For example, several years ago, my church community group started an Advent tradition. Every Sunday night between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we gather our families together in one of our houses to celebrate Advent. The host family usually has a hot pot of soup in the Crockpot and we share a simple meal and then a couple of guys bust out their guitars and we all sing Christmas carols together.

We finish the evening by reading a part of the Christmas story together. It’s a tradition that even my young kids enjoy and something that brings our whole family (and group of friends) closer to the true meaning of the season.

There are so many fun ways to get into the holiday spirit without spending a fortune or getting wrapped up in materialistic pursuits. And by focusing on these fun family traditions, kids start to see that Christmas is a whole lot more than Santa and presents. Here are a few ideas:

• Volunteer to serve meals at a homeless shelter. Dress in your best Christmas sweaters and show your kids the joy of serving.

• Stroll around your neighborhood—or if it’s too cold, drive—and look at the lights.

• Decorate from the great outdoors. Even if you live in the city like I do, use boughs off of your Christmas tree or leaves from outside to help you decorate. Last year, we even found a ball of mistletoe growing on a tree in our yard and brought it inside.

• Every night (or some nights) after dinner, light a fire, put on pajamas and snuggle on the couch together and read a Christmas book or a part of the Christmas story from the Bible. Make hot cocoa or eggnog if you don’t mind your kids going to bed hopped up on sugar. Or serve herbal tea if you do mind.

• Skip store-bought Christmas cards and work together to make them as a family. Sure, the coloring may not be perfect (and you may end up with glitter all over the floor) but they’ll be so much more personal than anything you could buy.

• Bake loaves of cranberry bread or cinnamon muffins and deliver them to your neighbors.

Spend Time Together

A few years ago, I had hired a babysitter so I could go Christmas shopping without kids tugging at my sweater begging for cocoa while I shopped. And it was nice and peaceful, but after a few hours, I realized that Christmas planning was stealing me away from Christmas with my family.

I had sent my kids off with my husband so I could decorate the house in peace. And I had hired a babysitter so I could go to the Christmas tree lighting in peace. And I had sent my kids to my mom’s house so I could do some baking in peace. And all that peace brought me a lot of quiet and very little time with my family.

Don’t get me wrong: I’ll almost certainly hire a babysitter to help me while I shop this year (shopping with a one-year-old is a nightmare as you moms of toddlers can certainly attest), I’m also going to make sure I reserve time every day during the holidays to just be with my family and even more, I’m letting my six-year-old and my five-year-old help with the baking, the decorating and the shopping.

I know there’s a good chance my decorations won’t be Pottery Barn perfect and my Christmas cookies won’t be elegantly decorated, but I also know that the time spent together will be cherished. By all of us.

Will You Join Me in Having (Sort of) Simple Christmas?

 I have to say, I’m feeling pretty good about my holiday plans this year. Because while simple is great, so is Christmas. And that means presents and tinsel and music and cookies are all part of the fun. But I think I’ve found the compromise: A (sort of) simple Christmas. And I want to ask each of you to consider joining me in a way that’s fun, sparkly and (sort of) simple.

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In fact, as I write this, I’m sitting in a coffee shop eavesdropping on (I mean, overhearing) the two women next to me discussing how they are going to simplify Christmas this year.

One of them is going to adopt a two-gifts-per-kid policy. One practical gift and one fun gift. The other one is planning to make things like soup-mix-in-a-jar and reindeer-shaped brownies off of Pinterest for all of her friends. Both great ideas. In theory.

But theory aside, I don’t like simple. I want to like simple. I want to be the mom who keeps things peaceful and simple and joyful for my kids during the frantic holiday season. But there’s just something about the hustle and bustle and sparkles and lights that makes Christmas Christmas. And there’s something about seeing my kids racing down the stairs, squealing as they see piles and piles of presents under the Christmas tree that makes me want to buy them big piles of presents to go under the tree.

I love the parties.

I love the glitz.

I love wearing snowflake-shaped earrings and sparkly red tops and decking my halls with enough tinsel to make my five-year-old daughter swoon. I love presents. I love shopping. I love baking piles of gingerbread cookies and delivering them to my neighbors in adorable (and far-from-simple) Christmas tins.

But I’m also a Christian and regardless of my tinsel-loving tendencies, I want Jesus to be central focus of Christmas. For me and for my kids. And I hate to admit this (even to myself) but there are times that the trimmings, trappings and sparkles stand in the way of the true meaning of the season.

And so, I’ve come full circle: I like the idea of simplifying Christmas, but I don’t want to give up all of my holiday fun, but I also know that when I focus on material things, it takes my focus off of the real meaning of the season.

So, in an effort to compromise (with myself), I’m planning a (sort of) simple Christmas. Okay, I confess, even reading that last paragraph makes me sound a little crazy. But hear me out. I’m going just a few simple things that will help take the focus off of things while still leaving room for some sparkling Christmas fun:

• Buy gifts that build lives instead of destroy them.

My friend Rachel said something to me a few weeks ago that really resonated: “Don’t look for the best deals for you, but instead, the best deals for everyone.”

So, yes, scoring a supercute dress for your daughter for $9.99 may be a good deal for you, but before you buy, think about who is getting hurt by your purchases. Is there a child in China who had to stitch that dress together for hours on end making pennies per hour? Or was the cotton harvested by slave labor?

Sadly many popular and thriving American companies sell products that hurt people—especially children—in other parts of the world. And while it’s easy to push the problem out of our minds as something that is too big for us to solve, I want to remind you that as Christians and citizens of the world, it’s our call to make sure that the orphans, the widows, the poor and the immigrants are treated fairly.

I know I can’t change the poverty, slavery and disparity in this world singlehandedly, but I can certainly buy products that were made by people who were paid a fair wage. And who were working in fair conditions.

And so, this Christmas, I’m going to buy gifts that I know come from companies that utilize fair practices. There are hundreds of companies that do exactly that—Google “fair trade products” or you can also find a comprehensive list at www.toactjustly.com/shopping. And while it may cost me a little more, I know that shopping fair trade makes sure that I’m getting a great deal for everyone involved.

• Swear off homemade (unless you love homemade).

I wish I were crafty enough to knit a gorgeous scarf or bake perfect loaves of cinnamon bread for everyone on my list, but after my “handmade mug incident of ‘04” I learned that handmade gifts (or should I say Erin’s handmade gifts) never turn out the way I expect them to.

If you’re a crafty diva who can sew a skirt in an hour, then by all means, go for it. But if you’re like me and making gifts causes more stress than buying gifts (which, by the way, does not make Christmas simple or fun), then I want to invite you to share in my new mantra: I will think hard to find personal and sentimental gifts but I will not under any circumstances even consider making a single gift this year.

It is possible to find personal and inexpensive gifts without making them yourself. For example, my son loves Shel Silverstein poems, so I’m going to pay a friend (who is crafty enough to pull it off) to write a few of my son’s favorite poems onto wooden signs that he can hang in his room. And I’ve already rounded up a variety of favorite coffee blends that are hand roasted at the coffee shop where we have shared many long conversations. Both gifts are un-mess-up-able, yet personal and inexpensive.

I have more ideas on simplifying Christmas, which I’ll share in my next post.

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Let’s just say it’s been a long morning. It all started with the juice. Apparently my juice-pouring skills aren’t up to par because as soon as I set down my daughter’s cup, she noticed that there was more apple juice in the blue cup than in the purple cup. And, naturally, that meant she needed to try to swipe my son’s blue cup, which he was fiercely protecting. This turned into a skirmish that resulted in an entire bowl of Rice Krispies being flung onto the dog’s back, who in turn ran around the entire living room smearing milk-soaked Rice Krispies all over my rug and coffee table.

And I lost it.

Later, when I was done calmly and rationally explaining to my kids exactly what they could do with their juice cups and Rice Krispies, my sweet-as-honey son calmly said: “Mommy, Jesus doesn’t like it when we act cranky. Maybe you should go to your room and pray for Jesus to make you feel better.”

So I went. And 10 minutes and three Psalms later, I came out to find my sweet kids attempting to clean up the living room—with my clean, dry guest towels, but they were trying nonetheless. And I felt so much more calm and peaceful and ready to face my day—sticky Rice Krispies and all.

10 Five-Minute Mommy Breaks that Are Sure to Calm You Down

1. Turn on some music—not Wee Sing Silly Songs, but a band that you loved to listen to in your pre-kid days.

2. Take a few minutes to read your Bible. (Try Psalm 108 to start)

3. Make a hot cup of coffee or tea and actually sit down to enjoy it.

4. Get some aromatherapy hand lotion and give yourself a mini hand massage.

5. Have some snack with protein like peanut butter crackers or a string cheese. Sometimes when I’m cranky, it’s because I’m hungry.

6. Go outside. Even if it’s cold, taking five minutes to breathe fresh air can do wonders for your spirit.

7. Have a piece of dark chocolate. I keep a secret stash for this purpose only.

8. Snuggle your kids on your lap and read them a story or sing songs together.

9. Get out the crayons—and actually color with your kids.

10. Call your husband and get five minutes of adult conversation before you head back to Star Wars and Princess Land.

Question:

How do you calm down when you’re about to lose it?

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In my life, I’ve almost come to expect happiness. I serve a God who works in big and powerful ways. And daily, He performs miracles—big and small—that not only bring forth His kingdom in our world, but also make my life pretty darn miraculous. And I admit: I’ve become complacent in my comfortable life. And I started to expect happy endings, miracles, my prayers answered all wrapped up in a big red bow.

But on Friday, something happened to tear down that facade. To show me that I am not in control of my world. God is.

Last Friday, my childhood friend Jen Burgess Thompson died in a Florida hospital, thousands of miles from home and more devastating, thousands of miles from her precious sons who now face their lives without a mother.

No happy ending. No miracle. No big red bow.

And I’m left wondering what possible purpose could God have in that? In so much heartbreak, so much pain? In so much despair.

And then I think about Jen.

Her life on earth may not have ended happy, but it ended strong. It ended with an incredible amount of courage and tenacity. It ended with eternal hope.

Over the past year, I’ve followed Jen’s blog as she battled a debilitating illness. Where many would’ve shrunk into themselves, Jen reached out. She courageously fought hard for her life, all while openly trusting God that His will be done.

And while she faced unfathomable pain, unbelievable fear, incredible despair, I clearly saw a light shining through her. God used Jen’s journey to draw people to him. And Jen let Him use her. She didn’t despair, she hoped. She didn’t complain, she smiled. She didn’t rant and rave and scream “Why me?”, she trusted the God who created her for an eternal purpose. A God who had a plan for her in spite of the terrible journey she faced.

And while I still can’t quite wrap my mind around this unhappy ending, I can say that I hope that I can learn to be like Jen. To let God’s light shine through me in spite of my circumstances, to trust God’s eternal purpose in spite of my pain.

Because God didn’t promise us happy endings. But He did promise us the right ending.

And in a world where so many are lost and in pain and in despair, Jen’s courageous, strong and trusting ending shines bright. It shines powerful. It shines just like God intended. Because she was willing to let her light shine.

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Dear Jesus. I love you. I love the world and the flowers and my dog and my princesses and my new baby brother. Thank you for my big girl mommy and my nice, strong daddy. Thank you for my JoJo. He’s my best friend. Help this dinner to taste yummy and not make my tummy hurt like last night so I can have a cookie. Help Jack to want to sleep in my room tonight. Thank you for loving me. Amen.

 I confess I got a little teary-eyed when she finished. She was so earnest. So precious. So full of joy and thanksgiving and life. And so, so honest. A part of me was struck by how much I can learn from the pure, honest prayer of a preschooler.

Lord, help me to consider prayer time a time where I can have honest conversation with you. Where nothing will stand in the way of my love for you and what I really want to express. Thank you that my daughter was able to show me such a shining example. Amen.

Question:

What strikes you about the prayers of preschoolers that you as an adult can learn from?

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It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with my husband—I do. It’s just that my kids are so much more, let’s say, unwavering in their resolve to get every ounce of my attention.

So, when my husband and I plan on putting the kids down early and then heading out onto the patio with a bowl of popcorn to talk, I always have the best intentions. But then Joey wants another story (“Please, please, pretty please, just this one time, Mommy”), and Kate needs a drink (“With ice. And a straw, please”). And, after four stories and three drinks and seven songs and twelve prayers, suddenly it’s nine o’clock, the popcorn is cold, and Cameron and I have less than an hour to talk before our bedtime.

But I’m really trying to change this. Awhile back, we had a speaker come to our MOPS group, and she told us that when we choose not to put our spouse first and make our marriage a priority, we are hurting our kids—not helping them. For so long, I operated in the mindset that my job was to take care of my kid’s requests—no matter if they got in the way of my marriage. Now I realize that by putting my marriage first, I am showing my kids God’s plan for a family. I’m helping them—and more importantly, I’m setting a standard that will (hopefully) carry over to their future families.

With that in mind, one of my goals this year is to make my marriage a priority. Of course, that’s much easier than it sounds, but one of the things we’re doing is making those two hours between our kid’s bedtime and our bedtime count—and I’m not just talking about sex. I’m talking about taking those two hours and spending quality time with my husband. That means that I not only have to get serious about bedtime with my kids—we’ve instigated a strict bedtime routine and a strict no extra drinks/potty trips/stories/prayers/songs rule, but also that we need to be intentional about planning “mini-dates” for us to do during that time.

Here are 16 things you can do with your spouse after the kids go to bed:

1. Cook a late dinner for two together—preferably something like Thai curry or spicy steak burritos that the kids would never touch.

2. Or, if that’s too late for your dinner, prepare a decadent dessert together and then enjoy it without anyone splattering chocolate all over your favorite tablecloth.

3. Go online and plan your next vacation—even if it’s going to be in three years once the kids are all old enough to make it through a four-hour plane ride without a meltdown.

4. Play a board game together.

5. Pop a big bowl of popcorn and watch a favorite old movie—one you used to watch when you were dating.

6. Work on a project together—whether it’s painting your dining room or making a new bookshelf for the baby’s room.

7. Light a fire (or if you don’t have one, some candles), snuggle on the couch and just talk.

8. Go online and learn about couples massage and then practice on each other.

9. Play a video game together—even if it means learning more than you’d like to about Madden football.

10. Design your dream home—complete with the indoor gym for him and the indoor spa for you.

11. Read a book to each other aloud.

12. Look through cookbooks or online and plan a week’s worth of meals together.

13. Talk about your dream jobs and then research what it would take to get there.

14. Do an exercise video—and hot pink leg warmers are optional.

15. Listen to sample music on Amazon or iTunes and try to discover a new favorite band.

16. Plan your next date night.

Questions:

What do you do with your spouse in the evenings? And do you have any other creative ideas to give me?

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And the reason I’m sharing this with you (aside from making you feel sorry for me that big mean stranger picked on me at the park) is because I had an epiphany on the way home. An epiphany that relates to all of the recent goings-on in cyberspace. But before I share my takeaways, let me tell you what happened:

Like any summer morning, the park was packed with babies and toddlers and grade-schoolers and even a few “big kids” who were there to play with their younger siblings. My six-year-old Joey started playing a game under the jungle gym with a group of kids. I watched from a distance as the kids threw a four-square ball back-and-forth, over the bars and under.

The game got a little rough. I know that and I now know that I probably should’ve intervened sooner. Because Joey was definitely throwing the ball harder than he should’ve.

But I didn’t. I chalked it up to fun at the park and figured the kids could handle it. And Joey went too far. He threw the ball—hard—and hit an eleven-year-old girl in the face. I’m sure it hurt.

Joey immediately apologized (thank goodness!) and the sweet girl said, “It’s okay” with eyes watering. Precious girl—my heart breaks for her because not only was she kind enough to be playing with other kids at the park—but she got hurt and was gracious enough to forgive my son quickly. And even with her sweet and kind spirit, she got caught in the middle of an altercation between two adults that she didn’t even know.

A dad—a stranger to me and the girl who got hurt—was watching the game also saw what happened. And when the girl said “It’s okay,” he ran over to my son and screamed “It’s NOT okay!”

Then he grabbed my son and started yelling at him about being mean at the park and bullying girls and all sorts of other nasty things. Then he ran over to me and started yelling at me about my parenting. He said, “Your son shouldn’t be allowed in the park” and “You should keep him away from other kids” and “You need to teach your kid about bullying” and “The way he’s acting is never okay.”

And I lost it. I started to cry. I retreated, grabbing my kids who were also in tears and trying to walk away from the barrage. But it kept coming. And I couldn’t keep my mouth shut any longer. I’m embarrassed to admit that I made a rude comment under my breath. I said something about “Okay, guys, we’re going to stay away from here because apparently some people don’t know that parks are for playing.”

Ick.

I responded completely wrong. And I know that.

But I was so angry.

On the way home, I started thinking about why this man’s comments—a complete stranger’s comments—had affected me so deeply. And I decided that it’s because I’m hurt that a complete stranger criticized me when he didn’t know me. I’m upset that he judged me. I’m upset that he was so mean and rude and demeaning without giving me the benefit of knowing my heart and my child and my struggles. I’m upset that he was so quick to point out my failings—and my son’s failings—that he never saw that I really am trying.

All that said, Joey made a mistake. He should’ve shown self-control. He knows better than to be mean.

And I certainly made mistakes. I didn’t pay good attention. I didn’t intervene when I should have. I was wrong to be rude in response to this man’s rudeness. I’ve failed as a mom on multiple occasions. I’m not afraid to admit that there are many, many specks (and logs) in my eye when it comes to my parenting.

But this man’s public denouncement did nothing to help me become a better mom.

It’s not like I heard his angry words and was suddenly like, Oh! Good point! I hadn’t known that my son was too rough before but now that you pointed it out in a very mean and public way, maybe we could go out to coffee and you could teach me how to be a good parent.

No. He just made me mad. And my response was in kind.

Now I don’t want to create a stir here—and I certainly don’t want to politicize anything on my little old Christian mama blog. But I have to say that this situation is eerily similar to some of the chatter I’ve seen on Facebook lately. People—complete strangers or at most acquaintances—are loudly and publicly criticizing people for the beliefs they hold and the things they do. And I have to believe that just like this man at the park who felt it was his duty to point out his viewpoint on my parenting skills, whether right or wrong, all of this loud, public bullying is doing a lot of harm and very little good.

And I imagine that’s how a lot of people feel after reading their Facebook posts right now. Hurt that complete strangers are criticizing them without knowing them. Upset for being judged. Upset that people are mean and rude and demeaning without knowing their hearts, their feelings, their struggles. And that makes me heartsick. Because no one deserves to feel that way.

I want to ask you to unite with me as Christian parents to refuse to engage in bullying—because that’s what this is. This man was so quick to point out bullying with my son– when he himself was bullying me. He was quick to judge. Quick to respond in anger. Quick to be mean.

And I refuse to sink to his level.

I refuse to point out other people’s supposed flaws when I have so, so many of my own.

I refuse to assume that I know more about someone’s heart than God does.

I refuse to respond in anger instead of love.

I refuse to hamper God’s work in my life and in other people’s lives by assuming that angry or demeaning words are the way God moves.

Because today, I’m taking a stand for love. For kindness, gentleness and genuine compassion. For empathy and forgiveness. For hope.

And I guess that means forgiveness and empathy for the random stranger at the park, too. Perhaps he had once gotten hit in the face with a ball and injured. Perhaps he’s struggled with bullying his entire life and didn’t want my son to fall into that same pattern. Perhaps he was just having a bad day.

So I forgive him. Part of me hopes I’ll never see him again—human nature—but if I do, I pray that I can find it in my heart to be kind.

Because that’s what Jesus would do.

Check out my new blog! www.christianmamasguide.com

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Not blogging.

Not checking blogs.

Not doing anything other than hunkering down behind my computer and working, working, working.

Of course, I have a great excuse. I’m working on a big book deadline along with a smaller work deadline and all in the midst of trying to spend time with my kids when they are off school for the summer and with my husband when he’s taking his one two-week reprieve from work for the year. But good excuse or not, I’m struggling with it.

I’m struggling to keep my head above water.

I’m struggling to stay focused when I desperately need a nap and some quiet time.

And most of all, I’m struggling with the fact that I’m supposed to be a stay-at-home mom, and yet I’m spending more time working than with my kids.

I’m sure they’ve noticed that I’ve upped my babysitting hours this summer in order to finish these deadlines. And I’m sure they’ve noticed that I’ve been around much at all.

I think this is the eternal dilemma for moms: We want to be there while our kids are young, but we also have dreams, hopes and careers of our own. How do we balance that? Without losing ourselves and our kids in the process?

As I’ve contemplated this, I’ve spent some time asking Mr. Google for work/life balance ideas. Here are a few that I’ve come up with, but I’d love it if you could add to the list. How do you balance life and parenting with positive results?

4 Tips for Finding Work/Life/Mommy Balance in Busy Times

1. Go for quality instead of quantity. When time with your kids is limited, make sure the time you do have is well spent. I’d made it a point this summer to take my kids on bike rides, to go swimming, to play on the floor with them during my precious mommy time.

2. Let something go. I just don’t have the time for everything in my life right now. And if I’m going to have to let something go, I don’t want it to be my kids. So, I have to admit that I’ve slacked off on the chores lately. I’ve tossed clothes into laundry baskets without folding them, and I’ve made PB & J for dinner more than once.

3. Get away when you’re working. I’ve worked from home for years, and usually don’t have trouble balancing the occasional interruption to my day when my kids need something. But right now, I’ve made it a point to get away from the house when I’m working so I can make the most out of my work time… and of my home time.

4. Give yourself a break. I learned how essential rest is to motherhood—and work—after I decided to wake up every morning at 4:30 to write for a few hours before the kids woke up. It lasted for a week, and then I realized that my brain was so fuzzy. I was so exhausted that I was doing more time zoning out than writing. As important as it is to find work time and kid time, it’s also important to rest.

Question for you: How do you find work/life balance?

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Of course, that leaves the question: What do we do at home? Here are 15 easy kid-friendly and mom-friendly activities that you can do . . . with things you have on hand at home today.

1. Do chain drawings. Draw a tiny picture in the corner of a page, then pass the page to another child and have them add something to the picture. Keep going until the pages are filled.

2. Make homemade lemonade. Experiment and create new flavors: Strawberry lemonade, nectarine lemonade, or basil lemonade.

3. See how quickly your kids can get completely soaked by standing in the sprinkler. Time them.

4. Make cloud dough: mix 1 cup flour with a few tablespoons of baby oil until it’s soft in texture. Give them measuring spoons and cups to play with it.

5. Go bug hunting.

6. Go online and plan your dream vacations. (So what if it costs $10,000 a night to stay at the Princess resort your daughter wants to visit . . . she can dream, right?)

7. Bake cookies.

8. Look through cookbooks and plan your next feast.

9. Make letter pictures. Draw your kid’s names in bubble letters and have them draw pictures of things that start with those letters. So, if your kid’s name starts with a J, he can draw jelly beans, a jar or a jump rope.

10. Build a playdough cafe.

11. Have a picnic. And yes, PB & J on the back patio totally counts as a picnic.

12. Send your kids on a rainbow scavenger hunt to see if they can find one thing in every color of the rainbow. Then up the ante and see if they can find turquoise, magenta and chartreuse.

13. Or have a letter scavenger hunt and see if your kids can find one thing for every letter of the alphabet. Bonus points for X, Y and Z.

14.  Draw mandolas. Fold a square piece of paper in half, then in half again. Then, have your kid draw a picture that is identical in all four squares, starting from the center X.

15. Have a pajama party read-in and snuggle on the couch while you read every book on your bookshelf.

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But it didn’t happen. God said wait.

Months and months passed, months of raised hopes followed by negative pregnancy tests, tears and failed expectations. Alisa grew numb. She tried to ignore her cycles, pretend that it wasn’t time to take another test, pretend that her hopes hadn’t been crushed again.

But God said wait.

Peter and Alisa decided to adopt. They busied themselves in a flurry of paperwork, taking classes, attending trainings, dreaming of a baby before Christmas.

But God said wait.

My sister-in-law got pregnant, Alisa’s best friend got pregnant, I got pregnant, Alisa’s dear friend adopted a son, I got pregnant again, my sister-in-law got pregnant again, Alisa’s best friend god pregnant again.

But God said wait.

So Alisa put on a happy face, smiling through her tears as she attended baby showers, sip-and-sees, hospital visits and MOPS meetings. She cradled her new nieces and nephews, brought meals to her friends when they had babies, babysat as other moms went to prenatal appointments.

And God still said wait.

Then the news came: Peter and Alisa had been chosen to adopt a baby girl. They prepped their nursery, filling it with ribbons and bows and tiny pink socks. They visited the birth mom. They raised money for the adoption expenses and anxiously awaited the day that their new baby girl arrived.

But God said wait.

Sweet little Abby was born on July 7, 2011. As they raced up to the hospital, anxious to hold their new baby girl for the first time, they prayed jubilantly that their wait was finally over, that they finally had a baby to fill their empty arms.

But, God once again said wait.

Less than two days after Abby was born, her birth mom changed her mind. She decided to parent Abby. And Alisa and Peter left the hospital with bags full of brand-new baby clothes that would never be worn, with hearts heavy and hope lost.

And still, God said wait.

They went home, they shut the door to their nursery and tried to move on. They continued to pursue adoption, but also decided to pursue pregnancy once again. There were tests and needles and exorbitant hospital bills. There was a shocking infertility diagnoses that meant their first daughter was a miracle. There was a painful surgery and weeks of waiting as hopes rose, only to be dashed again.

Because God still told them to wait.

And then, just when all hope seemed lost. Just when we were starting to question whether God really had a plan for more children for them, whether he had been there speaking to them all along, God spoke through a whisper.

Now. Now is the moment that you have been waiting for.

The phone call came at 9 a.m. on a Monday morning. A tiny baby boy needed a family, a home. He had been born with gastroschisis—his intestines had developed outside of his body. He was facing major surgery and weeks of recovery. A tiny soul who in just a few short hours of life had known pain, loneliness and fear, a child of God who was lying in the NICU by himself with a sign on his crib that said “Baby Boy.” No name. No family. No one.

But God had chosen this moment to show the depth of his love. Because while Peter and Alisa had waited and waited for a baby, God had been waiting for this baby. This child. This wonderful blessing. And now the long and lonely wait was over. Peter and Alisa have a son. And baby Asa has been chosen.

Get updates on Baby Asa on his Caringbridge website here.

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