A long time coming...

I just looked at the date of my last post and realized it has been two whole months since I have updated this blog. Life has been quite busy and full of uncertainty around the Tatum house these past couple of months. I can honestly say that to begin to write about all that God is teaching us and everything that has transpired is more of a task than I am up to at this point in time. Writing is one of my favorite things to do, but it emotionally zaps me, and right now I am so physically and mentally tired that I simply don't have the fortitude to "wax eloquently" about the journey we have been on for the past couple of months. So, instead, I will say "thank you" to those of you who are reading this (you know who you are) who have been such encouragers and generous participants in the process of our bringing Anderson home. God has provided through you and your families because you have been willing to give, to pray, to speak words of blessing, and to be with us every step of the way! We truly love each of you and you will never know how your gifts have blessed and humbled us in the last several weeks.

God has opened doors and closed doors lately, in different areas of our lives, and it is our prayer that we are faithful to follow where He leads and learn what He teaches, even when our circumstances are filled with uncertainty and difficulties. If we know anything, we can say that God is good, and His love is leading us. If that means we have to struggle or experience some tough times, we want to be obedient and faithful. Because even though circumstances change, God does not. And if we say we believe He is God and He is sovereign, we lie if we don't walk that belief out in the way we respond to difficult and uncertain times. God is the same Father who called us to this adoption, and He will complete it in His perfect time. (Philippians 1:6 comes to mind).

We can never express in words how much our faith family at Shelby Crossings, especially our Life Group, has meant to us. God has truly shown us the meaning of being a family with our brothers and sisters in Christ through the people in our church-- and I don't say that to sound extremely spiritual. The love you have shown and the love we have for you all is to us a very real example of what Jesus was talking about when he said people would know us by the love we have for one another. So, again, thank you...we love you...and we continue to thank God for the blessing of sharing your lives and faith journeys! It is our prayer that we can give to and encourage you as you have done for us.

A quick update on the adoption status as of now is that God has provided financially in a big way through the generous giving of some wonderful friends and family, and our fees to all agencies are paid. The remaining costs are those that we will have for airline tickets and other travel expenses at the time we travel to Thailand to get our sweet boy! What an awesome confirmation of God that He has a plan for this adoption and He provided for it long before we knew about it! Our hearts are filled with gratitude to God and to the people who have blessed us with their giving. Our dossier is in Thailand now and we are awaiting Thai government approval of our paperwork so that we can get our approval to travel. We have been given an estimated timeline of anywhere from December to March for travel. The last update we received on Anderson was in May, so we hope that we will get an updated picture and medical report in the next few weeks. I will post updated photos and information as soon as we receive them. Please continue to pray for Anderson' s health as well as for God's perfect timing in bringing him home. Also, please pray for wisdom for us as a family to be obedient in all things as we get closer to the time of travelling to meet our son!

As one of our ministers at Shelby Crossings spoke about this morning, may we desire to know God and have a real relationship with Him, not just a belief about Him. May our prayer be like Moses' -- may we desire to meet with God, to be in His presence, and to know His glory--above all other things.

Grace and peace to you.