And We're Off!

We're off! Meet the travelers: Amy B, mom to be; Mike B, Amy's dad and Amelia's grandpapa, and Sara B., Amy's dear friend from church and experienced mom, both through birth and adoption, who will keep Amy from making any major mistakes!

After a yummy start at Starbucks, we headed for the Lubbock International Airport. Don't ask me what "international" flights leave from Lubbock, but I digress. We made a short and easy flight to Dallas, where we enjoyed our last Tex-Mex meal for awhile at the airport's Blue Mesa restaurant. We then boarded our plane for Chicago, where we have a lovely and uneventful flight. We are now happily checked into our cozy hotel, waiting for tomorrow to hurry up and get here!

Since this is a complete account of the Lord's work in my life and Amelia's, I must share what happened this morning. I awoke early, and while laying in bed, basically just panicked. I thought, "what am I thinking, adopting this child as a single mom, bringing her here, and thinking this is going to work? This is CRAZY." Immediately, I turned my heart toward the Lord and begged Him not to let me make a mistake with another person's life. In my heart, I felt the word "Joshua." I don't know anyone named Joshua, so I opened my Bible and turned to the book of Joshua. Several times, in the first few chapters, God tells Joshua not to be afraid, but to take courage and do what had been commanded.

You know, God could have left me with that, and I would have known what to do. I was commanded to get Amelia, and I was to obey. But God, when He speaks, goes out of His way to be clear. He is a God full of compassion for His people. I felt I was to keep going - and so I kept reading in Joshua. And there I found the morsel that is so tiny, but was a feast in my heart! "Stretch out the spear in thine hand toward Ai, for the Lord has given the city into thine hand."

Did you HEAR that??? He said "Stretch out your hand toward Ai." Amelia's first name in Chinese is - - Ai. You can call it a coincidence. But I call it a miraculous WORD from Heaven. Before the foundations of the earth, the Lord spoke a phrase to Joshua, a brave warrior, knowing that one day, He would speak that same phrase to ME in a different context. He KNOWS my child's name, and He spoke it. I LOVE MY FATHER IN HEAVEN. OH, HOW I LOVE HIM!!!!!!! I love how He speaks. He is real. He is personal. He is the ONLY one who could have comforted my heart this morning, and He did it in a major way. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, FATHER.

And so...we are on the way, and this blog has a new "tagline" - the verse from Joshua about Ai. Pray for us as we are on our way to bring little Ai home.

The Lord is good, ALL the time.

Amy, Mike & Sara (The "B" Team)