Answered Prayer-- Completed Home Study!

For a few weeks now we have been praying that our Washington State background checks (since we had lived there for 2 years) would be processed and mailed back to our home study agency. They either had lost the original request or were dragging their feet for some silly reason. Our home study agent had sent in the request a total of 3 times in the past 2 months and had called, etc. This was the last piece of documentation we needed for the home study to be completed. There are a couple applications to various things we need to get sent out but that require a completed home study, so those were being held up too. Ultimately, we know that God's timing is best, and He is teaching us trust, patience, and the power of prayer. So when we went to pick up all our mail today from being gone for 10 days, there was our home study! Our agent had forgotten to tell us this week that she had finally received the WA docs and was able to complete it and mail it to us. We had prayed once again very specifically last night about it, not knowing it was already sitting in our PO box waiting for us to pick it up today. We are excited! Now to mail our USCIS application! Please continue to pray for us in this process.

Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord will Provide!

In this past week, the first week of February, we have seen the Lord provide about $6000 that we have applied to our adoption fund. The only thing we can say is "Praise Him!" We are seeing Him provide in awesome ways-- many different individuals, insurance refunds, tax refunds, t-shirt sales, etc. As we have said before and keep reminding ourselves, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the wealth in every mine. He created the entire universe and has unlimited resources. This adoption expense is not too much for Him-- He wasn't surprised by it, nor is He wringing His hands wondering how He is going to come up with $35K for the Abbotts. He's had it all planned out from the beginning. He knows where each dollar will come from. We pray for Him to provide, believing that He will and that it's as good as done in the eternal mind of God. Our responsibility is to trust and wait patiently. What comfort and peace that brings to us! He will provide-- Jehovah-Jireh!

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But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

                                                                                                        - Philippians 4:19

Hope for New Beginnings

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year with family and friends. I know we did. December and January are good months to leave Alaska for a few weeks to get some extra sunshine and a break from shoveling snow.

The new year often finds us making resolutions to change this and that. Usually it involves wishing we hadn't eaten so much over the holiday time or wishing we had kept up our work-out routine (or wishing we had one at all). We hope to change some bad habit or behavior or start some good habit. We hope to change to be a better person, whether physically or spiritually or both. That's a good thing too. This year the main thing I'm hoping to change by the end of the year is the size of our family. I kept finding myself thinking that maybe by next Christmas we'll have our 2 little ones from Bulgaria home with us. I understand this is best-case scenario with no hang-ups in the process, but we have that hope and believe God can and will do this if that is what He wants. I also kept thinking of those 2 little ones on the other side of the world and wondering what they were doing for Christmas. Did they get any presents? Do they know any Christmas carols? Have they even heard of Jesus, the best Christmas present ever? Have they ever had the Christmas story from Luke 2 read to them? Did they decorate the orphanage? I wish they could know that they already have a mom and dad on the other side of the world that are doing their best to be able to bring them home. But for now, they wait hoping one day someone will love them into a forever family, and we wait hoping one day soon we can show them we love them and tell them they're going to be a part of our family. They're in God's hands as is this whole process. And so we trust Him and hold on to this hope.

These thoughts brought II Corinthians 5:17 to mind-- "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (or creature). Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." When we put our faith and trust in Christ and His finished work on the cross for our sin, we are then "adopted" into His family. We are no longer lost children with no hope. We have been made new, given a new name and identity as a child of the King. He is our Father. We have a new hope and a future and a new beginning.  That's the best hope of all.

Fundraising T-shirts

I will be placing a large"Simply Love" t-shirt order within the next few days (about 75, not all claimed yet, and I will order more than that if I get more orders before then). If you haven't reserved one yet, place your order in the "store" tab for the design you want plus short/long sleeve, color, size. It's $20 for short sleeve and $25 for long sleeve, 3 different designs to choose from and a few color choices as well. You do not need a Paypal account to order. It takes major credit cards or bank cards as well. Close to half of all the funds go to our adoption fund (the rest pays for the shirt =) ). Shipping is also included in the price. Thank you so much for your support!

A Little Overwhelmed...

Christmas is usually the busiest time of year anyway, but for us this year, it seems especially so. We have the normal fun getting-ready-for-Christmas things to do, plus getting ready to head out to see family "in the lower 48"; Christmas letters (I think I counted 75) printed and most envelopes addressed, but waiting on the pictures to come in the mail; fundraising stuff (the Christmas bazaar went really well! Thanks for praying! The Lord blessed us); then the other day our adoption agency sent us all the requirements and checklist for the dossier (basically a huge pile of paperwork and documents that must be notarized and apostilled before being sent to Bulgaria). I don't know where to even begin with that. So my head is kind of spinning right now. I'm looking forward to vacation though and seeing lots of friends and family. Our t-shirt designer sent us the 3rd and final design today. It's the shape of Bulgaria with some Scripture verses in the background. They're up for order in the "store" tab. I love them and can't wait to get ours!

I don't know how much I'll be updating in the next couple weeks on vacation, but I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ!

Luke19:10

" For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

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Matthew 1:21  "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

Home Study Visits and Christmas Bazaar

Last weekend the lady from our home study agency came to our house for our "home visits. " I was a little nervous mainly because I didn't know what to expect or what questions she might ask. It's like someone interviewing us to see if we are/would be good parents. I didn't have to do that for my first two kids. =) Is my house clean enough? Will my children behave themselves while she's here? Will she ask me a question I won't know the answer to? Will I say the wrong thing? Will the weather clear so the plane can land? This is a sampling of the many thoughts in my mind in the days and hours leading up to the visits. Again and again, the Lord had to remind me that He's in complete control of this situation and the entire adoption process. We simply (and sometimes not so simply) need to trust Him. If He has ordained this adoption, as we believe He has, His sovereignty will intercede in every detail of the process. Every situation and every detail is Father-filtered through His loving and powerful hands. I can rest and trust. The visits went as well as we believe they could have, and the lady was very kind and easy to talk to. It's so much more enjoyable to trust in my Heavenly Father than to worry. I'm sure I'll be reminded of that truth many times in the coming months.

 Tomorrow is our town's Christmas bazaar in the school gym. The thought came to me earlier this week that we should set up a table for fundraising. Tim thought it was a good idea as well, so I started putting ideas together. Some of the ladies from church are going to bake lots of goodies to sell. I really appreciate their willingness and eagerness to help out. Also, we're going to try to start selling our "Simply Love" t-shirts. We have the mock-ups for 2 of the 3 designs now. The 3rd one has the shape of Bulgaria on it with the "Simply Love" slogan on it. We're the first family to ask for the country of Bulgaria, so they're starting from scratch on that one (they have 23 or so other countries already set up that have been used for fundraising). It's kind of cool to be the first family to ask for Bulgaria on the shirt-- we get to name the design too! There will be a few other odds and ends as well, but that's mainly it. I'm kind of unsure of how the t-shirts will go over. I think they're awesome, but that doesn't mean everyone else will. Either they will be a hit or a total flop. We'll see. We have them up for pre-sale in our "store" tab as well, if you'd like to buy one for the cause! Here's another area where the Lord is teaching me. It's easy for me to get caught up in the fundraising for this adoption then get discouraged when I don't see anything happening. First of all, I need to remember that the Lord has already provided for $5000 of the needs, so another $30K is not too hard for Him. Fundraising is a good thing, but at the same time my dependence needs to be on the Lord to provide (not on all the things I can sell or the skill of my marketing abilities, which are not good anyways). He will bring in the funds when and how He sees fit. If He chooses to use my fundraising efforts, great! If I don't make a dime off the fundraising efforts, that's great too, because it just means we get to watch Him bring it in in more amazing ways than we could ask or think. God will provide. He always has, and it's not going to change now even with an astronomical amount, humanly speaking, that's needed. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the wealth in every mine. Our needs are miniscule compared to His resources (Philippians 4:19). I can rest in that.

I love Malachi 3:10. If we are obedient and faithful in giving back to the Lord a portion of what He has given to us, and not hold back because we have a need, the Lord will bless and take care of our needs...

"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need."

One of my favorite quotes on God's provision... "My God is limitless in His provision; He is too generous to ever withhold anything that I need."