Tomorrow is Court!

This is Alona and Elaene (sp?) on the left. FYI: I found out she is available for adoption. She is precious. I would describe her as sweet, tender and a little timid. All of the kids who had the rollerblades were going full-speed ahead and she was hanging back afraid to let go of the railing. I held her hand and we went around the orphanage with the other kids a few times. She is very sweet. It's been great as the longer we're there, our kids are more confident that we are there for them. They are letting us reach out to the others much more and seem much more secure already.

Here I am trying to hold Natasha up on the rollerblades. It's funny because it makes no difference what size shoe you wear at the orphanage. These rollerblades "fit" every child who had them on. They were at least 4 sizes too big for Natasha. She could have cared less.

Maks loves wrestling with David. He says, "You weaky, weaky. Me strong." That game started this summer, and kids, it has continued! Their group received a few pair of rollerblades yesterday. Maks and Alona took off in them. Natasha, quite the daredevil, took off as well but spent half the time on the ground. I would run over and she would say, "Okay Mother. Okay." She's hilarious!

By the time many of you read this, we will have already been to court. Our court time is 10:30-11am Ukraine time (3:30 am Eastern time). I know from so many comments and emails that many are praying for tomorrow's events. By the way, many thanks for all the emails and comments today. It seems my begging worked!
So, the paperwork I asked you to pray for is supposedly on its way by bus or train or something as I type. Nothing like last minute. We didn't get it earlier because the SDA in Kiev asked for an additional paper. Anna began requesting the paper at 10am and she said the particular office didn't get it done until 5pm. Then that had to be faxed to Kiev and taken to SDA. Whew! Anna and the orphanage director called the particular office 5 times between 10-5 asking and the office was working on this one document the whole time. Anna says, "This is normal. This is Ukraine." Funny! This might not have been so funny had they not gotten the paper finished today. Thank you Lord! So, I think Anna and Kostya are picking up the dossier tonight at like midnight or first thing tomorrow morning, not sure which. There is also one more paper the SDA wants in the morning to be faxed to them. They assure us this is not a problem. As Anna and Kostya say, "We'll see." Actually, we are not worrying about it, because what does worrying help?
I do appreciate you praying if you read this tonight for everyting to go smoothly tomorrow. I'm packed up and ready to hit the road for Kiev and leave Friday. Many have asked, so to let you know, my plane will be arriving in Cinci at 10:38 pm. Whoo-hoo!!! Can't wait! We're hoping after court tomorrow to take the kids out of the orphanage for a little bit and take them out to eat. We can take them to one of our little favorite places. We know how to order french fries there :)! I guess with the kids with us, we might be able to get an entire meal. "We'll see."
I was going to make this brief because it's late here, but I'm led to share something personal that God is teaching me on this journey. I'm reminding myself of it even now as we await court tomorrow. In Beth Moore's Esther study, there was brief mention of dealing with the "what if's" in your life. I thought about all the "what if's" I spend time on. Then I started a study, "Me, Myself, and Lies" from Jennifer Rothschild. It's an excellent and very practical Bible study regarding the lies we tell ourselves vs. cleaning out our "thought closets" and filling them with God's Truth. In it, she discusses at length "what if'" vs. "what is". For example, in this adoption there could be constant "what if's". "What if we don't get enough money?" "What if something goes wrong?" "What if this somehow negatively affects our kids at home?" "What if I can't handle 6 kids?" "What if these kid's issues are too much for me to deal with?" etc, etc, etc. You can imagine this list could go on and on. God impressed on David and me, through our relationship with Him, that He is bigger than any "what if's" we might have. So, we were walking through this adoption with faith, but then in God's perfect timing, He placed this study in front of me. I'm learning to replace the "what if's" that might pop in my head with "what is". What is the Truth? What does God say about this? Any of the "what if" questions above are not truth. Sure, they are possibilities, but they are not truth. God gives us Truth to stand on. To live my life by "what if" is simply not to believe God. If I would have chosen to focus on the possible answers to the "what if" questions, then we wouldn't be here right now. That would be a shame. Most importantly, if I would not be here, then I wouldn't have followed God's leading thus missing out on an opportunity to obey Him and know Him more. To know the love of Jesus more and obey His calling is life itself. Nothing else is worth it.

Also, to live by the "what if's" causes me uneasiness and allows fear to rule my life. I allowed that way too long, and have since lived a different way. I can't go back now. I can remember "what ifs" from so long back. For years growing up, I knew the Lord was wooing me, drawing me into a love relationship with Him, but I said, "I'm sorry no because what if you ask me to do something that I can't or don't want to do." or "What if you take something from me." Those "what if's" kept me in a stronghold of fear for over 25 years of my life. When I decided to say Yes to God, He showed me that I could trust Him. I found joy, peace and purpose and passion in living. What a shame I missed out on many years of living because of lies.

I still struggle though with "what ifs". "What if the paperwork doesn't make it?" "What if I don't get to leave Friday like we planned?" I'm learning to say "What is". The truth is God is in control of that paperwork. It will get where He wants it, when He wants it. God hears our prayers and pleas that come in faith and active belief. God will get me home when it is time. Until then, God will not leave nor forsake my children or me. How freeing is it to not be held or burdened by "what if's". Join me in saying no to these lies. We don't have to be held by this, but as Jesus came to set the captives free, we can choose to speak truth into our own lives moment by moment and day by day. I'm looking forward to seeing God at work tomorrow, just as He was today. I don't want to miss a minute by having my head in the sand wondering "what if" He doesn't come through.

Now I'm catching myself, every time a thought pops into my head that starts with, "what if". I speak Scripture to myself. Here is the standard for our thought closets. Philippians 4:8: Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things. With love, Jenny