12/14/2012 - My Devotional from that Awful Day

I can't even begin to make sense or have the right wisdom to share regarding Friday's terrible tragedy. But, I wanted to just pass along what my daily devotional brought to my heart that morning. How could I know what God was preparing my heart to be exposed to that day?

Search My Heart, O God

by Kay Arthur

December 14

"Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?"

Beloved, those words are from Jeremiah 8:22. Gilead was a city in Israel known for its healing ointment. They soothing salve of Gilead brought both healing and beauty. But Jeremiah knew his nation needed more than a topical salve, more than a bandage. Judah's wounds went all the way to the soul. 

There was only One who could heal, only One who could restore health and beauty to a sin-sick nation. God's people learned there is a Physician, One who could bring refreshement, One who could take the bitterness of life and make it sweet. 

Do you know Him today, dear friend, as Jehovah-rapha--the Lord Who Heals?

Your Word says that You heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds. You support the afflicted. Thank You for being my Physician today, dear God. I need Your tender mercies and healing touch. Restore my soul to health and bring refreshment to my spirit. 

I love this devotional. My mom put it in my stocking last year. What a treasure it has been!

So, how about a give away?

Leave a comment by December 23rd and I will choose two people at random to receive a copy of Kay Arthur's Search My Heart, O God: 365 Appointments with God.

Don't forget to comment with your name so that I can contact you for shipping information!

I will announce the winners on Christmas Eve!

***Lindsey and Brettney win!!!***

Brettney wins for retweeting the link to the blog!
Lindsey wins for being the ONLY comment!!!
Give away...Fail!

Oh, well. I'll just say that it's because my tens of readers were all so busy being super moms for the week of Christmas! Yeah, that's what I'll say!

While I'm Waiting (Part 1) - Matt 6:25-34

It’s funny how a song takes on new meaning in different seasons of my life. 

Scripture doesn’t really do that…take on new meaning. It seems to mean the same thing but pokes me in a different spot. Scripture stays the same but attacks a different infection in my life, binds up a different wound.

In the last several weeks, I have heard the song While I’m Waiting by John Waller a bazillion times. Not really, of course. But, it’s been often enough to force me to ponder the fact that I am waiting.

Right now, I am waiting for our family to receive a referral from America World AdoptionAssociates. By a referral, I mean the phone call from our Family Coordinator telling us that we have the option to adopt a specific child. At that time, we will be able to view a picture of the child, medical evaluations, any known background information and social assessments that have been made or gathered by the staff.

So, we wait. We are waiting for a referral for a boy, from Ethiopia, between the ages of 2 and 6. If you would like to know why this is the child we are requesting, just ask us. It’s a long discussion, best suited to relaxed conversation over a steaming cup of tea.

We have only been waiting a short while. December 7^th, a date which will live in infamy, marked our 3^rd month of being DTE. DTE stands for Dossier To Ethiopia. This hurdle means that all of our paperwork is done and we are officially on the list to adopt a child in Ethiopia. On the unofficial list, we are #21 in line for a child over the age of 4. However, there are only 10 families on the list ahead of us that are requesting a boy or are open to either gender. Also, only 5 of those families are open to a boy over the age of 5.

So, we wait. And, we will probably be waiting for a long time. 

It's not the first time that we've had to wait. 

We’ve had to wait for direction.

We’ve had to wait for deliverance.

We’ve had to wait for healing. 

We’ve had to wait for provision.

However, none of those waits had a list, a day on the calendar to count from, a Facebook page and Yahoo group of others waiting alongside of us. None of those waits left a little boy as an orphan on the other side of the earth.

Larry was asked to speak in a senior adult Sunday school class a few weeks back and in their curriculum, I was struck by this quote regarding Acts 1, when the disciples were waiting for the Holy Spirit.

“The key to waiting is to wait with purpose. The disciples did not accidently wait. They obediently waited. The obedience was not only THAT they waited but HOW they waited.” – Jesse Rincones, pastor of AllianceChurch in Lubbock, Texas and President of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas

The reason that this quote gave me such a jolt was that we had just been asked to consider serving in a new way. And, of course, I had immediate reservations because WE ARE WAITING. What if we start serving and then we get a referral? That means that we will have to find someone to cover in this new area while we travel to Ethiopia…twice! What if the transition is awful and we drop the ball? What if we all end up with giardia? What if? What if? What if?

This song was so convicting this week because I have been waiting, not just on a referral, but on a lot of What Ifs. Ugh…I stink at this.

Do you know what? Matthew 6:25-34 did not change this week. It just poked me in a different place this week. It poked me where I trusted myself and my planning and my spreadsheets and my pile of adoption/attachment/trans-racial parenting books.

So, we wait.

But, we will serve Him while we are waiting.