Giving HIM the Glory

So I will start with saying this blog post isn't really about adoption.  Whew.  Nice change huh?  ;)  It's about something I heard today at church that got to me.  And, the funny thing is, I have heard this about a million times throughout my Christian life.  But.  Today it just made sense.  Sadly, it made sense because this is the first time in the 22 years of being a Christian, that I was actually READY to hear it.  Sad.  Why do we do that?  If we don't want to hear something important we just block it out, ignore it.  So, I will just get down to it.  The thing that got to me was when Pastor Kirk said, "you have to be willing to DIE to live your life for Jesus."  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Heard it a million times.  So why was it different today?  And, let's think about this.  Am I willing to give up everything I have for God?  Really?  Because if the answer is no, then, well, things, they gotta change!  Why do we get SO caught up in ourselves.  In our lives, our kids, our house, our clothes, our next meal, where our kids go to school (ugh- always a dilemma for Jenny!).  Why are we so selfish.  Kirk explained it perfectly.  Because we are imperfect beings.  We are sinful.  It is human nature to be selfish.  To not want to give up everything for others.  And, the American way of life does nothing but encourage that thought process.  So does that excuse us?  NO.  Read this verse from Matthew 10:38-39
"If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.  If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.”  What?  For reals?  You mean, I have to give up MY plans, MY hopes, MY dreams for you, God?  No way.  I can't do that?  Well.  I mean, we kind of are.  We are starting to.  All of Clay and my plans for our future have been thrown out the window to follow God's plans for our lives.  And are we better off?  HECK YES!  I could write a whole other blog post on how we have been blessed just the past month with living our lives for HIM.  But, I have a confession.  So, we are definitely doing that on the adoption front.  But, are we doing it in other aspects of our lives?  Hmmm.  Good question.  Kirk shared a verse today about doing things "without grumbling".  Oh.  Uh oh.  If you know me, you know I am a "grumbler".  ;)  Darn.  Have to stop that too.  So, is this easy?  No.  Will we stumble and fall.  Yes.  Do we need to worry about all of this?  NO!  Now, read this other verse from Matthew 6:31-33, "So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  Ok.  Maybe I can do this.  Stop worrying.  Stop focusing on things that don't matter.  Focus on GOD.  You know, I will share a little inside view of the Richey house just to give an example of this.  A couple weeks ago, when we were signing paperwork to be sent to a certain Eastern European country, we realized that soon after the paperwork gets there and is cleared, we will need to send another $8000 to our agency.  What?  We just sent $3500.  Well, Jenny had a little meltdown.  Ok.  A huge meltdown.  Freaking out about where the money would come from.  Clay (who hardly ever worries about things - especially financial) says, "we will just take it out of savings."  Yeah.  Sure we will.  When I disagreed calmly...ok.  Not calm.  At. All.  Clay says, "Jenny.  This is not our money anyways.  We are going to use this money for God's purpose.  He will take care of us.  He will provide.  What do you need the money for anyways?"  Um.  I don't know.  Rainy day funds are nice to have.  But Clay was right.  God promised us in Matthew that He will provide if we are living for Him.  And you know what?  In some ways, it is so freeing to just let go of all the "plans".  To just enter life like you are some awesome ride.  To go out and live each day to better yourself and others.  To give it all up and hand it all over to GOD.  So, that is just what we are going to do.  Will it be easy?  No.  It will be hard.  Did I share that verse from Galations 1:10 on the last post?  If so, then I am sorry.  But I just love it.  So, here it is again, "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."  Yes.  Stop worrying about what others think.  Cause, when it gets down to it, that is what prevents me from doing things I know I should go out and do.  Right?  That or just laziness.  So, what's your excuse?  I am sick of making excuses.  It's time to get real.  Will it be easy.  No.  Will I always be successful.  No.  Some days you may see me and you may just laugh that Jenny can't handle things.  Well, that may be true.  But, I am working on it.  And, God knows my heart.  And He knows yours.  Let's do this together.  Let's give HIM the glory. 

Meet HIM

 SO.  The big news as most of you know.....we officially have a son.  Gosh, that sounds weird.  ;)  Due to country restrictions, we cannot tell you his name or what country he is in.  He is in Eastern Europe.  He will turn 2 in June.  And, we have about 12 months before we get to bring him home.  Isn't he the sweetest thing?  I laugh that they have him in a Mickey Mouse shirt.  When I show Chandler his picture, she calls him Goofy.  Seems appropriate to a 3 year old, I suppose!  12 months before we bring him home.  In some ways, I am relieved.  More time for me to get past this fear of a 3rd child!  But, when I get past the ME...then it becomes about him.  And then, more about HIM...and serving HIM.  At our last adoption meeting at our agency, the lady told us, "adoption is not about you.  It is about the child."  So, so true.  God has asked us to give up our plans and take in this child.  This awesome, perfect child.  I get so sad thinking about him sitting in his crib, alone, with no mommy or daddy to sing to him or kiss him or love him.  No big brother and sister to play with him.  He is almost 2 and still drinking out of a bottle!  No real food yet!!  Boy, are we going to fatten that kid up!!  ;)  We have been chosen, hand picked by GOD to raise this beautiful child.  How blessed are we?  And, it's true.  This is about him.  It has nothing to do with us.  We have pledged to *try* to forget about ourselves in this life.  It is now about him, while serving HIM.  We have had so many people tell us "I am glad there are people like you out there....I could never do that."  Be careful what you say!  I would have said the same thing a year ago!  LOL!!  I read the most amazing verse this week: Galations 1:10 "Am I now trying to win the approval men, or of GOD?  Or am I trying to please men?  If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."  WOW!!!  Pretty awesome.  And pretty true.  Being a true servant of Christ is no easy walk in the park.  But, again, we knew that.  It is an absolute honor to dedicate our lives to God's will.  We are thrilled to welcome this child into our family.  12 months.  Oh.  12 months and I get to hold him.  And rock him.  And love him.  He has never experienced love.  Break.  My. Heart.  But he will.  He will know that he is loved.  Not only by his family, but by his heavenly Father.  And it makes my heart melt to think that one day, he will know of Jesus' love for him.  And, that my friends, is redemption. 

So, what happens over the next 12 months?  Lots more paperwork.  And more background checks.  Tomorrow is our home study.  So say a prayer for us!  Am I worried or nervous.  No.  Not at all.  Our social worker is super nice.  And honestly, we are super awesome so why wouldn't we pass!!  Totally kidding!!  ;)  But, it will be nice to have that checked off of our list!  And what else will be going on the next 12 months?  Fundraising!!!  The photography fundraiser was a hit!!!  We made $1000!  Thank you Shannon!!  Our garage sale is coming up in April, so if you have anything you want to get rid of, bring it over!  We would love to sell it for you!  Our goal is $1-2k!!!  Ok.  Maybe just $1k.  ;)  And the biggest most exciting fundraiser!!!!  We have been asked to be a sponsored family in the ONE LESS race  in Boerne!!!!!!  http://www.onelessrace.com/default.html  Check it out!!  This is a HUGE deal guys!  And we would love for all of our friends to participate.  We are so blessed by this opportunity.  We are also thinking about doing a dinner/auction.  But, we need some things to auction!!!  If you have any ideas or are a business owner and would like to help out, let us know!

So, that is it for updates for now.  Feeling super blessed and thankful.  I read a quote on pinterest this week that made me laugh:  "God gives us only what we can handle.  Apparently, God thinks I am a bad ass."  LOL!!!  Yep.  Praise HIM for the ups and downs this process brings us.   It is only making us stronger.