His Will...

“The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not protect you."

I am so excited about tomorrow morning! Shay is coming here, to my house, to do our final inspection, and bring our license to foster care here to me. As of tomorrow morning, we will be "Open" to begin receiving placements of children in foster care. We are so ready to begin this journey...I have longed to follow God's will for as long as I remember, but at many times, I wondered what exactly His will was for my life. For the first time, I feel sure that I know. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, God has called Steven and I to this place. He made a path, showed His intention, solved every "problem" we could think of to keep us from doing this, and made it clear as day how He wants us to serve Him. We are following in obedience, because that is what we are supposed to do as Christians. I am also following in awe. I always knew I served a great and awesome God, who loved me completely, and wanted the best for me. I knew God wanted me to be happy, but the world does sometimes make living a Christians life seem unappealing. We have to remember that God never intended for Christians to be 'giving up so much' to follow Him. Quite the opposite, He intended for us to gain the kingdom, and happiness and love and peace, and all things that are good and wonderful. Taking this step in faith has reaffirmed my belief in God's desire for us to be happy, while serving Him. I can think of no better way to spend my life, than loving and caring for sweet children, being there for them when they need a trustworthy adult the most. I know that this adventure is going to be hard, and I will know heartbreak like I can't imagine right now, but I believe I am going to see and know love and grace and compassion like I can't imagine now as well. God is good, and if He brings me to it, He will bring me through it. Its so amazing though, that the God I love and serve, loves me in such a real way; he picked a path for me, to follow Him in obedience and serve Him, that is something He knows I will love and find so much joy in. He wants me to be happy, and He has chosen a path for me that will fill my soul, while letting me fulfill His will.

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Praise the Lord, the great rains that have been covering Arkansas for the last month are finally stopped. The beautiful sun is out, soaking up all the water, and making gorgeous weather outside. We really enjoyed the great outdoors this weekend. Mandy loved being able to stretch out in the grass and sun bathe!