Blog under construction! *But hey, so is my life... :)

OK- so the blog looks half-done right now... Sorry, I've not taken big enough chunks of time in updating it to complete it yet...

Two sweet things that happened with my oldest child, made my heart sing... In bed on Thursday night, he calls out to me as I'm leaving the room and tells me his heart feels funny (how he refers to being stirred by the Lord sometimes). I tell him to pause, listen to what God is saying, and then we'll pray together about it... He pauses, then says... "I think God is telling me that Daddy got the job." I say 'Wow, honey, that's fabulous. Let's pray and agree that God would do that." We pray, and he falls asleep... Then Friday, we're leaving the house in a complete scramble because of a last minute house showing (and I do mean scramble... I filled the passenger seat of the car with a giant pile of clean laundry, because I didn't have anywhere else to put it!), and we round the corner and park the car while I throw on some make up (again, read 'totally unprepared' to leave the house for a showing... I was in my swimsuit in the backyard with dirty dishes in the sink and laundry going when the phone rang...). My 4 year old looks out the window and sees a rainbow... but it's not a rainbow shape- it's a rainbow cloud! A whole small cloud, lit up like a prism/rainbow! It was sooo beautiful and surprising! My oldest says again- 'Rainbows are signs of God's promises... I think God is telling me for sure that Daddy got this job!" Wow... such faith. :)

A bloggy friend of mine posted this verse today and it rang true with me:
Exodus 14:14 (NIV)

"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

That's pretty much what we've been hearing from the Lord regarding waiting on the job situation for my husband, all summer long...and I'm pleased to announce that last night at 5:05 PM, we received the job offer we were waiting on and we get to stay in our house/school/church/etc! It's amazing, a true blessing, totally a God thing, and was done at 11:59 (figuratively)... We give all the credit to the Lord- and we're going to send some Omaha Steaks to the old college buddy who gave us this lead! AMAZING GOD!

We're praying that my hubby thrives in the new work environment, adapts easily, is a witness in the workplace, and helps this company put out quality engineering for many years. :)

Thanks all for your prayers! God is sooo faithful.

Do the limbo rock! (sing it with all the La, la, la, la, la, la's)

Still in Limbo. :) Haven't blogged in a while for a number of reasons- but most recently because we've just been crazy busy.

Finished up a week of leading the worship portion of VBS on Friday night. It was awesome. and insane. :) In a good way. It was so involved, yet so completely wonderful and anointed. God met us and we were changed!

And- an update for everyone in blogland, Steve interviewed for a job HERE in town last week! It looks promising, but we're asking God to seal the deal so that we can stay! So, as I wait for more info on the location of my future dwelling, I reflect on the goodness of God, and in thankfulness that I'll always remain in HIS dwelling, no matter where I actually lay my head.

This touched me today: Psalm 90:12-17
12 Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Relent, O LORD! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.

And these verses have been speaking to me during all this interim time of 'waiting' and wondering where I'll dwell: Psalm 27:4-8 NLT
4 The one thing I ask of the Lord—

the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high
above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the Lord with music.
7 Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
Be merciful and answer me!
8 My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

And, I love, love, love, that the sermon on Sunday was AGAIN, tailor made for ME. Such good stuff, straight to my heart. In a few days, the sermon from Sunday the 18th will be posted here. Listen or watch. Good stuff.

Biggest Loser Skunky Meatloaf

I was thinking today about the projects I had in mind for the summer. One of which was sewing some fun things- some to possibly sell to fundraise for the adoption. Well, it's nearly July and the table I got out to put the sewing stuff on is now covered in piles of unaddressed junk! Bleh! So, I've not taken on any sewing projects- and I've avoided most other productive things as well! I did start a tiling project in the bathroom that should be done in another day or two though... All comes down to motivation, I guess. I'm pretty much motivated to experience summer with the boys. And that's about it.

Well, my 3 year old just announced that he smells a skunk. I'll try not to take it personally, knowing that it means the attempt at a new meatloaf recipe is almost finished cooking. :( Let's just say that all of the meals I've tried cooking from this Biggest Loser Cookbook have not gone over very well with the fam. I guess that does generally lead to weight loss though, huh. If no one actually eats the dinner... :)

Gotta revert to humor when life is stuck in limbo. Apparently that is one of my coping mechanisms. :) Happy Monday bloggy friends!

Waiting in line

So, I finally published (4 days later) the blog I started on Thursday.

I'm still reflecting on all that God is attempting to teach me and areas where He's trying to stretch and grow me right now.

I'm such a visual person and a person who learns through analogy. That is often how God speaks to me- through pictures or stories...

So, here's today's image. Waiting in line at a waterpark. I'm the 9th person back. I see the waterpark through the gates, I see the fun all the others who got in before me are having. I watch and wait. I get tired of standing. I see signs all around that not only declare the fun I'll be having once I'm through the gates, but I also see all kinds of warning signs. Waterparks can be fun if you know how to swim and you know how to do it safely (with knowledge). Waterparks can be dangerous if you don't know how to swim and you don't heed the warnings.

Finally, I'm #2 in line and my excitement is definitely building. Then an employee pulls me out of line! WHAT? I've been standing here for soo long, and now I'm out of line. He says I'm not ready, and that while I'm out of line, I should take time to make sure I'm ready/healthy/prepared. My first response is immature. Something along the lines of 'I don't care if I'm ready, healthy or prepared, it's almost my turn!' But then, I think, OK, surely there's some truth to what he's saying...

So, this is where I am in adoption land. :) We've been chugging along for nearly 2 years in this adoption process, and now we're out of line, just after we got up to #2! I was pretty miffed at first- and have dealt with most of that. :) Now I'm trying to make sure that (while God obviously knows what He's doing, and is preparing our little girls' timing to be matched with our timing) I'm ready when the time comes for us to get back in line. This is most of what my maturity/immaturity post led me to think about, btw. So, instead of getting caught up in how unfair it feels (immaturity), I need to be thinking how I can best use my time out of line to prepare me to be the best/healthiest/most prepared mom I can be to our little princess (and my two princes). Is my parenting skillset where it needs to be? Is my marriage as healthy/strong as it needs to be? Is my education on bonding/attachment/adoption preparation as strong as it needs to be?

It's ironic- but this season of unemployment that has been followed by employment but uncertainty regarding where we'll live/if we'll move, has actually led to more rest than I've had lately. I'm so glad that God does strange stuff in our lives. It's the unexpected stuff that makes us look up and go, 'huh?' But it made me look up, right? :)

Are there situations in your life right now where you may not have an actual number in line- but that you've been waiting on God to get you to that place, or bring about that promised thing, and you've been plucked out? I urge you not to think so much about what you're being pulled FROM- but instead about what you're being pulled TO. Go to the arms of the Savior- and find health, strength, & wisdom. Be equipped, not discouraged. If you need a good book on the subject, I highly recommend In the Meantime: The Practice of Proactive Waiting- by Rob Brendle.