higher than my ways. And if it doesn't go the way I am praying and believing with great faith, He is still good. I don't think we got on the wrong path...I think God just has us in a place where we'll wrestle with Him and through the wrestling, we are truly encountering God.

My Bible has a note that says "strong character develops as you struggle through tough conditions". That's where we are....we are struggling through some tough conditions.