I am feeling a little overwhelmed at this moment. I was so sure I had heard God say the girls would be here for Christmas, and I now know they will not. I am trying to praise Him in this storm, but it is not always easy to do so. We have so many uncertainties right now. The good news is Alyona is home from the hospital. We still have not been able to locate grandma. We thought Alyona knew how to contact her, but that apparently we had received incorrect information. Or maybe she could be afraid to tell, as she does not want to get into trouble with her grandma. I have to remind myself she is only nine years old. I am just so thankful the director at the orphanage had a caregiver go to stay at the hospital with her so that she was not alone. Thank you, Jesus, for letting her have that compassion on Alyona.

There is a song I love by Sarah Groves titled Generations. It says, "Lord, remind me of this, with every decision I make generations will reap what I sow. I can pass on a curse or a blessing to those I will never know." Later, it continues, "To my great, great, great grand-daughter, live in peace. To my great, great, great grand-son, live in peace." This text so needs to become my prayer, that in all of this God is using me to help with the next generation. No matter who it is He ultimately has come to live with us, we must live & act in a manner which brings glory to His name.

Tim redistributes some email devotionals to numerous people; and the following is one he recently forwarded:

Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi. -- Genesis 25:8, 11

Pass It On

A man's character often lives on long after he is gone. Take Jonathan Edwards, for example. He loved the Lord and taught his children to do the same. According to one estimate, he has had 929 descendants. Of these, 430 were ministers; 86 were university professors; 13 became university presidents; 75 authored good books; and 7 were elected to the United States Congress. One was vice president of his nation. Edwards left a spiritual heritage that became a blessing not only for his descendants, but for all of society.

Abraham did the same. At the age of 175 he was "gathered to his people." But that wasn’t the end. Abraham passed on to his son a spiritual heritage that brought God's blessing upon Isaac and, down through the centuries, to all of us through Jesus Christ, a distant descendant of this godly patriarch. Abraham didn't merely "pass on"; he made it possible for God to pass on His blessings through his descendants.

We all need to live with future generations in mind. It's not enough to live a godly life to gain God's blessings for yourself; consider what influence your life will have on your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren and the rest of your family tree. The character you choose to develop will leave its mark on the lives of generations you'll never live to see.

Don't be content to leave an inheritance of material possessions. Instead, strive to be a channel for God's blessings to reach generations still unborn. The greatest inheritance your posterity can receive from you is the heritage of God's blessing.

Live so your descendants will rise up and call you blessed.

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Oles is traveling to Kiliya to visit Kristina this weekend. Tim spoke with him on Skype the other day. (I sometimes feel they speak more than we do now a days! LOL!) Oles is going to check on her and ask if she would like to be adopted. Both of the girls need to want that for this to work out. I just hope and pray God will be working a miracle there, but if not, then maybe this is His way of closing that door. I feel all tore up inside just waiting to hear what she has to say. I have asked God to show me a clear picture of what we are to do. If she says, no, then I guess He is closing that chapter of the book. We will then make our plans to find the girls He wants us to have. Will it be easy? NO, NO, NO. Will it hurt? YES! It will be like losing one of my own kids. Will I go on? Yes! But I know God is my comforter. He will not leave me in any of this. If for some reason, later, the girls would need us, and Tim would be willing, I would go and bring them home. I just want to seek God in all of this. I have grown so much in all of this. It amazes me.

I went the other day to the IRS and picked up the paperwork to fill out to establish a 501(c)(3) as we work to start a new ministry. It will be one to help other people who are adopting. I am not sure of all the details, but I know God has put it on my heart. I just want as many kids to have a home as possibly can. Every child needs and deserves the love of a family. One who can show God's love for them. I ran into a lady in the store the other day; and she was telling me how her and her husband did not think they could have children. I felt so bad for her. I could tell she really wanted them, but for some reason could not have any. I asked her if they had ever thought about adopting; and she said, no. She wanted her own biological children for her and her husband to love. I told her I had two wonderful boys who came into this world through me, but through this adoption process I have learned children do not need to come out of us for us to love them. My heart is overwhelmed by how much I love Kristina & Alyona and so far they have only been photos to us. At the end of our conversation, I gave her my number and told her to call me if she ever needed to talk. I hope she can find it in her heart to love one of the children who needs a home right now. We are all adopted by JESUS. I guess it was good thing He did not have to give birth to each of us for Him to love us.

Lynn