A Big Announcement......

A Big Announcement:

Today is a new chapter in the Allred family of four…. We are expecting!!!!!!!

But wait for it…. God willing, we are expecting a little girl and she will not come from my belly, but instead she will come from across the ocean from a foreign land from a mother and father who we will most likely never meet this side of heaven.  

We are starting the adoption process with America World Adoption Association. Most likely, this process from start to finish will  take around 3 years, give or take.

It will be a character building process, however, we know that this is the Lord’s calling on our family and are excited and somewhat apprehensive as we move forward. J 

I saw this quote the other day at my sister-in-love’s house and I feel that it sums up our view on adoption perfectly:

                 

Adoption

Because of His great Love for us before the world began, we are chosen by God to be adopted as His children…

We love because He first loved us…

A pure act of faith is to care for His children just as He cared for us.

Adoption is partnering with Jesus to see lives transformed…

Adoption is a Miracle!

If you don’t mind, over the next few months and years to come, we would ask that you would:

1.   Pray for us: pray specifically for our little girl, her birth family and the circumstances that will surround her coming into our life. Also, please pray for our family as we move forward in this process and as we continue to parent our marriage & boys and show them the love of Christ.

2.  Consider Giving: The international adoption of our daughter will most likely cost between $28,000-$40,000 dollars. This is not an amount that we currently have and we are trusting in the Lord for His provision and guidance. We have seen his faithfulness in the past financially through our adoption of our first son and we know that He will be faithful again! That is the kind of GOD we serve!

In the next few months and weeks, we will be doing some different fund raising such as garage sales, bake sales, arts and crafts sales as well as some photography too. If you are interested in making a donation to our adoption please contact Ben or I. Also, stop by our Facebook pages and this blog for updates on how to give & pray.

3.  Consider adoption for your family: We know that adoption is not for everyone, but as believers in Christ, we have all been “adopted”  (Ephesians 1:5) into His forever family and are called to take care of the widows and orphans (James 1:27).

  Prayerfully consider what role adoption should play in your family.

Thank you for sharing with us as we begin ourjourney! The Lord is good and faithful and we are so excited to start this adoption and make our family of Four into Five!

God is good!

Ashes

Ashes

These past few weeks have been oh so character building. The script of how we thought life was going to go has been rewritten, a person that we love and held dearly to our hearts and adore has been removed. It has been the hardest season yet in my 21 for the 9^th time years.

Yet, through it all ~ God’s grace has shown so brightly. One of the many found Truths I have anchored to is the Lord is faithful and Remains. I love word studies and finding out what words in scripture or writings mean, so what does the word Remain mean:

In the dictionary the definition of Remain is: all that is left after other parts have been taken away, used up or destroyed.

God’s grace: the divine influence on one’s heart; of which I don’t deserve ~Remains. And it is Enough moment by moment. & God’s  truth of strengthening us in our weakness ~Remains.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And He (Jesus) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”

His word ~Remains

“Isaiah 40:6 All flesh is grass and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers and the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it, surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flowers fade. But the Word of our God stands forever.

And in those times that are so hard what are God’s words that~ Remain; His promises to us:

 Heb 13:5 Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.

2 Peter 5:10 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him that called us to glory and virtue

Rom 8:38 For I am convinced that Neither death, nor life nor angels nor principalities, nor things present, not things to come nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

And after we know what He says to us, after we know the promises He tells us, what does He require from us:

Micah 6:8 To act justly, to love mercy, to walk humble with Him ~ & to rest.

Psalm 37:7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

~Rest, means to abide and continue…

~Continue… in times of hardship, what does continue mean? - It is living moment by moment in the Truths that He has taught, to ~Dwell in those truths – make my home, my life, where He is.

For in those times when it seems that all we have is ashes, we must remember the Truths of who He says we are and what can come from those ashes:

Isaiah 61:3 (The Message) He wants to give us garland (roses, beauty) instead of ashes, messages of joy instead of languid spirit.  He will Rename them Oaks of Righteousness planted by God to display His Glory. They will rebuild the old ruins & raise a new city out of the wreckage.

When I think of the Oak tree it is a symbol of strength, beauty and durability. It is something that when you look out across a field and see an Oak, standing tall and strong, it has roots that go deep and it is made up of strong material.  It remains through the storms. What a gift that He lavishes upon us that we, through Him can be an Oak tree and used by God to display His GLORY.

                     

The last few weeks have been oh so hard, yet` He Remains and because He Remains we will too. & we will remain in Him for there is no better place to be.

Eph 4:6 He is over all, through all and in all.

We have a hope that doesn’t disappoint by remaining in Him. A hope in a God, who doesn’t just take the ashes, but replaces them with life. A God that doesn’t leave us helpless and alone, but instead claims us and renames us with the Truths of who He says we are and a God who replaces our human inability & rebuilds us with His strength and holds us in His hand, making us more than able.

~ He Remains ~