Your Grace Is Enough by Chris Tomlin

I am always reminded of Giovanni, whose name means "God is Gracious", when I hear this song. Remember Your people. Remember Your children, and our little one waiting for us. Remember Your promise to bring him safely home. Your grace is enough for me.

Psalm 10

Rumors are flying. Some reputable agencies claim that birth mothers are being offered money by the Guatemalan government if they'll change their mind and attempt to raise their child. Intimidation. Scary times in the climate of Guatemalan adoption.

As I sought the Lord on behalf of our son and so many other children and families caught in the snare of this ugliness, God led me to this Psalm. I am clinging to it and praying it this weekend. God is not dead. He rules and reigns even in the midst of this nastiness. My hope is in Him. My faith is secure. He will be victorious!

Psalm 10

O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I need you the most? Proud and wicked people viciously oppress the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others. For they brag about their evil desires; they praise the greedy and curse the Lord. These wicked people are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead. Yet they succeed in everything they do.

They do not see your punishment awaiting them. They pour scorn on all their enemies. They say to themselves, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us! We will be free of trouble forever!" Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats. Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues. They lurk in dark alleys, murdering the innocent who pass by. They are always searching for some helpless victim. Like lions they crouch silently, waiting to pounce on the helpless. Like hunters they capture their victims and drag them away in nets.

The helpless are overwhelmed and collapse; they fall beneath the strength of the wicked. The wicked say to themselves, "God isn't watching! He will never notice!"

Arise, O Lord! Punish the wicked, O God! Do not forget the helpless! Why do the wicked get away with cursing God? How can they think, "God will never call us to account"?

But you do see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you. You are the defender of orphans. Break the arms of these wicked, evil people! Go after them until the last one is destroyed!

The Lord is king forever and ever! Let those who worship other gods be swept from the land. Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so people can no longer terrify them.


Blessings,

We're IN!!

We just learned that our case was submitted to PGN on April 29th. We've been in for almost 2 weeks! No one knows how they will be handling abandonment cases. We've been told that PGN will be closed for at least a month as they scrutinize all the relinquishment cases. Since there is no family on record for Giovanni, we'll just have to wait and see how they handle our case. Thank you so much for your continued prayers. We rely so much on the support and love of our friends and family as we continue to wait. This poem was posted by someone on our CCI yahoo group. It spoke to my heart and continues to remind me that God is not far from us or our son. He is at work, even in the silence.

Blessings,


Wait
by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate...
and the Master so gently said,"Wait."

"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!"
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I relate
hangs in the balance and you tell me to Wait?"
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign.
Or even a 'no,' to which I'll resign.

You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply.

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
as my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
and grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting...for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine...
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
you'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
when darkness and silence are all you can see.

You'd never experience the fullness of love
when the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
the faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

You'd never know should your pain quickly flee,
what it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
but oh, the loss if I lost what I'm doing in you.

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
that the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still "WAIT".

Prayer for the Orphans of Guatemala

I'm not sure how much you've heard, but the adoption climate in Guatemala is pretty bad right now. We hold firmly to God's promise to bring Giovanni home, in His time.

Through a blog that I read occasionally, I came across this call to pray for the orphans in Guatemala. As I held Samantha this morning and gazed into her chocolate brown eyes, I was reduced to tears. Tears of joy and relief that she is home. Tears of concern for Giovanni. Tears for families longing to have their children home.

Some of you are holding your precious Guatemalan treasures today. Will you join me in praying? Will you post to your blogs and spread the word? May God hear the cries of His people and bring these children home.

Pray them Home!


Rev 5:8-9
And as he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense-the prayers of God's people! And they sang a new song with these words: "You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were killed, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation."