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!

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!

Update

Several of you have asked we where are in the process, so I wanted to give you an update. We have seen a child on Reece's Rainbow that we are praying about, and we will begin our homestudy in the next several weeks. We are currently raising funds for the homestudy (see our meter at the side), and we will be offering some fundraisers soon to help with that. So that is where we are! And for those of you who want to know the big question- where? We are feeling led to a certain Eastern European country! That's all I can say!!

Why would a family with 4 children want another one? Part 1

The gospel.

Because of the gospel, and for the gospel. Plain and simple.

For the sake of His glory.

Because we were once orphans, and He came for us.

Because the gospel points to caring for the orphan and caring for the orphan points to the gospel (russ moore).

Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”


What is the Gospel? The word gospel simply means “good news.” The central message of the Bible is the gospel, or good news, about the person and work of Jesus Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, Paul provides the most succinct summary of the gospel: "¹Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, ²and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.³For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ diedfor our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,"

Why adopt?

Because He first loved us. Because He tells us to.

^{1 John 3: 16-18 16}By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? ¹⁸Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.


"What matters is not that we do all we might have done or all we dreamed of doing, but that, while we live, we live by faith in future grace and walk in the path of love. The times are in God’s hands, not ours. " John Piper

Celebrating 20 years with a big announcement!

Dear friends,

We have some very exciting news about what God is doing in our family. For years, we have talked about adopting, both because we love children and because God does. We knew that "some day" we would do it, and for us, some day has come! God has been breaking our hearts for the 145 million orphans around the world, and so we have talked with our kids and we have all felt a strong leading from God to pursue this, for His glory.

God has been preparing our family for this for a long time. So many of our friends and folks we admire are passionate about orphan care and adoption, and we have and continue to read many great books and have life-changing conversations with others about these issues. It seems God is awakening the church all over the world to care for these kids and He has been speaking to our family as well. Our family devotions have pointed toward making a difference and living a life sold out to God’s will. We have particularly studied and been captivated by Isaiah 58:6-12

⁶"Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
⁷Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
⁹Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰ if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
¹¹And the LORD will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
¹² And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.

We are so humbled to know that God is blessing us in this way! What a privilege to get to do this! We are just starting out on this journey. We would covet your prayers for us as we navigate much paperwork and red tape. You may not be able to adopt, but you can help in this Orphan Crisis with your prayers and resources. Not just for us, but for the many families in the process of rescuing these children. Please pray about how you can be involved in helping these children who really are the “least of these”.

Roger, Caroline, Bennett, Sam, Emmie, and Isaiah

Links about adoption:

http://reecesrainbow.org/

http://www.showhope.org/Resources/TheNeed.aspx

http://www.theorphanfoundation.org/resources/The_Orphan_Crisis.pdf

http://www.allgodschildren.org/

http://www.christianpost.com/news/rick-warren-puts-spotlight-on-orphan-crisis-biblical-mandate-45108/

http://www.projecthopeful.org/

Your Hands

Walking through a painful season. It's lasted a while now. I find myself searching scripture and finding peace, but my feeble heart takes it on temporarily. I leave the pain at the altar only to pick it back up. Oh, to leave it there and walk away and never look back. Make it so Lord Jesus! Psalm 37 has been comforting to me this week:

3Trust in the LORD, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.
⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.

⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!

And especially:

23The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
when he delights in his way;
²⁴ though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the LORD upholds his hand.

This song really touches me too:

Your Hands- JJ Heller

I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn’t there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That you would take my pain away
You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crooked lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

When you walked upon the earth
You healed the broken, lost and hurt
I know you hate to see me cry
One day you will set all things right
Yeah, one day you will set all things right

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

Your hands that shaped the world
Are holding me
They hold me still

God's School of Faith

I read this excerpt on another blog that I like to read. Boy, if I could just get this through my thick skull, I would be so much better off!!

From the March 7 entry in Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman:

"There is no way to learn of faith except through trials. They are God's school of faith, and it is much better for us to learn to trust Him than to live a life of enjoyment. And once the lesson of faith has been learned, it is an everlasting possession and an eternal fortune gained. Yet without trust in God, even great riches will leave us in poverty."