DTC (dossier to China)

We should be DTC by Tuesday. We are so grateful that we are one step closer to our little Grace. We're coming soon, precious girl!

Prayer for the Chapman family

My mind and heart have been so much on the Chapman family yesterday and today. May God give them peace and grace as they grieve the loss of their precious girl. She is dancing and singing with Jesus today! And though I am sure that the Chapman family knows that, they also know that death was not God's idea and plan. Please pray for them as they most certainly desperately miss their little girl. Here is a link to their story. http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/

Happy Birthday, Rosemary!

Our little Rosemary dog turns one year old today. The kids all sang "Happy Birthday" to her first thing when they woke up this morning. We sure enjoy our sweet little dog!

Yana and Lily's dance recital

Aren't they sweet? The girls really enjoyed their dance class this year. And the recital was beautiful.

Healing

Wow! We had a busy weekend. We went to a conference at our church that was focused on healing. Roger Sapp was the guest speaker and it was quite amazing and enlightening. We have been reading Performing Miracles and Healing, as preparation for the conference. I would highly, highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a biblical view of healing.

As just a brief overview, check out Matthew 9:35-10:2. Here, Jesus is telling the 12 disciples what he wants them to do. Then, he trains them to do it. He summoned the twelve and "gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.." (10:1) Then, Jesus sent out 70 more to do the same things. And later, He said that "he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father..." (John 14)

This, of course, is just a snippet of what the Bible says about healing. But, basically, Jesus healed all of those who came to Him. Then, He taught the disciples that they would also heal the multitudes, and He told us that we would do even "greater works"? Roger Sapp teaches that this is ordinary Christianity. And when I look at the biblical evidence for what Dr. Sapp is teaching, I realize that I have ignored what Jesus taught.

Now, I realize that this is a touchy subject and that there are a lot of crazy people out there who have actually hurt people in their claims about healing. But, Dr. Sapp is simply advocating looking at the biblical evidence. His emphasis is on the Father's heart for people and on the evidence of what Jesus did and what He taught.

What has your experience been in this area? I'd love to hear from others who are seeking God to understand His ways in all things, including, but not limited to, healing.

Please pray

Please pray for the people of Sichuan during this tragic time. My heart breaks for these precious people. Please pray, too, for our dear little Grace, who most certainly felt the effects of the earthquake. May she be home with us soon, and may our loving Father give her (and all of the children who are without parents to hold them during this difficult and frightening time) comfort and peace. Praise be to God that He is a Father, full of mercy and compassion. His heart is given to those whom He loves. May Grace know His love in a poignant way at this moment, on this day, and forever.

I 171 H !!!!!!!!!!!

We got our I 171 H in the mail today!!! Hooray!!! It was funny because it was not in a brown envelope (I got it confused with the one that we will get from the consulate in China, which is in a brown envelope), so I wasn't really sure that it was the right thing. I had to read it all to be sure. Then I called the adoption agency and tried to fax it to them, but our fax wasn't working. So, the kids and I got in the car and took it to Kinkos. It needs to be sent out to be authenticated and then everything will be on its way to China! We should be DTC in about two weeks.

Yana was so cute. She was absolutely shaking with excitement. She has been praying every day for the past week or so that it would come in the mail. God answered her prayers! All the kids were shouting out, "Praise God! Now we can go and get Grace. Can we go tomorrow?"

We are so very grateful. This morning, I had realized that if we didn't get our I 171 H soon that we may have to re-do some of our other documents (all documents can only be 6 months old when they are sent to China). We are glad that it won't be necessary to re-do anything! What a relief!

no brown envelope today

The kids have been waiting for that "brown envelope" (I 171) with great anticipation. Our mail comes late in the day and when we go out to get it, they always wait eagerly at the door to see if the "brown envelope" has come. Today, Lily went out to get the mail and she was absolutely beside herself with excitement because there was a brown envelope in the mail. But, when I told her that it wasn't the one that we were waiting for she cried. It was so sad. All of the kids love Grace so much. They are so ready to have her home with us.

Thankfulness

This is beautiful and so very helpful for me.

"I have purposed to try to live in such a way that nothing ever gets bigger than my consciousness of God's presence. Sometimes conflict can be as simple as bad news on TV. If it starts to weigh on my heart and grow bigger than my awareness of God, I consciously turn my affection toward Him to become more aware of His presence...I can't just know in my head that He's bigger; I have to have my entire being in a position where I am aware of His presence and expect His world to invade my life and circumstances. If I don't sustain this expectation, I will expect other forces to be the prime movers in my life and will begin to live defensively instead of offensively...When I stay close to the presence of God through thanksgiving, I not only become aware of His absolute ability to invade the impossible, I sense His radical love and delight in me! As I give thanks for the good gifts He's put in my life, I present convincing evidence that He is my Father, He is for me, and His opinion pretty much cancels out all the others. The wonderful thing is that when we simply begin to give thanks, even when it seems difficult to remember one answered prayer, it isn't too long before our focus on the good in our lives creates an opening for the Lord's joy." Bill Johnson, Strengthen Yourself in the Lord, pp.60-61

This is so encouraging to me. I want to live my life as a thankful person, where the presence of the Lord is always more tangible to me than my circumstances or difficulties (or perceived difficulties). I don't always succeed in this. I have often let my emotions rule my thoughts, which then affects what I do and don't do. But God is changing me, and I trust that He will continue to change me!