Hi, and welcome to the Five Word Prayers Daily, a five-day-a-week daily devotional where we share the word, prayers, in our heart.

I'm Lisa Whittle, and I welcome you to just five minutes with me, which I trust and pray will be five minutes well spent.

I'm thrilled to introduce you to today's special guest.

Teresa Anderson is a talented, pink-haired woman I deeply admire, a wife, mother of six, four of which are adopted

from Ethiopia, an author of a new book called Beautifully Interrupted. I felt like Teresa's

wisdom would be perfect for this week in our struggle is real series, since she knows firsthand about

how hard it is to let God disrupt our plans for His that are better.

Man, we don't like this, do we?

I can't wait to hear from Teresa, so share with us now, friend, will you?

For those of you who don't know me, I have six kids.

Six.

Two biological boys and four kids from Ethiopia, which makes me laugh. And I think

it makes God laugh too because I never wanted children ever. It wasn't in my five year plan or my

10 year plan. It wasn't in my ever plan, really. My plan for my life was to get my doctorate

and art history, moved to Europe to be

curator of some fantastic museum, preferably in Italy. But one day, while sitting on a greenwood

and park bench in Seattle, looking out over both the space needle and the ferry boats,

just dreamily drifting from downtown to the San Juan Islands, I prayed. I just felt like I was missing something.

See, this was my bench. This was my spot where I came multiple times a week to read my Bible

and pray and journal. But that day, as I sat there with my journal in my lap and my Bible by my

side, I prayed the Lord would use me, really use me. I knew my plans

were good. I liked my plans. They were big and international and out of the ordinary,

...