…of the rest of your life. Ever feel like that? I remember when we had our first child. I remember looking at him…knowing that life would NEVER be the same. I forgot what life was like before him. Richard and I would go on date night and ask ourselves, “WHAT DID WE TALK ABOUT BEFORE […]
The Young Family Farm »
Author Archives: admin Seriously. I haven’t blogged in about a week. That SQUARE challenge has me so focused I guess I haven’t even thought about checking my email. BUT I had to update because SO MANY CRAZY and EXCITING things have happened THIS week. VERY thankful. FIRST…we put a FOR SALE sign in our yard on WEDNESDAY NIGHT! […] WONDERFUL news, Andrea!!! Praise God for His healing!!! SO, so happy to hear this!!! And, excited for you as you welcome Tetyana into your home and your family! Praying for God’s will regarding selling your house!! So happy for the Lord’s healing on your life. I saw you at the January C4C retreat and you look so healthy and vibrant now. We serve the great physician! So glad you are able to care for your family and however God places in your life. Jessica Praise God from whom all blessings flow! 🙂 WOW!!! I just love hearing about how God has completely healed you, Andrea!!! Our Jehovah Rapha is so awesome!!! Praising Him and rejoicing with you! You look great!!! Praise God. Can take your name off the Prayer Angels and date and say done ! Thank you ,Lord for healing our sweet servant,Andrea ! I am so incredibly happy for you. Your story gives me hope… it is so hard to keep it through watching my husband fight a chronic illness for 5 years. Andrea, A friend sent me to this post. I’m so happy for you. My son and I both are fighting Lyme disease. It’s beyond thrilling to know someone beat this awful disease. God bless you!! Janelle Wow–That is an awesome story! Praise God for bringing you the right doctor. Would you please send me his name? Thanks!  This weekend–I got away with some of my dearest mommy friends. It was heavenly. We got away…we talked…we talked…and we talked some more. Getting together with dear friends and talking just to talk can some times even seem like rare thing in our culture of status updates, instagrams and emails. And keeping up with all […] Oh my goodness Andrea, I was literally being convicted about this very thing 5 minutes before I read your blog. Wow! I guess God is confirming what I felt the Spirit saying! I am ashamed to admit this but I have realized that lately I rarely play with Hannah without my phone beside me to check email, fb, adoption forums. So I will definitely be taking part in this challenge! Thank you for your wisdom! I love this! And one of my verses in my devos this morning was Colossians 3:23! 🙂 I am doing a similar but different challenge this summer so I can be still and listen, and I wish I had someone else doing something like that with me. I deleted twitter/FB off my cell phone for the summer, after hearing Vicki Courtney speaking about being a Mary or Martha woman. I’m also reading the Circle Maker and was reminded of my need to be praying in the silent times – car rides, moments waiting for the kids to get out of VBS, etc – instead of picking up my phone for something to do. And, I want to be journaling my prayers more than I recently have been. So this way I only check from a desktop when I have the opportunity, which usually isn’t very often! 🙂 Praying for great things for you as you take this square challenge – especially with another girl to love and give your attention to this summer! 🙂 Great idea Andrea. I am up for the challenge! .. after feeling convicted from The Holy Spirit about the amount of time I was waisting online while my girls were in school, I disabled my facebook account on Valentines Day and I haven’t been on since. What started as a “30 day challenge” for me is still going…. and I feel SO MUCH BETTER about how I spend my time now. Amazing how He knows what we need to bring FOCUS, balance, and peace in our lives. This is the first time in over a week I’ve been online, it just doesn’t pull at me like it use to. The enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy.. and the BEST way he can do this is by stealing our time that is so so precious. I’ve never been a phone or TV person- our family will watch an ocassional kid-friendly movie, but(rarely) watches TV because of all of the garbage on it, so the computer has always been my “social outlet”. I’m a SAHM, but my girls are all school-aged so my days were whatever I choose to make of them. My morning routine would be take the 4 of them to school, come home– turn on the computer, check facebook, blogs, emails, and pinterest and before I knew it… 2-3 hours would be gone in an instant and then I was left feeling crumpy about how my day was waisted. Then… The Holy Spirit started pricking my heart slowly.. and then on Valentines Day the conviction was SO heavy, I knew that was the day & what I needed to do. My joy was being sucked out of me because of a computer screen, waisting time, and then making me feel guilty about it. Love how our precious father knows what we need and then leads us to do it. Anyways… good luck with your challenge sweet girl— I think it’s an awesome idea! 🙂 Oh, Andrea… I am so convicted about this very thing. My hubby even mentioned it this weekend…that I need to put down my “square” and just be in the moment! I have found myself checking my phone just out of habit. For no reason at all! This challenge scares me a little 🙂 but I am SO in need of it and am so excited to do this along with you! Thank you! after waiting almost 2 years to adopt our sons from rwanda, it became a HABIT to check email incessantly. they are home now. i don’t NEED to check the computer that often, but it still do. this is a GREAT challenge to me! especially as my summer is beginning with my 6 kids at home! i want to BE with them FULLY!!! thank you for the challenge! I would love to join you for this challenge. I waited a long time to be a mommy and yet I struggle with living in the moment and just enjoying my sweet boy. I have been convicted about this very thing and know I need to do this. Thanks for the challenge! I have been feeling the same way…..I will take this summer challenge with you ladies and spend time connecting with my family and God! Especially in the really quiet moments where I grab my phone or ipad. I will be praying for all of us and believing that God has something in store for each one of us. I have been following your blog since the January Created for Care retreat. I have often said that my hobby is following adoption blogs. I do enjoy it and have been blessed by the stories telling about the miracles and mercies of God. I have also been convicted that I spend too much time reading about other peaople’s lives (many of whom I have never met) and not enough time engaged in my own. Thank you for this challenge. Praying that all of us who are taking it on, will be blessed by the time we gain with our families! WOW I need this!! as I feel myself getting caught up in that nasty little square thing way too much since summer has hit. It’s my outlet is what I tell myself daily.. ugg… thanks for this and going to try to do this!  HE’S BACK!!! At 6:30am…his flight landed…and he is safely home. Rico Suave is finally back from Africa…and I can jump for joy! I’ve been counting down the days and hours with my kiddos, with my friends and even on my Facebook status…only I couldn’t say what I was counting down too–because no one…literally no one […] Makes me smile cause I think all Mommy’s should get a cape when a child is born because you really have to be Supermom to juggle the daily chaos. After especially crazy days I take a moment at night when all is quiet to check on my sleeping kiddos & seeing their blissful faces makes it all worth while. Praying for health, fun, and rest for you all as you get ready for your new arrival! Phew Andrea, I am exhausted just reading all this! Have a wonderful time with your man and your girlfriends! You really need a break! Whew! I’m exhausted just reading this!! You definitely deserve a break and I’m glad you were able to get one this weekend :)! So glad your hubby is home safe & sound!  I grew up in a home where we made the most of everything we had–and you didn’t throw anything away. If it was broken–instead of buying a new one, you carefully glued it back together…seemed up the stitch…and made the broken pieces relive their purpose. When Rich and I got married–he thought I was crazy […] Andrea- I LOVE THIS POST!!!!!!!!!! I am not a mender, I stink at it. If you see me with a needle and thread you should be scared! BUT the heart in this post is seriously what I need to hear and repeat daily!! Sometimes we get so caught up we forget the lessons we need to share and learn. THANK YOU!!!! I know that you have no idea who I am–just a stay-at-home mama in Ohio who used to be a Bama girl–but I read your blog often and it brings me to tears every time. You have such a heart to honor Christ in how you live your life and how you raise your children. My 6 month old little girl is very precious to me, and each time I read one of your posts regarding YOUR little ones, I am reminded as to why God gave her to me in the first place. It’s all for Him. For His glory, for His purpose. And, I am ever so thankful that He chose ME to be her mama… to show her God’s love and to one day teach her to fear the Lord. Thank you for your heart and that you blog it. It really is a ministry to me. I’ve been meaning to inform you of your encouragement to me as a mama, but just haven’t done it yet. So, I wanted to let you know now…with this post… that I am thankful for you and your blog, and your heart for Christ. My dear sister in Christ, I hope my words have served as an encouragement to you too. God bless! I love the heart you express in your posts, Andrea. ‘how just because something looks like it’s not perfect, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a perfect purpose…’ This. And yeah, no one reads your posts. Consider this I am a 50 something, single, without children, not adopting ‘career woman’. We have nothing in common 🙂 And I read your blog because I love the heart you express in your posts. God is using you in ways you have not even begun to imagine. -Bebe This is GOOD! I had to choke back my tears while reading this. This really spoke to me. THANK YOU! Again, God uses you my friend, to speak to me! I SO needed this today…. just this morning as I left for work, I told the sitter that I had not even began packing for the kids…she asked if I would like her to have them pack their own bags, I immediately said “No” as I do so many times in a day when they ask to do things on their own… I am way too consumed with trying to make things perfect… their beds, the house, the way the clothes are folded, etc. etc… and boy is it EXHAUSTING! I will continue to think of Laney’s mended sheet when my kids ask me to teach them to do things on their own! (: I love the post- thank you for sharing your world with us. I rarely “comment” but you bless me so much and so often! Praying for your healing, too! 🙂 |
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by admin
I CAN.NOT.WAIT to read about and see pictures of this journey your family is taking. Tetiyana’s life will never be the same, knowing that Jesus’ love is what brings her into your hearts.
so excited for the journey you are on!
Beautiful sharing. Beautiful faith. Beautiful family. Beautiful FATHER.
As a mom adopting for the first time, (4 sweet siblings from Nicaragua), this is a post I will keep in my Bible. It touched my heart…
Karen 🙂