My God is a BIG God.
He is the God that created the world.
He is the God that parted the Red Sea.
He is the God that moves mountains.
I love the big things that God does for us, through us, and around us.
But lately I am so moved by the small things that God does.
The way He knows us intimately. He knows our struggles, our weaknesses, our strengths, the number of hairs on our heads. He knows our fears and what brings us great joy.
I love that He knows exactly what we need when we need it. I love that He took the time to write His story for us and that He made sure there where characters that we could relate to and learn from.
Today I find myself relating to Joshua. As I was reading the first chapter of Joshua I was struck by the fact that God reminds Joshua at least 4 times to be strong and courageous. Maybe God put that in there just for me or maybe, just maybe Joshua was a lot like me. Wanting to do the Lord's will, wanting to do what God called him to do but still struggling with fear. And God in His great mercy and grace, knowing Joshua's weakness stepped in and reminded Joshua time and time again not to fear!
Oh how He loves us!
What is He reminding you of lately?
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Idle...
I should have known it was coming. After all, that is how God works in my life. I am so much like my children in the way that I usually need to be told something more than once before I get it.
So I shouldn't have been surprised when he read the verse. I know that I have heard the verse before but this particular week after all that God had already told me the verse just hit home...or hit me over the head is more like it.
Rewind to earlier in the week when my tongue had gotten the best of me. No cuss words or anything like that but I definitely didn't use all of my words in the most edifying and uplifting way that I could have. To be honest most day I don't put as much thought as I should into what comes out of my mouth.
Enter God...
Since you know that God has laid adoption on our hearts I am very passionate about it and have been studying all of the places in scripture where orphans are mentioned. Of course that led me to James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world". It is a great verse that is very specific about what God expects us to do for orphans and widows. But since I am married to a preacher who always reminds me to keep things in context I decided to read the verses around it. Would you believe that the verse right before it talks about the tongue. James 1:26 says "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless". My heart sunk...I felt the Lord speaking straight to me. What I say and how I say it matters. I can speak up for the fatherless all day long and even travel across the world to welcome a sweet little girl into our family but if I can't keep my tongue in check it is pretty much worthless.
So fastforward to that Sunday morning with me in lifegroup as our teacher gets up to speak. He is speaking on apologetics and being able to defend our faith. But something really jumps out a grabs my heart. He begins by reading out of Titus 2..."In your teaching show integrity, seriousness, and
soundness of speech so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us."
Did you catch it? Soundness of speech. But then there was more...the real kicker. As we talked about what soundness of speech actually meant I was struck when he read Matthew 12:36 "And I tell this, you must give an account on judgement day for every idle word you speak".
There it was the final blow.
I was sickened as I sat and thought about all of the idle words in my lifetime. All of the times I was nervous and just started talking because I didn't know what else to do (this has really gotten me into trouble before). All of the times I have complained or argued, or talked ugly about someone. Truth be told I would rather not think about it...it hurts too much to come face to face with my sinfulness. But I know that God desires for me to be more like Him and to purge my life of my old ways.
Words are powerful. But then again, shouldn't we already recognize that. Genesis says that we are created in God's image. In that same book it says that God spoke the world into being. If His words are that powerful than our must carry quite a punch as well since we are made like Him.
So I have found myself being much more aware of my words. It has not been easy and I know it is something that I will have to stay on top of every moment. I will be honest and tell you that I have thought about just not talking at all...but I don't see that working very long either!:)
My prayer is that I can learn to have sound speech in every area, in every conversation.
So I shouldn't have been surprised when he read the verse. I know that I have heard the verse before but this particular week after all that God had already told me the verse just hit home...or hit me over the head is more like it.
Rewind to earlier in the week when my tongue had gotten the best of me. No cuss words or anything like that but I definitely didn't use all of my words in the most edifying and uplifting way that I could have. To be honest most day I don't put as much thought as I should into what comes out of my mouth.
Enter God...
Since you know that God has laid adoption on our hearts I am very passionate about it and have been studying all of the places in scripture where orphans are mentioned. Of course that led me to James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world". It is a great verse that is very specific about what God expects us to do for orphans and widows. But since I am married to a preacher who always reminds me to keep things in context I decided to read the verses around it. Would you believe that the verse right before it talks about the tongue. James 1:26 says "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless". My heart sunk...I felt the Lord speaking straight to me. What I say and how I say it matters. I can speak up for the fatherless all day long and even travel across the world to welcome a sweet little girl into our family but if I can't keep my tongue in check it is pretty much worthless.
So fastforward to that Sunday morning with me in lifegroup as our teacher gets up to speak. He is speaking on apologetics and being able to defend our faith. But something really jumps out a grabs my heart. He begins by reading out of Titus 2..."In your teaching show integrity, seriousness, and
soundness of speech so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us."
Did you catch it? Soundness of speech. But then there was more...the real kicker. As we talked about what soundness of speech actually meant I was struck when he read Matthew 12:36 "And I tell this, you must give an account on judgement day for every idle word you speak".
There it was the final blow.
I was sickened as I sat and thought about all of the idle words in my lifetime. All of the times I was nervous and just started talking because I didn't know what else to do (this has really gotten me into trouble before). All of the times I have complained or argued, or talked ugly about someone. Truth be told I would rather not think about it...it hurts too much to come face to face with my sinfulness. But I know that God desires for me to be more like Him and to purge my life of my old ways.
Words are powerful. But then again, shouldn't we already recognize that. Genesis says that we are created in God's image. In that same book it says that God spoke the world into being. If His words are that powerful than our must carry quite a punch as well since we are made like Him.
So I have found myself being much more aware of my words. It has not been easy and I know it is something that I will have to stay on top of every moment. I will be honest and tell you that I have thought about just not talking at all...but I don't see that working very long either!:)
My prayer is that I can learn to have sound speech in every area, in every conversation.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Done
Today I have decided that I am done!
What am I done with you ask?
I am done with potty training!
Now, don't get too excited it is not because my adorable almost 3 year old is miraculously trained and we no longer have a need for diapers, pull-ups and wipes. (Oh, how I wish is were so)
Today during nap time I heard Karter stirring in his room. Since he is a rather active child this is normal for him. He usually needs some time in his room to wind down and then before long he gets his much needed nap. But today was different. He seemed to be stirring a little too long.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I would find when I walked into the room.
I knew something was up when half way down the hall I got a huge whiff of poop! I opened the door cautiously hoping for the best! But instead I found a totally naked Karter holding a hand full of dirty wipes (I at least have to give him props for trying to clean himself up). Karter looked up at me and said "Mommy, there is poop everywhere"! It was not an understatement!
At this point I decided I could either laugh, cry, or yell! Fortunately for Karter I decided to laugh. I mean really, what are the odds that this would happen on the day Nathan is going out of town, and the builders have my laundry room completely torn up?
After using an entire bottle of carpet cleaner, a whole roll of paper towels and more towels than I can count I was finally able to get Karter cleaned up, into a DIAPER and back down for his nap!
I see a trip to Brookshires to rent a steam cleaner in my very near future!
So if you see Karter in a few years and He is still wearing a diaper you will know why!:)
What am I done with you ask?
I am done with potty training!
Now, don't get too excited it is not because my adorable almost 3 year old is miraculously trained and we no longer have a need for diapers, pull-ups and wipes. (Oh, how I wish is were so)
Today during nap time I heard Karter stirring in his room. Since he is a rather active child this is normal for him. He usually needs some time in his room to wind down and then before long he gets his much needed nap. But today was different. He seemed to be stirring a little too long.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I would find when I walked into the room.
I knew something was up when half way down the hall I got a huge whiff of poop! I opened the door cautiously hoping for the best! But instead I found a totally naked Karter holding a hand full of dirty wipes (I at least have to give him props for trying to clean himself up). Karter looked up at me and said "Mommy, there is poop everywhere"! It was not an understatement!
At this point I decided I could either laugh, cry, or yell! Fortunately for Karter I decided to laugh. I mean really, what are the odds that this would happen on the day Nathan is going out of town, and the builders have my laundry room completely torn up?
After using an entire bottle of carpet cleaner, a whole roll of paper towels and more towels than I can count I was finally able to get Karter cleaned up, into a DIAPER and back down for his nap!
I see a trip to Brookshires to rent a steam cleaner in my very near future!
So if you see Karter in a few years and He is still wearing a diaper you will know why!:)
Friday, September 10, 2010
And She Will Be Called...
This summer I told Nathan that she needed a name. She couldn't just be "little girl" or our daughter from Ethiopia. She needed a name...something we could call out as we prayed through this process.
So onto the important stuff! She will be named...
Kenziah Reigh Lorick
Kenzi will be what we call her most days!
Re is what we called my mother-in-law Maria who passed away in February... we knew if we ever had a little girl that we would want to honor sweet Re's memory with her name. My middle name is Leigh so we thought it would be pretty and kind of neat to spell her middle name like mine! When we finally get to see her and learn more about her I am sure we will include her Ethiopian name as well.
This week I saw an adoption quote that said "You didn't grow under my heart...you grew in it"! That is certainly true of our feelings towards Kenzi baby (as Karter likes to call her:).
Someday I will share about how we came up with her name and what it means.
For now I am continuing to trust that if we will seek God and His righteousness first that He will take care of the details!
So onto the important stuff! She will be named...
Kenziah Reigh Lorick
Kenzi will be what we call her most days!
Re is what we called my mother-in-law Maria who passed away in February... we knew if we ever had a little girl that we would want to honor sweet Re's memory with her name. My middle name is Leigh so we thought it would be pretty and kind of neat to spell her middle name like mine! When we finally get to see her and learn more about her I am sure we will include her Ethiopian name as well.
This week I saw an adoption quote that said "You didn't grow under my heart...you grew in it"! That is certainly true of our feelings towards Kenzi baby (as Karter likes to call her:).
Someday I will share about how we came up with her name and what it means.
For now I am continuing to trust that if we will seek God and His righteousness first that He will take care of the details!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Insurmountable...
That is how this journey feels...insurmountable.
We are parents to 3 young and very active little boys.
I am a stay at home mom.
We live on a single income.
My husband is a pastor and we are very involved in our church.
Our house is running out of space.
We are so busy.
There is no way we can raise the $25-$30,000 we will need.
We want to do a CD to help raise funds...when do we find the time, or the money to do a CD.
Most days I have trouble keeping the three children we have out of trouble.
These are just a few of the reasons this journey seems insurmountable...impossible even.
These are just a few of the reasons that I wanted to just give up yesterday. To just tell God that this is too hard, that there must be someone else with more time, more money, more patience, more love.
So yesterday I feel at His feet, pouring out my heart. Confessing my unbelief and fear. Explaining to Him how this is just not possible, at least not for now. I imagine He probably laughed a little at me trying to explain to the God of the universe what things could and could not work!
But then I felt it.
In spite of my unbelief, my fear, and my worry He gently reached down and quieted me with His love. Reminding me that YES, He is the God of miracles. That YES, He is the God that parted the Red Sea, the God who gave Issac to Abraham and Sarah when it seemed time had run out. I do not believe in coincidences. I believe that I am reading through Deuteronomy where Moses reminds the new generation to remember God's mighty works for a reason. I believe that moneysavingmom.com chose to write about orphans on that day for a reason. I believe that it was not by chance that I clicked on a blog I had never clicked on before and read these words...
We had mountains of fear and so many questions.
At times the process seemed insurmountable
We were the very busy parents of three boys, we own a business,
we had roles in our church, our school district, our community.
We had taken my Mom in who had a terrible accident and she lived with us for nearly 8 months.
Really it seemed there were just too many things going on all around us to
even consider adopting.
ENTER GOD.
There is so much more to the story of hurdles and roadblocks that happen in adoption.
I am asked daily why it is not easier to adopt and now I have a clarity that I lacked two years ago...
My answer to that question now is this...
Perhaps the process of adoption is challenging in order to challenge us.
Do we have a faith that is giant enough to see us through.
Will we turn and run the other direction when the situation is not going as we
have planned? Will we trust, pray and share our thoughts and fears with others?
Will we develop a community within the adoption world who will help squelch our fears with their own stories?
You see God not only wanted us to bring home a little one who needed a family from Ethiopia but
HE wanted to change and rearrange our hearts. That was the grand plan!
So even the BLURRY days were days of purpose.
I tell you all this to encourage you to keep pressing forward.
Adoption is not a simple task but it is not meant to be.
Wear a smile each day knowing that if adoption has chosen you well you are richly blessed and
should be pinching yourself with anticipation and excitement. For you have so much ahead that God wants you to experience. You are chosen and we are chosen.
After all we were adopted into God's kingdom.
Enjoy the moments and remember that clarity might just come later in the
calling.
I love that God is so patient with me and that again and again and again He reminds me that it is He who has started this good work in our family and that it is He who will bring it to completion.
I am so thankful for the encouragement He sends me along the way. Just this week my sweet friend Kay wrote a whole blog about miracles where she used Psalm 77:15. Believe it or not as soon as I finished reading that post I opened a book from about a year ago and what falls out??? A note written in my own handwriting with Psalm 77:11-15 on it! This may not mean much to you, but for me it was God whispering to me once again.
So the theme verses for this adoption will be...
Psalm 77:11-15!
I already have it hanging on the frig as a constant reminder!
Please continue to pray for us and thank you so much for your encouragement!
We are parents to 3 young and very active little boys.
I am a stay at home mom.
We live on a single income.
My husband is a pastor and we are very involved in our church.
Our house is running out of space.
We are so busy.
There is no way we can raise the $25-$30,000 we will need.
We want to do a CD to help raise funds...when do we find the time, or the money to do a CD.
Most days I have trouble keeping the three children we have out of trouble.
These are just a few of the reasons this journey seems insurmountable...impossible even.
These are just a few of the reasons that I wanted to just give up yesterday. To just tell God that this is too hard, that there must be someone else with more time, more money, more patience, more love.
So yesterday I feel at His feet, pouring out my heart. Confessing my unbelief and fear. Explaining to Him how this is just not possible, at least not for now. I imagine He probably laughed a little at me trying to explain to the God of the universe what things could and could not work!
But then I felt it.
In spite of my unbelief, my fear, and my worry He gently reached down and quieted me with His love. Reminding me that YES, He is the God of miracles. That YES, He is the God that parted the Red Sea, the God who gave Issac to Abraham and Sarah when it seemed time had run out. I do not believe in coincidences. I believe that I am reading through Deuteronomy where Moses reminds the new generation to remember God's mighty works for a reason. I believe that moneysavingmom.com chose to write about orphans on that day for a reason. I believe that it was not by chance that I clicked on a blog I had never clicked on before and read these words...
We had mountains of fear and so many questions.
At times the process seemed insurmountable
We were the very busy parents of three boys, we own a business,
we had roles in our church, our school district, our community.
We had taken my Mom in who had a terrible accident and she lived with us for nearly 8 months.
Really it seemed there were just too many things going on all around us to
even consider adopting.
ENTER GOD.
There is so much more to the story of hurdles and roadblocks that happen in adoption.
I am asked daily why it is not easier to adopt and now I have a clarity that I lacked two years ago...
My answer to that question now is this...
Perhaps the process of adoption is challenging in order to challenge us.
Do we have a faith that is giant enough to see us through.
Will we turn and run the other direction when the situation is not going as we
have planned? Will we trust, pray and share our thoughts and fears with others?
Will we develop a community within the adoption world who will help squelch our fears with their own stories?
You see God not only wanted us to bring home a little one who needed a family from Ethiopia but
HE wanted to change and rearrange our hearts. That was the grand plan!
So even the BLURRY days were days of purpose.
I tell you all this to encourage you to keep pressing forward.
Adoption is not a simple task but it is not meant to be.
Wear a smile each day knowing that if adoption has chosen you well you are richly blessed and
should be pinching yourself with anticipation and excitement. For you have so much ahead that God wants you to experience. You are chosen and we are chosen.
After all we were adopted into God's kingdom.
Enjoy the moments and remember that clarity might just come later in the
calling.
I love that God is so patient with me and that again and again and again He reminds me that it is He who has started this good work in our family and that it is He who will bring it to completion.
I am so thankful for the encouragement He sends me along the way. Just this week my sweet friend Kay wrote a whole blog about miracles where she used Psalm 77:15. Believe it or not as soon as I finished reading that post I opened a book from about a year ago and what falls out??? A note written in my own handwriting with Psalm 77:11-15 on it! This may not mean much to you, but for me it was God whispering to me once again.
So the theme verses for this adoption will be...
Psalm 77:11-15!
I already have it hanging on the frig as a constant reminder!
Please continue to pray for us and thank you so much for your encouragement!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Big Steps
The adoption process is full of steps. Some big and some small.
*There is the initial step when you decide to say "yes, God we will do this"
*the research step when you learn about countries and agencies,
*the application step,
*the homestudy step,
*the Dossier step (a huge amount of paperwork that has to be done just right),
*the fundraising step (how will we pay for this Lord?),
*the referral step (so exciting),
*the travel step,
*the coming home step (can't wait for this one)!
And those are just some of the major steps in the adoption process!
This week we will take a big step. A leap or faith really. This week we will mail off the first BIG round of paperwork and the first significant sum of money to our adoption agency.
I am excited, nervous, humbled, and completely in awe all at the same time. This is by far the biggest leap of faith our family has been called to take up to this point. Really there are not words to describe the rush of emotions as we get ready to take this next step.
What I can tell you is that we NEED and covet your prayers. We are thrilled that you are on this journey with us and we can't wait to sit back with you and watch God work.
So...in about 18 months or so the Lorick family will become a family of 6 complete with a sweet little sister from Ethiopia!
PS. We chose a name for her this summer...I will reveal that later this week!:)
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