A Lesson from Elijah

March 20, 2006
When I arrived at work this morning, I found this encouraging e-mail waiting for me. (It's one of those "weekly devotional" e-mails.)

God Will Take Care Of You!

1 Kings 17:4,9 “You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you…I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”

Just like Elijah, if you are following God’s will in your life, you can be sure that these words are true about you—“So he did what the Lord had told him” (1 Kings 17:5). You are not following God’s call because it is the most economically feasible thing to do, you are doing it because the word of the Lord has come to you (1 Kings 17:8).

Once you make this step, sometimes it may seem that things are a bit unstable. You don’t know for sure where your future support will come from. Elijah had been told by God that He would provide, but every morning of his life, Elijah had the wonderful opportunity of trusting God. He had no food for that day until “the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening” (1 Kings 17:6).

Help from God and the form His care will take may come to you in very strange ways! For Elijah, God used ravens (which were unclean birds) and a foreigner (from outside of Israel), to supply the need. This should encourage us to believe that God has the ability to help us by touching people whom we least expect. He will always surprise us! He many times goes outside of “our box,” far beyond our narrow ideas or expectations. So for today, if you need a miracle of some sort, let your faith grow! Faith is the step you must take to move you between God’s promise to you and His provision for you! And as you take the step, never forget!!! God will take care of you! -Larry McKain, Executive Director, New Church Specialties

God's Amazing Answers

March 15, 2005
Today, we paid another bill from our adoption agency. This one was for $3000! We had been expecting it for awhile, and thankfully, God had prepared us to pay it!

Today, I also received some answers to prayer regarding my work situation. Thankfully, my job will remain the same until it ends on August 31st. (Instead of ending immediately, which was initially proposed.) God worked a miracle in this situation! They are now providing me with 5 months to find a new job, and the board voted to give me a salary raise, along with an extra financial bonus! They also voted to maintain their maternity leave policy, if it is needed within the next 5 months.

Isn't it neat to see how God works? Thank you, everyone, for your prayers! (Keep praying!)

A Spiritual Battle

March 8, 2006
It has been so encouraging to receive phone calls and e-mails this week from friends who have been praying for the job/adoption stuff. It is so nice to know that when I'm faced with slander and deception, God is all-powerful and all-knowing. We are believing that God is in control, and are trying to rely on His strength.

We continue to hold on to the faith that God has called us to adoption. And, when you're wholeheartedly trying to do God's will, there is often a spiritual battle that takes place. This is where prayer warriors' intercession is so vital. (Life is always "easier" when you take the "easy route!" But God never promises that it will be easy. He just promises to never leave us in the midst of it.) I've been reading through chapters 54-56 of Isaiah, which has been really inspiring.

Along with sending the verse of Isaiah 54:17 ("'No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,' declares the Lord."), a friend sent this note as well:

"Michele~ Oh my goodness. If it is God's Will for you to have a child, and we both know that it is....no person is going to stop that. satan will try to throw you a curve ball. he already has...but you are more than a conquerer when you have Christ. I know you hear verses over and over again...but you know it's true. Your boss has no power to stop God's plan for your life. I'm excited to see what will happen!! And we're all here to cheer you on!!"

What Is God Doing?

March 1, 2006
Do you ever have to just stop and look at your life, and laugh? Right now, I just have to laugh, and wonder, "What is God doing?" What will my life look like in the next... month? year?

I've gradually been recieving information that my job will most likely be changing... or eliminated. What does that mean for our life? For the adoption? Is this change actually for the better - albeit a bit unnerving? Or does this mean addtional struggles? The fact that I have actually received this information is a blessing. God used a man of integrity in our church to take a stand, and to go against the flow. This man decided that he could no longer withold this information from me with a clear conscience, and he talked with me this evening. Thank you, God, for this help. Now, what does it mean? (Keep praying!)

We have certainly embraced a life of adventure when we let God lead us! I can't see around the corner, but I know He can. This journey of adoption seems like it has gone on forever... and yet it's actually not that long.

I spoke with a friend today, who is in the process of developing a home daycare (but won't be opening for another few months). She found out the other day that she is approved to watch 3 children already, and is signed up for another class this month. I'm hoping we won't need to use daycare, but if we do, we've already decided to go with her. She said she would plan on trying to "save us a spot!" We don't have any grandmas/family in the area to babysit, so this is a big blessing! Plus, our church youth group right now is mainly a group of "troubled teens-" not exactly "babysitter material" yet. Arranging daycare is difficult when adopting. For most daycares, you need to "reserve a spot" for your child ahead of time. But with adopting, you have very little idea of when your child will be arriving... and thus needing care! Thanks, God, for taking care of these little details!