A New Adventure

Just past our one year anniversary date of a whirlwind move to a place previously foreign to us, it seems our family is headed for a new adventure.  For many of you it will be a shock.  Some of you may think we're crazy.  Sometimes I feel both of those things myself.  Some may think this is awfully sudden but in truth it is something Erin and I have tossed around since we were dating, never seriously but in an "if" sort of way.  A few weeks ago  my heart was touched.  We have done some research and prayed, talked to some family and our kids.  It seems the next step is to just jump in and watch for God's hand to say proceed or stop.

So, what is it?  What could our new adventure be?  Well, it involves fundraising, and travel, and new (to us) furniture.  It may involve bottles or diapers but it defiantly involves love.  We are looking into bringing another child into our family.  Yes, the mom who has several times stated, "1, 2, 3, that's enough for me", is now saying,  "Lets add one more and make it four". We feel it may be time for JJ to have a sister.  We want to give a home and a family and a hope of a future to a child who may not otherwise ever have those things.  We want to raise one of the world's children as one of our own in a home that loves Jesus.  Sex-Trafficking being an issue near to my heart, I want to bring a little girl out of a place where that could be the only option for her future. We are looking to bring a child out of the poverty of Russia and into a warm home where they will be fed and nurtured and loved.  We are looking into international adoption.

This is all very new to us.  We have always looked at Russia as where we would adopt from, if.....  We had thought it was a nation closed to U.S. adoption until a representative for an orphanage support ministry presented recently at our church.  I had said only a few weeks before that if adoption was something God wanted us to do, I hoped he showed us soon.  Then, as I sat and watched and listened, my heart was touched and I felt that perhaps God was calling.  Erin, being the more level headed, agreed that maybe it was something we should look into, and here we are.  It is exciting and scary all at once.  There is so much to think about and so much to do.  It looks like we could be bringing home our new addition as early as spring/summer/fall 2013, depending on how soon we get started and how quickly we are placed.  Russia has many children waiting for adoptive parents so they are working to get things done quickly.

Please pray for us, that we are following God's lead and not just jumping on high emotions, that we can raise the money needed while continuing to work our way out of debt previously accumulated,  that God has a child in mind that will fit perfectly into our family and everything will go smoothly for that to happen, and that the attachment between our new daughter and all of us will be quick and firm.  Those of you who have been through this before, please message me with any advice you may have.  It always helps to have the ear and shoulder of one who has gone ahead on such an adventure.

We do these things that we may remember.

Exodus 12:2-3  This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.  Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.

Palm Sunday:

John 12:34 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!", "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!", " Blessed is the King of Israel!"

Palm branches represent the celebration of Jesus entering Jerusalem.
Jesus is our Passover lamb.  Jesus is the light of the world.

Thursday: We celebrate the Passover

Passover is a festival of freedom.
It celebrates the events of the Exodus.  Jesus, being an observant Jew, grew up celebrating Passover.
His last meal with His disciples was a Passover Seder.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has created the fruit of the vine.
Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has chosen, exalted, and sanctified us.
Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has given us life and sustained us and permitted us to reach this season.

Women are given the honor of lighting the Passover candles.
  It was the mothers who kept Israel's faith alive during their slavery in Egypt.
The shank bone represents the outstretched arm of deliverance of God.

Had He brought us out of Egypt and not punished the Egyptians, it would have been enough.
Had He punished the Egyptians and not slain their first born, it would have been enough.
Had He put to death their firstborn and not divided the sea for us, it would have been enough.
Had He divided the sea for us and not fed us with manna, it would have been enough.
Had He provided us with manna and not given us the Sabbath, it would have been enough.
Had He given us the Sabbath and not brought us to Mt. Sinai, it would have been enough.
Had He brought us to Mt. Sinai and not given us the Law, it would have been enough.
Had He given us the Law and not brought us to the land of Israel, it would have been enough.
Had He brought us to the land of Israel and not given us the Temple, it would have been enough.
Had He given us the Temple and not sent us the Messiah, it would have been enough.
Had He sent us the Messiah and not given him up to die for us, it would have been enough.
Had He given the Messiah up to die for us and not raised him, it would have been enough.
Had He raised him and not promised that he would return to reign, it would have been enough.
Had He promised that he would reign and not given Daddy a job, it would have been enough.
Had He given Daddy a job and not given us parents who take care of us, it would have been enough.
Had He given parents who take care of us and not helped Madeleine, it would have been enough.
Had He helped Madeleine and not helped us find Andover Christian Church, it would have been enough.
Had He helped us find a Church and not provided friends there, it would have been enough.

Parsley: All life is sustained by God
Haroseth: Resembles the mortar used by the  Israelites while in slavery
Bitter Herbs: represents the bitterness the Israelites felt while in bondage.

Luke 22:20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

How Great is our God!  Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

Good Friday:

John 19:1-3 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head.  They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.

Luke 23:26 As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

The Tale of the Three Trees:  The third tree felt ugly, harsh and cruel.

Luke 23:44-46  It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining.  And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."  When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Resurrection Sunday:


Luke 24:1,2  On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

He is RISEN, He is RISEN indeed!

1 Corinthians 15:35
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”


He Arose, He Arose, Hallelujah Christ Arose!