This morning in worship–the final song was “It is well with my Soul.” Glory be to God! This song—melts me. ABSOLUTE…MELT. I forget the world–those around me…and anything that may be burdening my heart. This hymn reminds me—that NO MATTER WHAT…His ways are higher than mine—and as I seek His face and surrender to HIS […]
The Young Family Farm »
Category Archives: Inspirational Love my titles lately? I’ve been in rare form lately;). And speaking of rare form—I successfully managed 7 children 5 and under today…and that’s why you are just now hearing from me;). If you give 7 children 5 and under popcycles…it’s not that hard;). Just had to add my accomplishment of the day…had to help […] Walking the walk is far greater an example than talking the talk ! Teaching is a gift and teaching new leadership is sooo important. Good for your momma ! As a public school educator, we need more hippies! We have enough people sitting around complaining about those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and how they drain society. Let’s do something to help! Bless your mom!  Romans 12: 9-15, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s […] I cannot imagine what it feels like to look at a picture of your child and not be able to have him in your arms. TOO HARD! Praying that God brings you more peace during this time. I appreciate your vulnerability and openness about your struggles. Love you!! You are on FIRE as HIS light is RADIATING from you sweet friend! such a heartfelt post! I love seeing your heart as you go through this journey to isaac :)) I ache with you!!! Isn’t it great to really understand God’s adoption of us on a whole new level!!!! Can’t WAIT- to see your ache end- and have Isaac in your arms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Andrea – Ever since the Bible study shower, I haven’t stopped thinking of you or sweet Isaac. I can only imagine how much you ache for him because as your friend – I desperately am aching for you to have him home! I know as friends we are called to bear one anothers burdens and I just want you to know what a PRIVILEGE and BLESSING it has been to ache like this for and with you. You have inspired me, and our family, in ways you can’t imagine through your adoption story, so thank you for putting this beautiful ache in our hearts. I pray God will use it to transform our lives and our family’s story in the days to come. Mourning with you! My Josiah says that too and I AGREE..it is taking too long. Re-surrendered everything yesterday…picked it back up today thinking 4 more days until courts close for what feels like an eternity. OK..done whining:-) Have the Orphan Summit planning to keep me busy. Thinking you guys must not have gotten a table:-( Praying earnestly for a court date for you. The bible asks us to knock continually…and HE WILL ANSWER! I love that. I love that we are INSTRUCTED to ASK HIM for the desires of our hearts OVER and OVER and OVER again. He WANTS to hear about what we want. And he wants to give us “good things”. WOW. You have so many HUGE blessings coming your way girl!!! Jenn You ARE such a great friend! I know we haven’t even met, but I always appreciate what you have to say. When I am frustrated with how long something is taking, you can completely relate but still have that hope to offer me by showing me how God has written your perfect story! And then you rejoice with me when we hit that milestone! Thank you. Praying with you that Isaac is home sooo soon! Jumping back in the Word discussions…and instead of recapping from last Wednesday to this…I’m just starting back on this:). For those of you reading the One Year Bible with us through the chronological guide at http://oneyearbibleonline.com, there will just be crazy times where you get behind in reading. Instead of getting overwhelmed and putting your […] That sentence “obedience is far better than sacrifice” really struck a chord with me. God doesn’t just want us to go to church, to tithe, to read the Bible, unless our heart is in it. Otherwise its not going to do any good. Perfect timing for me since I just jumped back into the reading after getting SO behind after my surgery. I was reading fast, but I was hardly getting anything out of it. Thank you for your suggestion to jump back in and catch up on that later (like on our trip to Ethiopia) because now I am back to enjoying my time in the word. =)  Our referral story…written on 2 different days…to document one of the most precious times in our entire lives—Our Journey to our precious Isaac… Written on April 7, 2010 (Wednesday)… We just walked in the door from Traverse City Michegan. Suitcases finally down. All are sleeping in our home. As this momma does NOT like to […] That’s GREAT news Andrea! So happy for you guys and can’t wait to see a picture of the little guy! oh my friend – I have tears of joy running down my cheeks for you. What a blessing Isaac is already to your precious family. and what a blessing you all will be to him. We are fervently praying that your FDL comes now and that your Isaac is home in your arms soon. Oh, how I wish that I could be at the airport when you arrive! Praise God for His perfect Plan, perfect Timing, and His perfect son that He has given too you. Beautiful. Like I told you a long time ago, the timing is always perfect, as is the child for your family. Beautiful! Amy Kirk AAHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!! I’m so excited for you & your precious family!!! Congratulations! What a wonderful (and unique)referral day story! CONGRATS!!!! YEAH God he always has the perfect timing! Praying for you and your next steps! I just love reading your story! We leave next Wednesday for Ethiopia to get our little Jonas. Just so excited for you! Thrilled for your family! Prayers for smooth sailing (and flying!) as you complete the journey to bring your precious boy HOME! Wow–what an awesome, awesome story! An even more awesome God. Love it!!!! Thank you for sharing your story–can’t wait to watch it all unfold. 🙂 what a GOD story! i love it! i’m so so happy for you guys!!! praying for everything to go quickly and smoothly from here on! That’s the most beautiful story! I can’t wait until we get to see pictures of your little guy! I’m praying for everything to come together smoothly so that you can get him home ASAP!!! 🙂 Horray! Rejoicing with you today! My heart felt congrats to you. Love your story how God is writing it. ((hugs)) Cris Wow!!! God is so amazing! What a great story!! Can’t wait to hear the rest. :O) Andrea, I am new to your blog and new to adoption. The experience you have described here is what is in my heart. We just started down this road, but the sense of urgency to get started RIGHT NOW is an outstanding feature. My daily prayer it that we would stay on God’s timetable, whether we get our baby sooner OR later. We just want the child He has chosen. I will be praying for you in these next months. May the Lord Jesus continue to grace you each step until you bring your Isaac home. PS. I love the story of Isaac in the bible. What an appropriate name! He is so GOOD !!! What an Easter story brought into all of our lives….and now you can scream from the top of that mountain…Alleluia…your son Isaac,will soon be in your family surrounded by love ,yummy food and great prayers. what JOY ! God is in every seemingly tiny detail of our lives. God Bless You as you continue your journey to Isaac. God could not have blessed a more appropriate mom to spread His glory through this story! Wow! I was SHOCKED to read the title to this post today. I was not expecting it, as I ‘m sure you weren’t either! Such an amazing story of how God truely has a plan for our lives….wow. I don’t know what else to say, but wow. Oh yeah, and CONGRATULATIONS MAMA!!!!! =) I’ve been following your journey and are so happy to hear this joyous news. God has watched over Isaac and your family. He will flourish with all your love and care. WOW. Wow. WOW! So amazing. So glad to be on this journey together. So thankful for a HUGE GOD who can orchestrate every little detail. Rejoicing with you!!!!! Jenn This post has me in TEARS! I am remembering the day we got Eliza’s picture. The whole family, including eight month old Shipley, gathered in front of the HUGE television and we opened the e-mail together. We cried at how beautiful and perfect she was. Still to this day, I feel 100% she was meant to be in our family. Amazing! Wow!!! I am thrilled for you and your family!!! I am totally amazed at how perfectly that worked out for you! Our God is amazing!!!!! YES!!!! How exciting and with chills all over I send you a huge cyber hug and congratulations!! Praying for Isaac and praying for the wisdom of God to continue to shine down upon you!! Andrea, how very exciting! I LOVE the vacation-fear-of-flying-perfect-story of hearing your referral WITH your husband. God is so incredibly awesome!!! CRYING…SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!! I cannot wait to hear more! What a beautiful story….Praise the Lord! My little brothe has special needs (lots, BIG ones!) My mom has openly told the other 4 of us that if she could just coose one child (obiously crazy and she never would!), she would choose him, Stephen. She said you cannot comprehend the love of Christ until you have a special needs child. A beautiful, perhaps at times heartbreaking, journey awaits you all. Guess you are gonna be heading to Africa after all this summer, huh 🙂 Praising the Lord for you tonight! Congratulations to the Young Family! Great news and lovely story! PRAISE THE LORD!!! Oh my goodness… I can’t imagine how thrilled you guys are! Congratulations- I am so excited for all of you! God is so Good! A-MAZ-ING!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing with the world the way God has done an amazing work in your family. Only our AWESOME Father can orhestrate such blessed circumstances…ending of course in your sweet baby boy coming home forever!!!! woohooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! When I saw that you had a referral, I was shocked and so excited. I kind of feel like I have a referral. To have been through this journey with you, it feels so real to me. Wow, people do get a child at the end of this! I will be praying that Issac comes home soon!!!!! Congratulations, Andrea! I can’t wait to hear more…and see pictures of your amazing family “reunion” soon! Love you, girl! SO overwhelmed with joy and excitement for you!!! What a BEAUTIFUL story!!! Thanks for sharing! I am so excited for your family. I am praying for your little Issac and everything goes fast to get him home. What an amazing story! The Lord truely does move mountains. YAY!!!! Andrea, I am SO thrilled for ya’ll!!! Didn’t you sometimes feel like the Call would never come?? The details, the circumstances of the call, the significance of the dates, just everything makes me in awe of how God worked the details together. Your post brought tears, and I can’t wait until I see your son in your arms!!!! Can’t wait to see pics and hear more…. love you!!! We’re leaving Hong Kong in a few hours to fly to Kunming, and it will be wild to be just minutes from our little girl and yet not be able to see her yet. I love traveling this journey of adoption together……. much love! Kelley This is beautiful and wonderful and perfect AND SO OBVIOUSLY FROM GOD! I love it! praying everything goes so smoothly and that your precious Isaac will be in your arms very very soon! oh my word Andrea…i am SO EXCITED for you guys! Love the pictures and video and guess what…i did not even realize it that you were naming your song Isaac…guess what…that is our top pick right now if we get matched with a boy! How exciting is that! SO happy for you! Congrats! Amazing! What a special story. I LOVE how God weaves the details together in a way that only HE can do. Each detail, so precious, so perfect, planned by God from the beginning of time. Praising the Lord along with you today. I understand the uncertainty that comes with health issues. God will provide. Praising God with you today friend!!! I’m so excited for you all and your new little boy. I know during the wait, we all feel like – come on already, but then when you get your referral for the perfect child, you realize that the timing was perfect and that you have the perfect child – only God could orchestrate (sp?) it! What a beautiful story! Hugs to you!! That’s an amazing God story, Andrea … CONGRATULATIONS! LORD Jesus, we thank you for baby Isaac and Your provision in his life already. We thank you for bringing him into this family. Lord, I pray for Isaac’s health, Lord, that you would surround his body and protect him … allow his body to process the formula and get the nutrients it so dearly needs. Jesus, I pray for His heart … that you would start the bonding forming in it so that when they meet him SOON, the attachment will be so strong from day 1! Lord, bring him home soon! I know you have amazing things planned for his life. It’s in Your Name that we pray and believe Amen! On Andrea! I am flooded with tears and praising God for you today precious friend. I am so excited for you and your precious family. God worked the same way with such recognizable timing (in the rear view mirror) with the twins adoption. Every date (despite the seemingly endless delays) ultimately revealed His perfect timing. I love all the details that lead to Isaac’s referral call and how His plans were for you and Richard to enjoy this moment together. Just. The. Two. Of. You. What an amazing post. Tears of joy for you and your family. We are a AGCI family also! i’m not sure the chills i have will ever go away! what a beautiful story. how sweet of god to make it clear that this is YOUR boy. i remember when you posted about the wrestling you had over a waiting child. how perfectly it has all been woven. god was the one waiting…waiting to bring you all together. and how sweet it will be to bring your dear isaac HOME. Congrats!! Praying for all to be quick to bring your sweet baby home!! God is Good!! Praise HIM!! Oh Andrea…just opened up your blog and just about fell out of my chair! Tears of joy are running down my face! What an AMAZING story that only He could write. You have been on my heart so much lately…prayers are being sent! Lots and lots of prayers being said for you and your precious family!!! What a story!! Tears in my eyes!! Wow!!!! Amazing what happens when you don’t check a blog for a week! I’m so excited about your news, your sweet new son… God is so, so good! Congratulations!! 🙂 I have been following your blog for a while. I am so happy for your family and am praying everything falls in to place so you can get Issac hope quickly. God Bless You! Tara Andrea- I am sooo thrilled for you!! I love to read how God weaved this story together. Just as you have trusted Him to provide your son in His time… trust Him to take care of all the details. He cares about every one, even down to the smallest piece of paperwork. I can’t wait to read the rest of your story… about God’s faithfulness, and His provision. I’ll be praying for you and all the details that are to come! Blessings, Wow Andrea; it’s so true that God is all-knowing! How he gave you a sudden urgency, the details of your Lent story… he is such a God of details it’s incredible, and so wonderful to hear from another real-life story! Praise God for his kindness to Isaac and your family. Blessed to be a blessing. […] I was OVER-JOYED to hear our case-workers voice that day (if you missed that entry, you can read it here). I didn’t really share much about his referral at the time–other than he was severly […] […] I hear therapists say, “Well, he’ll always have a harder time physically…” and I catch myself wondering before even going to a neurologist what his underlying cause of his hypotonia might be. I keep asking, “It COULD be NOTHING–right? I mean, you can JUST have this right with no underlying cause?” NOW…REWIND WITH ME TO THAT PLANE RIDE BACK IN APRIL… […] […] we got your referral call…(you can read about that joyous day here)…we said YES in our hearts LONG before we ever saw your face…I’ll never forget […] […] If you would like to reminisce with me you absolutely must journey with me down memory lane by clicking on the sweet airport run-way call HERE (yes–I was ON an airplane runway when THE call came!) I will NEVER forget that phone call and […] […] April 7, 2010–my cell phone rang unexpectedly. In another part of the country–another mom’s phone rang […] |
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by admin
It has been such a joy to watch HIS story come alive in your family! Many blessings to you and your family!
Oh Girl … I cannot sing (or listen) to that song without a flood of tears!
Yet another way our hearts are connected!
Love & Blessings from Hong Kong,
Kim
I am struggling with this idea Andrea…asking and praying EACH.AND.EVERY.DAY for contentment where we are. What a beautiful post of encouragement to read. THANK YOU 🙂
Jenn
Such a true to life post. I agree with Jenn, it is a daily struggle. It’s so true that it is HIS story, you hit that right on!
This convicts me every.single.time I hear his story. Do I trust that God is enough, even when the storm rages, even when things are going well? Thanks for this amazing reminder that my soul should find rest in HIM alone! Much Love….