Update

Several of you have asked we where are in the process, so I wanted to give you an update. We have seen a child on Reece's Rainbow that we are praying about, and we will begin our homestudy in the next several weeks. We are currently raising funds for the homestudy (see our meter at the side), and we will be offering some fundraisers soon to help with that. So that is where we are! And for those of you who want to know the big question- where? We are feeling led to a certain Eastern European country! That's all I can say!!

Celebrating 20 years with a big announcement!

Dear friends,

We have some very exciting news about what God is doing in our family. For years, we have talked about adopting, both because we love children and because God does. We knew that "some day" we would do it, and for us, some day has come! God has been breaking our hearts for the 145 million orphans around the world, and so we have talked with our kids and we have all felt a strong leading from God to pursue this, for His glory.

God has been preparing our family for this for a long time. So many of our friends and folks we admire are passionate about orphan care and adoption, and we have and continue to read many great books and have life-changing conversations with others about these issues. It seems God is awakening the church all over the world to care for these kids and He has been speaking to our family as well. Our family devotions have pointed toward making a difference and living a life sold out to God’s will. We have particularly studied and been captivated by Isaiah 58:6-12

⁶"Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
⁷Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
⁹Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰ if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
¹¹And the LORD will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
¹² And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.

We are so humbled to know that God is blessing us in this way! What a privilege to get to do this! We are just starting out on this journey. We would covet your prayers for us as we navigate much paperwork and red tape. You may not be able to adopt, but you can help in this Orphan Crisis with your prayers and resources. Not just for us, but for the many families in the process of rescuing these children. Please pray about how you can be involved in helping these children who really are the “least of these”.

Roger, Caroline, Bennett, Sam, Emmie, and Isaiah

Links about adoption:

http://reecesrainbow.org/

http://www.showhope.org/Resources/TheNeed.aspx

http://www.theorphanfoundation.org/resources/The_Orphan_Crisis.pdf

http://www.allgodschildren.org/

http://www.christianpost.com/news/rick-warren-puts-spotlight-on-orphan-crisis-biblical-mandate-45108/

http://www.projecthopeful.org/

July 6, 1991- 20 years ago! To God be the glory!

20 years ago! I am so thankful that God in His infinite grace and mercy saw fit to give to me this godly, loving, kind man. Roger. He's still my best friend. It's amazing that I still feel giddy about him! We have been through so much, and I am thankful that God has seen fit to sanctify us and mold us together for His purpose through these past years. I can't imagine what He has in store for us for the next 50! The wedding was wonderful and pretty....but the marriage has been beautiful! Thank you Jesus!

Is it turkey season?

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?
Matthew 6:26 ESV

In my front "yard" or field if you will. Absolutely magnificent! Beautiful birds!

The chickens were keeping an eye on what was happening on the other side of their fence. That tall one is King Edmund, our rooster, named after Edmund of Narnia.

This can only mean one thing...

That's right! You guessed it, we are moving again! What you might not know is that we have already moved once since coming to Illinois! That makes 4 moves in one year. The BEST news is that we have found a dream property and can't wait to buy it and live there! Now, for what to do during the 3-4 weeks that we will be homeless.... Always an adventure!!

Out of pocket

Sorry to be out of pocket for so long! Things are moving pretty fast over here- I'll be back to post later on certain developments. In the meantime, baby is growing and taking up lots of room! We decided on the name Isaiah for him- it means "God is my salvation". He is Isaiah Hutton Ferrell (the Hutton is an old Scottish family name.)
See you soon!

Still here!

I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since I posted! WHO BOY what a 3 weeks it has been! We are finally moved- that took around 2 weeks. I still have organizing to do, but it's all here in one place, so that is a relief. The morning sickness is ongoing, though I have a little miracle pill that helps alot. Still some days, it takes me over and I spend the day on the couch! Only a couple of weeks left of that though! I am determined NOT to complain about any of this- so if you catch me at it, call me on it! The circumstances that cause me discomfort at present are caused by God's blessings!

I read a blog post the other day that talked about how we really can't appreciate Him until we realize that our devotion to Him and love for Him are not and can not be tied to our comfort and happiness! Sometimes we aren't going to be comfortable, and even sometimes He causes us not to be comfortable- so praise Him through it all. That is especially true for me right now. I feel sick- because I have a new baby growing within me- remarkable!! I feel tired- because we are moving into a beautiful house that can only be from the hand of God- unbelievable! I am grumpy- because my life is chaotic because of the move- inexcusable!! So, it's time for me to buck-up!

"Count your many blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings see what God has done!!"

Still moving!

With our closing date still a week away, I feel like we are over taken with boxes, boxes, boxes! Traditionally, (did you catch that this is our 18th move) I pack the kitchen at the first of the last week before the move. Pretty clever- that way on top of all of the thing that I need to take care of, I DON'T have to worry about cooking! Praise be that a Little Caesar's has just opened on our corner- $5 pizzas! Can I get an amen!! On the other side of the cooking issue, I have to be very careful with my weight and pizza every night is probably not what the baby would like!
So, pity me- packing, moving, growing a baby, AND cooking!!!!

Another arrow for our quiver!

Announcing the newest blessing in our life! We are expecting our fourth child in December! We are very excited, and to answer your question-no, we are not "surprised"! We have been hoping that God would bless us with another baby. We are humbled by his gift of another arrow for our quiver- and hope for more!


Psalm 127 ³Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. ⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. ⁵Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

18 ~ ten and eight ~ eighteen

18 seems to be our magic number this year! We will have been married for 18 years in July- YAY! And- drum roll please- we are moving for the 18th time!! NO YAY!!!

Due to the wondrous and exciting merger of our church with Harbins Church, the Ferrells need to find a new place to live. We have lived on the 13 acre church property for almost 4 years now- that's the longest we have lived anywhere. We have so much more stuff than we ever had- the kids are bigger, we have all of our school stuff, and Roger's office is in our home. We used to be able to move with a 27 ft truck- NO MORE!!

I am completely bowled over by the amount of packing I need to do. Larry, a friend of ours, brought me 66 boxes the other day-add another 6 and you see how I feel about packing! Larry so sweetly brought me the boxes, tape and two markers. He kindly said "I am sure this will be enough!" I also sweetly just smiled at him! It was so hard not to laugh in his face, but that would not have been sweet- so I said "we'll see!" and can you get more?!

Next week, our church is traveling to New Orleans to help rebuild a church. Em and I are going to stay home and you guessed it- pack!! (AT least I won't have to fix meals and teach school- that should give us a lot more time!)