Empty Purple Shirts

Happy Resurrection Day!

Today the Fish Family is wearing purple.  Not because it's the "mostest" favorite color of 2 of my girls.  Not to annoy my teenage son who says that purple is for girls.

It's because it stands for royalty.  And this year at Easter we are celebrating the 2 little "kings" awaiting us in Africa as we celebrate that we serve A RISEN SAVIOR!

If you never watched the music video of "Kings and Queens" that I posted a couple of months ago, watch it now....or if you love it like we love it, then watch it again.

Now you see why we chose purple.

There are 2 brand new purple shirts size 2T upstairs that we thought would be worn today, but they are not.  They are empty and waiting to be filled.

Waiting is hard.  My sister sent me this amazing blog post this past week about waiting.  Read it.  It's good stuff!

On Wednesday, My Man and I fasted and prayed for the boys to come quickly.  He asked the kids to consider (instead of fasting) praying for their brothers every time someone called their name throughout the day.  At supper, my eldest hesitantly asked us, "What really is the rush?  We know that they are ours and will be here soon....so why the rush?"  I guess it was a legitimate question although part of me couldn't see why he wouldn't be as anxious as his parents are.  My Man mentioned the parable of the persistent widow found in Luke 18.  I thought about his question and as I tucked him in that night, I told my own little parable, in hopes he could better understand.

Caleb, you know that survivor knife that you have been coveting on Amazon?  Well you know Grandma said she'd be happy to get it for you for your birthday, but you just couldn't wait that long?  Well you know how you worked your tail off last weekend to earn enough money to buy it so you could use it on your camp out with your buddy over break?  So when you ordered it, the confirmation said it would be here on Thursday, right?  And your camp out was Friday, right?  So it was perfect and you were anticipating it and excited about it coming.

Say it didn't come on Thursday and so you called on Friday, the day of your camp out, and Amazon told you that they now have a new shipping policy into effect that will delay your order's arrival by 3-6 more weeks.  Can you imagine how you would have felt after being so anxious for it to come before Friday?

He listened intently and then said, "Yeah Mom.  I totally understand now."  All in middle school boy terms, but he got it.

So we continue to pray that our little "kings" will arrive quickly.  While we wait, we pray Psalm 27:14 - that our hearts will be strengthened - because we know waiting makes us depend more on God.

March 26 - ONE YEAR

Today marks the day that ONE year ago, we made a phone call to our agency to find out about their international adoption programs.  We had pursued domestic adoption for a couple of months and felt we had hit a wall in that search.  I had just researched thoroughly to find a country in which our family qualified as a potential adopting family.  Once again, I kept hitting walls.

Just when I was feeling a bit of despair, our adoption agency name was given to us by an acquaintance of a friend.  She had just joined their Samoa pilot program.  I called on March 26 to find out about their Samoa program.  I wrote 2 pages of notes frantically as I tried to listen to all the good information that our agency was sharing.

As I got off the phone after at least 45 minutes of listening and asking questions, I felt a real peace about this agency.  I also felt a real peace that God was directing our steps and that He would soon reveal the country that we would be adopting from.  The walls we had encountered were merely doors shut by our Heavenly Father as He was guiding our footsteps.  We just had to keep walking in faith. 

And we did.

Keep praying with us that our embassy investigation will go SUPERSONIC fast (as a 3 year old in my Sunday School class likes to say) and that we will hear from them soon.

While We Wait...

Psalm 130

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in his word I hope;

My soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen for the morning,

more than watchmen for the morning,

O Israel, hope in the Lord!

For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with him is plentiful redemption.

All we know at this point is that the US Embassy has started our investigation.  They say it will take 3-6 months and then we will get our final embassy appointment and visa so that our boys can come home.

Waiting is hardest when its unexpected.

Wanna Run?

Anyone game to run a 5K for a great cause??

Chick-Fil-A is hosting a 5K in Brentwood, TN, April 20 to benefit ONEless - a ministry that helps make one less orphan and one less human trafficking.

Go to this link and sign up!

But before you do, watch this video to find out the truth about human trafficking right here in our own state.





Your Backyard from End Slavery TN on Vimeo.

Prayer Guide

8:00
Pray by name for all the families that you know who are in the process of adoption.  Pray for a speedy process.  Pray for adequate funding.  Pray for preparation to meet the needs of their child.  Pray for the adjustment and bonding that must take place in the family.  Pray that their child will be well-cared for during the wait of the process.  Pray for patience.  Pray for guidance.  Pray for increased passion to care for the fatherless.  Pray against fear, worry and anxiety.

9:00
Pray by name for all the families that you know who have adopted children.  Pray for wisdom as they parent a child who has experienced loss unlike biological children.  Pray that their child might have a clear understanding of God as Father and receive it fully.  Pray that they might bond and attach as a family, no matter how long the child has been home.  Pray that they will resist seeing their child as being rescued by them and having expectations of appreciation from their child.  Pray that this family may be surrounded by a strong support group of believers who understand and can help "bear one another's burdens."

10:00
Pray for increased awareness among Christians about the global plight of the fatherless leading to a burning desire to take action on their behalf.

11:00
Pray that the cause of the fatherless would serve as a unifying rallying point for churches around the world thereby bringing about a Christ-honoring unity.

12:00
Pray specifically for countries with orphans who are finding forever homes.  Pray against corruption.  Pray against the devil's schemes that devise against policies and procedures.   Say aloud the names of countries.  Pray that they may open their doors for adoption.  Pray that they may be well-staffed to handle the demands of the adoptions pursued.  Pray that their process may be free of wickedness.

1:00
Pray for the protection of the orphan.  For food.  For clothing.  For love.  For assurance of a God who cares for them.  For hope.  For salvation.  For health.  For shelter.  For forever families.

2:00
Pray for the ministries working among the fatherless - that they would be committed to Kingdom-excellence and vision.  Pray that those working in these ministries and agencies would be prepared to handle the surge of support.  Pray for supernatural unity among these ministries - one that would be a testimony to the unbelieving world.

3:00
Pray for the families who are taking care of their grandchildren, nieces, nephews or foster children in addition to their own children.  Ask the Lord to bless them for their sacrifice and to provide enough food, clothes, education and shelter for all of their children.

4:00
Pray for government leaders here and abroad.  Ask the Lord to burden their hearts for the orphans.  Ask that they would feel compelled to protect and provide for orphans.

5:00
Pray for families who have adopted children with special needs.  Ask the Lord to give them an extra dose of patience, understanding, love and wisdom as they parent these children.  Ask Him to bring resources to them to help ease their load.

6:00
Praise the Lord for your OWN adoption into His family.  Praise Him for the HUGE price that HE paid to bring you from being an orphan into the family of a King.  Praise Him for the sacrifice that He made on your behalf.  Ask Him to give you His heart for orphans.

Adoption is neither easy nor cheap.  It never was intended to be.  The very first adoption was extremely difficult and costly.  It's the nature of adoption.  God knows, because His Son was His cost for us to become part of His forever family.  May we all share in the passions of our adoptive, Heavenly Father.

Scripture Guide

Scripture to Ponder and Meditate On

Ps. 68:4-5

  A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in fmailies, he leads forth the prisoners with singing, but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

Deut. 10:17-19

For the LORD your God is a God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.  He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.

Ps. 82:3-4 

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.  Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

James 1:22

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.

Ps. 10:14, 17-18

But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand.  THe victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.  You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

Is. 1:17

Learn to do right!  Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.  Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

James 1:27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after the orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Prayer Guide for Orphan Fast

JOIN ME TODAY IN PRAYING FOR THE ORPHANS!  YOU ARE WELCOME TO USE THE GUIDE BELOW.

9:00
Pray that the Lord would give you a personal sense of responsibility for the next 3 days (and beyond) for praying for orphans, your pastor, your church, and your community.  Ask Him to break your heart for the orphans.  Ask that He would help you to see orphans with His eyes and His heart.  Ask Him to use this 3 day to change you and your church.

10:00
Ask God that of the 2 billion Christians in the world, 7% would show hope to a single orphan, looking after the child in their distress.  Ask the Lord to convict the church around the world that if we did this, there would effectively be no more orphans.  Ask the Lord to show each of His followers that we can each do something.

11:00
Pray for your pastor to have guidance and provision as he seeks to follow the Lord's command to care for the orphans.

12:00
Ask the Lord to help your church and family to feel His heart for the orphans as seen in Ps. 68:5-6 "A Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families...."

1:00
Pray for the fatherless in your community.  Ask the Lord to protect them and to care for them and to defend them and keep them safe.

2:00
Thank the Lord in advance for all that He is going to do to bring glory to His name in your church, family and community.  Thank Him for the care He is going to provide for the orphans.

3:00
Pray for the Lord to raise up workers for the harvest.  Ask Him to call Christians to go to the "fields of the fatherless" to experience the joy of caring for orphans as we are commanded in Is. 1:16-17 "Give up your wicked ways.  Learn to do good.  Seek justice.  Help the oppressed.  Defend the orphan.  Fight for the rights of widows."

4:00
Pray that God would break the hearts of believers with the plight of orphans.  Ask that He would convict them to lead their churches to pray, go and love in Jesus' name.

5:00
Ask the Father to set the lonely in families.  Pray specifically for families in your community who may be in the process of adopting or fostering an orphan.  Ask for God's provision for all of their needs:  physical, emotional and spiritual.

6:00
Pray specifically for any orphans you may know by name.  Pray for their health and safety.  Pray for their shelter.  Pray that they will be brought into loving families who will provide for their education.