Thursday, January 2, 2014

OBEDIENCE for 2014.

Over the past several starts of the New Year, I feel like God has given me a word to cling to.  In 2012, the word was EMBRACE.  Last year, that word was HOPE.  And what a year of hope that 2013 turned out to be!

We started the 2013 year just clinging to the Lord and the hope that this would be the year that our daughter would come home!  Little did we know that at that very moment our daughter was at Hannah's HOPE in Ethiopia waiting for us.  Then a few months later, on May 23, 2013, while sitting in a restaurant in FairHOPE, Alabama, we got our long-awaited referral call for our precious daughter!  Then we hoped and prayed to get to her before the rainy season, and God was so faithful to get us to her!  And she was finally HOME this past September.

2013 is a year we will never forget and always cherish!

Yesterday, I began to ask the Lord what His word for me this year of 2014 would be.  I was thinking of words like peace, faith, love, etc., which are all great things, and I pray that 2014 holds much of these for us as well.  But suddenly, the Lord pressed upon my heart the word OBEDIENCE, and He continued to confirm this.

Wow.  I have to admit that the word obedience at first kind of scared me a little. Will God ask us to do something big this year?  Or will this just be a year of surrender and daily walking in obedience?  But I soon realized that as a follower of Christ, there should be no fear in obedience.  There is actually much peace and freedom in obedience to God because we know as believers that He is with us and we are fulfilling HIS purpose for our lives.

Life is very full at our house right now with 3 active elementary age kids and a sweet little Ethiopian toddler!  I am loving every second of it, but I don't have as much time as I would like to write and blog.  However, in obedience, I am going to try to keep writing as much as possible to journal about our family milestones and how God is moving in our hearts and lives!  There is always something to give God praise and glory for!

Jody and I are starting to read together another book by Mark Batterson titled, "All In".  Most of ya'll know how much his book, The Circle Maker, totally changed the way I prayed for Caroline Faith during our adoption journey!  I am only 2 chapters in, and already God is using to to challenge my faith so much!

I hope to be able to catch up on posts about Christmas and New Years in the next few days too!  It was very special and memorable finally having Caroline Faith home to join us!  I tried to just soak it all in!  God is good!!!  Excited to see all that He will do in this new year of 2014!

Here's a sneak peek of our crew on NYE night doing fireworks in the back yard...

So thankful for these precious ones, and can't wait to watch them grow in 2014!!!

"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in OBEDIENCE to Him, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul."
Deuteronomy 10:12

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