Sunday, April 24, 2011

He Is Risen


An Invitation to All
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him." john 3:16-17

Understanding Jesus' suffering and ultimately His sacrifice on the cross, believing that He died to take away all of our sins and did so willingly because He loves us is AMAZING!! The best part is that He is Risen and that all who ask Him into their hearts can begin a personal and real relationship with him that does not end but actually gives us the hope for heaven and spending all eternity with Him. 

Personally I can say to anyone reading this blog that my life has been changed for the better. It is so much richer and fuller than I could have imagined. Now don't get me wrong richer and fuller does not translate to no problems. His word says that "in this world we will have trials but to not fear because He has overcome the world" so what I am saying for me personally is that I find my strength in the Lord, my hope comes from reading His word and His promises, and I trust that He can and will sustain me.  I cannot do it on my own and I am not ashamed to admit that.

Here's the invitation:  My hope is that for anyone out there who is struggling with life, feels alone and abandoned or can't put their finger on that one thing that is missing in their lives that you open your heart and  accept Jesus right now.  He is the greatest gift you will ever receive!  

Praying you all a very blessed day,
Connie

Saturday, April 2, 2011

20/20

Here's a little recap of things:
We are now #43 on the infant girl list and we are so thankful for each and every family that recieves their referral as it puts us that much closer to our little one. While there hasn't been an "official" announcement in regards to how adoptions from Ethiopia are being handled there is still good news.  Rather than the drastic reduction in files being reviewed daily it appears that it is still quite close to the original review of 45-50 files a day. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and goodness.  Families from our agency are also passing court more consistently the first time around.  Yeah!
On a personal note I joined the Y for a couple of reasons.  The first being an attempt to nourish not only mind, spirit but also my body. I have to say those first few weeks were painful.  I am happy to say that I am sticking to it though and I look forward to the rewards of this not so fun getting back into shape thing. :)  I have a friend who joins me a couple times a week and that is nice too. The second part of this is for Emily. Next year she will be starting pre school a couple days a week and I am using this as an opportunity for her to adjust to having some time away from me.  She really seems to be enjoying herself so that makes this momma's heart feel a bit better too.
Last but not least.... I just so happened to pick the nicest day that we've had thus far this spring for our eye exams.  I was told it would be a half hour appointment for each of us so I made plans to go to the zoo after her nap. Well FOUR hours later we were done with our eye exams and received as a parting gift "special" glasses for our dilated eyes.  Have you ever taken a 3 year old in for an eye exam while at the same time getting your eyes examined? Let's just say it was challenging.  The good news is that she was a trooper and her vision is 20/20.  I am grateful for that. I was worried because she had started squinting her eyes and blinking her eyes in a funny kind of way.  It turns out it is very dry where we live and most likely the squinting was due to her eyes being dry.  The eye doctor said we could expect dilation to last 4-5 hours so obviously the zoo didn't happen.  And of course as the weatherman predicted a cold front moved in and today was windy, rainy and cold. 
My "special" glasses