His End is the Process

Well, we may be nearing the end of summer '08 but in many ways for our family there are new beginnings happening through and through...new hopes, new understanding, new revelations and I would venture to say, new LOVE! At the beginning of 2008, way back in January, I wrote in my prayer journal, asking the Father to reveal to me the work of the cross. I wanted to gain a much deeper understanding of what the cross meant for me, for mankind and even for the trinity. Be careful what you pray for, right?!!! July has proven to be both the worst and best months of my life thus far. As a family, we have been through the fire. As husband and wife, we have been on our faces (literally) before our God and have been totally renewed by the redeeming love of the cross. So, what is the cross? It is life for the sinner (that would be us), and we have been overwhelmed this month with the reality that the cross is an invitation to a love relationship with the Living God beyond all that you could ever imagine. Forgiveness is real and the cross is living proof of the fiery depths of the Father's love for us. GLORY!!!

So, where have we been this summer? It has been a grand time. Once again, we were blessed by the Parada Family and shared an absolutely blissful week with them in Clear Lake. We feel like royalty when we are with them and we love this family so much. They really are our family. We all had a blast wake boarding, relaxing, swimming, laughing, resting and of course, eating. The kids were in heaven and we are so thankful for these memories. The boys were able to spend time on the lake in their "belly-boats" and caught some serious bass. I was pretty impressed. Ben won the prize for biggest fish....six pound large mouth. Nice Benjamin! Daddy was able to spend some serious quality time with his little fishermen in the early sunrise hours. I slept. It was nice to escape the intense smoke of the late June fires that hit CA. and inundated our home town of Foresthill.

Another vacation week was scheduled for the week of July 16th with Grandpa and Grandma. We planned to head up to McArthur Burney State Park but by the end of the previous week, it was clear that the smoke in the Redding area might make for a gloomy camping experience, so we decided to cancel that trip and let the wind blow us where it would. It turned out to be the most spectacular vacation week ever! God knew what that week would bring and He totally had it all planned so perfectly. We spent the majority of the week with Mom and Dad, here and there and everywhere; from Lake Tahoe to Grass Valley, skateparks, restaurants, surprises from the Father all over the place, and the wholeness and freedom of being His! It was PERFECT. No, really, it was! We love you beyond measure Mom and Dad. Thank you for being our best friends and pointing us to Jesus...always!
Of course, the inbetween days are filled with trips to the local pool, cleaning house, grocery shopping, working on projects and "Vacation Bible Blast" this week. The kiddos are loving it. I have to mention here that God has led Brian and I to Celebration Church in Meadow Vista (not too far from here) and we are so blessed to be in a Spirit Filled church again. I am in heaven. This is a whole separate blog entry so I'll save the details for another evening.

Last but never least...the question of the week..."How's the adoption going?" -or- "Are you still adopting?" Yes, we are still in the waiting room and are not anticipating a referral for at least another two years. I know, that just sounds so insane to some people but I have to say, we wouldn't want anything but God's perfect timing, and we are so far into this now that the trusting part has become quite as natural as the air we breathe. Not to say that there are not days of yearning and intense longing but He covers even those. Bottom line, "We trust You Lord." We are learning to be totally dependent on Him for EVERY need. He has a plan in all of this and it is much bigger than the Holbrook family adopting a baby from China, let me tell ya!

And, we know that He is a God of surprises and miracles...who really knows?

I will close with an excerpt from today's reading in "My Utmost for His Highest".

"What is my dream of God's purpose? His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power NOW. If I can stay in the middle of the turmoil calm and unperplexed, that is the end of the purpose of God. God is not working towards a particular finish; His end is the process (I love that...I get that) -that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that it is all right because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God."

It gets even better so if you have this book I encourage you to read today's.

Love you everyone