Sunday, April 5, 2015

Day 3

The Resurrection!

We serve a Risen Savior! 


Matthew 28 (NKJV)
He Is Risen

28 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door,[a] and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

The Women Worship the Risen Lord

9 And as they went to tell His disciples,[b] behold, Jesus met them, saying,“Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”


In Christ Alonelyrics by: Stuart Townend


In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My comforter, my all in all-
Here in the love of Christ I stand. 

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev’ry sin on Him was laid-
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine-
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
'Til He returns or calls me home-
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.


Saturday, April 4, 2015

Day 2

Silence

Jesus was crucified on Friday. Because the Jewish Sabbath began at sundown, Jesus was hastily laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Pilate, in order to be sure that the body wasn't stolen, place guards at the tomb of a dead man and sealed it with a large stone.

Matthew 27:62-66 (NKJV)Pilate Sets a Guard
62 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

Can you imagine the absolute despair felt by the followers of Jesus on this day? They felt alone, forsaken, afraid, heartbroken, and hopeless, and heaven seemed silent. How many times do we cry out to God to hear us? How often do we think that heaven is silent? Do not despair. He is listening. The resurrection is coming!

Friday, April 3, 2015

Day 1

The Crucifixion
Jesus went to the cross fully God and fully man. He took upon Himself the sins, the guilt, the shame, the heartbreak of all eternity so that we might be free. All you have to do is ask Him to be your Saviour. All you have to do is accept Him as Lord. 

John 19 New King James Version (NKJV)

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

1 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. 2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. 3 Then they said,[a] “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands.
4 Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”

Pilate’s Decision

5 Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”
6 Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”
Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”
7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our[b] law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.”
8 Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, 9 and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?”
11 Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
12 From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”
13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!”
Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”
The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”
16 Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and ledHim away.[c]

The King on a Cross

17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. 19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. 24 They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:
“They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”[d]
Therefore the soldiers did these things.

Behold Your Mother

25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother,“Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

It Is Finished

28 After this, Jesus, knowing[e] that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and putit to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Jesus’s Side Is Pierced

31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.”[f] 37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”[g]

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb

38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Seasons

With the arrival of March we hit some milestones in our adoption journey.

March 12th marked 6 months since we lost the referral for "A".

March 14th was "A"'s 2nd birthday. We have no idea where she is, but we have turned her over to God knowing that only He can provide for and protect her.

March 19th marked 6 months since we resubmitted our dossier to Bulgaria.

The truth? I fully expected us to have received another referral by now, but we haven't. As a sat stewing and praying and whining about all of this the other day, I had a thought which I think holds a lot of value. Things will not be the same a year from now.

And they won't. I believe that.

This past six months has been an interesting season of life for us. I won't say bad because it hasn't all been bad. Although, heaven knows, it's had its moments. But it has been a season of growing and learning and stretching in ways that are sometimes (often) uncomfortable.

The thing about seasons is that don't last forever, and as one leaves and the other enters, I'm almost always ready for it. As we move into spring, my favorite season with its crazy unpredictable weather, I'm reminded that in rain and storms new life is born. If plants only have sunshine, they'll eventually wither and die. Sunshine is necessary in healthy doses, but rain, in particular thunderstorm rain, fertilizes and adds nitrogen to the soil.

I can't help but think that God knew what He was doing when He set it up this way. Storms can be exhausting. They can be destructive. They can be devastating. But they can also be enriching. And after the storm passes, we often find that those things which we thought were destroyed come back even stronger than before.

I'm learning to trust God each and every moment. I want a referral now, but I'm learning to trust Him, not only for a referral, but for a daughter who is meant to live with us . . . for a little girl meant to be part of our family.

This journey isn't easy, and this part, the waiting part, is only the beginning of what is a lifelong journey. I'm eager to see what lies ahead.

       Everything Has Its Time

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NKJV

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born,

    And a time to die;
A time to plant,
    And a time to pluck what is planted;
 
A time to kill,
    And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
    And a time to build up;
 
A time to weep,
    And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
    And a time to dance;
 
A time to cast away stones,
    And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
    And a time to refrain from embracing;
 
A time to gain,
    And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
    And a time to throw away;
 
A time to tear,
    And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
    And a time to speak;
 
A time to love,
    And a time to hate;
A time of war,
    And a time of peace.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Mixed Emotions

It seems that this blog has started to serve as a sort of adoption therapy for me . . . a place where I work out and through all the feelings that go along with the wait and the process. Having said that, I think it's important to understand that yes, I do experience frustration, longing, discouragement, and so on, but the truth is I also experience love, joy, happiness, peace, and contentment in my everyday life. This blog, as with any blog, only shows one small part of my life.

Most adoptive parents will tell you that adoption involves lots of conflicting emotions and feelings. You feel both fear and hopefulness . . . frustration and happiness . . . joy and complete inadequacy. . . sometimes all within 30 seconds. All parents experience these feelings, but I've found, that in adoption they are greatly amplified.

Here's the thing. I don't go 10 minutes without thinking about this child I don't know. She is ever present in my thoughts and prayers. I wake up thinking about her, and I dream about her when I'm sleeping. To me she is as much a part of our life as Andrew is, and because of that, my desire to meet her and bring her home is at times overwhelming.

But . . .

I also love my life. I love my husband and son beyond anything I ever imagined. I live and play and work and laugh and enjoy the blessings we've been given. Unless you've lived this process, it's hard to understand how both intense joy and happiness can exist alongside and in concert with intense longing. When I smile and laugh and talk to you about all the things going on, it's not fake. It's not a show I'm putting on for your sake. I really am smiling and laughing and enjoying my time with you, but always, in my mind somewhere there are thoughts of this adoption. It never leaves, but it also doesn't stop me from living and being happy.

I set out to explain what it feels like to live this process . . . to explain the emotions involved in it all. I'm not sure I did that. It seems like I may have served only to confuse most of you more. But given the complexity of these emotions, and the difficulty in putting them into words, I did my best.

Enjoy your weekend!