Some Housekeeping**** Edited

I can't post without showing off my treasures....


I have a few things I wanted to mention so this is going to be a hodge-podge post.

First of all, a while back, several of us talked about doing an on-line Bible study. I need it so badly right now. I am so out of the habit of studying the Word and I need something and someone who will hold me accountable for it. I have asked the Father to direct us to the study that needs to happen and I am going to start searching for something we can all do remotely and come together weekly to discuss. Please please please weigh in if you feel led to a certain study. It just might be YOU that God is inspiring to direct us to the Words He wants to give us this fall. Going into the holiday season, I want to be sure that I am meditating on His Word and not caught up in my own frenzy all the time. Jack had a memory verse for church last week that hit me in the face, "I have hidden Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You." I haven't been arming myself too well lately and the jerk always knows when you are running low on ammo... you can bet he'll come after me if I take my eyes off Jesus.

**Here is what I have found.... the first one is Believing God with Beth Moore. I have done this study before and it's amazing. I would happily do it again, in fact, I've wanted to do it again. It's intense. It will have you on your knees within a couple of lessons. Check out the info here.

The other one I found is another Beth Moore. This one is called Living Beyond Yourself. This sounds like something I could really use a lesson in, for sure. It's based on The Fruits of the Spirit as found in Galatians. I'm open to this one too. Here is the info. on that course.

I could not find any other courses that were offered where you could get full access to everything anytime you wanted. There were some that started and stopped at a particular time, but I thought with some of us living in different time zones, it should be self-driven. Just "vote" for which one you want and we'll pick a date to start. **

Another thing I am praying about that I wanted to throw out there just to get some response and guidance is that Michelle has been encouraging me to write a book. It's something I've thought about for a long time, but never quite knew where to start. Actually, I still don't know where to start, but I trust that will come if He ordains this. Anyway, the book would basically be a reference guide for families when they are experiencing difficulties during transition. I would have resources listed, stories of other families, and "advice" from myself and some actual experts. It would be a go-to sort of thing when you experience x, try z. It wouldn't be a novel, but more of a reference manual. I have felt for a long time that agencies are falling far short in their commitment to preparing families for the aftermath of adoption. I can't tell you how many families I talk to who had no idea what to expect or how to react. The vast majority of families have heard about some of these PI behaviors, but have not been coached in how to respond when they experience them in their own homes. I wonder how many children are a mess today as a result of bad reactions from parents? I wonder how many of those kids are out there giving international adoption a bad rap because people think their issues are due to the time they spent in the orphanage, not the unpreparedness of their families to heal them. I can tell you that for sure there are alot of kids dealing with on-going issues that could have been solved by parents who understood what was needed. It's not that these families didn't want to do the right thing, to the contrary. Who goes around the world to rescue an orphan and doesn't have enough love to give them what they need. Most of these families responded incorrectly because they didn't know how else to respond. It's not rocket-science, but it's often counter-intuitive. Okay, so maybe I've just written the intro to the book... hahaha. At least I'm passionate about the topic. Anyway, I really want your HONEST feedback. If you think it's ridiculous, please say so. I'd rather be shot down now before I invest myself in a project that falls flat. And if you don't think it's something that would be well-received, you might be God's voice encouraging me to wait. So, please don't lavish encouragement if you think it's a bad idea. I'll blame Michelle since she's the one who thought of it in the first place! :)

1 Peter 5:6-7

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."