So, I received a call from the birthmom's caseworker. At first my heart began to beat so incredibly fast, wondering, did the mom make a decision? The answer....not yet! I was a little sad, but relieved that she was still carefully considering her precious children's future family. This tells me of how careful, meticulous, and thoughtful she is. I found joy in the message I received from the caseworker, today, though. Why? Well, today I found out the name of this precious woman that we have been pouring our love and prayers over for the past week!
Rebecca. This special woman's name is Rebecca. I am beyond thrilled that I now have a name that I can specifically pray for. No longer are we praying for "the birthmom" but for Rebecca! Regardless of the outcome of her decision, I will be forever attached to her, because of this journey and love that God has given me to pour over her in prayer!
Please, continue to join with us as we pray for Rebecca and this huge decision that she is making for her children! Pray for peace, comfort, and wisdom for her, but most of all, pray for her heart! Our desire is for her heart to be the Lord's!
"Father, You are a God of love, a God of peace, and a God of comfort. Please overcome Rebecca with these during this time and through the remainder of the process. I also ask for you to reach out to her heart, Lord and draw her into your loving arms as your daughter."
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Family in Waiting...
God is a good God. He is a God of promises. He is a God of love. God is faithful to us. He is a God who provides. God wants us to trust Him completely, so that He can be glorified and pour out His blessings on us. This sounds so easy, doesn't it? Well, why is it so hard for most of us?
This is the question and thoughts that God has been trying to impress on my heart since we started this whole adoption journey. Although this past week, He is really trying to drive home His point! God promised Jon and I a family full of children and blessings, but we would have to trust Him. This was said from the beginning of our trials. We feel we are getting ready to experience these blessings, but are truly being tested this week. I think God is trying to find out, "Let me make sure I have ALL of you....both of you! Not just Jon. Not just Tiffany. All of both of you. I love you both so much. I love your marriage and what you are letting it represent! I have provided and have healed. I have gotten you, both, through some rough spots as a couple, but now I want each of you...ALL of you! Jon, I want your anxieties about your job and about your finances! Tiffany, I want your anxieties about this adoption and the finances for it! I also want your worries about Nicholas, his schoolwork, and his medication. My dear children, you have carried these burdens long enough. Will you let Me carry them for you?"
God has brought, both, Jon and I to our knees each this week. Revealing and encouraging us as we let go of the ties that we hold so tightly. God is showing us that we don't have to do this alone and that He is completely in control, whether we think He is or not. He is filling us with wisdom and understanding into different situations that we have become to stress over. Specifically, God is showing Jon where he belongs in his career right now. He learning to rest in His hands and trust the Lord for His investments each day. The more Jon trusts, the more God has blessed him this week. As for me, my heart aches for these little ones that the birthmom has our profile for. I was told that she was reviewing many profiles and taking a little bit longer. My first reaction was pure disappointment, but God is opening my heart and mind to what His purpose of this prolongation if for. "Tiffany, this is out of your control! Pour your love and blessings over this mom that is delicately and carefully choosing a life for her two little ones." So, that is what I have done! I have come before the Lord, daily, and prayed over this precious birth mom. Through this, God has attached my heart to hers and I long for her to have peace and comfort as she makes this decision. I would be thrilled if she chose our family for her little ones, but more importantly, I want her to come to know our Father! I would be lying to say that I wouldn't be disappointed if we were not chosen, but my heart belongs to my Father, and He knows what is best for these little ones and for our family. God, you are in control!
Please, continue to lift up this precious mom and her little ones she is carrying. Pray for God to touch her and draw her heart to His!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Life Song for Orphans
OCA Mission Moments from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.
They sat in the studio with an expectant glow as they spoke about their children they had yet to meet, but who they claimed as their very own...
Josh: "As unbelievers, we are aliens. We are strangers. We are separated from God. But God has come in and adopted us, through Christ, to be in His family."
Jenn: "And we're just so thrilled that our family can be a picture of that to the world! And just like we would never question our true son-ship to God the Father, it's been an encouragement to us to think about, we really don't have to question whether these kids are our true children... cause they are!"
When Josh and Jenn Philpot felt God's nudging toward adoption they weren't sure where they would get the money. They received a matching grant through the Orphan Care Alliance (OCA), turning the $6,000 they had raised into $10,000, and making it possible for them to bring home not just one child but two!
OCA is a multi-church alliance in the Louisville/Southern Indiana area. Adoption funding is just one part of their ministry. Their many outreaches include recruiting and training foster parents, mentoring local foster children, assistance for local churches in launching orphan ministries, international orphan care, and more! They are also a part of Lifesong's Outside the Walls Network, which connects churches to serve orphans more powerfully together than they could on their own.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
A prayer for Mom
I haven't updated this in quite awhile. I am so sorry about that. We have had quite a bit going on in the Stewart household lately. Let me brief you on that, first, and then I can fill you in on God's heart for us....
As you know, Nick had surgery in December (bone graft). Well, we put Nick on his ADHD meds when school started and he started not sleeping and eating at all. He has not had this reaction to his medication ever, even when he went back on them after being off them all summer long. I grew concerned after he made himself sick from lack of sleep and eating, so I contacted his doctor (who by the way...is so wonderful!). He saw us at 6:30 in the evening and sat and deliberated over his file, looking specifically at his weight and height. Noticing that his growth had started to slow down again, since medication started in the fall and his weight decreased, he decided to take Nick off his ADHD meds for two weeks. My first thought..."those poor teachers!" At home, we know how to handle his impulsivity, defiance, and hyperactivity, but home environment is much different than a school environment. After a few days at school without meds and the teachers documenting Nick's behavior, eating habits, and schoolwork, their frustration levels were getting high. They were patient through it all and completely understanding of why we had to do this. I believe those 4 days of snow/ice days were lifesavers, not only for Nick but for his teachers. We finally went back to see his doctor, providing him with all of the documentation and school work samples they gave us while he was not medication. The doctor looked through them, then turned and looked straight at Nick. "Nick, this is unacceptable behavior and work from you. Your medication is not an excuse to not follow direction and do your best in school." I love a doctor that can tell my child that he will not use this as an excuse not to obey or to succeed, because that is what we reiterate to him at home. He went ahead and decided to put Nick back on the same medication he was on, but in a smaller dose. We are continuing to do weekly phone call follow ups with the doctor and will check his weight next week.
So, while dealing with this with Nick, Jon's grandmother began to get very sick. She was in the hospital for about two weeks and went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, February 15th. She was such a precious woman and we adored her so much! Nick was the light of her day when he went to visit her. We had her celebration of life yesterday afternoon with the family and this service blessed my heart so much! It truly reminded of what a wonderful family God has brought me into through marrying my husband! Their love for each other is so amazing and God's heart shows through each and everyone of the family members. This love was brought from the Father, into Grandma's life and then down through this entire family! What an awesome legacy this precious woman of God had! To be able to raise our children within the love of this family makes my heart so happy and joyful.
Now on to our adoption journey progress.....
We continue to wait on Lifesong's decision for approval of a grant that could potentially bring the remainder of our funding. I believe we will get a response soon, but I am still faithful in believing that God will provide 100% for our precious child/ren. Gift of Adoption Grants has continued to follow our updates and are waiting for our match. They have not given up on us and keep moving our approval/review forward in order to give us the opportunity to have them be a part of our journey. God is moving within this journey, although not seen by all or even us, He is working the details out for us and will continue to rely on His perfect plan for our family!
Just recently we found out our profile is being reviewed by a birth mom with an adoption agency in Utah. I cannot help but be overwhelming excited about this possibility, but I'm trying very hard to guard my heart as well. Yesterday morning, the morning of Jon's grandma's funeral, God pulled me close and reminded me to pray fervently for this precious birth mom. I spent all morning pouring out prayers and love for this precious mom and asking God to bless or overwhelm her with his peace and love as she read through our profile. Not neccessarily to choose our family, but that his love and peace for her would flow through our profile into her heart and mind, giving her wisdom and peace in the decision she is about to make for her precious babies, whether it is our family or another family. Since that time, I have thought about her a lot and putting myself in her very shoes as she makes a life changing decision for her children. Wow, how incredibly hard this would be for me to choose a family I don't know to raise these babies that I have carried for nearly 9 months! What a sacrifice! God placed it on my heart to share this information with Jon's family after we gathered for Grandma's funeral. Their response....pure excitement!! They were all so excited about the prospect of these babies and what an amazing blessing this would be after the tragedies that have struck this precious family. I was quickly reminded to to share with them God's heart for this precious birth mom. I asked them to pray specifically for this woman and for her heart. I am so humbled by this whole journey of adoption that we are on and the ability to involve our family in this journey and to remind them of the "whole" picture...including these amazing women who are making one of the most selfless and sacrificing decisions they will ever make! We all need to be reminded that this adoption is not just about the adoptive family, but about these wonderful moms that carry these little ones to full term and graciously give them to us to raise in His kingdom!
I ask that as you finish reading this blog that you will take a minute to pray for this wonderful birth mom and for those women who have selflessly chosen to give their babies life! Pray for peace, love, comfort, wisdom, and for God's pursuit of their hearts!
As you know, Nick had surgery in December (bone graft). Well, we put Nick on his ADHD meds when school started and he started not sleeping and eating at all. He has not had this reaction to his medication ever, even when he went back on them after being off them all summer long. I grew concerned after he made himself sick from lack of sleep and eating, so I contacted his doctor (who by the way...is so wonderful!). He saw us at 6:30 in the evening and sat and deliberated over his file, looking specifically at his weight and height. Noticing that his growth had started to slow down again, since medication started in the fall and his weight decreased, he decided to take Nick off his ADHD meds for two weeks. My first thought..."those poor teachers!" At home, we know how to handle his impulsivity, defiance, and hyperactivity, but home environment is much different than a school environment. After a few days at school without meds and the teachers documenting Nick's behavior, eating habits, and schoolwork, their frustration levels were getting high. They were patient through it all and completely understanding of why we had to do this. I believe those 4 days of snow/ice days were lifesavers, not only for Nick but for his teachers. We finally went back to see his doctor, providing him with all of the documentation and school work samples they gave us while he was not medication. The doctor looked through them, then turned and looked straight at Nick. "Nick, this is unacceptable behavior and work from you. Your medication is not an excuse to not follow direction and do your best in school." I love a doctor that can tell my child that he will not use this as an excuse not to obey or to succeed, because that is what we reiterate to him at home. He went ahead and decided to put Nick back on the same medication he was on, but in a smaller dose. We are continuing to do weekly phone call follow ups with the doctor and will check his weight next week.
So, while dealing with this with Nick, Jon's grandmother began to get very sick. She was in the hospital for about two weeks and went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, February 15th. She was such a precious woman and we adored her so much! Nick was the light of her day when he went to visit her. We had her celebration of life yesterday afternoon with the family and this service blessed my heart so much! It truly reminded of what a wonderful family God has brought me into through marrying my husband! Their love for each other is so amazing and God's heart shows through each and everyone of the family members. This love was brought from the Father, into Grandma's life and then down through this entire family! What an awesome legacy this precious woman of God had! To be able to raise our children within the love of this family makes my heart so happy and joyful.
Now on to our adoption journey progress.....
We continue to wait on Lifesong's decision for approval of a grant that could potentially bring the remainder of our funding. I believe we will get a response soon, but I am still faithful in believing that God will provide 100% for our precious child/ren. Gift of Adoption Grants has continued to follow our updates and are waiting for our match. They have not given up on us and keep moving our approval/review forward in order to give us the opportunity to have them be a part of our journey. God is moving within this journey, although not seen by all or even us, He is working the details out for us and will continue to rely on His perfect plan for our family!
Just recently we found out our profile is being reviewed by a birth mom with an adoption agency in Utah. I cannot help but be overwhelming excited about this possibility, but I'm trying very hard to guard my heart as well. Yesterday morning, the morning of Jon's grandma's funeral, God pulled me close and reminded me to pray fervently for this precious birth mom. I spent all morning pouring out prayers and love for this precious mom and asking God to bless or overwhelm her with his peace and love as she read through our profile. Not neccessarily to choose our family, but that his love and peace for her would flow through our profile into her heart and mind, giving her wisdom and peace in the decision she is about to make for her precious babies, whether it is our family or another family. Since that time, I have thought about her a lot and putting myself in her very shoes as she makes a life changing decision for her children. Wow, how incredibly hard this would be for me to choose a family I don't know to raise these babies that I have carried for nearly 9 months! What a sacrifice! God placed it on my heart to share this information with Jon's family after we gathered for Grandma's funeral. Their response....pure excitement!! They were all so excited about the prospect of these babies and what an amazing blessing this would be after the tragedies that have struck this precious family. I was quickly reminded to to share with them God's heart for this precious birth mom. I asked them to pray specifically for this woman and for her heart. I am so humbled by this whole journey of adoption that we are on and the ability to involve our family in this journey and to remind them of the "whole" picture...including these amazing women who are making one of the most selfless and sacrificing decisions they will ever make! We all need to be reminded that this adoption is not just about the adoptive family, but about these wonderful moms that carry these little ones to full term and graciously give them to us to raise in His kingdom!
I ask that as you finish reading this blog that you will take a minute to pray for this wonderful birth mom and for those women who have selflessly chosen to give their babies life! Pray for peace, love, comfort, wisdom, and for God's pursuit of their hearts!
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