Category Archives: Learning My dear mom friend and author of the blog and book “Traded Dreams” is featuring an adoption story each week this month in honor of National Adoption Month… Such an honor writing a guest post for her blog this week! Thank you Lauren for asking me to share our story…it’s a LONG one…but when it […]  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! 🙂 I was singing the song “Enough” today–and it just hit me. Do you really believe this?? Do I really believe that He is enough?? Do I really LIVE that way in my day to day life?? I’m not sure about you–but being a girl (I might be 35–but I’m still a girl) I can have […] I know you (God) did not intend to write this for MOI, but you did!!! I needed this soooo much! I will continue to reread it to let it fully sink in, but thank you for opening your heart and sharing THIS one. =) Good Stuff!! Thank you for the reminder. I’m often caught feeling, doing, fearing when I KNOW He is more than enough!!! praying for you friend! I sing this song as a lullaby/reminder/worship every night as I rock Mareto to sleep. Last night it took 2 1/2 hours of rocking/soothing to get him to sleep. I sang this song dozens of times and was in tears half the time. He is more than enough… more than enough to give me strength, more than enough to mend my son’s heart, more than enough to fix what is broken, more than enough for life…. I had a moment about 2 months ago where fear had seeped into my heart…it had come in so slowly that I didn’t know it had filled my heart. When I realized that I was not depending on the Lord during the wait for our daughter I was truly humbled before Him. Thankfully it happened during Bible study when I was surrounded by the love of Christ in a room full of women who could support me with words of wisdom and the Word of God! Thank you for sharing. I haven’t written very much about what is REALLY going on with me–but I feel today…on this sweet day of Sabbath…I am being asked to share. Walk by faith… Every week, I visit random doctors for this ailment or that. One says maybe it’s the beginning stages of MS. Another confirms through blood work Lyme’s […] Thank you for your honesty and boldness in writing what you are walking through. I love knowing how to pray specifically for you, friend. ev PRAYING for you dear friend! Having FAITH!!! KNOWING GOD will lead you in HIS PATH!!! Love hearing your heart. It helps me know how to pray for you more specifically!!! Love you sweet friend! Praying and trusting with you in the Lord”s healing and perfect plan for you and your family! Thank you for sharing the journey with us! What a priveledge it is to pray with and for you! Andrea, I am praying for you. And I appreciate this post. It deeply encouraged me. Andrea, thank you again for your testimony of abiding in HIM! As Dawn stated, I’m thankful to be able to pray so specifically for you. I was just listening to some of the speakers from the Orphan Summit IV. I just finished John Piper’s session on “What Does It Mean to Live by Faith in the Service of the Fatherless?” before reading this post. He states: In that moment of trusting Jesus alone, you are justified, you are forgiven, you are totally accepted by God, you are adopted into his eternal family, you are loved, you are secure forever. And all of that by grace alone, through faith alone, on the basis of Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. So that, from that moment on, everything you do you do in this faith. Everything you do from that moment on, you do in the confidence that you are accepted, you are justified, and God is 100% on your side—not in order to be accepted or be justified or to get God to be 100% on your side. That is, from that moment on, you live by faith. Nothing you do from that moment on creates or earns God’s commitment to be 100% for you and never against you. That has been settled by faith alone in Christ alone. Beautiful! Thank you for reminding that His timing is perfect in all things. I needed to be reminded today to walk with FAITH and not by sight. God CAN do all things, nothing is impossible with you. Keep walking out your faith, for God loves a heart who is faithful. You have a beautiful testimony of God’s grace. Oh, Andrea. Thank you for sharing your heart. I am praying for you. When I wake up in the middle of the night frightened or anxious, these are the verses I say (often outloud and rather emphatically). They are my ‘take that’ sword thrust to the voices that are dragging me down. “I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge. The Lord is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised and I am saved from my enemies!” Ps 18:1-3 Continue to lean hard into Him. And tell Him all about it. Don’t hold anything back. He loves you so tenderly and passionately and He has such plans for you. Standing by you in faith and praying in agreement with you for wisdom, direction, and obedience to God’s direction. Andrea, Oh, sweet friend, In KNOW he will heal you, I know that He is working your heart to be more like His, that you BELIEVE he will heal you, it is so beautiful!! Oh, Andrea. Keep on reaching for His coat, sister. He loves you so dearly. Thank you for being real and honest. You are in an excruciatingly hard place, but you are giving glory to God in the midst of it. I’m praying for you. Andrea, doing my quiet time this morning after reading your post and I couldn’t help but think of you when reading my scripture for today. Psalm 34:4 “I sought the Lord, and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears.” Praying for the Holy Spirit to wash over you and immerse you in peace. Hi Andrea ! I read this the other day, and meditate on it all the time, especially when the Devil tempts me with worrying about tomorrow: “We have an earthly reality, but I am going to stake my heart and emotions on the truths and promises in God’s Word.” “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 My sister in law is a teacher & was experiencing similar neurological symptoms. It turned out to be Moya Moya. Thankfully after having revascularization brain surgery at MD Anderson her speach, neurological & vision problems have returned to normal. At one point she couldn’t even pray but that’s where others interceded for her & through prayer she was healed. Praying for answers & for miraculous healing for you! Andrea, Thank you for this incredibly honest and encouraging post. You will be in my prayers. Oh, Andrea, I am so ,so sad for your not feeling aok. I know being a momma is exhausting …I just know that hatever you have will pass. You are beautiful and wonderful and God has so many greta plans for you . Heal Sister ! Allow God’s sweet whispher keep fear from ypu . If my medical family can be of any ‘words of help ” please call us. W e know that He has you in the palm of His Hand. I will include you in my Rosary prayer. Blessings and Pax,m Andrea, thank you for opening up your heart to us. I have never commented before, but felt the need to share a song with you. God has been speaking through it, to me, over the last few days. It is Give me faith by Elevation Church. The words are so powerful – give me faith to trust what you say, that you’re good and your love is great, I’m broken inside, I give you my life – I may be weak, you’re spirit strong in me, my flesh may fail, my God you never will. I am praying God will purposefully lead you to your next step. Love. praying for you, sweet andrea. thank you. Fighting fear with FAITH. God’s been speaking that to us, too. Thank you for being part of the confirmation! Amen and amen. Believe, sister, believe. You ARE writing a book – it iis “written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts,” for now anyway. (2 Corinthians 3:3) You are writing for all of us, but most of all you are writing on the hearts of your children as they watch you journey through this trial all while dancing with the King. Andrea, thank you for sharing your heart. It’s truly beautiful and it’s evident that the Lord has a mighty work He’s doing in your life. I just wanted to share that I was diagnosed with MS when I was 18, 9 1/2 years ago. If that is indeed what is happening in your body, I would love to help you walk through that if you receive an MS diagnosis. The good thing about MS is that the fatigue and symptoms come and go… you don’t have to live this way all the time. In fact, since switching my medication 6 years ago, I have been free of ANY exacerbation! Praise God! I sat at your table at C4C one night… I’m one of the twin moms at the table where there were like 5 of us, haha! Whether you have MS or not, it’s certainly very similar and I know that God has allowed this in your life for a very real purpose. I have never experienced His provision for me quite like I have through MS. He has made Himself so tangible and near to me through it. He truly IS our Healer! He has been so sweet to me through it. Praying that you find a sure diagnosis soon. Thank you for sharing your sweet heart!  I write tonight–and ask humbly for you to please join us in prayer for Wiphan’s headmaster Labstone Chanda. Labstone was in a wreck a couple of weeks ago–and he has been in the hospital. Richard and the team went to be with him today as they heard his condition had worsened. It had. You can […] I will definitely pray for his complete healing!! Prayed for him and his family this morning and will add him to my prayer list. What a sweet countenance he has! Please keep us updated! Praying for you too mama. My husband traveled a lot the last few years for work, and though the trade off of having him home when he wasn’t traveling was great, I know first hand how hard it is to be mom to four littles, homeschool, keep up with ministry, and just maintain your sanity.:) Hope today is filled with fresh energy and some surprise blessings. You are doing an amazing job! Andrea — I’m praying with all my heart. Precious Labstone was on my mind all day today. Dan and I prayed with the kids for him and for Richard tonight. We love y’all dearly. Just prayed. Love & Blessings, Kim |
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It was a great one! I only found your blog about a year ago, so it was nice to get the back story!!
Andrea, your story was exactly what I needed to read about today. I learned so much through it! Thanks for sharing!!