10.

I haven't blogged much lately.

There really just hasn't been much to say.

But when I started thinking about hitting 10 months on the waiting list, a lot of different things to say started coming to mind... Things like:

I never imagined we would still be waiting for an OLDER child at 10 months.

and Waiting doesn't get easier just because you've done it for a while.

and I'm not so sure I am cut out for this anymore.

But even with all those thoughts? I couldn't get this one song out of my head... It's an old (heh...okay 1990s) Charismatic song from the Brownsville Revival days for those of you who know it, a song that talks about taking back what belongs to you:

Well, I went to the enemy's camp and I took back what he stole from me.
I took back what he stole from me. I took back what he stole from me.

I went to enemy's camp and I took back what he stole from me

He's under my feet.
He's under my feet.
Satan is under my feet.

Now I know as well as anyone that adoption is not God's first plan...but it IS His redemptive plan..and the bureaucracy that slows down children being placed into families is nothing short of the enemy's attack on redemption. I may not be able to control much in this process but I can control the fervor and urgency with which I pray. I can bring my petitions to the Lord and I believe He is faithful to move on my behalf. I can pray that no action of man or enemy could get in the way of setting the lonely into families. I can fervently bring my requests before my Father, much like Hannah did. She didn't stop just because nothing changed right away. In fact, her prayers became more fervent, more desperate, more evident of faith...I, too, can "pour out my soul to the Lord" (1 Samuel 1:15) in expectation.

You see, that song? It comes from a story about King David in 1 Samuel (chapter 30).King David and his men had returned home to find that the enemy had taken everything. They had burned their tents and their land and kidnapped their families. His men, distressed and fatigued, had no other ideas than to stone David. They were out of their minds (who wouldn't be?). But David, strong in the Lord, had the presence of mind to say "The enemy may think it's over becuase they destroyed what was ours. You may think it's over because everything is in the enemy's hand. But I? Don't think it's over until God says it's over"  He sought the Lord's wisdom and the Lord told him to pursue the enemy and take back what was theirs.

They could have waited. They could have sat quietly for the Lord to bring back what was taken. Then again...they might still be waiting. Their families needed their pursuit. God honors our pursuit.

David had to fight to get back what belonged to him.

And we have to fight to get back what belongs to us.

Adoption? Is a God thing.  It belongs to God. Frankly,  I am tired of the evil and the corruption and the bureaucracy that has seemed to work its way into these stories of redemption. Bottom line is, there ARE children who need families. Their lives have been struck by a tragedy that nothing short of God can heal. Adoption doesn't wipe away that tragedy in any way, shape, or form. But leaving them without a family to protect them, to love them, and to steward them? That's leaving it all in the enemy's camp.

You see, there's another part to this story....As David and his men began to travel the distance to fight for what was theirs, a third of his men dropped out. They were too fatigued to keep fighting. They were too weary to pursue any longer. Their families were waiting in the balance and they didn't have it in them to fight anymore???

Kind of feels like month 10 in a 6-8 month wait.

But, I don't want to be like those men.

When I get back what belongs to the Kingdom? I want to know that I was like David. I want to know that I was one who never stopped fighting. I may not be able to physically go, but I know without doubt that my fervent prayers availeth much (James 5:16)

And yours do too.

So whether you are in this fight with me or you are willing to jump in on our behalf now (which we welcome whole-heartedly)?  The fight isn't over just because the enemy took something. It's not over just because of paperwork errors, and evil and greedy men, process slowdowns, and long unexplainable waits.

It's not over until God says its over.

And that's not what I heard today.

I am fighting for my family. And I am not about to drop out at the 10th mile.

Lights and Overpasses {Part I}

Growing up in a small town as a kid, there were always two things that thrilled me about The City.

The lights and the overpasses.

I can remember being fast asleep and having my parents wake me up as we drove into big cities, so I could admire the approaching brightness.

The interesting thing? is that I wasn't afraid of the vastness of the big cities. I wasn't afraid of the buildings. Or the people. Or ever the cars flying by....

Because of the light.

That's the thing about light. 

It dispels darkness. It turns scary uncertain unknowns into exciting worlds full of anticipation.

As Christians, I think we sometimes  we get so caught up in the situations that we forget about the beauty of The Light.

John 8:12 says; When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

He is The Light. 

He is the twinkling that changes uncertainty and fear into anticipation and excitement.

He is the brightness that dispels the darkness and the fears that you can't see what's ahead.

He is the illumination that gives us hope. That gives us a future.

And many times, it is almost too easy to look at the world around us and be intimidated by the unknowns. Be afraid of the uncertainties. Be unsure of what steps to take.

But, the next time you are traveling into that vast unknown? Don't focus on what you can't see. 

Instead?

Just look at The Light.

We need your help!

This is one of my dearest friends. They have been in the process of adopting a child (off and on) for several years and due to some more "traditional" family changes, it had gotten moved back a couple time times...

But NOW? They have been matched! What an amazing, jubilant, time in their lives! Their sweet little baby is going to be born sometime around Christmas. The BM's story is a difficult one, one that has brought her to the place of realizing that she can't raise this child, but not one that's beyond the grace or abundant love of our Heavenly Father! And we are praying and believing for a huge transformation in this young girl's life as well.

So, here is the scoop!

My friends are on a mad-dash selling shirts. They need a HUGE sum of money in the next week (HUGE, people!) but I have seen those whose hearts are for the orphans come together time and time again to work to set these children in families!

This is one of those times! This is SO important, people! So important, in fact, that I am going to add another level to this.

If you buy a shirt from the Wards and leave a comment on this post, I will enter you to win a Journey of Love item (anything we currently make/sell).
(P.S. I have a habit of awarding extra stuff as well so don't let the "one winner" thing stop you!)

If you share this post on your blog, you get an additional entry.

Facebook? Twitter? Another entry for those as well!

That's three entries for one shirt purchase and an additional entry for each additional shirt bought!

YOU MUST LINK BACK TO THIS POST TO GET CREDIT =)

We can do this, friends! The body of Christ can come together in perfect unity and display the love of our Father (the one who adopted us out of darkness) to this amazing family!!!!


Please do what you can to help!

Don't forget to order your t-shirt HERE--then leave a comment to have your name added to the drawing!

A Few Of My Favorite Things: Recipes

Sometimes A LOT of the time The Husband posts pictures of food. Usually food he's about to eat.


Occasionally, they are pictures of food I make.
(This was the case recently on The Face Book)


Now, I am no Pioneer Woman or Hungry Girl but I can whip up a mean salsa. And, desserts? Well, I am a Master at yummy desserts.


And?  I am a fan of sharing. So, here are a few of my favorite recipes! Feel free to share them if you decide you love them, too!  Happy Friday  Saturday night Almost Sunday to all!!

Salsa de Smith

1 28oz can of Hunt's whole tomatoes
(Look, I am not usually brand-loyal when it comes to food, but for some reason, Hunt's just works better here. But you can try anything, who am I to tell you how to live your life?)
2/3 large onion (I use yellow-sweet onions but, once again, you're your own boss)
1/4 to 1/2 jalapeno, chopped. (We like em spicy around here)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp ground red pepper
1 Tbsp cilantro
1 Tbsp salt

Open the can of tomatoes and pour juice into blender. Add garlic, lime juice, red pepper, cilantro, salt, and chopped jalapenos. Blend thoroughly. Until it looks like purified red, spicy goodness. You'll know. Trust me.

Pour red spicy goodness into a bowl and alternating onions and whole tomatoes, fill the blender again with the rest of the ingredients. Now, this part is important and a little tricky. If you pulse too long, this will become mulch. We want chunky here, so I pulse a couple of times, take off the lid and stir down my bigger pieces, then pulse a few more times. It's not rocket science but don't be surprised if you end up with 1. really large chunks or 2. more pureed (less spicy) red glob.

Once you are happy with the chunky (desired) consistency, pour that mixture in the bowl with the spicy red goodnees and fold together (or stir if you're like me and folding makes you impatient and ancy).

Now, if you're like me...you already know if you like your salsa super-spicy. I usually do heaping Tbsps of the red pepper and cilantro and then let the flavors 'marry' for a while in the fridge. "Marry"...that makes me giggle.

You can do what you want. I am not the boss of you.

In fact, I have also been known to take the bowl of Salsa de Smith into the living room and eat it all for dinner. And to put my fingers in my ears, singing "Lalalalalala" when The Husband asks if he gets any.

I'm not proud of these things....

But there you have it. Salsa de [enter your last name here]! Enjoy!!

Mango "Mambo" Salsa



(Source)

I don't know why I call this Mango Mambo Salsa.


I know nothing about the Mamba. Or dancing in general. It might be offensive to dancers for me to butcher the name of the dance for the sake of slant rhyme. And as far as I know, the Mamba doesn't have anything to do with Mangos.


Of course, since I don't know any Mamba dancers, I feel confidently ignorant of their potential displeasure.


So, moving on.


Here's what you'll need to create a mamba in your mouth (I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist!)


3-4 large RIPE mangos- roughly chopped
This is a tricky measurement because it depends on 1. how good you are cutting/peeling mangos (I am not) and 2. how much salsa you want. Nothing in life in exact, okay folks?
2/3 purple onion- chopped
(Go with purple. It makes it pretty. I am putting my foot down on this one.)
1 bell pepper-chopped (I don't care what color, but I am cheap so we usually do green)
1 cup cilantro-chopped
1/8 cup lime juice (or more to taste)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt


Throw all the ingredients together and refrigerate for an hour while you youtube Mamba videos.


Go on, you know you want to.....

Spicy Baked S'mores

These make everything right in the world.

What you need:

9 plain or honey graham crackers (ground to a fine powder)

1 stick of butter (melted) and a little more to grease foil--or just spray the thing with Pam.

We're busy people.

1/8 cup sugar or splenda

1/8 tsp of fine sea salt

2 cups milk chocolate chips

2 tsp chipotle pepper powder (two 1 tsps)

1 tsp ground red pepper (two 1/2 tsps actually)

mini marshmallows

How to do it:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a square baking pan (mine is 8x 8) with foil. Leave about 4 inches on two of the sides to use as "handles" later in the game.Grease the foil with whatever you have laying around =)

Grind the graham crackers to a fine powder. Pour into a bowl and combine with sugar, salt, 1 tsp of chipotle, 1/2 tsp of red pepper and melted butter. After mixed completely, it should look and feel like wet sand. But it's not. Unless you're making this on the beach, in which case...be very careful.


Take your wet sand graham cracker crust and press it into the foil lined pan. Once it's evenly pressed (come on people, you know what a crust looks like) then slide it into your preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until your house smells of delicious graham crackers and its golden brown. Take it out and let it cool.


Now cooking your chocolate chips is totally up to you. I usually do a double broiler (take a bigger pan, fill it full of water and take water to a boil, then take a smaller pot full of your chips into the larger pot and melt)


Or take your chances melting it in the microwave. Which I suck at (microwaves create a whole 'nother level of impatience with me)


Now add in the remainder of your pepper and mix in thoroughly. Pour melted chocolate into graham cracker crust and cover with all the marshmallow it takes to cover it completely...Or whatever is left after you've been munching on them the whole time..... not that I do that.


Now turn your oven on to broiler on high and place s'mores pan in oven for approx. 2 minutes. In real life, I prefer my marshmallows almost black so I leave mine in a little longer (while keeping a close eye on it, of course) but anything past "slightly golden" will work.


Take pan out and let cool to room temp, then place in refrigerator for a few hours. Remove foil from pan and cut your s'mores. =)


Here are a few things that DON'T work:
1. Substituting cinammon graham crackers, light margarine, or almond bark for any of the corresponding ingredients. Either alone or all at once. These things are not created equal.


2. Trying to "bake" marshmallows instead of broiling. That just results in a melted marshmallow mess. You can't come back from that.




So, Go. Create. Bake. And wear your yoga pants with pride!

Number Nine

Did anyone recognize this as being from a telephone?? Cause we're waiting on a call! (I crack myself up!)

A little over 9 months ago, the estimated wait for a referral was 6-8 months for infant/toddlers. Since then, we've increased our age range and the agency increased it's wait time =)

Our age range's wait time is 6-10 months (for over age 3)..So we are right smack-dab in the window (I know, I am starting to sound like a broken record).

We are excited that any day now we could finally see Little Smith's beautiful face! And in an increased effort to be optimistic, we are even getting back into our Parent Education Requirements. The webinars aren't terribly entertaining so we have to reward ourselves with fro-yo each time we finish one =))

Anyone care to throw out another referral date guess? There--of course--will be a prize if anyone gets it right!=)