Fiery Furnace

Matthew's inner cheek was swabbed this morning and his DNA was sent off to California. Provided that the potential birth father gets his own cheek swabbed, we'll have the results in five days.

I want to thank everyone who has been praying for us. There are good days and there are hard days but we can feel your support and are so thankful that you've prayed on our behalf. I've spent a great deal of time on my own in prayer and the Lord has revealed much to me.

For starters, Matthew isn't mine. He is God's. I should be thankful for each moment that the Lord allows me to have him and hold him.

In terms of finances, we probably have thousands and thousands of dollars worth of bills coming our way (especially if he is the father), but we've been blessed by several donations. When we look at the big financial picture it makes us ill and we still need a whole lot to be able to adequately fight this but, slowly and miraculously, the Lord is providing for us through the kindness and generosity of others. THANK YOU!

To answer a common question, if he is the father, we can win because the Lord can do whatever he chooses. In the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar tells Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego that he will have them thrown into the fiery furnace if they refuse to worship his image of gold. They reply, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." What I want everyone to know is that the Lord can choose to keep Matthew right here with us. And, in fact, the courts in California often elect to do exactly that and we've been told that we have a strong case. God can rescue us from this hand we've been dealt. BUT, even if he doesn't, we will remain committed to our faith and our Lord, who works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Through prayer, we believe that, if needed, we must risk everything to fight for this child and if we lose, we'll lose while being faithful. But, sparing legal details, the short answer is yes, we can win. Whether or not we will remains to be seen.