The Devil

Have you ever heard things like "I'm doing God's will and the devil is after me"?   I hear things like that ALL the time but I'm just not sure that is biblical.

In the adoption world, everyone says that they start their adoptions and THEN the devil comes after them, their family, their dog, their car their appliances.....you name it and the devil is after it.

We never had that experience or maybe we didn't assume the devil was after us..... when we were in the process of adopting Shad we had some really good things happen like Jon accepting the church, receiving grants for Shad's adoption and Sam getting cleared for Medicaid as a secondary insurance.  We also had some bad things, Sam was in the hospital ALOT and he was diagnosed as having some brain damage and we were told that he would be mentally retarded.  (yes I used the R word as a medical diagnosis-which does not bother me) I also had a terrible attack of colitis and was in the hospital for awhile-I thought I was dying!   So was the devil fighting us or was it just life happening around us???

With the girls' adoption we saw great financial miracles for their adoption but we did struggle with our own finances, Jon's car died....we made do with one van and then right before we left to go get them, someone blessed us with a brand new van!  Of course we had some drama in the paperwork and somethings that happened but all in all it worked out.....

THEN of course once we got home and three months later the accident happened.....   some have suggested to me that was the "devil's fault".  Well in the very broad sense I guess it was as death and disease came into this world through the fall of man in the garden, who listened to the devil......but in the real sense, it was just a horrible accident.  We don't feel like the devil pushed the stroller into the canal......Jon looked away for 4 seconds, probably one of the kids moved wondering what was going on....the stroller was an expensive jogging stroller that we saved to buy so we could take all the kids out with us everywhere (we had a single jogging stroller just like the double one)  and it moved very very easily.......anyhow in those 4 seconds ( the cops measured the time) the stroller went into the canal.  Things happen.....BUT the one thing I am so thankful for is God was always with us, even in those dire moments. 

So am I afraid of what the devil can do? 

I believe there is  a real literal devil with demons.....and a real hell..... 

But I believe much more strongly in a REAL God who sits on the throne, who sent His Son and his Holy Spirit.  I believe in angels (ok I do NOT believe in a lot of the silly tales of angels but I do believe in them) 

I do not know everything (I'm sure that statement is a shock to some who think that I think I know everything LOL)  but I do think that LIFE just happens in most cases. 

This is something that is often said in ministry circles too.  Or my "favorite" "When God starts to blessing, the devil starts to messing"  Of course you will have trouble in this world, Jesus promised that in one of his last statements.  We live in a fallen world.....so again it can go back to "original sin" When sin and death entered into the world through the fall of man, paradise was lost.  Bad things happen....all the time....

There are scriptures that seem to indicate that there is a war going on...in the book of Daniel, Daniel wrote that he fasted and prayed for 21 days before his answer came.  When his answer came, along with an angel, the angel told him that he (the angel) was kept from coming to him as he was fighting the evil forces in that area.   Then in the New Testament, Paul reminds us we do not fight against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities in the air.  So obviously there are things going on that we do not see or know about.....but does that mean everything that happens bad to us if from the devil directly?

I have had some odd experiences.  To be honest, I do not share them much as I have no desire to glorify the devil or demons!

As a small child I "knew" things....at about 8 or 9 years old, I'd hear my name being called as I played outside.  So I'd run to the back door and ask my aunt what she wanted.  It was never her that called me.  Over the years, I just shrugged it off. 

As I became a teenager, I would know more things.  I knew my uncle was going to die soon, even though no one knew he was sick.  While all that was going on, I was really reaching out to God.  Every service, I was at church....   

Things began to get worse as I got older.  There were times I'd wake up & "something" was there...at times I was scratched by something, long claw marks on my neck one time....  (wasn't me- I always bit my nails back then)   We'd hear noises in our home, one time my aunt even called the police, believing someone had broken into our back porch because we heard yelling and pounding.  However when the police got there, nothing was disturbed.  There are numerous things that happened over a course of some years.

So I went to our pastor, he told me to put a bible next to my bed....well that didn't work.....things continued for awhile....    We got a new pastor and I shared all of this with him and he told me to
"take authority" over this demonic attack.  I did and it stopped!!!!!!

So that is my personal experience.  Honestly it doesn't quite fit my theology LOL....  but it is what happened to me.  I was not involved in any type of black magic or demonic things.  The only thing I can think of is, within my family there were some who practiced "white magic" 

Anyhow I asked God to take ALL of that from me, I didn't want anything in my life, including "knowing things" ahead of time.  He took it from me. 


So do I sound like I believe both ways now and am double minded ???

I guess I try to find balance in everything.....


It's interesting I wrote this yesterday while still at the conference......Last night I noticed our son had DVRed  a very demonic movie.  He is 18 and we are not as strict on him as we were when he was younger.  We feel he has to make some decisions and find his own values.  But I DID kid him and tell him if he brought any demons into our house and they woke me up....I was going to tell them where to find him!  LOL  Of course we wouldn't let Shad watch something like that so Steve watched it after we'd gone to bed....I think he was sorry he did so LOL!!!!!   (btw we have our tv set so only shows that are PG-13 or less can be seen without a code that no one knows - including ME!  At some point I knew the code, now it is gone forever LOL)

Past or Future?

Well my last post before heading home to my kids!   To be quite honest, I have had a whole lot better time than I thought I would!  Don't get me wrong, I like spending time with my husband but it is hard for me to be away from the kids.  However I seem to have gotten over that!  I'm thinking it probably won't take me 16 years to go alone to another conference or vacation!  It helps that I trust Steve and our nurses to care for the children.  Of course please know I OWE Steve and will OWE him forever & ever.....he already has his weekend (that he believes will start on Thursday) planned out!  And it includes my car and my debit card!  I can guarantee that we won't be seeing him much!!!!  LOL

Last night we went to a bookstore and I loaded up on mysteries!  I bought the new Rhys Bowen's "Heirs & Grace"  I love her books, funny, yet a little scary-set in the 1930s  England.  I also got "Tippy toe Murder" by Leslie Meier and a Carolyn Hart book "Dead by Midnight"  I like all three of the authors and have read all their books.  I couldn't believe there were one of each of them that I hadn't read!!!   After that we went to supper at Olive Garden.  Woohoo our wild night on the town:)

I also got a little something "Dr Who" for Steve who is a Dr Who fan.  I've started liking the show, I think it is the British accents that I like LOL!

If you had a time machine would you go forward into the future or back into the past???   I'd go back to the past.  I'd love to experience life during certain times in history.     From about the end of the civil war through 1960 is interesting to me.  Of course I'm a huge WWII buff so that whole time period is most interesting to me.  But I couldn't be like the people in Dr Who, I'd tried to change the past so everything would be perfect for everyone.  I'm too big of a fixer:)

The future is so unknown to me, well and to everyone else too for that matter.  But I have no desire to see the future.  Last night we passed a psychic store and were talking about that very thing.  Personally I do not want to know the future.  I'm good with going day by day! 

Well I do know my near future will consist of many baby hugs:)  I foresee that Sarah will want me to hold her and Sam will give me kisses!  Steve will run out the door and Shad will tell us a blow by blow description of all that happened (told in the best light possible!) 

NO on amendment 2!!!

Listen I could get used to living in a hotel!   Nothing sooths my soul like QUIET!  I don't indulge in it very often as I have too many people needing me all of the time but I LOVE being alone.  Jon got out of his seminar early and I guess I offended him when he walked in so he got changed and went for a jog LOL  I have missed being ALONE for a long time.  And take out has become my friend! 

There were things I worked on today.....
We have some friends in Ukraine who are interested in emigrating to the USA.  They pastored a Pentecostal church.  I have made probably a billizion phone calls today, leaving messages on various numbers...  If YOU have ANY contacts with Ukrainian Pentecostal churches in the USA would you please contact me at theclanton5@aol.com    Thank you!!!


http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/10/21/ukrainian-girl-in-lucky-escape-as-shelling-hits-donbass-arena-_n_6021738.html  I saw this article today of damage done to the soccer stadium in Donetsk.  We drove by their several times and by coincidence I am wearing my 2012 Championship Tshirt today .... how odd is that?


I was going to save this for closer to the election but......NO on amendment 2!!! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N5JtEY8EBg  

This is a rant from John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan-a law firm.  He is the Chairman of the "Yes on 2" the amendment to legalize "medical" marijuana use in Florida.  He had just finished a debate with Grady Judd the sheriff of Polk county.  THIS is the man who wants us to have "medical marijuana"  Does it look like it is aimed at sick folks????   Does it look like they want to legalize it so that the dying can have some relief?????  No, of course not.  That is not what legalizing pot is about.  BTW if I ever have an automobile accident I will not be calling Morgan & Morgan....

So if you are wondering how we will vote on Amendment 2 on election day....it will be NO!!!!!

For way too many years Jon and I have worked with people who took that very first step into drug use by smoking pot.  I do not believe I've ever met a cocaine, heroin, meth or any other kind of drug user who did not FIRST start with pot (and usually alcohol too) Now I think I have the authority to say that marijuana is NOT something to be used lightly.  I know all the sob stories and how it "might" help someone.  It might help a dying person but .....watch the video....not too many dying folks on it (actually they are but don't know or understand it)    That's the folks who will use it.  And the way the amendment is written, it is very very lax.  Not good for Florida!



http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Featured-Waiting-Child---Lana.html?soid=1101855940262&aid=gKAJcMQpv7M
this little girl is a waiting child with several grants on her.  please contact them if interested!!!!!

Well tomorrow we are back to our reality!  No one cleaning the bathroom and making our beds!  LOL

Life is short!

So to set a record....Jon and I went by ourselves to a conference this week in Orlando!  This is what greeted us when we drove up to the resort.....Gosh we could have just stayed home and visited some relatives to see this....LOL JUST KIDDING FAMILY!



Then the gorgeous view of I-4 from our room......

 

 

the "Upside Down House" from a distance



 

At least the garden is nice.

 

 

 

it's a conference Jon has to attend.  I have to say it is a step up from the last one we went to about 8 years ago.  That one was held in a dusty old church conference camp.  It was in February and I was freezing the whole time.  I had all the kids with me all day in the little dirty room.  I was TICKED off to say the least.  I'm not sure if I'm over that trip yet! 

 

I don't do conference very good.  I'm not a "rah rah" person who wants to be a part of the big group.  I'm the one sitting in the back rolling my eyes out of my head.  So...we don't do many conferences.  I came this time for Jon's sake, for some reason he likes to go alone with no kids LOL.  I'm not required or even wanted at any of the meetings and that is good for me!

 

When we first got here (after I finished laughing at the toilet) I really thought about going home for the kids. They would enjoy this place.   A few weekends ago was the first time we'd gone anywhere without them for over 16 years.  So this makes TWO times in one month.  The anniversary trip was ok for me, since I felt like it was good for us.  This trip is also good for us and is relaxing for me but I feel guilty even tho we'll only be gone for a little over 48 hours from the kids. 

 

It's the hardest for me to leave Sarah, she is a "mama's girl" and gets upset if she doesn't have me!  Can I admit that makes me happy:)   But since she doesn't understand when I'm not there, it's hard for me to leave her.  Steve promised me he'd put her next to him the WHOLE time he watches tv....she should be ok!  But somedays if I'm busy and don't' sit with her during the day, she calls out for me with a little noise that has a question mark sound on the end.  She doesn't say "Mama" -she uses that for me sometimes when I hold her- but it's a sound like "where's my mama?" and when she does that, I drop whatever I'm doing and hold her for a little bit.  Sarah is such an easy child, and asks so little that I really try and meet her emotional needs when she shares them.   So it's hard for me to be away from her!  Obviously Steve and Shad are good to go and probably like it a bit too much and Sam is happy as long as he has Steve....and FOOD!  I bought  enough food to survive a Zombie Apocalypse! 

 

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Today as I was walking about, waiting on some take out (all by myself) I checked FB and say that a ministry friend who just lost her husband to cancer, now has lost her son.  She had posted a beautiful picture of her husband embracing their son at some airport.  It was heartbreaking beautiful ....and in the caption she wrote how Steve her husband was welcoming their son home.   I can not even imagine how close heaven is to her today....  Please pray for the Hill family.  They have been faithful to God in ministry for many years.  They will continue to be faithful, of that I have no doubt but please pray for God's grace.

 

 

After reading that, it impacted me in several ways.  One thing I thought of is how short life is and how long eternity is....   Life seems so chaotic right now in so many ways, it's easy to forget that we are only passing through.....  Secondly I thought how so many times it is easy to look at a family, a couple, a ministry and think "boy I wish I was where they are".....Just remember, everyone has mountains and valleys.   Don't wish to be in anyone else's shoes, as you do not know what the future holds for them and what God will require them to walk through.   Third, I though "I hope our children are prepared to meet God" 

 

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Yesterday our friend preached & his three points ( I LOVE 3 point sermons) were

No Reserves

No Retreats

No Regrets! 

 

That's how I want to live my life

no reserves (nothing but GOD to fall back on)

No retreats-not going back

 

NO regrets!

 

He said there was a study done with a group of elderly folks and the one thing they wished they could change about their lives were that they did not take enough risks!  I want to be a risk taker for God.  Life is short.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friends

Last night we joined some friends and church members for the Annual banquet for the Zephyrhills Pregnancy Center.  I've always thought highly of the director and of this ministry but never knew to what extent it reaches our community.  Loved hearing the stories and talking to some of the families last night.  It's great to be PRO life- but being pro life is so much more than just being ANTI abortion.  Pregnancy Centers provide support, training education and counseling for families for Years!  Several of the moms there had  been involved with the Center for five years or more.  This center provides GED classes, parenting classes, clothing and all kinds of assistance.  It was a good night!

This morning one of our "old" friends preached in our church.  TJ is a college friend and actually used to be the youth pastor at our church years ago-before our time.  He is now Doctor Kimball and is a Christian counselor as well as an advocate for special needs families.  He and his wife, Liz, have three boys, one who has Down's Syndrome.  They have a ministry called Joshua's Friends https://www.facebook.com/JoshuasFriendsOrg  to help other parents and have many plans to expand that ministry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Jon and TJ have been good friends for over 20 years.

 

There is one thing about being in the ministry, that is hard.  We have close friends all across the nation and overseas that we only get to see in passing.   Some we went to college together, some we've worked with in various ministries, some we've met briefly and just "clicked with".....we get just a few hours here and there to see each other and then it's back to our places of ministry  Since college, we've only had a chance to see the Kimballs a few times.  We have so many dear friends like that....one thing I think about is that ONE day heaven will be so sweet when we get to spend time together and share how God brought us through life....

After church I just had to take some pictures of my ballerina before she changed.  Is she just precious or what???   Sarah dances on her knees during church, she ONLY responses to Christian music, Sesame Street does not interest her.  What is so beautiful, to see, sometimes Sarah will clap her hands as if in agreement with a specific song or a part of a song.  It always is so appropriate  when she does it.  I don't know what she understands but when she does her little dancing twirling, I believe she is giving praise to God.  (and I'm not big on dancing in church LOL)

 

 

 

 

Hope you all had a great weekend!  It was busy here, but good! 

Walls are UP!

 

 

 

The first walls are up!!!!

 

 

This morning the Habitat for Humanity staff and volunteers from Florida Hospital Zephyrhills met to start the work on the house!

 

We were able to be there, along with all the kids.  We started with a word of prayer that Jon was asked to give, then Habitat's director shared a little history and the philosophy of HH...

then the work started!

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah didn't like getting ups so early! Neither did Selah!

About 2pm the work was finished for the day.  The room that will be our storage room had the walls up!  Here is the "after" picture!

 

(we are in the middle I've got on the Capri jeans) 


This past week there has been lots of rain and the main part of the house does not yet have its' foundation.  Work will start on that this week:)

We stayed out there for a little while, then took the kids home.  After I cooked and fed everyone a "brunch", Jon and I went back out to work.  Jon turned out to be a good nailer.  Me?  Not so good.  All two of my nails had to be taken out LOL.  It is harder than it looks! 

We got to meet and talk with the volunteers from Florida Hospital Zephyrhills.  It was great to get to know them.  Jon was just at a community workshop yesterday with some of them, he didn't know they'd be working on our house the next day!

Today was a FUN day~ so exciting to see the house being built.

Thankful Thursday

Tomorrow is the big day-the walls go up on our new home.  We will have a ceremony at 8 am with the Habitat for Humanity staff and volunteers.  How exciting for our family.  We plan on having the whole family there, maybe even Selah.  If you want to help work on the house or give towards the materials, you can click on here to sign up  https://www.mymissio.com/missio/the-clanton-family-habitat-home



I got an update on the baby boy- the mom decided to keep him, her family is supporting the decision.  In the domestic adoption world, things like that sometimes happen.  There is an older special need child that is being placed, if you are interested contact Janna janna.adoptionadvisors@gmail.com for more details.





Here is the little girl Angela who we sponsor through Life2Orphans  This picture was taken over the summer at Druz Orphanage (the one we raised money for their well)  She is STANDING!!!!!!

 

Here is me and Angela while she was in Torez Mental Institution.  We had just started sponsoring her while we were in the process of adopting Sarah and Selah.  Both of my girls had a sponsor for which I was eternally grateful.  So I had asked L2O if there was a child we could sponsor to "pay it back".  they told me about Angela and that is who we picked.  Getting to meet her was very emotional for me.  I cried for her.  Even with a sponsor it was a hard place to be. 

 

 

I was able to play with her on several occasions.  She was brought out to us.  We bought her some toys before we left. 

 

Many people sponsor kids and never get the chance to meet them.  We were lucky but it was very hard emotionally to meet her.  I felt guilty for not adopting her also but at the time, we felt she had so many needs that we could not take care of her.  She was not mobile and it was doubtful she could ever walk.  We felt like we could not adopt a child that could never walk.  We knew Sarah couldn't and Selah didn't walk good but we thought both would improve.  Now, we know we could take care of a child that can not walk.  Who knows....one day if the war ends over there......  In the meanwhile we support her and her caregiver and we are raising funds for the orphanage during their time of crises.  Pray that God will protect this sweet little girl!!!!

 

 

http://www.life2orphans.org/cms/node/83

 

here is where you can donate to this wonderful project to help the children of Ukraine.  We are still working on the Druz project,  to help pay for beds for the kids.   Still need about $3000 to buy the beds and mattresses for all the extra children who have been brought in from other orphanages.