Sometimes I just need to hear from God. And this is why you haven't heard from me in a bit. Sometimes I just need my Jesus to whisper in my ear everything is gonna be ok. Sometimes things work out the way I think they should, and sometimes they don't. But in the midst of it all God is still God, and I am not. His ways will, always and forever, be higher than mine, just as his thoughts are higher than mine. I have had something on my heart for a while now that has burdened my spirit. But now is not the time to go there. In the mean time there are a few things I want to share with you. Recently there have been some things occur that have once again made me realize that I have a BIG GOD! That He is my provider and He is all I need. I love my Jesus.

Not only is the Rhodes family fully funded so they can go get there boys!!!

But my little Patti now has a forever family!

Little Bernadette has a family of her own now too! (This family is still in need of some financial support so feel free to head on over to Reece's Rainbow and show some love)

The little loves (that I blog so often about) have grants that have grown!! Leah and Tatiana you girls hang in there my prayer is that it won't be long now and your Mommy's (or Mommy) will come for you!!













Sometimes I just need some encouragement and the above stories have provided that for me. Thank you Lord Jesus for the extra reasons to praise you, for you alone are God and I will forever be grateful.

....but God

...I didn't know I was the one that needed the healing. You see for years I thought because she was the one in the wheelchair....

Tonight's post is a little different. It's not exactly rallying around the orphan crisis. And I'm not exactly advocating for anyone in particular. Tonight I am going to tell you a little secret that I didn't know about myself until just a few hours ago. Please bear with me on this one, your getting the raw script.

I have a sister. She is in a wheelchair. In my mind, for as long as I can remember, I have prayed the most honest and heart felt prayers to God. I have asked him to heal my sister. I have told him (even in list form) how I think he should do it. It would go something like this-- Lord heal her father. From the top of her head to the soles of her feet. Allow her to walk. Unassisted, no braces, no walker, no wheelchair, not so much as someone else holding her hand. Strengthen her legs and let them bear her weight.

Sounds great, right? Real "Christian" Like. I would even throw in the part " father you said in your word that if I would just have faith the size of a mustard seed that I could say to my mountain to move and it will have to move." Oh and don't forget "by your stripes we are healed". See I for years have prayed this prayer. And I have meant it with every fiber of my being. But there was a problem with my prayers. I would make a point to leave out the part "Father your will be done".

See I didn't much want HIS will. I wanted MY will. I wanted her healed. Just like I prayed. This is what I wanted to see more than anything in this world. And it even got to the point that I was bargaining with God. Lord if you will heal her I will, (_______) fill in the blank.

I had no idea when I went to church tonight for the revival service that I was going to be the one set free. For 14ish years I have carried a burden that was too heavy. I have thought for years that I was doing something wrong. I felt that the WORD I was reading was not matching up with the reality I was living. I know I have "enough faith" I mean have you seen a mustard seed. It is really darn tiny. I figured I had at least that much faith. And I believe with all of my heart and soul that Jesus took those stripes for our healing. I can not stress enough that I believe with all of who I am that that book is the LIVING BREATHING WORD OF GOD. So why after all these years was she still in that chair. Why was she not walking after all those prayers.

The answer, I don't know. You see I DO believe that "by his stripes we are healed" and I DO believe that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed we can tell our mountain to move and it must obey. But I also believe we can not take that very mountain to God and tell him step by step how he must make it crumble.

I for years have thought in a sense it was my fault my little sister was not walking yet. Maybe I wasn't praying right, or maybe I wasn't fasting enough, or maybe this or maybe that. But for whatever the reason I have had more grief and sorrow than I knew about. (And here's where we come to the title) BUT GOD. But then God came and released me. He gave me rest. Tonight he spoke peace to my soul. He gave me rest in him. He assured me that His ways are higher than mine. And His thoughts are not mine. He is my father and he knows what is best for me AND my sister.

She may not be walking, (yet) but that's ok. God has a timing and a purpose that I don't see and I have to be ok with that. Tonight for the very first time in my life. I am ok with her not walking. Whenever God sees fit to make this happen then I will be ready. If he doesn't that's ok too. She is whole, she is healed, and now so am I.

Thank you my heavenly Father, for you truly do know what is best. Not only for me, but also for those I love more that words can say. Thank you for seeing me in my weakness and bringing me up to a place of freedom in you. Thank you Father for carrying me when I didn't understand. For holding me up when I could not stand. Thank you for your grace, and your love. I am eternally grateful. My Jesus thank you for healing my heart and making me new. From everlasting to everlasting you will reign in my heart and life. I love you father.

To all my blog readers!!

There is a fundraiser going on right now. But this fundraiser is unlike any other I have seen, and believe you me I have seen my share :) This fundraiser is one that will aid in bringing three little ones home to be with their forever families; however, it also is an awareness event! So if you have any little loves on the Reece's Rainbow website that you would love to see belong to a forever family you can sponser that child. With a ten dollar donation your specific child will be assigned a balloon. Connected to that balloon will be the child's  picture, information about RR and the child, and a plea to help orphans. This is an opportunity to broaden the horizon for the children of Reeces Rainbow. Once all of the balloons are spoken for on March 25th there is going to be a balloon release. And check this out, these guys are going to make a video for us to watch the event :) Isn't that the coolest!! So go now to the blog below and get your child's balloon!! I got my four girls one!!!

http://4given2serve1god.blogspot.com/2012/02/balloon-release-march-25th.html?spref=fb

Little Loves!

Today is Valentines day and I would just like to show you a few faces. Some are of the little loves that I have blogged about before and some are new to my blog. But today during nap time for my little ones I would just like to take a little time to be a voice for the little loves who have no one. 

Meet Patti. Miss Patti is an adorable little love that has stolen my heart from the moment I first seen her picture. She will be 8 this August and I think it would be really awesome if she had a forever family for her birthday this year. I assure you it would be the best birthday present in the world and she would never forget that day!!

 Miss Patti has $23.00 in her grant so far. To access more information about Miss Patti and read what an adoptive family who visited her orphanage last month had to say you can click this link or go to http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=patti.





Here is Little Miss Nastya. This little one pulls on strings of my heart that few ever find. She has the same "extras" that my little sister has and I can not wait to see the day Miss Nastya goes home to her forever family! Lord this child is in my prayers like you would not believe! Here she is, Miss Nastya.

This little love has a grant that holds $133.65. To access more information about her you can click the link here or go to this website http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=nastya. Little Nastya will be 7 this July.










Next, I would like to show you little Leah. She just had her birthday last month, she turned 5. Oh how I wish she could have been in her forever family for this birthday. My prayer for this little one is that by this time next year I will find a blog that has her story and tells me about how well she is doing!

Leah has $36.00 in her grant currently. To access more information about her you can click here or visit this website http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=leah.

The last little one I want to show you today has a new picture!!! I can not tell you how excited I was to see her new picture. Without further ado, little Tatiana.

  

Isn't she a cutie. Little Tatiana is getting close to finding her forever family, I just know it. She will be 6 this May and you can bet when this little one finds that family I will be posting about it. Tatiana has $701.96 in her grant and you can find more information about her at this link or this website http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=tatiana.

Thanks for taking time out to read this blog. I pray that we all do something for the orphans. Donate, Share their stories, Adopt, and Pray. If we all do something we could make the world a different place. The kind of place that knows no orphans.

Exclusive Invitation Only!!!!

So there's this family who is in the process of adopting two little boys from across the ocean. I know this family personally and I love them dearly. The mom of this family has a blog that she has used throughout the adoption process to keep us all updated. You can access that blog here. This particular family has been on my heart the past few days more so than normal. So I just wanna throw this out there and see what happens.

This is Samuel and Joseph! Aren't they just adorable!! I have never personally met these two little guys (as of yet) but from the moment this adoption started I have wanted to do anything in my power to help bring them home. They were the reason this blog got started in the first place. This family is the vessel God has used to open my eyes to the drastic need for orphans to find families. Anyway on to the point, (sorry I get sidetracked easily).

I want this finished!!! This family did need $9,500 to complete this adoption to bring these little guys home. They now only need $2,637 to make this happen and be completly finished. I have seen the hand of God move in this adoption and there is no doubt in my mind that I am going to meet these two little guys very soon.

So I want to extend this exclusive invitation for you to be a part. Come with us on this journey! Come be a part of what God is doing! Come follow Miss Mandy's blog and watch a miracle unfold before your very eyes! It's real, it's happening, and it is thrilling! There is a Donate button on the right hand side of the blog (http://www.findingourlittleone.blogspot.com/) that you can use. Now remember this is a one time chance to be a part of these little guys homecoming. So if you want to be smack dab in the middle of a move of God now is the best time to do it! Help us bring these little guys home!!! And stay tuned because you can best believe I will be blogging about when I finally get to meet these two handsome guys :)

More to share!!!

So I was on the Reece's Rainbow website and guess what?!?! Remember Little Miss Tatiana?? Her grant has went up!!! Yayyy!!! I am sooo excited about this. She now has $701.96!!!

Praise God! Now let's keep this little angel lifted up in prayer so that she may find her forever family!!

Little Miss Leah's grant is still at $36.00 as of today. Let's keep her lifted up as well. She needs a forever family.

Thanks for reading my blog, and thanks for listening while I try to be a voice for the children. 

-Brina

What's "wrong" with her????

What "wrong"  with her?

Well, she has what's called spina bifida and hydrocephalus. I put this in more simple terms, the way I've always explained it to individuals who don't exactly understand. This means her spine didn't fully close while she was in utero and she has excess fluid on her brain. It's not really that big of a deal to be honest. Yea, she doesn't walk. Quite simply put she's just like the rest of us, her legs just don't work.

This is the story I've told many, many, many, times growing up in response to the question, "What's "wrong" with her?" You see nothing is "wrong" with her. She is my sister, and I love her and she loves me back. It's hard to understand if you haven't been there. It's just not something you think about if you haven't been exposed to it your whole life. Nothing is "wrong", things are just different. And different isn't always bad.

You realize things you never noticed before. For example, just because a public place claims to be handicap accessible does not mean they necessarily are. Ramps are sometimes extremely too steep. And heavy doors can be a pain. Bathrooms are entirely too narrow, and steps are just ridiculous. Obstacles can most defiantly be overcome and challenges can be jumped like hurdles. God is in the big things, but it's even more fun to find Him in the small things. It's life. It's normal. It's mine.

Today I wonder what it's like for Nastya. She has spina bifida and hydrocephalus too. But I don't think she has a big sister. She doesn't have a family. She doesn't have a mom who will go to hell and back for her like my mom did and will continue to do for my baby sister. Who is there for Nastya? Who will be the one to let her know NOTHING is WRONG with her that she is not messed up or DISabled. Who will be there to tell her she is MORE THAN ABLE!! She is a princess too. Just like my baby sister. She is fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of GOD ALMIGHTY!!!! She has worth and value and she is somebody cuz God don't make no junk!

My heart aches for this little princess. I want her to have a family. I want her to experience what it's like to know you are loved no matter what. To understand Christ's love. How His love is unconditional, never failing, always consistent, and always overflowing.......