Our little African treasure is 10!!!!

We are soooo blessed to have this girl home with her family for her 10th birthday. Esther is a very special young lady and we were in love with her before some of us had even met her and now that we have had her home for 2 months we are even crazier about her.

We are sad for the years we have not had her around, we have missed 9 years of her precious life, but we are glad that God has allowed us to be her family now. We are also thankful to Redeemer House Orphanage for being obedient to the Lord and looking after orphans because our girl was taken care of very well by each person there, and loved on and provided for and she learned about Jesus, and got to go to school. We are glad that the Lord has opened our eyes to adoption and that we took the leap of faith, because I can not imagine my life without this daughter. She is teaching us WAY more than we will ever teach her, but I believe that of all of my kids. She just has 10 years of stored up things to teach me, and I'm taking it all in as fast as I can. She is patient and loving and deep. This girl LOVES deeply...she loves the Lord, and she loves her family and she loves her friends. Esther is a prayer warrior. She also has a great funny bone, because she loves to laugh and she loves to joke! Esther is bright and kind and helpful, and joyful. She has not had an easy life, and yet, she does NOT let it get her down, it makes her who she is and she is compassionate and strong and her faith is huge, and Jesus is her everything.

Esther has become quite a little cowgirl. She "feared" horses when she got here and now she asks to ride. She has adapted so well to our family, and to our lifestyle, but she has NOT lost who she is....she has just added to her resume.....and her wardrobe...she still prefers to wear skirts, but has found it doesn't work too well in the cold and in the cowboy world so she can dress like a African darling and a rodeo star all in the same week.

Here she is at a rodeo, just enjoying her family and friends. What a blessing and a joy to get to raise this girl!!!

Thank you Jesus for bringing her home to us and for opening our hearts and our eyes just a bit more.

Ministry

What is your ministry???

As believers we all have the SAME goal: and that is to love the Lord with all our hearts, soul and minds and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. These are the commands that the Lord gave us. If we do these two things everything else falls into place...I think this looks a bit different for each of us though. For me, he has laid on my heart the whole adoption and orphan thing. I have a heart for it and I'm passionate about it...it's EASY for me to fill this calling because I believe in it, but it all points back to HIM...



Mark 12:29-31 (New International Version)
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[b] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[c] There is no commandment greater than these.”

For everyone it will look a little different, but if we are doing SOMETHING with our passion, in the name of our Lord which means that it lines up with LOVING HIM and LOVING PEOPLE...then we are right on track.

The only way we can figure out what is layed on our heart by God, or what our passion is, and how to use it for Him.....is to spend time with Him..to know His word and His voice, ask Him and listen and read. He is sooo clear in His Word, what we are to do, and how EVERYTHING is about Him and His glory.

I think so many times people get caught up in the "thing"...or the "ministry", and they lose focus of what it is truly all about. This is sad because I believe it all starts with the right heart and then it can easily turn to "our work" or "our thing" and we begin to take pride in what we are doing and not what God is doing. We need to remain "humble servants" doing it for the glory of our Lord and somehow we turn it into something to feed our ego or our flesh in some way.

I bring this up because people say....what we did for Esther is so wonderful.....well, I feel like it is wonderful that we were allowed to do it, and that we are the blessed ones for God using our family in this way. It is not anything we did other than felt the tug at our hearts and asked the Lord what to do with it, and He did the rest. We are the blessed ones...we are the ones that have had this wonderful thing happen in our lives. That's just how good our God is!!!


Then I think other times people think they have nothing to offer, they have NO ministry....that is sooooo untrue. Everyone has something they love and are passionate about, and if they let God do something with that, they can use it for Him.

I know of people in ministries with horses...with quilting...with orphan care...with homeless....with politics...with tea....with clothing people so they can interview for a job...with kids.... with foster care...with the elderly.....with sports....with with with with...the list is endless. God is soooo creative and He made us all different, but He made us for His glory and His purpose...so if we find what it is that makes our heart break and soar at the same time...then do something with it for HIM!!! If it's pointed back to Him and loving on Him and people; He will do the rest.

Many times people are guilted into doing something or feel pressured into something, but if it NOT layed on your heart by the Lord...you are just doing something good, which is not a bad thing, but it is probably not going to change anyone's life, but if you do what is layed on your heart and you give it 100% to Him, then He is glorified and people are changed.

video: Operation Bring Esther Home

Here is a video that Kole put together for showing highlights of their trip to go get Esther and bring her home!!!!

Memorial Box Monday - Wedding Dress

I've been waiting to do this Memorial Box Monday post for awhile, and I just couldn't wait to do it anymore...so it's going to be on a Tuesday. Memorial Box Monday, is a way of reminding us of things God has done for us. Sometimes it's big huge things and sometimes, it's just a simple sweet reminder that He loves us and He cares about us.

So this post is about a wedding dress.................

Lashae went shopping locally for a wedding dress, and she found the one she wants....it is perfect for her, but it was out of our price range; we have plenty of options and she is not hard to please, but she just knew that this one was her favorite and her dream dress, but she had no problem realizing that we needed to keep looking and find something more our price range...it was exactly 2 times what we were willing to pay.


A couple of weeks after we had shopped, Lashae had gone to Montana to be with Chaney and to celebrate his graduation from college....(yes we are soooo proud).... and we had decided when she got home we would just take a trip to Portland where they have many Bridal shops and find her a beautiful dress.

I was laying in bed one morning while she was in Montana, and watching Charlie get ready to head out the door for work and he just looked like he had the weight of the world on this back that morning, and I just whispered a very simple prayer to God, and asked that He help us pay for this wedding. I just simply asked that He showed us the way, and reminded Him that we just needed His help with everything.

That same morning just a couple of hours later I got a call from Lashae, so it was only a few hours after I had breathed a simple quiet prayer, and she sounded upset and like she was crying or stunned....I said, "What is the matter?"....She says, "I just got a call, mom, and the wedding dress shop that has my favorite dress just called me, and some anonymous donor just donated a large amount of money towards that dress, which would leave us the exact amount we said we could pay for a dress!" Whoa.....are you kidding me....so the dress shop owner called the manufacturer and there is one dress left in that style and it is Lashae's size!!!




I was wondering who would do such a thing....we really hadn't even told many people....and I was talking to a girlfriend, and told her what had happened and she said, "God did such a thing." It snapped me right out of it....I know that God didn't drop that money out of the sky into the wedding dress shop, but He layed it on someone's heart to do something so generous and sweet and they did it, and we are BLESSED because of it.






I was thanking the Lord and saying....but there are people who need food, there are people who have much bigger needs than a wedding dress Lord, why would you do such a thing...and He spoke to my heart and He reminded me how much He loves us, how much He loves Lashae, how proud He is to be her heavenly Father and that HE IS GOOD and that HE GIVES THE BEST GIFTS!! I know He did it because He is GOOD!!! Because He loves Lashae, because I whispered a simple prayer, and He cares He hears and He answers....He is a huge God and He cares about each and every detail of our lives, and sometimes....He just likes to suprise us with a big 'ole fun gift that makes us smile from ear to ear and give Him PRAISE AND GLORY for EVERYTHING....everything from wedding dresses to finding famililes for orphans.....He is a GOOD and GLORIOUS God and He loves to treat His children to surprises and gifts of all shapes and sizes!!!

Excitement in the Air

Today was a VERY exciting day for many in the Brewer household....

(Lashae got this shirt for Chaney in Africa....it is soooo cool looking on him, and he is such a cool guy for wearing it for some pictures!!!! )

Lashae's first day of work!!!

Whoop whoop!!!

She finally got to get her pink lunch pail and thermos all packed and ready...this was a gift that Charlie gave her for her 18th birthday, and we were beginning to wonder if it would EVER get used. haha...we have teased her and teased her, but the truth of the matter is.....we could not have done the things we have done in the last couple of months if it wasn't for this girl being willing to stay home and help while we went to Africa, and then she went to Africa to help bring Esther home...so she has not been idle...just not earning a living in the monetary sense.....

Reece seeing Shae Shae off for her first day!!!

Then today was Esther's first day of school!!! Every kid in America could learn something from this kid....she is so excited to go to school and she simply could not wait. In her culture it is a "privilege" to go to school, and when they get to go, they take it very seriously and enjoy it, and take pride in the fact that they get to go. Luke and her are in the same class, and same grade...that should make for some good stories!!!

Luke and Esther seeing who's backpack is the heaviest....

Then Kole was celebrating his 2 year anniversary of dating Abby....how fun for them. Here is a few pictures of them attending prom a few weeks ago. They have a very fun group of kids they had dinner with at Grandma H's house.. and then off to the prom.

What Are We Going to Do??

Matthew 6:30-34 (The Message)
30-33"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
34"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

We don't know what tomorrow holds, let alone next month, or next fall, or this summer for that matter. We have a large family, work is slow, costs are rising, we have a baby on the way, and a daughter getting married. The Lord has blessed us abundantly, and He has entrusted us with a lot......sooooooooooooo

What are we going to do????

Well, we are going to just love the Lord and seek Him and do what we feel He has called us to and what He has put in front of us to do, and then we are just going to trust HIM to do the rest. He is God! He knows all, he owns it all, and He LOVES us, so I know we are putting our trust in the right place!!

Trusting is not always the easiest thing...even though it would seem to be the easy thing...I mean to TRUST GOD..sounds like the logical thing...He did create us, He did send us His only Son to save us, and yet, it takes a lot of concentration and focus and work to TRUST HIM and wait on Him, versus worrying and stressing and working ourselves into a frenzy...which, we know does NO GOOD at all, but it is the thing we default to if we don't keep our minds on HIM and make a conscience effort to TRUST HIM.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to you Mom!!!

You are the most wonderful and beautiful mom!!! I love you so much, and I'm so thankful to you for raising me and loving me and teaching me to love the Lord and teaching me to be a mom.

Mothering - Stages

Mother's Day is my all time favorite this year because I am in EVERY stage of motherhood I think there is....

I have 3 teenagers...one that is getting married in July, and so I am getting to learn what it means to be a mother of the bride. This girl is a pretty easy bride too, she is just so in love and happy that she's pretty content and happy and excited with everything... so I will also get to be a Mother-in-law SOON!!! I can hardly wait! I have the best soon to be son-in-law in the world and so I'm excited to take this title on.

One of my teens is a teen boy....that says a lot about what goes on with the mothering to this child right there! COOKING, COOKING, and more COOKING. But, man when I get a hug or a "thank you mommy" , or "I love you mommy" (which is how he says it...just to melt my heart on purpose...it's usually because he wants something, and I don't even care...it works every time.)

One of my teens is a 13 yr old girl...enough said! She is actually the biggest joy and help to me. I love this girl...She parents me more than I parent her, and I think she's better at it...NOT KIDDING!

Then I have a son who is in grade school and trying to figure out which sport is his most favorite...so of course, we are at the stage of doing them all before you can narrow it down...He is a fun, energetic boy...he gets excited about it all!

I have a newly adopted daughter who is grade school age. What a gift God has brought to me to get to mother a child that I did not carry in my womb and came to me already "potty trained"!!! Among a million other reasons this has been such a blessing to me as a mother. I'm learning SO MUCH!!

Then there's Reece...I'm mothering a TODDLER...and this kid has me rolling at all times...he either has me laughing my head clean off, or rolling around in frustration. He has me rollin' one way or the other. He is a FIREBALL!!!

I couldn't resist using this picture....this is when he is frustrating. haha..

And this is how delightful he can be...in the same 5 minutes.

This is why he keeps me rollin'!

And....of course....I'm PREGNANT....so, once again, being reminded how to mother a child in the womb....which means when your head is in the toilet...you remind yourself ...this child is a BLESSING...

So, to sum it up in short....I am the.....

mother of the bride

mother-in-law

mother of man child...teen boy

mother of teen girl...my younger mother

mother of grade school super athlete

mother of adopted Ugandan treasure

mother of a toddler (fireball)

expectant mother!

See why I love this year...you just don't get to be all these things at once usually. God has an amazing sense of humor and He does give the BEST GIFTS and each child is a GIFT STRAIGHT FROM GOD!!!

Rodeo Week-end

We had a wonderful week-end. Esther and I enjoyed a ladies' tea on Saturday with my mom and many friends, and Charlie took Charsie, Luke, and Reece to a Pee Wee Rodeo.

On Sunday, we all made it to the rodeo, and what a beautiful day!!!!



The horses and the kids were just feeling good and having a ball. The Lord has blessed us mightily with being able to continue to rodeo this year. We took last year off, as it was just too expensive, but this year we decided it was important to the younger kids and so we are going to make it to a few. We could not have done it if it wasn't for our horse trailer being donated back; every time we look at it we are reminded of the goodness of our Lord. We often talk about it like the scripture in Joshua, that talks about God having the Israelites building a memorial as a reminder of what God had done for them.....

Joshua 4:4-7 (New International Version, ©2011)
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones (or this horse trailer) mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones (this trailer) are to be a memorial to the (Brewer)people of Israel forever.”

I added all the parenthesis....obviously!!! haha

Our big red "Hart" trailer is a memorial of what the Lord can and will do and what He has done for not only our Esther...getting her home....but, the blessing to the rest of our family to be able to enjoy our rodeo life with our kiddos.

This was Esther's 2nd time EVER on a horse and she loved it!!! She was somewhat timid at first, but by the end of the time Charlie had her in a full-on trot and she was enjoying it VERY much.