"Where hast thou stayed so long?

Schneider

Changlais

Praise the Lord for movement. We received word that we are out of one of the longer stages of the Adoption process in Haiti, called IBESR. Thank you Jesus. Still several processes to go, but my beautiful wife, Melissa will break it down for you on her blog http://www.followinghiscalling.blogspot.com/.

We came across this poem in a book Melissa is reading and it made us think about the waiting children in Haiti. I will only put the last 3 verses of "Endymion" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I'll leave you with these words.

O weary hearts! o slumbering eyes!
O drooping souls, whose destinies
Are fraught with fear and pain,
Ye shall be loved again!

No one is so accursed by fate,
No one so utterly desolate,
But some heart, though unknown,
Responds unto his own.

Responds, --as if with unseen wings,
An angel touched its quivering strings;
And whispers, in its song,
"Where hast thou stayed so long?'

Psalm 84

Hey Son - Schneider








Hey my man - Changlais










These are our boy's in Haiti. Dear Lord, please bring them home soon. Psalm 115:3 (NASB) But our God is in the Heavens; He does whatever He pleases. James 1:17 (NASB) Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
Our six year old Ella, bless her heart, prays everyday for Venessa, Djounela, Changlais, Schneider, Jean Tony, and Fabrice (the last two are names she has heard us mention and are being adopted by two other precious families). She also tells the mailman, children at the playground, just about anybody she comes in contact with. You go Ella.

Psalm 84 (NASB) Enjoy as I do every time I read this.
1 How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of Hosts! 2 My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God. 4 How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. 5 How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion! 6 Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; The early rain also covers it with blessings. 7 They go from strength to strength , Every one of them appears before God in Zion. 8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O god of Jacob! 9 Behold our shield, O God. and look upon the face of Your anointed. 10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold form those who walk uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Psalm 34:8 (NLT) Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who trust in Him!
The psalmist in psalm 84 has obviously experience God in a personal way. Have you? If you have you will relate to how wonderful it is to be near to God. Also Asaph in psalm 73:28 "But as for me, the nearness of God is my good" He know as well. If you have not experienced The King of Kings this way, do it now. I'm not usually pushy, but we are talking about you living or dying. Live with Him, do not die without Him.

Liberty (What a great word)

Noah and cousin Alex are playing with their Life Savers - right

Happy 8th Lilah on Wednesday - Above

Happy 5th Noah today (look out Matt Hoffman)- Left

4 birthdays in 17 day's. I guess I'm not complaining because one of them was mine. Would you believe 44? My parents can't.

Liberty, don't you love that word? It reminds me of a scene in the Alamo with John Wayne, when Colonel Travis is trying to talk Crockett into joining him in the Alamo. He uses the word republic, but the same happens to me when I hear the word Liberty. I could write the speech but it wouldn't be the same. Rent the 1960 version of the Alamo. You won't be disappointed.

2 Corinthians 3:17,18 (NASB) Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

You have to believe that the opposite of the first line is true as well. Where the Spirit of the Lord is not, then there is no liberty. So if the Spirit of the Lord does not dwell in you, than you are a slave and have no real freedom. Romans 8:15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, you have received spirit of Adoption as sons, by which we cry out. "Abba! Father!"

So if we have the Spirit, we reflect His glory and are being transformed to His likeness with increasing glory. Hallelujah!