Meeting the Family:
Toben
Noah
Ava
Paizley
Callie
My boys!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Journey Josiah Petree
Here he is! He is perfect! He wasn't planned by us, but was the perfect gift from God! He was born Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 8:24 am weighing 7 lbs, 13 oz and 20.25 inches long. At one week he is already sleeping through most of the night with me having to wake him up for his feedings. God has blessed us with yet another amazing baby!
Meeting the Family:
Toben
Noah
Ava
Paizley
Callie
My boys!
Meeting the Family:
Toben
Noah
Ava
Paizley
Callie
My boys!
Monday, June 20, 2011
What's in a Name...
Naming kids has always been a difficult thing for John and I. You would think by number 7, we would have a system or something, but no! As of last week, we still didn't have a middle name. One of the things that made it hard on this baby is that God has already spoken so much over this baby. We wanted what had been spoken to be part of his name. I have wondered if we weren't putting a lot of expectation on this baby with the things that have been spoken....is that fair? But God has taken me to many scriptures over the past few months. I have never really thought about babies and children in scripture until God started speaking so much about this pregnancy. But if you look through the Bible, there are plenty of instances where God used babies and children to fulfill promises or talked to women who were pregnant. In Luke 1 God tells of His plans and the big assignment for John the Baptist while Elizabeth was still pregnant. He talks to Mary about Jesus and then send her to Elizabeth who feels her baby leap in her womb at the entrance of his Savior...who is also still in the womb. In the Old
Testament there are plenty of children who fulfilled promises of God like Isaac for Sarah and Abraham and Samuel for Hannah. When we first announced our pregnancy, God told a dear friend that this baby would bring about healing to our family. This was so encouraging! This friend knew the battles John and I have faced in our marriage for the entire 13 years. Hearing that God was doing a work that would bring healing from these was a breath of fresh air! John and I both are ready to have the healed marriage we have been working toward all these years!
I feel like we have lived a lifetime in the last nine months! Paizley has come to live with us, we had and lost B-man, Baby Girl's parents' rights have been terminated and we are moving forward with adoption, John's job has changed drastically, God is calling me to more hours at the agency, the list goes on and on. I have been in what I have heard described by others as a dark night of the soul. I have felt farther away from God than ever before in my life. My faith and trust in Him have been challenged and I have been more tempted to walk away than maybe ever, or at least since Eden's adoption failed. But still there was this promise...this Word that God would bring healing through this baby. I had given up on it. I had decided God had failed me again (yes, I realize the theology in that is totally faulty! God does NOT fail us!). Then I went and spoke to a very wise man at our church and he encouraged me to hang on until the birth. He felt certain when this baby was born, the healing would come. I have had moments in the past three to four weeks where I can taste the victory! I can see what life on the other side of the revelation of the Word is going to look like...but just as quickly the enemy comes and steals it away! It has been battle like never before in our home!
And the middle name had to have some sort of meaning with healing, new beginnings, refreshment or something like that. We searched and searched baby name books and sights. I prayed and prayed for a name to come to us. I had one I felt like fit, but John wasn't crazy about it. So I kept praying and looking. I just knew when I found it, it would settle in our spirit...and it did! I found a website that had Biblical names and meanings. And that's where we found it! His middle name will be Josiah...it means "healed by God" and fits perfectly with the Journey God has had us no this entire pregnancy!
a journey of healing by God....exactly what we have been on and are looking to be completely fulfilled when he is born.
Testament there are plenty of children who fulfilled promises of God like Isaac for Sarah and Abraham and Samuel for Hannah. When we first announced our pregnancy, God told a dear friend that this baby would bring about healing to our family. This was so encouraging! This friend knew the battles John and I have faced in our marriage for the entire 13 years. Hearing that God was doing a work that would bring healing from these was a breath of fresh air! John and I both are ready to have the healed marriage we have been working toward all these years! Through the journey of the past 9 months, we have clung to this Word from God! When we had our first doctor's appointment a
nd we couldn't see a heart beat, John felt God assure him that the baby was fine and it was a boy! There were some personal things that John was dealing with that made having a biological son a challenge. I rested in the fact that John knew everything was ok while we waited that entire week before the next appointment when we saw and heard a healthy heartbeat!
nd we couldn't see a heart beat, John felt God assure him that the baby was fine and it was a boy! There were some personal things that John was dealing with that made having a biological son a challenge. I rested in the fact that John knew everything was ok while we waited that entire week before the next appointment when we saw and heard a healthy heartbeat! John also had dreams that he was confident had spiritual meaning. Most of them involved rain and refreshing. Then I had the night that I posted about after Paizley's finazlization when we had the only rain storm we have had in the past year! We have clung to these moments over the past few months! And as these moments have happened, I felt confident that they needed to be reflected in Baby Boy's name!
I feel like we have lived a lifetime in the last nine months! Paizley has come to live with us, we had and lost B-man, Baby Girl's parents' rights have been terminated and we are moving forward with adoption, John's job has changed drastically, God is calling me to more hours at the agency, the list goes on and on. I have been in what I have heard described by others as a dark night of the soul. I have felt farther away from God than ever before in my life. My faith and trust in Him have been challenged and I have been more tempted to walk away than maybe ever, or at least since Eden's adoption failed. But still there was this promise...this Word that God would bring healing through this baby. I had given up on it. I had decided God had failed me again (yes, I realize the theology in that is totally faulty! God does NOT fail us!). Then I went and spoke to a very wise man at our church and he encouraged me to hang on until the birth. He felt certain when this baby was born, the healing would come. I have had moments in the past three to four weeks where I can taste the victory! I can see what life on the other side of the revelation of the Word is going to look like...but just as quickly the enemy comes and steals it away! It has been battle like never before in our home!
During some of the roughest parts of the last few months, I was reading Mandisa's biography. This quote is in it, and it sums up what we have felt over our entire marriage: "Victory lies in the journey and the lessons we learn along the way". And it sums up why we picked Baby Boy's first name....
And the middle name had to have some sort of meaning with healing, new beginnings, refreshment or something like that. We searched and searched baby name books and sights. I prayed and prayed for a name to come to us. I had one I felt like fit, but John wasn't crazy about it. So I kept praying and looking. I just knew when I found it, it would settle in our spirit...and it did! I found a website that had Biblical names and meanings. And that's where we found it! His middle name will be Josiah...it means "healed by God" and fits perfectly with the Journey God has had us no this entire pregnancy!
Journey Josiah
a journey of healing by God....exactly what we have been on and are looking to be completely fulfilled when he is born.
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Process
I had a friend share a link with me yesterday that really hits the nail on the head, I think! I'm not usually really vocal about my frustration with the "Church" being so vocal in their political views, but then not really providing a solution to the social problems they are so quick to speak out against. But twice in the past week this has come up! Here is the link to a CNN Belief blog.
I am teaching an equipping class at church on adoption. I am using the If You Were Mine curriculum put out by Hope for Orphans which is an extension of Family Life. This past week, Dennis Rainey, the director of Family Life (at least I think that is his title), made a statement that has haunted me. He said something to the effect of maybe Roe V Wade has not been reversed because the Church (capital C) is not pro-adoption. What would we do with the millions of children who would need homes if they had not been aborted?
I am not trying to dis on the church here! I know there are plenty of people doing good things. There are more Christians adopting now than ever before...but is still isn't enough! And adoption isn't the only answer! We need orphan care ministries, foster families, people willing to train moms and dads how to be moms and dads so they don't lose their children. There is somewhere anyone could plug into in order to help with this epidemic. No, not everyone is called to adoption. But aren't we called to be God's hands and feet? Can we really look in the mirror and say it's not my problem? I read some of the comments on the post I shared above. They were interesting. I wanted to get mad, but realized that so many of them were true. One said that Christians believe life begins at conception and ends at birth. His point was that we are willing to fight for them to be born but then not willing to do what it takes to give them a quality life after their born. Ouch! Are we really LIVING the gospel if we are only willing to talk about political convictions and rally for laws to change but not ready to be inconvenienced enough to take one of those children you are fighting to live into your home for the rest of their life? Just some thoughts.....
I am teaching an equipping class at church on adoption. I am using the If You Were Mine curriculum put out by Hope for Orphans which is an extension of Family Life. This past week, Dennis Rainey, the director of Family Life (at least I think that is his title), made a statement that has haunted me. He said something to the effect of maybe Roe V Wade has not been reversed because the Church (capital C) is not pro-adoption. What would we do with the millions of children who would need homes if they had not been aborted?
I am not trying to dis on the church here! I know there are plenty of people doing good things. There are more Christians adopting now than ever before...but is still isn't enough! And adoption isn't the only answer! We need orphan care ministries, foster families, people willing to train moms and dads how to be moms and dads so they don't lose their children. There is somewhere anyone could plug into in order to help with this epidemic. No, not everyone is called to adoption. But aren't we called to be God's hands and feet? Can we really look in the mirror and say it's not my problem? I read some of the comments on the post I shared above. They were interesting. I wanted to get mad, but realized that so many of them were true. One said that Christians believe life begins at conception and ends at birth. His point was that we are willing to fight for them to be born but then not willing to do what it takes to give them a quality life after their born. Ouch! Are we really LIVING the gospel if we are only willing to talk about political convictions and rally for laws to change but not ready to be inconvenienced enough to take one of those children you are fighting to live into your home for the rest of their life? Just some thoughts.....
Saturday, June 11, 2011
My obedience (or disobedience) effects more than just me!
My obedience (or disobedience) effects more than just me! That was the theme of the first of a sermon series our pastor is doing on the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Woke up at 4 am and couldn't go back to sleep. Knew God wanted me to get up...so listened to the sermon that I missed last week and boy did God have something to say! I would highly recommend you watch the sermon! It is great! You can get it on podcast or watch it here.
The sermon is based on I Kings 17 when Elijah goes to Ahab and tells him there will be a drought. This chapter is filled with obedience that doesn't make sense by both Elijah and the widow. God has been calling me to an area of obedience that I just keep dragging my feet. I have all kinds of excuses for why I'm not doing it. Legitimate excuses by worldly standards...an even Christian standards. But bottom line is when God says move, and you sit, you are disobedient!
God has said get the domestic program running for Addy's Hope. He knocked down my first argument months ago: but with seven kids, God, I can't go to work again! They need me! I need to be full-time, undistracted mom to these children! God spoke during another sermon and told me to lay that idea of "mom" on the alter just like Abraham did Isaac. Isaac was the key to God's fulfilled promise to Abraham of a multitude of descendants and God told Abraham to kill him...and Abraham - in faith - put him on the altar and raised the knife! That is what God told me do with my idea of "mom" to seven!
My next argument is that I can't work with seven kids! Baby Girl is 17 months old...need I say more all you mothers of toddlers?! Trying to do something like write policies or make a professional phone call with a 17 month old climbing on the table getting into the chocolate jar is not really my idea of convenient or really even possible some days. Yet, we do not have the money for me to put her in child care. God knocked that argument down by sending friends who have a passion for adoption who have volunteered to watch her so I can get the policies written.
I could go on and on with my excuses and God's answers! But this morning as I listened to Daniel's message about Elijah, I was convicted of the ripple effect of my disobedience. This is something I have thought about often over the past 6-9 months as God has continually sent people to remind me of His command...people that need the services Addy's Hope will offer once this program is open. Families who want to adopt from the state, but are stuck in the system because there is not an adoption only minded agency in West Texas. They are having to become foster parents and THEN adopt...even when they have identified children on TARE they are already willing to adopt. There's a faster way for those parents! We could serve them! Ripple number one!
Then there is the state! Everyone knows that fostering is not about the money (if you are doing it for the right reasons)! But foster care costs the state and thus tax payers billions of dollars every year! Daniel stated a statistic in his sermon that in 2009 25.1 BILLION dollars went to foster care federally! I know here in Texas, the Department of Family Protective Services has received a budget cut like no other! So the system charged with protecting our children that was running on shoe string budget anyway is now cut even more! Don't get me started on my thoughts of those cuts....but lets look at numbers a minute. We had Paizley as a foster placement for one month before she was moved to an adoptive placement. Foster parents receive a daily stipend for caring for a foster child. It's much more than I ever imagined before we started fostering. Let me say again, money should NEVER be the reason you foster! But when you are fostering, you do receive money. When Paizley was moved into an "adoptive placement" in our home, the money of course is cut. When you adopt older children you still get a subsidy to help offset the costs and to encourage families to take on the harder to place children (at least I think that is the motivation behind it). Anyway, when she moved into the adoptive placement, the state immediately began saving $500 a month! That's $6,000 a year....and that's just ONE child. And that doesn't include the money saved on salaries of workers having to monitor her case, etc! There are over 6,000 children in Texas in foster care ready to be adopted. If we found families for each of those children, the state would save over $36,000,000 a year!!!!! Oh my word! What could we do to care for children if we weren't having to pay out that $36,000,000 a year in foster care?! Not to mention the cost and reward that far exceeds those numbers to these children being in stable, permanent families to heal and become successful adults and citizens! Ripple number two...
And I could go on and on with the ripples! God has revealed again and again to me this morning the effects of my disobedience...not just to me and my family, but to everyone He intends to touch or bless through the work He does with Addy's Hope.
I had already set today aside to do work on policies and such. But God was gracious enough to remind me that I am not just obeying for obedience sake! When I obey, I open up the doors for Him to bless me and my family. I allow the path for Him to fulfill the promises He has spoken. None of that can be done in disobedience.
Am I scared? YES! Do I have all the answers? NO! Just like Daniel pointed out, Elijah spoke the words to Ahab that put him in danger BEFORE God revealed the plan to protect and provide for him! As you know from my previous posts, I struggle with how most of my big "faith" steps have turned out (which Daniel also addressed and I'll save for another time!), but one thing I can testify to and can't deny is that when I am walking in faith, God reveals ONE STEP AT A TIME! When I take this step, He will show the next! And there will be blessings along the way! Will there be heartache and trials too, probably! But if I keep my focus on HIM, those will pale in comparison to His blessings and the peace of walking in obedience!
My instructions from God that I need to obey is setting up the agency's domestic program...what is yours? Let me encourage you to take a step toward obedience in that area today! Don't wait! Slow obedience is no obedience! We'll do it together!
The sermon is based on I Kings 17 when Elijah goes to Ahab and tells him there will be a drought. This chapter is filled with obedience that doesn't make sense by both Elijah and the widow. God has been calling me to an area of obedience that I just keep dragging my feet. I have all kinds of excuses for why I'm not doing it. Legitimate excuses by worldly standards...an even Christian standards. But bottom line is when God says move, and you sit, you are disobedient!
God has said get the domestic program running for Addy's Hope. He knocked down my first argument months ago: but with seven kids, God, I can't go to work again! They need me! I need to be full-time, undistracted mom to these children! God spoke during another sermon and told me to lay that idea of "mom" on the alter just like Abraham did Isaac. Isaac was the key to God's fulfilled promise to Abraham of a multitude of descendants and God told Abraham to kill him...and Abraham - in faith - put him on the altar and raised the knife! That is what God told me do with my idea of "mom" to seven!
My next argument is that I can't work with seven kids! Baby Girl is 17 months old...need I say more all you mothers of toddlers?! Trying to do something like write policies or make a professional phone call with a 17 month old climbing on the table getting into the chocolate jar is not really my idea of convenient or really even possible some days. Yet, we do not have the money for me to put her in child care. God knocked that argument down by sending friends who have a passion for adoption who have volunteered to watch her so I can get the policies written.
I could go on and on with my excuses and God's answers! But this morning as I listened to Daniel's message about Elijah, I was convicted of the ripple effect of my disobedience. This is something I have thought about often over the past 6-9 months as God has continually sent people to remind me of His command...people that need the services Addy's Hope will offer once this program is open. Families who want to adopt from the state, but are stuck in the system because there is not an adoption only minded agency in West Texas. They are having to become foster parents and THEN adopt...even when they have identified children on TARE they are already willing to adopt. There's a faster way for those parents! We could serve them! Ripple number one!
Then there is the state! Everyone knows that fostering is not about the money (if you are doing it for the right reasons)! But foster care costs the state and thus tax payers billions of dollars every year! Daniel stated a statistic in his sermon that in 2009 25.1 BILLION dollars went to foster care federally! I know here in Texas, the Department of Family Protective Services has received a budget cut like no other! So the system charged with protecting our children that was running on shoe string budget anyway is now cut even more! Don't get me started on my thoughts of those cuts....but lets look at numbers a minute. We had Paizley as a foster placement for one month before she was moved to an adoptive placement. Foster parents receive a daily stipend for caring for a foster child. It's much more than I ever imagined before we started fostering. Let me say again, money should NEVER be the reason you foster! But when you are fostering, you do receive money. When Paizley was moved into an "adoptive placement" in our home, the money of course is cut. When you adopt older children you still get a subsidy to help offset the costs and to encourage families to take on the harder to place children (at least I think that is the motivation behind it). Anyway, when she moved into the adoptive placement, the state immediately began saving $500 a month! That's $6,000 a year....and that's just ONE child. And that doesn't include the money saved on salaries of workers having to monitor her case, etc! There are over 6,000 children in Texas in foster care ready to be adopted. If we found families for each of those children, the state would save over $36,000,000 a year!!!!! Oh my word! What could we do to care for children if we weren't having to pay out that $36,000,000 a year in foster care?! Not to mention the cost and reward that far exceeds those numbers to these children being in stable, permanent families to heal and become successful adults and citizens! Ripple number two...
And I could go on and on with the ripples! God has revealed again and again to me this morning the effects of my disobedience...not just to me and my family, but to everyone He intends to touch or bless through the work He does with Addy's Hope.
I had already set today aside to do work on policies and such. But God was gracious enough to remind me that I am not just obeying for obedience sake! When I obey, I open up the doors for Him to bless me and my family. I allow the path for Him to fulfill the promises He has spoken. None of that can be done in disobedience.
Am I scared? YES! Do I have all the answers? NO! Just like Daniel pointed out, Elijah spoke the words to Ahab that put him in danger BEFORE God revealed the plan to protect and provide for him! As you know from my previous posts, I struggle with how most of my big "faith" steps have turned out (which Daniel also addressed and I'll save for another time!), but one thing I can testify to and can't deny is that when I am walking in faith, God reveals ONE STEP AT A TIME! When I take this step, He will show the next! And there will be blessings along the way! Will there be heartache and trials too, probably! But if I keep my focus on HIM, those will pale in comparison to His blessings and the peace of walking in obedience!
My instructions from God that I need to obey is setting up the agency's domestic program...what is yours? Let me encourage you to take a step toward obedience in that area today! Don't wait! Slow obedience is no obedience! We'll do it together!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Our Oldest!
Our wonderful friend, Brooke of Brooke Holland Photography, took these amazing pictures of Paizley for her sweet 16 and new adoption! Brooke did an amazing job of capturing Paizley's personality! She can be so much fun! Thank you, Brooke!
This is my favorite picture of her!! It shows her beautiful smile! We have been told by more than one person that she even looks different since coming to live with us! I agree. There is a peace and a calm about her. She looks nothing like the picture that we saw of her 7 months ago...the one on TARE that introduced us to the girl who was to become our daughter! Can you believe we didn't even know she existed 8 months ago???? Craziness!!! God works in mysterious ways! And in less time than it takes to complete a pregnancy, we became legal (and spiritual way before legal) parents of a 15-soon to be 16- year old! Wow!
Can't believe I have a high school student in my home! We are looking forward to dance team trips and football games to cheer on our Bulldog!!!
Her funny side! It's my favorite!
Our Princess!
She writes amazing poetry and uses journaling as a way to deal with all that she has been through! Girl after my own heart!
This is my favorite picture of her!! It shows her beautiful smile! We have been told by more than one person that she even looks different since coming to live with us! I agree. There is a peace and a calm about her. She looks nothing like the picture that we saw of her 7 months ago...the one on TARE that introduced us to the girl who was to become our daughter! Can you believe we didn't even know she existed 8 months ago???? Craziness!!! God works in mysterious ways! And in less time than it takes to complete a pregnancy, we became legal (and spiritual way before legal) parents of a 15-soon to be 16- year old! Wow!
Can't believe I have a high school student in my home! We are looking forward to dance team trips and football games to cheer on our Bulldog!!!
Her funny side! It's my favorite!
Our Princess!
She writes amazing poetry and uses journaling as a way to deal with all that she has been through! Girl after my own heart!
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