We put our home study in for Chelsea and Joseph 4 weeks and 2 days ago. Oh, does it seems as though we are keeping track? Maybe. :) Nothing yet. God told us to wait. We feel we have waited because we have waited 4 weeks and 2 days. The caseworker said 4 to 8 weeks. Has she looked at the calendar? It has has been 4 weeks and 2 days.
Obviously, we are not good at this; being still, listening, waiting all of these equals patience which I am not sure anyone in this house even has a clue what patience is. Most likely that is EXACTLY why God is having us wait. We try "Good things come to those who wait" and all those other nice antedotes but did we mention it has been 4 weeks and 2 days?
Beth Moore is an amazing Bible study teacher. Mot Bible study teachers are whether you agree 100% with them or not, most are great at teaching Biblical truths. More than teaching, God uses Beth to gently and humorously remind me of my many faults, yes I admit to many. This Thursday, like every Thursday morning this past semester I have obediently gone to Bible study and every Thursday God has continually used Beth to gently step on my toes, not this time.
I am guessing God knew when Beth made the video we watched today that we would be waiting 4 weeks and 2 days. I would also say that He was not quite as gentle when He had beth stomping on my toes today morning. I will say I was one of the only ladies nearly crying from laughing so hard at myself! Thank you Lord Beth loves Starbucks as much as I do and is as impatient as I am or I would really look like a fool!
So, we will wait for as long as God requires. We will remain steadfast and true to our hearts belief that God has already chosen us to be Chelsea and Josephs forever home. I am sure we will continue to count, even the guys are counting. We are all obsessed as if we were all first time parents. We pray if it is not meant to be God will let us down easy but oh how we pray this is meant to be.
Abdingin Him,
The Colson's
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
His Plans
Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. ~ Ephesians 2:10, NLT
God is so amazing how He shows us He is right here with us. He has the plan, He placed the plan in our hearts, we are seeking Him and we are excited to see what He planned so long ago for us come to fruition!
We of course have high hopes for Chelsea and Joseph. We did ask our case worker to contact Chelsea and Joseph's case worker, we have peace about it more so than if we contact her ourselves. Now we will anxiously wait on the Lord.
Another amazing find in all of this is our son, Joshua. Josh is typically the most impatient of the 4 of us and he has an undeniable peace about this situation. He notices when I begin to question, "should I call the case worker?", Josh will simply say "Mom, God told us to wait, we need to wait." I can see the excitement and hope in his face as he so calmly reassures what God has clearly directed us to do -WAIT. Josh is amazing!
We loved our children when they were young and dreaded each new stage because we so loved the stage they were in and we wanted to stay there with them forever. One was so rewarding, learning to walk, first words, giggles and snuggles, two was... When children mature and you can see their whole heart seeking God, His wisdom gently touching you through them and His passion flowing within them there is no greater reward on Earth.
We hope when we grow up we can be the most like Christ but at least more like Amanda and Joshua. Thank you Lord for trusting us with your priceless creations and for giving us all we needed to serve them well.
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. ~ Ephesians 2:10, NLT
God is so amazing how He shows us He is right here with us. He has the plan, He placed the plan in our hearts, we are seeking Him and we are excited to see what He planned so long ago for us come to fruition!
We of course have high hopes for Chelsea and Joseph. We did ask our case worker to contact Chelsea and Joseph's case worker, we have peace about it more so than if we contact her ourselves. Now we will anxiously wait on the Lord.
Another amazing find in all of this is our son, Joshua. Josh is typically the most impatient of the 4 of us and he has an undeniable peace about this situation. He notices when I begin to question, "should I call the case worker?", Josh will simply say "Mom, God told us to wait, we need to wait." I can see the excitement and hope in his face as he so calmly reassures what God has clearly directed us to do -WAIT. Josh is amazing!
We loved our children when they were young and dreaded each new stage because we so loved the stage they were in and we wanted to stay there with them forever. One was so rewarding, learning to walk, first words, giggles and snuggles, two was... When children mature and you can see their whole heart seeking God, His wisdom gently touching you through them and His passion flowing within them there is no greater reward on Earth.
We hope when we grow up we can be the most like Christ but at least more like Amanda and Joshua. Thank you Lord for trusting us with your priceless creations and for giving us all we needed to serve them well.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
From the Heart of a Child
I specifically asked permission to post the following and I hope if it strikes your heart you will know it came from God to you. Maybe you know someone waiting for a child who would enjoy this, please feel free to share it. You may find yourself needing Kleenex.
Forever love
Longing for children to love,
I pray to the one up above.
In my heart I always knew,
a part of me was meant for you.
I think of how happy we will be,
You and me and my family,
and together forever we will always be.
I dream of all the joy you'll bring,
imagining the little things.
The way I’d feel to hold you tight,
and watch you sleep every night.
Getting you ready for the day,
watching you dance and play.
The drawings on the refrigerator door,
toys spread across the floor.
The favorite stories read again,
hours of games with many friends.
I pray for the day you take my outstretched hand,
And when our lives will really begin.
Still I wait for your sweet face,
And the warming of our first embrace.
I promise to give you a happy home,
a loving family to call your own.
A family you will make complete,
with laughter, smiles and smelly feet.
Parents who will guide the way,
And be there for you everyday.
By Amanda Colson
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Hmmmm....
Prayer is powerful!
So, as we try to be still, we are all praying night and day for Joseph, Chelsea and God's will. Lord how we hunger to hold them. There is an overwhelming excitement that came over me as I was updating the snazzy new bling on the blog. "If not not now, when?" Over and over this question is ringing in my head... Finally, I got it! If we do not advocate for our children who will and if we do not do it now then when?
This is our prayer, that God will give us peace through our prayer time tonight and in the morning. As long as there is peace tomorrow we will call their case worker and ask our case worker to contact Joseph and Chelsea's case workers as well.
Thank you for walking and praying with us on our journey.
The Colson's
So, as we try to be still, we are all praying night and day for Joseph, Chelsea and God's will. Lord how we hunger to hold them. There is an overwhelming excitement that came over me as I was updating the snazzy new bling on the blog. "If not not now, when?" Over and over this question is ringing in my head... Finally, I got it! If we do not advocate for our children who will and if we do not do it now then when?
This is our prayer, that God will give us peace through our prayer time tonight and in the morning. As long as there is peace tomorrow we will call their case worker and ask our case worker to contact Joseph and Chelsea's case workers as well.
Thank you for walking and praying with us on our journey.
The Colson's
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Sudden Panic
Not to burst a bubble or to seem negative but my mind goes to these places every now and then. Call them lies from the pit of H___ or whatever you want. We all go there from time to time. I know I go there far more than I should!
To the point. We have been praying for Joseph and Chelsea, we get that excited butterfly feeling when we think of them and we can imagine spending time with them on our Florida vacation, even Steve and Josh are thinking of them all the time. BUT... is this another dream not to come true? Another deep desire squelched for whatever reason - His will I know but why? How do my thoughts go there so quickly you ask? We turned in our home study and the next day they were not on the photolisting website, today they are there.
I know God has shown us to be still and wait, is this when we should contact the case worker again or are we to wait for her to contact us or for us to wait for other children? Our hearts are open to the children God chose for us don't get me wrong. Our hearts have just already fallen for these two precious children.
We ask for your prayers that God will bring peace to us on what to do next or if we are to continue to be still and know that He is God.
To the point. We have been praying for Joseph and Chelsea, we get that excited butterfly feeling when we think of them and we can imagine spending time with them on our Florida vacation, even Steve and Josh are thinking of them all the time. BUT... is this another dream not to come true? Another deep desire squelched for whatever reason - His will I know but why? How do my thoughts go there so quickly you ask? We turned in our home study and the next day they were not on the photolisting website, today they are there.
I know God has shown us to be still and wait, is this when we should contact the case worker again or are we to wait for her to contact us or for us to wait for other children? Our hearts are open to the children God chose for us don't get me wrong. Our hearts have just already fallen for these two precious children.
We ask for your prayers that God will bring peace to us on what to do next or if we are to continue to be still and know that He is God.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Be Still...
Sometimes I think God tests his sense of humor out on us.
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NLT
I read this and said "ok, you have got to be kidding me!" after are you ready? Sit down you are about to read a really funny story the sadness in it is that this is a true story.
On Most weekdays my alarm sounds off at 4:45am so I like to sleep in when I can and considering Saturday we cleaned the garage out, reorganized, found new homes for a few things and we now have a list of items that will be listed on Craig's list. All so I can park in the garage. I think after all it is a two stall garage one of us should be able to park in it! Feeling like we had accomplished something, I slept like a baby Saturday night, first night in a while but well deserved.
Sometime around 8am when I got out of bed to let the dogs out, the curtains are drawn so it is still rather dark in the house, I was not fully awake, I wondered why I felt water splashing one me. I thought hmmm... I better call for Steve! So I did. I took about 3 more steps and was now standing in water that easily graced the top of my feet. I at this point YELLED for Steve as I looked up in horror realizing my living room, dinning room and kitchen were now an indoor rain forest.
Yes, water was coming from the ceiling, the light fixtures, there was water in the cabinets, the drawers, there was water everywhere! We borrowed a friends shop vac and dehumidifier and although we were sucking water out it still began coming out of new places in the ceiling and other fixtures. I stood several times starring from the ceiling to the floor thinking, "surely this is a nightmare and any moment my alarm will go off, I will get up, let the dogs out, make a latte, get in the shower... leave for church." NOPE - girl friend this is your reality!
Never having claimed on our homeowners insurance we stood starring at the ceiling together and then the floor, back and forth wondering "Lord does our homeowners insurance pay for any of this?" Thankfully, it does!
Today, it is all still here, there is less water in places it doesn't belong but it is still wet!
It seems satan would like to ruin us financially before our adoption but... God used a friend of ours to speak directly to our hearts today... from their 5:12am blog, "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be still." How awesome is God, more than I can ever put into words!
So, we are faithfully going to be still in the midst of all this water knowing He is God, He is in control, He is preparing something great for us, and we are to be still and wait upon Him.
the Colson's
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NLT
I read this and said "ok, you have got to be kidding me!" after are you ready? Sit down you are about to read a really funny story the sadness in it is that this is a true story.
On Most weekdays my alarm sounds off at 4:45am so I like to sleep in when I can and considering Saturday we cleaned the garage out, reorganized, found new homes for a few things and we now have a list of items that will be listed on Craig's list. All so I can park in the garage. I think after all it is a two stall garage one of us should be able to park in it! Feeling like we had accomplished something, I slept like a baby Saturday night, first night in a while but well deserved.
Sometime around 8am when I got out of bed to let the dogs out, the curtains are drawn so it is still rather dark in the house, I was not fully awake, I wondered why I felt water splashing one me. I thought hmmm... I better call for Steve! So I did. I took about 3 more steps and was now standing in water that easily graced the top of my feet. I at this point YELLED for Steve as I looked up in horror realizing my living room, dinning room and kitchen were now an indoor rain forest.
Yes, water was coming from the ceiling, the light fixtures, there was water in the cabinets, the drawers, there was water everywhere! We borrowed a friends shop vac and dehumidifier and although we were sucking water out it still began coming out of new places in the ceiling and other fixtures. I stood several times starring from the ceiling to the floor thinking, "surely this is a nightmare and any moment my alarm will go off, I will get up, let the dogs out, make a latte, get in the shower... leave for church." NOPE - girl friend this is your reality!
Never having claimed on our homeowners insurance we stood starring at the ceiling together and then the floor, back and forth wondering "Lord does our homeowners insurance pay for any of this?" Thankfully, it does!
Today, it is all still here, there is less water in places it doesn't belong but it is still wet!
It seems satan would like to ruin us financially before our adoption but... God used a friend of ours to speak directly to our hearts today... from their 5:12am blog, "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be still." How awesome is God, more than I can ever put into words!
So, we are faithfully going to be still in the midst of all this water knowing He is God, He is in control, He is preparing something great for us, and we are to be still and wait upon Him.
the Colson's
Thursday, February 5, 2009
English Lesson
I am amazed at the scripture that we are reading each day!
Psalm 5:3
Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
We are seeing a trend in what God is telling us...
We looked up wait, preparing and expectantly because they are the theme of the recent scriptures we are reading either from a daily subscription, Bible study or homework.
Prepare v 1. is to make something or somebody ready for something 2. To plan something in advance
Wait v 1. To stay in one place or do nothing for a period of time until something happens or in the expectation or hope that something will happen
Expectantly adj 1. Excitedly aware that something is about to happen.
Synonyms:
Prepare; Get Ready, Organize, Plan, Set Up, Put in Order
Wait; Stay, Hang Around, Linger, Stop, Pass Time
Expectantly; Hopeful, In Suspense, Excitedly, In Anticipation, Anxiously
We are now more excited than ever. We are waiting on the Lord, what He is preparing for us and we are anxious!
We hope you are in a place you can hear God speaking to you, where you are excited for life and all He has to offer you.
Anxiously hanging out while God puts things in order!
the Colson's
Psalm 5:3
Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
We are seeing a trend in what God is telling us...
We looked up wait, preparing and expectantly because they are the theme of the recent scriptures we are reading either from a daily subscription, Bible study or homework.
Prepare v 1. is to make something or somebody ready for something 2. To plan something in advance
Wait v 1. To stay in one place or do nothing for a period of time until something happens or in the expectation or hope that something will happen
Expectantly adj 1. Excitedly aware that something is about to happen.
Synonyms:
Prepare; Get Ready, Organize, Plan, Set Up, Put in Order
Wait; Stay, Hang Around, Linger, Stop, Pass Time
Expectantly; Hopeful, In Suspense, Excitedly, In Anticipation, Anxiously
We are now more excited than ever. We are waiting on the Lord, what He is preparing for us and we are anxious!
We hope you are in a place you can hear God speaking to you, where you are excited for life and all He has to offer you.
Anxiously hanging out while God puts things in order!
the Colson's
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Update on Misty
Misty, she is so beautiful! We look at her picture and think oh, just to be able to give her one big bear hug! You can scroll down and see her beautiful picture below, you will see what we mean. We learned today that she has some family ties in CA so they are only seeking families in her area of CA for adoption. Misty, we are praying your forever family finds you soon!
1 Corinthians 2:9 has come up randomly several times over the past few days for each of us. We are in such anticipation of what the Lord has for us we can hardly be still. We do not know if it will pertain to adoption but what we do know is our God is an awesome God and His Word does not return void.
Amanda said she has the Santa Claus feeling, you know the excited butterflyish feeling you get in your stomach on Christmas Eve when you are anticipating what is under the tree and in your stocking. I know the feeling she is talking about, all four of us have it.
Here in this great place of anticipation we will be still and we will wait on Him.
Thank you for waiting and praying with us on our journey.
In Him,
the Colson's
1 Corinthians 2:9 has come up randomly several times over the past few days for each of us. We are in such anticipation of what the Lord has for us we can hardly be still. We do not know if it will pertain to adoption but what we do know is our God is an awesome God and His Word does not return void.
Amanda said she has the Santa Claus feeling, you know the excited butterflyish feeling you get in your stomach on Christmas Eve when you are anticipating what is under the tree and in your stocking. I know the feeling she is talking about, all four of us have it.
Here in this great place of anticipation we will be still and we will wait on Him.
Thank you for waiting and praying with us on our journey.
In Him,
the Colson's
Monday, February 2, 2009
Excited!!
We know it is strange, this feeling of excitement we have but it cannot be ignored either. As I read this morning I believe God in His infamous wisdom gave us a clear and concise answer.
1 Corinthians 2:9
9 However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has hear,
no mind has conceived
What God has prepared for
for those who love Him."
Isaiah 64:4
Since ancient times
no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
God is telling us to wait on Him, He has chosen the best kids in the whole wide world for us. We are to be excited in anticipation of what He has prepared for us as we wait on the One we love for the ones we already so deeply love.
We serve an amazing God! We are SO excited!
We hope you are excited for whatever God is preparing for you!
1 Corinthians 2:9
9 However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has hear,
no mind has conceived
What God has prepared for
for those who love Him."
Isaiah 64:4
Since ancient times
no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
God is telling us to wait on Him, He has chosen the best kids in the whole wide world for us. We are to be excited in anticipation of what He has prepared for us as we wait on the One we love for the ones we already so deeply love.
We serve an amazing God! We are SO excited!
We hope you are excited for whatever God is preparing for you!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Having Fun!
Time flies when you are having fun! We decided that with so many children and the amount of time it will take to actually adopt that we would chose to have fun rather than allowing the disappointments to change our hearts. We took our PATH class and graduated 18 months ago and have fostered 5 children! Through the course of fostering, we realized that TN might not be the right place to adopt from so we took our online searching more seriously just after the New Year began.
Adopting is similar regardless the route you take except some of the terminology is a little different but we believe the outcome will be very similar; a happy family and happy children!
There are a couple of cases we have turned in home studies for and would appreciate your prayer on.
The first group is from SC Kiara and Keanu. We do not have much info on these little ones. We saw them online in the fall and they went off line and back on... They were actually the first kids we submitted an interest form for and this started the chain reaction! Kiara and Keanu look a lot like us or at least they look like our kids did at their ages; blonde hair and big brown eyes! We should hear from their case worker in 6-8 weeks.
The next set are two children in Florida their names are Chelsea and Joseph. We came across them by accident. We had come to the conclusion that a sibling group is what we are drawn to so that must be the path God has for us. Amanda is so drawn to all the children and decided to finish her search of girls in FL and last but not least Chelsea. Chelsea just melted our hearts so we decided to inquire. Her caseworker contacted us and stated that if we were interested in Chelsea and her 5 year old brother we could submit our home study. We did just that and later that afternoon she called us to give us more information. We will hear one way or the other in 4-8 weeks. We will see where God leads us on this trail.
We have also been praying for Misty. She is a 5 year old with a heart condition in LA. For some reason she struck a cord in our hearts and we have been praying for her since early November. She was taken off the site earlier this month which means there is a family selected or the process is almost complete for the child(ren) to be matched with a family, we were so excited for her! Misty is now back on the site and we have chosen to inquire about her as well.
We do not always know why we do the things we do, but we would like to believe we are responding to the Holy Spirit and all He has for us.
Blessings!
the Colson's
Adopting is similar regardless the route you take except some of the terminology is a little different but we believe the outcome will be very similar; a happy family and happy children!
There are a couple of cases we have turned in home studies for and would appreciate your prayer on.
The first group is from SC Kiara and Keanu. We do not have much info on these little ones. We saw them online in the fall and they went off line and back on... They were actually the first kids we submitted an interest form for and this started the chain reaction! Kiara and Keanu look a lot like us or at least they look like our kids did at their ages; blonde hair and big brown eyes! We should hear from their case worker in 6-8 weeks.
The next set are two children in Florida their names are Chelsea and Joseph. We came across them by accident. We had come to the conclusion that a sibling group is what we are drawn to so that must be the path God has for us. Amanda is so drawn to all the children and decided to finish her search of girls in FL and last but not least Chelsea. Chelsea just melted our hearts so we decided to inquire. Her caseworker contacted us and stated that if we were interested in Chelsea and her 5 year old brother we could submit our home study. We did just that and later that afternoon she called us to give us more information. We will hear one way or the other in 4-8 weeks. We will see where God leads us on this trail.
We have also been praying for Misty. She is a 5 year old with a heart condition in LA. For some reason she struck a cord in our hearts and we have been praying for her since early November. She was taken off the site earlier this month which means there is a family selected or the process is almost complete for the child(ren) to be matched with a family, we were so excited for her! Misty is now back on the site and we have chosen to inquire about her as well.
We do not always know why we do the things we do, but we would like to believe we are responding to the Holy Spirit and all He has for us.
Blessings!
the Colson's
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
