90 Days for Noelle - Day 45

**This will be our last '90 days' post for a little while. Jessica & I decided, because the process is so long we thought it would be best to break it up and take a hiatus. We will continue our '90 Day' prayer focus once we reach another major milestone in the process such as sending in our dossier or once we receive a referral or something along those lines. We will still be making posts regularly but not as part of the '90 Days for Noelle'. We actually will be starting something later this week that you can find out about on the blog, and if you would like to get involved with our adoption, we have some ways to do so. So stay tuned.**

Well, a while back I posted at how I have been amazed by the response we have received from our blog. I am still amazed! Since we began the prayer focus on New Years Day we have had over 4500 different visitors from at least 14 different countries (I can only view the top 10)! For my small mind, those are big numbers. I hope that our blog has been a blessing to you all and that you have learned a little about adoption. I hope that through our posts, that maybe you have looked at yourself and your walk with Christ a little differently. That maybe you see you are part of something bigger and that you become inspired to do something "extravagant" for God. (Thanks, Scott) But most of all, our purpose is for Noelle and we hope that you continue to keep her in your prayers everyday. Today is Valentine's Day. A day to express your love to each other. I have told Jessica I love her, and Cora that I love her, but I have not told Noelle yet so here goes.... Noelle, I love you very much. WE love you very much. I can't wait until the day I can hold you in my arms and tell you that I love you more than you will ever know. Happy Valentines Day, Noelle.

Lord, thank You for loving us like no other and thank You for giving us the ability to love others. We love you Father and we ask You to send our love to Noelle this Valentine's Day. You are love. We praise You for what You are doing in all of our lives. In Your name we pray. Amen.

1 Corinthians 13:13

 ¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

90 Days for Noelle - Day 18

I have been taking some of our required classes online during my lunch break. I just completed the first class 'The Journey of Attachment'. It explains the difficulties involved in adopting a child who has issues with attachment. This is very common in international adoption because many of these children come from orphanages. They are commonly behind in their development both physically and emotionally because they have not received the personal affection and attention that most children  receive from day one. I find this interesting and very sad. It takes some time for them to learn to depend on their adoptive parents because they don't understand the concept of mom & dad. They have mostly had to depend on themselves. Even if they have been fed and "taken care of" in a good orphanage, they are still often behind in their development because they are lacking the love of a parent. Even infants only a few months old show signs of attachment disorders. These babies struggle from lack of LOVE. You think that babies don't really know anything, which on the most part is true. Then why does the lack of love matter as long as their needs are met? The answer is that they were created by the Creator who is LOVE. We are all created to love and to be loved. These babies inherently have the need to be loved. Without it, they will always struggle and possibly eventually die. Our God loves us. Each and every one of us, but we are doomed to perish unless we accept his love and return that love to him. We are all orphans lying in a lonely crib, desiring the love of a father. When we cry out to Him, He comes running to not only supply our need but to love on us. We are just like Noelle. Jessica and I love her and she does not know who we are or that we exist. God our father loves us even more and yet some of us act as if he is not there. If only we would cry out from our cribs....

Matthew 7:7-8

    ⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

God, let us never forget who we are and who You are. You are our father that we love and we cry out to You to feel Your love. We pray that Noelle feels your love from her first day on this Earth until her last. We ask you keep her safe and healthy, that there will not be any attachment disorders or any other problems for that matter. You are the God of all and can do all things. In Your name we pray. Amen.