What a blessing it is to hear from the Word of God!

This weekend, as I wrote before, has been very trying and confusing for maybe all families trying to bring their sons and daughters home from Guatemala. I, myself, have been struggling with the facts and my faith. It's been a tug of war between the two as my flesh cries out in fear at the unknown fate of the children of Guatemala, like Flor, the parents who so desperately want their families together and everything that I know in my spirit to be true. God is in control over this entire situation. He predestined me to be in this moment. He created me to be Flor's mother, and that's what I believe with all of my heart. So why can't it be as easy to trust Him as it is to say that I do. Of course, if I trusted Him completely I wouldn't be fearful. LORD, help me to bring all of this to your feet. Help me to 'cast my burdens on you, for you care for me' (1 Peter 5:7).

Today Pastor Rusty began the service with a passage of scripture that I worked and worked on memorizing last year. 2 Corinthians 2:14-16. It talks about how we are the fragrance of Christ, which to me is lovely, but it starts out saying that God 'leads us into triumphal procession' and that 'through us he spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him'. Pastor Rusty said that the passage means that He is leading us triumphally into triumph. So, He is already celebrating the victory before the victory manafests. So we can have confidence and celebrate with Him!!

You know what would be really cool? Maybe all of this is happening, so that man can take no credit and get no gain, but that the honor and glory go only to God, because it was without a doubt HIM who brought these children into our hearts and home. WOOHOO!!!! Now THAT gets me excited about what is to come!

Prayer Request

I'm sort of speechless...All the things going on in the government concerning Guatemalan adoptions makes me feel sick to my stomach. There are lots of warnings and even more speculation and I don't really know what it all means for me and Flor. I just implore that you keep this and us in your prayers.

http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/country_389.html

I lay awake last night with all of this on my mind. Things that keep popping into my head are how God is in control of this and every other adoption that is in process right now. He's holding all of their tiny hands. I could not do it myself anyway. So, why is it so hard to place complete trust in Him. Not just that His Will WILL be done in the end, but that He is in control of every aspect of this thing. That His glory shines through it all! That people are brought to his feet. That children are rescued. That hearts are convicted.

This feels like a big week. Please pray.

It's fixed!!

Wow. It has been awhile!! I'm so sorry that my website has been down. My host moved servers and I had to manually redirect my domain because its through a different site. UGH!! But now it's taken care of and I can keep you folk more in the loop of the happenings around here!!!

I've tried to keep you updated as well as I could through emails. But I know that some of you may not be on my email list (and if you would like to be, please, send me a message at amanda@clayinhishands.com). So, for the sake of keeping this thing up to date on things, I will post a 'brief' (haha) overview of how things are going.

(forgive me in advance if I am repeating myself)

I am working as a waitress in the restaurant I worked at before I went to Guatemala. I absolutely love working there. It is so much fun!! I am still looking for a full-time job. But as of yet have not had any luck. I'm to the point that I am just looking for a job, and not the job. I've applied to several online with no response so far, but I'm keeping my head up and my eyes open.

I have been so thankful to meet now 2 ladies at church who have been through adoptions. One just recently. I am so thankful to know other people that have gone through what I am about to go through. It really puts me at ease. One of the ladies did introduce me to Lifeline adoption. I have already spoken to someone there twice and they are seeing what they can do to help me. I will be contracting them to do my home study and they will walk me through the US side of things. Another comfort that God has given me. She is actually supposed to call me in the morning again. I am feeling more confident and hopeful than I have in awhile.