Well, we didn’t quite get Christmas cards sent out this year. It crossed my mind multiple times over the past month; I pondered where I might get the best price and which picture we’d use. I just never got around to it! Much has been going on since our last post in, what, August?! Wow! This blogging thing doesn’t make it to my priority list very much, but I do enjoy it when I get the urge to write and update So, in short, or long, here is what has been going on in our lives over the past several months.

We did begin the adoption process and our home study. It was a sharpening time and a trying time, filled with many tears of repentance. Our great God was kind to show us of our failings and inconsistencies as parents (He’s still showing us lately too), and we thought He was showing us these things to prepare us to bring home a child from overseas. As the process continued, on multiple occassions, we questioned if we should continue on. Our repentance continued and our pleading for the Lord’s help continued, but there still was a huge question mark over adoption. We couldn’t shake it, but we kept on pursuing what we thought God was calling us to. Because Christ died and we now have access to the Father and He is so gracious to us, a big red flag was waved in our faces and we knew it was time to stop the adoption process. Generally speaking, God has shown us where we need to focus our attention right now, and as of now, it is not on adoption.

Interestingly enough, we knew on a Thursday in the middle of November that we were putting our adoption journey on hold, and on the following Tuesday, (exactly a month ago), we received news that we are expecting another baby from our WOMB! From the Father’s hands, no less We laughed and we cried and we were stunned. God would entrust another baby to our care through pregnancy… OUR PREGNANCY? After a grueling bone marrow transplant, God opened our womb and has chosen to gift us with another one of His precious gifts. We were and are still speechless with joy

Needless to say, my mind has been 100,000 other places than Christmas cards, but our hearts have been very near to the cross this Christmas season, by God’s grace. It’s been a sweet time to rejoice in Isaiah 53 these past few weeks.

Isaiah 53:5-6

“But He was wounded for our

transgressions;

He was crushed for our iniquities;

upon Him was the chastisement that

brought us peace,

and with His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned every one to his

own way;

and the Lord has laid on Him

the iniquity of us all.”

Look at what God’s Word says about Jesus, the Savior of the World, Immanuel which means “God with us.” Jesus took on the punishment which gave us peace with God. And we, sinners, vile in every way, God-haters by birth, were healed by Jesus’s sacrifice. THIS IS LOVE. Look at our dear Savior and marvel this Christmas. As one of our favorite kids songs sings, “Jesus came to earth. He lived a perfect life. He died upon a Cross, then He rose from the dead. Now He is in heaven, seated on His throne, at the right hand of the Father, where Heaven is His home. We praise You, Jesus, Son of God!” Merry Christmas, we love y’all!

We were all orphans. According to God’s Word, Christians have been adopted into God’s family. We were once not a people, but now we are God’s people (1 Peter 2:10). We have been divinely interwoven into this life-changing joy of adoption because of God’s grace in Christ Jesus – it is personal to us, and we know it WELL.

Because of Christ’s great sacrifice on the cross to atone for our sins which were and are against the holy and righteous God, our family has felt the drawing and call to adopt a child into our family! Lord willing, there is a little boy 3 years old or younger in Ethiopia with the last name Sheridan waiting to come home to his forever family. We are very early on in this process – we begin our first homestudy interview Thursday, and the paperwork has only slowly begun. But our hearts are overjoyed at God’s kindness in knitting mine and Brandon’s hearts together about our role in orphan care. I will try and recap how God used His Word and a very helpful resource to show us His heart for orphan care soon.

Please pray that we would be a praying and Jesus-trusting family. Pray that God would provide the means to bring home our little boy. Pray for his salvation. Pray others would be so stirred toward orphan care that they too would adopt a child or children into their family for God’s glory and His renown. May the good news of Christ’s blood covering our sins and restoring our standing with God be at the forefront and backdrop of every adoption!

I, personally, have been battling sin heavily in my own life. As relates to discipline and instruction, my anger is shown more than once a day in raising my voice. I have been brought to tears and repentance often as God reveals my sin and my need to seek His face, forgiveness, and faithfulness. So a question sprang up in my heart this morning: “Is this it? Is this who I will be until the Lord brings me home? Will I be an angry, hopeless, faithless mother and wife who mopes and doubts all the day long? Am I made like this for your glory?”

How often do I lean on my own wisdom, insight, judgement for answering tough questions? I began to despair as I pondered the answer to the question about my sinful anger. It isn’t fair that my children be brought up in a home where the mother is not proactive in giving the Gospel, sharing God’s Word, discipling in love and patience and gentleness. So, I mustn’t stop fighting! What are God’s promises?

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” We are not left to our sin; no, we must seek God’s face to become more and more into the image of His Son.

2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” We must behold Jesus and by the Spirit be changed to be more like Jesus.

1 John 5:11 “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” Life is in Christ; not in this world, not in our circumstances, not in our sin. Life is found in Jesus alone. I must stop moping and doubting in my circumstances and in my pity party. REJOICE! Jesus gives us eternal life and true life on this earth.

Psalm 25:4-5 “Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” Seek Him. Ask Him. Rely on Him. In Him are all the riches and wisdom and knowledge (Romans 11:33).

Upon pondering this question another one followed: “God, you’ve placed many children in homes where mothers, parents, grandparents are slaves to drugs, alcohol, promisquity, the world. Is this also for your glory?” Then I began to wonder about God’s fairness and His ultimate goal of creating everything – HIS GLORY! If a little girl is brought up in a home where drugs and alcohol are prized by her caregivers above her own soul, what then? How might that be for God’s glory? Oftentimes my mind wanders to questions that may never be answered on this side of eternity – But God’s Word has every answer we need for our questions – Praise the LORD. ”The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works” Psalm 145:17. He is. For His glory, may He save the souls of those who are going headlong against Him. May He spare the children’s lives and give them eternal life in Jesus Christ. God is kind to bring physical and earthly affliction because He receives glory.

I want to continue writing on this blog, really I do!! Maybe the Lord will prompt my heart to address different topics more often so I can write

So thank you family; thank you friends; thank you church family for praying believingly that Carter B would be healed and that our souls would be sanctified. May the scar on our son’s curly-headed head be a contant “ebenezer” or reminder of the Great things God has done. May this reminder on Carter Brown’s body incline his heart to the treasure of Jesus and may he belong to God’s family soon!

All things are for Christ, not ourselves. Colossians 1:15-17 “He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

Learning, painfully but joyfully, that doing things in my own strength and for motives which only have my “good” in mind only lead to disappointment and failure. May the Gospel inform and control me in all areas of my day, and may my children, husband, family, and acquaintences be given grace and mercy extended to them as an outflow of the grace and mercy I have received in Christ Jesus. Let us live lives which please Jesus!

I’ve been doing some research about “preschool” for Carter B! There is a website where a mom is doing “Tot  School” with her 2 year old little girl and I’m thinking about including some of her teaching and techniques into our day. Even little Caroline can benefit from some of the things this mom is implementing. It is merely having a set amount of time of intentional playtime with your children and working on helping them master their letters, shapes, colors, and numbers and counting all while playing with them with their toys! Sounds simple enough Looking forward to watching these babies grow up and learn Bible verses and learn the Gospel!

We are learning “Nothing but the Blood” here at our house and it is more than a joy to hear Carter Brown finish most of the phrases of the song!! What sweet truths to have in his mind that will one day transfer to heart affections for Jesus, Lord willing.

Brandon’s 28th birthday is Monday, and he will be out of town. So we are celebrating today with a lazy Saturday! We don’t know the last time we’ve been just home all day on a Saturday. We’re going to eat at Mary’s German Restaurant tonight in Collierville. Brandon’s family L.O.V.E.S. German food… we’ll see if this restaurant holds a candle to their favorite restaurant that is no more!

This man, my husband, the father to our two babies, is the Lord’s child! I am so thankful the Lord got him when He did. By grace, it has been nearly two years since his bone marrow transplant, and he is living and breathing to tell the tale. All glory to King Jesus for sparing Brandon’s life and sanctifying him through this huge trial. God would not have been void of kindness or wisdom or love if He had chosen to take Brandon home to heaven. We are thankful that God’s purposes cannot be twarted and that His ways are not our ways. Isaiah 55:9 “‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” We will never understand all of God’s ways, so we trust Him that all of the things He purposes are for His glory and our ultimate good! And His good is perfect… though it may not seem “good” to us at the time! We must trust! Trust and obey

I wish I could say… “Yes, I will post again next week.” But I cannot promise that! I will try to be more consistent!

Our little Caroline devouring her Nectar Juice from Serbia, while wearing her Serbia shirt!

Carter B and his cousin, Sheldon, at Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs.

Look at these BEAUTIFUL tulips at Garvan Gardens!!

Okay, so this is the only decent one of all four of them because our little tikes couldn’t get their minds right

He didn’t mind smiling with a stick in his hand!

Classic Carter B with his determined face on while riding his Ma’s goose!

Caroline and her cousin Addyson on mom’s back porch glider!

“The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but He (Jesus) holds his priesthood permanently,

because He continues forever. Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost, those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Look at HIM! He lives forever to make intercession for His children; He continues forever as priest on our behalf. Praise the Lord. Let us behold the Lamb of God together!

We leave early tomorrow afternoon on a 14-hour-trip to Eastern Europe to see our best friends … we really are going! We keep reminding each other that we really will, Lord willing, board three planes and then see them face to face. We will arrive at 12 noon on Sunday, their time, and leave the following Saturday at 9:40 a.m. their time. It really has been one year and three months since we have hugged their necks and laughed with them and cooked together and ran together and giggled with their sweet babies… they even have a little boy we have yet to meet in person!!

Please pray for our time together that we would all be filled with the Spirit, and pray that we would “love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” 1 John 4:7. Pray we would land safely there and would come back to our children, our family, and our church family. Pray for our families as we leave that Philippians 4:6-7 would be true in their hearts: “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding would guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Thank you for trusting the Father in prayer!

Thank you for praying already. Our family and friends have gone before the Throne of Grace in faith time and time again on our behalf – thank you. Please pray that the test will come back clear with no signs of lingering AVMs and that God would be pleased to keep Carter B. Pray, too, that we would walk in the Spirit,  being sensitive to Him as we seek to bring glory to the Father at LeBonheur Hospital tomorrow. We long to be pleasing to Him in all respects and “that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11)

“Blessed are those whose way is blameless,

who walk in the law of the LORD!

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,

who seek him with their whole heart,

who also do no wrong,

but walk in his ways!

You have commanded your precepts

to be kept diligently.

Oh that my ways may be steadfast

in keeping your statutes!

Then I shall not be put to shame,

having my eyes fixed on all your

commandments.

I will praise you with an upright heart,

when I learn your righteous rules.

I will keep your statutes;

do not utterly forsake me!

So on my way to  Romans this morning after a yummy bowl of Golden Grahams, I opened up directly to Psalm 119, seemingly on accident. But, this morning, the LORD used a flippant opening of the Bible to teach me what He requires. Look at these eight verses – the psalmist, under the power of the Holy Spirit, refers to God’s Word eight times. Walk in the LAW of the LORD; Blessed are those who keep his TESTIMONIES, who walk in His WAYS; You have commanded your PRECEPTS to be kept diligently; Oh that my ways may be steadfst in keeping your STATUTES; having my eyes fixed on all your COMMANDMENTS; when I learn your righteous RULES; I will keep your STATUTUES. Keep His law, keep His Word, keep His commandments, walk in His ways. Do, obey, trust!

We read last night in James 1 that we must be doers of the word and not hearers only. And in James 1 God uses the writer to give a few more commands -  Verse 19 “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” And in verse 21-22 “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” Verses 25-27 “But the one who looks into the prefect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tounge but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

Oh that our hearts, captivated and changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, would long to obey God’s Word, trust His commands, walk in His ways, learn His righteous rules, seek Him with our whole heart, and keep His precepts dilgently.

*Carter B and his super hero cape his Ma made him for Christmas!*

So, just a quick update on our ole’ Carter Brown. He really is doing amazing. He has one last test (Lord willing) until he is 5-years-old on Thursday, February 17. On Wednesday, February 16, we will meet the neurologist who will oversee Carter Brown’s angiogram. Then we will report to LeBonheur at 10 a.m. the next day, and the procedure will begin at 1 p.m. This procedure is actually considered surgery, and Carter will have to undergo antisethsia. Pray that the Lord will sustain Carter and us as he goes without food or drink for almost 12 hours amist a morning in an unknown place and the potential of having an IV placed. Pray, also, that God will keep Carter and that the recovery following the procedure will FLY BY! He will have to lie flat for a few hours to prevent bleeding at the site near his thigh.

I have been recounting many instances during his sickness and hospital stay and surgeries and recovery lately, and I stand in awe at how our Lord Jesus spared Carter’s little tiny life. To what avail, I do not know yet. We are praying, though, that his life was saved for God’s glory and Carter’s salvation in Christ. We trust the One to whom salvation belongs (Psalm 3:8). 

I was reading this verse today and reveling at God’s sovereignty.

Romans 11:33

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

Thankfully, it is not on our knowledge and wisdom and riches our life depends, but on God’s. ”Oh the depth….” In my finiteness that’s about an eternity’s worth of inches, feet, miles of wise plans and all-knowing choosing. That’s a LOT and much more than we have or will ever aquire or ever muster up in our own strength. We are called to trust and obey God in all areas of our lives. In going to the nations, in selling a home, in giving, in affliction, in loss, in everyday, long-haul, minute-by-minute wiping noses, correction, discipline, training, cooking, changing diapers, bathing babies… He is trustworthy because He is I AM, the One who is all-wise, all-knowing, and the giver of all things.

*Caroline and her super hero cape with her cousin, Madison Margaret!*

Another update: our little baby girl will celebrate her first birthday in a little over one month! What a year she has lived…. She is our little trooper. With very little sickness and sweet ability to transition well, Caroline has been helped by her Maker to fit right into our family! We are so glad she is ours.

*A sweet father/son picture we took at Christmas near my sister’s house. Hopefully there will be many more outdoor experiences with this duo and maybe more baby boy Sheridans to come (no, we’re not pregnant ).*