Journaling My Journey

1. If I'm using this as a journal, then you are really going to get my deep stuff that the Lord is working through. He has really been challenging me about my judgmental and critical spirit. I get very frustrated, very easily with other Believers. I can give grace all day to people who don't know the truth, but if I think they are already "supposed to know this stuff" it really annoys me. So, I've been asking the Lord to change this and reveal it to me. So, last night as I was praying the Lord gave me a word picture that helps me understand. I am a very visual person, so anything that is visual really sets things deep in my heart. Ok, so I'm laying there praying and I feel like I can see a great light. A bright light of the Lord Jesus. In this, I immediately cower in the corner. I can picture myself lying on the ground against the wall. Now, as is my tendancy, I attempt to look around to see where others are. Every person I "see" is doing the same as me. The Christians who (in my eyes) "don't get it" and the Murderers alike, all lying on the ground in view of His Glory. So often, I believe (even when I know it's not true in my heart) that I stand with God and watch the others. SO NOT TRUE, in remembering my own forgiveness I am putting myself on the ground where I belong. Yes, I know that from there, the LORD lifts me up and calls me His Child, but for now, He needs me to spend more time remembering I'm on the floor! Remembering that He Doesn't Need Me and that anytime He chooses to use me is for HIS GLORY! I know I still have a long way to go, but this picture is a good way to keep my own "place" at the forefront of my mind. Now, I can think about those people that I tend to criticize and just be sad that they don't know certain truths, and realize at the same time that I don't know some of the truths of the Lord that they DO know!

2. Praying the scriptures has been a new source of joy for me. Sunday and I spent this morning in prayer: Prayer for our friends, church staff, families, husbands, each other and fellow blog friends. Here was our prayer for you today.

Ephesians 1:15-21

" ¹⁵For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit^[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come."

Cool Bracelets

I recently ran across Erin and Scott's Blog, who are adopting Mary Cameron (MC) and Jackson from Uganda. Check out their story, it is very sweet! They even posted a recap to their whole story for my friends who will be dropping by after reading this! Thanks, Erin! Well, they have come up with a unique fundraiser for their adoption that I thought you might like. They are selling these bracelets that say, "Orphans No More" and "Psalm 68:5" on them. Psalm 68:5 is ""A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling." Originally, I was just going to buy a bunch myself (they are only $2), but I thought you guys might want to see them and buy them for your friends, family or other adoptive families! You can click on their link and pay with paypal or send a check (no shipping)

Orphanage Stories

Friends, Go Check Donna's Blog. She's in Liberia and posting about the orphanage!

Africa, The Game!

Check out the Africa Game (bottom right of my blog) I found at Jamie's Site

The Waiting

This weekend, I was at a missions themed retreat for our denomination's district. I woke up this morning, knowing that Donna and the gang were in Liberia today. While I thought this would make me super happy (and truly, it does) I pretty much fell apart today. I don't know if it was all the talk about missions (I would leave tomorrow to move to Africa!) or knowing that a friend of mine would get to hold my boy in her arms. . . .whatever it was, I was not handling it well. We were standing in worship during our session (at the retreat) and I just started bawling! Just standing there and weeping. The words to the song were, 'Remember Your Children, Remember Your Promise, Oh God" and I am weeping. I leaned over to my friend Jackie Sue (who has adopted twice from China) and said, "I can't believe how much you can miss someone you've never met". She just smiled in understanding, gave me a hug and said, "I know". On the up side, Donna emailed me about something and said that she'd seen Henry (Davis) this morning and he is "sooooo cute" and "very little". I'm hoping to get new pictures on Monday. Until then, I wait. . . .this song is about Heaven, but so illustrates our hearts longing in waiting.

Cause I just wanna be with You
I just want this waiting to be over
I just want to be with You
And it helps to know the Day is getting closer
Every minute takes an hour
Every inch feels like a mile
Til I won't have to imagine
And I finally get to see You smile
My journey's here, but my heart is There
So I dream and wait, and keep the faith, while You prepare
Our destiny, til You come back for me
Oh, please make it soon!

"Smile" by Chris Rice

Welcome Mommy Zabs Readers

Welcome MommyZabs readers. . .

My friend, Zabs, allowed me "guest post" on her very popular site this week, so I know that some of you may be checking me out for the first time. . .
If you'd like to get to know me, check Our Adoption Story, Our Referral, Fasting for Feeding, and The Trip to Liberia. Those will just give you a sampling of who I am. Welcome and check out our other friends who are adopting from Acres of Hope and have blogs and onedollar adoption sites.

Thanks again, Zabs!

Things I'm learning / pondering right now

A couple of thoughts are whirling around in my head right now. . .I usually wait until I have them a little clearer but thought that blogging might actually help me understand things better. . .

1. I've been feeling a little overwhelmed and probably not trusting these days. With the trip to Liberia and the upcoming Women's retreat hanging over my head and neither having the response I thought, I've become down about it. Just wondering what God's doing and truthfully starting to doubt that either will happen well. So today, I got to thinking about my blog friend, Charity. I remember reading her blog a couple of weeks ago. She was so tired of waiting for her girls. So sad that it was taking so long. Well, little did she know what the Lord had up his sleeve. Literally ONE WEEK later, her girls got their passports and Charity is making plans to pick them up in the beg. of September. It reminded me of a little teaching that Joyce Carnefix gave to us at our women's retreat a couple of years ago. She said that God ALWAYS answers our prayers immediately (remember, time is nothing to HIM), it just takes a while to "bump into" those answers where He has placed them perfectly. SO, I rest. I realize that it does no good to be bummed right now, b/c only God knows what He has planned for me right around the corner. I will work on placing my trust completely in whatever He chooses to do while also praying for miracles. For people to GO (both on the retreat and the Trip) and for my wild prayer (that some of you know, but I'm not posting) about the trip!

2. Denise and I were talking yesterday about our boys in Liberia. How amazing it is that we LOVE them so completely and they don't even know that we exist! They will find out about us for the first time with little albums they will receive this weekend. Yes, we have loved them before they even knew us. Isn't that so like the LORD? He loved me before I even knew He was there. Before I ever "received my album" He adored me and longed to have me in His arms. He is so amazing! Thank you Jesus for longing for and waiting for me and for loving me so much that you would put your heart at such risk knowing full well how many times I would choose me over you. I love you Lord!

3. This brings me to my 3rd little lesson . . . which is the hardest to explain. We use the adoption metaphor with the Lord all of the time. However, I have found one little fault with this. When I think about adoption, I think of a child who needs a family through no fault of his own. He was put into a difficult situation, whether born into poverty or abuse, not b/c of anything he has done. Here, the adoptive family sees the value he truly has and chooses to give him a home, a hope and a future where there was none before. Ok, the giving of a home, hope and future is exactly what the Lord does. However, we are not in need of adopting through no fault of our own. I am in need of an adoptive Father BECAUSE of who I am. Because of my sin, I have no home hope or future. Really, in the case of a little one losing his family b/c of abuse, when you look at the characters of the story. . .God is so amazing b/c not only does he go and offer that helpless child hope, but He Chooses to go to that Mom who does despicable things and offer HER hope. He goes to those who are helpless b/c of who they are and gives hope b/c of who He is! (I know this one is harder to digest and have no clue how it comes across in writing)

So, there are my thoughts for this very late evening. I am again reminded of how little I am, how Big He is and how far I have to go in Trusting and Knowing Him. But, I am thankful that He does have things waiting just around the corner for me and I can trust those plans because He Is Good!!!

Donna ~ From Acres of Hope

Many of you have heard me talk about Donna, from Acres of Hope. She is our adoption coordinator. She is WONDERFUL!! Not only has she been so helpful and kind during our adoption process, but I would truly consider her a friend. She not only helps AoH run things for the adoptive families, but she is an adoptive mom herself. In fact, she is in the process of adopting her 6th child now. No, they aren't made of money and truthfully I think the very process of figuring out the finances is overwhelming to her! However, they had previously adopted 2 precious children from one mom in Liberia. The mom happens to have Cerebral Palsy so that coupled with living in extreme poverty means that supporting children is not possible. Well, they just found out that this mom is expecting again. They have agreed to adopt this next child who is a biological sibling of two of their children. Will you come alongside them? They have set up a OneDollar Adoption Site. Anyone can give $1. . .however, I would like to challenge any of my friends here and especially ones that have LOVED following our adoption process and have LOVED getting new information on Davis to ask the Lord how He would have you bless this woman. She is and has done so much to serve this ministry, truly to serve my child. She has given much of her time, energy, and time (did I say that?) She is a stay at home mom when not working so I know what a sacrifice it is to serve in this capacity. Would you pray about giving $1? What about$5 or $10 or $100 if the Lord so leads? Thanks for taking this to the Lord. I will copy the links to her blog and to her onedollaradoption site. Please feel free to forward this site to anyone on your email list who would be interested in helping them! I'm so excited by the fact that the LORD chooses to use us to bless others in their journeys of faith and obedience.

Weekend Report. . .

I know. . .I'm a slacker! I can't believe I haven't posted since Wednesday! In my defense, though, (as if anyone has actually complained!) it has been a crazy weekend! We did lots of fun things and Brayden said a ton of cute stuff!

On Friday on the way home from Chick Fil A, Brayden decides to make up a story. It was so cute b/c in his story, he and "Davis~my brother" (what he ALWAYS refers to Davis as!) and their friend Ryan went into a spooky cave. I love that he's already involving Davis in his life!

Friday afternoon we headed to Tampa for the night. We went to the Indians vs. Devil Rays baseball game Friday night and spent the night at a hotel. This is the whole group. Front row is my dad, Glenn Stepp, "G", Granny, Brennan (my cousin) and Papa. Top row is Greg holding Gracie, my Mom with Brayden and Lisa Stepp.

We had fun and ate like crazy! (kind of a Goff family tradition!) Brayden was anxious to get to the "Real live baseball game" and eat "real live Cotton candy". However, the entire time he cheered on the Yankees. . .who were NOT playing in this game! His father has taught him well! The kids did good on a long night. They didn't get to bed until 10 pm which we don't do a lot! Brayden was very cute quoting his verses and praying before bed too.
(Greg and Gracie) (Brayden and Greg)

Can you tell I may have been a bit bored? I'm not a big baseball fan! I actually read a book for a little while and read a bunch of email on my phone! I was smart enough to change our yahoogroup feature to send me individual emails so I was celebrating with the AoH families who received passports, picked up their children and received visa appointments. I also took some cute silly pictures with Brayden. Although one or both of us were closing our eyes most of the time! He is cracking me up lately! When we put him to bed (us girls went back before the game was over) he said his verses and then prayed. While he was listing people, I quietly reminded him to pray for Davis too. So, he utters this prayer, "Jesus, please protect Davis. . .from the lions b/c he's in Africa" We could hardly keep in our laughter! Then next day we got up and spent the morning shopping (thanks for the new clothes for Gracie, mom and dad!), then headed home. Saturday night we went out with friends to celebrate Cory A.'s birthday. We had a blast laughing and eating and telling funny stories. We then headed to Sea World. Yep, just us adults. We rode Kraken (the roller coaster) and Journey to Atlantis (the water coaster) until they closed. It was so fun to act like highschoolers again! I wish I had pics to share but us girls didn't bring bags and the boys wouldn't put our cameras in their pockets!
Sunday was wonderful as well. Pastor Jon is hitting the mark lately! Aaagh. . .every time it hits me hard! Yesterday, one of the scriptures he used was about the disciples casting their nets on the other side of the boat. They were tired and frustrated b/c nothing was working, but they went ahead and cast their nets just b/c he asked them too! And he FILLED them! I feel like I've got some nets in the water right now, with Women's Retreat coming up (and not enough women signed up) and the Liberia trip (that no one has said yes to). I know I need to wait on HIM to fill those nets and trust Him if all He wanted was my willingness to cast them.

One more funny Brayden story before I close this LONG post up. . .after church we asked Brayden what he had learned in church. He immediately commented, "It was dark, but I wasn't real scared. " We figured, oh well, he's not old enough to really comprehend the lesson yet. However, he followed that comment up with "Jonah got eaten by a big fish and lived in his belly." I replied, "oh, cool". Brayden looked at me, VERY seriously and said, "That is not cool, Mama. He got eaten b/c he chose to disobey God and did not go where God told him to. He stayed in the belly of that fish for 4 days." "3 days?" I said. "Yes, 3 days and when he decided to change his heart and choose to obey God, the fish spit him out on desert land" "Dry land?" I asked. "Yes, Dry Land. We need to obey God. Our verse is 'God's way is Perfect'"! How amazing is that?! I was very impressed! He's so smart!

LONG AWAITED VISA NEWS!!!!!!

Yesterday, Patty (our founder) had a meeting with the American Consular. Here is her letter detailing that meeting! Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow! Thank you for joining us in prayer and fasting. (Jackie Sue, go get yourself a Starbucks!) I am still amazed that the Lord worked all of this out so quickly! This could have become a VERY big deal as this is the very issue that stopped adoption all together in Cambodia. Praise the Lord! I'm also thankful the the Lord allows us to be a part of His work in our world. Through prayer and fasting, we were able to sit on the edge of our seats as the God of the Universe intervened for children halfway around the world! I could go on and on, but I know you're dying to read the letter, so I'll just get to it!

"I know you all have been anxiously awaiting news about my meeting with the Embassy today. I am happy to report that our discussions were positive and the Consulate took several suggestions I made about making the process perhaps a little less stressful. She acknowledged the unfortunate families who have been caught in this new transition and express that she hoped not too many more families would be in this position.
One of the concerns shared was the increase in adoptions and why that was happening. My explanation was simply.........20 years ago, before the war Liberia was a peaceful and relatively prosperous nation and with the African culture that supports extended families caring for each other, adoption was a rare occurrence. Then with the many years of war the nation was left with thousands of orphans. NGO's and Organization like our saw the need to respond. Now while the orphans may be for the most part semi orphaned or children with single mothers, the need for these children to find loving forever families is just as great. The war left poverty at such a all time high, that extended families in many cases are no longer able to care for the vulnerable children. I had the opportunity to share what Acres of Hope was all about and the many programs we have that are serving the children of Liberia. That we are committed to serving all the children of Liberia. In the big scheme of things only a few will be lucky enough to find the loving arms of adoptive parents, but because of those few..........thousands of others will be served in Liberia. They were impressed with the humanitarian outreach Acres of Hope and that was a real plus. The Consulate was quite socked to see the 22 page album that we put together just showing our special needs miracles. She assured me she would consider the needs of some of the most fragile children and applauded Acres of Hope in meeting the needs of this
special group of children.
After discussions of the latest venture my staff had to make driving 200 miles on terrible roads with life-threatening conditions, crossing bridges washed out by the rains and needing to be re-built, I informed the Consulate I would not ever put my staff in that position again and that her request certainly appeared as if she was trying to put blockades in the process. Again she assured me her intentions were not to stop adoptions. At that point I suggested we pre-approve the children for visa at the beginning of the adoption process at the time the parent signs the relinquishment. That way the investigation should not be so involved as the part of verifying the orphan status would already be complete. She agreed to this.
So what does this all mean?
There will be a new order to adoptions that would include a pre-approve of the orphan for adoption by the Embassy much like the I-600A is for the adoptive parent. This should eliminate the fear that at the end something could go wrong.
Time wise.........well that is still yet to be known, but I truly believe that this will improve what has already been in place and probably cut the process down in the end.
We also discussed that it was necessary to allow processing to be 2 days per week with Thursdays being the day to drop off papers and schedule appointment. The result will be much more order, still the same amount of time, but with some strict guidelines.
In conclusion, our new Consulate is very willing to work with us to improve the system. She encouraged me to meet with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to discuss all these issues and concerns I have in educating others in the country on adoption including NGO not in favor of adoption.
I gave her a stack of information on articles you all were so good to research and I know she will have lots of reading materials and hopefully learn alot.
All in all it was a positive and productive meeting and I went away with good feeling realizing that changes are always hard and take time to get use to, but in this case I am convinced it is for the better.
Too many agencies have done short cuts or been dishonest and this is what has caused the issues we are dealing with now.
Acres of Hope is committed to setting the standards for how adoptions should be and with all of your help I believe the Lord will bless our efforts.
Thanks to you all for your many prayers and patience through this growing experience. I want all of you to know I personally along with our wonderful staff are here to do everything in our power to remain a voice for the children and support to you as adoptive families.

THREE CHEERS FOR YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Note: I will give each of your children a big hug and kiss !

Blessings,
Patty Anglin, Exective Director"

Eride

This was an event that we held on Friday night at our Church. We called it Eride: a Collision of Extreme Sports and Eternal Truth. We brought in "Untitled Skateboard" Company's Pro Demo Team who performed and also presented the Gospel. We had approx. 400 people attend with about %65 being community people (not from our church). We had a nice evening, although it was over 100 degrees! And 8 teens went forward. After counseling, we would say about 6 of them were first time commitments. It was very sweet, b/c the little boy of one of my small group girls went forward. Here are just a few pics. . .Not many of my fam b/c I was in charge so I had to run around a lot getting things together! Next time, I'll at least get a pic of Gracie! This is Brayden Cheering on the "Surfboarders" This is one of the neighborhood kids practicing his "skills"These are the Actual Professionals. . .Amazing, but CRAZY!!

This is Pastor Jon and I giving away the "decks" we had made. (Decks are skateboards without wheels!) We had them designed with our Eride logo; they were pretty cool! This little girl won, but I think her dad was more excited than she was!!

Visas and a BUNCH Of Scripture

Friday morning, I woke up to some interesting news on the visa situation in Liberia. Here is the actual email about what is happening:

* The consular is requiring adoption agencies to make an appointment for a pre-visa interview. That can only be done on a certain day and only for a couple hours that day. After the petition has been filed;
the consular requires 3 weekss to conduct a mandatory I-604-Determination on Child for Adoption. Due to security concerns; the consular staff is requiring that agencies bring in the relinguishing
birth parent for an interview with the consular. Families within the city will be required to come in as well. Furthermore DNA testing will be required for all cases which consular staff cannot determine
parentage by interview. Adoption providers can drop off documents pertaining to adoptions on Thursdays from 2-4:00pm. Adoptive parents should not schedule return flights to the U.S. until the consular
provides the date a visa will be issued. Parents cannot meet with the consular unless they have a visa interview which can only be Thursdays from 2-4.

What this means:

Fewer Visas each week which equates to Longer wait times

meaning children wait MUCH Longer in the orphanage. Meaning sick children may die, see Naiomi and Joseph who both NEED to get home very soon! Meaning the US Gov't is basically "trumping" the Liberian Gov't b/c they have already said this was official in their eyes.

Birth Families appearing at Visa Hearing

Meaning, after a birth mom has made the very difficult decision to place her child for adoption, she has to go back and make it all over again a year later (and see their child and new parents possibly) I am assuming some of these parents will refuse to do this, which means children will be left to be raised in an orphanage with no plan by the state dept to make it any other way. Also, if a parent cannot be found, no visa will be issued and child raised in orphanage

Sounds like the orphanage problem has a solution. . .parents in America waiting and willing to spend the money necessary to take these children yet our Gov't will NOT allow it if those requirements are not met. Do they want to be like Zimbabwe in the 90's with 11 mil. people
and over 3 million of them being orphans? Except for the fact that some of those 8 mil were children, so let's just say that leaves 5 mil. adults. Now, factor in the fact that in Liberia the Employment rate is 10% and so is the literacy rate. That is NOT good for the Liberian economy either!

Ok, so I'll admit I freaked out a bit! I spent the morning in tears. Not just for Davis (who at 2 visas a week, would not get out for close to a year) but for my friends' children who are medically fragile. Yes, I lost perspective! A couple of AoH friends called and I quickly told them, "no I can't be of any help yet. . but, I'm going to small group now and will get myself together." As soon as I got to small group, I told the girls with tears in my eyes. They immediately turned the table on me and told me over and over what we've been learning about Trusting in a BIG God!! Yes, I was convicted and began to change perspectives. Soon, I proceeded to lead our discussion from one of my favorite studies (Self Confrontation). This lesson was "The Biblical View of Self". The point that they undergirded with scripture was "Nothing on earth can compare to God." We are nothing and God is everything. While I was busy worrying about the plans of man, I had forgotten that the Lord was still in control.

2 Chronicles 6:14 "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.

Psalm 40:5 "Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.

Jeremiah 10:6-7 " No one is like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power. ⁷ Who should not revere you, O King of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.

Job 42:2"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.

Isaiah 14:27, " For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?"

Yes, we still work towards changing this policy. I have met with a friend of ours who is a lobbyist and will help us get in contact with our state senator (he has his number in his cell phone!) to get a case open. However, now I will rest in the fact that GOD is in control. I will be thankful that He allows us to be a part of what He's doing in Liberian policy!! That's amazing!

So, please pray, but don't worry! Give it to the Lord and praise HIM all the day long! I will post more of my lobbyist friend's ideas on a plan of action soon if you would like to be involved. (especially my activist friend, Zabs!)

'Tis So Sweet

As you know, my Friday morning small group just finished
"Trusting God".  We LOVED this book!  It taught us so much
about who God is and how His sovereignty should impact how
I live my life.  We were encouraged to be thankful in
everything and rest in the knowledge that He lets NOTHING
into our lives except for that which is for My Good and His
Glory.  Well,yesterday, I was talking to one of the girls
from my group.  She said to me (a bit of a paraphrase),
"I'm so thankful to be going through this hard time.  I
would usually freak out a bit when struggling, but this time
I'm just thankful b/c I know He wants to use this situation
to teach me something."  This morning when I left the gym,
I heard the the song "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus".
I thought to myself, that's what they meant when they wrote
this.  The sweetness does come in trusting Him.  In relaxing
a bit into His Will.  With the overwhelming knowledge that
He is IN CONTROL!  Now, I can rest in the sweetness!  I've
provided words for you below, but you'll have to sing them
to yourselves b/c I couldn't find the song to play while you read. . .   
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
and to take him at his word;
just to rest upon his promise,
and to know, "Thus saith the Lord."

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I've proved him o'er and o'er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
just to trust his cleansing blood;
and in simple faith to plunge me
neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
just from sin and self to cease;
just from Jesus simply taking
life and rest, and joy and peace.

I'm so glad I learned to trust thee,
precious Jesus, Savior, friend;
and I know that thou art with me,
wilt be with me to the end. 

Prayer and Fasting

As some of you know, the visa situation in Liberia is a serious concern right now. There is a new American Consular in charge of Visas. Because of some allegations against other agencies (not Acres of Hope, who has NEVER had a complaint filed against them) she has decided to slow down adoptions. She has a couple of ideas up her sleave, but the main one right now is that she will only issue visas on Thursdays and only 2 per agency. Right now, we have 110 kids at the orphanage and almost every single child has already been referred to a family. There are children being turned away b/c they are full and can't take any more kids until we can get some of those kiddos home. This is one of the things that makes the visa situation life or death, not just impatience to get our kids home! Also, Acres of Hope is the ONLY agency that will take special needs kids. Of these special needs kids, many NEED to get home asap b/c of their physical conditions. So, we're asking you to pray! This week on Thursday, Patty (AoH founder) will be meeting with Ms. Alma (the visa lady) to discuss the situation. She will be asking for more than 2 visas every Thursday and for an extra day just for AoH to process special needs visas. Please join us in praying for that meeting. Pray for Patty to clearly and lovingly express the needs of the children in a way that will reach Alma's heart. Most of us immediately jumped to "mean visa lady showing her power" but it very well could be a decision made out of a love for the children of Liberia and a desire to protect them. Please pray that Alma will see Acres of Hope for what it is, an organization that seeks to match very needy kids with loving families in a manner that is above reproach, and grant us some grace. Many of us are also choosing to fast on Thursday as well. Depending on how this Thursday goes, this may be a weekly thing.

If you have a passion for this and would like to pray and fast with us, please do so! Remember, as far as fasting is concerned, you can fast one meal, multiple meals or something other than food for the day. It is amazing to see the Body in action! For all of you 75 people who apparently check my blog every day and don't comment (i.e. Val and Christie to name a few), if you decide to join us, please drop me a line so that I can share it with the other Acres of Hope families, especially those with sick kids that need to get home! Thanks for joining us!

We deserve Death. . .

Did the title get your attention? ha ha! I know I didn't post on Friday about what we're learning in our Trusting God study, so I thought I'd share today a couple of my most recent thoughts. . .

It seems that everything in our Christian faith comes down to TRUST. Do we trust Him enough to. . .(insert here just about ANYTHING!)? Well, this Friday we spent the majority of the morning talking about perspective and forgiveness. Here are some of the quotes that got us started.

Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 says, "Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you-for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others." Jerry Bridges' paraphrase: "Do not resent other people who are the instruments of adversity in your life, for you know in your heart that you have sometimes been the instrument of adversity in the lives of others."

This brought us to a long discussion of "remembering our own forgiveness" (check out As for Me and My House by Walt Wangerin, the best chapter on forgiveness I have EVER read). This is the starting point in all perspective. Remembering that we ourselves have been forgiven MUCH. In fact, the Lord does not HAVE to give us anything. We deserve death and a fiery one at that! So, remembering our own forgiveness becomes the first step towards any kind of forgiveness or even just a good dose of perspective on any given situation. We tend to do the
"ranking" thing. "I'm better than them, and therefore can judge them". Now, we may not say this aloud, but every time we hold something against someone or judge them in our hearts, we are taking the place of God (or at least one pretty close to Him). Instead, if I spent most of my time consumed by how thankful I am to be alive today. I mean, I messed up yesterday. I am nothing without Jesus. Maybe, then, I would just be sad for other's sin. They are in the same boat as me. Now, considering myself on the same level, forgiveness comes much easier. Beth Moore says that unforgiveness is like "taking poison and hoping the other person dies". That's how harmful holding this stuff is!

So I ask you and I ask myself. . .are there any area of unforgiveness in my life or yours? Anyone I haven't yet "done the work" to forgive? Or maybe, do I view myself inappropriately? Am I realizing the depth of my forgiveness. There is not much I haven't done. . .have I been faithful to my Lord in ALL areas? have I judged (which Jesus likened to murder)? I know that in that realization I am not standing in the place to throw any stones. In the same way, in what area do I need a dose of perspective? What areas of my life do I lack faith in? In what areas do I not Trust? Where do I need to cast of my burdens?

I'll close with this today, Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. AND the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Only in Trusting Him can I WITH THANKSGIVING present my prayers and petitions minus the anxiety to Him. Hard work! However, after that, THE PEACE of GOD will guard my heart and mind. What a powerful promise!

I'm off to Beth Moore's Daniel now. . .so I'm sure I'll learn something amazing that I'll post about tomorrow!

A Sweet Gift

So, I have tried to take a picture of it, but my camera will not focus so, I'll just have to tell you in words! I have a WONDERFUL HUBBY and one of the SWEETEST friends in the world!!!

I checked my front door late Wednesday night to find a fedex package at the front door. I opened it to find something so sweet. My hubby had ordered me a white gold necklace that is in the shape of the continent of Africa. It says Africa across the front and then on the back, he had engraved "Davis"!! How sweet is that?! It came with note included that says, "To remind you to pray for our son every day. Love, Greg"

It is so cute and I have been wanting one ever since I saw Ashley Judd wearing one on the "Ellen" show a couple of months ago. I had told Greg and Jessica and Jess and I had even looked for them online, but had never purchased one. So, last week, Jess does all of the research and emails Greg "Take a hint. . ." and then gives him all the links to the ones I would like and suggestions about which one I'd like best. Isn't that wonderful???!!!!

Both of them earned major points in my book! Jess for thinking it through and doing the research and Greg for following through on her suggestion!

When Greg gets home tomorrow night from his trip, I'll get the link and post a picture here!

Brandi