Remembering

We all have them. Mine dot my knuckles, knees, elbows, back, thigh, ankles...you get the picture. Scars of all sizes mark my body and remind me of moments from my past when I was less than careful and no where near graceful. I don't have to try to conjure the time of day or the scenario that led to each mark.

I was in third grade at lunch, playing four-square in the Nevada sun, when I fell and skinned the top of my knuckles (yes, the top of my knuckles!); the three inch scar above my knee is a lifelong reminder of the time that I climbed a 7 foot chainlink fence and fell after gouging my leg on the sharp, twisted metal at the top. Perhaps one of my earliest memories is of my mom setting me on the kitchen counter to clean a bite from the neighbor's dog; I can still hear the water running in the sink and the soothing voice that reassured me, and I still have the scar on my cheek to remind me that "no" means "no" for a good reason. These scars are evidence not only of wounds but also of subsequent healing (not to mention lack of coordination and obedience!).

These "Ebenezer Stones" serve the same purpose as the scars that pepper my knees and knuckles. The stones function as memorials of where we have been, what we have learned, and who has been with us along the way.

The title of our blog comes from 1 Samuel when Samuel sets up a memorial stone after the greatly outnumbered Israelites defeat the Philistines. This idea of stone memorials occurs elsewhere in scripture - after Jacob wrestles with God and after the Israelites crossed over the Jordan on dry ground.

The purpose of the stones is explained in Joshua 4, "Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder...to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, "What do these stones mean?" tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD...These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." (verses 6 and 7).

The God that was with the Israelites as they crossed the Jordan, the same God who met with Christ in the Garden of Gesthemane is the God who walks before and behind us in everything, but most evident to us, on our journey to grow our family. We have been so encouraged by this truth, and we want to remember what we have learned and how we have been changed.

Often in difficult times, we feel alone or we wonder "where is God in this?". In those times, we invariably experience heartache, wounds that go deeper than dog bites and skinned knees. One of the most transforming struggles in my walk has been, as C.S. Lewis coins it, this problem of pain. I don't know that I have arrived at any sort of epiphany regarding suffering, but I do know this - it always has a purpose. While it could have had the power to destroy, our barrenness has instead strengthened our marriage and transformed our way of thinking about our relationship with God.

And so, here we are, erecting our memorial stones to rejoice and to remind ourselves that God has a purpose in this time and that "Thus far, the LORD has been with us."

Remembering is important; the act makes times of sorrow more bearable and times of joy more poignant. Knowing that God is with us on the mountain tops is natural; believing that He is with us as we traverse our valleys and recognizing that He crosses our rivers before us requires a conscious effort to trust Him...and that is what scars are good for - they help us to remember that He is more than trustworthy and more than able.

Ebenezer Bleezer

Many of you have written to ask for updates...we want to give you a heads up - this process is a slow one! We plan to write at least once a week, but we fear that you might lose interest if we just keep talking about all of the papers we are filling out!

We received our dossier binder from the agency the other day; the dossier is all of the paperwork that will be sent overseas for the approval of our adoption. There are more than 25 documents in the dossier, ranging from the results of our homestudy (which is scheduled for March 8) to our medical records, birth certificates, and bank information. We have become fast friends with the notary at the bank as she as already seen us for lots of documents. We'll write more on the process for those of you who are interested. For now, we just wanted to give you a snapshot of what we are currently working on.

We received some very interesting theories regarding the name of our blog. Some of which we have copied below.
- The name of our son
- The names of rocks in our garden
- A reference to a line from a hymn
- A reference to Scrooge and the ghosts of the past, present, and future
- And, because we think this one will make you smile (and perhaps gag), we copied a poem that was sent to us with an Ebenezer reference.

"I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
there are flavors in my freezer you have never seen before,
twenty-eight divine creations
too delicious to resist,why not do yourself a favor,try the flavors on my list:
COCOA MOCHA MACARONI
TAPIOCA SMOKED BALONEY
CHECKERBERRY CHEDDAR CHEW
CHICKEN CHERRY HONEYDEW
TUTTI-FRUTTI STEWED TOMATO
TUNA TACO
BAKED POTATO LOBSTER
LITCHI LIMA BEAN
MOZZARELLA MANGOSTEEN
ALMOND HAM MERINGUE
SALAMIYAM ANCHOVY
PRUNE PASTRAMI
SASSAFRAS SOUVLAKI HASH
SUKIYAKI SUCCOTASH
BUTTER BRICKLE PEPPER PICKLE
POMEGRANATE PUMPERNICKEL
PEACH PIMENTO PIZZA
PLUMPEANUT PUMPKIN
BUBBLEGUMBROCCOLI
BANANA BLUSTER
CHOCOLATE CHOP SUEY
CLUSTERAVOCADO
BRUSSELS SPROUT
PERIWINKLE SAUERKRAUT
COTTON CANDY CARROT CUSTARD
CAULIFLOWER COLA
MUSTARDONION
DUMPLING DOUBLE DIPTURNIP
TRUFFLE TRIPLE FLIP
GARLIC GUMBO GRAVY GUAVA
LENTIL LEMON LIVER LAVA
ORANGE OLIVE
BAGEL BEETWATERMELON WAFFLE WHEAT
I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
taste a flavor from my freezer,
you will surely ask for more."
-Jack Prelutsky

Not to worry...we won't be naming our child Ebenezer, and we won't be feeding him or her gross concoctions of ice cream. We'll write more tomorrow with some more serious thoughts on the significance of our Ebenezer.

Thanks for your love and prayers.

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Our Big News

Welcome Friends and Family!

We have big news! We have begun the process to adopt a little one from Kazakhstan. As we begin our journey around the world to bring our son or daughter home, we have felt: joy, hope, and peace, (and if we are being entirely honest - a little bit of nerves) .

We wanted to share our news with you for several reasons. First and foremost, we are filled with joy, and we just had to share it with people that we care about! We also wanted to ask for your prayers. It is quite possible that our little one has already been born or if he has not been born yet, he is in the womb! What an astounding thought. To the right of our posts, we will highlight and update our prayer requests on a regular basis. We have been praying for this child for years and hope that someday he (or she!) will be encouraged by the fact that the body of Christ was praying for him and loving him before they even knew him.

Even though we are at the beginning stages of this process, we have already been working for months. Thus far, we have researched, read, and researched some more, decided on the country of Kazakhstan, chosen an adoption agency, begun the homestudy process, and - most exciting of all - started talking about baby names.

We'll use this blog to share our journey and our reflections on getting here. We hope that you will be encouraged by what God has done and will do. If you get overwhelmed by our babble, please at least check out "Prayers Please" and our "Where are We Now?" for at-a-glance updates.

Perhaps you are wondering about the title of our blog?? Post a comment to us with your theory of the title's significance. We'll post the best (or most creative) theories and tell you the real significance in a few days...how's that for a teaser? :) (We'll be able to tell if you googled it).

We thank God for you and for your prayers.