1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
What keeps us moving forward? These 3 things: faith, hope and love.
We have been through quite an emotional roller coaster these past few weeks. Just when we thought that we were done with our fundraising and ready to "get things accomplished" and get ready to bring some children home, God allowed another mountain to come up before us. It is not like we didn't expect more mountains in our path, just not one quite this big and debilitating. Some of you already know what has happened, while others do not. We purchased a new to us van in July. It is a great van and we truly felt God led us directly to this particular van. So, 2 1/2 months later and less than 3,000 miles later, the van goes kaput on Sunday, September 30. The transmission has to be replaced. We have gone through a lot of options from selling the current van and buying a new one, fixing the current van's problem, and replacing the current van's transmission. All the solutions are costly and quite honestly, more costly than we can afford right now. But...not for God. Ever since the day this happened, I have known and felt God would take care of us. (Not to say that I haven't had my days--- I've cried and been mad). But, God is faithful and He will provide. So, here we are 2 weeks later and we are still waiting on God to show us the proper path, who to fix it, and where the money will come from. Along the way, God has given us hope. Hope that through all of these circumstances of our lives, He is there, a beacon of light that shines so bright in the darkness that we would have to be blind not to see it.
I had to turn down 4 substitute jobs in 1 week because of only having 2 cars instead of our normal 3. We just couldn't make it work for me to get everyone where they needed to be and not be overly stressed out. So, I turned them down, questioning God, "Why God? How can I pay to fix the van if I can't work to get the money?" Well, during the week following that, we were blessed with the EXACT same amount as I would have made BEFORE taxes! People, I can't make this stuff up. God is amazing and He is working miracles daily. We just have to open our eyes and hearts to see where He is working.
We have definitely been experiencing a lot of spiritual warfare lately as well. Through our children, marriage, friends, and finances. But, our God is able. Here is a quote from my Facebook post on October 8...
Somewhere along the journey, I must see past the circumstances that threaten to steal my joy, that rob me of my time, and kill my passion. Satan has come like a thief to steal, kill, and destroy. Somewhere along the way, faith is all that is left. And it is there, where I meet Jesus face to face. I do not understand today, but God is already in tomorrow. He sees the end, I see the journey. Lord, give me your eyes so I can see...
That post I have had to reread many times since that day. The very next day after that, we experienced something that could have devastated us. We definitely weren't happy about it, but we asked God to give us eyes and He did. Why would we be upset about it? God doesn't always answer us the way we want. But He does answer.
One of my favorite songs from my teen/20's was by Garth Brooks. It was Unanswered Prayers. It says, Just remember when you're talking to the man upstairs, that just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care, Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. I have to remember that just because I don't see or hear the answer right now, doesn't mean He hasn't answered or won't. Sometimes the answer is wait or no. I believe that those are the hardest answers. But I also think that those are the times that He is protecting us the most.
So, here we are. We are waiting. We are waiting on God to guide our next step. We are learning so much in the process. We are learning so much about God and His faithfulness and the hope that only comes from Him. But the greatest is the Love for us. All that we are going through right now, is because of His love for us, His children and the love He has for 1 or 2 special children and preparing a place for them in our home. We have said all along that God's timing is perfect and oh how wonderful the day will be. Until then, we wait and we learn and we love.
We still have shirts left. Less than 10 now. If you would like to order a shirt, please let me know. They are $20. We have small, large and x-large left. If you haven't picked yours up yet, please contact me so we can meet up. If you have received yours but haven't paid for it yet, please do.
I pray that you are blessed today. I pray that your life is touched in a special way. Thank you so much for your prayers. We love you all so dearly!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Thursday, September 5, 2013
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly!
Good afternoon to all of our faithful family and friends!!!! It is a beautiful day in sunny South Carolina and with that comes a smile on my face. After months of rain, sunshine is always welcomed! This relates well to my post today.
When God calls us to act, He doesn't promise that the road will be easy. In fact, He tells us it will be difficult. There will be trials and hard times. There will be days that you want to give up. But, He tells us that He will never leave us, nor forsake us. He promises that His mercies are new every single morning. Whatever your calling in life, God commands us to seek Him in all things. This is easy peasy when the going is good. But it is oh so difficult when things are hard.
Over the last 6 months, there have been many days when life has been great. There have been times, however, when I have been ready to give up! Every single time I have felt this way, God has sent someone into our lives to encourage us and pick us up. This is not an easy road. Not only that, it is not going to be an easy road. This road is hard and very lonely. If you have ever adopted or are currently adopting, you understand. My personality is a very positive one. In fact, on our autobiography for the adoption, we had to answer questions regarding our personalities. I am positive (to a fault) and Chris is negative (he calls it realist). I try very hard to always look for the positive in life. By doing that, sometimes I fear I may give the impression that life is always great.
The selfish, spoiled little girl inside of me sometimes wants to sit down and not share my toys. What do I mean by that? There are times when I've dealt with all I can deal with, answered all the questions I can answer, cried more tears than I want to cry, stretched a dollar as far as I can possibly stretch it and poured my heart out as much as I can. In those times, I just want to keep all the blessings that God has give to us to myself. I want to take my toys and go home. Oh, but God lovingly sits beside me and reassures me. I've asked God, Why us? Why would you choose us to be parents to possibly 2 more children. There are days I can hardly parent the ones I have. On those days, God says, Why not you? I will give you all that you need for today. And He does. There are days that I have questioned the whole process. But on those days, God points to the steps we have already taken. He shows me that He has been the guide for every single step we have taken. He has walked this with us and He is faithful and will walk the rest of the way with us. There has not been even one day that I have doubted God. The one I doubt is me. I'm only human. I can only do so much. I can only love so much. I can only give so much. But God can do so much more. God can love so much more. God can give so much more. And He is choosing to do that through us, a family of 5. We are in this together. We talk openly about this with our children. We realize that there will be days that they might not want to walk this road either. But God will be there to love them and guide them back to Him.
It is very hard for me to share this post. It's not my normal way. But I felt that the only way for you all to see the reality of life was to hear my heart. My human heart. I choose today to live for God and do what He asks of me. I will not question Him, I will simply obey. This is a choice and I choose life.
We love you all!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
When God calls us to act, He doesn't promise that the road will be easy. In fact, He tells us it will be difficult. There will be trials and hard times. There will be days that you want to give up. But, He tells us that He will never leave us, nor forsake us. He promises that His mercies are new every single morning. Whatever your calling in life, God commands us to seek Him in all things. This is easy peasy when the going is good. But it is oh so difficult when things are hard.
Over the last 6 months, there have been many days when life has been great. There have been times, however, when I have been ready to give up! Every single time I have felt this way, God has sent someone into our lives to encourage us and pick us up. This is not an easy road. Not only that, it is not going to be an easy road. This road is hard and very lonely. If you have ever adopted or are currently adopting, you understand. My personality is a very positive one. In fact, on our autobiography for the adoption, we had to answer questions regarding our personalities. I am positive (to a fault) and Chris is negative (he calls it realist). I try very hard to always look for the positive in life. By doing that, sometimes I fear I may give the impression that life is always great.
The selfish, spoiled little girl inside of me sometimes wants to sit down and not share my toys. What do I mean by that? There are times when I've dealt with all I can deal with, answered all the questions I can answer, cried more tears than I want to cry, stretched a dollar as far as I can possibly stretch it and poured my heart out as much as I can. In those times, I just want to keep all the blessings that God has give to us to myself. I want to take my toys and go home. Oh, but God lovingly sits beside me and reassures me. I've asked God, Why us? Why would you choose us to be parents to possibly 2 more children. There are days I can hardly parent the ones I have. On those days, God says, Why not you? I will give you all that you need for today. And He does. There are days that I have questioned the whole process. But on those days, God points to the steps we have already taken. He shows me that He has been the guide for every single step we have taken. He has walked this with us and He is faithful and will walk the rest of the way with us. There has not been even one day that I have doubted God. The one I doubt is me. I'm only human. I can only do so much. I can only love so much. I can only give so much. But God can do so much more. God can love so much more. God can give so much more. And He is choosing to do that through us, a family of 5. We are in this together. We talk openly about this with our children. We realize that there will be days that they might not want to walk this road either. But God will be there to love them and guide them back to Him.
It is very hard for me to share this post. It's not my normal way. But I felt that the only way for you all to see the reality of life was to hear my heart. My human heart. I choose today to live for God and do what He asks of me. I will not question Him, I will simply obey. This is a choice and I choose life.
We love you all!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
Monday, September 2, 2013
Houston...we have a fundraiser!
Throughout this entire process, God has provided for us every single step of the way. For every single need, He has opened doors, windows and moved mountains. He sold our house, helped us buy the new house, and guided us in buying both of our vehicles. So, why do we need to do any fundraising, you ask?
When we actually decided to step out in faith and begin this process to adopt, it was January 2012. I (Elizabeth) had been feeling the call since October 24, 2010. From that point, I tried to avoid the subject with God during my prayer life. I didn't even think of mentioning it to Chris. But He continued to press on and nudge me. After a year of nudging, I spoke to Chris about it. In January 2012, we wrote our list of things God had to do in order for us to adopt. We listed all of the HUGE mountains that God needed to move (because we could not in our own power move them). Well, in a year and 6 months He single handedly moved those HUGE mountains from in front of us. What an amazing God we serve!!!! He is so cool! During that time, we trusted that God would complete the tasks. We also knew that WE had to do OUR parts in the process. We struggled. I never once doubted that God was going to complete the tasks, but I definitely doubted that I would be on the other side once they were completed. You see, humanly, it was hard. There were many days and weeks of really big ups and really big downs. The world and Satan fought hard against us. Thankfully, we have close family and friends who kept us focused on the end result.
Questions keep being asked and so I'd like to take a moment to answer them.
When we actually decided to step out in faith and begin this process to adopt, it was January 2012. I (Elizabeth) had been feeling the call since October 24, 2010. From that point, I tried to avoid the subject with God during my prayer life. I didn't even think of mentioning it to Chris. But He continued to press on and nudge me. After a year of nudging, I spoke to Chris about it. In January 2012, we wrote our list of things God had to do in order for us to adopt. We listed all of the HUGE mountains that God needed to move (because we could not in our own power move them). Well, in a year and 6 months He single handedly moved those HUGE mountains from in front of us. What an amazing God we serve!!!! He is so cool! During that time, we trusted that God would complete the tasks. We also knew that WE had to do OUR parts in the process. We struggled. I never once doubted that God was going to complete the tasks, but I definitely doubted that I would be on the other side once they were completed. You see, humanly, it was hard. There were many days and weeks of really big ups and really big downs. The world and Satan fought hard against us. Thankfully, we have close family and friends who kept us focused on the end result.
Questions keep being asked and so I'd like to take a moment to answer them.
- The main question that is asked most frequently is, Are you really getting 2 more kids? The answer is, if that is what God wants to give us, YES! When we began the process, we said, NO! WE said, we would only take 1. But throughout the training and seminars, we have listened to God's voice and trusted in His message and we have heard Him loud and clear. He wants us to be WILLING to take siblings between the ages of 1-5 years old. That doesn't mean that is what DSS will give us, but we are willing to accept the calls for siblings in those ranges.
- Another question commonly asked is, Why those specific ages? Well, through lots of research on our own children, as well as adoption, we have decided that it would be best for our family to add to the end of the family line so as to not disrupt the birth order of our biological children. We feel a peace about this decision and trust that God will place the exact children with us that need to be placed here.
- Have you specified boys, girls, or ethnicity? No. When God placed all 3 of our bio children in my belly, we didn't know, nor could we request that they be a specific gender. So, we are not specifying which gender we would like to receive this time either. As far as ethnicity goes, no. We are not specifying that either. We feel God will only give us what we can handle.
So, why fundraising? Why now? Well, we have felt very strongly that God was calling us to enlist friends and family to help out in a small way (shirts are $20 each) that will be a HUGE blessing to us. What are the reasons to need the fundraising? I have been asked on numerous occasions, Why do you need to spend money, I thought DSS was free. Well, the process is. BUT, we had to get to the point where we could take the children in (new house, new vehicles, etc). Then, we had to travel for all of the training, plus lunch at each one and gas to get there. Finally, we have things that have to be done to meet the fire inspection and the DSS inspection. At the end, when we receive our children and go to adopt them, we have to hire a lawyer and pay the lawyer. DSS will reimburse us for the legal fees after the adoption is final. But we have to pay those costs up front. We have that part covered but need help with the "little" things right now.
So, we are asking that each family prayerfully consider how many t-shirts you would like to buy. They are very nice shirts. I designed them. They are Gildan 50/50 Ultra Cotton. I have inserted the proof for the shirts. If you want to order a shirt or 5 shirts, please send the correct amount for the shirts to my Paypal account: fowlerfamfive@gmail.com and in the description, put the sizes and amounts needed. If you are local and would like to just get me the money for the shirt(s), that is great. Please send me an email, text or facebook message stating the size(s) you would like and number of shirts.
Our totals for this weeks fundraising are:
20 shirts pre-ordered (we need payment for the shirts ordered by this Friday (9/6/13)). We have payment for 3 so far.
We have $70 in donations.
We need 30 shirts pre-ordered and paid for in order to place the order for the shirts.
Total amount needed to be able to complete the projects and have the house ready to receive possibly 2 children into our family......$1475.00!
So, we are $1345.00 away! This is very attainable! I will also be doing an online yard sale on Facebook soon. Watch for that! Clothing for women, boys and girls, and household items.
Thank you for praying and supporting us on this journey. We are so blessed and thankful for each and every one of you! Be safe today on this Labor Day.
In His Grip!
Chris and Elizabeth
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Calling for back up...
Hello precious friends! It has been a while and I'm so sorry. I don't mean to not update, but as of today we have entered into the 20th Century with high speed internet and honestly up until this point, it has been quite tedious to update. Now it should be much easier!
We are settling in nicely into the new house and new routine of school. While we are much closer to town now, we are now 15 minutes from Kathryn's school (used to be 5 min) and about 10 minutes from Benjamin's school (used to be about 8 min). We are still about the same from Zach's school. With the purchase of the 2 new vehicles, Zach now has his own transportation to and from school and soon, work. Yay!!! He got a job keeping an 8 year old boy 2 days a week beginning in September. This was a huge answer to prayer!
We have completed 2 of our 3 training sessions with DSS. These sessions are full of information and we have learned a LOT from them. We have our final training session on September 14! This will be the adoption specific training. The other 2 were more focused on foster care. With the end of these trainings drawing near, we have a pressing need to complete all paperwork, get our medicals completed and prepare our home for the new addition(s).
Here is how you can help.
1. We need to do a small fundraiser for the window replacement and the labor to replace the window. This should cost around $750-$1,000. If anyone has any suggestions on a fundraiser, we are open to suggestions.
2. We also need to put 2 separate twin beds in the playroom. If anyone can help us out with the either building the beds or supplying us with twin beds you no longer need, we are accepting offers of help or donations.
3. If you live out of town and cannot physically be here to help us with the beds or participate in the fundraiser and would like to help us out, we are accepting donations through our Paypal account at fowlerfamfive@gmail.com beginning tonight.
We will keep everyone updated on our progress weekly from here on out.
We need to raise the money for the window soon. We need to have that part complete before the home study and fire inspection. You can send suggestions for a fundraiser to fowlerfamfive@gmail.com. You can also suggest on my Facebook page. We are working hard to get everything finished before the end of October. This way, we can be completed and licensed and on the list by the first of November.
God has moved some HUGE mountains so far! Between raises, jobs, selling a house and buying one, and buying 2 vehicles. There is no reason to doubt that these small mountains in front of us can be moved. They CAN!!!! We believe completely and fully that God has orchestrated this entire process. If God is calling you to be a part of our journey, we simply ask that you follow His call. If you can simply pray, then you are contributing in a HUGE way!!! We are so excited about this part of the journey.
Thank you all for your prayers and support till now. Please do not stop. We need you now more than ever. This where the rubber meets the road. The little details that can cause stress. God is in those details. We love you all and treasure each and every one of you!!!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
We are settling in nicely into the new house and new routine of school. While we are much closer to town now, we are now 15 minutes from Kathryn's school (used to be 5 min) and about 10 minutes from Benjamin's school (used to be about 8 min). We are still about the same from Zach's school. With the purchase of the 2 new vehicles, Zach now has his own transportation to and from school and soon, work. Yay!!! He got a job keeping an 8 year old boy 2 days a week beginning in September. This was a huge answer to prayer!
We have completed 2 of our 3 training sessions with DSS. These sessions are full of information and we have learned a LOT from them. We have our final training session on September 14! This will be the adoption specific training. The other 2 were more focused on foster care. With the end of these trainings drawing near, we have a pressing need to complete all paperwork, get our medicals completed and prepare our home for the new addition(s).
Here is how you can help.
1. We need to do a small fundraiser for the window replacement and the labor to replace the window. This should cost around $750-$1,000. If anyone has any suggestions on a fundraiser, we are open to suggestions.
2. We also need to put 2 separate twin beds in the playroom. If anyone can help us out with the either building the beds or supplying us with twin beds you no longer need, we are accepting offers of help or donations.
3. If you live out of town and cannot physically be here to help us with the beds or participate in the fundraiser and would like to help us out, we are accepting donations through our Paypal account at fowlerfamfive@gmail.com beginning tonight.
We will keep everyone updated on our progress weekly from here on out.
We need to raise the money for the window soon. We need to have that part complete before the home study and fire inspection. You can send suggestions for a fundraiser to fowlerfamfive@gmail.com. You can also suggest on my Facebook page. We are working hard to get everything finished before the end of October. This way, we can be completed and licensed and on the list by the first of November.
God has moved some HUGE mountains so far! Between raises, jobs, selling a house and buying one, and buying 2 vehicles. There is no reason to doubt that these small mountains in front of us can be moved. They CAN!!!! We believe completely and fully that God has orchestrated this entire process. If God is calling you to be a part of our journey, we simply ask that you follow His call. If you can simply pray, then you are contributing in a HUGE way!!! We are so excited about this part of the journey.
Thank you all for your prayers and support till now. Please do not stop. We need you now more than ever. This where the rubber meets the road. The little details that can cause stress. God is in those details. We love you all and treasure each and every one of you!!!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
Thursday, July 11, 2013
The Mountains are GONE!!!
Where do I begin? Well, I will begin with the greatest news of all! We are homeowners (1 month today) and we absolutely feel like the most blessed family on the planet. It was hard and definitely taught me a lot about patience and mercy. But, in the end, we are owners of a beautiful home that we love. Now, for the story. (That's the best part anyway, right!?)
First, God doesn't make mistakes. Whether that is by allowing certain things to happen to us, by creating a life, or by taking things or people away. Second, God is always on time. He is not a day late or a minute early. His timing is exactly what it needs to be for His glory and honor. Finally, God has so much more for us when we surrender to His will and lay our will aside.
With all that said, here we go. We began our search for a new home and wanted to stay close to our "current" home. We searched and searched. We looked at every possible home that came available. Every single time I thought that God had led us to the "perfect" house. Each house, I would imagine in my mind what it would look like with us living in it. When the homes would not "pan" out, I wasn't disappointed. I had a peace each time. With each one, God kept saying to us, "the best is yet to come." I kept thinking, that's crazy. This house (the one we were looking at) has to be the best. But, oh, how patient God is with us. I had given God a timeline (LOL) for our home to have a contract. I had said to Him that it had to have a contract by April 30, in order for us to close on a new home by the cutoff date for our preapproval.
On April 26, we had yet to show the house even once in almost 2 months. BUT, my specific prayer from the beginning was to only show the house once to the person who would buy it. On April 26, our amazing realtor called to say that she had a showing on Monday, April 29 at 6:15! We, of course, cleaned the house like crazy and got it ready. We left the house and headed to eat dinner. At 6:18, we got a call from Olivia (our Realtor). We had a cash offer! What? Are you kidding me? Oh my! By 6:45 we had worked out the details and we had a contract on our house. WOW! God is so good! And a day ahead of "my schedule". HA!
So, of course, this throws me into crazy mode because we don't have a house to buy yet. We looked again at a house that night and quickly marked it off the list. On Tuesday evening we opened our search area just a bit. When we did, a few more houses popped up. But one house in particular caught our eye. I jotted down the address on a notepad by my computer, sent a text that we wanted to see it on Thursday to our realtor, and went to bed. The next day, Wednesday, May 1, I got to work at school and was given a stack of papers that needed the addresses, phone numbers and parents' names filled in for each child in our class. I pulled the first one off and wrote his address down. Shocker...it was the same address I had written down the night before. I was in shock. Not only that, but the child in our class is adopted and so are his 3 other siblings. Seriously, God, can you line things up any more perfectly? I called our Realtor on my break and moved the showing up to that day at 3. We saw that house and one other in the neighborhood. We felt very drawn toward the 1st house (our house), but because the price was so much less, we felt we should make an offer on the 2nd house. We headed back to the office to make an offer, but the whole way, neither of us had a settled feeling. I kept hearing God's voice saying, "Trust me." We talked quickly before arriving and decided that God wanted us to make an offer on the 1st house. After going back and forth for about a day, we arrived at an agreement and we had a contract on the house. YAY!!!
Now, I would be wrong to tell you all of this went off without a hitch and we closed with no bumps. That was definitely not the case. BUT, God was with us every single step of the way. We closed on our "old" house on May 30 and moved into the new house that day. We closed on the "new" house on June 11. Again, God is so good.
We now have a 4 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath home with over 2400 square feet, almost 3/4 acre lot that is fenced in and a pool! The house is gorgeous and we love it. We definitely did not deserve it!!!
This past Friday, my van (that we were trying to push replacing until the fall), decided to act up. The transmission was going out in it. We called our sweet faithful friend Nick and go the "low down" on what we should do. After assessing the situation with the van, what it was worth, minus replacing the transmission, we decided to cut our losses and trade it. So we did. We traded it for Chris' vehicle. We got him a 2003 Toyota Avalon and again, God was in the entire process. He got us an amazing deal and we love the new (to us) car!
Throughout the process, my parents have been helping us look for a new van. Of course, we thought that we were going to be replacing it in the fall. But God had another idea. My parents found us a 2003 Honda Odyssey where they live, 3 hours from us, in another state. Without seeing the van, trusting God and my parents, we purchased the van. It is being delivered to us on Wednesday.
So, for those of you keeping tabs. Our list that we started out with, is complete. There isn't anything else that God has to do. He has completed a good work in His servants. Now, the fun begins. We are almost finished with our paperwork. We have signed up for our 2 training sessions that are 7 hours each in Simpsonville. We have completed our fingerprinting. We are a month away from being able to have our home study scheduled. This is getting real!
How can you pray for us?
We are going to have to replace a window in our house to make it work for the fire code for DSS adoption. It is going to cost us money out of pocket. Please pray that when that time comes, the funds are there. We are trying to come up with a fundraiser to do for this. If you have any ideas, please let us know.
Please pray for our health, finances and relationships as we strive to do God's will.
Please pray for our stamina. This has already been a long road (1 1/2 years) and we have a ways to go. Please pray for focus and determination to finish the race.
Please pray for our children. They want so badly for their new siblings to "hurry up and get here". It is so hard for them to understand that God's timing is perfect. But they are learning and it is awesome to watch them see God's masterpiece unfolding before their eyes.
Please pray that the mountains left to move, will move according to God's will, timing and glory.
Thank you so much for praying for us! Thank you for supporting us. We love you all!
In His grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
First, God doesn't make mistakes. Whether that is by allowing certain things to happen to us, by creating a life, or by taking things or people away. Second, God is always on time. He is not a day late or a minute early. His timing is exactly what it needs to be for His glory and honor. Finally, God has so much more for us when we surrender to His will and lay our will aside.
With all that said, here we go. We began our search for a new home and wanted to stay close to our "current" home. We searched and searched. We looked at every possible home that came available. Every single time I thought that God had led us to the "perfect" house. Each house, I would imagine in my mind what it would look like with us living in it. When the homes would not "pan" out, I wasn't disappointed. I had a peace each time. With each one, God kept saying to us, "the best is yet to come." I kept thinking, that's crazy. This house (the one we were looking at) has to be the best. But, oh, how patient God is with us. I had given God a timeline (LOL) for our home to have a contract. I had said to Him that it had to have a contract by April 30, in order for us to close on a new home by the cutoff date for our preapproval.
On April 26, we had yet to show the house even once in almost 2 months. BUT, my specific prayer from the beginning was to only show the house once to the person who would buy it. On April 26, our amazing realtor called to say that she had a showing on Monday, April 29 at 6:15! We, of course, cleaned the house like crazy and got it ready. We left the house and headed to eat dinner. At 6:18, we got a call from Olivia (our Realtor). We had a cash offer! What? Are you kidding me? Oh my! By 6:45 we had worked out the details and we had a contract on our house. WOW! God is so good! And a day ahead of "my schedule". HA!
So, of course, this throws me into crazy mode because we don't have a house to buy yet. We looked again at a house that night and quickly marked it off the list. On Tuesday evening we opened our search area just a bit. When we did, a few more houses popped up. But one house in particular caught our eye. I jotted down the address on a notepad by my computer, sent a text that we wanted to see it on Thursday to our realtor, and went to bed. The next day, Wednesday, May 1, I got to work at school and was given a stack of papers that needed the addresses, phone numbers and parents' names filled in for each child in our class. I pulled the first one off and wrote his address down. Shocker...it was the same address I had written down the night before. I was in shock. Not only that, but the child in our class is adopted and so are his 3 other siblings. Seriously, God, can you line things up any more perfectly? I called our Realtor on my break and moved the showing up to that day at 3. We saw that house and one other in the neighborhood. We felt very drawn toward the 1st house (our house), but because the price was so much less, we felt we should make an offer on the 2nd house. We headed back to the office to make an offer, but the whole way, neither of us had a settled feeling. I kept hearing God's voice saying, "Trust me." We talked quickly before arriving and decided that God wanted us to make an offer on the 1st house. After going back and forth for about a day, we arrived at an agreement and we had a contract on the house. YAY!!!
Now, I would be wrong to tell you all of this went off without a hitch and we closed with no bumps. That was definitely not the case. BUT, God was with us every single step of the way. We closed on our "old" house on May 30 and moved into the new house that day. We closed on the "new" house on June 11. Again, God is so good.
We now have a 4 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath home with over 2400 square feet, almost 3/4 acre lot that is fenced in and a pool! The house is gorgeous and we love it. We definitely did not deserve it!!!
This past Friday, my van (that we were trying to push replacing until the fall), decided to act up. The transmission was going out in it. We called our sweet faithful friend Nick and go the "low down" on what we should do. After assessing the situation with the van, what it was worth, minus replacing the transmission, we decided to cut our losses and trade it. So we did. We traded it for Chris' vehicle. We got him a 2003 Toyota Avalon and again, God was in the entire process. He got us an amazing deal and we love the new (to us) car!
Throughout the process, my parents have been helping us look for a new van. Of course, we thought that we were going to be replacing it in the fall. But God had another idea. My parents found us a 2003 Honda Odyssey where they live, 3 hours from us, in another state. Without seeing the van, trusting God and my parents, we purchased the van. It is being delivered to us on Wednesday.
So, for those of you keeping tabs. Our list that we started out with, is complete. There isn't anything else that God has to do. He has completed a good work in His servants. Now, the fun begins. We are almost finished with our paperwork. We have signed up for our 2 training sessions that are 7 hours each in Simpsonville. We have completed our fingerprinting. We are a month away from being able to have our home study scheduled. This is getting real!
How can you pray for us?
We are going to have to replace a window in our house to make it work for the fire code for DSS adoption. It is going to cost us money out of pocket. Please pray that when that time comes, the funds are there. We are trying to come up with a fundraiser to do for this. If you have any ideas, please let us know.
Please pray for our health, finances and relationships as we strive to do God's will.
Please pray for our stamina. This has already been a long road (1 1/2 years) and we have a ways to go. Please pray for focus and determination to finish the race.
Please pray for our children. They want so badly for their new siblings to "hurry up and get here". It is so hard for them to understand that God's timing is perfect. But they are learning and it is awesome to watch them see God's masterpiece unfolding before their eyes.
Please pray that the mountains left to move, will move according to God's will, timing and glory.
Thank you so much for praying for us! Thank you for supporting us. We love you all!
In His grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
Monday, June 3, 2013
Ready...Set...GO!
I'm going to try to update from my phone. If there are typos, I'm apologizing now.
We are out of the old house and into the new one! We are in love! We love the house, neighborhood, area, yard, everything! God truly showed off! Last night we stood (bc we don't have any seating yet) on the screened in porch and listened to the rain beat on the tin roof. It was wonderful! We finally cooked a meal Sunday night and that was so nice. We have been blessed with amazing friends! Thank you Steadmans, Lees, Prices, Ramellas, Duane, my parents, my in-laws, and even new neighbors, who have provided meals, snacks, helped with moving and so much more! We could not have done it without you all!
We have closed on the old house, but not the new one yet. We had to change the type of loan we were doing in the middle of the process and so that I'd prolonging the process. The Rogers (owners of three house we are buying) have graciously allowed us to go ahead and move in though. So, we aren't homeless! God's provision is amazing!
Please pray specifically that everything will come together quickly and that we can get closed and move on to the next thing God had for us!
We are very ready to move into the next phase of this journey...adoption! We will be getting our packet together to send to DSS in the next 2 weeks. From there, we have trainings and home studies between us and waiting.
Please pray as we continue to get settled.
We cherish your prayers, love and support!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
We are out of the old house and into the new one! We are in love! We love the house, neighborhood, area, yard, everything! God truly showed off! Last night we stood (bc we don't have any seating yet) on the screened in porch and listened to the rain beat on the tin roof. It was wonderful! We finally cooked a meal Sunday night and that was so nice. We have been blessed with amazing friends! Thank you Steadmans, Lees, Prices, Ramellas, Duane, my parents, my in-laws, and even new neighbors, who have provided meals, snacks, helped with moving and so much more! We could not have done it without you all!
We have closed on the old house, but not the new one yet. We had to change the type of loan we were doing in the middle of the process and so that I'd prolonging the process. The Rogers (owners of three house we are buying) have graciously allowed us to go ahead and move in though. So, we aren't homeless! God's provision is amazing!
Please pray specifically that everything will come together quickly and that we can get closed and move on to the next thing God had for us!
We are very ready to move into the next phase of this journey...adoption! We will be getting our packet together to send to DSS in the next 2 weeks. From there, we have trainings and home studies between us and waiting.
Please pray as we continue to get settled.
We cherish your prayers, love and support!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
Saturday, May 11, 2013
It's the Climb
We have some good friends who have a daughter that fought cancer 6 years ago. We were not friends with them while they battled cancer, however, God brought us together over 3 years ago when our boys played on an All Star Baseball Team together. We realized then, that we had prayed for that precious girl. Since then, she has turned into the most beautiful young lady inside and out. Our daughter, Kathryn, looks up to her and thinks she is just amazing! She has continued to face mountains as a result of her cancer years ago. Last year, she sang the song, "The Climb" for a Relay for Life video, shown at my kids school. My kids came home singing the song and Kathryn put it on her ipod to listen to all the time. Recently, she has faced another mountain. We listened to the song today on the way home from a baseball tournament. The conversation all goes to that precious young lady when the song comes on. Today, I began to really listen to the song and I realized that the lyrics really relate to all Christians and specifically to our lives right now. We are watching God move mountains, but we are also climbing them. If you have a moment, please pray for her tonight. I'm not putting names on here, due to the high traffic volume, but God knows who she is. We love you sweet girl!!!! Here are the lyrics:
I can almost see itThat dream I am dreamingBut there's a voice inside my head saying"You'll never reach it"
Every step I'm takingEvery move I make feelsLost with no directionMy faith is shaking
But I gotta keep tryingGotta keep my head held high
There's always gonna be another mountainI'm always gonna wanna make it moveAlways gonna be a uphill battleSometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get thereAin't about what's waiting on the other sideIt's the climb
The struggles I'm facingThe chances I'm takingSometimes might knock me downBut no, I'm not breaking
I may not know itBut these are the moments thatI'm gonna remember most, yeahJust gotta keep going
And I, I got to be strongJust keep pushing on
'Cause there's always gonna be another mountainI'm always gonna wanna make it moveAlways gonna be a uphill battleSometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get thereAin't about what's waiting on the other sideIt's the climb, yeah!
There's always gonna be another mountainI'm always gonna wanna make it moveAlways gonna be an uphill battleSomebody's gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get thereAin't about what's waiting on the other sideIt's the climb, yeah!
Tonight, we are praying. We are praying over our upcoming move. We are praying over the sweet girl mentioned. We are praying for 2 precious little girls. We are praying for all of you! We are so thankful for all of the Mom's in our lives. My Mom, my mother-in-law, my MamMaw, my Aunt Marsha, Aunt Doris, and Aunt Lisa. All the mother's in our lives that have already gone to Heaven. All the mom's that have shaped us and made us who we are! We are especially thankful to a very special Mom. That Mom is the one who will give us the gift of her child/children. This is a gift that we could never repay. Thank you will never suffice. Tonight, on Mother's Day Eve, I think of the heart of that Mom. How much she will sacrifice in order to ensure her child/children's safety, protection, love, and comfort. What length's will we go to as a Mom to make sure our children are taken care of? We would die for our children.
I can almost see itThat dream I am dreamingBut there's a voice inside my head saying"You'll never reach it"
Every step I'm takingEvery move I make feelsLost with no directionMy faith is shaking
But I gotta keep tryingGotta keep my head held high
There's always gonna be another mountainI'm always gonna wanna make it moveAlways gonna be a uphill battleSometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get thereAin't about what's waiting on the other sideIt's the climb
The struggles I'm facingThe chances I'm takingSometimes might knock me downBut no, I'm not breaking
I may not know itBut these are the moments thatI'm gonna remember most, yeahJust gotta keep going
And I, I got to be strongJust keep pushing on
'Cause there's always gonna be another mountainI'm always gonna wanna make it moveAlways gonna be a uphill battleSometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get thereAin't about what's waiting on the other sideIt's the climb, yeah!
There's always gonna be another mountainI'm always gonna wanna make it moveAlways gonna be an uphill battleSomebody's gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get thereAin't about what's waiting on the other sideIt's the climb, yeah!
Tonight, we are praying. We are praying over our upcoming move. We are praying over the sweet girl mentioned. We are praying for 2 precious little girls. We are praying for all of you! We are so thankful for all of the Mom's in our lives. My Mom, my mother-in-law, my MamMaw, my Aunt Marsha, Aunt Doris, and Aunt Lisa. All the mother's in our lives that have already gone to Heaven. All the mom's that have shaped us and made us who we are! We are especially thankful to a very special Mom. That Mom is the one who will give us the gift of her child/children. This is a gift that we could never repay. Thank you will never suffice. Tonight, on Mother's Day Eve, I think of the heart of that Mom. How much she will sacrifice in order to ensure her child/children's safety, protection, love, and comfort. What length's will we go to as a Mom to make sure our children are taken care of? We would die for our children.
How much more so does our Heavenly Father love us!?! He loves us so much that He died for us! He laid His own life down so that we might have life! And that we would have it abundantly!!! How amazing is this!?! I stand in awe! I'm so thankful for my Savior! I am so thankful that He blessed me with the ability to be a Mommy to not just my birth children but those He will bless us with through adoption.
In His Grip!Chris and Elizabeth
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Holding God's hand and walking with Him daily.
God never promised this life would be easy. He did promise that He would be there with us every single step of the way. "Is it really that easy?" some have asked me. "Yes!" I respond. We must ask that He guide our every step, decision, thought, action. We must ask Him to bless the decision that we make. We do our absolute best to make sure that we are doing what He wants us to. The verse that keeps being brought to mind today is:
Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."
We believe whole heartedly that God has called us to a purpose. That purpose being adoption. In order for Him to fulfill that purpose, certain "earthly" things must happen for our family. From the beginning (16 months ago), we have given God our "list" of things that had to happen. As I looked at the list 16 months ago, I thought, "Wow! Those are HUGE items. I don't know how God will accomplish these, but I have faith that He will." Over the course of the following months, He accomplished each one on the list in the order that we wrote them. (Crazy, huh? Nope, that's God.) Here was our list. I give it to you in hopes that you will see the mountain in front of you for whatever it is that you might be dealing with and realize that if you just hand it over to God, He will take care of it.
1. Stop keeping kids in my home. (February 23, 2012- last day keeping sweet Sophie girl-- applied to begin substitute teaching).
2. April 2012--- began subbing. Have had an average of 10 calls per month since I began.
3. Chris a raise---February 8, 2012--- Chris had said (to God) that we needed a big raise. Normally, he would have gotten a 1.95% raise for cost of living. But he got a 6% raise!!!! PTL!!!! Only God!!!!
4. New house---We listed our house at the end of February 2013 and HE SOLD it on April 29, 2013!!!!! Found our new house on May 1!!!! Closing on May 30!!!!
5. Both of us newer vehicles. We don't buy new cars. So, we will be looking for Chris a new vehicle in a month or 2. We are looking for a 2000 to 2004 mid size car. Honda Accord, Toyota Camry or Nissan Altima. If you have one or know someone who does, let us know. We will be in the market for one soon. I will begin looking in about 6 months for me a new van. We will be looking for a 2006-2008 Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna. Again, if you have or know someone who does, we will be looking. This is the last part for God to complete.
There has been much prayer over this entire process. God has proven to us that with faith, ALL things are possible. He has shown us that mountains move daily and in the past few days, He has shown us that they move on a minute by minute basis. WOW! We are so encouraged every day by the stories from God's people that He continues to place in our paths. Just today, I called the insurance agency that we are using for the homeowners insurance on the new house. I called to see if the quote was ready. I had talked to the lady the other day, but today, through a series of questions, I ended up sharing that we were adopting. She and her husband had adopted too!!! Twice...once internationally and once domestically. Even better, she knew the family we were buying the house from. Is God amazing or what!!!???!!! This journey just gets better and better.
How can you pray today?
1. Please pray that everything will continue to go well. Our inspection on our house was yesterday and the inspector found a couple of things that we need to fix. Please pray that it will all go smoothly. The inspection on the new house was today and the inspector found a few things. Please pray that all of that will go well too. Please pray for the loan process to continue to run smoothly.
2. We are filling out the application for School Choice for both our youngest and middle children. Please pray that those will both be accepted.
3. I have completed my portion of our adoption application. Please pray that Chris will be able to complete his quickly. AND that I would be patient with him. Now that I've completed my portion, I kind of want him to hurry up. BUT, it is all in His time, not ours.
4. Please pray for me as the school year wraps up and everything winds down. And pray for us as we pack up. Lots of memories have been made in this house but the house holds lots of memories from before we moved in. Chris' Granny lived in the house before us. The first Summer we lived in the house, we returned from our vacation and as we walked in the door, Benjamin said, "Oh wow, I smell Granny." We all cried. The house has always helped us in the process of saying goodbye to Granny. We have felt her here with us. As much as we are excited to begin a new chapter in a new house, we will all be sad to leave this home that holds so much for us.
5. Please pray for a smooth transition. As I type, we have only 21 days until closing.
Thank you for all that you do for us. The support and love are overwhelming. Until next update.
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."
We believe whole heartedly that God has called us to a purpose. That purpose being adoption. In order for Him to fulfill that purpose, certain "earthly" things must happen for our family. From the beginning (16 months ago), we have given God our "list" of things that had to happen. As I looked at the list 16 months ago, I thought, "Wow! Those are HUGE items. I don't know how God will accomplish these, but I have faith that He will." Over the course of the following months, He accomplished each one on the list in the order that we wrote them. (Crazy, huh? Nope, that's God.) Here was our list. I give it to you in hopes that you will see the mountain in front of you for whatever it is that you might be dealing with and realize that if you just hand it over to God, He will take care of it.
1. Stop keeping kids in my home. (February 23, 2012- last day keeping sweet Sophie girl-- applied to begin substitute teaching).
2. April 2012--- began subbing. Have had an average of 10 calls per month since I began.
3. Chris a raise---February 8, 2012--- Chris had said (to God) that we needed a big raise. Normally, he would have gotten a 1.95% raise for cost of living. But he got a 6% raise!!!! PTL!!!! Only God!!!!
4. New house---We listed our house at the end of February 2013 and HE SOLD it on April 29, 2013!!!!! Found our new house on May 1!!!! Closing on May 30!!!!
5. Both of us newer vehicles. We don't buy new cars. So, we will be looking for Chris a new vehicle in a month or 2. We are looking for a 2000 to 2004 mid size car. Honda Accord, Toyota Camry or Nissan Altima. If you have one or know someone who does, let us know. We will be in the market for one soon. I will begin looking in about 6 months for me a new van. We will be looking for a 2006-2008 Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna. Again, if you have or know someone who does, we will be looking. This is the last part for God to complete.
There has been much prayer over this entire process. God has proven to us that with faith, ALL things are possible. He has shown us that mountains move daily and in the past few days, He has shown us that they move on a minute by minute basis. WOW! We are so encouraged every day by the stories from God's people that He continues to place in our paths. Just today, I called the insurance agency that we are using for the homeowners insurance on the new house. I called to see if the quote was ready. I had talked to the lady the other day, but today, through a series of questions, I ended up sharing that we were adopting. She and her husband had adopted too!!! Twice...once internationally and once domestically. Even better, she knew the family we were buying the house from. Is God amazing or what!!!???!!! This journey just gets better and better.
How can you pray today?
1. Please pray that everything will continue to go well. Our inspection on our house was yesterday and the inspector found a couple of things that we need to fix. Please pray that it will all go smoothly. The inspection on the new house was today and the inspector found a few things. Please pray that all of that will go well too. Please pray for the loan process to continue to run smoothly.
2. We are filling out the application for School Choice for both our youngest and middle children. Please pray that those will both be accepted.
3. I have completed my portion of our adoption application. Please pray that Chris will be able to complete his quickly. AND that I would be patient with him. Now that I've completed my portion, I kind of want him to hurry up. BUT, it is all in His time, not ours.
4. Please pray for me as the school year wraps up and everything winds down. And pray for us as we pack up. Lots of memories have been made in this house but the house holds lots of memories from before we moved in. Chris' Granny lived in the house before us. The first Summer we lived in the house, we returned from our vacation and as we walked in the door, Benjamin said, "Oh wow, I smell Granny." We all cried. The house has always helped us in the process of saying goodbye to Granny. We have felt her here with us. As much as we are excited to begin a new chapter in a new house, we will all be sad to leave this home that holds so much for us.
5. Please pray for a smooth transition. As I type, we have only 21 days until closing.
Thank you for all that you do for us. The support and love are overwhelming. Until next update.
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
Monday, May 6, 2013
I've got Peace Like a River
If you live in the Upstate of South Carolina, you know that here in the last few days, the rivers around here have not exactly been peaceful. They have reached their capacity and some have even risen past their edges and flooded areas. This is very much like the peace that I am feeling right now. I have a peace that only comes from our Heavenly Father. It is a peace that comes from His proven love time and time again. That peace, however, can sometime be pushed to the limits.
This week is a very big week. We have a contract on our house and a contract on our new house. We have a closing date of May 30. We have 2 huge prayer requests for this week. Both houses will be inspected this week. Our house on Wednesday at 1:30 and the new house on Thursday. I am asking that everyone pray specifically for the one on Wednesday. If you can stop on Tuesday evening at 9 pm and whisper a prayer over our house and the inspector, we would be much appreciative. We know that it is all in God's hands and He already knows what all is coming and all the details. Please pray for a peace to wash over us. We have done all that we can humanly possibly do. After this, we just have the finalizing of the loan documents and the completion of the closing. Oh, and did I mention packing?
This is also a big week in our family life. Benjamin's birthday is tomorrow and Kathryn's is on Wednesday. In the next 3 weeks we have a field trip, a PTO event, 2 Baseball tournaments, Mother's Day, Benjamin's graduation, Kathryn's awards day, family in town, the end of my school year, etc. There is a lot that needs to happen and somewhere in there, I've got to pack the whole house and be ready to move. Whew! Sometimes, I wish I could go to sleep and wake up in the new house. Oh, well, then I'd miss all the fun in the process.
So, please just PUSH!!! P-pray U-until S-something H-happens!!!!! God is good all the time and ALL the time, God is good! He is faithful and full of mercy and grace. We are believing that He is moving this mountain out of the way and the next mountain will be the paperwork and training. (Those are small compared to this!)
Thank you all so much for your love and support. Thank you for your prayers! Thank you for your words of encouragement. They mean so much to us!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
This week is a very big week. We have a contract on our house and a contract on our new house. We have a closing date of May 30. We have 2 huge prayer requests for this week. Both houses will be inspected this week. Our house on Wednesday at 1:30 and the new house on Thursday. I am asking that everyone pray specifically for the one on Wednesday. If you can stop on Tuesday evening at 9 pm and whisper a prayer over our house and the inspector, we would be much appreciative. We know that it is all in God's hands and He already knows what all is coming and all the details. Please pray for a peace to wash over us. We have done all that we can humanly possibly do. After this, we just have the finalizing of the loan documents and the completion of the closing. Oh, and did I mention packing?
This is also a big week in our family life. Benjamin's birthday is tomorrow and Kathryn's is on Wednesday. In the next 3 weeks we have a field trip, a PTO event, 2 Baseball tournaments, Mother's Day, Benjamin's graduation, Kathryn's awards day, family in town, the end of my school year, etc. There is a lot that needs to happen and somewhere in there, I've got to pack the whole house and be ready to move. Whew! Sometimes, I wish I could go to sleep and wake up in the new house. Oh, well, then I'd miss all the fun in the process.
So, please just PUSH!!! P-pray U-until S-something H-happens!!!!! God is good all the time and ALL the time, God is good! He is faithful and full of mercy and grace. We are believing that He is moving this mountain out of the way and the next mountain will be the paperwork and training. (Those are small compared to this!)
Thank you all so much for your love and support. Thank you for your prayers! Thank you for your words of encouragement. They mean so much to us!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
Thursday, May 2, 2013
What a beautiful tapestry that God is weaving for us?!?
Today, I posted on my FB page this post:
The way that God weaves our lives is an amazing and beautiful tapestry. The lives touched by those around you may be unknown to you. I know where my peace lies and it is in Christ Jesus. Do you have a peace? During the storm you are in right now, cry out persistently to the Lord. He is waiting on you to ask for His help.
The reason that I posted that today was because God has literally BLOWN my mind and the easiest way to wrap my brain around this whole process is to look at our lives and the lives all around us as a tapestry that God is weaving. Each life is a strand. I am going to begin by giving you the amazingly wonderful news! We have a contract on a house!!!!! This week, from Monday to today, we have gone from homeowners, to homeless, to having a home to go to. It has been an awesome ride! We are so thankful and praising God for His amazing blessing. We, in our own power could not have organized (even though I will say it is one of my strong suits) this super intricate event.
Now, I want to give you just a glimpse into what some may call "coincidences". To Chris and I, it is no coincidence. It is God! I'm going to try, without using names, etc. because this blog reaches so many people, to create the picture.
On Monday evening, we had an offer on our house. After going back and forth, we agreed. On Tuesday, I was a little panicked (LOL! If you spoke to me that day, you know I was a LOT panicked). There were no longer any houses in the area that we were looking that were in our price range that we liked. We looked at a foreclosure but it had basically been destroyed and while it was an amazing price for the square footage; we would have had to have put a ton of money into it. So, it was a "no". Tuesday evening, we broadened our search area just a bit. Once we did that, 3 more potential houses were showing. Of the 3, we picked 1. It was still farther away than what we wanted. But that was ok. We were allowing God to guide us instead of limiting Him to what we wanted. (Very difficult to do. Much easier to say. But so worth it.) We scheduled with our amazing Realtor to see it on Thursday at 4:30. I wrote the address down on a notepad by my computer. On Wednesday morning, I arrived at work and during the morning, was given a paper for one of my students that needed to have the address, phone number, parents' names, etc filled in on. I wrote the address down and about had a heart attack. This was the exact same address that I had written down the night before. At the time, I didn't know that this family was moving. Not the same street, or area. The exact same address!!! People, I can't make this stuff up! So, I took a deep breath. Looked the address up online to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. Sure enough. Same house. WOW! The huge part was, I knew that the couple living in that house, had adopted. Not just one child but multiple children. Are you kidding me?!? Seriously God. So much was running through my mind and heart at that point. I called our Realtor and asked if we could possibly move up the time to see it exactly 24 hours to that day, Wednesday. After a phone call, we were set to see the house. We walked through the house and felt an overwhelming feeling that we had come home. It was perfect. It was exactly what we needed. I felt a connection to the family who had occupied that house and I had never even really met any of them except the sweet child in my class. We made an offer on the house that night.
Skip away from the new house for a moment and go back to the old house with me. Wednesday evening I got a call from a friend at work. She went to high school with Chris and me. She said, you will never believe this. The guy buying your house is one of my best friends. Through a series of conversations with him, she figured out that he was buying not just any house, but our house. WOW!!! Again, amazing. This precious man has been prayed for! We are so thrilled for him to have our house. We are so blessed that he chose our house. Little did he know, He was all part of God's amazing tapestry.
Now, back to the new house. After going back and forth for only a short time, we arrived on an agreement. The house will be ours. This evening, I got a FB message and friend request from the Momma of the family of the house we are buying. Through correspondence on FB, I have realized that we are way more alike that we know. I believe that through this process, God has given us another set of friends that we can gain knowledge and understanding from about this adoption journey and just life in general. They share the same faith as we do. They share the same passion as we do. And now, we are linked together in God's amazing tapestry through a house.
Like I said, what a beautiful tapestry that God is weaving just for us. We are immensely blessed. We do not deserve this. We are definitely not worthy of a house like this. But, when we get right down to it. We are not worthy of anything, but Jesus paid our debt. We wiped us clean. You don't have to clean up your life to give it over to Him. You give it over to Him and He cleans you up! Two years ago, I would never have believed where we are right now. One year ago, I trusted that God would make a way and move huge mountains to reach His goal, but had no idea how it would be accomplished. Four months ago, we surrendered to His complete will for our lives and allowed Him to guide us. We have not been without fail. We have messed up. We have strayed. We have tried to run the show at times. But each time, God has lovingly guided us back to where He wanted us to be, and been oh, so patient with us. Somehow, being in God's truck riding this journey called life is the scariest, most peaceful place to be. Some days, I think, "Are we really doing this?" And then I look around and see blessing after blessing. Yes, we are really doing this and we couldn't be more excited and ready.
How can you pray specifically for us today and in the days to come?
1. Please pray that everything with the sale of our house (inpsections, detitling, etc) goes without a hitch. Or, if there are hitches, we would take them in stride, without panic and know that it is all part of God's plan.
2. Pray that the sale of the house we are moving to goes as planned. Also, please pray for the timing of it all. We are set to close, as of right now, on the 30th of May. That is a Thursday and we would need to be completely out of our current house that day. Please pray for details of the move to be smooth.
3. Please pray specifically for our sweet Kathryn. She doesn't like change. She is very excited about a new house, new kiddos arriving, etc. But not so much a new school. Please pray for wisdom on our parts through that. We have school choice here, so it's not a mandate that she go to a new school.
4. Continue to pray that we can somehow continue to work on paperwork for the adoption through this process of moving.
5. Please pray for a specific request that we need answered soon. I can't go into details, but God knows the details. It is not a life or death issue. Just a need that we need answered so that we can move on.
Thank you so much! I know this update was long. I promise they won't all be this long. I hope that you had a glimpse of what we are seeing right now on a daily basis. God's hand, guiding our every move.
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
The way that God weaves our lives is an amazing and beautiful tapestry. The lives touched by those around you may be unknown to you. I know where my peace lies and it is in Christ Jesus. Do you have a peace? During the storm you are in right now, cry out persistently to the Lord. He is waiting on you to ask for His help.
The reason that I posted that today was because God has literally BLOWN my mind and the easiest way to wrap my brain around this whole process is to look at our lives and the lives all around us as a tapestry that God is weaving. Each life is a strand. I am going to begin by giving you the amazingly wonderful news! We have a contract on a house!!!!! This week, from Monday to today, we have gone from homeowners, to homeless, to having a home to go to. It has been an awesome ride! We are so thankful and praising God for His amazing blessing. We, in our own power could not have organized (even though I will say it is one of my strong suits) this super intricate event.
Now, I want to give you just a glimpse into what some may call "coincidences". To Chris and I, it is no coincidence. It is God! I'm going to try, without using names, etc. because this blog reaches so many people, to create the picture.
On Monday evening, we had an offer on our house. After going back and forth, we agreed. On Tuesday, I was a little panicked (LOL! If you spoke to me that day, you know I was a LOT panicked). There were no longer any houses in the area that we were looking that were in our price range that we liked. We looked at a foreclosure but it had basically been destroyed and while it was an amazing price for the square footage; we would have had to have put a ton of money into it. So, it was a "no". Tuesday evening, we broadened our search area just a bit. Once we did that, 3 more potential houses were showing. Of the 3, we picked 1. It was still farther away than what we wanted. But that was ok. We were allowing God to guide us instead of limiting Him to what we wanted. (Very difficult to do. Much easier to say. But so worth it.) We scheduled with our amazing Realtor to see it on Thursday at 4:30. I wrote the address down on a notepad by my computer. On Wednesday morning, I arrived at work and during the morning, was given a paper for one of my students that needed to have the address, phone number, parents' names, etc filled in on. I wrote the address down and about had a heart attack. This was the exact same address that I had written down the night before. At the time, I didn't know that this family was moving. Not the same street, or area. The exact same address!!! People, I can't make this stuff up! So, I took a deep breath. Looked the address up online to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. Sure enough. Same house. WOW! The huge part was, I knew that the couple living in that house, had adopted. Not just one child but multiple children. Are you kidding me?!? Seriously God. So much was running through my mind and heart at that point. I called our Realtor and asked if we could possibly move up the time to see it exactly 24 hours to that day, Wednesday. After a phone call, we were set to see the house. We walked through the house and felt an overwhelming feeling that we had come home. It was perfect. It was exactly what we needed. I felt a connection to the family who had occupied that house and I had never even really met any of them except the sweet child in my class. We made an offer on the house that night.
Skip away from the new house for a moment and go back to the old house with me. Wednesday evening I got a call from a friend at work. She went to high school with Chris and me. She said, you will never believe this. The guy buying your house is one of my best friends. Through a series of conversations with him, she figured out that he was buying not just any house, but our house. WOW!!! Again, amazing. This precious man has been prayed for! We are so thrilled for him to have our house. We are so blessed that he chose our house. Little did he know, He was all part of God's amazing tapestry.
Now, back to the new house. After going back and forth for only a short time, we arrived on an agreement. The house will be ours. This evening, I got a FB message and friend request from the Momma of the family of the house we are buying. Through correspondence on FB, I have realized that we are way more alike that we know. I believe that through this process, God has given us another set of friends that we can gain knowledge and understanding from about this adoption journey and just life in general. They share the same faith as we do. They share the same passion as we do. And now, we are linked together in God's amazing tapestry through a house.
Like I said, what a beautiful tapestry that God is weaving just for us. We are immensely blessed. We do not deserve this. We are definitely not worthy of a house like this. But, when we get right down to it. We are not worthy of anything, but Jesus paid our debt. We wiped us clean. You don't have to clean up your life to give it over to Him. You give it over to Him and He cleans you up! Two years ago, I would never have believed where we are right now. One year ago, I trusted that God would make a way and move huge mountains to reach His goal, but had no idea how it would be accomplished. Four months ago, we surrendered to His complete will for our lives and allowed Him to guide us. We have not been without fail. We have messed up. We have strayed. We have tried to run the show at times. But each time, God has lovingly guided us back to where He wanted us to be, and been oh, so patient with us. Somehow, being in God's truck riding this journey called life is the scariest, most peaceful place to be. Some days, I think, "Are we really doing this?" And then I look around and see blessing after blessing. Yes, we are really doing this and we couldn't be more excited and ready.
How can you pray specifically for us today and in the days to come?
1. Please pray that everything with the sale of our house (inpsections, detitling, etc) goes without a hitch. Or, if there are hitches, we would take them in stride, without panic and know that it is all part of God's plan.
2. Pray that the sale of the house we are moving to goes as planned. Also, please pray for the timing of it all. We are set to close, as of right now, on the 30th of May. That is a Thursday and we would need to be completely out of our current house that day. Please pray for details of the move to be smooth.
3. Please pray specifically for our sweet Kathryn. She doesn't like change. She is very excited about a new house, new kiddos arriving, etc. But not so much a new school. Please pray for wisdom on our parts through that. We have school choice here, so it's not a mandate that she go to a new school.
4. Continue to pray that we can somehow continue to work on paperwork for the adoption through this process of moving.
5. Please pray for a specific request that we need answered soon. I can't go into details, but God knows the details. It is not a life or death issue. Just a need that we need answered so that we can move on.
Thank you so much! I know this update was long. I promise they won't all be this long. I hope that you had a glimpse of what we are seeing right now on a daily basis. God's hand, guiding our every move.
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Roller Coasters are fun and then, you throw up!
Between yesterday and today, I feel as though I have been on the best, scariest, twistiest, turniest roller coaster in the world. If you know me, you know that I LOVE roller coasters. If I had the time and money, I would go to Carowinds several times a summer and spend the whole day riding coaster after coaster. As a child, we would go to Carowinds during the summers and as a teenager, we ventured to Six Flags.
What is the thrill of a coaster? The ups--- with the dramatic climb to the top? The downs---fast and exciting? The twists--- that jerk you from going in one direction to an entirely different direction in a matter of seconds? The loops---turned upside down? Could it possibly be the 1 1/2 hour wait in the hot sun, laughing, sweating and enjoying getting to know the random people all around you? Or is it the whole package? I submit to you today that it is the whole package. For me, anyway.
Yesterday was a HUGE up!!!! With one quick swoop, God took care of an enormous mountain! He used a willing realtor and a young man. God SOLD our house! Not just sold, He sold it on a cash deal. WOW!!!!! This is a ginormous God sized only type task. The house sold in one showing, just like that. Now, I must tell you that since the day we listed the house, I have prayed daily that God would only allow the person that was to buy the house to come and look. At first, I thought that was a great idea. However, after almost 2 months with no one looking, I was beginning to wonder. Then, we got the call that our house was being shown on Monday at 6:15. We made the preparations to vacate the house and make sure it was show ready. Not an easy task with 7 people (we had the Peeler boys too). But we did it and at 6:18, my phone rang and we had an offer. Within, 30 or so minutes, we had a contract. Seriously? This was a climb to the top of the roller coaster. The hill seemed to go on forever. The fun sights along the way (houses we looked at) were beautiful. The climax that God was building was huge. We hit the top last night. What comes after the top? Lots of ups and downs.
Now, today came a down. We went to look at a house that we thought might fit our needs. It happened to be one of the only houses in this area in our price range right now. It is a no. I will be honest. That was like a small hill on a coaster where you "jump" it and your stomach falls out from under you. I wasn't sure what to do. I began to pray but truth be told, I was praying and crying to God saying, please help us figure this out. Make someone list their house! After talking to several people, I called one of my besties that always speaks truth directly to me, no matter what I may want to hear. (BTW, I have several of those, but this one happens to be on this house selling journey too). She laid it out there just like this. God has brought you all the way to right here. He is not going to leave you now. You have to be patient. Take it one day at a time and realize that it may not happen in your time, but it will be God's time and He will take care of you. YES!!! Yes, He will! All along, we have realized as soon as we have stepped out from under what God would have for us, that we immediately felt unease, fear, anxiety, etc. But, as soon as we stepped back under God's "umbrella" of protection, the peace washed back over us and once again, we relaxed and gave it back to God. Because, my friends, in the end, it's all His anyway. The house we live in now, the house we will live in, the children we have now, the children on their way, the jobs now and in the future, are ALL His ultimately! God doesn't make mistakes. He is right on time.
What can you pray for now? Peace to continue. For us to listen so closely to God's voice that He is the ONLY voice we hear. For us to follow Him and quit trying to lead. That we would buckle up, keep our hands and feet inside at ALL times and enjoy the ride. It is going to be crazy. It is going to have ups and downs. It is going to have highs and lows. Expect the unexpected and realize that God's best is not necessarily what we think is best.
Along the "wait" God is preparing us. He is using people placed in our path to guide us to exactly where He wants us to go. But He is also using us to speak to others. We are constantly given opportunities to chat with people in grocery stores, school, work, sporting events, etc. We are trying to enjoy the wait too.
As you pray for us and think about our journey to adoption. Please reflect on your own roller coaster of life. Are you building your coaster? Are you driving it? Are you controlling the twists and turns? Or is God? If God is, you will face adversity. You will have many trials. It is not easy. But it is so freeing! It is the most peaceful place to be. If you ever want to know more about this God that I speak of, please ask. I would be thrilled to share Him with you. He has changed our lives. Turned it upside down. But ultimately, He has provided us with everything we could possibly ever need! We love you all and pray that God blesses you immensely for your faithfulness to Him!
What is the thrill of a coaster? The ups--- with the dramatic climb to the top? The downs---fast and exciting? The twists--- that jerk you from going in one direction to an entirely different direction in a matter of seconds? The loops---turned upside down? Could it possibly be the 1 1/2 hour wait in the hot sun, laughing, sweating and enjoying getting to know the random people all around you? Or is it the whole package? I submit to you today that it is the whole package. For me, anyway.
Yesterday was a HUGE up!!!! With one quick swoop, God took care of an enormous mountain! He used a willing realtor and a young man. God SOLD our house! Not just sold, He sold it on a cash deal. WOW!!!!! This is a ginormous God sized only type task. The house sold in one showing, just like that. Now, I must tell you that since the day we listed the house, I have prayed daily that God would only allow the person that was to buy the house to come and look. At first, I thought that was a great idea. However, after almost 2 months with no one looking, I was beginning to wonder. Then, we got the call that our house was being shown on Monday at 6:15. We made the preparations to vacate the house and make sure it was show ready. Not an easy task with 7 people (we had the Peeler boys too). But we did it and at 6:18, my phone rang and we had an offer. Within, 30 or so minutes, we had a contract. Seriously? This was a climb to the top of the roller coaster. The hill seemed to go on forever. The fun sights along the way (houses we looked at) were beautiful. The climax that God was building was huge. We hit the top last night. What comes after the top? Lots of ups and downs.
Now, today came a down. We went to look at a house that we thought might fit our needs. It happened to be one of the only houses in this area in our price range right now. It is a no. I will be honest. That was like a small hill on a coaster where you "jump" it and your stomach falls out from under you. I wasn't sure what to do. I began to pray but truth be told, I was praying and crying to God saying, please help us figure this out. Make someone list their house! After talking to several people, I called one of my besties that always speaks truth directly to me, no matter what I may want to hear. (BTW, I have several of those, but this one happens to be on this house selling journey too). She laid it out there just like this. God has brought you all the way to right here. He is not going to leave you now. You have to be patient. Take it one day at a time and realize that it may not happen in your time, but it will be God's time and He will take care of you. YES!!! Yes, He will! All along, we have realized as soon as we have stepped out from under what God would have for us, that we immediately felt unease, fear, anxiety, etc. But, as soon as we stepped back under God's "umbrella" of protection, the peace washed back over us and once again, we relaxed and gave it back to God. Because, my friends, in the end, it's all His anyway. The house we live in now, the house we will live in, the children we have now, the children on their way, the jobs now and in the future, are ALL His ultimately! God doesn't make mistakes. He is right on time.
What can you pray for now? Peace to continue. For us to listen so closely to God's voice that He is the ONLY voice we hear. For us to follow Him and quit trying to lead. That we would buckle up, keep our hands and feet inside at ALL times and enjoy the ride. It is going to be crazy. It is going to have ups and downs. It is going to have highs and lows. Expect the unexpected and realize that God's best is not necessarily what we think is best.
Along the "wait" God is preparing us. He is using people placed in our path to guide us to exactly where He wants us to go. But He is also using us to speak to others. We are constantly given opportunities to chat with people in grocery stores, school, work, sporting events, etc. We are trying to enjoy the wait too.
As you pray for us and think about our journey to adoption. Please reflect on your own roller coaster of life. Are you building your coaster? Are you driving it? Are you controlling the twists and turns? Or is God? If God is, you will face adversity. You will have many trials. It is not easy. But it is so freeing! It is the most peaceful place to be. If you ever want to know more about this God that I speak of, please ask. I would be thrilled to share Him with you. He has changed our lives. Turned it upside down. But ultimately, He has provided us with everything we could possibly ever need! We love you all and pray that God blesses you immensely for your faithfulness to Him!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Patience is not one of my virtues. Ha!
Last week ended with God closing a door on the house we had been praying for. We did not have an offer on our house by Friday and therefore we couldn't make an offer on the house. That is ok though. God is teaching us that we have to WAIT on Him. This is not an easy task. I wanted to update you all to know that we are seeing mountains move daily. Please do not quit praying. We feel each prayer that is spoken. God is showing us each and every day that IF we wait on Him, His ways are perfect and everything will work out.
Now, I can honestly tell you that it will not always work out like WE want it to. We would love to tell God where we want to go and how many square feet we would like and what kind of appliances we want to have and what color we want the house to be and so forth and so on. But, God doesn't always give us what we want. He does, however, give us what we need. With that said, we have looked at a lot of houses via the internet. We have looked at a handful in person. The ONE house that God has for us is out there and waiting on us!
We are waiting and waiting and waiting. We need to sell our house. We need to complete this portion of our journey. We are ready to begin the "fun" part of our journey, which is welcoming the new Fowler children into our home. What a delight that day will be!?! Please pray that our house will have a SOLD sign on it soon, so that we can "move on" to the next phase.
Your prayers are treasures to us. Your words of encouragement are music to our ears. Your presence in our lives is a cherry on top of our sundae.
Thank you!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
Now, I can honestly tell you that it will not always work out like WE want it to. We would love to tell God where we want to go and how many square feet we would like and what kind of appliances we want to have and what color we want the house to be and so forth and so on. But, God doesn't always give us what we want. He does, however, give us what we need. With that said, we have looked at a lot of houses via the internet. We have looked at a handful in person. The ONE house that God has for us is out there and waiting on us!
We are waiting and waiting and waiting. We need to sell our house. We need to complete this portion of our journey. We are ready to begin the "fun" part of our journey, which is welcoming the new Fowler children into our home. What a delight that day will be!?! Please pray that our house will have a SOLD sign on it soon, so that we can "move on" to the next phase.
Your prayers are treasures to us. Your words of encouragement are music to our ears. Your presence in our lives is a cherry on top of our sundae.
Thank you!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Firing Squad...LOL!
Have you ever stood at one end of a firing range, held your hands out wide, and allowed multiple guns to fire at you with unlimited amounts of rounds? Yeah, well, me neither. But I honestly feel like that is what is happening to us right now. Satan is attacking us from all angles and with a fierceness that has at times, scared me. I step back and think, "Well, we must be doing something right."
I've heard people say that anytime you are following God's will, you will experience an attack like never before. The crazy thing is...it's not always what you would expect. First, let me say that we are blessed beyond measure and are so thankful to God for guiding us on this journey. We are not complaining at all. We simply want to convey to those who may be thinking of adopting, going into the mission field, or anything that God may be calling you to do. EXPECT Spiritual Warfare! However, with prayer, speaking the name of Jesus, quoting scripture and putting on the full armor of God, you can WIN the battle.
Over the last 2 months, we have experienced this Spiritual Warfare at its finest. I was very sick for 3 weeks and on 5 different meds. After that, I had a problem with my neck for a week. We have had several things go wrong with the house and also several things with the vehicles. We have been waiting on our tax return check for a while but because of several issues, we are still waiting. Benjamin is going to be graduating from PGS in May and beginning Gable in August and there are lots of things preparation wise that are going on right now with that. With that, there are things that are in my control and things that are not. The things outside of my control are trying my patience. Zachary is beginning to "work" and needs the truck more often than before which adds gas to our budget. Over the last 2 months, between my van and Chris' truck and the house, we have spent $1700! Every time we think we have reached the top of the water and can come up for air, we are pushed right back down again. THANKFULLY, we have a Savior! He is able to do everything that needs to be done!
So, where are we in our journey? We went yesterday to see the house that we felt God leading us to over 3 months ago! We loved it. We had already seen it from the outside but there were great things we found once we saw it on the inside. We are not sure that it is THE one, but we can continue to pray. The price is right, the size is perfect, the rooms are exactly what we need. The problem is...they need an offer by Friday...yes, 2 days from now. I talked at great length with the lady from Founders. We had a lot in common. She said that if we could get a contract on our house by Friday (now that would definitely be a God sized task), she would push hard for our contract to be the one that was chosen. We are not getting our hopes up and our hearts set though. We are beginning to look at other houses and possibly some other options. Please pray that God will continue to open and close doors and show us what we are to do. In order for us to not have to go through the pre-approval process again on our loan, we need to close by June 6, 2013! This would be great, but God's timing is perfect and we understand that we need to submit to His will!
Fingerprinting is DONE! WAHOO!!! It was a super quick, easy process. We left our house at 3:35. We arrived at the office in Greenville at 4:08 (our appt was at 4:15). The lady was waiting on us in the reception area. She took us back right then and we were walking out at 4:18. She talked with us while she did our fingerprinting and she let us know that she would be praying for us on our journey. How exciting! We have been given so many opportunities to share our journey along the way. We were back home with dinner in hand by 5:02!
We are still working on paperwork. Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. We will not be doing our training until the summer. There is just too much going on right now. This is all fine though because they cannot do our home study anyway until we have a house!
Please continue to lift us up in prayer. We knew that there was a lot involved as far as the adoption itself. However, we were not prepared for the warfare that we are most definitely experiencing. Please pray for God to place in our paths people who will speak ONLY encouragement into us right now. We really just need prayer, however, if you feel led to help us out with our adoption, please feel free. If you want to send us a note of encouragement (privately), you can email us at fowlerfamfive@gmail.com.
Thank you all so much!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
I've heard people say that anytime you are following God's will, you will experience an attack like never before. The crazy thing is...it's not always what you would expect. First, let me say that we are blessed beyond measure and are so thankful to God for guiding us on this journey. We are not complaining at all. We simply want to convey to those who may be thinking of adopting, going into the mission field, or anything that God may be calling you to do. EXPECT Spiritual Warfare! However, with prayer, speaking the name of Jesus, quoting scripture and putting on the full armor of God, you can WIN the battle.
Over the last 2 months, we have experienced this Spiritual Warfare at its finest. I was very sick for 3 weeks and on 5 different meds. After that, I had a problem with my neck for a week. We have had several things go wrong with the house and also several things with the vehicles. We have been waiting on our tax return check for a while but because of several issues, we are still waiting. Benjamin is going to be graduating from PGS in May and beginning Gable in August and there are lots of things preparation wise that are going on right now with that. With that, there are things that are in my control and things that are not. The things outside of my control are trying my patience. Zachary is beginning to "work" and needs the truck more often than before which adds gas to our budget. Over the last 2 months, between my van and Chris' truck and the house, we have spent $1700! Every time we think we have reached the top of the water and can come up for air, we are pushed right back down again. THANKFULLY, we have a Savior! He is able to do everything that needs to be done!
So, where are we in our journey? We went yesterday to see the house that we felt God leading us to over 3 months ago! We loved it. We had already seen it from the outside but there were great things we found once we saw it on the inside. We are not sure that it is THE one, but we can continue to pray. The price is right, the size is perfect, the rooms are exactly what we need. The problem is...they need an offer by Friday...yes, 2 days from now. I talked at great length with the lady from Founders. We had a lot in common. She said that if we could get a contract on our house by Friday (now that would definitely be a God sized task), she would push hard for our contract to be the one that was chosen. We are not getting our hopes up and our hearts set though. We are beginning to look at other houses and possibly some other options. Please pray that God will continue to open and close doors and show us what we are to do. In order for us to not have to go through the pre-approval process again on our loan, we need to close by June 6, 2013! This would be great, but God's timing is perfect and we understand that we need to submit to His will!
Fingerprinting is DONE! WAHOO!!! It was a super quick, easy process. We left our house at 3:35. We arrived at the office in Greenville at 4:08 (our appt was at 4:15). The lady was waiting on us in the reception area. She took us back right then and we were walking out at 4:18. She talked with us while she did our fingerprinting and she let us know that she would be praying for us on our journey. How exciting! We have been given so many opportunities to share our journey along the way. We were back home with dinner in hand by 5:02!
We are still working on paperwork. Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. We will not be doing our training until the summer. There is just too much going on right now. This is all fine though because they cannot do our home study anyway until we have a house!
Please continue to lift us up in prayer. We knew that there was a lot involved as far as the adoption itself. However, we were not prepared for the warfare that we are most definitely experiencing. Please pray for God to place in our paths people who will speak ONLY encouragement into us right now. We really just need prayer, however, if you feel led to help us out with our adoption, please feel free. If you want to send us a note of encouragement (privately), you can email us at fowlerfamfive@gmail.com.
Thank you all so much!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Mountains are Trembling!
Do you know how many Christian songs there are out there about mountains? A LOT!!! Do you know how many times the Bible refers to mountains? A LOT!!!
From Genesis to Revelation, God speaks of the mountains. Many MAJOR, monumental events took place ON mountains in the Bible! My absolute favorite verse of all is Matthew 17:20, "He replied, 'Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'
WE HAVE FAITH!!! We believe that God is calling us to adopt and through that calling, God is also calling us to MOVE!!! We need ALL of our prayer warriors to pray like never before. Major things are happening right now that are monumental on our journey. I can't help but sing the song "Strange things are happening to me." If you have ever seen Toy Story, you know what song I'm singing. "Strange things." I feel strange. Like an out of body experience. It is crazy, this journey that we are on. But it is amazing too!
Several of you have asked us, "Did you really mean 'they' when you typed that recently, or was it a typo?" LAUGH OUT LOUD!!! We really meant they! From the very beginning of this journey 16 months ago, Benjamin has said he wanted a boy and Kathryn has said she wanted a girl. We have said since the beginning, in response to this, "Well, we are not getting 2!" LOL! Boy does God have a sense of humor! We don't know what God is going to give us, but Benjamin and Kathryn have faith that it will be the desires of their hearts! One of each. I am not asking or praying for anything specific. God will give us what we should have. We have felt lead by God to say that we will accept a sibling group of 2, under the age of 5. So, we could end up with 2 children that are already siblings under the age of 5 when this is all said and done. And we are completely at peace about that decision. God is funny that way. Do I have moments of, "Oh my gracious, I am going to be a mom of 5!?!" Oh yes! But then, I say, WOW, God is blessing us with 5 children. How amazing!
So, have you felt the mountains tremble lately? We have. We go for our fingerprinting tomorrow at 4:15 in Greenville. Another step in the process is going to be checked off tomorrow. After that, we just have to finish filling out the paperwork and go to the training. There is a LOT of paperwork! So much so, that I am asking for prayer for this. My part will be difficult but Chris has to fill out all of the stuff too for himself, his family, and they want it in his handwriting. He does not like to write. This will not be easy for him. Please pray that he will find the motivation and determination to begin and complete it. Please pray that I will find the time to complete my portion.
Our house will be in the paper again this Sunday. It is in the Real Estate Book. It is online. Please pray that God leads the right person to our house quickly. It hasn't even shown once, but we also know that it only needs to show once! We need it to sell!
Speaking of that, the house that we have believed that God is leading us to from the very beginning, is officially going on the market this Tuesday! ***Squeal*** So excited that we finally get to walk inside! We are going Tuesday at 3! The bank has already done everything that we would have wanted to do to it. It is MOVE IN ready and the price is exactly right!!! God is making it perfect! We cannot make an offer on it until we have a contract on our house though. I'm still in shock that God could actually provide this house to us and it is definitely immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine! God is really showing off! But OUR GOD IS ABLE!!!
I know that God's timing is impeccable and perfect. I know that I serve an amazing God! I believe with every ounce of my being that He is able! The reason I know this is because we are NOT! Within our own abilities, Chris and I could not DO any of this. It is ALL God! I love watching Him work. We are so blessed to have a front row seat on this journey.
Finally, last prayer request. I am still doing a long term subbing job. I have almost completed 4 weeks at this same school in the same class. It is a true blessing to work there and I am blessed every single day that I get to be with these precious children. Please pray that God will continue to provide this job until the end of the year. It would be such a HUGE financial blessing to us.
There are other unspoken requests but please join us in praying! We could not walk this journey without each of you. You are such a blessing to us! We love you all dearly and appreciate every single word of advice and encouragement!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
Friday, March 29, 2013
Here we go!
We have been updating friends and family through email for the past few months. Through those emails, we have shared Bible Verses, prayer requests and updates on the Adoption Journey that we are on. It seems crazy as I type this that I am now making this "public" and allowing so many people to have a "window" into our lives. We are not perfect. We don't claim to know everything about parenting. In fact, just this past week, we dealt with yet another "new" issue in our family as we continue to raise our teenager. We know that we have a LOT to learn. So, with that said, we are not sure why God has chosen us to adopt. We do know that He has chosen us!
So, welcome to our "family"! We are glad you are here! We will share all kinds of information on here and keep you updated on our journey. This coming week, we will sign up to get fingerprinted, complete our 2nd phase of our application for adoption, and sign up for our training. Please pray that we begin to show our house and that God will continue to guide us on our quest for a new home! The main way that we need you is PRAYER!!!! We need you to partner with us and pray us through our journey!
In His Grip,
Elizabeth
So, welcome to our "family"! We are glad you are here! We will share all kinds of information on here and keep you updated on our journey. This coming week, we will sign up to get fingerprinted, complete our 2nd phase of our application for adoption, and sign up for our training. Please pray that we begin to show our house and that God will continue to guide us on our quest for a new home! The main way that we need you is PRAYER!!!! We need you to partner with us and pray us through our journey!
In His Grip,
Elizabeth
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