Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. (Psalm 143:10)
The Scriptures begins with "Teach me to do your will" Why would the Psalmist say this? Because he loves it! As Christ followers we have to LOVE the will of God! The will of God is tough for many of us. The will of God isn't always our will. In fact I find more often that it isn't. That is because we are all depraved. Depravity is an acknowledgement that the Bible teaches that as a result of the fall of man (Genesis 3:6) every part of man—his mind, will, emotions and flesh—have been corrupted by sin. In other words, sin affects all areas of our being including who we are and what we do. So in short what you want or what I want is more than likely WRONG. We are all born with this sin nature to want the wrong thing. I have learned this first hand by my two sons!!! I don't believe this babies home has taught them to get mad and cry and not want to share! Oh my they are selfish!!! They are selfish just like their mom and dad and probably you too! As anybody knows, a parent knows what's best for their child. Timothy doesn't know just yet that I know better that it is good for him to share. I pray one day he understands and comes to the point where he knows I want what's best for him. He could feel that way because he has been forgotten by earthly people his entire life. But you and I as Christ followers we know He has never forgotten us. Often as Christ followers we take a long time to realize that. When we want something and God says no we sometimes think he just means later. Well often he actually just means plain NO. Well what if we don't like it or it doesn't fit our plan. Dry it up!(as my dad use to say) get over it He knows best! I have been a bit surprised at the many people here who have said, "after you get the boys home the Lord is going to give you your own" hmm, if these boys aren't going to be mine when we get home then whose are they going to be? I would be lying if I said I didn't hope the Lord would give us "our own" at one time. But now more than ever I truly want what He wants forever. "He must increase, I must decrease" In order for that to happen we have to LOVE the will of God! Understand He is always looking out for our best interest. God is only glorified when His will is carried out. I am absolutely in love with the will of God! Let me ask you again, are you?
Shalom,
Matt
the BOYS
Friday, February 25, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The Eagle has landed!!!
Well actually we didn't ride on an eagle but the plane landed safe and sound! That was one stressful flight! As we checked in OKC they charged me for $110 extra for two of our 4 bags! After I paid the fee we had some time to kill before the plane left so I went to Delta's website and was reading about bag fees and discovered I should not have been charged! It says for "flights to Europe" you are only allowed 1 bag each.
So.....I made my way back to the counter with I-phone in hand to show him his website. He then told me in a condescending voice "Sir it says right here while traveling to Europe you pay a extra $55 each bag over 1 a piece" So.... I with maybe a hint of sarcasm in my voice "well it turns out Africa isn't in Europe Sir" So he credited my check card back! Well that simple mistake actually led to our bags "ending" in Amsterdam!!! We are not ending in Amsterdam!!! When we got to Atlanta I asked the gate clerk to get my bags rechecked to Africa. They said no problem, that they would retrieve the bags and re tag them. Well for whatever reason they only could find two of them and that I would have to claim my other two in Amsterdam and recheck them. We had a 2 hr layover there. It was actually pretty easy. I had to go through customs in Amsterdam which consists of me walking past a scary looking lady. That's all no questions or bag checks. Anyway I got them checked and back in the airport and time to kill waiting on plane to Africa!
We arrived in Africa and I saw "PORTER" on this big sign. Hmm, that's nice I'm the only one with a welcome sign. As you might know that sign meant 2 of my bags didn't make it. That are suppose to be here tonight on the KLM 8:15 flight!
It was Julie's bags!!! So as I type, she is wearing a borrowed long wrap around type African skirt and one of my XL t-shirts tied in the back (80's style) but she looks beautiful!
But let me tell you even from her ALL IS WELL because we are about an hour from seeing our boys for the first time!!!
We will try to post updates often,
Matt
So.....I made my way back to the counter with I-phone in hand to show him his website. He then told me in a condescending voice "Sir it says right here while traveling to Europe you pay a extra $55 each bag over 1 a piece" So.... I with maybe a hint of sarcasm in my voice "well it turns out Africa isn't in Europe Sir" So he credited my check card back! Well that simple mistake actually led to our bags "ending" in Amsterdam!!! We are not ending in Amsterdam!!! When we got to Atlanta I asked the gate clerk to get my bags rechecked to Africa. They said no problem, that they would retrieve the bags and re tag them. Well for whatever reason they only could find two of them and that I would have to claim my other two in Amsterdam and recheck them. We had a 2 hr layover there. It was actually pretty easy. I had to go through customs in Amsterdam which consists of me walking past a scary looking lady. That's all no questions or bag checks. Anyway I got them checked and back in the airport and time to kill waiting on plane to Africa!
We arrived in Africa and I saw "PORTER" on this big sign. Hmm, that's nice I'm the only one with a welcome sign. As you might know that sign meant 2 of my bags didn't make it. That are suppose to be here tonight on the KLM 8:15 flight!
It was Julie's bags!!! So as I type, she is wearing a borrowed long wrap around type African skirt and one of my XL t-shirts tied in the back (80's style) but she looks beautiful!
But let me tell you even from her ALL IS WELL because we are about an hour from seeing our boys for the first time!!!
We will try to post updates often,
Matt
Saturday, January 22, 2011
We are the worst bloggers ever!
Ok, where do I begin. So much has happened since our last post and time is just flying by. So here's an update with inadequate details.
Matt returned from Africa a little disheartened as this process was a lot more difficult and different than we had anticipated. He was able to visit several babies homes and meet with our attorney and make really good contacts, however it seemed that there were few children "adoptable." With Uganda having more orphans than any other place we assumed there would be plenty available, however that wasn't the case as children were either being investigated, spoken for, or just tied up in the system. When Matt was in Africa he only "met" with two children one named Paul and then one on the last day named Timothy. He met with Paul towards the beginning of the trip which was strange because how do you meet with a child and say "yes" or "no". At the time we were told he was three which was older than what we were looking for so we told our attorney to keep looking for a child two or under. On the last day Matt was in country, he returned to Nsambya Babies home which is where Paul was and met a child named Timothy who they said was probably "adoptable" and under two. After Matt returned we had contact with the case worker and soon discovered Timothy's investigation was coming to an end and he was available for adoption. I had been looking at pictures and videos of Matt with his visit with Paul and really feeling that God had provided both of these boys for us. After much prayer and seeking, we decided that we would adopt both boys, Paul, who is actually two and a half and Timothy who just turned two on January 19th, or atleast that is the date we picked for his birthday. SO...........here is where we are now in this process. We are basically just waiting for a court date. Our attorney turned in all of our paperwork to the judge and we hoped we would have a date by last week. However we should this next week. I am hoping that we will be flying over to pick up our boys next month as I know each day that goes by I am missing out on them growing and memories we could have shared. I pray for them everyday! It is so weird to me that Matt has met and held them both and I haven't yet. It is so weird how much I already love them. I have been so anxious and have tried to keep myself busy by getting stuff ready for them. We have their beds and bedding and a few clothes and toys, but still need ALOT! Their room is decorated in sports stuff of course. We have our first shower at the church this weekend so I think I will feel better after that so I will know what else we need....and hopefully we will have a court date too so I know when we need everything by. This process has been so great and has gone by soo fast. I truly feel so blessed. I mean it hasn't even been 5 months since we found out we couldn't have children. I am just so excited to meet my kids and hold them and bond with them and be the best mom I can be. You know it's funny how much adoption is like having your own child....the anticipation of meeting them, holding them, seeing their personality, etc. I wouldn't change this for the world. I can't wait to be a momma to these little boys! Bring on the adventure!
I apologize for this being somewhat of a confused ramble, as this post is long overdue and lacking many details. I truly plan to be better at keeping everyone informed....and because I want to remember all these details as it is a testimony to God's love for us! Please keep praying for us and our boys! I'll be posting pics soon or you can see them on our facebook pages.
Matt returned from Africa a little disheartened as this process was a lot more difficult and different than we had anticipated. He was able to visit several babies homes and meet with our attorney and make really good contacts, however it seemed that there were few children "adoptable." With Uganda having more orphans than any other place we assumed there would be plenty available, however that wasn't the case as children were either being investigated, spoken for, or just tied up in the system. When Matt was in Africa he only "met" with two children one named Paul and then one on the last day named Timothy. He met with Paul towards the beginning of the trip which was strange because how do you meet with a child and say "yes" or "no". At the time we were told he was three which was older than what we were looking for so we told our attorney to keep looking for a child two or under. On the last day Matt was in country, he returned to Nsambya Babies home which is where Paul was and met a child named Timothy who they said was probably "adoptable" and under two. After Matt returned we had contact with the case worker and soon discovered Timothy's investigation was coming to an end and he was available for adoption. I had been looking at pictures and videos of Matt with his visit with Paul and really feeling that God had provided both of these boys for us. After much prayer and seeking, we decided that we would adopt both boys, Paul, who is actually two and a half and Timothy who just turned two on January 19th, or atleast that is the date we picked for his birthday. SO...........here is where we are now in this process. We are basically just waiting for a court date. Our attorney turned in all of our paperwork to the judge and we hoped we would have a date by last week. However we should this next week. I am hoping that we will be flying over to pick up our boys next month as I know each day that goes by I am missing out on them growing and memories we could have shared. I pray for them everyday! It is so weird to me that Matt has met and held them both and I haven't yet. It is so weird how much I already love them. I have been so anxious and have tried to keep myself busy by getting stuff ready for them. We have their beds and bedding and a few clothes and toys, but still need ALOT! Their room is decorated in sports stuff of course. We have our first shower at the church this weekend so I think I will feel better after that so I will know what else we need....and hopefully we will have a court date too so I know when we need everything by. This process has been so great and has gone by soo fast. I truly feel so blessed. I mean it hasn't even been 5 months since we found out we couldn't have children. I am just so excited to meet my kids and hold them and bond with them and be the best mom I can be. You know it's funny how much adoption is like having your own child....the anticipation of meeting them, holding them, seeing their personality, etc. I wouldn't change this for the world. I can't wait to be a momma to these little boys! Bring on the adventure!
I apologize for this being somewhat of a confused ramble, as this post is long overdue and lacking many details. I truly plan to be better at keeping everyone informed....and because I want to remember all these details as it is a testimony to God's love for us! Please keep praying for us and our boys! I'll be posting pics soon or you can see them on our facebook pages.
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