Addis Ababa or Angels?

I don't often double post, but this is worth a repeat I think. If you read it at my other blog,

Moments of Life...

I apologize, but it is a good read ;-)

As we sat in our room at the Union Hotel in Addis Ababa, I left my camera lens open and shot the busy night life.

As I look back now I can see God's hand stirring our hearts. One of these lights looks like a heart. It makes me think perhaps these were angels sent to bring us a special love for Ethiopia.

Imagine messengers of God carrying hearts made out of Glory.

His message was received and we gladly say, "Yes, Lord. We will love Ethiopia and it's people."

We long for the day that we can put our feet back on her ground. Long for the day that we can close our eyes and open them up to behold the gift of Love He has prepared for us...and
her name is Princess Sweetness.

We don't know much about her near 12 years of life, but we know God is preparing all of us to receive hearts filled with His glory.

The Glad Game!

Want to join the fun?

After reading, Pollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter with my kids~and loving it. I decided that we should play the game too. If you haven't heard of The Glad Game, well let me fill you in.

The Glad Game is about finding the good in something that isn't.

An example would be from my life yesterday:

Princess Mercy is sick. I picked her up to change her, not realizing *runny poop* was dripping out of her diaper, down her leg and as she only had a diaper cover on, well... As I picked her up, I not only got it all over my hands, but also managed to step in it. My dog ran over and started to lick the floor. Ewwhhh!! I was holding the baby by her arm pits at this point and yelling for help from my children. I couldn't move for fear of *spreading* the mess. Did I mention that she smelled AWFUL?

Now I could have got upset, as the whole day was somewhat similar, or I could find the bright side. *and my kids can tell you that I was leaning towards the negative.

Here is where *The Glad Game* comes in

(find something to be glad about in it).

...

"I am so glad that I have a beautiful Ethiopian baby who is in my arms waiting to be changed. We waited such a long time to have a baby in diapers again, after so many years of infertility."*

...

I find that many times I lean towards the negative in things. I thought if I (we) took time to give thanks, it might do wonderful things in our lives. After all we are to give thanks always to our God! Let's start with being glad about something today...

Psalm 56:12-13

Let's play and see the difference it makes in our lives! I went first your turn next! Just add your post url into MckLinky and we can get this game off and running-remember to link to my blog in your post so others can come and play the Glad Game too!

I made a button you can use...check out my sidebar. (Thank you God!)

Hey and leave me a comment so I'll know you were by ;-)

Things We Love: Sweet Goodness & Orphans

As Princess Mercy loves her ice cream; her Mama loves adoption.

If given the opportunity she would have it always; if given the opportunity I would adopt all 143 million orphans.

Mercy thinks its sweet: I know the sweetness of adoption-daily I see the six beautiful children that God has blessed my Knight and I with through the wonder of adoption.

Won't you ask God if He has adoption for your family?

And if you have a minute...check out the orphan doll website...this week they are moving to visit a new family!

www.orphandoll.com

Prayer Request Sunday

Happy Prayer Request Sunday~welcome friends!

So glad you stopped by for a visit!

Please leave me any prayer requests you have and I will gladly pray for you over this week. I truly count it a privilege.

May God bless you as you walk through this week, may you see Him moving in your life and heart each day. I am asking Him to give us opportunities to glorify Him too!

Remember, no one is a stranger here...so don't be shy about asking or receiving prayer.

Okay...need some advice

Wondering what kind of mop do you use?

I can't seem to find one that doesn't fall apart. I have the kind with the sponge attachment ~2 plastic screws hold it in place. I am sick of it breaking, replacing it only to have it break again too quickly.

Is there something that is durable?

I have wood floors that need an occasional mopping. My wood floors do need to be refinished, it is on our *to do list.* The floors have deep grooves between the wide boards, which of course hold the mud, dirt and crumbs rather smashingly. I need something that won't leave tons of water on the floor as it is oak, but that will clean up the dirt and mud that all the little feet drag in.

Thanks for your help friends! I've got to go clean up the sty, we've got company coming from the Ukraine!

Happy to take your suggestions, as I need to get something rather soon!

MY BABY'S ETSY...come see!

My girl has decided to have a hand at selling some of her beautiful creations.

I hope you will stop by her Etsy store and browse her wares. She does a wonderful job at creating useful items and will be using the funds to help her raise money for next years mission trip to Costa Rica. Please bookmark her shop and shop away!

My Name is Not King...

(but I have a dream)

And thanks for letting a proud Mama share her joy with you. All the years of pouring in has begun to ooze out of my sweet girl! I always taught her that we are made in the image of our Creative God...how good to see it manifest!

And I will keep a link to her shop on my sidebar~ for easy shopping!

Got Time for a Hug

an illustration of His Love

How glad I am to be surrounded by those who can *hold me*

Lately, I have been battling fear. Fear that I am in over my head with adopting a near 12 year old. Fear that it is going to be hard, fear that bonding may not happen, hearing others speak about their adoption has put concern in my heart. Suddenly, though I have seen His faithfulness in every single one of our adoptions, I am afraid.

I have been taking it to God. Crying out to Him and listening for His voice in this. He is saying that ALL is WELL. That He will work out every detail and all that I am concerned about. How wonderful that God is faithful and doesn't lie. How good that He has my family covered, even in the hard things of life.

OH my soul, worry not, trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not unto your own understanding, but in all your ways (and thoughts) acknowledge Him and He will set your path straight.

sigh.

Sewing Seeds...an opportunity to be a BLESSING!

I am blessed to be friends with Randi~

I have to Say

She has such a big heart for others and is such a giver. Randi and I are joining together and asking you, our friends, to sew skirts to give to the women and children of Temuco, Chile.

We don't have a lot of time, won't you pop over to Randi's and get all the details on this ministry opportunity. She has some great tutorials on simple skirts for children and for women! This will be fun...won't you join us?

Sow the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you."---Hosea 10:12

The Only Answer to *Why?*

Ecclesiastes 3:14 ~from The Message Bible:

I've also concluded that whatever God does, that's the way it's going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God's done it and that's it. That's so we'll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.

When faced with life, sometimes I ask God why. An example would be,

"Why was Princess Sweetness in an orphanage for 5 years."

"Why didn't you send us to her faster Lord?"

The reality is this...what is the purpose of life?

The purpose is that we are to revere God, as He alone is all powerful. To revere means that we respect and stand in awe of Him because of who He is. Purpose in life starts with who we know, it does not lie in what we know or how good we are or in anything we do. It is impossible for us to fulfill our God given purpose unless we revere God and give Him first place in our lives.

God decides the plans and purposes in our lives. If we live in obedience to Him, we can rest that we are walking in His perfect will. We won't miss a thing.

That being the case, I can rest that the length of time that Princess Sweetness has been in the orphanage was and is in God's hands. It isn't what I did or didn't do, as I had the first part right...my life is in line with reverence towards Him. My Knight and I have worshiped and been in awe of Him for many years now. Daily we come before Him, submitting our lives into His hands.

So, what should I do now?

I should live in awe of Him, I should submit moment to moment to Him, I should live those minutes given to me in worship. Worship. Simple worship.

Want to join me?

Prayer Request Sunday

Hope you came by for prayer! Leave me a comment or send me a private email and I will be happy to hold you up in prayer this week. We will join hearts and come before God. I know He hears us and answers prayer.

I hope you won't be a stranger, but will share your heart with me, knowing that when 2 or more gather together...there He is in the midst.

Injera...an Ethiopian Staple

The Ethiopian Princess

The mat I use to carry the injera from the grill to the table to cool...

it is a woven flexible place mat I found a while back.


My injera is it rolled and waiting to be eaten

I buy my teff in bulk from my natural food co-op

Injera is a staple in Ethiopia. It is a flat bread with a very sour taste and rather a spongy texture. Injera is eaten with many stews, meats, sauces and vegetable dishes. I think it is one of those things you either adore or dislike. We happen to adore it, for several reasons:

It's from Ethiopia, we ate the real thing there in January, they don't use utensils-just injera to pick up their food, they not only eat with their hands~ but with their hearts, injera is mild...but much of the food is laced with Berbere which is rather spicy! We are now also Berbere addicts-even Baby Mercy, who is all of 18 months old !

My second attempt at injera...

my first batch happened two weeks after we were home from Ethiopia in January. My husband's Ethiopian friends were impressed that I was making it myself! Mine still needs improvement before Princess Sweetness comes home- though we have been told she likes to cook...so maybe she will teach me how to really make it. (yeah!!)

Berbere spiced tofu, scrambled eggs with fenegreek, injera

Princess Mercy, our Ethiopian girl, approves of Mama's Ethiopian cooking

mmmmmm....

The recipe:

*sour dough starter

salt, to taste

teff wheat (1 lb bag)

warm water-(enough to make dough into a ball and later to thin it)

large bowl

cotton tablecloth...or cooling racks

vegetable oil for grill or large skillet you choose to use

*I add a 1/4 cup of teff sour dough starter to my recipe, I have this on hand always now.

Mix the teff, water, salt together. Knead it until it comes together in a ball, do so until no more lumps (about 10-20 minutes of kneading, if your arms ache you are almost there).

Allow to sit covered for 1-3 days. (I have never been patient enough to wait 3 days, that is why I add the starter right before I am ready to cook it).

When your teff dough has fermented to your liking, begin to add more water, at this point I add in my teff sour dough starter too. You want a very crepe like consistency, thinner than pancake batter. Allow for this to sit for 4-6 hours on your counter...yes, you need to think ahead to make this for dinner. At this point I run it through my blender in small batches, depositing it into a new large clean bowl as it is done being mixed. (save out 1 cup of this mix to use as your sour dough starter...feed it once a week, with milk and teff flour)

Heat up your large skillet. I use my stove top grill...heated to medium high. I add a little vegetable oil that I wipe on with a paper towel, in Ethiopia they don't use oil in their Mitad (the pan). Once the grill is good and hot I begin to cover the whole surface with injera batter-rolling it about to make sure it is thin and as even as you can. I can't roll it on my grill; so I use the back of a ladel to distribute it evenly on the grill surface. Cover the pan or grill (I make an aluminum foil cover for our grill)...the injera needs to steam. It will be done when you see tons of little bubbles (or eyes) rise from the dough-the dough will be dry.

Don't flip it, but carefully lift it off the grill and put it on a waiting cotton tablecloth to cool.

Once cool you can roll them up and they are ready to be eaten. I make enough so we have leftovers for a few days.

***If this sounds like madness to you, email me and I will walk you through it.

King Meemer letting you know that Mama used the Berbere in the eggs and tofu. The kids beg me to baptize everything in Berbere...really! And we don't use a little, we use a lot!

I'd have to say...Berbere is kicking hot!

Scooped Up by God!

* (notice the troubled look....and think of me)

* (notice the big smile and think of me)

*(notice the love and the strong arms that are holding Princess Mercy)


*(notice the pure joy on her face!)

2 Samuel 22:17

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.

These pictures, are a visual of what God is doing for my family. Just as Princess Mercy's big sister came and scooped her up, so God is doing that to my family. This adoption is a huge stretch for us, though in faith we have agreed to do as God is asking us. You understand we just completed an adoption to Ethiopia in January, so straight out I have to say we don't have $20,000 to give Him currently.

Yesterday, I received an email from my friend Anna, of Pleasant View Schoolhouse. She decided that she wanted to help us in raising funds for Princess Sweetness' adoption. Oh how glad our heart is, for such love poured out for our new daughter and for us! Oh we are so thankful for her willingness to bless us; by sharing her gifts, friends and talents with us this week. Run over and see what a blessing God poured out on us...

Yup, God scooped me up yesterday through the arms of sweet Anna. He spoke to my heart to rest, that He was working and to not let my heart be troubled in regards of the money that is needed.

thank you God, thank you sweet Anna...thank you all who are letting the Holy Spirit stir your hearts~ to join us in this battle of rescuing a beautiful Ethiopian orphan, who happens to be the daughter God chose for us since the beginning of time. We appreciate you coming along side of us in this battle for a little girl's life.

thank you!

Another Thought About Orphans...

Proverbs 19:17

He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD; and He will reward him for what he has done. (NIV)

Mercy to the needy is a loan to God, and God pays back those loans in full. (TheMessage)

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his deed.
(ESV)

He that is gracious to the poor lendeth unto Jehovah; and what he hath bestowed will he repay unto him.
(Darby)

Would you pray about financially joining us in bringing home our Sweet Princess Sweetness? She is an orphan and God is asking us to bring her home...won't you please help us do just that? There is no amount that would be too little,

every penny counts when trying to raise $20,ooo!

Educational Games?

Wondering out loud:

Are there any educational games that have the option of being using with a headset (earphones)? At an early educational level?

I am thinking that this would be a good thing to pack for our LONNNGGGG trip home from Ethiopia for our new daughter~Princess Sweetness. Any ideas?

Looking for things that teach letters, letter sounds, being read to-where you can follow along with the written story, making simple words or sentences. Something that would help her learn the new language and be fun at the same time. Is there such a thing or can you tell me of something else that might work-not only for the plane ride, but for teaching tools for homeschooling her.

Can't wait to hear your ideas and thanks so much!

Prayer Request Sunday

Feel like praying? Want someone to pray with you or for you? I'd love to stand with you in whatever is on your heart. Leave me a comment and we'll get busy!

Let's walk hand in hand before God's throne with your heart's concern... come on,

let's go now.

"I had rather stand against the cannons of the wicked than against the prayers of the righteous."

Thomas Lye

A Bit of Disappointment

We found out that our care package for Princess Sweetness (our new Ethiopian daughter)...did NOT make it to her in Ethiopia.

She has been told she has a family by Krista and Jared's new son Muluken, who speaks English and Garage (Gur-agh-gay) her language. They are in Ethiopia to pick up their two beautiful children, ...but she has no pictures of us, as the album is still waiting with our agency. Plans changed suddenly and Sue (Celebrate Children's director) wasn't able to travel.

I am kicking myself, as Krista (the mom who is adopting Muluken and Gifte...from the same orphanage is Woliso, Ethiopia) asked me if she could bring a picture of us. Thinking she already was carrying 350lbs of donations, doing her first adoption (of TWO children) and the fact that the director was supposed to be traveling to escort a child home and bring our album/care package...I didn't forward a picture to her.

We are told that maybe in November she will get our care package and album.

My heart is heavy, as I can't imagine being told you have a family and then not being able to *see* who you are a part of. The problem is that she is 2 1/2 hours from Addis Ababa and no way to get a picture to her until November.

Sweet Sue Hedberg is thinking if there is *someway* to get Princess Sweetness a picture earlier than November... praying and thinking, praying and thinking.

I will close with what God spoke to my heart right after He plopped us into this adoption. He said, "Read Ezekiel chapter 48."

I did.

The last word of the chapter is...*Jehovah Shammah*...which means:

*God is There.*

Knowing she knows Him and that He is there with her soothes my aching mother's heart. Would you pray for her not to be worried, but to rest peacefully in His arms while she waits to meet us via our album?

143 Million Orphans, Minus One

Wishing we could see to Ethiopia, this weekend...

This post won't have pictures of our new Ethiopian daughter, nor will it have her name; as we are sworn to secrecy, until we get a flag from Ethiopia saying we are ready to go.

(I know so hard to wait.)

What I can tell you is that she is :

• sweet...we will be referring to her for now as *Princess Sweetness!*
• we don't know her age, but she is somewhere between 9-12 years old.
• she has been in an orphanage for almost 5 years, waiting for a family
• she is a Christian
• she has been praying for a Christian family
• God has answered her prayers

• God has answered ours (remember we went on vacation to hear His voice, in regards to this adoption...the *where and who*...God spoke clearly and very specifically!)
• she is being represented by a wonderful agency...Celebrate Children
• I want to adopt the Director of Celebrate Children, Sue Hedberg ...she loves Jesus!
• I so want to be like Sue...she has rescued 1,500 kids to date

• (back to Princess Sweetness...)
• she speaks a little English
• her orphanage is in Woliso, Ethiopia
• she isn't very playful and is a little quiet...but we know a God who can heal her hurts and restore what has been stolen from her by the Enemy!
• she has a gentle tender spirit
• she has a beautiful smile
• she is teeny-tiny
• this weekend she will learn that God has answered her prayers for a family!

The bunny looking out of the window will be traveling to Ethiopia this weekend (I sewed him up for her and stuffed him with lavender!)...Sue Hedberg will be delivering it for us to Princess Sweetness. She also will be giving her a photo album of us, some clothes, a few hair bands and barrettes, a necklace we made for her...each of us designed and colored a card stock heart, we signed them on the back, laminated them and strung them on a simple ribbon for her to wear until we arrive~ to give her our hearts for real;

9 hearts that God has prepared for her to have forever.

God is amazing.

We need to do some fund-raising; as we need to raise $20k to bring her home. We are also praying right now, that God would open the door and the finances to a second (non-related) child...as it would only cost another $6k. Seeking God, won't you join us?

...once I figure out how to do a fund raising button...we'd love you to join us in this too. Oh how I wish I had 20,000 friends who could give us $1 to bring Princess Sweetness home, perhaps friends who will help us receive another $6k too?

And...were we surprised by God's plan? Hmmm, yes...

but the peace we have and the *knowing,* kicks the *surprise* right out of the picture and instead puts our arms open wide, to receive all that God is preparing for us!