Birthdays, birth-mom and blessings

Today four years ago I went into hospital early in the morning to deliver my third baby. I so clearly remember all the thoughts, feelings and emotions that are part of such a special day. Will my baby be a boy or a girl? The Lord had clearly told me NOT to find out the sex during my pregnancy. Will it be the girl that the Lord had promised me? What will he or she look like? My heart was so full of expectation as the moment got nearer. Then...."It's a boy!" In that moment my Father in heaven said...."He is meant to be, I have a destiny and a purpose for this boy that your other two sons cannot fulfill". We felt such a love for the child in my arms, such peace that he was indeed meant to be. Still.....where was the daughter the Lord promised me?????

On the same day, just two years earlier, somewhere in China a young mom also prepared to give birth to her child. The difference for her was that she was, by law, unable to find out the sex of her baby. She would have to carry the baby till birth, and then discover whether it was a boy or a girl. She no doubt prayed many prayers....asking for a son. In China, a son is of great value to a family. And since they are only allowed one child, this mom, like all those before her, must have begged God for a son.

How did she feel the moment her child was delivered? How did that mommy feel the moment she was told "you have a healthy daughter." A sadness that I may never be able to comprehend must have flooded her entire being. She held onto her precious baby for about 4 months, loving that child as any mother adores her baby. She bonded with her baby. Then the time came when she had to say goodbye. When her sweet daughter was just for months old, for reasons we will never know, she wrapped her snuggly in a blanket and placed her at the entrance to the orphanage....never to know what the future of her daughter may hold. What pain and agony beyond which my heart can comprehend.

Oh my heart! Today as I think about my daughter's biological mom my heart breaks for her. I am sure that not a day goes by that she does not think about her child. Oh Father in heaven, on this day, our precious Hannah-Claire's birthday, I pray that You would send your angels to bring comfort to her birth mom in China. My mind cannot comprehend the sadness she must feel, my heart will never understand it. But You do! Let her know that her daughter is loved and treasured more than words can say. Let her know that she is, and always will be, loved as if she were born of my own womb. May she KNOW in the depths of being that her daughter is taken care of and treasured by her new family. Thank you for my daughter's birth mom, thank you that she chose to give life to my daughter. I will never know her, Father, but you do. Tell her "thank you" from me :)

Yes, God is still in the business of miracles. He quietly goes about putting the pieces of our lives together, often in ways we can never imagine or comprehend. Yes, He did promise me a daughter, and yes, she was born on August 30...just two years sooner than I thought. How amazing are your ways, Lord Jesus! Already we can see how Cade was "meant to be"....he is joy indescribable! We just cannot imagine our lives without this sweet boy. Your ways are NOT our ways, Lord Jesus. You do all things well!

Happy birthday sweet blessings. What a joy that you share the same birthday, what a God-thing! Someday, you will both understand how your Father in heaven destined, before the foundation of the earth, for you the share the same birthday.

A new day

The little counter on the right hand side made me smile this morning. Finally it says "two weeks and 6 days". It seems like yesterday that I put it up there and it said two months! My word, the days are flying by. Can you believe it is almost September? Is it just me, or does it feel like God is speeding up time? We are so enjoying the last days of summer. Fall comes early to the mountains where we live.

My days are full and busy. The new curriculum we are using is CRAZY! I have no idea how we are going to get through it. Already we have received 10 boxes of materials, for just 3 kids! But, I am so thankful that God has provided something that is free in this season of our lives, we will just take it one day at a time. By His grace!

We have so much happening before we leave for China. This coming Saturday we celebrate two precious kids birthdays. Hannah-Claire will be 6 and Cade 4. Yes, they share the same birthday...a very God-ordained thing! School is happening, football is on every night of the week, my dad arrives from South Africa next Friday, I still have so many things to take care of around the house, adoption paperwork is still sitting on my desk waiting to be filled out, I still need buy all the things that we need to take with us to China, birthday parties need to be planned.....phew!

In the midst of it all....peace! Peace that my Father in heaven has gone before me in ALL things. Peace that I do not need to worry about tomorrow, He is already there! Peace that life happens and that God will direct every step that I take this day :)

Only for today

1. Only for today, I will seek to live the livelong day positively without wishing to solve the problems of my life all at once.
2. Only for today, I will take the greatest care of my appearance: I will dress modestly; I will not raise my voice; I will be courteous in my behavior; I will not criticize anyone; I will not claim to improve or to discipline anyone except myself.
3. Only for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the other world but also in this one.
4. Only for today, I will adapt to circumstances, without requiring all circumstances to be adapted to my own wishes.
5. Only for today, I will devote ten minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul.
6. Only for today, I will do one good deed and not tell anyone about it.
7. Only for today, I will do at least one thing I do not like doing; and if my feelings are hurt, I will make sure no one notices.
8.Only for today, I will make a plan for myself: I may not follow it to the letter, but I will make it. And I will be on guard against two evils: hastiness and indecision.
9. Only for today, I will firmly believe, despite appearances, that the good Providence of God cares for me as no one else who exists in this world.
10. Only for today, I will have no fears. In particular, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness. Indeed, for twelve hours I can certainly do what might cause me consternation were I to believe I had to do it all my life.

Her heart in HIS hands

I wanted to share with you a beautiful vision the Lord gave me yesterday. As I was praying for Haven the Lord showed me these huge hands. Cocooned inside them was a heart, nestled safely and protected by the strong hands that surrounded it. "I have Haven's heart, I am protecting it and shielding it until you get to her. I am preparing her heart for your arrival" said the Lord to my heart.

I was deeply encouraged. One of the main things that I have prayed for over the last year is Haven's transition into our family. Funny, I am not too concerned about her special needs, I have actually given it all very little thought. So many people have suggested that I educate myself about autism and be prepared for the road ahead, but it has just not mattered to me. I have always felt that I will handle things as they come up, just deal with it. But, her little heart and the journey that she will make into our family is the thing that has concerned me the most. She is an afraid, terrified little girl....the first few days could be absolutely frightening for her. God so encouraged me...He has once again gone before us, He is holding her heart and protecting her even now...just as He has done since the day she was born. Everlasting Father!!!

Three more weeks in an orphanage sweet girl...that is all you have left.

Treated!

I have to say that our friend, Chris, gave his wife the BEST birthday present ever....a trip to the spa....with ME!!!!! Today Elizabeth and I spent the afternoon at the spa getting pampered. It has to be one of my favorite things to do, but something that I hardly ever get the chance to do. What a blessing! I had the best massage ever...and my kids love my funky blue nails :)

Thanks C and E, you totally blessed me.

Football Fever

Life seemed so much less busy when our kids were babies :) The odd play date was pretty much the entertainment. My goodness, now that Connor and Kellan are getting older, they have discovered sports! Gone are quiet evenings at home. The latest is football. Between the two of them we have football on every night of the week, and on a Saturday morning. This is Kellans first year, he is playing flag. Connor played last year, so my big boy is playing tackle. We are having so much fun spending our evenings watching our boys learn and grow on the football field.

Kellan and Cade before practice

Kellan in the blue shirt

Cade watches his brother play...he can't wait for his turn! Of course Apple, his best bear, tags along to every practice :)

Connor in his gear

Connor practicing

A mustard seed.....

Isn't that what Jesus said we should have? Faith the size of a mustard seed. I have never seen a mustard seed, but I have heard that it is TINY. Today I sat looking over our finances for our trip to China, wondering if we had enough to cover all the costs. There seem to have been so many unexpected costs that we never budgeted for. Just last week while getting ready to submit our passports for our Chinese visas we discovered that Anthony's passport was going to expire in 5 months....China's policy is that there be 6 months on your passport in order to get a visa! Yikes!!!! He drove to Denver in a rush to get an emergency passport...at a huge expense. On the same day we were told that the visas cost $130.00 per person, NOT $35 as we were originally told. On and on and on....

Exactly twelve months ago we were miraculously approved to adopt Haven. I clearly remember Anthony and I looking at each other and saying "how on earth are we going to pay for this?" We had no savings in the bank. Our monthly income just could not pay back any credit card or bank loan. We did not even have the initial $250.00 application fee :) How? Yet, deep down inside us was the tiny mustard seed of faith. Just enough faith to look beyond our earthly circumstances and say "MY GOD WILL PROVIDE".

As I calculated all the figures this afternoon I really was amazed. God has provided EVERY step of the way. The has POURED out provision every single time we needed it. When we started on this journey a year ago I said to Anthony "I know that Hannah-Claire is meant to go with us to China, Haven will need her there!". As the journey progressed and more and more unexpected expenses kept coming out of nowhere, I swept that feeling aside and wondered how it could ever be possible for us to take her with. At one point we even considered the possibility of me traveling alone to cut back on expenses. Oh...what little faith!!!!! Here we are traveling with not one, but TWO children! How amazing is our God?

The huge financial costs put so many families off adoption. The costs are HUGE. Not many people have $30 000.00 sitting around in a bank account. But, I am MORE convinced than ever that God LOVES to rescue orphans. His Word promises "I will NOT leave you as orphans, I will come to you". He just needs those who will say YES LORD...I WILL GO! Saying YES gives God the go-ahead to open the floodgates of heaven and provide manna every step of the way. He is so faithful and so good...I am in awe.

Another change

It seems that we have finally sorted out our flight dilemma. It turns out that Monday the 15 September is some festival in China...Autumn Day (or something like that). Soooooooo our gotcha day can only be the next day, Tuesday 16. Another day to wait :) Actually, it works out okay as this means we can overnight in Beijing and get to Nanjing on Monday instead of some crazy hour Sunday night. It will make the journey a little easier for Hannah-Claire and Cade.

Praying there are no more flight cancellations :)

A beautiful video

This is so well done...and one of my favorite Casting Crowns songs!

Turn off the music at the bottom of the page first.

Uuuhhhh!

What in the world is happening to flights? Today our connecting flight from Beijing to Nanjing got canceled. This is the second flight of ours that has been canceled. Apparently if a flight is not full, the airline just cancels it. We're trying to come up with another plan...at this stage we will have to wait 6 hours in the Beijing airport....with two very cranky kids after flying from the USA. No fun! We are going to try and just spend the night in Beijing, and the go to Nanjing (where we will get Haven) early the next morning. Soooooo much better than hours and hours in the airport...and arriving in Nanjing at midnight! Hopefully we can coordinate it with the orphanage to have our gotcha time later in the afternoon.

God is moving......

Oh my goodness, I have such an excitement in my spirit at what God is doing. All around me I see precious friends STEPPING OUT and trusting God for the RIDICULOUS...things that make no sense in the natural. Many are considering adopting older children, special needs children, very sick children, siblings of children already adopted. Wow....God is moving...stirring the hearts of His people to DO SOMETHING about the orphan crisis. Stirring the hearts of His people to step out and trust Him in an adoption. As we all know, the costs are HUGE...but God is so much bigger! I just love it! He is doing so much in the hearts of me and Anthony...."DO NOT look at your earthly circumstances and what you can and cannot do....look to ME to lead and direct your steps. Are you willing, Salems?" YYYEEESSSSSSS....we are willing!

Oh...sorry I have not been able to post photos for the last few days. We got totally blessed with an amazing new MAC computer. My word...I am so ignorant...when Anthony turned the thing on I was like "what is that???"...I had no idea a MAC was totally different to a PC. It has taken me months to learn how to FINALLY get photos off our camera and onto my blog. Now, here we are and we just cannot figure out how to do it on this new computer :) Just as well we never stop learning hey :) I'm sure we'll figure it out soon.

Just one more month!!!

Oh my.....we are almost there! Today we have just one more month before we have our precious Haven. She has only one month left in an orphanage. I wonder.....are the staff preparing her? Does she know we are coming? I really pray so. I pray that they are talking to her a lot about it. But, I know my God... I know that He is more than able to prepare her little heart. I know that He is more than able to go before us...and He has. Please continue to pray with us.

Simplicity

Yesterday my children and I were in the bank. I was getting a money order for our Chinese Visas. The bank teller was curious about what the money was for. Why does anyone pay $520 to the Chinese Embassy? I was telling her about Haven and she kept asking me questions about her special needs. As I was getting ready to leave, she looked at me and my children and said "wow, I guess you really do not want to live a simple life!"

Mmmmmm....that got me thinking. For the last few years I have told my hubby that I LONG for a simple life. And yet, here we are adopting a little girl with many needs, and we will have 5 children aged 9 and under....trying to homeschool three of them. The teller is right, there is really nothing simple about it. Do I really want a simple life, or will I always long to live at the place where life is crazy and unpredictable? Or, is it possible to find simplicity in the chaos of daily life...maybe that should be my goal!

God is really stretching me and reminding me of desires that He placed in my heart a long time ago. Desires that I thought had been replaced with other dreams. I will share more as things begin to unfold. I feel like I am in a season of searching my heart and laying every dream that I have before the Father. I am excited to see what He does with them...I have a feeling the journey ahead will be anything but simple :)

Larry King

My friend, Dawn, sent me this...Larry King's comments after interviewing the Chapman family last week. Wow! His heart was really touched. I also read Chapman's managers thoughts and comments on his blog. He said the same thing, that Larry King was amazed at the faith of the Chapman family, that he just could not understand it, even though he had been trying to for years.

Apparently when the family was leaving the studio, SCC turned to Larry King and said "Mr King, if Billy Graham is praying for you...then I think you are a marked man!" Funny!

Praying this hugely influential man will come to know the living Lord!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/08/08/lkl.about.thurs.cnn

Three long years!

Yesterday was so bittersweet for me. Haven has been waiting exactly three years for a family. All God's Children (our adoption agency) received her file for the first time exactly three years ago. She was placed in a home quickly. The family managed to get all their paperwork done and got to her in ten months. But, as you know, things just did not work out. What was meant to be her forever family...lasted just 5 days. A friend reminded me the other day that Haven has ALWAYS been my child (and I know that in my heart), we just had to find her. I do often wonder, though, why did she have to go through such a traumatic experience? Most orphans grow up struggling with varying degrees of abandonment. They question why their biological parents abandoned them, many deal with the rejection of it for years. Our Haven will have to deal with that TWICE! She will, no doubt, question why TWO sets of parents left her in an orphanage. I pray that God would give us the wisdom and grace to see her through those hard times.

I am grateful, after Haven's adopted was disrupted (ended), it really was a miracle of God that the Chinese Government allowed her to be put up for adoption for a second time. The Lord knew we would have to find her. Still, no child should have to wait three years, that is way too long. Sadly, this is a reality, many children wait this long. Many, especially the older children, see countless babies leave the orphanage, wondering when their turn will come. So many wait for such a long time, that eventually the country that they are in just gives up all hope of them ever finding a family and removes their file from the adoption agency that has it. My heart breaks! No, I am not saying that babies are less important when it comes to adoption! I believe that ALL children need families. It is just a reality that babies are adopted so much quicker than the older children.

I read the other day that the orphan crisis around the world is at it's worst ever. MILLIONS of children are without parents, without the love of a mommy and daddy. Sadly, most of them will never know the love of a family. I read in my bible that it is OUR mandate, as Christians, to take care of the widows and the orphans. It is as clear as daylight....a command! In an recent interview, Steven Curtis Chapman said this..."If only 7 percent of the 2 billion Christians in the world would care for a single orphan in distress, there would effectively be no more orphans. If everybody would be willing to simply do something to care for one of these precious treasures, I think we would be amazed by just how much we could change the world. We can each do something, whether it is donating, adopting, fostering, mentoring, visiting orphans or supporting families that have taken in orphans. You can change the world for an orphan!" I love that!

How can we all do something...however small, to better the life of an orphan? There are hundreds of sponsor programs around. Imagine if we all sponsored just one orphan? Yes, God has given us a heart for adoption....but no, I do not believe that everyone is called to adopt a child. I do believe that everyone should prayerfully consider it, but that is not to say God is going to call all families to do it. I do believe that we, as the Body of Christ, should ALL do something.

God is stirring my heart, challenging me.....what can I do to make a difference? He is still teaching me about complete surrender. I pray that some day I will "get it!" For now, I am still learning, day by day.

Have a blessed day, precious friends!

Swimming upstream

Doesn't it sometimes feel that life just gets a little tooooo crazy? Like you're swimming against the tide? All at once???? I am right there!

We leave in about one month to bring Haven home. We have absolutely no idea what to expect with all the needs that she has. She is a broken, emotionally fragile little girl. Will she accept us? Will she be afraid? Will she know that she is loved? Will she learn to trust us and KNOW that we will ever abandon her...that she will be with us forever? I truly do not have any idea what we are in for...I ONLY know that she is our child, that God will equip us to deal with whatever lies ahead. I KNOW that with all my heart. And that is more than enough for me. I am so excited that Miss Gu Yi Fan will VERY soon be Haven Maylin Salem.

After much prayer and trying our best to make things work out, we have to list our home for sale. Living to try and pay the mortgage every month is toooooo hard! Actually, God had to do a work in MY heart. We should probably have listed it a long time ago, but I did not want to let go. This is the last thing in the world we feel like doing, especially now. But, with the rising costs of living and a huge drop in our monthly income, we have no choice. The most obvious thing to do is to put my kids in school and daycare and get a job. But, our answer from heaven is always a resounding NO! Is it for Haven? Does she need to be home with her brothers and sister? I have no idea. We just have to go with what the Lord has told us to do. Obedience is the key...even if it makes no sense in the natural. I must admit that selling a house is one of those things that causes me so much stress. Trying to keep the house spotless with 4 little kids running around is almost impossible, no fun at all. I need His grace in this seaon

Next week school starts. I have taken on a curriculum is that not my first choice...but it is free...and that is such a huge help right now! I get to keep my blessings at home with me, and use a curriculum that costs us nothing. Unfortunately I know that the workload is so much more than we have done in previous years. I am a little nervous about it. Am I going to be able to cope? Only with His help.

Phew.....in the midst of it all I KNOW MY GOD! He is more than able to take care of every concern that I have! He is more than able to bring a buyer for our house, even if it is one of the worst times to sell a house with the market being so bad. Sometimes my faith seems so small. So often the mountain before me seems so HUGE, and my faith seems so pathetic. I look back on my life and see how my Father have moved. Our adoptions have been such a testimony to His goodness and faithfulness. Especially Haven. We started this with no savings in the bank and no extra monthly income to use a credit card or pay off a loan on our house. Yet....God has provided every step of the way. How could I ever doubt His faithfulness to take care of every need that my family has?

We feel God's Spirit burning desire and passion within us. We feel Him calling us to press on and press into Him. We feel Him bringing us back to the things that He has laid on our hearts...the dreams and desires He has placed within Anthony and I. He is bringing us back.....it is so easy to get caught up in the challenges that life brings our way, the trials and the things that we go through. It is so easy to take our eyes off the plans and purposes that God has for our lives. But His word is clear in Isaiah..."whether you look to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying "this is the way...walk in it!!!" We're listening carefully!

How will this crazy season look in the end? I have absolutely no idea. But only one thing matters......that we CHOOSE to live lives that are OBEDIENT...no matter what the cost!

Steven Curtis Chapman interview

Did you all see the interview on GMA? What an incredible family! They have stood so firm in their faith, even in the midst of such tragedy. They have trusted their God with unwavering faith. Sure, they have questions and "why's", but they are at peace to live with the unanswered questions....complete dependence in the knowledge that they serve a Sovereign God!

For my friends and family who live overseas and did not get to watch the Chapmans first interview after the loss of their Maria...here is it.

(Turn off my music at the bottom of the page before watching the video.)

Another quote I love

"Two roads diverged in the middle of my life,
I heard a wise man say
I took the road less traveled by
And that's made the difference every night and every day"
Larry Norman

I pray that I never take the easy road!

Pondering....

A new day and a new opportunity to serve the Lord! How can I DECREASE so that He can INCREASE in my life today? How can there be less of me and more of Him in my life? How can I bless your heart today, Father? Teach me how to live a life that is COMPLETELY surrendered to YOUR will...no matter what that means or where it takes me. I never want to be comfortable, and I don't want my children to be either....I want to live a life that makes no sense in the natural... at the place where Jesus is!

Each day is a gift from You, I know that. Help me to put aside the things that are less important in my days and focus on ONLY what is important to You. Help me not to get caught up in the small stuff, the things that would take my attention off my calling and my purpose in this life. The things that would weigh me down and hold me back. I have one shot at this life on earth. Help me to make every day count. Keep me focussed on the task You have given me and help me to do it with all my heart.

I long to have a pure heart...a servants heart...I have such a long way to go! When the monotony of cleaning, preparing food, endless laundry and countless trips to the grocery store weigh me down; help me to remember that I PRAYED for each one of these. I prayed, no begged, You for a faithful, loving husband...You gave him to me. I prayed for a place I could call home...You gave it to me. I prayed for the gift of many children...You gave it to me! You have blessed me with every desire of my heart, and more. What a slap in Your face when I grumble, complain and have a bad attitude when I have to take care of all of the above. Help me to have a grateful heart this day...grateful that you have blessed me exceedingly, abundantly MORE than I could ever have imagined.

I am BLESSED. My flesh will always need more, want more....but none of it really matters! Being obedient and faithful to what He has placed in my hands to do THIS DAY is really ALL that matters. Living a life of purpose is all I long for!

When you're tired... you're tired!

Yesterday we spent most of the day hiking nature trails nearby. Cade (or DeeDee as he is lovingly known - means "little brother" in Chinese - Hannah-Claire's name for him) had a blast. When we got home, unbeknown to me, he went to his room, put on his pajamas, lay on the sofa with his "Apple" bear (don't you love the names kids come up wth?), and went to sleep. I came in to find him sleeping in the middle of chaos......




Thank you Lord Jesus for the blessing of this sweet child!

Nesting

On Saturday I decided that the time had come...I NEEDED to go and buy some clothes for our newest blessing in the family. Fun! I love shopping at Goodwill...I find the most amazing bargains at a fraction of the price :). Who said that clothing a lot of kids had to cost a fortune?

Oh my goodness, we got some updated measurements for Haven. For an almost eight year old, she is tiny. She weighs six pounds less than Hannah-Claire, who is two years younger! She could just be a very small girl, or, because of all her delays in every area of her life, her growth could be stunted. If so, she will catch up over time. Lots of healthy food and LOVE, and she'll blossom and grow.




The kids and I have just two weeks of vacation left. Where has summer gone? For the first time ever I have had such a hard time trying to decide on what curriculum to use this year. I have changed my mind ten times already. Decisions, decisions!

Thank you to everyone who has added Haven to their prayer lists. We are so grateful that so many friends are praying for her transition into our family. We know that God hears every prayer, we know that He is preparing her heart, even now. I am grateful to the orphanage...we have sent Haven two photo album's with lots of photos of us. I labelled the photos with "mommy", "daddy", "big brother" etc...all in Chinese pinyin. The staff at the orphanage have spent a lot of time showing them to Haven. Hopefully this will help her too.

Welcome August

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that today is August :) NEXT MONTH we travel! Our flights are booked and paid for...praise God! We leave from Denver on September 13. After much prompting from the Holy Spirit and advice from many people, we have decided to take Hannah-Claire with us to China. We feel that having her there will be a HUGE help for Haven. Just having another Chinese person with us may ease her anxiety and help with the initial adjustment. You may remember I posted a while ago that Haven is terrified of white people...so having Hannah-Claire with us may just be a God-send. We will do anything in our power to make the transition easier for Haven. We are going into this with open hearts and minds, because of her previous experiences the first few days are going to be so hard on our little girl. Can you imagine being almost 8 years old, being abandoned twice, and then suddenly being taken away from everything that you know and love, everything that is familiar to you? My heart breaks for her. But, we are praying even now...that God would go before us and prepare her heart for the transition.

I am so excited, my Dad is flying from South Africa to take care of our boys while we are in China. Since loosing my mom last year my kids have missed my Dad a lot, they long to see him. Unfortunaly the ridiculous costs of international travel make it so hard for us to see him. They have absolutely no idea that he is coming...it is going to be a wonderful surprise. Connor keeps asking me who is going to take care of them when we are away, he is curious! Oh my, he is going to be so excited. There is nothing sweeter than surprising my children.

Yesterday marked the 7th anniversary of us leaving South Africa. Wow, where does time go? I have been pondering the last 7 years in my heart, reflecting on all that God has done. Three years in Australia, three years in Virginia, and now a year in Colorado. It truly has been a journey. God has been amazing and faithful. The main thing that stands out in my mind are the poeple I have met along the way. So many people have touched my life in amazing ways. I have been blessed with many new friendships, the kind that I know will last a lifetime. Yes, I have many days when I long, with all my heart, to be back in my home country. But the Father always brings me back to the here and now, the place of being in the center of His will for our lives. I have absolutely no idea what the future holds for the Salem's. I do know that I am completely surrendered to His will...and am willing to go anywhere He sends us! Isn't life here on earth just so temporary? While I have the opportunity I LONG to be obedient...willing to say "Yes Lord, send me!" whenever I have the chance.