Self-Control

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." -Galatians 5:22-23

From spirithome.com:
When Christians speak of the work of the "Holy Spirit", they are speaking about the operations of the Spirit of God in the material world we live in, and within us. But God the Holy Spirit isn't here just to hang out, or to do a miracle for sport, or bliss someone out for an hour or so. The Spirit is there to cause things to happen in peoples' lives that bring them more in tune with God's purposes on earth (and beyond). Words like 'result' or 'outgrowth' help us little to envision this. When the Spirit starts changing someone, it shows as a growth in character, a change in their way of life that is good for the people they live among. This change in character and way of life is called a 'fruit of the Spirit', like the fruit grown by a tree can feed people and wildlife. From ancient times to today, abundant fruit from an orchard is seen as cause for hope and celebration. Abundant spiritual fruit also breeds hope and is well worth celebrating.

I am so incredibly excited about what this year will bring!  I can just imagine all that will happen.  This year is different than years in the past.  I really feel like the Lord has given me a real vision for this year.  We have decided to do quite a few things differently.  The first thing is our weight loss.  This week was real tough.  We were so excited about all the CPS stuff we ate out a few times to celebrate.  The good thing is we didn't go too far overboard and we didn't gain any weight.  Didn't loose any, but didn't gain any.  This self-control is SO hard for me.  I have really found that the more I talk to God about the struggle and read His word, the easier it gets.  So, here I am again ready to continue on this journey. 

I'm dying to share all that happened at our CPS meeting!  I got off work and Jackie and I went to a wedding reception for a few minutes.  The weather was terrible.  Blowing snow, and a windchill of -26!  We made it to our meeting about 5 minutes late.  (Now, if you know me, you know this is pretty much my norm.  If you know my husband, you know he is very rarely late, and if he is it drives him CRAZY!)  We walked up to the door and it was locked!  I had called earlier to confirm we would be at the meeting.  The wonderful woman told me she would tape her phone number on the glass just in case they couldn't hear us.  The paper fell off the glass upside down.  I could see the paper, but the phone number was not where we could see it!  We began to knock on the windows and ring the doorbell.  But, no answer.  Jackie told me we had to get back in the car.  It was dangerously cold.  Both our hands and noses and ears were bright red and SO cold.  I felt terrible.  I cried.  I was so excited about the meeting and couldn't wait to get started.  Jackie was so calm and didn't say anything about us being late because I wanted to visit at the reception. 

We just sat in the car very quietly.  We waited and waited and waited.  About an hour later, the people began to leave the meeting.  The woman was VERY cautious about letting us in.  We were all bundled up and she couldn't see much of our faces.  I"m sure it was scary because we literally ran to the door when we saw them!  She was so kind though.  She took us back to her office and we got to have a private meeting and ask so many questions.  Earlier that day, I had went to the Texas DPS website and pulled background checks and she was able to look at us right in the eye and say, "It's not a problem!"  A moment of relief and healing came over us right there in the middle of her cubicle!  The Lord answered our prayers completely and totally! 

We got all the first set of paperwork completed.  Including the drawings of our house and lists of all the places we had lived since we were 18.  I've moved 13 times since I was 18.  That's crazy!  We are going to start the classes in May.  We could do it in March, but Jackie has a school class on the same night as one of the CPS classes.  There's not another time we could move his class too.  We are deciding if we should do half in March and the other half in May, or just do all of it in May.  I want to start as soon as possible, but Jackie wants to do it all at one time.  Either way, the process takes about 3-4 months.  So, in about 5 months or so, we could have kids in our home! 

Taylor's appointment with her Asthma/Allergy Specialist went FABULOUS!  She's doing great.  The meds are really helping her.  I'm so proud of her and so thankful she can breathe!

Changes

There are so many things changing in our lives right now.  It's exciting, scary, nerve-wracking, peaceful, and so many other things all at the same time.  Since I began this weight loss journey, I have lost 24 pounds.  That's a big deal!  I am down to 235!!  It's been terribly hard, but I love stepping on the scale and seeing the number go down.  I'm missing pizza, enchilladas, and cokes.  I'm learning to love lettuce, skinny cow fudge pops, teas, and the feeling that I can do it! 

This weekend we were really busy.  Friday night we had a meeting about the biggest dream in our hearts right now.  CityChurch is planning on building a place called Hope Ranch.  Right now in AISD there are over 900 homeless children.  That is a staggering number.  Jackie and I have been really praying for the Lord to give us more children.  This desire for kids is contagious at CityChurch.  There are many other families who have adopted, are adopting, or are considering adopting in the future.  We have a dream, a dream for a neighborhood full of these kids in Christian homes.  Kids who have room to run and play, learn about the God who loves them so much, and to see that life should be different.  We want to give these kids a safe, secure place to do all these things in.  Don always used to say, "Help without hope is no help at all!"  So, we want to give them a place to grow up and to gain this hope.  We envision a tree-lined street with homes on either side, a barn, campfire pit, garden, and a fishing hole.  Jackie and I are going to move there and be house parents.  Not just house parents, but kids' parents. 

Speaking of that, tonight is our first CPS meeting.  We are going to being the process of becoming licensed foster parents with CPS.  We will eventually be able to adopt children through CPS.  It's so exciting!  We are both nervous, but we know that this is what the Lord wants for us.  We are praying for the Lord to begin to equip us.  We know we are lacking in many areas, but most of all we know that "God does not call the equipped, but He equips the called!"