Elly has a new obsession with Toy Story 3...the video says it all.
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Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Sanctity of Life Sunday 1/23
The video is graphic, but as it says...with knowledge comes responsibility. In light of Sanctity of Life Sunday tomorrow, this is abortion. Please follow the link and scroll down to view the video. This Is Abortion
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Malaria
We just found out this morning that our little guy is sick with malaria. This illness is common and produces flu-like symptoms, but is scary because of how little he is. We are praising God that a volunteer is flying over there tomorrow to deliver pedialyte and administer tylenol. Will you pray with us that our son heals quickly, that the medicine works, that his body will strengthen and that his foster mom will have patience, love, and energy to meet his needs and nurse him back to health.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Random Reflections
There are several things that have gotten my mind stirring or have encouraged me thus far in 2011 and none are probably worthy of their own post, so I'm going to lump these things today.
1. In 2010 I read the book Radical by David Platt. As a conclusion to his book, which I think is a must read :), he gives something called the Radical Challenge. This challenge is multi-faceted and involves taking a year to: Read through the whole Bible, Pray for the entire world, Give more of your money away, Spend time in another context, and Commit to spend time in Christian community.
Our time will be spent in Africa, our more than usual giving will go towards our child/children in Africa, we are committed to and love our church....which leads reading through the whole Bible and praying for the whole world. And though I am usually less than faithful in year long commitments and surely have days that I blow it (and it's only the 19th ha!), it has been soooo good. I have loved loved loved praying for the world. I am using a resource called Operation World which outlines Answers to Prayers as well as Prayer Requests for the world, and there is a specific timeline. This link gives a short prayer request each day. Would you consider joining me? Is has been such a blessing to see how God is moving on a macro-scale in the world!
2. Article from Christianity Today: A Woman, "Not a Gestational Carrier"
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/08/couple-aborts-twin-boys-because-they-want-a-girl-using-ivf/
Interesting food for thought regarding the use of surrogates, outsourcing pregnancy (which I didn't even know was possible), and the bio-ethical issues springing up about choosing traits, gender, etc...of children.
3. I have been semi-losing my mind lately waiting for a phone call about the possibility of baby #2 and/or news about baby #1. I see videos like "Why Ethiopia" and I think "Why not 2?" and then I pray things like "Please give us another baby..." But the reality is, I have no clue if we'll get #2, if we could handle #2 or when we'll know about #2. Will you pray that I get through each day? (Yes, I know that sounds dramatic) And selfishly that we'll know soon?
1. In 2010 I read the book Radical by David Platt. As a conclusion to his book, which I think is a must read :), he gives something called the Radical Challenge. This challenge is multi-faceted and involves taking a year to: Read through the whole Bible, Pray for the entire world, Give more of your money away, Spend time in another context, and Commit to spend time in Christian community.
Our time will be spent in Africa, our more than usual giving will go towards our child/children in Africa, we are committed to and love our church....which leads reading through the whole Bible and praying for the whole world. And though I am usually less than faithful in year long commitments and surely have days that I blow it (and it's only the 19th ha!), it has been soooo good. I have loved loved loved praying for the world. I am using a resource called Operation World which outlines Answers to Prayers as well as Prayer Requests for the world, and there is a specific timeline. This link gives a short prayer request each day. Would you consider joining me? Is has been such a blessing to see how God is moving on a macro-scale in the world!
2. Article from Christianity Today: A Woman, "Not a Gestational Carrier"
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/08/couple-aborts-twin-boys-because-they-want-a-girl-using-ivf/
Interesting food for thought regarding the use of surrogates, outsourcing pregnancy (which I didn't even know was possible), and the bio-ethical issues springing up about choosing traits, gender, etc...of children.
3. I have been semi-losing my mind lately waiting for a phone call about the possibility of baby #2 and/or news about baby #1. I see videos like "Why Ethiopia" and I think "Why not 2?" and then I pray things like "Please give us another baby..." But the reality is, I have no clue if we'll get #2, if we could handle #2 or when we'll know about #2. Will you pray that I get through each day? (Yes, I know that sounds dramatic) And selfishly that we'll know soon?
Why Ethiopia?
I saw this video today, and it is heartbreaking...and sadly there are many other countries with the same statistics.
Friday, January 14, 2011
William at Lifesong School in Zambia--The Marvels of Modern Medicine
William from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.
Six year-old William once asked his mother, “Why do other children walk on the bottoms of their feet? Why am I like this? What did you do to me?” When she told him that it was God who did it, not her, William said, “Then please tell God to fix me.”
William was born with clubfoot, affecting both of his feet. If William had been born in America this common deformity would have been easily fixed when he was still a baby. But in Zambia it’s a different story. In Zambia, where the resources are few and the funds are even fewer, healing is only a distant dream.
Last February Lifesong Zambia coordinator, Dru Smith wrote about William in her newsletter. When Wendy in Illinois heard his story she was prompted to act. After a thorough investigation she discovered CURE Clubfoot International, which had a clinic in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia! In April William was fitted for casts (first in a series of 3) and then had corrective surgery on his right foot in June and his left foot in September (the video was taken in September just before his second surgery).
God used His people to “fix” William. Today William can walk! Soon he will be strong enough to return to school, play with the other children, and be able to do many of the simple tasks we take for granted!
Through this journey the Lifesong staff has been able to help not only William, but his family as well. William’s brother, Bright, and cousin, Gift, have both been enrolled at Lifesong school. In addition his father, Victor, who was unemployeed now works in the Lifesong gardens! We’re so thankful our God is the master at doing “abundantly and immeasurably more” than we even think to ask!
*Find out more about Blogging for Orphans here.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Victim
I have played the victim this week.
Granted...I did legitimately get the flu and found my self seriously ill on Sunday. However...minus a slight cold, I have recovered.
So why play the victim?
Well...while I have been healing up, my daughter has needed a mom and my husband has needed extra care. He, much to his dismay and ego, stood up wrong the other night and sprained his knee...like can't put weight on it, hobbling around on crutches sprained his knee.
This unfortunate event has left me (in my pitiful post-flu, beginnings of a cold state...yes this is sarcasm) to care for my child and husband. And rather than thinking about what I can be thankful for, I have spent a large portion of the last few days being the victim. Why me? What about my needs? Can't a girl get a break? I just need to sleep...yada yada yada. Needless to say, it's a good thing that I've been homebound and unable to pour my negativity out on others :)
This morning I started thinking about Jesus.
He gave EVERYTHING, and he didn't play the victim, though he certainly had every right. He laid down his rights and died for us while we were still sinners.
He "being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:6-8
Praise God for grace despite our sin. My heart has been so ugly and ungrateful and far from servant-like. But...I've seen how God is being gracious with me. He is putting me in situations like this now to change my filthy heart before I have more kids and every single day looks like my last two. Baby steps, right?
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26
Granted...I did legitimately get the flu and found my self seriously ill on Sunday. However...minus a slight cold, I have recovered.
So why play the victim?
Well...while I have been healing up, my daughter has needed a mom and my husband has needed extra care. He, much to his dismay and ego, stood up wrong the other night and sprained his knee...like can't put weight on it, hobbling around on crutches sprained his knee.
This unfortunate event has left me (in my pitiful post-flu, beginnings of a cold state...yes this is sarcasm) to care for my child and husband. And rather than thinking about what I can be thankful for, I have spent a large portion of the last few days being the victim. Why me? What about my needs? Can't a girl get a break? I just need to sleep...yada yada yada. Needless to say, it's a good thing that I've been homebound and unable to pour my negativity out on others :)
This morning I started thinking about Jesus.
He gave EVERYTHING, and he didn't play the victim, though he certainly had every right. He laid down his rights and died for us while we were still sinners.
He "being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:6-8
Praise God for grace despite our sin. My heart has been so ugly and ungrateful and far from servant-like. But...I've seen how God is being gracious with me. He is putting me in situations like this now to change my filthy heart before I have more kids and every single day looks like my last two. Baby steps, right?
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Sudan Votes Tomorrow
"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with action and in truth." 1 John 3:17-19
Check out this video:
Sudan video with LeCrae, Swoope and Johnny P.
If you go to iTunes and download the song “Actions Speak Louder Than Words” ($.99), 100% of the proceeds go to His Voice Global to build a fourth orphanage in Southern Sudan. Sudan is a war-torn country with over 2 million dead, and scores of orphans. Once build, the orphanage will be self-sustained by HVG’s trucking company there.
Here is a snippet from CNN on what is going to happen tomorrow (Sunday, January 9, 2011):
Several million people will decide in the next week or so whether to give birth to the world’s newest nation.
They will cast ballots on whether to declare independence at polling stations sprinkled across the vast, flat plains of Southern Sudan, an East African landscape long riven by chaos.
War and famine have ravaged generations in the south for as long as anyone can remember. Fighting forced more people from their homes than in any other nation on earth. Hope remained elusive.
Yet the vote has given many southerners the rare sense of exhilaration that is borne of new beginnings.
From January 9 to January 15, the black Christians and animists in the autonomous region of Southern Sudan will vote on whether to declare independence from a northern government dominated by Arab Muslims. The two sides fought a war that killed 2 million people from 1983 to 2005, when a peace treaty set the stage for the upcoming vote.
Nearly 4 million have registered to cast ballots. Few doubt the outcome.
The rest of the article.
How you can help: pray.
6 ways to pray (Stolen from www.hisvoiceforsudan.com
1. It is a foregone conclusion the South will vote for independence. Please pray that violence would not break out during the next six months. Even with the vote, it will not go into effect until July. Therefore, THE NEXT SIX MONTHS ARE CRITICAL.
2. Pray for the North. Many believers and also many Southern Sudanese live in the North. Pray against any type of persecution. Also, pray for the souls of all the Northern Sudanese. One thing that many people forget is the North. THIS CAN’T HAPPEN! Every man is created in the image of God. Therefore, our burden for the North must be immense.
3. Even in the face of Southern independence it is important to remember the North would be an immediate neighbor of the South. Please pray for working relations that would promote peace.
4. Both the North and the South have big obstacles to overcome internally. It is a viable option for different rebel groups to try and overthrow the government. Please pray this does not happen and that a modern day Somalia does not come to fruition.
5. Pray for a profound work of nation building to happen in the North and the South. It will take a variety of areas of expertise to help in this process. This can be an incredibly exciting time for Sudan and the Sudanese people. Please pray the Lord awakens the hearts of people to invest in the needed areas.
6. Please pray for the marginalized. The orphans, widows, and destitute have the attention of God in a profound way (James 1:27) and should have ours. One of my friends, Adam Thomason, is the founder of Collision Records. He produced a song with Swoope, Jai, Lecrae, Tedashii, and John Piper that helps to bring attention to the brilliant people of Sudan. If you go to iTunes and download the song, 100% of the proceeds will go to build the fourth orphanage. Also, if you are interested, you can give directly to the orphanage here.
Check out this video:
Sudan video with LeCrae, Swoope and Johnny P.
If you go to iTunes and download the song “Actions Speak Louder Than Words” ($.99), 100% of the proceeds go to His Voice Global to build a fourth orphanage in Southern Sudan. Sudan is a war-torn country with over 2 million dead, and scores of orphans. Once build, the orphanage will be self-sustained by HVG’s trucking company there.
Here is a snippet from CNN on what is going to happen tomorrow (Sunday, January 9, 2011):
Several million people will decide in the next week or so whether to give birth to the world’s newest nation.
They will cast ballots on whether to declare independence at polling stations sprinkled across the vast, flat plains of Southern Sudan, an East African landscape long riven by chaos.
War and famine have ravaged generations in the south for as long as anyone can remember. Fighting forced more people from their homes than in any other nation on earth. Hope remained elusive.
Yet the vote has given many southerners the rare sense of exhilaration that is borne of new beginnings.
From January 9 to January 15, the black Christians and animists in the autonomous region of Southern Sudan will vote on whether to declare independence from a northern government dominated by Arab Muslims. The two sides fought a war that killed 2 million people from 1983 to 2005, when a peace treaty set the stage for the upcoming vote.
Nearly 4 million have registered to cast ballots. Few doubt the outcome.
The rest of the article.
How you can help: pray.
6 ways to pray (Stolen from www.hisvoiceforsudan.com
1. It is a foregone conclusion the South will vote for independence. Please pray that violence would not break out during the next six months. Even with the vote, it will not go into effect until July. Therefore, THE NEXT SIX MONTHS ARE CRITICAL.
2. Pray for the North. Many believers and also many Southern Sudanese live in the North. Pray against any type of persecution. Also, pray for the souls of all the Northern Sudanese. One thing that many people forget is the North. THIS CAN’T HAPPEN! Every man is created in the image of God. Therefore, our burden for the North must be immense.
3. Even in the face of Southern independence it is important to remember the North would be an immediate neighbor of the South. Please pray for working relations that would promote peace.
4. Both the North and the South have big obstacles to overcome internally. It is a viable option for different rebel groups to try and overthrow the government. Please pray this does not happen and that a modern day Somalia does not come to fruition.
5. Pray for a profound work of nation building to happen in the North and the South. It will take a variety of areas of expertise to help in this process. This can be an incredibly exciting time for Sudan and the Sudanese people. Please pray the Lord awakens the hearts of people to invest in the needed areas.
6. Please pray for the marginalized. The orphans, widows, and destitute have the attention of God in a profound way (James 1:27) and should have ours. One of my friends, Adam Thomason, is the founder of Collision Records. He produced a song with Swoope, Jai, Lecrae, Tedashii, and John Piper that helps to bring attention to the brilliant people of Sudan. If you go to iTunes and download the song, 100% of the proceeds will go to build the fourth orphanage. Also, if you are interested, you can give directly to the orphanage here.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Sad Truths
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/01/06/congo.rapes/index.html
"Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." Is. 1:17
"Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." Is. 1:17
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
The Results of Teething
Here is glimpse into my days as of late...Enjoy!
She can be much more pleasant though, like in this one. Her little brain is soaking in all kinds of stuff, and a new goal as been to be able to pronounce her friends' names. We're still working on Sam. Also, please pardon Andy's entrance and subsequent comments. :)
She can be much more pleasant though, like in this one. Her little brain is soaking in all kinds of stuff, and a new goal as been to be able to pronounce her friends' names. We're still working on Sam. Also, please pardon Andy's entrance and subsequent comments. :)
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Plans
I have officially grow weary in this adoption waiting. I know nothing and have been told that no news is good news, but I'm ready for something concrete. I want a timeline. I want a light at the end of the tunnel. I want answers about whether we will get another little boy because I'm tired of jumping when the phone rings. I want a plan. I, I, I...
BUT, I KNOW...
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21
AND
"We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:38 **The "good" here implies sanctification--the growing into Christ-likeness**
AND
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:2-5
SO
My plans, the advice of others, and even words from our lawyer have no bearing on the outcome of this adoption. It is God alone whose plans matter. He dictates the time, the number of babies, the details. And I am left needing to ask for wisdom and trust that He will use the waiting to change my character, to develop perseverance in me, and to bring about the good work of sanctification in the lives of me and my family. May He burn these verses in my mind, so that my weariness results in hope and faith rather than irritability and discouragement...I know my husband and daughter would agree!
BUT, I KNOW...
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21
AND
"We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:38 **The "good" here implies sanctification--the growing into Christ-likeness**
AND
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:2-5
SO
My plans, the advice of others, and even words from our lawyer have no bearing on the outcome of this adoption. It is God alone whose plans matter. He dictates the time, the number of babies, the details. And I am left needing to ask for wisdom and trust that He will use the waiting to change my character, to develop perseverance in me, and to bring about the good work of sanctification in the lives of me and my family. May He burn these verses in my mind, so that my weariness results in hope and faith rather than irritability and discouragement...I know my husband and daughter would agree!
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