Happy Thanksgiving Week!

 

From the first bright light of morning,

To the last warm glow of dusk;

Every breath we take is sacred,

For it is God's gift to us.
 

 

In thanksgiving, let us praise Him;

In thanksgiving, let us sing

Songs of praise and adoration

To our gracious Lord, and King.
 

 

In the season of our plenty,

In the season of our need;

We will find His grace sufficient,

We will find His love complete.

 

 

Safe within His hand that guides us,

Hidden in His healing wings;

Day by day His love provides us

Every good and perfect thing.

 

 

In thanksgiving, let us praise Him;

In thanksgiving, let us sing

Songs of praise and adoration

To our gracious Lord, and King.

 

~Claire Cloninger~

 

Thank you Lord, for...

 

Pie!

 

I ate my first piece of pie in two years today.  It was so good!

I had to go gluten free back in 2012 because of my health,

and just recently I started eating a little bit of wheat now and

then.  Even though it seems to make me not feel well after I

eat it, I decided to go ahead and have a piece of pumpkin pie

at our family Thanksgiving today, it's just a little crust, right?

Anyways, it was very good. (:

 

Blessings to you as you enjoy Thanksgiving with your families

this week- try not to stress out about the meal and everything

being just right- as long as the food's good everybody will be happy!

 

 

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men,

for he satisfies the thirsty

and fills the hungry with good things.

Psalm 107:8-9

Against the Odds

Here's a look at our odds for adopting a girl through the foster care system- these are not scientific figures, they were done by my math, but I think they are pretty accurate.

Out of all the kids that come into foster care...

50% are able to go back home to their biological families.

 

40% are adopted by their foster family or a relative.

 

The remaining 10% are placed on state waiting child lists.  Dividing that 10% up...

 

7% are boys.

 

1% are girls over the age of 13.

 



The remaining 2% are the ones that we look through.  Of them...

 

More than 1% are part of a sibling group.

 

So it you followed all those percentages, of all the kids that come into foster care, less than 1% would be possibilities for our family.  Most of them have been through so much trauma that it would not be wise to mix them in with our boys.  So there really are very few girls available to us.  Here is a photo of the girls we've inquired about or submitted our homestudy for this year.

 

 

For about half of these girls, a family has been found, which is great!  The rest of them either would not work well with our family, or we are waiting to hear back about them.  They are from all over the country.  Even though our chances don't look too promising, I know that we are doing what God has asked us to do.  Whether we adopt one of these girls or God leads us to someone else, he will fulfill his purpose both for us and each girl in this photo!  What a great promise this is--

 

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;

Your love, O LORD, endures forever-

do not abandon the works of your hands.

Psalm 138:8

 







Just a little miracle?

 

Do you ever find yourself wishing for a miracle?

Maybe just a small one?

 

Just this morning I found myself asking God for a miracle-

that we would have our girl home with us for Christmas.

Maybe he will answer with a yes, and maybe with a no,

but whatever he does will be for the best.

 

Sometimes we are like Martha in the Bible.  She and her sister

Mary and brother Lazarus were good friends of Jesus.  He often

stayed with them when he was in the area, so when they sent

word to Jesus that Lazarus was really sick, they fully expected

that Jesus would hurry over and heal him.  But he didn't.

 

He waited a few days, long enough for Lazarus to die.

I'm sure Martha and Mary wondered if Jesus even cared.

Oh yes, he cared.  He had something bigger planned.

 

Sometimes, we ask God for a little miracle,

but he says no, because he has a lot bigger miracle in mind.

 

Maybe you know the story- Jesus came when everyone

thought it was too late, but he was right on time.

He went to the tomb, and called for Lazarus to come out.

And out he came, alive as ever!

Many believed in him because of this amazing miracle.

So it was all for the best.

 

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.

Romans 15:13

 

 

Thanks for Praying

~La Mariette aux Fraises~

by Albert Anker

 

I thought I'd give you a bit of an adoption update,

in case you're curious.  We could definitely use

your prayers.  Lately it seems like we are in a

battle, discouragement and despair of ever finding

a child is what we are struggling with these days.

I know that God wants us to stand firm, but

sometimes it's hard.  At this time there aren't

any girls that would be a match for our family

in our state, most of them need a family with

no other children or only older children.  So

we are looking at Adopt US Kids and have sent

out our homestudy for several different girls across

the country.  It seems like kind of a long shot

that we would be selected for any of them,

but God knows.  Thanks for praying for us!

 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Put on the full armor of God so that you can

take your stand against the devil's schemes.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,

but against the rulers, against the authorities,

against the powers of this dark world

and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:10-12

Our State is Pretty Too

 

I used to compare the fall colors in our state to other

states, like Vermont or Tennessee or Michigan, and

felt rather sorry for myself that we didn't live in a prettier place.

 

But then we moved to the desert in Arizona and Mexico,

where there is no fall to speak of, and when we moved

back here, suddenly, it was all so much prettier!

 

I really don't know what I was thinking!

 

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant

nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain,

but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

1 Timothy 6:17