Isaiah 53--What Easter is All About

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		Are you ready to celebrate Easter? Isaiah 53 Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm? My servant grew up in the LORD's presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.
		He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
		Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
		But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
		All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.
		He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
		Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.
		He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man's grave.
		But it was the LORD's good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD's good plan will prosper in his hands.
		When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.
		I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels. Easter is about what God has done.  It is about Jesus' sacrifice of Himself, so that we could be forgiven.  He went through tremendous physical pain and emotional anguish, so that WE might be healed of our sin-sickness.  Oh, His Redeeming Love!  He has done it all--we just need to admit our rebellion and ask to be forgiven--He is waiting to take us into His arms and change our hearts.  Then we can turn our rebellion into obedience, and put our trust into what God has done.  I am so ready to celebrate Easter!

31 Product Fundraiser--Today and Tomorrow Only!

Have you checked out all the cute products that 31 has??

My sweet friend, Lauralee, has graciously offered to donate all her proceeds from her 31 business--to Joshua's adoption fund--from all sales made from NOW until MIDNIGHT TOMORROW (Wednesday)!!!

Check out the link below to see the catalogue of cute bags and purses and other great items!

Happy Shopping!  You can order by calling Lauralee at 218-330-2008

http://www.mythirtyone.com/lauraleetupa/

Getting Closer! We need your help!

Our documents are almost ready for submission to Joshua's country!  We are just waiting on one little document and we are praying that it will be completed today--please join us praying for this mountain to move.

And speaking of mountains moving, I am trying not to panic.  I believe that God means what He promises in His word, "And I will meet all your needs, according to the glorious richness in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:19.  But this mountain feels impossible.  Again, I believe God's words when He says that "With God all things are possible" Mark 10:27.

Like I said, trying to hold onto Jesus and not panic.  However we have an impossible amount of money that we need to raise in a very short amount of time.  We have already had many family and friends give generously and sacrificially, and we are so humbled and thankful for each and every gift.  I have been working until the wee hours of the morning on fundraising and sewing items to sell.  Tim has gone through his coin collection and sold many items to help cover adoption expenses.

This week we have to write a big check to our adoption placement agency--$8,000.  And praise Jesus, we have it all!  He has met that need!  We are so thankful.

However, before we can travel to meet Joshua we need to pay our country fee, which is $16,500--ouch!  We do not have this money!!!  We need help!!  Please join us in praying for God's miraculous provision--and please be a part of the miracle!  If we all give what we can, we can throw this mountain into the sea!

Remember, gifts given to the RR account are tax-deductible!  Please give to Joshua--this little boy needs to know that he is LOVED, that he is WANTED, that he in not an outcast!  We are hoping to travel in May, so we have about a month to raise this money.  Please help us reach this impossible goal of $16,500.  Let's see God do a miracle!

We have an Approved Homestudy!

This was just taken a couple of weeks ago!
Now we don't have any snow

I have been waiting MONTHS to hear this good news!!  We are so excited!!  Now we are busy gathering the last couple of documents that we need for our Dossier--the big stack of papers that will go to Joshua's country so our papers can be registered there and we can get a travel date.  Finally some progress!  I am so thankful, and continuing to trust in God's perfect timing as well as His provision to meet our needs to cover the expenses of this adoption.  We are hoping to get all our paperwork sent to our adoption placing agency by the end of next week.  We are getting closer, little Joshua!

This morning I had the privilege of speaking at our local Christian school, where Freddie attends Kindergarten.  It was an honor to share at their weekly chapel service, the passion that God has given me for the orphan and for adoption.  The kids really seemed interested, and I was so encouraged!  Their eyes grew so big when I shared about what 165 million looks like--it is so hard to wrap my mind around that number.  I hope that I could help the children learn a little bit about orphans around the world, and what they can do to make a difference.

In honor of our homestudy approval, I will add a couple of pictures of our home--just for fun!  :)

Valerie's Room



Very Pink



Freddie's Room
Soon to be Freddie's and Joshua's Room!

Lots of Animals!

Grateful

All week I have been planning to sit down to report about our spaghetti meal last Sunday.  Well, I am finally getting around to doing it.  :)  We are so very grateful for the many, many people who made the meal possible:  those who helped with the set-up, the cooking, the serving, all the ladies who made the wonderful desserts, those who came and ate and stayed to listen as Tim and I shared about what God has placed on our hearts.  We are just so grateful for the support of our church, our family and our friends--it is truly humbling to be so blessed by so many.  We served about 150 people on Sunday, and all together we raised $2,500 to help with adoption expenses!  Here are a few photos from Sunday.  I wish that I had taken some pictures during the meal, but I was so busy that I didn't think of it at the time.

Freddie and Elijah check out the dessert table

Valerie helping out

Table decorations and Joshua Jars

Display Table

If you were not able to come to the spaghetti meal, but would still like to help with the enormous cost of bringing Joshua home, you can do that right here on our blog!  If you use the Reece's Rainbow give button, your donation will even be tax-deductible!

We will hopefully be doing a fun fundraiser thorough the blog soon, so keep an eye out for that!

Spaghetti Sunday!

This Sunday, Tim and I will be hosting a spaghetti lunch at our Church, following the 2nd service, (at about 12:30 pm) in the Outreach Center. We will have pasta, salad, garlic toast and lots of yummy desserts! We will be sharing about our journey to adopt Joshua and what God has been teaching us lately. Please come fellowship with us and learn more about adoption/orphan care and how you can be involved. A freewill offering will be taken to help with the enormous cost of bringing Joshua home from an orphanage in Eastern Europe. There will also be some of my craft items for sale, goodies, and my very talented brother (Micah Carpenter) will have some of his music CDs available for purchase with all the proceeds going to help us with adoption expenses. We would love to see you there!  If you are not able to come to the meal, but would still like to make a donation to help bring Joshua home, you can do that by clicking on the RR donation button for a tax-deductible gift, or on the chip-in for a gift that is not tax deductible. Here is a link to Micah's music blog: http://micahcmusic.blogspot.com/ You can hear his music right on his blog--he is amazing!

Evangelical Free Church

115 Carr Lake Rd SW, Bemidji, MN 56601-8257

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Held

Today was tough.  Some days are just like that.  Today I have been struggling to stay patient while our Home-study is being completed.  I know that it is in God's hands and that His timing is ALWAYS right and perfect--but waiting is so hard!  Today I have been missing Joshua.  Even though I have not yet met him, I long to hold him close and whisper to him that he is loved, that he is precious, that he is wanted.  It hurts my heart that he does not yet know these things.  He doesn't know that he has a Mommy and a Daddy, a brother and a sister.  He does not know how hard we are working to bring him home.  There is so much peace and comfort in knowing that Joshua is held in the arms of Jesus--and that I am being held and lifted up by those same strong arms.  Oh, how I need Him!