Author Archives: admin Happy in Haiti! Hard to read those words now, huh? They don’t go together do they? This image was taken well before the earthquake. And as we start today’s scripture reading of Job–my mind first thought of Haiti. HOWEVER…Job had it MUCH better than the Haitians prior to his temptations from Satan. (Chapter 1) Job […] I’m so excited to be back on track…I was reading away while I was gone–and it’s probably a blessing that the retreat didn’t have the internet…but blogging the readings truly is such good accountability! Don’t you need it?! I know I do!!! And wanna see the Lord work powerfully in your life? I DO! To […] Thank you Andrea for your honest words…they inspire me! I agree that when you are in His word daily, He speaks to you and guide you in ways that you may have missed otherwise just by not being close enough to Him to recognize His voice! Thank you for sharing Megan! What a beautiful testimony of being in His Word! Oh, yes! I am so glad you posted about Frankie. I followed their blog for about a month and learned all about Haitian adoptions through them, then I deleted it for some reason. Then all this happened and I wondered what happened to that family, but I could not remember the blog name or the child’s name,so I could not find it on the internet. I was thrilled to hear that he is ok and how neat that Diane Sawyer picked him up and they were able to be on ABC to spread the word. So amazing! I started crying when I saw this! Praise Jesus! Thanks for sharing!  Another sweet piece of our adoption story… What a joy and a blessing to be able to retreat this weekend at a Cup of Joy (www.cupofjoy.org) ministry retreat, yet I really missed writing about my daily scripture reading (BUT it was SOOOOO good this weekend if you are reading along, wasn’t it?!). Jesus retreated away […] He is so awesome! What a beautiful testimony of His faithfulness! Wow…what a gorgeous place to retreat! So glad you were filled up and refreshed this weekend! WOW…amazing how God confirms it over and over through scripture to us all about us adopting and specifically how He chose to remind you that your specific call is to ethiopia…amazing…truly awesome! God is so great! Thanks for this post…it was an uplifting post for me…we are leaving here soon its 4am to go to the childrens hospital for my 10 year old nieces skull surgery so i am indeed refreshed by reading your post! Thanks! Love it Andrea! I am always so amazed when God becomes so personal. He hears our hearts and questions and answers in such a sweet tender way. I bet you were bawling…Geez…Hope you had tissues with you! Such a beautiful reminder that God has you where you are to be. Right inside His will. Again, I love how God uses situations to bless us. WOW! That is so beautiful and just like our God to give us exactly what we need to confirm His will in our lives. wow! i don’t know why i’m amazed when our God shows Himself like that… I just love God moments like this… we call them “YEAH God” moments .. seeing how he works through every detail is just beyound our comprehension. Thanks for sharing your powerful message .. how quickly we lose perspective while busy with all the small stuff! WOw! So neat! I got chills and I was crying too when I read this! God truly does meet us where we need him! What a special blessing! I cannot believe the verse said Orphan and Ethiopia! Amazing! What a beautiful way to be refreshed…by God’s AMAZING word!!!! I have been feeling refreshed because of some awesome words He has given me as well. How GREAT it is to be in His Word & in His Will! I just have tears streaming down my face. I know this so well… it reminds me of how God orchestrated our own adoption from Russia, and how he would use Scripture or even people to come across my path to remind me that he was still “in” this even though there was no movement. He was still orchestrating everything behind the scenes for us to adopt our son. I love how he orchestrated that Scripture reading just for you. Isn’t He awesome??? I just love that the translation you had is the one that references Ethiopia. I grabbed my Bible to check mine and it didn’t have it. I love it! There is a wonderful song by Steven Curtis Chapman called “Believe Me Now” and whenever I heard that song I would remember all the times God would whisper in my ear… “I’m in this, I’m right here.” It minstered to me so much. I left my family blog here, but the address to our adoption blog is http://www.stepbystep2russia.blogspot.com You’ll find that song and a photo slide show of our son. Thank you for such a blessing to read today. Such a wonderful devotion! God bless you as you wait on God’s timing for your next little child. […] IT CRAZILY LINED up for me to read a piece of scripture…Psalm 82-87. You can read the post here The Lord assured me through the verses like Psalm 84:3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the […] […] …when I LONGED for you so deeply and wondered if we were in the right place waiting…and the Lord so clearly spoke to me through scripture…oh such a sweet story you can read here […]  I LOVE holidays. Love them. Of course if you’ve been around…you know Christmas is my favorite. And although many bark that most other holidays are commercialized and just to make a buck–I like to use them to love on my kids and create traditions with our family. I’m SO EXCITED about Valentine’s day that I’ve […] Mommy, Being a super mom isn’t about doing laundry, it’s about loving us as much as you do! You are soooo creative and we are SUPER excited to have YOU as a SUPER Mom!! Love, wow…what a great valentines project and way to bring in scripture! love it! Love the craft and that you are helping Haiti. Check out my blog for an easy way to help too 🙂 Paul and I are really enjoying the Bible reading time each night. It is like a date 🙂 Have a great trip. just wanted to say thanks…for being real, for sharing the hard stuff, and for sharing that great craft!!! i LOVE it and hope that i can find the time to do it – my kids would love it! Love it! I loved the disclaimer! And I love the cookies! What a great and creative way to help Haiti! If you get lots of orders, let me know and I can help you! You are a super mom, don’t deny it! Just kidding! Love you! oooh I love a good craft and these look like so much fun! Thanks for the craft supply list too! I must admit I used to roll my eyes at Valentines but now love making it about our kids and since our #3 was born on Valentines it’s an extra special holiday now! {We also have a 4th of July baby…we like the holidays I guess:)} Thank you so for such a beautiful post…oh the waiting! It’s so hard and I feel I often second guess His voice…is it my Father speaking to me or my own ideas? Am I being an Abraham and trying to manipulate? I know the only way to know is to be closer to Him, praying without ceasing! I am so thankful for your blog and I know He is doing amazing things through your heart and words! Have a great weekend Andrea! Sounds wonderful!! Andrea, wow! what an inspiration you are, especially to moms who are just trying to make it through each day. One question though: DO you ever sleep? I love reading your blog! And I am praying for your family as you draw closer to your adoption. Such an inspiration! Love, Stacy that is the cutest thing ever…love it!!!! Ok, so I opened back up last night LATE…I wonder how long I’ll get to stay OPEN this time?? LOL…have fun this weekend, kj andrea – this post sums up your heart – love!!!! love for jesus, love for your dear family and love for others. your love inspires me to stay on fire for jesus. thank you. hugs from reynolds plantation! Hey, Andrea! So…I hope you don’t mind making my “cookies” for me because I just ordered a set of 28!!! I could make them with your great instructions, but why not help those precious people in Haiti instead! So, thanks in advance. 🙂 And, I’ll be out to purchase my supplies for the rest of February! Just wanted to say, I’m still here & reading! I got a little bit behind, but I’m still gonna push through! This week was a little crazy for me, but thank you for the blog & your encouragement! The first time I felt God confirming our calling to adopt from Ethiopia was in a dream many years ago. I shared it with a few friends from church who said, “Wow, God must be calling you to adopt!” And to hear those words spoken out loud by people I admired meant sooo much! Ever feel like that? The process is never “fun”…the refiner’s fire isn’t icing on the cake…it hurts. It’s painful. It’s broken. And…it’s part of it. The process. But—the process…will always, always, always, ALWAYS friends—lead to praise. Because—HE IS FAITHFUL. ALWAYS. Do you believe that?! Looking back on my life at just the wee age of […] yes, agree! One time I had to do a lookback at my life and write down how God was there. I put it off and put if off because I didn’t want to deal with all that old stuff. Finally did it…and I could finally see where God was ….I didn’t know it at the time (I was not even close to walking with the Lord) but I could see where God had place people around me or kept me safe and lots of other things…Because He WAS there whether I knew it or acknowledged Him! I just studied this with the kids the other day. Did you notice that Joseph says that it is GOD who brought him to Egypt. Not his brothers. He understands that what others intend for evil, God can cause good out of it. He was there all those years later to save their lives during the famine. God knew it all along. He just had to continue to wait for God’s plan. I know we all want to see the big picture, but we have to trust God and His plan and rest in the truths of knowing He is in control. Beautiful post my friend. cris TRUE, but the process is still tough……trying I’m with you Dawn…and that’s why my flesh would just like to SKIP the hard stuff. The process. Speaking of—Dawn, have you purchased Steven Curtis Chapman’s new cd “Beauty Will Rise”???? You would love it…especially during this hard time in your family’s life. PRAYING. awesome post..I love the pic of you…You haven’t aged a bit 🙂 kj I have to share my devotional for today as it is so fitting for the “process.” I remember that picture! You sent it to me when you were over there. I have it saved in my scrapbook! I loved this picture! Just precious! So neat to see God’s fingerprints on your life and I am glad I have been able to be apart of a lot of it! preach it, girl! That is one of the BEST posts I’ve ever read, anywhere! It speaks of our Father’s faithfulness and love for His people. Thanks for posting. I really need it! Don’t you wonder where Shang Dan-Dan is and how she’s doing? This is so right and so timely, that I had to link to it on my facebook and send it to a couple folks. I needed this reminder and fresh word, that he is all over this process…and that what may be intended for evil or looks like it doesn’t fit with what we know of God, like Joseph, is meant for our good, the saving of many souls…including mine! Thank you for speaking life and encouragement. Wow. I really need that today. So tired of the pain of the process,but keep feeling in my soul that God has a purpose in the timing. |
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by admin
i love when you wrote “God doesn’t want us to worship Him for devastation but amoung it” agree! thanks for this post!
Great post, Andrea! Thank you for this today.
Andrea- I was just studying Job last week in my bible study. I also wrote down how amazed I was that in the midst of Job’s total family devestation, he said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, may the name of the Lord be praised.” Then later when he was afflicted with painful sores from head to toe his wife wondered why he was holding on to his integrity. She told him to “curse God and die.” He answered, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” I’m amazed at Job’s heart and worship of the Lord in the midst of his horrible circumstances. It challenges me for sure! I feel like I read a devotion everytime I visit your site. Thanks!
Just wanted to let you know I just purchased 4 sets of fortune cookies:) I think it will be lots of fun to do with the little ones. GREAT idea!!
Thank you Jenny! I can’t wait to count up the total we have raised for the orphanage in Haiti!!!! YAY! I’ll have them in the mail for ya next week!