Follow up with video

My heart just sinks when I watch this video yet i'm just as guilty of "feeling"the pressure to spend. As I think about what legacy I want to pass down to our girls and our son, it's that they would be fully devoted to the Lord in everything they do. Whether celebrating the the birth of Jesus Christ or walking in the grocery store that they would see to give God glory however and whenever they can! Man Lord your gonna have to really cover my sin on this one! Fill in the gaps where I fall short! I give thanks to the Lord for he is good, His love endures forever!

Praising today, praying for the orphaned,widowed, and the strangers out there! Praising God for what He is showing me this week.

Praying for our precious boy, where ever he is. It's been extremely difficult to pin point my emotions since we've been on the waiting list. Excitement when I sit still and reflect on what is about to happen. Fear of the unknown, will he attach to me? me to him? Sadness, where is he? does he have a family to hold him right now? Mourning, the loss that his parents endured or family..Inadequacy as a parent.

God is showing me alot of things right now with my parenting the girls..(search me God, know my heart) Basically how ugly my heart can be and self-centered I can be. How I can be more about serving me and less about serving others (see Philiippians 2:3-4). How my tone and words at times aren't gentle, how the patience is zapped out of me(my choice of course). Does that radiate the spirit of God? Yet I know it comes back to this truth; Deuteronomy 6:5-7 " You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which i am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up."

The first part of that scripture is where I desire to grow! to love! I am extremely disciplined. You give me a list I will do it. You give me a goal and I will seek to achieve it. I'm called to teach my girls, I am doing it. We are talking alright..Morning time, prayer, daily teachable moments with what happens at school. BUT, 1Corinthians 13 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. That is where I desire to grow and be stretched and take action! Our girls are watching every move we make. If I teach them daily the word(law) yet do not radiate the love and excitement of Christ will he be contagious?no! I praise God for how far he has brought me but see the deprivaty of how far I have to go. We met with our community group last night and asked the question, "what does it mean to be radical for Christ?" I think God speaks into each persons' life on that question if we truly ask it and if we truly want to hear the answer.

My friend Wes said this in so many words, " What we don't know is what it means to be radical for Christ, what we do know is that we are not there yet". sorry Wes if I butchered that. I just desire to live out loving the lost, loving my neighbor, loving the teachers,parents, kids at our school and exhorting Christ in our home so that our girls wouldn't want it any other way! not because they fear punishment but because they want to please their Holy Father and experiencce life and joy! and that they would want some of that! I'm not sure at times if they want some of that or if mom is exasperating them. Lord, that i would be excited about your word and your truths! That I would be obedient to love how Jesus loved, the fruit of the spirit, with humility and peace and joy. And that we would continue to serve outside our walls so that our girls and our son someday would desire to love those who are overlooked in this world. There is no other joy like serving the poor so why do I often choose comfort with my "own" family? I just started Fields of the Fatherless, this quote really hit me in a good way! "In this world you are an orphan-eagerly anticipating your adoption as God's child. In this world you are a widow-longing for reunion with your Bridegroom. In this world you are a stranger-a pilgrim waiting to become a citizen of heaven. And in this world, God has called you to care for the orphan,the stranger, and the widow." Lot's of stuff here, lot's of conviction. Lord you are using this waiting period to grow me like never before. Pray you have a blessed day. Love, Sarah

Advent Conspiracy Promo Video

This has really got me thinking not only for this time of year but throughout the year.

Let the Waiting Begin

We are officially on the wait list for our little boy......22 months - 33 months to be exact. We are so, so excited....yet, I think also a bit numb to the fact that we are this far along so quickly. Can't wait to get to Ethiopia and see our son, and for our girls to meet their brother.

One step closer

We received our CIS approval in the mail today......so exciting. One more big step taken....and after just a little more paperwork - it seems that we are down to the waiting....to be on the waiting list....and then waiting some more. But, I must say, I'm pretty stoked that I am done with paperwork!

Praise to the Lord, for He is good....and He is in complete control 100% of the time....and He is good.

Another step forward!

So exciting! We got news that all of our dossier documents have been authenticated (who knows what that means) without any glitches!! All we are waiting for is our CIS approval notice then we fed ex that and we are done!! Next step would be waiting list :) We have began to decorate our son's room! Next job, painting furniture!

First day of School!

Lord, they are in your hands! I feel like an empty nester (nope my girls did not go off to college today). Cary and I took our girls to their first day of school, 5 days a week ( i have been homeschooling). Caitlin was nervous and quiet until she got to school and saw some friends. Carly was teary eyed when I dropped her off. Mommy and Daddy were just trying to survive through the hallways of chaos. :) Kids everywhere. I have been pretty emotional all week. Looking back remembering them as babies. The toddler years and all that came with that. Eight years with my babies and today I dropped off my 1st and 2nd grader to a new season of life. Lord i know you have so much to teach us this year. I know challenges will come and circumstances will be difficult at times, yet i know that ultimately I can rejoice regardless. I know that you will teach us through many events and that my girls will have an opportunity to grow, be stretched, learn from mistakes, and to be salt and light.

Thank you Lord for the peace I have today, for guiding every step of this process. And the great reminders that ultimately our girls character will be shaped by what we teach them and that the teachers and the school are the educators alone. To those who believe that the school has more influence I would disagree. A quote from the book, 'Going Public', "The number of hours we get with our children compared to the classroom.. A student spends around 6.5 hours in school multiplied by 180 school days per year, that's 1,170 hours over a years time. Meanwhile, parents have access to the other 9.5 waking hours of the school day, plus all the weekends, holidays and assorted vacations, including summer- a grand total of 4,670 hours per year. Do the math: School recieves 20 percent of the "time pie", while parents control the other 80 %."

God is good. One day at a time. And I'll enjoy this small season until our son comes home and then start again :) Praising the Lord in all his glory and wisdom! Praising the gift of motherhood. Acknowledging I can do nothing on my own and that all Cary and I can do is continue to point our girls to Christ, the choice is theirs, in every decision they make, the consequence (good or bad) is ours to give.

Fingerprints and More

We have some exciting updates. We have received our home study approval! We have also received our form back from Homeland Security to go get our fingerprints for the I600A. We also have sent in our fingerprints for the FBI background checks. So - all in all; we have made a ton of progress. Our friends who have gone through this tell us that hopefully all will be going for us and we'll have our son spring to summer of 2009. Very exciting. Another exciting event that has taken place (pictures to come) is that a few of us that went to Africa together on discipleship trip have gotten tattoo's. Very fun stuff. I'm sure a few raised eyebrows.....but, it was a blast getting it with my beautiful bride in Austin on sixth street and hanging with my friends in Dallas doing the same.

More updates to come.