He is faithful!

I just got finished looking at amazing, beautiful pictures of a friend that returned home from picking up her little boy from Africa! I shared one of the pics on my Facebook page because of the sheer joy on her face and her new son's face. I am so excited for this new adventure they are starting with their little guy home. That will be our familyone day! I can't even imagine it right now.

After seeing all those cute pics, the girls and I started looking through pictures of available Bulgarian children. There are a lot of older kids and one set of girls had the names Violet and Rain. My inner "boho" side freaked out and I said, "I'd adopt those girls because they have such amazing names." I mean, we did name our child Violet Skye. Chloe very gently took my shoulder and said, "Mommy, we adopt because of what's on the inside, not because we like their names."

I love that my six-year-old doesn't see skin color, she doesn't see a name, she doesn't see a boy or girl, she sees a kiddo without a mommy or daddy to care for them. So, because we can't adopt the older kids, we all picked names from that list and that night we prayed that God would give those kiddos a mommy and daddy soon.

I am leading a Jen Hatmaker (another adoptive mommy) bible study called A Modern Girl's Guide to Bible Study at Fish Camp. Fish Camp is the women's bible study at our church. If you're local you should check it out! Yes, it's really called Fish Camp and YES, there is a reason. I'm pretty excited because I love Jen Hatmaker, I love my co-leader, I'm so excited about the group of ladies God gave us, and I love the Bible. One of the verses I read yesterday as I prepared to teach was Psalm 26:2-3:

"Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes and I walk in your faithfulness."

Excuse me God, let me just say, I'm not asking to be tested yet again. Between you and me, I think God likes to test me and Kev. :) But, the BEST part is the second part. "For your steadfast love is before my eyes," this is awesome because it's something that is already visible and something we can see. "I walk in your faithfulness." I love that part because the writer not a new believer who is just learning how God works or has difficulty seeing God at work. The writer already has a deeper understanding of God and recognizes God's faithfulness!! God IS faithful, not just yesterday, and not the next time we need help. He is faithful all the time, it is a part of who He is!

This was a huge reminder to me that I don't have to go searching for God's promises. It's not a question of if He loves me. I don't have to try hard to remember that time He did what He said He'd do. His promises are that are already visible and present in my life. I am walking in His faithfulness daily. He is active and present in our lives whether we notice Him or not.

I don't know about you but knowing that God IS love and IS faithful is huge for me. That's probably why I loved the comment on my friend's family photo with her new son. She said, "He is faithful" and He is.

On a side note, we sold 152 t-shirts and raised $1,884! Thank you to all that participated in this fundraiser and purchased a t-shirt! We still have people asking for kid's sizes and other styles! Stay posted in the fall for the winter and kid's edition.