Run The Race

Since we planned to travel to Texas that Christmas in 2011, we did the "gift-opening"/"special dinner" portion of our celebration on Saturday, December 17th.  Each of us had opened our three gifts we traditionally share each Christmas... Jesus got three gifts from the wise men, so each person in our house also gets three gifts.  As wrapping paper was getting cleaned up, Ron snuck away and reappeared with a FOURTH gift!  Upon opening it, I found a beautiful figurine of a mother holding not one but two little boys in celebration of our son Elliot that would be coming into the world any day. Fast forward to Friday, December 23, 2011... The drive home from the hospital was long and quiet.  I no longer had recollection of the previous Saturday, Sunday or Monday - it was somehow lost, never to be found amongst the grief and trauma of our son Elliot passing away, giving birth to him, and holding his sweet little body that produced no tears or no dirty d...

Reading: 1 Peter 5:6-11 Prayer: Lord, change is so inevitable in this life. Help us to do it with joy, peace and grace while knowing that You are faithful. Mold and shape our attitudes and insights. Daily Challenge: Which of your attitudes hinder joy-filled change? Which promote it? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Transitioning from "career woman" to something that has its own acronym - SAHM (stay at home mom) has its definite challenges.  Rarely do changes come one at a time for any family - in the last 6 months we have experienced many big changes - a newly adopted 3 year old, father moving here from out of state, change in ministry, etc. I would like to share some practical ideas regarding joy-filled transitions for families - some of these things we did intentionally, some we stumbled into, and others we didn't do, but wished we had! Wake Up Early (Yes...Even Earlier!) “In the morning, O Lord, You will hear ...

In early October, I did something I never thought possible - I resigned from my job/career. For 15 years, I have been in an industry that I find exhilarating... I have never been stuck in an office, but when the weather was bad, I could hit the office and rummage through data and build spreadsheets (Hey!  Don't make fun of me - making GOOD spreadsheets requires a lot of creativity!).  Daily I would have the opportunity to interact with the managers of the refinery, and 5 minutes later I would have my hands dirty with maintenance and operators.  I love this! As much as I have enjoyed this work, I've known in my heart for quite some time (probably 7 years... since 2008) that the Lord was possibly leading me away from it; I have learned that it is much more exhilarating and peaceful to do as the Lord desires than what makes sense to "mankind". This is a change that seems ludicrous for us - most would consider it financial su...

Reading: Genesis 50:12-21  Prayer: Lord, stir our hearts for what stirs Yours. Restore the relationships we have damaged, and teach us to be leaders of reconciliation. Daily Challenge: What prejudices are in your heart? ----------------------------------------------------------- Our house is almost constantly filled with a neighborhood of boys.  It is the type of chaos that wonderful childhood memories are made of... They have created the "Club of Fun" in which there are scheduled daily activities that include playing board games, light saber fights, Nerf gun wars, etc.  It's pretty obvious that they don't stick to their scheduled events as one crazy activity leads to another. It creates a hustle and bustle that I am thankful for, but there are some realities of it that can be a bit daunting.  There are a few boys in particular that are the "bulls in the china closet" - their feet stink (seriously... it is pretty bad), the mess they leave behind in...

Reading: Romans 8:14-25 Prayer: Lord, help us to understand the terms of our adoption into Your family... may we receive freedom from any fears that are hindering us, and learn to boldly rely on You instead. Daily Challenge: If you are an heir to Christ, what do you inherit? Are there any words you need to express to Him? -----------------------------------------------------------       M ost of you know our story – Almost 3 months ago, we brought home our son whom we adopted from South Korea.   What an amazing, crazy adventure it was to go through the adoption process, and, WOW! what an experience it has been since bringing him home.   The first pictures we received of Hyun he was only 5 months old.   Once we signed the papers, he was 9 months old, and at that point we thought it would be 4-6months longer before we were able to bring him home.   Due to several changes in Korean law, that changed significantly – and it ended up being more tha...

It has been 3 months since my last post.  Oh how I've missed being here... For those who do not know me personally, I would like to provide a quick update on our life as of late.  After almost 3 years of being in the process to adopt our son, we were finally able to travel to South Korea this past June and bring him home!  I have for several years referred to him only as "HC" on this blog since we could not post any specific information about him. So, now, let me officially introduce our youngest son: Hyun Chae Oliver Wood Hyun just turned 3 years old.  His transition is going extremely well, and it is such a joy to see he and Reese together at last.  There is so much I could say about this boy, our trips, our family... but all I am going to say is "praise be to our Heavenly Father for so many answered prayers!". If you would like to see more about our trips to Korea or the boys, feel free to visit my family blog site which was private ...

Dear Mom: May 25th... Your birthday.  I'm never quite sure what to do with this day since you have passed from this life. I've missed you since the day you passed away, but I have had such a longing to share with you in our adoption journey.  Your heart was always for the child in need... I admired that about you.  While we traveled to Asia for our court hearing and to meet HC a few weeks ago - everything I saw reminded me of you.  You would have loved it there... the people, the history, the adventure of it all.  You would have insisted on hearing every detail of the trip.  We have so many people loving us through this adventure, but I know you would have been one of our greatest cheerleaders through it all.  I so miss not getting to share in this with you. A memory of you that has been standing out in my mind recently is when I was in 8th grade.  Both Briana and I were grounded (rightfully so, I'm sure), so I was grumpy and expected a bori...

Yesterday, someone asked me about when we made the decision to adopt, and what was the interaction like between my husband and me during that decision making process.  I was able to recount the vision God gave me but didn't necessarily give to Ron. God relates to Ron and I in very different ways; He is much more straight forward with me.  As crazy as it may seem, I have dreams, visions and hear words in my heart (which is very difficult to explain).  For Ron, it is much more of a gentle, quiet leading. It is sometimes difficult for me to share with Ron if God revealed something to me because it almost always means change for him even though he did not personally receive the direction.  I don't want Ron to feel forced into these changes... I want them to come from his heart so that he can have joy rather than bitterness. In the book of Judges, there is a story of a barren couple.  An angel of the Lord appeared to the wife sharing that they would have a son ...

Reading: Joshua 10:1-15 Prayer: Lord, we have no strength or wisdom apart from You. Help us to accomplish more than we ever dreamed while bringing all glory to You.    Daily Challenge: What, if anything, stirs inside you, but you are hesitant to ask God about it because it seems ridiculous? Will you pray about it today? ----------------------------------------------------------- The five kings of the Amorites, rulers over major cities in the southern mountains, band together to fight against Gibeon (a large group that had made peace with Israel) in hopes of also defeating Israel.  When the Israelite came to the defense of the Gibeons, the Lord declared to Joshua (the leader of the Israelites), "Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands, not one of them shall stand before you." Joshua 10:8 These words allowed Joshua to fiercely pursue the Amorites and to pray an extremely audacious prayer while they were fighting; he said, "...O sun, stan...

Reading: Luke 9:23-25; Luke 23:13-26 Prayer: Lord, the crosses we bear at times just seem like too much. Provide us the hope and strength necessary today to walk through whatever challenge is before us. Thank You for Your example of how to bear such hardship and that we do NOT have to carry the burden alone. Daily Challenge: Make a list of what angers, saddens or hurts you regarding the cross you are carrying. Ask a friend to pray with you for the strength and endurance to carry on and to somehow find purpose and joy in your circumstance.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------- J esus is of course the central character and focus of the Easter story, but I find that each Easter season, with each varying season of my life, I become intimately connected with other characters within the crucifixion story.  This year it was Simon of Cyrene. I almost didn't write about this because my words seem so selfish - but as I have watche...

It's embarrassing to say, but I like lists of tasks so much that if I do something that wasn't on my list, I will often go back and add the thing to my list that I did just so that I can mark it off... Wow.  I know...  It's crazy, but it seems so normal when I do it. This "to do" list is actually a form of trying to control.  It's almost as if I put it on paper then I have control of it coming into being.  If something on my "to do" list is not coming into being (when it is not within my control to make it happen), then I find that I allow myself to grossly over grow my "to do" list - as if accomplishing 500 other things could somehow make me feel better about the 1 thing I just can't seem to make happen. Ron and I laid in bed talking a few nights ago.  He is so sincere and genuine in his listening.  I was so tense because of all the things I felt were on my to-do list - and, to be honest, most of these things genuinely had to get d...

My 7 year old son Reese recently landed a pretty sweet deal on an Xbox 360.  He had been saving for quite some time, and he was just a few dollars shy of being able to buy a used system plus 1 controller - not even enough money to buy any games just yet.  While at a friend's house a few weeks ago, a young TU student heard Reese discussing his saving efforts for the system.  The student told Reese that he recently got a newer style system, and never plays his Xbox 360 any longer.  In the end, he GAVE his Xbox, 3 controllers, and a few games to Reese.  To say that Reese was elated would be an understatement.  After receiving the system, every word that came out of Reese's mouth was about the game.  Questions, thoughts, dreams...  all about the game. Then, just after reading our Bible and saying our prayers one evening, my 7 year old said one of the most profound things. "Mom, sometimes when I have stuff that I really like, I don't even care ab...

This adoption journey has been long.  I have recently started reading "Jesus Calling" again (a devotional that encouraged me so much during my deepest moments of grief after losing Elliot and my Mother), and it really spoke to my heart this morning.  "Waiting, trusting and hoping are intricately connected, like golden strands interwoven to form a strong chain.  Trusting is the central strand... waiting and hoping embellish the central strand and strengthen the chain that connects [me] to [Jesus]... If [I] mouth the words 'I trust You' while anxiously trying to make things go [my] way, [my] words ring hollow." Waiting, trusting, hoping...  Nope, that is the wrong order for me.  Trust, hope, wait.  I don't have the courage to hope or wait without the trust.  I don't have the courage to long for HC without the trust.  The devastation would be too much if I had to rely on my own strength and control if things don't go "our way". ...

"If I just get this done, then I will be able to relax." This is the lie I tell myself (or listen to Satan telling me) often.  Just be more organized and get more done - then I will "feel" better and less anxious about the many open ended circumstances in my life. After spending 3 days in the desert (and after multiple eye witness accounts of God doing amazing and astonishing miracles), God brought food and water to the Israelites.  God promised that He was going to bring the food daily, and that the people should only store up enough for that day - unless it was the 6th day; then they could store up enough for 2 days so they could rest on the following day (the Sabbath).  But... "It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none." Exodus 16:27 Hmmm... I guess God does what He says He will do. "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructi...

 It's the story that just about every American child knows... the story of Noah's Ark.  How cute - the animals going in 2 at a time... there's no mention of years of outcast from Noah's community, poop having to be picked up, or anxiety felt by Noah's family once they had to board the ark and just sit and wait. As I was reading the account of Noah's Ark in Genesis this past week, a few things really struck me about this story.  First, had anyone asked me how Noah decided to get off the ark - I think I would have only recalled him sending the raven and the dove out; I have assumed that Noah decided for himself when to get off the boat.  That is not what scripture tells us in Genesis 8:15-16, God told Noah it was time to leave the ark, and He gave him some instructions regarding the animals. The second thing that deeply struck me was the amount of time between Noah knowing there was dry land and when God told him to leave the ark.  From Noah's first indica...

Dare I write a post about the New Year, only to have my writings lost amongst all the other "New Years" postings by everyone across the world? The end of each year will forever be filled with a mix of emotions as Elliot died just before Christmas in 2011.  As time has passed, and we have been intentional in grieving well, depending on God, loving others, and allowing others to love and invest in us - I now find myself in a place of immensely deep gratitude.  I'm not sure when the days switched from intense grief to what it is today. I am so incredibly grateful also that we are saying goodbye to 2014, not because it was a terrible year or because I'm running away from it - but because I sense this momentum leading into 2015.   Most of 2014 seemed to be "training" and "waiting" for what lies ahead.  I see the Lord's fruit growing and growing and growing, and, it's as if, I am just waiting for the day to sink my teeth into it all.  I can...