Step of Faith: Unbelievable Blessings One Year Later

For the Lord is a sun and shield;  the Lord will give grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of Hosts,

Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Ps. 84:11-12

November 14, 2010.  The day that, with fear and trembling, we took our first official step of adoption.

In the next year we would do countless hours of paperwork, and countless hours of praying, crying, and seeking God's face for direction.  We would learn so much about adoption and allow God to teach us His heart for adoption.  We would allow God to wrap us in His love and constantly praise Him for His provision.

It was a year filled with wonder as God did so many miraculous things.  And all the while, He was waiting.

Waiting for November 14, 2011.

Waiting to blow our minds and bring us to our knees in tears and humble thanksgiving.

On Monday morning, November 14, 2011, I received a phone call on my cell phone from a number I didn't recognized.  I didn't answer, assuming it was someone trying to sell me something!  Ding, goes my phone, alerting me that I had a message.  So I checked it, and it was a good thing I was sitting down when I did.

The message was from a lady named Blair.  She said she was from Dave Ramsey's office.  She informed me that she had heard our testimony about how God had used Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University to impact our life.  She then informed me that they wanted to used our testimony in their upcoming LIVE web simulcast of "The Great Recovery" event.  They also were interested in using our testimony in some of the new promotion videos for Financial Peace University.

I am pretty sure I had a heart attack at that very moment.  WHAT?  This can't be happening.  Yes, it was amazing how God rescued our family from financial disaster in 2008.  How He led us to live on a 40 hour paycheck when we receiving an 80 hour paycheck.  How He told us to get out of debt and get an emergency fund with the extra money.  How it took us six months to be debt-free, with a fully funded emergency fund.  How, exactly one month after the last deposit to our emergency fund had been made, all of Tollie's overtime was completely cut out so we only had a 40 hour paycheck.  How God allowed something so potentially disastrous as losing over 50% of our income to actually be a blessing for our family because we got our daddy and husband back.  Yes, this is such an amazing God story, but to hear that Dave Ramsey was interested in it...well, it totally floored us.  And to get this phone call on this day...only God could do it.

But He wasn't done.

That afternoon my phone rang again.  It was a precious friend that I am so thankful God brought into my life.  She told me that she had a gift for us.  She wanted to give us the entire set of  crib bedding and all the accessories for Meilí's nursery. 

I have never been more humbled or touched by a gift before.  This bedding is very special to her, and she wants my baby girl to have it.  Then, to see this bedding, to see that it was exactly what I would have picked out, I was overwhelmed by His goodness.  This Miss Monkey is perfect for Meilí.

And to receive such a call on this day. 

It was as if God was saying, "When you step out in faith to follow Me, even when you are scared and unsure, I am going to bless you beyond anything you can imagine.  I have it all under control, and I am going to provide for you in amazing ways, so DO NOT WORRY."

We serve an amazing God, who has amazing plans for our lives.  These plans are not usually the "safe" thing to do, and they usually require us to step out of our comfort zone.  But if you are willing to step out in faith, no good thing will He withhold from you.  Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

What a mighty God we serve.

Step of Faith: Unbelievable Blessings One Year Later

For the Lord is a sun and shield;  the Lord will give grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of Hosts,

Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Ps. 84:11-12

November 14, 2010.  The day that, with fear and trembling, we took our first official step of adoption.

In the next year we would do countless hours of paperwork, and countless hours of praying, crying, and seeking God's face for direction.  We would learn so much about adoption and allow God to teach us His heart for adoption.  We would allow God to wrap us in His love and constantly praise Him for His provision.

It was a year filled with wonder as God did so many miraculous things.  And all the while, He was waiting.

Waiting for November 14, 2011.

Waiting to blow our minds and bring us to our knees in tears and humble thanksgiving.

On Monday morning, November 14, 2011, I received a phone call on my cell phone from a number I didn't recognized.  I didn't answer, assuming it was someone trying to sell me something!  Ding, goes my phone, alerting me that I had a message.  So I checked it, and it was a good thing I was sitting down when I did.

The message was from a lady named Blair.  She said she was from Dave Ramsey's office.  She informed me that she had heard our testimony about how God had used Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University to impact our life.  She then informed me that they wanted to used our testimony in their upcoming LIVE web simulcast of "The Great Recovery" event.  They also were interested in using our testimony in some of the new promotion videos for Financial Peace University.

I am pretty sure I had a heart attack at that very moment.  WHAT?  This can't be happening.  Yes, it was amazing how God rescued our family from financial disaster in 2008.  How He led us to live on a 40 hour paycheck when we receiving an 80 hour paycheck.  How He told us to get out of debt and get an emergency fund with the extra money.  How it took us six months to be debt-free, with a fully funded emergency fund.  How, exactly one month after the last deposit to our emergency fund had been made, all of Tollie's overtime was completely cut out so we only had a 40 hour paycheck.  How God allowed something so potentially disastrous as losing over 50% of our income to actually be a blessing for our family because we got our daddy and husband back.  Yes, this is such an amazing God story, but to hear that Dave Ramsey was interested in it...well, it totally floored us.  And to get this phone call on this day...only God could do it.

But He wasn't done.

That afternoon my phone rang again.  It was a precious friend that I am so thankful God brought into my life.  She told me that she had a gift for us.  She wanted to give us the entire set of  crib bedding and all the accessories for Meilí's nursery. 

I have never been more humbled or touched by a gift before.  This bedding is very special to her, and she wants my baby girl to have it.  Then, to see this bedding, to see that it was exactly what I would have picked out, I was overwhelmed by His goodness.  This Miss Monkey is perfect for Meilí.

And to receive such a call on this day. 

It was as if God was saying, "When you step out in faith to follow Me, even when you are scared and unsure, I am going to bless you beyond anything you can imagine.  I have it all under control, and I am going to provide for you in amazing ways, so DO NOT WORRY."

We serve an amazing God, who has amazing plans for our lives.  These plans are not usually the "safe" thing to do, and they usually require us to step out of our comfort zone.  But if you are willing to step out in faith, no good thing will He withhold from you.  Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

What a mighty God we serve.

Ask And You Will Receive

If you remain in Me and My words remain in you,

ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15:7

Do you know how it is when a certain smell or certain sight jolts you back to the past to a certain time and memory?  When it happens, it's almost like you are there, experiencing the memory all over again.  This is what happens to me every time I read John 15:7.  It makes me have butterflies all over again, even after all these years.

It all happened on my last trip in China, in the summer of 2002.  Our team of Americans were teaching English to over 200 Chinese students.  One of the planned activities was a field trip to the Great Wall, with all 200 students plus 50 or more teachers.  Just the logistics of transportation was overwhelming!  But the Chinese team leader, Johnson, had been planning the camp for months and had buses reserved well in advance.

About three days before this field trip, I walked through the lobby of the hotel to find Johnson (who was not a Believer) sitting in the lobby, obviously troubled.  I asked him was was wrong.  He told me that although he had reserved buses for the field trip months in advance, the reservation had been canceled by his school director because she had found a better price on buses elsewhere.  At the last minute, he was informed that the buses were not available.  He explained to me that it was impossible to find enough buses now because July was China busiest tourist season. 

He was greatly distressed because he was afraid he was going to have to cancel the field trip.  In the Chinese culture, "saving face" is of the utmost importance, and to cancel the promised field trip would be bad for his school's reputation.  So I told him, "Johnson, I will pray about it."  With a look of surprise, he asked, "So you think your God can provide the buses?"  And...I nearly died on the spot.  Uhhhh, well...ummm.  "What do I say?" I thought.  If I say yes, and God doesn't provide the buses, what will he think of God?  But I can't say no because I know God can do anything.   Talk about being called on the carpet.

So I said the only thing I could say.  "Yes, God can provide those buses," I told him.  Johnson seemed skeptical, and I was SCARED TO DEATH.  I never doubted that God COULD provide those buses, but I just didn't know if He WOULD.  And I felt Johnson's faith in God was on the line. 

I left Johnson, went to my room and fell on my face before the Lord.  I begged the Lord for those buses.  I admitted how afraid I was, and I asked Him for a miracle, so that Johnson could see that my God was awesome and powerful .  I then called an emergency meeting with all the American teachers, told them about our conversation, and begged them to pray with me.  And pray we did!

Over the next two days, we all continued to pray and anxiously await news on the buses.  I finally asked Johnson about it.  He said, "Well, your God has come through about 85%." When he said that, God gave me great boldness, and I answered, "My God is a 100% God, and He will provide all of your buses." As I walked away, I was certain I had lost my sanity!

Later that afternoon, after I had reported this news to the team and told them what I had said, a teenager on the team brought me a card with a verse written on it.  It said:


If you remain in Me and My words remain in you,

ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15:7

It became my lifeline.  I have never held on to Scripture so tightly.  I reminded the Lord continually of this promise, as did my team.  We continued to pray the next two days, but God had not provided the remaining buses. 

The morning of the field trip dawned, and I was very anxious.  I searched Johnson out.  When I found him, he gave me wonderful news:  he said not only did we had enough buses, but that there was an EXTRA bus and driver. I was overjoyed.  God had done the impossible.  He had made a way when there seemed to be no way.
   

But He wasn't done yet. 

On the way to the field trip, it began to rain.  The further we drove, the more it rained.  The more it rained, the more Johnson began to worry.  Johnson, in a teasing voice, said to me, "Your God provided the buses, but now it is raining."  I replied, "Hey, you didn't tell me to pray about the weather."  We all laughed, but when we got there and Johnson got off the bus to walk to the ticket office, we began to pray.  We asked God to stop the rain, so that Johnson could see Him. 

And God did. 

By the time Johnson got back to the bus, God had not only stopped the rain, but we could see the sun peeking through the clouds.  Johnson got back on the bus, and with a huge smile on his face, said, "I can see your God coming through the clouds." 

In John 14:13, Jesus tells His disciples this:

And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do,

that My Father may be glorified in the Son.

Then, in the next verse, He repeats His promise:

If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

God heard the desperate prayers of this crazy girl from South Carolina, who had gone halfway around the world to tell people about Jesus.  He provided the buses and stopped the rain for Johnson, yes, but also for me.  He wanted me to know that He keeps His promises, and that if we ask in His name, that His name be glorified, HE WILL DO IT. 

He is good, He is faithful, and

He always keeps His promises. 

Hallelujah, what a Savior.

You Said by Shane Barnard

Hope Blankets: More Than We Imagined

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ

 Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21 

God is good and faithful, and His word is true.  He always does so much more than we can ask or imagine, and Hope Blanket Collection Day was a testament to that.  It was an amazing day.  God's Spirit was so heavy in that place, and our hearts overflowed with the love that was poured out on our family.  We were so touched by each family who joined with us as Hope Blankets sponsors, to pray over their blanket, to present it at the alter, and to pray for our family and our daughter Meilí.  These prayers were from so many different places, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas.  We had blankets all over, and amazingly enough, we receive every single blanket back again!

   

God did so much more than we could have ask or imagined through these Hope Blankets.  Our hope was for Him to use these blankets  to get others involved in orphan care by praying and giving and for babies to be blessed in receiving these blankets.  Little did we know how He would use these blankets to inspire even our children to cry out for orphans. 

And, oh, how these blankets have been loved on and prayed over by them.  I cannot think of anything more powerful than the sweet, innocent prayers of our children.  We know God is already moving on behalf of these orphans because of these prayers.

As amazing as all of this has been, we know the greatest work is yet to be done.  God is going to answer our cry for these babies, and He is going to bless each one in an incredible way, and nothing could bring us more joy. 

We are especially grateful for our church leadership who has prayed for us, cried with us, counseled and  encouraged us in this journey.  They have such hearts for adoption, and we are thankful that they allowed us to share what God is doing in our lives through adoption.  We would love for those of you who couldn't be with us on Orphan Sunday to hear what God put on our hearts to share by clicking on the link below.   

                    Our Hearts For Adoption

  

We could not have asked for a more incredible experience with the Hope Blankets and Collection Day, but God wasn't quite finished yet!  This past Friday, we boxed up 109 Hope Blankets for their journey to Guizhou, China.  I dropped them off at the FedEx office, and on my way home, God did it again. 

He put another incredible rainbow in the sky, complete from end to end, right at our house.  And not only did I see it, but this amazing rainbow was visible at least ten miles away at BMW, where God allowed my sweet mom to see it too. 

He has already done more than we could have imagined through the Hope Blankets, and we know that the best is yet to come.  We are so grateful to all who joined with us, and we pray that He pours out His blessings on you as you continue to care for orphans.

Lord, I'm Amazed By You

You dance over me , while I am unaware.  You sing all around, but I never hear the sound.

Lord, I'm amazed by You.  Lord, I'm amazed by You. 

Lord, I'm amazed by You. 

How You love me.

This is the song of my heart.  This is what He is teaching me right now in this journey of adoption - how deep and how wide is His love for me.  He is doing this through my love for Meilí. 

Meilí is not officially our daughter. I have never seen her face, never held her, never heard her cry for me.  She doesn't even know that I exist, and yet I love her with this crazy, unexplainable, indescribable love.  Just the thought of her brings tears to my eyes.  I have such a longing for her to be mine, to hold her in my arms, to kiss away her tears.  I want to tell her how much I miss her and how we have prayed for her.  I want her to know that she is fearfully and wonderfully made, and that God created her to be mine before time began.   

"How is this possible, to love someone so deeply that I have yet to meet?," I ask myself. 

Then I hear My Father whisper to my heart, "This is My love for you.  Before you were my child, before you even knew I existed, I loved you so much that I died to make you Mine.  I longed for you, longed to hold you in My arms and tell you of My love for you.  I wanted you to know that you have been fearfully and wonderfully made, and that I created you to be Mine before time began." 

And then I start to get it.  I get a glimpse of His great love, His Amazing Love, and it overwhelms me. I have done nothing that would merit this kind of love, yet He lavishes it upon me, His adopted daughter.  He loved me even before I was His.  And now, because of this, I cannot sing a song about His love without weeping.  I can't think about His dying to make me His without it breaking my heart.  My worship is different.  My life is different. 

And that is what adoption does-it changes lives.  

When God called us to adopt almost a year ago, we said yes, without reservation, without hesitation.  Our cry was, "Lord, just send us a child who needs love, and we will love her and give her a family."  We wanted to change a life, and yet it is ours that is being changed.  We so wanted to give but never realized how much God would give us in return.  Through adoption, He is giving us a glimpse of His great love for us.  He is giving us more of Himself.  And I am amazed by it.

Lord, I'm Amazed By You by Phillips, Craig, & Dean

Lord, I'm amazed by You. 

Lord, I'm amazed by You. 

Lord, I'm amazed by You. 

How You love me.



Hope Blankets: Update!

Hey Everyone!  Just wanted to give a quick update on our Hope Blankets!  As you know, on Sunday, September 18, we had our Hope Blanket Kick-Off.  These blankets will be going to babies in two different Chinese orphanages.  We started out with 98 Hope Blankets, and 70 of them have already been sponsored.  These 70 blankets are now in the homes of their sponsors, who are praying over these blankets and for the babies who will receive them.  The stories I am already hearing of children and families praying for orphans are incredible. 

We have 28 blankets that still need sponsoring.  Here is how it works.

1.  Sponsor a Hope Blanket - $25

$15 will go for the blanket and shipping costs.  The rest will go towards helping with some of our adoption cost.

2.  Pray

Take your blanket home and pray for the child who will receive it.

3.  Return Your Hope Blanket

Return your blanket on or before Sunday, October 30, as we will be praying over the blankets as a church body.  At this time, we will collect the blankets and prepare them to be sent to China.

4.  Seek God's Guidance

Pray about how God would continue to have you involved in caring for orphans.

We are so excited about the 70 blankets that have already been sponsored, and so thankful for those who are praying!  Please pray with me that God will raise up another 28 people who are willing to be involved in orphan care by praying over a Hope Blanket and for the child who will receive it!  Thank you!

Meilí: Choosing Her Name

Meilí

(May-LEE)

Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
Prov. 19:21

Isn't it funny how we tend to have a plan for everything??  Our schedule, our meals, our kids' lives...everything.  And , for us, planning the names of our children was no different!  Before our first son Gabriel was born, we had two names picked out, one for a boy and one for a girl.  We used our boy name and held on to the girl name, thinking we may need it for the next baby.  Well, the next baby came, and the next and the next, and they were all BOYS!  Each time we got pregnant, we pulled out that baby girl name just to put it away again!  For NINE years we held on to this girl name, but never got the chance to use it!  

So, when we first began the adoption process, we just assumed that our daughter was finally going to receive our girl name.  (I wonder if God just laughs at our attempts to run the show!!)  In planning our announcement to our family that we were expecting again (through adoption), we wanted to give each member of our family a painting of her name written in Chinese characters. 

It was when we started planning the details, trying to find someone to do the artwork for us, deciding exactly what we wanted everything to look like, that I began to feel hesitant about her name.  God began speaking to my heart, whispering that He had another name for her. 

Of course, names are a BIG deal to us, so when I felt God speaking to my heart, I was unsure whether I really wanted to begin the process of name-picking again.  I told Tollie what I was feeling, and he was just as unsure as I was!  It was like doing a name-change on one of our kids. 

Nevertheless, we began to pray and to search for the name He had for her.  We searched American names;  we search Chinese names (which can be difficult when you can't speak the language AT ALL!).  Finally, one day, Tollie called from work and asked me to check on the Chinese translation for two words.  The first word was rainbow, and , if you have read our blog, you know how significant rainbows are to us. When we couldn't even repeat the translation of rainbow, we decided that maybe that wasn't the one.  Then he asked me to look up the word beautiful.  The translation came back "Meilí" (May-LEE). 

We loved it -  for lots of reasons.  First of all because it sounded beautiful (and we could pronounce it!).  And, secondly, because it was MY NAME!!!  My Chinese students gave me a Chinese name when I was in China - Wang Fu Mei -- Mei being my first name.  Mei and Meilí -they are the same word in Chinese.  Talk about a WOW moment.  We realized that God was giving her my name.  This precious little girl who has been in my heart for eleven years was going to have my name.  This was His gift to me- my gift to her.  She will have part of me through my name. 

Sometimes, we plan and organize and decide how things should be, and that is okay, but most of the time, our aim is too low.  God has such good plans for us, and He is able to do so much more than we can ask or imagine.  Our plans are fine, but His word tells us this:

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21

God purposed even before time began that she would be our daughter and that her name would be my own - Mei, given to me by my Chinese students, and, Brooke, given to me by my parents.   His ways are so much higher than our ways, and I am so thankful. 

God has allowed me to give her my name -- 

And isn't it just beautiful!!

Meilí Brooke Gosnell