Mitchell and I spent Easter weekend volunteering at Cross Point. He played on the worship team and I spent 5 services working with the kiddos in Cross Point kids. It was an extremely rewarding weekend-exactly what my heart needed. We just became so busy that I wasn’t able to volunteer with the kids on a consistent basis, but I knew that I needed to get back in the rotation and reconnect with my kids. Funny, I just called them “my kids”, but that’s how they feel; that is how much I love them. I can’t even begin to describe how much joy they bring into my life. Just one morning spent working with them and telling them about Jesus made my heart so happy. I was blessed enough to share the story of Jesus’ resurrection with 4-year olds, and the best part was seeing them actually get it. They understood what Jesus did, and why He had to do what He did, and most of all, how much that means He loves them! Talking with them about this story made them so happy because they knew that their savior loves them. Seeing this truth hit their little 4-year old hearts absolutely changed my life.
He loves the little children, so we must also love them, and become like them. I’m so blessed to have the opportunity to be around such amazing kiddos. Plus, 209 people made the decision to follow Jesus over Easter weekend!!!!
Show Hope, BE Hope
Jesus said, “let the children
come to me! Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to shoe who are
like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the
kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”- Luke 18: 6-17
He loves the little children, so we must also love them, and become like them. I’m so blessed to have the opportunity to be around such amazing kiddos. Plus, 209 people made the decision to follow Jesus over Easter weekend!!!!
I am so excited to finally be sharing with you all some news that has completely changed the course of my life and further confirmed my calling to care for orphans and those in the adoption world. I am officially an intern for Show Hope which is an organization that is so near and dear to my heart; I feel so extremely blessed to be an intern there for the summer! God's hand has been at work in big ways in my life, and there have been several things that I believe He has used to lead me to this point. How wonderful is it that a great God like ours choses to use us as His hands and feet? :)
"For I am God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for me to do."-Ephesians 2:10
There is really no way that I can deny that this is what God
wants me to be doing. It's not something I woke up one morning and chose to do,
but it is a beautifully orchestrated plan that God had for me from the very
beginning. There have been several signs leading me to this point, all discrete
nudges from God, I believe. :)
Meeting Mitchell, who had a sister who was adopted
Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I have a heart for kids. They are the joy of my life and I just love being around them and taking care of children. God designed me that way, and that's a passion He created my heart with. Meeting Mitchell and hearing of their family's adoption story tugged at my heart in a whole new way. I've always thought that God wanted me to adopt because thinking of a child in an orphanage without a forever family absolutely broke my heart. I knew at some point God wanted me to give Hope to a child by adopting them into my family. Whenever I pictured this in my mind, I saw a little girl named Hope Susann running around. :) I remember hearing Mitchell talk about working with Show Hope to receive a grant, and the other ways in which Show Hope helped them. I knew they were a great organization, and I knew I wanted to be a part of it in some way someday. Plus, his mom told me an amazing story that they had all the papers ready to adopt again, and they were going to name their second adopted daughter Hope Suzann. Crazy how God works, huh?!!!
Meeting Faith in December
It was December when I met Faith Danielle Steele for the first time, and this was the confirmation God knew I needed that He was in fact calling me to adopt. Also, that my daughter would be from China, just like Faith. I began looking more and more into Show Hope, and really just became amazed at the work they did and what they stand for. I knew that I would one day have a daughter with their help, but I wanted to do more now. Mitchell and I became Show Hope sponsors and we make a donation every month to help other families seeking grants for adoption. Our reasoning is this: if we expect Show Hope to help us bring Hope home, we have to help bring other children home to their forever families NOW!
Starting a blog back in January
I will never forget one night back in January I was laying awake and couldn't sleep. I had all of these thoughts running through my head, thoughts I felt like I needed to write down and share. As I thought them through, I knew they were too long for a Facebook status, and certainly wouldn't fit on a tweet. It was then I decided it might be a good thing for me to start a blog. Yes, it was 3 in the morning but I thought "what the heck, why not right?!" I have no idea what prompted this at the time, I just thought it was a random idea of mine, and that it would just be a place for me to share my thoughts. However, looking back, it was God preparing me for my internship at Show Hope. One of my projects as an intern at Show Hope this summer is to write some blogs and come up with ideas for blog projects. COME ON!!! It is NO coincidence that I just randomly decided to start a blog! There is nothing random about this. See, God knew I would be in this internship, and He knew that it would be a good thing to have some experience with blogging. There's that saying, "whatever God calls you to, He will also equip you for". That's EXACTLY what He does! I just don't think He has ever made it this obvious to me. It makes me so excited!!
Country Thunder
Another thing that I believe God used to prepare me for this, as weird as it may sound, was my time spent working at Country Thunder. Country Thunder is a Country music festival based in Nashville. I spent 6 months working as a Customer Service Specialist where I assisted those who called in with various account issues, or wanting to purchase festival tickets. I also managed their e-mail account, and I also was put in charge of various other projects. While I didn’t feel like God needed me to stay there any longer, it was an experience I learned a lot from. I now am better equipped to handle various issues and deal with all kinds of people who may call in. What’s great about Show Hope? Everyone I will be talking to has a heart to care for orphans! What a perfect fit for me!!
Becoming Show Hope Advocates
A while back, I wrote a post about becoming Show Hope Sponsors. If you want to read that amazing, life-changing story in more detail, you can read that post here: Glorious Unfolding. After attending Steven Curtis Chapman’s concert, Mitchell and I become sponsors. Once we started planning our wedding, we were trying to think of ways to create a memorable wedding favor for our guests. After some thought, we decided to make a donation in honor of every wedding guest to Show Hope. This is our advocacy events and Mitchell and I are planning various events to raise funds and awareness for Show Hope. Since I myself am an advocate, I can better serve those individuals looking to become advocates. God knows what He is doing!!
Bear House
I cannot even believe that my first year at Belmont University is officially over. I also cannot believe that I survived finals. I know for an absolute fact that I could not have done it without Mitchell by my side. He was my ultimate cheerleader! I’m finally done with the semester and home for a month.
“If We’re Honest”
This is usually where I would put in a few of my favorite songs from the new album, “If We’re Honest”. However, it is literally impossible for me to pick just a few. Francesca did so good on this one. I love every single song on this album. Her songs are real life and no matter what you’re going through, there is a message you can take away from them. That is what I love about her music. Check it out below!
God's Not Dead
“If We’re Honest”
This is usually where I would put in a few of my favorite songs from the new album, “If We’re Honest”. However, it is literally impossible for me to pick just a few. Francesca did so good on this one. I love every single song on this album. Her songs are real life and no matter what you’re going through, there is a message you can take away from them. That is what I love about her music. Check it out below!
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.”-John 14:6.
Messages from Pete Wilson
I know I have mentioned this before, multiple times, but I absolutely love our church in Nashville. Our pastor Pete always has the best sermons; I take so many notes! I just wish I could absorb and remember every single thing he says because it makes so much sense! I’m just going to share little snippets from some of his most recent messages. I hope you find some of them insightful.
“What God has called you to He will equip you for.”
God doesn’t make mistakes. Ever. So whatever He calls me to do, I have to believe that He is going to see me through. He is faithful always.
"God places things on our hearts at different seasons in our lives."
I found this to be soooo true especially with everything he's been unfolding right in front of my eyes.
"God is going to call us to do things that a lot of people around us aren't going to understand or accept. They're going to question you and doubt you. That's not a reason for you not to do it. Are you going to listen to those people, or to God?"
This made me think of what you said about our dry wedding and how that is going to make a statement and even if people don't understand it, it's still important we do it. Same goes for our call to adopt Hope and homeschool. Even if nobody else ever understands why I do what I do, I still have to listen to God's call.
"There is no such thing as a 2nd class calling. No job is more spiritually better than another in God's eyes. He doesn't view a teacher better than a mechanic, or a banker better than a plumber or a pastor better than a accountant or a stay at home mom better than a CEO."
Months and months ago, Mitchell asked me if I wanted to attend the Switchfoot concert with him. I knew of Switchfoot and thought it sounded like fun so, I agreed. Ever since then, he was SO EXCITED about this show! The Sunday night of finals week, it was the night Mitchell had been waiting for month. Switchfoot night was finally here! I must say that it was an incredible show and I loved every minute of it. I found myself multiple times throughout the night looking over at Mitchell and thinking to myself, “I would give anything to make that smile permanent on his face.” He looked so happy and carefree that night. I know there will be times that the smile I love so much will fade, but now that I know how brightly his smile can shine, it has become my life goal to put that smile on his face! We had a great night with friends and amazing music. Here are some of my favorite Switchfoot songs at the moment:
Moving out, heading home
For the last couple of weeks, Mitchell and I have been trying to keep ourselves as organized as possible for the move out process. No amount of preparation makes the art of moving all of your belongings into a storage unit less stressful. This I have learned full well. But I prefer not to dwell on it because it’s over and done. Praise the Lord!! Okay, so maybe I am being a tiny bit dramatic about it. It really wasn’t as bad as I’m making it out to be, and Mitchell was so patient with me. If anything, his patience was even more confirmation that he is way too good to me and I don’t deserve him! There were multiple times he was the only thing saving me from a total mental breakdown. You never realize how much stuff you have accumulated until you have to move it all. Remind me of this the next time I say I need to buy myself more clothes.
The serious lack of sleep is really starting to catch up with me. Having to get up at 3AM for a flight home has pretty much wiped me of any energy. Mitchell babe, you are a champ for getting up at 4 to take me to the airport! I have found myself a keeper. :) I am so beyond happy to be home with my family for a few days, and I’m finally able to talk wedding with my mother in person! It’s SO good!! Last night, my little baby brother went to PROM! I can’t believe he is that old. That makes me feel even older!!! Then again, I guess I am old enough to be planning a wedding, right?! Oh my….life just flies right by!
Lyrics
Lyrics
I’ve always been one of those individuals who can become easily captivated by song lyrics. When I hear a lyric that speaks to my heart, it hits me in a very deep and real way. These lyrics from Steven Curtis Chapman are those kind of lyrics.
“Lay your head down tonight
Take a rest from the fight
Don’t try to figure it out
Just listen to what I’m whispering to your heart
‘Cause I know this is not
Anything like you thought
The story of your life was gonna be”-SCC
I would just like to end this post by saying that I know that God has been making some big changes in my life and in my heart. My plans have completely shifted gears and it seems a little scary. I know what I need to do; I need to trust God completely, because just like it says in Ephesians, He had my life all planned out for me before I even began living it. I am His servant and His workmanship. All I have to give is my life, and I'm going to do with it what He leads me to do. Show Hope is only the first step of many more leaps of faith God will challenge me to take. I know in the future there will be more steps of obedience to stay at home and raise children, and then eventually homeschool our children. There are many life-changing things God has placed on my heart that I never saw myself even considering a few months ago. Through all of the changes though, I remember that He has been and always will be Faithful. It's funny how God choses to reveal His perfect plan. In the words of Steven Curtis Chapman, "this is going to be a Glorious Unfolding."
Wedding dresses
Yesterday was my first wedding dress appointment. There are so many emotions going on inside right now. All of them good ones!! If you’d like to read about my day inside David’s Bridal, read the story on our wedding blog here: Mimily Wedding. There are sneak peek photos there too! Check them out.
This just in! Tonight I had my second wedding dress appointment and I said YES to the dress! I have a wedding dress ya'll!!!! I can't believe it. Yes, I did cry, and so did mama! It was literally perfect, and my dress is even more amazing than what I imagined it being. Mitchell babe, I cannot wait to marry you in this dress and promise to love and serve you forever and ever! If you'd like to read the whole story, check out our wedding blog at mimilywedding.com/blog
Until next time,
Keep Calm and Listen to Music
-Emily
