Another Call to Prayer

OK...so I know it may seem like we're beating a dead horse by asking for the exact same prayer over and over, but we take our example from the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8. The truth of the matter is that my husband and I are not quite sure what to expect in response to our plea to God to know His will and walk in it as it pertains to Emmy's adoption. We don't know how the Lord is going to show up and reveal that answer to us. There have been times in our lives when He has given us the miraculous writing on the wall, so to speak. When we made the decision to become foster parents, the response to our prayers was crystal clear and nothing short of a miracle. However, there have been other times in our lives when our steps of obedience have been much more difficult to discern. We do not know what kind of story the Lord is writing this time, but we continue to wait patiently on the Lord for His direction and guidance. As we do so, we are increasingly made aware of the need to make a decision and communicate to the appropriate people.


Today, we had yet another (seemingly more urgent) reminder that this decision needs to be made. We have no doubt in our minds that the Lord is going to guide this decision. Our lack of faith, however, causes us to desire  another "writing on the wall" experience of confirmation. We may not get that. We may, but we may not. What we need to share here is that next Tuesday, Emmy's case worker will be bringing papers for my husband and I to sign, declaring our intent to adopt Emmy.


Please join us as we pray fervently for the following things:

• "I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me" - Habakkuk 2:1; Pray that my husband and I would keep our eyes fixed on Him this weekend - that we would be eagerly looking for the answer to these prayers.
• "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." - 2 Corinthians 10:5; Pray that we would take captive every thought we have in this process and make those thoughts obedient to Christ - that this would be a decision led not by logic or reason, but by the Holy Spirit alone.
• "...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" - 2 Timothy 1:7; Like I have said before, please pray that we would submit to His sovereignty in all things. Whichever road He leads us down will be one that is uncertain and a bit frightening to behold. Help us not to be motivated at all by fear or worry, which is doubting Christ. Instead pray that we would rest in the knowledge that He goes before us - opening and closing doors and preparing a home and a family for Emmy - and He walks with us, providing peace, strength, and comfort in generous supply.
• "What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ." - Philippians 3:8; "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." - Matthew 6:33; Above all, please pray that we would seek a deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ.

"For still the vision awaits its appointed time; 

it hastens to the end—it will not lie. 

If it seems slow, wait for it; 

it will surely come; it will not delay." 

Habakkuk 2:3

Prone to Wander, Lord, I Feel It

I like setting goals and achieving goals. It's one of the ways God made me, and like many of my personality traits, the Lord can use it in mighty ways, but the devil sure knows how to use it as a temptation. If there was a theme in my life, this would certainly be it.

So often, I feel like I have neglected the constants in my life - those things that require daily, often mundane work (my spiritual walk, family, close friends, ongoing ministries, etc.). Instead, I have often gotten wrapped up in grand ideas that seem like good work for the kingdom. The problem, however, is that the Lord most often never called me to these seemingly "good works," and He hasn't laid out the path before me.

This week has been a rough week for me as I have, yet again, found myself in this valley - expending a great deal of effort in areas that the Lord may have never intended. The good news is that "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." - Romans 8:1. The bad news is that the Lord is, yet again, having to do the painful work of getting my priorities in check.

The result has been a very harried household, not one marked by "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control" - Galatians 5:22-23. I don't think it has to do with busy-ness alone. Our household has been busy for quite some time and still strong and stable. I think it has everything to do with the things around which that busy-ness revolves. When we have been busy laboring for His kingdom - in the ways in which He has laid out for us - it has been life-giving for us! When we have been busy laboring for ourselves and our own plans and schemes, it has sucked the joy right out of life.

"For we are God's workmanship, 

created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, 

that we should walk in them."

Ephesians 2:10

Father, I am awed and humbled by the truth that you have ordained specific good works, like being a wife and a foster parent, for me to walk in. These are works for which you have thoroughly equipped me and through which I will bring You the most glory. Help me not to take these tasks lightly. Help me not to check them off my to-do list prematurely. Help me not to be persuaded by my pride that tells me I have already achieved these and am ready to move onto something new. Help me, instead, Lord, to fix my eyes on You alone and not to neglect my prayer life.

Lord, Establish Our Steps

I'm having an unexpected day at home this Sunday morning after Emmy spent yesterday and today not feeling her best. While she is sleeping soundly upstairs, I thought I would take a quick moment to post a long-overdue update. Emmy has continued to thrive lately! She is not yet crawling, but for the first time today, I saw a tooth poking through on her bottom gum! She continues to be a studious girl who examines things, people, and situations quite seriously, but we see hundreds of those sweet smiles and hear several of those sweet giggles daily now. My husband has been playing piano for her more and more, and she just stops dead in her tracks to listen. She's also becoming quite the singer - opening her mouth for a nice round "Ahh" sound, lifting that soft palette, and getting some extremely wide vibrato going daily (usually at dinner time). My husband and I usually join in loudly which only encourages her to proceed at the top of her lungs. I'm not sure this is our wisest decision, but it sure is fun!

Emmy has proven to be a most wonderful traveler. We keep her on her toes most days with new adventures all the time, and most of the time, she does quite well being flexible and just continuing to be a joy to be around. All of this leads me to my primary prayer request which is much the same as in previous posts, but it's becoming more and more of an imminent reality.

Emmy has a family member who continues to be very unpredictable in his desire to adopt. We really don't know what will end up happening there. DFACS is going through a home evaluation process to potentially approve him to be a temporary placement until Emmy is adopted. What I gather (which could be about as accurate as a crystal ball, mind you) is that unless we declare our intention to adopt Emmy, they will most likely move her to her family member's home as soon as the home evaluation is complete. Why this would ever be in the best interest of a child, I do not know, but with DFACS, blood runs thicker than just about anything, and it is pretty much always best for children to be around biological relatives.

Like I said, I could be hearing false information or drawing false conclusions, but regardless, we feel a bit more urgency (and we're being asked with a bit more urgency) about our decision whether or not to adopt Emmy if the option presents itself. Needless to say, my husband and I have poured over this decision. In full disclosure, we have probably spent entirely too much time thinking about the practical implications of all of this and not nearly enough time in prayer, but we are turning to the Lord more than ever and seeking His wisdom and guidance in this decision. I don't necessarily feel comfortable outlining any of the specific thoughts we have had, but please join us in praying about this, and we will continue to keep you posted as decisions are made along the way.

More and more each day, the Lord is knitting our hearts together with this little girl, and it becomes increasingly difficult to imagine our lives without her in them! Praise God that He has seen fit to use us - with all of our many imperfections - to provide a healthy, strong family attachment for this sweet baby. On the flip side, we recognize that obedience to His will may, in fact, require us to release our control over her future and leave it entirely in the Lord's hands. Either way, we know that He is good and that He is sovereign over all things. My prayer and my comfort lies in the Truth revealed in these verses - that no decision I make is going to thwart the plans of God. If we make a decision that is outside of His divine will, may He shut the door quickly, and though it may be painful to endure, let us praise His name and take heart that He is directing Emmy's steps.

"The heart of man plans his way, 

but the LORD establishes his steps."

Proverbs 16:9

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand."

Proverbs 19:21

"I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,

that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps."

Jeremiah 10:23

"Who has spoken and it came to pass,

unless the Lord has commanded it?"

Lamentations 3:37

Thank you for praying.

Family, Laughter, and Puppy Love

This pretty much sums up the very best of what's been going on over here in Emmy's life. Ever since she hit 6 months, the world has become Emmy's playground, and she's enjoying her new discoveries each and every day. Here are the things that I have noticed and been most thankful for this past month or so...

Family: We have a lot to celebrate in our extended families these days with the arrival of my new niece among other things, and as we've gone through this season of celebrations, family vacations, and other get-togethers, I have often caught myself sitting back, holding back a few tears, and praying silently over Emmy in the midst of it all. What incredible grace the Lord has given Emmy in many ways, but one of the most profound I see is His provision of family for this sweet baby girl. Not only is she healthy (against the odds set against her), with a safe place to call home and parents who adore and pray for her, she also has the amazing blessing of grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends who may as well be family, neighbors, a church family filled with people who anxiously await her arrival each Sunday and Wednesday and are genuinely disappointed when she is not there, and the list goes on and on!! It honestly moves me to tears if I sit and think about it long enough. How blessed are we all by our families?! And how often are we compelled to take all of this for granted? More than anything, I am moved by the words of Psalm 68 that describe God as a "father to the fatherless." It says, "God sets the lonely in families." I am overwhelmed by His work in this child's life, and I am so grateful for the multitude of people whom He is leading to serve as family to Emmy.

Laughter: Emmy had her first real bout of laughter this weekend. The great news is that we were able to catch it on video. The unfortunate news is that I can't post it here. Needless to say, days are getting more and more fun over here, and we're falling more in love with this girl and praising the Lord for the adorable way He created her every single day! Can't wait to see what she'll get into next :)

Puppy Love: The other thing that has marked this past month is Emmy's newly acquired love for Layla and Layla's newly acquired love for Emmy. Layla's only problem is that sometimes she loves Emmy too much and can't seem to figure out why she isn't able to lick her in the face for hours on end. Emmy's problem is that she can't see anything wrong with hitting or kicking Layla in the face when she gets excited to see her. All-in-all, these are fine problems to have, because everyone is happy and enjoying each other quite well. Here are a few fun shots of Layla's first encounter with the Johnny Jump-Up. I'm not sure who was more enthralled with whom...

Thank you for continuing to pray with us. The Lord still hasn't illuminated the path before us brightly enough for us to make big decisions about our future with Emmy. He's still illuminating one tiny step at a time, and we are waiting on His perfect timing. This month, however, has been an affirmation to me that the Lord is the one directing Emmy's future. He is the one giving grace to her every step of the way and placing her in loving families like ours. The most difficult decision we will have to make will be the decision to let Emmy go if that's how we feel the Lord leading. However, I have to believe that if that is the Lord's will, He will be faithful to our prayers, and we will, yet again, stand amazed at His sovereign provision in Emmy's life. Please continue to pray for clarity in this decision process. Also, continue to pray for Emmy's interaction with her grandfather. He will be completing the approval process soon, and then Emmy will most likely begin visiting with him regularly. Pray that this will be a blessing to both of them.

One Night of a Thousand Dreams

This is a shameless plug, but who knows?? Some of you might be interested in joining us for this special evening in September!

One Night of a Thousand Dreams

Tickets $50 per person

Casual Elegance Attire

Where: The Manor Golf and Country Club

16002 Hopewell Rd Alpharetta, Ga 30004 

When: Saturday September 17th

6:30 to 11:00 pm

 A magical evening benefiting foster children awaits you and your friends at The Manor Golf and Country Club. Come enjoy dinner, music and a special guest speaker, Ashely Rhodes-Courter, author of a New York Times Best Selling Book “Three Little Words”. The evening will also include a live and silent auction featuring a Philip Stein Limited Edition Oprah 25th anniversary diamond watch, Las Vegas Get Away, Judith Ripka Eclipse Earrings, autographed Chipper Jones Jersey and much more. This is the night for YOU to help make foster children’s dreams come true.

As a reminder, "Three Little Words," is the book I reference several months ago - a memoir of a young girl who spent age 2-11 in foster care in Florida. She has an amazing story of resilience, and provides chilling insight into what life looks like for a small child navigating this complex, often unfair, system. I can't wait to hear her speak!

Home, Sweet Home!

We are home and relaxing after a fun beach vacation last week. We went with my mom, dad, and brother, and yes...we took the baby AND the puppy. We had a blast, although it was a much different experience than our prior trips to the beach. I guess I didn't realize that babies and puppies don't live by the same general principle that you're supposed to sleep in, have nice, pleasant dinners out, and have an overall calm disposition while on vacation :) Thankfully, we had many hands to help throughout the week, so all was well. I learned a few valuable lessons along the way:

• Pack some kind of noise-maker! We had to get a cheapo floor fan, because our room was really warm, but I think the noise helped more than anything for Emmy.
• If possible, rent a room or a condo with a pool that is right outside the door. We lucked out on this, and I wouldn't have done it any other way! When Emmy was napping, I could carry my monitor with me and lay by the pool - far better than sitting inside for hours while you're at the beach.
• Pick up some cheap $1-a-yard dark fabric, fold it up, and take it with you on vacation. We would have loved to have been able to darken Emmy's room a bit during the day.

It kills me that I can't post pictures of Emmy. We got some ADORABLE ones. I can, however, post pictures of Layla's beach fun. Yes, at the beach we visited, dogs are allowed on the beach in the mornings and evenings. We had no idea how much Layla would enjoy that!!

As you can tell, Layla is not such a small puppy anymore. She is still all puppy, but in a much larger size...haha. Her ears are cracking us up. When we got her, they were both floppy, then she had one floppy and one that stuck straight up. Then, last week they were both straight up. Now, her right ear is crooked again. She's a funny dog. Ask me today, and I adore her. Ask me on other days, and I can't stand her. Fortunately, we've been having many more good days than bad recently. I still have hope that she's going to be an amazing dog one day!

We also got to spend a little time at the beach with some friends of ours who have since left to begin training to be foreign missionaries for 2 years. We are in awe of their faith, and watching their daily obedience to the Lord has been a huge encouragement to us recently. Unfortunately, we will sorely miss their presence in our lives now, which is difficult knowing that we're all entering such new, scary territory these days. It would be nice to have those sweet friends nearby, but alas...we will hope for more time together in the future, and for now, Skype will be a beautiful, beautiful thing!

Emmy loved the beach and came back a completely different child than when we left. The woman who comes to work with Emmy's development each week was blown away when she showed up this morning. Emmy has really come a long way in a short time. She is extremely social these days, smiling, laughing, babbling, reaching for things, rolling all over the place, trying to crawl. If you met Emmy before, you know what a huge answer to prayer this is! Watching the Lord work in her life has been an amazing thing. I can see life getting even busier soon!

Her case worker also had to visit once we were home from the beach, so she came on Monday with a few updates. Emmy's grandfather has expressed interest in being involved in Emmy's care, although he's not interested in adopting Emmy. I'm not sure how that will unfold, but we're taking it one day at a time. The judge has also asked that no sibling visits occur between Emmy and her older brother. At this point, I see that as a huge answer to prayer, but we still wonder what this all means for Emmy's future.

Another answer to prayer is that we received the results of Emmy's medical testing from a month ago, and all was clear! Hallelujah! I will thank God for this amazing grace on Emmy's behalf for many years to come!

Prayer requests are mostly the same as before, but I must ask again that you join us in praying for the Lord's guidance as we try to discern our role in Emmy's future. We are still not there yet. I also ask that you pray for the Holy Spirit to steer this potential involvement by Emmy's grandfather. Pray that it is a blessing to her life and not another hurdle she has to overcome.

Countdown to Vacation!!

We received approval on Tuesday to take Emmy to the beach with us next week, so we are now packing and preparing to head out Saturday! We'll be there for a week with my family, and I can hardly wait!

Seeing as this will be our first vacation with a baby and a puppy in tow, preparation doesn't seem quite as relaxing as I remember it being in the past, but we'll make it! Being the minimalist that I am, I cringe as I am creating our extra-long packing list. How can we possibly need all of this stuff?? Can't we get by with fewer material posessions this week? As I look at the list, my logic says, "No...you really do need everything on this list." The other side of me, however, tends to think that in many places across the world, mothers get along just fine without Pack n' Plays, High Chairs, and Johnny Jump-Ups. Oh well, they probably will make the trip with us along with the dog crate, bicycles and what is shaping up to be several bags of miscellaneous items. Hopefully we'll be able to cram them (and us) into the car on Saturday.

Our case worker told me on Tuesday that she had given the photographs we printed to Emmy's mom, and that she was very appreciative. I was happy to hear that. Emmy's mom also asked for more photos to share with her family, so I'm working on that. I'm hoping to get some adorable shots at the beach to keep Emmy's mom in-the-know about her first-ever beach vacation and for us to document what is sure to be a precious week of memories!

There is one other thing that has come up since I last posted for which I would ask your prayers. Emmy has a 17-year-old half-brother who is also in foster care in Georgia. Until now, he has never met Emmy, but his case worker is pushing hard for them to have regular visitation from now on. This brings up a lot of questions and concerns on our part.

Fortunately, our agency has offered to take the wheel on this, so I won't have to be the one navigating this sticky situation. However, I do feel a strong need to cover this in prayer. For one thing, we happen to know that this brother visits with Emmy's mom regularly and doesn't always take the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of her illness. We're concerned about how it might jeopardize Emmy's safety to come in contact with her brother if he is carrying his mom's illness on his clothing. We also don't know how this contact with Emmy's brother will affect her future. Will this be a long-term relationship that Emmy is expected to keep up? Will this ultimately become a relationship that Emmy's adoptive parents will have to manage once Emmy and her brother are both out of the foster system? So many questions, but we will cover Emmy, her brother, and her mom in prayer and lean on our knowledge that God is sovereign over all things.

I'd say after the last month or two, we've never been more ready to dig our toes into the sand and RELAX!! I look forward to a fun update when I return!