Seeking Him

Recently I have hit a road block with my writing. I am not inspired. The words are not flowing. It’s very frustrating because I love to write, and when it doesn’t come easily I start to get discouraged. Then I realized why the words have not come. My words come from the Lord. He directs my message. He tells me what to say and how to say it. The problem is I have not been seeking my relationship with Him in the same way I used to. I have hit a dry spell. I have stopped reading my bible daily. I have stopped posting scripture on Facebook. I have stopped praying diligently. My heart and mind have been on other things. Chasing after a busy 10 month old, attending weekly doctor’s appointments, tutoring, organizing my house for the new arrival, doing laundry, vacuuming 7,000 times a week to keep up after the piles of hair that collect from our beautiful black lab, watching Good Morning America, Facebook, thinking about going for a walk, but never actually doing it, making cookies, grocery shopping, making dinner, going to Target for 1 more thing for the baby, NAPPING, attempting a shower and putting makeup on, amongst a million other excuses, have all gotten in my way. I have let life keep me from the one thing I can’t live without: My Lord, my savior, the reason for my JOY.

Now I’m not writing this for any other reason than to remind myself of how much my life is affected when I am not seeking the Lord. Also, know that I realize God has me right where He wants me and right now my life should be centered on chasing my 10 month old and taking care of the precious little life growing inside me. That I know is important and worth focusing on. That is the purpose God has for me right now, and I couldn’t be MORE THANKFUL for this purpose. However, I have let other things become my purpose and overshadow the importance of the Lord in my life. When we were going through the adoption process my life was focused. I had one goal, one purpose, one reason to wake up in the morning. I wanted to live my life in accordance to His plan, His will, and His desire for my life. I wanted to hear from Him, see Him, and feel His presence. I was seeking Him and in return He was walking by my side. I felt joy like I have never experienced before, peace like I didn’t know was possible, comfort in everything I did, and I saw abundant blessings everywhere. I want that back! The problem is I know the solution. I know how to solve my predicament. I know what to do: Pray, read my bible, fellowship with other Christians. I’ve got all the answers, but am struggling with implementing them.

My life here on Earth is not my final destination. I can’t bring my clean house, my organized closets, and Facebook with me.  However, I can bring my joy in Him, my comfort in Him, the peace one feels knowing that He has saved me, my never ending praises and thankfulness, my love for His children, my confidence in Him,  my humbled self and a peace in knowing I did everything I could to make sure my children meet me in Heaven.

Lord, please help me to seek you. To desire you. To see your many blessings. To live my life for you. To not let my life here on Earth get in the way of everything you have for me. Your plan, your will, and desires for me, are so much more, and I need you to help me recognize that!

Love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  Mark 12:30

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. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:31-43

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen Heaven IS for real and so is Hell!

Sometimes God has to hit the repeat button to get me to pay attention. I don't always get it the first time. Lately, God has made himself clear that He wants me to be thinking about bigger and better things and focusing on what's really important. Last year I read a book called Heaven is for Real. This book rocked my world! It focused me. It changed my perspective. It caused me to be that annoying girl who can't stop telling people, "You HAVE to read this book!" Then the other day I was listening to the radio on my way to work and the song Where I Belong by Building 429 came on, and I was awakened, yet again, to the reality of my final destination, my final home. Earth is not where I will spend the rest of my 'life'. I have bigger and better plans than that. My one way ticket has the word Heaven printed on it and I sure am grateful for that! Heaven and all of its glory has been a huge focus for me lately. The word just keeps popping up. The though of it is fascinating, alluring and just plain old desirable! I'm going to be really honest and say this wasn't always the case for me. I always knew I wanted to go to Heaven, I mean the other option is less than desirable, but Heaven didn't entice me. It didn't seem all that much fun. I mean I love clouds and cherish my God, but it still scared me to think the end would involve me sitting amongst the clouds, playing a harp and just hanging out. I guess I've watched too much TV and haven't read enough of the bible because ladies and gentlemen this place we call Heaven isn't what you see on Care Bears!! A few Sundays ago we discussed Heaven and it's many accommodations. This place is spectacular! It's nothing like I envisioned! And guess what???? Each and every one of you has the chance to make it your home! I urge you to read Revelation 21-22. It talks about the new Heaven and the new Earth because in case you didn't know, when our Savior returns it will ALL be made new again for US!!!! We are going to experience Earth like we've never seen it before! Romans 10:9-10 says "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." When life here on Earth gets overwhelming and you feel discouraged just remember, this is not where you belong. The loving arms of Jesus are waiting to welcome you home!

Who's your author?

God blessed us with yet another miracle. I'm pregnant! That is something I never thought I would be able to say. Over a year ago I grieved the possibility of it and moved past the need for it. I accepted that my path to motherhood was going to be different, unique and not what I had originally planned. Then God published the next chapter in my story. God answered my prayers. He let me know that he had listened. However, He showed me that everything He does is in His PERFECT timing, and for that I am so thankful. If God had answered my prayers when I wanted Him to, Reid would not be my son. I would not be the mother to the most perfect child a parent could ever dream of. I would not have experienced a miracle. I would not have learned what grace means. I would not have learned to find joy in my suffering. I would not have drawn closer to my savior. I would not know what faith means. I would not be where I am today. If I had given in to my fears, my bitterness, my wants and my frustrations Reid would not be in my life. I can't bear the thought of that possibility. I'm here to tell you God has a story for each and every one of us. He wants to tell it. He wants to watch it unfold. He wants to bless us. He wants to provide for us. He wants to answer our prayers. However, we don't always let Him be the author. We want to write our own story, we want to be in control as the pen glides over the paper. Let God tell your story! Hand the pen over to Him. If you do miracles will happen! Prayers will be answered! Blessings will pour down on you! I pray that I will be reminded of this daily.... Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:6, 7, 10-13 NIV)

We're back!

So I know I've been MIA for the past few months, but I'm back and plan to stick around for awhile. My life sure has busy! Between raising a  baby, work and growing a miracle in my belly, I haven't had much time for blogging. However, I know how imporatant it is to share how God has been working in our lives, so I'm going to make a point to be better about staying in touch:) So here's what we've been up to for the past 6 months....God sure has been good to us!

                             Watch Reid 
                                  grow!

Reid had all kinds of visitors!

Reid celebrated Thanksgiving
and Christmas!

We finalized our adoption!

We celebrated with a party!

Daddy had a birthday!

Reid started solid foods!

We fell in love!

Thank you Lord for all you have done for us!

The Burning Bush...

Part 1

Many of you know the story of Moses and the burning bush. It is a story that proves that God is around us all the time and that when he wants to be seen he will make himself known, if you are willing to see Him.  Well, the story of Reid coming into our lives was filled with many burning bushes. Some that jumped out in front of us and others that we passed and merely glanced at along the way on our road to becoming Reid’s mommy and daddy. However, each one was significant and yet another example of how God is constantly working in our lives, even when you’re not lookingJ

Reid’s story is a God filled one. He came into our lives because God had a plan much bigger than ours. He came into our lives because God’s timing is perfect, His plan flawless, and His love always evident. He came into our lives because God spoke and we listened. On October 12^th we got the call that forever changed our lives. We got the call about our miracle, our answered prayer, on son, Reid Mallard.

The story is long and detailed, but EACH detail is important because it points to the only one who could have possibly facilitated such a story, our amazing and wonderful God.

It all began with a yard sale. On Sept. 24th we held our first adoption fundraiser yard sale and were blessed beyond our wildest dreams. We raised over $6,000 towards our adoption and then were given the humbling news that a family was offering to MATCH the proceeds of our two yard sales (we had another one planned for Oct. 8th). After the conclusion of our two yard sales God provided us with $7,148.79, which was matched by our first pair of angels in this beautiful story! Now, on the day of our first yard sale something amazing happened. Something we wouldn't know the relevance of until God was ready for His story to unfold. We met two young ladies, who would later become our second pair of angels. We’ll call the first one “W” and the second “E”. We knew “W” through Chad's sister, but had never met the friend she brought with her, “E”. I vividly remember them coming, shopping up a storm, and I remember sharing a few of the details of our adoption journey with them. They shopped and they left, we thought nothing of it, until Oct. 11th when I received a text from my sister-in-law telling me that “W” heard of a baby boy through her friend “E” that was born on October 6th, and the mother wanted to make an adoption plan.  The text detailed a few pieces of information that automatically made me think, this won't happen, Bethany, our agency, won't be able to work with this birthmother. That afternoon, when I got off work I called Chad, told him about the text, called my sister-in-law, and then called our adoption case worker from Bethany. After I told her a little bit about the story she confirmed my original assumptions and said this particular situation could be tricky and to not get our hopes up. She then said something I will never forget, "Remember, when God wants something to happen, He makes it happen despite the obstacles." Well, God sure did prove his point! After I got off the phone with our case worker I called back my sister-in-law and got “W’s” number. I called her, got more information, and then told her to have “E” call me. A few minutes later the phone rang and I heard all about our son! I was instantly in love! The first thing I was told was, "His name is "T", he was born 5lbs 9 oz, and he had red hair. “E” then went on to say, "I know you don't know me and I don't know you, but I couldn't get you and Chad off my mind after hearing about this little boy. God was laying it on my heart to let you know about him. I just know this is your son, so what can we do to make this happen?!" I told her all we could do was to give her Bethany's phone number and if there was a way she could get it to the birthmother that would be great! She said she could do that and we both agreed it was in God's hands from this point on. I hung up the phone and was overcome with a sense of peace. I knew God had something big planned and Chad and I were just along for the ride.

That night Chad and I anxiously discussed the possibilities. We had no idea if this could or would happen for us. So many things had to fall into place before we would know if the birthmother even wanted to consider us as an adoptive family. Then Chad said something that later made God's presence even more evident. He said, "I hate that we have to do it this way because Bethany is going to show this birthmother ALL of the family profiles and what if they don't pick us?" Now looking back on the story, I picture what God must have done upon hearing this statement. I picture the mischievous smile that must have formed on His face. I picture Him shaking His head and chuckling. I picture Him saying, “They obviously don’t know who I am and what I’m capable of!”

The next day, Wednesday, we waited on pins and needles for an email or phone call. We didn't even know if the birthmother had actually called Bethany. For all we knew she decided to parent. On my way home that afternoon I was feeling like this probably wasn't going to happen and was getting ready to make dinner when the phone rang at 4:38 p.m. It listed Bethany Christian services as the caller and my heart almost stopped. I answered and our case worker was on the other line and she said, "Is Chad home with you?" I immediately knew this was "the call"! She went on to tell me that we had been chosen and that we were never going to believe the story surrounding how we were chosen. She said our story will be told for years to come! She then went on to tell the most God filled story I have ever heard....

Let’s go back to Tuesday night… after I spoke with “E” she got the number to the birthmother and the birthmother immediately contacted Bethany.  The next day, Wednesday, October 12th, the pregnancy counselor from Bethany came down to meet with the birthmother and her sister. After meeting, they discussed looking over family profiles and the birthmother said, “I want to know who Chad and Corrisa are. Can you show us their profile?" The counselor explained that she wasn't going to be able to do that, but that she could look through the big profile book and choose her top three families. Now let me explain the big family profile book. It is a 3 ring binder filled with basic profile information on each family in SC hoping to adopt. There is a picture of the couple and a picture of the outside of their house. Each couple is listed as a number NOT a name, so for example we might have been number 5, NOT Chad and Corrisa. Under the picture is basic profile information. For example, female is 31, male is 33, female is a teacher, male is in sales, female has a brother and sister, male has a brother and sister. There is NO identifying information on the sheet and it only gives a BASIC overview of the family. From that book a birthmother will usually choose 3 families, and then they will be given the more detailed photo book that each couple creates, that includes first names and a more personal account of that couple's life. The birthmother sat down with the big family profile book and wrote down her top three families. She then gave the book to her sister who wrote down her top three families. Our counselor told us they both did this independently. When they came back together to discuss the families they chose the pregnancy counselor said, “You two have BOTH chosen the same family as your number one family. Do you still want to know who Chad and Corrisa are?” The birthmother and her sister said that they would still like to know who we were.  Now, this is where God crossed His arms and smiled down on us. The pregnancy counselor said, “Well, you both chose Chad and Corrisa as your number 1 family!!!!!!!” God intervened. This child was our son and He was going to pull out all the stops to make sure we ALL understood.  Then the birthmother said something we still smile about today. She said, “I’m going to need something. I’m a Gamecocks fan, and I would really like for the family I place my son with to be Gamecock fans too.” The pregnancy counselor did not know us, so she had to call our case worker. When she did our case worker confirmed our allegiances to good old USC and the birthmother’s wishes were grated! Now flashback to June when we were working on the final details of our approval through Bethany, we were working on our profile book, our birthparent letter, and agonizing over every word, every picture, every detail, knowing that we had to say just the right thing in order to bring a baby into our lives. Well the irony of it all was seen when we heard the story of how we were chosen. Our birthmom NEVER saw our profile book, she never read our birthparent letter, none of what we considered to be important mattered.  She chose us because we were Reid’s parents and she knew that from a picture and basic profile information. That’s a God thing. That’s divine intervention. That’s an example of how God doesn’t need us to worry about His plan because He’s already got it all figured out and His version of the story is much more interesting than our own. His version is flawless, unspoiled, ideal, textbook, and always JUST RIGHT!

“Do not worry and say: What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? Or: what shall we wear? The pagans busy themselves with such things; but your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your heart first on the kingdom and justice of God and all these things will also be given to you.” (Matthew6:31-33)

God wanted to prove his point to us. Why worry? If we set our hearts on Him and trust in His plan then all things would be given to us! We can testify to the truth surrounding this verse!

When we found out we had been chosen we immediately got to work! The first item on the list was a name for our precious gift. At this point Chad and I had been trying to conceive for over 2 ½ years, so names had come and gone because so many of our friends and family had babies and used names we loved. However, one name stuck with us and was always a favorite. It was a name we always came back to: Reid Mallard. We liked the way it looked, we liked to hear it being said aloud, and we knew it was something special. Well, when we got the call about our little boy, we immediately knew what his name would be, Reid Mallard! Mallard is a family name and Reid is just cute! As many of you know I have a uniquely spelled name. A name that is often spelled wrong, so I decided it would probably be a good idea to check out the various spellings of Reid just to be sure we were spelling it correctly. Imagine my complete and utter joy when I clicked on a website to discover the meaning of Reid: Red; red haired! Yes, it is true! The name that had been placed on our hearts was a name that perfectly matched our red haired son. It was a name that was yet another confirmation that this was in fact the child God had handpicked for us! It was just another burning bush on our journey!

Some would call our story luck, coincidence, stars aligning, or wishes granted, we would say otherwise. We know what really happened. God had a plan, a perfect plan. He performed a miracle and wanted to remind us of His glorious and capable ways. He wanted us to realize that he takes care of ALL of the details, even the ones that go unnoticed. He wanted to remind us that He is in control, and when he is behind the wheel amazing and perfect things happen.  

There are so many more amazing details to this story. Things that would make you laugh, cry, and fall to your knees in thanksgiving. However, as with every adoption story there needs to be some gaps, some personal details, some things kept private for the child to someday tell himself. Reid has quite a story to tell. He will be a witness to many. His testimony will change lives. Reid is truly a miracle, a blessing, a gift from above, and the other day we were reminded, yet again, of how God’s plan works. I had a failed IUI at the beginning of January 2011. Reid was born on October 6^th, 2011. You do the math!

"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." 2 Peter 3: 8

"Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” Genesis 18:14

The day we brought little man home!

Our bundle of joy!

1 month old!

Mr. Personality

Reid's first Thanksgiving. We have SO much to be thankful for!

Always smiling!

Such a big boy!

So sweet!

2 months old

A handsome little fellow!

"The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.” Psalm 126:3

Walking in Obedience...

The Lord is amazing, perfect, and faithful in all He does. He deserves the honor, the glory, and the never ending adoration of the nations. He deserves it ALL and we don't deserve a thing. Yet, He loves us, He forgives us, and He blesses us. He trusts we will then use our blessings to glorify HIM! Chad and I have been loved, we have been forgiven, we have been blessed! By His GRACE we have learned to walk by faith. We have learned obedience to Him far outweighs obedience to ourselves. We have been given a perfect, selfless gift, one that we do not deserve. One God has trusted us with...Our son Reid Mallard!

My hand and Reid's birthmother's hand:) A perfect kind of love!

My sleeping angel!

My two boys!

Reid was born 5lb 9oz 18 in. on Oct. 6th. We are still spending time in the hospital with him because he was born early and is having some minor hiccups with a few things:) He has great nurses and parents who can't put him down, so he is a happy little man. We love him more than words can say! We hope to take him home VERY soon and will keep you updated on his discharge.

Also, keep posted on the STORY behind how God brought us our little man. It is a God filled testimony!

Isaiah 25

Praise to the LORD

LORD, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.



A God Thing....

On September 24th Chad and I were schooled in God's provisions and His faithfulness. We held an Adoption Fundraiser Yard Sale. For 6 weeks we gathered (some would call it hoarded), priced, labored, and were blessed by the generosity of family, friends, and complete strangers. We made piles upon piles in our garage, our bonus room, our entire downstairs, and eventually in our sweet neighbor's garage. We anticipated. We prayed. We discovered: God provides and He is faithful!

Our adoption will cost $20,000. That's a lot of money! We save. We are not big spenders. Chad and I both have good jobs. We can pay our bills. However, we do not have $20,000 sitting around. Initially this was a concern when we first decided to embark on this journey. After all, we had already been through costly fertility tests and treatments. Something told us not to worry about all of that, it was just money, and if we believed this was God's plan for growing our family He would figure it all out for us. So we dove in head first, and since that faithful day we have been provided with the cushion we needed to never land directly on our heads:) Once again our eyes have been opened and we have been brought to our knees in thankful surrender.

For some reason I have been struggling with writing this post. I think it's because I don't feel there are words that can truly describe what we experienced the day of our fundraiser. All I know is that on September 24th  God walked by our side. We felt His presence in a way we have never felt before. He TOLD us that this is the path He has chosen for us and that He will not leave us stranded. He reminded us that He asks us to love our neighbor, and He wanted us to be the ones that were receiving that love.

So what happened that has brought me to a point of complete wordlessness?

God provided family and friends to help us fill 2 garages and our house.

God provided family and friends to help us organize the chaos.

God provided us with an amazing friend who fed us on Friday night and Saturday morning.

God provided us with 4 big strong men and 1 petite, but VERY strong and energetic, soon to be sister-in-law at 5:30 in the morning to help us haul ALL that stuff out of those 2 garages and our house.

God provided family and friends to help us collect money, sell donation drawing tickets, organize, and sell, sell, sell!

God provided the perfect weather...SUN...when the weather forecast predicted rain on Saturday for the entire week before! We even had huge thunder clouds surrounding our house all morning, and when people would come by they would tell us about the rain in the surrounding areas!

God provided people, more people than I have ever seen in my life, to come out and shop, bring over donations, and stop by to purchase a ticket or two for our donation drawing.

God provided us with the opportunity to give our testimony and chat with so many that have adopted, want to adopt, or were adopted.

By the end of the afternoon God provided $6,207.76! We had been told a typical fundraiser yard sale yields about $3,000. We raised over double that amount. God is so good!

Then God did something beyond words. He did something we are still in shock about. He gave us a family, who can only be described as our angels, that offered to MATCH our yard sale proceeds! We are humbled, we are blessed, we are thankful. Once again God provides!

We thank God for every penny because each one was a gift from Him and a reminder that He is faithful in all He does.

We are finishing up our fundraising yard sale tomorrow Oct. 8th. We will also be finishing up the donation drawing, so if you bought tickets come by my blog tomorrow to see who the winners are of the Kindle, 2 massages, gift cards, jewelry, and Justin Bieber.

Thank you again and again for everyone's love and support throughout this whole process. Each of you helped make our yard sale a success! We are overwhelmed by your generous hearts!!!!

***Be on the lookout for more exciting fundraising news...we have had even more people offer to help us fundraise!! I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Verses we are thankful for:

We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:20

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6, 7

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:25