Take a step

We have been staying up later and sleeping in a little longer. Our days have been full of sun and swim though - and we have been taking in the summer. 

Took the kids to the Houston Dynamo professional soccer game. Our favorite professional sport to take them to so far. They loved it. 

Brother is never far from our hearts and minds. Abby wanted to make something for her new brother's room.

She took a bite of an ice cream cone. Plucked out a front tooth.

 Russ headed out of town to work. We headed to Galveston with Don Don (my m-i-l) - thank you!

We spent Monday on the beach. I knew China was releasing an updated shared list that evening, and that our dossier was mailed (DTC) but had not yet been logged in (LID). Our social worker would still be checking the special focus list for us that evening though for a match (special focus is kiddos who have been on the list longer than 2 months, sometimes have more complex/major special needs, and are often a bit older). While putting the kids to bed Abby asked me to sing and I sang Psalm 146 (What Joy) as I often do. This song was one that the Holy Spirit used to speak to me and move my heart for adoption over a year and a half ago. After the kids were down, I spent awhile in the bath refreshing my email and reading, then refreshing my email and reading some more. I opened up my Bible App around 9:30 and the Scripture that awaited me was Psalm 146.

"Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. 

The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 

The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!"

Psalm 146

Perfectly timed, He gave me the encouragement I needed. A few minutes later we got the email there would be no referral that night. He is watching over the fatherless. Our help is in the God of Jacob. Our hope is in the Lord. We will put our trust in Him. 

The next day we went to Moody Gardens all morning.

We spent the afternoon again on the beach. Another measure of His love and goodness waited for me. We were in a spot on the beach close to another couple of kids and their mom and grandmother. My kids started to play with theirs, and eventually we ended up building a moat and sandcastle, chatting and digging. Near the end of our time, the mom told us her son was a Shriners patient (this is where we are planning on taking our little man should he have cleft lip/palette) , and that he was born with cleft lip and palette. We spent the next 30-45 minutes sharing and encouraging one another. From the moment she began to tell me about her son, a deep joy in His gentle kindness to us overflowed my Spirit. He did not have to do that for me. He did not have to perfectly position this meeting to comfort my sadness - but He did. Not because of anything that I have done or anything that I deserve. But because of His great love. I pray that I would just get out of the way more and more to hear Him speak.

 And miss Em lost another front baby tooth on the way home.

If He is calling you out into the unknown, take a step. Take a leap in faith. He will meet you there.

** We got our log in date Wednesday! When the next shared list is released she will be able to view the whole list for us...