Journal of My Journey

2009-02-27
To God be the Glory
My thoughts race back to a time as a girl when our church frequently sang the old hymn To God Be the Glory. Even now I feel a sense of wonder as I did as a child, reflecting on His amazing, unwavering love. I think I am more profoundly aware of God's love today than any other time in my life.

The recent adoption of our precious daughter has truly showed me a picture of how God lovingly adopts those who believe in Him into His eternal family. Our little girl could do nothing to earn our love. She brought no material wealth with her. Liana came to us with a very serious heart disease. She sometimes resists or defies the very ones who provide for her, yet we love her. (Today when my husband Guy called from work, I told him I was wrestling with the Indian trying to get her to go to sleep. Ha! I told her night-night when I went to answer the phone. She did actually fall asleep. Thank You, Lord!)

We chose this special child in spite of her serious condition. We care about her and yearn to meet her every need. We desire to provide the best health care available. We are passionate about giving her our love, because she is our very own. How much more does God yearn to give us His unconditional love?

Is she perfect? Absolutely not and neither are we, yet Christ died for us!
We forgive as we have been forgiven. We teach and train by example, as Christ was our example. To God be the glory for this marvelous opportunity to join in with His plan to provide for the orphans! We just love being parents of a two and a half year old! We will continue to celebrate the Lord's glorious goodness! To Him be the glory!


Deuteronomy 26:11 (The Message)

"Celebrate all the good things that God, your God, has given you."




2008-11-01
Posey People's Adoption Journey

November is national adoption awareness month. It is a time to turn our hearts toward God’s precious children whom he speaks so lovingly about in the Bible. God has much to say in regard to the Christian’s responsibility to care for these precious little ones.

My heart was first tuned toward orphans when I was a young girl attending missions’ classes at church. I learned about a woman named Lottie Moon who served as a missionary to China. I felt her love for the people and her passion for them to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. As a teenager I yearned to one day adopt a little orphan girl from China. I shared this desire with my husband Guy when we were newlyweds. He too embraced God’s instruction to take care of orphans. When our two young sons were old enough to understand, we shared with them our goal to one day adopt a daughter. In fact, they really surprised me with their heart toward adoption!

They ran up to me one day and handed me one hundred and fifty dollars that they
had been saving for a horse. “Here Mom, they said, “Use this money for our baby sister.”
Needless to say, my eyes filled with tears and my heart was filled with joy and pride at their selfless action and generosity.

We spoke of adopting through the years, but it always seemed like a future plan that somehow kept getting further from our grasp due to the great expense. Finally in the fall of 2006 adoption was in my thoughts again. God spoke in my spirit that He gave us that desire to adopt, but that we were about to let the opportunity totally slip out of our hands.

I brought up the subject to Guy again. We prayed about it, and then he asked me to do some research on the internet. The next day I immediately began checking out well known adoption agencies. Right before I got offline, I decided to look at a local agency’s web site. To my delight they were meeting that very night at a nearby church. I immediately called and told Guy. I was thrilled that he wanted to attend that meeting. So I registered and we went that evening to learn more about the adoption process.

We came away more excited and certain than ever that this was something that God wanted us to pursue. So began our long journey to our daughter. The first step was to fill out an application. We excitedly completed the form and mailed it to Lifeline Children’s Services along with a check including Jeremy and Christopher’s thoughtful contribution.

We were approved for a home study! This was thrilling news, yet we were a little nervous. Guy and I had saved only a minimum amount toward the adoption, so we didn’t quite have enough in our bank account to send in the next amount due. “Go count your mad money (allowance from pay days),” Guy instructed me, “and I’ll check my wallet.”
I grabbed my purse and joined him at the table. We combined our money and tallied it along with the savings. We had the exact amount required for the next phase! We looked into one another eyes with amazement at God’s provision and the confirmation to go forward.

We stepped into an uncertain future trusting God to make a way for the next huge hurdle. At the first official home study appointment, our social worker informed us that a substantial some of money had been donated toward our adoption! We were ecstatic beyond words that someone passionate about caring for orphans, learned of our desire to adopt and graciously gave from their means to help make our adoption a reality. “Thank You, Lord,” we prayed. We were one giant step closer to bringing our little child home.

As the process slowly progressed, another massive donation was provided for our adoption fund! “Thank You, Jesus!” “To God be the glory!” All we lack now is some travel expenses.

Our home study went great. All the detailed paper work was submitted to DHR and Homeland Security. Finally our file was approved and shipped to China! The long wait began.

On February 10, 2007 we were officially logged in! We were thinking at the time that we had a sixteen month wait. Then it was pushed back to eighteen months. Now it has stretched to possibly thirty six months before we will be assigned our precious child!

Oh how my heart yearns to hold our little girl, to comfort and assure her that she is loved! We daily rest in the assurance that God is sovereign and He knows exactly where our child is and when we will be bringing her home. We rely on the Lord for strength and patience to prayerfully wait for His purpose to be fulfilled in our family.

One thing is for certain. She will be well loved and well worth the wait. Then a new chapter will begin with its own challenges and many more opportunities to trust our God.


You can pray and give, and even go serve temporarily in an orphanage in our homeland or far across the sea, but have you considered bringing a child home to be part of your own family? “What? There’s no way,” you may be thinking. “Not me! I don’t have the energy. I’m too old.”

It takes commitment. It involves sacrifice. Yes, you can make various excuses, but please dare to ask Abba Father to show you His heart for orphans, and then ask Him
how you can join Him in making a difference in the life of a precious child. Be ready to experience God in new dimensions!


James 1:27 (Amplified Bible)
27External [a]religious worship [[b]religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.








2008-10-21
OCTOBER: Seasons of the Heart
A cool and pleasant breeze is sweeping over the land. Sitting on our porch, I gaze at colorful leaves on the trees waving and singing a song to their Maker, while others dance about in the air. One day the trees will be made bare, proclaiming fall is here! I am reminded that our Lord changes the times and seasons of the year.

God also changes the seasons of our hearts. Recently, the Holy Spirit gently swept over me and revealed to me the season of my heart. Those hidden thoughts were all laid bare.

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)

I sorrowfully admit that I have been in a season of pride. My life has been greatly blessed, but I have failed to recognize God as the source of all my successes. I could not achieve anything apart from the Lord. The words I share in this journal are His. If someone is ministered to through these writings, to God be the glory!

As I grieved over this sin in my life, God presented a few questions for me to ponder and then directed me to some related scriptures to meditate upon. I prayed and repented after hearing my Father's heart through His Word. I would like to share with you some soul searching questions that got me thinking and truth that God revealed...

What is the motive behind my actions? Is it to be known, or to be in control, or perhaps to gain others’ approval? All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.
Proverbs 16:2 (NIV)

Whose path am I on–God’s or mine?
For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and He all examines all His paths. Proverbs 5:21 (NIV)

Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Psalm 119:35 (NIV)

Who will be glorified? Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. Psalm 119:36-37 (NIV)

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. I Cor. 10:31 (NIV)

I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. Isaiah 42:8 (NIV)

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgements, and His paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay him? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:33-36 (NIV)


2008-09-20
SEPTEMBER: Diffusing the Fragrance of Christ
In 1980, my husband Guy and I happily established our home. Two years later I had the wonderful joy of becoming a mother when our oldest son Jeremy was born! Three years later we were delightfully blessed with the gift of another precious son, Christopher!

One lovely day during my two sons’ formative years, as I took a leisurely stroll around our property, the Lord graciously gave me a picturesque illustration of how he wants me to respond with Christ likeness toward my husband and children. The pure and pleasing fragrance of honeysuckle engulfed the air as I gazed at the beautiful white and yellow blossoms entwined about the woods. The Master Gardner used the profuse smell of the flowers to paint a picture in my mind of diffusing Christ’s fragrance as explained in the following scripture:

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life…” 2 Corinthians 2: 14-16a
As I breathed in the sweet fragrance of the delicate flowers, God asked me some thought provoking questions, “How evident is the aroma of Christ in your life as a wife and mother? Does your family enjoy the loveliness of My Son’s presence when they are around you?” Ooh! That kind of smarted as I reflected on my normal, daily responses!

In Ephesians 5:1-2 we are instructed: “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma.”

There is no better place to diffuse the fragrance of Christ than in the home. Being an imitator of God requires a servant’s heart, and as we lovingly sacrifice our time and energy for our family, the fruit of our labors will be a sweet and pleasing aroma before God and our loved ones.

It may seem like it’s not possible to live a life of love ever day, but God says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

“With God all things are possible.” Matthew 19: 26

Perhaps you’re not a wife or mother. Well, God commissions all believers in Christ to spread the Good News of Jesus like a sweet perfume wherever we go. Ask yourself, “Am I diffusing the fragrance of Jesus Christ every day in every place?”

Join me in prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you will empower me by Your Spirit to walk in love spreading the aroma of Jesus Christ the living Lord to encourage the body of Christ and to lead those who are perishing to a saving knowledge of Your Son, in Jesus’ name. Amen.