Maybe next time they will play in my living room!!

Happy Birthday to me!
Chad took me out for dinner for my birthday...and we just so happened to take in a Third Day concert while we were out!!!
Our seats were not "great"...but they were MUCH BETTER when the band came up to play right in front of us...and I mean RIGHT there. If I was any closer, I would have been playing the guitar myself! What fun!



They were so gracious as to play 4 songs for my private concert (I managed to convince myself that they did it for MY birthday!) and I was loving every minute of it, of course!

I should offer a brief moment of silence for the fact that this was the first Third Day show I have ever been to without Carrie (I think the band was wondering why she wasn't there beside me!?!?!) because she was busy being a good mama!

But I think I may have a new Third Day fan in the family....Chad REALLY enjoyed his first Third Day show!!
:)

By the way, I am still planning on posting the details of our trip to Ethiopia...even if it is on the anniversary of our trip.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. "

Jeremiah 29:11

Happy Birthday, sweet Isaac!

[[[ I originally wrote this post 2 years ago, on Isaac's 2nd birthday. As I read it again today, I was once again convinced that the words grow more true as more time passes. Perhaps some year, on this day I will post something different. But today, this still speaks from my heart...please, OH PLEASE, say a prayer for this little boy tonight!! ]]]

Somewhere in Guatemala, Isaac turned 4 years old today! We trust that the Lord is keeping him safe, as we continue to pray for him as a family. It would mean so much today if you all would take a minute to lift him up in prayer as well!!

When I think back over the 8 months that we called Isaac "ours"...I am reminded that our most important task as parents is to entrust our children into the Lord's hands....to remember that they are HIS first and foremost. I will be honest in saying that at times my heart aches for our "loss"...and I try to make sense of it all....but the reality is, we serve a sovereign God who makes NO mistakes...Isaac was (and continues to be) a beautiful part of the Master's plan for the Timmons family.

One of the songs that will always, always, always remind me of our adoption journey is "Blessed Be Your Name"...

Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name

Rock Star Cousins!!

And let me tell you...these cutie-pies were jammin'!


Every time I see them playing together....EVERY TIME...I continue to think of God's sovereign hand!! These two sweet lives born worlds apart (Micah in Guatemala, Faith in China)...now cousins living just 20 minutes away! :) Miracle upon miracle! We are blessed beyond measure!

"I Saw What I Saw"

I feel like I am doing this all backwards...posting this video before I have told who the people are.
But, the video is done. And I thought I would share.

"What now?"

"WHAT NOW??"
That was the question Dave, the leader of our Ethiopia trip, asked us to think about each day.
It seems a little odd to post about "What Now" before I have even posted about our trip...but the "What now?" is where my focus has been these last 10 days...so I will share a little bit about that first:

When God first called Chad & I to adopt Micah, our eyes were opened to the many needs of orphaned, abandoned, and impoverished children of the world. Over the past year, our compassion for these children has grown.

A couple of months ago, we began to consider the possibility of starting a not-for-profit organization as a way to do more to help these often forgotten children. On our recent trip to Ethiopia, God confirmed this desire and ignited a fire to get started.

Today, I introduce you to: Hope For His Children


The purpose of Hope For His Children is two-fold:
1) To increase awareness among our family, friends, church and community regarding the desperate needs of orphaned, abandoned, and impoverished children of the world.
2) To generate support for orphaned, abandoned and impoverished children in the form of: financial contributions, donations of various supplies, prayer commitments and mission trips.

We are very anxious to get started...and, well, in fact...we ARE started!

Here are the exciting things that have happened already:
*We are officially incorporated as a nonprofit organization according the laws of Indiana!!
*We have drafted bylaws and established our initial Board of Directors.
*We have obtained a Federal Tax ID number.
*We have applied for tax exemption in Indiana.
*We have set up an account to distribute contributions.
*We have sent a package of much-needed medication to Ethiopia!
*We are in the process of applying with the IRS for our 501 (c)(3).

You will certainly be hearing more about Hope For His Children in the future...but if God is moving in your heart TODAY to get involved, please let me know...some exciting things are already beginning!!

As for the details of our trip, my plan is to start posting a "day-by-day" journal of our time in Ethiopia. I pray that it will be a blessing to you, and a great refresher for me! So....stay tuned.....

A very inadequate post.

I just wanted to post to let everyone know that we made it back home safely!
Our trip to Ethiopia was amazing.
As we have started to share with family and friends, we are learning that there are really not adequate words.
There are so many emotions, it seems impossible to process all of it.
I will certainly post more in the near future (as I wade through my hundreds of pictures)!!

Grateful

We are very blessed to have received so many donations for Ethiopia.
Tonight we started weighing and sorting.
89 pounds of formula so far!
and 14 pairs of kids' shoes!!
Not to mention soccer balls, Bible story coloring books, vitamins, etc.


Please continue to pray as the trip gets closer (only 3 more days to prepare!!! can that possibly be right?).

test post

This is a test to see if we might be able to post from Ethiopia.
:)
If you are reading it, then I guess it worked!

6 days and counting!

We have been busy praying, preparing and packing!

A busy, busy barn!

Look what happened in our barn last night!!
We added 11 little piglets!
We have busy trying to keep the "farrowing room" warm now that the temperature outside has reached NEGATIVE TEN DEGREES!! So far, so good. I should probably go pray over the circuit breakers!





I am not normally the biggest fan of big, stinky pigs. But, you've gotta admit....those are some pretty cute piggies!

One year ago today: I BEGGED!

Today the Lord and I are celebrating a 1 year anniversary.
It was exactly a year ago today that I began begging...pleading for revival in my heart. Here is a peek into my journal:

1/6/08
"...and I know that means it must, MUST START WITH me connecting with You - my quiet times, my time in your Word, my walking in an awareness of your Holy Spirit. No wonder, Lord, that I am weak and sapped - I am trying to do it on my own - "religion" as my cover-up for my lack of relationship. Revive me, Lord!!!! ...."

And so it began...
Early each morning, me begging for revival. for desire. for passion. for consistency. for Christ in me.
I have failed too many times to think that I could do it out of my own effort. That works for awhile...then not.
The verse I claimed over and over and over again:

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. Psalm 51:12

Today, on this anniversary of ours...this is my journaled prayer:
1/6/09
"Lord, I praise You for the way You restore and revive...your specialty is redemption and I thank You for your faithfulness to it! One year ago today, Lord, I begged You for revival in my heart. And You provided. Do it again, Lord (Psalm 126), do it again. I am grateful for progress, yet SO aware of my need for more. The more I grow, the more I see my own sin, selfishness, selfish ambitions, vain conceits, on-and-on-and-on...Forgive me, Lord, and restore/revive me some more! My heart is humbled and I am begging again."

And this morning:

Philippians 3:7-14: But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

And so I begin another year of begging.

Fun-FILLED day with cousins!

In lieu of Christmas presents this year, we (our family and my brother, Tim's family) decided to "exchange" a fun activity day.
And a fun-filled day it was....

Tim, Ali, Tyler, Zack and Faith joined us for breakfast.
Then off the the "gym", where we played and swam.


Then on to the bowling alley (we are such avid bowlers...not.)


You may think you're cool, buddy...but your mama still beat ya'!

Then lazer tagging.

Then ICE CREAM!


And at the end of it all...we were tired!! ("We" being the grown-ups...and obviously, Micah!)


As for this family...we had a GREAT time and all agreed that spending time together is something we should do more often!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!!!...before the Happy New Year!!

Before the page turns on another year...I wanted to share belated Christmas wishes!
I hope that you had moments to really celebrate the birth of our Saviour! And I pray for all of us, that our thoughts would stay so focused on Him in the days ahead!


Here are a few glimpses into what's been going on around here....

Micah has a new hobby. Pancake making! Time of day is highly irrelevant...anytime is a good time for pancake-making according to Micah!


Our girl got curls!!
She is loving her new "do"...exactly what she was hoping for. Which is WAY more than I can say about my first perm!



Guitar Praise!!
This mama LOVES it. It may not have all the "bells and whistles" of Guitar Hero...but it CERTAINLY wins in my heart based on the Christian artists and songs!!! Obviously Micah agrees with me.

I almost forgot how to log in...

Wow.
It has been so long since I have posted that I almost forgot my password to log in to Blogger.
That is bad.

All is well...here are a few "updates":

- The puppies all found homes! We were so thankful for the family that came to take one home...and decided to take two!! That left us with zero. Micah was bummed, but was happier when he learned that some other little boy would get to play with "Duke" and his siblings!

- Thanksgiving was wonderful. The focus on gratitude is always good for my heart!!

- We are once again enjoying our Jesse tree. Maybe I will have time to post more on that another day soon (shame on you if you just laughed out loud when I said "soon")



- Chad and I will be traveling to ETHIOPIA on a mission trip the last week of January. We are very excited about what God may have in store for us! You will MOST CERTAINLY be hearing more about this in the weeks ahead. I know I have been "lax" (or perhaps "lame") in posting lately. But the break is over. Stay tuned! :)

A new home for friends...

We share your joy, Mike and Sheila!!
Congratulations on your new home...just don't be surprised if you come home one day to find me reading on your front porch!!



We are so very, very happy for you!

"Then all the trees of the forest
will sing for joy...
Psalm 96:12

Happy Birthday, big boy!

This little guy turned 3 today...can you believe it??
So many thoughts are flooding my mind right now, I don't even know where to start...

*thoughts of AMAZEMENT at the many God-ordained events that took place on this day, 3 years ago, in a Guatemala City hospital to bring this child into our family.

*thoughts of GRATITUDE to a woman who lovingly chose life for a son she knew she could never care for.

*thoughts of INDEBTEDNESS as I remember the special moms at Hannah's Hope that poured LOVE into our son until God would bring him home!

*thoughts of OVERWHELMING THANKFULNESS to a God who chose to bless our family beyond what we could have ever imagined.

*thoughts of JOY as I consider the thousands of smiles and hours of laughter that this little boy has brought to those around him!

*thoughts of CURIOSITY as I wonder what the years ahead will bring.

...and so very much more!!


Happy Birthday, Micah!
We love you!

Puppies(!!), a party, & our newest friend

Some people choose to update their blog frequently.
Then there is me.
I WANT to post more frequently...it just seems like it doesn't get done.
Strategy #2: post less often...but with multiple "items"...that is today's strategy, anyway!!

Lots to share, though.

First, let me say that Gummie is doing GREAT! Her surgery went very, very well...and so far the recovery has been smooth. Thank you for praying for her!

Maybe next I should fill you in on the newest "noise" in our home.
Sugar had 6 puppies last week!! They are very cute...and very, very AVAILABLE to a loving home! Any takers? Know anyone?
Maybe some pictures would be in order:



I was a TOTAL slacker about posting on Chad's birthday!
He turned 23 again on Oct. 12!
We had a little party and Chad was so gracious to share the spotlight with his buddies. Dean's birthday was the day before, and Mike's is later in the month. Tim's is in April, but we just couldn't bare to leave him out!! :)


Finally, I just had to share this...because it's not something you see everyday!
A cattle farmer that lives just down the road from us took in an orphaned fawn. The deer is free to come and go as he chooses, he just sort of roams the area but comes back to sleep in their barn at night. His name is "Lucky."
Recently, when I have been jogging by their farm, Lucky will come out to greet me. Last week he even jogged with me for a mile or so (and when I say "with", I mean WITH...he was RIGHT beside me the whole time!).

Micah was SO excited this Sunday when we were out for an afternoon jog and Lucky came running up for a visit!




Hope all is well in your neighborhood! Thanks for stopping in for a visit!

Please pray for Gummie!

Hi all.
Please join us in praying for Gummie.
She is having surgery today. (She would probably say "I am FINALLY having surgery")
I will not go into all the gory details...suffice it to say that she is is having her female parts "re-enforced". Which is why I seriously considered titling this post "One More Reason to Consider Adoption"!! :)

Anyway...
Please pray for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery!

I love a good ROAD TRIP!!

My blog posting has certainly "lacked" of late (ok, so that is an understatement) but I could not neglect to share what fun I was blessed to have with my friend Stacy this past week/weekend.

I hopped on a plane and headed to the BEAUTIFUL Pacific Northwest.


When I landed in Seattle, Stacy met me and we hopped in a car to begin our 13 hour drive to Billings, Montana. We had planned months ago to meet at the Beth Moore, Living Proof Live conference in Billings...but those plans changed a bit when I realized that I desperately wanted to spend some time with her sweet family, too. Hence the "long way" to Billings.

The conference was just what I had hoped and prayed for...a good word from the Lord, in a fun atmosphere, with a great friend! The passage Beth taught from was Isaiah 32:1-8. I came away with a renewed motivation and desire to be a refuge in the storm for those around me. I want to be INTENTIONAL and WILLING in my efforts to show Christ to my "fellow man." You can check out a video re-cap of the conference here.


Aside from the conference, Stacy and I enjoyed endless hours of uninterrupted talking...as we drove along some absolutely beautiful highways. And I am now convinced that there are not enough highway miles in this great country to exhaust the amount of wisdom and encouragement this girlfriend of mine has to share!! To think, I once had a fleeting thought that we might not have enough things to talk about for such a long trip! I am still amazed that God would love me so much as to "ice our adoption cake" with such a friendship!

We even took a "side trip" (because, you know, 2000 miles just didn't seem like enough!) to see the Bear Tooth Pass. This was a drive that Chad and the kids and I had hoped to make on our vacation this summer, but the pass was closed due to snow.

Imagine my great delight when I saw this:


And the drive did not disappoint! I was once again completely awestruck at God's amazing workmanship and creativity!!





At the end of the "conversation filled" drive back to Stacy's home, we were met by these cuties!!!!


And I finally got to wrap my arms around THIS GIRL!! and let me tell you...as cute as she is in pictures, she is BEAUTIFUL in "real life"!



I missed my family MUCH while I was gone, but Chad was a trooper (like usual) and gave me the privilege of feeling completely guilt-free while I was gone. He had encouraged the trip from the beginning, and never complained once (still hasn't!!) AND AND AND he even met me with 2 dozen roses at the airport when I returned! Blessings upon blessings upon blessings. I am thanking God so much for His pouring on the blessings this past week! And I pray that I will be faithful to put to good use this time of refreshing and refueling!

When I consider your heavens...

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

Psalm 8:3-4

What am I...that He cares for me?
And yet He does.
And not just cares for...but LOVES me.

Me!
...I am amazed all over again...