Friday, October 25, 2013

Full

Life has been full lately.

 

The good kind of full.

 

The kind of full that feels so overwhelming because you know that you know that you know that you know that you CANNOT do this full on your own.

 

The kind of full that gives God the opportunity to shine brighter because when we are weakest, He is strongest.

 

The kind of full that magnifies how we CAN do all things through Christ who gives us strength.

 

The kind of full that also magnifies just how little we can do on our own.

 

The kind of full that shows how much He trusts us because He gives us so many assignments that there’s absolutely no way one human being, or even a team of people, can accomplish, but with Him, He shows us by actually demonstrating how the impossible is made possible.

 

The kind of full that leaves much left on the to-do list, so much so that the list seems miles long. 

 

But God.

 

He prioritizes and accomplishes the tasks He has ordered for us, even though other things are left undone.

 

He circumcises our hearts, removing more and more of ourselves, replacing more and more of our hearts with Him, even when we don’t realize He’s doing it.

 

When we fail to boss our hearts to beat in sync with His, He does it for us, even when we don’t realize it.

 

Our family and Boss Your Heart Orphan Ministries are grateful for your prayers and support.  God has used you to make the impossible possible.  We have hit the ground running, as God orchestrates His desires of our new ministry, the BYHOMExperience, where guests are invited to stay with us on our ranch.

 

Click HERE to watch video if it doesn’t show up on your screen.

 

We have our first overnight guests arriving this afternoon.  They will stay the weekend with us.  We would be most grateful for your prayers, as we know Satan is prowling like a lion seeking to devour the faithful.  He wants nothing more than to destroy everything God uses for His Kingdom, which often times means families, particularly adoptive families.  We’ve experienced the enemy revving up his attacks on our family as we embark upon this new mission God has called us to, but WE WILL NOT BE MOVED.  Get behind us Satan, for you will NOT win.

 

We also have our first group of BYHOME mission volunteers arriving at Noon today.  We have 22 students (grades 6th-12th) coming to serve this afternoon prior to the arrival of our overnight guests. 

 

Full.  Another demonstration of His fullness, without our efforts, for His glory.

 

God has completely orchestrated all of these guests coming today.  The details He has spun throughout the stories of the guests blows my mind.  He weaves His tapestry this way to not only make it more beautiful, but so we KNOW that He is the One in charge, so He receives all of the glory.  Nothing compares to Him and His beautiful plan.  Nothing.

 

I hope to share a few of those God details here soon.  Thank you for supporting and praying for our family and ministry.  We are truly grateful.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

And the Winner Is…

Oh my goodness, look at all those pieces of paper!

Why, there must be at least 40 people represented in this basket!

photo

 

And you’re going to let ME pick one?!?!  So exciting!

photo 1

 

Hmmmm, now let me see how to unfold this piece of paper.

photo 2

 

OK, now this is fun!  I love paper!

photo 5

 

Ohhhhhhh, I’ve almost got it!!!

photo 1

 

Oh, yes, yes, YES!  I KNOW her!!!

photo 3

 

KARA STARR!!!

 

You’re the winner of the FREE 4-night stay at the new BYHOME barnominium!!! 

 

Contact us to reserve your dates!!!

 

Thank you all who entered this giveaway, in memory of Chrissie’s 8th birthday. 

 

Your prayers, gifts, and support are priceless to us!!!

 

Now, if only every single one of you could have been the winner!  We’d still love to have each and every one of you come stay with us.  Thank you all, again!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Love & Losses: National Pregnancy & Infant Loss Day

October is a hard month for us because there are several significant dates.

 

These dates signify loss to our hearts, but greater than the loss is the LOVE that these dates brought to our lives.

 

October 6, 2009, was the first date we held Chrissie in our arms in Serbia.

Happy family

a gorgeous little girl

 

October 8 was Chrissie’s earthly birthday.  (Her birthday was 10/8/05.)  We only got to celebrate one birthday with Chrissie on this earth, but we are SO GRATEFUL we got to be in Serbia to hold Chrissie on her 4th birthday on October 8, 2009.

Chrissie bday smile

 

October 14, 2009 was the day Chrissie became an official forever member of our family.  This was the date of her official adoption ceremony in Serbia.

Serbia, Oct 14, 15, 16 028

Serbia, Oct 14, 15, 16 020

Chrissie and her Serbian speech pathologist (who is now a treasrured friend of ours), Sandra.

Serbia, Oct 14, 15, 16 018

Chrissie’s orphanage van that blessed us the day of her adoption ceremony. An orphanage driver and Chrissie’s speech pathologist assisted us from early in the morning until late at night October 14, 2009.  They drove us all over Serbia, from Subotica to the town of Chrissie’s birth, all the way back to the capitol city of Belgrade.  Many hours of travel in one day.

 

October 15 was my mom’s earthly birthday.  Her last birthday celebration on this earth was October 15, 2011.

Nana and PawPaw grandkids

Oct iPhone misc 390

 

October 15 is also National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Day.  While we have not lost any pregnancies or infants, our hearts are full of compassion and empathy for those who have.  We have several nieces/nephews who went to live with Jesus while they were still being knit in their mommies’ wombs.  Our hearts ache for my sister and my sister-n-law who both have babies in heaven.  Our hearts ache for all those who have babies in heaven, not because heaven isn’t our eternal destination we all long for, but because of the separation between heaven and earth that we long to have the veil removed from.

 

A friend of mine’s son wrote and recorded this song, in remembrance of his daughter, who went to live with Jesus while she was still being knit in her mommy’s womb.  This song resonates with my soul, and I felt many of you would be touched by it as well.

Click HERE to view the song if it won’t play via this message.

 

I just wanted to let you all know that if you have a little one in heaven, we are praying for you on this day.  We know how hard it is to be separated from a loved one.  We pray peace that passes understanding for your broken heart on this day.  We cling to the hope we have through our Savior Jesus Christ and the promises of our Father that one day, there will be no more tears, no more separation.  Until then, we boss our hearts through the trials and challenges we face living life separated from our loved ones.

Friday, October 11, 2013

BYHOM Brochure

We’re excited to share with you the Boss Your Heart Orphan Ministries brochure, which includes more information on the BYHOMExperience, where guests come stay in the “barnominium” on our ranch.

 

We’re in the process of creating a website specific to the BYHOMExperience, complete with booking information.  We already have our first guests lined up, and we’re excited to host many more guests in days to come!  Keep praying and sharing this ministry with groups who fit into the categories of people we host (see brochure below for more info).  Thanks so much!

BYHOME brochure pic1exportJPG

BYHOME brochure pic3exportJPG

BYHOME brochure pic4exportJPG

BYHOME brochure pic5exportJPG

BYHOME brochure pic6poolExportJPG

BYHOME brochure pic2exportJPG

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Finally! The Promised Virtual Tour of BYHOME

I’m so sorry for the delay in posting photos of the new BYHOME barnominium from our Open House yesterday.  There just aren’t enough hours in the days!!!

 

I want to thank everyone who came out to hug our necks and show their support of our new ministry, BYHOME.  There was such a diverse group of people who showed up, which blessed our hearts immeasurably.  We had quite a few fun surprise visits from old friends and new ones, as well—people we never would have guessed would stop by.  What a hug to our hearts everyone’s presence was!  Open House included lots of tears, but the joy was radiant.  So grateful for everyone who came out.  Thank you!

 

We also want to thank all who prayed and donated.  We couldn’t do this without you.  We want to extend our deepest gratitude to each of you.

 

I haven’t had a chance yet to draw the giveaway winner yet, but I promise I will do it as soon as time allows.

 

And now, for the big reveal—the “virtual tour” of the BYHOME barnominium (think condominium above our barn).  All photos compliments of the amazing Grey to Blue Photography (who I HIGHLY recommend for any photography needs).  (Thank you, Mikenzie!!!) 

 

THE STAIRS THAT LEAD TO THE BARNOMINIUM

IMG_2118

 

THE DECK

IMG_2104

 

THE FRONT DOOR

IMG_2107

 

THE BARNOMINIUM INTERIOR

IMG_2103

IMG_2102

 

THE ENTRYWAY WELCOME TABLE

IMG_2079

IMG_2083

IMG_2077

 

THE BYHOME MINISTRY TABLE

IMG_2076

 

THE DINING ROOM

IMG_2086

 

THE KITCHEN

IMG_2088

IMG_2089

 

THE LIVING ROOM

IMG_2090

IMG_2114

IMG_2117

IMG_2116

 

THE CHRISTYN “JEWELRY” (JOY) ROOM

KIDS’ BUNK ROOM (SLEEPS 6)

IMG_2091

IMG_2092

IMG_2094

IMG_2093

 

THE “SILLY GOOSEBALL” ROOM

MASTER BEDROOM

(WE PLAN TO HAVE TWO QUEEN BEDS IN THIS ROOM TO SLEEP 4)

IMG_2095

IMG_2096

IMG_2097

 

THE BATHROOM

IMG_2098

IMG_2099

IMG_2100

 

A FEW MISCELLANEOUS PHOTOS

IMG_2111

IMG_2110

IMG_2109

 

There you have it!!!  The virtual tour doesn’t capture the spirit of this place, but it’s the best we can do long distance. Smile  We LOVE it, and we pray many of you will come visit us soon!!!  We’re working on a website for reservations and more information about visiting us. 

 

Thank you all, again, for your tremendous support.  Your outpouring of love has blessed our hearts immensely. 

 

PS  This really deserves its very own blog post, but I really want to share THIS POST with you, written by my dear friend Carrie (Rowan’s mom).  Please take a moment, to go read what she wrote.  She brought Rowan to our Open House (Rowan had surgery the day prior!), and she blessed us with a beautiful homemade cake and cupcakes for Chrissie’s birthday.  And roses.  And a beautiful card.  And everything had such significant details.  And then God did something miraculous.  Carrie documented it beautifully right HERE on her blog.

 

After Open House, we released sky lanterns at Chrissie’s grave.  It was Chrissie’s “golden” birthday—she turned 8 on October 8, so we released 8 sky lanterns.  They worked beautifully!

photo 1

photo 2

photo 3

photo 4

photo 4

photo 5

photo 3

We love you and miss you, precious princess Chrissie.  We are SOOOOO looking forward to hugging your neck in heaven one day!!!

blog comments powered by Disqus