Lady Bug on its back

Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.


Our house is a haven to Lady Bugs. At least they think so. They are everywhere- the ceiling, the lamps, the tables, and my pillow. I have found out a thing or two about these beetles. First, they aren't even from here. The ones in my house are decendants of some beetles brought here from Asia decades ago. Second, they bite. Well, not technically- they pinch, but it felt like a bite to me. Thirdly, they smell bad when you scare them, really! (Yes, I did look them up on Wiki!) And then last but most importantly, when they get on their backs, they can't turn over on their own. That's the thing I identify with the most. They can't get turned over. They lay there wiggling their feet in the air hoping against hope that somehow someway they will magically flip back over and be on their way. (and yes, I am just weird enough that despite their stink and bite, I turn them back over when they are in distress)

I am so like these guys in all ways- I bite (no pinching for me) and I stink. I get so caught up in myself that I lay flipped over waving my arms and legs in the air hoping for an impossible rescue. Why do I let it get so bad before I look for the Only One who can turn me back to my feet. Who can turn me in the right direction. Who will give me His grace and peace to keep me from biting and stinking?!

Now, when I see those guys I think about the One who made them- and me- and how He is my rescuer. How I can call on Him and He will set me straight.

Maybe when you see them on your ceiling you will remember that too- oh, and don't forget to give them a hand and flip them over!

The gift that keeps on Giving

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."

-- Proverbs 31:8-9


Looking for a gift that will go on giving after Christmas? How about a gift that you give, but that you receive a HUGE blessing for? Want to help little children have enough to eat, have good health care, and most importantly hear the gospel?
Then I have the a gift for you!

Sponsor a child through Compassion International!! $38 a month provides a child with good food and water, health care, educational help, and a chance to learn about Jesus. You can't beat it!

I am so excited to have become a Child Advocate for Compassion. In my role, I get to advocate for those who can't! For the little ones who need food. For those who need good health care. For those who don't know Jesus.

Our family has a wonderful time praying for our Compassion children. We write them letters and they write back. We learn about where they live and what they face each day. It is such a blessing!! Sheyla lives in Mexico and we have been praying for her because her Grandmother died. We have a strong connection to her, and we have come to love her.


So, here's your biggest question- How do you know that the money gets to the kids?
Last year over 82% of donations went straight to the kids! Wes Stafford, the CEO, of CI is one of the lowest paid CEO's of non-profits. I know, I checked. You can check too- go take a look at their financial integrity at Charity Navigator http://www.charitynavigator.org/

CI earned 5 stars from Charity Navigator.

One of my favorite reasons to help care for children through Compassion International is that they give the money to the local church to help out in their own community. That is so great! The credit goes to the local church. The reputation of the local church and of Jesus is strengthened through this arrangement. The church is there- they are doing the work- they can be skin on to those around them. Having been a missionary, I know that this is so important. We would have mission groups come from somewhere else, and their help was very valuable, but at the end of the week, it was our church that was still there.

I have 2 children who need sponsors right now! They need to be sponsored by January 6! One of them has been waiting for over 7 months for a sponsor. Will you partner with us to sponsor one of them? Let me know and I will fix you up!

Bedo lives in Ethiopia and is 6 years old. He's been waiting for 7 months to be sponsored!

Darianny lives in the Dominican Republic and is 7 years old. She lives with her grandmother.

You can also follow the link below and look for a child to sponsor in any area that God may have placed on your heart.


If you don't want to commit to a monthly gift- there are many ways you can give this Christmas to help those in need. Follow the link below and click on Gift Catalog at the top- you can give animals, clean water, blankets, medical care and so much more through your one time gift!

http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=122338

What Defines You?

Being made in the image of Christ- not in the image of the circumstances of our life.

So, what defines you? When people are asked about you, what do they say? She's bitter and angry or sweet and gentle? So many of us have allowed the circumstances of our lives to shape who we are. We believe that we deserve to be angry, or bitter, or sullen because of the things that have happened to us along the way. We become clothed in those feelings and people begin to only see us as that mean old lady! They walk a wide berth around us when they see us coming.

I have had my share of "events", some good and some bad. Roger and I were married on the day after my 21st birthday- he was still 20, and since we have been together we have lost all of our grandparents, his Dad, been through the divorce of both sets of parents and the remarriage of 3 of them, we have been hired and "moved along" from jobs, we have had plenty and we have not had plenty, had 4 children and lost 3 to miscarriage, and that's not counting the smaller and less important trials! (But who's counting?!)

There have been many days when I have allowed my circumstances to shape my feelings and define my life. Many seasons where I was a bitter, angry woman. I have lost so much during those times. Love and joy, peace and even kindness were lost to me as I focused on the bad and not Jesus. I lost the ability to do good to those around me. But most importantly I lost the chance to be shaped into the image of my beautiful Jesus who meant all of those things for my good.

Romans 8:28 says "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

Those things in my life were meant for my sanctification- my drawing on His strength and for developing good and Godly behaviors in my life. They were to bring me close to Him. To be clothed in His righteousness and not my own. To help me to know a better path the next time. James 1 says to

" ² Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, ³for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." ESV

I want to be known as loving and kind. As someone who has used their experience to develop a sweet and abiding love for those around me. I want to be clothed in His righteousness and love so that when others look at me, they only see Him. To be defined by whose I am and not what has happened to me. To show the gospel with my life.

Where I have been...and where I am going.

So...where have I been. You are probably not even wondering, but I feel I owe an explanation to the at least one person who might read my blog. (Other than me, that is!)

It is so difficult to put into words the things God has been showing and teaching me in the past several months. I can only describe it as being turned completely up side down. Nothing looks the same. Nothing feels the same. He has rocked my world- in a hard but good way.

So what has happened in our adoption process? We have been very sure of our call to do something about the Orphan Crisis. Not just lip service, but really do something. We were pretty sure that meant opening up our home and taking as many children as God would send our way. Enter rules and regulations. Doors shut in many places by the fact that:

1. We already have 4 children.

2. We wanted to adopt older children between our youngest who is 2 and the next one up who is 10. Most agencies won't allow you to adopt out of birth order.

3. AND THE BIGGY- I don't use birth control and could get pregnant at any time. Becoming pregnant would immediately shut down any process we would have already started until the baby was one.

4. I did get pregnant and then miscarried. So, we stopped the process. Miscarriage is not an easy thing, and this has made 2 in the past year.

Many doors shut. Many dreams shattered. A window opened a crack showing a glimpse of the Savior.

In light of so many road blocks, we began to question God on what our role should be in the Orphan crisis. For now, we believe we are called (and that we all are called) to be advocates for the fatherless and those who are living in abject poverty. (More on that later)

So, this calling leads in to the rocking the world part. The part where everything I have ever known and every way that I have lived is upside down. We took a long hard look at how our resources are allocated and realized that we have been living for our own comfort and not for His glory. That we have not been making much of Him in our financial life. Now don't get me wrong, it's not like we were off taking vacations in Hawaii every month or anything, but we came to realize that the bit that He has given us can be used in such a better way. So, we sold some land. We sold a truck. We sold a bunch of stuff (I rock Ebay)! And now we are prayerful about selling our house and downsizing.

So, if you will stick with me, I will take you on this journey we have begun. A journey to discover Him in a way that we never did before. Looking for ways to be "bent low" as Katie Davis says. For ways to make much of Him in every aspect of our life. To live authentic, sold out, gospel sharing lives for Him. I have some things to tell you about, so stay tuned!

Mission Trip

We are having a wonderful time on the road.

We first visited Boyce College in Louisville, Ky with Bennett. This college is the undergraduate school for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Wonderful school, professors, and doctrine. We had a great time talking with people there and exploring the area. We attended Highview Baptist Church on Sunday and got to hear Dr. Russ Moore preach. Great visit!

Next, we have moved on to Lexington, KY for a mission trip. We are helping out at an associational day camp for kids. We are teaching them a musical that they will perform tomorrow night. Emmie is the only "pale" face on the stage. We have also been able to help out at two "soup kitchens". 802 bags of food were handed out tonight. This morning we assembled back packs for 42 kids.

Looking forward to spending time visiting with family and friends next week and then home to IL!

Why would a family with four kids want another child... part 2.

There are 143,000,000 orphans in the world

• There are an additional 20,000,000 “displaced children” in the world
• The combined count of these categories makes the orphan
population the 7th largest nation on the planet – slightly larger than
the population of Russia
• In Eastern Europe, less than 50% of the orphan population will live
to see their 20th birthdays
• In Eastern Europe, of the orphans that survive their 20th birthdays,
50% will end up in organized crime, drugs, or prostitution
• In Africa, homeless children are armed and used for war
• In Africa, there is a concerted effort to extend children’s lives
beyond 5 years of age
• In the US, 25,000 children will leave the foster care system without
families
• 25% of these foster children become homeless,
• 56% of these emancipated foster care children enter the
unemployment ranks
• 27% of the emancipated male children in foster care end up in jail
• 30% of the emancipated females in foster care experience early
parenthood
• 30,000 children in foster care are simply dropped from state care
because they have run away
• In the US, most young adults ages 18 – 24 still live at home with
their parents, while approximately 25,000 children are annually
released at age 18 from the foster care system without families to
support them.”

There are so many. We want to share the blessings that God has given us with one of these children. To make a difference in their life, and in the lives of their children, and grandchildren...

Please help us raise the money to start our home study. Every day we spend raising funds is one more day a child remains an orphan.

Check out our fundraiser here

or press the donate button to the right.

Thanks!

Win-Win!

So, this is officially the first time that I beg for money! I hate asking for anything for myself, but this is not for me- it's for a child. So, please help us raise enough money to bring one home.

It's a WIN-WIN!! You make a donation- you get a chance to win! And everybody wins BIG in this fundraiser!!! That's because the prize is a Magazine Bead Necklace from 147 Million Orphans!! YAY!! I am so excited about this. We first heard about the necklaces when we read The Journey- Katie Davis' blog. She is amazing!! Please take a minute and read about her ministry in Uganda at Amazima!! These necklaces are made by women in Uganda-

From the Amazima website: "In the slum community of Masese, while many Ugandans desperately want to work, there are simply no jobs. Unsanitary living conditions, malnutrition, disease, and hopelessness swallow their dreams for their family.

To empower women and give hope, Amazima initiated a self-sustaining vocational program for mothers in the Masese community by creating handmade, unique, Ugandan magazine necklaces. Each woman in the program makes beautiful necklaces (a lengthy process), which are sold in the United States. Because of their new jobs, these women have been able to turn away from work that was harmful and dangerous for themselves and their families such as prostitution, alcohol brewing, and trash picking. Women in this program also receive money management training and spiritual discipleship. Your support of Amazima's vocational programs builds entrepreneurship, restores dignity, and empowers the Ugandan people to work their own way out of poverty."


From the 147 Millions Orphans website- "We are proud to donate to Amazima Ministries and the wonderful women of the Karamojong tribe. The Karamojong women create these beautiful necklaces by hand and from re-cycled paper … Our goal is to help these women maintain sustainable income for their families … We will be purchasing these necklaces from them and also sending 50%+ of the profits back to a feeding program run by Katie Davis. It is a beautiful full circle story of the body of Christ." "

WOW! So, not only does your donation help us bring our child home, you are sending money back to the women in Uganda, AND you get a beautiful necklace to wear, AND when you wear it, people will ask and you can tell them the story!
I think that makes this a QUADRUPLE WIN!!!

So for every $10 you donate, you get a chance to win! That means that the more $10's you donate, the more chances you will win!! So- click on the donate button to the right. Your donation will be secure through Paypal! This fundraiser be open for a week or so- so act now!!

Thanks so much!!