CIS fingerprints done

We are done with what I feel like is the last "big" thing of our paperwork phase. Our fingerprinting appointment went well and took all of 25 minutes in the building. We went to the wrong building first and then got a little lost but we found our way and were delighted that it was pretty quick from start to finish. They did all the prints electronically. Paul and I were able to have a nice lunch and coffee before grabbing the boys from his parents and heading back home. I am extremely blessed to be so supported by both of our families in the raising of our children as well as in each stage of this adoption. We love you moms and dads! We also recieved an email from Gladney on which the subject was "Congratulations!". It was basically informing us that we are officially approved by Gladney to adopt and are moving on to the next phase which is finishing up our dossier and then our referall!!!! Very exciting to even be thinking in those terms now - "referral". When we jumped into this we knew there was a long process to do paperwork so we have tried to keep our minds on that instead of feeding impatience by dwelling on the referral (though of course we think of it still) so it's very exciting to be able to get closer to putting our hearts and desires with a face, the face of our baby! I can't wait to see if we are given a boy or girl and what our timeline ends up being. A lot hangs on CIS approval and how long it takes for that. All the other loose ends with the dossier won't take much effort and then we don't know how long it could take to get our referral. We should be getting our two copies of the homestudy and our official approval certificate from Gladney in the mail anyday.

CIS and Grants

Well we are off this morning to got to CIS for our fingerprinting. It will be so great to have this marked off of our list! Please pray things go smoothly and our paperwork is processed quickly. On another note I spoke with Gladney yesterday and they assured me that our homestudy is done and will be mailed out to me this week! Yay! Very exciting stuff. They mail us two copies and then we mail a copy to Kate at KBS Dossiers (a copy goes in our Dossier) and then I am not sure if we keep the other copy or it goes somewhere else. Gladney will mail one to CIS for us and then they can approve us when the fingerprints are processed and the homestudy is in their hands. Also, if we are going to apply to any grants we will have to make a copy of our homestudy and send it to wherever we are applying for the grants. We are looking to apply to a foundation called Caroline's Promise which is only for those living in North Carolina (which is great for us because competition won't be so high as a nationwide foundation) Here's the link: http://www.carolinespromise4u.org/assistance.html if your interested in looking around. Also the widely known Shaohannah's Hope : http://members.shaohannahshope.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homepage is another we are looking into. PLEASE watch the video called Hidden Treasures on the Shaohannah's Hope site, it made me cry and you'll love it. We are really amazed at how much of the cost has already been paid. This is completely God's grace! When we started we had NO idea how we were going to pay for everything but God has ben so gracious! We are now looking at the remainder of our agency costs, which will be due when we accept our referral and our travel costs (which will be quite a chunk of change since we are both traveling and will be in a hotel 8 days).
Our Dossier is coming along great! We are still waiting on just a couple items but those may take some time and the last thing we will be waiting on is our approval letter from CIS. We also had to have a refernce letter redone because the notary's seal expired in less than a year but we did have the most dedicated friend working on that and literally two hours after I asked her to redo the reference had it waiting on my doorstep with not just ONE but TWO redone letters (your amazing Alyson!). We had some family pics taken last week so hopefully I will be able to post them soon. It is very difficult to get two children to look at the camera and smile at the same time so we'll see!

Battling Impatience.

I was able, thanks to my sweet husband, to have some time away this afternoon and steep my mind in the word of God. I took my bible, some Spurgeon and the book Future Grace, by John Piper. I was greatly refreshed and encouraged by this time. I took Future Grace because I specifically wanted to read the chapter called "Faith in Future Grace vs. Impatience", because I know I have been battling this sin in my heart regarding our adoption, our future plans for ministry, and some other just daily areas with my children, etc. Piper says, "Impatience is a form of unbelief. It's what we begin to feel when we start to doubt the wisdom of God's timing or the goodness of God's guidance. It springs up in our hearts when our plan is interuppted or shattered. It may be prompted by a long wait in a checkout line or a sudden blow that knocks out half our dreams. The opposite of impatience is not a glib denial of loss. It's a deepening, ripening, peaceful willingness to wait for God in the unplanned place of obedience, and to walk with God at the unplanned pace of obedience - to wait in his place, and go at his pace." (pg.171) He then goes on to give a glimpse of the lives of some faithful people of God who waited upon the Lord with faith though they endured great trials. One such person was Benjamin B. Warfield (a world-renowned theologian who taught at Princeton Seminary for almost 34 yrs). At the age of 25 he married and went on his honeymoon to Germany with his wife, Annie. His wife was suddenly struck by lightening and became permanantly paralyzed. He cared for her for 39 years, rarely leaving his home for more than a few hours at a time. Warfield made this statement regarding Romans 8:28, "The fundamental thought is the universal government of God. All that comes to you is under His controlling hand. The secondary thought is the favour of God to those who love Him. If He governs all, then nothing but good can befall those to whom He would do good...Though we are too weak to help ourselves and too blind to ask for what we need, and can only groan in unformed longings, He is the author in us of these very longings...and He will so govern all things that we shall reap only good from all that befalls us." If he could hope in God with such difficult circumstances surely my heart can cling to God in faith that he will do all things for the good of our family. I also came upon Isaiah 64:4: "From of old they have not heard nor percieved by ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides Thee, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him" Oh what a promise to meditate on! There was many more rich thoughts in this chapter so if you have the book read it yourself. I think it also encouraged me that impatience has much deeper roots than I can at first percieve. I am excited to see God's work in my heart already and long to know that kind of patience linked to faith in God, a "deepening, ripening, peaceful willingness to wait for God in the unplanned place of obedience, and to walk with God at the unplanned pace of obedience". If you want to listen to the sermon that goes over jsut about the same things as the chapter, click here: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1988/659_Battling_the_Unbelief_of_Impatience/ As far as how the adoption is going we were supposed to get fingerprinted Saturday, but, due to a family funeral we hadn't planned on, had to reschedule it. We were told we could come the following Wed (this Wed.) and make it up since it was a family emergency. So hopefully things will go smoothly and we will have that done with.

A good article

Our caseworker had sent me the link to this article from the NYT's on adoption in Ethiopia so I thought I would post it. It's very interesting and encouraging that the MOWA in Ethiopia really desire for their adoption program to be good quality. Here's the article:

In Ethiopia, Open Doors for Foreign Adoptions
By JANE GROSS and WILL CONNORS
Published: June 4, 2007ST. PAUL
— Ethiopia was not on Mark and Vera Westrum-Ostrom’s list when they first visited Children’s Home Society & Family Services here to explore an international adoption.From Ethiopia to Minnesota Ukraine was first, because of their family heritage, until the couple discovered that the adoption system there was chaotic, with inaccurate information about orphans’ health and availability.Vietnam was second, after they saw videos of well-run orphanages. But the wait would be at least a year and a half.Then they learned about Ethiopia’s model centers for orphans, run by American agencies, with an efficient adoption system that made it possible for them to file paperwork on Labor Day and claim 2-year-old Tariku, a boy with almond eyes and a halo of ringlets, at Christmas.From Addis Ababa, the capital city, they traveled to the countryside to meet the boy’s birth mother, an opportunity rare in international adoption. And at roughly $20,000, the process was affordable compared with other foreign adoptions, and free of the bribes that are common in some countries.It is no wonder, given these advantages, that Ethiopia, a country more often associated by Americans with drought, famine and conflict, has become a hot spot for international adoption. Even before the actress Angelina Jolie put adoption in Ethiopia on the cover of People magazine in 2005, the number of adoptions there by Americans was growing. The total is still small — 732 children in 2006, out of a total of 20,632 foreign adoptions, but it is a steep increase, up from 82 children adopted in 1997.Ethiopia now ranks 5th among countries for adoption by Americans, up from 16th in 2000. In the same period, the number of American agencies licensed to operate there has grown from one to 22.The increasing interest in Ethiopia comes at a time when the leading countries for international adoption, China, Guatemala and Russia are, respectively, tightening eligibility requirements, under scrutiny for adoption corruption and closing borders to American agencies.Ethiopia’s sudden popularity also comes with risks, say government officials there and in America.“I don’t think we’ll be able to handle it,” said Haddush Halefom, an official at the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, which oversees adoption. “We don’t have the capacity to handle all these new agencies, and we have to monitor the quality, not just the quantity.”Capping the number of agencies is one solution. And that is what some international adoption officials in the United States are now urging the Ethiopian government to do.Of concern is the ability of agencies to handle the rising demand, which may have contributed to a recent mix-up involving two families sent home with the wrong children by Christian World Adoption, an established agency, although relatively new to Ethiopia. That case prompted inquiries by the State Department and the nonprofit Joint Council on International Children’s Services in Virginia, a child welfare and advocacy organization, and the adoption agency itself, said Thomas DiFilipo, president of the joint council.Officials at Christian World Adoption did not reply to e-mail messages or telephone calls. But Mr. DiFilipo said the agency was reviewing its procedures and has hired immigration lawyers to resolve the mix-up.The consensus, Mr. DiFilipo said, is that the mix-up was “an honest mistake.” But, he added, “This could be the byproduct of a staff handling 35 placements when they’re used to handling 20.”Children’s Home Society & Family Services, founded in 1889, began working in Ethiopia in 2004. The agency completed about 300 adoptions in its first three years in Ethiopia, and expects to complete that many in 2007 alone. Along with Wide Horizons For Children in Waltham, Mass., the society is credited with helping Ethiopia create a model for international adoption.Ethiopia, with a population of 76 million, has an estimated 5 million children who have lost one or both parents, according to aid organizations. Many African nations have outlawed or impeded the adoption of their children by foreigners. Ethiopia has welcomed American and European families who are willing to provide homes for children who have lost both parents to AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis or starvation, or who come from families too destitute to feed and clothe them. (The adoption process includes routine screening for HIV infection.)Two elements distinguish Ethiopia’s adoption system, according to dozens of experts. One is the existence of transitional homes for orphans, in the countryside and in the capital, with services and staffing that are rare in the developing world — paid for by American agencies.Not long ago, Sandra Iverson, a nurse practitioner from the University of Minnesota’s international adoption health clinic, the first of its kind in the United States, was invited to visit the Children’s Home Society’s Ethiopian centers.She arrived with a neonatal otoscope, to diagnose ear infections; the Red Book, the bible of pediatrics; and scarce antibiotics. She left confident that Ethiopia’s orphans enjoyed unusual care.“You don’t hear crying babies,” Ms. Iverson said. “They are picked up immediately.”The other signature of the Ethiopian system is that adopting families are encouraged to meet birth families and visit the villages where the children were raised, a cutting-edge practice in adoptions. Some agencies provide DVDs or photographs that document the children’s past.Russ and Ann Couwenhoven, in Ham Lake, Minn., recently showed one such video to 6-year-old Tariku, one of three children they have adopted from Ethiopia. The boy seemed proud of the beautifully painted house he had lived in, they said, and the uncle who had sheltered him for as long as he could.Linda Zwicky brought 2-year-old Amale home five days before the Memorial Day weekend, with a letter from the child’s grandmother that described holding the motherless infant at her breast even though she had no milk. Sometimes such vividness is too much. Melanie Danke and her husband, of Minneapolis, adopted 6-year-old twins and a 3-year-old, all siblings. One of the twins “would work herself up until she was inconsolable” looking at photos of the aunt and grandmother who raised her, Ms. Danke said. So she has tucked the photos away for now.David Pilgrim, vice president of adoption services at the Children’s Home Society, said the agency spends $2 million a year on its Ethiopian facilities.At the main transitional home, on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, a staff of 170 care for about 120 children, ensuring that the children have consistent contact with adults, which experts say mitigates the most damaging psychological effects of institutionalization.During a reporter’s recent visit, the two terra-cotta buildings where the children live, usually for no more than a few months, were spotless, with staff members scurrying to pick up toys and food spills as they hit the floor.The transitional home has a primary school, open also to local students, where the children begin learning English. There is a medical clinic with two full-time doctors and 10 nurses. Down the road is a guest house for adoptive parents, who also can stay in a sleek hotel.The children also enjoy the services of a “laugh therapist,” Belachu Girma.“These kids come here and are very depressed at first, all with their heads down and not talking,” Mr. Girma said. “I come in and try to help them relax.”There was laughter also at the nearby guest house, more of the nervous kind, as American parents waited to take their children back to St. Paul from the Horn of Africa.Araminta and Jason Montague, from Atlanta, who picked up 17-month-old Natan last week, compared their experience in Ethiopia to an earlier adoption of a girl from China (where Americans adopted 6,493 children in 2006).“Our daughter was in an orphanage with about 300 children and she was very dehydrated,” Ms. Montague said. “We were never told her origins. Her sheet just said ‘Status: Abandoned.’ ”Some parents anguished, as did Karla Suomala of Decorah, Iowa, when she arrived in Addis Ababa to adopt 5-year-old Dawit and his 21-month-old sister Meheret.“It’s hard to know what the right thing is to do,” Ms. Suomala said. “Should we just give all the money we’re spending on this to the children’s mother?” Ms. Suomala and her husband, David Vasquez, had already spent time with her.“It was obvious the birth mother loved her children,” Mr. Vasquez said. “She said to us, ‘Thank you for sharing my burden.’ ”Alessandro Conticini, the head of child protection at Unicef Ethiopia, is one of many who believe that international adoption is a good thing but must be “part of a larger strategy” that focuses on keeping children in their families or communities, with the help of humanitarian organizations.Indeed, the Ethiopian government has taken the unusual step of requiring foreign agencies to provide social services and document the results. As a result, agencies like Children’s Home Society and Wide Horizons have built schools and medical facilities — including one for HIV-infected children.But Mr. Conticini, of Unicef, worries about the mushrooming number of private adoption companies that “are not properly regulated by the government” because two different ministries are involved and working at cross purposes.At the State Department, visa applications for children adopted from Ethiopia are getting extra attention, said Catherine M. Barry, deputy assistant secretary for overseas citizens services. “We will very quickly see if patterns are emerging,” she said, “and we will intervene in a timely fashion with anyone doing less than quality work.”While the governments collaborate to protect a delicate adoption system from the perils of growth, adoptive families arrive each week in Addis Ababa to ease their children into new lives.Last week, these included Mr. Vasquez and Ms. Suomala. While she had no trouble escorting Meheret from the orphanage, Dawit refused to budge, so Mr. Vasquez carried him toward the gate.There, the child grabbed the bars and would not let go. Mr. Vasquez considered prying his hands loose and thought better of it. Instead he told Dawit that it was O.K. to cry.Jane Gross reported from St. Paul, and Will Connors from Addis Ababa.

Check this out

I am so excited this morning. I went on the whole heart ministries site to order some audio cd's on motherhood/parenting from some of the conferences that Sally Clarkson has done and I hadn't ever realized that she has a blog. I wanted to direct every family to it, it's on the right side of my blog under the sites I enjoy. If you go to the Whole Heart ministries page, which is also under the same place, you can view all of their blogs. There is one for dads & children also. This is the woman who wrote The Mission of Motherhood that I posted about not too long ago. I think I am ordering audio from the Whole Hearted mothers conference 1998, entitled, "Renew my Heart Oh God" and 1999, "Fill my Heart with wisdom Lord". There's quite a few audio cd's you can order and also some books by Sally and her husband. I am also thinking of getting "Heartfelt discipline" by Sally's husband, Clay.

On the adoption front, we have not got our life insurance letter yet but we are set for our CIS fingerprinting appt this Saturday and hopefully getting our approval letter won't take as long as they suggested it could (late Sep-late Oct!) but again, it rests in God's timing. It will be good to get that done and then we should be nearing the light on this dossier thing!

Some tips

I wanted to post some of the tips I had mentioned a few posts ago that we got from the social worker who did our homestudy, Francie.... you have to love someone named "Francie", right? She was sweet and very efficient in our homestudy. She encouraged us to read, read, read books about race and adoption. I really enjoy books like There is no me without you , which is more of a biographical type book but you learn a lot. I also want to be renewing my mind with encouraging material that is focused on the principles of God's word when viewing race, transracial issues and adoption. I haven't found a ton of material like this yet so if you have then let me know. Anyways, she gave us a great idea when we go to get our baby in the orphanage. She said to bring an outfit from home and a new bottle and ask one of the caregivers if there is a bottle & outfit that he/she is used to and if it would be possible to trade them out so that our baby can have something familiar. She said most of the time families look new, smell new and they then change the baby (which is of course the first thing you would want to do...) into some new clothes and new bottle. She was saying if you can give them a little bit of familiarity than it might be smoother the first few days. You can put the outfit in a shadowbox and have a really sweet keepsake for the baby. She did comment that some babies might revert to complete confusion and freak out some because these familiar things are not coming from the people they always have but most of the time this should be more comforting to them. She also encouraged that family be around in the first few weeks at home and help out when needed but that we do all the feeding, changing and handing over so the baby starts to associate a type of possession and provision coming from us. We thought these were good things to be thinking about.

Dossier

The boys and I ran a few errands this morning for our dossier. We went to our bank (of which the employees are extremely patient and sweet with children!) and had my homemaker letter, along with my FBI clearance packet notorized. We then went across the street to Walgreens to have some passport pictures of yours truly taken. You want to grin but the guy was like, "I'm sorry, I need a straight face." I am adopting! I want to smile! Anyways, those turned out fine so all we need now is a few more items and we should be able to send it off to KBS dossiers. This will be the third little pile sent to KBS. Paul has to get his passport pics and we need two more reference letters. If all those things are written properly, notatized properly, etc. then we should just be waiting on our cis approval letter (to follow our fingerprinting appt June 23rd). It will feel so good to be done with our part and be waiting for our referral, or even just for the cis approval letter. There's quite a few people who read this blog that are not adopting so I thought I would let you know jsut what makes up our dossier. It is different for every country, so this is an overview of what's needed for Ethiopia.

• 
  
  A written statement from the adoptive parents stating why they want to adopt from Ethiopia


• 
  
  Certified birth certificates for each parent


• 
  
  Certified marriage certificate


• 
  
  FBI clearance letter for each parent


• 
  
  Homestudy


• 
  
  Homestudy agency license


• 
  
  Homestudy preparer's license


• 
  
  Employment/self employment/homemaker letter


• 
  
  Proof of life and health insurance


• 
  
  Financial statement


• 
  
  Bank letter


• 
  
  Copies of passports


• 
  
  3 reference letters


• 
  
  2 passport size photos for each parent


• 
  
  Power of Attorney (basically this says that we give Gladneys in country rep. permission to go before the courts on our behalf)


• 
  
  Medical certificate for each parent


• 
  
  CIS approval letter


• 
  
  A post-placement agreement from Gladney


• 
  
  Family photos

Whew! Who knew it would be so much paperwork to bring a PERSON into your home!! ;o) It is a lot but well worth it when you think of what your receiving. It's amazing to me we have gotten this far, with most of these items done...crazy. Can I just make a comment how cute my son is in his room singing "Jesus Loves Me". So sweet to a mother's heart.

We're comin' for you little one!

I am sitting here typing this post with a smile on my face. We heard from Gladney today and I am happy to say things will be just fine (Lord-willing) to go get our sweet one in Ethiopia. Gladney submitted our names, along with the other families that these new standards might effect, and asked that they would allow us to continue in the process, my email quotes: "MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs) was pleased with Gladney’s concern for our families already in the adoption process and has told Belay, Gladney’s in-country representative, that they will honor all of our families who have already started the process. We are thrilled to share this news with you! " Oh what a joy it was for us to read those words. We feel like we are back on track whole heartedly able to pursue things, and with new ferver knowing God is continuing to lead us in this direction. May God get all the glory for each step - even this speedbump - and use it to make us trust more in him! We're comin for you little one!

What a great find this book is...

Paul and I went on a little day date Monday and were strolling through Barnes and Noble. Paul informed me of a book that had been recommended by Albert Mohler called The Dangerous Book for Boys. So we each grabbed up a copy, sat down with our coffee's and had a good look. This book was awesome! It had every subject in it that a boy (or even a girl like myself lacking some basics on paper airplane making...) would want to know about. It says the book is for ages 8-18 but really I think our youngest, 3, could do some of the activities with Paul. Albert Mohler says of the book: "This book will tell a boy how to read cloud formations, make a battery, make a periscope, and construct "the greatest paper airplane in the world." Boys are told of the essential gear of boyhood -- including Band-aids. Young adventurers will also learn of famous battles, the history of artillery, and how to understand girls." It informs boys how to be gentlemen and just to put it simply - be boys! I love the idea of Job learning code language and how to build secret forts. God really made boys different than girls and I think this book highlights that and encourages boys to use the instinctual protective, provider side that's within their sweet little hearts. More boys need to be reading this book instead of playing nintendo or watching videos!!! I hope for those of you with boys you'll get it for your sons and those of you with girls get it anyway for your husbands (we found it quite interesting!).

"In lovingkindness all is fixed"

I have yet again to be reminded of God's wisdom over my own so called wisdome and that he rules over each detail of our adoption. We recieved an email from our agency, Gladney, informing families in their Ethiopia program that the Ministry of Women's Affair's in Ethiopia sent out a letter to say they were going to set in place some changes regarding the guidelines for adoption. Two of these guidlines are as follows: Both adoptive parents must be between the ages of 25-55 and the youngest biological child in the home must be at least two years old. For those of you who don't know, I'm 23 and our youngest little munchin is 13 months...so of course this made us a little concerned. I called our agency and was reassured that their goal is to get the families through the program who have already started and they were not worried but cannot give any guarantees as to how things will pan out for us(there aren't a whole lot of guarantees with adoption). These things could easily cause me to fear or doubt God's kindess in all that he ordains. I read this verse and quote regarding fear: Psalm 37:23 "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." and then: “All (of the Christian’s) course of life is graciously ordained, and in lovingkindness all is fixed. No fickle chance rules us; every step is the subject of divine decree.” Wow! What a refreshment to my doubting soul. I'm so thankful we can feed our faith on the baquet table of God's word. We know all is fixed and ordained IN LOVINGKINDESS. God is designing each step of this adoption to strengthen our faith, to bring glory and honor to his name and to accomplish his ends (which includes the perfect little baby for our family). God has thus far dealt kindly and wisely with our family and will continue to do so. Please pray for our hearts to have eyes to see this truth and humility to recieve what he ordains in this adoption with joy. Hopefully we will keee trucking along and all will be well but we will entrust our hearts to our sovereign, good king. Isaiah 26:3 will be before us: "You keep Him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. " I am thankful our God is an everlasting rock. Sure and secure, fully worthy of our faith. On another note, we are FINISHED with our homestudy!!! It feels great to be another step forward and everything went great. Our social worker was very kind and we enjoyed talking with her, it was very laidback. Paul and I had an interview with her as a couple first and then she came to the abode to look around and finish up our interviews. She really had some good tips to help us attach to the baby (Maybe I will post those next time??). So we are marching onward and are very excited about our fingerprinting appt getting done.

Moving Right Along

I was so excited to finally get our fingerprinting appointment from CIS today in the mail!!! I could hardly believe it. It has almost been 2 months since we filed our 1-600A and we still hadn't heard any word about our appointment (it's very official, you pretty much HAVE to make it and once you file for your 1-600A - which gives you permission to bring an orphan into the U.S. - you just have to wait until you are next in line to get the appt.) . Two other families in the area had already recieved their appointments so I was really just trusting the Lord and reminding my heart of God's wisdom and sovereignty over all this. I want to get the baby he has ordained for us and not be stressed about thing not working in 'my timeline'. I had shot CIS an email to check on our status and they said that they couldn't guarantee us an appt for June but at latest July but then we get it today and our appt is June 23rd! God is so gracious and this makes me very excited and even more motivated to finish up the last dossier things and then we will just be waiting on our fingerprints and approval letter. We will be finished with our homestudy on Thursday, which is also amazing. I can't believe it! I will blog more about how things went with the honestudy at a future date. For the moment recipe planning awaits me. May I leave you with an evening meditation from Spurgeon?

He that loveth not knoweth not God."—1 John 4:8.
The distinguishing mark of a Christian is his confidence in the love of Christ, and the yielding of his affections to Christ in return. First, faith sets her seal upon the man by enabling the soul to say with the apostle, "Christ loved me and gave Himself for me." Then love gives the countersign, and stamps upon the heart gratitude and love to Jesus in return. "We love Him because He first loved us." In those grand old ages, which are the heroic period of the Christian religion, this double mark was clearly to be seen in all believers in Jesus; they were men who knew the love of Christ, and rested upon it as a man leaneth upon a staff whose trustiness he has tried. The love which they felt towards the Lord was not a quiet emotion which they hid within themselves in the secret chamber of their souls, and which they only spake of in their private assemblies when they met on the first day of the week, and sang hymns in honour of Christ Jesus the crucified, but it was a passion with them of such a vehement and all-consuming energy, that it was visible in all their actions, spoke in their common talk, and looked out of their eyes even in their commonest glances. Love to Jesus was a flame which fed upon the core and heart of their being; and, therefore, from its own force burned its way into the outer man, and shone there. Zeal for the glory of King Jesus was the seal and mark of all genuine Christians. Because of their dependence upon Christ's love they dared much, and because of their love to Christ they did much, and it is the same now. The children of God are ruled in their inmost powers by love—the love of Christ constraineth them; they rejoice that divine love is set upon them, they feel it shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto them, and then by force of gratitude they love the Saviour with a pure heart, fervently. My reader, do you love Him? Ere you sleep give an honest answer to a weighty question!