November 2009

We have been keeping this journal on our computer over the past 10 months as God has been leading us to adopt, and by request have decided to share it with all our family and friends!


Heavenly Father, we praise you for your love for us. It is both baffling and humbling that the God of creation would love us enough to provide a way for us to be made right before him for all eternity!  On top of that you continue to make yourself know to us through a personal relationship. Thank you seems so inadequate for the closeness you have provided through your Holy Spirit. We pray that as you continue to work out your will through us, it would be an encouragement to other believers. We pray also that as you continue to turn our hearts from stagnation toward biblical Christianity, you would somehow use our lives to reflect your love, and the people in our life that don't know you as Lord and Savior would be drawn to you. Lord we understand that life is too short, too precious to waste, and thank you for helping us daily to see what matters most. God we praise you for all you have done, and for all you are going to do. Amen.





November 2009-Betsy

As I was praying one morning I felt the Lord asking us to consider adoption as a means for starting our family. I was both overwhelmed and excited. Recently, as I have grown in my prayer life, I have been able to better discern the voice of God and knew that this was not one of my random ideas and that this had to be an idea from the Lord.  I continued praying and asked the Lord if I heard Him correctly to confirm it through Jared as we have never discussed adoption before.



November 2009-Jared

During Sunday evening services the past few week’s we have been watching inspiring sermons from a conference that the leadership of our church attended. Our pastor had greatly enjoyed several of the younger speakers and was sharing them with our congregation. One particular sermon intrigued me. I don’t even remember exactly the topic of the lesson, but in his sermon, David Platt shared some of he and his wife’s testimony. He shared some of the struggles they experienced in trying to conceive a child. Through their struggles they realized it was God’s plan for them to adopt. Having now adopted their son Jacob, David shared how while they were in Kazakhstan to pick up Jacob they conceived their son Caleb. David shared much of their journey and how in hindsight they recognized how sovereign God was. All along God had a heart for an orphan in Kazakhstan and if they had not struggled to conceive their own child they would have never gone to pick up the son God had intended.
Their testimony intrigued me for many reasons, but one thing kept bothering me. The Holy Spirit was at work as Jesus promised in John 16:8. I kept wondering why if adoption truly was the heart of God, (James 1:27, Deuteronomy 10:18, Deuteronomy 26:12, Psalm 68:5, etc, etc) If adoption really is the heart of God, as it would seem through scripture, then why must Christians struggle to have their own children before coming to this realization? Why can we not recognize through others grief and trials, and through scriptures that God intends all of us to defend the fatherless in some manner? I felt the Holy Spirit “convicting me to righteousness”.

http://www.brookhills.org/



November 22, 2009-Betsy

       Jared and I were driving home tonight from Sunday night church and Jared said, “What do you think about adopting a baby?” I began to cry as I shared with him my prayer experience and what God had asked of me. I explained how I prayed that the Lord would confirm it through him if it was really true. We felt strongly that God was calling us to adopt.

  "Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act."

Proverbs 24:12

November 27, 2009

   We spent Thanksgiving evening together with my family and had a wonderful time!

November 28, 2009

Today we went to the Washington National Zoo with our cousins from IL. Betsy and I talked at length in the car about this whole idea of adoption, and admitted to each other we needed more confirmation that it was God’s plan for us. We wondered how we could be certain this was right for us. Betsy and I decided to commit ourselves to 40 days of prayer over this matter. Though I had not previously received great revelations from God in my prayer life, I needed to know his will if I was to follow it. Out of this mindset and willingness to be obedient I confessed to God that I couldn’t do anything without him and needed to have direction.