Random Things

I know it's been over a month since I've posted anything. Karsten finished 1st grade on May 22 and we are having fun and enjoying the summer break. Karsten's baseball season is about to come to an end. He has done such a great job and we are so proud of him. He even hit a homerun the other day! This was our first year not playing in a Christian organization, but it's been pretty good. It's made us get out of our comfort zone. We've met some wonderful people and some who are Christians.

Karsten has a new kitten named Tippy. She is a 6 week old tortoiseshell and is so adorable. Our 13 year old cat Priscilla died less than a month ago with kidney failure, and then two days later we adopted a kitten from the pound. Long story short, Snuggles was only with us for two days and spent four days in the vet. She was very sick and we had to have her put down. Meanwhile, this past Saturday, we got Tippy, who is very healthy and playful. However, Saturday night, Tippy fell 11 or 12 feet from the ledge of the banister onto the hardwood floor. We were in shock and thought that this cannot be happening. She wasn't moving and we thought she was a goner. We did a lot of praying that night and praise the Lord she is okay. Maybe cats really do have nine lives. =)

As far as news in our adoption, there's really been no change. The China Center of Adoption Affairs is still moving so slowly. We continue to trust our sovereign King because He has allowed this. We remember that God's timing is so much different than our own. It says in Psalms and in the New Testament that a thousand years is like a day to the Lord. What then does 3 1/2 years equate to? God knows the time, He knows what is right, because He made time and He's the One who even gives us time. That's why we need to make good use of our time. We can choose to complain about the wait, or not complain, and wait patiently for God to move. We know He is already moving!

One more thing for now, please pray for my family and me for God to give us wisdom and direction in finding another church. Through much prayer we felt God leading us somewhere else. It was a VERY difficult decision!! We love our church family, our Pastor and his wife, but we believe that if we didn't leave we would be disobeying God. We've been at our church for nearly 11 years and this was not an easy decision. In fact, the easy thing to do would just have been to stay where we are. We are very comfortable there; however, sometimes God calls us out of our comfort zone to do His will. This is something we have total peace about. We just started visiting another church yesterday. We have no idea where God will put us. I am so thankful for my church the past 10+ years. I was a new Christian at the time and I have grown so much there and appreciate my Pastor, Sunday School teachers, and my ladies Bible study teacher. There are so many people we will miss, but let me stress that no matter where we are serving we are still one and part of the body of Christ. We deeply covet your prayers for us!!