Christmas Miracle

 We got some not so encouraging news last Thursday…

Our paperwork is not moving the way it should and there is a chance things will not go the way we expected for this adoption.  We have been waiting 5 months for a signature that should take only a few days to get signed.  We got this news just a few days after I posted about my Fight for JOY.

We am going to be very transparent.

We are trusting God but that does not mean

that our flesh is not aching right now.

We know more than ever that we cannot do this without Him.

We need a Christmas miracle by Dec. 22nd.  

We can not give specifics as to what will happen after this date at this time but please just pray for God to move and 

in all things for Him to be glorified

Your ways, God are holy.  What God is as great as our God?  You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. 

Psalm 77:13-14

We believe in a God of miracles and

we believe He can perform this miracle. 

More than anything though, in all we do,

we want to bring Glory to His name. 

If this miracle does not happen we know He is sovereign

over ALL things and we will trust him in EVERYTHING.

Believing God means to believe that God 

has the power to perform miracles

but accepting if a miracle does not happen that

his plans are far greater than you can imagine.

A few months ago I hung these verses on my fridge

And I did not realize then how much they would mean to me now.

Today I am praising God, for what He has been teaching us.  

We know now that He was preparing us for this specific battle. 

As I look back over the past few months and I read through 

my journal of things I have written 

and verses that the Lord has placed on our hearts.

He was giving us the weapons we would need to fight…

To Fight for our Children… To Fight for His Children…

to Fight for JOY in all things.

Without God and his word we would be a complete mess right now
I am not going to lie, when we got this news

I walked into the bedroom and I looked at my bed 

and I considered for a moment climbing back in,

pulling the covers over my head, and sobbing

(this is Nicole not Mike writing this if you can't tell)

I am so thankful for my friends Te’Sheba and Brooke who called that morning and prayed a powerful prayer over the phone with me and for my friends Ashlee and Erin who texted and called to listen and give me words of encouragement.

My Joy cannot be broken…

I kept hearing this over and over in my head.  

My Joy can not be broken.... My Joy can not be broken!!!

I read the book of Philippians during my quiet time.  

It is letters Paul wrote to believers 

to strengthen them and show them that the

true Joy comes from Jesus Christ Alone.  

This quote was at the front of the book of Philippians 

in my New Living Translation Bible.

What is the true difference between happiness and joy?

Running deeper and stronger, JOY is the quiet, confident assurance of God's love and work in our life –

that he will be there no matter what!

Happiness depends on happenings, but 
JOY depends on Christ.

We choose JOY!!!  

Our family chooses JOY in ALL things!!!

While journaling I wrote this 

(P.S. I wish my hand writing looked this good)...

I know that God fights for Orphans

and that he is fighting for Kinsman and Miralette. 

Our fight to bring home our children has made me realize,

the way God fights for each one of us.

I believe that adoption is part of a spiritual battle

and that the enemy would like nothing more than for

every orphaned child to be an orphan for life. 

In fact, isn’t that what the enemy wants for all of us? 

To be orphans?  To never be adopted in to God’s family? 

To never know the blessings that await for us from our heavenly father?

Another adoptive mama recently posted this quote from Derek LouX 

“My friends, adoption is redemption. It’s costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him. And when He redeems us, we can’t even really appreciate or comprehend it.

I am reminded of how God fights for his sons and daughters (you and me)… like we are fighting for Kinsman and Miralette.

We have invested countless hours of paperwork, months of waiting,

and many sleepless nights.. but He did even more…

He came to us, the king of the universe as a baby and lived 33 years on this earth so that He could welcome us into His family.

We are raising and spending thousands of dollars …

but He paid the ultimate cost …

 He laid down his life so that we could be saved. 

So that we no longer would live as orphans but instead as children of God.

The incredible news is …  The battle has already been won! 
He is fighting for his children everyday.  

Celebrate with JOY!!!

The moment you accept Him you are adopted into his Family! 

Say what?!?!?  Yes!!

 Each one of us is adopted!

We are invited to be a part of Jesus’ family tree.

We become sons and daughters of the most high God!

We are given an inheritance that we could never give ourselves.

On the long and hard days of our battle for this adoption, the days I want to climb back in bed and pull the covers over my head.  I will remember that the Battle has already been won.  

God came down so that 

we can all be adopted into his family.

Thank you Jesus!!!

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Romans 8:17

As a parent, I want my children to know that I love them and that I want to give them the things they want.  But ultimately I want my children to trust me and know that I want the things are best for them.

We are asking our heavenly father for a 

Christmas miracle this season. 

We know God is able to perform this miracle but we also know as children of God we will trust our heavenly father 

no matter what happens.

Special thanks to Brooke Ackley for the photographs in this blog.  Love you girl!