kids
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Something to Make You Smile.
These videos were taken in September, but I just got around to putting them on YouTube. Make sure to watch each one AND have the sound on. You will smile the rest of the day. :)
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
We GET to Trust God Even More ~ AGAIN!
A little over a year ago, I wrote this post, telling about how our Christian school had closed, and I would no longer have a teaching job. This was just a month after we had first seen Caylie's photo and inquired about her. In fact, the very day that we said YES to God about making Caylie our daughter was the very day that I found out I wouldn't have a job for the coming school year. (No coincidence there, friends!) I said at the time that I didn't ever want to lament that we HAD to trust God even more. I wanted (and still want!) to be GLAD when the opportunity comes to trust Him even more! God was faithful through this last year as we were trusting Him for the finances to bring Caylie home, and He will continue to be.
On Monday, Jim found out that he would no longer be working for his employer. This was not something that we thought would ever happen. This was a place where Jim had accomplished many things and was moving ahead in his career. We thought he would be there for the foreseeable future. But that kind of thinking is comfort-zone thinking, and God has a way of bringing us out of that!
We are determined to keep our eyes on Jesus through all of this. It is easy to become angry and bitter at those who made this decision. (A decision which I feel was quite unfair and completely unwarranted.) It is easy to want to lash out at those people! But as I was talking to God about this, He reminded me of something that He has spoken to my heart several times in the past - that I needed to pray for those people and ask Him to bless them. Hard to do? Of course. But necessary? Yes. Whether I "feel" like it or not, that simple step of obedience will be the key to changing my heart. And I want my heart to be in tune with His.
God was not surprised by any of this. He is not wringing His hands and wondering what to do now. He isn't staying up nights trying to come up with a new plan. Nope, His plan has been written for a very long time! He knew on the first day that Jim started working for his employer what the last day would be - that was part of the plan! This whole thing may seem to be orchestrated by man, but it is God's plans that stand! He is releasing us from one season and on to another, and it won't be just about a job. He is going to use us for His Kingdom, no matter where either one of us is working at a job, or if we are at all. And even though the way this happened seems unfair and not right at all, God is still in control. What our enemy means for evil, our God redeems for good. He is able to redeem and restore any situation for His glory, and that is what we look to and expect.
Jim and I often look back through the events of our lives and see how God has worked one thing to another, and where He was put spiritual markers to remind us of His working. It is amazing to see. Our God loves us so, so much, friends, and He is working in the big picture and in the smallest details. I don't know why it's so hard for us to trust Him sometimes, when He has proven His sovereignty in our lives over and over, and especially since He has given us His Son! Romans 8:32 ~ "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" How can we fear and worry after all this??!
This is not the first time we have walked this unemployment path. Jim and I often look back over the last time God had us here, and are amazed at how He worked through it all and brought such redemption. In 1994 we began to do volunteer work with Promise Keepers, the men's ministry. Shortly after that, God gave Jim a heart to work for this ministry full time, and we prayed and wondered how that could happen. But God knew. In 1996 we packed up a moving truck and left Anderson, Indiana and everything we knew to come to Colorado. Those PK years were amazing. God did awesome things in that ministry and in our family. My journals from those years are very full! But in February, 2003, Jim suddenly wasn't working for Promise Keepers anymore. We didn't understand this. God had called us here! We'd left everything! And now this?? It was a difficult time. But now, over ten years later, we can see. And the sight is pretty incredible.
If Jim had not left PK, he would not have come to his current employer. He would not have been encouraged to pursue his Executive MBA degree (which was fully paid for by said employer!) He would never have taken a two-week trip to Asia with his MBA cohort. He would never have visited an orphanage in Vietnam and held orphans in his arms, and had his heart broken for them. He wouldn't have had the pictures and stories to send back home to me, which broke my heart for the plight of the orphan, as well. We would not have our precious daughter with us today. YES. God knew, and He redeemed. And He still does.
Please pray for us, that we would keep our eyes firmly on Jesus, and not waiver for one second in our knowledge that He is FAITHFUL.
On Monday, Jim found out that he would no longer be working for his employer. This was not something that we thought would ever happen. This was a place where Jim had accomplished many things and was moving ahead in his career. We thought he would be there for the foreseeable future. But that kind of thinking is comfort-zone thinking, and God has a way of bringing us out of that!
We are determined to keep our eyes on Jesus through all of this. It is easy to become angry and bitter at those who made this decision. (A decision which I feel was quite unfair and completely unwarranted.) It is easy to want to lash out at those people! But as I was talking to God about this, He reminded me of something that He has spoken to my heart several times in the past - that I needed to pray for those people and ask Him to bless them. Hard to do? Of course. But necessary? Yes. Whether I "feel" like it or not, that simple step of obedience will be the key to changing my heart. And I want my heart to be in tune with His.
God was not surprised by any of this. He is not wringing His hands and wondering what to do now. He isn't staying up nights trying to come up with a new plan. Nope, His plan has been written for a very long time! He knew on the first day that Jim started working for his employer what the last day would be - that was part of the plan! This whole thing may seem to be orchestrated by man, but it is God's plans that stand! He is releasing us from one season and on to another, and it won't be just about a job. He is going to use us for His Kingdom, no matter where either one of us is working at a job, or if we are at all. And even though the way this happened seems unfair and not right at all, God is still in control. What our enemy means for evil, our God redeems for good. He is able to redeem and restore any situation for His glory, and that is what we look to and expect.
Jim and I often look back through the events of our lives and see how God has worked one thing to another, and where He was put spiritual markers to remind us of His working. It is amazing to see. Our God loves us so, so much, friends, and He is working in the big picture and in the smallest details. I don't know why it's so hard for us to trust Him sometimes, when He has proven His sovereignty in our lives over and over, and especially since He has given us His Son! Romans 8:32 ~ "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" How can we fear and worry after all this??!
This is not the first time we have walked this unemployment path. Jim and I often look back over the last time God had us here, and are amazed at how He worked through it all and brought such redemption. In 1994 we began to do volunteer work with Promise Keepers, the men's ministry. Shortly after that, God gave Jim a heart to work for this ministry full time, and we prayed and wondered how that could happen. But God knew. In 1996 we packed up a moving truck and left Anderson, Indiana and everything we knew to come to Colorado. Those PK years were amazing. God did awesome things in that ministry and in our family. My journals from those years are very full! But in February, 2003, Jim suddenly wasn't working for Promise Keepers anymore. We didn't understand this. God had called us here! We'd left everything! And now this?? It was a difficult time. But now, over ten years later, we can see. And the sight is pretty incredible.
If Jim had not left PK, he would not have come to his current employer. He would not have been encouraged to pursue his Executive MBA degree (which was fully paid for by said employer!) He would never have taken a two-week trip to Asia with his MBA cohort. He would never have visited an orphanage in Vietnam and held orphans in his arms, and had his heart broken for them. He wouldn't have had the pictures and stories to send back home to me, which broke my heart for the plight of the orphan, as well. We would not have our precious daughter with us today. YES. God knew, and He redeemed. And He still does.
Please pray for us, that we would keep our eyes firmly on Jesus, and not waiver for one second in our knowledge that He is FAITHFUL.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Sunday, November 3, 2013
An Orphan Sunday Post
If you have followed our adoption story - on this blog, or otherwise - it hasn't been by accident. Maybe you started at the very beginning, when God grabbed our hearts for the plight of the orphan and adoption, or perhaps you heard about us on this day, when our daughter was brought to us in a hotel in China. Or maybe you came across this blog just today, as we're celebrating five months home. Whenever you came across our story, it was by Providence. God wanted you to know. He wanted you to know about Caylie, and about other children like her, who wait and wait and hope for a family. He wanted you to know about the plight of the orphan. He wanted you to know that He is faithful to those who say YES to Him. He wanted you to know that there is so much JOY in following Him when the journey seems so difficult, and even impossible.
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" ~ Matthew 25:40
I know without a doubt that some of you reading this right now feel a tug at your hearts. I know without a doubt that some of you are being called by God to bring a child into your family. Please don't ignore the call. Please don't give in to the kind of thinking that says "it's not my problem". Friends, if you are a follower of Christ; if you call yourself by His name; if you are part of His church, then please know . . . it is OUR problem. All through Scripture God reveals His heart for the orphan. "Defend the weak and the fatherless", it says in Psalm 82. It is not merely a suggestion.
There are all kinds of reasons to not even consider adoption. Most of them have to do with trusting in our own reasoning and in our own strength and in our own human capabilities. Perhaps you couldn't possibly adopt a child because it's "too expensive" or "your house is too small" or "it would be unfair to your other children". Let me just tell you . . . if God calls you to a task, He will make a way! He has proven this to our family time and time again. We need to decide how far we are willing to follow Jesus . . . just till it gets a little hard and scary? Or till the end? He will make a way, my friends, even in the scary and the impossible.
As for my other children . . . I would not have taken this journey from them for anything. I want them to see God at work! I want them to see their parents say YES to Him! I want their hearts to be broken for the orphan and for the lost of this world and for beggars on the streets of Guangzhou. I want them to get uncomfortable as they experience things outside their comfortable American life. I want them to learn to share and to love and to sacrifice. They are learning and experiencing ALL of these things through our adoption journey, and I am so grateful to our Father for that.
I'm sure some people think Jim and I are a little crazy for doing this at our ages. After all, our kids were getting to be independent. We could go out and leave them at home. Soon we would be empty nesters, spending our money however we wanted and taking vacations and having all sorts of free time. Soon we'd be to the place where we'd done our time. Now it was time for US! But you know what? I don't think Jesus ever said anything about being "done" serving. I don't think He ever said that eventually it would be all about us. And I don't ever want to say that, either. I want to follow Him always. I want to say YES to Him no matter what. And I don't ever want to be "finished" being a servant or loving others for His kingdom's sake.
There are estimated to be over 150,000,00 orphans in the world today. If God's church were to rise up and care for "the least of these", this crisis would no longer exist. Please ask Him what He would have you do. Perhaps He will just ask you to PRAY. Perhaps He will ask you to GIVE. Perhaps He will ask you to GO. And perhaps He will ask you to give a home to an orphaned child, who otherwise will never have the love of a family or the hope of the Gospel. Ask Him what He would have you do. Just ask Him.
I want to share this very powerful video with you. Please watch it in it's entirety. Ask God what He would have you do. His heart is for the orphan.
There are all kinds of reasons to not even consider adoption. Most of them have to do with trusting in our own reasoning and in our own strength and in our own human capabilities. Perhaps you couldn't possibly adopt a child because it's "too expensive" or "your house is too small" or "it would be unfair to your other children". Let me just tell you . . . if God calls you to a task, He will make a way! He has proven this to our family time and time again. We need to decide how far we are willing to follow Jesus . . . just till it gets a little hard and scary? Or till the end? He will make a way, my friends, even in the scary and the impossible.
As for my other children . . . I would not have taken this journey from them for anything. I want them to see God at work! I want them to see their parents say YES to Him! I want their hearts to be broken for the orphan and for the lost of this world and for beggars on the streets of Guangzhou. I want them to get uncomfortable as they experience things outside their comfortable American life. I want them to learn to share and to love and to sacrifice. They are learning and experiencing ALL of these things through our adoption journey, and I am so grateful to our Father for that.
I'm sure some people think Jim and I are a little crazy for doing this at our ages. After all, our kids were getting to be independent. We could go out and leave them at home. Soon we would be empty nesters, spending our money however we wanted and taking vacations and having all sorts of free time. Soon we'd be to the place where we'd done our time. Now it was time for US! But you know what? I don't think Jesus ever said anything about being "done" serving. I don't think He ever said that eventually it would be all about us. And I don't ever want to say that, either. I want to follow Him always. I want to say YES to Him no matter what. And I don't ever want to be "finished" being a servant or loving others for His kingdom's sake.
There are estimated to be over 150,000,00 orphans in the world today. If God's church were to rise up and care for "the least of these", this crisis would no longer exist. Please ask Him what He would have you do. Perhaps He will just ask you to PRAY. Perhaps He will ask you to GIVE. Perhaps He will ask you to GO. And perhaps He will ask you to give a home to an orphaned child, who otherwise will never have the love of a family or the hope of the Gospel. Ask Him what He would have you do. Just ask Him.
I want to share this very powerful video with you. Please watch it in it's entirety. Ask God what He would have you do. His heart is for the orphan.
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" ~ Matthew 25:40
5 Months Home
Today marks five months since we landed in Denver after many, many, many hours of travel, and brought Caylie to our home for the first time. We speak often about how she has changed in that time. She knows who her family is. She knows where her home is. She is happy and she is peaceful. We are so grateful that God asked us to become her family.
Bowling!
Bein' silly with Mama.
Our friend Mark came to visit!
Pony tails!
This is a birthday cake made from blocks, complete with candles. The rest of us must sing Happy Birthday over and over while she blows out the candles.
We love you, sweet girl. Happy Five Months Home!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)