A Thankful Heart

My heart is full. I have so much to be thankful for! It's the day after Thanksgiving and we spent a wonderful day with my parents on Thanksgiving Day. I felt very blessed to have my grandparents there too! Please continue to pray for my Grandma's health and for strength for my Grandpa as he cares for her.

Today, as a family, we picked out our Christmas tree. It's fun to make these memories with the girls. Right now we're enjoying some Christmas movies together and just enjoying family time. Yes, God is good and there is so much to be thankful for. I'm thankful for my family, my church home, and the girls' school families (Gray Rd. and Greenwood Christian). I'm thankful for wonderful friends who encourage us in the Lord. I'm thankful for a warm home and all our needs provided. Most of all, I'm thankful for my Savior. Of course, adoption is on our hearts constantly but I am still amazed and thankful that I was adopted into the best family there ever will be.....God's family!

I want to share an email that my sister sent out to her friends. Please pray that God will use this to help us on our adoption journey. I am thankful for how she has allowed God to use her to be such a blessing in this way!

From Jen........

In an effort to help my sister and brother-in-law with some funds for their upcoming adoption, I have decided to put together a cookbook fundraiser for them! God laid this on my heart as a way to be a blessing to this family that I love so much. So I am asking for help from those of you whom I know love them too and want this process to move along as quickly as possible. In the very near future, I will be sending information on how you can order this very special cookbook! But for now, what I need are your favorite recipes...and your prayers! Please pray that this fundraiser will happen smoothly and that it will be successful and that God will use it to make this adoption process happen in HIS timing and in HIS way!

Here is how you can share YOUR special recipes...

1.) Go to http://www.typensave.com/.

2.) Click on the "login" button.

3.) Beside "Contributor Name", enter your name as you would like it to appear in the cookbook.

4.) Group Login: Africa

5.) Password: Krausfamily

6.) Read the Welcome Page, then click on "Add Recipe".

7.) A new window will pop up that will give you instructions and allow you to easily submit a recipe.

For now, I have set the max number of recipes for the book at 300 and the max number submitted by any one person at 7. I can change that later if need be.

I am grateful in advance for those of you who will be able to submit recipes and to later purchase a cookbook! I can't wait to see the finished product!

If you have any questions, you can either send me a message on Facebook or email me at singnjen92@yahoo.com.

Thank you,

Jenny Johnson

Psalm 34:8 ~ "O taste and see that the Lord is good."

I do hope many of you will pray for us! Please feel free to post recipes! And when the time comes, order your cookbooks! :-)

Love to all!!!!!

Christy

Please join us in prayer!

http://www.orphansunday.org/

Living a Poured Out Life

Living a Poured Out Life

How GREAT is our God!

We feel completely unworthy of all that God has done and is doing in our lives. A few weeks ago Kevin and Courtney were in a car accident and the van that had already been "provided in a time of need" was no longer going to be of use to us. Some friends of ours have been loaning us a vehicle and we are so thankful for their love and generosity!!! Today, we received a letter and money at church to be used toward a car or our adoption fund. We do not know who God used to give us this money but we are truly thankful/humbled. Part of the letter I want to share with you, our family and friends.....

"If you wish to thank someone personally, thank me in your prayers. I moved these people's hearts to give, and I will continue to bless you and meet all of your needs according to all my promises as you seek to have a heart after mine.
With unending love, Your Father in Heaven"

God has, time and again, been our Jehovah Jireh!!!! How GREAT is our GOD!!!!!

Choosing JOY!

Well, school is officially in FULL swing! Courtney is LOVING 7th grade at Greenwood Christian Academy and Caity is enjoying 4th grade (I wouldn't say she loves it but she loves her new teacher!) at Gray Rd. It's been an adjustment getting both girls to different schools and Chloe to whoever happens to be watching her on different days. Kevin's been able to help out this week by taking them to school on some mornings. Also, I've met some wonderful parents at GCA who have helped get Courtney to various activities until I could meet her there. I've also had some other help from family/friends and that was VERY appreciated!!!! Courtney had her first volleyball game! She's so cute warming up on the court and her team did a GREAT job and won their first game!

In all the busyness, talk of adoption has not dwindled in our house. If anything, it's on our hearts more and more. We are so anxious to "get the ball rolling" but we're praying for patience as we wait on God. We were able to pay off our credit card and that was a HUGE blessing! We are working on paying off the rest of our debt and we see an end in sight!!!! God is so faithful! We've also had some van trouble, which can be very discouraging when we see money go so quickly, but we know that all those things are temporary and it's God's to begin with so.......we're trusting in Him!!!

Today I was reminded of I Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

So....with JOY....we pray, we give thanks, and we wait to see God!

A Lesson From The Life Of Jacob

I've been reading through the life of Jacob in my devotional time these past few days. I have found myself so very comforted and challenged by what I've found, and just wanted to take a minute to post them. We are, afterall, viewing this as an excellent opportunity to share what God is doing in our lives as we take each step. Which is where this all begins...

I tend to be the kind of guy who has absolutely no doubts that God can provide in any circumstance and at any time, but finds it hard to believe if I can't see exactly how He will provide. For example, we have debt that we truly believe we need to have paid off in full before we begin the adoption process. Still believe that. However, I had a "plan" on exactly how that would look: I would get a job, we would have a garage sale, we would cut back and budget and on and on, all to get us in the position to see God work in a mighty way and provide the funds for this adoption. We, afterall, did cause the debt we are in. But what if I'm failing to see God work now? What if this is all bigger than I had thought to begin with?

Then I come to Jacob. Here's a guy who's cheated his way through his youth to gain what God had already promised him. He made alot of bad choices and caused himself alot of grief. He ended up with all God had promised him plus a vengeful brother that wanted to kill him. So he ran.

He finds his uncle Laban, falls in love, and begins a 20 year cycle of getting his just desserts. And yet, God blesses him. He has a huge family. He has a huge flock. He prospers personally, and prospers Laban as well. Until he gets more than his uncle and begins to fear a reprisal from him. Again, he tries to make the right choices. He follows God's leading, and yet things didn't always turn out the way he wanted them to. So he ran. Back home. Right where God had wanted him all along and right where God commanded him to go.

All through the process God is at work. Jacob begins to see that all he has gained is because of God's hand in his life. He begins to call on God for guidance, and even begins to follow God's leading in his life. God tells him to go home, and that He will protect him. This is not a new promise! He'd been telling Jacob this for over 20 years! Just now, Jacob finally begins to believe Him.

You may ask how. Doesn't he doubt God at every step? Doesn't he ask God to protect him even after God has already promised that very thing? Doesn't he make his own plans on how he'll escape if God doesn't keep His end of the bargain as he returns to his brother Esau? Yes. But I think we tend to overlook the most important part of this example that was written for you and I: Jacob took the steps. Yes, he doubted God and he called out to Him in his fear. Yes, he made his own plans, in case God changed His mind as Jacob obediently went home. How are we in our day to day dealings with God any different?

And so, here am I. God is working this gracious opportunity in our lives, and I'm doubting Him. I've got my plans on how I'll meet the cost, just in case God changes His mind, or fails to meet His side of the bargain. Within 4 days of us making this known to family, God provides payment for almost half of our debt without us even asking, or planning, or working. We worked a garage sale. Made $140. That's more than we've ever made in a garage sale, but not stellar. We worked our plan, much as Jacob did, and as God blessed Jacob, He blessed us. How much more had we "let go and let God?" And yet, as we take steps in obedience to Him, He still works. Still provides. Still teaches.

I think we all can gain alot from this example in Jacob's life. It doesn't matter how often we fail to recognize His faithfulness to us. Just matters that we do and give Him the glory when we do. It doesn't matter how often we doubt Him. Just matters that we take the steps in obedience to prove Him right and our doubts unfounded. God is good. We just need to taste and prove it.

~Kevin

Thankful for God-given Opportunities!

Thanks to everyone for your encouragement! We are so grateful for family and friends agreeing to partner with us as we start this new journey in our lives. So many of you have offered prayer and it means so much!

Kevin and I were working at an Indianapolis Indians game (we've been working some this summer to pay on Caity's gymnastic fees) on Monday night and I found myself in the middle of a conversation with some ladies about adoption!!! I was so excited to share what God's been doing in our lives. I don't know if these ladies know God or not but I am very thankful for the opportunities that God is going to bring our way to, hopefully, be able to explain to believers and unbelievers alike about my adoption in Christ. God is good!



Today is day #2 of our garage sale. We are just trying to clear out the garage (from a sale we had at the beginning of the summer) and pay off some debt. Wow, garage sales can be discouraging! We have purposed to praise God for what He chooses to sell and thank Him for what we can use to sell another time or give to someone in need.



Well, Kevin's outside at the sale alone........maybe he needs my help??!!! ;-)

OH! and I can't believe school starts in a few days!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adopted for Life by Russell D. Moore

The last two weeks have been spent reading this book! What a challenge! We were given this book by some dear friends after talking to them about our desire to live out James 1:27. God is good! We are going to begin a journey of adoption and see where God takes us......Lord willing, to Ethiopia or Rwanda. We are excited! We are scared! We are unsure of the timing....which is REALLY hard! We are completely dependent on God to move us in His direction.

We need prayer! Here are some ways that you can pray for us:

1. Debt.....we are in the process of paying off current debt. Kevin is, most likely, going to be working a 2nd job through the end of the year. We would love to see this paid off by the end of 2010! BIG PRAISE.....we just received almost 1/2 the $ necessary to pay this off!!!!!!!! We are already seeing God's hand at work!
2. Housing.....that God would clearly show us the timing of either selling/buying or how our current housing situation will work for what He has called us to do.
3. Adoption process......that we would see God work and move in a way that only HE can be GLORIFIED!!!!!