The one post for April :0)

So, I am standing in church today and I sense an awkwardness as I lift my hands and worship. Have you ever been there... the people around you being so uncomfortable with your hands in the air (as if in some way it is an affront to them personally)... I don't mean to be insensitive, but all I could hear in my mind were Christ's words in Luke 9:26, "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." Over and over this verse played in my mind until I had to look it up to see EXACTLY what it said.

I want to be compassionate. I want to meet people where they are at, but if that means to restrain the love I have in my heart for Jesus so as not to offend them, then I think I am off track. Paul did say that we don't need to offend people because the cross itself is the offense... but isn't authentic worship what draws people in? Don't people want to see authenticity? Or if they don't - isn't that what they need anyway? I just stood - hands lifted, voice raised and mind in prayer... Oh Jesus if they don't know you, let them drop religion for a relationship, vibrant and holy. And oh, Father, if they do know you will you put this verse in their minds? Will you teach them with your Holy Spirit that it is not okay to be ashamed of you and your message, and your people. Maybe it is pride. I want the Lord to examine my heart in this. But, I can't help but think that it is time I became radical again... that I fall back in love with my first Love. Oh my heart is excited at the thought. It is as if the myrhh is dripping off the door knob again for the first time in a long time and my heart is awakened though I still feel asleep. (Song of Solomon...)

Then I begin reading a book that was at church today, it is called The Road to Reality by K.P. Yohannan. This is in the Preface of the book... "We've been taught to serve up a watered-down gospel for so long that the real Gospel has become an embarrasment. However, half a truth is no truth at all. Obedience must always be a vital part of our response to His love and grace."

There it was again... embarrassed... over the gospel, the good news... I don't understand. A HALF TRUTH IS NO TRUTH AT ALL! That's exactly it. I want to worship in Spirit and Truth. Did Jesus not sacrifice enough for me to raise my hands up to Him in adoration? Did He not love me enough to put Himself in uncomfortable positions? I don't know. I just think I've had it. I think I must be true to the One who has been so True to me. Sorry if that makes you a bit uncomfortable. It is time that we pray for those who say they love Him and yet, they are so worried about how THEY feel in worship that they don't stop to wonder how He feels at their embarrassment of Him. It is time to be serious about what we are serious about, and stop playing the "I really am in love with Jesus game." If you are in love no one has to guess with who.

Just because I want to make sure that I am balanced with the Word, I am going to look it up right now. What exactly does Paul say about offending folks... hang in there with me while I look this up....

Well, this is what I've found so far, but I am not through yet. I know this wasn't written by Paul, so I am still looking, but I am truly intrigued now. Matthew 15:11-13 says this, "What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?" He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots." I think that speaks pretty clearly. It is good that he makes the distinction that it is the Pharisees that are upset by this. He lets them know quickly that their offense makes it clear that they are not planted by the Father - therefore, they will be pulled up by their roots". Now for the verse I was looking for originally...

1 Corinthians 10:28-32 is the context for which I am saying that Paul pleads with us not to make men stumble. He says, "28But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience' sake - the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved." So there it is... don't cause anyone to stumble, saved or not... Now for true context. That doesn't mean don't offend people. It says, whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. If my motive was to offend people, because I am just that much more spiritual than they, then I am dead wrong... it is my glory at stake and it is my pride that leads me there. But, today, in my heart, as best I know, I wanted the Lord to be glorified, and I wanted people to come to know Him. I wanted people to quit worrying about my hands lifted up towards Heaven, and worry about themselves, and their salvation. I wanted to tell the Lord that I adore Him... more than I adore anyone here in this world.

More March Happenings...

Here's the update on our littlest member of the fam. Sweet Jude will not have to have surgery for his little bump - at least for a while. Most likely it is a lump of scar tissue from a small cut that was on his head from the birth experience. It may not ever have to be removed - so PRAISE THE LORD! I really am so glad for that. Thank you for praying for us! Right now we are all on antibiotics for tonsilitis/bronchitis and ear infections. Bummer. I have to leave it at this for now, but I will post more later!

Life for us in March...

Life in the Simmons family is certainly busy these days. Too busy. I am not in the Word nearly like I want to be and I NEED it! I wanted to post a little something about our Jude. Oh, he is precious and sweet and wonderful! But, he has a small bump on the back of his head. He has had it since birth – and the doctor says it is a cyst. We are taking him on March 18th to Texas Children’s to have it looked at by a specialist. It isn’t supposed to be a major deal, but they will do surgery to remove it and they will need to put him under anesthesia to do it. So, please pray for it to go really well, and for Ken and I to be an encouragement to other people through this process. I will try to post again when I am more certain of the date of the surgery.
I am getting some pictures ready for our Lifebook and I am really excited to see how it all comes together. The kids are excited to be on Spring break! I am glad not to have to get them ready for school for a week J! Other than that, it is just laundry, dishes and trying to get dinner cooked before 7pm. We love your prayers!

More thoughts on Adoption...

So, I was just realizing how excited I am to fill out forms and put pictures together to make a Life Book for our adoption process. And I began to realize that everyone starts this process with excitement. Everyone. Then, somehow, as time goes on, the excitement fades into doubt and sadness and just a tiredness in the process. I was asking the Lord why this is the way it is, and I was asking Him to keep the excitement in my heart that I have now - even if this process takes years. So, as I prayed and contemplated the situation, He gave me a really simple thought. It was as if He simply said, because people quit believing that it is really going to happen. Then, He took my mind to vacation. You know, the summer vacation that you plan, or the spring break plan that you make. We are planning to go to California this summer and we are stoked!! (That is a Californian word for really excited!) As time goes on, even though it has been months since we made the plan, we get MORE excited because we KNOW that the time is closer now than it was before! It should be the same way with adoption. Because every month we wait, we are one month closer to having our baby! That is truth! But, the enemy comes in to steal from us and we let him! We give him our hope and our trust in the Lord's Sovereignty and we say, that's okay, I'll just become apathetic! NO WAY! I am begging the Lord to protect me from that. I don't want to make it appear easy - every act of war is just that - an act of war. There aren't toy guns and pretend arrows. It is really intense and you have to fight literally for your life. But, I am asking the Lord to help me fight for the CONSTANT excitement in this process. In my mind, 8 to 10 months seems like perfect timing - BUT MY TIMING ISN'T NECESSARILY THE LORD'S TIMING! So, I want to grow more and more excited as each month passes and not let the enemy take anything away from this beautiful and amazing process. Please pray for our family as we begin our journey. Pray that the Lord will get amazing glory from our journey through adoption! And, let me know if you want to see our Life Book! I can't wait until it is finished!

Adoption

Galatians 4:5, "God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, "Abba, Father".

Ken and I have just begun the process of adopting a precious baby into our family. There are many unknowns. There are many fears - most of which are unfounded. The Lord in all of His sovereignty already has a baby picked out for our family. He alone knows if this sweet one is even conceived, whether it is a boy, or girl. He alone knows what struggles the baby will have already had in this life. I want to have a heart of prayer for this baby’s biological mother (the birthmother, in adoptive language). I want people to realize that the stigma that is usually placed on women who give their babies a fresh start in life through the process of adoption is not accurate. They are depicted as uncaring, unfeeling, and even selfish. Selfishness looks like abortion. Selfishness looks like raising the baby in a crack house, or in the midst of prostitution. Selfishness is not letting someone else raise the baby that grew in your womb for 9 months. That is quite possibly one of the most selfless decisions a woman could make for her child. And it is not rational to think that any woman would have an easy time of delivering a baby only to place it in someone else’s arms. The nurturing instinct of a mother doesn’t just fade away after delivery. These sweet women have to grieve as if they have lost a child to miscarriage. Yes, ultimately they know that life awaits their baby. A good life, with someone that they have chosen. But, the child will grow up calling someone else Momma and Daddy. As we go through this process, I am praying that we will realize all of the ways that we can love this birthmother. Sometimes that might look like drawing near. And sometimes, that might look like backing away - and giving her room to breathe. This is just the start of an amazing journey. I can’t wait to see what lies ahead! The Lord is faithful. The Lord is loving. The Lord is a mighty God!

Ephesians 1:5, "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son."

Praise His Holy Name!

Today our precious Jared accepted Christ! Please join with me and the angels to sing praise to our sweet God who has adopted Jared as a son! YEAH GOD! Tonight in church, with no prompting by anyone other than the Holy Spirit, my precious son lifted his arms in worship. Oh it was precious indeed! Not only did he not just do what he saw me doing - I hadn't even raised my arms yet, and he leaned over and asked me why I hadn't! Oh thank you Jesus that once we are yours, no matter how old or young, we can hear your voice! What a sweet memory for me to always treasure in my heart. There is no greater thing than to realize that your child wants to love Jesus and praise Him. When I asked him why he wanted to ask Jesus in his heart, his first response was, "because I want to praise Him!" Oh wow!

Yes, Jesus, that we would want you in our lives, not just for direction, or clarity, or for what we get out of it, but just simply because we want to praise you! Let us praise you with childlike faith! Help us to love you with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Teach us what that even means in our lives. There is so much to be thankful for. Help us to know you in ways that we can't even imagine right now. Help us to praise you in all things. Help us to know how to recognize all that we have to be thankful for!

So, my heart is rejoicing and I cannot stop thinking of things to be thankful for. What a sweet God we serve. He knows what we need before we even ask Him. That is so amazing, and so true. He even knows our wants and sometimes provides for those as well. What a good and giving God we serve! I really think I am the most blessed woman in the whole world! Truly, what more could I want. Truly I live in a place of abundance! Thank you my sweet God.

Welcome Jude Alexander Simmons

Jude's Here! What a precious boy he is! He is so sweet and little! He weighed 7lbs. 9 ozs., and was 19 and a half inches long. We are doing really well at home. I can't wait to see how much he weighs today! We are going to our first weight checkup. He is a really content baby, and his brothers and sister adore him! They all love to hold him and just look at him. We are adjusting really well and we are so glad to be home and finding our "normal". Today was the first day that we actually feel like we are on a semi-schedule. The first few nights have been spent making adjustments and finding what works for his sleep patterns, and mine :) We are really excited about Christmas and just being a quiet family Christmas. We will be able to just relax and love on each other while being so thankful to our God for sending us His Son into the world in such lowly circumstances. What an amazing God, and what an amazing plan! Enjoy your loved ones this Christmas and know that God put you in exactly the family He knew you needed and needed you! Love you all,

Christy