the REAL obscenty...

I have no doubt this video will ruffle some feathers... so be it.  (o; What's the real obscenity?! 

Drought is inevitable, but famine is not. Congress can help keep our commitment to farmers in developing countries by fully funding Feed the Future— a life-changing USAID initiative that is investing in long-term agricultural development and could help put an end to famine for good.
Please sign the petition to Congress calling on them to fund this vital program:
http://act.one.org/sign/hungry_no_more_us
Thank you!

Perfect Timing

At the end of last week we received our monthly email from our agency with our official October wait list number... #21! Down TWO spots from last month- yeah, I know you're probably thinking... that's not crazy fun movement! My fingers were crossed that this month's number might have been in the teens, but no such luck! The unpredictability of it all is sometimes a kick in the gut! I hate to even sound remotely like a "Debbie Downer" about it though, because here's the deal, I've been convicted over this before... while moving only 2 spots might seem a little "blah"... try saying that to the TWO PRECIOUS LIVES that were forever changed and given a family! TWO vulnerable and orphaned children that had no hope, now have a loving mommy and daddy! TWO families that have been desperately waiting for the referral of the newest addition to their family finally received that much anticipated, infamous phone call from our agency that will forever be ingrained in their minds!  TWO families saw their child's face for the very first time this month and now it's become oh so real WHO they are fighting to bring home! No doubt, God is smiling with tears of joy in His eyes over this TWO spot move! And so I chose to celebrate this victory as well! Isa's day is coming, all in God's perfect timing! And oh how I will do the happy dance when that ONE spot move is to our sweet boy Isa!

In the meantime, I'm doing my best to soak in the joys of being a mama to our tender-hearted Jude. I don't want to be so caught up in the wait for Isa, that I miss the here and now with Jude. I'm daily reminded that this window of opportunity to pour into his life is so small in the grand scheme of things. This truth leaves me on my knees, daily, begging for God's guidance and wisdom in how to intentionally parent our little man. And I'll tell you one thing, keeping an eternal perspective in parenting requires some serious intentionality! It is so easy for me to get caught up in the grind and routine of every day life so much so that it absorbs every last drop of guidance I have to offer Jude. I pray for wisdom, boldness, time, creativity, and compassion in intentionally finding moments to teach Jude about the eternal, bigger purpose of his life! This past year (after going to the C4C retreat and having a conversation on the road trip home with Mitzi and Courtney) my eyes were opened up to the importance in praying the fullness of the Holy Spirit into his life. I desire for Jude to truly know how God sees him. How God loves him. How God created him and uniquely wired him for a purpose, a bigger purpose, a God purpose. How God already views him as purified and made right (or as Jude likes to say, "A good guy"). How God has rescued him and how, as His children, our lives are to reflect that. 

While teaching Jude these truths is my hearts desire as his mom- the reality of it is,  I am still trying to teach myself these truths! Seriously... this is deep stuff to wrap my mind around, I have so much to learn! I've only skimmed the surface of knowing and believing the goodness and power of the Holy Spirit. All I know is, the more I learn, the more I'm amazed! The more I trust, the more of my life I want to give to His purposes. Just this morning I was once again taken back at how God uses the Holy Spirit to bless our lives! I dropped Jude off at school and was driving home, it's about a 20 minute ride, perfect for some quality prayer time. I specifically prayed that God would continue to give me confidence and reassurance in His timing over our adoption process. I prayed that I would stay rooted in the truth that God is in control. I prayed that He would provide comfort and peace in knowing His ways are far better than mine. I'm just here to tell ya folks... the Holy Spirit is faithful to nudge His people to act on His behalf! I came home and opened my email and the first thing I found was a comment left this very morning on my previous blog post....

"Because you know many adoptive families I am sure you have heard this BUT...the wait is so orchestrated by the Lord. I waited for 15 years for mr. man to say "yes", then 2 1/2 to finally hold my boy in my arms. When you do get that referral and meet your son you will be AMAZED and so unbelievably grateful for the wait. The month and year we signed up with our agency was the month/year that Hudson was born. We asked to review the file of another little boy while we were waiting but we were "2nd" in line for him and his family was right before us. Even signing up for Special Needs when we did was God ordained (we started out on the "healthy girl list")......I had another adoptive mom tell me when we began the process "just know, the Lord will slow things down and speed things up just when He needs to, He's got it"....it is SO VERY HARD in the wait, I will not pretend that I do not remember the ache in my heart for my child who I didn't even know if they were a boy or girl BUT....like labor, it all is ok when they are placed in your arms. At one point while we were waiting on China for their final approval and we were about 2 weeks past due I cried to Mark that certianly the Lord knows it would be better for Hudson to be with us NOW..not LATER...being an adoptive child himself (at almost 9) and living among foster homes and an orphanage this smart man said "if the Lord is asking us to wait it is for good..Hudson may need more time to bond with his nanny so he can bond with us better, his nanny may need more time to say goodbye, our bio kids may need more time, the favor of officials"...for whatever reason the wait, it is for HIS glory!...... bottom line, the wait will not be waisted and I admire your strength in it!!" 

How awesome is that?! I love that my God hears my prayers and is faithful to creatively use the hands and feet of others to answer them! Thank you Sharon for being obedient to the Holy Spirit's nudge to write this, this very morning to me! Thank you God for using Sharon to answer my prayer! Again, the more I see the Holy Spirit at work, the more I'm amazed!

I'm excited to share with Jude this afternoon the way God uses others to bless our life!

The Wait- ONE YEAR

 

Jude is ready for his brother, his mom is too!  While sitting in the Firestone Auto Repair parking lot, patiently waiting on daddy to get the keys to our other car (that had to get a new alternator, boo!), I turned the music up, unbuckled myself, and turned around from the drivers seat so that I could face Jude in the backseat. In my oh so "hip" Hilary fashion, I started singing obnoxiously with the song on the radio, using my hand as a microphone, eyes closed for dramatic effect- this typically is a sure fire way to crack a smile out of my little man. He knows talent when he sees it! Ha! I had drug the poor kid around running errands in the car all day and he hadn't napped, so I knew time was ticking before he was over being in the car! He was blessed with my awesome little concert for a few minutes before he interrupted me, mid-song mind you, and said very seriously, "Mom, I want Isa home, it's been a really long time that we've had to wait!". I turned the radio down (taking the cue that he was over my singing), and told him I totally agreed, it has been a long time!  You see, this month marks us being on the wait list for ONE YEAR! Keep in mind too, that just because we've been on the wait list for a year- we started the paper chase process, in order to get on the wait list, back in June... so it's been well over a year that this 4 year old's little world has had to wait! We never knew going into this that the wait would be this long. Honestly, when we jumped into this journey, our naive selves hoped and prayed that Isa would be home this past summer (to our credit, the given wait time when we started the process was 6-9 months)! Little did we know! BUT despite the twists and turns and changes of timing along the way, there has been a strange peace, peace that can only come from God. It's with confidence that I say God is using this time to equip us, and pour His truth into us, and use us as His hands and feet. The past year of our lives has been like none other! From ministry opportunities, to cherished relationships being established, to catching a glimpse of seeing Jesus in a more intimate way, to having our hearts moved for Africa so much so that we feel God is calling us to move there someday! All of these blessings in our life would not be so without the wait. Yes, I grit my teeth as I say this- because I wish all this goodness could happen WITHOUT the wait! But it has all been possible because OF THE WAIT! 

When my patient heart grows weary Lord, may I continually reflect on the worth and treasured moments of this past year and thank you for Your perfect timing! (That being said, if you would like to speed this process up, Joshua and I are totally game, and so is Jude! Feel free!) In all seriousness though, I know and trust without a shadow of a doubt, that God is at work, orchestrating every detail, so our sweet Isa will be here soon enough! Hanging on His truth!

 

And the good just keeps comin'!

Last night, Abba's Children got to welcome home their newest member, sweet Noah! This baby boy was truly prayed home over the past couple days, and God moved mountains and shined in mighty ways to join this precious child with his mommy and daddy!  I can't even begin to tell you the roller coaster ride this journey has been for them! But one thing is for certain... there is power in prayer friends! I have had the privilege to join with an incredible body of believers that God has already brought to Abba's Children, and genuinely cover this family in earnest prayer in times of uncertainty and in cheers of joy in times of victory! I stand in awe of all that God has done just since this past Tuesday! CrAzy!

Amy and Nathan (mommy & daddy) are one of my partner's in crime in being co-leader's of Abba's Children and have genuinely been a God-send to me in coming along side of launching this ministry! The comradery that comes with doing life and ministry together is like none other and after walking this journey with them, I cherish their friendship on a level I can't even put to words! One of those friendships where you find yourself teary because you love 'em so much and you're so darn proud of them for living out the gospel in a tangible way! I'm honored to call them "friend"!

Up until the last minute, I honestly didn't know if we would be greeting this family in their driveway with an empty car seat in their hands and tears in their eyes to wrap our arms around them and grieve a loss with them OR if baby would be in tow and we would party it up and celebrate the miracle of another child given a forever family! Either way, we were committed to be there in that driveway to support them, in the joys AND the heartbreak that can come with adoption! Each time we've had a welcome home party, God never ceases to amaze me and show up and bring His people with Him! It was truly a powerful evening of celebrating a car seat with a precious baby boy in tow! Okay, enough chat from me! The video of the evening speaks for itself! God is good, we stand in awe!

Abba's Launch Video from Sunday!

Sunday's Abba's Children launch was incredible! Truly, I'm overwhelmed and moved to tears just thinking about it. God showed up, He stirred hearts, and the truth of His love was evident! Not sure I should really be surprised! I never ceased to be amazed at God's ability to show up when He's invited!

The current message series is on "What's Your Story?" and one of our senior pastors, Jim Johnson, shared his personal testimony of how God's story has been woven into his life from the very beginning. God truly used Jim's sermon to prepare hearts for the element that Abba's Children ended the service with.

Each family that participated in this element has the unique story of adoption woven into their lives. It was a privilege to stand on stage next to these amazing families!  As you'll see, the beginning of the video was playing on the side screens while the band sang the song, and then at the end of the song, all the families that were shown in the video walked out in the end singing the chorus. Truly, we are all Children of God! Without further ado... here is the video from Sunday!

Over a year in the making... would you come?

Remember THIS POST that I wrote just over a year ago? Or THIS ONE about six months ago? Man, I love looking back and seeing how God works and orchestrates conversations and meetings, all for His glory! 

Here's a sneak peak of something you'll see on Sunday!

Well, THIS Sunday, October 2nd, a big step towards God's vision is being fulfilled! Preston Trail Community Church's orphan care ministry, Abba's Children, that I have the privilege of heading up, is officially being launched! All the prayer, all the discussions, all the meetings, all the time and effort put into developing this ministry are coming to fruition! I am so stinking excited!!!

I feel like this ministry launch is my proud moment to brag on how God has brought it all together! That being said, I just want to invite anyone local to come this Sunday to Preston Trail, to catch a glimpse of what God has been up to!  I honestly can't think of anything that would mean more to me than to have those I care about there this Sunday.  I know many of you have your own home church that you go to, and that several of you can't even remember the last time you stepped foot into a church... don't worry I'm not asking you to switch church's and I'm not expecting to see you every Sunday from here on out... BUT if you'd be willing to come this one Sunday, I would be so honored! Growing up, I never was in theater or involved in a performance of any kind, but I can only imagine I would have felt the same way as I do now, hoping that my friends and family would come and see what I've been pouring my heart and time into. It's gonna be good, I promise!

I'm confident that God will show up and I'd love it if you did to!

Church services are at 9:15am and 11am! You can click HERE for directions on how to get there!

Abba's Children

Ahhhh!!! I just realized it's been FOREVER since I've updated about our church's unfolding orphan care ministry, Abba's Children, that is about to officially launch October 2nd! Exciting stuff is happening folks! Over the past several months, we've been dreaming, planning, praying, and developing Abba's Children and we've watched God stir hearts, answer prayers, provide leadership, and confirm that His heart truly does break for those in need. If I'm honest, there are times where I'm flat out overwhelmed considering all that God has in store for this ministry and the responsibility that comes with that as one of it's leaders. I've mentioned it before, but the fear of inadequacy and not meeting expectations is a constant battle for me. I'm regularly reminded that God likes my dependency on Him and He is leading this, not me. I'm so glad my only responsibility is to be obedient to what He asks of me, and then He'll do the work! Despite my fears, there is an underlying peace and joy as I trust in God's ability to develop and mold this ministry into what He desires! He has already proven to be so faithful!

So October 2nd is our "official" launch and I'm super pumped about it! We're going to be incorporating a powerful worship element that echoes God's heart that we are ALL adopted children of God. I would share, what we're doing, but I don't want to spoil the surprise- trust me, it's gonna be good! I'm hoping to have this element captured on video,  I'll post it here afterward for ya'll to see if we do in fact video it! After both services we're going to have a table set up with our leadership team ready to answer questions and hand out info with our upcoming events! I pray specifically that God's love would be reflected well, that the announcement of this ministry would come a blessing for families who have longed for support, that seeds would be planted in the hearts of those God desires to rise up to possibly pursue adoption/foster care, that souls would be burdened to make a forever impact in a child's life resulting in them taking the next step and signing up for our upcoming events, and that above all else, His name would be glorified! Would you join me in prayer for our Oct 2nd launch?

Even though we have yet to launch, God has already gathered a core group of passionate people who love orphans! It makes me smile to have seen first hand how sweet friendships have formed, how the power for prayer has knit families together, how heartfelt conversations and laughter have gone late into the night, and how we have CELEBRATED along side of one another as children have been joined with their forever families!!! This past weekend we were able to have have our 2nd Abba's Children Airport Welcome Home for one of our sweet families, the Stows! After a long and faithful journey to their precious son "L", they were finally able to bring him home from Ethiopia and begin their new adventure as a family of 4 (they also have an adopted daughter from China). Here are some pictures from their homecoming! Enjoy!