Mia "Destiny" Simmons... Born weighing 5 lbs. 2 oz. - 17 inches long, on December 4, 2008. She is tiny and BEAUTIFUL! Praise the Lord our little girl is at home. Please be praying that God's will alone will be done in her little life - and soon. The battle is not over yet, though we believe that she is our daughter. Please pray for our birthmom. Pray that God's will is done and that His kingdom will come in her life. He is an amazing God, and when the time is right, we will share the story of His faithfulness during this time. Thank you to all of our friends and family that have come over and helped with laundry, and brought us little pink gifts. I cannot express the gratitude in my heart for you. Your words of encouragement and your prayers have been so precious to our hearts. You are an amazing bunch of loving people! I praise the Lord for you in my life! Keep praying for God's will to win out soon in our little girl's life. What a precious gift she has already been in our family! The Lord is amazing!
Deuteronomy 4:7 " What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him?"
We do not have a God that is far off, or unable to act. We have a God who loves us deeply and does more than we can ask or imagine when we call to Him in prayer. He is near to us indeed!
The phone rang at 5:18 Sunday evening. Something inside of us just knew. Ken even knew that she was already born, already here, just waiting for us to come and get her. We listened carefully as Don helped us understand that situation. Now, I will back up, because already we have missed some very important points.
For some reason, each pregnancy – before we were able to find out… I knew what we were having. God whispered it in my heart. I don’t have an explanation, other than He is a kind God. He told me with each baby what to expect. It was never a surprise at the ultrasound. Adoption, though outside of my body, was never outside of my heart. In the same manner that God spoke to me about my biological children, He spoke to me about our precious adopted baby. I told Ken before we ever completed the paperwork that I believed we would be having a Hispanic-mix baby girl. I told several of my close friends, and my sister as well. So, as we spoke with Don, and he told us about our little girl, there was no surprise when he said that she was a Hispanic- mix baby girl. Ken hugged me very close to him as we listened on two different phones and we both just stood there in awe of the Lord. (Romans 2:4, “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?”)
As we hung up the phone, we shared story after story (in about two minutes) of reasons that this was almost exactly as we thought it would be. I pass our adoption agency ever day on the way to take the kiddos to school. For the last two weeks I have thought “They could call today” every time I passed. There wasn’t an anxiety, or a pain in my heart… it was more of a matter-of-fact kind of thing. They could call… and I would pray for our birthmother and our baby until they did. I was walking through the store and it came to mind as I passed a pink sleeper to buy it… and then again as I passed a little girl Christmas stocking. I walked off, thinking I was a little loopy to be thinking of that. For heaven’s sake, we haven’t even gotten a call about a mother looking at our book…
I had hoped to meet our birthmom before she delivered. I wanted her to know so many things. I wanted her to understand how we pray for her all the time, and how important it is to me that we keep in touch with her. I wanted her to know that I think she is amazing for carrying the baby for nine months and then making such a self-less decision. I wanted to hug her, and laugh with her…just to take care of her some way. But, the Lord had other plans. (Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21)
The next few days were a whirlwind of events. The Lord was so gracious to us. I don’t understand why He loves us the way that He does. We laugh because nothing ever happens in our lives that happens to “normal” people. The daycares – not “normal” business purchases by any stretch of the imagination, but fully His hand. We are used to not being normal. I know some of you are laughing hard right now. But, it is true. We almost have grown to expect the unexpected. The next morning as we did our Bible study, I read the scripture in Psalms that says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the Lord our God.” (Psalm 20:7.) The kids and I talked about the Lord’s Sovereignty, and even though we didn’t know exactly what our birthmom would choose, we KNEW that God was in control, and that He is trustworthy!!! We also read Psalm 111 and were reminded that everything that God does reveals His glory and majesty. Yes, Lord EVERYTHING. The good things, and the hard things. It blessed my heart to hear Jacob pray for our birthmom, and the situation… “and we know that if she gives her baby to us, you will reveal your glory and if she gives her baby to someone else you will reveal your glory…” Wow. Yes, Lord. Reveal your glory indeed!
We went to the hospital the night we got the call. We didn’t want to tell anyone why we were there, or what our intent was. We just simply went there because we knew our little girl was there, and we needed to pray for her – where she was. We couldn’t even get a glimpse of her, but we stood outside the window for a long time and just stared inside the glass. As we stood there, I reached down to put my hand on my stomach. I had the most enormous butterflies in my stomach. Ken looked at me and smiled. He said, “Welcome to my world. This is my fifth time to have these butterflies.” I hadn’t said a word, I had simply touched my hand to my stomach. And then, he said this… “every time one of our children is behind that glass, this is how I feel”. I just began to smile and cry. Yes, our little girl was back there, there was no doubt in our minds. It is precious to me that God would allow us to feel that. I will always treasure that feeling, those moments in the hospital before we could even see her. We stood outside the window and prayed (and cried) and then we left – with a certainty in our hearts that we would be back to get her. It was a precious (but hard) night.
The next several days seemed to drag on, and yet, seemed to go by so fast. I praise the Lord for the ways that He had prepared Ken and I for what would come next. Our bithmom had really leaned towards adoption, but then, at the end, she changed her mind, and there was the potential for one of her family members to take our little girl. We called all of our friends and asked them to pray. We knew in our hearts that we were to pray for her as our little girl. But, we asked if others couldn’t pray the same (that she would be ours), then they should pray the Lord’s will over her life. I can’t describe to you why we believed so strongly. I guess the Lord had done so many things to show us that she was ours we knew it would be sin to doubt Him. Maddy even showed me an entry in her prayer journal that was dated the day that Mia was born. It said, “Dear God, I pray for our birthmom, wherever she is. If she is in Texas, or in Bryan, Please keep her healthy. Amen.” Just as she was going to the hospital to have her, the Lord put her on my daughter’s heart. These things are precious to me. There are a hundred stories like that. I know that we can be afraid to presume upon the Lord… to think that our will is really His, but in this case, He made it very clear to me that I was to believe Him. (2 Samuel 7:28 "O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.") Nothing more and nothing less. He is God. He is not obligated to do anything just because I believe it to be true. But, He is God, and if He asks me to pray believing Him, then I had better listen. Matthew, Mark and John all talk about praying and believing. For the first time in my life I believed wholeheartedly for something that I didn’t yet have. I knew that my circumstances don’t change His character. I was not saying that if He didn’t do things the way I thought He would that He had messed up, or tricked me. But, He would not allow me to doubt at any level. He would not allow me NOT to presume that He is exactly who He says He is. I know the tricky part is that we are human and we make mistakes. We can be deceived… I can hear a whole list of reasons in my head why that is tricky. And if we ever say that God is less than who He is based on a circumstance in our life, then we have fallen away from the truth. Mia is His daughter first. He did not owe her to us. He was not obligated to give her to us. Just as at any moment He could take away any of our children, He could have her. But she was His gift to us. That we knew in our hearts. He made it so clear to me that I couldn’t hide behind “not presuming” – for me at that moment it would have been rooted in nothing less than doubt that He could do what He said He would. As in Acts 18:27, He gave me the grace to believe Him, and I will never forget it.
As the days unfolded, there were meetings. Meetings in which, it looked very slim for us to be getting her, even temporarily. We heard about things that just don’t happen. We heard one thing for fifteen minutes, and then we would get a call saying the exact opposite. And we prayed. We fasted as a family for the first time ever. My children were precious as I told them that they didn’t have to fast with me, but I invited them to. And each one of them decided not to eat breakfast! It was precious to me. They sought the Lord in prayer for their little sister… Oh there are many more things…
This is entirely long, and I could write for hours more, but I will close with two things. First, I will include a letter that I wrote to our precious little girl before we got the call that we were to come and get her. And secondly, I will end with a request.
My precious Mia,
I don’t know how to tell you what has gone on in your daddy’s and my heart over the last few days. Words seem inadequate to describe the certainty we have that you are our daughter. Even as I type this, I realize that I haven’t seen you. I haven’t heard you. I haven’t held you. But I know you are ours. I asked the Lord this morning if I could see you today. I want badly for you to know I am here… waiting just to hold you and love you and help you understand how loved you are.
Daddy and I came up to the hospital to pray over you. We wanted so badly to catch a glimpse of you… or hear your cry. As we stood in the window, I got butterflies in my stomach. Even my body knew you were close… so close. Daddy said very precious words to me then. As I put my hand on my stomach, he said to me that this was his fifth time to have those butterflies. And then he said this, “Every time one of my babies is in there, this is how I feel. And it doesn’t go away until I have them in my arms again.” Daddy and I are aching to hold you. I will always treasure that feeling, that moment… always…
It is amazing to me that God chose you before the creation of the world to be in our family. He chose you for us. He wrote you in our hearts long before we knew you. He chose your birthmother, Candice to carry you… to give you life. She wanted badly to raise you herself, but God made it clear that the most loving thing she could do for you was to place you in our arms. So, just as our arms ache to hold you now, her arms ache to hand you to us. She loves you, precious Mia.
She gave you the name Destiny. I smile as I think about the Lord’s hand in that. You have a wonderful destiny indeed, my daughter. God has chosen you. There is a great battle taking place in the heavenlies even now over your life. The enemy does not want you to come home. But, our God is the Almighty warrior and I am confident that you will be in my arms soon. I am praying that we can bring you home tomorrow. I cannot wait to see your eyes, comb you hair and touch your face. I want to see every inch of you – and memorize it. No matter what time in your life you read this, and no matter how many times… I want you to know that there is NEVER a reason to doubt that you were born to be our daughter. God does not make mistakes. You, my precious one were destined to be a child of God’s and our daughter. Never let the enemy steal that from you. You have a great heritage, both through your birthmother’s family, and now, praise the Lord – from ours.
We love you from the depths of our soul,
Mommy and Daddy
So, if you have read this far, and you haven’t fallen asleep, I will make a request of you. Mia is in our home, legally only temporarily. We are the substitute care providers. Our birthmom’s rights have not been terminated, so we are not technically in the adoption phase yet. PLEASE pray for our birthmom. None of us can understand her pain. We cannot understand how life has brought her to this place. I am asking that you would pray for God’s will for Candice and for our Mia. Please pray that the Lord’s will would be done and that His kingdom would come in Candice’s life. Pray that she will be lead only by Him, and that the enemy would not be able to lie to her. Pray that Mia’s life will be protected by the Lord – as it already has been. Thank you for the way that you love us. Thank you for praying for our birth mom. She is precious to us. If there is anything in you that holds something against her, please pray that the Lord will give you understanding and a compassion to love her. She is His creation. I am begging Him that she will become His child.
Please pray! We have received a call from our adoption agency. It is complicated. There is much warfare over this little one's life. Please take a minute and pray for her. Pray God's will over her life. Pray for His Kingdom to prevail in this situation. I have much more to share, but it isn't quite the time. Pray with urgency... and thank you for loving our family enough to do that. Can't wait to share more! Christy
okay, nobody be offended... there really isn't any new news. I am just letting everyone know that officially here. We are waiting. It is a beautiful time to wait on the Lord and ask Him to remind us daily that He is in control and knows the exact moment when we will meet our precious birthmom. So, nothing new, but each day is one day closer than we were before :) Keep praying for us - and especially for our birthmom. We cannot imagine her pain, her story... her ache. Love you all!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Listen to this, my friends...
"As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him. For who is God beside the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn." Psalm 18:30-36
This is who my God is. Isn't it beautiful? Right now the daycare is under scrutiny from the State. There is a lot involved. They have crossed many lines, and are making life miserable for my sweet friends that are trying to work and trying to make the center great. It is a difficult time at best. It is hard to describe the pain that is in my heart over it. The business belongs to the Lord. It is His. What grieves me, is the thought that we may not be running it the way that He wants. But, as I seek Him, as I ask Him, I find that He doesn't find me lacking. I am not saying that I am perfect, just that He is clear with me that I am not supposed to jump in and "save the day" by working all day every day. But, because He is who He is... He constantly reminds me who I am. I am the beloved of the Lord. I have His right hand sustaining me. I am being trained for battle. And He has the victory already. These are assurances that I have in my heart. I am listening to a song right now that is the cry of my heart... Oh Jesus be the fire inside of me... Listen to these words...
You won’t relent until you have it all My heart is yours You won’t relent until you have it all My heart is yours
Come be the fire inside of me Come be the flame inside my heart Come be the fire inside of me Until you and I are one
Oh, Lord that is all I desire. I desire that you be the fire. You be the flame. Set my heart in your presence to where I literally desire nothing of the earth... only you Lord. My heart is ruined I tell you and I never felt more confident. He is the only thing worth living for. The only thing. I know that in and of itself can be offensive to you. What? You have four beautiful children and a wonderful husband. Yes, I do. I am the most blessed lady in the world! But, you must understand that if I live, it is for Christ alone, and to die is gain(Philippians 1:21). My life must become nothing to me, because then and only then will I gain everything! ("For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." Luke 9:24-25)What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?) (Acts 20:24, Psalm 39:5) Some might think that is against Biblical standards... "you should love your family more than anything in the world".... You should want to live for them.... no, I want to live to teach them who the Lord is...anything more than that is idolatry. I love them with a love that I cannot describe... but I won't be here forever. The only One that will be with them forever is Christ... that is it! Our God will sustain them when I cannot. The only worth they will have in the years to come is the worth that they have in Christ. Times are changing, that is sure. But, we must take hold of that which cannot be taken from us!
So, the question of the hour seems to be “How was your trip?”
If only I had words to describe just how it was. It was beautiful. It was devastating. It was full of affirmation and hope… it was full of pain and disappointment. My heart was stirred to know Jesus in such a deeper way. My heart is ruined for this earth. I cannot enjoy the things that I used to without aching for the “more” that I know is there. I had forgotten that I was His beloved again. I knew it with all of my head, but I felt it with none of my heart. For years – literally- all I have known is what is already in my mind – truth about the Lord. I lost the “feeling” of worship many years ago. I have a quiet peace with it now. Thought it ruined me in the beginning. When I stand in worship – there is no feeling of the presence of the Lord. When I pray on my face before the Lord, there is no feeling of His presence. I KNOW He is there. It is not a question. He is with me always, every moment. I used to say my heart feels dead - broken. It does. Things that I think should make me cry – don’t. And things that never broke my heart before do. But, the greatest thing – the biggest truth is that God’s Word is true. He will never leave me, He will never abandon me. He is with me in every place, through every season. Whether I feel it or not. God does not lie. I saw men and women (young and quite old – American, Asian, Indian…) worshipping before the Lord with all of their might. I thought of David. I thought of Michal. My heart aches for those I know who have worshipped like that and are now sidelined by the enemy. I grieved… and I grieved. My heart aches for those who have never known worship like that…unashamed – really. I know the image of that 50-something, 4 foot 11 tall Asian man jumping before the Lord in worship will never leave my mind. It brought rivers of tears from my eyes. Do we not think that we will dance before the Lord in Heaven? Why do we run from His love? Why do we not embrace how He pursues us? His heart grieves over those who refuse to understand the depth of His heart toward them. For those who continue in their own way – even without direction from His voice, because of their desires to please men. Don’t they know that was the way of King Saul? I was devastated to look at all of the ways I pursue my own interests when He is only interested in how well I am loving Him, and as a result, loving others. I am realizing how much – though I know it isn’t true in my mind – I still feel like I have to work to gain His favor. I am learning to rest in Him again. To rest in His perfect love of my imperfect love. It is sweet. My heart was grieved to realize how many blessings and promises we are missing out on because we have placed our magnificent God in a box. A box labeled “RELIGION”. A box for the Pharisees who cannot grasp that there is no way to gain the favor of a holy God. Even the most well meaning of us have become Pharisees to some degree. We have taken hold of the lesser and are blindly groping for abundance. It doesn’t fit in the box. Abundance beckons us to come outside the box. I may be talking like I am out of my mind. I am really. I am slipping into a place of security in my Savior that I have missed for a long time. I am resting as He confirms things to my heart. I am listening as He speaks in the smallest whisper. He is talking to me again. He was only quiet to test my heart. In my mind, I didn’t pass… praise God that in His – I did. He sees my heart – and that is what is important to Him… my heart. Like David, He is seeking after the inside of me, not the outside of me. Praise Him that He looks at the inward appearance, and not the outward like man does. Oh, if we could just get a hold of that for real! I am coming out of the desert… like the Shulamite in Song of Solomon whose friends said, “Who is this sweeping in from the desert, leaning on her lover?” Yes, Jesus… I am leaning on you, and it is sweetness. So, that is how my trip was. There are many more things. My precious baby literally said, “Abba.” My heart lept. He was sleeping, soundly, and there was a cry from the pulpit, “Who of you will be a forerunner for this generation?” and I kid you not, his baby arm went flying into the air. The cry came a second time, and a second time his arms (both of them this time) went flying into the air. Would you believe me if I told you it happened more than twice. It doesn’t matter if you do or not, it is true. I know he was born to worship Jesus in a time of trial and devastation. He will lead men to worship before the Lord unashamedly. I am certain of this in my heart. I prayed for my children like never before and understood my role to prepare them for the times that are coming. Do not get me wrong, no one knows when the “end times” will begin. The judgements of God, and the rage of Satan. But, I know that we are to prepare them for it as if it will happen in their time. So that they can prepare their children – who if it is that far away can pass it on to the next generation. It is time to fear the Lord. It is time to recognize Him as a God who will bring Justice to the earth… and He will bring His judgments. Do we not remember the plagues? Do we think that He is less powerful now than He was then? I submit to you that He isn’t. My God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. My God is the Almighty God. There is much more, but I am afraid that I will run out of room to write! Praise God for the trip. Praise God from whom all blessings flow… Praise Him all creatures here below… Oh He is an amazing God! Praise God that my alabaster box is enough! Let the fragrance arise!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
I love this that I found on Hope... it is interesting... simply interesting. It has challenged me to think a little deeper today. It has challenged me to revisit what I would have told you to be true in the first place - simply that our God, the One who created us, has called us for a purpose... each one of us. Are you any closer to discovering His purpose in your life - or are you just sitting by "squandering your glorious life"? Interesting for sure...
Taken from www.daveblackonline.com : For years I have kept the words of A. E. Whitham near me to remind me of the desperate need of people for hope: "If you knew that there was one greater than yourself, who knows you better than you can know yourself, and loves you better than you can love yourself, who can make you all you ought to be, steadier than your squally nature, able to save you from squandering your glorious life, who searched you beyond the standards of earth…one who gathered into himself all great and good things and causes, blending in his beauty all the enduring color of life, who could turn your dreams into visions, and make real the things you hoped were true; and if that one had ever done one unmistakable thing to prove, even at the price of blood – his own blood – that you would come to him, and, having failed, to come again, Would you not fall at his feet with the treasure of your years, your powers, service, and love? And is there not one such, and does he not call you…?"
We all want to hope. The Bible says this, Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." That is my prayer for you, my friends.... love ya!
This is such a fun (and busy) time of life! We are waiting (on the Lord - really) on our birthmom to find us. We are waiting to see what the Lord will do with our housing situation. We are waiting to see what the Lord has for us in business (both the exisiting ones, and others...). We are waiting... and I am excited! God is moving and doing things that make us want to shout! We have been looking for a house for a while. We don't have to move. We are just feeling like it is time. We have been looking, but not found anything. A few months ago, I looked at a house and I told Ken and the realtor (our friend, Lisa Smith) that it was the most practical house we'd looked at yet for our family. HOWEVER, it was about $50,000 too expensive. That is a pretty big amount of money. The next thing I know - about a week ago, Lisa calls me and says that they are coming off of the price $50,000. But, what is more, they will take an offer $100k less. Wow! Our God is so amazing. So, there are some problems with the house (not in the structural construction), the original builder left the house a well constructed shell, but the owner finished out the sheetrock (in a hurry and it shows upstairs...) So, we contact another friend from church (Bill Moss) to see if he will look at the house with us and get us an estimate on what it will take to make the house wonderful :) Well, you will never believe - Bill Moss was the original builder! Who would know it better than the original builder? Funny to see that the original builder may just get to finish the house out yet! Again, we just smiled and thought - this sounds just like God. We aren't sure that this is the house the Lord has for us- only He knows for sure. We still just wait and pray and see how things go. But, so far, we are seeing that only the Lord can do the most amazing things. Can you imagine? Getting the most practical house for our family for less than what we thought was an ideal price? I know that if this is God's hand in our lives, He will provide just what we need... at just the right price... at just the right time. He is amazing. It is so fun to watch Him moving in our lives.
As we wait on our birthmom, we pray for her every night. What a blessing to hear my husband's heart for her. We can't wait to meet her. We can't wait to see what she is like. We can't wait to see if she is pregnant with a boy or a girl! It is sooo exciting! Again, it may not happen this week, this month, or this year... but God knows exactly when He will bring her (physically) into our lives. She is already in our hearts and prayers. I just think He is amazing. And I know that He is Faithful! His Word says that He is unable to be unfaithful (2 Timothy).
I am celebrating the fact that I belong to the Creator of all life! I have been adopted by Him. I was chosen before the beginning of the world - and so were you, if you belong to Him. Listen to this... John 16:27, "For the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God." Jesus says that if you love Him, then the Father loves you dearly. What's more is if you keep reading, He says that God loves you JUST THE SAME as He loved His own Son, Jesus. Look at this, John 17:23 " I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me."
What? He loves us as much as He loves His Son. God's Word is true. There are no mistakes. The next time you are feeling unloved, or unlovely, remember that you are loved as much as the One who is seated beside our Holy God right now! Wow... I know I don't get that. As much as I want to, I know I just don't. God is amazing. That is truth! Pray for us as we are making many decisions. Pray that the Lord will continue to be so clear, and that we will not have any agendas of our own!
So, the Lord has been capturing my heart again. What does that mean? I know – it sounds all mushy or spiritual… but really. He is capturing my heart. He is reminding me of the love that He has poured out on me. He is whispering to me in the darkness. He is telling me that I am lovely. He is telling me that I am His. He is reminding me what it is like when I cling to Him and Him alone. It is an amazing time. It is a time that I have longed for well, for years - literally. He is so faithful to pursue me. Even when I am throwing a temper-tantrum. Sometimes I feel like I am a little girl – pouting with a big lip out and crossing my arms. Sitting in a little huffy pile on the floor… He is the Daddy who scoops me up and lifts my chin with His big Daddy finger and smiles as if to say – “I love you even when you are upset with me. There is nothing you can do to turn my love away.” He just never quits. He never gives up on us. Praise Him for His generous love. Listen with your heart to the words of this song… If everything comes down to love then just what am I afraid of. When I call out your name - something inside awakes inside my soul… How quickly I forget I’m yours I am not my own, I’ve been carried by you all my life… Everything rides on hope now, everything rides on faith somehow… When the world has broken me down, your love sets me free. And when my life is like a storm, rising waters - all I want is the shore You say I’ll be okay and make it through the rain You are my shelter from the storm, And everything rides on hope now, everything rides on faith somehow And when the world has broken me down, your love sets me free. I am not my own, I have been carried by you all my life You’ve become my hearts desire And I will sing your praises higher Cause your love sets me free Your love sets me free
What a beautiful song, and picture of how we are not alone, and we are not our own. We belong to Him. He created us, but He also cares for us. He didn’t make us and then abandon us. He created us for His pleasure, and He does delight in us. In the book “Longing for You” by Debra-Louise Cossu, she writes that He loves us so much that even “All that has not been uttered from the very depths of your being resounds in His heart, and He listens carefully.” He listens carefully even to the things that never cross our lips. The things that we aren’t brave enough to ask for. He is the Giver of all good things. He knows our hearts – even when we don’t. What a Savior to love like that! He is daily saving me from myself! There is no time to live to please man. There is only time to live to please the Author of life… the Lover of our souls. Let Him capture your heart again too! Beg Him for it – He will come and He will steal your heart away! If you have never had a season of being captured by Him – ask for Him to come and pursue you. He already is. You just need to be aware of it. Ask for eyes to see, and ears to hear how He loves you. It isn’t selfish to want Him to fill you up. Because when you are full of His love and passion – you will become passionate about sharing it with others. And isn’t that the whole point of our existence? Didn’t we receive a ministry of reconciliation? Reconciling the lost and dying world to the Savior? If we do not get passionate about His love for us, we will only be clanging cymbals. We will be a noisy gong. The whole point of life is love. The entire point. That is it. Love God, and love others, and the only reason we can love in the first place is because He first loved us. Receive love, then return it and spill it out all over other people. That is it. Take time to refresh yourself in Him. If you have been running and spending all of your time and energy pouring out… take a little sabbatical and rest in Him. Let Him refuel you for the times ahead. He longs to hear your voice too. He desires that you spend time with Him. Not time that you check off of a list, but intimate time where you pour your heart out to Him – and then sit quietly while He shares His heart with you. Take time to sit with Him, you will never be sorry for it! Oh He is worth it!
Well, as is the nature of adoption... each month that goes by is one month that we are closer to holding our sweet baby in our arms! Exciting times are coming as I will have two little ones running around in diapers and babbling! We have FINALLY done it. We have finally gotten everything done so that our lifebook can be put into circulation. I thought months ago it would be out... but now, really as of next week, we will be "out there"... Alright to all of you who said we were already "out there" :) Please be praying for Maddy. I didn't realize that she still thought we were just waiting on a birthmom to choose us, and it fostered a lot of doubt in her. Now that we really will be showing our lifebook, I will continually talk with them all about what a birthmom has to go through during this choosing process - hopefully taking the anxiety off of them and replacing it with a prayerful heart for her. We have now been able to talk about the fact that our lifebook wasn't even being shown, and it did help, but I really want her to understand that even if it takes another 9 months to be chosen, God has all of the timing worked out... and He knows everything about our baby!
I am so excited that the time has really come! We are really all done getting paperwork filled out! I couldn't be more thrilled about it. I praise God for our adoption agency APO. They continually kept in contact with us - spurring us on, to get everything done. They are such a loving group of people. I love them truly. Praise God with me that we are almost there... ha! Almost ready to wait again :) I will keep you informed how it all goes, but rejoice with me that we are here!
I love the Bible. I know that seems a silly thing to say. But, really. The Bible is God's way of reminding us that the devil is a liar, and He is Truth. It is that simple. How can I not be encouraged as I stumble upon this scripture flipping through the pages of Hebrews.... "God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him...We want each of you to how this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.... because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf..."
I really am going to meditate on that a while... hope as an anchor. firm and secure. greatly encouraged... it all seems to be something I would love to lay hold of again. There is a small corner of my heart that still beats with hope. It is time to pursue that small place. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below.... Ah His Name IS Great and greatly to be praised!
"So I'm trying to teach Maddy how to be lady like. To say the least I'm meeting a little resistance. The quote of the trip so far was a few minutes ago as we were leaving Ruth's Chris after a great meal. She of course was leading the way out. I tried to get around her in time to open the door for her, but she busted through it before I could get it. Afterwards I tried to explain that it was the man's job to open the door for her. She replied, "I like to open doors myself to show how powerful I am." Truer words were never spoken. Like mother, like daughter. Love ya, Me"
Oh wow! All I could say was that I have been praying for the generational sin to stop with me! What a precious girl. What a precious dad. What a blessed lady I am. I just thought this would make some of you smile (and others of you pray!)
I thought this was really powerful... "Though Jesus was never less than God - He lived on the earth for 33 years, as though He was never more than a man." Wow. Not new, but just AMAZING. Really meditate on that for a minute. What that means for you and me... Man, I love Him. :)
So, lately I have a ho hum heart. I think it is hardened. I think that there have been so many areas that I have shut down - unknowingly, and unintentionally... but shut down none the less. I get angry when people speak truth about things that God has promised in my life. It is unbelief really. And unbelief is sin... I am apathetic in some ways, and then the fact that that really bothers me means that I am not totally apathetic... which would be to not care at all. I am ready to awaken my heart again. I am ready to have God take me by the shoulders and shake me a little... and yet, even typing that makes me shudder... literally. He desires to be desired. He desires that we put Him first in our hearts... in our soft and willing hearts. Praise Him for His grace and His glory. He is full of compassion and mercy - and of course - unfailing love.
Things are rockin around here. We can't keep from being busy. We have had trips out of town almost every week, or family coming in... we have boxed up boxes in case we move... we have looked at land... and so many other things I can't list them all... including two birthday parties- sheeesh! I am tired thinking about it all...
So, anyways (I say that with my best Nacho Libre accent), Jude is almost 8 months old. Jake turned 11 today... Maddy just turned 8 last month and my Jared turned 6 the month before that! My kids are great! I have loved having them this summer... I am approaching the school year with mixed emotions. I am excited for them... and in ways for me... but I will be sad to send them back. I am certainly not "tired of them". Hopefully they aren't tired of me either. Ken is busy trying to catch up on the days he is here, and I am searching for a lady to help me clean... I can't tell you the difference it makes in EVERYTHING! Ken was wonderful to think of that for me for my birthday! What a gift!
Adoption things are still pending. We have three more papers to turn in essentially. I am hoping we will have all of that taken care of before the end of the month. Life is busy, and life is wonderful, and my heart is ho hum. Oh Lord, help. How is it that I have lost the fire in my heart? I know He will restore to me the joy of my salvation. I know He will move in ways I can't even imagine. I must have belief. I really must
So, I went to IHOP – no, not to eat pancakes… the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri. I think for the first time in my life I sat still before the Lord. I didn’t ask Him for anything really. I didn’t hear Him speak to me – per se. But, the Lord was gracious to me. He taught me that sitting before Him and just loving Him and knowing that He loves me is enough - and it was BEAUTIFUL. I praise Him for that time. My children loved the time there as well. And I miss the coffee at “Higher Grounds” a lot! Yum… oh it was delicious! Ryan and Jenny Couch were my gracious hosts and they loved on my children and my children loved on them. That was also beautiful! We saw our friends Elizabeth and Charlton. It was a great time. It was a time I will never forget. Praise the Lord for stillness, quiet and the prayer room. He is a good and giving God.
The Lord in His faithfulness had this in store for me last night… Just as I was wanting to give way to hopelessness. Just as my flesh cried out for me to just go to bed and think no more… the Lord in His mercy had a word for me. Oh that my heart would receive it. Oh that I wouldn’t doubt that He used someone in my life to write these words just for me. He is so faithful soooo good. If you are needing a special touch, just read these words… they are true for you too. You are the Beloved of Jesus if you know Him as your Savior. Thank you Jesus, for your servants who hear your voice and respond in obedience! Here are her words....
“I feel the heart of the Lord towards you and I just want to weep. So many of you have endured so much and you still love Jesus so much. You have not grown bitter. So many of you long to be near Him and no one else but Him sees how close you draw to Him in the secret when you are at work, at home, in the car, in your closet...and you keep drawing near when no one else is looking...He loves it. He sees it and His heart is moved. So many of you have been waiting and waiting for many different things. I have been waiting for several things my heart desires too, but how long I have been waiting pales in comparison to how long many of you have waited for desires and promises...and how long Jesus has been waiting to come back for His Bride, His desire, beats any of us...can someone tell me how He is so patient and how He deals with everything He must feel in the waiting?? Anyway, all that to say, I hear the Lord say, do not lose hope! He will indeed give what is good (Psalms 85:12). Let your hearts be strengthened in His goodness and faithfulness towards you. All you have walked through has not been in vain! Whatever you do, don't shut down your heart...it is our glory to feel. What else in all creation did God make that can feel what He feels? Stay steady! And in the waiting, we will get to know and experience the heart of the One we really are waiting for anyway. “
Thank you sweet friend for being used of the Lord to breathe encouragement to my heart!
It seems to me that we should be the most thankful for the top 5 most difficult people in our lives. If you will consider with me for a moment, I believe one of the quickest routes to holiness is through pain and rejection. How can we really fear God alone and not man if we always please men in the things that we do for God? Rejection by men, and especially men that we respect and love, will cause us to determine who we live to please. If we always are taken care of and put first, how will we ever get a chance to walk out true humility? If we say we love people, and we don’t have any difficult people in our lives to love, then how do we really know? It is the people who falsely accuse us that show us that the truth about our hearts belongs to God alone. It is the selfish and hateful people who teach us how to turn to the Lord to fulfill our deepest needs – and truly find the beginnings of the depth of His love for us. The more we are rejected by fellow man, the more we must turn to the Lord to find our worth, and how deeply we are loved by Him. And there is no love that can match His love for us. How great is the Father’s love that He has lavished on us! It is important that we are being rejected because we are choosing God and not because we are being rebellious to the authority God has placed in our lives. God puts people in our lives for a purpose. The refining that is done to our hearts by relationships with difficult people is a blessing from the Lord. Even people who aren’t traditionally “difficult” will be used when necessary to bring about holiness in your life. It is time that we realize that we are difficult people too. Until we know how to look past our needs, our rights and our feelings, we will not love as He loves. We will only love ourselves. We cannot on our own be perfect as our Father is. He loves us perfectly. Jesus wants us to understand that the bar has been raised. It is a standard unable to be met on our own. We must have the help of the Holy Spirit and we must keep our eyes on His cross. Oh, Lord help us to be perfect as you are perfect. There is no other way to read that. He wasn’t saying try to be perfect. He wasn’t saying, “try not to mess up too much”. He said be perfect.
Webster defines perfect as being entirely without fault or defect – flawless. Are you striving to be flawless for God? Romans 12:11 says, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Let’s be zealous for the Lord – and less zealous for our own rights.
Yeah!!! I turned our lifebook in on June 30! So, now we wait... we wait on the Lord's sovereign timing. We pray for our birth-mom and our baby. We pray that the Lord will keep us in His mercy while we wait on Him. I want it to be true that He renews our strength as we wait on His hand in this. I am still so excited to see what He has in store. I am still fighting for this excitement, as I know the enemy would love to steal it away. But, I LOVE that God's Word is true, and even as we wait - we can rest.
We just got home from Sea World and the kids loved it. I am ready to settle into some kind of summer routine, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen anytime soon. The picture is from the front entrance at Sea World... aren't my children just beautiful!!! We are blessed indeed!
So, I've been writing a book...? a Bible study? a lot of words on a page? I am not sure what to call it. But, I have been working on it a while. I just started writing, and it has blessed me to remember the lessons the Lord is teaching me about how strong my flesh is, and how opposed it is to His Kingdom. So, I am going to randomly choose a blurb from my writings, and post it. I am praying that the Lord will use it to be an encouragement to someone... anyone really. If nothing else, it has encouraged me to remember His faithfulness. What a full-of-grace God we have. So here goes... We believe the wrong things about ourselves. I never knew all of the places God would take me in my life. I didn’t understand that my free will was given to me so that I could choose freedom, but had the power to keep me in bondage all of my years. It was unimaginable to me that God had a purpose for the things that He allowed to happen to me – or should I say, around me? I didn’t know that His purpose for my life was not necessarily my happiness, but His holiness. Can you imagine? Every hard thing was allowed by His hand, of course every good thing, but every hard thing too. The day I clung to my father’s leg as he walked away from me, my mom and my sister – He allowed it. The day my mom died – my coach, my cheerleader, my friend – she was my whole world. He allowed that too. By His hand I faced the hardest times of my life. And by His hand I found the most precious gift in the world. In the midst of life’s hardships, in the midst of my secret shame, the lowest part of my life, I discovered the reality of His love. His unfailing, never-ending, all-healing, unforgettable love. He meant it for me. As if that was just for me, He made it personal...
So, that's the blurb for the week... maybe I'll write more later... :)
We are having an exciting June! With birthdays out the waazoo, VBS, and Swim Lessons we have been busy! HOWEVER, we have been busy in other ways too. Our Home Study with Aggieland Adoption Agency was finished last week and now we just have to turn in our lifebook! It means that very soon, we will have a book out for birth-moms to look at. We are so excited! It is a great summer! We have no idea how long the journey will be from here... it could be 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years before we are chosen. Now we will have to wait and TRUST that our God is Faithful and in control of everything. I am specifically praying that we will be excited through the whole process - no matter how long it takes. I hope we can remember He is sovereign and that His timing is perfect. I don't want the enemy to steal anything from us in this time. I want to have my strength renewed in the wait. The Word talks about being strengthened in times of waiting. That is what I want for our family. So, if you are praying for us, please pray that we will be faithful in prayer for our birth-mom and for our baby. It is so exciting to even imagine! I can't wait to see what the Lord does as far as distance between Jude and our new baby.
Jake and Ken are gearing up for a father-son trip to Colorado this year. Just the two of them. It will be so great! I am gearing up for a summer at the pool. It is so hot already and we are loving the pool - Jude included. He does great in the water, and sleeping in his stroller. Jake is turning 11, Maddy is turning 8, and in just a few days, Jared will be 6 years old. Jude is already 6 months... time is just flying. I can't wait to see what happens in the next year. I am sure it will be an exciting year indeed! Hopefully I will post again before December- ha!
I mean, this seems crazy to me! Jude is already 5 months old - the kids are almost out of school for the summer, and time just keeps on ticking away :) I am so excited to post that we are REALLY close to being finished filling out all of our paperwork for the adoption process! We should be able to get it turned in before June. What a journey we have ahead of us! I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store. Summer is busy, but not too busy. We've cancelled a huge chunk of our plans, and that makes for an easier - more relaxed summer. I look forward to long days at the pool and a trip to SEA WORLD!!! YEAH!!!! I can't wait for my kids to see what that's like. I think they will love it. This was Jude's first attempt at a swimming pool - he didn't love it - but he will! Yeah for SUMMER!!! Yeah for time to stop setting the alarms and just relax a little.
So, I am standing in church today and I sense an awkwardness as I lift my hands and worship. Have you ever been there... the people around you being so uncomfortable with your hands in the air (as if in some way it is an affront to them personally)... I don't mean to be insensitive, but all I could hear in my mind were Christ's words in Luke 9:26, "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." Over and over this verse played in my mind until I had to look it up to see EXACTLY what it said.
I want to be compassionate. I want to meet people where they are at, but if that means to restrain the love I have in my heart for Jesus so as not to offend them, then I think I am off track. Paul did say that we don't need to offend people because the cross itself is the offense... but isn't authentic worship what draws people in? Don't people want to see authenticity? Or if they don't - isn't that what they need anyway? I just stood - hands lifted, voice raised and mind in prayer... Oh Jesus if they don't know you, let them drop religion for a relationship, vibrant and holy. And oh, Father, if they do know you will you put this verse in their minds? Will you teach them with your Holy Spirit that it is not okay to be ashamed of you and your message, and your people. Maybe it is pride. I want the Lord to examine my heart in this. But, I can't help but think that it is time I became radical again... that I fall back in love with my first Love. Oh my heart is excited at the thought. It is as if the myrhh is dripping off the door knob again for the first time in a long time and my heart is awakened though I still feel asleep. (Song of Solomon...)
Then I begin reading a book that was at church today, it is called The Road to Reality by K.P. Yohannan. This is in the Preface of the book... "We've been taught to serve up a watered-down gospel for so long that the real Gospel has become an embarrasment. However, half a truth is no truth at all. Obedience must always be a vital part of our response to His love and grace."
There it was again... embarrassed... over the gospel, the good news... I don't understand. A HALF TRUTH IS NO TRUTH AT ALL! That's exactly it. I want to worship in Spirit and Truth. Did Jesus not sacrifice enough for me to raise my hands up to Him in adoration? Did He not love me enough to put Himself in uncomfortable positions? I don't know. I just think I've had it. I think I must be true to the One who has been so True to me. Sorry if that makes you a bit uncomfortable. It is time that we pray for those who say they love Him and yet, they are so worried about how THEY feel in worship that they don't stop to wonder how He feels at their embarrassment of Him. It is time to be serious about what we are serious about, and stop playing the "I really am in love with Jesus game." If you are in love no one has to guess with who.
Just because I want to make sure that I am balanced with the Word, I am going to look it up right now. What exactly does Paul say about offending folks... hang in there with me while I look this up....
Well, this is what I've found so far, but I am not through yet. I know this wasn't written by Paul, so I am still looking, but I am truly intrigued now. Matthew 15:11-13 says this, "What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?" He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots." I think that speaks pretty clearly. It is good that he makes the distinction that it is the Pharisees that are upset by this. He lets them know quickly that their offense makes it clear that they are not planted by the Father - therefore, they will be pulled up by their roots". Now for the verse I was looking for originally...
1 Corinthians 10:28-32 is the context for which I am saying that Paul pleads with us not to make men stumble. He says, "28But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience' sake - the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved." So there it is... don't cause anyone to stumble, saved or not... Now for true context. That doesn't mean don't offend people. It says, whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. If my motive was to offend people, because I am just that much more spiritual than they, then I am dead wrong... it is my glory at stake and it is my pride that leads me there. But, today, in my heart, as best I know, I wanted the Lord to be glorified, and I wanted people to come to know Him. I wanted people to quit worrying about my hands lifted up towards Heaven, and worry about themselves, and their salvation. I wanted to tell the Lord that I adore Him... more than I adore anyone here in this world.
Here's the update on our littlest member of the fam. Sweet Jude will not have to have surgery for his little bump - at least for a while. Most likely it is a lump of scar tissue from a small cut that was on his head from the birth experience. It may not ever have to be removed - so PRAISE THE LORD! I really am so glad for that. Thank you for praying for us! Right now we are all on antibiotics for tonsilitis/bronchitis and ear infections. Bummer. I have to leave it at this for now, but I will post more later!
Life in the Simmons family is certainly busy these days. Too busy. I am not in the Word nearly like I want to be and I NEED it! I wanted to post a little something about our Jude. Oh, he is precious and sweet and wonderful! But, he has a small bump on the back of his head. He has had it since birth – and the doctor says it is a cyst. We are taking him on March 18th to Texas Children’s to have it looked at by a specialist. It isn’t supposed to be a major deal, but they will do surgery to remove it and they will need to put him under anesthesia to do it. So, please pray for it to go really well, and for Ken and I to be an encouragement to other people through this process. I will try to post again when I am more certain of the date of the surgery. I am getting some pictures ready for our Lifebook and I am really excited to see how it all comes together. The kids are excited to be on Spring break! I am glad not to have to get them ready for school for a week J! Other than that, it is just laundry, dishes and trying to get dinner cooked before 7pm. We love your prayers!
So, I was just realizing how excited I am to fill out forms and put pictures together to make a Life Book for our adoption process. And I began to realize that everyone starts this process with excitement. Everyone. Then, somehow, as time goes on, the excitement fades into doubt and sadness and just a tiredness in the process. I was asking the Lord why this is the way it is, and I was asking Him to keep the excitement in my heart that I have now - even if this process takes years. So, as I prayed and contemplated the situation, He gave me a really simple thought. It was as if He simply said, because people quit believing that it is really going to happen. Then, He took my mind to vacation. You know, the summer vacation that you plan, or the spring break plan that you make. We are planning to go to California this summer and we are stoked!! (That is a Californian word for really excited!) As time goes on, even though it has been months since we made the plan, we get MORE excited because we KNOW that the time is closer now than it was before! It should be the same way with adoption. Because every month we wait, we are one month closer to having our baby! That is truth! But, the enemy comes in to steal from us and we let him! We give him our hope and our trust in the Lord's Sovereignty and we say, that's okay, I'll just become apathetic! NO WAY! I am begging the Lord to protect me from that. I don't want to make it appear easy - every act of war is just that - an act of war. There aren't toy guns and pretend arrows. It is really intense and you have to fight literally for your life. But, I am asking the Lord to help me fight for the CONSTANT excitement in this process. In my mind, 8 to 10 months seems like perfect timing - BUT MY TIMING ISN'T NECESSARILY THE LORD'S TIMING! So, I want to grow more and more excited as each month passes and not let the enemy take anything away from this beautiful and amazing process. Please pray for our family as we begin our journey. Pray that the Lord will get amazing glory from our journey through adoption! And, let me know if you want to see our Life Book! I can't wait until it is finished!
Galatians 4:5, "God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, "Abba, Father".
Ken and I have just begun the process of adopting a precious baby into our family. There are many unknowns. There are many fears - most of which are unfounded. The Lord in all of His sovereignty already has a baby picked out for our family. He alone knows if this sweet one is even conceived, whether it is a boy, or girl. He alone knows what struggles the baby will have already had in this life. I want to have a heart of prayer for this baby’s biological mother (the birthmother, in adoptive language). I want people to realize that the stigma that is usually placed on women who give their babies a fresh start in life through the process of adoption is not accurate. They are depicted as uncaring, unfeeling, and even selfish. Selfishness looks like abortion. Selfishness looks like raising the baby in a crack house, or in the midst of prostitution. Selfishness is not letting someone else raise the baby that grew in your womb for 9 months. That is quite possibly one of the most selfless decisions a woman could make for her child. And it is not rational to think that any woman would have an easy time of delivering a baby only to place it in someone else’s arms. The nurturing instinct of a mother doesn’t just fade away after delivery. These sweet women have to grieve as if they have lost a child to miscarriage. Yes, ultimately they know that life awaits their baby. A good life, with someone that they have chosen. But, the child will grow up calling someone else Momma and Daddy. As we go through this process, I am praying that we will realize all of the ways that we can love this birthmother. Sometimes that might look like drawing near. And sometimes, that might look like backing away - and giving her room to breathe. This is just the start of an amazing journey. I can’t wait to see what lies ahead! The Lord is faithful. The Lord is loving. The Lord is a mighty God!
Ephesians 1:5, "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son."
Today our precious Jared accepted Christ! Please join with me and the angels to sing praise to our sweet God who has adopted Jared as a son! YEAH GOD! Tonight in church, with no prompting by anyone other than the Holy Spirit, my precious son lifted his arms in worship. Oh it was precious indeed! Not only did he not just do what he saw me doing - I hadn't even raised my arms yet, and he leaned over and asked me why I hadn't! Oh thank you Jesus that once we are yours, no matter how old or young, we can hear your voice! What a sweet memory for me to always treasure in my heart. There is no greater thing than to realize that your child wants to love Jesus and praise Him. When I asked him why he wanted to ask Jesus in his heart, his first response was, "because I want to praise Him!" Oh wow!
Yes, Jesus, that we would want you in our lives, not just for direction, or clarity, or for what we get out of it, but just simply because we want to praise you! Let us praise you with childlike faith! Help us to love you with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Teach us what that even means in our lives. There is so much to be thankful for. Help us to know you in ways that we can't even imagine right now. Help us to praise you in all things. Help us to know how to recognize all that we have to be thankful for!
So, my heart is rejoicing and I cannot stop thinking of things to be thankful for. What a sweet God we serve. He knows what we need before we even ask Him. That is so amazing, and so true. He even knows our wants and sometimes provides for those as well. What a good and giving God we serve! I really think I am the most blessed woman in the whole world! Truly, what more could I want. Truly I live in a place of abundance! Thank you my sweet God.
