WHAT'S IN A NAME??

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” ISAIAH 6:8

I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord,  the God of Israel, who summons you by name. ISAIAH 45:3

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

ISAIAH 40:29

Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.  ISAIAH 25:1

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  ISAIAH 41:10

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  ISAIAH 40:31

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.  ISAIAH 41:13

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  ISAIAH 43:2

Even to your old age and gray hairs  I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.  ISAIAH 46:4

I HAVE WRITTEN YOUR NAME ON THE PALMS OF MY HAND.  ISAIAH 49:16

We both knew the answer. We have been here before! But even still, we wrestled with the Lord. And I'm ashamed to admit it, but I struggled most of all.  I knew the cost of doing this again.(not talking about money) Matthew 10:34-37 had always been one of those verses in the bible that I always just kinda.......wondered about...... didn't want to know?? Well, I can promise you, I/we, have come to know that verse very personally. That "sword" means separation. We get it. It's been heartbreaking and tough.  But we trust Him, and believe His promises are true. All of them. So here we are!  Trusting, Believing, and fixin to go get this precious treasure of His. 

KINGSTON ISAIAH WEI DECKER

(during my struggle with a "yes", God used lots of scriptures from Isaiah to help me along. The above ones are just a few. We both knew this was his name!)

You too are worthy little man, and you will be forever loved.  :)

31   

PRESSING ON

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own." Philippians 3:12

Sometimes going forward in the adoption world is a very slow process. Heck sometimes it's just flat non-existent! You hurry up and finish mounds of paperwork, send it in, and then wait, and wait, and wait some more. It seems you'll never be able to move forward to the next step. And then one day, when you least expect it, there's movement. But at times it's not always forward that you go. Sometimes the news you get about your soon to be child is not what you want to hear, or that certain paper you've been waiting for, it's lost and you have to re-do, or the agency your using closes out of no where, and you are sent spinning backwards, and at such a speed you think you'll never be able to recover and go forward again or at least not any time soon. Thankfully this has not happened in our adoption process of Isaiah, thank you Jesus, but, my family and I, and my brother Rob's family, have been in somewhat of a backwards free fall and at speeds that seem will never slow down. And at times, it seems life will never go forward again, and this is especially true for his wife, 3 kids and grandkids. You see, he was their go to. He was the planner, the protector, the adviser, the cook, the serious but fun loving dad, granddad and husband. For me, he was my only brother, my only sibling, and for my mom and dad, he was their only son.  My brother was diagnosed with cancer on August 5.  It took a week to get him into MD Anderson in Houston. He was there a week for tests. He was told he could not win the battle against this cancer.  It was fast. It was aggressive. He came home, and 4 days later on August 24th, he succumbed to this horrible disease. He in fact did not win against this cancer, but he DID WIN his crown in glory! No more pain, no more tests, no more cancer. Ever. He was healed to perfection and re-united with old friends and long missed grandparents.  No, it's not the healing we hoped for, but for Rob, he got the best of the best, just as God had planned it, long ago. Rob King, my brother, WON THE ULTIMATE PRIZE on August 24, 2016.. He is being greatly missed by many. And so as we his family, especially his wife and kiddos, navigate the days and months ahead without him, please continue to pray for God's comfort in our lives.  I know the race set before us will not come without pain, but I also know, without doubt, when striving toward the final finish and the ultimate "Prize" that awaits us, if we keep our eyes on Jesus, He will bring us to our long awaited reward............and so we PRESS ON.   :) 
  

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me         heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14

LOVE YOU BRO!

TWO YEARS???  NO WAY.

Oh holy geez!  It HAS been a longgggg time since I sat down to write my thoughts down and share whats been goin on here. But honestly, I've been alittle bit busy, alittle bit lazy, alittle bit overwhelmed, a little bit confused, alittle bit frustrated, and  A WHOLE LOT OF THANKFUL.  Thankful and grateful for the life I'm living, the life I've been given and the hand I've been dealt.  Yep, the good, the bad and the ugly. I'm thankful for it all.  It's been almost 2 yrs since I blogged, the last being just shortly after bringing home our son Josiah from China, who by the way is doing very well.  I fully intended on continuing to blog so that those who have maybe followed us, with Gabe's adoption from Russia in 2011 and then Josiah's in 2014, could see how these boys have come alive and thrived with having a family of their own.  It's amazing what love and nurturing can do.  As I have learned over the past 20 years with Cole and now Gabe and Si, these boys are really not the ones that are DISabled.........that my friends, would be us, the so called abled ones.  These boys have taught us so much.  If we all loved like them, forgave like them, embraced life like them..........we would all be much better people.  Probably much like God had intended us to be.  But, as we all know, that is not how it is.  It seems our world, our societies, are becoming more wicked, more immoral, and more depraved than I can ever remember.  But these boy's of ours, these boys who have taught us so much, they keep us grounded.  We don't have to look far at all to see God's goodness.  It surrounds us every single day.  We get to go to bed with it every nite. Wake up to it every morning and LIVE IT all day long.   Now, I'm typing these words with a big smile on my face. I know what you might be thinkin, yes I do!!  Is it always pleasant?? No. Is it always easy?? Heck no. Is it always smiles and belly laughs?? NO and NO. Are we always glad we said "yes" to them?? YES, YES, YES. ABSOLUTELY. WITHOUT A DOUBT.  Would we do it again??  Yes.  Just so happens WE ARE!  Has that been an easy decision? No.  Have there been some doubts and long sleepless nights?? Yes. Is all our family on board with us?? No. Has that been difficult for us?? Yes, more than they know.  Will this adoption take away from and/or affect the boys already in our home?? Yes.   And will having  these special kiddos take away from and/or affect our grandchildren?? Yes.  But here's the deal.........What these boys GIVE far out weighs what they TAKE.   I want my kids(all of them) and grand kids to know that this world does not revolve solely around them. Yes, their life is very important, but so is every other life.  I want them to know that they are loved beyond measure, and their needs will always be taken care of, to the best of our abilities,  but I also want them to know and understand, this is not the way it is for everyone.  I want them to learn acceptance of those different than them, and compassion for those that struggle. I want them to learn, and realize, that there is much joy in just the simplest things.  Will one more special boy in our life make a difference in their lives????  I sure hope so.   SO, with hands already full :) and a heart even fuller.......here is our new little guy.    

 
He turned 5 in January and he too has down syndrome.  God never ceases to amaze me with His plan for lives.  I will admit that I really questioned Him this time!  But each time I found myself doubting we could do this again, He showed me we could.  Each scripture, each post, each talk with Rick, a confirming call from a Chinese woman (seriously. and I almost hung up!), every sign we asked for, He delivered.  So, whats a person to do!  I never want to be someone who speaks of great faith but fails to ACT on it, or one who speaks of great faith and only acts when it's reasonable or makes sense.  For me, that is not true faith.  Hang around and I'll tell you more about our little guy in a few days and where we're at in the adoption.  Prayers for our family would be greatly appreciated. Be blessed!