Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 (NIV)

Friday, June 24, 2011

Accepting What You're Given

Every morning, I read a daily devotion from "The One Year Life Verse Devotional" by Jay K. Payleitner.  This is the verse from this morning:

10 But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.  Job 2:10  NLT

I then found this verse

Job 36:15
But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer.  For he gets their attention through adversity.
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I tell you Job was one faithfully strong man.   Accept, grow and go.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Renewed

So since Tuesday, I've been going to biblegateway.com to look up Bible verses.  Biblegateway.com has daily Bible verses on its opening.  I feel for the last 3 days they have been for me.  Here is today's:

“but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  Isaiah 40:31 NIV

This morning I do have renewed strength.  I will run and not grow weary.

Last night, I attended a Bible Study.  Bible Studies have played an important role in leading up to our adoption journey (long, personal story).  I revealed to my classmates that God has decided that I need to do one more Bible study before we pick up our daughter.  There are 8 weeks left in the Bible study and that should be about the time we receive the call to pick her up.   (Of course that is just an approximation.)

We are doing the Beth Moore study about Esther.   Here is the Bible verse that stuck out most to me last night:   1 Corinthians 1:26-31
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
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I will continue to boast in the Lord.   I will put my faith in the Lord. 

In our country we are good whiners.  The smallest setbacks start our rants.  We feel we have some sort of entitlement or right to something.  We forget that we rarely suffer as much as our Lord Jesus Christ did on that cross, for a wretched people like ourselves. 

Truly take a look at the suffering people in this world.  I'm pretty sure that anyone who was affected by a tornado this year could care less that I have at least one more month waiting for my daughter to come home, when they have lost everything.   It's just a small setback in the bigger picture.  

Be renewed today in the JOY of the Lord.  Be renewed by His strength.  Be renewed with His wisdom.  Stand in awe of Him.

Praise God who carries us in His hands. 
Love in Christ Jesus,
Christina

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Broken Clock

In our Sunday School Class we had a clock that was broken.  We replaced it with a new clock and new batteries.  That clock 2 weeks after it was hung is now also broken and showing the same time this week as it was last week: 12:00.

Seems like our adoption journey is sort of like our clock.  We are stuck.  We are stuck between EP submission and EP approval.  I keep counting down the days and more days were added back onto my clock today.  I don't even know how to count now.

Time will go on and eventually, I will be traveling to Seoul to hold my daughter in my arms.  She will be 18 months old in August.  I hope and pray that nothing else is held up in this process.

To Tell the Truth

Have you ever seen that game show?  I like it, but I am not very good at guessing who the "real" person is that they are describing.  This world is sort of like that.  It is full of lies and people get confused and aren't really sure what they should believe.

Those of us that believe in the Almighty Father have hope.  He never lies.  I would like to share with you the two passages of devotions I read this morning.  The wait for my little girl to come home isn't easy, but these passages give me peace.

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1 NIV

2 Corinthians 12:9  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Have a Blessed Day!