Praying for Orphans

What I know is, we serve a God who is very interested in the orphans of this world.  James 1:27 says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."  As hard as this picture is for me to look at, God cares for these babies infinitely more than I ever could.  I do just want to scoop one of them up and hold him close and tell him it's all going to be okay.

I also know this is not a situation to rush.  There is an outpouring of interest in America to begin adopting these babies NOW!  But, many of them may still have family out there!  A mom or dad or an aunt... I'm praying that God would reunite every one of the children with living family members that exist.  Then, I'm praying for these orphans to have someone today to hold them and tell them they're special and reassure and love them.  After that, I pray for permanent homes for these orphans.  I pray for families to open their lives and homes to the orphans of the world.

I heard somewhere recently that if every church in America had just one family who would adopt a child out of our foster care system, there would be no more need for foster care!  Derek and I are very interested in adoption.  We don't know when or how... maybe we'll adopt from Haiti and maybe that will happen sooner rather than later.  We're not making any rash, emotional decisions, and I don't think anyone else should either.  We are praying, and I guess that's what this post is about.  We can all at least do that!

A Tour of our KY Home!

Since most of our friends and family live in far away places relative to KY, I thought I'd give you a tour of our home via our blog! We've been here for 10 days now, and the place is starting to feel like home. If you were here, I'd invite you in and offer you something to drink. Probably I'd offer hot tea or hot chocolate because it's pretty chilly outside! Okay, that was cheesy, but welcome to our home!

First, the living room/office...

 

Here's the kitchen...

 

 

And the baby's room...

 

 

 

And our room...

 

There's plenty of space for an air mattress if anyone want to come for a visit! There's supposed to be a great fireworks display before the Kentucky Derby (maybe in April?). But, any excuse for our friends & family to come and visit us will do.

Snack Time

A Little Snack from Derek Hall on Vimeo.

Praying and Continuing On In Faith

It's 12:17 am here in Louisville.  For some reason I can't sleep tonight.  I've read some, and I've been on my knees praying for the people of Haiti.  They are weighing heavy on my heart right now.  I just read that teams carrying medical supplies are having a hard time landing because of limited space to land and the number of planes trying to land to provide relief.  I'm praying specifically for God to get those planes in and out fast, for medical workers, for needed supplies, for relief from pain, for comfort.  I pray the gospel would go forth in Port-Au-Prince.

A local church is sending supplies to Haiti, so I've gathered a few things from around the house.  It amazed me how many things on the list we had just laying around! Candles, baby formula, towels, gauze, flour, tylenol, ibuprofen, bottles, clothes... It's all sitting on my kitchen table, waiting to be boxed up and sent.  I pray these things are useful to them and not just making me feel good about being able to do something!

I thank God for all the earthquakes He has stopped from happening, and I pray he would use this one he has allowed for good.

In other news, we've been in Louisville just under a week now.  We arrived on the coldest day I've experienced all winter!!  There was snow and ice on the ground, but God got us here safely.  The men got the truck unloaded while the women started unpacking boxes.  It was pretty overwhelming at first.  I'd never seen the place before, so I was trying to take in my new home, direct furniture placement, and take care of Benjamin without having a meltdown!

So far, I've figured out how to get to Target, Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, and Babies 'R Us.  I mean, what more does a girl need.  We've gone for a run around our neighborhood and determined the sidewalks are not the best for stroller running!  We've got the place all put together - pictures on the wall and all!  This will be our 5th move in three and a half years, so I guess experience pays off! 

We are living in a house built in the 1920's.  The first floor is a business, but the other floors and surrounding structures have been converted into apartments.  It's almost like dorm-life, only we're all married and have husbands in seminary.  Two of the families have small children and stay at home moms, so I've got someone close by if I need to chat!

We are praying for Derek's job interview on Saturday, and trusting God to provide for our needs.  It's been awesome to see Him provide every step of the way on our journey these past few months.  My faith has grown, but there have also been moments of freaking out! 

One verse that has brought me great comfort these past few weeks is 1 John 2:15-17

     "Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father   is not in him.  For all that is in the world - the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes, and pride in possessions - is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."

So, we continue on in faith!

Benjamin Discovers Cooking Utensils

"Mmmm... this is a tasty shiny thing! I need to slobber all over it!"

"Is this okay?"

"Oh, I just can't resist."

"Oops! How did that happen?"