Beautiful Overflow

I admit there are times when I feel overloaded with Orphan Care-related projects. I've been blessed to get to know a lot of great Advocators. I'd love to give them a shout-out. All of them. Adoptive Families? Blessed to know many. At LEAST two I'm going to post about. Both close to travel- right when you need your prayers and spirits up the most.  Kids? SO many I want to put raise a shout for, like this little girl:

This is Anastasia. Isn't she sweet? That look in her little blue eyes just grips me- a look that says "I've kept my hopes up this long, will you fulfill them?" Older kids like her are especially close to my heart- because so many of the lovies I met at Julia's Orphanage were close to transfer. I REALLY want to help more of them- but there are just so many hours in the day. And after having two big events in the last month- 2 Weeks for 200 and my family's joyous meeting with the Hinz Family with Sonya and Dusty, there hasn't been much room for the usual. On top of that, I'm leaving for a week-long Catholic Youth Camp this Sunday through Saturday, where I'll have the opportunity to speak about Orphan Care, spend time with Our Lord and hang out on the beautiful sandy beach we have by the lake. I'm majorly looking forward to it. At the same time, leaving the blog dormant for six days (with Tori starting School and Josh rehearsing for a big play) kinda bums me. I LOVE you guys and writing out my passion here a LOT. At the same time, I'm REALLY excited for what God will inspire me to write about once I get back. It'll be great.

Just the other day, Tori did a phenomenal post on Shining City Teens about suffering. I admit I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to suffering- I rarely do a good job carrying my cross with a smile. But to hear Tori's perspective, it really lays suffering out for what it is- a test God is giving us to test our mettle and show his love for us. He knows we can survive- He just wants us to see. How lucky we are to be considered strong enough to endure losing something or someone we care about. Or dealing with a situation in life that we feel is too sad, too hard, or too large for us to brave. And the miracle is that god will be behind us 120%. And it got me thinking, how lucky am I to have the surplus of friends in the orphan world I do. to have adoptive families that want my prayers, my presence, my friendship. I may not have the time or energy I always want, but God will guide me to do what He wants for His Glory. And I am honored. Never was there a more Beautiful Overflow of things to do, people to love and Orphans to speak for. It's a true blessing, without a doubt.