Moms, Ministry, and More

How Jesus Comes

2011-12-14T10:57:00.002+08:00

One of my favorite pasttimes is people watching...although admittedly most of the people watching I do now is the little people in my home!

But this past week, I've really been watching people. People at church, people in the post office, people here and there.

The ones in the post office: there was this young woman mailing a package and she was chattering non-stop about what she was mailing. It didn't take long for us all to figure out she was just a little bit off her rocker.

But the lady behind the counter had her nose turned up at her and wasn't even acknowledging that she had spoken!

So I jumped in.

I couldn't help it. I know I looked a little foolish, but everytime I see that, I feel it as if it were me. (The young lady probably didn't know a thing was amiss!)

But it made me think of the passage we read in church Sunday, Isaiah 53. When Jesus came, He wasn't beautiful or appealing. He didn't have any "wow" factor. And people flat out rejected Him.

It got me thinking...what if He always comes like that? What if He comes weak and vulnerable and unlovely? What if He is found in the stable and not the Inn? And do we look for Him amongst the classy, the well spoken, the ones who have it all together? Or do we get our hands dirty and kneel to serve Him amidst the stable smells?

And if we turn our face from the one in need...if we reject the one He has given us to love...if we pretend it isn't our job and set ourselves aloof...well, haven't we done that unto HIM? And didn't He say it with His own words, that whatever we do to the least of these we've done it unto Him?

How do we treat Jesus?

There's no sense fooling ourselves into thinking we'd do it better if He were standing in our midst. He IS in our midst. Immanuel, God with us.

He is the weak and vulnerable.
He is the poor and needy.
He is the despised and rejected.
He is the one without beauty and attraction.

How do we treat Jesus?

It's a question I'm asking myself and yall, I've spent lots of time in the stable and I rather prefer it there. Sure, I'm pretty smelly and dirty and some folks don't have a whole lot to do with me, but JESUS is there!

And that's where I want to be.

merry Christmas, everyone. This will probably be it for awhile on the blog again :)

Seasons Greetings, Friends

2011-11-20T04:04:00.003+08:00

No, we have not fallen off the face of the earth over here!

I am having a down day because someone suggested I take something called Mucinex DM(I do. not. do. cough. medicine!)and these are pills for cough and mucus (okay, that's just gross).

And y'all, don't take 'em. They will mess you up. They messed my head up and my stomach up and now I can't do anything.

So I'm updating the blog.

There is something I'd like to share with you because it's good. A few weeks ago, a man named Bryce Morgan asked if I'd review Rescue Me!: What Superheroes Can Teach Us About the Power of Faith and I said sure. Well, the day it arrived, my son saw it sitting on the table. He grabbed it and started reading.

Then we had dinner and he wasn't finished, so he passed up cookies at dinner time so he could finish reading this book!

When he got done, he said, "This is more than a cartoon book, mom. You should read it!" Which told me that he not only liked what he read but thought I would love it too.

And I did.

Bryce's book shares the gospel of Jesus through a super hero cartoon book. Cool! SO if you want a great stocking stuffer, or a book for the road trip to Grandma's, check out Bryce's book!

Post summary: Cartoon book, YES; Mucinex DM, NO

Simple 'nuff, right?

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving, friends!!

Fotolia

2011-05-15T03:23:00.010+08:00

So my last post was about blog makeovers and this one is about stock photos. I was offered a free month of downloads from fotolia, a leading stock photo company. Not being a great photographer myself, I jumped at the chance. Photos enhance your posts so much!

So now I have some photos like the two (very random!) ones above.

Jenna, the gal I've been working with, has extended an offer to YOU: a two week free subscription period.

So click here to check out stock photos available at fotolia and be sure to check out their free section.
{Thanks Jenna!}

Need a Blog Makeover?

2011-04-27T04:56:00.003+08:00

My good friend and Zest partner, Patty Wysong, is now designing sites! Patty is a sweetheart and so easy to work with. She designed Adding Zest for us a couple years ago and you can visit her page to see other sites she has designed.

PLUS! To kick off her new business, she is giving away a premade! So hop over to enter and see the other services she offers (classes on making blog buttons, etc).

Congrats, Patty!

Do you give from your excess or from your poverty?

2011-04-09T08:08:00.001+08:00

John gave me time for my birthday. This is something I crave- time to think, process, to be alone, to be with God.

As I showered, I thought of the widow who gave her last mite. Jesus commended her because she gave from her poverty, not from her excess.

There are people who give lots of money to "God" things. They think they are making great contributions to the kingdom that way. Their financial giving lulls them into thinking they are being obedient to God.

While this is not true of everyone who give generously, it needs to be said for the many it is true for: they are just giving from their excess.

They use their financial gifts as a cover up for their greed. They refuse to give from their poverty.

They refuse to give their time, because they think they don’t have that.

They refuse to give their affections, because they think they can’t afford it and people will abuse it and use them.

They refuse to give lavishly of their service, because they believe they will suffer and their family will be put out.

They refuse to be inconvenienced or to do the hard things.

They give only of their excess, not of their poverty.

We have valued money so much in this society that we praise and laud people who give financially. And by the way, if any of you want to send me a check, this isn’t to say don’t send it. You go ahead and get that baby in the mail.

Just wanted to make that clear.

I might “need” a trip to Sonic.
But it is true, is it not? We somehow believe that people who give money aren’t stingy, but I’m here to tell you, I’ve discovered otherwise. Ahem.

Many times, the money is the excess and we use it as a cover up for a selfish, stingy heart. And our society praises us for it and we aren't busted.

{Until God sends someone like me to be the little boy in "The Emporer and His New Clothes" to say what no one else wants to. You gotta love us.)

John gave a birthday gift to me from his poverty. And he was just about more delighted to do it than I was to receive it and that blessed and humbled my heart. (He was praying all week that I wouldn’t get sick or one of the kids get sick so that I could go out and enjoy a long quiet time with a cup of coffee. And he woke up early so that he could see me off and take care of things, excited to give me time. Makes one cry, it does.)

I don’t know about you, but I want to be like that. I don’t want to applaud myself in what I give from my excesses. I want to take joy in what I give from my poverty. It makes one ask, “What is my poverty? What are the areas in my life where I don’t have much to give? Where do I feel “I can’t afford this?”

That’s where we need to start doing the most. Even if we give our last mite.

I’m in. Are you?

Tap, Tap, Anybody There?

2011-04-08T18:11:00.003+08:00

Hello friends! John told me yesterday I should post an update just to let anyone out there know we are still breathing air :)

{Thank You, Lord! He is good and sometimes I just take deep breaths and thank Him for it, for the chance to know Him on this earth, for one more breath's worth of communion.}

We are doing well. The PhD program is just about to kill us (not really, but it feels like it is :) ) We are under the mighty hand of the Lord and it is a difficult place to be, but I'm finding that if you get down under it, submit, accept, embrace...it isn't so bad.

Maybe that is what it's all about...accepting the humbling of the Lord instead of hanging on to rights and fighting for what you think you need. Yes, Lord! I surrender!

I had prayer time with a friend yesterday. We did a lot of repenting. In the Christian circles we are in, it is a dog- eat- dog world. It is terrible. Everyone is out for their own interests, not those of others and certainly not Christ's.

It broke our hearts.

We confessed to God how it makes us want to clamp down and guard our own. When everyone else around you is giving lip service to Jesus but living for themselves, there is a temptation to try it yourself.

When everyone else around you is running off and meeting every whim and fancy, you start thinking you're entitled to a few things too.

Like I said, we repented.

We offered ourselves afresh to God, even if it means we are the only ones serving Him in the ways no one else wants to be bothered with.

I think we all get consumed with what we think we "need." This is a funny example, but when I go to Sonic (yes, we like Sonic), I will hear people ordering and they say, "I need a ....." and it never fails to crack me up because really, that is probably the LAST thing that person needs!

But it does illustrate a point. We convince ourselves we "need" a whatever. We "need" a break. We "need" comfort and ease. We "need" this and that and the other.

And by golly, we are going to get it!

Is it possible to live in a way where we let God alone determine our needs? And let Him alone meet them? Emotional needs, time needs, physical needs?

Yes, it is scary and you can sure bet it means going without a lot of what we've become accustomed to (like maybe the Sonic burger?)

But maybe, just maybe, it opens up a whole 'nuther world. Maybe it lets us in on the divine attributes of God like humility and gentleness and servant hood and true meekness, which amounts to power under authority.

Yes, I'm liking the sound of that. I'm drawn to the idea that through giving up seeking my own interests and doing things my way, I can instead get down, go lower, be humbled under God's mighty hand...and discover Him in a way that will blow. my. mind.

Yes, Lord.

So. All this rambling perhaps ends in this: no more Sonic for me. Just kidding. well, if He tells me to. Seriously, it ends with me asking the Lord to help me live by this verse: "Give, and it will be given to you. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." Luke 6:38

Instead of wishing someone would see my need and meet it, I'll focus on meeting someone else's. I'm committing myself to GIVE... time. energy. emotions. affections. finances. LIFE.

And thank You, sweet Jesus, for the chance to do it.

A Great Way to Celebrate The New Year

2011-01-01T00:39:00.003+08:00

I just received two boxes of clothes from a sweet friend and as I type, the girls are stripping down, trying on new things and prancing around like princesses.

It makes me think...what a way to end a year and begin a new one: by celebrating life, the small things, the friends near and far, the old things, the new things.

I would love to blog about all those things, but now just isn't the right season for me. For now, I'll settle for living it.

Here's best wishes for a full and fullfilling New Year's, friends!

Merry Mas!

2010-12-16T12:03:00.003+08:00

Merry Mas!

Just isn't the same without Christ, is it?

Merry CHRISTmas!

The Key To Healing- Jeremiah 15:18-19

2010-11-14T01:48:00.004+08:00

Her eyes were alert...watching, observing, trying to make sense of what was happening to her. Her little body was rigid, her silence an indicator of her distress.

Self- preservation had become such a natural, habitual lifestyle that everything about her revolved around that one goal.

This is how she came to us.

Little did I know how my life was going to be turned upside down, inside out...How my neat little Christian life with my service to God and manageable children and organized home were in that moment poured out and made messy.

I was made messy.

The earthquake rocked everything, shifting the landscape of my life and rearranging all the little put-together fancies I thought were so clever, so reliable.

I laugh now. I laugh at how we presume. I laugh at the fools we all are, thinking we are rich and wealthy and have need of nothing, not knowing that we are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. (Revelation 3:17, written to the church, God's very people.)

I am exposed. I am revealed for who and what I am. It cannot be hidden. Adoption unveiled me.

I began a messy (oh, how messy!), desperate search for help. For truth. For something I can stand on and rely on and gain sustenance from.

There is only One place to go for that. And He is coming through for me. This is where my journey started, nearly two years ago:

"If you return to Me, then I will heal you." Jeremiah 15:19

It was with relief that I realized God's servants of old experienced things in their lives that exposed them too, that uncovered their neediness, their wounded-ness that hindered them from moving on and helping others. This is neither unique to me nor shameful.

If God did that for Jeremiah, He would do it for me.

Another realization, that I could spend my limited time consuming books, podcasts, helps, words, and everything from other's journeys...or I could make a determination to "Return to Me" and cast myself on that one way, that single option to find the healing and help my family is counting on me for.

I have chosen the latter (which is the main reason blogging has been so scarce for me this past year.)

All my hopes are in this one thing, that those who seek Him will not be disappointed.

He has invited me to make 2011 the year of Re-discovering Him. I have ordered my Chronological Bible and will start on it as soon as it arrives.

Some of you have expressed an interest in joining me in this. I am thrilled to have the company! At the same time, I can't promise much :)

I thought I might try to post my thoughts once a week here on the blog, sort of a summary of what I've learned that week about God, His character, His deeds as He progressively revealed Himself from the beginning of time. (But don't hold me to it, 'cause once a week posting seems like a big stretch for me right now!)

So you are welcome to join me and add your thoughts and discoveries. Maybe one day my testimony will be that I've moved beyond messy...that I have things figured out again.

But I doubt it, so don't expect it. What I do expect is being able to say that I "know and understand the Lord" (Jeremiah 9:24) and boy am I looking forward to the day...

I've given up on having a manageable, picket-fence-like Christian life. Knowing God is enough.

Make-at- Home Pumpkin Spice Latte, Yum!

2010-11-08T09:32:00.004+08:00

Last year I learned from Ashley how to make an incredible cup of holiday joy. I can't help but share my recipe here since it is so fabulous (and so much cheaper than the gourmet stores :) )

For Syrup:
1 cup boiling Water
1 cup sugar
2 TB Pumpkin Pie Spices
1 ts vanilla extract (I skip this when overseas and it is still good!)

~~ Put spices in disposable filter (When overseas, I use a thick paper towel)
Mix water and sugar until dissolved; steep spice packet in water for 5 minutes, stirring often to infuse syrup with spices; remove spice packet and mix in vanilla. Syrup can be stored in fridge.

To Prepare a cup:
Heat 1/2 cup milk and mix with 1/3 cup strong coffee; mix in about 2 TB of syrup (adjust to taste); Top with whipped cream ans sprinkle with cinnamon.

Enjoy!

P.S. If you are sending a missionary a care package this Christmas, throw in some instant coffee, a jar of pumpkin pie spice, and this recipe! They will love you for it! :)

New Things

2010-10-30T16:08:00.004+08:00

Around this time of year I start paying attention to what God might be saying for the upcoming year.

At first it all happened accidentally. We were in our first year of overseas service and God impressed upon me Genesis 26:12,

"Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him."

"This is your verse for the year," He told me.

And since then, nine years now, He has given me a verse for each coming year (except for 2007 when He told me that I needed to do the current verse over again because I hadn't gotten it, wasn't living it.)

So yesterday I was quickened in my spirit when I flipped through a magazine and sensed Him saying, "This is it."

It isn't a verse yet, I believe that will come, but it is a project.

Something new for 2011.

I have read through the Bible many times. The first time I read through it I did the chronological Bible and that is what He is prompting me to do again.

But here is what He wants me to do: Re-discover Him as He progressively revealed Himself from the beginning.

My focus for reading through the Bible in 2011 is to record His progressive revelation of Himself.

I am so excited!! I have been working on a bible study entitled "Re-Discovering God" and have been so hungry to do just that, dumping all the silly, false, and poisonous notions and beliefs I've held about Him.

Any body else up for reading through the Bible in 2011 Chronologically?

Sowing Jesus

2010-10-23T23:24:00.010+08:00

I want to encourage you to get involved in Halloween this year.

No, I'm not weighing in on the Halloween debate that goes on, I just can't pass up the opportunity of a steady stream of kids looking for open doors.

I mean, can you?

What an awesome opportunity to plant seeds of JESUS!!

Below are links to a few Halloween tracts for you to check out and order NOW to get them in time! May we each do our part in making Jesus known!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Puzzle Tract that shares Jesus (25 for $2.49)

Light up the Night- A Glow in the Dark Tract that uses light to illustrate Jesus (20 for $2.50)

A Pumpkin Tale -uses the Jack O Lantern to illustrate new birth (25 for $2.50)

The Special Treat- A Cartoon tract that presents the gospel while telling a story (25 for $2.50)

Living Water

2010-09-17T07:59:00.003+08:00

Next time you are on youtube, check out this testimony: The Living Water.

It is the testimony of a gal we led to the Lord years ago while planting a church outside of Memphis, TN. It is very encouraging when you see seeds you planted years ago bearing fruit.

P.S. The pastor shown is the current pastor, not John. This gentleman became pastor after we were called to the mission field....some of you may wonder about who he is.

The Crucible

2010-09-04T00:25:00.005+08:00

I love Ann Voskamp. She is so full of grace (she even stooped to do a guest post here on my blog) it is like water on parched ground.

Today when she shared about agoraphobia, I knew I needed to share something on my blog. Not for anyone else perhaps, but for me.

Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder that leads to avoiding spaces or situations associated with anxiety.

I have had an agoraphobia of the soul. All of my life, I have been terrified of being placed in situations where the emotional or relational demands are more than I can handle. Where there is no escape.

It began so young that for many, many years I didn't even recognize it.

But it's fruits were there: "intimacy disorder."

I learned coping mechanisms: performance was the main one. The applause and confirmation that I received from the church culture did nothing to expose the lie.

I never questioned there might be something different, better; or that I might be in bondage to a deep, deep fear.

Then, two and a half years ago, God brought a little girl into our home through adoption. My fear and it's fruit were exposed and busted wide open.

It wasn't pretty. Crucibles never are.

In His providence, God also had us overseas, away from family, friends, culture, etc. and I had no props or back up plans. I had to deal with the root issue.

To add to it, He gave us 3 children in 23 months.

Talk about intensity. He just wasn't going to let me off the hook any longer.

I'm not even sure what else to say about this except to say that I am learning a whole new way of living. It has been going on for some time; I am getting better at throwing myself fully into relationship with Jesus...not into service to Him or performance for Him.

Relationship. Connection. Abiding.

And letting Him "do" it. Letting Him bring forth my righteousness as the noonday sun. Letting Him produce His fruit in me.

For so long, I tried to by-pass the surrendered-heart relationship (the abiding) and jump straight to the fruit and good produce, simply because I was terrified of what relationship would mean.

Even more terrified that He would say I was unsuitable for relationship, that performance and duty and service was all I was good for.

The truth sets free.

I am bawling even now to think that He does not see me as unworthy of relationship. This lie was a message I received very young and very dramatically and everything in my life growing up confirmed it.

This is why I blog (tentatively so!) at Adding Zest. One of the results of my fear was that I withheld myself from John, not necessarily physically, but as a whole person.

Jesus prompts me to share what I have and am learning about letting relationship restore.

It is certainly not fancy. Not persuasive. Maybe not even helpful for anyone else. But it is my dance before Jesus. A dance of freedom. A tangible way I leave the seat of performance, duty and service; rise to my feet, and take the hand of Jesus as He invites me to relationship.

"The Spirit and the Bride say "COME." Revelation 22:17

And so I invite you to come. If you relate to anything I've said, may I invite you to come? I am doing a series on Sexual Freedom at Adding Zest and preparing a Bible study for overcoming victimization.

Care to join us in this beautiful, sacred dance? Learn with us how to let relationship restore.

A Brush with the Divine

2010-09-01T20:06:00.005+08:00

I have to share a link to an incredible testimony.

God allowed me to quietly brush paths with this man, a Marine who was shot in the head by a sniper in Iraq.

God has used this simple man and his story to touch my life in a profound way. Watch his story here(Click on "My Testimony").

Bless someone else and share the link!

Another Quick Update

2010-08-29T10:23:00.003+08:00

Okay, I am a big time blogging slacker. But I'm still here! :)

For those of you in the Tampa, FL area, I am super excited to be doing the GOC at Bell Shoals Baptist Church in September. If you are in the area, please let me know and we can try to meet up!

Just wanted to say hello to all you wonderful friends and let you know I'm thinking of you and hope to visit you at your place soon.

God and Sex

2010-08-18T23:37:00.000+08:00

Sex is not a bad word. (Neither is God, so stop using it as one.)

I’m sick of a pagan culture using one of God’s gifts- sex- to entrap, enslave, and exploit God’s people. I’m sick of God’s people letting them.

I’m sick of cowering in fear when it comes to addressing this topic passionately and biblically. Why should we be afraid of upsetting the pious few...those who taut they hold to the right way when it comes to sex and indeed I do not question their orthodoxy, but who are too good to share it in any meaningful way with others?

Meanwhile, the CDC says that as many as one in three females experience sexual abuse in their lifetimes. We, Christian women, suffer the consequences of that abuse. So do our marriage beds.

I'm stating the obvious here, ladies.

Here's more: (Click here to read the rest)

Home and Getting "Normal"

2010-07-01T22:49:00.002+08:00

Just popping in to say thank you SO much for the prayers! We made it back and are trying our best to find a new normal :)

We will be based in Tennessee for our stateside (hope to meet some of you in person). John will be doing a PhD program while we are here, for those of you who asked. I hope to be back to posting soon :)

Please remember us...

2010-06-07T14:24:00.002+08:00

If you are reading this, please pray for us!

From Monday, June 7 around 5:00pm EST to Tuesday the 8th around 6pm, our family is traveling back to the states for stateside (furlough).

It is going to be a hard trip and we would be so thankful for your prayers.

Please pray that God would pave the way before us, help transitions go smoothly, for the kids to sleep :) and for good seats, that we would make our connections and not lose luggage (or a kid) in the process, etc.

Pray, pray, pray! THANK YOU! See some of you on the other side of the ocean!

Spiritual Fruitfulness vs. Faithfulness

2010-05-14T13:38:00.003+08:00

Thanks to Garry for sending the link to this from John Piper and John MacArthur on fruitfulness vs. faithfulness. Hope it encourages someone today.

A Refreshing Little Giveaway

2010-05-06T07:54:00.002+08:00

**UPDATE: We have a winner! Congrats Tania!

Sometimes a little giveaway is in order. It just does the heart good.

This giveaway is special because it is a "Pay It Forward" one. See, it was started by Elaine. Then Leah won Elaine's giveaway and I won Leah's.

Maybe YOU will win mine! The catch is that you have to pay it forward by doing a giveaway on your blog if you win.

Sound fun? Leave a comment to be entered!

Oh, you want to know what you'll win? Rats, I thought you might. Well, I'm not sure exactly what I'm putting in the package yet, but it will definitely be local items from Asia.

One of the items I've purchased for it is a place mat setting for two that includes bamboo mats, coasters, embroidered napkins, rings, chopsticks, wooden soup spoons, and ducks (they keep the ends of your chopsticks from touching the table.)

You'll just have to win to see what else I put in the package!!

Leave a sweet little comment to enter :)

For those Driven to Perform...

2010-05-04T12:03:00.004+08:00

Some of you may remember a post I did about 4 months ago on connection vs. compliance in our relationships with our kids and with God.

Maybe one day I will do a post on the role of obedience as taught in scripture; but today I am super excited about Karyn Purvis' study guide on connection! SUPER. EXCITED.

Because the Word is truth and the truth sets us free.

The study guide is the companion to The Connected Child and is entitled "Created to Connect: The Christian's Guide to The Connected Child."

The cool thing? It's free. It's downloadable. You click here to get it right NOW!

Although this is primarily an adoption resource, I am excited that this study focuses on the principles of connection as outlined in Scripture. This makes it useful for anyone, not just adoptive families.

I believe that when we start moving past performance, compliance, and the like as our primary means of relating with God, we will begin to see and experience the blessings of being called a child of God. Super excited, y'all. I had to share!

While I'm sharing, may I suggest you visit this site? This is a family holding a raffle to raise funds for their Ethiopian adoption. Check out what you could win and meet a beautiful family you can bless!

Dreams Fulfilled

2010-05-03T14:29:00.004+08:00

I just read that my dear blog buddy Elaine has seen the fulfillment of a dream. She holds her published book in her hands.

Isn't that awesome?!

I don't know what your dream is, but when someone sees a God-given longing come true? Well that is cause for celebration in my book. Congratulations Elaine!

Please check out her promotional video below and visit her site for more info on her book. As for me? Well this news is cause for brownies. I'll make sure to eat one for you, Elaine.

Hidden Joy (GIVEAWAY)

2010-04-26T13:35:00.001+08:00

When Wendy Blight encountered a masked man with a knife on the steps of her college dorm, she initially thought it was a joke.

But when the man forced her to enter her apartment and lock all the doors and windows, she realized this was no innocent game.

It was assault.

It was rape.

It was the day that changed her life forever.

Click here to read my interview with Wendy Blight over at Adding Zest and to enter the giveaway for a copy of her book Hidden Joy in a Dark Corner.

Faith and Hope- Guest Post

2010-04-23T15:15:00.002+08:00

Do you have posts sitting in "draft" form on your dashboard? Well when I first read Shonni's email, I thought she somehow hacked into my drafts and read what I have in "draft" on adoption and spiritual warfare.

If there is one thing I wish I had known up front before that day we picked up our daughter, it would be to expect spiritual warfare like you've never seen before.

I wasn't prepared for the dark days that hit me. I didn't recognize what happened for what it was: an onslaught from the evil one. I was parenting and living at the level I was accustomed to (which did include spiritual warfare already, mind you), but not realizing the change in strategy. One day I hope to finish that post in draft. For now, here's Shonni to share on her adoption lessons.

When Heidi asked me to answer this question, my mind quickly took a look at 11 years that Steve and I have walked this crazy little love road called adoption. There really is only one answer for me, though there are so many things I have learned, the greatest is FAITH AND HOPE.

Our first adoption, like any “first” was so full of emotions as we immersed ourselves in the new world we were about to enter. We learned about China, and parenting a child that had been in an institution her whole life. With wide-eyed hope I stood there and watched and cried as Steve came off the airplane with our new daughter. It took time to “teach” my new darlin’ what a mother was and we struggled for quite some time.

With faith, we began the journey to bring another child home…a son this time. It was such a quick and easy adoption and my baby boy was placed in my arms a year later. Adjustment was quick and easy; he was even nursing, which I was thrilled about, until an accident put me in the hospital for emergency hand surgery. Finally back home, and with my arm hanging from a standing light post, to keep it up, the phone rang. Steve and Jace had just been in a roll over accident. Both were shaken but unhurt, however the Bronco was totaled.

By now, Steve and I were beginning to notice the spiritual warfare that was coming at us with each adoption. However, with faith and hope, which were like tiny little plants, we began the adoption of two children from Asia. If I had of known what was about to happen, I would have run the other way, kind of like Jonah did in the Bible. I would have even been happy to hide out in the belly of a fish!!! The LORD was really going to get serious about pruning. Our lives pretty much feel out from under us over the next four plus years, and somewhere at the bottom we clung in desperation to HOPE in the LORD. I can say that during that time my faith became so weak and small, that I thought it was dead.

How amazing to look back now and know that the LORD was pruning what was dead, and was nurturing life in me; the life He had placed there from before I was born. I can tell you though, at the time I thought I was dying!!

Now, years and 5 children later, I can say that I have learned to trust in the absolute TRUTH of the Word of God…whether I feel like it or now, whether I believe it or not, or whether I see it or not. Through my journey of adoption I have learned to hope for our future and to have faith that the LORD is working all things out for our good.

And these last words, taken from Hope Lives, by Amber Van Schooneveld really describe the life that the LORD has been nurturing in me…
“Something happens when a creation does just what it was created to do – it sings. It finds joy and purpose and fulfillment. Far from being a burden in my life, I suspect fulfilling my purpose in loving and serving the poor around me will make me more truly alive. It will nourish me and bring me joy. God is transforming me into His masterpiece – created for the good works He has placed all around me.”

Yes, loving and serving the poor around me, loving and serving my family, and loving and serving the LORD, wherever He leads me, has brought me joy, purpose and a fulfillment I could never have imagined.

I now know that my journey of adoption was also a journey of restoration.

Shonni, thank you for a beautiful post and photo! You can find Shonni at Nations Around Our Table. I feel so blessed to have the ladies share these things with me this week. I hope you have been encouraged like I have...what a treasure these women and their blogs are to me. Thanks again, you wonderful women!

Adoption's Lessons- Guest Post

2010-04-21T19:01:00.002+08:00

Christine is an adoptive mom who has learned some real practical (and humorous) lessons from adoption. Today she shares some of them with us! Her post somehow reminds me of the lighter side of adoption :) (my comments are bold)

Adoption has changed me/us/our family in a lot of ways. Actually some of these things I would have learned if I simply would have given birth to 5 children, but my 4th child who happened to enter our home by adoption set about teaching me some new things. If adoption had not entered our lives neither would have that wonderful, stubborn, and vibrant child and we would have been the losers.

A bit of back ground….I was 19 when we married (he was 23) We were married almost 5 yrs before our first son was born…we proceeded to have 3 boys and then felt God calling us to adopt. We have adopted non-special-needs as young as possible, twice. Our two beautiful little girls came to our family at nine months of age…three years apart. God asked us to adopt again and we are in the process of adopting a 10 y.o. boy who will need a number of surgeries in order to continue walking. He has scars from burns when he was about 2.

Adoption has taught me that you can actually be in an airplane for 16-3/4 hours and not go nuts!

Adoption has taught us that while my hubby gets motion sickness, he can successfully fly in an airplane, (that was a source of great concern the first time, as he’d never been in a plane).

Adoption has taught me that talking louder does not penetrate the screams of a crying child. That sounds awful, let me explain. Our oldest daughter had trouble with sleep. She had night terrors and I could recognize those. They happened in the middle of the night; but what was the deal with falling asleep in the car and starting to SCREAM when mom brings you in from the car??!! She is almost 8 and WE are only now learning how to handle arriving home after we have been asleep. I say we, because I am learning to discuss strategy before the crisis.

Adoption has taught me to plan ahead and talk to the child about an upcoming, possibly stressful situation. In the past I tried to avoid mentioning possible stressful situations because I thought maybe if I talk about the “stress” I will also induce said “stress."

Adoption has taught me that I might need to add new parenting practices, not that the old ones were wrong or bad, but having a “toolbox” of methods is very helpful. (A strong AMEN from me on this one!)

I have learned that there is no ONE perfect parenting book (other than the Bible). Some books work for a certain child…or for a certain time period, sometimes you need to mix and match, but always go back to compare it with the Bible. (Another AMEN)

Adoption has taught me that the “experts” are still learning, and often the best experts are the BTDT parents. I don’t know how I managed without blogs with our first 4 children. (I only started with yahoo groups after our first adoption)
Having children-not just adoption- has taught me that unfortunately just being a parent doesn’t automatically make me perfect. I need to constantly make sure I line up with MY Father’s guidelines on anger, compassion, mercy, and malice. And too many times I am the one needing the “time in” with my Father.

Adoption has taught me I can let a child scream in her car seat for the ride home and not lose my mind, sometimes there is nothing to do but head for home.

The best advice from an expert when a child acts out- check first if they might be hungry, or needing a nap. If it has been more than two hours since food, get something wholesome in that belly, then deal with the acting out.

Adoption has taught me when people ask “How many regular children do you have?” They are not asking which of my children need a regular dose of Metamucil!

If we had not adopted, we would not have met all the wonderful people that we now call our friends… we would never have crossed paths. There is something about becoming parents at the same time (in the same room) and each getting to know your new child, in a foreign country.

And the answer to “Are they yours?” is always a firm “yes”.
“Are they sisters?” -- “They are now”

Just curious...Does anybody else have people ask you the "regular" question? I think I would definitely have to share with them about the poopy pail! HA! You can visit Christine here.

I Love Me A Man Who...

2010-04-20T20:24:00.000+08:00

...helps with the laundry.

My Kind of Woman- Guest Post

2010-04-19T13:42:00.004+08:00

Welcome to Adoption Week! Oh, I didn't tell you about it? Well that's because I'm flying by the seat of my pants and just decided to do a week of sharing adoption lessons!

A couple posts ago I mentioned asking some adoptive moms about the greatest thing they learned through adoption. Well three of those moms were willing to be guests with their lessons and I thought I'd take a week and share them (I am very excited about this if you can't tell!)

So today, I have Signe here. Now I love Signe's blog. Probably because she doesn't put on pretenses; just humble simplicity, take it or leave it. Signe is mom to nine kids so I figure I can learn a thing or two from her (smiles). In addition to sharing here, Signe posted some great adoption insights in this post. Here's Signe with her lessons learned:

The biggest lesson that adoption has taught me, is that I live my life by faith and not by sight. Hebrews tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. When you choose to add to your family through adoption you are stepping out in faith. It is not completely unlike having children through childbirth, but it is bringing in many unknowns into your life. You do not know exactly why this child has been orphaned, or what their experiences have been up to the point when they come into your family. These children come with a past, even if they are infants. When you accept them as yours you take them in faith.

It takes faith to wade through the paperwork to prove that you are fit to raise a child. It takes faith to choose a child that you believe is meant for you. It takes faith to wait while the paperwork goes through the legal system. It takes faith to prepare physically, emotionally and spiritually for this child. It takes faith to bring this child into your home and lay your life down for them. It takes faith to instill faith in them that they will be a part of this family. It takes faith to ride out the emotions of dealing with the traumas in their past. It takes faith to raise children that need to discover who they are, and who God has made them to be. It takes faith from beginning to end.

Adopting children brings situations in your life that you can never anticipate. You can read books that will prepare you generally for most situations, after all there is nothing new under the sun, but each child brings their own experience. I have learned to be humble in my parenting. I have seen amazing parents that have been challenged to edge of their faith by their children, but God met them there. I no longer judge others by what I see of their lives. I know that there is so much more than I could ever know. I don't worry anymore about what people are thinking when my kids sprint out of the doctor's office screaming, they don't know my story. They don't see the end of faith. Faith sees children healed. It sees children that had no one put into families where they are loved, faults and all. Faith sees that the trials we have with our children are making us all more like Christ.

Thank you, Signe! So beautifully said. Adoption has sure taught me some of these lessons {and it is great to know I'm not the only one with kids who have major public meltdowns :) } It's also great to be free of worrying about what everyone is thinking.

Wednesday I'm going to have another adoptive mom on to share some of her lessons. See you then...

Are You a Mechanic or a Pilot?

2010-04-12T15:52:00.002+08:00

God often speaks to me first thing in the morning, before I am fully awake. Which is one way I know it is Him because my brain is not capable of coming up with these thoughts on its own at this point in the day.

Most of the time, it is scripture He speaks to me; but sometimes, like this morning, it is a “set-up” for scripture. Today, this is what He said: “The fighter jet pilot becomes skilled through practice.”

(See what I mean, btw? Does your brain tell you things like this when it is still in a sleep fog?)

I knew it was God speaking because my spirit perked up to listen. As I nursed my baby, I thought about this fighter jet pilot and waited for more.

God and I began to have a conversation. “What is the difference between a mechanic and a pilot?” He asked me.

Me: “Well, the mechanic knows how to handle the jet on the ground. The pilot knows how to handle it in the air.”

God: “You were born to fly and you were born to fight. You will not do this until you accurately handle the word of truth and your senses are trained through practice (II Tim 2:15, Hebrews 5:14).”

God, continuing: “The mechanic knows the plane inside and out. He is great at safety. He is very important because he maintains the integrity of the craft. But if all we have is a safe craft and no pilot who knows how to handle it, then all we are is grounded.”

God, after a significant pause: “A grounded craft means no threat to the enemy. The goal is to get the craft in the air.”

As I pondered on this, I thought of how I enjoy other trained pilots, like Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer, to take me up and show me around. This helps in becoming familiar with the aircraft and getting a first hand look at the goal of our training. But I must press on to becoming a skilled pilot for myself, and that means lots of personal practice in the skies.

I'm at a season in life (with adoption and parenting in general) of becoming skilled in wielding the word. My beliefs about God and myself are being challenged. And I'm finding that although I may be well "grounded," that is not the end goal.

The spiritual pilot keeps close ties with the “mechanic” so that what he goes up to fight in is sound. However, far too many of us never go up! We let others put in the practice and training and never do it for ourselves.

The pilot trains by handling the word “in the skies,” in daily life where the rubber meets the road (or where the wings meet the air?) This is the difference between knowing a whole lot of scripture (being a mechanic) and wielding it to target an enemy and bring spiritual victory (a pilot).

Based on my conversation with God, I knew it was going to be a rough day.

It was. Lots of testing. Lots of attachment issues with Hadassah. Lots of screaming, throwing oneself on the ground, and refusing to engage. Lots of chances for me to get “air time.”

While I was up in the air, some red lights started to come on! Back to the ground I went to check on the integrity of my belief system.

How do I see God? What beliefs are at the root of my response? Which ones have I accepted from Christian teaching but are not biblically sound? This is a lot of work!

Sometimes we don’t know the integrity of our craft (our belief system) until it gets tested in the air. That is when the defects start to show up! Two areas that have worked as indicators in my life are my sexuality and my adoptive parenting. Relationships, more than anything in my life, have indicated to me certain defective beliefs about God and myself.

I am targeting the areas that flash red during flight…and I’m determined to keep getting this craft in the air.

Because through practice a pilot becomes skilled and this craft was meant to take out some enemies.

Adoption's Greatest Lesson

2010-04-06T09:59:00.008+08:00

There is so much I want to share about adoption, but really, how can one talk freely about something so sacred, so life-altering, so painful, so amazing?

I don't doubt it when people say adoption is the most wonderful thing that has happened to them. For me, however, it has been the hardest thing I've ever done, and I've done some hard things.

It disrupted my pretty little world and my fancy little plans to do "ministry." I guess I somehow believed deep down that following God's will would always be wonderful and productive and victorious. Maybe similar to what the disciples thought...until that night in the Garden.

I had forgotten that God prunes in order to bring forth more fruit (John 15). Adoption has cut me sheer back to the quick. If you were to peer into my life and look at my branches you'd see no fruit, no buds, no leaves, just bare stark stubs.

Ouch.

I'm supposed to be a "spiritual example." Instead, I'm a walking picture of how evil the human heart is and how deep the darkness goes.

Yet I know that redemption goes just as deep. I'm like the winter vineyard right now, allowing this cold, harsh season to do it's preparatory work in me.

Adoption has freed me from pretenses. I'm not out to convince anyone that I have it all together or that I have anything meaningful to say. Lord a mercy, if God does anything through my life, it's a plumb miracle and a testament to His grace.

Adoption has exposed and liberated me from very subtle forms of self-righteousness. I praise God for this because the freedom has been powerful.

Adoption has increased my gratitude and thanks-giving. When my child screams and throws herself on the ground or withdraws and refuses to engage, I go to my knees and thank God for the opportunity to grow in love and to deny myself. This response has not come naturally. It is something that has been learned (and still needs lots of practice, which I get in daily doses :) )

Adoption has illuminated my deepest fears and shown my desire for control. It has presented me with the choice to parent my children and indeed, live my life, trying to affect a certain outcome or giving all I've got, freely and generously, and trusting God to be the sovereign One.

If I were to sum up what is going on in my own adoption into God's family and in our family here, It would be this:

"And you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree...They also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again." Romans 11:17, 23

God Is Able. That sums it even further.

I know adoption affects different people in different ways. I have asked a few adoptive moms I've met online to tell me the greatest thing they have learned from adoption. I have been so blessed by these moms! If you are an adoptive mom, I would love to hear your thoughts on what you have learned (PLEASE!! :)

He Has Done It!

2010-04-04T10:21:00.001+08:00

A Matthew Good Friday

2010-04-02T09:41:00.003+08:00

We are observing Good Friday in Matthew fashion (Matthew 27), going through the day talking about Jesus' journey that day.

"Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death."

Beginning this morning, we are talking about what happened that day for Jesus. He was bound. He was led away. He was delivered to Pilate. He was interrogated.

Jesus underwent a horrific morning.

At noon, with Jesus on the cross, darkness fell upon the land until 3pm.

Around 3pm, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Jesus underwent a horrific afternoon.

"And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit."

Jesus did this for us. For me.

"When it was evening, there came a rich man...and he took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth."

Tonight as we finish this Good Friday, we will picture Jesus' body in the tomb, bruised, broken, waiting for Sunday...

The Accuser Rebuked

2010-03-30T14:41:00.002+08:00

"Then he showed me Heidi, standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at her right hand, to accuse her.

The Lord said to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?"

Now Heidi was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel.

He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, "Remove the filthy garments from her." "See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes."

Zechariah 3:1-4

Praising God for white garments!

Don't Tell Me About Your Malady

2010-03-24T18:47:00.005+08:00

This post is the truth and nothing but the truth, I lieth not.

A couple months ago I heard Phil Vischer (creator of Veggie Tales) telling how his dream crashed and burned. It was a really good testimony, but what I really remember is about the infected hair follicle he had in his nose.

Yes, he started his speech by telling how he got this really bad cold and developed a super painful, swollen, red snout and had to go see the doctor about it. The doctor looked inside and said, "Yeah, you got an infection in there. Bite this bar 'cause this is gonna' hurt."

Or something like that.

Well. I about choked on whatever midnight snack I was enjoying at the time and I thought, "Thank God I've never had that. That would be just awful."

You know what is coming. The very next week I got a cold and wouldn't you know it? My nose swelled up and started throbbing terribly and I had to tell my husband that I thought what happened to Phil Vischer was happening to me to which he said he had no idea what I was talking about so I had to tell him the story.

So he got out his flashlight and looked inside my nose. Oh yes he did. (It's called marriage.)

After looking in my nose he said I may want to find something to bite on 'cause what he had to do might hurt.

Or something like that.

I can't believe the things I put my husband through...because every time I get a sniffle now, my nose starts swelling up with a clogged follicle. I am not kidding you! It has happened about 3 or 4 times since Phil's talk and yesterday?

Well I started to get a sniffly nose so I did the rinse thing like I normally do but today...Phil nose.

I can't believe this! I'll have to tell John to get the flashlight out again.

At this point I'm dying to ask what strange malady has befallen you, but I'm scared to!! Can you blame me?

Guest Post from John

2010-03-23T09:15:00.002+08:00

In light of what is happening politically in America, I thought it timely to share something my husband sent out recently to our newsletter recipients. Oh how I pray God keeps pressing me to get over myself in order to fulfill the purpose He has for my life: to evangelize the lost in word and deed!

Dear Friends,

Over the last several weeks I have been engaged in various readings and study of the Bible and missions books. Most of what I am sharing I already knew but through this study my convictions have been strengthened about how the gospel spreads. The short of it is this - the most powerful witness we have is sharing the gospel with those people whom God has put in our lives- neighbors, friends, family, etc.

In {country where we have served}, the gospel message is not readily available via internet, TV etc. It has spread chiefly from person to person. In many cities, the only form of witness available is through personal evangelism. A foreigner doing mass evangelism will quickly be locked up! Evangelism, mass rallies etc. outside the state church are strictly prohibited (but it often takes place anyway at a high cost to the preacher). Nonetheless, the gospel is continuing to spread.

Among the peoples and cities in {country where we have served} where we see a large number of people confessing Christ, the movement is characterized by a large number of people hearing the gospel on a daily basis from person to person! Preaching the gospel in mass may be done but it is not the main vehicle of people coming to faith.

Conversely, in America we have mass rallies, internet access, books, DVD’s, etc but the gospel is not spreading as fast as in other parts of the world. Of course there are many reasons besides this one (one of them being rebellion), but I am convinced one of the chief reasons is the gospel has been taken out of the hands (or discarded) by Christians who are not in the “ministry.”

While in Seminary, one of my professors shared a story about he and one of his deacons who went on an evangelistic visit. The pastor first shared the gospel with the lost person and he rejected. Then the deacon shared the gospel and the lost person accepted. The pastor then asked the man why he rejected his sharing but accepted the deacon’s. The man replied, “I expected you to share the gospel with me because you are a “preacher” and that is your job, but when he shared it with me I knew it had to be real!”

I see this same phenomena when I share the gospel with the {people we work with}. It is much better received from local to local. When I share the gospel with them they think it is “Foreign Religion” but when a local person shares the gospel, they are forced to reconsider and generally are much more willing to receive Jesus.

If the gospel is going to move in power in America (or any other country) it must take place from carpenter to carpenter, lawyer to lawyer, teacher to teacher, neighbor to neighbor etc. Satan wants Christians to leave the gospel in the hands of the “professionals.” Do not believe this lie! Do not be afraid! Be faithful to show the love of Jesus and share the love of Jesus with those around you. It is the most powerful witness we have!

May God Bless You
John

PS I still believe in “Preaching the Gospel” and preachers, but this is only one part of God’s plan for reaching the lost. Also, I am thankful we have the opportunity to proclaim the gospel in mass in America!

Can't Wait!!!

2010-03-22T13:46:00.005+08:00

Without a doubt, my favorite author is Francine Rivers. Everything she writes is incredible, but I especially love Mark of the Lion (3 Book Series)
and Redeeming Love. If you haven't read these, you haven't read.

So I am pumped that her latest book is now available. I can't wait to get it when we return home this summer.

I'm also looking forward to checking out the The Last Sin Eatermovie based on her book.

Who is your favorite author and what is your all time favorite book? Do you have any recommendations for us when we return to the states? We have four years of catching up to do!

Note: The links above are affiliate links which mean if you click through and purchase, you effortlessly contribute to building our family library in the US. Thanks so much!

Flash 'Em Friday

2010-03-18T18:45:00.002+08:00

I have to share a little challenge Patty has come up with over at Adding Zest: Flash 'em Friday. You'll have to go over there for the details 'cause this is one of those things that is, er, personal in nature.

Let's just say that I'm in and have been planning my shock treatment and it's gonna' be good, girls! Can't wait to hear how you shock your man :)

Also, Patty and I have been hard at work over there with some big changes coming up and Friday we'll make some announcements and kick off a giveaway. Stay tuned to the Zesty channel for some great stuff coming your way!

A Taste of Sarah

2010-03-14T09:47:00.004+08:00

Words from my Sarah girl:

"Something smells bad, mommy."

After asking if it is her, she says: "It's stuck in my nose!"

A moment later: "There's trash in my nose! That's disgusting!"

I love this kid.

Toddler Rites of Passage

2010-03-11T14:33:00.003+08:00

There seems to be several of these common to our household. One is eating/playing with one's own poop. (Okay, this post should have come with a warning, but I'm too frazzled to spend the words on it.)

The other- the one that happened today- is emptying bottles of powder during "quiet" time.

Do you know how long it takes to clean a mess like that up? I'm about to find out. Again.

I'm wondering if there are any rites of passage unique to your household. I need some mom company.

Thank-You! (I Won Some Great Stuff)

2010-03-06T14:10:00.006+08:00

If you've been around my blog for awhile you will know that I love real life stories. I learn so much from other believers. One of my life goals is to "Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." (Hebrews 6:12)

So when I heard of Mary DeMuth's memoir Thin Places, her story of turning trouble into triumph, it immediately went on my wish list.

Well the cool thing is that I won it on Lynn Mosher's blog!! I am so excited, thank you Lynn! (Lynn does some great giveaways!)

I also won "Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl" by Lysa Terkeurst on her blog. Thank you, Lysa! If you aren't familiar with Lysa's blog and ministry, you need to go check it out. Her blog is so real and I love learning from her.

Finally, if you haven't been over to Adding Zest in a while, there is info regarding a Free Consultation Call there for this coming Tuesday, March 9. You may want to go check it out.

Have a great weekend, friends!

5 Things...

2010-03-05T16:28:00.003+08:00

...I'm looking forward to when we return on stateside in a few months.

5) A bra whose wires don't poke me under the left arm.

4) A can opener that actually works.

3) New pajama bottoms- these have been through two pregnancies and require perfect positioning to stay up.

2) A backyard for the kids to play in, hallelujah amen.

1) Christian community.In English. Bliss or what?

Just felt compelled to share my daydreaming. That's it, you can carry on now.

Compassion in Kenya

2010-03-04T12:23:00.003+08:00

When I first heard Wess Stafford's story (see below) about a year ago, his genuine love for children was evident. An organization's leader says a lot about the organization and I found Compassion isn't just some fancy religious money generator. {Is that my cynical side coming out? :) }

For some time I have wanted to share Wess' story but it never seemed right until this week.

Why now?

Well, because one of my favorite bloggers is in Kenya with Compassion this week. In fact, today is her first day of sharing what she sees there. For the next several days she is going to share pictures, stories, and the reality of what she encounters.

She is going to be our eyes and invites us to open our hearts to the children of Kenya.

I'm in.

You can be too by checking out the Compassion blog and Kristen's blog. Most of all, be willing to open your heart to a child.

**There are many great relief organizations and child sponsorship agencies out there. One of the main reasons I love Compassion is that they carry out their sponsorship through the local churches in any given country. This is vital to long-term success and is not only biblical but it equips the local believers there to serve and better reach their own people.

Compassion's Circle

2010-03-03T12:47:00.003+08:00

Yesterday we left Wess standing on a chair holding a candle lit at both ends. Today we will finish his incredible story.

“I watched as it got to my skin. My skin began to turn red then bubble and smoke and one of the children at that point jumped up slapped it out of my hand. I would have let it extinguish itself on me.

I had that level of rage at the injustice of my little life.

That was a moment, as awful as it is, that ultimately launched my life.

Because I began to realize, “No. Wrong is wrong. Sooner or later you have to take a stand and say “It stops here, it stops now, it stops with me.”

And that’s what I did.

I understand poverty, I understand abuse, because I have been there. I’ve seen it. And I recognize that God put that in my life to allow me to speak to some of these things that don’t get spoken of very often.

Believe me, if God can use me, He can use anyone."

Wess ended up going to work for Compassion International in 1977 and became President of the organization in 1993. Today, Compassion International helps more than 1 million children in 25 countries.

(I heard an interview with him recently regarding the work they are doing in Haiti. Wess served there for several years in his early days and when the news reports after the earthquake started coming in, he could understand what was being said in the background. He said that he heard believers praying and singing and serving in the name of Jesus. Praise God!)

Wess' story is powerful to me because he is an example of how God uses the difficult things in our lives to shape us for His purpose for our lives. Each of us has a purpose and God is at work in each of our lives, shaping and fashioning our daily lives in accordance with His purpose.

That opens my sails and lets me glide.

The other thing Wess' story does for me is challenge me on my view of children. He demonstrates an intimacy with Christ found in seeing children as Jesus does and by "serving the least of these little ones." I encourage you to hear Wess' heart for yourself and be challenged in your relating with children by reading his book Too Small to Ignore: Why the Least of These Matters Most Join me tomorrow for a look at how we can be involved in Compassion's work in Kenya.

Pain's Launching Pad

2010-03-02T12:22:00.002+08:00

Growing up as a missionary kid in West Africa, Compassion International's President Wess Stafford learned about poverty from the village he lived in...and experienced secret abuse at the hands of those he was supposed to trust. Here is part II of his story as shared on Family Life Today in November 2008.

"This (the abuse) went on for years. When I was nine, we went to America and for an entire year my sister and I did not spill the beans to our mom and dad.

But I was the first one to spill the beans. We were going back to Africa, about 20 of us missionary kids all traveling in a convoy airplane and our parents were traveling by ship later.

One of the saddest things for us as little kids was that we wouldn’t see our parents for nine months. The first month you wouldn’t forget what they look like. They didn’t let us have any pictures of them. But every time I would close my eyes as a little boy, for the first month, I would see my parents in the exact position they were in as we left.

And I would cry myself to sleep every night for the first month or so.

By the ninth month, I couldn’t really remember what they looked like. And so here I am going back to this horrible place.

I take my mother’s face in my hands at the airport and I just look in her face and she says, “What are you doing, Wesley?”

I said…I said, “Mom, I just don’t want to forget what you look like.”

Well of course what mother wouldn’t burst into tears at that point. She burst into tears, I burst into tears.

They were loading up at the gangway- it was propeller planes back in those days- and in a desperate one or two minute effort, I thought, “Here’s my chance, I’ve just got to tell her how awful it is,” and so as haltingly as a nine year old can tell, “Mom, they beat me. They hate me. I’m afraid of them. I don’t want to go back there.”

But I did. I had to go, there was no stopping.

I blurted it out in my nine year old desperate way.

There was absolute horror on my mom’s face. She had never heard this. She gave me a huge hug and said, “Wess, I don’t know what to say.” She was full of tears and so was I. I was looking for protection and thought, “If they just know.”

We climbed on the plane. The rest of the missionary kids- nobody would sit with me. They looked across the aisle at me like, “There is a dead man sitting there. All of us know you can’t do this, you can’t tell. It will absolutely destroy everything. What have you done, Wesley?”

I remember looking out the window thinking, “That was probably the unpardonable sin they’ve been talking about up at that school.”

Well, they were right about one thing. On the boat trip back to Africa my mom was absolutely distraught. By the time she got back (it took about a month), sure enough she had had a nervous break down. And sure enough, we got word that she had had to return to the United States for treatment.

Well when word got up to the boarding school, by then rumor had leaked out “Wess told.” “And his mom returned just like we said, that ministry is destroyed, she’s back in the states, Africans aren’t coming to Christ because of this.”

So the house parent chose to use that moment to put an end to this. He gathered all the kids together and said, “You cannot serve God and Satan. Wess tried to do both and his parent’s ministry is destroyed because of this.”

And he got this clever idea. I think it must have struck him at the moment.

He called for a birthday candle and he carved off the other end so there was a wick at both ends of this thing and had me stand up on a chair where all my friends could see me… and lit it from both ends.

I was holding it in my little fingers. I could look at it and see what was coming.

He turned to make the point, “You can’t serve both God and Satan.”

I thought, “This is so wrong. This is so unfair. This place is absolutely not the right place for a child to be.” (So much so) that I thought, ”You know what, they can beat me all they want and make me feel guilty. They can abuse me in every way, but they are not winning this one.”

And at ten years old, I said, “I don’t care how much this hurts, I am not letting them have this victory.”"

Hearing Wess' story showed me afresh how God works in the dark seasons of our lives, preparing us for the seasons of light. His story is one of pain, manipulation, and heartache, but also one of forgiveness, perspective, and finding your place of service.

Wess' story will conclude tomorrow and Thursday I will tie it in to something that is going on right now. I hope you will stay with me! In the meantime, you can check out Wess' book here: Too Small to Ignore: Why the Least of These Matters Most

Compassion's Painful Beginnings

2010-03-01T12:42:00.002+08:00

“My childhood was split really between two settings, kind of like the best of times and the worst of times.

Mostly when I talk about my childhood, up until a few years ago, I talked about the village. I talked about the poor, I talked about the values those people instilled in me. I tell people that everything I learned to lead Compassion International, I learned from the poor themselves, in that little village.”

Thus begins Wess Stafford in an interview aired on Family Life Today in November 2008. Below I share pieces of the transcripts from that program. I hope you will hang with me this week as I share this heartbreaking but incredible story and bring it “home” to the present later in the week.

“But five years ago, I began to see some of the suffering of the kids who were part of the other side of my childhood.

And that was all of us (missionary) kids in West Africa were all sent off to one basic boarding school where we spent nine months of each year. That was a very harsh, a very cruel place.

So my year was spent between a very loving, supportive village and wonderful parents, a tremendous father who loved me and included me in his ministry and activities, and a boarding school that all but extinguished my flame."

{ A boarding school is standard for many missionary families due to educational limitations. Wess is quick to say that this took place 45 years ago, and he was first sent off to boarding school at age 6. Things have changed a lot in 45 years! }

I can now see God’s purpose and how He orchestrated that as part of the fabric of my life. But the kind of cruelty and abuse we experienced there (at the boarding school) is very similar to what poverty to a child does. It basically speaks this message: “Give up.”

“You don’t matter. Nobody cares about you. You’re small. You’re weak. Nothing good is going to happen to you.”

In retrospect I can see how God was weaving this together. We were at the end of the line. Children were the least important component out there.

We were beaten. This was the extermination of the spirits of a lot of children.

The beatings were with a belt or a big slipper that was made out of a truck tire tread. They beat us for things you shouldn’t beat kids for.

(Every morning after breakfast) they would read everything they had found wrong with any of these little children’s room. I mean, I wasn’t old enough to reach all the way across my bed to reach the wall but you couldn’t have a wrinkle in your bedspread.

A typical day would have been out of 80 kids, maybe 20 of us would be on the “bad” list. I don’t know why Wes Stafford was on it so often, but I was a regular feature on that list. It would say “Wrinkled rug, wrinkled bedspread, pair of socks on the floor, dust in cubby hole.”

I could do the math. What that meant was one swat for the rug, one swat for the bedspread, two for the pair of socks cause that’s two things, and a swat for the dust in the dresser.”

All of us kids would then line up outside the house parent’s room , we would walk in one at a time, they would read us our charges, we would reach down and grab our pant trouser legs so we’d be tight up against our little bottoms. They would read us our charges like judgment day and then hit us, one strike for each thing, as hard as they wanted to.

When I was in third grade, the thing they taught us was how to average things. The most recurring thing in my life I could think of to average was, “So how many times do they beat me here?”

And I thought, shall I count how many times they actually whack me, or shall I count the events? I chose the events because it was a simpler math problem. But for several weeks I kept a tally and finally when I worked the math problem, it was one of the saddest answers I ever saw.

I was beaten 17 times a week in that place. Seventeen events.

We wrote letters every week. Every Sunday was letter time. Our moms used to lovingly put 36 envelopes together…Every week we would write letters home but we could not tell anything bad. The leverage they used on us was that “If you do, you will discourage your parents or make your parents frightened or angry. You will destroy their ministry. ”

I remember their words, “There will be Africans in hell because of you.”

So they used our love for God and our love for our parent’s calling to Africa and our love for Africa against us. Do you know that dozens of us went for years without ever telling our parents.

What you have to understand is, (before our three month vacation) we were gathered together and given the sternest of lectures. “Don’t you dare tell your parents once you’re gone out of here. You will be Satan’s tool to destroy your parents.”

So us kids went home and for three months we didn’t tell anyone. Psychologists now point out that kids can hide amazing things to protect the ones they love. When it was time to go back, all of us kids were desperate in tears, pleading not to go back. Our parents are heartbroken to be sending us back but they assume we are crying about the same thing they are, that we just don’t want to be away from them.

Truth is, we are crying because we are going back to a very awful place. And we love them too much to tell them that."

Part II of this heartbreaking story comes tomorrow when Wess spills the beans and is made an example. His full story is found in his book: Too Small to Ignore: Why the Least of These Matters Most

Fasting From Churchianity

2010-02-24T12:02:00.001+08:00

There’ve been two times when this type of fast has been placed on me. The first time was when we initially arrived on the mission field. We were utterly and completely without Christian voices speaking into our lives. No radio, internet, church, books, bible studies, and the like.

Not even another believer.

Just the Word and the Spirit.

I look back on that season and see it as my spiritual detox time. Apparently I had a lot of sludge to get rid of.

By the time we returned for our first stateside, spiritually I was nearly light as a feather. Years of Churchianity had laden me down but Christ had set me free.

Second term, God upped the ante. Instead of imposing detox on me, He invited me to embrace it for myself. In our current city, we have local churches (albeit in the local language!), other believers to be around, high speed internet, podcasts, Amazon’s international shipping, and access to blogs (hallelujah, amen.) :)

And yet…

With all the great and helpful resources available, I find with it comes the temptation to Churchianity.

Most recently, in my own desperate quest to be a better parent, I’ve come awfully close to the edge, that slippery slope that piles your nightstand with one formula and strategy after another, one person’s “fix” after another’s, until the freedom filled Christ walk becomes elusive.

There is certainly a place for all the resources of Christian culture, but I find the buffet tempts us to wander around in its wilderness instead of letting it point to the only One who crosses that Jordan: Jesus Christ (thank You, Jesus!)

When I am no longer being edified and pointed to Christ by what I am hearing from others, I have learned that I'm probably taking in too much! I've also learned that the level I can healthily handle is actually not very much.

Here are a few signs that indicate a Churchianity fast is in order. When one of these appear, I immediately turn off, shut down, close book, etc. I may choose to fast for a day, a week, or longer. Perhaps these signs may help you as well.

~ If in my reading/listening I start comparing myself to others or their ministry (as opposed to healthy jealousy described in Romans 11:13-14 that points to fullness in Christ)

~ If I am compelled to pursue and feed selfish ambition. (Side note on this one too: Churchianity breeds this one, folks. Selfish ambition is a pet sin in American Christianity.)

~ If what I hear/read produces feelings of guilt that weigh me down and rob me of spiritual energy.

~ If what I hear is adding spiritual "to-do's" to my life.

~ If instead of giving thanks and glory to God for someone's experience or gifting, I begin trying to boil it down to a spiritual growth formula.

~If I find myself spending more time listening to what everyone else is saying (say about how to parent) than I am listening to His promptings inside me and His Word in front of me.

~ If I am incited to perform and control; to learn more, do more, be better...instead of abiding.

Churchianity tempts me to find a formula, perform, and look good. Christ reminds me that freedom is in relationship (and when I'm free, who cares what I look like? )

Churchianity is happy to laden me down with resource upon resource. It is greedy to profit from my quest for freedom and abundant life; Christ is the One-and only One- who can give it… And He does so free of charge.

I have found that when I feel spiritually lethargic or dull of hearing, this type of fast is invigorating.

Connection Quiz

2010-02-20T14:00:00.009+08:00

Adoption has done something incredible in my life. It has exposed to me- and in me- one of the biggest myths of Christianity.

Before I tell you what the myth is, I have a little quiz for you. Are you a type A or a type B parent? Which type of home did you grow up in? Do you/did you have a home that values performance and behavior most or values relationship and connection most?

- While the family is eating dinner, your fed and changed (ie should-be-happy) baby starts fussing. Are you more likely to place him in a swing to quiet him or hold him in your lap while you eat?

- When a child gets sick, are you more likely to settle him/her on the sofa with a blanket and hot soup or rock them in your arms?

- When your child expresses negative or unlovely emotions are you likely to send them to their room or draw them close and help them express their emotions in healthy and appropriate ways?

- Are you more likely to give your child a new toy/book and send him off to play with it or sit down with him and play/read together?

-Are you more likely to provide objects and activities for your children or provide touch, attention, presence, and availability?

-Are you more likely to fix breakfast and have your child eat alone while you get ready for the day or sit down with her and engage her while she eats?

{ These contrasts were taken from Dr. Karyn Purvis' book, The Connected Child, and from my own observations.}

Having an adopted child who struggles with attachment has turned my world upside down. Furthermore, having 4 kids so close in age has added intensity to the lesson learning :)

Here is the myth God has used adoption to expose in my life:That God chiefly desires our obedience.

Obedience makes life easier for everybody. As the momma, I can force obedience...to a point. But obedience is not what a good parent wants most. It certainly isn't what God wants most.

A God who became flesh and dwelt among us to give up His life for us?...um, didn't do that for mere obedience. I mean, if He wanted us to simply obey, don't you think He would have used that mighty right arm? Don't you think He would have done something other than die?

He did it for relationship.

Understanding this so clearly is changing my life. I grew up in a home that valued performance. Performance was the way I earned approval. As I mentioned in my last post, I came to the point of recognizing that a performance perspective robbed me of something better. (Praise God for the truth that sets us free!)

I am walking in a new found freedom. I'm taking cues on this relational connectivity from the Spirit within. I'm not to the point where I'm ready to share on the blog, but I'm living it nonetheless.

So tell me, can anybody relate to what I'm saying or do I sound like an alien with purple polka dots? If I'm purple to you, just please don't make me Barney? :)

Half Baked

2010-01-29T09:39:00.005+08:00

I'm going to be very vulnerable and share with you a letter I recently wrote. It goes like this:

Dear Pastor,

Yesterday I was going through some papers and came across my notes from one year ago. I read this quote you made: “Our divine, blood bought privilege is to be enabled and filled by the Spirit.”

Up to this point in my life, I have lived a “hit and miss” life in regards to living by the Spirit. (I’m 35 yoa and was saved at 9.) This way of living the Christian life has produced a lot of frustration, missed opportunities, helplessness, and leaves ordinary marks on the lives of my children, community, and ministry, rather than extraordinary, divine ones.

I feel like I’ve been a Galatians 4 Christian- a daughter and an heir, but too immature to employ my spiritual inheritances. Sadly enough, I am coming to realize that certain beliefs and teachings imparted to me during my upbringing in the American church have kept me “childish.”

I have identified two primary teachings (in practice more than in “theology”) that have contributed to my false belief system:

1. Performance based Christianity as opposed to relationship based Christianity. Relationship based Christianity views obedience and fruitfulness as an outflow of connection to Christ (John 15 and Romans 11).

Performance based Christianity emphasizes strategy, techniques, resourcefulness, and supervision rather than the imitation of those who “through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Heb 6:12)

2. Control- The belief that I must control my own spirituality and formation, and that maturity is up to me. This is rooted in the fear that God doesn't really intend to bless our spiritual socks off or isn't really willing to do what it takes in our lives for that to happen. We say that God is in control of everything, but when it comes to our spiritual life and richness, we take it upon ourselves to be responsible for it.

We try to manage and control our spirituality through Bible study, prayer, and all sorts of religious activity…instead of using these spiritual disciplines for connection to Christ and His Spirit within us. The spiritual disciplines become some elusive formula we use, hoping to influence and affect an outcome. I have been “stuck” in this cycle for many years, not realizing until recently that no amount of “formula” Christianity can replace connection with Christ!!

These two primary beliefs have kept me as a child-heir in my spirituality, unable/unready to employ my spiritual inheritance of the Spirit. I have been under the tutorship of many things to bring me to the point I am at now (a huge one being adoption- it has rocked my world!). I daresay even these things themselves have been tutors to me.

But now, I crave examples to follow- not of performance and proper implementation of resources of the flesh and the world- but of faith and patience. Modern day people who, like Stephen, was “full of faith and the Spirit.”

Sadly - no it is indeed heartbreaking- I find few. I realize this is in part because I live overseas and do not have fellowship and community and biblical preaching and teaching like I would in the states. (We’ve been on the field for 8 years.) But even so, I have no examples within our organization to mimic and imitate, only “supervisors” who evaluate “performance.”

My husband is an example to me of living by the Spirit…but when I ask him how to make the jump so to speak, he cannot describe to me with words. He does not relate to my hang-ups because he was saved as an adult and did not develop spiritually in the environment that I did. He relied on the pure Word for his spiritual formation. His answers are very simplistic to my convoluted mind!

This past year, God gave me this verse as a promise and call on my life: “I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances.” Isaiah 49:8b-9a

I don’t know how He plans to accomplish this in my life, and given my state of spiritual immaturity, I don’t know how long it may take to come into fullness; but I believe that His call on my life is to make me an example of what it looks like to live out of our spiritual inheritance- that of the Spirit.

“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant…” II Cor. 3:5-6

I think there is a great need in the American church to understand our inheritance in the form of the Holy Spirit indwelling us. What a blessed hope it is to have this calling (above) on one’s life!

I have taken too much of your time already and will stop. I do not demand a response, but will say that any perspective, instruction, or “footprints” you can offer me would be so helpful.

Thank you for your words at our meeting last year. They continue to offer hope to a body of believers who are driven to perform.

Your sister in Christ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I share this here on my blog because I want my life to be lived out of connection. God's call is demanding me to sit at His feet and imitate what I see Him doing.

This means setting blogging aside for a season. I hope to be back at some point to "live out of connection" onto the blogosphere; but right now, I am "half-baked." When God allows, I will be back. In the meantime, God bless you, my sisters (and brothers)!

Lushy Stuff

2010-01-28T14:25:00.000+08:00

I promised a Works for Me Wednesday post on my acne tips... although when you are 35 years old, you really prefer to avoid the term "acne." So I will use the much gentler term, "break-out prone" skin.

I hardly had a blimp on my facial screen all through my adolescent years. When I turned 18, something happened with my hormones and I caught up to all my peers. Then I surpassed them. Then I surpassed all of them combined.

Now I'm 35 and have fortunately found something that helps keep my record-breaking skin on the clear side. (I've tried many an item, by the way, and none has worked.)

First the con: Lush items are not "cheap." The cleanser and lotion I use cost me around $26/ a month. To me, however, that is worth exchanging a few things for.

The pro's: In short, clear skin!

I have used Lush for about two years now and will never trade it in! Here are the products I use:

Coal Face: Good cleansers are readily found, but the charcoal in this product soaks up the impurities, it gently exfoliates and the other ingredients cleanse them away.

Enzymion Moisturizer: Moisturizer is important to clear skin, but I could never find one that didn't cause me to breakout. This moisturizer is fruit based and soaks up your oils while moisturizing your skin at the same time. I've never seen anything like it!

I suggest you search the Lush site for a local store, they can help you find the right items for your skin type. You can also search the site for related products. Trust me, Lush is fabulous!

Will You Blog for Life?

2010-01-18T14:25:00.001+08:00

Join the fifth annual Blogs for Life Conference Live! I am hosting the live video stream right here on my blog on January 22 from 8:30 to 11:30am.

This conference is for pro-life bloggers who want to understand how to use blog technology to promote life and turn ideas into action. The conference is an occasion for bloggers to brainstorm about how to work together to be more effective.

This year, we want to spread widely the word about Blogs for Life, and introduce as many new people to the pro-life blogging community as possible. If you'd like to host the webcast of the 2010 Blogs for Life on your own blog (for free), go here.

The webcast will stream in the below box starting at 8:30am on January 22. { Isn't that cool?!} See you then!

Haiti Relief

2010-01-16T13:47:00.005+08:00

As a missionary, my heart is with those who are on the ground doing the overwhelming relief work in Haiti. I have several recommendations for giving that I am passing on if anyone is interested.

The first is the IMB Relief Fund. 100% of donations earmarked for Haiti go to relief there.

I also recommend the Red Cross.

Finally, I have given to the missionary family below who is providing housing, water, and shelter in their home to hundreds of people. I received this update from FamilyLife MomBlog and am copying the email from the missionaries. If you are interested in helping them provide water and mats for these people, their website is at the bottom of the email.

From FamilyLife MomBlog on Jan 15, 2010

We are okay.

I just heard from Caleb. He arrived in Port au Prince and said the conditions are indescribable.

Just to give you ideas, estimates on loss of life right now are approaching 250,000 to half a million.

He says bodies of 20-30 people are piled up and no one is even stopping to pick them up because there is nowhere to take them.

It is horrible.

Last night he slept in his car and is trying to bring back some people here today. We have a group of Americans here right now and are trying to decide how to get them out. There are no commercial flights in and out of Haiti, the only way in is through the Dominican Republic for anyone other than military aid workers.

What we are doing:

1. Caleb is arriving back here today with some evacuees.

2. We are preparing to house as many as we can (now I know why God gave me such a BIG new house).

3. We can house up to several thousand here, we are preparing by getting drinking water ready, etc.

We need funding to buy sleeping pads and food for them. There is a water filtration system in town which will provide water.

The local hospital here is already receiving injured from the capital. Those who can walk or travel are coming here.

We are planning at present to put evacuees at the camp, at the school, wherever we can find place.
4. Please continue to pray for wisdom and strength for Caleb. Jephthe (Caleb's brother) left this morning to help with evacuations and to meet Caleb.

5. We are fine!

6. Some cell phone service started working again today, although it is intermittent. Pray for calm as people begin to hear who has died. It is very disheartening.

7. Pray we can continue to be a light. The Christians here know we have survived to be here for such a time as this.

We love you guys. Please pass the message along and continue to pray for all of us.

If you are interested in donating to this family who will be directly working with those most affected by the earthquake, you may go to their website at www.hosean.org.

Whether you give or not, all of us can keep praying!

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T14:52:00.001+08:00

From our family to yours.
{Do you know how hard it is to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time? This shot was number abazillion I believe. The kids were not happy...except maybe Michael :) }

Don't Give Up!

2009-12-25T20:42:00.000+08:00
The day after Christmas is really hard for many people. With this in mind, just minutes ago, I tried to do a vlog for you; but upon watching my vlog I discovered that in order to do that, you really must have video-worthy hair, and y'all, I just don't have it.

So you will have to make do with the standard post instead. { I'll save the vlog for a video worthy hair day. Like *that* will happen.} ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Condors don't learn to fly very quickly. Between six and nine months of age, a young condor will begin practicing to fly.

It takes about a year to get it down.

In order to learn to fly, young condors experience fall...after fall...after fall. Failure after failure. {Is this starting to sound familiar to anyone besides me?}

You know where I'm going with this. Condors don't give up because they were made to fly. Even though it takes them some time to get it all working together, they keep at it because that's what they are made for.

In Christ, we are made to walk in abundance of life- overcoming, contagious, joy and faith-filled life.

So I fall. I fail. I blow it Big Time. I'm still trying to master abiding in Christ, in and out of season. But flying is what I am appointed for, so I can't give up!

I've learned one important truth: We mustn't let our failures keep us from seeing who we are and what we were meant to do.

I'll get back up if you promise you will! We have some wings that need stretching. Besides, by this time next year, we can be flying.

"You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised." Hebrews 10:36

Jesus on My Doorstep

2009-12-22T09:58:00.004+08:00

Jesus showed up at my apartment this morning.

I imagine Him entering the elevator and punching "6" on the panel, holding the bag he would deliver. He quietly deposited the bag at my door, leaving no note, making no fuss.

Just a bag with a message of love.

The message Jesus sent this morning was a reminder that He has not forgotten. "Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God... You are more valuable than many sparrows." (Luke 12:6-7)

This morning, this is the bag that we found at our door:

I won't go into the reason why this particular gift has the prints of Jesus on it, just that my girls are in desperate need of warm clothes and that no one would know that at surface level.

The gift is clearly from a local person (notice the English) but I have no idea who.

It is from someone being Jesus to us.

Jesus showed up at my place today. Today, I will take Him to someone else's.

Christmas Week

2009-12-21T21:25:00.000+08:00
I'm celebrating Christmas week and beyond with A Bushel and A Peck. Lisa has this incredible line-up for the next couple weeks:

December:
21 Neely - The Power of a Praying (Adoptive) Parent
22 Jennifer - Do I Have One Too?
23 Heidi - The Gift of Clay Feet
24 Andrea - A Labor of Love
25 Lisa - Christmas greeting
26 Brianna - A Few Thoughts on Motherhood
28 Jillian - Fighting for Their Healing

January:

4 Michele - The Dance - Older Child Adjustment
17 Shila - The Sleeping Bag of Grief
25 Laurel - Raising Missionaries

I have mentioned that Lisa is the mother of 7 biological and 4 adopted children. All of the guests above are adoptive moms and have great "stuff" to pass on. I hope you will join me in visiting Lisa's blog and discovering these wise mommas over the next couple weeks!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Earthquake! and Daniel reading Chinese

2009-12-20T09:03:00.003+08:00
I was brushing my teeth last night when the building started shaking and swaying. {Our Christmas tree was in serious danger of losing it.}

Even though we were miles away from the epicenter, the 6.4 quake sure scared me.

In other news, Daniel's language teacher sent us a link of him reading in front of his class. Here's a link if you care to check it out.

Dad's 11 Commandments

2009-12-17T13:40:00.004+08:00
The other night I heard a discussion taking place in the bathroom between John and Daniel with lots of squealing and laughing going on.

It seems the excitement of the holidays has created the need to be reminded of what is couth and what is not.

{Ahem. Are we the only ones who seem to perpetually get "stuck" on topics concerning bathroom activities? }

After the nightly bath ritual was completed, we all sat down to summarize the main points. This is what I wrote (accompanied with lots more discussion, squeals, and repetition by one certain young boy who found this hysterically funny, especially #9):

1. Wipeth thy backside well.

2. Washeth thy hands well.

3. Keepeth thy fingernails clean.

4. Brusheth thy teeth.

5. Picketh not thy nose.

6. Do not beateth thy sisters.

7. Do not loudly lifteth up thy voice first thing in the morning.

8. Do not getteth out of bed before thy appointed hour.

9. Flusheth thy toilet.

10. Closeth thy mouth while masticating.

11. Knocketh not on thy parent's door when locked.

Otherwise, be-eth a child.

Now, Tell us what you would add {and make sure you read the comments because there are some funny additions :) }

I'm a Celebrity!

2009-12-15T11:11:00.004+08:00
I'm a celebrity!

At least that's what I felt like when Lisa asked me to be a guest on her blog, A Bushel and A Peck. Lisa has 7 biological children and 4 adopted children. Can you imagine the energy she must have?!

Anyway. Her blog is fabulous and to be invited as a guest is a great honor. I'm over there today sharing some thoughts if you want to go check it out!

Sanctified Selfishness

2009-12-11T14:15:00.004+08:00
I had a much needed God-to-Mommy break through this morning.

If you've been reading my blog for awhile you know how having 3 kids in 2 years has really stressed me out.

That would be putting it mildly.

In the course of the past two years (with a major international move, an adoption, the addition of 2 biological children, plus numerous travels, changes in roles, ministry and more), I had really become...desperate? Burned out? A control freak?

Yeah, that's it, and so much more.

So many changes has unearthed lack, need, and want in my heart. Once again, my limitations and frailties stare me daily in the face (don't think that will ever change, by the way) and with them came my tendencies to crank up my motor and start performing.

Start fixing.

Get busy trying to do the right thing. Hold the ship together.

Yesterday my friend Laura posted this and it prepped me for what God had to say to me today: Stop thinking everything is your responsibility! Stop trying to control your life, your kids, your righteousness!

Stop it!

Stop thinking that you're going to mess your kids up because you aren't a good mom.

Stop thinking you aren't making a difference in anyone's life.

Stop thinking you need to do more, be more, change things.

Stop doing. Stop trying. Stop being.

Just stop it!

I know this. I just forgot.

This morning God sat me down (thanks to a friend who took the girls out to play) and told me "Be still and know that I am God."

"I am. Not you, Heidi."

Only He is capable of doing the divine. In my life; in my kid's lives; in our hearts and souls where it really matters.

And He does. { Duh! He's God! }

Whew!! I feel so much better. I so needed the shoulder-shaking I got this morning.

I need not run around trying to do what is right (especially in my parenting) because I want things to turn out right. As I heard one gentleman say, "That is sanctified selfishness."

I need to let God be God. As He changes and enables me, He will bring forth my righteousness as the light (Psalm 37:5-6)

Anybody else have a good word? Share on!

Gifts That Give

2009-12-08T15:28:00.007+08:00
Today I'd like to share one simple gift that is working for me this year. This will encourage and bless your recipient all year long PLUS give back! If that isn't enough for you, Beth Moore is in on it :) {and yours truly is too.} Are you ready?

It's the Voices of the Faithful 2 devotional!

This book contains 366 stories written by over 300 missionaries around the world. Beth Moore has added a focus Scripture and prayer to each story to make this a great devotional. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this book go to support over 5500 IMB missionaries!

This is a great gift to give (and get!) and an easy way to support missionaries. You can click here to see this book on Amazon.

(And for those of you wondering, I'm somewhere in September- that's all the editor told me!)

Next Wednesday I'll share about how I handle my prone-to-breakouts-skin. Yes, I bare all on this blog :)

Kabul 24

2009-12-05T18:53:00.000+08:00
"The situation is very tense here. The uncertainty is often unbearable. At least I'm allowed to visit the women everyday. They always ask me for news of what's happening, but I can't tell them much. Greg, please tell all our friends not to stop praying for us."

This is from a letter written by one of the hostages taken by the Taliban in Kabul in 2001. Most Americans will remember the names Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry. The book and movie "Kabul 24" tells their story and the story of the other 22 that were arrested with them.

I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this book (except that I wish there were more photos.) The writing and story are both riveting. It is obvious that the people who worked on this project were dedicated and truly desired to get this story out.

It is a story of difficulty, trauma, struggle, and uncertainty. It is also a story of how God has His people in dark corners, filthy prison cells, and underneath turbans. If you like God-sized stories, this true life account is a must!

The Other Side of the Story

2009-12-05T14:21:00.005+08:00
Other than the death threat I received following this post, I've never had such scathing emails in response to a post like I did to the one below.

I sort of liked it.

It made me feel like I was the little kid in "The Emporer's New Clothes," stating the unpopular but obvious truth.

Before I get bustled off by the big people (smile), I'd like to share another side of the story.

A woman I've never met but who has become very dear to me emailed me a few months ago and asked what we would like her to send in a package.

At first, I did not respond to her email. (Yes, it was rude. But her husband has been unemployed for nearly a year.)

She emailed again.

I told her that I did not feel right sending her a list of "wants," especially given her situation and the fact that our family is blessed above and beyond.

She emailed me back saying that if I did not send a list, she was just going to have to guess at what we wanted. She clearly was not giving up.

Finally she sent me this email (along with a deadline for the list!) that totally blessed my heart:

Hello my friend,

It is time to send me a list for the Christmas box. Can you please do
me a favor? Can you just send me a list and NOT argue with me about it.

Steps to take now....

1. Read this email - DONE
2. Refrain from writing the email about me doing this - DONE
3. Send T the List
4. Sit back and relax :)

Love Ya
T

I sent the list.

Three days ago we received a package. As I removed sinus rinse and French Fried Onions from the box (broccoli casserole, here I come!), I laughed out loud because my friend had literally begged to give to me!

She modeled the behavior of the Macedonians in II Corinthians 8:4 who "begged us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints."

Can you imagine what joy there would be in our midst if we all went around begging to give?!

Thank you, T, for your awesome example. I want to beg like you :)

{ For anyone interested in discovering the source of this outrageous giving, you can find it in II Corinthians 8. }

The Spirit of Christmas

2009-12-04T09:03:00.005+08:00
Materialism is like sludge in my spiritual veins.

I remember the first time we returned home for a few months after being on the field for years. For years we had lived in an apartment building and directly across our fancy fence was a squatter's camp.

Since we lived on the tenth floor, we could see down into the camp and what we saw was a life so far removed from our own it made us ashamed to waste anything. Most of our trash, including things like broken mirrors, paper, and cardboard rolls from the plastic wrap we bought, was snatched up by garbage diggers before it even left our trash can outside.

So when we returned home to the USA and drove down the street seeing storefront after storefront competing for consumers, it made me physically ill. We drove past spas and uppity hair shops. Every sort of store and eatery available to man, each demanding clientele of a certain status to flaunt wealth.

I was nauseated.

I kept thinking of the 2 year old girl left in the squatter's camp one rainy day. She woke from her nap and no one was there...they were all working. She stood at the edge of the tent and cried over and over for someone to get her, the rain dripping onto her shaking body.

Finally, an old man came peddling up on a bicycle. He spoke a few words to her, placed a plastic wrap around her and off they went on the bicycle, back to work.

These things change a person. Eight years of living amongst it impacts profoundly.

So when I hear of Franklin Graham taking a $1.2 million combined salary from Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, I am sick. Especially when the organizations have had to lay off a substantial percentage of the staff. Sure, he says it is so that he can "work for free when he turns 70 in 12 years" and now he is making some changes since the news broke a couple months ago.

But I am so nauseous that I can't even go into the reasons why this simply should not be.

When I hear of others blogging about how their child will give one of their old toys away this Christmas, I am sick. Do we really think it is good, admirable, Christian behavior to teach our children that the poor and needy are worthy of our leftovers?

Are we truly proud of the fact that we give our garbage and someone is "blessed" by our generosity? Have we allowed materialism to sludge our spiritual arteries to such a low level?

God, keep me from this hardening of the veins! My heart may hurt but I take that as a good sign. I take that to mean it at least beats...while others have to be pumped and prodded to give the smallest of the small.

And others heap up their plates without shame.

May God help us.

To His Forever Family

2009-11-30T18:45:00.001+08:00
We met your son today.

He was wandering outside the SaiGe shopping center like a little lost boy. The shoppers and strollers passed him by, paying him no mind. We paused and waited for a parent to claim him but in our hearts we knew.

Today is day 1 of your son’s journey home to you.

We knelt in front of the small boy.

“Where’s your mama?” we asked in his native tongue.

Bright eyes looked at us in perfect understanding, but the mouth could not speak. Those eyes, deep and expressive, told a heartbreaking story.

We took his hand so as not to frighten him and led him to security. Such a small hand. “We’re going to help you,” we told him. “Everything is okay.”

He walked with us willingly, trustingly, looking at us with his intelligent eyes. Those eyes spoke to us and revealed his soul.

As we explained the situation to security, your little boy sat quietly on a chair in the guard shack. We waited while investigations were done to try to locate his biological parents.

John went to buy some baozi for your boy, the kind with sweet milk inside, the kind a kid likes.

He was hungry.

The investigations were finished; everyone knew what had happened, it was just a matter of formalities now. There was a system for handling this sort of situation and everyone was well versed in it.

The police showed up to escort him to his new home, a temporary place until he joins you.

We prayed over your boy. We prayed for safety and for peace. We prayed for a quick journey to your arms and in the meantime, for Arms to wrap him tight as he slept and for kisses to tuck him in at night.

We wondered what his heart felt. What was he thinking that he could not bring his mouth to utter?

“It’s okay,” we repeated over and over. “God’s got you.”

I will never know how his journey goes or who you are, but I hope somehow you know that on his way to you, your son was touched by Love. I will not entertain the thought that maybe you are not out there; no, that would be too painful. You are there looking for your sweet, precious little one who cannot speak.

May you be comforted to know that Divine hands protected your son’s first few hours. The Father sees each one of these little ones and He sends other of His children at just the right time with gentle hands, a meal, a blessing, a prayer.

A reminder to us all that when we think we are all alone on our journey, God is there. We may not recognize Him or the means He uses, but unseen hands are leading each of us home to our forever family.

**As National Adoption month draws to a close, I share this experience we had about two years ago when we were waiting to be matched to our own adopted daughter. It comforted my heart to know that God was watching over my precious child in ways I would never see or know while she was far from me.**

P.S. My friend Tanya has a great post up about "Giving Gifts." These are the kind of gifts that give back. May our days and lives be filled with giving gifts.

If You Are...

2009-11-26T21:03:00.004+08:00
...lonely and far from home, take heart:

"He led them forth by the straight path, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place. Oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." Ps. 107:7-9

May each of us be led to His special dwelling place this Thanksgiving.

************************************

For those of you spending extra time online this weekend, here are some great sites to check out!

For writer's or wanna be's, check out her site.

For homeschoolers, check out her resourceful blog.

For adoptive families, or large families, this blog is a must!

For those living overseas, this blog is a real treat!

Happy Thanksgiving friends!

The Mistress

2009-11-22T19:42:00.007+08:00
She was a mild-mannered young beauty, not the sultry kind, but dreaded by many wives nonetheless. He promised her the moon if she would come with him to a new land. His money could just about buy the moon and a new land sounded dreamy... so she went.

She knew she would always be "the other woman," never attaining to the rights and status of "wife" but his love (and that money) somehow made it worth it.

For years she lived in the land of the free as his mistress. He and his family became citizens of that land but she was in no position to pursue such an endeavor.

She was just the mistress.

Then she gave birth to their child and things were in her favor. It was a man-child, one who could take care of her in the future. Plus he was a natural born citizen of the great land she had come to love. She could rest at ease.

Ten years passed and we all know what time does to a body, to a face, to a spirit.

He moved on.

They were left behind.

Without money and the doors it opened, the odds were suddenly stacked against them and she was forced to return to her native country, a country her son did not know as "home."

He entered fourth grade as a foreigner...but he looked just like his classmates so they did not understand why he didn't talk or think the way they did. He was without a friend, without the culture, and most of all, without a father.

She found a place to live near the market and set up a little breakfast wagon. Exposed to the elements she was, working long hours at night and short hours by day. But it was the best she could do.

It still is.

The boy, however, is growing up.

He is in eighth grade now, still the outsider, still wanting to somehow change the direction his life is going.

But somewhere along the way, he met Jesus. "Jesus," he prayed in earnest, "please get me out of here."

A week later, he meets the missionary. The missionary has a knack for recognizing un-tapped potential. He sees the boy drowning in it. "Give me a call," he tells the boy.

That is all the young man needs. He pours out his story and then some.

The missionary begins exhorting the young man, pricking him here, poking him there. One day, after observing the missionary with his own son, the boy says, "You have done me many favors, but can you do me one more?"

The missionary waits.

"When I am wrong, will you tell me? Just like you did with your own son?"

The boy longs for a father. It's a soul-craving. Isn't it like the Father to see beyond our requests to what we desperately need? It's not escape that we need after all. It's a divine touch from Him.

Now I happen to know the missionary and I know he is broad shouldered and big hearted. I am thrilled to know that the Father saw fit to let this missionary model father-hood to this aching soul.

In the course of the father figure ministering going on, I met "the mistress." She came up to our 6th floor apartment to drop the boy off for awhile- to the surprise and delight of everyone. She was afraid to use her English with me, too many years have gone by. I'm sure she thinks of that time as another life...one long gone.

We let her off the hook, but not the boy. Father has plans for him and the more he can use his mind, the better.

"Please stay for dinner," we urge her.

"I must go home to get things ready for tomorrow's work load," she insists and there is no persuading her.

But her face shines.

Later, in the privacy of their own home, she tells her son, "Teach me how to pray," and together they kneel before the Father.

I marvel at the wonder of it all. To be entrusted with such precious souls...to be allowed a small part in their lives...to see a glimpse of divine hope. Truly God is a God of grace and beauty.

This Thanksgiving I am holding my babies a little tighter, loving my man a little longer, and thanking God for the opportunity to embrace a boy and his mom, known as "the mistress."

What are you giving thanks for?

The Mysterious Islands

2009-11-13T11:27:00.003+08:00
Got to pass this on, it is too great not to!

The Mysterious Islands is a brand new movie put out by Vision Forum. It is the story of one boy's search for answers to one of the greatest controversies ever: creation. This boy's journey takes him to the Galapagos Islands. It was here that a young Darwin began formulating his theories 175 years ago.

Since I am a native Floridian, I can't help but share this awesome opportunity coming to Florida next week. This movie is being premiered for free in Tampa! It is also coming to Orlando, FL, Durham, NC and Chicago, IL. If you live near these locations, reserve your seats and take your kids!

For those interested in the free Tampa showing on Nov. 18, click here. For those interested in the Durham showing on Nov 17, click here. For the rest of us, we can purchase the DVD here.

Click here to watch a trailer and read more about it!

Back to my break now :)

Winners!!

2009-11-11T14:32:00.010+08:00
Wow! This has been an incredible two weeks! I am hoping to make this an annual event here at MMM because it has been such a rich time for us all.

Thank you to everyone who participated by linking, visiting each missionary, and by giving. We couldn't have done this without you! I would like to especially thank Kristen from We are THAT family for doing so much to help make this a success and Ann Voskamp from A Holy Experience for the special charge (below) so beautifully written. Both of you ladies hold torches.

The total amount raised: $4065!! Praise the Lord!

Here are the winners {I sure wish we had something for everyone!} drawn by random selection along with the country item won:

571- Tracie- Taiwan

489- Lindsay- Portugal

602- Nancy- Paraguay

439- Mellie- Spain

402- Gena- Russia

462- Garry- Argentina

6- Maria- Brazil

135- Theresa T.- Botswana

42- Joyce- South Africa

620- Elaine (Extra entry for linking)- Montana

106- Maribeth- Uganda

415- Tanya- Indonesia

Winners, please email me the address you want these items sent to.

As for me and my house, we are taking a blog break (tongue hanging out!)

Harvest Workers and Candles in the Dark

2009-11-11T03:21:00.004+08:00
In the final hours of this Candle event, I have one last gift. This one is for you. It is an honor to have Ann Voskamp here with one of her signature posts. God bless each of you as you read and are moved to work your field...and support another weary one working theirs.

Harvest Workers and Candles in the Dark

It is how farmers’ wives spend late summer nights. Delivering food to fields, cups of dark coffee to urge wearying bodies to push on.

I am late, and men must be hungry, and I wait at wheat’s fringe till combine growls near, eating up kernels for the making of bread, and then I’ll hand up nourishment for men running machines.

They don’t come.

Dots of light, like candles in the dark, sit motionless in the distance. Waiting for what? I can’t tell. I pass moments praying, grab Bible from passenger seat.

And then illuminated pinpoints blink, blink, blink. Headlights flashing. A soundless night plea: Come, Come, Come.

Wheat stubble irritates underbelly of vehicle, prickling and scratching, and I cringe and hope nothing is itched raw. Light seeping ahead into black coaches me on. I idle close to the shadows, step out into the close warm of a late July night.

Two brothers, broad shoulders and grease-smeared jeans, are leaning up under a combine, its one monstrous side peeled open. Brother-in-law John has pliers in hand, surgical equipment considering emergency operation.

Farmer Husband turns, finds my face in the black. “Ann.” He sounds surprised. “Thought it was Bert sitting on the headlands waiting.”

Bert, their older brother, a missionary in Indonesia, home on furlough, and, like his brother John, a licensed mechanic.

“Sorry.” I smile weakly. I am no mechanic, me still in apron. “Bert’s up at the bin with the auger, unloading the wagons. He’s taken over for your Dad.”

I had given them both something to eat, and then Dad, limping with sore hip, back, knee, had pulled up into his pick up, turned headlights around, and headed home to his lightless house. I wished someone was there to draw him a hot bath, throw his dirty clothes in the wash. Turn back the sheets for those weary bones.

Tentative, I step through the sheared wheat stalks, a bag of food in each hand.

“Not going well?”

Farmer husband’s pulling out belts of rubber, the combine’s black intestines.

“Chopper belt broke, got caught in the drive pulley, whipped around and knocked off the beater belt and somehow tangled around the wiring harness, pulling it into the straw walker belt and slashed the whole thing up. Cut the combine down dead.”

I squint up through a labyrinth of gears and mechanisms. And there it is, shocking and ugly. A bundle of wires, thick as my arm, dangles like shredded tendons, sinews sliced.

He tosses lengths of the belt onto the chopper deck and they coil like a dead snake.

“Checked the main fuse panel first since the whole thing just went black. Couldn’t figure why all a half dozen fuses were blown. Had to be wiring somewhere and we opened her up and found this mess.”

A wire crackles, a spray of sizzling sparks, and we jolt. “Maybe we should disconnect the battery?” Farmer husband offers. John nods, but says nothing.

There is nothing to say, really. This combine is not moving out of the field tonight, maybe not for days. The Tollenaar boys tore out the wiring harness of a tractor last year and a replacement ran them over ten thousand.

No, there is nothing to say, really. We’ll have to tarp the combine’s grain bin, covering up exposed kernels from clouds slinking in. We’ll have to make some calls in the morning, better assess the damage and the depths of our pockets to cover the costs to get power surging through this machine again.
John climbs up the back ladder to the battery and Farmer Husband’s looking into the dark of the field for snippets of wire sheared off. “And John had just taken home the old combine to the shop because the drive bar to the knives snapped.” He spots another glimmer of wire.

“He hadn’t even made one round and then this happens. It’s all just running too heavy. Now we’re down both combines.”
The crop is heavy, stalks thick, heads swelling, and the mechanical beasts have been working hard and long to bring it in. Hard enough to break steel header bars, hard enough to burn through thick belts.

Rain’s in the forecast; I saw the hot spots of red edging across the radar. And there’s 120 acres of heads of wheat hanging low, past ready. Sky water could sprout those kernels left to the elements. Yet we are utterly powerless to bring in that harvest just waiting.

“Want anything to eat?” I hold out the bag. It’s small solace but it’s all I have.

“No.” He shakes his head, pulls at the peak of his cap. “I feel sick to my stomach.”

My brother pulls up in a pick-up, flicks off glaring shafts, and floating dust particles vanish. Bert and him step out. The three Voskamp brothers congregate, heads close in field deliberations, and my brother spots me, offers his hand, a nod.

“Looks like harvest is going to have to wait now, eh?”

There’s nothing to say, really. Harvest waiting and no geared workers.

Tractor beams spotlight an orb of wheat and I feel heavy about a dark world tonight white with harvest and no workers for the fields.

Does the angst of it make me lose my appetite?

I turn towards the knot of men and brother-in-law John standing there, and he says the first words I have heard him say all night and it’s not about his gutted combine. He’s look up at those heavens laying close.

“There are stars up there.”

Like candles in the dark.

I look up too at that velvet blanket quilted with silver and whisper, “Yes, there are stars up there.”

Night diamonds blink, blink, blink, and I hear His plea to a kingdom of light to go out into the night and its ready harvest: Come, Come, Come.

At the very least, I can bring food to weary workers.

Lord, how can I help bring in the harvest today? How can I help sustain the workers?

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of harvest, therefore, to send our workers into his harvest field.” ~Mt. 9:37-38

Spotlight on the United States of America

2009-11-10T12:01:00.003+08:00

Tuesday, November 10
Today's giveaway comes from a special place in America

On our last day, it is fitting that we spotlight where many of you who are reading this live.
When she first emailed me and asked about participating in the giveaway, I did a double take. I mean, when we think missionaries, we think international. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew that Jessie and Justin had to participate.
Because America is a mission field too, and each beliver there is the missionary.

Jessie and Justin are with Campus Crusade and do student work at the University of Montana campus in Missoula, Montana. Jessie says, "Our hearts are to give every student that attends the university the opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel. We do this by winning students to Christ, building them in their faith and sending them out into the world wherever God calls them.

"We desire to have an influence of every area of the campus, dorms, athletes, degree programs, residential assistant (RA's), and internationals. We pray that these students would passionately follow Christ and make an impact whether back in their home country or where God calls them.

"During the summers we get to travel with students around the globe to not only grow in our own faith, but reach people for Christ who have never heard. We absolutely love working with college students and find it such a privilege to be a part of all that God is doing in and through their lives."

Jessie and Justin remind us that we all are missionaries wherever God has placed us! Amen!

Jessie has donated a taste of Montana to the giveaway with this adorable fall colored tea pot and tea bags. The set includes 1 tea pot, 6 bags of "Montana Gold", and 6 bags of "Evening in Missoula."

You can visit Jessie and Justin by clicking here. They have a special post for you today andwould love for you to introduce yourself!

Today is the last day to enter the giveaway! Click here for full details on how to enter. I hope you have been blessed by these missionaries and are encouraged to shine your light where you are. And remember, no fancy candelabra is necessary so let's ditch the polishing cloths, shall we?

Come back this afternoon for a special tribute and compelling charge from a very gifted writer as we bring "Candle" to a close.

Spotlight on Botswana

2009-11-09T13:01:00.009+08:00

Monday, November 9
Today's giveaway items come from Botswana.

When I think of "real" missions work, I think of the bush. Sarah and her family live in Botswana (known for baskets) and Kevin made a trip to the bush to meet a basket weaver and pick up some Botswana Baskets!

Sarah has a total of five baskets for this giveaway as well as a wonderful book telling about basket weaving in Botswana and the stories behind the patterns! Here are three of the baskets "at work:"

Be sure to visit Sarah's blog today where she will share more about the bush and hopefully some photos :) Sarah blogs here and I can't wait to see what she has for us today!
Update: Sarah says today is T.I.A. day so you'll just have to subscribe to her blog to get the full scoop when she is back to normal (whatever that is!) :)
See you tomorrow for our final day!

Entering the giveaway is easy! Just make a donation before November 11 via the "Chip-In" button located at the top right of my blog. Your donation automatically enters you for all the giveaways (there's a total of 12!) Click here for full details. You can also view past giveaway items by scrolling down.

Set Yourself On Fire

2009-11-08T09:09:00.005+08:00

Daniel woke up this morning un-enthused at the prospect of spending the morning with John at church, training students to share their faith.

I thought “What a shame that rotten attitude is...” because I know the brightness it clouds and what God wants to do with it.

So I took him aside and opened the Bible to Matthew 5:14-16. "Son," I began, "You are a Christian and this is what Jesus says about you: "You, Daniel, are the light of the world.""

I read the passage to him and told him that he has a choice. He can either grouch about how this is not fun for him OR...

He can rejoice and say, "Someone there needs to see a shining light today and God wants me to shine it."

I talked to him about how someone may need to see his shining face and smile; someone may need him to speak to them in their own native language. Someone may need the blessing of another, and the cool thing is that God wants to use him to give that blessing.

Will he choose the easy path and grouch about his wants not being met or will he see the possibilities and rise to the challenge?

It was one of those moments when you know God wants to hit a home run in a young heart.

The torch was passed this morning, and Daniel left telling me, "Mom, I'm going to shine."

Life isn't about how much FUN we can have, or how much we can get for ourselves. It isn’t about waiting around for someone or thing to brighten our world and being bitter when they don’t.

It’s about shining in someone else’s. It is about being used by God Almighty to bless another who so desperately needs a divine touch.

When we do that, we find that we are full of the light ourselves.
{ Now I've pumped myself up about shining and blessing others- I want to run out in the street and see who I can find :) }

How does He want you to shine today?

"If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul,
then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
and your darkness shall be as the noonday."

Isaiah 58:10

P.S. God can do His work without us, but then we are the ones who miss out and I'm not into missing out. Are you?

Final Days!

2009-11-07T23:58:00.005+08:00
Want something special to give someone this Christmas? There is still time to enter for a chance to win an awesome item from another country!

For quick reference, below are the links to all the participants so far. Meeting these missionaries has been inspiring to me and I know to you as well.

If you have entered and prefer a certain item, please let me know- if your number is drawn I will do my best :)

If you have donated, you should have received an email from me with your entry numbers. Also, if you have posted, linked, FB, twittered, etc about the giveaway and let me know, I am tracking those extra entries {so don't worry, I've got you covered :) } but I'm not emailing those because I'm waiting until the end to assign numbers.

We can't wait to see who wins! This is so much fun for all of us; thank you for playing a part!

Austurian drying house from Dani Joy in Spain

Rooster and table runners from Nina in Portugal

Quilt and basket from Sarah (Junglewife) in Indonesia

Scripture in Chinese/English and hand embroidered journal cover from Heidi in Asia

Handmade goodies and elephant bowl from Jen in South Africa

Dolls and mittens from Ashley in Russia

Nanduti lace from Julie in Paraguay

Place mats and table runner from Kelly in Uganda

Handbags from Ana in Brazil

Leather wallet from Kim in Argentina

Baskets and book from Sarah in Botswana

Tea pot and bags from Jessie on a campus in America

Spotlight on Argentina

2009-11-07T13:01:00.004+08:00

Saturday, November 7
Today's Giveaway item comes from Argentina.

Kim and Ivan serve in Argentina, known for its beef and leather exports. Kim is offering this leather wallet, perfect for the man in your life (or for you if the leather fits so to speak!)

You can meet Kim and Ivan today at Kim's blog, Just a Southern Girl. She's a southern gal who's traveled a little further south! See you tomorrow!

Entering the giveaway is easy! Just make a donation via the "Chip-In" button located at the top right of my blog. Your donation automatically enters you for all the giveaways (there's a total of 12!) Click here for full details. You can also view past giveaway items by scrolling down.

Spotlight on Brazil

2009-11-06T12:11:00.001+08:00

Friday, November 6
Today's giveaway items come from Brazil.

Ana and her family serve in Brazil where Ana chose these beautiful hand-made bags for today's giveaway. Here is the description that Ana sent me:

1 set of 2 Handbags Made of Buriti palm straw and banana tree straw

The Buriti palm, frequently referred to as the "tree of life", grows throughout central Brazil and the southern Amazon basin.

These handbags steep in natural elegance, in a very fine fiber called palha de buriti, taken from the buriti palm found mainly in the north-eastern part of Brazil. The fiber is extracted without causing any damage to the tree.

Artisan women weave the fibres that are painted in vivid colors, embroidered and transformed into handbags.

Well! Those are beautiful! Be sure to visit Ana at her blog today (p.s. if you need some work done on your own blog, Ana's your gal) and be back tomorrow for something for the man in your life!
Entering the giveaway is easy! Just make a donation via the "Chip-In" button located at the top right of my blog. Your donation automatically enters you for all the drawings (there's a total of 12!) Click here for full details. You can also scroll down to view all the past giveaway items.

Spotlight on Uganda

2009-11-05T13:01:00.003+08:00

Thursday, November 5
Today's giveaway items come from Uganda

It was in 2003 that Kelly first fell in love with the people and culture of Uganda. After spending a year there she knew that someday she wanted to return. Now she, along with her husband and children, are raising funds to go back to Uganda in June 2010!

Kelly has this five piece place mat and table runner set from Uganda to giveaway:

Your participation in this giveaway will bring Kelly and Josh one step closer to letting their light shine among the people of Uganda! Be sure to pop over to the Hallahan's blog to say hi and see where they are in the deployment process.
See you tomorrow!
Entering the giveaway is easy! Just make a donation via the "Chip-In" button located at the top right of my blog. Your donation automatically enters you in all the giveaways (there's a total of 12!) Click here for full details. You can also scroll down to view past giveaway items.

Spotlight on Paraguay

2009-11-04T13:00:00.002+08:00

Wednesday, November 4
Today's giveaway item comes from Paraguay.

Julie and Norberto are missionaries to Paraguay and have a beautiful framed Nanduti lace to give away (this one measures 20 in X 20 in)! Plus, Julie has another item to add to her giveaway, but you have to visit her blog to see it!

This beautiful, hand-made lace is woven on a flat wooden loom of pins. It is sold world-wide in vibrant colors and distinct patterns.

Ñandutí is a traditional Paraguayan embroidered lace, introduced by the Spaniards. The name means "spider web" in Guaraní, the official indigenous language of Paraguay.

Julie is sharing about herself and her family today at her blog, "Keepin' the Faith," so be sure to hop over and meet her. You can also visit their ministry blog to learn more about their work in Paraguay.
See you tomorrow!
Entering the giveaway is easy! Just make a donation via the "Chip-In" button located at the top right of my blog before Nov. 11. Your donation automatically enters you for all the drawings (there's a total of 12!) Click here for full details. You can also scroll down to view all the past giveaway items.

Giveaway Update

2009-11-03T20:20:00.000+08:00
{ In case you hadn't heard, there's a big giveaway going on over here! :) }

We are a little over half way through and I am having a blast! What a privilege to be part of this!

A few notes on the giveaway:

If you have contributed, feel free to leave me a comment or email me (before Nov. 11) which giveaway you would like if your number is picked. All the winning numbers will still be randomly drawn, this is just for me to know if there is a certain one you prefer in the event you win. I am not making any guarantees but I will do what I can. If more than one winner chooses the same item, I will randomly draw between them.

Thank you to everyone who is helping to spread the word about this. We know that not everyone is able to give at this time and so many of you are spreading the word in spite of not being able to participate personally.

I am speaking on behalf of all the missionaries when I say that we are deeply touched and blessed by everyone who has given, be it via a contribution or a shout out. Our hearts are full.

Spotlight on Russia

2009-11-03T12:01:00.000+08:00

Tuesday, November 3
Today's giveaway items come from Russia

These missionary moms sure do love giving!
Today's missionary is Ashley and she has two items for her giveaway! This set of wooden "Matrioshka" doll ornaments is beautifully Russian (and just in time for Christmas!)

Also in this package is a pair of hand knit alpaca hair mittens, carefully knit by a local "babushka" (grandmother). Can't you just imagine wearing these and thinking of the woman who made them?

Be sure to visit Ashley today and find out about her family and ministry! Ashley also hosts a blog for missionary women that is chock-full of good links and posts. You can visit that site by clicking here.

Are you falling in love with these missionaries like I am? It is such a priviledge to be able to support them and their ministries through this giveaway. See you tomorrow with more!
Entering the giveaway is easy! Just make a donation via the "Chip-In" button located at the top right of my blog. Your donation automatically enters you for all the drawings (there's a total of 12!) Click here for full details. You can also scroll down to view all the giveaway items so far.

Spotlight on South Africa

2009-11-02T13:00:00.006+08:00

Monday, November 2
Today's giveaway items come from South Africa.

Jen says, "I LOVE hand crafted!"

So she went and made something for her giveaway and bought handmade local items in order to support others in her area. We've got lots of items from Jen, so let's get started!

First is this beautiful bead necklace. These beads are hand rolled by a local African girl who just finished discipleship school and currently volunteers with one of Jen and Jeremy's feeding programs. She hand rolls these beads made out of magazines and cereal boxes. Isn't it fabulous!? The necklace measures about 14 in. long.

Next is this pack of note cards, made by Jen's sister who also serves in Africa. Each card features one of Africa's animals.

Next is a coin purse made by Jen herself! It is lined inside and features an elephant accented with beads.

Finally, Jen is including this soap stone bowl! It measures about 10.5 in across and also features elephants. I love it!!!

Here are all the items together:

Wow, what a giveaway! Stop by Jen's blog where you can meet her and also see what other hand-made goodness she's got over there! She has a special introductory post today that you won't want to miss.

Entering the giveaway is easy! Just make a donation via the "Chip-In" button located at the top right of my blog. Your donation automatically enters you for all the drawings (there's a total of 12!) Click here for full details. You can also scroll down for all the giveaways so far.

Out of Darkness

2009-11-01T12:01:00.007+08:00

"But you are a chosen race,

a royal priesthood,

a holy nation,

a people for God's own possession,

so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you

out of darkness

into His marvelous light."

I Peter 2:9

See you tomorrow for our next spotlighted country.

Spotlight on...

2009-10-31T12:01:00.004+08:00

Saturday, October 31

Today's giveaway items come from Yours Truly.

When John and I first arrived in Asia nearly eight years ago, I had never been on a missions trip before, EVER! I was five months pregnant with our first child and we got off the plane with not the first word of the local language (Yes, it is possible. You learn body language!)
We found a hotel and lived there for a month while we looked for an apartment and tried to get our feet under us.
The beds in the hotel were boards with a sheet over them- hard on the back of a pregnant woman. The air conditioning shut down at midnight; the toilets were squatties; the toilet habits of the people...well, we won't go there.
The first thing we learned to say after "hello" was "McDonalds." We walked everywhere we went for awhile because we didn't know how to tell the taxi driver where we wanted to go (we didn't have a car for six years.)
Now, seven years later, we have 4 kids; a better understanding of the language, people, and culture; and a growing heart for those we encounter. (But we still sometimes do things like order "your best tasting butt" instead of "your best pork chop." Un-intentionally of course :) )
The people we live among worship many different things, while some claim to be "atheists." Below is a slide show of some objects they worship. These are photos of things all within just a few miles of my home.

When I told one of my local friends about the Candle event, she wanted to donate something. She has learned calligraphy and is writing II Corinthians 9:8 in both Chinese and English on a parchment (which will come un-framed for shipping purposes.)
The only thing is, she isn't done with it so I can't take a picture!
However, here's a sample of her writing on regular paper. I'm also posting a photo of her because I love putting faces to hand-crafted items.

I am also including a hand-embroidered journal cover. I love purchasing these covers because each one is unique and made by a minority woman to help fund her child's education. The cover comes with a tag telling about the minority group.

We all experience times when the needs in our own lives seem overwhelming, much less those of a dark and hurting world. It seems fitting to end today's post with the scripture my friend is writing:

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed."
II Corinthians 9:8

Spotlight on Indonesia

2009-10-30T12:01:00.004+08:00

Friday, October 30
Today's giveaway items come from Indonesia.

Sarah aptly calls herself "Junglewife" {you'll have to visit her blog to find out more :) } She offers two items from the islands of Indonesia for her giveaway.

The first is this beautiful wall hanging or table runner. It is made with Indonesian batik fabrics by a Christian quilting/sewing ministry on the island of Java called Agape Craft. It is beautifully hand-quilted.

(Dimensions are approximately 26 1/2 inches (67.5 cm) by 60 inches (152 cm) )

The second item is a hand-woven basket from the island of Papua, where Sarah and her family live.

Here's what Sarah says about this basket: "It comes from a co-op called Let-let Crafts. "Let-let" means "lifting one another up" in the local language. This co-op provides jobs and income for people in remote villages. It is made of indigenous materials that have been used for centuries here in Papua to make handcrafted items. This basket is approximately 14 inches (35.5 cm) across."

Sarah also says she might throw a surprise or two in her package!! Make sure to visit her today at her blog Junglewife and come back here tomorrow!

Entering the giveaway is easy! Just make a donation via the "Chip-In" button located on the top right of my blog. Your donation automatically enters you for all the drawings (there's a total of 12!) Click here for full details. You can also scroll down to view the giveaway items so far.

Spotlight on Portugal

2009-10-29T12:00:00.006+08:00

Thursday, October 29
Today's giveaway package comes from Portugal.

The Story of the Rooster:

At a banquet given by a rich landowner in Barcelos the silver was stolen and one guest was accused of the theft.

He was tried by the court and was found guilty. Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, he still protested his innocence. The magistrate granted the man a final chance to prove his case.

Seeing a cock in a basket nearby he said: "If I am innocent the cock will crow."

The cock crowed and the prisoner was allowed to go free.

I copied this story from the tag hanging on today's giveaway item, provided by Nina and her family.

The rooster is very famous in Portugal and Nina tells me they are everywhere in her city where this story presumably took place.

Along with this cool rooster (I wish I could win it!), Nina has included a set of place mats and a table runner!

I have known Nina through the blogosphere for about a year and she is one hip missionary momma! You can meet Nina and her family today (and see her vlog!) at her blog "Portugal Bound" by clicking here. It would be fun if we filled her comment box with clucks and feathers! :)

See you tomorrow!

Entering the giveaway is easy! Just make a donation via the "Chip-In" button located on the top right corner of my blog before Nov 11. Your donation automatically enters you in all the drawings (there's a total of 12!) Click here for full details. You can also scroll down to see yesterday's giveaway item.

Clay Feet

2009-10-29T07:42:00.003+08:00
His tears at my unrepentant heart fell on his pillow.

I had hurriedly re-tucked him in saying, "I've got things to do. Stay in bed."

When he came to my room yet again, I was ready with both barrels, barely hearing his soft words and utterly overlooking his heart.

"I'm just wondering... is that a kuai, mom?" He referred to our agreement to give up a "kuai" whenever our spirits grumbled and complained.

But I had given him the barrels, "No, son! That is me needing to get things done. Now good night." Re-re-tuck.

Yet even before his tears began, I knew I was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I reached a hand out to smooth his forehead and softly said, "You're right son. That is a kuai."

By this time John had joined the bedside to see what all the fuss was about. "Go get a kuai," he said, proud that I had not disappointed the aim of the kuai game. I left to retrieve the coin.

The value of a kuai is only 3 pennies, yet I felt I gave a precious gift to my boy last night. To a child who so wants to do right but just struggles sometimes, I modeled what it looks like to embrace our feet of clay.

These clay feet aren't to be feared.

They may leave muddy tracks wherever they go...but they are nonetheless that which carries us:

To a place of repentance.
Soft hearted-ness.
Restoration.
Back to the Potter.

So back to Him I go, this time with a young child in tow. "Potter, these feet will always be clay. Forgive me for tracking across this heart You have entrusted me with. Thank You that these tracks don't threaten Your grace or taint Your intentions for goodness and forgiveness."

Thank You God, for pliable clay in Capable Hands.

I didn't intend to post "daily stuff" during the giveaway, but this morning as I read in Romans 5 about our hope of the glory of God, I thought what a wondrous thing it is to hope in seeing God's glory in the midst of our clay. He promises that hope will not disappoint. Praise God, I can't help but share it! Our clay is not something we have to hide.

Spotlight on Spain

2009-10-28T12:01:00.009+08:00

Wednesday, October 28
Today's giveaway item comes from Spain.

Dani Joy and her guys (one big one and 3 little ones!) have lived in Spain for the past nine years. She chose something as authentic as she could find for her giveaway!

For hundreds of years, granaries holding the fruits of Spain's harvest have dotted the countryside. These houses required advanced carpentry skills and were so versatile, they could house grains, produce, cheese, and meats.

Dani Joy is giving away a model of the Asturian drying house. It is constructed with "real life" materials (wood, stone, etc). It comes with a tag explaining the house's use and history. This is a genuine piece of Spain!
{ By the way, when Dani told me that house ("Horreo") is pronounced "Oreo," I thought, "Well who wouldn't want some Oreos in their Horreo?" He He :) }

Dani Joy is introducing herself today on her blog and sharing some Spanish culture, so be sure to go meet her and her family!

Entering the giveaway is easy! Just make a donation before November 11 via the "Chip-In" button located on the top right of my blog. Your donation automatically enters you for all the drawings (there's a total of 12!). Click here for full details.

Blessed Dawn

2009-10-28T09:07:00.001+08:00
My heart is so blessed this morning.

I arose like the Proverbs 31 woman before the sun came up and spent some time with the Lord; then tended to the ways of my house; now, as I nurse Michael I turn on the computer and see the Chip-In amount and my heart is so touched.

Some of you are un-employed. Some of you are under-employed. I know this because I'm aware of some of your journeys.

Others of you don't know me or these missionaries (or their giveaways!) and yet you offer a gift of love and support.

Wow. Each of you have blessed me so much this Tuesday (um, that would be Wednesday) morning. "Thank you" is insufficient, but take it please, along with the heart by which it is given.

For anyone else contemplating, there are a few hours left to earn double entries.

See you in a couple hours with the first missionary!

Candle in the Corner Kick-Off!

2009-10-27T12:01:00.002+08:00
Woooo-Hoooo! I hope you can hear me over there, because I am ex-ci-ted! Today starts our two week Candle in the Corner Giveaway event! Welcome!!

I'm so excited about this that I figured out how to do a vlog... actually did it...and am now reminded of why I prefer the written word to the visual one.

I really, really want to give a list of disclaimers before airing the below video, but I am refraining myself.

{ Some acknowledgement, please, for the restraint. }

Before the video though, here's how the giveaway is going to work:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Entering is easy! Just make a donation via the "Chip-In" button on the top right of my blog. You are automatically entered for all the drawings. I will track your entries via the email address provided at the time of your donation.
~~Every $5 donation earns one entry. Every $20 earns 5 entries!
~~All winners will be randomly drawn on November 11 and announced here.
~~Winners must contact me within 7 days and provide a mailing address. This will get passed on to the missionary whose item was won. You can email me at stonefox@pobox.com
~~All monies raised will be evenly split among the participating missionaries to support their work doing church planting, AIDS and orphan care, humanitarian work, Christian education, missionary aviation, and more.
~~Each day a missionary family will be spotlighted and their giveaway item shown along with links to their blog so you can meet them! We will spotlight the first one tomorrow.
~~If you blog, FaceBook, Twitter, email etc about this event, leave me a comment at any time during the event and I will give you an extra entry.
~~Please leave a comment or email me if you have any questions or problems donating.
~~I am not responsible for (the remote possibility of) lost shipments, damaged goods, etc etc, blah blah blah. I think this is a given but just want to make sure that we are clear on my job, which is to host the giveaway. Also, I am not a recipient of any monies raised.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today, October 27, is Early Bird Extra Entry Day!! To thank you for your help in kicking this event off, we are giving double entries to anyone who donates today! I know what all the items are and this chance at double entries is one you will regret not taking, take my word for it!!
For those still doubtful (oh ye of little faith), here are the countries the items are coming from:
~Spain
~Portugal
~Indonesia
~Taiwan
~South Africa
~Russia
~Paraguay
~Uganda
~Brazil
~Argentina
~Botswana
So go! Donate today and get ready for an exciting two weeks! Then you can watch my first vlog. Disclaimer free.

Light

2009-10-23T11:10:00.008+08:00
Do you know what it is like to live in darkness?

The missionaries participating in the Candle event are pushing back the darkness in the corners where they live. My friend Elaine posted on "Light" today and included such a powerful video from Chris Rice, I thought it fitting to post here on the "eve" of the Candle in the Corner giveaway. Thanks for sharing, Elaine. What a sacred treasure we possess!

P.S. The missionaries participating in the Candle event have worked hard selecting their gifts and are ready for the fun to begin! We have items from 12 countries to giveaway! If that doesn't motivate you, maybe seeing me vlog will, ha ha! It all kicks-off on Tuesday. See you then!

Just One Of My THAT Moments

2009-10-22T00:01:00.004+08:00

I knew I was THAT mom when my breast pad fell out while trying to *discreetly* nurse my baby during a meeting with my peers.

Furthermore, in my sleep deprived, mushy minded state, I remained clueless to the plight of the pad until some brain child (no really, he's very bright...just unmarried) picked it up during break and exclaimed to the group, "What IS this, anyway?"

Smiling, all eyes turned innocently to him. In unison.

Then darted sideways to me of their own violition. In unison.

Then quickly shifted away. In embarrassment.

How does THAT mom handle the pressure of the moment? The mushy mind sputters to life and she starts laughing because moments like this? are sooo bloggable!

I have THAT kid too (four of them in fact).

Just this week the oldest THAT was the wanted child on the school's culprit list.

The entire school was on the look out for the sweet child who peed in the corner of the janitor's room and dumped her cookies on the floor.

Class by class, the teachers asked if anyone knew who did it. When it reached the first grade classroom, the culprit unashamedly admitted to doing the dirty deed.

Yes, it was THAT kid, belonging to THAT family, which happens to be mine.

{ What kind of reputation are we earning over here is what I want to know? Everyone sure knows who we are!! }

So see Kristen, you are in good company :) Happy 2 years from this THAT to that THAT! Hope you have a lifetime of those moments because they are the spice of life.

Okay, blogger messed the scheduling of this up and it was up about 12 hours too early, while I slept. Sorry everybody! I'm never early to parties in real life, trust me.

Nothing Casual About Sex

2009-10-19T01:08:00.002+08:00
“My name is Steve. I’ve been married five years and love my wife now more than ever. We have an amazing son and the news that we were expecting a baby girl made our future even brighter.

But choices I had made in my past would cloud our bright future and leave our newborn daughter fighting for her life...." Read the rest of Steve's story by clicking here.

Little Lions

2009-10-14T19:47:00.004+08:00
Here is 19 seconds of pure sugar! My lions were the highlight of my day.

Enjoy!

Kevin Carter's Success

2009-10-09T14:05:00.004+08:00
Sixteen years ago a photo was taken that rocked the world and fulfilled all the dreams of the man who took it.

The picture (below) is of a toddler girl in Sudan trying to reach the UN feeding station about a mile and a half away. She is bent over- barely able to move- and in the background a vulture hovers, waiting to pounce.

Mr. Carter says he waited for some time hoping the vulture would spread his wings for a more dramatic photo, but the vulture never complied.

The release of the photo revealed to the world just how horrible the Sudanese famine was. Kevin Carter won instant fame and signed on with Sygma, a prestigious picture agency.

Fourteen months after the photo was taken, Kevin was at his peak as he walked up to the dais of Columbia University's Low Memorial Library and received the Pulitzer Prize. He wrote to his parents, "I can't wait to show you the trophy. It is the most precious thing, and the highest acknowledgment of my work I could receive."

Yet a simple question was his undoing. After receiving the Pulitzer, someone asked him, "Mr. Carter, what happened to the child in the photo?"

He reportedly responded in dazed confusion, "I don't know."

Mr. Carter had sacrificed his ablility to love another (and forgive himself) on the altar of success. Two months later, he gassed himself with carbon dioxide and left a note behind voicing his deep regret over his actions in Sudan.

Kevin's story has been with me for some time. It has made me ask what my personal definition of success is.

It makes me ask if there is anything I am sacrificing on the altar of "success."

Like my kids.
Or a simple and peaceful life.
Or my willingness and availability to help another in need.
Or my own sense of human decency.

The past year has brought a slow transformation to my definition of success. The goal I daily strive for now is that I would be like Stephen in Acts 6:5, who is described as "a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit."

If I am at home with my kids, I can still be successful, as long as I serve my family "full of faith and full of the Spirit." If I am out sharing Christ with someone, I can be full of faith and full of the Spirit, regardless of the response. Whether I'm ever an "influencer" or not, or successful at ministry or not, I consider being full of these things to be a life of success. And pleasing to God.

How about you? What is your personal definition of success?

Party in Pink!

2009-10-07T09:20:00.000+08:00

I love pink!

Um, actually I don't. Pink is not my color. But I love many of the things pink stands for, like femininity.

And Tricia's bloggaversary.

And breast cancer awareness.

So today I'm wearing pink to honor these things, especially those women fighting or who have fought breast cancer.

I know several women who have fought breast cancer and have been amazed by their determination, courage, and strength. Hats off to you, you beautiful women. What you demonstrate when put under such pressure is a tribute to our femininity and womanhood.

A special thanks to The Domestic Fringe for hosting this party in pink. Hop over to read more pink tributes and to add your own.

"Cancer is so limited.
It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith.
It cannot destroy peace.
It cannot silence courage,
It cannot invade the soul.
It cannot steal eternal life.

It cannot conquer the spirit."
(by anonymous)

"Headaches"

2009-10-05T14:23:00.004+08:00
I'm at Adding Zest today, sharing what I heard this week about eliminating "headaches" (the ones that interfere with intimacy in marriage.) Click here to read the post.

Candle in the Corner Giveaway

2009-10-01T07:21:00.006+08:00
***UPDATE: The event has officially begun!! Click here to read the kick-off post and get the full scoop {plus see me vlog :) }

I'm just a simple missionary mom.

I often wonder if I'm doing any good at all in my corner of the world. But every once in a while, things come together in such a way that I know God is giving me an opportunity to make a difference.

That's when I'm reminded that even a candle can brighten the darkness.

The Candle in the Corner event is one of those opportunities for me to serve...and for YOU to win some awesome items from around the world!

Missionaries serving around the world have donated items to giveaway and you will have your chance to win them! I don't know about you, but I'd love to have a Portuguese rooster in my home! Or an African candle...or an Indian batik... (The actual items are a surprise and will be revealed during the giveaway, but as you can see, this is a very unique opportunity!)

By participating in the Candle in the Corner event you could win a cultural item from one of the following countries while supporting missionaries and their work in taking the light of Jesus Christ to their corners of the world:

- Spain
- Portugal
- Indonesia
- South Africa
- Honduras
- Russia
- Uganda
- and more! The list is ever growing!

Does it sound great or what?! Here are the details on how it will work:

~~~The Candle in the Corner event will take place here at Moms, Ministry, and More from October 27 - November 10.

~~~Any donation made here via the PayPal button during the event will earn entries to the giveaway. Every $5 will earn one entry and every $20 will earn five entries. The minimum amount to earn an entry is $5.

~~~During the event I will spotlight the countries and missionaries who are providing the giveaway items. All monies raised will go directly to support mission work in the spotlighted countries. This work includes church planting, orphan care, humanitarian work, prison ministry, missionary aviation, Christian education and student work, and more. As host of this event, I will not receive any of the funds.

~~~Winners will be randomly selected on November 11 and announced here. For time's sake (I've got 4 small children!), you must check back here to see if you've won.

~~~As a thank you to those who help kick off this event, October 27 will be "Early Bird Extra Entries Day." This is your chance to earn extra entries before we start "unveiling" the giveaway items. Any donation made on this day (up until 12:00am EST Oct 28) will earn DOUBLE ENTRIES!!

~~~In addition to donating during the event, you can help by promoting this event via twitter, facebook, blog, email, etc. Grab the button too! If you do one of these, leave me a comment on this post and you'll get an extra entry.

Get ready to stir up the gift and fan the flame! (II Timothy 1:6)

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**It is my joy and honor to host this event. As such, I will not be a recipient to any of the monies raised. If you are a missionary and are interested in participating, email me for details.

Domina

2009-09-29T09:04:00.000+08:00
My husband is a "life-long learner."

In his spare minutes, such as waiting for me to finish brushing my teeth in the bathroom, he will cycle through a stack of vocab cards (in various languages.) He has these stacks of cards all over the house.

There are perks for me by having a life long learner in the family (although he will be the one not to get Alzheimer's.)

Take this for example: he is currently enrolled in an online Latin course. Yes, he is still studying the local language here, he just decided learning Latin might be cool too. Actually, he is taking it in preparation for doctoral studies he wants to do next year while we are in the states.

More learning. Yay.

Anyway, back to the example of why it works well for me. In his studies, John learned the Latin word "Domina" which means "my lady." He liked it so much he has started calling me Domina. He will bring me a glass of water, serve it with a flourish and huskily say, "Domina."

It makes me want to sweep my hair up and do the cha-cha. Minus the baby attached to my breast of course. At any rate, it sure helps in making me feel like a lady, not just a milk machine.

Tonight he taught me the word for "desire" and told me that he was going to create our own love language in Latin. Okay. I'm cool with that.

I guess in one way we are nerds because one of our "couple-time" activities is for John to share with me what he is learning. It is quite interesting. Here is an inscription found on a Roman tombstone:

"To Urbana, the sweetest, chastest and rarest of wives, who certainly has never been surpassed, and deserves to be honored for living with me to her last day in the greatest friendliness and simplicity. Her affection was matched by her industry. I added these words so that readers should understand how much we loved each other."

And another...

"This woman, who died before me, was my only wife; of chaste body, she loved me and was mistress of my heart; she lived faithful to her husband who was faithful to her, and never failed in her duty in any time of trouble."
Maybe sharing tombstone inscriptions with you is a bit morbid, but sharing the other perks of life-long learning in my life infringes on the private. Some things are sacred, you know. One thing is for sure: Life long learning? I like it.

Giveaway Winners

2009-09-26T15:01:00.003+08:00
Before I announce the winners of the Real Mom...Real Jesus book giveaway, I want to tell you to stay tuned for a big giveaway slash blog event coming soon! Trust me, this is one you DON'T WANT TO MISS!!! Even my husband is excited!

Now for the winners... (drumroll please)

Raise Them Up and Laura!

Congrats ladies! Send me your addresses and I'll get them out to you. Have a good weekend everybody!

Mid Life Crisis and a GIVEAWAY

2009-09-22T20:54:00.002+08:00
Last night I watched our wedding video. It's the first time I've ever seen it.

I'm now in full-fledged mid-life crisis.

I in no way resemble the witty, competent, kind young woman my husband fell in love with sixteen years ago (he disagrees but I'm always right, right?) Watching the video I realized that I don't like who I've become: a crusty hearted, scatter brained, dull person. With bad hair.

Never underestimate the power of hair.

It's funny how things happen, isn't it? It seems like the very thing I did not want to become, I have. I vowed not to become beaten down by life and its circumstances, but my daily marathon of endless routines has slowly shaped me into...witless with nappy hair. Sounds like a movie.

But ya know what? Choices are what got me here, not circumstances. So choices can get me out. At the top of the list is the choice to guard my attitude. Resenting certain things in my life has been one of the bad choices I've made.

Speaking of attitudes, Jill Savage, founder and director of Hearts at Home, says this: "When we do laundry with a right attitude, it's worship. When we prepare meals for our family with a right heart posture, it's worship. When we drive ten miles out of our way to take our husband his cell phone that he accidentally left at home and we do it with a heart of grace and forgiveness, it's worship."

Instead of resenting the fact that I can't serve God in "big" ways right now, I can remember that worship comes from the heart. Jill is right on: even Diaper Duty can be an act of worship. Which means I can worship all day and night.

Jill sent me two copies of her book, "Real Moms...Real Jesus" (the book I just quoted from) to giveaway. Somebody you know would love this book! To enter the drawing, just leave a comment on this post. I'll draw winners in a few days.

In the meantime, I'm going to make the choice on whether to keep trying to grow my hair back out or just chop it all off. This in between stuff is the pits!!! Something has to be done, and quick. You all know my hair issues...

Tuesday Tea

2009-09-18T22:02:00.000+08:00
Being a good mom is hard work. It takes boundless energy, diligence, wit, and a whole lot of self denial (plus a slew of other things, including diapers.)

One of my many jobs is to help each of my children overcome their weaknesses. Not easy. I've shared before about Hadassah's attachment disorder and the fact that she has food issues. Long story short, she prefers food to relationship and this creates all sorts of problems throughout the day.

Well I've come up with an idea to combine food with relationship in a non-threatening way: A dress up Tea Party!

We are going to start having "Tuesday Tea" with special snacks and real tea cups. Plus, we will invite a guest of honor to join us each week. (This gives me a way to minister to others as well since I am pretty much at home these days.) Oh, am I ever excited about the good stuff this will model to the girls about relationships, serving others, being a lady, showing manners, dressing nicely, etc...!

So I started wondering what special times do you have with your kids? What things are you trying to teach them and how are you doing it? I'd love to hear your ideas!