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Who is YOUR advocate? {Saturday’s Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 23:13-29; Psalm 54; 1 Samuel 24-25:44}

04.17.2010

In Saturday’s scripture reading…

Saul is chasing David…and David is literally running for his life. Just as Saul is about to catch up with and trap David…the Lord intervenes. The Lord sent an urgent message to Saul through his army that the Philistines were raiding Israel again. Saul had to immediately leave to go fight the Philistines…the Lord showed up in perfect timing.

I can imagine David thought for a moment that this was it for him—he could see that Saul was cornering him…and then you get one of those “are you kidding me” moments. God knew it would have to be something big to distract Saul—so…God did something big.

And David gave glory to God…

4 But God is my helper.
The Lord keeps me alive!
5 May the evil plans of my enemies be turned against them.
Do as you promised and put an end to them.

6 I will sacrifice a voluntary offering to you;
I will praise your name, O Lord,
for it is good.
7 For you have rescued me from my troubles
and helped me to triumph over my enemies.

But it wasn’t over…the minute Saul was done fighting the Philistines–he came right back to finish David off once and for all. And then something funny happens. Saul needs to relieve himself–so he goes in a cave. (Don’t you love God’s sense of humor?) David sees Saul go in the cave, sneaks in behind him and cuts off a piece of his robe while Saul is taking a leak. (Hey, it’s in the Bible…not those exact words…but that is what was happening.) And I have to say I love David’s conscience here. He chooses NOT to kill Saul…and he even feels quilty for cutting a piece of his robe.

And THIS is my favorite part of today’s reading…

9 Then he shouted to Saul, “Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? 10 This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn’t true. For the Lord placed you at my mercy back there in the cave. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, ‘I will never harm the king—he is the Lord’s anointed one.’ 11 Look, my father, at what I have in my hand. It is a piece of the hem of your robe! I cut it off, but I didn’t kill you. This proves that I am not trying to harm you and that I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for me to kill me.

12 “May the Lord judge between us. Perhaps the Lord will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you. 13 As that old proverb says, ‘From evil people come evil deeds.’ So you can be sure I will never harm you. 14 Who is the king of Israel trying to catch anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a single flea? 15 May the Lord therefore judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one. He is my advocate, and he will rescue me from your power!”

David could have easily taken matters into His own hands. He could have easily defeated Saul. He could have easily given Saul what he deserved…and no one would have thought badly about him. Because…really—justice would have been served. OR…David could have trusted the Lord to be his advocate. He could choose to trust the Lord even though finishing Saul right then would be easier. And He could chose to let the Lord be His advocate and fight for him…resulting in God being more glorified in the end.

I don’t know about you—but I can really learn somethign from this.

Can I love someone that doesn’t love me?

Can I turn the other cheek and trust the Lord to be the justifier?

Can I close my mouth and let the Lord be my advocate?

Because too often, in our world—we want our feelings to be heard, we want to justify what is “deserved” and validate our feelings…and how we were wronged and what should be done to make it right…how our children should be treated or how they were mistreated…how business should be done…and before you know it—instead of allowing God to advocate for us and for His light to shine—we catch ourselves being hot heads, road-ragers, gossipers and wasting more time complaining than living. But I love how David was tempted in today’s reading—but he didn’t go there…

and he was bold enough to give God the glory.

Let us challenge our hearts this weekend to allow God to be our advocate and to trust Him to fight for us. After all…if He is for us—really, who can be against us? “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He alos justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:28-31 Let your light shine this weekend…and may He live richly in You as you trust Him to go before you and with you.

Be blessed,

Andrea

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Resting in the waiting… » Babe of my Heart - April 28, 2010 - 12:41 am

[…] stand in complete awe of a Savior who does not slumber but fights on our behalf…who advocates for us…who in our weakness is made strong! Richard and I were talking tonight how the Lord has […]

Isaac’s surprise shower!

04.16.2010

Here is a sneak peak into the surprise shower my girlfriends gave for Isaac last night! I have been meeting for 2 years every other Thursday night with this precious group of mommas to dig in the Word, study scripture, eat dessert;) and support one another in our lives! Thank you Tammy for capturing this night so beautifully and for putting together this sweet slideshow! I am SQUENTY eyed in all these pictures because I was crying EVERY time I opened a gift! Isaac has made his momma a SOFTY! I just can’t wait to have him home!

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Lara - April 16, 2010 - 5:14 pm

I think the cute bookbasket was my fav! Those “I” pastries looked super yummy!

Kristy Filbrun - April 16, 2010 - 5:49 pm

What sweet friends you have!! Makes me jealous considering our families wont even entertain the thought that we are adopting!! May God bless your son, Isaac.

Amy @ Filled With Praise - April 16, 2010 - 8:52 pm

That was so sweet!!! What great friends you have 🙂
Blessings,
Amy

Kim - April 16, 2010 - 9:09 pm

WOW! Now you’ve got me teary eyed (again). You are blessed indeed with special friends!

Jennifer - April 16, 2010 - 10:24 pm

How wonderful! What a special baby shower!!!

Shannon - April 17, 2010 - 1:58 am

What a beautiful shower!

Jenny - April 17, 2010 - 8:13 am

What wonderful friends you have! Looks like you were nicely surprised and had a great time!

What’s better than…

04.15.2010

What’s better than your adoption agency calling and saying they received your referral packet???

(Happened at 5pm! Thank you God!)

What’s better than the Fed Ex man knocking on your door to hand you your overnighted birth certificate so you can get a new passport expedited (since you lost your old one) so you can get your son home???

(Happened at 6pm! Thank you God!)

What’s better than 15 of your best girlfriends showing up on your front porch with balloons, appetizzers, loads of gifts…and giving you a SURPRISE baby shower???

(Happened at 7:30pm! Thank you God!)

What’s better than your caseworker emphasizing all the unknowns about your baby…asking if you still want to move forward—and getting to say “YES! He is MY son! We are in for the long haul and we will always be his biggest cheerleaders in life!”???

What is better than ALL of this day full of AMAZING and humbling blessings?Hearing from Almaz, the orphanage director, that when she sees his face, she see God’s power and grace and mercy through Isaac.

That my friends…it doesn’t get better than that!

And that friends—IS MY SON!

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Lara - April 15, 2010 - 11:12 pm

Okay, this one is even “feel gooder” than the last one. Hearing what Almaz says about Isaac brought me tears. He sounds like such a special boy.

Dawn - April 16, 2010 - 12:18 am

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Almaz is just an angel on earth, and knows heaven on earth when she sees it! She wrote some very powerful words about our Hannah Grace when she was at HH. Will never forget it. Because to soo many Hannah was a child with needs- to Almaz and to us- she was an angel sent to earth for our hearts to hold!

Jenn - April 16, 2010 - 12:27 am

AWESOME!! I SO wish I lived close enough to have joined in on the festivities!! We are cheering you one and praying continually!

Jenn

Megan - April 16, 2010 - 1:11 am

I am SO in tears right now! Beautiful post.

Kim - April 16, 2010 - 1:28 am

Trust me when I say from afar, that it doesn’t get much better than this … as we following along witnessing Abba Father take you from glory to glory!
Love & Blessings from Hong Kong,
Kim

Becca Harley - April 16, 2010 - 7:35 am

oh, wish that we lived closer! Love being on your journey with you – cannot wait to see pics and hear a court date:).
Praying for you today

JonesEthiopia - April 16, 2010 - 8:53 am

Wow! Just amazing.

Elle J - April 16, 2010 - 10:13 am

Yes! God’s love pours out over and over and over. Amen!

missy - April 16, 2010 - 10:32 am

what an amazing day. i’m thinking of the phrase “when it rains it pours” b/c god is POURING down blessings on you! i feel blessed myself just to be watching it unfold from afar.

Jennifer - April 16, 2010 - 11:10 am

Now those are some powerful words for Isaac’s Lifebook! AMEN!

melissa - April 16, 2010 - 2:21 pm

I am in tears after reading that. What great friends to give you a surprise party! And the great love the Lord has given you for Isaac is truly amazing! I just pray I have this kind of love for our adopted child when God reveals who he or she is. Do you still want him, she asks, well, He is my son! Beautiful!! Just Beautiful!! Praying that is doing well and you get to him fast!!

Katie Dunlap - April 16, 2010 - 3:38 pm

How exciting and precious! What special words to hear from Almaz! So glad you had such a fun day!

Christina - April 16, 2010 - 4:57 pm

Not much better than that (until YOU get to hold your son and get to look into that little face yourself!). What a blessed day!

And your shower was just precious! What a sweet group of friends!

emily v - April 16, 2010 - 7:18 pm

Almaz is the real deal…and she doesn’t say it unless she means it!! I LOVE what she says about your sweet Isaac!! Praise God for this little blessing and the life he will lead!
Love seeing your journey unfold!! So exciting!!

hugs-
EV
vogeltanzfamily.com

In transit! (and by the time I finished…DELIVERED!)

04.15.2010

Just tracked the delivery of THE package…our returned referral packet that will begin our wait for our court date and it is…

On Schedule: In transit

On FedEx vehicle for delivery by 4:30pm
PORTLAND, OR

YAY! It will arrive BEFORE their office closes today—so I hope our “next steps” conference call can be scheduled quickly too. I’m planning on working on the album this weekend for our baby’s birth mother. If she is unable to travel the long journey to meet us, she will be given this so she can see what our lives are like here….

Next up on our “to list” in preparing for court…Our Family Album...
I bought a beautiful 8×8 album back in the Fall that comes with a keepsake box so it will lessen any damage throughout the years, and she can carefully take it with her if she ever moves. Now…to design 30 – 8×8 pages to show everything I will want her to know and see about us. This should be quite the task. We do know that our baby’s birth mother doesn’t speak English or Amharic, the main language of Ethiopia. Sooo…to tell our story with pictures—definitely right up my alley…BUT it still will be a challenge. We also know our baby’s birth mother is a believer (another amazing answer to prayer…I wept when I read this for more of my own brokenness for her begin to make sense as there were days in the Fall I felt completely broken for her.) I asked the Lord to break my heart when her heart was broken…and there were days in the Fall I knew she was struggling as she was heavy on my heart and literally I would be broken and weeping while my three children napped and I had time with the Lord. I can only imagine how she was crying out for help—and the events that must have happened before finally realizing it would not be her that could or would raise her precious son. I truely believe, she called upon the Lord—as she is His. And for this I am so thankful.

I want some how to show her in this book that we TOO sought the Lord on her behalf and for our son…and to give her peace–that indeed the Lord was over her as she sought Him for help and hope–and oh so carefully the Lord placed her little love in another family…one that she prayed for that would not only raise her son to thrive in–but to also be ALIVE in Christ in. She has a hard story, one that I want Isaac to know first before anyone else…but I will say that it is obvious that she could not raise him. She definitely tried—and she loved him…she even named him “Thank God” and obviously was completely thankful for him. I am humbled to think our family was her prayers answered…and I am honored—completely honored to call her son my son. We share not only a son…but a Savior! And I wept like a baby when I learned of this. Should I not get to meet her when in Ethiopia—I want our album to remind her that we will indeed meet in glory one day—and to easily and clearly reveal to her that, indeed, we were the family she prayed for. I want her to have hope as she looks through it that should we not meet on Earth (although I have every hope and intention to make every effort to do so in this life), that she can rest knowing we will finally forever be reunited as one big family in heaven. I want her to have hope remembering this life is short–our troubles will be many…and Isaac will be raised like the rest of our children—with the ultimate goal of raising children whose hearts bleed for the gospel. I want her to know that she can call out to the Lord who has heard her prayer—and that it is both of hearts that Isaac will one day also call out to the Creator. I want her to see HIS HAND gently tracing through the pages of this album and my prayer is that when she sees it…she will not only see a home that she never imagined possible for Isaac…that she will not only giggle with delight that he has his own crib and a nursery fit for a prince…but also that her pain and loss will be healed in a miraculous way as she sees the hand of God on each page…knowing that only HE could have done this.

I am going to make two albums just alike so one day our sweet Isaac can flip through the pages and see what his flesh and blood looked through on the day she learned of us. It is my prayer that this book will ultimately bring glory to God and point to Him. I want Isaac to find His identity in Christ…where hope and healing live—and to rest knowing that He was the God of his story. It is also my heart to plant the passion for his people in his heart—as I feel they, too, are now my people. How thankful I am that we share the same God. Simply amazing and an answer to prayer!

My trip to the mailbox…
OK, with 3 kids 5 and under…we don’t get out much. SO–the mailbox is often an outing;). In a few months we’ll have 4 kids 5 and under…so at least the “cocooning stage” where they encourage new adoptive families to stay home for 3-6 months to bond will be easy enough for us;). NOW yesterday’s mailbox trip was QUITE the exciting adventure;). {Note to those worried about me: I seriously don’t get out much…but no worries…I DO indeed get out!} Yesterday’s mailbox trip made me tear up and jump for joy!

My precious friend Amy, from Filled with Praise, sent me the SWEETEST baby gift! A baby book for Isaac! I saw this one a few months ago on another friend’s blog and I’d been looking for it but was never able to find it! I was soooooo excited and blessed to open up a package yesterday and find this…

The pages are so perfect and sweet…

And the one that I’m particularly longing for…

Thank you Amy for loving us, standing with us and always encouraging us. Amy’s family and our family were right beside one another on the waitlist—and she bought two of these when we got on the waitlist together. She was waiting for our referrals to surprise me with mine…and what a sweet surprise to get this! Please keep their family in your prayers as they wait for their referral of their son, Elijah.

AND THEN…ANOTHER SURPRISE…truly, truly this was one exciting mailbox trip!

My sweet blog friend, Julie, of Flutterbugs made THESE for me…

LOVE IT! One thing about pregnancy verses adoption is that no one can tell I’m about to bring a baby home! BUT with this shirt…I’ll be able to share our sweet news of our son. SOOO cute Julie! And this one too…what are two things I love in Africa??? This shirt says it all…

Soooo cute!
Thank you Julie for these precious t-shirts! What a sweet gift from my precious blog friend who has been along for our journey. Julie’s family is patiently waiting for their domestic adoption referral. Please also keep their family in your prayers as they wait.

And finally…GUESS what has arrived since starting today’s post????

Yay! Just re-tracked our referral acceptance packet and the status is:

Delivered
Signed for by: .FRAISER

That’s what I like to see:). Now I get to wait for our “next steps” call and spend the weekend making the album and writing a letter to Isaac’s sweet birth mother. Oh wait…tomorrow is Friday NOT today;). I think some times I get ahead of myself! Wish you all a happy Thursday! Enjoy this beautiful weather and can’t wait to catch up on the reading in the Word later tonight! XOXO!

Andrea

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Jenny - April 15, 2010 - 4:15 pm

oh this post is filled with so much FUN STUFF!!!! love that baby book… it’s the one i’m planning on getting… love the shirts! how awesome are they?! they’re beautiful, julie! praise the LORD isaac’s birthmom is a believer!!!! how amazing!!! and such a great idea to make two albums exactly alike so you can show isaac what his birthmom saw… oh, i’ve got to write that down! and your referral packet is there! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! so many exciting things!

Amy @ Filled With Praise - April 15, 2010 - 5:26 pm

Loved learning about Isaac’s birthmother. I cannot wait to see the album you put together. I am sure it will be beautiful and very easy to see the love you have for Isaac. I am so glad you like the album and that you already get to start filling it out. Looking forward to that day too 🙂 Of course I love Julie’s shirts she designed for you…fabulous!
Blessings,
amy

Lara - April 15, 2010 - 6:46 pm

You know how Bonnie Hunt has her “feel good moment of the day?” This was like a feel good post of the day!

Becca Harley - April 15, 2010 - 8:10 pm

Andrea – i love your posts!~ I love starting and ending my day with them:). I love them shirts, love the book, love your outings!~ Our God is amazing – how He has been with both you and Isaac’s birth mother, moving in both of you – AWE-INSPIRING!!!

Dawn - April 15, 2010 - 8:29 pm

Those are precious gifts!!! I think it would be easy to tell you are expecting….probably shows on your face- like I am going to explode unless I share our news with anyone & everyone expression 🙂 Just sayin’! SSOOOOOO happy for you!!!!!! Can’t wait for more!

Jennifer - April 15, 2010 - 9:07 pm

Love all your excitement! SO FUN! I just posted Abby’s Flitterbugs dress, bow and Taggie!! LOVE THEM!!! Are you going to the Summit still?!

Amber - April 15, 2010 - 9:24 pm

Reading this post just made my heart happy, Andrea. The love you have for Isaac and his birth mother just oozes out of you. 🙂 I so enjoy keeping up with your “paper pregnancy” – would love to get together for lunch sometime soon!

Megan - April 16, 2010 - 1:17 am

Talk about a day of surprises!!! How fun!

Obedience… {Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 15:1-17:31}

04.15.2010

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 Bible aside–let us just jump right back in—reading together and encouraging one another through God’s Word. It is the one thing in this world that is always true and constant. Our emotions will be all over the place–but we can always rest in God and His Word.

Our reading today starts with Saul and Samuel coming head to head. Samuel gives Saul’s the Lord’s instructions—and Saul follows them…well, kind of. Ok–maybe just a little bit. Really, not at all.

Saul was instructed to go distroy the Amalekite nation. He sought out to do just that—but he was to distroy EVERYTHING…even their livestock. Distroying the “bad guys” was easy enough for Saul…but when it came to turning away from their good things—he just couldn’t do it. Instead, he chose to keep the best of their cattle, sheep, goats, lambs, etc. and just distroy everything else.

Obedience—it’s just never easy.

It’s easy to shake my head at Saul and say, “How could you do that? The Lord TOLD you and you disobeyed. Don’t you know complete obedience isn’t obedience? And delayed obedience is disobedience? Come on Saul!”

BUT THEN…I begin to really think about it…

Don’t I some times do the same thing?

Can’t you just hear Saul thinking now? “This is a PERFECTLY good cow. It would be wasteful to distroy this cow. I mean, I could use it to save so many people with nourishment. With this cow–we could feed many. Obeying what the Lord told me to do with it…it wouldn’t benefit anyone. It only makes sense for me to take this perfectly good cow…and chicken…and sheep…and donky and use these things to make the world a better place.”

That is what you were thinking, isn’t it Saul?

Because if it was…I get it.

And I do it every day.

And I ignore that voice in my heart saying…Andrea, you don’t need that. Oh but I do…and not only that—it’s a better deal here than any where else…so I’m saving money by buying this one. And then my phone rings and someone asks for a donation and I say, “I’m so sorry but are unable to help right now. Our finances are very tight, and we welcome you sending us material to read over and maybe we can contribute at a later time.” I’m not saying you or I should give to any soliciting phone calls…I’m just saying it’s my HEART behind it all—and often I’m disobedient and wish that I wasn’t.

Soften our hearts to hear you more Lord.

Help us to be obedient and follow.

Help us to trust in You…even when it doesn’t make sense or is hard.

After Saul’s disobedience Samuel spoke…

15:22 But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord:
your burnt offerings and sacrifices
or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”

Saul is then stripped of his kingship—and it says…

34 Then Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his house at Gibeah of Saul. 35 Samuel never went to meet with Saul again, but he mourned constantly for him. And the Lord was sorry he had ever made Saul king of Israel.

Let us never become proud people Lord—or to think we are easily obedient. I am not. When I read about what the Lord thinks of rebellion and stubborness—I am humbled as I think I can be a stubborn goat. Help me Lord to not be stubborn when it comes to being obedient to you. I want to obey you the first time—immediately…I don’t want to kick and have a tantrum in my heart…and then realize it is best—I want to obey in joy the first time and offer to you the beautiful aroma of an obedient heart.

A wise adoption momma friend said, “Obedience is better than worse case scenerio.”

So true.

I want this truth to sink deeply into my heart where I can embrace immediate obedience and trust in my Savior. Truly His ways ARE higher than our ways! And DO YOU BELIEVE…REALLY BELIEVE…that He loves you? Do you believe that He is FOR you? Do you REALLY trust Him?

You can’t follow Him on your own strength.

If the path is easy enough for you to follow on your own, it’s not the path the Lord made for you. The path He has you on—it’s BETTER. But, you will need His hand, His strength and His guidance to make it through. It won’t be easy. But I can guarentee you—that it will be worth it. Because no one could write a better story for you than the Author of Creation Himself. The end will be more beautiful–and it will bring glory to His name as others watch and see—that it was only possible with the Creator Himself.

Help us to trust you in big ways Lord. Move mountains in our lives—and bring glory to Your name! We boldly and courageously walk down YOUR path Lord…BEHIND You…as YOU go BEFORE us. Because of this…we will not fear. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

Finally, in today’s reading in chapter 16–God chooses the most unlikely man to be kind. David. The writer of the Psalms…one that we are about to know so well—yet he was the person the world would see least likely to be king. Remember, the Lord can do ANYTHING he wants to, WITH ANYONE He wants to, THROUGH ANYONE He wants to, WHENEVER He wants to! If it makes sense…then it just might be the world’s way of thinking. Thank you Lord that our lives don’t always make sense to us—but it all makes PERFECT sense to YOU as we trust and follow you…no matter what.

Be the God of our stories. Write them for your glory. Amen!

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Megan - April 15, 2010 - 3:11 pm

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. =)
And I love the story of Goliath. Lil Man and I were just watching the veggietales version…it made me remember the story as it was told to me as a child. Do you remember the song with hand motions? I can’t remember exactly how it goes, I just remember it was one of my favorites. =)
When you were talking about the path we are on…I was writing our adoption testimony yesterday for our adoption grants we are applying for and I actually wrote in there that this is not the plan I had for my life…its better – its God’s plan. I couldn’t even in my wildest imagination come up with this life that He had planned for me. Thank you Jesus!