Fervent Friday

I've been a little busy lately, in case you couldn't come from my lack of posting on any day other than a Friday... :) For those of you who don't know, I was asked to accompany for the high school's spring musical, ("Honk") and the rehearsals and my private practicing is taking up ALL of my time. :) At least it's fun!

Today's song reminds me of how important it is to rely on Him to get me through each and every day, no matter how crazy my schedule is. Enjoy! :)

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;

Temptations lose their pow’r when Thou art nigh.

I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.


I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.
I need Thee every hour; Lord, teach me Thy will;

And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.
 
I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

Fervent Friday

Today's song is a classic old hymn that we sing frequently at our church. But Caedmon's Call recorded this song in a way that sounds more upbeat and yet full of longing....it's one of my favorites. Enjoy! :)

I am Thine, oh Lord,

I have heard Your voice

And it told Your love to me.

But I long to rise in the arms of faith

And be closer drawn to Thee.

Draw me nearer,

To the cross where Thou hast died.

Draw me nearer,

To Your precious bleeding side.

Draw me nearer...

There are great depths of love that I cannot know

'Till I cross the narrow sea.

There are heights of joy that I may not reach

Til I rest in peace with Thee.

Draw me nearer,

To the cross where Thou hast died.

Draw me nearer,

To Your precious bleeding side.

Draw me nearer...

You draw me with Your mercy,

You draw me with Your love,

You draw me with forgiveness by Your blood.

You draw me with compassion,

You draw me as a bride,

You draw me closer to Your precious side.

Consecrate me now to Your service, Lord,

By the Power of grace divine.

Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope

And my will be lost in Thine.

Draw me nearer,

To the cross where Thou hast died.

Draw me nearer,

To Your precious bleeding side.

Draw me nearer...

-Caedmon's Call-

Perplexed

Have you ever prayed for God to make a foggy decision more clear?

Have you ever been impatient with God for taking "forever" when it's really only been a few days?

Have you ever had God answer your prayer, but not in the way you want?

Have you ever blamed people for the outcome of a situation, rather than looking at it as God's direction?

I've done all of these things...just today, as a matter of fact. As you all know, we've been pursuing adoption and all the decisions that it requires. After much deliberation and prayer, we had finally decided on Bethany Christian Services and going the route of domestic adoption.

Well.

That may have changed today.

To make a long story short, because of us living on the border of MN and WI, we can't go to the office that is closer to us (in MN) because you have to go to the office of the state you reside in. Except that the WI office won't accept us because we live too far away. (They do make exceptions in the case of international adoptions, in which case a social worker travels to do some of the work.)

So...are you confused yet?

At this point, it appears that we need to switch agencies - or switch programs. Or maybe God wants us to do something completely different and out of our comfort zone - who knows!

In addition to this, we've been toying with the idea of moving back across the border into MN, since we will probably be needing a larger home in the future anyway.

That makes 2 major life-changing decisions, in case you weren't counting.

Which brings up the question - should we switch agencies if we're going to be moving to MN and can work with Bethany Christian Services then? And if we wait until we move...how long will that take? And am I willing to prolong this process more than necessary? And can I handle putting my house up for sale and adopting a child at the same time??

 So, with all that said, will you please pray for us?

• Pray that we are willing to seek God's plan, not our own.
• Pray for patience -- as much as I hate to ask for it, because we all know that means the Lord will give us things to be patient about! :)
• Pray that some of our questions can be answered -- as far as possibly putting our house for sale, and all the details.
• Pray for us to not be discouraged by a closed door, but to rejoice in the fact that the Lord is leading us along the path He has for us.
• Continue to pray for our future child and our relationship with the birth family.

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

Puppy's Plight

Well.

Any guesses on what happened here?? (The title is a clue...)

Fervent Friday

Today's song choice has been in my head and heart a lot lately with all of our adoption plans.

And speaking of adoption plans...let me give a little update. :)

We finally made up our mind on which type of adoption to pursue. (If you're not sure what I'm talking about, check out this post of mine) And that choice is........domestic! Though we both want to adopt internationally someday, logistically, domestic is the best choice for us for right now.

However, we did find out that the Bethany Christian Services office 2 hours away from us will be unable to service us because it is not in the state we live in. And our state has more requirements.

Cuz they're all nice like that. :)

We will continue to work with them, though, it will just involve a 4.5 hour drive every now and then. :) Last night, Joe and I filled out our preliminary application, so hopefully things will begin to pick up!

Can you tell I'm a little anxious and impatient? And it's only the beginning....there will be much more waiting to come.

Hence today's song choice. And it's even in video form to please all those visual learners out there. :) Enjoy!!