I see the Light on the Horizon

So today was a fun day, I got to pretend to play 'adoptive mama' several times. I got to talk to Steven and Belle over Skype today, or we kind of did. They where being shy this morning and i was barely ready for my last day of school when we connected. But just seeing and talking to them again for a little bit was great! I can't say i completely understand the rush of Skype like all of you adoptive parents but i caught a glims, and loved it!

Also, Mom got home from Haiti an hour ago and delivered a picture that my baby boy, Reece made for me. How thoughtful! Oh, i love it and treasure it so much! I feel... so, loved by those kids! To think that Reece thought of giving that picture to ME instead out of anyone else. Yeah, okay that sounds a bit self-centered, but put yourself in that position.... Oh, i miss them, i love them. BUT, Reece's picture sends me a hopeful message that has to be God-given:

... Psalm 18:28 - You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
... 2 Samuel 22:29 - You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light.
..."It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light."
... Job 29:3 - when his lamp shone upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness!

Bel Panye Mwen

For my 7th grade graduation present my mom got me a hand-made basket from Ghana! There was a lady selling them at the farmer's market. I love it!! I was so excited that i had to share this with you guys. And what better way than sharing it on my head?? Well, those Haitian women make it look a lot easier than it is. However, i find it is a lot easier wearing like this. No, it doesn't carry much this way, but it does help prevent skin cancer on my face and shoulders! :) Have a great summer vacation, guys!!

Remembering the Definition of Beauty

Well, since I'm venting a self esteem chapter (see previous post), i thought i would share something that has really effected me, in an amazing way.

"i did the un-reasonable thing..... i took a picture of myself..SMILING.
it made me think about WHAT I THINK ABOUT MYSELF....what all women think of themselves. really, don't you think we are all too hard on ourselves?.... but i have decided that i am actually going to start loving myself.....THE WAY I AM and stop wasting time on what i want to be.
confidence is BEAUTY. when you meet someone who is really confident (not cocky of course) you automatically respect them more. it's natural.
we all look at the "beautiful" famous people in magazines and stuff...and BELIEVE ME after knowing what photoshop can do, IT'S NOT REAL!!! so just love your wrinkles and size of pants and stop fussing and complaining and start just LOVING yourself how you are. trust me, it will make you a happier person."
-Emily Clark

Smile, because God made you the way you are for a reason. And He doesn't make mistakes. I hope this has put you in in the new, happier frame of mind that it has put me in. :)

Gift --> Journey --> Story

I believe 100% that every one has a gift from God. And just because the gifts are different for different people doesn't mean that any one's gift is more important that yours. It just makes you even more unique. You really shouldn't think that your gift isn't as good as the gift someone around you has, for every gift is a give from God - which makes it the best gift of all, you should feel very blessed that He chose to give you that particular gift. And if you choose to use your gift, it comes with your very own journey...

And NO ONE can go on that journey for you!! God wouldn't give you a give if He didn't have a reason to do so. He wants to use your gift to benefit the world and to give glory to His name. And the choice is yours whether you want to make that benefit and that glory. He's giving you an open door all you have to do is step through it. Some feel that since your gift isn't "as good as someone else " why bother stepping through the door and making that attempt? Because even if the journey might seem useless and stupid to you, it is important to God!! Otherwise He wouldn't waste His time. Why would He? Its only your choice if you want to walk through the open door and begin your journey, the journey that God wants you to to take...

Evidently, if God's gonna give you a gift (which i know He has) and a journey (which He has) then He has a reason and that reason is significant. Its so significant that it will mold into a story that is only yours! No one else can write that story but you. Its yours!

Out of the many examples, lets use Noah and his ark. God gave him a strong faith, therefor He asked no one but Noah to build the ark. Noah chose to step through the door and did as he was told. Now... he has an amazing story!! I'm sure every Christian knows who he is. I know of a good handful of non-Christians who know him. He is one of the most known stories in the Bible, numerous couples have named their child after him (or they just really like his name), and Tom Shadyac even made a modern day movie about him!!

The best part of these stories is that they glorify the name of our Creator.

So, please, please, please don't take your gift(s) for granted or compare yourselves to others. But rather thank God for the amazing gift that He has given you!! He has given you that gift out of love and wants you to only rejoice in it.

Herman...

... he's kind of a package deal.