A year ago, Matt and I started this adoption process with Bethany. I would love to be writing this post, excited about the baby that has entered our lives, but still we wait. There is not much to report. We are praying and trying to trust in God's timing. We have had a rough couple of weeks, as we get closer to the date we started this process.
We still believe Jer. 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." We are still learning through this process to be patient and wait upon the Lord. I read recently that to be patient means to trust in God's timing. Wow, how this is true!
Please pray with us that we will trust in God's timing as we continue the journey with adoption.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
My Hope is in You!
God, I'm not trying to rule the roost, I don't want to be king of the mountain. I haven't meddled where I have no business or fantasized grandiose plans. I've kept my feet on the ground, I've cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother's arms, my soul is a baby content. Wait, Isreal, for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always! - Psalm 131, The Message.
"Hope now; hope always!" A powerful sentence to reflect upon. Where does your hope come from? As the psalmist says, my hope comes from the Lord. We anchor our life in the hope of Christ Jesus. We worship Him with thankful hearts and through Him we shall have abundant life. God surrounds us with love daily and we put our hope and trust in Him. It is that hope and trust that we cling to daily.
We have had an interesting week. A week that no doubt has God's finger print on it. A week of confusion. A week of emotions. A week of hope.
God has surrounded us with wonderful family and friends. Words can not describe the appreciation we have for you! We also know God has something special for us (Mandy and I). We do not know what that will be or when that will be. But we pray and thank God for all He has done for us. We pray for the child that He will uniquely place in our lives. We know you pray for us. We encourage you to not only pray for us; but for us to have patience for God's time; to give him total control; but also pray for that Birth mother that will make a very difficult decision. Pray that God will surround her with a sense of comfort, love, and hope for the child she bears.
As noted at the beginning of this post, we put our hope in Him. This week we learned that all the profiles we gave to the adoption agency were passed out. It's easy to look at this and say 10 families looked at us but we were not chosen, how depressing. I'd rather look at this and say, we have been considered by 10 families, what a blessing to be able to be part of their journey. Personally, I think they like our profiles because of all the Notre Dame pics. I mean who would not want a child to be part of a family so embraced with the heart of the Irish. Is there really anything more adorable than a little Irish football player or Cheerleader...I doubt it! And, Of Course, a Notre Dame Education is unparrelled. Where was I...oh, we have been blessed to have all our profiles shown...it gives us hope. For that we thank God. We'll be sending more to the agency this week.
We also learned of a unique situation this week that clearly illustrates the power of sharing our story. For privacy purposes we will not disclose names. We learned of a young women in Illinois who recently gave birth to a little girl. She is working with an adoption agency in Illinois. However, through our connections we have forward our profile to her pastor. We do not know what will come of this, but we do know that there are many people praying for this situation. We ask that you pray for this little girl. Pray that God will surround her with love and comfort. We ask that you pray for this young women as she continues to process this difficult decision. Pray that God embraces her and fills her with His love and guidance. While it would be a wonderful addition to our family, we pray that the little girl is placed with a loving family. That may mean staying with her birth mother, it may mean being placed with another family, it mean the placing the little girl with us. We do not know but He knows. We know He knows the plan He has for this little girl and we pray that His will be done in this situation. We recognize that this may be a step in the journey and we are keeping our emotions at bay.
As you can see, its been an interesting week. We know that God has a plan for us and we know that none of these situations may go in our direction, but we put our hope, our trust, and ourselves in God's hands.
May you be blessed by the riches God brings into your lives. May He continue to show you his unyielding desire to grow closer to you.
Thank you for your prayers, we are blessed!
Matt and Mandy
"Hope now; hope always!" A powerful sentence to reflect upon. Where does your hope come from? As the psalmist says, my hope comes from the Lord. We anchor our life in the hope of Christ Jesus. We worship Him with thankful hearts and through Him we shall have abundant life. God surrounds us with love daily and we put our hope and trust in Him. It is that hope and trust that we cling to daily.
We have had an interesting week. A week that no doubt has God's finger print on it. A week of confusion. A week of emotions. A week of hope.
God has surrounded us with wonderful family and friends. Words can not describe the appreciation we have for you! We also know God has something special for us (Mandy and I). We do not know what that will be or when that will be. But we pray and thank God for all He has done for us. We pray for the child that He will uniquely place in our lives. We know you pray for us. We encourage you to not only pray for us; but for us to have patience for God's time; to give him total control; but also pray for that Birth mother that will make a very difficult decision. Pray that God will surround her with a sense of comfort, love, and hope for the child she bears.
As noted at the beginning of this post, we put our hope in Him. This week we learned that all the profiles we gave to the adoption agency were passed out. It's easy to look at this and say 10 families looked at us but we were not chosen, how depressing. I'd rather look at this and say, we have been considered by 10 families, what a blessing to be able to be part of their journey. Personally, I think they like our profiles because of all the Notre Dame pics. I mean who would not want a child to be part of a family so embraced with the heart of the Irish. Is there really anything more adorable than a little Irish football player or Cheerleader...I doubt it! And, Of Course, a Notre Dame Education is unparrelled. Where was I...oh, we have been blessed to have all our profiles shown...it gives us hope. For that we thank God. We'll be sending more to the agency this week.
We also learned of a unique situation this week that clearly illustrates the power of sharing our story. For privacy purposes we will not disclose names. We learned of a young women in Illinois who recently gave birth to a little girl. She is working with an adoption agency in Illinois. However, through our connections we have forward our profile to her pastor. We do not know what will come of this, but we do know that there are many people praying for this situation. We ask that you pray for this little girl. Pray that God will surround her with love and comfort. We ask that you pray for this young women as she continues to process this difficult decision. Pray that God embraces her and fills her with His love and guidance. While it would be a wonderful addition to our family, we pray that the little girl is placed with a loving family. That may mean staying with her birth mother, it may mean being placed with another family, it mean the placing the little girl with us. We do not know but He knows. We know He knows the plan He has for this little girl and we pray that His will be done in this situation. We recognize that this may be a step in the journey and we are keeping our emotions at bay.
As you can see, its been an interesting week. We know that God has a plan for us and we know that none of these situations may go in our direction, but we put our hope, our trust, and ourselves in God's hands.
May you be blessed by the riches God brings into your lives. May He continue to show you his unyielding desire to grow closer to you.
Thank you for your prayers, we are blessed!
Matt and Mandy
Monday, January 3, 2011
Now What?
This question, albeit short and sweet, has continually raced across our minds in the last month, specifically during the week of Christmas and last weekend as we rang in the new year.
Now What? What do we do...we wait. We wait until God brings us new news of great hope and truth. Its not overly realistic to think that our child will be found lying in a manger. Nor is it likely that our child will be crucified for our sins. But there was such as baby that did all this and his name was Jesus, King of Kings, Em manual. Now, I know its a bit late (from a calendar perspective) to be reflecting on the Christmas Story. The fact of the matter is that the Christmas Story has no time or date. Yes, from a chronological standpoint it does but for Christians every day is Christmas. Yes, we had a wonderful Christmas and were infinitely blessed with gifts. No offense to anyone that gave us gifts but we would have traded all of them for that one special gift in a second (really a nano-second). Christmas is a wonderful time and we pray that you had a wonderful season with your family remembering the true meaning for the season.
As we look to the days and months ahead we ask ourselves the question Now what....For me (or us), the answer to the question Now What? is we wait. We wait for that special someone to pick us, to get that phone call, to take the next step. There are many steps to go and many we are ready to take. But now, we sit, we listen, and we ask God for patience. Patience as we eagerly and passionately wait to bring a healthy baby into our lives. Oh, that will be the day. Tears will roll, joy will be felt, love will be in the air, and we will be one step closer to expanding our family. Until then we ask the question, Now What? Now what we do is remain faithful and keep our hearts and minds open to the path God has foretold for our lives.
We appreciate your prayers and thoughts. We are learning valuable lessons that God wants to teach us. We have been chosen for this path with faith and hand in hand we take the steps that will lead down the path.
Now What? What do we do...we wait. We wait until God brings us new news of great hope and truth. Its not overly realistic to think that our child will be found lying in a manger. Nor is it likely that our child will be crucified for our sins. But there was such as baby that did all this and his name was Jesus, King of Kings, Em manual. Now, I know its a bit late (from a calendar perspective) to be reflecting on the Christmas Story. The fact of the matter is that the Christmas Story has no time or date. Yes, from a chronological standpoint it does but for Christians every day is Christmas. Yes, we had a wonderful Christmas and were infinitely blessed with gifts. No offense to anyone that gave us gifts but we would have traded all of them for that one special gift in a second (really a nano-second). Christmas is a wonderful time and we pray that you had a wonderful season with your family remembering the true meaning for the season.
As we look to the days and months ahead we ask ourselves the question Now what....For me (or us), the answer to the question Now What? is we wait. We wait for that special someone to pick us, to get that phone call, to take the next step. There are many steps to go and many we are ready to take. But now, we sit, we listen, and we ask God for patience. Patience as we eagerly and passionately wait to bring a healthy baby into our lives. Oh, that will be the day. Tears will roll, joy will be felt, love will be in the air, and we will be one step closer to expanding our family. Until then we ask the question, Now What? Now what we do is remain faithful and keep our hearts and minds open to the path God has foretold for our lives.
We appreciate your prayers and thoughts. We are learning valuable lessons that God wants to teach us. We have been chosen for this path with faith and hand in hand we take the steps that will lead down the path.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Another decision made
We wanted to let everyone know that we decided against having our profile shown to the young lady that I wrote about in previous blog. There were some concerns we had with her smoking and the additional children that she has. When it came down to it, we felt like we were letting our need to have a child cloud our judgement, when it came to the health of the baby, both now and in the future.
We also would like just a few extra prayers. This time last year we were hoping we would be a more complete family this Christmas. And I know that Matt and I are both struggling. As Matt has wrote before, we have many things to be thankful for and we serve an amazing God, who will supply all our needs. WE just need to remember that it is according to His will and timing not ours. (I feel like I have said this many times)
I know when we finally have the child that God wants, we will look back and thank God for this amazing journey that bought us to them! Just have to keep on moving and believing!
Many Blessings,
Mandy
We also would like just a few extra prayers. This time last year we were hoping we would be a more complete family this Christmas. And I know that Matt and I are both struggling. As Matt has wrote before, we have many things to be thankful for and we serve an amazing God, who will supply all our needs. WE just need to remember that it is according to His will and timing not ours. (I feel like I have said this many times)
I know when we finally have the child that God wants, we will look back and thank God for this amazing journey that bought us to them! Just have to keep on moving and believing!
Many Blessings,
Mandy
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Prayer Concern
We received the December update letter from Bethany yesterday, in this update they asked us to be open to a placement of a women early in her pregnancy. We are considering making ourselves available to this girl. Our concern is that it is early in her pregnancy, making us unavailable to anyone else. Also, she has two other children, ages 6 and 2. We are concerned because this child would be leaving biological siblings. Please pray with us as we make this decision. Pray that we have discernment in this process that we will continue to walk in God's will.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving...What does that mean to you? "Its a time to be thankful." Yes, it is but that is the easy answer. What does it really mean to you? If you really think about it there is so much to be thankful for. First and Foremost, we must all be Thankful for God's mercy and provision, he gave his only son to give us ever lasting life. While we all know what that means, I challenge you to think about what that truly means. It means above all, his (God) desire to have personal relationship was so strong that he gave his son. If you are reading this blog you know we do not have children. I can only imagine what it would be like to give up a child for the good of all man. Just think about it. Get rid of all that stuff in your mind. The turkey will be fine in the oven. Work will be there later or tomorrow. We only think about this gift at Christmas or Easter but I challenge you to think about this gift during this season of Thanksgiving. After all, we are all thankful for how God works in our lives.
I'm thankful for God, ABBA, Father.
I'm thankful for Mandy for the joy, comfort, hope, and love she brings into my life
I'm thankful for Bud and Daisy for the unconditional love, joy, and entertainment they bring into my life (not to mention the dirt and mud!),
I'm thankful for our families, the support and love they show us in many ways during this season in our lives.
I'm thankful for our friends for the support and listening ear to hear our frustrations and not judge but offer comfort and friendship.
I'm thankful for our colleagues for their interest in our lives, for their desire to help us succeed in our careers and our home life.
I'm thankful for you! For taking the time out of your busy life to read this blog.
I'm thankful for where we are at in the adoption process. It would be easy be frustrated, mad, discontent, and full of a vast array of negative emotions for having to go down this road. But, that would only serve as a platform for the devil to enter into our lives. While its certainly not easy we lift up this situation to God! He knows our thoughts and emotions and if we lift those worries to him, he will provide us with comfort. It would be much easier to be in control, to be in the drivers seat if you will. But its not our place nor should it be. God is in control and he knows what is best for our lives. There is a reason and while we may not know what it is and we may not know the outcome of this journey, we know its his will for our lives. Beyond that nothing matters.
Christ teaches us to be thankful for all that he has provide for us. Its easy to be thankful when all is going well in your live (at least according to man's definition of perfect). Be thankful in the hard times; praise God for the journey, the trials, and the tribulations. Let him take you through those times for its through those times faith is strengthened and true meaning of being faithful and thankfulness will be bore to you.
We are not through this journey, frankly, we could be just getting started. But we are thankful. We are thankful for the people we have met during the journey, the opportunity this journey has provided for us to grow in faith, to grow closer together as a couple, and most importantly to grow closer to God.
This may not have made much sense to you. After all, its just the ramblings of mere man. If you take nothing else away from this posting take these points away.
- God is good all the time
- Be Thankful for the gift of Jesus Christ.
- Grow in faith and be open to the journey that God has for your life (no matter what it is!)
I see Thanksgiving starts in 45 minutes. But thanksgiving is so much more than a day! Everyday is Thanksgiving!
May the richness of God's love fill your hearts,
-Matt
I'm thankful for God, ABBA, Father.
I'm thankful for Mandy for the joy, comfort, hope, and love she brings into my life
I'm thankful for Bud and Daisy for the unconditional love, joy, and entertainment they bring into my life (not to mention the dirt and mud!),
I'm thankful for our families, the support and love they show us in many ways during this season in our lives.
I'm thankful for our friends for the support and listening ear to hear our frustrations and not judge but offer comfort and friendship.
I'm thankful for our colleagues for their interest in our lives, for their desire to help us succeed in our careers and our home life.
I'm thankful for you! For taking the time out of your busy life to read this blog.
I'm thankful for where we are at in the adoption process. It would be easy be frustrated, mad, discontent, and full of a vast array of negative emotions for having to go down this road. But, that would only serve as a platform for the devil to enter into our lives. While its certainly not easy we lift up this situation to God! He knows our thoughts and emotions and if we lift those worries to him, he will provide us with comfort. It would be much easier to be in control, to be in the drivers seat if you will. But its not our place nor should it be. God is in control and he knows what is best for our lives. There is a reason and while we may not know what it is and we may not know the outcome of this journey, we know its his will for our lives. Beyond that nothing matters.
Christ teaches us to be thankful for all that he has provide for us. Its easy to be thankful when all is going well in your live (at least according to man's definition of perfect). Be thankful in the hard times; praise God for the journey, the trials, and the tribulations. Let him take you through those times for its through those times faith is strengthened and true meaning of being faithful and thankfulness will be bore to you.
We are not through this journey, frankly, we could be just getting started. But we are thankful. We are thankful for the people we have met during the journey, the opportunity this journey has provided for us to grow in faith, to grow closer together as a couple, and most importantly to grow closer to God.
This may not have made much sense to you. After all, its just the ramblings of mere man. If you take nothing else away from this posting take these points away.
- God is good all the time
- Be Thankful for the gift of Jesus Christ.
- Grow in faith and be open to the journey that God has for your life (no matter what it is!)
I see Thanksgiving starts in 45 minutes. But thanksgiving is so much more than a day! Everyday is Thanksgiving!
May the richness of God's love fill your hearts,
-Matt
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Decision
Matt and I have decided not to change our preferences, after much prayer and consideration. This might mean that we will not be picked before the end of this year, but we feel a tremendous peace about it. Thank you to all who lifted us up in your prayers. It makes all the difference! God is good.
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