Your Best Life Now

I'll say it now: I like Pastor Osteen. I was born and raised in Houston, TX, but never went to Lakewood Church. If I lived there now, I would be getting there two hours early every Sunday just to get a parking space! Call me a follower, a fan or a "watcher" of his program; I simply love the way the man preaches. He has a positive, happy demeanor about him, which makes listening to his sermons a joy.

I am NOT, let me repeat, NOT a fan of the "hellfire & damnation" preachers at all. Who likes sitting in church feeling guilty about things you haven't even done? Geez! I get it; I know what's bad and what could get me thrown out of God's favor. I want someone to teach me the Bible; to make me happy about going through this thing called life; to let me know that although He is all-powerful, He is also on my side.

With that being said, I recently read "Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living At Your Full Potential" by Joel Osteen. And I loved it! Like lovingly absorbed every single page. It has been one of those books I've always thought about getting around to reading, but I never actually bought it. Fast forward to my Mom coming in town for a visit and finding the book at Goodwill for $2.00 - Score! Plus, she bought the book, because what else does a mom do but spoil her daughter and grandchild (and slightly the son-in-law - love you, babe!) by buying them whatever they want, when she hasn't seen them in over a year? Double Score! Tangent Over: Back to the book review.

There are 7 Parts to "Your Best Life Now":

Enlarge Your Vision
Develop A Healthy Self-Image
Discover the Power of Your Thoughts and Words
Let Go of the Past
Find Strength Through Adversity
Live to Give!
Choose to be Happy

Each part is broken down into chapters, where Pastor Osteen shares how to achieve these 7 steps. He tells funny stories from his childhood, about his family, his children, people he has known, past and present, interesting little-known stories about people from all around the world. All of these stories are combined with stories from The Bible. And the way the book is written; you can definitely read it and hear Pastor Osteen's voice in your head.
A true writer.

One passage I really loved, the one that spoke to me the most, since it was the only page I dog-eared to go back to over and over again was this:

"When times get tough or things don't go your way, keep your confidence up. When discouragements come or when people tell you that your dreams are never going to come to pass, you're never going to be happy, and you can never change, boldly remind yourself who is at work in your life. God is turning things around in your favor. God is opening doors of opportunity for you. He is restoring relationships; He is softening people's hearts toward you. God is completing what He started. You may not see anything happening with your natural eyes, but you must believe that in the unseen world, God is at work on your behalf."

That is something I love to hear, something that makes me feel good. I know that no matter what may be going on in my life, with all the craziness of this world, the uncertainty of where things may be headed, God "has my back," so you could say. (I'm sure there is a much better term than God "having my back," you know what I mean? I couldn't really think of anything else, though. But, you know what? He knows what I mean, and that's really all that matters. He is probably shaking his head at the vocabulary of today, thinking, 'Boy, that Briana is a prime example." Haha. I like to think God thinks I'm funny and that I make him chuckle from time to time. He certainly makes me a happy person. Okay, okay...Second Tangent: Over!)

It makes me think of the saying, "If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it." I may not be aware of the goings-on up above; but I am very certain of His love.

While We Wait: Praying

I am linking up with Mattie from Bring Hope Home for her "While We Wait" series. This week's topic is "Praying." We are sharing any prayer requests on our hearts, things we need prayers for or sharing any answered prayers. I'm normally pretty private about my prayers, but I will share, because we could all use some extra prayer warriors on our side.

Source

As a family, with Waylon's morning and nightly prayers, we always pray for the children of Africa. May they be clothed, fed, have shelter and love. We urge everyone to pray for the people of Africa and to have a heart for the nation.

We also pray for Sister morning and night, but my heart prays for Carolina Grace all the time. Wherever she may be, even if she is but a tiny egg in her mother's body, I carry her in my heart with me at all times. I know God will care for and watch over her, as He has set us on this path to her. I realize the prayers may be more for my comfort than hers.

I also pray that I can help other adoptive families as often as possible in their journeys to raise funds for their adoptions and/or orphan care and/or mission trips. Whether it's buying a t-shirt, a handmade item on Etsy, donating my handmade items to their auctions, etc. I believe in blessing others, especially when they are bringing a little one home.

The one prayer that has me torn up the most and that is the most personal is for God to be able to touch the people in our lives to understand the reasoning behind our adoption and the reasoning behind our fundraising.
- Some people are understanding, positive and supportive.
-Then, we have our opposite ends of the spectrum people: the ones who completely ignore us, and the people who tend to be negative about everything.

I pray that God can touch their hearts to let them know that:
a) People can talk to us without us forcing them to give us money. (If you can't give, that's ok; God will make it happen in His time. No hard feelings, honestly.)
b) Negativity need not apply. (No, we would rather not adopt from Russia, and yes, we know the dangers of social networking, thank you very much).

Source

Pray for my heart on that last one, to keep me nice and calm and to just simply bite my tongue...because the little chihuahua that lives inside of me - that would be ChiChi - keeps getting jumpy (you know how spastic those little yappers can be). And once he gets to barkin'. Ooh...it's hard to make him stop. Funny as it may be, and I know it is; I just need strength to disregard the negative and stay in the positive.

I'm excited about the future for our family, and I pray everyone could be just as excited! We're having a baby! Yay! It's just a different way! :)

19 Pieces Down - 281 To Go!

Hey, Everyone!

Here's an update on our Puzzle Fundraiser, and this one includes pictures! Yay!

We had a good response with our first post about the Puzzle Fundraiser, which can be found HERE. It explains about what the Puzzle Fundraiser is all about, if you didn't get a chance to read it before. You can also go HERE to read about why we are adopting.

We had 19 Puzzle Pieces sponsored! A few pieces were even sponsored within minutes of posting the link on Facebook. We had an 8-year old use her own money to sponsor a piece, and a couple of people even sponsored multiple pieces! We are truly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives! You can check out our Puzzle Fundraiser tab HERE to see a list of our sponsors.

Here's the puzzle so far. Wouldn't you like to see what it looks like?
Sponsor a piece, and you can find out! :)

Here is the scrapbook paper I bought for the other puzzle pieces for her adoption scrapbook.
Isn't it adorable?

And here are the puzzle pieces for her scrapbook. No, those aren't punches.
Mama is tracing around a puzzle piece and with very steady hands, cutting each one out.
It will all be worth it in the end. It's a labor of love...

Don't you think this bird is kind of shaped like Ethiopia? Just say "Yes!" :)

"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."
Matthew 18:5

If you would like to sponsor a puzzle piece, you can click on the Paypal link up top. You don't have to have an account to donate. Just specify how many pieces you want to sponsor and what name you would like the pieces to have on them, if different from your own. If you want to mail a donation, instead of using a credit card, you can contact me or Eric on Facebook, and we can give you our address. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

Successful Adoption

This book is obviously a topical book and one very close to my heart. It's about adoption, and I purchased the book to gain a little insight into the world of adoption from a Christian point of view. I follow a few blogs written by some awesome Christian gals, some of whom have already adopted, some of whom are adopting again, some who are currently in the process and some, like me, who have not yet begun the actual process. For those currently in the process, saving up for their adoption, or who have ever thought about adoption and have a heart for orphans and wish to adopt in the future, this book is a wonderful resource.

"Successful Adoption: A Guide for Christian Families" by Natalie Nichols Gillespie is a two-fold book, about both domestic and international adoption. She lets prospective parents know what to expect along the way; emotionally, mentally, cost-wise, paperwork-wise (Is that a word? It is now!). She also includes the personal stories of well-known Christians, such as Steven Curtis Chapman, Stormie Omartian, Karen Kingsbury, Nicole C. Mullen and Sandi Patty, among others. At the back of the book, she includes samples of letters and documents, so you can get an idea of what your paper trail will look like. She also lists adoption agencies, websites, ministries, support groups, organizations, financial resources and country-specific information in the Appendix. She basically took all of my past Internet surfing and combined it all in one place. :)

The author's dedication at the beginning of the book tugged at my heart, and I knew then I had made a good choice in purchasing the book. Here is the dedication: "This book is dedicated to the millions of children around the world who wish for nothing more than the love of a family to call their own - and to the families reading this who will bring them home."

We are praying for our little one until the day we bring her home.

"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."

- Jesus Christ (Matthew 18:5)

I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy read with lots of helpful information. The stories of the families, who have already adopted, were so touching. It is always wonderful to learn of another happy adoption story. I purchased the book at my local Christian store, so go out and get yours today. You will not be disappointed! It will make your heart even more delighted and excited about your adoption journey! I know it did for mine!