casting your all

 Lots of heartbreaking talks and prayers and a mostly sleepless night last night, and then this morning threatened to steal our peace as one thing after another indicated court would be cancelled. In the end, because Emma waits, because the Lord showed up, because we showed up with Him, He answered a lot of hard and complicated prayers with peace, with answers, with clarity, with light.  With girls with tears in their eyes and huge grins on their faces. 

The brokenness doesn't go away...the hard isn't now easy...but the girls now have a home and a family with so many closed and confusing doors that only He could have opened, and made free and clear.  

It was a hard place, that juvenile court today, full of children like the ones in our care with shattered stories and many, alone, as ours would have been had the Lord not hemmed them in and delayed Emma-girl...but there were some sacred moments in that court room today too that I will never forget, even as Matt and I sat there as we have many times before in Haiti, looking around, (and 40 weeks pregnant!), and asking, "How in the WORLD did we get here?"

The answer was clearly, "one step at a time behind Jesus" again today, and as overwhelmed as I feel tonight with two more officially in our care and one more about to be, I know if I can keep one step at a time behind Him still, He'll show up tomorrow as I need Him to, and the next day. 

THANK YOU for praying with and for us, thank you for being our good family so that we can be good family to others. 

praying for a good night's sleep tonight for all of us, and a new baby...hopefully after :)

If you are truly recognizing your Lord, 

you have no business being concerned about 

how and where He engineers your circumstances.

The things surrounding you are real,

but when you look at them you are immediately overwhelmed, 

and even unable to recognize Jesus. 

Let your actual circumstances be what they may,

but keep recognizing Jesus,

maintaining complete reliance upon Him.

If you debate for even one second when God has spoken,

it is all over for you.

Be reckless, immediately, 

totally unrestrained and willing to risk everything--

by casting your all upon Him.