Trusting God in "High Def" (High Definition)

Hello all! We have not posted to the blog in awhile… I have been waiting for news to share…

We have seen so much movement and activity in other children’s cases, just not our sweet Abby’s. We are confident that the Lord is moving her paperwork along though. He is just showing us that she is such a treasure that the journey to have her in our lives here is an adventurous one!

We had been told that in just a week our paperwork would ready. The problem is that people told us that and not the Lord. If God had said it we could have counted on it, but alas He didn’t and we are now at the 3 week mark since we were told that.  We have been blessed to see our other friends bring their children home and walk along side others who have traveled to meet their children and who are beginning to bring them home soon. Those stories are so encouraging to us to see God at work and know in our hearts, our precious girl will be home soon too.

I had a really sad day on Monday. I heard that instead of the news coming this week, it may be 1,2 3 weeks or even longer before we hear. My heart aches to hold her. I ache to have our lives to be present with one another. I paused as I was writing a second ago… I began to write “I ache to have our lives begin together” but then I realized our lives have already been intertwined since June 4^th of last year when the Lord revealed to us she is our daughter (and even before that because God knew all along J).

I shared our sadness with others who prayed for us. It is remarkable what God has done since then! I do not feel like crying, instead I have peace and joy that only comes from the Lord.

God sent me friends in my life that lifted me up reminding me of God’s character and His truth. God sent me into a study to confess my doubts and fears to Him and to learn from Him how very trustworthy He is. How His ways really are so very good, so much better than anything we can conceive.

Out of my time studying God’s word I have peace and joy and  I am already serving Him as a better wife and mother.  I feel so very close to my husband. I have been lovingly leading and correcting our children, when just a few days ago the same offenses may have caused me to snip or raise my voice. I am thankful for God’s doctoring my heart condition. 

My circumstances have not changed.
God did not change.
I sought God and He faithfully responded by caring for my heart and He has begun a change in it.  

To cast our burden upon God, is to rest upon his providence and promise. And if we do so, he will carry us in the arms of his power, as a nurse carries a child; and will strengthen our spirits by his Spirit, so that they shall sustain the trial. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved; to be so shaken by any troubles, as to quit their duty to God, or their comfort in him. He will not suffer them to be utterly cast down. He, who bore the burden of our sorrows, desires us to leave to him to bear the burden of our cares, that, as he knows what is best for us, he may provide it accordingly. Why do not we trust Christ to govern the world which he redeemed?

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?b=19&c=55&com=mhc

Wow! “Why do not we trust Christ to govern the world which he redeemed?”. I have come to realize this week that I just have not been trusting God. I am repenting from that sin and seeking Him to fill me with His peace and take away my doubt (Mark 24: Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”). I am asking God to turn my weak trust and belief into “High Definition” trust and belief (like how much better a movie is in High Def)!

 

During this time of waiting God has given me this illustration:

In my “vision” I am walking on water … like Peter did when he saw Jesus walking on the water… the waves of life are splashing around me just as they began to crash around Peter… I too get worried, panicked, fussed etc. when I look at those waves… then Jesus reminds me to keep my eyes on Him, not to look at all that is around me but instead focus on him, just keep focusing on Him. I picture Him gently reaching out and lovingly touch my chin to help me keep it up, He looks into my heart and into my eyes as He says to me “Eyes on me…just keep your eyes on me.”

I love how God ministers to us where we are. He knows how very visual He made me, so He gives me pictures to help me know Him better and understand what He wants me to learn.

In my time spending with Him these are the main verses that He is using to speak to my heart:

⁴ In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.  Psalm 56:4

^{James 1:2} Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴ Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

^{Psalm55: 22} Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.

And another application verses that help me to know how to live in the wait…

^{James 1: 19} My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

²⁶ If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Phil 4: ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

So we wait.

We are waiting upon the Lord to bring our Abby home.
We are waiting upon the Lord to put our hearts and lives in the place He wants them to be when we meet her.
We are waiting upon the Lord to prepare Abby’s heart for her new life and to be able to accept all of it and all of us.
We are waiting upon the Lord to grow us in Him.
We are waiting upon Him to help us love and serve Him in the moment and waiting upon Him to put those moments together into days that unites us as a family through Him.

Thank you to each of you for your prayers and support!
We are looking forward to sharing with you news as we know it about Abby.

Today’s news: God is good. He is faithful  and worthy of our trust!

In Jesus love,

Donna and the rest of the nest JJJJJ……………………J

Update on the things we don’t know

We don’t know when

· we will travel to see or bring home Abby

· we will list / sell our home

· we will move

We don’t know where

· Chris will get a job

· where we will live

We don’t know how

· it will all come together

But we do know the One who does.

John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." I know this verse is referencing how He adopts us into His forever family but I am also taking it as an encouragement that He will also not leave Abadit an orphan, He will come to her as well.

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While living here in Illinois we have been blessed to see the four beautiful seasons a few times. When we lived in Texas we had summer and a few flashes of what we all may have thought might have been the other seasons (it felt like we needed to make sure we didn't blink during spring when the beautiful bluebonnets were blooming so we wouldn't miss seeing them) so since we got here we have been soaking in the different seasons.

The Lord talks about the different seasons in the Bible too. In Ecclesiastes 3: 1 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” I feel that the time we are in is to be busy "caring for our crop before the harvest". We have so many life changing events on our plate that we need to just keep focusing on the Lord and what He puts before us to accomplish each day or we will get overwhelmed.

This is our year for change. Chris’s dad passed away, we are preparing to move (painting, putting things in storage, preparing our hearts etc.), Chris is retiring and is looking for a whole new career, Chris and the teens are working on getting their black belts in Taekwondo, I am working at church as the Early Childhood Coordinator (after 19 years of working as a volunteer), Daniel is a senior, both the teens are seeking to learn to drive, we are adopting Abby from Ethiopia and finishing getting our funds to we can go get her and bring her home.

I think in pictures and the image that comes to my mind right now is that of a watercolor painting. It turns out beautiful when it is finished but the patron who commissioned the painting isn’t exactly sure what it will look like when it is finished because the artist’s hand, water, paint and paper work together in harmony to create the final product. We can see the artist, who is the Lord, working in our lives and how He is using the different elements and circumstances in our lives to do the great work He wants done; we look forward in great anticipation to see His completed work but at this time we are focusing on being captivated by watching Him work through the process of it.

Each time we think we are getting close to bring Abby home the timeline gets pushed back a little bit farther and that is what today has brought us. Right now we are still waiting in her paperwork to be finished. In third world countries time just isn't measured the way it is here. For us it is each moment being calculated and budgeted so that it is all accounted for and we use watches, Iphones, lap tops, fax machines and cars that are always filled with gas to run them. For them it is sun up to sunrise and what day brings in the middle. They may have a computer in an office but when rural work needs to be done (going to a village to verify information) it may be via a car (after fueling up at a couple of stations of the gas is being rationed), donkey, pencil, paper and walking. Their version of saying "tomorrow, next week or in a month" simply means they are working on it as opposed to the literal meanig of those time measurements. So they said at the end of October about "a month" before Abby's paperwork would be done and we are still waiting on it; the good news is that it is being moved forward and it is not forgotten.

When her paperwork is finished then:

· Our paperwork will be sent to the Ethiopian government and we will be given a court date (about 4-11 weeks from when it is turned in). (Just to put that in perspective If that was today 1/26/12 that would be end of beginning of March -middle of April)

· After that 30 days then we will be given a court date, which will be another 30 days away due to their case load). (Our court date would be end of April-ish - May-ish)

o During this period of time Abby will be moved to Addis to our agency’s caring facility three.

· After that time we should be able to travel for trip 1 to get to see Abadit and visit with her at the caring facility in Addis. We should be there about a week and during that time we will officially adopt her according the Ethiopian government.

· Next we will wait about 6 -8 weeks (maybe even longer) to be invited back for our 2^nd trip. (end of May-ish - July-ish??) Abby will get to stray with us in our hotel while we are there. We should have a trip within the country to take Abby back to see her friends from where she has been staying before she was moved to Addis. We will then travel back to Addis, finish the paperwork for the US and then get to bring her home!

Our timeline as we know it at this time –

Feb/ Mar – we are packing items to put into storage and painting our house to prepare it to be listed to sell.

Apr / May – we list our home to sell???

Sept / Oct – We hope Chris starts his new job in OR / WA area … we move with him?? Stay behind until the house sells??

· At some point we will travel to Ethiopia for our 2 trips

· At some point Chris will travel to the west coast for job interviews

· At some point we will need to look for a place to live in our new location

We are waiting and trusting the Lord in His perfect timing and we are lifting up our prayers to Him, as He invites us to in Phil 4. Please join us in prayer that Abby’s paperwork would be finished soon, that the Lord would comfort Abby’s heart in the wait and that He would provide the last portion of what is needed for our adoption funds. Then watch with us as our Lord directs our paths as we lean on Him.

Later in that chapter of Ecclesiastes it speaks of enjoying the work the Lord puts before us and for us to recognize that He is in control (Ecc 3: 10-15). We are praising the Lord for how He is guiding us to do the work He has put before us in this season and we are praising Him for the yield of that work. We praise Him for our good health, all that He has provided for us and how He made a way for us to be with Him in heaven forever and for us to be close with Him now. We praise Him for the help He has brought us. One of the wonderful ways He has cared for us is by sending Chris's mom to help us in so many ways (help with daily life, getting ready to move and with the kids while we are away in Ethiopia!) His blessings are overwhelming (the key is for me to keep my eyes on Him and not on the circumstances around us).

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer; it is the most important and powerful action we can do. God has the power to move mountains, I know that, I am confident of it and I am asking Him to do it.

In Jesus love,

Donna and the rest of the nest! JJ JJJ …. J

(If you would like to support our adoption you can donate through Lifesong &/or buy coffee through our link - both links are on the right side of our blog page)