What's going on?

Just an update on the adoption process for our family.

Before we left I contacted the home study guy and he told me everything is going along fine. As someone who likes to keep the ball rolling and stay involved, it is a little difficult to just sit here and wait for others to do their part and not want to push, but he assured me everything was fine and that we would have time to get all the necessary components completed.

It is very interesting to be where we are right now and to watch God work. I am not sure, ministry wise, what it is that God has for us in the future. It certainly seems that He is changing our direction slightly, if not significantly, but at the same time He has not diminished our absolute love for the ministry we are currently in. So maybe He is just expanding it.

The great part about being in partnership with The Father in ministry is He knows EXACTLY where and what we should be, and He equips us to do the work that He has planned for us to do. When you sit back and think about that it really is amazing and can be overwhelming. The God of the universe has something very specific for each of His children and He doesn't ever give us anything we can't handle. In our weakness He is strong and I am much too weak to do any of this on my own, so it is good that He is really strong.

In Ethiopia I was expecting Teresa to be much more overwhelmed than she was, and at least as emotional as me, but God really protected her and she was able to contribute much. Often it is hard to think objectively when emotions get in the way and God worked mightily in and through her.

So how is God going to use us, with our new son coming soon and the kids going off and doing their own ministry things? I have no idea. But that is the best part. I don't have to know and I don't have to be concerned with any of the details. He is in control and He will direct our paths when we wait on Him. All of these things are for our refining and make us into useful vessels for His Kingdom. We get to participate in ministry for The King. WOW.

As I am still not a little messed up on the time change I was reading this morning James 1 and was thinking about how often I hear The Word and discount it as if it is for someone else. There are some pretty pointed statements in this passage and also some pretty encouraging as well.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

We certainly don't want to be deceiving our own heart, which are deceitful enough without us helping, but look at the end of this section. When we act on what we hear and know to be right and we persevere, God blesses us in our doing. He blesses our work when we do what we are obey. He doesn't have to make that promise, but He does.

So, what does God want form each one of us? He wants us to trust Him and obey. And the words of the song are true that when we do this we will "be happy in Jesus".