The Miracle of Standing Together. The Miracle of You

Last night I was at our small group.  This small connection group is a gift.  We study the word of God and connect to God and each other. 

We studied 2 Chronicles 20 last night.  And our leader brought out that often we look at the end result and call that the miracle. And yes, for sure and certain it is a miracle.  But there are two other miracles before the army being destroyed that allowed the miracle of the destroyed army to happen.

1) Jehoshaphat was a leader who stopped everything and prayed and called the people together to fast and pray.

"Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah."

2) The people of Judah actually stop and pray.  All the people of Judah.

"The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him....All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord."

And suddenly I almost couldn't speak. 

Because of YOU. 

I feel like Jehoshaphat.  We are completely powerless to do anything ourselves to bring our daughter home.  And so we have called upon God and called upon others to pray.  Pray for a miracle.

And the miracle is happening.  YOU are this miracle. 

I read the word, "All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord."  And I thought about YOU.  The way you text me verses.  Facebook message us your prayer rooms and Bible verses.  The way your children pray for our daughter.   Men, women, children, and little ones are all praying.

I suddenly could "see" all of you in my heart's mind.  Standing praying for us and I was moved beyond measure. 

I grabbed a pen and wrote you in my Bible.  I marked that verse and saw YOU there.  Saw YOU standing there before the Lord persistently, passionately praying for our little girl--and for her to come home to us.

YOU are the miracle that proceeds the miracle of our little girl coming home. 

But make no mistake YOU are a miracle. 

What We Are Praying For

Every evening Matthew and I pray for our daughter.  We still have not been matched.  The name "Yín" is our nickname for her.  You can read about that here.

I felt like I should share our prayer list here.  I can only imagine and be thankful for all the beautiful prayers you all are praying on our behalf.  And if you have any special things you are praying for her I would love to know about them. 

Do you have special verses you pray for her?  I'd love to write them down. 

Here are our areas of specific prayer and verses that go with them:

• Excellent medical care
• Loving and competent caregivers
• Protection and safety

We pray these verses, claiming especially that as God is her Father He will fight for her care.
Psalm 10:14, Proverbs 23:10, Psalm 146:8-9, Hosea 14:3, Isaiah 9:6, Psalm 25:10, 2 Corinthians 6:18, Deuteronomy 1:33, Psalm 68:19

• Yín's birth parents decision to accept and follow Christ

2 Peter 3:9, John 10:16, Revelation 3:20-21

• For Yín to come home very soon

John 14:13-14, 18, John 15:16, John 16:23-24, Isaiah 37:21, Psalm 68:5-6, James 5:13-18, Romans 8:32, Psalm 20:4-5, Psalm 21:2, Romans 8:26, Matthew 15:28, Luke 18:1, Mark 9:24, Matthew 9:29, Matthew 12:20, Isaiah 43:5, Hebrews 11:1, 6, Luke 18:27, Luke 18:34-43, Matthew 8:2-3

• For Yín to feel God's care and comfort more tangibly than even a human presence

Isaiah 44:24, 1 Peter 5:7, Psalm 27:14, Isaiah 40:11, Isaiah 43:1, Isaiah 49:15-16, Isaiah 49:1, Isaiah 45:3, Isaiah 40:29, Isaiah 46:3-4, John 14:16

• God will prepare us for each other, for attachment and bonding

1 Chronicles 4:10, Joel 2:25, James 1:27, Philippians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Isaiah 49:22, Ephesians 6:18

• God to bless and guide the whole adoption process (paperwork, fundraising, etc.)

1 Samuel 1:27, 2 Chronicles 30:27, Matthew 25:35-36, Psalm 37:5, 2 Timothy 3:16, Luke 18:7-8, Genesis 32:26, Luke 1:37

Empty Room

Sunday, November 13 was Orphan Sunday.

The month of November is adoption awareness month.

I told Matthew that I wanted to do something on Orphan Sunday for our girl.  He said we should set up her room.  Her room is currently the guest room.  So on Sunday we cleaned it out and began to set it up.

But as I looked at it I felt like it wasn't the right room.  So just this week we switched Edmund's room and her room.  So now our baby girl will have Edmund's old room and he has the former guestroom.

I love their rooms.  They are perfect.

Except one thing.  Hers is still a guestroom.  It is empty of it's truest purpose.  We are waiting and praying for her.  Praying we get the call any day now that we have been matched.

Thank you for continuing to pray.  Just this week two of my dear friends texted me verses are prayers for our little girl.

I can't wait to have her home.