relax and laugh...

Today's devotional in Sarah Young's Jesus Calling is so beautifully said and freeing. A reminder to ignore the whispers of the enemy that take the form of guilt. A reminder that our loving God wants us to experience joy in abundance. 

"Learn to laugh at yourself more freely. Don't take yourself or your circumstances so seriously. Relax and know that I am God with you."

After a perfect day yesterday celebrating Dave for Father's Day, I can't help but think of how fitting Sarah's words are this morning. Relax, laugh, enjoy these days.

We spent the day experiencing quiet moments tucked away from the world. Moments of joy. We stepped away from our responsibilities. We slowed our pace. We deeply inhaled the fragrance of summer - heavy air dripping with humidity - and escaped to the luxury of a mid-afternoon movie date while a sweet neighbor read to our sleepy boys and stayed home for us while they napped.

The day was steeped in holy moments.

That evening, we were ushered into His kingdom by the laughter of our boys.

"Laughter lightens your load and lifts your heart into heavenly places. Your laughter rises to heaven and blends with angelic melodies of praise. Just as parents delight in the laughter of their children, so I delight in hearing My children laugh. I rejoice when you trust Me enough to enjoy your life lightheartedly. 

Do not miss the Joy of My Presence by carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. Rather, take My yoke upon you and learn from Me. My yoke is comfortable and pleasant; My burden is light and easily borne."

what else we've been up to...

This summer is already flying by! We are in full-swing summer mode. ice cream, homemade popsicles, barbecues, dinners with friends...hmmm...I'm sensing a theme: food.  ha! We have been busy with fun other than just eating. Here's a little of the crazy we've been up to around here...

Birthday parties galore! We've been to bug parties, Curious George parties, Chuck-e-Cheese parties, swim parties... there are so many May/June birthdays for the boy's little friends! It has been fun celebrating each one. {I haven't done a great job of taking photos! Sorry if you've seen all of these on instagram already :). I've been too busy chasing the boys around after consuming way too much cake...}

Free entertainment abounds in our little town during the summer. Library story time, the art museum near our house, the splash pad, the lake, hikes, splashing in waterfalls and creeks ... oh, and, might I suggest ensuring that your neighbor's tree is cut down while you're trying to get ready in the morning? Works like a charm.

Baseball has been a hit around here. {Side note, we have had several incidents with those darn plastic bats. The boys now choose to wear helmets while playing with their t-ball set. We're working on only hitting the ball. We may get there some day}. The boys were mesmerized at their cousin's game and we have had so much fun cheering on our minor league team, the Naturals.

They wanted to be right there with the big kids... 

Three year check-ups. They did great and actually had fun at the doctor's office. Thank you, Doc McStuffins {and snacks}. :) We thought it was pretty neat that we were in the "Africa" room.

And, we made a summer bucket list. We really looovveee summer around here :).

Praying boldly for that last one to happen this summer. ^^

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend celebrating the dad's in your life!

a harvest of blessing.

Remember this lil' care package? Look! It made it from my arms to the arms of my baby girl!! 

Isn't it amazing how something so small can mean SO much to a momma's weary heart? God is so good to provide blessing after blessing as He fights for us to get our girl into our arms. He knows that I'm weary, He knows that I'm aching, He knows that I just need to know she is okay. He knows that I long to have her home. 

And, He knows that these small blessings are treasures. 

Reminders that He is a God of strength and might.

Reminders that He is always faithful. 

Reminders that He is the provider of goodness and mercy. 

Reminders that He never, ever authors pain. 

Reminders that He loves justice and will always defend the oppressed and orphaned. 

Reminders that our daughter is a daughter first and foremost of the King. He loves her fiercely and has protected her and held her close every day of her seventeen months on this earth. 

As I read Paul's words in his letter to the Galatians this morning, I was struck by their significance for this journey we are on.  

So don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. 

{Galatians 6:9; emphasis mine}

I will not give up. God is at work and His sovereignty is above all governments and authorities. He will get her home to us. He will continue to fight on our behalf. The bountiful harvest of blessing is within reach.  

a victory.

I have been debating whether I should share how God is at work once again for our family. I can't share any details on this blog so it is hard to type out how BIG this all is. But, I have to say something because Monday was a really amazing day for our little family.

There was a victory. One that God orchestrated. The foundation for which was laid down many months ago. Yet again, I sit in awe of His goodness and mercy.

I don't really know how to share this without saying something I shouldn't, so I will share a few words from a note I had sent out that morning to a small group of prayer warrior friends who knew exactly what we were praying to happen. {I sent this before I found out how God had moved on our behalf and answered a huge prayer}.

Monday, June 10th

always be joyful. keep on praying. no matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. {1 thessalonians 5:16-17}

i will wait patiently before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. {Psalm 62: 5-6}

i am feeling peaceful this morning that all of this has a purpose and God is in every single detail. i trust Him with all of this and i wanted to thank you all for praying over this situation.

we clearly have been told to wait. so many things have happened to show us this is what we are supposed to do. so, thank you for praying. your prayers have not only helped us to get answers but also a peace about this decision. as badly as i want to jump on a plane right now, i know that i'm supposed to be still. i'm supposed to give God a chance to display His majesty.

dave and i are sort of like moses and the israelites, coming up to the red sea; after this long journey, feeling desperate and helpless, waiting for God to provide a way as only He can. i'm sure they couldn't have imagined or fathomed that the sea would actually part in two so that they could cross. God showed up in a BIG way when they were at the end of their rope. there was nothing they could possibly do in their human power at that point, yet, there He was waiting to remind them of His power once again.

we feel like we're at that place.... confident that God is going to work on our behalf and choosing to trust Him. 

Y'all. After that update a major victory occurred for our family. For our daughter. Unfortunately, we learned that she was sick again with malaria but God intervened in a way that only He can and ensured that she was safe and in a position to get healthy. 

I am incredibly grateful for the prayers for our girl. I know God hears each and every plea. I know He is at work and will never, ever forsake her.

And, then, yesterday, I won {?! seriously, I never win anything} the cutest print from my friend, Ashley's giveaway. It is a perfect picture of what God is doing for our S. 

AMEN and amen!

Joy, Hope, Love: The 1500 Tree Project

Happy Monday, friends! 

I'm so excited to share today's post with you all. As you may have guessed, I love supporting adoptive families. :) Fundraising for an adoption is hard. It's humbling. In spite of the hard, it is also a chance to invite others into your story. To invite others into the work that Christ is doing in your family. In that way, it is a rich blessing. This is why I am thrilled to share a guest post with you today from Angie, of The 1500 Tree Project. I've asked her to share a little about her family's adoption story and the really unique project she recently launched to fund their second adoption. This is such a fun way to become a part of their story {you even get a number signifying your place in their story}! And, you'll have this {adorable!} tangible reminder of how you've helped bring their precious one home. I can't wait to see how quickly they reach #1500!

On November 12, 2012, Jenny and her family saw their daughter's face for the first time.  I missed this exciting news.  I was halfway around the world.

You see, on November 10, just two days prior, my husband and I waited anxiously in a Taiwanese orphanage.  At 9 am, the director arrived, carrying a serious(ly adorable) 6 1/2 month baby boy into the room. I burst into happy tears. Quiet. Happy. Tears. After my months of waiting, my piles of paperwork, and my experience with an indescribable amount anticipation, we were finally in Taiwan, holding our son for the first time.  

I can't even tell you how much I am looking forward to Jenny having this moment!  Like so many of you, I have been a quiet reader of Blessings and Raindrops for some time now.  But today, I am blessed that Jenny has invited us to step forward and share a bit of our story.

As most adoptive parents will tell you, the months of waiting, pictures, and videos could not prepare us for the incredible love we felt that morning in November.  As we looked into our son's curious eyes, we knew he would not be the last child we adopted.  We did something crazy, in fact.  Something inspired by our awesome God, who calls us to do things that seem crazy to many in the American world.  We reapplied to adopt again, with our agency, that very month.  Our son is going to be a big brother! 

Now, we spend our days chasing, laughing, gardening, giggling, and dreaming. Life is pretty beautiful.  In the last couple weeks, we also announced the grand opening of an etsy shop, The 1500 Tree Project.  On the surface, the 1500 Tree Project is a way to fund our second adoption. 1500 trees made. 1500 trees sold. One fully funded adoption. But really, it's so much more than that. 


It's cutting leaves out of colorful paper while my son toddles around the living room, babbling away. It's thinking about designs as my husband plucks away at his bass guitar, practicing a bluegrass tune. It's piecing together a tree when we chat about our days and our prayers, with the low hum of the baby monitor buzzing in the background with our toddler's sleeping breaths. The 1500 Tree Project is love and hope, poured into a little 6x6 canvas. Joy really is the heartbeat of our shop and the spirit I pour into every piece I produce. 

And we would love for you to join this journey with us.  How?

• Pray Continually!  Pray for the financial means to bring our child home, a favorable legal process, and the wisdom to parent our children well.
• Buy a Tree!  Join The 1500 Tree Project by purchasing a tree from our shop today.  They are $25.00.  We are stepping out in faith and pray for financial provision.  Airlines won't fly us around the world for free, doctors need paychecks to buy their children dinner, social workers like money to purchase a cute top from time to time, and even orphanage nannies deserve a little monetary compensation for countless 3 am feedings.  Purchasing a tree is the simplest way to support our adoption financially! 
• Share our Story!  Like us on facebook!  Pin us on pinterest!  Share this post with your friends!  Put us in your e-mails, your church bulletins, your bible study handouts, your weekly newsletters.  And, if you are a blogger...we would love to write a guest post for you, too!

To celebrate our adoption, and thank Jenny for allowing us this guest post, we are offering a 10% coupon code to Blessings and Raindrops readers!  When you check out on etsy, use the code: blessingsblog to receive your discount.  Valid this week only!

Where will you fall in The 1500 Tree Project?

Much love,

Angie

The Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/The1500TreeProject

The Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The1500TreeProject 

The Blog: 1500trees.blogspot.com

grandma. saying goodbye.

yesterday, we said goodbye to our beloved, grandma marrs.

we celebrated her life and rejoiced that she has received her crown of righteousness. she most certainly fought the good fight as she finished her race well here on earth. she always kept her strong faith. yet, words can't quite express how much her presence here will be missed. she was the center of our family.

she taught us all so much. her life was full. she loved to the brim. she laughed heartily. she exuded joy.

i will never forget the way she embraced me into this family. the way she loved me as her own.

she loved to sew. she loved to garden. she loved to cook for her family. she loved to play cards. she loved to serve. she was always, always willing to serve in love.

making the boy's crib bumpers...

she loved the boys with everything she had. she was so proud of them and would just laugh and laugh at their antics. they always looked forward to going to visit grandma marrs. always. she just doted on them and spoiled them with love.

nathan was named after grandma. his middle name, kean, was her maiden name. she always joked that her "namesake" was the ornery one. he was the wild one and she absolutely loved it. nate and grandma had a very special bond.

always sneaking the boys treats...

i've never met someone so full of life as grandma. at 93 years old, she was more active than most people i know. i remember how she used to describe "little old ladies" and we would have to remind her that she was, technically, a little old lady herself. she would just laugh at that.

it has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to have known and loved marjorie veronica marrs. her memory will remain alive and well in my heart always. this world was brighter because of her light.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.” {John 14:1-4}

worn.

so, you guys, dave and i are in the midst of an intense battle with our mailman.

i feel like i'm living in an episode of Seinfeld {instead of the soup nazi, he is the mail nazi}. today, i actually ran after him, literally chasing him down the road like a complete lunatic as he drove away in his little postal truck, ignoring me.

my sister in law lives next door to us. each day, we keep watch for the mailman to arrive. she tells me when he is leaving her house and i wait on his next move. 9 out of 10 times, he drives right past our house and doesn't look in our direction. he hasn't delivered our mail consistently in months.

this is all incredibly ridiculous {and just annoying}. i have to load the boys up in the car every few days and drive to the post office, unload them and go wait in line to pick up our mail and try to talk to the postmaster. he agrees to talk with the postman and to reinstate our mail delivery and we leave {likely due to the damage being inflicted on the post office by my rowdy boys. this is the only time that i completely ignore their bad behavior. i want that post office to see what sort of crazy they are dealing with. i want to remind them that they do not want me and the boys in that place every few days}.

we repeat the whole scenario again a few days later when our mail delivery abruptly stops again. for the love.

you must be wondering why on earth is all of this happening.

well, it all started with this fence.

and this {10-year-old} dog.

and, the time dave forgot to close the gate behind him when he left for the day. da da dunn...

bailey's arch-enemy is the mailman. he barks ferociously {as ferociously as a 10-year-old sheltie can} whenever that little mail truck drives up. and, the one stinkin' time the gate was open, he chased after that poor mailman. now, here we are. front and center on the mailman's black list. we our public enemy #1.

I share this silly ongoing mail saga because it is a crazy reminder of the real warfare happening in our lives -- the spiritual battles relentlessly attacking our family. this week alone: dave fell off a ladder cracking ribs and fracturing his wrist, he backed into a car with his truck, and, today, another major setback in our adoption progress -- we found out that all of the court documents associated with our case need to be corrected. a major change to each and every document that now leaves us facing extended time frames before we can begin the US immigration stage of our process. the unknowns of the long-term impact of this mistake aren't clear just yet but there is little doubt that our case will take longer than usual to process.

we are weary of the fight. our muscles are aching. our bodies are tired. our souls are longing for rest.

the lyrics of the song "worn" are so fitting...

I'm tired 
I'm worn 
My heart is heavy
From the work it takes to keep on breathing

I know I need 
To lift my eyes up
But I'm too week
Life just won't let up
And I know that You can give me rest
So I cry out with all that I have left

I want to know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that's dead inside can be reborn
Cause I'm worn

And my prayers are wearing thin
I'm worn even before the day begins
I'm worn I've lost my will to fight
I'm worn so heaven so come and flood my eyes

Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That you can mend a heart that's frail and torn

i don't know what is to come but i do know that i'll continue to wear my armor. i'll continue to seek the One who knows what is coming. the One who isn't the least bit surprised by the latest bump in the road. the One who is bigger and greater and mightier than all of these troubles. i'll seek rest in Him alone. and, i'll continue to pray that He is glorified in all that we endure on this journey. all of it -- the desperate moments of suffering and the joyful moments of rejoicing in praise. He will not forsake us. He did not bring us this far to leave us now. i place my trust in Him alone.

for our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! so we don't look at the troubles we can see right now. rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. for the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever. {2 corinthians 4:17-18}