the body

this is why i love friends...
i really don't have words. some things just make my heart quiet. our friend (really, i should say eric's friend because i have spoken maybe 10 words to ray; however, when someone prays for your children that aren't even your children yet...they are most certainly OUR friend, which is what in part makes it so amazing to me) recently ran a marathon and each time he runs he has things that he specifically prays for during the 26 miles. this time it was the sanzones. for 26 miles - which i think was only a few hours for him but certainly would have been at least 6 for me - ray prayed for wisdom in our adoption journey. and as is his custom, he has a tatoo (it's temporary, don't worry, the sanzones won't forever be emblazoned on his guns) to prove it (i'm not sure why the picture is so small but you get the idea)(how many parentheses can you put in a row?)

ethiopia...china...ethiopia...china...

i dare say God heard his prayers as we are feeling very peaceful about a decision. which actually, it is just as i write this that i am realizing just how much peace has come over us since mid-march, when ray dedicated his 7th marathon to our newest daughter. hmmm...there God goes again proving himself to this stubborn soul. amazing that he keeps me on the team. seriously. sometimes i wonder.

i love when i can see the body of Christ in action. it gives me hope that maybe this Jesus thing is for real. and i have an inkling that this journey to our sweet daughter is going to be just as full of God stories as the first one. my hope is simple - that as much as lydia is the embodiment of the miraculous, our next little girl can be the embodiment of faithfulness. i have no idea what that means. it just came out of my mouth. which is dangerous - it has me thinking already - but generally it means something. generally my fingers somehow interpret my head.

and while i'm on the subject of fingers, here's the latest title for my book...motherhood, the blessed monotony. i am figuring that might open more doors than the previous title, what the hell was i thinking, and others honest thoughts of motherhood. although, that most definitely is going to be a chapter title. its just too perfect to leave completely on the side of the road. but all those christian bookstores would have a hard time stocking the previous title. and for sure i would not be asked to speak with pat robertson.

okay, so i don't really care about christian bookstores and pat robertson, but my husband is a pastor...and i wouldn't want him to lose his job over his ill-mouthed wife...although i did put it to the test in the church foyer last week...and his paycheck was direct-deposited this week...so i guess i didn't do too much damage. i like to say it's my ministry - being real. not so real as to show up on sunday with no make-up (again, we want eric to keep his job), but real enough that sometimes, i feel more at home with the sailors than with the church folk.

oh jesus, do you really want this broken soul?