This summer has gone by fast but here is a recap:
- In July we had a family trip to Texas with the Flora's. It was very low-key and rainy but it allowed time for meeting new people and lots of visiting. 15 (i think) of us shared a 2 bedroom 2 bath house. Yes, that sounds a bit scary...but we really had a fun time. No make-up, no hair dryers, no 30 minute showers and LOADS of bug spray! It was great to slow down and relax some. I'm a bit obsessed with multitasking and there was no need for it this week. Life was simple and time with family was priceless...
- Jason got word that he would be given the opportunity to attend the police academy to become a commissioned officer this fall! This is a huge deal to him and it's fun to watch God further develop Jason's passion for law enforcement. It was unexpected that he would be able to attend school this soon so we consider it a complete blessing. He is going to have a tough schedule for the next 9 months but, it's only temporary. I'm so proud of him!
- Jason and I have been visiting a new church this summer that is close to home. We have been completely blessed by the messages we have received over the last couple of months. Pastor Chad has been in a series titled The Plan and he has been digging in to what God's plan is in each of our lives. This past week he spoke about "Markers on the Road" and 4 common markers that take place when God has spoken direction in your life. The first marker was Prompting of the Holy Spirit. This message made me reflect on our adoption journey and how in January of 2010 Jason and I were prompted by God and the idea of adoption was born into our lives. The 2nd marker was Certain Uncertainty. We had no idea how we were going to pay for adoption, where we were going to adopt from or how long this process would take. Pastor Chad stated that if God gave us all the info up front in His plan for us and if we knew all the steps in the process...A all the way to Z...then we, as humans would naturally want to skip the hard stuff and get to Z. How true is that?! It's often times in the hard stuff that we learn, we grow and we thank God that "Z" didn't come so quickly because we wouldn't have been ready for it. The 3rd marker was Predictable Resistance. "If you aren't knocking heads with the devil every once in a while then you probably aren't causing him any problems." There has been and is going to continue to be resistance in our adoption process. We have to keep remembering that resistance doesn't mean a wrong door. The last marker in the message was Uncommon Clarity, which is where I believe we are at. There is still so much up in the air and despite the all the waiting, the unknowns and the people that think we are crazy...we know this is God's will for us.
