Mark your calendars for Nov. 8th, 2-4pm

On Nov. 8th

Sunday afternoon

2-4pm

Dayspring Fellowship Church in Keizer, Oregon

will be hosting a LIVE simulcast from Nashville.

I am sooo excited about this event because Focus on the Family and FamilyLife are teaming together to help raise awareness of the orphan crisis.  To me, this event is a picture of the body of Christ coming TOGETHER on God's mission. 

This event isn't about those organizations, it isn't about my church, and it isn't about me.

It IS about the millions of God's children around the world that are orphaned.

And it IS about God's call to ALL of US to "defend the fatherless".

Just as all of us are unique, the way we answer His call will also be unique.

Please join me in watching this LIVE simulcast as we listen to the hearts of Dennis Rainey, Jim Daly, Steven Curtis Chapman, the International Children's Choir, and more.

Bring your friends with you!

T-3 weeks.

Still no travel approval but nevertheless our agency has given us very tentative estimated travel dates. They expect us to be on a plane to China 3 weeks from TODAY!  Nov. 18th.....then coming home on Dec. 4th.  We should know by the end of next week definite dates.

I know the dates could change but at this point I am going ahead planning on the 18th.  Oh Oh Oh. 

I am soooooooooooooooooooo excited.

Good news/Bad news

My kids and I have been having fun lately playing "Good news/Bad news"....ya know, the kind of game that goes something like this:  I say to my kids, "The good news is that I love you all very much, the bad news is that no one cleared their dishes from the table."  Then they all for the next hour or so will try to come up with their own form of good news/bad news to tell the rest of us. My favorite is always Caleb because he will scream loudly, "I have some news!", then he'll smile so big as he pauses for about 3 minutes trying desperately to try to think of something to say.  Yup, good times at the Skipper house.

So in that spirit, here is my Good news/Bad news report of the day:
 Bad news:
*Marc's back is better but STILL bothering him.  I wish I had a magic wand to take his pain away.
*Our Travel Approval from China is STILL not here yet.
*One of my dear friends went to China to adopt her baby last week and had to come home on her second day in China (without her baby) due to medical complications.  My heart ACHES for her.

Good news:
*two SWEET events coming up in the near future that I am really excited about.  Both of them are raising awareness of the orphan crisis in our world.

The first one is tomorrow night (Tuesday) and it is at the new Keizer City Hall at 6:30.  Please come if you can.  Don't worry, I won't try to twist your arm into adopting.  That's not what it is about.  What it is about is raising awareness of the LARGE amount of orphans in our world and sharing ideas about how people can take action.  My heart in it is that I want to help encourage young families to teach their kids about the problem and involve their kids in the solution.  I really believe that my kids generation will be the ones to really make a difference.  http://worshipdefined.blogspot.com/

The next event is on Sunday afternoon, November 8th, and I am sooooooooooooooooooo excited about that one too.  It will also be raising awareness of orphans but will be done in a different way.  I will write more on that later.

So, thanks for reading my good news/bad news of the day.  I REALLY hope to see you tomorrow night at 6:30!

Worship Defined presents:

JOY

There are times when I pray that I know the Spirit is praying through me and there are many times that I am not aware of this.  Last week I began praying in a way that I knew was from Him.  In the midst of my misery of waiting I asked the Lord to give me JOY in waiting....to give me JOY in this last brutal stage of the adoption process.  I knew it wasn't my idea to pray in that way because I really thought it was silly to pray for that because I could not even comprehend feeling JOY.  It felt like I was praying for the impossible.  However, that's what the Lord nudged me to pray for.  So, I did.

It was a couple days ago that I realized how He has changed my heart and I am now full of His JOY in this process.  Of course I want to be in China right now.  Of course I LONG to hold my baby.  But in the midst of it, I feel tremendous JOY.  I am even enjoying the wait right now (another thing I asked Him for).  Oh, and how I praise Him for that.  This JOY is His gift to me.  I KNOW that in the state I was in, I could have never manufactured the kind of feelings I am having right now.  If He hadn't brought me to my knees last week, I don't think that I would have seen it as it is from Him.  But now I KNOW it is!

I am again realizing how I am actually waiting on Him....and I know that He will never disappoint.  His plan and timing is perfect so I am so excited to see what that is!  As the days go by and the wait continues, it leaves me focused on Him and waiting.....It is a good place to be.  On my knees, waiting on Him!

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

1 Peter 1:8

just my random thoughts for today.....

*My friends baby is out of the hospital in Ethiopia.  Praise God. 

*I had hoped our Travel Approval would have come by now.  But it hasn't.  We have been waiting 7 weeks since our final paperwork was sent to China.  The best estimate given to us by our agency is that we should have our TA within the time frame of 7-9 weeks.  So, today marks the point of entering into that time frame.  I have been waiting by the phone for the last 3 weeks so I really can't imagine the wait getting any worse.  It already is so hard.  I can't even tell you how hard it is.

*I am thinking about changing Mei's name again.  My husband thinks I am losing my mind....which I may be.  At this point I am just going to say that we will hopefully have her official name picked out by the time I am holding her in my arms. 

*I've been having some more fears circulate in my mind about Mei again.  (they come and go)  I just read on a gal's blog this statement: "Obedience trumps worst case scenerio."  Oh, I think the Lord had her write that just for me!  Exactly what I needed to hear.  As many doubts as I sometimes have about her coming into our family, I have NO DOUBT that we have been following God's lead and obeying Him in this process.  My trust and my faith are in HIM ALONE!

*Marc threw out his back at work this week.  It's hard seeing him in pain.  And frankly, it's hard not having him help with the things he is usually so helpful with.  Amazing what we take forgranted.

*My buddies and I are planning another Worship Defined event.  This one is going to be Worship for Orphans and it is going to be on October 27th at 6:30pm at the new Keizer City Hall.  If you live close to me, I hope you can come!  You KNOW this is an issue near and dear to my heart. 

*I just wanted to say that I CANNOT WAIT to hold my baby girl in my arms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Cannot wait!

Please join me in praying for baby "Z"

My dear friends, Mike and Melissa, are adopting twin girls from Ethiopia. 

They just found out that one of these beautiful girls is in the hospital in Ethiopia with pneumonia.

The girls are 11 weeks old.

Will you please join me in praying for Baby "Z"?

And also for Mike and Melissa.

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,

who daily bears our burdens.

Psalms 68:19

Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing.

Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,

for to you I pray.

Psalm 5

God's Word

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him,

how can the love of God be in him?

Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

(I John 3:17-18)

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and break every yoke?

If you do away with the yoke of oppression,

with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

The Lord will guide you always.

(Isaiah 58)

the martyrs

The current issue of Christianity Today has an article in it that is really troubling me. It is troubling me for a lot of reasons but more then anything else it is troubling because it reminds me of an issue in our world that is real and it is uncomfortable and it is overwhelming and it is widespread. To really spend time thinking about it and trying to wrap my mind around this problem and wondering what the implications are for me and my family is filling my mind these days.

The issue that I am referring to is the persecuted church. You know, the million upon millions of people in this world that are persecuted for their belief that Jesus is the Son of God. More often then not the persecution that they suffer is heavy. It is severe brutality, it is imprisonment, it is death. Old woman are tortured, kids are not spared. The stories of what happens to the men is revolting. I am just going to say it, their genitals are poked and prodded with toothpicks, knives, and fire before they are eventually cut off. And I won't even begin to go into how else they torture these people. How can you read about that stuff and not have it affect you? I can't anymore! These are my brothers and sisters in Christ. This could so easily be me.

And here I am. Sitting here with 10 Bibles right next to me in my book shelf. I talk about the Lord to anyone who will listen. I go to church whenever I want. Anyone who knows me knows that I live and breathe for God. He is my life! I preach openly Jesus Christ as Lord! I live in this land where I am free to do that. Ofcourse there is persecution that comes to me because of all of that but NOTHING compared to what our brothers and sisters go through in other countries.

And so I am asking God, what can I do? I don't want to sit anymore in my comfortable little home and in my comfortable little country unchanged by the evil that surrounds so many followers of Christ in the world. As terrible as it feels I want it to bother me. I want to keep losing sleep over it, I want to have tears throughout the day because of it, I want to be changed by the facts of what is happening in my world. I don't want to live the same. I don't know yet specifically what I can do about this issue but God has definitely put on my heart that there is a purpose He has placed me in this rich and free land. At this point I know that I am to educate my children on the reality of what is happening and not sugar coat any of it. I know that He wants me to send money to the organization "The Voice of the Martyrs". I know that He wants me to pray. Oh God, what else can I do? Please don't let me get so comfortable that I forget.

for more information look at: http://www.persecution.com/
and I think that a MUST read is Safely Home by Randy Alcorn.

the road less traveled

I recognize that most of you probably don't follow the same blogs that I do so I wanted to share this quote from one of them. Here is her blog address if you want to read further: http://joiningthejourney.blogspot.com/

"Adoption is the road less traveled and there is a reason for that. IT is a TRAGEDY. For domestic adoption, there is a birthmother that is leaving a child behind...HEART WRENCHING. For International adoption, (typically) a child has been abandoned, and his/her heart KNOWS that and LONGS for a mommy and daddy. IT IS NOT EASY and prepare for your heart to BREAK several times along the road. If you want to feel the Lord's presence more than ever, see the face of Jesus in a child, and experience the HEARTBEAT of Christ TAKE the road less traveled. I've done it three times and will be FOREVER changed."

Happy October to you!

Yay, it's October, my favorite month of the year.

I love the weather.

I love to watch my kids play, and my husband coach, soccer.

It's my birthday month.

It's Jorie's birthday month.

And HOPEFULLY, it is the month I will be buying plane tickets to China.

Currently, we are waiting for our TA which is our travel approval. Once we get that we will travel 2-3 weeks after that. I am hoping for our TA to come during the last two weeks of October. According to our agency it should but ya know, you just never know. That would put us traveling to China the middle to end of November. Marc and I are still holding up pretty good, I think. However, I do recognize that our strength in it has come from the Lord. I really don't know how someone could bear this journey and this wait without Him. As the days go by I am thinking of her more and more. Our longing for her is intensifying. The thought of seeing her for the first time overwhelms me.