Very well

"Porque yo sé muy bien los planes que tengo para ustedes —afirma el Señor—, planes de bienestar y no de calamidad, a fin de darles un futuro y una esperanza.
Jeremias 29:11

Does anyone know what this says?? Come on all you Spanish speakers. There's got to be somebody out there...

Okay I'll give you a hint. It's my FAVORITE verse.

In Spanish, there's 2 verbs that mean to know. The first is conocer. Conocer means to be familiar with, or acquainted with. For example, you would use it in the sentence: I know of an excellent Italian restaurant. The second verb is saber. Saber means to know facts, information, or data. You would never use it to say that you know a person, or you "might" know how to crochet. Nope. Saber is when you REALLY know something for sure.

So, in the translation for Jeremiah 29:11, they use the verb saber. For I know the plans I have for you. Except in Spanish they say "Porque yo sé muy bien los planes que tengo para ustedes."
Muy bien means very well. For I know very well the plans I have for you.

God knows very well, for a fact, set in stone, without a doubt, the plans He has for us. I loved studying the translation of that and I love how they emphasize just how secure His plans are. It brought me such peace to rest in the fact that my life is in His hands.

So much of my future is out of my control right now. On college admissions desks in 3 different states. My heart so burdened to GO somewhere and serve, yet knowing I am a student right now and that is not where He's leading me. Trying to take control of these plans God has for me is futile. It only creates stress and discontentment.

How much better to rest in His arms, lean my head upon His shoulder and saber, know, that His plans for me are good and perfect. For He knows very well what He has for me.

"Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."
Psalm 27:14

Does anyone else think maybe God put "wait for the Lord" in there twice for a reason?!

I think He knew we might just need it.

I could probably use that written a 100 times in a row.

But then again... it probably wouldn't completely demolish my impatience.

I'd gotten onto BibleGateway today to look up some Scripture references for another blog post on This Next Generation and I nearly laughed out loud when I saw this Scripture smack dab in the middle of the webpage. Sometimes God has a sense of humor and He likes to wave it in front of our eyes. :)

So I'm trying to wait on the Lord. Wait for His perfect timing. Wait for Him to show me what road to take.

"For I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 3:14. I can be strong, take heart and wait on the Lord, through Christ who strengthens me.

The Call

I get so excited whenever I watch these videos or find new adoption blogs.

I just can't help it.

It makes me so excited to see God calling families to this journey of adoption. And seeing them follow.

It makes me so excited for the day God ordains to be the Gotcha day for my child(ren) :)

It makes me so thankful that there are people doing what I am not yet able to do.

I am thankful that I am able to do something while I wait for that day to come when I can adopt children myself. God will provide a way to minister to the orphans to each and every person. All you have to do is ask what He's calling you to. And each and every call is IMPORTANT. It could be praying. That is just as important as bringing home a child. There is no such thing as a unimportant aspect of ministry. ANY type of service is productive, necessary, and crucial to furthering the kingdom.

I'm excited to see what God is doing and what He's going to do as the Church follows His call to the orphans.

"Seek justice, encourage the opporessed, defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."

Isaiah 1:17

Kisses from Heaven..

Have you ever had those experiences or those moments where you're like, "This was just totally from God." It's one of those times when He does something, sends someone, or shows you something that just touches your heart- right when you need it.

Well today I got one of those (and of course forgot my camara! For real, it sits in my purse ALL WEEK and I don't use it. Then when I need it I happen to not have it!). And fyi this story might not make sense to anybody lol but it was important to me so I"m going to blog about it haha.

I was pushing Hannah (my little cousin) in the swing at the park today. Her laugh is IDENTICAL to Claudia's and while I love love hearing her sweet giggle it pierces my heart everytime. So I've been missing my little Guatemala girl alot this week and my mind was on her alot today and it was making me feel a little sad. I was being silly as I pushed Hannah and she kept giggling at me. My thoughts turned again to Claudia and as I silently prayed for her I looked out at the GORGEOUS blue sky. It was incredible. I said, "Look Hannah, isn't the sky pretty?!!" She looked straight up to the sky and said, "Yes!! And look!! There's a rainbow!!!" I thought she was kidding. I looked back out across the field and didn't see a rainbow. She said again, "Molly look! There IS a rainbow up there!!" I looked straight up into the sky and there it was- a perfect rainbow.

I wanted to cry. How beautiful for God to give me a rainbow just when I was feeling discouraged about Claudia and wondering what His plan is for her. Rainbows represent HOPE. HOPE of redemption, a greater plan. God has a HOPE and a future for my Claudia girl and I know that I can rest in that fact. Even when I can't help the tears that slide down my cheeks when I think about her. Even when I question this journey with her thus far and His will for her life. Claudia has HOPE, the orphans have HOPE, we have HOPE through Christ. Praise God!

I truly believe that God delights in delighting us. He loves giving to His children and He loves blessing them. I think that He loves demonstrating His love for us. That rainbow lasted only 5 seconds. But it was enough for me to get His message, "I see Your heart. I hear Your cries for this girl and for all the others. I LOVE you, my precious daughter. I LOVE you more than you know, more than you can ever comprehend. Rest in that fact. Rest in the HOPE that you have through me."

It's easy to get wrapped up in the busyness of life. It's far too easy to forget to watch the sunset, forget to smell a flower, forget to admire the gorgeous blue sky or the puffy white clouds. It's far too easy to forget to hug your family good-bye, to remind someone you love them. It's far too easy to miss beauty, and to miss kisses from heaven.

Has God given you any "kisses" recently?? Has He blessed you or brightened your day in a simple yet meaningful way?? I want to hear about it! :)

Show Me Your Glory

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

3 There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard. [a]

4 Their voice [b] goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

6 It rises at one end of the heavens

and makes its circuit to the other;

nothing is hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul.

The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

8 The precepts of the LORD are right,

giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the LORD are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever.

The ordinances of the LORD are sure

and altogether righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold,

than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey,

than honey from the comb.

11 By them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can discern his errors?

Forgive my hidden faults.

13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;

may they not rule over me.

Then will I be blameless,

innocent of great transgression.

14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be pleasing in your sight,

O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19

Lord, you are beautiful. Your glory is displayed in all of creation. You make me stand in awe of all that You are and I praise You, Jesus.

Nice Mommy and Daddy

I have no words. Saw this on another blog and it broke my heart in two.

If you need a reason to consider adoption, particularly to adopt older children, I submit the following two stories that are brought to you courtesy of Feromsa:

1. Out of the blue Feromsa began to discuss being at Kids Care Orphanage. In this discussion he made this comment, "In Kids Care I pray, 'Please give me nice mommy and nice daddy' and now I have nice Mommy and nice Daddy!"

2. In another discussion about being in Kids Care Feromsa offered this observation, "The big kids know that people don't want them. They want the little kids. I was scared I too big."I don't think any commentary is necessary.

http://www.raymersadoption.blogspot.com

Tea Party

Today we had a tea party with Hannah. I am seriously going to cry when I leave. I love this girl so much!!

Lessons in Parenting

I'm with my aunt out East for the week taking care of my adorable little second cousins. It has been great so far.... and I'm learning alot haha.

Like.....

why caffeine is a necessity.

Why mommies LOVE naptime.

That sometimes it's incredibly hard not to laugh at the things kids say. They're hilarious.

Why those portable vacuums were made in the first place. You have to use them after every meal if you don't want mushed food all over your floor.

And I wonder....how I will ever manage this huge family that I want???!! The Lord will have to give supernatural strength for that one.

Longing

I just read Katie's post here and am still fighting back tears.

I feel a great longing, an ache deep in my heart.

A sorrow for this world. A conviction to do more than what I am. A great desire to go and serve.

A longing to help, a longing to love these children.

I want to be patient. I want more than anything to be exactly where God wants me to be, in His will for my life.

But there's this part of my heart that is so FULL of joy and peace when I am holding the children in Guatemala, or translating at a clinic.

This part of my heart is longing to risk, to go somewhere, to serve.

Jesus, may my heart long for You and You alone. May my heart be satisfied with what You have for me now. May this season of life be preparing me for what is ahead, where maybe You will fulfill my longing to go and serve.

"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me--you failed to do it to me." Matt. 25:45

Fabulous Weekend!!

It was a fabulous weekend.

Spencer came home from school and I got to see him Friday and Saturday.

Saturday night I met up with my family and we had a mini family reunion.

We also celebrated my 18th birthday. My aunt and I got makeovers done at Bare Escentuals, and then we went for dinner.

Before:

After:

My dad's birthday is on Wednesday and we also celebrated his birthday too. I framed a picture of us and a poem that I wrote.

Now, I am sitting in a hotel room with my other aunt waiting to fly out East to take care of my adorable second cousins for a week. My mom, brother, and I had dinner together with her before they dropped me off.

It was a great weekend.