Friday, May 28, 2010

Good Day to you all
School is out for summer here in the Valley!! I had to work a little today but as of now, Mason and I are on vacation for 2 weeks!! I have had three people come up to me and say "you must be busy, you have not blogged in awhile" Well.....they are right.
We took in a medical foster baby this week. She goes home to her foster family tomorrow,but we have enjoyed having her here. Every child that comes through my house holds a spot in my heart. I kinda know how God feels, he knows that his children are here on earth and he is just loaning them out to us for a short while, but he can not wait til they come home to him. Her name is Destiny, cute huh? We have had a Journie and now we have Destiny, love that :)
Her foster family is out of town but her foster dad has called twice to check on her, it is so sweet that he misses her so much.
Today Jamie and I learned that a boy that I have cared for before is a foster child, we did not know!! Then came to find out that his foster g-pa I knew. Last year Mason and I were at the playground and ran into this older man with a couple kids, well him and I began to talk and we both bonded because we were both foster parents (he says him and his wife are foster grandparents)
This was a year ago and today I found this out, wow! I called and talked to him and maybe the conversation alone with him was what God wanted me to have. This man is so faithful and lifts these kids to the Lord. He walks side by side with these children teaching them about the Lord and how much God loves them. These are behavioral children, they have been through alot and you would never know, these kids are great and so kind. What a amazing God we serve and what a amazing family who is being obedient.
Life is good here at the McCain household we are getting ready to go visit family soon and just enjoy some family time. When we get back we get to have little Leila for maybe up to 6 weeks, her foster mom is having surgery so pray for her.
We love you all.
The McCain's

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Two post in one day!!

Just because I have to share with you what God placed on my heart later today.
Last week I told alot of you to take $5 and go make a difference in someone's life, so did you??
God told me to go to Starbucks and pay for the person's drink behind me, so off I went.
But when I got there no one was behind me, hmmm.
So the next time I went I was like ok maybe today, went through got Tony and I a drink and no one again was behind me, alright Lord. My answer is yes, where is that person at Starbucks?
So.... tonight I went to Starbucks placed my order, only tonight I was on my way to church for a prayer meeting, next to me in my passenger seat was my book I was reading, as my book mark I have a track, so I looked in my rear view mirror, and sure enough here comes a van behind me with just one women in it, this is it.
I pulled up to the window, told the sweet little young girl behind the window that I would like to pay for my drink, but also the drink of the lady behind me. She smiled really big and said "ok"
She took my money and came back to the window, she said "are you a Christian?"
I said "yes I am" She said "did God tell you to pay for this drink?" I said "yes"
She said "that is so cool and so neat that you did" I said "thank you, would you mind giving this lady this track and tell her it's a gift I want her to have?"
She smiled from ear to ear and said "YES"
While she is giving us our drinks she is telling every employee what I did and how cool she thought it was. I told her, it's not me that's cool, but are God who is. She smiled we shared a few more words and I was on my way.
I don't know what happened after that, I'm sure the lady behind me was happy her Starbucks was free, that always makes me happy (thank you to Melissa and Wendy who spoil me)
Anyways, I feel blessed, you know why? After doing what God told me to do, I know that he is singing praises over me. That makes me blessed!
Also, tonight, God reminded me, remember when I told you to love on those foster kids?, remember when I told you to teach them love and how to bond? Well, remember that when you are mad and frustrated at the system, cause "Shelley, I got this too"
Thank you God, thank you for being so close to me that I can hear you. Thank you for your promise and thank you for the reminder of your promises.
I love you all,
Shelley

oh PS
the woman's bill $4.90 pretty close to that $5 challenge huh? :)
DEEP BREATH, DEEP BREATH,
COUNT TO 10 1,2 ........OMG does anyone get what they are doing to these kids?, that are wasting away in foster care, these kids that are in homeless shelters. It's not that there is not a family out there waiting, or in that matter...fighting to get them in their home.
It is a stupid circus, seriously who makes these rules up???

ahhh that feels better.
Just remember what I always say "I REFUSE to be ordinary"
After all the love and passion we put into these kids, we have the under hand of most of it.
I was told today, that if a foster baby was in our care for 9 months and her mom's rights were terminated that we would get her. I was told that doing all this respite care for her, does not help us out at all if her mom's rights are terminated!! Actually, get this.... it may hurt us. Because if we get picked for the staffing and someone knows that we already have had all this contact, someone might think that we got picked because we already knew her, WELL, YEAH??? DUH
Well that would not be fair to the other families that were chosen for the staffing...umm let me think for a moment, I DON'T CARE if it is fair.
Let's talk about fair, this sweet little baby who's mother drank during her pregnancy, been kicked out of alcohol rehab many times, who has been living in foster care for her whole life, and still has no idea what her future holds, let see.... fair??? I think not.
Ok so Im fired up cause I have been talking to dfs workers all day, lawyers and not really for us, but to help a friend out, but seeing that is not my story I will not post about that due to confidentiality, even though I know she is just as frustrated as I am.
If you know the law well and know something about the division and know how I can speak on the behalf of these children, you let me know.
I was driving down 435 and saw a sign "a child is abused by a loved one every 40 seconds"
at the bottom it read," what will you do about it?"
Show me the genius that put that sign up there and they would get a ear full.
Anyways, Im venting obviously and needed to get that out.
So as you can tell I need some prayer for my anger today, I need to just be in prayer for these children along with dfs to make the right choices.
But I will also look for doors to open to help them too:)
Love you,

Sunday, May 16, 2010

To look outside today in Mo. it sure is just yuck, and it has been for weeks now.
They said that when Jamie, Mason and I left for FL that it rained the whole time, and since we have been back it has only been sunny 3 days out of these 3 weeks, it's yucky:(
But beyond all that rain, sunshine was around us this weekend.
Mason got baptized by his father today, it was so great. Jamie and Mason were both smiling ear to ear, Jamie's smile was beyond his tearful eyes. We are so blessed and thank God for sending his son to die on the cross, so that my son may live eternity in heaven with him. It's like a weight is lifted when you know your child has asked Jesus into their heart. We are so proud of him today.
He also had his first piano recital at church this afternoon, it was just plain cute.
I asked him before we went to church if he was nervous, he said "no".
Then 5 min before he played he looked at me and said "ok now Im nervous"....lol

We also got to foster Leila this weekend, she is so sweet. She is the baby that dfs called us to take a few moths back and we passed her onto Kay and Mike, thinking that we would be getting our own child soon. Anyways, it was awesome having her here, and I got to dress her up in a cute dress for church and of course not with out a cute flower in her hair around her head band, Jamie says she is alot like him right now, follicle challenged...lol
At the end of lunch I was kissing Leila goodbye and Kay asked if we would keep Leila for 4-6 weeks starting in June? I looked at Jamie and he said "sure"
Kay is going to have foot surgery and will be down for awhile (keep her in your prayers)
so we will get to have her a lot of this summer. I told Jamie the hardest thing for me lately was to walk into the baby room and open the closet and see all those cute girl outfits I had, and no one to put them on. I have this tiny swimsuit that has a puffy pineapple on it.
Well God already knew that Leila would be here and she wears the size of all those cute outfits.
Sammie came and gave her a kiss on the forehead today and said, "can't we just keep her?"
I said, "I hope so"
So pray for Leila, her future with us and the Paulsen's is unsure, but God knows, so we can stand on that promise.
I say all this to let you know, that through the rain and darkness there is happiness. God is in the small stuff too ya know?
The other night when it stormed, Mason called me into his room and said "mommy I'm scared, what if it floods?"
I asked him what Jesus said about the flood? He said "he promised it would never flood again and he sends a rainbow to remind us of that promise"
I promise all you believers out there, I see a rainbow, It is merciful and just, rest on His promise and he will sing praises over you.
Love you all.
Shelley

Friday, May 14, 2010

Hello Friends,
Since I'm not on fb for the next month, you will hopefully get to read more of our blog.
This song has been on K-LOVE a lot, we have sang it in church too, it just really is my heart song at this time. I really can get into this song and worship. You can check it out on youtube, but the words are what matter.
God has put more on my heart to share, but not today, today just meditate on these words.
I'm also asking below for some prayer request.

One for my knee (I had my mri yesterday) results on Monday
PRAISE:Mason on Sunday, he is getting baptized, Geraldine said when your daddy ask you if you have asked Jesus into your heart what are you going to say, he said "Im going to yell YES!!!"
Also I have a friend who is getting divorced and I would like for you to pray for her, him and their kids.
Prayer for a friend who is having bone marrow extract on Monday.
Thank you,
Shelley


I see the king of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes
The whole earth shakes

Yeeeah

I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing
The people sing

[Chorus]
Hosanna
Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest [x2]

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith
With selfless faith

I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees
We're on our knees

[Chorus]

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart from what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from nothing to
Eternity

[Chorus x2]

Hosanna in the highest

Monday, May 10, 2010

First of all,
Today is make a difference Monday. K-LOVE tells us that today we are to take $5.00.
Pray over the money and do something for someone else with it.
It can be pay for the Starbucks coffee of the person behind you.
Go buy 5 flowers and give them to random people.
Either way, pray over the $5.o0, then go and do what he has asked you.

Second of all, I did not have the best Mother's Day, and I'm not sharing this with you to feel sorry for me, I'm sharing it, because it's what's on my heart and this blog is a front row seat to the life we live and how God is going to work all of it out for good.
I felt down most of the day, I tried to enjoy the day, but I had that yuck gut feeling most of the day. I just did not feel like myself and really it was just another day for me. I knew that watching the baby dedication at church would make me feel sad, knowing that I thought Jamie and I would be up there with our daughter. It made me sad that on Saturday when my family was here they were going to be here for my baby shower.
I'm sharing this because, I'm not perfect and I don't always think "oh yes Lord thank you for this hurt, you are going to work it all out!"
I say this because I hurt too,
really..." you and I are not that diffrent, we got a void and we are just trying to fill it up" (Mandisa's, voice of a savior)
but I also felt heavy on my heart all day to pray for ladies out there, that were felling like I am.
I prayed for my sweet friend who is trying to get pregnant, I prayed for my sister in law who lost a baby in a miscarriage a few years ago,I prayed for a Mary who's son now lives with Jesus, I prayed for women I don't even know who just dealing with the infertility news, or Leslie who is waiting for her little boy to come home from china.
Mother's Day is special and we will take all the pain and heart ache to get to that wonderful feeling of being a mom, no matter how we get those children of ours, they all are on loan from us just for a little while, so love them and hold them, but most of all...tell them about Jesus, the man who has already felt every emotion we have had. So where will you look for comfort?
Food, exercise, money, or "in the arms of Jesus, that's where I found it....how about you??"
Love you all
Shelley

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Hello out there,
Today was a great day for me to go to the gym and read and let God speak.
This is what I read and what he had to say.
I went to the library this last week to get a new book, as you know I finished the Sheila Walsh book in God's perfect timing.
So I got one from Patsy Clairemont called all cracked up, this a book about where is God when we are cracked, she is so cute and funny.
But another book was on that shelf, in the wrong section, that I grabbed (see I said in the wrong section of the library, God put it in the right section for me to see and grab)
It is a book called "Adoption Miracles"
Its short stories about how God's hand was in the process of families adopting, so here is the breakdown of the story I read today.
It was a husband and wife who had 4 miscarriages, they had tried everything to get pregnant and nothing worked.
For a break she joined a fiction book club at church, where she prayed to find someone to connect too, see all her friends were having babies and the subject was just to sensitive to talk about, it was always avoided, except with her husband.
Well of course, there was a lady who sat next to her one day and began a conversation, the conversation went to children and did she have any?, this other lady said yes, I have 4. Two that are here with me and 2 who live in heaven. The girl was shocked, she told her about her story and that she had 4 miscarriages. The other lady went onto tell her that the 2 daughters that she did have were adopted sisters.
She had never thought of adoption, so she went home and her husband and her decided to adopt, her husband always warned her that he had a teacher when he was a kid who was planning on adopting and the birth mom changed her mind, he remembered how devastated his teacher was and she never did adopt.
The wife was sure that this would not happen to them, that God knew that she could not loose another child and he would not let that happen.
So they get picked from a birth mom and find out it's a girl. They start decorating the room, buying clothes and waiting for the birth, the whole time, they know that this birth mom is not going to change her mind.They have sought God and pleaded with him, please...we can not loose another child.They felt confident. Well the day comes of the birth and they head to the hospital. The social worker and lawyer are in the hallway when they get there.
The lawyer will not look them in the eye, he just says "we need to talk"
Sure enough, this birth mom did change her mind, and they were a wreck (kinda know that feeling) They go home and for weeks don't even go into the baby room, they don't even talk about children.
But the phone rings one afternoon and it's a social worker, she said that a baby girl has been born, mom has signed over her rights and did they want her?? Of course they said yes!!
One week has passed and the baby girl was in her arms, when the phone rings again.
She answers it and it's the social worker, she sounds upset, she goes to tell the new mother that the baby that was up for adoption and the birth mom changed her mind, well the baby passed away today. This baby had a rare heart condition.....
God knew, he knew they could not loose another child, he knew that she was not going to be here for long, he knew that this other baby girl was for them.

Friends, He already knows where baby Marley is :)

Saturday, May 1, 2010

News out there,
We hear a lot of people have been reading this blog, this to me is a good thing.
It's good to know that many people are interested in a front row seat to what Christ is doing in our lives.
Get this, to any of you who watch Grey's Anatomy on Thursday nights, did you see this weeks???
OMG OSH!!!
It was about Sloans daughter giving her baby up for adoption, not kidding.
It was a behind the scene of what adoptive families go through, and what the other side goes through too, (that in meaning the biological family side)
The daughter wanted to give the baby up for adoption, the dad (Mc Steamy) did not.
When the baby was born she gave the phone number to her dad to go call the adoptive family, who like us, has decorated a room, got all excited, and just prepared their hearts for a new family member.
Then after the baby was born, Mc Steamy tells her if she wants to keep the baby that he will help her,all this time a adoptive family is waiting.
The baby starts crying and she does not know what to do, she calls in a nurse to help her, the baby was hungry.
Kali then comes to Mc Steamy and says, I don't think she is ready to be a parent, even with your help, and there is a great family that she has picked to be parents to this baby, who already love him too.
I was so afraid the whole show what was going to happen, even during this pre-taped show I was just praying that the ending was good for the adoptive family.
It did, the very end it shows Sloan talking to his grandson telling him that him being adopted is good for him and he knows he will be loved and cared for.
The adoptive parents come in take their new son into their arms and are over come with joy.
I was relieved, I know happy ending do come true and I know that our little girl is out there.
I pray that if you read this and you have biological children of your own, you are blessed.
If you read this and on a journey to adopt, that you'll find comfort that it will end happy, sooner or later.
If you read this and you yourself have given up a child for adoption, that I'm proud of you for making the right choice for your child, and doing a very un-selfish act.
and if you are facing the choice right now what to do, know that you can pray to our heavenly father and he will make the choice clear to you on what is best for you and your baby.
Please know that with love I say, please... until you know what choice you want to make, please don't pick an adoptive family, it's like loosing a child, this is a big decision and with praying about it, and listening to God, he will lead you in the right choice.
We are standing on a promise that God clearly told us, now we wait on the Lord.
God Bless you all :)