Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart...the verse which inspired the name of our blog.  A reminder came through email this morning that I need to delight myself in the LORD.  A scripture with an instruction, and a promise.  The same promise Rita used on her cardboard testimony last summer for the NHFC video.  A promise I refuse to give up on.  As written by Robert Hotchkin on Elijah List: 
("Delight yourself in the Lord." That word delight in the original Hebrew is "anag" which means "to be soft or pliable." When our circumstances are difficult, or we have been believing for a promise of God to come forth and it has not yet manifested when we think it should or the way we think it should, we can often suffer from disappointment and discouragement. This can cause us to harden our hearts toward God, giving into fear and lies like, "Well, He hasn't come through yet so maybe He isn't going to." But when we take our eyes off those circumstances and put them back on God, we remember what He is really like. We remember that He is loving and kind and merciful and gracious and generous and faithful and trustworthy – no matter what! When we stop trying to figure out what He is doing, and focus on what He is like, it becomes easy to delight in the Lord. And as we do, our hearts "anag" – they soften, opening back up to Him, and we are able to believe and receive again.) 
I see this much like the steak I mentioned a few posts back...it has been beaten so much lately that it has become fork tender!  It is not easy to be 'tenderized'.  It's often very messy.  But the outcome can be quite glorious! 
We have made a little more progress toward the finish line.  Slowly, surely, we will get there! 

"One day, voices that lie, will all be silenced
One day, all that's divided will be whole again
One day, death will retreat and wave it's white flag
One day, love will defeat the strongest enemy
So we wait, for that one day, come quickly
We want to see Your Glory
Every knee bows down before Thee
Every tongue offers you praise, with every hand raised
Singing Glory to You and unto You only
we sing Glory to Your name." 
"Glory" by Selah

Pressing toward the mark for the prize

Saturday, March 10th...Springing forward on our clock tonight and springing forward in our attitude!  I decided to only speak of positives- I choose to see the vision of meeting our girls in Latvia.  I choose to see us bringing them home.  I choose to hear their laughter in our house.  I choose to believe.  Today, I got a letter from MSU Vet Camp...Rita has been accepted for a full scholarship to their 3 day Vet Camp in June.  My job is just to get her there...well, technically, God's job is to get her there.  We will do whatever it takes, whatever is required, whatever!  We have faced so many delays in this process that it just doesn't seem to matter anymore.  You know when you get news that would normally make you double over, but instead you just say 'whatever', you are becoming 'seasoned'.  Sort of like a steak that has been beaten to the point it is now tender enough to cut with a fork...yeah, we are there! 
Wednesday night at sundown started the Jewish holiday of Purim.  This, of course, goes back to Queen Esther's bold appearance before King Ahasuerus to plead for the deliverance of her people.  So Purim is a celebration of the day of deliverance from oppression.  Wednesday night, I was invited to give my presentation on Israel to Living Waters Church.  I only had a few days notice, but everything went great (ok, there were a couple of technical diffficulties with my 6 year old computer, but I was able to fill the gap with stories of our trip).  I felt it was a day of deliverance from the oppression that has been over us.  A day I decided to appear before the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and ask for His mercy and favor.  I know He is faithful to hold out that golden sceptor to us, His children. 
Lera's sister told me she has been praying so hard for everything to get approved and she feels like March 21 will be a good day.  I'm agreeing with her...a new season, a new chapter, a new beginning.  A start to a new life.  March 21, 2012.  Lord, hear your children!  We ask for favor, for supernatural intervention.  Lord, we ask that you work your miracles for us!!!  You are the only one who can make this happen. 

2 Timothy 4:7  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 
1 Corinthians 9:24  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 
Hebrew 12:1  Therefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.