are you kidding?

i almost had to laugh... not because anything is funny... but because the enemy is FIGHTING US SO HARD to keep our kids!  do not be deceived this adoption IS a fight between good and evil...

in the Bible in 1 Peter 5:8b and 9a, it reads... "... Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist Him, standing firm in your faith,..."

i believe the enemy LOVES the idea of picking on the weak and oppressed, those feeling alone and abandoned... well it has got to be stopped BY US, GOD'S PEOPLE!  when we allow God to set our agendas and let His love pour through our behaviors... the enemy is STOPPED IN HIS TRACKS!!

the enemy CANNOT thwart God's plans, however, he does use those of the world to cause frustration and irritations... thus our story :)  one more hump or hurdle that the enemy has thrown in our way... using those that are not on the same side we are, to cause more delays in the process... one more piece of paperwork has seemed to be neglected... and we just have to sit and wait for it...

please hear my heart on this... GOD IS IN CONTROL... the enemy may use his imps to cause delay, but understand GOD HAS A REASON that He is allowing it... and HE WILL USE IT ULTIMATELY FOR HIS GLORY!!

so we wait... BUT not idly nor passively... the enemy has picked on the wrong girl... this two year battle has spurred a fight in me like no other!!  GOD IS THE VICTOR AND ONLY IN HIM IS THERE HOPE!  ALL deserve to know of this eternal glory... not way down the road, but NOW!!  NOW IS THE TIME FOR GOD"S PEOPLE TO ACT!!!

i am blessed WAY BEYOND WHAT I DESERVE!!!  God has given me more than i could ever have thought up or imagined... not because i did anything but because HE IS GOOD!

but it is my choice what i do with it...  so i choose to share... my blessings and the love that has been lavishly shown to me...  we have a house full of love to share and a story to tell like no other... ONE OF A CROSS AND A COMMITMENT AND AN ETERNAL LOVE... the story of JESUS!!  we will tell all who will listen...

so as the enemy tries to delay once again... it only causes the voice of the Newsom's to grow stronger... we will shout about the love of the LORD and HIS COMPASSION for the weak and the small and the picked on... we will choose again and again to help ours as well as others to find their way home... not just here on earth but FOR ETERNITY!!!!

an anonymous quote i've shared before but i will again end with today...
     "It's not the size of the dog in the fight that matters; it's the size of the fight in the dog."

God DID NOT give His people a spirit of timidity or fear!!!  come on God's people we need less complacency and fear and lots more fight in us... won't you pray about getting in the battle!!! 

YES!!!!

God is SO good!!  we got our last documents in today... SO... that means that as fast as we can get the final t's crossed and the i's dotted this week we will be able to file our last pieces of US paper and our 30 day countdown will begin!!  OH MY GOODNESS!!!!

i love a good story :)

i absolutely love a good sappy story... you know what i mean... the kind that makes your eyes misty and wish you were a better person...   well i ran across one this weekend.  i would even go as far as to say i found some more real life hero's...

the interesting thing is... most of you have probably never heard their names... or even know about their work... or laid eyes upon them... so i want to introduce you...

this is Mike and Sylvia Eden, they are the sweet parents to 70 Kenyan street children... they love them, provide for them and teach them about Jesus  (ck out their place - Little Eden Orphanage)... they are the sweetest and most humble couple... with a heart for the Almighty One!  and i know that to be true because i have had the joy to hear how they have put feet to their faith...

Mike had a brain tumor removed several years ago and had to learn the basics all over again... like walk and talk, dress and eat... and still struggles through some everyday challenges... but that DID NOT DETER him from God's call over his life...  that NEVER SLOWED him down from taking the gospel to the least of these...  what a ray of light they are... leading many to God the Father.

as i have pondered my time with them... some realities have hit me in the face... I AM LAZY WITH ALL MY COMFORTS!!  i have NO EXCUSE for not sharing my blessings, my giftings, my talent and my resources...  i have NO EXCUSE for not reaching out to the widow, orphan and the oppressed...  my life was meant to be used as a BEACON OF LIGHT FOR OTHERS TO FIND HIM!

just as i needed to hear God's story through their lives, as a reminder of how God uses the ORDINARY TO PERFORM HIS EXTRAORDINARY, others need to hear your story... and my story... of God's Amazing Grace! 

speaking of :)  our adoption journey... we are getting all the US side paperwork finalized as i write... i would love to say by next week that all would be done... and that i might be closer to telling you our travel date... but only God knows if that will hold true...

however, in the meantime pencil in April 28th as our homecoming celebration for our boys... we would love to have you there... i will give you more details soon! 

as God's story continues to play out through our lives i pray you see HOW BIG HE IS!  NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM! 

time flies...

you hear it said all the time that time flies when your having fun... while that is certainly true, i believe the greater truth is time flies regardless :)

gracies first day of school :) wow... what happened to the time?

it has been 2 years since i have seen our boys... i can't even begin to imagine what our first day together will be like... (one will be 13 in feb, what a journey this will be, hehe, and the other will be 10 in march)... i wonder what has transpired in their lives over the past two years... but then i think once we are together will it matter?  because we will have the days ahead to make God sized memories in!

as we begin to finalize all the paperwork to get us across the ocean... i have to tell you something... it seems like just yesterday that i saw them... the two years have turned into what seems like 2 months...  no different than when i look at my life... it feels like just yesterday my kids were starting school... wow, how quick time flies...

this thought process took me to a verse in scripture... James 4:14b...
      ..."What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

time flies by... and since we only have one... and only the things of eternity will matter when we breathe our last breath... WE BETTER MAKE IT GOOD! 

so as we await our reunion... we will WILL NOT be wasting our small mist of time... but instead planning for how we will help more children just like ours... those that are abandoned and alone... find their way home!

praying for you and yours!!  LeAnn

Sweetest sound :)

So I just heard for the first time the words that are MUSIC to a mommas ears... My youngest son just told me he loved me in English!!! What a mighty God we serve!!

I pray for you and yours this New Year... The TRUST and the BELIEF that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!!

Happy New Year!