Second Chances...

i don't have to read far in the Bible to understand that

God is a God of second chances.  

as i was studying in God's story through the life of Joshua today,

i was reviewing my notes when i read these words...

"Our failures do not define our future, our God does."

as the truth echoed through my head, tears formed in my eyes.

God is so gracious and good!

there is not another that has failed more than me. 

i lived many years in the pit, ruled by lies...

but my God in His goodness raised me up from the pit and

cloaked me in white robes!

AND...

as if that were not enough;  as undeserving as i am...

He said i will still use you!

 

This weekend He allowed me to watch on the front row

as all of our remaining treasures entered the waters 

clothed in white robes and proclaimed 

HOW VERY GOOD GOD IS!

 I am so grateful for a Father who does not give up on us!

Helping Haiti...

 i just had the priviledge of traveling to Guatemala and then to Haiti

with the most amazing group of volunteers to Haiti...

we are committed to continuing to lend a hand.  

 

 Trips scheduled this year:

August - Haiti

November (beg) - Guatemala

November (end)  - Haiti

you are invited!

i hope you will consider praying about whether you should join us!

they need you...

we need you!!

would love the privilege of serving the Lord alongside of you!

craziness!

i used to take my weekends as a break from the chaos...

now it is the chaos!

two years, four adoptions and a total of eight kids...

changes everything!!

add a few friends every weekend and we have our own ball team!

last weekend we had our very own volleyball tournament in the backyard

with complete teams :)  

We grilled 32 burgers and 20 hotdogs... it is always a party!

however, for all the craziness, there is an awful lot of reward!

with the tears, comes hugs...

with the lectures, comes lessons...

with the frustration, comes excitement...

with the bad grades, comes learning moments...

with the constant piles of laundry, comes extra prayer times...

with the fights, comes make up apologies...

with the full house, comes lots of lives to pour in to!

AND

with all the constant disciplining required, 

comes constant God conversations!!

which Praise the Lord has led to

3 of our kids receiving God's gift of Grace recently

and are to be baptized this Sunday!

for all the struggles we've seen there is

GREAT ETERNAL REWARD!

updates...

the past two months have been so much fun!

Erik turned 15...

our brazilian kids saw snow for the first time...

the girls celebrated their one year anniv here with dance photos :)

Jordan and i took our first mission trip together...

chaotic? ... yes!

hard? ... yes!

overwhelming at times? ... yes!

worth it?  absolutely!

Gotcha Day for two!

i have a hard time believing it has been 2 months since i last wrote.  

where has the time gone!

 

even more unbelievable is we just celebrated our one year 

"gotcha day" with our girls!

it has been an amazing, wild, hard, fun, exhilarating and trying year!

God has certainly seen us through alot of change :)