How are we?

Many of you have asked how we are doing. We are really doing okay all things considered. I mean Greg is feeling good and getting more energy everyday. He took me out on a date to Olive Garden yesterday, and we enjoyed just being together. His eye was swollen from his surgery, so it looked he had been in a fight. We want to thank all of you for your gift cards! Greg really liked taking me out and not having to pay! ;o) 

While in the hospital, we had so many friends, I didn't get pictures of all of them, but I did get a picture of some. So grateful for friends! Thankful for Alice Forest! 

My childhood bestie showed up at the hospital with a huge Chick-fil-A nugget tray! It was just what we all needed as we waited the long wait during Greg's surgery. Thanks Mindy!

A precious group of women made this prayer quilt for Greg and they prayed for him with each knot that was tied. As soon as he got home he covered up in it. Thanks Paula for this special blessing!

Dana not only spent all day with me at the hospital she also got her friends to help us out with some frozen meals. We are blessed with having at least a week or so of meals to eat! Thanks Dana and Joel for being there for us! 

I haven't gotten pictures of every visitor, there have been so many of you and I will never forget who you are, but today Alejandra and Alfredo came to pray for us. We are so blessed! 

Please continue to pray for our family as we definitely are feeling as if we are under attack. The day after Greg's surgery, Jerod was in his first (and hopefully last) car accident. Another student turned left in front of him as he was going through a green light. Her car is the one on the right and Jerod's is the white one. No one was hurt and for that we are very grateful. However, this just caused us a lot of stress and a lot more things that we now have to take care of. On the bright side, Jerod is driving a rental home and he will hopefully get a new phone! We do covet your prayers! 

 Jerod's phone, or what is left of it. 

Last night we made the very difficult decision to let our Ali go. This for me was probably as hard as excepting the cancer diagnosis. I don't understand what God is doing, but I will just trust him. You can read Greg's post about this decision in the post below. Please pray for Annie as I know this will be a very hard part of this journey. We have cried as much over giving up Ali as we have over hearing the word Cancer. We pray that our little Ali is blessed with an amazing family who will love her as much as we do. 

We are looking forward to tonight as all of our family will be back together! We even get to meet Jerod's Bri. Please continue to pray for us as Greg has doctors appointments over the next few days and we will gain more knowledge about our future. We love all of you!  

When God's plans are not our plans.

As I continue to heal and God is absolutlely healing from the surgery, I felt led to write out what I am learning spiritually from something that has been difficult with this sudden change in our circumstances.  Many of you know we have been working diligently for almost a year pursuing adoption internationally.  We committed to adopt a young girl from Colombia and were super excited to learn who that would be in late August.  Her name is "Ali" who just turned seven.  She has been in an orphanage since two years old.  The overwhelming myriad of paperwork, home studies, medical and psychological studies had been completed.  International adoption is pricey and God has provided.  Through our own savings, selling some things, two massive yard sales with donated items from friends in North Carolina last summer, churches graciously partnering with us in love offerings, adoption grants and most importantly family and friends who donated sacrificiously we have nearly met our goal of $30,000!!!  We have seen God affirm and bless and help us knowing that He is a defender of the fatherless.  We were possibly only two months away from traveling down to Colombia to get Ali. 

This is where I must learn humility knowing that MY plans do not carry universal authority and are obviously trumped by God's plans and his sovereign rule and power over all.  Reading the verses below puts things in perspective and I have often quoted these to others in ministry down in Mexico.  They now are applying and speaking to me.

Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
 neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
 so are my ways higher than your ways
 and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way,but the Lord establishes his steps.

It is easy for us to plan our ways and we “think” we know better and lose sight that his ways are so much higher then our ways. 

We spoke with our absolutely wonderful adoption agency “A Love Beyond Borders” last night and they have been so supportive and prayerful walking through this with us.  Their counsel and our desire is to place a freeze (not terminate) on our adoption until we know better into next year about future treatment and plans.  We are at peace with this but understand that Ali would now be open to other adoptive parents.  We already considered her as a part of our family and even had a birthday cake in Mexico last week to celebrate her 7^th birthday party as we hoped she had one as well in Colombia with her friends. 

God’s ways are perfect and better so we now look for something new and unexpected in all of this and a better more perfect blessing.  Would you pray for Ali this Christmas season that God would direct her to a perfect loving family that every child in the world deserves.  That still may be with us way down the road but that we would be humble trusting that his step and plans are perfect.

Blessings,

Greg