tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65918581463410693252024-02-20T17:14:15.512-08:00Now to Him who is able to do IMMEASURABLY MORE......than all we ask or imagine!Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.comBlogger161125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-38374743077504318362016-12-12T05:20:00.004-08:002016-12-12T05:20:54.033-08:00Following His Steps... to Bethsaida<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhJ6C7Dw_fW07up4PH2u5u8q6BKE2MDKnx8XG6Fdq1VdsBKkOH3HvCGJg31Lui6O4mbLCeLtbsWfJwCAfifujWkyJ-VTCkmUVl9oN4GrXsIhvHVd-Ja7JIsG-XtNDFAYCqXwrukmxenw1/s1600/IMG_7913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhJ6C7Dw_fW07up4PH2u5u8q6BKE2MDKnx8XG6Fdq1VdsBKkOH3HvCGJg31Lui6O4mbLCeLtbsWfJwCAfifujWkyJ-VTCkmUVl9oN4GrXsIhvHVd-Ja7JIsG-XtNDFAYCqXwrukmxenw1/s640/IMG_7913.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDZSUubxPsqHRQxlDTSY3la2Uy9ZYOBagzE8GgiamnzgPhtT4947iYQinPSG9uZsPCRER-UFeTuD2lGXd9vRJbbPrQgfr-DRgfvh4IjTJDpm39Xa-AruDmLVbU3vs-ffSsaGTtOazAnbf/s1600/IMG_7916-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDZSUubxPsqHRQxlDTSY3la2Uy9ZYOBagzE8GgiamnzgPhtT4947iYQinPSG9uZsPCRER-UFeTuD2lGXd9vRJbbPrQgfr-DRgfvh4IjTJDpm39Xa-AruDmLVbU3vs-ffSsaGTtOazAnbf/s640/IMG_7916-1.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blurry, but still so important- Doug shared his personal testimony here. An ordinary man, called by God to follow...</td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">Following His Steps…
to Bethsaida<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">Bethsaida was a small fishing
village on the Sea of Galilee… an ordinary village with ordinary people.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">Five little Jewish boys ran these
primitive streets and played along the shores of the Sea of Galilee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They would start school at a young age and
commit the entire Torah to memory by the time they finished primary school at 11
or 12. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Following, they would either further
their spiritual training under a local Rabbi or return home to learn the trade
of their fathers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">There was nothing extraordinary
about any of these particular boys, and a future as religious leaders would be
out of the question for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, each
would follow in the footsteps of their fathers and become fishermen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They led quiet, ordinary lives, far from any
prominence, prestige or power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">But suddenly, without notice,
Jesus of Nazareth walked into town and nothing would ever be the same again! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He chose the most unlikely among them to be
His students; to follow Him so that they could become more like Him; so that
they could walk with Him as disciples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">These five ordinary men had no
inkling that God would use the likes of them – insignificant in every way – to be
used by the Master to ultimately affect the world for all time!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">When Jesus invited the five to
follow Him, the Word says that they “immediately” laid their nets aside and
followed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My best guess is that this is
exactly what set these men apart from all the others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Jesus called, they immediately said
yes!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They didn’t hesitate to weigh the
pros and cons of such a life changing decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They knew that Jesus was the kind of Rabbi they longed to follow, and
follow they did…<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">His invitation to me and to you is
the same… “Follow Me,” He calls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He does
not ask that we pray a special prayer or walk a special aisle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor does He ask that we keep perfectly a set
of do’s and don’ts prescribed by the religious leaders of our day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, He gives us a command with a promise…
“Follow me and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I will make you</b>
fishers of men” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">This gives me hope that God can
still use me. I may be able to follow, but I know myself well enough to know
that I have absolutely no power to make myself into anything of value.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus promises that if I will follow, He will
do that part for me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I look at the
lives of the five men from Bethsaida- Peter, Andrew, James, his brother John,
and Phillip, and I acknowledge the extraordinary men they became as a result of
Jesus’ promise fulfilled in them, then I would be wise to cast my nets aside
and immediately follow along too! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
only an ordinary woman, but I am banking on the promises of God that He is not
through with me yet. As His disciple, He has the power to make me more and more
like Himself and to carry the message of HOPE He died to make available to
ordinary men and women like me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s
calling for you too… <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Follow me and I
will make you fishers of men!”<o:p></o:p></b></span></i></div>
Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-29264386966032788642016-12-03T12:09:00.002-08:002016-12-07T06:07:59.496-08:00Following His Steps... to St Anne's Chapel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBx63bvrsKz31MalCeArYdtn7rPSkYRVML4EgCVs0oMqVojaYlN8D-Gt4QDGdsueZh5GJ5DNhsLk_heyVoB3ss6nS1B8BejGsoX99fiEkY9yWEOa7WEufgcr2Qc7RbZi_c9LvsOO4F4xz1/s1600/IMG_7257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBx63bvrsKz31MalCeArYdtn7rPSkYRVML4EgCVs0oMqVojaYlN8D-Gt4QDGdsueZh5GJ5DNhsLk_heyVoB3ss6nS1B8BejGsoX99fiEkY9yWEOa7WEufgcr2Qc7RbZi_c9LvsOO4F4xz1/s640/IMG_7257.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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This was my second visit to St Anne's Chapel, but last year I obviously missed the significance. God had a special surprise for me today... This Chapel was built to honor the grandmother of Jesus, who history records was named Anna. A sculpture there (below) depicts the passing on of Israel's faith from Anna to her daughter, Mary, who God would choose to mother the Lord Jesus Christ. I have never once thought about the mother that raised Mary, and what a special role she had in molding her to be ready for her magnificent call. I was so moved, that I spent the better part of the hours following writing down these thoughts...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHA2YMY9mfhWl47quU4zxCcQLfio801VN3mdWo7sy7YEJyoAujEkN7o9-wTjvTBslwpMbg-TyEr0Y0wtQnAyF7_4Vj5WS8ahpGu8uPYZtQifhQ8PTj31dd89bIPWkYaDPegeQedwf6svIF/s1600/IMG_9823.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHA2YMY9mfhWl47quU4zxCcQLfio801VN3mdWo7sy7YEJyoAujEkN7o9-wTjvTBslwpMbg-TyEr0Y0wtQnAyF7_4Vj5WS8ahpGu8uPYZtQifhQ8PTj31dd89bIPWkYaDPegeQedwf6svIF/s640/IMG_9823.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sculpture of Anna (the Grandmother of Jesus) as she teaches young Mary faith in the God of Israel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16pt;">Following His Steps… to St Anne’s Chapel</span></i></b><br />
<b style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">God created the family to be the
means through which faith would be passed from one generation to the next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An atheistic society is the most hopeless of
all, as the very fiber of civilization is doomed to unravel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Herein lies the beauty and the
sacredness of motherhood. Children are a gift of the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blessed is the home that is filled with
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the biblical record there was
no greater heartbreak than to be barren and left without a child through which
to pass on your faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Duty and joy co-mingle
as a mother passes on her love of the Lord Jesus to her children and then to
her grandchildren.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only in this way does
our faith live on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">The sculpture which depicts this
beautiful truth stands at the back of the church dedicated to Anna- the mother
of Mary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was drawn to its beauty and
snapped a photo before my eyes filled with tears as the Monk nearby explained…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scroll in Anna’s hand contains the words
of the Shema- a prayer- a statement of faith, repeated day and night by all God
fearing Jews and taught to their children at the earliest of age. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Anna was teaching her daughter
Mary, who would be chosen as the mother of our Lord Jesus, how to turn her
heart regularly to the God of Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mary’s hands are dutifully folded in prayer and her eyes cast toward heaven as a
tender learner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I could almost hear her whisper as she gives voice to her growing faith...</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Shema Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hear oh Israel.
The Lord our God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord is one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amen”<o:p></o:p></b></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">This beautiful truth had obviously
past from dutiful tradition to delight by the time the angel visited Mary with
the blessed news that she alone had been chosen to mother the long awaited
Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while the story of Mary told
throughout history has long been romanticized, it brought with it grave consequences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary would instantly become an outcast among
her people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even her family would
question her character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She would be
left alone; with only a man she hardly knew, to carry the cross demanded of the
mother of our Savior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These were only
the beginnings of the pains she would bear… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only
33 years later, she would watch in agony as her precious, sinless son was
tortured and finally put to death on a brutal cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Women through the ages have marveled
at what it would be like to have the blessing of such a calling… but few would
willingly take up the cross she was called to bear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to have a heart like Mary’s- quick to
say as she did… “I am your humble servant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Let it be done to me as you have said.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">In my life that looks quite
different on a practical level than it did for Mary, and yet in many ways it is
not different at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was probably ten
years older than Mary when I became a mother and while I loved the Lord with
all of my heart, I knew so little about what it meant to be entrusted with such
a high calling in passing on my faith to the children God gave me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is likely that Mary, as a teen girl, could
not grasp the full meaning of her call from heaven either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a role we must all grow into as we are sanctified
in our faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is by God’s
design.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In ultimately fulfilling this
role, we need only a willing heart of a servant that says “yes” regardless of
the cost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">As women awaiting the arrival of
our children through birth, we dream wildly for them and often look to them as
a fulfillment of our dreams or an extension of ourselves. While this is not
necessarily wrong, I believe that this is a sad reflection of our self-centered
culture, far removed from the Biblical mandate of motherhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In looking at this beautiful sculpture today,
I was convicted of my sin in this area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was ashamed too, for even carrying over a similar attitude toward the
children brought to me through the gift of adoption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Before leaving my hotel room this
morning, I bowed in prayer and begged that God would open my eyes to see
something new.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In that instant, my
prayer was answered!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through this lens I
suddenly saw my children through different eyes, but most significantly I saw the
orphan through different eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">An orphan, in losing parents, has
lost everything… A name; an identity; stability; a provider; a protector; a
future… But most devastating of all- they have been cut off from the faith God
ordained a family should pass down from generation to generation. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">In light of this biblical mandate,
nothing could be as devastating a loss as a child left an orphan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it any wonder heaven cries out in defense
of the orphans among us and declares that true religion demands that we look
after them in their distress?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">If procreation is the first order
of our faith, then adoption is the second!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As a Gentile, I was born into the family of faith through adoption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need not grow up void of the hope I now
possess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There cannot possibly be a
greater love extended to the very least of the least than in the precious gift
of adoption! God, in His love, modeled this blessing most perfectly in adopting
you and me as His children in the faith.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I am embarrassed to admit that I
misunderstood this work of God when we began our adoption journey over 12 years
ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When a checklist was set before me
as to my desires for a future daughter, I checked only “healthy” and as young
as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kate was both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A healthy 12-month old little girl… straight
out of my dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was perfect, and perfect is what I was
looking for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I did not know then what I know
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God was doing an unseen work in my
heart, gently teaching me what it would mean to more willingly die to myself
and my dreams in order to accomplish a deeper work of faith, not only in my
life, but in the life of my adopted daughters as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was preparing me step by step for the
journey planned for our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
each adoption, He opened my arms wider and wider for children with greater and
greater needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Needs I would not have
dared consider for that checklist only years earlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Lord was ultimately teaching me the infinite value of every living soul,
created in His image and passing on to me His desire to bring hope to the least
of the least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Today, as I looked upon that sculpture
standing in a most magnificent sanctuary, I saw God’s call on my life more clearly
than ever before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw especially the
faces of my precious daughters, Abby and Rebekah, both born with Down Syndrome
and home from China for a relatively short time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">They begin every morning with the
singing of the Shema on the way to school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The sound of the shofar calling them to worship thrills them! Then,
together, they repeat the very words Grandmother Anna taught her daughter,
Mary, to eventually recite it in unison with her son, Jesus Christ and all those
who would follow Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How blessed to
hear their eager voices as they join the chorus of saints throughout all time…<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">“Shema Israel!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hear, Oh Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord our God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord is one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amen”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">My daughters are orphans no
more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never is this more beautifully
displayed than as they embrace the faith that has become their own only through
the blessed gift of adoption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May God be
glorified as hope fills our home in the passing down of faith from our generation to the next and to all that are to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</xml><![endif]-->
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table.MsoNormalTable
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mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDy61Lv2P3HLA0XeLEt_va8fA1mf9ZPE0uwedAO72mnObVievi_wXIiNQ9DgRWe34vou_918QQxkIdsTH4Rr9NgUe9r-oCQks7KC62tBcDXoVwo1AvN5TVUasjuOJzwuDA7PZsFXafGBL/s1600/IMG_7265.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDy61Lv2P3HLA0XeLEt_va8fA1mf9ZPE0uwedAO72mnObVievi_wXIiNQ9DgRWe34vou_918QQxkIdsTH4Rr9NgUe9r-oCQks7KC62tBcDXoVwo1AvN5TVUasjuOJzwuDA7PZsFXafGBL/s640/IMG_7265.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This sanctuary was not only beautiful, but an amazing place to sing together! Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i>Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-24901958394445505472016-12-01T14:08:00.003-08:002016-12-01T14:08:54.186-08:00Following His Steps... to Mt Gilboa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">Following His Steps…
to Mt Gilboa<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">When the Israelites followed the
way of God, they experienced great blessing and protection from Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They need not fear any enemy, small or
large.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, when David unwisely
decided to number his fighting men, he invoked the anger of God with his lack
of trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Israelite community
suffered a death blow as a result, leaving thousands of their warriors dead at
the hand of God. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">David cried out to the Lord in
repentance and begged for His mercy. He went to Mount Moriah, (where the Temple
would one day stand) and he built an alter to worship God and to realign his
heart with the Lord’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had been
bitterly reminded that every battle belongs to the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each outcome is held completely in His
hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">There is not a biblical story that
better illustrates this truth than in the account of Gideon and his weak,
fighting men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gideon was a fearful man
and, like me, he constantly asked for heavenly reassurance that the impossible
would be possible under the Lord’s mighty hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Who could blame Gideon for his fear?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Over 100,000 enemy troops stood on the mountains opposite him, ready for
battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At such a sight, even 32,000
soldiers seemed far too few to secure a victory for Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">But God called Gideon to do the
unthinkable… send home any man who was afraid. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>22,000 accepted the offer and abandoned the
fighting team in fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still God
proclaimed there were too many. Gideon was to take the remaining few to the
brook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those who put their faces to the
water to drink were excluded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only those
who drew the water with their hands and lapped it like a dog were chosen to be
the men God would use to conquer the Mideonite army.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That left Gideon with only 300 fighting
men!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Far too few to face the over
100,000 warriors before them!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbDg9gnElbwBJfsx-5AeoUNKQzGMAIi2E8O2Jwr6qi_sZ-t7i8M3zhIYWLasNZyH04IdoNDm3rs77pjR88OX0ROn-L-wRgcVEmKaHCm8xUZ0v7DsX6-AK6SSwWV4A3GqUiXJRYnjKo2gc/s1600/IMG_9738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbDg9gnElbwBJfsx-5AeoUNKQzGMAIi2E8O2Jwr6qi_sZ-t7i8M3zhIYWLasNZyH04IdoNDm3rs77pjR88OX0ROn-L-wRgcVEmKaHCm8xUZ0v7DsX6-AK6SSwWV4A3GqUiXJRYnjKo2gc/s640/IMG_9738.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">But the Lord never intended to use
a mighty army to defeat Israel’s enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead, “God chooses the foolish things to shame the wise and the weak
to shame the strong.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would welcome any opportunity to show
Himself strong against anyone who would defy His Lordship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">What Gideon didn’t realize is that
the chosen men would actually not fight at all! They would only use pots and
trumpets to create confusion in the enemy’s camp, leading to utter destruction
at their very own hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only our God
could win such a victory with 300 fighting men!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">The Lord is still a mighty warrior…
our mighty warrior!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need not gird
myself for battle, thinking I can defeat my enemies either from within or
without.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need only to surrender myself
to the God Almighty and allow Him to fight my battles for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Victory is sure!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May I rest in this precious truth…<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-16610984400856558812016-12-01T13:10:00.000-08:002016-12-01T13:10:21.361-08:00Following His Steps... To Capernaum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">Following His Steps…
to Capernaum<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">This was a large city of 1,800
people in the days of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had been
openly rejected in his native Nazareth and when they sought to kill him, He
came to Capernaum for 3 years of His active ministry and referred to this sea
side village as his home town!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">A man who was to be His disciple
lived here, but he was a traitor to the Jews and served as a tax collector for
Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of all the men in Capernaum, few
were more hated than he.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet Jesus saw
something in Levi the tax collector that the human eye could not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously a longing existed inside the man
for something more than ill-gotten gain and prestige.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So much so, that when Jesus called his name
to follow, Matthew immediately set his wealth making occupation aside and
became a disciple of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would
later write the gospel known by his name – a message to the Jewish community
that once hated him – that ultimately attested to the power of Jesus Christ to
change a man and then make him useful for service in the Kingdom of God.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">Many miracles occurred inside
these city walls… Lepers healed; the lame walking; the blind with sight fully
restored; and life-long diseases cured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus himself would regularly teach in the synagogue here and though he called
Capernaum home, he would later condemn it’s people for their lack of faith even
with His presence among them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">How is it possible that men and
women could see Jesus in all His humanity, yet perfect deity and still fail to
believe?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They unashamedly scurried to
Him for temporary comfort and physical healing, yet their hearts were far from
His. Even His own disciples witnessed the miracles of Christ here in Capernaum
and along the hillsides nearby, including the feeding of 5,000 men and their
families with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread, yet their hearts were slow to
understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is it possible that only
hours later their faith failed them as they quaked with fear of imminent death
while the Lord Himself slept on a cushion in the stern of the boat?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">His answer to their fears haunts
me… “Oh, you of little faith!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why are
you afraid?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">In my little faith I, too, am
afraid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It proves that my faith, like
the faith of the people in Capernaum, and Jesus’ own disciples, is blinded to
the sovereign Lordship of the One who holds all things in His hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My fears prove only that I know too little of
Him who holds it all and can still calm the storms around me with a single
word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">I would like to believe that had I
been alive when Jesus walked these streets, I would have responded to His
presence with faith and abiding love… that I would have hurried to His side at
every opportunity to serve Him, to be taught by Him, to share in intimate
relationship with Him along the shores of the sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">But is this true in my world today
and in my heart where Christ resides?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do
I respond to His presence with faith and abiding love?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do I hurry to serve Him with every opportunity
in my day?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do I sit at His feet with
rapt attention to learn from Him; to abide with Him and share in intimate
relationship with Him?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;">The Lord has not changed and will
not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mankind has not changed
either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In every age, in every home, and
in every heart, the opportunity for faith remains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let mine reflect a deep trust in the Christ
who walked these streets and yet still bids me to come near in faith…<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-70860736979181581492016-11-29T21:52:00.002-08:002016-11-29T21:52:47.472-08:00Following His Steps... to Caesarea Maritime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></i></b>
<b><i><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Following His Steps…
to Caesarea Maritime</span></i></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Caesarea stood as the pride of
Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A symbol of strength on the
Mediterranian Sea raising its’ fist against the Jewish population they ruled
through brutal oppression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here Herod
the Great sought to show the world his might and prove that the Jews would
forever be under his thumb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">From stadium seats surrounding the
amphitheater, Rome made sport of slaughtering Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a Jew refused to bow the knee to Ceasar,
his punishment was sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lions would be
released into the arena and would feast on their flesh, serving as
entertainment to the foreigners of Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></i>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">While the beauty of this sea port
is still evident today, the ground still cries out with the blood of the
saints, persecuted and killed for refusing to deny the name of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through their witness, faith in Christ lives
on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The faith I now possess is testament
of their dying love for the preservation of God’s truth.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Traveling with us is a persecuted
pastor, imprisoned in the countries of Bhutan and Nepal for preaching the
Gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In spite of regular beating and
torture, he refused to deny his Lord to secure his freedom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the book of Hebrews so aptly described him
and those persecuted before him… “the world was not worthy of them”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How poignant to see John Monger stand on the
same soil where other heroes of the faith gave their lives for their unwavering
devotion to Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I sat with John at lunch and asked
about his 15 month imprisonment in Nepal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was promised instant freedom in exchange for denying Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was this a temptation hard to resist?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will never forget his answer… “There was no
temptation,” he said. “It is impossible to deny Christ as Lord when He is truly
Lord!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">When asked how he withstood the
constant torture and beatings, he responded with a quiet smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It is a great joy- a privilege- to receive a
beating for the Lord Jesus!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me be
beat… let me be spit upon… but never let me deny Jesus!”<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Later last night we sat together
again and chatted about his walk with Christ since his release from prison
almost 20 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He told story after
story of the ways God reveals Himself to him daily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I walked away marveling at the blessed
intimacy he shares with the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I long
for that too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I am also keenly aware
that such intimacy comes most often through persecution and trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not wish for these things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pray that God would change my heart to
embrace those things most uncomfortable to me, that I would know some measure
of such intimacy with my Savior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I am reminded how little my faith
costs me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never have I sacrificed
anything of great value for my Lord Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not once have I been placed in a position to choose life or death in His
name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I once heard a statement I will
not soon forget… "How can one expect to die for Christ, when he fails to live
for Him?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I am given daily opportunities to
live for Christ; to take step after step in obedience to his quiet
promptings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each time I step out in
faith I open the door for another opportunity to hear God’s voice and once
again obey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so goes a life of faith…
step by step – obey once – obey again.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I have not yet been asked to
suffer physically for Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I have
been nudged continually to step out in faith to do things I would rather leave
to someone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have heard God’s call
to tasks I know I cannot do in my own strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has drawn me in recent years far outside
my comfort zone, and I have learned that comfort is over-rated when compared to
the joy found in obedience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And with
each “Yes Lord”, I am discovering a deeper intimacy I have not known
before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I likely have a long way to go to
know even a measure of the intimacy with Christ John has come to know through
his faithful witness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But God invites me
nearer still through every quiet call to obedience and the opportunity to say “yes”
with my choices that honor Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I do,
I too can discover the sweet intimacy and overflowing joy John knows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I rest tonight knowing that God has a
specific purpose for my life that might look vastly different than John’s, but through simple, daily obedience can both know a sweeter and sweeter
intimacy with the God who created us for that very purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a sense of joy I already feel for the
promises of God guaranteeing a hope filled future for all of us who are called
as His children!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> While I still have breath, there is much work to be done in His name. May I glorify Him with each step of my journey...</span></span></i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Vj2GVyokEXI3v3eriL8vwjfjrmpifjaSNq3ee-Zx5lBLDmzNe9A-OdsIyUuDsAY9RppXpMEJthRhTyK_0Lyg777gQBCRZMZhZ2Gmgo3BZpCS-HG2iTtbtgH7k82JLHid23hiDME7lwQW/s1600/IMG_9340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Vj2GVyokEXI3v3eriL8vwjfjrmpifjaSNq3ee-Zx5lBLDmzNe9A-OdsIyUuDsAY9RppXpMEJthRhTyK_0Lyg777gQBCRZMZhZ2Gmgo3BZpCS-HG2iTtbtgH7k82JLHid23hiDME7lwQW/s640/IMG_9340.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-31779382489302995082016-11-29T13:02:00.002-08:002016-11-29T13:02:50.099-08:00Following His Steps... to the Mediterranean Sea<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Following His Steps…
to the Mediterranean Sea<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 18.0pt;">I am embarrassed to admit that, like
Eve and all the women before me, I often question God’s goodness and loving
kindness toward me. I am engrossed in
every detail of my life and wonder if He cares about them near as much as I do.
I underestimate my worth to Him and feel insecure when the twists and turns of
life take me by surprise. I am often
tempted to look to others for my identity and forget that God alone holds the
keys to my heart and can meet my need for intimate love in the most personal of
ways! <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 18.0pt;">My time in prayer every day almost always
includes a plea for Him to remind me of His love- so unconditional and
free. He often answers me so personally
and tenderly that I am brought to tears.
<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Last year, while walking along a
sea wall next to the Mediterranean, the waves crashed over unexpectantly and
swept with them a beautiful piece of sea glass!
I picked it up and hid it in my pocket as a love gift from the
Lord. He knows how much I love the many
treasures I have collected from the ocean in years past, and this one, from my
first day in the Holy Land, seemed especially sweet. But within only moments, He made it clear to
me that I was to give the sea glass to a fellow traveler. I did, albeit a bit reluctantly. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 18.0pt;">I asked the Lord yesterday, while
walking along the Mediterranean again, if He would remind me of His love
through a simple piece of sea glass from this holy shore again. I had barely stepped onto the sand before I
found a white feather (another story all together!) and then a piece of sea glass…
and another… and another! I would be
foolish to believe this was a matter of chance!
In the smallest of treasures, God pronounces His tender love for me, His
child! <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Earlier this year, a precious friend
bought a t shirt for me to wear as a reminder of His love. I even brought it along on this trip! On days like today, I need not wear it as a
reminder, but a proclamation… HE LOVES
ME!</span></i><br />
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<!--EndFragment--><br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-75246651517797663492016-11-28T13:42:00.003-08:002016-11-28T13:42:54.285-08:00 Following His steps… to Joppa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">Following His steps…
to Joppa<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">We landed in TelAviv at sunset on
this Nov day. Our first stop was nearby Joppa, appropriately name the Ancient
Gateway City to Israel on the Mediterranean Sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I stood at the highest point in Joppa, I
looked north toward the beaches of the Sea and could see the lights of modern
day high-rises and hear the noise of bustling vehicles and airplanes
overhead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried to block out all that
was new and imagine it as it might have been when Peter sat on the rooftop of
Simon the tanner’s home somewhere nearby over 2000 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Acts 10)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">God had suggested the unthinkable
in Peter’s vision… Take the gospel message to the Gentiles! So unbelievable was this message, it was
repeated 3 times before Peter awakened from his trance. Even then, as he sat wondering what it could
all mean, the Spirit interrupted his thoughts to say that three men were at the
door looking for him. He should go with
them without hesitation. </span></i><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">What was Peter to say when it was
revealed that a Gentile man had sent for him and was waiting to hear the Gospel
message?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Worst of all, he was a high
ranking official in the oppressive Roman Guard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Surely God did not intend to spread the Gospel to Gentiles such as these…<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">I wonder if Peter remembered Jesus’
parting commission and heard His words echoing in his ears as they suddenly had
meaning like never before… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Go into <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">all the world</b> and preach the Gospel”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">Peter was slow to understand, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">yet he obeyed</b>!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He left Joppa with the unexpected messengers
the very next morning and made the journey up the coast to Caesarea (which we
will actually visit tomorrow!). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God was
commissioning Peter to carry the good news to a world not even looking for Him,
and though this was not a part of the plan as Peter understood it, He was
obedient to the Spirit’s call.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result,
Cornelius and his entire household were the first gentiles to receive the Holy
Spirit, as evidenced by their speaking in tongues, just as the Jews had on the
day of Pentecost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A new movement had
begun because of the obedience of one…<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">What a contrast this is to the
story of Jonah, whose journey had brought him to this very place over 750 years
earlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jonah had not come to Joppa to
obey God’s commissioning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, he
had come to run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would board a boat
bound for a destination far, far away from Nineveh and the godless Gentiles God
longed to use Jonah to reach.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">Jonah ultimately obeyed, (even though
it took three days in the bowels of a fish to convince him!) and he preached
repentance to the people of Nineveh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They responded by tearing their robes and turning their hearts toward
God, but the Lord’s predictable mercy in response to their repentance, angered
Jonah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">These Gentile people had long been
the enemies of God and Jonah failed to understand what Peter would 750 years
later… God’s promises had begun with Abraham, but were never intended to stop
there. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His intentions had always been
that the entire earth would be blessed through the seed of Abraham’s faith and
all those who would follow him in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
people were slow to understand a mercy that extended far beyond their human
hearts could reach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the process, they
risked missing His way all together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">I must take a deep look inside
myself as I stand in such holy places and honestly evaluate who I am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When God beckons me to a plan foreign from my
own… When God reveals Himself to me and asks me to extend His unexplainable
mercy to my enemies, is my response one of immediate obedience or am I quick to
run in the opposite direction with excuses for my disobedience?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">Do I obey even when I don’t
understand or do I rationalize and declare with my choices that I’d rather God
overlook me and use someone else?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will I
be counted among those who discover joy in the service of the Lord, even when
it takes me to places I never expected to go?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">Peter’s obedience swept him into a
ministry that would ultimately expand to millions around the world long after
he was gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even I would be counted
among the fruit of his obedience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a
fellow Gentile, you would too!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">Jonah, on the other hand, was burdened
by his sluggish obedience and on top of a traumatizing three days in the belly
of a fish, he never discovered the joy Peter knew at the repentance of the
lost. Tragically, he will forever be known as a joyless man who ran from God
and was slow to obey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.0pt;">As I stand on these shores, I have
a decision to make. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need not wonder
which would honor God and glorify Him as the Lord of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let my legacy be written like that of Peter’s…
quick to listen; immediate obedience without questions; and immeasurable joy in
being used by God for a redemptive plan so much bigger than I could ever
imagine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Count me in…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-63137780727416471562016-11-07T20:18:00.002-08:002021-01-27T17:01:01.596-08:00“Be Still…”<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifPt842jTM7UL6DMe8Vf0K3S5bNWfmcgZuvYpuryzDN1kolBgysfR8sJJTGRFfs7ncNR6hiClDepn-juGM1g1yWfsniIsUOVIqrRIbfYJ4fMXYTeVM3L0Hzfke1ksYEG8mY5SDBor7RCO/s1600/IMG_6828+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifPt842jTM7UL6DMe8Vf0K3S5bNWfmcgZuvYpuryzDN1kolBgysfR8sJJTGRFfs7ncNR6hiClDepn-juGM1g1yWfsniIsUOVIqrRIbfYJ4fMXYTeVM3L0Hzfke1ksYEG8mY5SDBor7RCO/s640/IMG_6828+%25281%2529.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Sea of Galilee</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;">This
election season has revealed something about my heart I don’t like.</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;">It has obviously revealed a lot of things
many don’t like about the hearts of our candidates too.</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;">But lest I think I am spiritually superior to
those seeking office or any of their supporters, I need only look inside my own
sinful heart to find a place that needs cleaning up too.</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;">I am an informed voter.</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;">I feel deeply for the future of the country I
love, and I have overfed myself on opinions, polls and endless newscasts to
find out what’s new.</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;">I have no great
affection for either candidate, but I am passionate about seeing our country
return to the safe shores of honor, respect, and protecting the value of every
single life, before and after birth.</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;">While we cannot legislate morality- we can be unwavering in standing by
it.</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;">I long to see that again in this
country I love.</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;">I also long for a country where my religious
freedoms are protected and I can know little of the persecution so many
brothers and sisters in Christ face around the world.</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;">I want a government without corruption, where
every man and woman is free to live life apart from the control of power hungry
leaders.</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;">I want to pay as little in
taxes as possible, and for our ministries to be free from them all
together.</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16pt;">This is the world I grew up
in, and I like it…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16.0pt;">I do not
have to look far to realize that the America I have known for more than 50
years is not the “norm” on planet earth… I need read only a few chapters into
the Bible story, to find a world divided and fighting for power and control,
riches and fame, and to make the name of their god the greatest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So much so that by the time the book of
Hebrews was penned, God’s inspired Word made it clear that His people were to
know themselves as “aliens” in this world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The story’s end will be victorious, and the promises our hearts long for
will all be realized in a far better kingdom, where the Lord Jesus Himself will
reign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until then, we are to expect and
even welcome the frailties and pains that are part and parcel to the fallen
world we live in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16.0pt;">I often
wonder why God chose to send Jesus into a world so corrupt, it would even make
the worst among us blush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, the
religious leaders were so embroiled in the worldly system, even they did not
recognize or welcome the Messiah they had been expecting all their lives. Jesus
introduced Himself at the temple by turning tables over and throwing the money
changers out into the streets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If He was
looking for a political following, this would not have been a good move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But He didn’t come to put a corrupt political
system to rest, or to bring the ease of freedom and prosperity the people
wanted either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like to imagine Jesus
walking into one of our recent debates unannounced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His followers would have celebrated
wildly!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The God of the universe had
finally arrived to set everything straight!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With Him in charge, our world could be right on every account.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But can you imagine how disappointed we would
be if Jesus simply threw some tables around and kicked the crooked moderators
to the street and then walked out and back into obscurity?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t God as dedicated to our noble country,
and to our comforts and freedoms as we are?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Apparently not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we look for
a temporary fix, God has an eternal one in mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of fighting the system, Jesus died
for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then He called us to join Him in
dying to this world and living for something so much better… Him! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16.0pt;">A close
inspection of my heart these days, reveals one that still clings to freedoms
this world can offer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It clings to a
patriotism that loves the land it once felt pride in… one that was different
than any other, founded on principles that honored the God I love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But maybe I have been holding too tightly to
a worldly system that still looks to broken men and women to fix it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That fix will never come this side of heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I am waiting for it, I will wait in
vain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And like the fickle people before
me, I have bitten into an apple that will never satisfy my desire for real
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, my heart’s condition
tonight reveals that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16.0pt;">If I am
being honest, I have to admit that I feel more than a little anxious about
tomorrow’s election results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am tired
of being consumed by these haunting thoughts and the impending gloom and doom
if my choice does not win...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What this
says about me is embarrassing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am one
who claims to embrace the absolute sovereignty of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that He is totally and completely in
control of all things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did you catch
that heart?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ALL things…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the direction and destiny of the country
you love!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the anxious state of my
heart betrays my lack of trust in a God so sovereign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I truly believed that He held the affairs
of my life and the world around me in His mighty hands, would I not rest?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16.0pt;">While I
am embarrassed by my lack of faith, I know that I am not alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found followers just like myself when I was
reading in the Bible last week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d like
to think that had I been given the opportunity to walk with Jesus, I might have
had a steadier faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely I would not
have waivered had I been able to actually see His miracles close up and spend
countless hours in intimate conversation with Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But such was not the case for His disciples
the night they boarded a boat on the Sea of Galilee that would be battered by a
terrible storm, while Jesus laid sleeping in the stern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Convinced they were facing certain death,
they shook Jesus awake!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Do you not care
if we drown, Master?” they cried in unison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus answered with a question, and I can hear His words in my ears
tonight…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Oh, you of little faith, why
are you so afraid?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then He instantly
quieted the wind and the waves with two words… “Be still!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16.0pt;">That same
Jesus lies sleeping in my boat tonight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
storm clouds are gathering and I can hear the thunder rumbling in the
distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A terrible storm seems
inevitable and I am afraid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But tonight
I have decided to believe that there is nowhere safer than right by His
side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will lay beside Him and rest,
knowing that He is able to speak to this storm the same way He spoke to that
one on the Sea of Galilee more than 2,000 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I drift off to sleep I can hear His voice
as He commands the waves around us… “Be still!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-90207264778963267422016-05-08T05:33:00.001-07:002016-05-08T05:33:06.973-07:00To the mother of my little girl's new heart~<br />
<!--EndFragment--><b><i>(This letter was written one year ago today... It has been submitted to the organ donation family correspondance team and is prayerfully in the hands of my hero, the mother of my little girl's new heart, this Mother's Day) </i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>To the mother of my little girl’s new heart~</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>You were my first thought this morning when I awakened to celebrate this momentous Mother's Day. You are not celebrating today. Instead, you are grieving the loss of your precious child. Your loss brought life to mine, yet I grieve with you. I cried out to God for you as I wept. In your hours of deepest pain, you made a decision that would alter the course of my life and the life of the little girl I love. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>You, precious Mother, are the hero of this miraculous story and your legacy will live on, beating inside my daughter. Without your gift, Rachel could not have lived and before long, I would have joined you in your loss. Instead, on this Mother's Day, I am celebrating new life. But I want you to know, more than anything, that I have not forgotten you. I will never forget you and the imprint you have left on my life will never fade. With your signature, you released the one you love and with mine, that love was received. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>While others slept through the early hours of May 6, I counted the moments with you. I knew precisely the hour your precious child took his last breath and you released the gift of life to make it mine. We waited outside in the cold, dark night to honor the arrival of that gift in an ambulance from the airport. My heart ached for yours as we waited. When it finally arrived, I followed the precious cargo into a back door of the hospital and down the hallways to the Operating Room where Rachel was waiting. I could no longer hold in the pain I was carrying for you and I slid onto the floor and wept. You had taken your devastating loss and used it for the good of someone you did not know. Your act embodied true love and witnessing the arrival of that love in an ordinary cooler literally brought me to my knees.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>It would be many, many hours before I would see my little girl again. In the early morning hours of our wait, I laid alone in the room where they would bring her after receiving your precious child's heart. I have never before been enfolded into a miracle like this one and it left me speechless before the Lord. I laid in His lap and simply cried. Tears of loss… Tears of joy... Thankful for life… Thankful for you.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I remember little about Rachel when I first saw her lying there with her perfect, new heart… except her hands. Her fingers, always blue and chilled from the lack of blood flow, were suddenly pink and warm. Those hands symbolized the gift she had been given... the one you gave... and again I wept for you. I doubt that I will ever look at the beautiful hands of my daughter and fail to remember you.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>When the monitors play the rhythm of your child's heart, I think of you and the sound of that heart thumping in my daughter’s chest calls out your name, though I do not know it. In the past months and years, I have memorized the shape and rhythm of Rachel’s broken heart on the echo's monitor. I would hold my breath as it stuttered and stammered to continue pumping life into her. I have even fallen asleep with my hand on her chest and felt the irregular pounding of her broken heart, wondering how much longer it could beat against all odds. I stood in silence as the first images of Rachel’s new heart came up on the monitor. It beat in perfect time. It was strong and healthy. It was pumping oxygen-filled blood into the body of my little girl. In that moment, all I could see was your precious child, and you, with open hands.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>That heart does not belong to me. It doesn't even belong to my little girl. That heart belongs to you... It always will. In the greatest act of sacrificial love I can humanly imagine, you chose to give your child’s heart away in order to give life to mine. I am deeply humbled and I will never forget that this immeasurable gift is a sacred trust that binds us together as mothers. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>On this Mother's Day, the sting of your child's absence must seem unbearable. But because of you, your child lives on and still has the power to change the world through those it touches. I promise to treat the treasure that you have entrusted to us, as I would my very own. I will nurture it and protect it with everything in me as it beats inside of my daughter.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I pray that God will use the life you have shared to impact His Kingdom mightily and that your gift of a beating heart will send ripples into eternity. May the HOPE of Christ shine brightly through the life of my daughter, and the beautiful miracle story that includes YOU!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>My prayer will always be the one I am praying for you today... May your HOPE be renewed. May you sense unexplainable joy in the role you have played in redeeming the broken. Christ understands your sacrifice so much better than I ever could. I pray that His sacrifice on your behalf would be dearer to you than ever before and that you would find His immeasurable grace to be sufficient for you today and in the days to come.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>You were my first thought this morning and you will be my last as I close this day. I hope you can hear my tear-filled whispers, as I thank God for you today.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Happy Mother's Day to my hero, the mother of my little girl's new heart... </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-67423201292833681622016-01-01T20:48:00.000-08:002016-01-01T20:48:56.874-08:00Wait for ME!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I closed my eyes in sleep just after midnight last night,
one of the most incredible years of my life slipped into the past. This year marked the answer to so many long
awaited prayers for our family and for me personally, I can hardly process it
all. Until now, with a few hours alone
while my husband carries the load for me, I have not even found the time or the
words to write it all down… So many
answers I don’t know where to begin… So
many thoughts I can hardly express them.
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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From the vantage point of another new year, I honestly can’t
believe how much has changed since we celebrated the beginning of 2015.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only 365 days ago found us in a long and
extended period of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">waiting</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My ailing father was waiting to breathe his
last and finally be relieved of the earthly struggle he had known too well
following a massive stroke 12 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We stood vigil by his bed and waited with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet, as we prayed for the mercy of death
to come take Daddy home, we prayed for the gift of life our daughter, Rachel,
needed to survive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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It had been almost 3 years of waiting for a new heart for
her and I admit that I had begun to grow weary and less hopeful with each
passing day that the outcome I desired would be the culmination of that waiting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Just one year ago, we were also waiting far longer than
expected to bring our fifth daughter home from China.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found this wait hard to justify on any
spiritual level, because it meant a 5 year old orphaned girl would spend
another day, another week, another month, without a family of her own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet I was helpless to speed the powers that
be in China to do anything about it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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All that waiting meant that much of my life and many of my
personal desires were on what seemed an eternal “hold” for another day too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even my promised trip to Israel with Doug was
postponed until our days of waiting were through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Waiting” had become my calling card and I
didn’t like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if there was a
lesson to be learned in waiting, I certainly didn’t want to miss it or give God
any excuse to repeat or prolong it, so I slowly surrendered myself to the
lessons it seems only long periods of waiting have the ability to teach.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You know the rest of the story, if you have been anywhere
nearby to hear the celebrations ringing through our home as God’s awaited
answers came one by one… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Daddy finally found peace in death in the early hours of
January 4, 2015.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watched as they
tenderly came to collect his earthly tent and I wept as I watched one season of
my life as my Daddy’s girl, give way to a world without him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhns9eulhr6abyNIiZrq__4TH6VnCOmrG0gpOqG1YbPgSPUoXSsXDKuOkp5WGnZR7GGxWzqGrs4nF5O6wnfkggBBXj0JPulzZiiiVzclEqrkut44xcx7Se33el0LINcw3OqJBhxVs4APGky/s1600/DSC_0256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhns9eulhr6abyNIiZrq__4TH6VnCOmrG0gpOqG1YbPgSPUoXSsXDKuOkp5WGnZR7GGxWzqGrs4nF5O6wnfkggBBXj0JPulzZiiiVzclEqrkut44xcx7Se33el0LINcw3OqJBhxVs4APGky/s640/DSC_0256.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
On April 7, 2015, in Jinan, China, a 5 year old girl we
would name Rebekah, walked into my heart and into my life in ways I did not
expect or even know were possible and ended the long wait to wrap my arms
around this precious gift from God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
am honestly at a loss for words right now…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I keep typing and retyping words to somehow convey how one little girl
can wedge herself into a 50 year old heart and leave it so radically changed I
almost don’t recognize myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had only known Rebekah for about one hour when she fell
asleep in my arms as we drove away from her orphanage for the last time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something so unimaginably huge had occurred
in my heart in that hour that I literally felt that it might burst from within
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I called Doug at home and told him
to ready his own heart for what laid ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If this little girl could do such things to me, I could only imagine
what was to come for her softhearted Daddy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One viewing of Rebekah’s homecoming video when she finally met her Daddy
was enough proof that I was right in my warning!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rebekah affectionately calls Doug “Baba-YeYe”
and, yes, he melts at the sound of it every.single.time!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidsk2RcPOeLMg8rbSMP7I6q5enb0yyShEkXWVQHBmUkzSv4BAS0Yuvfsde2TEDhyZ-5Rpsr3K4OtclrTMscImkyPS4URfKGxyNE8R7AKw6WYfw0UTtwT8OmQULfWCryn1NAX-hzN9Isqeq/s1600/DSC_0249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidsk2RcPOeLMg8rbSMP7I6q5enb0yyShEkXWVQHBmUkzSv4BAS0Yuvfsde2TEDhyZ-5Rpsr3K4OtclrTMscImkyPS4URfKGxyNE8R7AKw6WYfw0UTtwT8OmQULfWCryn1NAX-hzN9Isqeq/s640/DSC_0249.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: start;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">“Praise be to God for this indescribable gift!”</span></i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then, on May 5, 2015, after 3 years and 2 months of waiting,
a call came from Rachel’s beloved cardiologist, Dr Fricker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It did not occur to me when I answered the
phone that afternoon, that God’s answer had finally come!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything we had hoped for… prayed for… and
waited for, was finally to be!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A perfect
match had been found in the immeasurable loss of a mother and she had chosen to
give life to our little girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was waiting
by the Emergency Room entrance, pacing up and down the sidewalk in the cold
night, when Rachel’s new heart arrived on an ambulance at 4:30AM the next
morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This particular wait was
different than any I had ever experienced, because I knew that as this gift arrived
and ushered hope to our daughter, a mother’s hopes and dreams for her own child
had ended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I followed the cooler
containing Rachel’s new heart through the hallways of the hospital and to the
elevator doors that would take it to the operating room where her broken heart
was being removed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On May 6, 2015,
Rachel received the gift of a new heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The old had gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The new had
come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our waiting was over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPJwQU3lubaYdtUzX8QLSoLpGPiEsmVlQxioztoUhxdZw9i7WVhyphenhyphenaN-5BUxZNSgOahUcxC-kv2xC9HMdoo4SGiqv1GLabm04tf4foFoThrfu7c8UhvDfMqrRIa-v-h8t97e8RerQPXa1E/s1600/DSC_0041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPJwQU3lubaYdtUzX8QLSoLpGPiEsmVlQxioztoUhxdZw9i7WVhyphenhyphenaN-5BUxZNSgOahUcxC-kv2xC9HMdoo4SGiqv1GLabm04tf4foFoThrfu7c8UhvDfMqrRIa-v-h8t97e8RerQPXa1E/s640/DSC_0041.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2015 included TWO precious grandsons, Luke and Elliot! And then... another for next year too!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsJy5mleiQjmlRq4lQb7tVtMVclFAd-HYBORYHgert4p_o4OQ6iEn5atH-tTIkQ7ZhpJe5g7eD8R1uMxw4YftiActL71vhnQRk0XFQUhnJbCfYEzFiLpEvuccVg-78XcnN_j7e9vwN980/s1600/DSC_0119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsJy5mleiQjmlRq4lQb7tVtMVclFAd-HYBORYHgert4p_o4OQ6iEn5atH-tTIkQ7ZhpJe5g7eD8R1uMxw4YftiActL71vhnQRk0XFQUhnJbCfYEzFiLpEvuccVg-78XcnN_j7e9vwN980/s640/DSC_0119.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
And yet, 2015 held even more unexpected gifts for me! Another wait ended. Precious friends flew into town, graciously
took on the heavy responsibility of caring for my five daughters, and sent Doug
and I away to Israel for the trip of a lifetime! There
are many blogs to follow and thoughts that have yet to find their way to paper
to be shared. But, for now, they are
safely tucked away in my heart as the culmination… the sweet reward… and the
immeasurable gifts from God in<b><i> waiting! </i></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Each year I ask the Lord what He would have for me in the
year ahead. The one behind me was so
monumental and the culmination of so many difficult life lessons, I wondered
what God might have next. He was not
slow to direct me and that direction was so much clearer than usual that I knew
He had no intention of waiting for January 1 to get started!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His words resounded through my thoughts again and again… </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I could not escape them… </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i> “Be still and know that I am God”</i></b> </span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I
saw this bracelet in Israel with those words written in Hebrew, I knew it was a
gift for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it occurred to me today that, even in this
New Year, God is still calling me to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">wait!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>To “be still” is to wait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it is more!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God beckons me to wait for HIM!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I have spent many of the past years waiting for the outcomes
I desire or the fulfillment of my hopes and dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God holds something far better in Himself… in
knowing HIM.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He calls out to me for 2016
and for every year that follows…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Be
still, Lori… Wait for ME!”</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCBHUQtLR3YVqQ1PEkmCZDt7mzxJVq6jgdNvQJ0ka3zjr-3tv95dKBYJm5v1igoP-AFNfsZBYlZedObuZjPRpb3Se1sEFpZzFPjco5ubqPVVL2F9nt9xxu4Gl4Op3XXgcTy0MSMUBl1z8/s1600/DSC_0162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCBHUQtLR3YVqQ1PEkmCZDt7mzxJVq6jgdNvQJ0ka3zjr-3tv95dKBYJm5v1igoP-AFNfsZBYlZedObuZjPRpb3Se1sEFpZzFPjco5ubqPVVL2F9nt9xxu4Gl4Op3XXgcTy0MSMUBl1z8/s640/DSC_0162.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Our entire family was gathered together to celebrate what Christ has done and all He is yet to do in and through our lives as we seek to serve Him! Following are some of my favorite people in the world and some of the photos that bring a smile each time I remember our special time together!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6XXx-YlgklurPmr-c6rOYh-5qhbGjvjVKV28UkjcwaPK4_ybfWwCTBINmrpGUBtDA0FHxRxLnYojpNvoQuMW_7CcyLOFc-__W5WsP_dnsuJjP1kYspHIBMY8ATewBNgehE4O-QsGAvw3/s1600/DSC_0139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6XXx-YlgklurPmr-c6rOYh-5qhbGjvjVKV28UkjcwaPK4_ybfWwCTBINmrpGUBtDA0FHxRxLnYojpNvoQuMW_7CcyLOFc-__W5WsP_dnsuJjP1kYspHIBMY8ATewBNgehE4O-QsGAvw3/s640/DSC_0139.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Who wouldn't love Auntie Abby?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhe-eyGSuf4fxpkV30dNPe_FkS12U44baLW7EvEEFSI4Pp710cdA7QYGhw_qbThr7L9Snb8nLbRYER21iXIiZRvZyOCZdJ9Ywi1aif_nc9DtC5fSw9EQ5_UbRoK7gBtB_k9tUk8pL50XjM/s1600/DSC_0148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhe-eyGSuf4fxpkV30dNPe_FkS12U44baLW7EvEEFSI4Pp710cdA7QYGhw_qbThr7L9Snb8nLbRYER21iXIiZRvZyOCZdJ9Ywi1aif_nc9DtC5fSw9EQ5_UbRoK7gBtB_k9tUk8pL50XjM/s640/DSC_0148.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rebekah is a natural born Auntie and lover of babies!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfwVvZwe7NtYa7rDFjBvwjytFMNdRzuEVxsGNacc4-Oi2vIuGhrvi_AgHhW6ioqf-4gGYXa8EifH3GAkaFUXdAMMyqsL8JdQf54DoNXBjqbUjm_gazBaUkGVsWa3haoY7QOhnkvIEv_X7/s1600/DSC_0098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfwVvZwe7NtYa7rDFjBvwjytFMNdRzuEVxsGNacc4-Oi2vIuGhrvi_AgHhW6ioqf-4gGYXa8EifH3GAkaFUXdAMMyqsL8JdQf54DoNXBjqbUjm_gazBaUkGVsWa3haoY7QOhnkvIEv_X7/s640/DSC_0098.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hang on.... Abby needs a hug before we can take any more photos!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHR3MXVFoWzegKhYIXRiehyxc08BHeD-CyV5x07QFiIW9ex5qwh1rTfGg7o8vrLdDhlEzYywBrmzh0kCKT3F_g78-7E7rjZjzNW1_i7yFjyRhPFL7PQhE4yEslln1WWLDcb-nEI-WwhhYz/s1600/DSC_0106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHR3MXVFoWzegKhYIXRiehyxc08BHeD-CyV5x07QFiIW9ex5qwh1rTfGg7o8vrLdDhlEzYywBrmzh0kCKT3F_g78-7E7rjZjzNW1_i7yFjyRhPFL7PQhE4yEslln1WWLDcb-nEI-WwhhYz/s640/DSC_0106.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now she's ready!!!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGEf7iB-05cjgGbZmGPBwkNt3Z0muvMhYLlnCiYTkpsOTcFB5_0UnSJTT8aa9MFNkYuXEDRuJR-D-rJlg9b_zT24v4ZApaDA2BPwGVYWO9KVqi_TyG1xaaviT77XEH5DjMYER_-MHAWFq/s1600/DSC_0114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGEf7iB-05cjgGbZmGPBwkNt3Z0muvMhYLlnCiYTkpsOTcFB5_0UnSJTT8aa9MFNkYuXEDRuJR-D-rJlg9b_zT24v4ZApaDA2BPwGVYWO9KVqi_TyG1xaaviT77XEH5DjMYER_-MHAWFq/s640/DSC_0114.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Poppy and his little Buddy! All is right in the world today!</span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFjLn9P7zTq-wDewkjSa8J9iudXRT_Z-s9q-s-4PBV1-HniPc8QDZeU5vQ-8jJsxiYFVQ-zr3mnVKCW3bVu8LS9vamgUvMwhW33_Ok0fufaG6Odx6UqQRIQbnNbU5nh4G4rfYo0DbZmjb/s1600/DSC_0018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFjLn9P7zTq-wDewkjSa8J9iudXRT_Z-s9q-s-4PBV1-HniPc8QDZeU5vQ-8jJsxiYFVQ-zr3mnVKCW3bVu8LS9vamgUvMwhW33_Ok0fufaG6Odx6UqQRIQbnNbU5nh4G4rfYo0DbZmjb/s640/DSC_0018.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This will never get old for this Lolli and Poppy! May there be many, many more to come!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXdEuASq1fSeyxcOQoCUIazDoX8uOFdsOnpMmXAK2LJ785SJ1so70UHkVz1TGZB31BQJddDz4NmoPDsIUfxgLNzQT_UD7tgxI7UaSclyk8ulhjPAOgrPKqrXhn_11OeusMiAY3COXzx_uI/s1600/DSC_0090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXdEuASq1fSeyxcOQoCUIazDoX8uOFdsOnpMmXAK2LJ785SJ1so70UHkVz1TGZB31BQJddDz4NmoPDsIUfxgLNzQT_UD7tgxI7UaSclyk8ulhjPAOgrPKqrXhn_11OeusMiAY3COXzx_uI/s640/DSC_0090.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oh, how this man loves his GIRLS!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg10TEoOhFYqgjDFiBjrq8pO2IwTe6MTl3YGvCy1hicD6KeBLzMw43Y11rkw1Xf4AlplItsi9WGNnB0zWfTmg3QJqleaOurDdXhP6W2rDVw4vQXBSkzZytwmWQ61PPOoZj2E6Mbm6e6N2Z/s1600/DSC_0233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg10TEoOhFYqgjDFiBjrq8pO2IwTe6MTl3YGvCy1hicD6KeBLzMw43Y11rkw1Xf4AlplItsi9WGNnB0zWfTmg3QJqleaOurDdXhP6W2rDVw4vQXBSkzZytwmWQ61PPOoZj2E6Mbm6e6N2Z/s640/DSC_0233.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xZd2671K40RLDq8lzTKxT-OAOZygIOoQG4zu6aacxqf-zX-dq7besOTZnOLwL0eu0QBZfN_LU1yJGdVyJgNrhUvB22SljfT3MzCOkpWwkqt77jXEiI5-BB20L5plnLB0KBy2oHPqi2J0/s1600/DSC_0246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xZd2671K40RLDq8lzTKxT-OAOZygIOoQG4zu6aacxqf-zX-dq7besOTZnOLwL0eu0QBZfN_LU1yJGdVyJgNrhUvB22SljfT3MzCOkpWwkqt77jXEiI5-BB20L5plnLB0KBy2oHPqi2J0/s640/DSC_0246.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVOx3Y9uMctZcAv4Y8iuNx-NqFww6LgledyPXhBuLX0GlCUjyzB30yBfDNdoMJKzj8O3UAc7PA0izcQ9wjwOkpUsoQVRSZ-IEj4tjFGsG42-EDWyZpsgu-ffwtYeh-qlxilDEvL974Vb1y/s1600/DSC_0252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVOx3Y9uMctZcAv4Y8iuNx-NqFww6LgledyPXhBuLX0GlCUjyzB30yBfDNdoMJKzj8O3UAc7PA0izcQ9wjwOkpUsoQVRSZ-IEj4tjFGsG42-EDWyZpsgu-ffwtYeh-qlxilDEvL974Vb1y/s640/DSC_0252.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_-so4TlZ-NUeW8RINzfTjtgNYOHBBIS6N5B4PT12kfZ1V5qHzwY6xgZZYqc_T9i4zfSsDyT5AAeqIIn3rP06ftdCjkyyiuurKfW0Zh4w2ModyA3SmJ_Emuv6P6wpBUeXI-U2JDl4uYU6/s1600/DSC_0260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_-so4TlZ-NUeW8RINzfTjtgNYOHBBIS6N5B4PT12kfZ1V5qHzwY6xgZZYqc_T9i4zfSsDyT5AAeqIIn3rP06ftdCjkyyiuurKfW0Zh4w2ModyA3SmJ_Emuv6P6wpBUeXI-U2JDl4uYU6/s640/DSC_0260.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This ball of JOY will either keep us young... or kill us!!!!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLrxjOd-i2GSSOcE3BFfIEHjPpCrgGmQPTedHhjIg7oIT5YGq9G2PlDYsSZfdCKrXwVnDBFsyDaIz5MDl6yg2OlohU2oyRg8Fndp8Ljp3HYd0ymnajdHRw-1TEVPyByCGHnJA8tb2z6Vt/s1600/DSC_0281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLrxjOd-i2GSSOcE3BFfIEHjPpCrgGmQPTedHhjIg7oIT5YGq9G2PlDYsSZfdCKrXwVnDBFsyDaIz5MDl6yg2OlohU2oyRg8Fndp8Ljp3HYd0ymnajdHRw-1TEVPyByCGHnJA8tb2z6Vt/s640/DSC_0281.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sarah and Rachel</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2rdiV_rIhxzgSlrbdLVNbnKDRn8mOXL0G3IHCoO56_UkNIYnnQeFpTHbC8dq4j9K_791aQf3hSK9OnY6QzbWK3ic3LugXq333RbbSLl_nAbNLLkqtuEddTuvAOcdgyW2w2Q7Ime27oTf/s1600/DSC_0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2rdiV_rIhxzgSlrbdLVNbnKDRn8mOXL0G3IHCoO56_UkNIYnnQeFpTHbC8dq4j9K_791aQf3hSK9OnY6QzbWK3ic3LugXq333RbbSLl_nAbNLLkqtuEddTuvAOcdgyW2w2Q7Ime27oTf/s640/DSC_0084.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A rare treasure... Together with all EIGHT of my babies at once!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ryan, Schaeffer, and Elliot</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFXFr-aEMoradCTvoGEP_6YtW7Io03YczHkQENgZads9iPI4VFyfTEKamnny7op546xKnffJEIqMAUro9pqi_fqE0rMqTqd3dcbUUuT1d4KLkWwCiNXre8zYh2mFQauFy6XoWGAPii4hX/s1600/DSC_0073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFXFr-aEMoradCTvoGEP_6YtW7Io03YczHkQENgZads9iPI4VFyfTEKamnny7op546xKnffJEIqMAUro9pqi_fqE0rMqTqd3dcbUUuT1d4KLkWwCiNXre8zYh2mFQauFy6XoWGAPii4hX/s640/DSC_0073.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Russ, Steph, and Luke</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> From our family to yours... HAPPY NEW YEAR! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> May God's blessings overflow to you!</span><br />
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Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-71533017880100571062015-05-30T12:55:00.001-07:002015-05-31T19:54:14.744-07:00The Giver of LIFE... (Rachel's New Heart #4)<h1 class="passage-display" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><span class="text John-1-3" id="en-NASB-26048" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 19px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-26048A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-26048A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span><span style="line-height: 24px;">All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.</span></span><span style="line-height: 24px;"> </span><span class="text John-1-4" id="en-NASB-26049" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;">In Him was life, and the life was <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-26049C" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-26049C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>the Light of men.</span></i></span><span class="text John-1-4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span class="text John-1-4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>John 1:3-4</i></span></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span class="text Acts-17-24" id="en-NASB-27548" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;">The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-27548AY" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-27548AY" title="See cross-reference AY">AY</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>Lord of heaven and earth, does not <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-27548AZ" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-27548AZ" title="See cross-reference AZ">AZ</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>dwell in temples made with hands;</span><span class="text Acts-17-25" id="en-NASB-27549" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>nor is He served by human hands, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-27549BA" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-27549BA" title="See cross-reference BA">BA</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">people</span> life and breath and all things;</span><span class="text Acts-17-26" id="en-NASB-27550" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>and <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-27550BB" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-27550BB" title="See cross-reference BB">BB</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>He made from one <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">man</span> every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-27550BC" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-27550BC" title="See cross-reference BC">BC</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>determined <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">their</span> appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,</span><span class="text Acts-17-27" id="en-NASB-27551" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-27551BD" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-27551BD" title="See cross-reference BD">BD</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>though He is not far from each one of us;</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="text Acts-17-28" id="en-NASB-27552" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>for <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-27552BE" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-27552BE" title="See cross-reference BE">BE</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>in Him we live and move and exist...</span></i></b></span><span class="text Acts-17-28" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="text Acts-17-28" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Acts 17:24-28</i></span></span></div>
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There is a part of Rachel’s story that has not been told,
yet it is the most miraculous of all. So
miraculous, that I have struggled to find adequate words to tell it. Part of my struggle is in communicating my
deep belief that, regardless of how God chooses to work and move, He is
good! It is easy to proclaim God’s
goodness when His sovereign choices agree with our personal desires. But He is equally as good when His answers to
our deepest prayers are disappointing and sometimes heart breaking. His Lordship over all things often includes
both. In the giving of Rachel’s new
heart and the answer to our desperate prayers, God’s way meant the devastating
loss of life for another. This is hard
for me to come to terms with. Peace only
comes when I recognize that God alone holds the power of life and death. My deepest desire is to bless His name in the
giving of life and the taking away. May
my heartfelt praises always be... <i><b>"The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." </b></i><br />
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Rachel’s new heart arrived in the operating room where she
was waiting at approximately 4:50 AM on May 6, 2015.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The moment it arrived safely in the ordinary
cooler that contained it, her broken heart was clamped in her chest and man-made
machines would artificially sustain her life until the healthy heart was
stitched in its’ place and could take over the role of pumping life-giving
blood through her body again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For all
practical purposes, that moment marked the end of Rachel’s life that God had
chosen to sustain for almost 11 years, in spite of a very broken heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The choice to bring new life through the gift
of another’s heart lay solely in the hands of God… He alone could breathe new
life into our precious daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Man can remove a beating heart from one and
stitch it into the chest of another, but he cannot breathe life into that
heart… <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">God alone is the Giver of Life!</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8toojL8vIaKaZfhMM3WiRYqnhgtQOh74ZBhmRpmUiLiUHWXVQ91lc8LYStXQ3TE214p0SYam5Z3IR2niqg3Hajdf7HkBJSz2DmBWgWpGW_npQPyq9vuhnjGS8CN9urryoH16M-ZpjjT1/s1600/DSC_0019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8toojL8vIaKaZfhMM3WiRYqnhgtQOh74ZBhmRpmUiLiUHWXVQ91lc8LYStXQ3TE214p0SYam5Z3IR2niqg3Hajdf7HkBJSz2DmBWgWpGW_npQPyq9vuhnjGS8CN9urryoH16M-ZpjjT1/s640/DSC_0019.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">God has chosen to use many people to play a role in Rachel’s
beautiful, redemptive story. As the adoptive
parents of a child whose prognosis was terminal, we are often penned as the
heroes of that story. </span><span style="text-align: center;">But it took many,
many people along the way to do what we could not have done alone!</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;">Someone finally listed her for adoption, others
advocated for her, and then many provided the funds for us to bring her home.</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;">Skilled professionals would provide the
medical care it took to overcome what appeared to be insurmountable odds
against her. Family, friends, teachers,
nurses, doctors, technicians of every kind, and the overwhelming support of the
people that love our girl as much as we do, were all a part of the miracle
story God has been weaving. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-I3r05pJPrABKO1L7wlFUhulG3m_2hNTeSpacvpYyPNaa4FmeNOesGTc2ockf8L_tPsArvHCNrDjwqxyFRNBGBgq4AHYmZTSHiIGclstR8Yho4LZ0EKVEvgq5wuztknyLGtCRDkOBS9Vy/s1600/IMG_0070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-I3r05pJPrABKO1L7wlFUhulG3m_2hNTeSpacvpYyPNaa4FmeNOesGTc2ockf8L_tPsArvHCNrDjwqxyFRNBGBgq4AHYmZTSHiIGclstR8Yho4LZ0EKVEvgq5wuztknyLGtCRDkOBS9Vy/s640/IMG_0070.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Rachel’s
beloved cardiologist, Dr Fricker, was a part of her story even before she came
home from China, and has now become more like a grandfather to her than a
cardiologist. He will forever be a special part of our family!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP03QnPMH4HKAZZW4L3Q2URDDg0BIMTwJeD4vSNAAtUr-8dEUOz5OhzQLe40NZEhh91qZq_ExYcS5nnrC4wCs9DDsgJBtoHlKHEx4C37YQeTJP8kc2imhlFgS9N4V8xpc34TlVzdmYcx-c/s1600/IMG_4980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP03QnPMH4HKAZZW4L3Q2URDDg0BIMTwJeD4vSNAAtUr-8dEUOz5OhzQLe40NZEhh91qZq_ExYcS5nnrC4wCs9DDsgJBtoHlKHEx4C37YQeTJP8kc2imhlFgS9N4V8xpc34TlVzdmYcx-c/s640/IMG_4980.jpg" width="480" /></a>God has used Dr Bleiweis to
bring healing to our girl as an incredibly skilled surgeon and, in our opinion,
rivals anyone in the country as one of the best at repairing and replacing
broken hearts. He encouraged us with
hope for Rachel’s heart the moment he read her file from China. How fitting that </div>
he would be the man
performing Rachel’s heart transplant when the perfect match was finally
found. We would have it no other way!<br />
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<b><i><span class="text Job-33-4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span class="text Job-33-4" id="en-NASB-13655" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 24px;">“The <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-13655A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-13655A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>Spirit of God has made me, a</span></span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text Job-33-4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">nd the </span><b><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-13655B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-13655B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></b><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">breath of </span><span style="line-height: 24px;"><b>the Almighty gives me life." </b>Job 33:4</span></span></span></i></div>
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YET… without God breathing life into Rachel, each and every
moment of every single day, her story would not be the unfolding miracle it
is! He alone deserves all the glory for
the work He has done in and through her!</div>
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Throughout the night, reports from the operating room were
glowing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a lot of scar tissue
to work through, collateral vessels to gather, and even an aorta which had
attached itself to the back of Rachel’s sternum that had to be disconnected
before she could receive the healthy heart that was now on its’ way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Rachel was stable and things were
progressing just as everyone had hoped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The timing in removing the old to make way for the new was proceeding right
on schedule and hopes were high that this transplant would go without a hitch!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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By around 7AM, Rachel’s broken heart had been removed and a
perfectly healthy one had taken its’ place inside of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything was stitched into place and it was
time to let that new heart take over for the machines that had been keeping Rachel
alive throughout the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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But as the transplant team began to make the transition in
allowing that heart to beat, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">it did not…</b>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The operation that appeared to be going perfectly, suddenly <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">was not!</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Human hands had done all they could, but they could not make
Rachel’s new heart beat!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A decision was
made to clamp all blood flow surging into the new heart for a period of 20
minutes and allow the machines to carry the load, while giving it a chance to
“rest” and acclimate to its’ new home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then they would try again and hope for a better outcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am told that the energy in the operating room suddenly fell
flat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What had been a flawless surgery,
had taken a very bad turn, and tensions were very high.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While letting the new heart “rest”, Dr
Bleiweis left Rachel’s side and sat down nearby in nervous disbelief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could we have waited over three years for
the perfect match to now be met with such a disappointing result?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was not what anyone expected after such
a successful surgery and the alternatives for Rachel should this heart not
begin beating seemed unacceptable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is difficult to understand the immense burden on the
shoulders of Rachel’s cardiologist, Dr Fricker, in that moment unless I share
with you something I have not done so before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When Rachel became ill just over a year ago, many believed that she
would not be able to live much longer with her very broken heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several very difficult conversations took
place between Doug and I and the team of people caring for her, headed up by Dr
Fricker himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would we be willing to
hospitalize Rachel until a new heart came?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And if her heart finally gave way, would we let her go or place her on
life support in hopes that a heart might be found in time instead?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rachel wanted only one thing and she never once
wavered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Rachel would live waiting, but she would not wait to live!</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She absolutely refused to die lying
down!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had suffered a horrid
existence inside the four walls of an orphanage for the first seven and a half
years of her life, and now that she had been redeemed to a new life with a
family she loved, she intended to live it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Through the lips of a nine year old, with the understanding of a grown
adult, she told me repeatedly that if God did not bring a new heart in time, we
were to let her die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She insisted that
this was a “win-win” in her book, since living meant doing so for Jesus, and
dying meant being with Him instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Either way, she “won”…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>"For me to live is Christ and to die is gain"</b> Philippians 1:21</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who was I to stand in the way when she asked Dr Fricker to
sign a DNR on her behalf, should she suddenly collapse while living life to its’
fullest?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He resisted at first, but
finally did so with tears in his eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, if the heart that he had waited so long to accept for the little
girl he loved, did not beat on its’ own, he would be forced to put her on the
very life support she had asked him to deny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My heart feels heavy just typing it…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was lying alone in Rachel’s hospital room when a call came
from Dr Fricker’s cell phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
7:30 AM and I expected to hear the happy news that Rachel’s new heart was
beating inside of her!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, I
detected nervousness in Dr Fricker’s voice immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Listen,” he said, “things are not going
well, and we are all very worried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rachel’s new heart is “sluggish” and not wanting to beat on its’
own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are going to let it rest for 20
minutes and then try again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We really
need you to pray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just pray…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hung up in disbelief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everything had been going perfectly!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What do you mean… “Her new heart doesn’t want to beat”? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could this be?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had not even allowed myself to believe that
a heart would finally come after three years of waiting, and now that it had, I
was stunned that it might end this way…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Doug had made his way to the capital of India and was there
waiting for a flight bound for Paris.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
dialed his number to Face time with him and pray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He, too, was stunned at this update and
immediately turned his questions into prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I cried and agreed with him as he voiced our pleading to The Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have never heard my husband beg God for
anything… but in those moments, he literally begged God to spare the life of
his daughter~ that the precious gift of this heart would not result in the
death of two, but that God would bring life through the one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We encouraged one another with the
Truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had not been promised a happy
ending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s sovereign will would win
and we would trust Him in that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We vowed
to glorify Him no matter how He answered and we hung up to wait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXN-7AVi5CbVwAzwEST600FiPG-jE_2A8aLHEwVsU92NTJwA9VFzGZOj7J-Z3zbRGUR2nM_SdvA9o1zkEr-66hP9alF3Ev4eXep2IWY2cimDewL5KzTEL4P7xpV_E9zdCOl0RlQM6cWyA0/s1600/DSC_0029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXN-7AVi5CbVwAzwEST600FiPG-jE_2A8aLHEwVsU92NTJwA9VFzGZOj7J-Z3zbRGUR2nM_SdvA9o1zkEr-66hP9alF3Ev4eXep2IWY2cimDewL5KzTEL4P7xpV_E9zdCOl0RlQM6cWyA0/s640/DSC_0029.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We didn’t know then what we know now… In those very moments
of our desperate praying, sometime between 7:30 and 8 AM, God was weaving a
miracle in the heart of our daughter! At
His Word- He breathed LIFE into Rachel and her new heart began to beat on its’
own in perfect rhythm! <b>What a surgeon could not do… God DID!</b> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">Then the</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">Lord</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">God formed man of</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;"> </span><b><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-38A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-38A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></b><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;"> </span><b><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-38B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-38B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></b><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">man became a living</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><b>being. </b>Genesis 2:7</span></i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I believe with everything in me, that God perfectly purposed
this event to demonstrate HIS power over life and death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let no man or woman, mother or father, doctor
or surgeon, ever believe that the power to breathe life into a human being
comes except through HIM!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rachel lives
today, because God reached out in mercy, touched her new heart, and caused
life-giving blood to beat through it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">To HIM belongs all the glory! </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<h1 class="passage-display" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 500; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"> </span></span><b style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;">“</span><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-12518A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-12518A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;">You alone are the </span><span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-variant: small-caps; line-height: 24px;">Lord</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;">. </span></span></i></b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">You have made the heavens, t</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">he heaven of heavens with all their host, t</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">he earth and all that is on it, t</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">he seas and all that is in them.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">You give life to all of them </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 24px;">And the heavenly host bows down before You." </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 24px;">N</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 24px;">ehemiah 9:6</span></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We don’t know how many days this new heart will bring for
our daughter. It may be many- it may be
few. But we have learned through Rachel,
to live whatever days He gives to the fullest, and we will do so glorifying
HIM- <b>The Giver of Life!</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span class="text Ezek-37-4" id="en-NASB-21402" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;">Again He said to me, “<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-21402A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-21402A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-21402B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-21402B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>hear the word of the <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>.’</span><span class="text Ezek-37-5" id="en-NASB-21403" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>Thus says the Lord <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">God</span> to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life.</span><span class="text Ezek-37-6" id="en-NASB-21404" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-21404D" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-21404D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>know that I am the <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>.’”</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span class="text Ezek-37-7" id="en-NASB-21405" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">So I prophesied <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-21405E" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-21405E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.</span> <span class="text Ezek-37-8" id="en-NASB-21406" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.</span><span class="text Ezek-37-9" id="en-NASB-21407" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">God</span>, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-21407F" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-21407F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>breathe on these slain, that they <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NASB-21407G" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NASB-21407G" title="See cross-reference G">G</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>come to life.” Ezekiel 37:4-9</span></i></b></span></div>
Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-8158156604612415632015-05-26T14:17:00.000-07:002015-05-26T14:19:23.339-07:00EXTRAORDINARY through the Ordinary... (Rachel's New Heart #3)<div>
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The first incision to prepare Rachel for the arrival of her new heart was made at approximately 1:30 AM on May 6, 2015. Earlier in the day, part of the transplant team had already made their way to the site of the precious donor who would ultimately bring life to Rachel through their beating heart. It wasn't until the team had arrived there and actually gotten a good look at the heart that the final decision was made as to whether they would accept or decline this gift for Rachel. It was perfect! Surgery was a "Go"!!! The extaordinary redemption of what was broken had begun!<br />
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I honestly don't know what I did during those hours... I talked to Doug several times through out the night, before he boarded a plane to the capital city of India, and I tried to busy myself in updating my friends and family as they waited with me near and far. But mostly, I spent the night alone in what would be Rachel's hospital room for her entire recovery, and I waited for news. Everyone encouraged me to get some sleep while I had the chance, but I could not imagine sleeping while my little girl fought for life just a few floors below me. There would be time for sleep later. Instead, I laid down on my recliner bed and literally visualized myself laying in the lap of God. I am a lover of words, and I am rarely without any, but on that night, I couldn't find a single word to say to the Lord that hadn't already been said. Tears came instead. I knew God understood those better than words, and I found comfort lying there with Him and allowing my emotions to overflow in tears of joy and grief mingled together.<br />
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My heart literally agonized for a mother I didn't even know. I have prayed for her for over three years now... wondering who this unknown hero might be that would ultimately share life with my daughter. Tonight it didn't matter. I knew that wherever she was, she was hurting, and I was hurting with her. I wept because I knew that in those very hours her child would slip into eternity and leave a vacant place in her heart, while hope for more time with my child would be born in mine. I was overwhelmed with the unfathomable thoughts of God that I am certain I will never understand. Why her child? Why not mine? Why should I receive? Why should she lose? The gravity of such an exchange from one mother to another unleashed emotions from within me that I didn't know existed.<br />
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The anesthesiologist caring for Rachel in the operating room was kind and kept his promise to update me frequently throughout the night with news of how surgery was going. He was most gracious to let me know precisely when they expected Rachel's new heart to arrive at the hospital and I intended to be there when it did! So, at 4:30 AM, our weary crew gathered outside the emergency room entrance of the pediatric unit of Shands and huddled in blankets as we waited for the ambulance carrying our precious gift to arrive. I could not stand still, so I paced up and down the sidewalk, hardly breathing until the ambulance finally rounded the corner and made it's way toward me. An ordinary ambulance delivering HOPE for my daughter!<br />
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The transplant team and surgeon carrying the heart jumped out of the ambulance and hurried past us with great urgency. They seemed amused that we were waiting there, as if this were unusual, but they didn't stop us from following, so you can bet we DID! I remember saying something to the surgeon as he hurried by about "my daughter's new heart", but otherwise no one said a word! I was so fixated on the cooler rolling in front of me with the simple words "Human Organ for Transplant" and "HEART" stickered on it, that I'm not even certain I was breathing!<br />
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We followed the transplant team and that beloved cooler right through the Pediatric Emergency Room and as far down the hospital hallways as they would allow us to go before a door finally closed behind them and they disappeared into an elevator that would take them and this extaordinary gift of HOPE to the operating room where my daughter was waiting. No one spoke a single word. I just stood their in the hallway of the hospital at 4:45 AM and I sobbed. All of the uncontainable emotions within me collided and spilled out. <br />
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This extraordinatry gift, and the indescribable loss that it represented, ...<b>delivered in an ordinary cooler</b>. The sight of it and everything it represented literally knocked me to my knees! <br />
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I am struck at how God has always chosen the ordinary through which to perform the extraordinary. Maybe that's why we miss Him so often. Even God's saving HOPE in the gift of His Son was delivered to the world through the ordinary! Can't you see it? Extaordinary HOPE through the ordinary! <br />
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I saw Him again tonight when <b><i>extraordinary HOPE arrived for my little girl in an ordinary cooler! </i></b><br />
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Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-27644681390041303882015-05-23T22:56:00.001-07:002015-05-24T19:35:17.246-07:00Unacceptable Alternatives... (Rachel's New Heart #2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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There are certain moments in your life that you have longed for and dreamed about for so long that when they finally come, a numbness washes over you and it is as if you are living a dream in slow motion. So, on May 5th, when I got the long awaited phone call that a heart had been found for Rachel, I can remember trying to take in every single detail of the day and committing them to memory so that I could recall them, to not only share with Doug, but to better digest them later, when my emotions were not so on edge... That's much how I felt as I made my way to Gainesville from home with Rachel for an operation that would ultimately change our lives, either for our incredible gain or for our indescribable loss.<br />
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While the opportunity for life can not even begin until that phone rings and news of a perfect match is announced, the realization that this milestone could also mean the end of an earthly life for our precious girl lingers behind every thought. I learned as we waited, to not take the moments we had been given for granted, knowing that this time could be all the time we had with our daughter! This news rightly brought the celebration of hope for the life this new heart might bring, but we would have been unwise to forget that the surgery that could bring life to Rachel was a very dangerous one and hers would hang precariously in balance through it. <br />
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One particularly poignant part of the process was when they brought consent forms for me to sign as Rachel's mother. It included a list of risks involved with heart transplantation that was long and daunting. Most of those risks seemed way beyond any a sane mother would voluntarily agree to. But without this surgery, the risk of losing Rachel was 100%. No one could predict how much longer Rachel could survive with her broken heart, but most agreed that she had already far out-lived all expectations and without this life-giving gift, her days, months or years would likely be few. I've always considered myself to be a risk taker, but the only thing that made me willingly pen my name along that blank line was the unacceptable alternatives we were facing if I did not... </div>
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I was humbled and saddened, too, that another mother had signed a consent much like this one only hours earlier, except that her signature gave life away, while mine received it with hope, in spite of the risks. My signature had never before felt so weighty or life-altering. Once I put the pen down, there was no turning back!<br />
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The mission trip that took Doug to the other side of the world at this precise time, meant that I would face this life-altering surgery without him. In our years of waiting, we had always made certain that one of us remained at home with Rachel if the other was far away- whether on mission trips, another adoption journey, or even a planned anniversary trip to Israel! And though we were always prepared, I had hoped God's plan would not mean that one of us would be gone for such a momentous event as this one. <br />
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For reasons I obviously can't understand, God's plan included just that, and I would have to make this particular part of the journey without my partner and best friend. Several friends and even my mom and youngest son gathered around me for support- but Rachel and I both felt a huge void we wished Doug could have been there to fill! I carried around my Ipad like a security blanket all afternoon and night- both to capture the events on video for him and because it was my only link to him via Facetime calls in between flights as he made his way home to be by our sides! <br />
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One incredibly special moment was the time Doug spent with Rachel just before she was taken to the operating room. He read scripture, encouraged her for the battle, and prayed for God's mercy and protection over everyone involved. Thanks to modern technology, their time together was possible, as was this beautiful video I will always treasure...<br />
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Time seemed to stand still, and yet in all the preparations, 11:30 PM came quickly and the team from the operating room arrived to escort us to Rachel's long awaited heart transplant!<br />
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We could escort her just to the hallway doors near the operating room, but would have to say good-bye there. The ride down the elevator seemed like a balancing act between overwhelming excitement and fear of the unknown. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crazy brothers can make even the scariest moments seem like FUN! </td></tr>
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We stopped just outside the doors that we could not go beyond. I got down on my knees to say goodbye... The answer was obvious, but I asked anyway. "Are you scared, Rachel?" Her bottom lip quivered and she started to quietly cry. My brave warrior was afraid, and I can't say that I could blame her! I was afraid too, but this was as far as I could go with her, and she'd have to take these next steps on her own. I whispered Jesus name in her ear and promised her He would be near. I would be by her side as soon as she woke up with her new heart.<br />
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I stepped back as her brother said goodbye and prayed with her and then we watched as the doors shut behind her and she walked away to the biggest event of her young life... </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Incredible Risks vs Unacceptable Alternatives</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">HOPE WINS!!!!</span></div>
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Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-57248705654270136222015-05-17T21:21:00.002-07:002015-05-17T21:38:49.880-07:00A single moment... (Rachel's New Heart #1)<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <b><span style="font-size: large;">...can change EVERYTHING!</span></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
events of the past week have been amazing- miraculous- unexpected. After three years and two months of waiting,
I had all but given up believing the call that a heart had been found for
Rachel would ever come… ever. The hyper-vigilant
state I had begun with right after Rachel was listed for a transplant did not
last long. I realized quickly that it is
not possible to stay in such a vigilant state long term! I’m embarrassed to admit that I had become so
un-expectant that I had even unpacked my hospital bags. If the call suddenly came, I’d throw things
back together, but the constant reminder of unmet hopes and dreams those packed
bags represented were finally put away.
After over 1,000 days on the waiting list, I wasn’t even counting
anymore! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
most difficult thing about waiting is that most of the time it does not include
the knowledge of when it will end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
waiting mom has a good idea when her baby will finally be born, of course, and
this serves to help her hang on when the days get long, but other times of
waiting hold no such promise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rachel’s
wait for a new heart included no promises of a happy ending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This alone made the wait especially hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would we wait in vain for a new lease on life
or would all the waiting finally pay off with the realization of everything we
hoped for our little girl?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">There have been times in my life when the
object of my waiting appeared so far out of reach, it seemed as if it would
never come!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In those times I needed to
remind myself that in a single moment, at God’s appointed time, my wait would
suddenly end and what appeared endless would slip from my memory as it faded
into the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, the truth is
that the most profound moments of our lives are usually ushered in with little
warning and those moments actually change everything!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we would do well to remember that this
is also true of our most prized treasures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a single moment, those too can slip away!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've learned over the past several years
that since those moments of life altering change come so quickly and sometimes
unexpectedly- we need to heed the words of Psalm 90:12 <i>"</i></span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom."</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> God calls us to live for the moments of today and then trust
Him with the moments to come that He has secretly ordained for us. Some
of those moments bring inexpressible joy; and some heart-breaking grief.
I am grateful that we can rest confidently in His sovereign hands -
knowing that He is wise and will withhold no good thing from us. I
especially need to cling to His truths on days like this one, when life-changing
moments overwhelm me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">On May 5, another mother, whom I have not
yet met, had one of those moments that would change everything about her life
and mine…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One moment her child was alive and thriving
and then suddenly, in a split second, that child was gone. Her choice to
give life away in her loss meant that at 2:34 PM, the moment that would change
the course of our little girl’s life would finally arrive!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The phone call that we had waited for exactly
1,153 days would actually come in the form of a FaceTime call from our
transplant coordinator and our beloved Cardiologist. I couldn't imagine
why she would be calling via FaceTime and the thought didn't even occur to me
that our happy news had actually arrived!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">I joked around in my usual way and told
her I was too busy to chat!!! I had five little girls about to get off
the bus and my day of real work was about to kick into full swing! With
Doug in India- this was serious business and I had my hands full with so many
needs! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was quick to assure them that I
was a woman on the edge!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">They didn't seem interested in how I was
or wasn't coping with all of the new changes in my life and suggested that
maybe I needed to pack a bag and drive to Gainesville that very afternoon!
Huh?? I didn't have time to come to Gainesville!!! Had they
completely missed my rant only a few moments earlier?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">This <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">very
moment </b>was the one I had waited for and dreamed about for so long, and yet
I don't even remember what was said! Something about an
"offer" for Rachel and "how quickly can you get here?"
My heart understood before my head did and it momentarily stopped beating
and dropped into the pit of my stomach! Was I hearing what I thought I
was hearing? A heart for Rachel??? Now???<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">My mind started reeling with all that
needed to be done in the moments ahead if this was truly what I had been hoping
for! I had unpacked long ago! My husband was on the other side of
the world and Rebekah was so new! How would we pull this off? But
of course we would!!!! I had a lot to do and very little time to do it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">I was to get off the phone and pull
things together in order to get to the hospital two hours away as quickly as
possible! I was frantic to get off the phone and somehow reach Doug in
India, where I knew he was sleeping, before Rachel climbed off the bus to hear
the news herself!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">Doug didn't answer his phone!!!
Maybe the FaceTime ring would awaken him... Ahhh, yes!!!! I could
hardly wait while it connected! The room where he was sleeping was
completely dark, but I could hear his groggy voice as he answered, obviously
alarmed and not knowing what to expect from this middle of the night call!!!
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">I couldn't hold back the tears of joy
that flowed from an announcement I had wanted to make for three years and two
months!!! "Doug!!!!! They have a heart for Rachel!!!!
They have a heart!!!!" We literally sobbed together through a
dark phone screen! It was one of the happiest phone calls I ever remember
placing!!!! And in that moment, Doug's trip was redirected and he would
somehow find a way home to be a part of the long awaited answer to so many
prayers on behalf of his precious girl!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">He asked if Rachel knew yet... She
didn't, but her bus was to arrive from school only moments later! I wondered if
it might help him feel closer to home if he could have the honor of telling
Rachel the news! He cried at the thought! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">We were ready and waiting on the family
room coach connected to Daddy in a quiet hotel room on the border of India and
Nepal when Rachel walked in the door from the school bus... <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She came running in and headed straight for
the bathroom! Clearly she had no clue that the moment that would suddenly
change the course of her life had arrived! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">I hurried her to the front of the screen
where Daddy was waiting. "Daddy wants to talk to you Rachel!
Come here!" I was surprised at how Doug held it together for
the announcement! But that ended as soon as the words escaped his
mouth... <b>"They have a heart for you, Baby!!! You're getting a new
heart!!!!"</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rachel looked as stunned as I was... I
think the long wait had taught her to not expect this moment anymore and she
actually thought that her Daddy was joking! When she realized that he was
not- she buried her head into my chest as she tried to grasp the way this
moment had suddenly changed everything for her!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Daddy promised to hurry home as soon as
he could and we raced into action! My head was spinning! I had
begun to believe this moment would never come and now that it had, I felt
paralyzed and unable to think a sound thought! Everything went into warp
speed!!! My phone rang off the hook and I celebrated with friends and
family as I ran around the house collecting everything I thought one would need
for a momentous occasion like this one! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">I was in the car and headed to
Gainesville within an hour and would arrive at 6 PM to begin the process we had
only dreamed about for so long!!! It seemed as if the whole Congenital
Heart Center at Shands had already begun to celebrate!!! The moment we
had all waited for had finally arrived! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Bright";">One moment we thought we would lose our
waiting daughter- the next moment brought word that maybe, just maybe, there
was HOPE for many more tomorrow's with her instead!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-align: center;">In a single moment… everything had
changed!</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;">We thank The Lord for moments
like this one that could have only been brought through His loving and gracious
hands. We rejoice in this answer and yet grieve that it only came through
the heart breaking moment of another family. We trust, as joy and grief
mingle together, that God has ordained all of our moments and will sustain us
through them with His sufficient grace. Our prayer remains that He alone
would be glorified in each and every moment of this journey!</span></span><br />
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Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-31780678651465279252015-05-10T21:33:00.000-07:002015-05-10T21:33:06.415-07:00To the mother of my little girl's new heart...<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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You were my first thought this morning when I awakened to celebrate this momentous Mother's Day. You are not celebrating today. Instead, you are grieving the loss of your precious child. Your loss brought life to mine, yet I grieve with you. I cried out to God for you as I wept. In your hours of deepest pain, you made a decision that would alter the course of my life and the life of the little girl I love. <br />
<br />
You, precious Mother, are the hero of this miraculous story and your legacy that lives on, now beats inside my daughter. Without your gift, my daughter could not live and before long, I would have joined you in your loss. Instead, on this Mother's Day, I am celebrating new life. But I want you to know, more than anything, that I have not forgotten you. I will never forget you and the imprint you have left on me will never fade. With your signature, you released the one you love and with mine, that love was received. <br />
<br />
While others slept, I counted minutes with you. I knew precisely the hour your precious child took their last breath and you were releasing your gift and making it mine... We waited outside in the wee hours of the morning to honor the arrival of your gift in an ambulance from the airport. I thought of little else but you... My heart ached for yours as we waited and when it finally arrived and I followed the precious cargo into a back door of the hospital and down the hallways to the Operating Room where my daughter was waiting, I couldn't hold the pain I was carrying for you a moment longer. I stood in the hallway and wept. You had taken your devastating loss and used it for the good of someone you didn't even know. Your act embodies true love and witnessing the arrival of that love in an ordinary cooler literally brought me to my knees.<br />
<br />
It would be many, many hours before I would see my daughter again. In the early morning hours of our wait, I laid alone in the room where they would bring Rachel after receiving your precious child's heart. I have never before been enfolded into a miracle like this one and it left me speechless before the Lord. I laid in His lap and simply cried. Tears of loss. Tears of joy. Thankful for life. Thankful for you...<br />
<br />
I remember little about Rachel when I first saw her lying there with her perfect, new heart, except her hands... Her fingers, always blue and chilled from the lack of blood flow, suddenly pink and warm. Those hands symbolized the gift she had been given... the one you gave... and again I wept for you. I doubt that I will ever look at the beautiful hands of my daughter and fail to remember you.<br />
<br />
When the monitors play the rythym of your child's heart, I think of you again and the sound of your child's heart thumping healthily in my daughter calls out your name, though I don't even know it. In the past months and years, I have memorized the shape and rythym of my daughter's broken heart on the echo's monitor. I would hold my breath as it stuttered and stammered to keep pumping life into my little girl. I have even fallen asleep with my hand on her chest and felt the irregular pounding of her broken heart, wondering how much longer it could beat all the odds. I stood in silence as the first images of her new heart came up on the monitor. It beat in perfect time. It was strong and healthy. It was pumping oxygen-filled blood into the body of my little girl. In that moment, all I could see was your precious child, and your open hands.<br />
<br />
That heart does not belong to me. It doesn't even belong to Rachel. That heart belongs to you... It always will. In the greatest act of sacrificial love I can humanly imagine, you chose to give that heart away in order to give life to another. I am deeply humbled and I will never forget that this immeasurable gift is a sacred trust that binds us together as mothers. <br />
<br />
On this Mother's Day, the sting of your child's absence must seem unbearable. But because of you, your child's life goes on and still has the power to change the world through the lives it touches. I promise to treat the treasured heart that you have entrusted to us, as I would my very own. I will nurture it and protect it with everything in me as it beats inside of my daughter.<br />
<br />
I pray that God will use the life you have shared to impact His Kingdom mightily and that your gift of a beating heart will send ripples into eternity. May the HOPE of Christ shine brightly through the life of my daughter, Rachel, and the miracle story that includes you!<br />
<br />
My prayer will always be the one I am praying for you today... May your HOPE be renewed. May you sense unexplainable JOY in the role you have played in redeeming the broken. Christ understands your sacrifice so much better than I ever could. I pray that His sacrifice on your behalf would be dearer to you than ever before and that you would find His immeasurable grace to be sufficient for you today and in the days to come.<br />
<br />
You were my first thought this morning and you will be my last as I close this day. I hope you can hear my tear-filled whispers, as I celebrate you today.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Happy Mother's Day to my hero, the mother of my little girl's new heart... </i></span>Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-32918822979743513532015-04-28T19:01:00.000-07:002015-04-28T19:01:07.401-07:00On your mark... Get set...<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>GO!</b></span><br />
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I am writing from an airplane tonight, heading HOME from an incredible, life-changing
trip to China with our fifth treasure in tow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I am happy to go home, but feel as if there is just not enough time to
digest the events of the past few weeks, or more specifically, the 8 days since
I finally met Rebekah!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is so much more than I could have imagined!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Precious -
afraid- tender hearted- bossy- hurting- joyful -tearful- affectionate-
grieving- excited... I have been swept away in all she is and her entrance into
my life seems almost like a dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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I am reminded though- as I return to life as normal- that some
things will never be normal again. I
wonder how all of my other angels will change as they adjust to her presence in
our midst. Will it change my marriage or
steal away the little freedom I had remaining in my days? And while I leave breakfast buffets and hotel
maid services behind and the fun-filled days of just getting to know one
another becomes a thing of the past, I am reminded that the toughest work lies
ahead. The traumas of abandonment and
less attention from Mommy to go around will mean a heavy workload for me in the
foreseeable future. I am happy to go
home, but in a moment of gut level honesty- I am nervous. I feel selfish and wonder if I am up for the
challenges ahead. The call God has
placed upon my life means a greater to death to self, and like anyone else, I
shrink back at that idea more than I embrace it! </div>
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If I have learned anything about the Lord in this journey, I have
learned to see His many tender mercies woven into my days when I most need
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we settled into our seats on
the plane and I got Rebekah started with an episode of Winnie The Pooh, I began
to scroll through the many, many choices of in flight entertainment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was shocked to see that the movie
"Chariots of Fire" was offered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While I have known for many years about the famous runner, Eric Lidell,
and even quoted him when speaking before, I had never had the opportunity to
see the entire movie about his running career and his bid for an Olympic
Metal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Little did I know that God would
use this film to tenderly speak to my heart and remind me where I have come
from, why I came, and the path He would have me run on the journey ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Eric Lidell was an amazing runner and there was much promise for
him in doing what God had blessed him to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But he also felt a call to serve the Lord on the mission fields of
China.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He felt a constant struggle
between what he felt he was good at and what he sensed to be God's will for his
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, after much prayer and a
refusal to compromise His commitment to honor God in all things, whether
running or on the mission field, Eric decided to continue to run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He understood completely that God is most
honored when we do what He has gifted us to do and when we do ALL things for
His glory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His words echoed through my
soul, as they have in the past and strengthened my resolve for my own run
ahead.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Eric Lidell said this- "God made me for a purpose, but He
also made me fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when I run I feel
God's pleasure."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So He ran and He
honored the Lord in his running and he earned an Olympic gold medal in the
process!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The movie ends with his
triumphant victory in the Olympic Games, but after all the credits had run and
honor had been given to all the actors of this amazing story, there was a quiet
footnote... "Eric Lidell died as a missionary to China after many years of
faithful service".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That little
footnote told me so much more about this man than an entire movie on his
running career could!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was committed
to honoring the Lord with EVERYTHING he had, and he did!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Being a homemaker is not going to win me a gold medal or any
earthly prize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither will it earn me
fame or riches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if I selflessly love
the children God has given to me... If I love and respect my husband as onto
Him, and if I care for our household with honoring Him as my ultimate goal,
then I can sense His pleasure over me as I do those things too!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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My sense of purpose has been renewed as I make the final lap of this
race and prepare to begin a new one when my feet hit the ground at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Already I sense God's pleasure and it spurs
me on to give it my all!!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Strap on
your running shoes with me!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a
race to run!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>On your mark...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get
set... </b></span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">GO!</span></b><br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<i>(Following is the video of our homecoming when Rebekah finally met her Daddy for the first time! It was as miraculous as our Gotcha Day in China 8 days earlier!)</i><br />
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<a href="https://youtu.be/QxLYmZJ-DqU">Rebekah finally meets Daddy!</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_611491923"></span><span id="goog_611491924"></span><br /></div>
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Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-10262737619370672742015-04-27T19:34:00.000-07:002015-04-27T19:34:48.911-07:00I cried too...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Before my traveling partner and photographer spills the beans on me, I think I should just go ahead and confess. The first time I heard Rebekah cry, I cried too... I know, I know! It was only a little blood draw for her TB test and I wasn't even in the room because new parents aren't allowed. But the sound of her crying through that closed door pushed my unusually tender heart over the edge and I lost it!!!! Then my always tender hearted videographer lost it too, and we were both toast!!!! <br />
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Sonia and I have been through a LOT together. We've walked through life and death situations with our heart kiddos side by side and have prided ourselves in our uncanny ability to find laughter in the midst of it all. Never have we failed to howl our way through the most difficult circumstances we've found ourselves in. Yes- we have cried too, (in case you're worried!) but we are best known around the hospital for our laughter. It's our hilarious coping mechanism, I guess, and until that day in the adoption medical clinic, Sonia and I had an unspoken understanding of one another. <br />
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But in that single moment it all crumbled! Sonia stood opposite me and clicked photos in a state of what must have been unbelief! I was crying over a TB blood draw!!!! I'm guessing that my unpredictable tears probably appeared only half as foolish as I felt, when I realized the camera was capturing this embarassing moment for all time! Worst of all, I knew that my photographer would hardly let those tears dry before she responded in her most typical fashion and laughed hysterically over my upsurdity! She did not disappoint! <br />
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I haven't heard the end of it from Sonia, of course, and I have to admit that I, too, find myself hysterical each time I remember the events of that day. But I feel that in defense of my behavior, I should explain...<br />
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I am a typical adopting Mama and a relentless dreamer. That combination can create some pretty unrealistic expectations for the first few weeks together after Gotcha Day. I have had my own share of disappointments in this area, so I dedicated many, many hours of prayer regarding this matter of my heart. I wanted to love simply and selflessly, as Christ would. I wanted a heart that loves for the good of another, instead of the rewards for self. This does not come naturally for me, so I begged God to do a super-natural work in my heart and give me a sweet affection for Rebekah that I could not produce on my own. <br />
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The unexpected tears that flowed from a tender heart, for a little girl I hardly knew, were proof of God's sweet answer to my prayers. I was keenly aware of the work He had done in my heart from the moment I met Rebekah, that flowed into those first hours and then days together. I knew that while my emotions are unpredictable and flaky, the instant affection and tenderness I felt for her were a gift from the Lord. I will always treasure the wonder I felt as I witnessed His super natural love flowing through me onto this broken child.<br />
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The tears that Rebekah shed at the medical clinic were the first I had seen, but were the beginning of a time of deep grieving for her. For several days, Rebekah's smile disappeared and the pain of all she had lost bubbled to the top. She would hold it in as long as she could and then the tears would flow from her broken heart in the saddest sobs you've ever heard. I felt helpless. There was simply nothing I could do to lessen her pain or shoulder her losses...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She even bled in the shape of a heart that day!</td></tr>
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And in one of the sweetest answers to prayer I have ever known, I cried too...Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-60717751393302717442015-04-27T18:03:00.000-07:002015-04-27T18:03:08.161-07:00Selfie Fun...With full disclosure I must admit that I hate the new selfie culture!!! Never have we been more focused on ourselves and the ability to take endless instant photos of ourselves that we can share with everyone we know via social media so that they can look at us too! This is pure craziness!!! <br />
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While on a cable car over the mountains outside Hong Kong, we had the distinct privilege of sharing the ride with a teen girl who primped and polished herself to perfection and then proceeded to take selfie, after selfie, after selfie of herself for her adoring public. She was so engrossed in herself that she didn't notice the nine other riders witnessing the entire event in unbelief! Someone help me!!!!<br />
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While we were in Shanghai, visiting the Ancient City, we discovered that the latest craze on the tourist market is something they call a "selfie stick"! Sellers of these contraptions came from every direction and tried to pawn theirs off on me for "the best price" in town. Time for some investigation as to what this thing was and why I might want one! OK... maybe these thingies are a little bit cool! I'm pretty certain my "yuppy device" generation kids would think so!<br />
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I must swallow hard before I type this. Here goes... I bought three selfie sticks. THREE. How embarrassing! I am now offically contributing to the prevailing selfie insanity, including the one in my own home! This purchase will forever allow my preteen girls to take photos of themselves from every angle and at any distance they choose within the selfie stick's extended length, with a simple click of a button! What has become of me? <br />
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Since I had already lost all my sensibilities in this area and spent money to further its' cause- I decided to just go with it. I had no desire for a single photo of myself, but I was pretty smitten with a little someone who rather liked taking selfies. If a simple selfie brought a smile to my hurting girl, I was all in!<br />
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So then, with no further ado... <br />
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Selfie Fun with Rebekah~ <br />
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<br />Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-70482638526424363462015-04-22T18:13:00.002-07:002015-04-22T18:16:13.280-07:00Unexpected Joy...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
(Our precious girl grieved terribly for several days. Her sadness is evident in these photos. </div>
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But JOY was just around the bend and we all celebrated together as she discovered it!)</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>"Sorrow may last for the night, but JOY comes in the morning!"</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Have you
ever noticed that joy seems to always be found in the most unexpected of
places?</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Maybe it's because it takes pain
and hardship to reveal the true meaning of JOY!</span></div>
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<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14.0pt;">I have
been struck in my time with Rebekah this past week and now over a year with
Abby in our home, that those with the greatest hardships illuminate JOY in a
way that wealthy and "happy" individuals can not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even in the midst of the intense grieving in Rebekah's
heart at the loss of her foster family- I see joy bubbling beneath the
surface.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it's as if she can't
hold it in!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I am
reminded that I look for JOY in all the wrong places!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I try to arrange the circumstances of my life
and avoid pain at any cost.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">When I do
that I forget that JOY is a gift from the Lord to the weak and broken.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Those that can't produce anything remotely
like joy in their own strength, discover something that only God can give!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">In bolstering myself and trying to control my
circumstances I actually take up the room where JOY can move in when more of
self is poured out.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Those focused on
self are never emptied enough to make room for joy.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">When we follow in the footsteps of John the
Baptist and declare that we must decrease and Christ must increase, we are
finding our way to overwhelming JOY!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14.0pt;">One of the
enemies greatest weapons against us as believers is to convince us that the
pathway to joy is found anywhere but in the pouring out of ourselves to make
more and more room for Him!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we
embrace the hard and costly instead of the comfortable and profitable, we
discover that what we longed for all along is found in the midst of our losses.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Less of
me...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14.0pt;">More of
Christ...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p>Unexpected JOY!</o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-25647950331828941702015-04-21T18:42:00.000-07:002015-04-21T18:42:07.894-07:00My gain...<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">...Their loss</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I've
decided that being a foster parent is a thankless job, and if it is done right,
than it ultimately will mean great pain and great loss.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I saw it in Melinda when she said Goodbye to
Abby and I saw it again today.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I don't
even know their names.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">But as I was
celebrating a beginning, they were grieving an end.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I witnessed the selfless love of two people
and I will never forget the beauty I saw in their tears.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I see their love reflected in the heart of my
little girl and realize that her loss, too, is greater than I can imagine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14.0pt;">I gain.
They lose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14.0pt;">While
adoption is a beautiful picture of redemption, it is also a painful reminder of
the devastation sin brought into our world and it's overwhelming consequences
on the very weakest among us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Redemption
always includes loss. Sometimes I like to glamorize my role in the process and
exaggerate the costs of adoption to me personally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if I am honest, I know that in this
particular process, I am the biggest winner of all!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rebekah's
birth mother lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I can not begin
to understand the reasons any mother would abandon her two and a half year old
to wander in a park alone and likely resign them to a lifetime as an orphan, I
can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she did so with great pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have only known her precious daughter for a
few days now, and the joy she brings to life is undeniable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a void her abandonment must have left in
her mother's heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her great loss
breaks my heart more and more as I embrace the incredible gain of this precious
child's<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>redemption. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYOf_-erSyGNaSagT4DyI5XHfRm_fJ0mc6m11oNVPs3Tajm4ViwSHlacTpYvW85IgpEefK6FFjN37vlZLF3EfNhzvkkLH6ShY3FZhKQqmv9Q2soJzitG4qH8LKHXyqXnxM5Id6I2XoFpd/s1600/DSC_0412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYOf_-erSyGNaSagT4DyI5XHfRm_fJ0mc6m11oNVPs3Tajm4ViwSHlacTpYvW85IgpEefK6FFjN37vlZLF3EfNhzvkkLH6ShY3FZhKQqmv9Q2soJzitG4qH8LKHXyqXnxM5Id6I2XoFpd/s1600/DSC_0412.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two year old PingPing was found wandering near the entrance of this park on July 24, 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Now the
people that loved her and cared for her and wanted her good lose too!</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Sadly, they have known great loss before this
one, which makes this redemption through adoption more painful still... Rebekah's
foster parents were an elderly couple that she affectionately called
"YeYe" and "NiNi" (Grandpa and Grandma).</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">They had two children of their own that were
both lost in a tragic car accident, leaving them childless.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">So they agreed to foster orphans and pour out
their love onto them instead.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I can see
their love and affection in Rebekah and the way she is willing to turn to me in
her hurting.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">But the depth of Rebekah's
loss I see in her grieving only portrays the even greater loss these precious
people must feel today as "their little girl" is ushered to her new
home far away.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">They had not wanted to be
there for her Gotcha Moment, because they feared parting would be too
difficult, but we were already at the orphanage when they arrived with her, so
they were forced to do so anyway.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">They
wept as they met us and then as they said goodbye.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I will never forget them.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I will never forget the great gain for
Rebekah or for us, as her family, that has now become their loss...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">The most
devastating loser in this redemption story is also the sweet recipient of
it!</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Rebekah did not choose her loss- nor
was it the consequence of her own sin. She has suffered loss after loss after
loss before ever meeting us and the losses to her will always be a part of her
story.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Only hours after she left the
arms of her foster parents, our guide took us to the park where she had been
left three and a half years ago, at the age of two.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">It was an expansive, picturesque park and we
made our way to the very place Rebekah was found, likely in tears because she
couldn't find her Mama.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Not thinking
about the impact this might have on Rebekah emotionally, we sat her alone in
that place for photos.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Suddenly I was
awakened to my stupidly!</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">This precious
child had only left the safety of her beloved foster parents hours before and
she now stood in the very place she had been abandoned as a little girl, far
too young to even understand what was happening to her!</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I hurried and scooped her up to reassure her
that her Mommy would never leave her alone again.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I asked my guide to translate on my
behalf.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">"You don't have to be
afraid, Ping Ping," she said. "Your Mama will never leave you!"</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Rebekah's answer broke my heart and reminded
me of the loss she remembered well... "My Mama already left." She
told my guide.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I wept for her as we
walked around the park hand in hand and then marveled as she shared her bubbles
joyfully with a younger boy she befriended.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">A crowd gathered, as they all admired her tenderness and joy in spite of
her obvious disability.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">May God use
those moments to reshape the hearts and minds of a people convinced by their
culture that the weak are unwanted!</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Otherwise, they too become a part of this tragic loss as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">My gains
in this redemption story are incalculable!</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">I have rarely been as acutely aware of the indescribable gift of the
precious children the world has written off as too disabled; too needy; too
much expected hardship to sacrifice for.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Instead, the world's losses are an incomprehensible gain to those of us
who will put ourselves in a position to be the hands and feet of Christ'
redemption to a dying world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14.0pt;">My gain...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;">Their
loss.</span><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14pt;">Thank you
Lord for this indescribable gift!</span></div>
Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-6431204853599123882015-04-13T01:53:00.001-07:002015-04-13T01:53:21.627-07:00Immeasurably more...<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeBzSXS6ImPKAQlj-_hstOoVTuEoYHVp-w5zy57ZKf_PcDA7YQqe-unganaks2h6kRb5OlOxC434BPxwEgWz72wnTntlTcYZrUFlgJ5Yssiu6XVwNbAZEHQo8DbGeFFTQACCgI-8imulEX/s640/blogger-image--771620846.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeBzSXS6ImPKAQlj-_hstOoVTuEoYHVp-w5zy57ZKf_PcDA7YQqe-unganaks2h6kRb5OlOxC434BPxwEgWz72wnTntlTcYZrUFlgJ5Yssiu6XVwNbAZEHQo8DbGeFFTQACCgI-8imulEX/s640/blogger-image--771620846.jpg"></a></div><br></div>Today was THE day!!! One I have waited for much longer than expected. Maybe that made it even sweeter, but it could not possibly have been any sweeter than it was!!!! I felt that familiar rumbling in my tummy as the van pulled into the entrance of the orphanage... You'd think I'd never done this before- but with each adoption God's call is a leap of faith into the unknown- and this one was no different! Most exciting was the unexpected ability to share the whole experience with Doug and the kids at home via FaceTime!!! They virtually lived through the whole experience in real time as I carried my phone right in front of me from moments before we even pulled up to the orphanage until we signed the papers saying "YES" to our precious new daughter!!!<div><br></div><div>It was my understanding that after Rebekah was abandoned at the age of two and a half, she had been placed in a foster home on the campus of the orphanage. I asked our guide as we made our way to Gotcha Day if she would request our meeting the Mama and Baba that had filled in for us until we could finally arrive to make her forever ours! A quick call ahead to the orphanage and they said it wouldn't be a problem! I was thrilled, but our plans were dashed only moments later when the foster parents said that they did not feel they could be there when "their little girl" met her new family. </div><div><br></div><div>While I understand... (Well- I guess I really can't, can I?) I was sorely disappointed. I wanted desperately for Rebekah's foster family to know how much she would be loved and to have the chance to hug them and say thankyou personally! I also think that it is helpful to our children when the people they love and trust hand them off and, in essence, give their approval to the unwanted changes brought to the child through adoption. I will never ever forget the precious goodbye Abby's foster mother gave Abby as we were leaving her province. It was not only a beautiful gift and send off for Abby, but for me as well! The guide explained about the special circumstances that made their parting with Rebekah so painful (which I will post about separately), but still I prayed that God would somehow make a way for us to meet.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4XisDrFkwq1P-BTk2mQEzP9sj9I-i9vMlLhn9T6wrRaJz_gx9Lty2ZGvD_bMEHnGoBwKlIEzoDf9XPfyL_Gw-qwITUBXI8XC_-l1r0bXnlpxPyHHNfud02vNRQPaymsmynxQwzez3Ihj/s640/blogger-image--1980698888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4XisDrFkwq1P-BTk2mQEzP9sj9I-i9vMlLhn9T6wrRaJz_gx9Lty2ZGvD_bMEHnGoBwKlIEzoDf9XPfyL_Gw-qwITUBXI8XC_-l1r0bXnlpxPyHHNfud02vNRQPaymsmynxQwzez3Ihj/s640/blogger-image--1980698888.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMrVxelZViTLwpDtBS-YEbzFDKyOBOCaruf2PnrOOYO82v47eduq0buMr1VGMN6-2sftz5q8tF0CdWYswl_10VraEPsNlJKw97CYFuiIZ7YHYxtT86FL9YftJe3IuXewy615LtjRyC_5df/s640/blogger-image-600830122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMrVxelZViTLwpDtBS-YEbzFDKyOBOCaruf2PnrOOYO82v47eduq0buMr1VGMN6-2sftz5q8tF0CdWYswl_10VraEPsNlJKw97CYFuiIZ7YHYxtT86FL9YftJe3IuXewy615LtjRyC_5df/s640/blogger-image-600830122.jpg"></a></div></div></div><div><br></div><div>We pulled into the front of the orphanage and I was struck by the way it nestled itself at the foot of a beautiful mountainside. It seemed to be too beautiful a setting to house hopeless little ones with no future or family. We were early so were instructed to wait outside until all of the children arrived for school with their foster parents. We, of course, snapped a ton of photos, since each and every arriving child was precious beyond description. Then, suddenly, walking toward me was a little girl I recognized as Ping Ping. The photos and videos had finally come to life and there she was, walking hand in hand with her older foster father, who she affectionately called YeYe! I wanted to scoop her up immediately and smother her in long awaited kisses- but for her sake, I refrained!!! They invited us to follow them inside where we could formally meet!</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDfpi3oJCU8ToMlh57Uu77xug4qo4VzYhp4P5dnrK_6Qi0wcdCd7pMAvHYNwUVuIV9VVtbFiJEFX47P-RUq-dJKgM3ucAwQmDxEm4MFluQyT_oM0FkykNsvtjcRuCDlHDy-qPPKyW0dKE/s640/blogger-image-1468756887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDfpi3oJCU8ToMlh57Uu77xug4qo4VzYhp4P5dnrK_6Qi0wcdCd7pMAvHYNwUVuIV9VVtbFiJEFX47P-RUq-dJKgM3ucAwQmDxEm4MFluQyT_oM0FkykNsvtjcRuCDlHDy-qPPKyW0dKE/s640/blogger-image-1468756887.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht5U6iCA79SK1x_pCP-ovPovE3xdsl45ILB3fVzpC5M3ZFRjSO0g6guNATCpwxWeXQQraviSGrliWCTI6cWAcVXNO-jsJVJEFPCMmDeyqYBO1C1IujO67FvOFq4VQkuAwkQXLhhNY9zD6y/s640/blogger-image--1292328295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht5U6iCA79SK1x_pCP-ovPovE3xdsl45ILB3fVzpC5M3ZFRjSO0g6guNATCpwxWeXQQraviSGrliWCTI6cWAcVXNO-jsJVJEFPCMmDeyqYBO1C1IujO67FvOFq4VQkuAwkQXLhhNY9zD6y/s640/blogger-image--1292328295.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9upqNUMKgYi5ESHx-0G4y-w9Nw_YyyXsAZKGqu2OcnWZSI1_jY3WFnS-vSrhcuo90m3IvZfFdFdR9e4KPggRfMUPY9cs4g0LBYv0GV8eeFomsqm4z6px7-Rflk1_892tpjsb2vmsZFj74/s640/blogger-image--1067007138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9upqNUMKgYi5ESHx-0G4y-w9Nw_YyyXsAZKGqu2OcnWZSI1_jY3WFnS-vSrhcuo90m3IvZfFdFdR9e4KPggRfMUPY9cs4g0LBYv0GV8eeFomsqm4z6px7-Rflk1_892tpjsb2vmsZFj74/s640/blogger-image--1067007138.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilE6tJTyC1DJRfjcLSVGi0A-KRomX3mUNgH7DmQrVAISYNpFZ0f2nC7nt_Xtdsz-jVcn8Kby1sDkBPp1jxS6vlRLihGxJ-T47aGsg7p5nPUhINjLoNPGcrZdFXei94HibfgFag-ffmqMN7/s640/blogger-image-1796257595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilE6tJTyC1DJRfjcLSVGi0A-KRomX3mUNgH7DmQrVAISYNpFZ0f2nC7nt_Xtdsz-jVcn8Kby1sDkBPp1jxS6vlRLihGxJ-T47aGsg7p5nPUhINjLoNPGcrZdFXei94HibfgFag-ffmqMN7/s640/blogger-image-1796257595.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEqPIBqRPYjXYtyysV6pRSbtfxxG9Y8wsVf8JWeswgkRlKs7C0j3sZRSSNx6V2IpQiRq8WVSx16Y4s1TC5tQ96wMepS_JLAZc-I7NnJ4N2lGCeggMsdus1EwLFUpvwfVH8IlCtdri-cFQ/s640/blogger-image-1006437144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEqPIBqRPYjXYtyysV6pRSbtfxxG9Y8wsVf8JWeswgkRlKs7C0j3sZRSSNx6V2IpQiRq8WVSx16Y4s1TC5tQ96wMepS_JLAZc-I7NnJ4N2lGCeggMsdus1EwLFUpvwfVH8IlCtdri-cFQ/s640/blogger-image-1006437144.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRfpWfahZ8vg3raOgfQTi-BbNyMvH1ZiJI2Kh2hl2toOhn76claOnk0NOxxrJRBorQEZeP25hsU-Fvi0C2Aoqp9NzpRGkGzmG1TvcKfFJCNQ67mL8x5VhlJusYgTbMfEzqtba6R2nvjFn/s640/blogger-image-1004794232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRfpWfahZ8vg3raOgfQTi-BbNyMvH1ZiJI2Kh2hl2toOhn76claOnk0NOxxrJRBorQEZeP25hsU-Fvi0C2Aoqp9NzpRGkGzmG1TvcKfFJCNQ67mL8x5VhlJusYgTbMfEzqtba6R2nvjFn/s640/blogger-image-1004794232.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">1 am at a loss for words to describe the next few moments, and I am anxious to write them down before the beautiful blur of emotions is forgotten! I approached Rebekah slowly, as she stared at me with suspicion and reluctance. It was a life altering moment for us both. She didn't know it then and still doesn't, but as I finally looked into the eyes of my precious girl, all of my unfounded fears melted away and were replaced with the overwhelming affection I had begged the Lord to gift to me through Him. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzC3ieeCSJQ7ZtJXpAIhyphenhyphenj0yEIsqhPnD5ZjWo0lFAEMTE54lS26JacXLngoEGdiBteI_F8_ZwYDxqN0NvAjgKsJtK2JuBwW9BEI3ZBsj80iK7WVc4gXH7BnjcoHUh4UyBOMXu2D5bUsBCt/s640/blogger-image--1360762964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzC3ieeCSJQ7ZtJXpAIhyphenhyphenj0yEIsqhPnD5ZjWo0lFAEMTE54lS26JacXLngoEGdiBteI_F8_ZwYDxqN0NvAjgKsJtK2JuBwW9BEI3ZBsj80iK7WVc4gXH7BnjcoHUh4UyBOMXu2D5bUsBCt/s640/blogger-image--1360762964.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkw7Tcw26tmo7s41Ae611Y1TP8DdOPeymX1i8r0Oh1WgPTULJXWcYkBdHF3XgcdiS9a97LjSsvtPHcc5t1w4Vgew4Mq_9AHGIys0ZK65XHUUyxpC7aUMLZws5JNuBww_IfUj8e-cDg5iD/s640/blogger-image--323271219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUWWRJssMkqpN3WL1BDGhAcxpqUc73KCq6AyQB_QSFtv3fTfgTGaJ69Jdeo6tgaDNcUHXg-mFvoo6EVc25Vi5djdoTsacKr_JTvW48DchLBAgDYjCL157pi2d33gz0wlubyDlEoJ5Mk2Kn/s640/blogger-image-110183277.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAr7wUvrr6cfKkaZHq8bV8d-V9_zLSz488_smbgtHzHUzZqzFKms7c46VabixYd-XekUWoc_6Dwcy-u94hyphenhyphenOfmuiPJEntX8Q1oF8f1Sdgb0r-kx4TLrV9gAdtOOoW-IYykU7kM4JIrtxrE/s640/blogger-image--1397500032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAr7wUvrr6cfKkaZHq8bV8d-V9_zLSz488_smbgtHzHUzZqzFKms7c46VabixYd-XekUWoc_6Dwcy-u94hyphenhyphenOfmuiPJEntX8Q1oF8f1Sdgb0r-kx4TLrV9gAdtOOoW-IYykU7kM4JIrtxrE/s640/blogger-image--1397500032.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJraHe8AXK6NvDCaclWIsPsuB2Ag5-GvostdCr3_Kke38r0rDhFE_hAMYDIlwsmNWbr4ncc60LvV50AQTQoRaiMUlm2Xf_MO-I_JY0bEX6YaiHP7xNvIUh4he8iOWsbTh8d6MKN9ZlR5Ww/s640/blogger-image--1396087168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJraHe8AXK6NvDCaclWIsPsuB2Ag5-GvostdCr3_Kke38r0rDhFE_hAMYDIlwsmNWbr4ncc60LvV50AQTQoRaiMUlm2Xf_MO-I_JY0bEX6YaiHP7xNvIUh4he8iOWsbTh8d6MKN9ZlR5Ww/s640/blogger-image--1396087168.jpg"></a></div></span></div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Maybe this seems a strange thing to remark on and I feel as I need to explain so as not to mislead adoptive friends that come behind me in their journeys. Gotcha moments are so longed for, often taking months or years to arrive, with more than a million opportunities to romanticize what your child will be like and how their personality will bounce off of yours... Dreamers like myself can almost sabotage this emotional journey when the reality turns out to be far from our fantasies. I have experienced this personally and was resolved that this was founded in selfishness- not Christ' love expressed through me, so I did more than my fair share of praying about this as Gotcha Day drew near! You might notice that my blog is named for one of my favorite Bible verses (Ephesians 3:20) where it says that God is able to do "immeasurably more that all we could ask or think"... Unfortunately- I misunderstood the true meaning of that verse for many years, because I stopped there! Of course God could do immeasurably more than I could ask or think! I knew that from personal experience! But this verse instead claims that He can do immeasurably more THROUGH ME than I can ask or imagine- "according to the power that is at work within me"! That power is Christ Himself. His greatest desire for my life, and now mine, is that He would be glorified in and through my life in ways I never imagined and am incapable of in my flesh. So, in approaching my newest daughter and in the months that are to come as we get to know one another, I have asked the Lord for only one thing... That He replace me (and my selfish desires) and instead display His love through me. I believe that this request honors Him and as I sat next to my newest daughter for the very first time, I sensed that He had answered! Yes.... even beyond my imagination!</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqLmEtfEIbgbNH44h2bqJxbQ2X_CjckF-ZO0wvE8hw30ipFj5aadGg4pCaECPhtDqO9l-cXy8JKjM5xPhA1hfHNYqOAjPSiiuGhciUArTPkJ72SJzV_i5IDSv2WVmm4idjZkgh6wHxbkgJ/s640/blogger-image-989354155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqLmEtfEIbgbNH44h2bqJxbQ2X_CjckF-ZO0wvE8hw30ipFj5aadGg4pCaECPhtDqO9l-cXy8JKjM5xPhA1hfHNYqOAjPSiiuGhciUArTPkJ72SJzV_i5IDSv2WVmm4idjZkgh6wHxbkgJ/s640/blogger-image-989354155.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRQKsWEuqSK8-8i575MHisqJ0RQgMKvMjbNfUir5zLMvFHs2bw8x21FiFDOP9YqWvpG1NmVxTddT4VlSnjIAiAEJo-2uqMJv2J-9cVUfJXG5q2bgkegLA-QWXdRgbC2X8Mwq9SYpiQebf/s640/blogger-image-154603285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRQKsWEuqSK8-8i575MHisqJ0RQgMKvMjbNfUir5zLMvFHs2bw8x21FiFDOP9YqWvpG1NmVxTddT4VlSnjIAiAEJo-2uqMJv2J-9cVUfJXG5q2bgkegLA-QWXdRgbC2X8Mwq9SYpiQebf/s640/blogger-image-154603285.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioH3nd6FvV6AKfh86hre828Ra2dVQRvg9zTKbrBISOQu75Yb4e1Dgb_nnU0i4J3IjD9hfBiBzC8i7cGFW4iksnriGSDhmNxvpNyyUeSBYbpwT5m4wsP5C5f33h08z2qbNG9TEvyHQM7JHu/s640/blogger-image-277359449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioH3nd6FvV6AKfh86hre828Ra2dVQRvg9zTKbrBISOQu75Yb4e1Dgb_nnU0i4J3IjD9hfBiBzC8i7cGFW4iksnriGSDhmNxvpNyyUeSBYbpwT5m4wsP5C5f33h08z2qbNG9TEvyHQM7JHu/s640/blogger-image-277359449.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div>His answer to my prayers of many months has been surging through my heart since that moment! So if you see a glow about me or sense something from me that you don't recognize, you can know that it is HIM!!! I have much more to tell about our day, but I will share these special photos of our first moments together and then fill you in on the rest later...</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVxM3FEMR0WVWB1be2a96Fvq0Nb2mPH8rnyAZlt4qAITGv34Y9StpMMvYLVW7jq30AuLNXxT-G_XhDFnBKWxXWP7TOfzlTkxtY-qGIdrrCNw25VpTqxoB2EqQfi-o8_aBnGTZeWnHYzfkn/s640/blogger-image--971996825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVxM3FEMR0WVWB1be2a96Fvq0Nb2mPH8rnyAZlt4qAITGv34Y9StpMMvYLVW7jq30AuLNXxT-G_XhDFnBKWxXWP7TOfzlTkxtY-qGIdrrCNw25VpTqxoB2EqQfi-o8_aBnGTZeWnHYzfkn/s640/blogger-image--971996825.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div>Excuse me while I get back to the business of loving my little one in His name! There is one less orphan in the world today and because I was chosen to be that orphan's Mommy, I've got work to do... Pray with me that God would continue to do "immeasurably more" than I could ask or think, according to the power that is at work within me. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div>To Him be the glory!"</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-28221548195517937942015-04-10T00:22:00.001-07:002015-04-10T00:34:51.459-07:00Live Your Life<div>I <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">long for her to know she is alive... I'm certain she wouldn't believe it. When Rachel's Mama left her at the bus station right in front of the orphanage gates, her little girl was dying. They had obviously done all they thought they could do to save her life and were out of options, and so, out of desperation, were leaving her for the help they could not give. Open heart surgery shortly after her birth would have been a temporary fix and there is no doubt they knew so. I don't pretend to know what a Mama is thinking when she abandons her baby beside the road... I also have no intention of romanticizing a story where she is a hero and her actions are driven only by overwhelming love and selflessness. The truth is that her actions, no matter the reasons, flow from a terrible brokenness- both personally and culturally. While leaving your dying baby as an orphan might ultimately save her life, the long term effects of that decision will never be erased. </span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrll_A4MFXUjZNYfzAjE0kHt5ch9pcYt0G8EgIiHFfeRQ_SNzuyNz80Hvvy-hVPdvk42i4R8t43Sc_nCxyTGv9wo0fUriqoA35l11KlokrX__XI-aNPv-tVBovcpGKwUB8ODLp6TTqqh2/s640/blogger-image-1621127323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrll_A4MFXUjZNYfzAjE0kHt5ch9pcYt0G8EgIiHFfeRQ_SNzuyNz80Hvvy-hVPdvk42i4R8t43Sc_nCxyTGv9wo0fUriqoA35l11KlokrX__XI-aNPv-tVBovcpGKwUB8ODLp6TTqqh2/s640/blogger-image-1621127323.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwnXWhMnsLO-bopgMU26jghncB5kVUCLKtUj4TT8KbWFVtri7Z68bhQ48iqTj0yBDpSb8-UrLUyJDQmKwB8Sx356T9UuT1hXcYvy1OL1ElLclZjptYl_ycBW_uO8eIagMe0XeFCxhV1wq/s640/blogger-image--1651626782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwnXWhMnsLO-bopgMU26jghncB5kVUCLKtUj4TT8KbWFVtri7Z68bhQ48iqTj0yBDpSb8-UrLUyJDQmKwB8Sx356T9UuT1hXcYvy1OL1ElLclZjptYl_ycBW_uO8eIagMe0XeFCxhV1wq/s640/blogger-image--1651626782.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div></div><div>I <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">see it in the way Rachel silently hurts. The way she runs away from memories and tries to convince herself that all is well that ends well. There is a brokenness deep inside Rachel's physically broken heart that is almost palpable if you choose to get close enough. We spent the first few years of Rachel's time in our family so focused on the physical healing of her heart that we completely missed the emotional void that was a gaping hole in her heart. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I saw it in the faces of the children there this week. The ones who are still waiting. The ones who wonder if their time will ever come. I can hardly breathe when I think about their futures without hope, without love and someone that cares if they live or die. I saw Rachel in their eyes and I understood her in a way I don't think I have before. I was there to find answers for Rachel about her past. Instead, the Lord reminded me the devastating effects of that past and the very present heart-breaking reality for so many others that still wait.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIoF5vJWbWvA58DgKnz3Qm5xohcpuUmwtqOWt4LFeiIrJwU3o-rzK01-l9hPCZOLc6tcxCR_fVUUjtZI584jjVu2rHusJcEshsXSWqLLELpz47_7idYBJZF83G0USNa-Ti54Dfmn0dVP8Z/s640/blogger-image--896350141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIoF5vJWbWvA58DgKnz3Qm5xohcpuUmwtqOWt4LFeiIrJwU3o-rzK01-l9hPCZOLc6tcxCR_fVUUjtZI584jjVu2rHusJcEshsXSWqLLELpz47_7idYBJZF83G0USNa-Ti54Dfmn0dVP8Z/s640/blogger-image--896350141.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPMh2HhvYpHlCjaNKQtnMbU4wwqCn2v2f7WiSB6PAmruVE3_MJRWTNpwSCBgcO-x3nnB65cOwlABsKXkfqFTeoBXVQF6QkHOPNyi7sm8AA9dMu2IAxX2tCQOKZCAWXJ4imYHU2keYdoqF/s640/blogger-image-620113169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPMh2HhvYpHlCjaNKQtnMbU4wwqCn2v2f7WiSB6PAmruVE3_MJRWTNpwSCBgcO-x3nnB65cOwlABsKXkfqFTeoBXVQF6QkHOPNyi7sm8AA9dMu2IAxX2tCQOKZCAWXJ4imYHU2keYdoqF/s640/blogger-image-620113169.jpg"></a>Q</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyLgcNvP7R-qlxg0b3xq6UjcNBEbSXwowELO9DlDEkn6C8YYLgS_2okq_DyKTJSsDpWqF3xdiwJPyUAWlbIiXJz4dfcAu6R17YxogF_PVu4jLxw1muJVUq9Uk6lcxC2ejTHOjnStgL3WP/s640/blogger-image--739825351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyLgcNvP7R-qlxg0b3xq6UjcNBEbSXwowELO9DlDEkn6C8YYLgS_2okq_DyKTJSsDpWqF3xdiwJPyUAWlbIiXJz4dfcAu6R17YxogF_PVu4jLxw1muJVUq9Uk6lcxC2ejTHOjnStgL3WP/s640/blogger-image--739825351.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jyRcMEjBw6wYgnglTuA8ragAsXjf67dKUJ-uqLZblV7RTOFc6KIPEqPewHWn1JZyyR3cBRomCEgqUzI0HFFsw1SNmTzCXFJTxwVygk4eOaVG67lM8U8xvv-wCS5gCDvsiIXY8zp_d8GX/s640/blogger-image-584075944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jyRcMEjBw6wYgnglTuA8ragAsXjf67dKUJ-uqLZblV7RTOFc6KIPEqPewHWn1JZyyR3cBRomCEgqUzI0HFFsw1SNmTzCXFJTxwVygk4eOaVG67lM8U8xvv-wCS5gCDvsiIXY8zp_d8GX/s640/blogger-image-584075944.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I stood and looked through nursery windows where the only thing between me and a newborn crying baby was a piece of glass. This infant had obviously just come into the orphanage because she did not yet know that crying would not help or bring the Mama's love she desperately needed. I cried with her. I was staring the sin of the world directly in the face and realizing the devastating effects that sin has on the weakest among us. I was reminded, as I counted the number of babies filling the cribs in this one nursery, why God's Word says that true religion (an expression of who He is) is seen best when we care about these broken souls and are willing to lay our lives aside to do something about it! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div></div></div></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUKmMnX-OCUjsDC74AJCxFsit4cq3nE5gshcbtvgTVuTnf-z1Zh2wgNc4O0rgritvE385RfcM8Uxja6o_mhOGVLXixr7qkXyLmg6fsT1qdrrugiawYg6mcxlSfDGvNrg3p9wikqUnsavX/s640/blogger-image--1751694964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUKmMnX-OCUjsDC74AJCxFsit4cq3nE5gshcbtvgTVuTnf-z1Zh2wgNc4O0rgritvE385RfcM8Uxja6o_mhOGVLXixr7qkXyLmg6fsT1qdrrugiawYg6mcxlSfDGvNrg3p9wikqUnsavX/s640/blogger-image--1751694964.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>We went from room to room snapping photos and videos, in hopes of finding someone- anyone- who might be moved to make a difference in their lives through the redemption of adoption... Then suddenly I saw through my camera lens a precious child with a sweatshirt on with words that took my breath away. Three little words.... </div><div><br></div><div>Live.</div><div>Your.</div><div>Life. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCxiptvw556StsxDGL7t-eBmruTYx5c15WBiZWcRB5pDcN3phukE4NEu98Jtjk30mWKA9iX0fkLMywHlWpp71KjGFPco24h5ljQccCnCv4LPBkXUxKFohxrgxwfFCr9gXXEY6b2sPg25S/s640/blogger-image-2006646764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCxiptvw556StsxDGL7t-eBmruTYx5c15WBiZWcRB5pDcN3phukE4NEu98Jtjk30mWKA9iX0fkLMywHlWpp71KjGFPco24h5ljQccCnCv4LPBkXUxKFohxrgxwfFCr9gXXEY6b2sPg25S/s640/blogger-image-2006646764.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">In that instant I knew why I was there- I have spent the majority of my life living it for myself. I suspect that's what the people that surround me every day are doing too! How else do I explain the 147 million children just like the one wearing this sweatshirt, that waste away without hope, while the world, and God's people, do nothing about it! That's it.... Just Live. Your. Life. - Make it as comfortable and profitable as possible and forget that the very least of these are wasting away behind the four walls of orphanages around the world. And all the while we are missing God and don't even know it! </span></div><div><br></div><div>I wanted one thing when I arrived. I wanted Rachel's birth mother to know that she is alive. I wanted her to know that she lives with an overwhelming joy and a hope in the promises of Jesus Christ that even a new heart can not give her. I wanted her to know that her attempts to save her daughter's life were successful. But I walked away from the orphanage on Thursday conflicted. I felt angry. I am struggling to embrace a woman who would walk away from her baby girl and allow her to experience the horrors and hopelessness behind the very walls that might extend her life. Rachel entered that orphanage bearing the scars from a lifesaving surgery and she left there, seven years later, with an unseen emotional scar- this one so much deeper than a physical one could ever leave.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9oTsZbY877ZuFHdCimSreINR_xgx2xt8VIt0c_NtNzfK1QPxx_TaD8I0Gvlhqe-eyVbKUIR1iinylHrLXum-kUF8FE8y04bgxx-6jaOF5P4R309qF5w9Dp7KReiMxWtAEB1nnb48nuCO/s640/blogger-image-242508270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9oTsZbY877ZuFHdCimSreINR_xgx2xt8VIt0c_NtNzfK1QPxx_TaD8I0Gvlhqe-eyVbKUIR1iinylHrLXum-kUF8FE8y04bgxx-6jaOF5P4R309qF5w9Dp7KReiMxWtAEB1nnb48nuCO/s640/blogger-image-242508270.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We taped posters to the bus station posts so that every bus rider could see the face of our little girl- both the day she was left there and now a glowing photo of her today! I do pray her Mama sees it and might know. I pray even more that her Mama might come to know Jesus and the relationship that was broken by her choices on March 19, 2005 might be fully restored and enjoyed for all eternity. But today, as I write from the train as we leave the Shanghai station bound for my newest daughter, I want desperately to NOT forget! </span></div><div><br></div><div>I refuse to leave Rachel's orphanage and the desperate lives behind those walls and move on as if I have not seen. I am haunted by the longing eyes I looked into and the hands I held for a few short moments. They are a picture of my own daughters and I want to remember them when I tuck mine into bed at night and hold them when they are sick or hurting. I refuse to just Live My Life as if I have not seen... As if I do not know. </div><div><br></div><div>CS Lewis said "God whispers to us in our pleasure, but He shouts to us in our pain."</div><div>If we have ears to hear, I believe that God often chooses to shout to us through the pain of others too. He is honored when we linger long enough to listen and hear His words echo through our selfish souls.</div><div><br></div><div>The sweatshirt got it partly right... "Live Your Life", it says.</div><div><br></div><div>And God's words shout louder... "Live Your Life... For ME!" I am moved to do more in His name!</div><div><br></div><div>Our train is pulling into the station. We are just outside the city of Jinan where my newest daughter is waiting. I am nervous and I can feel my flesh struggling to let the parts of my life that still cling to comfort and ease tell me that this is a crazy idea. Then I remember the lessons from just days ago, and I am grateful for another opportunity to Live For HIM even more! I am too experienced to think this journey will be easy, but experienced enough to know that it will ultimately lead to greater JOY. May He be glorified and honored as I step out for one more in His name. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTs8IQe4xAjlCg0jhG8JMBX4zxAokqauJ_MjmL_BXqDFh21i3zvA9YP7wAcmjguIt8jL5l-wwt-tiQU0i0sKMDdxx3eb1qJ7z7uT9xypsVZS-4rJTSJ3adGGgibS0I_mkqIel76Qn2pZkH/s640/blogger-image-364910391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTs8IQe4xAjlCg0jhG8JMBX4zxAokqauJ_MjmL_BXqDFh21i3zvA9YP7wAcmjguIt8jL5l-wwt-tiQU0i0sKMDdxx3eb1qJ7z7uT9xypsVZS-4rJTSJ3adGGgibS0I_mkqIel76Qn2pZkH/s640/blogger-image-364910391.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div>Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-52145500011910105312015-04-04T21:01:00.002-07:002015-04-05T04:26:33.176-07:00A Redeeming Substitute<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnT_h2y_jGDO0KN2Qbm2p8jgzzx3H_7zw5HLz0q8wHJSoKl_PTSJJFZkcuyUaYfQsJWXHWuDVy-mMcZF8nqLpsa3A6b218_HhKCMhw6gBzcYHsevEHGowjUiLuH8GWVhCSOYKIPaig9bi/s640/blogger-image--1779753808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnT_h2y_jGDO0KN2Qbm2p8jgzzx3H_7zw5HLz0q8wHJSoKl_PTSJJFZkcuyUaYfQsJWXHWuDVy-mMcZF8nqLpsa3A6b218_HhKCMhw6gBzcYHsevEHGowjUiLuH8GWVhCSOYKIPaig9bi/s640/blogger-image--1779753808.jpg"></a></div><br></div>The day I have longed for has finally arrived, along with the "yes" from God I thought would never come. It was as if He awakened me early... "Wake up, Lori! It's time to go!" I climbed out of bed with butterflies fluttering around in my stomach! As I gathered my things and zipped my last suitcase shut- the butterflies felt as if they might explode from my stomach and beat me to an airplane that would take me to my daughter. <br>
<br>
Am I really that nervous, I wondered? This makes our fifth daughter from China- so I figure I should be an old hat at this by now! Maybe I'm more excited than nervous... Life has seemed as if it were on hold for so long- I'm afraid that maybe I've forgotten how to jump out of the gate for the race. I remember the three times I gave birth and the emotions that surged through my body when I realized that the time had finally arrived... The moment I had dreamed about and planned for and had come to believe would never come, had actually come after all! I felt as if I were zipping my hospital bag shut and heading into labor and delivery! Actually- this "pregnancy" has lasted for over a year and I have been acutely aware of the typical trimesters that turned into "quad-mesters", (or whatever you would call a woman 4 months overdue for her baby)! <br>
<br>
I am reminded of the day, after a month of praying, when God finally revealed what His plans were for our family- and more specifically for a little girl on the other side of the world and our family! I had asked, (OK- I begged!) for the Lord to share His will with me. I was honestly frustrated that He seemed slow in doing so.... "Do you not trust me with Your answers, Lord?" I asked him plainly. Would I not accept a yes or a no with the same obedient heart? An answer would allow me to finally move one, either way. I cried and then sat silent and expectant before Him for what seemed a long time. Nothing. I finally picked up my Bible to get back to my reading. <br>
<br>
I will not claim to have heard an audible voice. In fact, I never have! But as I read His Word- what I can only describe as a "quiet moving" of His Spirit washed over me. "Yes...." <br>
<br>
What was that, Lord? <br>
<br>
Then again- "Yes..." I sensed there was a "but" attached to this stirring and I waited.<br>
"But not until..." But not until WHAT? My mind started to race through the months that were ahead for us as a family. I could re-use my dossier from Abby's adoption and fly through the process if I wanted to! But we were still waiting for a new heart for Rachel. Doug was set to go to India- once in the Spring, and then again in the Fall. Then came the special trip to the Holy Lands we had been planning for so many years.<br>
<br>
"Yes, but wait..."<br>
<br>
God had graciously answered. Everything in me wanted to hurl head long into the adoption process and get it done in mock speed, but in doing so, I would be in disobedience to my Lord only moments after His directions were revealed. <br><br>
Now- what to do about my husband? He is the leader of our family - I am not! He knew this little girl had been on my heart for weeks and he had even committed to praying, but he hadn't felt a clear sense of direction before now. What would I do now that I thought I had?<br>
<br>
I shut my Bible and made one final request of God. IF I had indeed heard from Him- then I would trust that He would tell Doug too! I asked God to do that and until He did so- I would not move!<br>
<br>
I went to Doug honestly. I told him that I had been praying for so long and had finally sensed God's answer regarding the 6 year old girl whose photo our whole family had become accustomed to, taped on our refrigerator- front and center. I had his attention! <br>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br>
"Well... what did He say???" he asked. He seemed almost afraid to hear my answer! <br>
<br>
"I won't tell you this time!" I smiled. "Instead, I have asked the Lord to tell you! Would you ask Him please to reveal His plan to you, if what I heard this morning was, indeed, that plan??? <br>
<br>
He agreed. This seemed safe, since he thought he already knew the answer...<br>
<br>
Doug boarded a plane that afternoon to speak at a men's conference in Colorado. He promised when he kissed me goodbye that he would not forget... He called as soon as he landed. <br>
<br>
"OK!" he said through the phone... "What exactly did God say to you? He has spoken to me today and I need to know if we are both hearing the same thing. You go first!" <br>
<br>
He sat quietly on the other end of the line while I explained what I believed to be a "Yes... but wait!" answer from God during my time alone. <br>
<br>
You obviously know by now what he'd heard that day, since I'm writing from 38,000 feet in the sky somewhere between the United States and China, bound for my waiting daughter! What I didn't know then, and have just discovered in these past few weeks and months was that God's "Yes... but wait" meant much more waiting than I had anticipated and really hoped to avoid! That time with the Lord seems like a lifetime ago, and I've come to wonder if maybe this is precisely why He was delaying in response to my constant questioning. I thought I had this waiting thing down pat... maybe not! <br>
<br>
I like to rush ahead of God. But God continually calls me back to His side. And while I don't understand what good there could possibly be found in Rebekah's extended time as an orphan and my unmet desire to have her in my arms long before now, I know that God has promised that He will never withhold any good thing from His children. I believe as I type today, that His goodness was somehow expressed in the waiting, and I can start this journey knowing that, while it was more than three months after I had hoped to be on my way, it is in His perfect timing and providence that Rebekah finally comes home. <br>
<br>
Still- I am nervous. Sometimes God's plans include "hard". Adoption is not exempt from hard. I have learned this lesson well! In fact, I'm convinced that adoption almost always has a guarantee of "hard" attached! Redeeming a child from abandonment and hopelessness and stepping into their indescribable losses is not the romantic picture some might like to paint it to be. <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVyZdQtNYO12haVzrInsr1UxLVkETcoCqwbhUeEpIy67720lFfOy-IPAltw1pRgAAGkW3cKj_6eu_6b-8k76fuUXf9UNd1sR22NkYmQQxKWcw35lgw9z7R7whrgnNStFjuhI1O9r76kPZr/s640/blogger-image--627172898.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVyZdQtNYO12haVzrInsr1UxLVkETcoCqwbhUeEpIy67720lFfOy-IPAltw1pRgAAGkW3cKj_6eu_6b-8k76fuUXf9UNd1sR22NkYmQQxKWcw35lgw9z7R7whrgnNStFjuhI1O9r76kPZr/s640/blogger-image--627172898.jpg"></a></div>
<br>
Our flight is filled with beautiful Chinese travelers and a little girl (about Rebekah's age and size) is with her Mama just seats away. Ellie commented that it appeared we were the only "American's" on the plane. It struck me that she has forgotten that she is more like them than she is like me, but being surrounded by people much like herself still feels foreign to her. This reminds me of the loss adoption brings to our children. As I listen to a Mama and daughter speak to one another in Chinese and relate in such a culturally different way than my own, I remember that this should be "normal" for MY girls, but it could not be. Sin and brokenness means that sometimes little girls lose their Mama's and a redeeming substitution is the only solution this side of heaven. In the case of my five girls, that substitution is me... a mommy that looks different, smells different, talks different, and IS different than the one they were born to! <br>
<br>
But I can love through Christ where there is none. And I can be a part of a hope and a future that would not exist without the beautiful gift of adoption. I need to look no further than God's Word to discover that this has been His plan for redeeming sin and brokenness since the beginning of time. <br>
<br>
A redeeming substitute. That's what Jesus was for me.... and for you! Born into a sinful world with sin attached to our flesh, we needed someone to love us- to choose us- to lay aside self for our good- to be a perfect substitute so that we could be adopted as God's children. Jesus shows us the way! <br>
<br>
In a perfect world we wouldn't need strange Mama's to fly across the world to take us home. We wouldn't need Jesus either. But the world isn't perfect, and neither am I! Today, as I find myself participating in this life-changing process once again, I am overwhelmed by the privilege that is mine. The very thought that God could use the likes of me to be a part of His redemption plan seems inconceivable. <br>
<br>
So in the coming days as I meet a stranger, now chosen to be my daughter, and the way seems hard... I will remind myself of this truth, and thank the Lord for the unfolding plan that He will use to not only change the life of a little girl, but to make some needed changes in mine too! <br>
<br>
Redemption is hard. No one knows better than Christ Himself. But it holds beauties we would never know otherwise, and for this I will give thanks! May He be glorified as I seek to become more like Him in the redemption process and may the little girl that is about to become my own, grow to understand that her adoption by this very flawed family only seeks to point her to a heavenly Father who would go to even greater lengths to make her His own! <br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDQB-XNDZPOTcCfmS54TbU49SHkuq0T3E9MCmF5a9_-BwvjK97NisrNAPhmuSdGr9ukF4KpYn_VAfjdoNCV37xpnC2bGvqz1aLqBYbH6XHcc_ETdL0ikviaLFlMgLY6sRL0y-GnzP3FWu9/s640/blogger-image-1533813347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDQB-XNDZPOTcCfmS54TbU49SHkuq0T3E9MCmF5a9_-BwvjK97NisrNAPhmuSdGr9ukF4KpYn_VAfjdoNCV37xpnC2bGvqz1aLqBYbH6XHcc_ETdL0ikviaLFlMgLY6sRL0y-GnzP3FWu9/s640/blogger-image-1533813347.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br></div>Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-22323349680738673932015-02-27T18:30:00.002-08:002015-02-28T19:20:39.245-08:00I LOVE HER... I LOVE HER NOT<style>
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--></style><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>...I LOVE HER!</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjP-THsf3YH11zHmbjZW283qswrmHUdKTr00MFh8_NE4C3G0hq_R27Uf6ENJuZTkY6okuecMhzYZwzeEHkDql4oiVPEghsV_JFwNqIJ9L_8KlfBgccCA8XkmJvNHwuMNGxpvICeFPBVpp/s1600/Picture_059(rev%2B0).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjP-THsf3YH11zHmbjZW283qswrmHUdKTr00MFh8_NE4C3G0hq_R27Uf6ENJuZTkY6okuecMhzYZwzeEHkDql4oiVPEghsV_JFwNqIJ9L_8KlfBgccCA8XkmJvNHwuMNGxpvICeFPBVpp/s1600/Picture_059(rev%2B0).jpg" height="640" width="512" /></a></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Our first adoption was dreamy… literally! It was a dream come true for me that had been
tucked deep in my heart for more years than I could remember! She was just an adorable baby and she wanted
one thing…. LOVE. I was happy to
oblige. It was easy! She smiled and cooed and slept through the
night from our first night together. We
didn’t even hear the sound of her crying until we had been together over 48
hours. I was just convinced that she
was perfect, since she exceeded every hope and expectation I had
from my adoption dreams. My emotions exploded with all the affections I thought only birth mommy's knew!!! I simply couldn’t understand any adoptive
mother who said they struggled to actually “love” their new child… Not me! </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>A year and a half later we returned for #2. Why wouldn’t we? I had this adoptive “love” thing down pat! As soon as they handed over my 22 month old
daughter, the bubble I had been living in burst- splashing through my
emotions like a tidal wave. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-IbCCBagnQbCwVkCz_ChD9_5-yhX29leo3P-kJ2W0WxNQfSNxtERgVgz_ykWOSkBzuObql_l3N9Lx8F3xFSmDGPctmU25ZSMOz7sKU5lI2Jo39B6Doj0GJYs7wZB7P7naTu2v8QwRUK7/s1600/IMG_4078(rev%2B0).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-IbCCBagnQbCwVkCz_ChD9_5-yhX29leo3P-kJ2W0WxNQfSNxtERgVgz_ykWOSkBzuObql_l3N9Lx8F3xFSmDGPctmU25ZSMOz7sKU5lI2Jo39B6Doj0GJYs7wZB7P7naTu2v8QwRUK7/s1600/IMG_4078(rev%2B0).jpg" height="640" width="442" /></a></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>She didn’t
like me. She actually couldn’t stand my
presence. When I entered the room, she
cried. If Daddy left the room, she
cried. She cried, then she cried, then
she cried some more. By the end of one
day together I felt physically ill. I
wanted more than anything to go into the hotel bathroom and barf my brains
out…. Where was that instant “love”
button, and who forgot to turn it on? </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBN_LOthGTU29WQ9CA3SPMgej8up4evBDaW_XxOJ1nW45-OUJZd2vJ8klPbs1H8-xI7BdNuBdij0GxbhcpuaI1icql4a9g-IqnuBJdpqrSKXM3Mo5cgIxVRH5Nb98lOWyzOE2idTsaWtU/s1600/IMG_4505_110_110(rev%2B0).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBN_LOthGTU29WQ9CA3SPMgej8up4evBDaW_XxOJ1nW45-OUJZd2vJ8klPbs1H8-xI7BdNuBdij0GxbhcpuaI1icql4a9g-IqnuBJdpqrSKXM3Mo5cgIxVRH5Nb98lOWyzOE2idTsaWtU/s1600/IMG_4505_110_110(rev%2B0).jpg" height="620" width="640" /></a></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>The first day multiplied by 7 and each and every single night I went
into the bathroom, grabbed the thickest towel or bathmat I could find and I
sobbed into it! This wasn’t a continuation of the
dream I had hoped it would be! What if she never loved me as her Mommy? What if my emotions wouldn't cooperate either? This felt more like a nightmare than a dream! I wondered, as I buried my head into that bathmat for the 7th night in a row, if these very emotions were what drove adoptive parents to walk away…
I finally understood, or at least I thought I did. Instead of extending compassion for the trauma she was experiencing, I was
repelled by her misery, and completely entangled in my own selfish desires for
that “loving” feeling. </i></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMWxNb62HIx97gpEnONLXyqhYpKQnqZifBQ6PSwF0UXyv5Q4hEi9kZNu-THhJAQshHRotAQS6Ij1Xv3O0luhcUlkzSBa9x1sfkvkgSSOIXcfvYZrA93oADaHjVFQsWs_TDgqX0ItZmd7lb/s1600/060606-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMWxNb62HIx97gpEnONLXyqhYpKQnqZifBQ6PSwF0UXyv5Q4hEi9kZNu-THhJAQshHRotAQS6Ij1Xv3O0luhcUlkzSBa9x1sfkvkgSSOIXcfvYZrA93oADaHjVFQsWs_TDgqX0ItZmd7lb/s1600/060606-04.jpg" height="640" width="424" /></a></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Then it happened! It
was Day 8…. She smiled at me… then reached for me from Daddy’s arms… then
allowed me to rock her to sleep.
Ahhhhhh…. That was more like it!
Maybe affection could grow here after all, and it did! No, attachment with #2 wasn’t instant- but it came with time and before long
my emotional affections grew to what I could safely call “love”. The overwhelming guilt for the lack of
emotions I earnestly desired slowly subsided, but I will not soon forget the way that guilt paralyzed me for so long...</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYU-HOeNAXF7l3PgVsw4ZeSzhLwxPA_bQ1UXlAlbXNtBnBtvfzKF36P2NEeH9xCryyRGKm9PsFuav83J2Fhesx5CFSVXuRZ6waXR75Iyp1cdGkEU0tH2QyMdgdMgxvj19x6rEKYOz5qpkh/s1600/IMG_7114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYU-HOeNAXF7l3PgVsw4ZeSzhLwxPA_bQ1UXlAlbXNtBnBtvfzKF36P2NEeH9xCryyRGKm9PsFuav83J2Fhesx5CFSVXuRZ6waXR75Iyp1cdGkEU0tH2QyMdgdMgxvj19x6rEKYOz5qpkh/s1600/IMG_7114.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>That was 9 years ago.
If you had told me shortly after that difficult adoption journey and the days that followed, that I
would return not only one, or two, but three more times for another child to love, I wouldn’t have believed you! I
had been awakened to my brokenness just enough to know that the fairy tale version
of adoption is a rare gift and probably not God’s idea, which is actually intended to
break me of my selfish notions and motives.
He had much to teach me about love, and it appears He is not yet done
with this life-changing lesson.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>So far, I’ve learned a few things that I think might help my
fellow adopting Mama’s. I’m writing to
share those with you. I’m certain there
is plenty more for me to learn and I leave in a few short weeks for #5 and another
time of intensive training in China. I
imagine I might have a new list of tips to add to this one in the coming
months, but for now I think I have plenty to write for a single post!</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>#1 is most important and until I figured this one out- I was
bailing water from a sinking ship. Here
it is! Write it down. Repeat it over and over. Then repeat it again… </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>LOVE IS NOT AN EMOTION!</b>
</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>I know that goes against everything you’ve ever thought or
allowed yourself to believe. But what you’ve
bought into is the English version of “love” and it has led us all down a trail
of emotional destruction. You don’t
have to look far to know it’s true.
Start counting the failing marriages around you and you’ll see the
effects of our version of “love”. You won’t
be hard pressed to find those walking out of divorce court saying things like
“We just don’t love each other anymore!"... What had happened since they professed their undying love to one another? </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>But the destruction doesn’t end there!
When applied to an adoptive Mama’s heart- it literally has the power to
destroy us. Even biological mothers
fight this battle- but you will rarely hear them admit it, because… well… her
children are her flesh and blood and she’s supposed to love them, right? </i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>I just wish we could start over with a clean slate and call
it what it is! The thing we are longing
to feel as spouses, and as mothers (whether biological or adoptive) is
AFFECTION. We want to feel a deep
affection FOR our children and FROM them!
Developing a mutual affection with your newborn baby isn’t too
difficult. You smile- they smile back-
you tickle them- they giggle. It is not
until they fail to meet your expectations that your affections are
challenged. If you don’t know what I’m
talking about- go find the mom of a child ravaging their way through the
terrible twos and they will tell you that their affections are challenged on a
daily basis. And how many mother’s of
teenagers wouldn’t admit that there are plenty of days that they “love” their
child, but they certainly don’t “like” them.
</i></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>But affectionate feelings surrounding the adoption of a
child you do not know and who does not know you can be a difficult process at
best! Adopting an older child who
already has attitudes and habits very much unlike your own can start your
journey on an emotional tank below empty that can take months or even years to
fill! The sooner we decide that this is
OK (and even to be expected), the better!</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rdXEqozI1dLcUvIzIC6s2Fm54h3gp5MIqP0EOHFunTclinHdH812szp9Ys4yAGE9IFRr_yeeuDIdoeh1BJxjPKfh8-IQfBzXH38I0AhqX3mogQh_q1yM6gYZ1bAGcPpegM_eBamgDdCr/s1600/IMG_0020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rdXEqozI1dLcUvIzIC6s2Fm54h3gp5MIqP0EOHFunTclinHdH812szp9Ys4yAGE9IFRr_yeeuDIdoeh1BJxjPKfh8-IQfBzXH38I0AhqX3mogQh_q1yM6gYZ1bAGcPpegM_eBamgDdCr/s1600/IMG_0020.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Instant affection is more appropriately known as infatuation
and is only a product of adoption when your new child is able to push all of
your feel good, expectation buttons!
True affection with a photo or an idea is impossible. It is, instead, something that grows with
time as each individual involved gives and takes and their emotions bounce off
of one another. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>The truth is that the emotion we call “love” ebbs and flows
in each and every relationship. My
marriage and friendships saw difficult days before I finally figured this
out! Now I run the other way when I see
the ever popular sign that instructs me to “Follow my heart”! If I did so- I’d be in trouble more times
than I am not! </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>This talk of our emotions leads directly to everything I
have to say on Tip #2 and this one is almost as revolutionary as #1- at least
it was for me! Here it is!... Drum roll, please!... Nowhere in Scripture will you find the
command to control your emotions! Did
you hear that???</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>GOD DOES NOT TELL US TO CONTROL OUR EMOTIONS!</b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>That means that all of the guilt we adoptive moms wrap
around ourselves and tie in knots because of our negative emotions or lack of
positive ones (like “love”) is of our own making…. Certainly not God’s! In days past I accused myself of being a terrible
person and one that The Lord could never accept because I lacked the emotion of
love I was certain He demanded of me!
What I couldn’t wrap my heart around (and I guess no one ever told me!) is
that His demands to love in Scripture have absolutely nothing to do with my
emotions!!!!!!</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>God’s Word, instead, calls us to <b>CONTROL OUR THOUGHTS!</b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><span class="text"><b>Take every thought captive to the
obedience of Christ</b></span><span class="text">.
(2 Cor 10:5)</span></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><span class="verse-8"><b>Finally, brothers, 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.</b></span><span class="verse-8"> (Philippians 4:8)</span></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Why is God so interested in the controlling of our thoughts? Because no matter how you slice it or dice
it- our emotions will always follow our thoughts! Tell me what you’re thinking and I can tell
you how you “feel” instantly! Emotions
are like the caboose on the back of a train.
The engine of your thoughts will direct them down whichever track you
choose and they have absolutely no choice but to follow! Apply this wherever you like and see if it is
not true!</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>If you rehearse in your mind for the rest of today all of
the things you do not like about your husband, and the ways he has disappointed
you in the past, I promise that your affectionate emotions for him will be
pretty low when he walks through the door tonight. Conversely, you can remind yourself exactly
what made you want to marry him and the parts of him that you are crazy about throughout
your day and you’d better find a babysitter to watch the kids when he gets
home…. (I think you get the idea!)</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>This exact principle applies to our children, but I’ve
decided this might be the hardest place to apply it! We have been dealing with many orphan issues
lately and deep pain disguised in irritating behaviors with one of our
girls. My affection meter has been
falling as a result. If I’m not careful,
these irritating behaviors can take over my thoughts throughout the day and my
emotions toward that particular child
are in the tank. My emotions have a way
of leaking out in my actions, spilling negativity over the very child that
needs my affection the most! Cap it off
with overwhelming guilt and I’m sunk! </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>When I find myself in that all too familiar pit, it’s time
to return to God’s Word where His words give me clear instruction in how to
climb out! “Take every thought captive
for the obedience of Christ.” Take your
thoughts captive- stop them at the front door- and confront them with the
Truth! When I do this, I find that my
emotions of affection for even my most difficult child CAN grow! Compassionate thoughts in remembering their
trauma can change the way I see their behavior and possibly even change
mine! Sweet thoughts of their strengths
(because we all have at least some of those!) enable me to greet them with a
smile and encouragement, instead of rejection.
The best thing I can do with those positive thoughts are to actually say
them out loud to my child and watch them transform not only my emotions but
theirs too!!!! </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>The Bible says that self control is a virtue and a fruit of God’s
Spirit in us. In light of my daily
struggles in this area, I have come to believe that our greatest need for
self-control begins in our THOUGHTS! I
am convinced that if we fill our thoughts with what the Bible says is true and
apply these truth-filled thoughts to the people we have been called to “love”,
everything about our emotions can change!
My bet is that God is highly interested in helping us do this, and will
if we allow Him to!</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Because I am a lover of Jesus and look to the Bible as my
ultimate source of truth, my opinion is meaningless if it does not agree with
His Word! So recently, when I was to
speak to a group of women on the subject of love, I did in depth research on
the matter. Thankfully, I walked away
with the absolute confidence that my recent, rather new understanding on the
subject of love is spot-on when lined up with God’s Word. </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>In Greek, the English word “LOVE” is expressed in three
different ways to include a love between friends, between lovers, and between
God and man. But in Hebrew the word
“LOVE” is actually CHARITY. This
discovery changed everything for me! I
can remember reading the King James Version of the Bible growing up and finding
confusion when the word CHARITY was used in place of LOVE in 1 Corinthians
13~ “Charity is patient, Charity is kind. It is not proud. It is not rude. It
is not self seeking… Now these three
remain- Faith, Hope and Charity and the greatest of these is Charity." What in the world did that mean? I wish that I had taken the time to find
out. I could have saved myself a lot of
self condemnation and overwhelming guilt if I had!</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Let your mind come up with every definition it can find for
the word charity and you will likely not find anything that resembles the
emotional affection we call “love”!
Why? Because charity is about
helping the helpless. It is about
sacrificially giving yourself away for the good of others. It is about meeting
needs and about acting in kindness. And
if you haven’t noticed by now- none of those words are nouns! Each and every one- giving/meeting needs/acting
– are verbs! Charity is an ACTION. <b>Love
is an action or it is nothing at all!</b>
To profess an emotion of love devoid of action is meaningless! Feel love all you want, but unless it
overflows into an action, it profits no one.
Which leads to my final thought on the matter:</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>LOVE IS AN ACTION!</b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>If this is true- and I think we can all probably agree that
it is- then it’s time for us to stop beating ourselves up and making ourselves
miserable with defeat for any lack of “love” we have for our children that we
accuse ourselves of! Let’s face the
facts and throw the weight off our backs!
Affectionate feelings are easier with some than others. Most of those feelings of affection have more
to do with our own needs and expectations being met than the good of
another. If our affection is met with
their affection than it is the warm, mushy feeling we call “love”. Enjoy that feeling! Mutual affection is a sweet gift that is to
be enjoyed! But stop expecting that you
must be in gross sin if that affectionate feeling does not flow as freely with some
of your more difficult children than with others. We would probably all do ourselves a favor to
lower our expectations a little bit (OK…. A LOT!) and create moments where
affection can be fostered and grow. But
it’s time to stop filling our thoughts and mouths with the words… “I don’t love
her/him!” Excuse me…. I would beg to
differ with you! Did you not sacrifice
much to make that child your own?
(Charity) Did you push selfish
ambition aside in countless ways so that child could know a mother’s love? (Charity) Do you feed them, bathe them,
clothe them, and tuck them into a warm bed at night? (Charity)
Do you seek therapy and counsel to help them navigate through their
trauma and stay up late into the night while they rage from the pain inflicted
upon them by someone else?
(Charity) </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>I am not afraid to go so far as to say that when you love
(charity) a child devoid of the affectionate feelings you wish you had, God is even
more pleased with your offering, then when you do it out of a response to your
“loving” feelings! It is easy to pour
ourselves out when positive emotions flow.
But to do so in spite of the lack of them is a greater act of LOVE no matter how you
look at it! Does God want you to have a sweet
affection for the child who now shares your name? Of course He does! And our prayers should be filled with
petitions that He would mold our affections to be more like His. But if you have loved your child with biblical
love today (charity), then you can lay your head on your pillow tonight and
sleep, guilt free, under His care regardless of what your fickle emotions tell
you about yourself! His mercies will be
new when you wake up tomorrow and you can begin again to offer yourself in love
(charity) to your child. </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>I have been in the adoption community long enough to know that adoptions
can fail and will. Sometimes disruption
is the best option for everyone involved.
But if you are among the many mom’s I know that feel that your adoption
is a failure based solely upon your lack of warm affection for your child, it’s
time to do what Elsa suggests and “Let it go!”
Your adoption might not look like you had hoped and many days of
difficult emotions might still lie ahead. But resist the urge to measure your success as
a mom with an emotional barometer that simply can’t be trusted! Forgive
yourself for the emotional feelings that come and go with the circumstances of
life and decide, instead, to respond to God’s call to take your negative
thoughts captive- replace them with His truth- and then let them overflow in
your ACTIONS of LOVE!</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>I love her… I love her
not… <b>I LOVE HER!</b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">PS~ While precious adoptive daughter #2 agreed to all the sad pictures we selected for this particular post, she wanted everyone to know that she now, in fact, "loves" us as much as we LOVE her! Here's the perfect photos she picked to prove it! Affection overflows!</span></i> <br />
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Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591858146341069325.post-3810563612943101662015-01-27T22:47:00.000-08:002015-01-28T10:16:56.517-08:00The Gift of Waiting...<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh14NoD_ZA8gnk4m0K8den8fiwuRxihuRlkRCZmaVoCn6eAmklfeirCWWVL607CuiR87GlHr6xr1BvU7B83nZcSKB7FtaEAgwG_AGYbKaztMfFmi1q_qVWR8n0qtuQPGSIk2qCnF47JwKN/s1600/IMG_3834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh14NoD_ZA8gnk4m0K8den8fiwuRxihuRlkRCZmaVoCn6eAmklfeirCWWVL607CuiR87GlHr6xr1BvU7B83nZcSKB7FtaEAgwG_AGYbKaztMfFmi1q_qVWR8n0qtuQPGSIk2qCnF47JwKN/s1600/IMG_3834.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She may be waiting- but she's not waiting to live!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I haven't written here in many months. I've often wondered if I'd ever think of anything else to say, because life seems so "regular" I'm not sure anyone would want to read about it! It would be fair to say that I have been too busy to write. I have been! But the truth is that I have been at a loss to find anything valuable to say about waiting and that is exactly where I have been.... <b>WAITING!</b></div>
<div>
<br />
Today, as I brought my <b>waiting</b> to God, I had a brief moment of absolute clarity. It was as if I could practically hear him whisper to my weary, <b>waiting</b> soul... <b><i>"Waiting is a gift, Lori!"</i></b> Call me slow, but in the midst of the three longest years I have ever spent waiting, this thought has never occurred to me! I like it when God answers with a "Yes". And while I admit that I don't like to hear a "No" from Him, at least I can shut the door on my denied requests and move on. But it seems these days that God's answers are stuck on repeat... <b>"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!"</b> and to be quite honest- that waiting feels far from any gift I've ever desired before! But if I heard correctly today and waiting is indeed a gift, then my proverbial Christmas tree is stacked high with gifts all chosen specifically for me! </div>
<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-l_mihEBVZGbIoS7ruqs27FZWWBGY6t0v8f-xT2zhDcS3OlpAuRi2h7FuglnPvLwK5l07LLSfCjSqwHVcpfWwwKVWEm5UA1YYpbG9VR3-dYZRu7fYbr-mK0WelI-sbwHOV_b4OkqvfvCf/s1600/IMG_4799.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-l_mihEBVZGbIoS7ruqs27FZWWBGY6t0v8f-xT2zhDcS3OlpAuRi2h7FuglnPvLwK5l07LLSfCjSqwHVcpfWwwKVWEm5UA1YYpbG9VR3-dYZRu7fYbr-mK0WelI-sbwHOV_b4OkqvfvCf/s1600/IMG_4799.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turning 50 years old! 31 spent with the love of my life!</td></tr>
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This year was the year we had <b>waited</b> for as a married couple. Doug and I would finally celebrate 30 years of marital bliss (or something like it! ;-) with a trip to Israel. We've been dreaming about it since before our 20th, but for one reason or another, we were forced to wait. This time our tickets had been purchased well in advance and the tour booked for the two of us. Surely our lives would calm down enough by November to allow us to go. We planned the timing of Rebekah's adoption around the trip perfectly, and were certain Rachel's new heart would come long before and her recovery would be well behind us before it was time to go. But as the dates for our trip drew nearer and nearer, the wait for Rachel's heart grew longer and longer. There was simply no way I could leave the country for a long awaited get away with hubby and risk something... anything... happening while I was away! Because Doug will actually be leading next year's trip to Israel, I felt it was important that he go, even if it meant he would go without me. He did. To say that I cried buckets of tears the day he left for <i>"our"</i> anniversary trip without <i>me</i> would be the understatement of the century! But even amidst my deep disappointment I could hear God's voice whispering the word I had become very acquainted with in recent years... <b>"WAIT!"</b> Would I trust that His deep love determined something better for me than a trip to Israel?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNWcSl6as_XlJqbzd6mQRSZjWtfxEZ_PWwhfz83N-FVAUbJEam-3frYiMxG4hNqkr2fAPCewmV2cWYprF4SxVYdOCbJbPllCsnIeFQQNq0sDLx1EhYEuZ-Ki4W5WmzBJNnAu0Stn4AKRe/s1600/IMG_4889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNWcSl6as_XlJqbzd6mQRSZjWtfxEZ_PWwhfz83N-FVAUbJEam-3frYiMxG4hNqkr2fAPCewmV2cWYprF4SxVYdOCbJbPllCsnIeFQQNq0sDLx1EhYEuZ-Ki4W5WmzBJNnAu0Stn4AKRe/s1600/IMG_4889.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a>On March 8th, Rachel's <b>wait</b> for a new heart will reach 3 very long years! The days have turned into months, and now those months into years. I honestly can't believe that we are still right where we began. People constantly ask how she is, and I've run out of ways to tell them that she is as OK as a little girl can be while still tottering between life and death with heart failure. She is "living"- because she refuses to do anything <b>but</b> live! But the truth is that she is dying too. She desperately needs a new heart, and everyday without one is another miracle. Last spring she was upgraded on the transplant list to a 1A- a spot reserved for the kids most desperate for a transplant. She had been waiting for so long that a 1A status put her at the very top of the list in our area and in many parts of the country. Still- nothing. Hearts were offered, but didn't "work" for Rachel and were passed on to children far below her on the waiting list. Only my deep trust in the sovereignty of God quieted my anxious heart. His perfect will called me to more <b>waiting</b>... She was downgraded on the list in October and our faith was tested again. Is God able despite Rachel's status? Now she has been upgraded again and hopes that our wait will finally come to an end are high! I'm ready to tear into this so called "gift of waiting" and find the prize inside, because if there is a gift beneath all this packaging... it must be a pretty special one! Can I trust that if that gift does not come in the form I hope it does- He is still good?</div>
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</div>
<div>
I found that Rebekah's adoption served as a sweet distraction from all the waiting... and I was most happy about that! Happy, that is, until the <b>wait</b> for our approval from China passed it's expected due date in late October or early November! In a few days February will arrive and STILL the approval we have been <b>waiting</b> for has NOT! This same approval came on day 28 for Abby's adoption. As I write, we have been waiting for 170 days and the approval is nowhere in sight with no earthly explanation beyond an "uploading error"; a "misspelled name"; or a "maybe you should just concentrate on the children you have.." from the people in charge of getting it done on the other side of the world! On a spiritual level, this wait seems harder to explain than all the others... I am struggling to understand what could possibly be "good" about a little girl turning six years old, waiting in an orphanage on the other side of the world for her family to come. I am forced to cling to God's promises when I don't understand. Today He tenderly reminded me as my daily Bible reading led me to Psalm 84- <b><i>"No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Oh Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!" </i></b> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rebekah turned SIX on January 24!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This angel was definately worth the wait!</td></tr>
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I don't have to dig too deep in God's Word to find what He has to say to me about "waiting". There I find that waiting is <b>always</b> intended as a time to grow! And as with everything, the seeds of life are planted... and then we must wait for them to grow. Harvest time will come, but the waiting forces us to trust God for the fruit. In a culture over-saturated with instant gratification, this is hard! But the saying that "the best things in life are worth waiting for" was certainly penned by a seasoned "waiter" who discovered some precious gifts disguised in patience. <br />
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I have found, too, that often waiting can be a time for healing. Life is put on "hold" in many ways and I must push aside things that once seemed important to make room for God's perfect timing. I'm not used to thinking this way at all and I honestly don't like it! The lessons of waiting have been forced upon me or I might not have ever chosen them at all. Plans? Who has plans? You can't make plans when you're waiting! I might be in China... or in Gainesville for Rachel's new heart... or at home while she recovers... or maybe recovering myself from inconceivable loss. I have no plans, because everything depends on the outcome of my <b>waiting</b>! I am forced to forego many things in order to be ready when God moves. This time gives me an opportunity to grow deeper and stronger for what lies ahead. I would rarely do so if not forced upon me! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saying "Goodnight" and "Goodbye" as only Abby can!</td></tr>
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Most difficult for me is that God doesn't often give any explanation for our <b>waiting</b>. My Daddy died on January 4th- right when I expected to be in China adopting Rebekah. I was glad that my unexpected waiting allowed me to be here to say goodbye and to celebrate his life when my entire family gathered. The wait suddenly had purpose and I liked that. But I am discovering that unexplained waiting is the soil in which trust grows... <br />
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<b>To the degree that waiting causes me to turn to the Lord and deepens my dependance on Him- that wait becomes a beautiful gift!</b><br />
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In the past I believed that waiting equalled inactivity. <i>"Wait upon the Lord"</i> meant to stay in one place until He said otherwise. Certainly it didn't call me to "do" anything! But God's purposes for my waiting are far greater! There is actually <u>much</u> to do in my waiting! I've decided that the greatest tragedy of all would be to waste this opportunity and then never find delight in the long awaited gifts He has prepared for me when this season is finally through! <br />
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Still, there are days when I think I just can't do this waiting thing anymore. I want to cry and often do! I want the ability to control my world somehow. I want to pick waiting up by the shoulders and shake it! Enough already!!!! My tendency is to rush in and seize the prize... "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"... Push my way to the front of the line! But when I do that, I stunt the growth that can happen in the <b>waiting</b> that will likely not happen anywhere else! If I take matters into my own hands and force God to move in my time, I will miss it!!!!<br />
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<b>Instead, God invites me to come away; to spend my time with Him; to discover His heart and the treasure of knowing Him above everything else! When I do- I DISCOVER THAT THE GIFT IS IN THE WAITING~ NOT IN WHAT I AM WAITING FOR!!!!! </b> <b> </b><br />
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(Now that we have that settled... excuse me while I go have myself a really good cry! I don't think I can <b>wait</b> another second to get this precious baby in my arms!)</div>
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Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775784556793585928noreply@blogger.com1