Good Morning Gorgeous,

It’s a brand new day. A fresh start. A new day to rise up, and walk victoriously through anything warring against your peace. We were never meant to live in turmoil. We are a people designed to walk victoriously.

Jesus said that we would have troubles, but to take heart because He has overcome the world.

We are a people who have been spiritually reborn and recreated so that we have dual citizenship in both heaven and the earth. And our citizenship in heaven gives us access to rights that we can claim while we walk in this world.

And one of our rights is a sound mind. Another is direct access to the Father. He is our ever present help in our time of trouble. And He shows up when we call on Him!

Because He is so involved in our lives, we will experience supernatural breakthrough in areas of our life. And when we do, we need to tell of His victories.

Tell the stories and testimonies of how He has saved you or how He delivered on a promise. Tell how He parted the Red Sea for you or how He provided you with manna. If you keep the stories of victory alive in your life, you will both encourage others to keep praying for their miracles AND you will be reminded of how faithful God has been in your life. This will keep you close to Him. It will keep you in faith and in trust that when you walk through another valley, He will deliver you again.

The Israelites watched the Hands of God perform mighty miracles. He delivered them from slavery and into the promises land. He literally did part the sea, rain down provision, and battled all of their enemies until they experienced rest on all sides.

And later, when they crossed over the River Jordan, they placed memorial stones. They did this so that they would remember the miracles and keep their faith.

God said, “When your descendants ask, tell them!”

But they would later forget their God and His miracles. They stopped telling the stories of a Good Good Provider God who delivered them from their oppressors. They got comfortable in their deliverance and forgot their Deliverer.

I snuggled next to my 3 year old daughter last night, and remembered. Remembered that she was the answer to a lifetime of prayers. Remembered how fragile her beginning was. Remembered all the circumstances surrounding her placement into my arms. I wasn’t there for her birth. I wasn’t there to comfort her in her first weeks. I wasn’t there to ask all the questions that a momma would ask when a child is in the NICU. Yet, as she grew stronger in the NICU, God was already moving and shifting and arranging things.

He was aligning every star. He was putting an urgency in my heart to say yes to a baby again. At the time, I didn’t know what God was planning, but I could feel a stirring to get ready. My pastor kept teaching sermons about moving as if the promise was right here. I had just finalized the adoption of my twins a few weeks earlier . I had been telling people that we would probably take a break from foster care, but then I had a change of heart. I began to open up my heart to the possibility again..I shared my heart with my close friends, and I took one of my best friends to buy a bassinet and a few little outfits. I prepared a carseat and put this post on instagram:

And I had NO idea what the future held, or how CLOSE the phone call was! I was teaching writing in a 3rd grade classroom. We stopped for lunch and I went back to my classroom. I picked up my phone and there was a message from child placements. I listened and my heart started to pound in my ears. I opened my email and saw that a friend of mine had received the call for a baby girl, but instead of saying yes, she asked them if they had called me yet. I called back and listened to the details they had about this precious baby. It was about 3 sentences of info that I learned. The basics. Baby girl being discharged from the hospital and needs a mommy. I already knew my answer.

I went back to my afternoon class and somehow finished the last 2 hours of work. In hindsight, I can’t believe I stayed and finished the day. I told anyone who I bumped into that I was getting a baby girl.

After work, my two oldest kiddos and I met up with Chuck and flew to the hospital. It felt like we would NEVER get there. That morning I rose to routine, that afternoon I was racing to promise.

And at the NICU, it was such a spiritual meeting. I was taken to a dimly lit corner. I had no idea what she looked like. No clue the color of her hair, her eyes, her size. I just knew Jesus sent me. I also had no idea how long I would hold the title, “mommy”. This is foster care. It could be days, months, years, or forever. I walked over and I Iaid eyes on a precious gift. God’s beautiful treasure entrusted to me for however long He deemed.

I picked her up, sat in the rocking chair next to her crib. I worshipped Jesus right there. I told her that she was God’s design. I told her she was beautiful and that Jesus loved her. I told her that God had plans for her and that she was here on purpose. I told her that I would take care of her and keep her safe. I told her that mommy was here.

She wasn’t discharged that evening. She came home the next day. Leaving her that evening was hard. 24 hours earlier I didn’t know that I had a daughter. Now that I knew and she was in my arms, leaving felt wrong. But, the nurses had cared for her well and they would continue her care just a few hours longer. I would be back the next day and she would be ready to come home.

Here is a post I wrote the morning of the day she came home: A Harvest Season

And bringing her home is another story all its own. I will share that my village rallied around me and made her homecoming so special. I was surrounded by love and support. She was welcomed into a larger family of people who were ready to pour their whole heart into her right alongside of me! These pics show the excitement and total awe we were feeling. She had us smitten from the start.

And the point of today’s blog post is to tell your stories! Tell how God delivered a promise. Tell how He walked through the darkest night with you. Tell how trusting in Him brought victory. Your faith needs the reminders and so does the faith of others. When we hear a testimony it activates faith and if God does it for one, He can do it for another!

And bringing Nia home was one miracle of many. At 3 months old, her future in our home suddenly looked very uncertain. I wrote about God’s Hand in that season here in three blog posts:

But and Suddenly Part 1

But and Suddenly Part 2

But and Suddenly Part 3: the Conclusion

Dear Heavenly Father,

Remind us afresh of our previous victories in Christ so that we can be strengthened for whatever lies ahead. Help us to recount the many times You’ve been good to us, so that we can keep trusting You when we face struggle again. Let us be reminded that You don’t just carry us for a season, but for a lifetime. You are the God of all ages. You are the God of our ancestors and you will be the God of our descendants. Keep Your Victories and Miracles ever on our lips, so that we don’t forget Your power and Your goodness.

In Jesus’s name, Amen

My baby girl is now 3, and I continually remember.