Friday, December 31, 2010

Mattie's 90-Day Challenge!

(Note:  This blog entry was scheduled originally to post 12/31/10, but it posted 12/30/10 by mistake, so I removed it and rescheduled it.  You may get this entry twice!  Sorry!)

Mattie is our 12-year-old biological daughter.  She recently read the ENTIRE BIBLE in just 90 days!!!  I hope her testimony will be an encouragement to you.  The way Mattie lives her life has certainly been an encouragement to me.  I was so impressed by Mattie's discipline and diligence with her daily Bible-reading plan.  Most every morning, Mattie was awake earlier than anyone in our home in order to read her daily Bible assignments without being interrupted.  Here is what Mattie wrote about her recent Bible-reading experience:

Sunday, December 26, I finished reading the entire Bible in 90 days. I got the idea from Randy Bohlender’s blog (randybohlender.wordpress.com). He had done it before and talked about it, but I never thought it was possible. Until he started his second time around, then I felt an extreme excitement. I kept telling myself, “No Mattie, you don’t have time. You’re too busy.” But I couldn’t say no to the Holy Spirit’s nudge. So, the next day I started the reading I once thought impossible. On my first day, I felt overwhelmed with the reading. It was 10-20 chapters a day. I really felt like quitting. The days seemed to fly by, until I was on day 80 and it hit me, I have read a ton of chapters a day for 80 days!! Only 10 more, it was possible! Finally, day 90 came around, and finishing climbing the mountain felt great. I learned a big lesson in perseverance. I also gained so much Bible knowledge. My favorite books as of now are Psalms, Esther, John, Romans, Philippians, James, and Revelation. Before this, I never knew the Bible was so action packed and real life. I can relate to almost every story, and I love it! I thank God every day for allowing me the privilege to read His Word freely. We live in a blessed country, don’t we? It’s given me a new passion and love for His Word. If you feel that Holy Spirit, you can sign up at Youversion.com, then click Read Plans, then scroll down to Bible in 90 Days. Be blessed!

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.”  1 Timothy 4:12

Selah (age 11 weeks in this photo) enjoyed listening to Mattie read the Bible aloud to her.

And don't forget:
We now have TWO GIVEAWAYS!!!
1.  A sterling silver Boss Your Heart necklace hand-made and donated by Rachael Scott of The Vintage Lane.

2.  A limited edition Boss Your Heart book signed by Lorraine.

If you want to be entered in the GIVEAWAYS (a copy of the limited edition Boss Your Heart book), be sure to do one (or more) of the following things by midnight TONIGHT, 1.1.11:
On January 1 at midnight, one person will win a Boss Your Heart book (the limited edition) and one person will win the Boss Your Heart necklace donated by Rachael.  You'll get one entry in each giveway for doing any of the following things (one entry for each "share" you make):
  • Leave a comment here (go to the linked post and leave a comment there) to let me know you're joining the Boss Your Heart Bible Challenge 2011!  (This post also has a variety of Bible reading plans for you to choose from!)
  • Join the Facebook Boss Your Heart Bible Challenge 2011 group.  Click HERE.
  • Share, SHARE, SHaRe!!!  Encourage others to join the Boss Your Heart Bible reading challenge by sharing this on your blog/facebook/twitter/email, etc.  You'll get 1 entry for each method you share!  (Tell me how many times you shared it by leaving a comment on this post.)  Let's work together to invite people around the world to "Boss Their Hearts" in 2011!!!
  • Place the Boss Your Heart button/badge on your blog!  (You'll find the button and codes by clicking HERE.)
Remember, the first day of Bible reading begins TODAY, but it's never too late to Boss Your Heart! 
 Join up anytime, but you only have until 11:59PM on January 1, 2011 to be eligible for the giveaways!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Another Giveaway!!!


We now have TWO GIVEAWAYS!!!
1.  A sterling silver Boss Your Heart necklace hand-made and donated by Rachael Scott of The Vintage Lane
 (Thanks Rachael!!!)

2.  A limited edition Boss Your Heart book signed by Lorraine.

If you want to be entered in the GIVEAWAYS (a copy of the limited edition Boss Your Heart book), be sure to do one (or more) of the following things by midnight 1/1/11:
On January 1 at 11:59PM, one person will win a Boss Your Heart book (the limited edition) and one person will win the Boss Your Heart necklace donated by Rachael.  You'll get one entry in each giveway for doing any of the following things (one entry for each "share" you make):
  • Leave a comment here (go to the linked post and leave a comment there) to let me know you're joining the Boss Your Heart Bible Challenge 2011!   (This post also has a variety of Bible reading plans for you to choose from!)
  • Join the Facebook Boss Your Heart Bible Challenge 2011 group.  Click HERE.
  • Share, SHARE, SHaRe!!!  Encourage others to join the Boss Your Heart Bible reading challenge by sharing this on your blog/facebook/twitter/email, etc.  You'll get 1 entry for each method you share!  (Tell me how many times you shared it by leaving a comment on this post.)  Let's work together to invite people around the world to "Boss Their Hearts" in 2011!!!
  • Place the Boss Your Heart button/badge on your blog!  (You'll find the button and codes by clicking HERE.)
Remember, the first day of Bible reading begins January 1, 2011, but it's never too late to Boss Your Heart! 
 Join up anytime, but remember, the drawings for the necklace and book will be at 11:59PM on 1/1/11!

Boss Your Heart Bible Challenge 2011, Plus a Giveaway!

It's a New Year!

"Boss Your Heart" into a New You!
You're invited to join the
Boss Your Heart Bible Challenge for 2011!

If you aren't familiar with Chrissie's "Boss Your Heart" story, please click HERE to read about it.  Chrissie bossed her heart and taught many people around the world the importance of bossing their hearts, too.  But, if we don't know what God's Word says, we could boss our hearts down a very dangerous path!  In order to boss our hearts into submission/alignment with where God wants our hearts to be, we must know what His Word says.  The Bible says our hearts are deceptive; therefore, it is imperative that we hide His Word in our hearts.  God has designed our hearts with a hole in them that can only be filled by Him, and by reading His Word daily, we will begin to truly know Him, to know His Word, to understand His will, to fill the void that's intended to be filled by our loving Father.  As we devote daily time to reading His Word, we will begin bossing our hearts in Chrissie fashion, into submission with our Father's Word and His sovereign will.

The challenge begins January 1, 2011. 
There are lots of ways to join this challenge, and lots of ways to successfully complete this Bible-reading mission! 

If you'd like some help with picking a Bible reading plan tailor made for you, here are some options:
  • Simply pick your Bible reading plan HERE!  This is a great app to download to your phone, iPad (iPod, iTouch, etc.), and any other tech gadget so that you can have access to your Bible reading plan at all times!  Pick from a variety of plans such as read the Bible in a year, read the Bible in 90 days, topical Bible reading plans, devo style plans...you name it, there's a plan for everyone on this site!  You can even restart if you get too far behind and need a do-over or you can adjust the schedule if it's not working as well as you would have liked!  Here are the plans you can choose from on this site...all are customizable:
  • YouVersion (the source for the plans listed above) also has a Facebook page.  Click HERE to "like" it!
  • Here's another source where you can sign up to read the Bible in a year, have them email you a daily assignment (love that!), plus choose what style you'd like from classic to chronological and a few other varities.
  • Bible Gateway is another online source for accessing the Bible in almost every language!
  • A lot of Bibles have a one-year reading plan as well, so you might prefer to pick up your Bible and follow the reading plan that it offers.
  • And, of course, let's not forget about the precious leadership of the Holy Spirit!  Perhaps the Spirit's been whispering a plan to you to lead you through God's Word through 2011!  Dive in!
I've started a Facebook group for those who would like to "sign up" there to join the Facebook Boss Your Heart Bible Challenge 2011 group!  Just click HERE to join the Facebook group!

GIVEAWAY!!!
On January 1 at midnight, one person will win a Boss Your Heart book (the limited edition).  You'll get one entry in the giveway for each of the following things:
  • Leave a comment here (on this post) to let me know you're joining the Boss Your Heart Bible Challenge 2011!
  • Join the Facebook Boss Your Heart Bible Challenge 2011 group.  Click HERE.
  • Encourage others to join the Boss Your Heart Bible reading challenge by sharing this on your blog/facebook/twitter/email, etc.  You'll get 1 entry for each method you share!  (Tell me how many times you shared it by leaving a comment on this post.)  Let's work together to invite people around the world to "Boss Their Hearts" in 2011!!!
  • Place the Boss Your Heart button/badge on your blog!  (You'll find the button and codes at the end of this post.  Leave a comment here to let me know you put it on your blog.)

Remember, the first day of Bible reading begins January 1, 2011, but it's never too late to Boss Your Heart! 
 Join up anytime!


Make it a "Boss Your Heart" New Year,
and  a "Boss Your Heart" New You!

____________________________ 

To get one of the following buttons, copy and paste the code into a blog post or into an blog sidebar gadget (pick an "HTML gadget" on Blogger) or widget (pick a "text widget" on Wordpress).

Code for a 200 px wide button:
<div align="center"><a href="http://allarepreciousinhissight.blogspot.com/p/boss-your-heart-bible-reading-challenge.html" target="_blank"> <img border="0px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4798oz_DJJo/TRynULgZe8I/AAAAAAAAC7U/y3UCacaxdKU/s1600/New%2BYear%2527s%2BBoss%2BYour%2BHeart%2BButtton-200.jpg"/> </a><br><a href="http://allarepreciousinhissight.blogspot.com/p/boss-your-heart-bible-reading-challenge.html"><font color= "#C12283"><font face="arial"><font size="4">Grab This Button!</a></font></font></font></strong></center>

____________________________ 


Code for a 180 px wide button:
 <div align="center"><a href="http://allarepreciousinhissight.blogspot.com/p/boss-your-heart-bible-reading-challenge.html" target="_blank"> <img border="0px" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4798oz_DJJo/TRyndVdeqRI/AAAAAAAAC7c/nUkOBTAOtr4/s1600/New%2BYear%2527s%2BBoss%2BYour%2BHeart%2BButtton-180.jpg"/> </a><br><a href="http://allarepreciousinhissight.blogspot.com/p/boss-your-heart-bible-reading-challenge.html"><font color= "#C12283"><font face="Arial"><font size="4">Grab This Button!</a></font></font></font></strong></center>
____________________________ 

Code for a 160 px wide button:
<div align="center"><a href="http://allarepreciousinhissight.blogspot.com/p/boss-your-heart-bible-reading-challenge.html" target="_blank"> <img border="0px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4798oz_DJJo/TRyniGThWPI/AAAAAAAAC7k/LrBAUzmgwVI/s1600/New%2BYear%2527s%2BBoss%2BYour%2BHeart%2BButtton-160.jpg"/> </a><br><a href="http://allarepreciousinhissight.blogspot.com/p/boss-your-heart-bible-reading-challenge.html"><font color= "#C12283"><font face="arial"><font size="4">Grab This Button!</a></font></font></font></strong></center>

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Ours Forever

Today, December 29, 2010, a judge in Texas declared three of our lovies to be official, legal, and forever members of our family!  We give all glory to God for delivering these precious blessings to our family!  And many thanks to our amazing social worker and awesome attorney for your generosity in helping our family and for having hearts to help the least of these.

Kiefer Thomas Patterson
Born May 20, 2008 in Thomas, Haiti
Welcomed into our family April 2, 2010
Matt chose the name "Kiefer" (pronounced Kee-fur) and "Thomas" is the place where Kiefer was born in Haiti.  Our boys have a pattern with their names:  2 syllables, ends in -er, is a last name used as a first name (Parker, Sawyer, Asher, Kiefer), so we try to stay within that pattern when selecting a boy's name.


Ella Hope Patterson
Born January 12, 2005 in the USA
Welcomed into our family November 23, 2010
"Ella":  Shining Light (also the name of my great-grandmother who died when my grandmother was only 7 years old)
"Hope":  hope, expectation, belief; a virtue taken from I Corinthians 13:13, "And now these three remain:  faith, hope and love."

Selah Karis Patterson
Biological baby sister to Ella Hope
Born October 1, 2010 in the USA
Welcomed into our family November 23, 2010
Diagnosed with congenital hydrocephalus at 5 months gestation; the doctors believed she wouldn't be born alive.  By the grace of God, Selah is doing well today with a shunt that drains fluid from her brain.
"Selah" (pronounced say-luh):  pause and reflect upon God's goodness, taken from the Psalms.  A literal translation of the Hebrew word selah is "Let those with eyes see and with ears hear."
"Karis" (pronounced "care-is":  taken from the Greek word "Charis", meaning that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness; a gift of grace.


Monday, December 27, 2010

Heart Candy

"You make the goodest food I ever ate!"
~Ella Patterson, Age 5

Sweet candy for my heart! Thank you, Ella

Saturday, December 25, 2010

CHRISTmas Love

"You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High."  Luke 1:31-32

Unconditional Love, delivered as a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Thank you, Mary, for modeling so beautifully how to embrace God's plan for our lives and for modeling the joy of motherhood, even when the child isn't conceived traditionally.  Unconditional love.

Thank you, Jesus, for agreeing to obey God's will and walk in earthly shoes where you would endure much suffering, pain, and even temptation on earth.  Unconditional love.



Thank you, Jesus, for taking the punishment for our sins, even when you were so perfectly perfect.  Unconditional love.



Thank you, God, for offering us the FREE GIFT of salvation through the perfect gift of your perfect Son, Jesus Christ.  Unconditional love.



We are grateful for God's good gift of unconditional love!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!
YOU ARE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!

Chrissie, please give Jesus BIG HUGS (the signature Chrissie-finger-gripping-neck-squeezing kind) to our Savior from all of us.  We love you and we miss you, Chrissie, and we can't wait to be with you and our King of Kings for all eternity!!!  You were such a treasured gift of unconditional love!!!



 




"Love one another deeply."
1 Peter 1:22

 



Friday, December 24, 2010

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

a Christian version:

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the church,
The chosen were singing out His Son's birth.
The Bibles were open to Matthew that night,
and praises were sung to a heavenly height.
The pastor spoke boldly the Word we all love,
About our sweet Jesus who came from above.
The spoke of salvation to those who were lost,
For whom Christ had died for upon Calvary's cross.
He knew through the years we'd been bound up by sin,
But we could be free if we'd just let Him in.
So open your hearts all you people who know,
And let Jesus make your soul white as snow.
Heed the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
About His great work that they've carried on.
The Epistles of Paul will show us the way,
Revelation tells us of the glorious day.
At the sound of the trump and the twink of an eye
We'll be caught up with  Jesus to a cloud in the sky.
We'll sit down with Jesus to a wonderful feast,
Then come back with Him to bind up the beast.
There'll be no dying, no sickness, no tears,
We'll reign in His glory for one thousand years.
And after these things a new heaven and earth,
And all because of our dear Savior's birth
So "Follow Me Children we hear Jesus say,
That He is the Truth, the Life, and the Way.
~Rick Semos
Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree

Praise the Lord, our little Christmas angel (Dariya, who we're the Christmas warrior for on the RR angel tree) has $2640 raised for her ransom!!!  Now, is there a family out there ready to bring home this precious bundle of joy?!?  Pass the word around that Reece's Rainbow has several children with large grants right now, so it's a great time to commit to adopting a special child!

Also, if you haven't already given to the Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree, please click HERE to donate!  It is the goal that every angel would receive atleast $1,000 towards their adoption during the Christmas fundraiser, and there are lots of little angels out there who NEED your help! 

Many thanks to all who have donated already.  You are changing the futures of orphans around the world!  Please pray that every angel would have their forever families commit to them, and that the funds would be raised to help these families rescue their lovies!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Attn Racquell Werbe

You (Racquell Werbe) left a comment that you wanted to purchase a Boss Your Heart book.  I emailed you, but your email was returned to me.  If you still want to purchase a book, please paypal $25 to Lorraine@ForgottenSawRanch.com and be sure to leave your mailing address in the comment on paypal.

Thank you to everyone who purchased a book!  We've sold them all, and each person who purchased one should be receiving it this week.  (The books were mailed Saturday via Priority Mail with USPS.)  If you purchased a book but it doesn't arrive this week, please let me know.

We're still aiming for Valentine's Day for the "real" book release!  It's fun to think about Chrissie teaching others to "boss their hearts" during the one holiday of the year that is all hearts!!!  I'm thinking of those conversation heart candies that say things like "I Do"...I think they need to make one that says "Boss Your Heart"! :-)

Hope all of you are preparing your hearts for the celebration of the birth of our Savior, the King of Kings!  Four more days till Happy Birthday, Jesus!  I wonder if Jesus has a party in Heaven?  If He didn't before, I bet Chrissie throws Him one this year!

Monday, December 20, 2010

One Last Christmas


One Last Christmas by Matthew West
(music video--if you are reading this via email or in RSS reader, you must visit the blog at http://www.allarepreciousinhissight.blogspot.com/ to watch the video.  Get your tissues.)

It's been 7 months since Chrissie went to Heaven.
It seems impossible that she's been gone for SEVEN months.
I can still see her, smell her, feel her little fingers pressing into my neck with her tight hugs.
It can't be seven months.
But it is.

As I listened to this song (One Last Christmas), I reflected upon Chrissie' last Christmas.  I guess it was her only Christmas, really.  I thought I might feel some guilt or regrets about how I might have done things differently if we had just known it would be Chrissie's last Christmas.  Instead of thinking of things I would have done differently, I was overwhelmed with gratitude that Chrissie was with our family for her last Christmas.  We spent every day of the advent season reading from God's Word, learning about Jesus' lineage (through the Jesse Tree devotional), and focusing on the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  Chrissie was so excited about having a birthday party for Jesus, and looking back on it, I really wouldn't change a thing about the way we celebrated Christmas for Chrissie's last Christmas.


Also, as I listened to this song (One Last Christmas), I realized that there was a very cool story out there that I had never heard (Dax's story).
I'm sure there are just as many people who have never heard of Chrissie's story.
And there are thousands of families who have lost children whose stories will not be spread around the world.

But God knows each and every story.
He knows the number of hairs on each of our heads.
And He knows each tear we cry.
God knows our pain personally because He, too, lost His Son.
His One and Only Son.

For you.
And for me.

With the hope that the story of His Son would be spread around the world.

For your salvation.
And for mine.
And for all those who have never heard The Good News.

Share His story.
Spread it around the world.
There's no story as important as His.

The Christmas Story.
Read it in Luke, chapters 1 and 2.
Then spread the story.

Happy Birthday Jesus!


Sunday, December 19, 2010

Celebrating 18 on the 19th...

18 years ago, on December 19, 1992, I married the man I had always dreamt of marrying.
God blessed me more than I could have imagined.
I had always had an idea in my head of the type of man I wanted to marry, but I truly didn't believe that man existed.
Until I met Matt.
God put the desire in my heart for a man just like Matt because He had created my husband for me.
Kinda crazy to think that God worked all this out before we were even knit in our mothers' wombs.
I'm so grateful God is in control and not me. 
His plans are always so much better than I can ever fathom.
Thank you, God, for blessing me with such an awesome husband.  I'm not deserving, but I am most humbly grateful.

19 years ago, I gave my husband (fiancee at the time) the following poem:

I guess you could say that in some ways,
I've always loved you.
That doesn't sound right, I know,
because I haven't always known you,
but I've always known certain qualities
that were important to me,
and in my mind and heart, I've always
carried an image, a fantasy, a wish, I guess,
of a wonderful person I could love totally.
You've given me what I've always wished for:
fun and laughter,
concern and understanding,
a friend to depend on,
a lover to cherish,
a partner in everything I do...
Thinking about you--
how you make me feel,
how I feel about you
and all that you are--
I realize that all my life,
I've always loved you in my dreams.
Now that you've come out of my dreams
and into my life,
I can tell you
that I've always loved you
and that I always will. 
~Gary LaFollette


18 years and counting.
I love you more than yesterday, Big Daddy!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Are You Longing for Your Little One to be Home?


Click to watch a video to Third Day's song about a family longing to bring their little one home.

If you're celebrating Christmas this year without a child (or children) who you're in the process of adopting, please leave a comment so we can pray for you and your children.  It's so hard to be separated during the adoption process, and it's particularly difficult during Christmas when we long to hold our lovies and whisper the good news of Jesus Christ to their hearts.

If you're waiting to bring your lovie home, hang in there.  God is good; His timing is perfect, even when it may not feel that way.

Friday, December 10, 2010

A Christmas Carol {video}



How is it that I had never heard this sweet song, Christmas Carol?!?  Someone posted it on my Facebook wall, and I'm glad I listened to it!

Please pray for every orphan to have someone claim them as their very own "Christmas Carol"!

"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you."  John 14:18

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Boss Your Heart Books: Limited Edition

I have a limited number of Boss Your Heart books for sale in time for Christmas.  The price will be $25/book, which includes domestic priority mail shipping.  We will not be making any money off the sale of this special edition book, as this project was done using a rush service from a local printer so we could have them in time for Christmas.  (Rush means the cost was much higher than a non-rushed job.)  This limited edition book which will be signed by me (if you want something specific written inside, just let me know).  It is a simple spiral-bound book with 320 full-sized pages (8.5x11").  The Boss Your Heart book is a compilation of the posts from Chrissie's 31-day hospital battle.  It's neat to see it all printed and bound, and wow, it's so easy to flip through it and peruse God's miracles!  I had no idea I had written so much!  My hope with recording Chrissie's journey was that she would one day be able to read first-hand all that God did in her life, but God had other plans to use Chrissie's story to mend broken hearts around the world.  I continue to be amazed by all God did through the life of a former orphan, and I'm grateful to have it all recorded in this book.

Mia Carter is the gracious woman who God called to step in and tackle this book project.  She's a mom to a little girl in Heaven as well, and Mia has a Boss Your Heart necklace and followed our story since we left to go get Chrissie!  She's been an absolute godsend for this project, and I am forever grateful for her hard work, dedication, perseverance and flexibility throughout this project!  We hope to release the books sometime in the near future (aiming for Valentine's), but I wanted to offer these limited edition books to you all just incase someone wants to have one in time for Christmas.  I do not plan to print more of these, so this will be limited to the first 20 requests.

If you would like to purchase one of the limited edition Boss Your Heart books, please email me at Lorraine@ForgottenSawRanch.com.  You may also leave a comment here if you would like to.  If you do not hear back from me within 3 days, please email me again.  It's so very hard for me to keep up with emails these days, but I pray none of the emails will get lost in the busyness of life.

I pray abundant blessings on you and yours during this Christmas season.  May Jesus shine brightly in your home and hearts!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

More Blessings!

After you read this announcement, you'll understand why the blog's been in hibernation lately.

Tuesday, November 23, God blessed us with a special surprise and sent us two more precious blessings!

The Patterson Family joyfully announces the arrival of sisters from Texas:

Ella (age 5)
"shining light"



Selah (age 9 weeks, hydrocephalus baby) 
"pause to reflect upon God's goodness"
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