Listen Carefully

It is true that if you listen carefully God will tell you his plans.  The reason I believe this is because over the past few weeks I have been trying to listen as obediently as possible, and I feel more at peace than ever.  I know that God has a special plan for my life and my family by allowing us to serve others at church as well as those we come into contact with daily.  I've watched my husband grow and become compassionate for those he meets at work. I've listen to my son ask questions and show concern for friends and strangers.  I've grown up knowing that it was my job to serve others for the Lord by watching my parents, and being able to share that with my boys is a blessing. 


For this season of life, God has made it clear that he would like for me to continue to serve in the Preschool Ministry on Sunday mornings, but in a different position.  He has also been making other things very clear, not only for me, but for Adam as well.  For as long as I can remember I always knew that one day I wanted to adopt a child as well as have some of my own.  It has been almost 5 years since Copeland was born, and Adam and I have been blessed beyond imagine with our precious son.  Four and a half years have past by as we have tried to give C a brother or sister to love and play with, and over those 4 1/2 years there have been plenty of "maybe I am" and "maybe I'm not."  This use to get me down a great bit, but if you know me I really am an easy going person who can shake most things off and go on with life.  I credit that to my faith in God, and I know that he's the one who is really in control, so why bother and get yourself all in a tizzy!! 


Well over the years Adam and I have just mentioned the thought of adoption, but it was always one of those conversations you had in passing that really didn't have much depth to it.  That was until two Sunday's ago when I shared with Adam on the way home from church that I thought we should adopt.  He did his usual "yeah, okay" and that was that, nothing else really said.  Well, we have both been praying and talking with God about during our quiet times and without a doubt he has spoken to our hearts and made it clear that adoption is where we go from here. 

This is just the beginning, and I know there will be many hurdles to jump until we are able to adopt and bring another child into our home, but we are ready  to do whatever it takes.  My prayers have been asking God to keep us going in the right direction, to come in contact and with the right people, to bless the child who will be a part of our family whether he or she has even been born yet, and to help us keep our eyes on Him throughout the entire process.  So for now we are researching and looking at all of our options before we take the next step and go full throttle into this new adventure.  There are connections to be made and stories to be heard that will help guide us along as we begin our own adoption story.  We have talked with Copeland and explained what all of this means, and he seems ready and excited for what is in store for our family. 

Please keep us in your prayers as we follow God in obedience. 

Slow Down

Here I am living in this fantasy world we call Summer Break, and I am enjoying every minute of it.  Why would I even stop to think about work or getting ready for it?  Well that dreaded day that comes every summer came today.  The day where you realize time is speeding up and before we know it there will need to be lesson plans, name tags, cute bulletin boards/doors, etc... So here I am counting the days and seeing how smoothly I can do a little bit here and there without feeling like I am going crazy.  Luckily I know that this feeling won't stay for the next 22 days, but for this one day I will deal with the reality that is ahead.  22 days, that is plenty of time to have fun and prepare a little bit, right?  For now I would prefer to focus on play dates and fun times with my sweet boy!

A Balancing Act

The more I go through this journey of what it would be like to be a Proverbs 31 Woman, the more challenging it seems to be.  When you stop to think about it, we all have many different hats and jobs that must be completed each and everyday.  From wife, mom, Christ follower, daughter, sister, friend, full-time teacher, and so on, there seems to be no end in sight as to what needs to be done.  As I was thinking about all of this earlier, I have come to realize how happy I am that God has placed this on my heart during the summer months.  Do I have enough energy to complete everything? Not really, but I am able to get into some routine and take care of my family the way they deserved to be cared for.  It seemed so crazy at the end of the school year how exhausting/overwhelming everything started to be.  The house was a mess, dinner was rarely cooked by me, and there did not seem to be time to just sit and enjoy being with my boys.  It was much easier to be out of the house and doing this or that as opposed to being home and having to deal with the mess and choas that I had no energy for anyway.  And so I have now declared this journey a balancing act! 


Over the next month my goal is to figure out how to get it all done and still have a healthy routine.  When will the house get cleaned?  How can I keep it clean and not let it get out of control?  What about dinner?  Can we make time for the three of us to sit down and just enjoy one another's company? 


I know the challenges that lay ahead once school starts again, but if I can come up with a game plan before hand hopefully things will not be as overwhelming.  Proverbs 31:27 says She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. That seems like an awefully tall order to fill, but I know some women who do a great job of getting it all done.  Are they tired, you betcha, but their family is happy and in return that makes them very happy as well. 

*****Wow it only took me 2 weeks to get back to this post!!!!*****

When it all comes down to it, I need some major organization!  I am working on it slowly, and my house is slowly coming together.  The more I walk around this place the more stuff I see we don't need, and I am actually getting read of what I can.  This is a big progress for me.  Now this seems easy as I am home for another couple of weeks, but I hope to come up with some sort of routine/way of doing things around the house that even a full time working mom can do when she gets home.  Any suggestions are gladly welcomed.  Maybe you have a system that works great for you and your family.  I know I am not the only one here that could use a little advice!