Prayer Requests for the Smith Family for Our Adoption.

Prayer Requests for the Smith Family for Our Adoption.

 

Thank you to so many of you who have asked how can we pray for you and your family for your adoption and trip to Ukraine. We appreciate each prayer warrior and take seriously your commitment to us in this area of our lives. I found a wonderful prayer tool which I want to share with you from http://www.prayingscriptures.com/.

 

We know that there is nothing more powerful than God�s word. We would ask that you would join us in speaking The Word of God over our lives and the lives of our children on this trip, and always. This may seem long, but it is of more value to us than anything we can think of to ask you to do with us and for us as we travel to get the children, be a witness to the nations, and to their eyes, and raise them in Christ. I will follow the scriptures with some other family/adoption specific things to pray for us about as we travel and are in Ukraine.  

 

Please pray for us:

Ps 31:23..........Father, I thank You that our pastors are faithful,
Ps 31:23..........and that You preserve them.
Prov 28:20........That they abound with blessings,
Gal 6:9.............and do not grow weary in well doing.
Phil 1:6.............That You who began a good work in them will perfect it.
Eph 2:10...........They are Your workmanship created in Christ Jesus,
Heb 13:21.........and equipped in every good thing to do Your will.
Heb 13:21..........Work in them that which is well-pleasing in Your sight.
2Cor 9:8............Let all grace abound toward them, having sufficiency in all things,
2Cor 9:8...........and an abundance for every good work.
2Cor 9:6...........Because they have sowed bountifully, they will reap bountifully,
1Cor 3:6...........and whether they plant or water, Father, You give the increase.
2Cor 2:14..........I pray that they continually triumph in Christ,
2Cor 2:14..........diffusing the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
Deut 28:2..........That all blessings come upon them and overtake them,
Deut 28:2..........because they obey the voice of their God.
Ps 32:8.............Instruct them and teach them in the way they should go;
1Cor 2:10..........reveal the deeper things of God to them by Your Spirit.
2Tim 2:21..........Let them be vessels of honor, sanctified and useful for the Master,
2Tim 2:21..........prepared for every good work.
1Pet 5:2...........Shepherding the flock willingly, eagerly, and being an example to them.
1Cor 2:4...........Their speech and preaching is in demonstration of the Spirit and power.
2Tim 4:2...........And they are instant in season and out of season to preach the Word.
Josh 1:3............Every place the soles of their feet tread upon has been given to them.
Deut 31:6..........They are strong and of good courage for You, Lord, go with them.
Ps 27:14...........They wait on You, and You strengthen them in their heart.
Titus 1:5............Help them set in order things that are lacking,
Titus 1:5............and appoint elders in every city.
2Cor 10:4...........I tear down the strongholds over the pulpit.
Ex 17:11............I lift up our pastors and cover them
Heb 12:24..........with the blood of Jesus.
Deut 28.............Sickness and disease shall in no way come near them,
Gal 3:13............for they are redeemed from the curse of the law.
Isa 54:17...........I say that no weapon formed against them will prosper,
Isa 54:17...........and every tongue rising against them shall be shown to be in the wrong.
Cor 12:11..........Father, let the gifts and anointings on their lives come forth.
Luke 1:45..........Birth the things that You have spoken to them in their hearts,
Acts 6:4............as they continually give themselves to prayer
Acts 6:4............and the ministry of the Word.

Praying For The Children

Acts 19:20.........I thank you Father that Your Word prevails over our children.
Isa 54:13...........That they are taught of the Lord and continue to be
Prov 13:1.......... the fruit of godly instruction and correction.
Isa 54:13...........Great is their peace and undisturbed composure.
Prov 2:6............ Father, give us counsel and wisdom in bringing up our children.
1Pet 1:14.......... I say they are obedient, not conforming to the things of the flesh,
1Pet 1:15.......... but holy, in all conduct.
1Pet 2:2........... desiring the pure milk of the Word that they may grow thereby.
Jas 1:19............That they are swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath.
Heb 13:5.......... Their conduct is without covetousness,
Heb 13:5.......... and they are content with what they have.
Heb 13:16......... They do not forget to do what is right and to share.
2Pet 3:18.......... I pray that they grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord,
1Thes 4:1......... and abound more and more in how they should walk and please You.
1Pet 5:5........... That they submit to their elders, and to one another,
1Pet 5:5........... being clothed with humility.
1Pet 5:7........... That they cast their cares upon You, Father, for You care for them.
Jas 1:22............I thank You that they are doers of the Word, and not hearers only,
Ph'm 1:6...........effectively sharing their faith.
2Tim 1:7 ..........not having a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.
2Tim 1:9...........Father, You have saved them and called them with a holy calling,
2Tim 1:9 ..........not according to works, but according to Your own purpose.
2Tim 4:18.........Deliver them from every evil work and preserve them.
John 10:5 ........They will by no means follow strangers, not knowing their voices.
2Tim2:22 .........They abide with others who call on the Lord out of a pure heart,
Jas 3:10 ..........and cursing comes not out of their mouth.
1Jn 5:18 ..........Because Jesus keeps them safe, the wicked one does not touch them.
Ps 91:11..........Give Your angels special charge to accompany, defend, preserve
Ps 4:8.............and provide safety for them, day and night.
1Jn 2:5 ...........Because they keep Your Word, Your love is being perfected in them.
1Jn 2:15 .........They do not love the world or the things in the world,
3Jn 1:11..........and they do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.
1Jn 1:7 ...........They walk in the light as You are in the Light,
Jas 4:8 ...........cleansing their hands and purifying their hearts,
2Tim 2:22 .......They follow after righteousness, faith, love, and peace.
Heb 13:18........They have a good conscience and desire to live honorably,
Prov 3:4 ..........having favor and high esteem with God and man.

All nations around the world are included in this prayer. Or you can pray for an individual nation such as "the nation of UKRAINE."

Praying For The Nations

Joel 3:12...........Let the nations be awakened!
Isa 1:2..............Let the earth hear the voice of the Lord!
Ps 9:20............Judge the nations in Your sight, Father, and put them to fear,
Ps 9:20.............that they might know themselves to be but men.
Rom 8:22..........Father, the whole creation groans and labors
Rom 8:21..........to be delivered from the bondage of corruption,
Rom 8:21..........into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Jn 15:26...........Send forth Your Spirit of Truth to bear witness of You,
Jn 16:8.............and to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
Eze 14:6..........Cause them to repent and to turn from their idols.
Hag 2:7............Shake the nations, so they will come to the Desire of All Nations(Jesus).
Num 23:24........Father, cause Your people to rise up.
Joel 3:11..........Gather Your mighty ones to prepare for war.
Joel 3:14..........Bring the multitudes into the valley of decision.
Jer 49:14..........Send Your ambassadors into all the nations.
Col. 4:3............Open to them a door for the Word, to speak the mystery of Christ,
Mt 24:14...........that the gospel of the kingdom may be preached in all the world.
Ps 111:6..........You have declared to Your people the power of Your works,
Ps 111:6...........in giving them the heritage of the nations.
Phil 2:10...........Let every knee bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord!
Isa 61:11...........Cause righteousness and praise to spring forth.
Hab 2:14...........Let the earth be filled with the knowledge of the glory
Hab 2:14...........of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Isa 43:9.............Father, gather the nations together,
Ps 22:27............that they may worship Thee,
Ps 46:10............and exult Thee in all the earth.
Gal 3:8...............Let all the nations be blessed through Your people,
Zech 14:14.........and let the wealth of the heathen be gathered together
2Kin 22:5...........and be delivered into the hands of Your people for the work of the Lord.
Isa. 49:6............Send forth Your salvation to the ends of the earth,
Mk 12:36...........and make Your enemies to be Your footstool.

Praying For Pastor's Family

1Pet 4:8...........Father, I pray that their family members love one another.
1Pet 4:9...........That they are hospitable to one another without complaint.
1Pet 4:11.........Serving by the strength that You supply,
1Pet 4:11.........so that in all things You may be glorified.
1Thes 5:11.......I pray that they encourage one another, comfort, edify,
Acts 20:32.......and build one another up.
Mt 18:19..........That they stand in agreement in every area of their lives,
Neh 8:10..........Letting the joy of the Lord be their strength,
Col 3:15...........with the peace of God ruling in their hearts.
Ps 138:8..........Father, I thank You that You're perfecting
Ps 138:8..........everything concerning them.
Ps 92:10..........Anoint them with fresh oil.
Ps 103:5..........Satisfy them with good things,
Ps 103:5..........So that their youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Ps 92:14..........In old age they shall still bear fruit,
Ps 92:14..........and be fresh and flourishing.
Ps 91:16..........With a long life You will satisfy them.
Job 1:10...........Father, place a hedge of protection
Job 1:10...........around them, around their household,
Job 1:10...........and around all that they have on every side.
Ps 34:7............I thank You that the angel of the Lord encamps
Ps 34:7............round about them and delivers them from all evil,
Ps 91:3............from the snare of the fowler, from every pestilence,
Ps 91:10..........and that no plague will come near their dwelling.
Prov 3:24..........They shall lie down and their sleep shall be sweet.
Prov 16:7..........Because their ways please You Lord,
Prov 16:7..........You make their enemies to be at peace with them.
Deut 29:9..........They keep Your word and do it,
Deut 29:9..........therefore, they prosper in all that they do.
Jn 15:4.............Because they abide in You and delight them selves in You,
Ps 37:4............You give them the desires of their heart.
1Pet 5:6............And because they humble themselves, exalt them in due season.
1Pet 4:19..........I thank You Father that they are committed to You, to doing good,
1Pet 5:7...........casting all their cares upon You, for You care for them.
1Pet 5:8...........That they are sober, vigilant, continually resisting the devil,
1Pet 5:9...........and steadfast in their faith.
1Pet 5:10..........Father, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle them in Jesus' name.

Please pray

�      for our travel, for us to safely make our connections, for our luggage to make it with us to Kiev and to each destination.

�      for our friends in Kiev who are graciously allowing us to stay with them as we begin our adoption process in UA.

�      For our facilitators and their team. For their families, for their health, and the health of their families, and for them to be ministered to by us as they minister to our family. Help us to show them the love and deep appreciation we have for them, and share with each of them the love of Christ.

�      For us to be a good witness to each person we come in contact with in UA.

�      Please pray on Jan. 22^nd for our appointment at the SDA. We will be meeting with our first round of government officials to determine if we are going to be allowed to adopt the children. All of them! Please ask God for us to have His favor upon us and for soft hearts and an open helpful spirit from the people at the SDA.

�      Please pray for Director A. that she will be open to us visiting with two of the boys before we are technically allowed so to do. Please ask that our visit with her would go well and that we would have her favor and her permission to visit with the children in her care.

�      Please ask God to open doors for us to learn as much about our children from each director, caregiver, and teacher that we visit with. They are under NO OBLIGATION to share this information with us to the depth that we are asking God to give us. What we find out now is what we have to go on with the kids. Ask for favor that we might be allowed to learn of their family history, medical history, schooling, any photo�s they have of them� anything to help us help them hold their lives and memories together.

�      Please help us as we deal with Director B.  Please ask for a soft heart from her and a willingness to share information with us about our child in her care. Please pray that we would be allowed to minister to other children in her care that we know and love. Ask God on our behalf for protected time with those children so that we may show them the unconditional love of their parents who are waiting to come and get them on their behalf. We have a chance by God�s grace to interact with them and to by proxy be the arms of their amazing parents fighting to get to them. Please pray for us that we would be allowed this honor for the kids on our friend�s behalf. She is not notoriously fond of Americans. God on the other hand can do anything through anyone He chooses. We claim this truth.

�      Please pray for Director C. that God would allow us to have a good rapport with him instantly and that he will be easy to work with in helping to get our kids paper work settled. We have not met him and are anxious to make his acquaintance and learn about the needs of his orphanage.

�      We think that there is a Director D. that we may interact with and we ask that she will be as benevolent as we have encountered her to be in the past and that for the sake of the children she will be helpful to us in finding out information about one of our boys schooling and health information.

�      Please pray for each court appearance that we have. Please ask that we would be able to schedule court expediently (and yes I did just use expedient in tandem with Ukraine).  Please ask that we would be fortunate enough to encounter Christian judges and office workers in the places that we go to process paper work and that they would be helpful to us as we gather up what we need to press forward and get home. If this not be His will ask please that because of His love through us that they will be touched by His grace and be pressed by the Holy Spirit to consider their heart need of Jesus.

�      Please ask the Lord for the salvation of our children and of other children that we come in contact with.

�      Please pray with us about friends in UA that we have been praying with and for about their salvation.

�      Please pray for us all for our physical health. It is going to be quite cold and we need to be at our best to take care of the kids and each other.

�      I know this one sounds odd, but please pray for me (Jenn) not to slip and fall on ice, did this as a kid and am not the most coordinated person I know! Walking and chewing gum is sometimes a challenge!

�      Please ask for our bonding time with the kids to be blessed and for them to take to us and us to them quickly.

�      Please ask that they would recognize us as their parents and that they would begin quickly to come to us to allow us to meet their needs, learning that we are their safe place. Learning to trust us, even though they do not know us well yet, to take care of them.

�      Please pray for there to be no outside interference from others as they learn to bond to us.

�      Please ask God for his protection of our legal custody of the kids esp. during our 10 day wait when people are able to come forward and appeal the judges choice to let us be their parents if they are family who can take care of the kids.

�      Please pray for our security while we are there. Ukraine has a cash economy and when we travel we will have to keep currency with us instead of traveler�s checks etc.

�      Please pray for things to go smoothly when we go to get the children�s Ukrainian passports. We will need these in order to get their American passports processed!

�      Please pray for easy flight plans home, and for gas prices to be down at that time so that ticket prices will be down too. Please ask for God to get us all on the same plane together home!

�      Please pray for our families as we are gone, for their health and well being. It is hard to be out of pocket for this amount of time we need to be focused on our kids and not on the folks at home. Knowing they are safe in a prayer net will ease our anxieties about the time away from them. Please pray especially for Jenn�s brother and new sister in law as they are getting married on March 8^th. Please ask for God�s will to be done in getting the kids home from UA in a timely fashion if we are to be able to attend. Our time line looks like it will bump right up against that week. In an 8 week scenario.

�      Please pray for Terry & Chelle Martin as they lead Olivet�s Youth ministry while we are in UA. Ask God�s blessing and favor on them as they take the lead in sharing Christ with our kids here, and ministering to their needs.

�      Please pray with us as we will celebrate Mark�s 35^th Birthday while in Ukraine, as well as one of our boys 14^th birthday!

�      Please ask God to give us many chances in Feb. around Valentine�s Day to share HIS AMAZING LOVE JESUS with the people of Ukraine.

�      Since Mark and I may be spending a sizable chunk of time separate from each other please pray for good communication with each other by phone/email so that we can keep up and help encourage each other daily!

 

Thank you for your commitment to our family and most of all to God in prayer for us!

We love you and cannot make this journey alone! We need you with us each step of the way! This is where the fun really starts!

Love,

Mark and Jenn and the Fab. Five!

 

 

Resolution

New Years Eve is the time that a lot of people make resolutions about next year. For me, the word resolution is more about looking back than forward. So you can feel me on this, this is from Websters on line dictionary (and no smarties :) I do not look up every word I blog, as is evident by my spelling!)

Resolution:Main Entry: res�o�lu�tion Pronunciation: \ˌre-zə-ˈl�-shən\ Function:noun

Etymology: Middle English resolucioun, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French resolucion, from Latin resolution-, resolutio, from resolvere

Date: 14th century

1: the act or process of resolving: as a: the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones b: the act of answering : solving c: the act of determining d: the passing of a voice part from a dissonant to a consonant tone or the progression of a chord from dissonance to consonance e: the separating of a chemical compound or mixture into its constituents f (1): the division of a prosodic element into its component parts (2): the substitution in Greek or Latin prosody of two short syllables for a long syllable g: the analysis of a vector into two or more vectors of which it is the sum2: the subsidence of a pathological state (as inflammation)3 a: something that is resolved <made a resolution to mend my ways> b: firmness of resolve4: a formal expression of opinion, will, or intent voted by an official body or assembled group5: the point in a literary work at which the chief dramatic complication is worked out6 a: the process or capability of making distinguishable the individual parts of an object, closely adjacent optical images, or sources of light b: a measure of the sharpness of an image or of the fineness with which a device (as a video display, printer, or scanner) can produce or record such an image usually expressed as the total number or density of pixels in the image <a resolution of 1200 dots per inch>

synonyms see courage

 

I love to journal, I've been writing stories and sharing via this medium for years. My Great Aunt Janet used to say, "Watch what you do and say you'll end up in her book." She knew from experience. The funny thing about blogging is, it is really a public forum about your life... and I am a hyper private person, and not much of one to have a focus on me. I want to document this journey for our kids, and for those who come behind us if there is a mistake we make they can learn from or if by God's grace we do something that is right we want to share it!

This is a set up to tell you that you may read things that are here that you didn't know or that are not well known and to keep you from blowing a gasket as you learn them.

 

For a start... this business of resolution. "5: the point in a literary work at which the chief dramatic complication is worked out".  In May Mark and I were approached by a family, a young girl and her folks, about the adoption of her unborn baby. No, we did not share it with many people, but it was a huge event in our lives. We met with the family and their daughter. Fell in love with them all, and forged a friendship. Our girl as I will call her is precious. She is beautiful, smart, talented, and funny. Her family is all this and precious to us. They have become good friends. One of the things that Mark and I knew when we met her was to keep our expectations of this idea low, and just meet her to encourage her as a young woman in need of support and some extra love. We told her the truth. Her choice to give life to her baby is the best choice she will ever make, and one she will never regret. She will be able to live with herself and not be haunted by demons from her past over a choice made by someone to young really to know better who was drifting through a fog, hardly able to make a good choice for herself, much-less about a baby. She is a hero. A good Mom.

 

For a short season our girl was sure of her choice to place her child for adoption. We went to a lawyer in Pensacola and we began the paper work process knowing that we should have our date and hopefully be home by the time she had baby boy. Shortly before our first Doctor's visit, our girl made some different choices than we were comfortable with, and right after our Dr. visit, she "moved" temporarily. We knew we could not ride with her on this roller coaster, and we were sure that we needed to back up and stay focused on our kids from UA. That our ministry was just that, a ministry to her, but that her baby was not our son. 

 

In my heart, I have to say, I had let myself start to think that we might in fact be about to have a baby. I am really not that hot around little guys and gals. I am way more comfortable with the bigins... they can tell you what they mean and they mean what they tell you :) most of the time! But here I was dreaming like a crazy woman of this family of six kids and two dogs and our lovely "quiet" (haha) home in this city I have come to really love. When our girl moved, my heart broke. I was hurt and a little angry, but mostly at myself. I knew better having worked at a CPC than to think that this precious girl would do anything but want what all Mama's want which is to hold their little one. I slipped up and hoped for her to mean what she was saying, even though I knew when I talked to her her eyes said she wanted him. I love her. She is a beautiful person. She is going to make a wonderful Mother. I believe in her. 

 

Her Mom called a little while ago to tell me that our girl had baby boy. That they are healthy and beautiful and doing well. That the family is ok. Resolution.

 

Does your mind trick you sometimes? Do you ever stop to think what all God has brought you through in a year? Or do you, like me and so many, just race by and "forget" what has gone on in your life? Seriously what all God has allowed you to experience to learn from? To gain, "resolve" ( synonyms see courage )from?

 

It is amazing. This idea of being still to know that He is God. Not to think He is God, not to ponder, or debate, deliberate, entertain, meditate, mull (over), question, ruminate on this fact... but to KNOW,comprehend, grasp, understand that in point of fact HE IS GOD. He doesn't make a mistake. He can even make good out of our past pain. Baby boy is here. Some how in some minuscule way we had the blessing and privilege of being a part of his life even for a short time. We were able to encourage our girl that she is right to feel for him and want him. Resolution my friends. Praise God!

 

Here is what is the best part is... I want to share this article:

Be Still and Know that I Am God

February 27, 2006

by Jason Jackson

The admonition, �Be still, and know that I am God� (Psalm 46:10), is often misunderstood. In this brief article, Jason Jackson explores the meaning of the sacred text. Study this devotional with us.

�Be still, and know that I am God� (Psalm 46:10). God�s people are commanded to �be still� in this verse. The imperative gives a solemn duty to those in a covenant relationship with God�Israel in the Old Testament, but today, it is given to Christians (cf. Galatians 3:26-29).

What does it mean when God�s own are commanded to �be still�? The injunction is not given to restrict the mobility of God�s people. The duty represents a spiritual disposition that ought to characterize those to whom God�s unfailing promises have been given.

The word translated �be still� comes from the Hebrew term raphah. This word is found in various forms in the Old Testament, with different shades of meaning. It refers to that which is slack, or to let drop, or in some instances, to be disheartened or weak. When used of a person (as opposed to some inanimate object) it often has a negative connotation.

Interestingly, �be weak� is here commanded. In other contexts, those who let their hands �drop� from work are condemned. Those who are disheartened are commanded to take courage. In contexts where �being still� is condemned, we find that certain obligations were being neglected, and God�s people were admonished to take initiative to fulfill their duties.

Sadly, there are those who are far from �still�; they �do all the work� and give God none of the credit. They believe that by �lifting up their hands� and by �taking courage,� they can survive and thrive by the sweat of their own brow. They can do it all on their own, without any divine dependence.

Here is the irony in this term �be still.� While we must take the initiative to fulfill our responsibilities and live our lives, the uncertainties of living in a world of sin and woe will continually challenge us. Personal initiative is no substitute for reliance upon God (cf. James 4:13-17).

This command��be still��forces us to think on two things: that we are finite, and that God is infinite. That being the case, we need to drop our hands, go limp, relax, and �chill out.� Christian people ought to �come, behold the works of Jehovah,� (v. 8) that we may enjoy a calm confidence in him who gave us his Son.

�Shall he not also with him freely give us all things?� Paul reasoned (Romans 8:32). Psalm 46:10 encourages us to reflect on what God can do in the face of what we are unable to do.

Spiritual serenity, the psalmist admits, ought to be cultivated in spite of the shaking mountains and agitated waters (vv. 2-3; i.e., figures for the difficulties we face in life). This spiritual calm, that God commands, does not come from a lack of troubles; it derives from a steady, deep reflection on the ways God has intervened in history on behalf of his people (cf. Romans 15:4).

So as your world crumbles around you, the call from Scripture is: don�t flinch in faith in God. Stand still�not because of a self-made confidence, not because you are the most composed person in the face of disaster, not because �you�ve seen it all.� Be still because of what you know about God.

It is �God�s past� that provides calm for �our future.� Know that he is God! Know it, not merely intellectually, but practically, spiritually, and emotionally. He is your God. He is the ruler of kingdoms of this earth and the all-powerful Creator of the Universe.

If you are the last man or woman standing, be still. �God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth do change� (Psalm 46:1-2a). Hallelujah!

Resolution... Amen?

 10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
       I will be exalted among the nations,
       I will be exalted in the earth."

 

He will be exalted among the nations. He has been, and He will be... and by some amazing choice on His part fully cognizant of our frail humanity, He has chosen Mark and I to participate in His plan. He has invited us to go to a nation, and love people and children, and ask them to join our family. Who are we? My mind is blown by His love for us... by this plan of His to write us into His story. Watch out, He is writing you into it too. How is that for a resolution?

 

Happy New Year... Welcome 2008. Welcome!

Jenn

 

Dress rehersal...

"For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span? And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -(Matthew 6:25-34)

Ok so today Mark and I have been cleaning out our garage to make room for the storage bins that will accomidate what used to be my sewing/craft jazz/what ever you have left over that you cram into what used to be spare closets which are now your CHILDRENS closets! & have I mentioned in 17 days we are leaving??? OMGosh!

It was also go to Khols and get the "Big Ones" towels on sale for a mere $2.49 each in Navy and DARK brown b/c according to all my Mom friends boys need dark towels they are very dirty creatures! :) I LOVE MUD so this will not offend me nor be a problem. Dirt is cool in fact I know b/c it is God's favorit medium don't knock it! However in the interest of long range planning... dark colors it is. Also picked out the softest most lovely and girly bathrobe I could find for the most beautiful princessa on the planet. It is long past time for her to be pampered. I am praying to spend the rest of my life correcting that issue :) I found Bed in Bags on sale and got one for each wild man. & then was like that is it game over I have to get home! Our number one son is in town this weekend and we got a chance to spend some time with Damian over dinner which is always a treat! He and Mark are gaming tonight hence my time to blog and settle down peacefully with my keyboard. :) Cyber journals... love it.

Spent another hour or so picking through my closet having a mini freak out over what to wear to court in UA. It is cold. It is snowy. It is cold, did I mention it is cold? I am digging in my closet thinking about all this when the Holy Spirit reminds me this is not a major issue for Him.... and should not be for me either. Problem solved. Jesus is the ultimate Easy Button :) & in case you want to know, black skirt and red top. I know, I know, red is a loud color and a power color and could be considered provoking etc... but I look good in red dang it :) if I do say so myself and I did, and so I want to feel confident that day or at least pretend that I am feeling confident! :) so red it is!

You know walking through Kohls with all those stinking towels... I know the people thought I must be like planning on bathing an army. It was funny, and some how, empowering... by the same token listening to another woman who is already a Mom pick out stuff on clearance to "put away for next year" when her son will be this and so size was kind of stinky because I was standing there guessing if my boys would fit in any thing I was looking at...and I want to do something for them to take with me you know?

I am learning. :) Tomorrow ... we take on the dreaded closets... if I do not post for days... please come dig me out I do not want to miss our flight! :)

Lovin,

J

One Question Can Change Your Life...

In 1997 on Christmas Eve my precious husband took me to dinner at Carrabba's, and then to a party at a friends house. We had some time before the 11pm service at Hendrick's Avenue Baptist Church. Mark and I spent time at my parents house and while we were there he asked me to answer one of the most important questions of my life. Would I marry him? I had been thinking about this question to be honest for a long time. I was ready to answer him. Ready to belong to him. Ready to, in effect, change each other's lives forever by both his asking and my answering the question. 

We have been struggeling with our adoption to some degree. In Ukraine there is no preselection of children. You can however preidentify a child you have met in a hosting program. We are so excited about the kids that we met in the 2006 program sponsored by Reach Orphans with Hope. We had the privilage of meeting kids from two different areas that summer. By fall of 06 we visited four different orphanages in UA to share love, and aid, and hope with the children there. We met so many children with such amazing personalities, you can see their desire for a family in their eyes. You can feel the love they have to share with a family and their desire for a Mama and a Papa. We wish we could adopt them all. We are faced with the reality however that we can't. We are thankful to be approved for five children. We know that because there is no preselection in UA we are only able to ask the government if they will consider our request to allow us to adopt the children that we spent time with and feel like are a fit for our family.

We have asked God to watch over each part of this journey. We know that He has. He has allowed us to meet amazing people. Not the least of which are the children that we are praying that He will add to our family. We have been asking all along that He will show us who these children are and that they would want to be ours as much as we want them to be in our family. We have been struggeling with the fifth child for a long time. We have had several kids that we hoped would be a part of our family. Each time there has been something that has happened to get in the way of us saying yes in our hearts to who that fifth child might be. Today, I got a call from a friend who wanted us to talk to another couple in Ukraine who is adopting from one of the orphanages that we believe one of our sons lives in currently. She advised me to call this family and hear what they had to say about one of the children they met. I called. I listened. I remembered. Now, we pray. We are at a place where I understand what Mark went through when he asked me to Marry him. He had to think about the fact that the question he was about to ask me, the committment he was ready to make to me, would change my life and his forever.  One question would change a dynamic. Our marriage would be born. With it our family. Our family. One question would make a shift in the way that life is lived and the way we share our faith in Christ with others. We are praying for each of the children that we think belong in our home. Praying that when we ask them if they would like to be a part of our family that they will be able to answer with confidence, "yes."

Today, as a Christmas present, I think God has blessed us with another son. Time will tell. God will show us. We are so excited to see how this journey continues.

Merry Christmas.

Mark & Jenn

Merry Christmas Here & There

All,

We are very sincerely thankful for each of you and your families. We have laughed and cried with you, learned with you, and are growing in His grace with each of you daily especially where our children and families are concerned. It is not easy to be at a distance from the family we connected with through Reach Orphans with Hope you are each part of the web God used to weave our family together. Each of you representing a strand in that web, that while delicate from the outside, and the picture of a beautifully constructed community, is also strong and able to weather each adversity in Christ. We are thankful for your encouragement through out the year. We are thankful for your friendship and for the time that you invest in our growing family and in each others. We watch you as a body of believers and friends from a distance and we are so excited with you for each triumph and joy your families experience. We pray for  you, pray for Reach Orphans with Hope, pray for your children and those yet to make it home. We join you in prayer for those especially who have no place to call home even still.

We love you guys and look forward to all the amazing things the Father will do in 2008 to show His glory to each of us. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your families. You are all a part of ours.

Love,

The Smiths ~ Here and There.

 

Peaceful

Mom is helping address my Nana's Christmas cards, the dogs are all sprawled out sleeping in corners and on couches (I know I know), the tree is lit, Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas is playing on the radio while Mom hums it, Nana is swaying her feet in the recliner listening along... who knew at almost 90 she would like Bebo Norman? I love it. & I need this moment.

I have struggled with the loss of my Pop Pop so much. This Christmas is so bitter sweet for me. So amazing that we are so close the the children... we leave on the 16th, and yet so hard for me to know that Pop Pop who I love so much will not be here to meet them. I know that it is from pure selfishness that I miss him. He is in heaven with Jesus and is so much better off than any of us are here. It means so much to me that Mom and Dad have come here for a couple of days and brought my Nana. Dad is outside working with Mark and Brother Frankie on getting everything done for tomorrow when the man will come to pour concrete for our new shed in the back. Today has been a day that Pop Pop would be so proud of because of he way that it has gone so amazing from the start.

Yesterday we had no idea that we would be able to do today and tomorrow for sure what we hoped. God has provided in abundance for us. He provided the papers we needed from the contractor, the approval from he city, a friend of our family who does pest control came on short notice and sprayed for us, the city inspector came out and declared what the guys got done in no time just the three of them ready for tomorrow. & They got the rebar in and done before the rain came. It had just started as they were cleaning up. Mom and Nana & I prayed this morning for God to hold it off so it could get done so we would be ready for tomorrow. I was so thankful ya'll... so thankful.

We are going to celebrate Nana's 90th birthday tonight early since Mark and I will be in UA in Feb and miss the actual day. I'm excited to have that time with her. To shaIt this blessing with my parents and my husband is really precious to me. I will miss being there on the actual day but this will help me to know that we have done all we can to share love with her before we go. She said making the drive was hard on her because she laid down for the time. But she said that she was enjoying every minute with us here and comments on how nice it is and peaceful. I am so thankful that she is here you can't know. My grandparents mean the world to me. Mark and I have tried to go and to spend time with them as often in the last 9 years as we could. He has been great to me to always let me go when I needed to be home if it was for illness or celebration. That is not easy as a Pastor's wife to just drop responsibilities and go, but Mark has been so good and I have appreciated his goodness to me and to them over the years. It has been so much sweeter to me this last 5 years as their health has been in decline. He is good to me to always be supportive even when it means I am gone on 30 min. notice and gone for weeks at that. He has been so good. I have a wonderful honey! He is going to be an amazing Dad :)

Damian came home last night and spent time with the family. He and my parents and Nana talked about investments. It was funny to see him as our "adult child" listening and really taking in all they shared. He was so good with Nana. It was awesome for my folks to share advice with him. To encourage his choices about his future and how to work toward some financial security... just to be there and watch I just kept praying and thanking God for each moment it was so special. I love that boy so much. He had grown into such an awesome young man. I am proud of him for so much, not the least of which that he serves our county in he Airforce. He would think nothing of that, but it is huge to me. He has come so far in this life with God's help. He is such a work of His hands and I see Jesus in him each time we spend time with him.

I am excited about going to get the kids. Praying for them and for them to know that we love them miss them and are coming for them. I pray for the Graces who are there that they might see our precious girl and encourage her heart. I just feel she needs it so much. I want her to know we are going to be there. I want to just be with each of them and hug them and hold them and begin this bonding process.

Giver of creation, bringer of salvation
Word of God, eternal life
Praise the Son of God
Promised One of Heaven
To bring us to your Kingdom
Rescued us from darkness
Praise the Son of God

(chorus)
Jesus, light of the world
Shine on us, shine on us
Word of life, spoken for love
Breathe on us, breathe on us
Light of the world, King Jesus

Darkness will obey your voice
Weakness will in you rejoice
You have bound the broken heart
Praise the Son of God
Jesus
You have shown your father's heart
And to us you will impart
The holiness of all you are
Praise the Son of God

(chorus)

Shine, breathe, live through us (4x)

(chorus 2x)

God's beating heart, live through us (3x)
Light of the world, King Jesus
King Jesus, shine on us, shine on us

Thank you Lord. Thank you... 

Salvation

1. ЗАКОН ПЕРВЫЙ
БОГ ЛЮБИТ ВАС; У НЕГО ЕСТЬ УДИВИТЕЛЬНЫЙ, ПРЕКРАСНЫЙ ЗАМЫСЕЛ ОТНОСИТЕЛЬНО ВАШЕЙ ЖИЗНИ.(Цитаты, содержащиеся в этом тексте, желательно читать в библейском контексте.) Божья любовь"Ибо так возлюбил Бог мир, что отдал Сына Своего единородного, дабы всякий, верующий в Него, не погиб, но имел жизнь вечную"(Иоанна 3:16). Божий замысел Христос сказал: "Я пришел для того, чтоб имели жизнь, и имели c избытком", т.е. полноценную жизнь, наполненную глубоким духовным смыслом. (Иоанна 10:10). Почему же у большинства людей нет этой жизни «с избытком»?Потому что ...

2. ЗАКОН ВТОРОЙ
ЧЕЛОВЕК ГРЕШЕН И ОТДЕЛЕН ОТ БОГА. ПОЭТОМУ ЧЕЛОВЕК НЕ В СОСТОЯНИИ НИ ПОЗНАТЬ, НИ ИСПЫТАТЬ ЛЮБОВЬ БОГА И ЕГО ЗАМЫСЕЛ.
Человек грешен "Потому что все согрешили и лишены славы Божией" (Рuмлянам 3:23). Человек был сотворен для того, чтобы иметь общение с Богом, но из-за упрямого своеволия человек избрал свой собственный путь. В результате этого общение с Богом было нарушено. Это своеволие, которое выражается в активном неповиновении Богу или просто в равнодушном отношении к Нему, Библия называет грехом.
Человек отлучен от Бога «Ибо возмездие за грех - смерть» (духовное отлучение от Бога) (Рuмлянам 6:23).

Этот рисунок показывает, что Бог свят, а человек грешен. Огромная пропасть разделяет их. Стрелки показывают, что человек постоянно пытается достичь Бога и жизни с избытком своими собственными силами, например, добрыми делами, философией или религией. На единственный выход из этого тупика нам указывает третий закон.

3. ЗАКОН ТРЕТИЙ
ИИСУС ХРИСТОС - ЕДИНСТВЕННЫЙ, ДАННЫЙ БОГОМ ПУТЬ ИЗБАВЛЕНИЯ ОТ ЧЕЛОВЕЧЕСКОГО ГРЕХА. ЧЕРЕЗ НЕГО ВЫ МОЖЕТЕ ПОЗНАТЬ И ИСПЫТАТЬ ЛЮБОВЬ БОГА И ЕГО ЗАМЫСЕЛ. Он умер зa нас. "Но Бог Свою любовь к нам доказывает тем, что Христос умер за нас, когда мы были еще грешниками." (Рuмлянам 5:8). Он воскрес из мертвых. "Христос умер за грехи наши... Он погребен был... и воскрес в третий день, по Писанию, и... явился Кифе, потом двенадцати; потом явился более нежели пятистам..."
(1 Коринфянам 15:3-6).
Христос - единственный путь к Богу."Иисус сказал ему: Я есмь путь и истина и жизнь; никто не приходит к Отцу, как только чрез Меня" (Иоанна 14:6).

Из рисунка видно, что Бог перебросил мост через пропасть, разделившую Его и человека, послав Своего Сына, Иисуса Христа, умереть на кресте вместо нас, чтобы понести наказание за наши грехи. Недостаточно просто знать эти три закона...

4. ЗАКОН ЧЕТВЕРТЫЙ
НАМ НУЖНО ЛИЧНО ПРИНЯТЬ ИИСУСА ХРИСТА КАК СПАСИТЕЛЯ И ГОСПОДА; ТОЛЬКО ПОСЛЕ ЭТОГО МЫ СМОЖЕМ ПОЗНАТЬ ЛЮБОВЬ БОГА И ЕГО ЗАМЫСЕЛ. Нам нужно принять Христа"А тем, которые приняли Его, верующим во имя Его, дал власть быть чадами Божиими" (Иоанна 1:12) Мы принимаем Христа - верой "Ибо благодатию вы спасены чрез веру, и сие не от вас, Божий дар; не от дел, чтобы никто не хвалился" (Ефесянам 2:8-9). Приняв Христа, мы рождаемся заново -->(Иоанна 3:1-8) Мы принимаем Христа посредством личного приглашения Христос сказал: «Се, стою у двери и стучу: если кто услышит голос Мой и отворит дверь, войду к нему...«(Откровение 3:20). Принятие Христа заключается в обращении к Богу от самого себя (покаянии) и решении позволить Христу войти в нашу жизнь, простить наши грехи и сделать из нас таких людей, какими Он желает нас видеть. Недостаточно просто осознать разумом, что Иисус Христос есть Сын Божий и что Он умер на кресте за наши грехи. Также недостаточно иметь эмоциональные переживания. Главное - принять Христа верой. Принятие Иисуса Христа верой - это действие нашей воли.

Какой круг лучше изображает вашу жизнь?Который из них вам хотелось бы избрать? Далее объясняется, как вы можете принять Христа.
ВЫ МОЖЕТЕ ПРИНЯТЬ ХРИСТА ВЕРОЙ ПРЯМО СЕЙЧАС, ОБРАТИВШИСЬ К НЕМУ В МОЛИТВЕ(Молитва - это разговор с Богом.) Бог хорошо знает человеческое сердце. Поэтому Ему важны не столько слова, сколько состояние вашего сердца.Молитва может звучать примерно так:Гocпoдь Ииcyc, я нуждаюсь в Тебе. Благодарю Тебя за смерть на кресте за мои грехи. Я открываю дверь моей жизни и принимаю Тебя как моего Спасителя и Господа. Благодарю Тебя за прощение моих грехов и за дар вечной жизни. Возьми мою жизнь в Свои руки. Сделай из меня такого человека, каким Ты хочешь меня видеть. Благодарю Тебя, Великого Бога: Отца, Сына и Святого Духа. АминьВыражает ли эта молитва желание вашего сердца? Если да, то помолитесь этой молитвой прямо сейчас, и Христос войдет в вашу жизнь, как Он обещал. молились ли вы этой молитвой?

Life Books.

32 days tomorrow... OMGosh... tonight we went through all our papers. Each scrap from the beginning to now. our living room looked like a recycle bin. :) Keeping what we need, tossing old papers that are of no value, saving things for life books... just piles of paper. I'm amazed. basically 3 years was strewn all over our living room... 3 years of prayer, fight, tears, excitement, all waiting for Jan. 16th take off, and Jan 22nd SDA... All really waiting for our lives to start over in the most amazing bizarre way. Wonder if He counts down the day till we finally accept Him? Wonder what it is like for Him to anticipate that moment from us? Wonder what His "recycle bin" of our lives from before must have looked like. Oh Praise Jesus it is empty now... & He started our life books for us...

I miss them tonight so much :) soon... soon!!!

Closer and Closer!

I found this on another blog and I loved what the author shared. I would like to share it here ;)

19 Days � Adoption

(This is actually a re-post from a former blog of mine. I wrote it about a year ago as Jim was preparing to help a family with an adoption here in Ukraine. He and Jeanne both are leaving tomorrow at 3:45 a.m. to assist in another adoption � Jim as a pediatrician offering his medical expertise and Jeanne as a nanny taking care of the couple�s two children that have accompanied them.)

Adoption

Jim has just received several emails from families who are coming to Kyiv this month to FINALLY complete their legal adoption process. Most of these couples have been waiting for what seems like an eternity to receive an appointment at the national adoption agency � the whole process has been shut down for months as the system was being revamped. We pray for each of these families�that the desires of their hearts might be given to them�

This morning as we read our devotional together we were reminded about our OWN adoption into God�s family. �God sent forth his Son�to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.� Gal 4:4-5

J. I. Packer wrote in this devotional:

�Adoption, by its very nature, is an act of free kindness to the persons adopted". If you become a father by adopting a child, you do so because you choose to, not because you are bound to. Similarly, God adopts because he chooses to. He has no duty to do so. He need not have done anything about our sins save punish us as we deserved. But he loved us; he redeemed us, forgave us, took us as his sons, and gave himself to us as our Father.

�Nor does his grace stop short with that initial act, any more than the love of human parents who adopt stops short with the completing of the legal process that makes the child theirs. The establishing of the child�s status as a member of the family is only a beginning. The real task remains: to establish a filial relationship between your adopted child and yourself. It is this, above all, that you want to see. Accordingly you set yourself to win the child�s love by loving it. You seek to excite affection by showing affection. And so it is with God. Throughout our life in this world, and to all eternity beyond, he will constantly be showing us in one way or another more and more of his love, and thereby increasing our love to him continually. The prospect before the adopted sons of God is an eternity of love.�

Packer then asks us to consider: �Adoption into God�s family is the highest privilege that the gospel offers. Do you agree? Think about the blessings available for all God�s adopted children. Praise God for each of these and go into the day bearing in mind who you are in God�s eyes. For most us this will mean living with greatly increased confidence!�

As we begin to prepare our homes AND our hearts for this precious Christmas season, let us not forget WHY Jesus came to this earth. Not just to be an example, though He was. But to redeem us. To pay the price that we could never pay. So that we can live eternally with our Father� as His adopted children.

What a blessing.

Posted by ukrainiac on December 6, 2007 at 11:14 pm

~ I (Jenn) am so thankful for our adoption into the family of God. For my Brothers and Sisters in Christ who will be such amazing Aunts and Uncles to our kids... for His love to us to draw us in by His grace and give us a place in the body of Christ. We are blessed! We can't wait to share our lives with the children and the children with you!

Love

The Smiths ~ Here and There ;)

An Awesome Devotion.

Friends and Family,

I wanted to share this amazing devotion our friend Jerry sent to us. As you read, please focus more on the truth of your own identity in Christ, as adopted by the King of the Universe than on any other tone or theme here. I love being sure of who my Dad is (I love you!)... and even more of who my Father is and has called me to be in Him.

Thank you as always for your prayers... 49 days till lift off but hey, who is counting?

The Brotherhood of Sons

What Some Rude Questions About Adoption Taught Me About the Gospel of Christ

by Russell D. Moore

�So, are they brothers?� the woman asked. My wife Maria and I, jet-lagged from just returning from Russia, looked at each other wearily. This was the twelfth time since we returned that we�d been asked this question. This lady was looking at the grainy pictures, printed off a computer from some digital photographs, of two one-year-old boys in a Russian orphanage, boys who had only days earlier been pronounced by a Russian court to be our children, after the legally mandated waiting period had elapsed for the paperwork to be filed.

Maria and I had returned to Kentucky to wait for the call to return to pick up our children, and had only these pictures of young Maxim and Sergei, our equivalent of a prenatal sonogram, to show to our friends and relatives back home. But people kept asking: �Are they brothers?�

Now Brothers

�They are now,� I replied. �Yes,� the lady snapped, �I know. But are they really brothers?� Clenching my jaw, I coolly responded, �Yes, now they are both our children so they are now really brothers.� The woman sighed, rolled her eyes, and said, �Well, you know what I mean.�

Of course, we did know what she meant. She meant did these two boys�born three weeks apart�share a common biological ancestry, a common bloodline, some common DNA. It struck me that this question betrayed what most of us tend to view as really important when it comes to sonship: traceable genetic material.

This is the reason people would also ask us, �So do you also have any children of your own?� And it is the reason newspaper obituaries will often refer to the deceased�s �adopted child,� as though this were the equivalent of a stepchild or a prot�g�, rather than a real offspring.

During the weeks that Maria and I waited anxiously for the call to return to Russia to receive our children, I pondered this series of questions. As I read through the Books of Ephesians and Galatians and Romans, it occurred to me that this is precisely the question that was faced by the Apostle Paul and the first-century Christian churches.

As pig-flesh-eating Gentile believers�formerly goddess-worshipers and Caesar-magnifiers and all the rest�began confessing Jesus as Messiah, some Jewish Christians demanded to know, �Are they circumcised?� The Gentile believers would respond, �Yes, with the circumcision made without hands, the circumcision of Christ.� From the heated letters of the New Testament, it is evident that the response was along the lines of, �Yes, but are you really circumcised, and you know what I mean.�

This was no peripheral issue. For the Apostle Paul, the unity of the Church as a household had everything to do with the gospel itself. And where the tribal fracturing of the Church was most threatening, Paul laid out a key insight into the Church�s union with Christ, the spirit of adoption.

We went to Russia and back to accomplish a task, to complete a long paper trail that would help bring us to the legal custody of our sons. Along with that, however, it jolted us with the truth of an adoption more ancient, more veiled, but just as real: our own.

It is one thing when the culture doesn�t �get� adoption, and so speaks, for instance, of buying an animal as �adopting� a pet. When Christians, however, think the same way, we betray that we miss something crucial about our own salvation.

Perhaps if we understood the gospel more clearly, we would then see it more clearly in the icon of adoption. And perhaps if we were more involved�as families and churches�in adopting unwanted children, we would foster a next generation better able to recognize the gospel message when they hear it.

Adopted Identity

Before the apostle begins his discourse on adoption to the Roman church, he addresses them as �brothers� (Rom. 8:12), a word that has lost meaning in our churches because we tend to view it as a more spiritual metaphor for �friend� or �neighbor.� In many Evangelical churches, �brother� is a safe word one uses when one has forgotten someone�s name (�Hey, brother, how are you?�) or when one wishes to soften spiritually a harsh statement (�Johnny, I love you as a brother in Christ, but I just can�t marry you�).

The churches emerging out of the Judaism of the Roman Empire, however, would have understood precisely how radical such language is. The �sons of Israel� started out, after all, not as a government entity, but as twelve brothers. Moses speaks of the Israelite king obeying the Word of God �that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers� (Deut. 17:20). The Mosaic Law speaks of Israelites as �brothers� as opposed to �strangers� and �sojourners� (Lev. 25:35�46).

To a Gentile church in Ephesus, Paul employs this precise language as he tells them they are no longer to be considered �the uncircumcised.� Instead, he tells them, �you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God� (Eph. 2:11, 19).

Within this household�the tribal family of Abraham�all those who are in Christ have found a home through the adopting power of God. It is not simply that they have found a refuge, a safe place, or a foster home. All those in Christ, Paul argues, have received sonship�they are now the �offspring of Abraham� (Gal. 3:29).

Paul speaks of this new household in terms of a liberating rescue, for both Jews and Gentiles. We have a unity in that we were liberated from the tutorship of the Law in the old order (Gal. 4:1�5) and from the �spirit of slavery to fall back into fear� (Rom. 8:15). Instead, as sons, we now come before God as sons, bearing the very same Spirit as was poured out on the Lord Jesus at the Jordan River, a Spirit through which we cry �Abba!�

There is a new identity found in this adoption, an identity forged in the relationship of father and son. This filial identity was easily seen by the first-century Christians. They were accustomed to seeing sons who followed in the vocational patterns of their fathers, men who were called �son of� all their lives (for instance, �Simon Bar Jonah�).

Of Israel, God once said, �Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite� (Ezek. 16:3). But this was not Israel�s identity. Through God�s adoption, they did not consider themselves sons of the pagan Terah or even sons of Abram. They were sons of Abraham; the nation was the son of the living God (Ex. 4:22�23).

In Christ, this is now true of all of those who are grafted onto the vine of the faithful Israel, Jesus of Nazareth.

All Moores Now

I suppose the root of my annoyance with the question �Are they brothers?� really lay here. It seemed that the good-intentioned conversationalists saw these children as somehow not quite part of our family, as though, if they were �really brothers,� then �at least they�ll have each other.� The same is true of other questions people asked us: �Have you ever seen their mother?� (�Why, yes, and you�ve seen her too. Have you met my wife Maria?�) or �Do you worry that their real parents will ever show up?�

This wasn�t at all the way that we saw it. It didn�t matter to us that the nurses in the orphanage across the seas still called these boys �Maxim� and �Sergei�; we had on their walls nameplates reading �Benjamin� and �Timothy.� It didn�t matter what their current birth certificates read; they would soon be Moores.

This newness of identity also informed the way we responded to questions, whether from social workers or friends, about whether we planned to �teach the children about their cultural heritage.� We assured everyone we would, and we have.

Now, what most people meant by this question is whether we would teach our boys Russian folk-tales and Russian songs, observing Russian holidays, and so forth. But as we see it, that�s not their heritage anymore, and we hardly want to signal to them that they are strangers and aliens, even welcome ones, in our home.

We teach them about their heritage, but their heritage as Mississippians. They learn about their great-grandfather, the faithful Baptist pastor, about their countrymen before them in the Confederate army and the civil rights movement. They wouldn�t know �Peter and the Wolf� if they heard it, but they do know Charley Pride and Hank Williams and �When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder.� They are Moores now, with all that entails.

I suppose this is why the New Testament points all of us toward the Old Testament narratives repeatedly, which are given, as Paul told the church at Corinth, �as examples for us� (1 Cor. 10:6). It is not just that these accounts show us something universal about human nature and God�s workings. It is that they are our story, our heritage, our identity.

Those are our ancestors rescued from Egypt, wandering in the wilderness, led back from exile. They are our forefathers and this is our family. Whether our background is Norwegian or Haitian or Indonesian, if we are united to Christ, our family genealogy is found not primarily in the front pages of our dusty old family Bible but inside its pages, in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.

No Longer Orphans

When Maria and I first walked into the orphanage, where we were led to the boys the Russian courts had picked out for us to adopt, we almost vomited, in reaction to the stench and the squalor of the place. The boys were in cribs in the dark, lying in their own waste.

Leaving them at the end of each day was painful, but leaving them the final day, before going home to wait for the paperwork to go through, was the hardest thing either of us had ever done. Walking out of the room to prepare for the plane ride home, Maria and I could hear Maxim calling out for us, and falling down in his crib, convulsing in tears. Maria shook with tears, and I turned around to walk back into their room, just for a minute.

I placed my hand on both of their heads and said, knowing they couldn�t understand a word of my English, �I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.� I don�t think I consciously intended to cite Jesus� words to his disciples in John 14:18; it just seemed like the only thing worth saying at the time.

When Maria and I at long last received the call that the legal process was over, and we returned to Russia to pick up our new sons, we found that their transition from orphanage to family was more difficult than we had supposed. We dressed the boys in outfits our parents had bought for them. My mother-in-law gathered some wildflowers growing between cracks in the pavement outside the orphanage.

We nodded our thanks to the orphanage personnel and walked out into the sunlight, to the terror of the two boys. They�d never seen the sun, and they�d never felt the wind. They had never heard the sound of a car door slamming or had the sensation of being carried along at 100 miles an hour down a Russian road. I noticed that they were shaking, and reaching back to the orphanage in the distance.

I whispered to Sergei, now Timothy, �That place is a pit! If only you knew what�s waiting for you: a home with a Mommy and a Daddy who love you, grandparents, and great-grandparents and cousins and playmates . . . and McDonald�s Happy Meals!� But all they knew was the orphanage. It was squalid, but they had no other reference point, and it was home.

We knew the boys had acclimated to our home, that they trusted us, when they stopped hiding food in their high-chairs. They knew there would be another meal coming, and they wouldn�t have to fight for the scraps. This was the new normal.

They are now thoroughly Americanized, perhaps too much so, able to recognize the sound of a microwave ding from forty yards away. I still remember, though, those little hands reaching for the orphanage, and I see myself there.

The Sons� Glory

The New Testament teaching on the adoption of believers in Christ isn�t a reassuring metaphor for the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Adoption does not simply tell us we belong to God. It is a legal entitlement, one we are prone to forget.

Paul warns the congregation at Rome that sharing the spirit of Christ means that we will suffer with him (Rom. 8:17). It means that we will groan right along with the rest of the creation for the �sons of God to be revealed,� for our �adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies� (Rom. 8:23).

But he fits this within the context of a legal inheritance. If we are adopted by God, if we are his children, then we are �heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ� (Rom. 8:17). If we live through the �sufferings of this present time,� it is only so that we can be conformed to the image of our Christ, �in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers� (Rom. 8:29).

Paul identifies Jesus as the One who inherits the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. He is the One of whom it is said, �You are my Son� (Psalm 2:7), who is given �the nations as your heritage, and the ends of the earth as your possession� (Psalm 2:8).

Thus, the Jewish believers in the early Church weren�t to look to their biological ancestry for their inheritance. They were law-breakers (Rom. 2�3). This is why the insistence on circumcision in the Galatian church was anathema to the apostle. They were to look to the One in whom all the promises of God find their Yes: the Lord Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20).

The Jewish and Gentile congregations were to find their identity in Christ, not in the social and economic hierarchies of the Roman Empire. The churches were to long for the inheritance to come, a cosmos flowing with milk and honey, not, as their fathers before them, for the slavery from which they came (Deut. 8; Rom. 8:15).

My whispering to my boys, �You won�t miss that orphanage,� is only a shadow of something I should have known. God pronounces Israel his �son,� brings the Israelites through the baptismal waters of judgment, promises to give them an inheritance, and they long for the fleshpots of Egypt (Ex. 16:1�3).

Jesus is pronounced the �beloved Son� of God, is likewise brought through the waters of baptism, and is then tempted by the Evil One to believe that a Father who promises him bread would give him only stones. Listening to his Father�s voice, even to the point of crucifixion and apparent abandonment by God, he �learned obedience through what he suffered,� and he was heard (Heb. 5:7�8).

As he disciplines us�as sons, not as illegitimate children�our Father warns us not to sell our inheritance for a mess of pottage, as our great-great-great-great-great-uncle did a long time ago (Heb. 12:3�17). Why would we covet what seems important to MTV or Wall Street, when we have waiting for us mountain ranges and waterfalls and distant galaxies to rule with our Christ as the resurrected sons of the new creation?

�I know you think this terrestrial orphanage is home,� our Father whispers through prophets and apostles and our consciences and imaginations, �but it�s a pit compared to home.� Or, as the Spirit says through the Apostle Paul�s adoption teaching: �For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us� (Rom. 8:18).

Not Ashamed

A few years after we adopted Benjamin and Timothy, the infertility that had plagued Maria and me for years was suddenly lifted, and we gave birth to a son, and then another, in the more typical way. And it was time for the �Are they brothers� business again, this time from an elderly lady who approached Maria and said, in the hearing of my sons, �I�ll bet Dr. Moore is really proud of Samuel.�

Maria replied, �Yes, he is proud of all of his sons.� The lady smiled and retorted, �Yes, but I�ll bet he�s especially proud of Samuel, since he�s his.� In this woman�s mind, there was something admirable but almost shameful about adoption; the adopted children were just not quite as worthy of joy as the �real� son, the biological one.

I was angered when I heard about this, angered because, while I love Samuel and now Jonah, I don�t love them any more than Benjamin and Timothy. As a matter of fact, I don�t think of them as �biological� children, as though they are part of some different classification. Days go by when I never think about the adoption, and when I do think of the boys as �adopted,� it is always as a past-tense verb, not an adjective.

But this lady�s question�like the ones before it�reminds me of our tendency to prize our carnality. We don�t think we were adopted. In our persistent Pelagianism, we assume we�re natural-born children, with a right to all of this grace, to all of this glory.

We think, Paul warns us right before he tells us of our adoption, that we are debtors to the flesh, so we live according to the flesh (Rom. 8:12). We�re ashamed to think of ourselves as adopted, because to do so would focus our minds on the bloody truth that all of us in Christ, like my sons, once were lost but now we�re found, once were strangers and now we�re children, once were slaves and now we�re heirs.

And yet even the flesh and blood we share�not just with our children but with all of humanity�have everything to do with our adoption. Jesus, after all, shares in human �flesh and blood� so that he might deliver those �who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery� (Heb. 2:15).

This is because he �had to be made like his brothers in every respect� (Heb. 2:17). And, speaking of us, our Lord Jesus�the only One with the natural-born right to cry �Abba��is �not ashamed to call them brothers� (Heb. 2:11).

According to the Apostle John, the religious leaders of Jesus� day were quite sure of their biological pedigree. They could trace it back to Abraham, and had no shady parental background as they thought Jesus to have (John 8:39�41). Jesus shockingly identified their birth father as Satan and their inheritance as that of a slave (John 8:34�38).

But John ends his Gospel with a more hopeful sound. When Jesus is raised from the dead, his message to Mary is to go �to my brothers� and say to them, �I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God� (John 20:17). John isn�t �really� Jesus� brother, but he shares a mother with him, when Jesus �adopts� him into the family at the Cross (John 19:26�27).

And these unfaithful and fearful disciples, quick to go back to the fisherman�s nets they had when he found them, have no reason to approach a holy �God.� But they�and we�are Jesus� brothers, and so the Father is our God. He is not ashamed.

One More Time

We fall for all our ideological idolatries�from white supremacy to genocidal warfare and beyond�because we see our �brotherhood� only in our DNA. We engineer radical reproductive technologies that sever procreation from fatherhood and motherhood, precisely because we don�t want children so much as we want ourselves, our own genetic material living on before us. We identify more with our corporate brands and with our political parties than with our churches because we don�t understand the household into which we�ve come.

We dye our hair and Botox our wrinkles, fearing the Reaper, because we don�t really believe that a Father waits for us with a feast on the other side of the Jordan. And we live prayerless lives, paralyzed by our guilty consciences, because someone says to us, as to our Brother before us, � If you are the son of God . . .� (Luke 4:3).

I don�t think about the adoption of my boys every day. But, when I do, I try to remember the rude questions I once answered�and sometimes still answer�about them. And I remind myself that I�ve been just as far from �getting it� as the good-natured questioners I have resented.

It is difficult to see before us the day when the graves of this planet are emptied, when the great assembly of Christ�s Church is gathered before the Judgment Seat. On that day, the accusing principalities and powers will probably look once more at us�former murderers and fornicators and idolaters, formerly uncircumcised in flesh or in heart�and they may ask one more time, �So are they brothers?�

The hope of adopted children like my sons�and like me�is that the voice that once thundered over the Jordan will respond: �They are now.�

Russell D. Moore is Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice President for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of The Kingdom of Christ: The New Evangelical Perspective (Crossway). He is a senior editor of Touchstone.

Catching Up...

There are some amazing things to catch you up on and I wanted to make sure before too much more time went by that I shared some of them.

For starters, Ms. Brenda and several other ladies at the church held a pot luck Spaghetti dinner for our family in hopes of raising money for our kids plane tickets home. It was a great afternoon of fellowship and was such a big success. We were told the church raised $728.00 for us. Upon further review of the checks when we got home we found out that a check that had been counted in as a $200 check was not in fact $200, but $2000.00!!!!! How is that for pot luck? We were so excited to share with the church later that God had blessed and they had helped with their obedience to raise 3 plane tickets for our kids ;) HUGE BLESSING~

We have never asked for any funding from our church family. We did not think it was right because they take care of us as staff family and we have not wanted to add any financial pressure to the church and our friends there. I have prayed and prayed that God would help us as He is calling us to this adoption to take care of the funds. He chose to answer through the very folks I did not want to burden. His ways are higher than mine and I am learning even more humility as he turns a great idea and some pasta cooked with love into plane tickets. I do not know why it is hard for us to receive things from others. In one way I know that I would share with anyone else, do not rob people of blessing you. That has been my council to numerous folks, but some how when it is you getting the blessing, it seems overwhelming. I do not count myself worthy of blessings like these, I would pray for them for others, but never expect them for us... and that is limited thinking. & God's hands are not to be tied by my opinions of how things should go, imagine that!? :)

We are following along on everyone else's adventure in UA. It has been a blessing and it has been hard all at the same time. I miss our kids and keep thinking I just want to get there, but at the same time I know that His plans are perfect and He knows when He wants us where for each divine appointment with children and nationals that we will meet and spend time with while we are there ;) My head and heart know this, but occasionally there is a disconnect when my heart over rides especially right now with Thanksgiving and Christmas so close.

Mark and I will spend Christmas in Milton together with Damian and the puppies. We are glad  have Thanksgiving here in Jax and to be with family, but it will be good to be quiet with friends in Milton too. We haven't shared much here on the blog about Damian and I think he should have his own entry so I will save that for later, but for now just please know we love him very much and he has been an important part of our family for 8 years now ;) We have watched him grow up from a teenager into an Airman in the USAirforce. He is a huge part of our hearts and a special member of our family. We are thankful that he will be the big brother to our fab five :)

The West's come home tonight. What a special thing to know they will be on the ground in Bham in 45 min. with their beautiful children. & so many others will be home soon with theirs too. Praise you Jesus for adding children to our families, and for giving us the chance to share your love with them.

Peace out ;)

Jenn

 

 

View From Mom & Dad's

Sunset in Jacksonville.

Wanted to share this beautiful sunset picture, Mom says, I don't know how anyone can see that and not believe in God? I agree. I don't know how anyone can look at some of the amazing things that have happened in our adoption journey and not marvel at His hand. We are so blessed!

Wired...

Ok, so we went to bed tonight and I am having the worst time b/c there are so many families in UA right now, adopting or on mission trip... so many people we love that are close to so many people we love...

I turned the computer off. It is like the first time in a week. I know I know... bad Jennifer bad Jennifer... but then we went to bed. I am laying there and about to hit like the real sleep when I hear this: " Txt Message from Valerie Hall." I'm like, did I just hear that? or is that like my dreams getting really vivid? It is not the first dream I have had about this mission team. & I was just praying for them as I went to sleep... I find the phone, sure enough... Val did text. She was looking for an address. I felt connected. Ok I know, I know, sounds strange... but I really did feel connected. I think every one should get a text message from Val at 11:35 at night from Ukriane!

I miss our kids. I miss our time in Ukraine. I miss our friends there. & God knows that, and He let me be a tiny part. Even just a tiny part of what He is doing.

Spaseba Jesus.

Night Ya'll.

 

Can you hear me now?

So,... we got our date today!!!

Our appointment is January 22nd, 2008. Can you believe it? From March of 2005 when we started this adventure to January of 2008... Oh my gosh who would have ever thought? This day just got better and better...

Today is a special birthday for a special little boy that we hope to bring home after the appointment in January (one of 4 special boys actually ). I got to take some time with God this morning and slow things down. I had about 3 calls from my Mom who knew that today marked 6 weeks from our submission date and was the "hopeful" to know something today date. I took an awesome call from a friend who offered to help us to adopt a baby this Thursday! God is so good! - but no, we are not adopting this little one... we are going to finish the first plan first thank you. But how cool to be invited to think about it? To be thought of as people that you would desire to share a child with?

Mark and I headed to lunch at La Hacienda... the best Mexican food in Milton or any place else I might add! Just before we got to La Ha my cell rang and it was Cheri. She was so even and calm on the phone I was like, ok, we did not get a date she is just checking in, then she pulls one on me and says,"and lots of Florida prayers are being answered too!" I was like, "TELL US TELL US!!!"  She told us January 22nd. We were excited, a little deflated because it is not sooner we had thought it would be in Dec. but as we talked it became more and more amazing and evident that we are standing in His perfect place for us. We are watching Him move and He is taking amazing care of all of us.

I called Mom & Dad,  Mark called Marla and Greg, and I called Val to let her know that we got our date so she could alert the "B'ham fam". She was so totally Valerie! It was awesome, she just screamed! She was in her car in the parking lot and she said people were watching her! I love it! It was so cool to have her cheering for our family like that.

We took some time to think let it all sink in and call church family and friends. Then, since we are in revival this week, Mark was like I'm going up to the church when will you be there? I was like "soon, but I have to start checking airfare." Ok so every one has their quirks about air travel. For me, if it was at all possible, I just really want to travel Delta because they have the best route back and forth to Kiev. So I start pulling up their web site and playing with dates. The thought occurs to me, I have NO idea what I am doing. I do not know how to book this kind of a flight, because it is an open ended ticket since we do not know when we are going to come home. I play for about 2 rounds then I stop, sit here and the thought runs through my mind, "Lord, I do not know how to do this."

My cell phone rings. There are two friends on the other end. One friend says, "We need a favor, we need you to say yes." he sounds pretty serious so I was like, "Sure, anything you need man, we will do it." He says, "No I need you to say "yes..." Say it." So I am like, "Ok yes!" He says, "Good, we want to get yours and Mark's tickets to Kiev and back on Delta."

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!?!?!? God is saying. Can you see my grace? Can you get on board with how much I love you and your family and want to take care of you? Can you see that before you speak a word I perceive it? Can you see that each need you have I have already met in Christ Jesus my beloved Son?

Ya'll... Do I know how we were going to pay for 7 plane tickets? Heck no... but He does! He said, trust me, try me, prove me, see if I do not pour out a blessing... & He did. So now we know where 2 of the 7 are going to come from. We are so thankful... it was like, today can't get better...

THEN... We hear that Chris and Gina Grace have an appointment on January 28th! Ya'll! What a blessing to get to be there at the same time with other friends on the journey!

Stay tuned... He only gets better!

Love,
Mark and Jenn

ON OUR WAY!!!!

WE GOT OUR DATE!!!

January 22nd 2008!!!!

THANK YOU PRAYER WARRIORS!

We can't wait to bring our Children HOME!!!!

He is sooooo good!!!

Love,

Mark and Jenn!