Moses Storying

So, while this is amazingly cute, (and I must confess that we did not teach Moses this story - he learned it in his class at church) the best part is that it's super useful. As I learned from Lisa K., teaching kids to be comfortable with public speaking is a blessing to the Kingdom. And, teaching them to story from the bible is even better because they can share the gospel! At three years old!

Moses has retold this story at least a couple dozen times since the recording and when he tells it we talk about how one day, he will get to tell this story to his friends in Africa. He can't wait.

I promise that he is not a child prodigy or any kind of genius - he's just a regular three year old who, in less than an hour and a half, learned this story. If he can do it - your three (or two, or five) year old can too! Just give it a try!

Lifesong for Orphans

Nine out of ten of the people I talk to about adoption, people who already feel like it "might" be in their future, tell me that money is a HUGE factor and mainly, a huge deterrent. I've heard dozens of people make comments like "If we could afford it..." or "If it wasn't so expensive..."

I'm thankful that God has given us an adoption testimony that is all about His provision and not at all about our wealth or abilities.

We were broke when we started this journey. Really. Broke. We had to save up the $250 to mail in the agency application, we had no savings account and close to $20,000 in (bad) debt. But God (I LOVE saying that), but God provided over $10,000 prior to William's diagnoses and our break from the process. We received a couple small gifts (less than $1,000 each) and had a puny little yard sale where we barely made $300. The rest came from God. Really. I can't tell you where it came from.

We believed from the beginning that he would provide for us. And he has. He will equip those He calls. If you feel called to adopt please, I am begging you, do not let your lack of faith in His provision stand in the way. That's what it is isn't it? You don't believe that he will provide. But look at your life! He has provided abundantly more than you need! If this is you, if you have felt His voice calling you and opening your heart to adoption, please stop and pray that you would have the faith to step out in obedience to that calling.

There are lots of ways to fund adoption - you can see some of my resources here. One organization that we love is Lifesong for Orphans. Their mission is to "bring joy and purpose to orphans by mobilizing the church, His body, where each member can provide a unique and special service: some to adopt, some to care, some to give."

They do this tangibly by providing matching adoption grants and interest free loans but my favorite Lifesong program is Both Hands. Essentially, a Both Hands project is like a 5k or golf scramble where you get a lot of people to participate and raise funds on their own. The difference is that, instead of doing something like running or playing golf, you and your friends provide home improvement to a widow - living out James 1:27 with "both hands".

I think my favorite part about the Both Hands projects is that instead of raising money from their friends and family to run a few miles, your family and friends who are participating are sharing the theology of adoption, your adoption story and their commitment to being a part of your story, inviting their circle to be a part of your story as well. (This is done through letter writing) So, the message of eternal adoption and the connection to earthly adoption is multiplied. Love it.

Not only that but, on average, Both Hands projects raise over $10,000. He will provide.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? - Matthew 6:26 (NIV)

September Martini

The fact that I am posting the September Martini a day late (Gasp!) should tell you something - it's been freaking busy around here people. The fundraising is in Full. Swing. Here's what we did this month:

On our way to the park with some friends. You should see the looks I get when pushing these four!

My awesome friend Rebekah and I spent a whole morning making these super cute wreaths. They are made from burlap coffee bags.

We added some rolled paper beads to give them an Africa flare. They're for sale of course and will be in the Sunergos Coffee shops here in town soon!

Our booth at the Affordable Art Show! Thanks again to everyone who came out and supported us!

Storytime at the library.

 Our Beautiful Oops.

 

One day this month our homeschool story/lesson was about a donut making factory. So we just had to go to Nord's for donuts to read the story. It was mandatory.

Meadow enjoying the perks.

Our t-shirts came in and our sweet friend Tammy took some pics for us!

I totally became that mom that dresses her family in the same outfit...

and bribes the kids with ice cream. It only kinda worked.

And...

all...

the...

jewelry.

We are swimming in it. I had the first jewelry party last night and it was a success - financially as well as meeting some sweet ladies, sharing our adoption journey and hopefully spreading the message of James 1:27.

If you'd like to host a jewelry party, help me start an online store or etsy shop, make earrings from some of the beads, know shops where we can sell jewelry locally or buy some jewelry, you know where to find me!

feeling heavy

Hey all. I’ve been feeling really heavy over a couple pending adoption decisions and realized I have not been praying about them as much as I should, and I haven’t been asking others to pray with us as well.

Would you please join us in prayer? It truly is the best way that you can support an adoptive family!

We are still trying to get “pre-approved”. I've mentioned this need once before but the update is that our paperwork is in Ethiopia waiting. This is not the normal progression to adopt but the ET government denied a family in August because the husband is a cancer survivor. The family appealed and the decision was overturned (YAY!) but our agency is still trying to be proactive with our case, hence the “pre-aproval” process, which we are thankful for. This is the rainy season and the courts are closed but as soon as someone is there, our ET agency employee will make sure they take a look at our paperwork. It could be any day or it could be weeks. Please pray that someone would be working this week and we would receive pre-approval.

Secondly, we have an application in with Lifesong for Orphans for a "Both Hands" fundraiser. (A full post on Lifesong and Both Hands coming later this week.) We are really hoping to receive approval for this funding. In the past, anywhere between $10 – $50,000 has been raised via a Both Hands project. That would be a HUGE blessing as we are still about $21,000 away from our goal.

I checked in with them last week and our application is the next one to be reviewed. Please pray that we would be approved and hear back from them this week as well.

Thank you!

the sin of our generation?

"I believe that this could very well be looked back on as the sin of our generation. I look at my parents and ask, where were they during the civil rights movement? I look at my grandparents and ask, what were they doing when the holocaust in Europe was occurring with regard to the Jews, and why didn't they speak up? And when we think of our great, great, great-grandparents, we think how could they have sat by and allowed slavery to exist? And I believe that our children and their children, 40 or 50 years from now, are going to ask me, what did you do while 40 million children became orphans in Africa?"

--Rich Stearns, President of World Vision

I first read this quote awhile ago but came across it again recently and it hit me in a much different way. I don’t want to make light of what Mr. Stearns is saying. I believe that the orphan crisis in Africa and around the world could very well be called the “sin of our generation”. (Second maybe to evangelism, or lack-there-of)  And he is obviously very intelligent and wise. It’s pretty clear he also loves Jesus.

But, my fear is not that my children or grandchildren will question my response to this crisis. My fear is that my Creator, the Creator of those precious orphans, will ask me and a host of self-proclaiming Christians one day “What did you do while 156 million children became orphans around the world?”

I’m not as worried about what people will say or think; most people will have no idea that I even existed in 75 years. My mist will be long gone.

If there are 225 million of us (adult Christ followers) in the US and upwards of half a million of them (orphans) in the US as well, shouldn’t simple math tell you that something is very wrong? Even if you look at the global statistics, the believers in the US alone could (I’m not at ALL suggesting that we should, in fact, BAD idea) care for all of the orphans in the entire world.

I understand that something IS very wrong. We live in a fallen world where there exists sin and hatred and brokenness and heartbreak and cancer and orphans. But God knew this did he not? He knew that the fallen world would look and feel very… fallen.

But God calls us to be the light, the salt, to go and tell about his Son, to care for the poor, the oppressed, the widow, the orphan… He commands us to these things knowing how difficult it would be and the hardship it would bring. But he promises us eternal rewards, not temporary ease and comfort. He lived here himself. He felt it for himself. No one knows the depth and magnitude of our fallen world more than the One who was slain for it.

There are plenty of people who will tell you what you want to hear. Thank God there are also people who will tell you the truth. The truth is, that caring for orphans and vulnerable children is hard and exhausting and messy and will bring suffering and fiery darts.

I know some of these things first hand, but not all of them. Someone loved me enough to share their story, to be real with me and to prepare me for what lies ahead. It’s also all over the Bible. (Just sayin’.) Suffering should be expected, even more so when we are obeying His commands.

As Matt Chandler so aptly puts it, I would much rather, on that day when I meet my Maker, say to him that I took him for his word, that I thought he meant what he said and ask forgiveness for maybe being a bit too bold or harsh. (I know some of you are thinking right now "Amen sister, you'll be asking!") I would rather say that, than to say that I thought he was kidding. Or didn’t really mean it. Or that I ignored his commands.

It could be today that I meet Him. It could be today that you meet Him. And Jesus will cover our laziness and He will cover our arrogance and He will cover our apathy. But the tension is what it looks like when we live in obedience now. We are here now to make disciples.

156 million orphans turned disciples adopted into His Kingdom would be a powerful army for Christ, wouldn’t they?