Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
I Don't Want My Children to be Happy
( a letter from a mother to her children)
Dear Shepherd, Sissy, Maggie and Ikey,
Recently we were told by people whom we love and respect why they oppose our plans to adopt. One of the reasons given was that we would not be able to pay for your college education.
It's true.
You all have college funds - college funds which recently took a terrible hit - but "they" say that by the time you're 18, college will cost anywhere between $200,000 to half a million dollars each. You might as well know now, we won't be covering that. I'm telling you now, babies.
The people said that the day would come when you would look at us with resentment because you had to apply for school loans while many of your friends got a free ride from their parents.
Maybe you will. Maybe you'll resent us. I really hope not. But maybe I should tell y'all now why your dad and I have decided to do what we are doing.
I know you're going to think I am going off topic (I do that a lot) but several years I saw a story on a TV show about how the latest trend was for parents to give their daughters boob jobs for high school graduation (I don't know what they gave their sons.) When interviewing one of the moms, she said, "I just want my daughter to be happy." And as I tossed a throw pillow at the television, this really huge thought occurred to me: I don't want my children to be happy.
My goal as your mom is not your happiness, sugars. In fact, I spend at least half my day making you unhappy. If I had a nickle for every tear that falls in this home on a daily basis, we wouldn't need to worry about college tuition at all.
Happiness is fleeting, sweet babies. That means it doesn't last. It's a quick feeling that comes from a funny movie or a heart shaped lollipop or a really good birthday present. It's great. I love to be happy. But happiness is a reaction that is based on our surroundings. And our surroundings are so very rarely under our control. Even when - especially when - we think they are. So no, I absolutely don't want you to spend your life chasing something that has so little to do with your own abilities. You'll just be constantly frustrated.
There are two things I desire for you, precious loves. There are two things that I spend most of my time as a mother trying cultivate in you. Happiness ain't one of them. (This means, sorry, no boob jobs for you.)
The first is, I want you to be content. Being content is so much different from being happy. Being content is not based on your surroundings. Being content comes from within. Contentment is a spirit of gratitude. It's the choice you make to either be thankful for the things you do have, or to whine about the things you don't have.
Being content and grateful leads to consistent joy.
As you know, because I've told you lots of times, Paul talked about being content. Paul said that he had "learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." And Paul was in some rotten situations, kiddos, really rotten.
How could Paul be content whether he was in prison or if his life was literally a shipwreck? Because Paul was constantly seeking to be in the will of God instead of his own, was constantly sacrificing his own comfort for the sake of the gospel, and was constantly being confirmed, strengthened, and blessed by God because of his obedience. He was given a supernatural power - that means something kind of like magic, God magic - to do things that most other humans could not do. And guess what? The bible tells us (in Ephesians 1) that God will give you the exact same power! If you want it!
Which leads me to my second desire for y'all.
I don't want you to be happy. I want you to be holy. That means, I want you to seek that God-power to make you content. I want you to want the Kingdom of God more than your own kingdom. And that's hard, babies, that is so hard. And that usually means passing up a lot of what the world considers happiness. But it means that you will achieve blessings directly from God that most of the world never dreams of because they are too occupied with the achieving the perfect birthday present!
This means you may be poor, 'in want' as Paul said, and that's okay. It will never, ever be okay with the world for you to be poor. So you'll be up against the world. But not your dad and me, loves, because it was never our goal for you to be wealthy - at least not in the way that the world considers wealthy.
Darlings, we love you so much. You will never even grasp how much we love you until you have children of your own, and then you'll get it, and then you'll apologize for the ways you treated us ;) But our goal is not to please you. Our goal is to please our Heavenly Father. And nowhere in the bible does the Lord command that we save our money to send our kids to college.
But the Lord does command us to care for the orphan around fifty times. He does tell us to care for the poor around 300 times. He does tell us that when we care for the neediest, we are caring for Jesus Himself. And in chapter six of the book of Matthew, He tells us to seek His kingdom first, and let Him worry about the rest, like college tuition. Because it's all His anyway.
They said that one day y'all would resent us for using 'your' college money to go and get your sister out of an orphanage in Ethiopia and bring her home to you.
But I know my babies. Even at your tender ages, I know your hearts, and I have already seen you weep for the least of these. I know the prayers I offer up to God that He and not the world would shape the desires of your hearts. I am trusting Him to answer those prayers.
So, sugarbears - I just don't believe those people.
Love,Mommy
http://itsalmostnaptime.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-dont-want-my-children-to-be-happy.html
Dear Shepherd, Sissy, Maggie and Ikey,
Recently we were told by people whom we love and respect why they oppose our plans to adopt. One of the reasons given was that we would not be able to pay for your college education.
It's true.
You all have college funds - college funds which recently took a terrible hit - but "they" say that by the time you're 18, college will cost anywhere between $200,000 to half a million dollars each. You might as well know now, we won't be covering that. I'm telling you now, babies.
The people said that the day would come when you would look at us with resentment because you had to apply for school loans while many of your friends got a free ride from their parents.
Maybe you will. Maybe you'll resent us. I really hope not. But maybe I should tell y'all now why your dad and I have decided to do what we are doing.
I know you're going to think I am going off topic (I do that a lot) but several years I saw a story on a TV show about how the latest trend was for parents to give their daughters boob jobs for high school graduation (I don't know what they gave their sons.) When interviewing one of the moms, she said, "I just want my daughter to be happy." And as I tossed a throw pillow at the television, this really huge thought occurred to me: I don't want my children to be happy.
My goal as your mom is not your happiness, sugars. In fact, I spend at least half my day making you unhappy. If I had a nickle for every tear that falls in this home on a daily basis, we wouldn't need to worry about college tuition at all.
Happiness is fleeting, sweet babies. That means it doesn't last. It's a quick feeling that comes from a funny movie or a heart shaped lollipop or a really good birthday present. It's great. I love to be happy. But happiness is a reaction that is based on our surroundings. And our surroundings are so very rarely under our control. Even when - especially when - we think they are. So no, I absolutely don't want you to spend your life chasing something that has so little to do with your own abilities. You'll just be constantly frustrated.
There are two things I desire for you, precious loves. There are two things that I spend most of my time as a mother trying cultivate in you. Happiness ain't one of them. (This means, sorry, no boob jobs for you.)
The first is, I want you to be content. Being content is so much different from being happy. Being content is not based on your surroundings. Being content comes from within. Contentment is a spirit of gratitude. It's the choice you make to either be thankful for the things you do have, or to whine about the things you don't have.
Being content and grateful leads to consistent joy.
As you know, because I've told you lots of times, Paul talked about being content. Paul said that he had "learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." And Paul was in some rotten situations, kiddos, really rotten.
How could Paul be content whether he was in prison or if his life was literally a shipwreck? Because Paul was constantly seeking to be in the will of God instead of his own, was constantly sacrificing his own comfort for the sake of the gospel, and was constantly being confirmed, strengthened, and blessed by God because of his obedience. He was given a supernatural power - that means something kind of like magic, God magic - to do things that most other humans could not do. And guess what? The bible tells us (in Ephesians 1) that God will give you the exact same power! If you want it!
Which leads me to my second desire for y'all.
I don't want you to be happy. I want you to be holy. That means, I want you to seek that God-power to make you content. I want you to want the Kingdom of God more than your own kingdom. And that's hard, babies, that is so hard. And that usually means passing up a lot of what the world considers happiness. But it means that you will achieve blessings directly from God that most of the world never dreams of because they are too occupied with the achieving the perfect birthday present!
This means you may be poor, 'in want' as Paul said, and that's okay. It will never, ever be okay with the world for you to be poor. So you'll be up against the world. But not your dad and me, loves, because it was never our goal for you to be wealthy - at least not in the way that the world considers wealthy.
Darlings, we love you so much. You will never even grasp how much we love you until you have children of your own, and then you'll get it, and then you'll apologize for the ways you treated us ;) But our goal is not to please you. Our goal is to please our Heavenly Father. And nowhere in the bible does the Lord command that we save our money to send our kids to college.
But the Lord does command us to care for the orphan around fifty times. He does tell us to care for the poor around 300 times. He does tell us that when we care for the neediest, we are caring for Jesus Himself. And in chapter six of the book of Matthew, He tells us to seek His kingdom first, and let Him worry about the rest, like college tuition. Because it's all His anyway.
They said that one day y'all would resent us for using 'your' college money to go and get your sister out of an orphanage in Ethiopia and bring her home to you.
But I know my babies. Even at your tender ages, I know your hearts, and I have already seen you weep for the least of these. I know the prayers I offer up to God that He and not the world would shape the desires of your hearts. I am trusting Him to answer those prayers.
So, sugarbears - I just don't believe those people.
Love,Mommy
http://itsalmostnaptime.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-dont-want-my-children-to-be-happy.html
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Ten Questions to Ask at the Start of a New Year or On Your Birthday
Once, when the people of God had become careless in their relationship with Him, the Lord rebuked them through the prophet Haggai. "Consider your ways!" (Haggai 1:5) he declared, urging them to reflect on some of the things happening to them, and to evaluate their slipshod spirituality in light of what God had told them.Even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. It's so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we're going and where we should be going.
The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.
1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?In addition to these ten questions, here are twenty-one more to help you "Consider your ways." Think on the entire list at one sitting, or answer one question each day for a month.
11. What's the most important decision you need to make this year?
11. What's the most important decision you need to make this year?
12. What area of your life most needs simplifying, and what's one way you could simplify in that area?
13. What's the most important need you feel burdened to meet this year?
14. What habit would you most like to establish this year?
15. Who is the person you most want to encourage this year?
16. What is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it?
17. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your work life this year?
18. What's one new way you could be a blessing to your pastor (or to another who ministers to you) this year?
19. What's one thing you could do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy you will leave to your children and grandchildren?
20. What book, in addition to the Bible, do you most want to read this year?
21. What one thing do you most regret about last year, and what will you do about it this year?22. What single blessing from God do you want to seek most earnestly this year?
23. In what area of your life do you most need growth, and what will you do about it this year?24. What's the most important trip you want to take this year?
25. What skill do you most want to learn or improve this year?
26. To what need or ministry will you try to give an unprecedented amount this year?
27. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your commute this year?
28. What one biblical doctrine do you most want to understand better this year, and what will you do about it?
29. If those who know you best gave you one piece of advice, what would they say? Would they be right? What will you do about it?
30. What's the most important new item you want to buy this year?
31. In what area of your life do you most need change, and what will you do about it this year?
The value of many of these questions is not in their profundity, but in the simple fact that they bring an issue or commitment into focus. For example, just by articulating which person you most want to encourage this year is more likely to help you remember to encourage that person than if you hadn't considered the question.
If you've found these questions helpful, you might want to put them someplace—in a day planner, PDA, calendar, bulletin board, etc.—where you can review them more frequently than once a year.
So let's evaluate our lives, make plans and goals, and live this new year with biblical diligence, remembering that, "The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage" (Proverbs 21:5). But in all things let's also remember our dependence on our King who said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
Great questions to consider as you look to the new yearhttp://www.biblicalspirituality.org/newyear.html
If you've found these questions helpful, you might want to put them someplace—in a day planner, PDA, calendar, bulletin board, etc.—where you can review them more frequently than once a year.
So let's evaluate our lives, make plans and goals, and live this new year with biblical diligence, remembering that, "The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage" (Proverbs 21:5). But in all things let's also remember our dependence on our King who said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
Great questions to consider as you look to the new yearhttp://www.biblicalspirituality.org/newyear.html
Should Single Women adopt?
It's 2:10 AM and I have not been able to sleep. I knew this question was churning all day in my heart for a reason!! This question has come up so many times, and even more so with the post the other day about our treasure Elizabeth, that I just had to address it publicly.
I am thrilled that so many are wondering and praying and asking.
Here's my thoughts.....
I have often heard people say, "I am praying to see if this is the Lord's will for me. I have such a desire to adopt, but I am single."
There are two concerns that come to mind with this question:
1. Is it God's will?
2. But I'm single...
Whether it's about adoption or really anything else - when praying about "God's will" we must first find out if it in anyway contradicts with scripture. If it does, then it is most definitely NOT God's will.
When this applies to adoption, the question should be....."Is there anywhere in scripture where God says, "Do NOT care for the orphans"?"
Of course there is NOT!! Almighty God says there are two things that show true religion: (1) caring for the orphan and (2) caring for the widow.
There is not one place in scripture that I am aware of that God says, "You are single, sit back and take it easy, the care of the orphans is only for them-thar married folk." =)
Not a chance!!
The Lord has one definition of "true religion" - - -Caring for the orphan and widow
He did NOT say that pure religion was being a: pastor; staff pastor; Bible college employee; Sunday School teacher; world evangelist; prophet; deacon; elder a nice person or anything else.....
He simply said: show me you love me by caring for the orphans and widows.
Okay, so now is it God's will that single people (specifically) care for them. At the risk of sounding silly: How could something that is clearly God's heart not be His will for you?
I tend to think that people who struggle with this question are truly struggling with this: I want this so bad, I must not be worthy of it. (And that would be a lie from the pit of hell.)
Sweet bloggy friends: God has given you ONE life to live. It is only to be lived for Him. If it is lived for Him, He will one day say, "Well done thou good and faithful servant." It is not to be lived to please yourself but to please Him and only Him.
So how could God's will be different for you just because you are single?
It isn't.
It is the same.
We are to live to please Him by taking care of orphans, caring for the widows, serving the poor, giving our things away, living to meet the needs of others not our own personal wants.
If you are looking for permission to adopt - here it is: God's word says to do it! He does not have one standard for married people and one standard for the single person. Infact you are in a better !!! I hear from many married folks whose heart wants desperately to adopt yet their spouse says, "not a chance". (To which I say: fast and pray for a change in your spouses heart, but don't tell them you are fasting for that reason.)
The other day I was downtown with Dw. Infact, come to think of it, it was our anniversary. We had some time to waste as we were waiting for our dinner reservation time. We went in a little shop and there was a sign for sale. It struck me funny. You have to remember we have been happily married for 31 years (to the day).....but that sign said:
Any woman wanting a husband has obviously never had one
I laughed when I read it. I am a counselor by trade. I have talked to a bazillion ladies who are so unhappy with their husbands. And I have talked to more than my share of women who were once single and thought that happiness would come when they found that perfect man. Only thing is that that perfect man doesn't exist. And today, there are even fewer Godly men in existence.
You can wait for that perfect man and waste valuable years that could have been spent raising precious little ones in desperate need of a mommy. Two parent homes are thought by many to be ideal, but really....who says that has to be? Ever asked an orphan?
"Ummmmm, excuse me. I am single. I want to be a mommy......but I am waiting for a daddy...so in the meantime you sit there and enjoy that orphanage....cause I'm sure you'd rather be one of 400 kids....with no one to kiss your boo-boos or listen to your dreams while I sit over here waiting for Mr. Right."
Yeah, I don't think so.
There are kids all over this world who are longing for someone to say, "You are mine and we're in this together. We may not have a daddy at the moment (or maybe ever), but we will let God be your daddy and I will be your mommy, and by the way He happens to be a really cool daddy, infact He is the only Perfect Daddy."
Here are some kids that you could pose that question to:
Would you rather have just a mommy and not a daddy
or
Would you rather wait, hope, dream that someday a mommy & daddy come for you?
I applaud the courage of some of my sweet bloggy friends like: Carol (in northern Colorado), Sandee, and Dawn.....just a few of the women who have said, "I am not married, but I can be a great mom and I'm not waiting for a husband to do that. I will care for the orphan because that's God's will for all of us!" You guys have my utmost respect - may God pours heaps of blessings on you and your children!!
So maybe you're still not convinced......take time to fast and pray and study scripture.....just for starters take a look at these folks.....
Esther....who God used to protect the Jewish nation from certain impending death....Esther was raised by her uncle...and there is never a mention of an aunt. (Doesn't mean there wasn't an aunt, but she obviously wasn't very important to the story.)
Or how about Moses......drawn out of the water and eventually lived with Pharoah's daughter....never a mention of Pharoah's daughter's husband....(Doesn't mean there wasn't one, but he obviously wasn't very important to the story.)
And on that note....I am 100% convinced that single women should adopt.
I am 100% convinced that it is God's heart.
I am 100% convinced that He will meet every single need each one has as they are in the process and throughout raising each child.
I am 100% convinced that God has a child in mind for each of you who are willing to say, "Okay, I'm going for it!"
I am 100% convinced that the body has been called to partner with singles who adopt to make their road easier.
I am 100% convinced that there are kids all around this world wondering and praying and begging God if there couldn't possibly be a mommy out there for them?
I am 100% that you will make a great mommy!
I am 100% convinced that His plan for you is NOW!
Learning to Count Your Blessings
Not many of us make it through this world without a few nicks or cuts along the way. I don’t think I can name a single person I have ever met who hasn’t faced some kind of trial. No matter how hard they tried to take the right steps or make the right choices- sometimes bad things just happen. Sometimes we are innocent and other times we are not. But none the less- this thing called life is often not fair and often so hard.
When we decided to adopt our sibling group we knew from their ‘records’ that life had indeed not been fair to them and actually had been down right rotten. To protect their privacy I will not go into detail, but I will tell you that if in your mind you could imagine yourself in one of the darkest, scariest, places in this world-you might be able to catch a glimpse of what my precious babies had to endure. But here is the thing- my job as their mother is to now help them escape from that place... I don’t want them to stay there any longer. I want them to run free and be everything that God had intended for them to be from the very beginning when He created them. To do that, to heal, I believe that they not only have to learn how to eventually ‘use’ those trials to help others, but they have to learn to see good in them as well.One of the things we have begun to do with the kids to begin this healing is to teach them to see other people have trails as well.. I’m not saying we are pulling the old ‘you think you had it bad you should see what I went through’ kind of thing… but rather just letting them know that there are others out there who have hurt like they have hurt too. They are not alone and they have nothing to be ashamed. I have pointed out positive role models who have perhaps gone through something similar in their past and how God used them to make a difference.
The second thing we are working on is teaching them how to be appreciative. I really believe that this is something us humans need to be taught. I think that often times people are so locked into their pain, so bonded to their misery, that they do not have any energy to lift their eyes and see the good- the blessings that God has given to them. Ever been around someone like that? They are so self absorbed that their lives become useless, their pain so unbearable, that they are unable to move on. They let their past circumstance become who they are- and that is all they are ever able to be. That is what I do not want for my kids. Someone else’s choices- someone else’s past mistake are NOT who they are.So lately we have been coaching the kids to notice all of the things we have to be thankful for. For instance- as we drive to school in the mornings we thank God for our vehicle because there are many who do not have one. This is truly something we take for granted. When we arrive at the school and the volunteers are waiting outside in the cold to open our car doors and help us into the building- I point out to the kids that they are doing just that- volunteering to stand out in the cold to open their door when they don’t have to. When someone sends them a gift- we talk about how hard that person had to work to earn the money, how they then took the time to drive to the store, choose the gift, spent their hard earned money on not only the gift but on the wrapping paper or postage, and how they didn’t have to do that for them. They didn’t have to acknowledge them, they didn’t have to celebrate them. But they did- and that is a true blessing. I don’t want them thinking that someone has to buy them a gift just because it’s their birthday. I want them to concentrate on all that went into that gift and how loved they must be to receive it. It has also been a good reminder for me too. How many times have I taken my family, my husband, my friends, for granted without really seeing their sacrifice and truly noticing how blessed I am. And I will say that when I allow myself to focus on my blessings- I view my life- my world, in a whole new light.
Try it, right now.
I dare you.
Do you have a job? Then you are blessed.
Did you eat today? Then you are blessed.
Are you and your family healthy? Then you are blessed?
What else?
Look around you…and start counting.
I guarantee you once you are done counting your blessings the hard parts in your life won’t look quite as impossible to overcome. God is right there waiting for you to see Him, to notice the ways He has blessed you and He's ready to help you move on and help you become the person He created you to be.Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 1 Peter 5, 6-10
http://buildingtheblocks.blogspot.com/2009/01/learning-to-notice-our-blessings.html
When we decided to adopt our sibling group we knew from their ‘records’ that life had indeed not been fair to them and actually had been down right rotten. To protect their privacy I will not go into detail, but I will tell you that if in your mind you could imagine yourself in one of the darkest, scariest, places in this world-you might be able to catch a glimpse of what my precious babies had to endure. But here is the thing- my job as their mother is to now help them escape from that place... I don’t want them to stay there any longer. I want them to run free and be everything that God had intended for them to be from the very beginning when He created them. To do that, to heal, I believe that they not only have to learn how to eventually ‘use’ those trials to help others, but they have to learn to see good in them as well.One of the things we have begun to do with the kids to begin this healing is to teach them to see other people have trails as well.. I’m not saying we are pulling the old ‘you think you had it bad you should see what I went through’ kind of thing… but rather just letting them know that there are others out there who have hurt like they have hurt too. They are not alone and they have nothing to be ashamed. I have pointed out positive role models who have perhaps gone through something similar in their past and how God used them to make a difference.
The second thing we are working on is teaching them how to be appreciative. I really believe that this is something us humans need to be taught. I think that often times people are so locked into their pain, so bonded to their misery, that they do not have any energy to lift their eyes and see the good- the blessings that God has given to them. Ever been around someone like that? They are so self absorbed that their lives become useless, their pain so unbearable, that they are unable to move on. They let their past circumstance become who they are- and that is all they are ever able to be. That is what I do not want for my kids. Someone else’s choices- someone else’s past mistake are NOT who they are.So lately we have been coaching the kids to notice all of the things we have to be thankful for. For instance- as we drive to school in the mornings we thank God for our vehicle because there are many who do not have one. This is truly something we take for granted. When we arrive at the school and the volunteers are waiting outside in the cold to open our car doors and help us into the building- I point out to the kids that they are doing just that- volunteering to stand out in the cold to open their door when they don’t have to. When someone sends them a gift- we talk about how hard that person had to work to earn the money, how they then took the time to drive to the store, choose the gift, spent their hard earned money on not only the gift but on the wrapping paper or postage, and how they didn’t have to do that for them. They didn’t have to acknowledge them, they didn’t have to celebrate them. But they did- and that is a true blessing. I don’t want them thinking that someone has to buy them a gift just because it’s their birthday. I want them to concentrate on all that went into that gift and how loved they must be to receive it. It has also been a good reminder for me too. How many times have I taken my family, my husband, my friends, for granted without really seeing their sacrifice and truly noticing how blessed I am. And I will say that when I allow myself to focus on my blessings- I view my life- my world, in a whole new light.
Try it, right now.
I dare you.
Do you have a job? Then you are blessed.
Did you eat today? Then you are blessed.
Are you and your family healthy? Then you are blessed?
What else?
Look around you…and start counting.
I guarantee you once you are done counting your blessings the hard parts in your life won’t look quite as impossible to overcome. God is right there waiting for you to see Him, to notice the ways He has blessed you and He's ready to help you move on and help you become the person He created you to be.Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 1 Peter 5, 6-10
http://buildingtheblocks.blogspot.com/2009/01/learning-to-notice-our-blessings.html
The Weimer 12 (3+3+3+1)
06 January 2010
I have truly NEVER heard an adoption story quite like this family. They will literally inspire the socks right off your feet. I met Heidi (super mom) 2 years ago when we first started our journey. I was a complete bloggy stranger, but she took the time often to encourage me. I mean, really encourage me!! The Weimer family are my adoption heroes- all 11 of them + one on the way- congrats Weimers on your big news! Don’t miss the opportunity to watch the promo video for their special documentary coming soon. I promise – you will be inspired!
A special quote from Heidi:
We are often asked WHY? Why would we adopt THREE kids, more-less SIX kids? Why would we do this? Why devote our lives to this “cause” (if you can truly even call it that).Here’s why:
- Because we believe that this life is not our own.
- Because we believe that in the end, it won’t matter what career ladders we climbed or financial investments we made or what gadgets we could afford. It will matter that six lives were saved.
- Because we have seen hopelessness firsthand in Ethiopia and elsewhere, but believe in all hope that each child is a child of God.
- Because we believe that the orphaned street child who plays street soccer on the rough pavement of the streets of Addis Ababa is no less valuable to the Creator than the polished child on a suburban soccer team here in America.
- Because we see nothing more worthy of our focus, time, resources, and lives.
- Because injustice is a wrong worth righting.
Because the poor child is still a child. - Because we know that, while adoption is not the solution in and of itself to the orphan crisis 143 million times over, we have seen with our own lives how it rescues the lives of those who can be adopted.
- Because we believe that Jesus died for redemption, not just for eternity, but for our lives on this planet and we believe we can be vessels of that redemption for children’s lives here.
- Because we know that, if it were our own flesh and blood, we would want someone to love them and call them family, too.
- Because, really, these kids are no different from your own. Not at all.
- Because it’s just not okay with us to say no to a child who needs a home when we have one.
- Because it’s just not okay with us to say no to a child who needs a family when we have one.
- Because it’s just not okay with us to say no to a child who needs room to thrive when we have room and can make room.
- Because it’s just not okay with us to do nothing.
- Because it won’t be okay with them if we do nothing.
Because it’s just not going to be okay to do nothing.
“Rescue the perishing; don’t hesitate to step in and help. If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,” [i.e. "that's not for me"] will that get you off the hook? Someone is watching you closely, you know— Someone not impressed with weak excuses.” -Proverbs 24:12
http://mycrazyadoption.org/december-adoption-family-the-weimer-11-333
We are the body of Christ. But do we know what that means?
We have had one of those really great days when I can't stop praising Jesus for this life. The girls are on holiday from school (thank goodness because almost all of them have had the chicken pox!). Today I managed to clip all of their 140 fingernails and 140 toenails, file them and paint them. On a quick trip to the pharmacy I found surgical gloves almost small enough to fit my child-sized hands. During nap time I got to sneak in a long, quiet run. Chocolate chip cookies are in the oven. I feel so full and so very blessed.But as I sit down, content, something is weighs heavy on my heart. Something that I have been milling over for some time, unwilling to write about it because my words seem too inadequate to describe the ache I feel. However, I know that this is urgent. An emergency. And as adequate as my words may be, maybe I should at least try.It started a few months ago when my great friends Mike and Suzanne were here to adopt their daughter. In finding out she had HIV, they were obviously broken. Mike made a statement that stirred something within me. He said, "I guess you know that children are out there suffering. You know that children are sick, this sick. But it is different when it is your child. It's just different." And it is. I don't mean this blog to criticize you in any way, Mike, because what you said was true for me too. It is different when it is my child. I spend countless nights awake with dying, or at least critically sick, children. I love them and I cuddle them. I sponge bath them and give them their medicine and wipe up their vomit. I hold them and pray over them and tell them how special they are and how Jesus loves them. My heart really does hurt for them. But it doesn't hurt the way it hurts when I think one of my own children is close to death. It doesn't hurt the way it does when Sumini's fever just won't go down or when Patricia is up all night coughing with her third case of pneumonia in three months. It doesn't hurt the way it does when Margaret's teeth run into Agnes's eyebrow and I can see her bone, and then watch in terror as the doctor stitches it up WITHOUT anesthetic. Somehow, when it is my children, there is a bit more urgency, a bit more panic. There is a bit more frustration at the lack of medical care we can receive here and a bit more google searching of what to do. I am not saying that I am proud of this. I am just letting you know that it isn't just you I have held several children as they died of inadequate medical care. It was horrible and I grieve and cried, but I promise you that I wasn't as devastated as I would have been had it been one of my daughters. Its ugly, but its true.Its just different when its your child who's suffering. But should it be? This is what I have been struggling with. I believe that this is a normal human reaction. I also believe it is WRONG. I believe that each human on the planet is God's child, perfectly made and beloved and cherished by Him. I believe that His heart hurts like mine does, even more than mine does, when my baby is hurting for EACH and every one of the hurting, dying, starving, crying children in our world at this moment. So I HAVE to believe that if my heart was truly seeking to be aligned with the heart of God, that I would have to hurt for each of these children as well. But sometimes, I forget. Sometimes I'm busy. Sometimes hurting for my very own children just feels like enough. I believe that the world says that this is ok. And I believe it is wrong. And this keeps me up at night.Angelina is seven years old and barely weighs 15 pounds. You remember that picture that was made popular in the 1980's during the famine in Ethiopia of that little girl (who looked like a bag of bones) curled up next to a vulture? That girl doesn't look nearly as sick as Angelina. Her mother has not had any food to give her in over four months. When Angelina musters enough energy to let out a cry of hunger (she is far to weak to walk or even hold her head up on her own), her mother gives her some locally brewed alcohol to keep her quiet. For four months, keeping her a little drunk has actually probably been what is keeping her alive. The dirt floor where she has been laying her whole life accumulating bedsores is covered in waste, animal and human. Jiggers burrow deep into her little feet causing them to crack and bleed. She is naked, filthy, and cold. It is far worse than appalling.I bet right now at this moment your heart is sad for her. Is it as sad as it would be if Angelina were your daughter? Angelina is God's daughter. His heart aches for this perfect, wonderfully made child of His. Her circumstances do not surprise Him, but I have no doubt that they grieve Him tremendously.And it's not just children, because we are all children in His eyes. Grace is maybe 60 years old but looks to be pushing 100. She can't weigh more than 85 pounds. Grace is a mother to six children, but 4 have died of AIDS and the other two have deserted her for a better life. She lives in a 4 by 4 foot room that is pitch black, but she doesn't mind; in addition to being to weak to walk, Grace is blind. She NEVER has any visitors. At night her bones ache against the hard dirt floor and her feeble body shivers with cold. A cough racks her body and her stomach rumbles in hunger making sleep impossible.Its sad, huh? How sad though? Sad enough that we want to do sometime about it? Sad enough that we will remember Grace tonight as we snuggle down into our beds or next month as we pay the bills? Maybe. But maybe not. Because it hurts, but it doesn't hurt that much. It doesn't hurt the way it would if Grace was your grandmother all alone there in the dark. It does for God. Because Grace is His.As I snuggle both these sweet girls, as I kiss their cheeks, as I spoon Pediasure into Angelina's little mouth or watch Grace rejoice over the gift of a scraggly old blanket, I allow the tears to fall. The tears that hurt for these people as if they were my family. Because they are my family. And it SHOULD hurt. It shouldn't be different. I desire for it to never again be different.We are the body of Christ. But do we know what that means? Do we long for our brothers and sisters to be comfortable and fed and well? Do we long for it enough that we are uncomfortable under our blankets at night or eating our pancakes in the morning? Do we feel the hurt that God feels as He watches the body of Christ sit back and allow these precious children of his to perish? Maybe sometimes. But sometimes, we are too busy, or we forget, or hurting for our own children is enough. We are the body of Christ. We need to hurt. We need to react. Their needs to be the same urgency and panic and frustration and desperation as if these were our own children. They are God's children.Heavenly Father,Thank you for Angelina. Thank you for Grace. Thank you for creating them perfectly in your image, your precious, beloved children. Thank you for your beautiful plan for their lives and thank you for bringing them into mine. Thank you that they are YOURS. Help me to hurt. Not just a little, but the way you hurt when your children are overlooked and perishing. me to never be too busy or too comfortable to remember the people who suffer. Help me to never stop desiring to do something about it. Lord help us to remember that as the body of Christ, this is our responsibility. Thank you for loving us, even when we forget. I never, never want to forget again
http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/
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