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Last night, I had dinner with three precious friends.  They took me out to dinner for my birthday at PF Chang's which has... guess what?  A gluten free menu!  (Ha!  Needed to share that for all my GF friends out there.) Kristie, Janet and Paige have walked life with our family for years.  They are dear to my heart.  All night long, we talked about their adoptions, our kids, our husbands, and what the Lord was teaching each of us.  Each of our four families are in the midst of change.  We shared our challenges, and our new places of trust.  Over the past six months, our families have endured many unforeseen changes in many areas.  We enjoyed our "friend time" around the table knowing more changes are on the horizon. However, the one thing we did NOT talk about was the fact that our family is leaving.  We did NOT talk about the fact that this would be our last birthday dinner together.  We did NOT talk about the end of the way th...

Yesterday as I was packing up a few more things, I found this quote from John Piper about our present "world system." We must cultivate the mindset of exiles. What this does mainly is sober us up and wake us up so that we don't drift with the world and take for granted that the way the world thinks and acts is the best way. We don't assume that what is on TV is helpful to the soul; we don't assume that the priorities of advertisers are helpful to the soul; we don't assume that the strategies and values of business and industry are helpful to the soul. We don't assume that any of this glorifies God. We stop and we think and we consult the Wisdom of our own country, heaven, and we don't assume that the conventional wisdom of this age is God's wisdom. We get our bearings from God in his Word. When you see yourself as an alien and an exile with your citizenship in heaven, and God as your only Sovereign, you stop drifting with the current of the day. Yo...

The daily emotions of seeing the looming "END" of life here is overwhelming at times.  Frequently, in fact.  Goodbyes are constant.  We walk away from every moment with friends and family wondering, "When will I see them again?" Our boys are feeling it too. (The *.....* symbol means, "What does a mother say?   What can this mother say?  Especially when I feel the same way...   *.....* ) Tucking Braden in last night, he asked with uncovered emotion, " Mom, do you think we've said at least half of our goodbyes?  I don't want to keep saying goodbye. " *.....* AND For the past few years, our older boys have attended Rivers Edge Christian Academy which is a three day a week homeschooling co-op.  The boys have grown and matured tremendously in this environment.  Yesterday was their last day of classes and the boys were all saddened by this momentous day.  (Who says that about school?  Ummm, this year - our boys say that.) At the end of ...

Sunday was Mother's Day and it was one of the best days of my life.  The giftedness of each of our sons was revealed throughout the day, and I rejoiced in all that the Lord has done in our family.   Earlier last week, I posted about a drawing Franklin was working on for me for Mother's Day.  To make a long story short, he spilled Coke on it then crumpled it up because he felt it was ruined.  That crumpled up drawing was such a reflection of where we are these days.  Broken in so many areas, yet on a journey toward the place where God is leading us.   The first gift I opened on Mother's Day was this sketch by Franklin titled "The Journey."  He had "redone" the entire drawing especially for me!  When he gave it to me, he told me the crumpled up one is behind the new one within the frame.  What a picture of our reality.  God is covering our broken, messy, hurting places with His grace.  Isn't that a reflection of who we are?  All ...

Can you help us?  We are wanting to cover one wall in our house with reminders of those we love here.  Will you send a photo, bible verse, drawing, quote, etc... for us to hang on our wall in Ghana?  We need it soon, so send it quickly.  Here are a few of the special things that will be decorating our home in Ghana.  Hand-colored pictures from Lanita.  One of my most precious friends downtown,  She is so talented at coloring, and she did these just for us!  So special!  A drawing form Rachel Peterson.  She was in Ghana last March when we traveled to bring Godwin home.  She said she would draw anything for anyone in order to raise money for a mission trip she is taking.  So, we commissioned her for this piece of artwork.  Isn't it beautiful?  She drew how Ghana impacted her and the drawing of the hands was her rendition of the photo of Godwin's hand in mine.  Love it! This collection holds clockwise: a drawing of ...

About 24 hours ago, I opened a package from Reilynn.  Do you know God sends the most unexpected gifts to us?  Reilynn sent an early birthday package for me with SILLY, FUN stuff.  She even included noisemakers for the boys and silly string for Reid to cover me squirt all over me!  It was such a sweet treat from God!  Thank you, Reilynn.  You, my friend whom I've spent less than 48 hours with in my entire life, have blessed me tremendously with your thoughtfulness.  Thank you! In the past 24 hours, some incredible GOD moments have taken place.  I want to share a few, because I am blown away by His hand moving all over the place! 1.)  Here's an email conversation I had yesterday from one of my students: Dear Mrs. Beebe, Me and my family have been praying for a while about Braden's friend in Ghana who you told us about at TC, that he could be adopted. We just found out that my grandmother's doctor is adopting a boy named P. from Ghana. Do you kn...

May 2, 2012 was the first “Sending Off” for our family.  Our LIFEGroup hosted a night in our honor to commission us to GO to Ghana.  They are sending us to do God's work. This significant ceremony was so special to us.  The friends in this group have walked “life” with us closely for the past four years.  We have grown together, laughed together, served together and cried together.  (Tonight I did a LOT of crying!  In fact, kids were praying that “Mrs. Beebe wouldn’t cry!”  Well, sorry!) The commissioning ceremony took place in a perfect setting - a backyard.  Being outside in God’s creation seemed so fitting.  Beautifully simple.   Kids played baseball.  Little ones ziplined.  Our first “gluten-free” potluck was delicious.  (Everyone needs friends who will throw a party and meet special dietary needs!  Even families without gluten limitations created Gluten-free food!  WOW!  Now, that is true friendship!)...