The tag line: our miracle in waiting.

When deciding on what to title this blog I immediately thought of a facebook message that I received from my mother-in-law.  Right after we made our adoption news public she sent me a facebook message titled "baby bates" and it warmed my heart.  I love being able to refer to baby bates because it gives me a sense of ownership...even though I don't have a little jelly bean in my stomach, I still have the feelings of preparation, anticipation, excitement and ownership that I will be a mother. 

I spent a good bit of time thinking about what to write as the tag line and I thought of a chapter that I read in my Joyce Meyer book, The Confident Woman.  Joyce talks about being in times of waiting throughout our life and waiting= preparation.  Isn't this what pregnancy is all about?  As a result, I decided to title the tag line "our miracle in waiting." 

Coincidentally, "waiting" and "God's will" is a constant in a lot of different areas of my life recently.  My dear friend and co-worker sent me this devotional excerpt today...I hope it blesses you as it did me.

Blessings,

Natalie (in waiting mother-to-be)



Wednesday, March 30, 2011     
Wait Expectantly for God to Answer
by Rick Warren
"When you wait to hear from God, expect him to give you a dream, an insight; this is the faith factor where you wait expectantly."

Rick Warren
“…I will station myself…” Habakkuk 2:1 (NIV)

If you want to get God’s vision for you life, you must want to hear it, you must withdraw to hear it, and then you must wait to hear it. To get God’s dream for my life, for my career, for my family, for my relationships, I’ve got to withdraw and then wait to hear from God.

The New International Version says, “…I will station myself…” (NIV) What does it mean to station yourself before God? It means stay put. It means, ‘I'm not moving.’ It means, ‘I’m going to be still.’ ‘I’m going to sit here and I am not going to move until I hear from you, God.’

Hurry is the death of prayer. The reason you never hear God speak to you may be because you don't wait long enough, and God won’t speak to you as you run out the door. He wants you to care enough to listen.

Most of the time we’re running so revved up, we can't get slowed down enough to tune into God.  So, how do you slow down? You calm your mind by relaxing your body. You take deep breaths and you relax your muscles and let the tension drain out.

The Bible says David sat before the Lord. Some people think you have to kneel in prayer and that is one of many appropriate ways to pray, but it's not the most common way of praying in the Bible. The most common form of praying in the Bible is standing with your eyes wide open looking up to heaven and talking out loud to God.

You don't have to have a speech. You don’t have to be poetic. You don’t even have to speak in complete sentences. Just talk to God like you’d would normally talk, but then, like any conversation, stop talking and listen – wait to hear from God.

David says there are three things to do as you wait –

Wait quietly -- “I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.” (Psalm 62:5 NLT)
Wait patiently -- “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.” (Psalm 37:7 NLT)
Wait expectantly -- “I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised.” (Psalm 105:5 LB)

And this is so important: you must expect to hear from God. Expect for him to give you a dream, an insight; this is the faith factor where you wait expectantly. Waiting on God is never a waste of time. In fact, it's some of the best time you are ever going to invest in your life.