HOLY

So we recieved a call yesterday from Mary telling us we already have a court date! We are so excited and surprised it's so soon - this upcoming Friday, January 4th!!! I didn't expect that at all but I am so encouraged that the Lord is in control. I realize that everything in this adoption (whether I "feel" more in control or not - there are certainly times I feel more in control...) is unfolding the way the Lord designs. He is never less in control because I feel more in control but is always sovereignly reigning over our lives. There are families who are still waiting or have recieved their referral before us and have not recieved a court date...I'm sorry....things don't always connect, but it brings comfort to know, whether what I desire OR do not desire occurs, that God is doing all for my good. I am also learning that it is in the storm, in the wait and in the "hard" things that we bear fruit for God's glory. I have been so encouraged as I look back on the last 6 months at all God has done in my heart and though it's painful at times I praise him for drawing me nearer and showing me more of himself. Do I really want an easy road, a life with no difficulties? My faith would then be little and I would certainly not reflect much of God's image. May we all be encouraged that He is at work and may we joyfully sumbit to his disposal. I think the battle ground is for us to believe that God is good and therefore can only ever do good toward us. It doesn't always feel that way but I pray our hearts would see his loving hand behind all. Please join us in prayer that our court date would go smoothly and we would soon be on our way to kissing the cheeks of our precious Felicity.

In other news we moved our two boys into a room together. Since Felicity is a girl and Phinehas is older than we thought he would be (20 mos.), we think it will be good to put the boys in a room. Can I just say they are so cute? I have been praying so much they would do well in a room together because Job is an early riser but they have been doing wonderful - I completely attribute it to the Lord. He has shown us grace even in little things as we prepare for Felicity. I thought it was funny because yesterday when Phin woke up he started yelling "Job!" "Job!" and woke Job up but it was cute that he was so excited to see his brother across the room.

And lastly, I read this on Of First Importance and thought you might enjoy it:

“You know what happens when a portrait that has been painted on a panel becomes obliterated through external stains. The artist does not throw away the panel, but the subject of the portrait has to come and sit for it again, and then the likeness is re-drawn on the same material.
Even so was it with the All-holy Son of God. He, the Image of the Father, came and dwelt in our midst, in order that He might renew mankind made after Himself.”
- Athanasius, On the Incarnation

Living Without Fear

I have started listening to this series I discovered on the Titus2Talk Blog. I love that blog and the ladies are always encouraging me toward godly living and posting things that probe my heart. The series I discovered recently is from a women's conference at Capital Hill Baptist Church in Washingtong, DC. I thought I would post it as it has seriously challenged me. The speaker this year was Noel Piper (LOVE her too!). What a blessing it is to learn from these God-fearing women who have loved their husbands, their children and the church well.

* Womens Conference 2007 - Session 1 on Psalm 46

*Session 1 Q&A

* Session 2 on Psalm 91

* Session 2 Q&A

* Session 3 Biography of Betsey Stockton

* Session 3 Q&A

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

BLESSINGS,

THE MARTIN FAMILY

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clan of judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days...And He shall stand and sheperd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace..."

MICAH 5:2-5

Proverbs 16:33

I woke up thinking a lot about our court date and was somewhat consumed with anxiety/wanting to know if it would be another month or would it be sooner, etc. I was praying about it and then I read my devotional book. This was SUCH a timely reminder for me.

“The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.”
Proverbs 16:33
If the disposal of the lot is the Lord’s whose is the arrangement of our whole life? If the simple casting of a lot is guided by him, how much more the events of our entire life—especially when we are told by our blessed Saviour: “The very hairs of your head are all numbered: not a sparrow falleth to the ground without your Father.” It would bring a holy calm over your mind, dear friend, if you were always to remember this. It would so relieve your mind from anxiety, that you would be the better able to walk in patience, quiet, and cheerfulness as a Christian should. When a man is anxious he cannot pray with faith; when he is troubled about the world, he cannot serve his Master, his thoughts are serving himself. If you would “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” all things would then be added unto you. You are meddling with Christ’s business, and neglecting your own when you fret about your lot and circumstances. You have been trying “providing” work and forgetting that it is yours to obey. Be wise and attend to the obeying, and let Christ manage the providing. Come and survey your Father’s storehouse, and ask whether he will let you starve while he has laid up so great an abundance in his garner? Look at his heart of mercy; see if that can ever prove unkind! Look at his inscrutable wisdom; see if that will ever be at fault. Above all, look up to Jesus Christ your Intercessor, and ask yourself, while he pleads, can your Father deal ungraciously with you? If he remembers even sparrows, will he forget one of the least of his poor children? “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
My soul, rest happy in thy low estate,
Nor hope nor wish to be esteem'd or great

To take the impress of the Will Divine,
Be that thy glory, and those riches thine.

Morning & Evening, December 19th, CH Spurgeon

A sweet day made sweeter

Felicity Yehualeshet Martin

I am still surprised we have a girl! We are so excited!!!
We were having a great day yesterday, I had been really encouraged by reading some scripture in the morning and was enjoying my boys. We had run some errands and my house was pretty much a bomb so I put the boys down for their nap and started cleaning, doing laundry, etc. My phone rang about 12:45 and the boys were already asleep. It came up as a Texas number and I was ELATED! It's very surreal when you know its your referral but you feel like it's impossible. It was Mary and she sounded so excited and sweet, she said "I am so excited for you guys! Miranda I can't wait until you see this baby's face! But of course I must ask if you need to get Paul on the phone before I tell you about the baby." So I told her I wanted Paul to be with me and that I would give him a call and check back with her on a time we could call when I knew he would be home. I dialed Paul (my heart was about to jump into my throat and I was very jittery) but he had to finish some work before he could get home. He got home about an hour after that but in the meantime I called Mary back to ask if there was a good time, etc. She said just whenever he arrived to give her a ring and then said "Can I give you a little preview?", to which I replied "I'm not sure I should find out the gender yet..." she said "well don't you know it's a little girl?" My heart melted and I about fell over. I just didn't expect that, even though I knew there was a chance of getting a girl. So I waited for Paul to get home and then we called her back to get all the details and see those ADORABLE pictures. I cannot believe it, how sweet that face is and how sweet it is that the Lord has prepared her for us before we even knew anything of her. God's grace has made this entire experience fruitful, good and amazingly sweet.

Our sweet girl's name is Felicity Yehualeshet Martin and she was born on April 3rd. She is about 8 months old and they said she is a VERY HAPPY girl. "Felicity" means happy so it's perfect for her. She is content to play alone and has been coined by the Mestas clan as "The Dancing Baby" because she sways from side to side as the caregivers clap. It's really amazing because while in Ethiopia Eileen Mestas emailed me to tell me that the babies were precious and she specifically told me of this cute baby girl who would dance and was just so sweet that she wanted to take her home along with the twin girls....it's just crazy that it was our Felicity. What a great Christmas gift to us! :o) We praise God for his faithfulness in supporting us when we were discouraged, preparing our hearts for her and doing a thousand other things in this so that we might know Him better and honor him more in our lives. Pray for us as we await our court date, which will hopefully only be a few weeks! Thanks for everyone's excitement and kind words!!!

Our Little GIRL!!!

"The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made." Psalm 145:9

Details to follow!!! We are THRILLED!!! :o)

No News Just Yet

I know I haven't been posting much but quotes but I don't have many updates and feel that the quotes I've been posting have been such encouragement to me lately. We are in week 16 and very excited that it could literally be any day. I think it's amazing how the Lord sees fit to do things. A friend of mine and I were talking. She and her husband just got word their adoption has been finally processed and their two precious little ones can come home from Liberia...it was such a battle and was quite a trial, but we were thinking about how if we knew the process would be this long we would have gone into it so differently. I think I would have had more anxiety and thought "there's no way I can wait 4 months (maybe 5!) for our referral!" or that this process will most likey take about a year from start to finish. But GOD has been so faithful and with each hurdle his grace proves to be a sure and solid rock for my feet. I would encourage those of us waiting to remember that HE ALONE is our peace and that these children are his to withhold or reveal in varying seasons. It will be for his glory and in the end may our hearts trust in Him more. Adoption is such a gift to our hearts....God peels away the layers of trust in ourselves and the "good" we feel we can put our joy in and transfers it to himself. What a blessing we get to be a part of His work and that He sees the big picture and is preparing that little one that will be His perfect pick for the Martin Family and yours (if your adopting). I want no other baby, at no other time than the one the Lord will give. Below is yet another encouraging quote I read this morning on this blog.
Childlike Obedience
“God has declared in the gospel that whenever we come to him, we are to call upon him freely and openly as our Father, who has adopted us as his children. If we do not have this assurance, the thought of serving God will make us grind our teeth.
If, however, we are persuaded that God looks upon us favourably; if, though we are weak and can do nothing worthy of his approval, he accepts us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we will surely be filled with courage.
We will be like a ship’s sail that has been stretched and filled by the breeze! Thus, our hearts will run to obey him, like a ship driven along by its sail, when we know that God delights in us and accepts our works, not wanting us to be compelled into servitude. He is happy for us to be his children, and that we desire to obey him.”
- John Calvin, Sermons on Galatians (preaching on Gal 5:1-3)

Waiting in Prayer

"If thou hast been knocking at the gate of mercy, and hast received no answer, shall I tell thee why the mighty Maker hath not opened the door and let thee in? Our Father has reasons peculiar to Himself for thus keeping us waiting. Sometimes it is to show His power and His sovereignty, that men may know that Jehovah has a right to give or to withhold. More frequently the delay is for our profit. Thou art perhaps kept waiting in order that thy desires may be more fervent. God knows that delay will quicken and increase desire, and that if He keeps thee waiting thou wilt see thy necessity more clearly, and wilt seek more earnestly; and that thou wilt prize the mercy all the more for its long tarrying. There may also be something wrong in thee which has need to be removed, before the joy of the Lord is given. Perhaps thy views of the Gospel plan are confused, or thou mayest be placing some little reliance on thyself, instead of trusting simply and entirely to the Lord Jesus. Or, God makes thee tarry awhile that He may the more fully display the riches of His grace to thee at last. Thy prayers are all filed in heaven, and if not immediately answered they are certainly not forgotten, but in a little while shall be fulfilled to thy delight and satisfaction. Let not despair make thee silent, but continue instant in earnest supplication."
CH Spurgeon Morning & Evening Dec 9th

Week 15

I have really been enjoying the start to the Christmas season! For those of you who haven't yet seen it, the Atwoods receieved their referral last Thursday for their precious and long awaited boy, Isaac. Check it out and congratualte them. We are SO happy for them!! We are on 15 weeks today and the last few weeks have been a great time even as we have been waiting. God keeps working joy in our hearts as we trust His wisdom. We anticipate that call with great excitement but rest in the Lord knowing he is working all things for HIS glory. This adoption is among all things about that. This is not just to work some "good" thing we attempt to do as the world can do, nor to get a prcious baby, or even to resuce a child from Africa but we believe though it may be all those things, by His grace, it is ultimately for HIS glory so I pray we will not murmur if things continue to take longer than expected. Please see this post from good friends adopting to read a very encouraging post they wrote recently. It definately puts things in perspective. I have been gaining a lot of grace from this puritan paperback I've been reading. I'm realizing more and more only the Lord can cause my heart to see that what he has given is perfect. The problems arise when my desires are for more that the Lord has given at the present time. Only by God's grace am I able to see clearly and rest in His dealings with me. I hope the quote below brings great refreshment to the way you see your lot in life right now. We'll post when we hear something!

The mystery (of christian contentment) consists not in bringing anything from outside to make any condition more comfortable, but in purging out something that is within. Now the men of the world have contentment, and lack anything, Oh, they must have something from the outside to content them. But a godly man says: 'Let me get something out that is in already, and then I shall come to contentment.' Suppose a man has a fever, that makes what he drinks taste bitter: he says, 'You must put some sugar into my drink'; his wife puts some in, and still the drink tastes bitter. Why? Becuase the bitterness comes from a bitter choleric humour within. But let the physician come and give him a bitter potion to purge out the bitterness that is within, and then he can taste his drink well enough. It is just the same with the men of the world: Oh such circumstances are bitter, and it I could have such and such a mercy added to this mercy, then it would be sweet; but even if God should put a spoonful of two sugar in, it would still be bitter. The way to contentment is to purge out your lusts and bitter humour. 'From whence are wars, and strifes? Are they not from yout lusts that are within you?' (James 4.1)They are not so much from the things outside, but from within. So if those lusts that are within, in your heart, were got out, your condition would be a contented condition. These are the mysterious ways of godliness, that the men of the world never think of. When do you ever think of such a way as this, to go and purge out the diseases of your heart that are within?

Pg. 55 The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs