The Ripple Effect

I just love the way God reveals things to me sometimes.

He just KNOWS me.

He made me who I am.

He called me.  Personally.  Specifically.

He called you too, ya know?

But for me He showed me something very profound 

(at least to simple-ol'-me)

God, in His great wisdom gives us opportunities to see His hand...

intervening in situations on our behalf...

Closing doors to which is not the way He wants us to go...

Opening doors that could never be opened without Holy intervention...

and this week He has allowed me to see His "Ripple Effect" 

and He is showing me this in His heart

and best of all, giving me the privilege to let it flow through me.

I will try my best to put into words what the Father is showing me

but grace is requested - this is still fresh for me.

We all know how a ripple looks when a drop hits the water, right?

What we do causes ripples as well. 

For good.  For bad.

r~i~p~p~l~e~s f~l~o~w f~r~o~m o~u~r a~c~t~i~o~n~s

If we 

argue

gossip

dishonor

nag

criticize

carry unforgiveness

hold grudges

and every other nasty attitude...

do you ever notice how that effects those around us?

 We create chaos in our lives, family, and relationships.

We feel drained...

Out of focus...

Scattered...

His holy calling is to be focused.

His holy Word is as one.

The Bible is called the Word of God.

not words... Word.  period.

That Word, as a single focused drop creates a clear, beautiful ripple.

 and that ripple spreads...

and spreads...

and spreads...

even past the point of our eye being able to detect it...

when our human eyes cannot see, it is still spreading.

If we don't get in the way or become an obsticle for it

the ripple will continue.

So this is me receiving the ripple sent by God

and allowing Him to let it pass through me and continue on.

A wonderful bloggy friend advocates for the orphan.

She shares the Father's heart for them - 

and keeps them in front of our eyes.

(cause if we see them and hear about them we can't say we didn't know...)

Her passion is contagious...

her love for these lost and forgotten is pure.

No matter what their "needs" may be

He has called us all to help...

to stand in the gap...

to advocate...

to pray....

to get beyond ourselves.

I once read that if you look at all of the "professing christians" in the US...

 and had only 6% of those who profess to be a follower to take in 1 child...

ONE CHILD

That we could obliterate the orphan crisis throughout the world.

Go back - read that again...

That figure brings a lump in my throat.

My eyes have been opened

and I will not allow them to be shut.

164,000,000 orphans worldwide

15,000 children die every day due to hunger

and we do....?

So this brings us to yesterday (wow - that was quite an intro, huh?)

sorry.  Well, not really... :o)

As many of you know, we foster a precious little girl who came to us broken and bruised.

Such abuse at the hand of her parents it is almost inconceivable.

Even worse, her twin sister received even more (unimaginable!)

My heart breaks at the thought of these beautiful healthy girls treated so brutally.

And at only 2 months old.

Saved.  Set apart by their Heavenly Father.

We are prayerfully waiting for them to become legally free...

and praying for the ability to adopt them both.

Despite her "special needs" we feel Him calling us to advocate for the one we don't have.

EVERYONE NEEDS A MOMMY!

So I continue to pray for the strength to do what He calls me to do.

and God brings another precious one into our path...

SKYLAR... a little one who was born at 24 weeks gestation...

she has possible genetic defects...

monitors and medicine...

therapies and doctors...

and I am so overwhelmed thinking that I don't know if I can handle this..

but still willing and yearning to be used by Him.

And then the ripple comes to me.

Through my bloggy friends post...

of a ripple that had come past her - she shared a post of a special needs child

who needed a family - and a family that stepped forward to give her (and her roommate!) a new family.

The words that were shared off of this woman's blog rippled straight into my spirit.

It spoke directly to what I am struggling with.

She shared,

On Sunday I told my husband "I have reasons not to move forward,
but not one of them can be supported by scripture 
and they all have to do with me." 

Wow.

That was so what I was feeling!

So now, as I pass on this ripple 

(more like get out of the way of His ripple)

I challenge us all.

Can we now take a new look at our decisions?

Can we take a new look at our actions?

Can we hold them up to the light of the scriptures to see His will?

My deepest desire is to let His light shine.

To fulfill what He has for me.

I am not worried about how it will happen

(I know He will always make a way when it is His will).

So today I am overwhelmed ...

by His love for all His children

seen and unseen by this world.

And I know He will give each of us the strength 

and the time

and the money

and whatever we have need of

to fulfill His will here on Earth.

  

Amen?  Amen!

   

His Timing...

ok... I can't be the only one out there that struggles with this...

right?

So here we sit.

Waiting.

Praying.

Dreaming.

Who is coming to our home?

 Who is He going to call us to serve?

 Our continual prayer is that He uses our family

in any way that brings glory to His matchless name.

A.N.Y. W.A.Y.

And with that prayer in our hearts and our mouths 

we have become yet again a ping-pong ball.

Yea!  We are getting one!

Nope.

Yea!  We have TWO coming!

Nope.

Yea! We got a referral but the ages aren't right...

and we KNOW we prayed on this issue.

Sorry, no.

Back and forth our hearts swing

yearning to meet who He shall bring...

waiting and learning to grow in the waiting.

waiting and learning to surrender to the waiting.

In this quick-fix society we have grown up in waiting is not valued.

Yet, our Heavenly Father values it so!

Psalm 27:14

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

He is teaching us that TIMING is everything.

His timing.

Not ours.

As we wait, we wait IN Him,

as well as ON Him.

He has promised us that He will move and every ounce of my soul

cries out that I don't want to be even one second out of step with Him.

His timing is worth the wait! 

   

Ouch!

I know I have been missing here...

I have been missing a lot of places lately it seems.

I do know that God is doing something in my world.

Something life-altering.

Something faith-altering.

It would seem (from the outside of my bubble) 

that things have "settled down" over here. 

The Deweys have moved on to be with family.

Amara is settling in nicely.

We were blessed with a new grandbaby "Faye"(!)

Yet...

nothing feels settled.

God is doing a pruning in me.

...and any person who has walked with the Lord

KNOWS what a pruning feels like.

N.O.T. F.U.N.

*sigh*

Yet I know that it is for MY growth that He prunes.

It is my job (as an instrument for Him) 

to submit to the pruning.

snip!

There goes a ministry that I loved serving under...

snip!

Another activity that I must surrender...

snip!

A beloved time away that I am not doing...

snip!

Friendships and acquaintances told to cease...

 

So - as I continue to try and press in to Him...

I surrender...to His pruning.

My ultimate (and only true) goal is to be used by Him.

To produce GOOD FRUIT for His kingdom.

We know there is someone else coming...

We are praying for their safety...

until they are found and brought out.

But in the waiting... He is growing me.

  

NOT on My Watch!

Well, a dear, sweet bloggy friend has unwittingly set a heart-cry in motion within my spirit...

(although I know she would be thrilled at the spark she started)

She used the phrase "Not on my watch..."

It has started something in me that is...

very PURPOSEFUL

very INTENTIONAL

very CONSISTENT

We (as sons and daughters) of the Most High God

are not called to be

complacent

wishy-washy

reactive

or unpredictable.

N.E.V.E.R.

Do you hear me?

(I am mostly talking to myself right now..)

NEVER

There is no place in scripture that He calls us to sit around living our life

ignoring the hurting and broken

not seeing the hungry and dying

not going to the lonely and lost.

All throughout the Word He commands us to 

Go

Feed

Preach

Care for...

He has impressed so powerfully on my heart these past few weeks...

just because we aren't seeing the lost or hurting

doesn't mean they aren't there.

He sees...

He cares...

He has put His Spirit inside of us

to awaken our spirit

to see what He sees!

So, how does "Not on my watch" connect to this?

Well, dear ones~

there is a world full of hurting, broken, hungry, dying, lonely, and lost...

Just waiting...

Waiting for someone to pray, to support, to go!

We can all do our part - and we all have a part to do!

NOT ON MY WATCH!

I will pray!

 

I will support those who go!

(picture from the wonderful work of the International Voice of the Orphan)

I will go and do what He calls me to do!

My heart cry during this time of fasting...

NOT ON MY WATCH!

For my marriage...

For my bio children...

For my foster children...

For the fosters yet to come...

For the orphans that only the Holy One can see...

That same bloggy friend shared this scripture from Luke 18:1-7

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.  He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’   

 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think,  yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.  And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

Wow!

Now, I have read this scripture many times before.

Many times I'm sure.

But today - in the third week of our corporate fast at church - 

today it was like "YES!"

I get it, God!

We must keep going...

never stop praying...

never stop giving...

never stop going...

Purposeful.

Intentional.

Consistent.

And my prayer - just as my sister as sparked this within me

that at least one will be sparked as well.

   

Turning the Page

Knowing His timing...

trusting in His path...

surrendering to the choice...

The time has come that we turned the page on Mike and Jacob's time with us.

Their time has been a roller coaster of emotion.

But though it all I have continually asked God to be in the center...

to guide our decisions along the way.

Some time ago, God gave me a vision of a child who I needed to be praying for.

A child who was already in their situation...

hurting...

alone...

but not yet found.

In surrendering the boys in their timing we can then make room for God to move.

Fill our home again, Lord Jesus

...with the hurting

...with the lost

...with those who need defending

We dedicate our home and time to You, Lord.

 

Preparing for a Change

By all accountings - this Monday (or so) should be the Dewey's last day here...

I am very settled in my heart - 

I have felt that their time was slipping away.

They have been here so long that they feel so much a "part" of what my family is now...

but they have always felt like that extra "part".

I knew from the beginning that God was not ordaining them to stay

but now that the time is upon us I am kind of lost of what I should be feeling.

We have celebrated so many of their firsts...

First birthday party attended!

 First time visiting a farm...

First time camping...

 and fishing!

We've celebrated birthdays...

 Fun-filled family days..

 And first day of school!

School performances...

 and memory-making holidays.

We are trusting that God is looking out for your whole family

and praying that your mom and grandmom come to a knowledge of Christ

from the example that we have placed in you

and that He has written in your hearts.

And we are praying even now for that little one that He needs us to have the open bed space for...

dear one, He is watching and protecting you!

We will see you soon...

Learning to focus on Him...

A dear sister in the Lord always reminds me that everything has a season.

Which means that everything has a beginning and an end...

Problem being, when you are in the middle of "it" you have no idea when the end is.

The breakthrough could be right at our next breath

OR

Years away.

I always find comfort in knowing that He has ordained everything to work in seasons...

Faithful ones... we are promised an end!

A wonderful teaching was shared with me some time ago that brought me so much comfort

This beautiful woman of God shared about the new day that He gives us...

did you ever think about that our new day begins in the darkness?

That God in all His wisdom gave us this as an example?

To those of us sitting in the darkness of our troubles...

To those of us burdened in prayer...

 To those of us hurting with no apparent end to the pain...

The morning is coming!

His new day begins in the darkness and He begins the changes in our lives during our dark times too.

I know that I am called to fast, pray, and fast and pray...

to bring my life more and more in obedience to Him...

to continually surrender myself to His Spirit and guidance...

NOT to try and fix the situation

NOT to try and fix the person who I think needs to change

To focus on Him.

PERIOD

So, dear Lord, I am holding on... you have promised me a new day

and you are always faithful! 

Another Chapter Closing...

 Sadly, another good-bye has been made.  

Bill's mom, Rita, left us on December 19th. 

Such wonderful memories she left us with - but her earthly body had been slowly deteriorating.

 

Thank you, Mom, for your time of giving to your family...

Letting Him be My Rock

I have to be honest here... there are some trials going on over here.

Major trials.

Upturning the peace trials.

Could send me into a pity-party kind of trials.

BUT

Not the kind of trials that are outward in appearance...

or the kind that is obvious to an outsider looking in...

Sometimes our trials are from within.

Just swirling inside of us.

Well - that is me these days.

As I sit and try to quiet my spirit before Him one of my favorite scriptures keeps surfacing...

Psalm 61:1-4

Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.

From the end of the earth will I cry to You, 

when my heart is overwhelmed and fainting; 

lead me to the rock that is higher than I [yes, a rock that is too high for me].

For You have been a shelter and a refuge for me, a strong tower against the adversary. 

 I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever; 

let me find refuge and trust in the shelter of Your wings.  

Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

 It is only IN HIM where my peace can be found.

And although I don't FEEL peace - 

I know that He IS peace.

 He is my refuge. 

I will hide myself in You, precious Savior and let You be the Rock for my spirit!

Amen?  Amen!

The Big One is coming - for many!

Well we have a bunch of ONES coming up!

Our princess Amara will be turning one...

Along with her precious sister, Aiyanna....

AND

Connor!

Wow - that is a lot of ONES!

I thank God daily for all He has brought in this year....

He has gifted us with so much and so many smiles and hugs...

Beyond measure!

We are continuing to pray for Aiyanna as she is being touched and healed by her Heavenly Father...

We love you, sweetie!  

What a year!  What a Wonderful Savior!

Keeping My Eyes Fixed on Him

Just in case you didn't already know - 

Life is hard.

Life is not fair.

Trials will always be with us.

Not to burst anyone's happy bubble... but all of these statements are true.

BUT GOD!

These are my favorite two words in the Bible.

Holy words.

Words of the Creator of heaven and Earth stepping in...

BUT GOD!

He takes a situation that our human eyes sees as useless...

But God!

He sees our failures and shortcomings...

But God!

He understands the frailness of our bodies...

But God!

He sees the needs deep within our hears as of more importance than the ones in front of our noses...

But God!

 When the trials of this life are 

so loud

so strong

so present

so heavy

What are we called to do?

"My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings

 Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh."

Proverbs 4:20-22

We can CHOOSE...

To focus on the blessings He has brought...

To read His Word and trust in Him...

To speak words of Life into our world...

To humble ourselves enough to know that He has all the answers...

 To love Him so much that we can lay down EVERYTHING...

Our dreams...

Our plans...

Our desires...

Our wants...

To serve.  Period.

Serve Him - without measure, without bounderies.

We are all called.

Sadly, only few will respond.

Beyond our walls there is a lost and dying world...

 Lost in sin...

Lost in lies...

Lost in despair...

Where is their hope?  

Who will show them the way?

There are children - lost and alone...

 Who will step in and care for them?

There are children dying for lack of food and care...

 Who will feed them - who will go?

Will you challenge yourself with me?

Let's take ONE STEP

If everyone took that one step...

WOW!

What an amazing world we would be transforming...

Through Him!
For His Glory!

This is His heart!

 And, as we are taking those steps for Him

each of our problems and worries and cares

may not go away...

but they will certainly fade away.