Looking at 365 Gifts

Catchy title no?

As I sat with my bible, the Holy Spirit began spilling this out into my heart

...for the coming year.

Philippians 3:12-14

Isaiah 40:28-31

As I sat thinking, an acrostic poem began to form

(it doesn't happen often, but at times, God has spoken to me this way).

New Year Hope-

or 365 Days of Bending my Knee

N-Not knowing what tomorrow holds, nor even today; I will seek God first.

E- Everyday God has a plan and purpose for my life. I will listen carefully for His still small voice

W- Wonderful; I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I have strengths and weaknesses that can be shaped, as I yield to His touch.

***

Y- "Yes Lord!" As Samuel was ready to serve when God called out to him in the night, so will I be ready. Serving others puts "me" last. Samuel was blessed by God, not only to hear his voice, but to see His favor.

E- expressing encouragement; I want to show the spirit of affirmation to my family, to my children and to those God puts in my path this year. (Encouragement means to put courage into...to give strength to). Encouragement helps us reach our full potential.

A- All things are possible with God. I will remember that I am never alone. The Holy Spirit resides in me, He plugs me into God's Power for my life. His strength not mine for these 365 days ahead of me.

R- remember *real*; I am human, remember that trials will come. I will fail and find that discouragement wants to ride me, but remember two things:

Greater is He who is in you...

and

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

***

H- Hearing; it means not only hearing but, listening with care.

O- Opportunities; The Holy Spirit will make more opportunities to use the gifts and talents given to me for His purposes. OH!!

P- Pursuit; passionate pursuit. Seeking Him and believing for more passion to run the race before me. Without passion the pursuit will not yield joy or growth.

E- Everyday; 365 new days, gifts to me from my loving Father...

to rejoice in and show Him and the world my grateful heart!

resolutions?...

...no, just worship; He wants yours and mine,

want to join me in giving Him 365 gifts?

Ethiopian Coffee...and Sleep

I wish I had a witty picture to share, ahem, but I don't.

I thought I'd share what my night looked like last night; due to 2 deliciously strong cups of Ethiopian coffee, that I indulged in too late in the day.

imagine if you will:

Time...post 1:00 a.m.....

Kimmie laying in bed.

Trying to sleep.

Shutting her eyes.

Rolling about.

No sleep.

Not worrying, which is good.

With adoption many times I worry when instead I should be sleeping.

This night I moved it to the absolute ridiculous though.

As I lay there...I actually found myself asking myself,

"I wonder why they call it horseradish?"

Now if I had any horseradish, or had even thought of horseradish in the last days, weeks or years, this might have been explainable. But alas, no explanation. Lay there I did, pondering all the possibilities of what the reason could be.

Do you know; so I can move on to a new question for tonight.

Yes, I have problems and one of them is my LOVE for strong Ethiopian coffee. Especially when I am tired, bad I know.

But coffee is coursing through my veins,

thanks Papa, for passing your addiction on to me.

Christmas Morning Homemade from the Heart

Christmas was simple, the second year in a row. Last year we were almost ready to fly to Ethiopia to pick up our infant daughter. This year, we have cut back yet again, in order to bring home our near 11 year old daughter, who is eagerly waiting for us in Ethiopia.

Adoptions are expensive and it has made us rethink how we do Christmas gifts.

I only wish I dared to do Christmas simply years ago.

Mama sewed homemade stuffed toys. This year the fleece animal creations were stuffed with lavender. Surely they will be good sleeping buddies. Each little creature came into being as I cut and sewed; the final creations was even a surprise to me!

They will be tucked in with each child; as a reminder that they are loved.

Sweet dreams my darlings.

And sewing with fleece is so easy...it behaves nicely, it doesn't require pinning and I was able to make 7 in a weeks time!

Remind me next year to start earlier though...

as next year there will be 8 to create.

Soon all the fleece will be on sale, I'll scoop it up and tuck it away for next years army of little lavender creatures.

Wise Word Monday

Some thoughts on contentment:

As I wandered into the mall for the first time in perhaps 2 years, my spirit was flooded by the spirit of discontentment that filled the area. My two big girls and I went in to look for some clothes for our coming Princess Sweetness, but were surrounded by swarms of grumbling people, both young and old. It was the afternoon after Christmas and instead of joy we found discontentment.

Contentment is not based on what you have or what you get on any given day; it is based on how you choose to view life. Contentment you see is an issue of the heart.

No matter what place we are currently in, whether a high place or a very low place, we get to choose whether we will *stay* in contentment. You see it is a choice we can make everyday, it is one that we can choose for the coming New Year. Or we can choose the pity-party route, discontentment opens the door of self-pity.

A great verse to memorize and apply is one that Paul spoke;

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." (Philippians 4:11)

then the second clue Paul gives us in emptying our selfish hearts to self-pity is found in verses 12-13~

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

With God and the Holy Spirit that is given to us at our salvation, we can get through whatever life brings. And the great news is we can walk it out with contentment, because as Believers and followers of Christ, we know that ALL things work together for our good.

Let's fix our eyes and hearts on Him, after all our Hope is in Him!

If you don't know Him and would like to...send me a note and we'll talk. My email is in the sidebar of this ole' blog!

Prayer Request Sunday

Welcome dear friends- glad you stopped by today! I pray that your celebration of Christ's birth was joyful and that your best gift was His Presence in your day.

Can I pray for you this week? Leave me a comment and I'd love to bring your needs before the Lord with you.

Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer, unless it is not the very will of God.

Matthew 6:8

For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

On my heart:

Derek Loux and his family

My Knight and I have been praying day and night for a woman named Renee Loux, she lost her sweet husband in a tragic car accident, just before Christmas.

Our hearts are knit to her and her family; as she grieves the loss of her beloved husband Derek. They have been great advocates of orphans and have adopted 8 children themselves. Derek not only leaves behind his lovely wife and 10 children, but the Body of Christ, who will greatly miss his place in our family.

I can't imagine such a loss, my heart cries out for God to come to Renee. I want her to know the Holy Spirit's comfort and His provision for her every need. I want her and her children to know God's peace, joy, love and goodness though they stand in such a place of grief and loss. I want her to know that she is not alone and that we will not leave her alone in this terrible loss.

Would you join with us in praying and holding up this precious family?

Sharing a Photo Shoot...

My two biggest girls were on their way out to a Progressive Dinner with their youth group...I decided it was a perfect time for a little photo shoot. As the new bedroom is still a work in progress, it makes a lovely photography studio at present.

In the last month I had a photo shoot with silly partying teenagers in it, my pregnant sister in law and her cute belly, and my two lovely girls...how fun! The lighting currently is lovely and if it wasn't for the fact that you could freeze to death up there...well, it would be every photographers dream!

I haven't had time to do any photo editing on the pictures, but as the girls polished up so nicely on their own...I give them to you untouched. (Can't wait to show you the other two photo shoots...once things settle down with the passing of many celebrations!)

Off to clean the house...have a sparkling day friends!

Luke Chapter 2-Welcome Saviour!

And unto us a Savior is born!

Read it in Luke!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas~

may your celebration be filled with awe, wonder and true worship!

May His Presence be the best gift you receive!

Adoption Update

And today...

the Dossier

(which is the all the paper work required for an international adoption)

went off to Washington to be Authenticated.

Next step once we get it back...it goes off to Ethiopia to be translated and gets submitted to Court (in Ethiopia).

After this... we get our court date...(which should take about 6 weeks). And then several weeks later...we GO to Ethiopia to get our beautiful daughter!!

(no time table with adoption is set in stone...

but we know the One who makes the stones, so no worries!!)

Praying for favor and for our finances!!

A Thought Filled Day

...Times of Reflection...

Swing sets remind me of friendship and laughter...

Playhouses remind me of times of great joy...

My silly dog Hunter, reminds me of faithful companionship...

His eyes tell me he is waiting for me and wants to be with me...

and that he is always right by my side. Always. Without fail, faithful.

Sometimes hard time comes and the winds of life whip in and take your breath away ....

Sometimes cold days keep you inside.

Sometimes those same days make your heart reflect.

Today I find myself without words, and the words I do find aren't words that I want to write.

The words that come to mind sting my heart. Those words, stab at my eyes, as I hold back the salty waters.

Friendships have proven difficult to me. Entering into them I have become cautious. Unfortunately cautious is not a good word to be associated with friendship. It is so hard for me to open myself up, difficult to put myself out there, knowing that so many times before it has brought very real pain.

But then I remember the richness of true friendship; the kind that you can be who God made you to be and it's embraced. The kind where you don't have to question what you should say or how you can make small talk. Honestly, real friends never have to think about those words, "small talk." They move beyond that sphere, into the depths of love and trust. Beyond the outside fence that keeps true friendship from forming. They move to the realm where even in silence there is peace and joy.

Friendship is love, it is commitment, it means giving, it is a willingness to trust, it takes great courage and fortitude, it doesn't quit when life's trials come hard, it opens up to being able to accept in return and it truly isn't for the weak of heart.

So truth be told, yet will I love and yet will I trust.

I guess I still have much to learn in this lesson of friendship. I still find it very difficult to receive, mostly because it makes me more vulnerable to pain, to hurt, to heartache that I have shaken hands with before.

I have taken it again and again to God, prayed through the tears and asked for wisdom as the tears trickled down. Oh, how it seems to be easier to not have a heart, to not care one way or the other. Alas, my blessing is a tender heart and a spirit that is easily inflicted.

So if you find me~ I may walk with a hesitation to my step, be it a slight limp, from past inflicted casualties of friendship, but yet will I seek God who is gladly holding my heart and is gently reminding me that He is a friend like no other. Maybe tomorrow I will open my eyes to the possibility of giving my heart in friendship- today I'll just pray.

Psalm 42:5

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Saviour and my God.

...afterall....prayer is a cry of Hope.

Prayer Request Sunday

Happy Sunday Friends~Welcome To Prayer Request Sunday!

Today is the day to give me your prayer concerns and together this week we can take them to the Lord! What can we pray about this week? Anything that you've been carrying...that you are ready to bring before the Lord. I'd be absolutely delighted to walk into the Throne Room with you and lay it before our Father.

Glad you stopped by...so glad God has brought us together through this blog. I pray you have a wonderful rich celebration of our Lord and Saviour's birth. May your Christmas be Merry and may your heart's be Glad dear friends.

Thank you for being my friends, my life is richer because of you.

From My Heart:

And, if you think of my family

...would you pray for our daughter in Ethiopia? Would you pray God would give us wisdom about picking a birth date for her. We've never been given this opportunity before. And can you pray for our finances. In a few days, we are hoping to hear from Sue (director of Celebrate Children); who will be back from her trip to Ethiopia, bearing a child for a waiting family in Maine!! We hope to get details on the possibility of a second child (a baby)-which we need to lay before God to hear His answer of yeah or nay.

A Friend Jumps into Fund~raising!

My friend Angel , has kindly offered to help us raise funds for Princess Sweetness's adoption. We are so excited about another way to bring in the MUCH needed money;

so we can go to Ethiopia and get our girl!

Angel has just begun to sell Avon, as a way to raise money for her family's new home they are building. She graciously offered to share her profits with us, as she wants to come along side of us in this adoption! She will give us 50% of what she makes on her online store. Isn't that so sweet of her!

SHOP AVON IN ANGEL'S Shop!

Please hop over and see if there isn't something that would be perfect for you or someone you love. And hey, please spread the word- we are praying so hard for the rest of the $20,000 to come in! Angel's shop is full of all kinds of sparkly, pretty things -have fun shopping!

And remember, it will help us get our daughter home from Ethiopia...she has been in an orphanage for 5 years too many already!

Thank you friends, so very very much!

Handmade Felt Angel Ornaments

Instructions for Making Hand Sewn Felt Ornaments:

Craft supplies:

• felt various colors (craft supply store)
• embroidery floss
• embroidery needles (sharps...meaning a pointed needle tip)
• stuffing

Taking two pieces of felt, cut out your desired shape. Making sure that as you cut, your top and bottom pieces are identical.

Take one of the two pieces and begin embroidering it. Always leave enough floss, so that you can stitch several stitches in one place before cutting the floss, this will prevent your work from unraveling once cut.

If you do an angel as we did, start with the face details. Once you are satisfied with the details, grab the identical shape and begin stitching around the edge, sewing the two pieces together.

As you sew around the edges, make sure to leave an opening of several inches to insert the stuffing. A pencil (eraser end) can help get into the hard to reach places you want to fill with stuffing.

When you get it as stuffed as you'd like, finish off your embroidery around the open seam. Make a little loop on the top of your ornament with the floss, so you will be able to easily hang it on your Christmas tree or wreath.

My little angel makers are ages 6,7,8 and 10. They need a little bit of help knotting their floss, but everything else they did without help. We used all 6 strands of floss at once for our angels.

King Meemer's angel...(age 7)

Princess Sunshine's angel (age 10)

King Bonkey's angel. (age 6)

I showed him one french knot and then he was able to do the rest himself!

Princess Giggles (age 8)

A Wonderful Gift to Each Other...

Last year we were waiting on our first adoption to Ethiopia. Money was tight. I prayed and ask God how we could make this Christmas special. We didn't have a lot of money to spend and explained that beside a stocking for each, that there would be only one other gift. Everyone agreed that this would be fine.

Enter Holy Spirit. Enter a vision given to the Mama. Enter words spoken from heaven...

"Save toilet paper tubes."

This was right before Thanksgiving. I asked my closest friends to save toilet paper tubes for me...in anticipation of the vision for Christmas. By the week before Christmas we were up to our eyeballs in toilet paper tubes that needed to be stuffed with our letters and adorned in paper and ribbon.

Each tube would be filled with a hand written love letter to each person in the family. A letter of love, of encouragement, of hope and of edification.

We worked hard through the month in our homeschool, writing, drawing and later wrapping each of the 8 letters each had created.

There was 8; as we were expecting another to be joining us shortly. Everyone had words to speak to our sweet coming babe...this year we will be reading those to her...along with her new ones.

Each person gets a pile of tubes from each of us. Wrapped in a beautiful paper, that is just for them. This year there will be 9 ...unless in the next few days, God makes it clear that 2 will be coming home from Ethiopia!

We are enjoying our love letters and words of prophecy given to each other.

Maybe you'd like to do this too...

We sat in the quiet of Christmas evening,

reading, laughing, crying and thanking God

for sharing with us from heaven this special blessing.

We are so thankful!