Stuff

Lots going on this month in our home. Jackson is due to arrive anyday so we are waiting patiently. I think we are ready we have all of the essentials. I am so thankful for wonderful friends who have recently had little boys and were willing to pass on clothes and essentials. We have tried to keep our focus on B and on Belgium in the meantime.

I have been working diligently to get rid of lots of stuff that we will put in a yard sale in April or give to Goodwill. It feels so freeing to get rid of clutter and things that are collecting dust. We have turned Bryan's music room/office into a Belgium planning center. We have our Belgium maps on the wall, a huge yearly dry erase calendar(with lots of plans on it), and our personal information we send out to our partners. I like to go and open the closets and drawers now that they are clean and organized. It makes me happy(I know I am a nerd). We are planning to take our house off the market and put it up For Sale By Owner so that we can hopefully get it to move with a lower price. We are also setting aside one night per week to work on our French. This is something we are being told by teammates who are currently there that we need to continue to work on here as much as we can. They have also told us to be walking and exercising as much as we can so as soon as it warms up a bit we plan to walk every evening with the kiddos to get use to a faster pace that includes lots of walking rather than driving. I am exciting about having some quality family time at the end of the day where we focus on eachother and get some exercise.

We have another meeting with the adoption attorney tomorrow about B so hopefully we will have some good information and an idea of what that process is going to look like.

I realize this blog is all over the place, but that is our life this month. It is a little crazy but I wouldn't have it any other way. When I start feeling weak or anxious I lean on my savior and he is my strength. I can read my Bible or have some quiet time and feel better so quickly. I know the battles I feel that we are fighting are really not ours to fight and I am so thankful for a loving Father who is holding us tightly in these uncertain moments.

Thank you God for blessing me so much even when I am so undeserving!

Happy New Year!!!

Well it is officially 2011. It is a huge year in our household as we will prepare to move across the ocean to take light to a spiritually dark area. We began this process in May of 2009 and what an experience it has been so far. We are so blessed to have experienced and learned the many things we have thus far. There is still so much to be done and to prepare for. We just celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary on December 30th and God blessed me with such an amazing man to share my life with me. We have spent most New Years Day packing up our Christmas decor for a final time in the States and planning our final months here. It is crazy how emotionally attached you can become to stuff. We have heard this from friends but as I begin to pack away Christmas ornaments a little part of my heart was sad. Do not get me wrong I am so thankful God has chosen to send us and we are happy to go, but I would not be human if I wasn't a little sad about certain things. We are preparing to shed another layer during the month of January and sell and discard lots of stuff in our home. If you come by to visit you should see a big difference soon lots of stuff is leaving soon.

The sale of our home is going slower than planned so we have come up with a game plan and timeline for this process as well. If we have to rent we will but this is a last resort so please pray for the sale of our home before May 1st.

For those of you who do not know we have temporary custody of a precious 18 month old(B). We got her in July when she was only 12 months old and we are working to adopt, but only God knows the outcome. Yes it is a risk but if we were unwilling to invest and love on others because we were scared of getting hurt we could miss out on some of the best moments in life. We know that God's plans and timing are much better than our own. We know he has a divine plan in our lives and in this precious girls life and we will praise him no matter the outcome. Our prayer all along for children is that God would bring the children that he had planned for us all along into our home. In September we were contacted by another birthmom who was 5 and 1/2 months pregnant with a baby boy. She wanted us to adopt her child. After talking with her and prayer and trying to figure out if we could handle all of the responsibilites we realized that God doesn't give us more than we can handle and he had obviously opened this door for a reason. The ultimate reason may not be for us to adopt her baby but we are willing to walk through the open door and step out in faith. Baby boy is due January 24th but our BM is showing some signs of pre term labor. We plan to name him Jackson Christopher. We have to have both adoptions finalized before we can apply for our visa so prayers are appreciated in this area too. :)

Some people I am sure think we must be crazy with two adoptions going on and moving to a foreign country all in one year. I say we have crazy love for a God who is more faithful than we could ever imagine he sacrificed everything for my sins. My happiness revolves around commiting my life to him. Don't get me wrong we have moments like any normal person does where we are concerned or anxious but we find peace in knowing that these are not our battles and God is in complete control. If you let him he will blow you away. When I was a little girl I had an idea of how I wanted my life to be and my life is nothing like I had planned for myself, but there is nothing like feeling like you are walking in God's will.

This year my resolution is to be bold and intentional about everything. I know I have so much to learn about our savior, and I want to draw myself closer to him and grow my relationship with him. I feel like such an infant in my walk with God, but I do know one big thing and that is that I trust him with every ounce of me and I want to live a radical life for him.

Wishing your family a happy and healthy new year!!!
Souhaitant votre famille, une bonne et heureuse année nouvelle!

Cassi


James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Proverbs 31:8-9
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.

Matthew 28:16-20 (New International Version, ©2010)
The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Conjugation

New tradition when Cassi and I go to bed, we conjugate verbs in French. It sounds weird and boring, but it is so important. It is right when we get in bed. I have started reading the book of Luke, le livre de Luc, in French. I cant understand it, but truth in any language is truth. It is one thing that is universal. It is setting me free. The heart language is the best language to speak when dealing with matters of the heart.

Pray for me and Cassi as we add language to the laundry list of things that need to be done.

Adieu...paix

Currently in Belgium

Cassi and I are currently in Belgium. We flew in to Brussels leaving Saturday and arriving Sunday, March 21. We have had some long days, long walks, confusing conversations in French, good food, fellowship with others, and so much more. The details will come in the near future once we return to the US; land of the free appendectomy now, I presume. :) Sorry I was not there for that vote. It did make national news though. Even this morning, Tuesday, it was still on the French news stations. At least I got to miss most of the media blitz on it though.

There is a great deal of low hanging fruit here. We just need people to harvest it. We need weak people. Very, very weak people. If you are with me, then you understand why.

Peace, au revoir, a biento, ciao!

Currently Packing for Belgium

Cassi and I are getting ready to leave for Belgium in about 12 hours. We will meet with a handful of missionaries, church organizations, random people, and lovely people Cassi has met before. Be in thought and prayer. We will try to update as we go along.

Recently, we just welcomed another brother blogger to the site. My brother Jeff and his wife Bobbi are planting a church in CO. Sweet.

The Lost Get Found

Scripture
Deuteronomy 22:1-3 If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him. If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him. Do the same if you find your brother’s donkey or his cloak or anything else that he loses. Do not ignore it.

Observation
In the parables of the Lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost (prodigal) son, Christ is illustrating the importance of finding that which has been lost, the value that a lost thing has to it’s owner and the joy experienced and shared once something lost has been found. This section of Deuteronomy is where God begins to instill in the Israelites, through the Mosaic law, the principle of finding and returning to the owner that which was lost. Christ and some of his prolific apostles had a habit of taking the old laws and revealing the principles behind them. Galatians chapter 4 reminds us that we are not a people under the law, but with the mind of Christ we can use God’s principles when we make choices in our lives.

Application
I recently met a man who once lost his daughter at a state fair. He and the rest of his family immediately began searching for her and yelling her name while those around continued in their own family fun and listening to the band and eating their corn-dogs. After-all, the little girl can’t have gone far, and this is a time of fun and family, not to be interrupted by someone else’s problems. Any parent can understand the panic and despair of not being able to find one of their children. It is truly horrifying. Most of us might say, “of course I would drop what I was doing and help these people find their daughter. I would help them find her and rejoice with them once she was found.” But what about God’s lost children? He love’s them and misses them, but they have wandered far from Him and continue to wander farther. Who will find them? Well, the good news is that we already have. We see them in our everyday lives, we work with them and play with them daily. The questions is this, will we bring them back to God; will we keep them until He comes for them? Or will we ignore them?

Prayer
God, please remind me daily of what you brought me out of and that you want the same for those around me. Show me the lost around me and how to return them to you. Just as I would never stop looking for my own lost child, never let me lose my passion for your lost children.

Devotional Journaling
H2O Church Plant
Music

Are you a winner?

You may have heard that history was made last night with a woman, Kathryn Bigelow, winning the Oscar for best director. Sadly, this isn't accurate. No woman has ever won that award; The Oscar merely went to her. No one has won an Oscar for several years.

You see, some years ago The Oscars and other awards shows changed their language from announcing "...the winner is" to simply "the award goes to." It would seem that our culture has become so failure-averse, so afraid of losing, that we have given up on winning. "Jon, you're really stretching it, there," you say. Fair enough. I think we can agree we at least have ceased celebrating winning, lest we draw attention to losing.

Have we forfeited our more-than-conquerors' position for playing it safe? Are we willing to take a risk? As I type this, I'm hiding behind our numbers. Am I playing it safe? Am I willing to risk all that I have and am to pursue the so-much-more that God has for me?

It's been said nothing ventured, nothing gained. Jesus put it better with "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he can never lose." When I think about what Bryan and Cassi are working through, I'm left amazed at their willingness, even desire, to leave behind everything and get it on what God is doing. It seems like such a risk, but Jesus said we can't lose. He said he'd always go with us and he'd never leave us.

Our culture may just have this backwards, we don't avoid losing by staying out of the game; we don't win by avoiding losing. We avoid losing when we make ourselves vulnerable to failure, yet backed up by a God who cannot fail. We win as we take all our talents and capabilities and life and quit leaning on it, and give it to the ultimate winner who conquered death.

Is your life merely "going to" you, or are you winning?

Prayer Needed

Cassi and I leave with some of Team Belgium from LifePoint in 13 days. We will be there for one week. It will be a cool time because we will get to spend some time with people there that we have been talking with. There are ministers, lay people, and just plain old people. I personally am approaching this trip with great anticipation. My prayers are focused. My mind is focused. I hope to have some opportunity to help while I am there.

Our group had a session with the UpStream Collective recently. They had great insight. They gave us a lot to chew on.

Thankfully, work is going pretty good for both Cassi and I. Thanks for your prayers for both of us.

These are exciting times in the Wolski house.

So much has been happening

So much has been going on as of late. There is no way I will remember it all. Cassi and I are both enrolled in classes. I am finishing my last 3 hours of my degree. Cassi is finishing up a class on New Testament. We have a roommate again. Lauren was a bridesmaid in our wedding. She has been helping around the house. We have needed to change some doorknobs, paint, clean, etc. It has been a huge chore.

We are in French classes every week at church with a sweet teacher Marie-Claire. Claire moved to Bellbuckle, TN 32 years ago from France. She is a great teacher. French is HARD. Our ears are not used to hearing all the sounds. We also meet with the Belgium team every week. This week they are at our house. We are studying what other faiths believe including other denominations.

I have a new job. I am not playing music full-time anymore. I work at Dell as a sales rep. Some of you know that I used to do this. It has been a blessing so far. It was necessary to increase our income now to continue to pay down debt. Dell is a integral part of our Belgium plan right now. Cassi is still working at Bethel, only now they are Bethel University, not Bethel College. The school continues to grow.

Cassi and I head to Brussels, Belgium in one month. We are going to connect with some missionaries and friends there. This will be my first trip there, and Cassi's second trip. This week long trip with other Lifepoint Belgium team members will be invaluable. This trip includes a meeting with a church staff over there. That will be exciting.

Next week we are meeting with our financial planner again. This will be a "nuts and bolts" type meeting. It will help to decide when we actually head to Brussels. We should have a written plan for our debt plan.

Cassi had her first meeting with a reproductive endocrinologist last week. The doctor was very encouraging. We start some testing and possible surgeries soon.

We are still raising support for our move. LifePoint's research says that we need to raise $4900 per month to live there. It is pretty expensive to live there. That is a lot of money. This has made us trust God so much more. We cannot do all of this ourselves. We are forced to rely on Him. That is a cool place to be.

We are plugging away at the list.

There is so much that is going on. Cassi and I have been working our list of things that need to be addressed to get over seas. Much has been done. Cassi has also started a new blog called Crazy Love. You should check it out. It will deal some with becoming a missionary, but it is more a snapshot of what is going on in her life and walk with God. That does include Belgium, but Belgium is just a portion.

I will try to give a detail of what is happening in our journey. It has been crazy for the past 4 weeks. We are being pulled closer to God. We are producing more fruit in the form of love. We are being pruned. If you ask Cassi, my heart is being filled with a compassion that I never had. And they will know we are Christians by our love.

More to come. Love to ALL!!!

Peace