Wow ya'll!

I know it's not like me to post 2 times in a week, which is something I hope to change, but I just have to share how the Lord has been working in me! I told you in my last note that I had been "stuck" in my faith lately, just a product of my circumstances-not being a very good servant of Christ. I also told you how the homestudy approval was just the news I needed to hear to lift my spirit and get me moving again (spiritually speaking)......well apparently that was just the start! The Holy Spirit and I have been good buddies the past couple of days, it's as if He is right here with me having normal conversations about both the profound and the seemingly mundane alike. It awesome and I don't know where to start, really!
Well, I'll start by telling you that when I start to sense that things aren't on par with the way they should be I get a book and start reading. I'm not talking about romance novels or fictional stories, although they are a good distraction, but "self help" type books, well more like "God help" type books. I always seek Christian authors and books that come highly recommended for whatever situation I am going through. So from parenting help, to adoption, to general Christian guidance I am always reading something! Well I have been feeling God calling us to mission work, as a family, for many years but I haven't been able to figure out exactly how to "do" mission work as a family. Most mission opportunities in my community have a starting age of 13, or require "classes" to serve, or are really expensive-so I've been discouraged and have opted to do nothing. Well  I was able to find a really good book called "The Missional Mom-Living with Purpose at Home and in the World" by Helen Lee......awesome! It confirms all of the things I have "felt" about serving God and really has been an encourager for me to not let fear or the world's rules define how my family serves God. There are scripture verses to confirm it all, so it's not just some crazy lady's ideas. I am only a little more that half way through the book, but I am ready to move to a third-world country to go and make disciples-I am not joking(ask Kevin). But what I  wanted to tell you is something else that God confirmed to me, through this book-besides that He wants us to go make disciples in all of the world.
Ever since we started seriously considering adoption, I felt drawn to children of other races and cultures. I don't know if you remember, but at first I really wanted to do international adoption (for that reason). I have always been fascinated by other cultures, maybe because my family is not very culturally diverse, or because I've always lived in places where I am surrounded by people "just like me"-meaning caucasion, middle class, Christian, etc. I admit It feels "safe" to be with people who are just like you, where everything stays the same, and we are all in the "bubble", as I call it. But is that all there is? Is that living the way God wants us to? After all, the disciples didn't stay in Jerusalem and hang out with all the people they had already ministered to-Jesus said in Matthew 28-"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations". But I am going off on a tangent here-what I mean to tell you is that I feel God wants us to adopt a child of another cultural background, as a way to connect to other cultures and form some common ground and help us to love other people. I have been really contemplating adopting an African-American child the past few weeks, it's just really been all I can think of when I think about our adoption. I have to admit at first I had a hard time imagining us with an African-American child specifically, I guess because of our "differences", but the Lord has placed several opportunities for us to see families that are culturally diverse and "different" and it doesn't seem so different any more. I am not sure how Kevin will feel about this, though, since he has expressed that he wouldn't feel comfortable with kids of another race. But I know that God is a big God and I prayed last night for God to speak into Kevin's heart about it.
Oh my goodness,you guys, as I was writing this I got confirmation that God hears our prayers......I can't tell you now because I am just so overwhemled with emotion right now, but I'll write later an explain! God is awesome! Yay!