Getting Ready….. Set……Go!

 Isaiah 25:1

Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
    you have done wonderful things,
    things planned long ago

Just think... God planned all of this long ago!  He knew!  He planned! He spoke it all into life!  I don't know about you but reading this verse and resting in it makes me smile! Who are we that He would do "wonderful things" for us....with us.....to us!?!  I am humbled by the thoughts put into what I would do to honor Him.  Me! A sinner redeemed!  He used me! 

Oh but on to the news!

We are getting ready to go to Bulgaria to bring home our boys!

As this weekend draws near I cannot help but think of all that we will be doing!

This will be our last weekend here together as a family of 5!  The next weekend we are all here we will be a family of 7! (12 if you count those who don’t live with us)  Roger and I will be leaving in just one week to be re-united with our boys!  7 months  since we were with them!  There is much to do… most of it has to wait until just before we leave….

Planning for this 2^nd trip has been much like the 1^st trip.  I make the plans and God smiles and gently released my grip on them.  As much as I have learned about myself during this journey, I have learned so much more about the Father.  Mostly, I have gained a deeper level of dependence on Him because I have seen His faithfulness firsthand in so many ways!  So often we speak of His faithfulness…and His goodness.   Do we really get it?  Do we really understand that He has all of our needs covered… We do not need to figure everything out…. He will provide. 

Roger and I have been praying specifically for something the past month since we were approved in court.  We keep praying… and we keep praying boldly and asking for it in His name and according to His will.  We have gone to both extremes about whether or not He will say yes…..or no.  But we have not really thought much about the “wait” response that God can sometimes give us.  There have been moments when I have thought about ‘making the call’ myself, taking things into my own hands just so I can “know”.  But I refrained from doing that!  Instead I prayed.  As I opened my devotional this is what I found….

1 Kings 8:56

Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave.

Someday we will understand that God has a reason behind every no He gives us through the course of our lives.  Yet even in this life, He always makes it up to us.  When God’s people are worried and concerned that their prayers are not being answered, how often we have seen Him working to answer them in a far greater way!  Occasionally we catch a glimpse of this,  but the complete revelation of it will not be seen until later.

The person who knows how to wait has grown to an exceptional degree in God’s grace.

How about that?!

The person who knows how to wait!   I am learning…….

Has grown!   I am growing……..

God’s grace!   A way of life……… 

I don’t know when or if God will grant our request.  But I know that no matter what, it is what is best!  I know that if there are more changes to come, He will lead us through them and it will be as it should. I will keep my focus “in the tent” and prepare for our trip and for our growing family!

We would appreciate your prayers as we prepare, leave, reunite and return with our boys!

Please pray for ….

 

Our time together as a family before we leave to be peaceful and not too busy!

Our preparations to come together and continue to progress smoothly.

Our health.  That we would all stay healthy and get good rest.

The schedules for all of our boys staying home.  People caring for them and getting them  where they need to be.

Safe travel and that David and Jonathan do well on the plane ride home and in the airports.

The foster family as they prepare to say good bye to David and Jonathan, who they love so much.  I know they are already grieving the boys leaving.  We are so thankful for them!

For Levi and his fears of not being with us. 

For Sam and Jacob to be able to help Levi as they take on a bigger role in being caregivers for him and David and Jonathan when we come home.

For the final details to come together for the trip.

For the remaining travel and in-country expenses to be covered.  God is faithful!

For our lives to reflect Christ to all those we meet as we travel! 

We are so excited to bring our boys home!  We are so thankful for each and every one of you in our lives.  We know that there are no chance encounters but that God puts people together for His purposes.  We look forward to seeing what He is going to do next and humbly wait on Him!

Praising Him who works all things for good!

Roger and Laurie