Monday, February 27, 2012
Andrew is riding his new bike :)
Andrew has enjoyed being outside. He even tried some of the toys that are in our shed. In this video he is trying to ride his bike. He is doing very good at it. I am so happy to see him doing and learning new things. Good job Andrew
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Happy 9th Birthday Gracie
She turned 9 today
Having a fish b-day party 
she loves her fish stuff :)
Gracie got her own fish as part of her presentToday we celebrated Gracie's Birthday. She had a great day. Gracie turned 9 years old. She is getting so big now. We had a fish party for her. It was so different from other parties :) She loved it. I have been so blessed to have Gracie as my little sister. Happy Birthday sweet little sister. I love you
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
I Love Her Heart
I love Katies heart. She lives in Uganda with 14 girls. She is only 21 and does more then she should be. I love her heart for kids and her serving. I know she gave up alot to do what God has called her. That is why she is so blessed with all of what she has and doing. She is a big encouragement to me.
My heart is hurt for all of these kids. I pray and hope I can do more then what I am doing now. Please take your time and watch this video. I hope you would be encourage by this video and step up and do something. Don't sit and wait. Life is to short.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Well said post
This is a blog post that I was really touched by. I hope you take your time and read it. It was well said Adeye.
Mom and Dad well I was reading this it really made me think how WONDERFUL parents you are to 30 of your precious children. You have been a big inspiration to me as I am getting older and older. I hope and pray that I would end up just like you. Thank you for bringing me and my sisters and brothers all together in to this house of ours. I love you both and always will. Your daughter Cate
February 15, 2012
if not us...then who?
I have typed and edited this post a few times. Trying to find the right words—the ones which don’t offend people or stir up a hornet's nest when it comes to tough issues--is hard. I am not the most eloquent person when it comes to sharing what’s on my heart. Sometimes words escape me. Like today.
This is going to be one of those posts. The kind that’s hard, raw, emotional, and difficult to put into words. So if you are the kind of person who can’t handle seeing the hard things, it would probably be best if you stopped reading now. This post is not for you. Be warned before you read any further—the images in this post are hard to look at! They will almost rip your heart out. If you feel that you cannot handle it….stop here!
That’s my little disclaimer.
There is no way to share what is on my heart in a watered-down, peaches-and-cream kinda way. There just isn’t. And even if there were, I totally couldn’t be bothered with trying to find it. Perhaps it’s just the frame of mind I’m in these day. You see, this week I have watched in utter amazement as the world has been in a complete frenzy of grief, emotion, pain, and sadness over the loss of Whitney Houston. The pop icon overdosed. And the world went into deep mourning. Millions and millions of people grieved the loss of the singer while our televisions, social networks, and radio stations spoke of not much else. We were bombarded by her legacy, her talent, her fortune and what will happen to it, and the sad loss to the world.
Today almost 30 000 people died of extreme poverty. And we never heard a single word about it.
Today over 160 000 000 orphans lived in appalling, filthy conditions and went to bed hungry [again]. And we never heard a single word about that either.
Today children were confined to cribs like caged animals—left to lie in their own waste for hours and hours, banged their heads on the bars of the crib to self-soothe, bit their fingers until they bled, rocked endlessly just for something to do, and consumed a diet of not much more than cabbage broth. But it’s too hard to speak about this reality---so we don’t.
Today children who turn five throughout Eastern Europe will be given a death sentence—also known as a transfer to a mental asylum for children and adults. There they will spend the rest of their [numbered] days confined to beds or cribs and will never feel the warmth of the sun on their faces or the cool breeze blowing. Shhhhh….we don’t want to talk about that either.
Sadly, even those of us who do know about the atrocities that happen to orphans in faraway lands, we too don’t want to talk about it. We’re afraid of what people will think if we share too much. We shy away from posting graphic and tough images and stories on our social networks just in case it offends a friend--can't be ruffling any feathers, now can we?
Sometimes it’s just so much easier to get on with our lives and pretend that this stuff doesn’t really exist.
I guess it’s easier to talk about the things that don’t hold us accountable to actually DO something. It’s easier to talk about other people’s “issues” when there is not a single thing that we can do to make a difference. That gets us off the hook.
But how vastly different it is when we come face to face with calamity that we CAN do something about. That, my friends, is a whole different story. Why? Because the Scripture is as clear as daylight.
Proverbs 24:12 tells us, "Once our eyes are opened we cannot pretend we do not know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows we know and holds us responsible to act."
God holds us responsible to ACT!
I know how it goes. I used to be that person. I never wanted to see the hard things in this world. I was happy and content within my cushy four walls. The hard things made me feel so darn uncomfortable. Pain and suffering were something I did everything I possibly could to avoid for most of my life. After all, conviction would mean I would actually have to do something about it…and that was just too hard, required too much time, there are too many things on my plate…yada, yada, yada.
That was until the day I prayed a simple prayer…not really knowing or fully understanding that God would take my words at face value and He WOULD do as I asked. Because He’s God—the Almighty Father, the creator of the heavens and the earth—and He loves to answer our prayers.
“Break my heart for the things that break yours, Father!”
That was all it took. God rocked my world! He turned it upside down and inside out. He opened the eyes of my heart and I began to see…truly SEE!
I shared earlier in the week that something occurred to me as I was praying over the 119 children who got quickly added to this list. I remembered that there was a time in my own life when I just had absolutely no idea about what the word “transferred” meant next to a child’s name. I was completely clueless…until God began to break my heart for the things which shattered His. I began to do research. All of a sudden I wanted to know what happened to orphans. I needed to know.
The more I learned, and the more my heart broke, the more I came to realize how very little the orphan crisis was spoken about in churches. I could not remember a single time in all my years of being a Christian and sitting in church faithfully every Sunday that I had heard a sermon taught on their desperate plight. Not once. I realized that the ones who did know the truth were like an army being sent into battle with very little reinforcements—facing a giant far bigger than anyone was talking about—yet with very, very little help to gain any significant victories.
I do think that things are getting better. I do think the message of the orphan crisis is starting to be shared in congregations more now than it did even five years ago. But what a long way we still have to go! I am always shocked when people write to me after I share something on my blog and say, “I had no idea!” Even with all the social media, the internet, and continuous news channels--people still do not know.
We have work to do! The Body of Christ NEEDS to know. The world is not called to care for the fatherless. We are! It’s as simple as that. We’re the ones who are meant to be going, giving, supporting, bringing them home, advocating, praying, and doing everything we possibly can to make a difference. We’re the ones who are meant to be getting our hands dirty and getting uncomfortable (Lord forbid!) for the sake of the Gospel.
IF NOT US....THEN WHO???
You know what I think? I think we need a massive awakening! I think the sleeping church needs to wake up and start talking about the hard things. We need to be talking about the catastrophes which happen not very far from where we live. This is reality, friends. It is not some made-up, Photoshopped picture someone did as a sick joke! This is real life.
This is the face of desperation--of abandonment, neglect and poverty!
These are HUMAN BEINGS we're talking about—with feelings, hurts, pains, needs, emotions, and desires.
Did you know that this sort of thing even existed? I am going to keep this post always, so that I can send it to the next person who writes to me and protests, "But isn't an institution in a child's home country better than bringing a foreign child to this country?" You have GOT to be kidding me!
These are the Father’s beloved chosen people! Created in His image with a purpose and a destiny—each one of them with the potential to become so much more than what they currently are. Every precious child is a gift from His hand. Why can we not see that? Why do we turn away and refuse to get involved? Why is getting the next best gadget on the market so much more important than the life of a child who will certainly perish if he remains where he is?
Why is it so easy to mourn Whitney…but not shed a single tear for the ones such as these?
When people ask me, “What can we do?” I always respond, “What can’t we do?”
We need an awakening, friends! A movement which ignites a fire and a passion in each one of us that makes us want to jump in and do anything we possibly can to help.
Some will read this and say, “Not my calling! Not my problem!” I have news for you today…IT IS! James 1:27, Psalm 83:3, and many, many other Scriptures tell us in no uncertain words that it IS our problem. It’s non-negotiable—it’s not a calling, it’s a COMMAND. Big difference.
I don’t know about you guys, but I am so out of excuses. I am completely over myself! As I sit writing this I cannot think of one good enough reason as to why I should NOT do everything I humanly can to try and help. Those 119 children with the word “transferred” next to their name? They are living on borrowed time. I was once told that 95% of them will die once they are transferred to a mental asylum. For some of them, when that day of transfer comes, so does the word “unadoptable." Their time to find a family has run out. They will literally spend the rest of their days confined to a crib, bedridden!
It IS our problem!
AWAKEN US, Lord! Stir our hearts, ignite passion in us, show us where we can get involved, shift our priorities. Challenge us, show us what truly matters in this life, make us uncomfortable so that the only place we find true contentment is not in the things of the world, but in relationship with You…doing Your will, obeying your commands! Convict our hearts, Lord Jesus!
Wake us up for the sake of the millions who wait…and wait…and wait!
IF NOT US...THEN WHO?
This is going to be one of those posts. The kind that’s hard, raw, emotional, and difficult to put into words. So if you are the kind of person who can’t handle seeing the hard things, it would probably be best if you stopped reading now. This post is not for you. Be warned before you read any further—the images in this post are hard to look at! They will almost rip your heart out. If you feel that you cannot handle it….stop here!
That’s my little disclaimer.
There is no way to share what is on my heart in a watered-down, peaches-and-cream kinda way. There just isn’t. And even if there were, I totally couldn’t be bothered with trying to find it. Perhaps it’s just the frame of mind I’m in these day. You see, this week I have watched in utter amazement as the world has been in a complete frenzy of grief, emotion, pain, and sadness over the loss of Whitney Houston. The pop icon overdosed. And the world went into deep mourning. Millions and millions of people grieved the loss of the singer while our televisions, social networks, and radio stations spoke of not much else. We were bombarded by her legacy, her talent, her fortune and what will happen to it, and the sad loss to the world.
Today almost 30 000 people died of extreme poverty. And we never heard a single word about it.
Today over 160 000 000 orphans lived in appalling, filthy conditions and went to bed hungry [again]. And we never heard a single word about that either.
Today children were confined to cribs like caged animals—left to lie in their own waste for hours and hours, banged their heads on the bars of the crib to self-soothe, bit their fingers until they bled, rocked endlessly just for something to do, and consumed a diet of not much more than cabbage broth. But it’s too hard to speak about this reality---so we don’t.
Today children who turn five throughout Eastern Europe will be given a death sentence—also known as a transfer to a mental asylum for children and adults. There they will spend the rest of their [numbered] days confined to beds or cribs and will never feel the warmth of the sun on their faces or the cool breeze blowing. Shhhhh….we don’t want to talk about that either.
Sadly, even those of us who do know about the atrocities that happen to orphans in faraway lands, we too don’t want to talk about it. We’re afraid of what people will think if we share too much. We shy away from posting graphic and tough images and stories on our social networks just in case it offends a friend--can't be ruffling any feathers, now can we?
Sometimes it’s just so much easier to get on with our lives and pretend that this stuff doesn’t really exist.
I guess it’s easier to talk about the things that don’t hold us accountable to actually DO something. It’s easier to talk about other people’s “issues” when there is not a single thing that we can do to make a difference. That gets us off the hook.
But how vastly different it is when we come face to face with calamity that we CAN do something about. That, my friends, is a whole different story. Why? Because the Scripture is as clear as daylight.
Proverbs 24:12 tells us, "Once our eyes are opened we cannot pretend we do not know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows we know and holds us responsible to act."
God holds us responsible to ACT!
I know how it goes. I used to be that person. I never wanted to see the hard things in this world. I was happy and content within my cushy four walls. The hard things made me feel so darn uncomfortable. Pain and suffering were something I did everything I possibly could to avoid for most of my life. After all, conviction would mean I would actually have to do something about it…and that was just too hard, required too much time, there are too many things on my plate…yada, yada, yada.
That was until the day I prayed a simple prayer…not really knowing or fully understanding that God would take my words at face value and He WOULD do as I asked. Because He’s God—the Almighty Father, the creator of the heavens and the earth—and He loves to answer our prayers.
“Break my heart for the things that break yours, Father!”
That was all it took. God rocked my world! He turned it upside down and inside out. He opened the eyes of my heart and I began to see…truly SEE!
I shared earlier in the week that something occurred to me as I was praying over the 119 children who got quickly added to this list. I remembered that there was a time in my own life when I just had absolutely no idea about what the word “transferred” meant next to a child’s name. I was completely clueless…until God began to break my heart for the things which shattered His. I began to do research. All of a sudden I wanted to know what happened to orphans. I needed to know.
The more I learned, and the more my heart broke, the more I came to realize how very little the orphan crisis was spoken about in churches. I could not remember a single time in all my years of being a Christian and sitting in church faithfully every Sunday that I had heard a sermon taught on their desperate plight. Not once. I realized that the ones who did know the truth were like an army being sent into battle with very little reinforcements—facing a giant far bigger than anyone was talking about—yet with very, very little help to gain any significant victories.
I do think that things are getting better. I do think the message of the orphan crisis is starting to be shared in congregations more now than it did even five years ago. But what a long way we still have to go! I am always shocked when people write to me after I share something on my blog and say, “I had no idea!” Even with all the social media, the internet, and continuous news channels--people still do not know.
We have work to do! The Body of Christ NEEDS to know. The world is not called to care for the fatherless. We are! It’s as simple as that. We’re the ones who are meant to be going, giving, supporting, bringing them home, advocating, praying, and doing everything we possibly can to make a difference. We’re the ones who are meant to be getting our hands dirty and getting uncomfortable (Lord forbid!) for the sake of the Gospel.
IF NOT US....THEN WHO???
You know what I think? I think we need a massive awakening! I think the sleeping church needs to wake up and start talking about the hard things. We need to be talking about the catastrophes which happen not very far from where we live. This is reality, friends. It is not some made-up, Photoshopped picture someone did as a sick joke! This is real life.
This is the face of desperation--of abandonment, neglect and poverty!
These are HUMAN BEINGS we're talking about—with feelings, hurts, pains, needs, emotions, and desires.
Did you know that this sort of thing even existed? I am going to keep this post always, so that I can send it to the next person who writes to me and protests, "But isn't an institution in a child's home country better than bringing a foreign child to this country?" You have GOT to be kidding me!
These are the Father’s beloved chosen people! Created in His image with a purpose and a destiny—each one of them with the potential to become so much more than what they currently are. Every precious child is a gift from His hand. Why can we not see that? Why do we turn away and refuse to get involved? Why is getting the next best gadget on the market so much more important than the life of a child who will certainly perish if he remains where he is?
Why is it so easy to mourn Whitney…but not shed a single tear for the ones such as these?
When people ask me, “What can we do?” I always respond, “What can’t we do?”
We need an awakening, friends! A movement which ignites a fire and a passion in each one of us that makes us want to jump in and do anything we possibly can to help.
Some will read this and say, “Not my calling! Not my problem!” I have news for you today…IT IS! James 1:27, Psalm 83:3, and many, many other Scriptures tell us in no uncertain words that it IS our problem. It’s non-negotiable—it’s not a calling, it’s a COMMAND. Big difference.
I don’t know about you guys, but I am so out of excuses. I am completely over myself! As I sit writing this I cannot think of one good enough reason as to why I should NOT do everything I humanly can to try and help. Those 119 children with the word “transferred” next to their name? They are living on borrowed time. I was once told that 95% of them will die once they are transferred to a mental asylum. For some of them, when that day of transfer comes, so does the word “unadoptable." Their time to find a family has run out. They will literally spend the rest of their days confined to a crib, bedridden!
It IS our problem!
credit: all photos from google
AWAKEN US, Lord! Stir our hearts, ignite passion in us, show us where we can get involved, shift our priorities. Challenge us, show us what truly matters in this life, make us uncomfortable so that the only place we find true contentment is not in the things of the world, but in relationship with You…doing Your will, obeying your commands! Convict our hearts, Lord Jesus!
Wake us up for the sake of the millions who wait…and wait…and wait!
IF NOT US...THEN WHO?
Monday, February 13, 2012
Receiving the Message
The Lord God gives me the right words to encourage the weary. Each morning he awakens me eager to learn his teaching. Isaiah 50:4
This morning, God is calling you to learn from him. He whispers that he loves you and that you can trust him. He tells you that when you think there is no help for you, he will rescue you.
He encourages you to be strong because he vindicates you and never lets you be dishonored. He says that his wisdom, power, and love have worked together to provide good plans for your life.
He also wants you to know that he has comforted you in order to prepare you to encourage others. His words can give life and hope to the weary, if only you will receive and share them.
I love these words. It is so true.
This morning, God is calling you to learn from him. He whispers that he loves you and that you can trust him. He tells you that when you think there is no help for you, he will rescue you.
He encourages you to be strong because he vindicates you and never lets you be dishonored. He says that his wisdom, power, and love have worked together to provide good plans for your life.
He also wants you to know that he has comforted you in order to prepare you to encourage others. His words can give life and hope to the weary, if only you will receive and share them.
I love these words. It is so true.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
More Snow :)
Look at this we are going to have more snow. It is even snowing now. We are all are very excited. My siblings love going out on the snow. I can't wait to see them out again.
Zoe Jenn's baby. Don't you just want to eat her up? :)
Zoe's first snow. She loved the snow.Our company has left. We had alot of fun with you Jenn and your family. One thing they were waiting for it was the snow and it snowed right before they left. In a first picture you can see they even caught some football time :) We all enjoyed the time with your family past week. I love you guys.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Look who is here :)
Eli
Ezra
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Ella
Today my sister and her family came to visit us. I love when they have a chance to visit us. I can't wait to spend the week with them.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Andrew is enjoying his time outside.
Today Andrew went outside and has enjoyed playing every toy Leah gave him. So here is alot of pictures to look at.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Happy Birthday Princess Selah
Our princess
Mady is enjoying the cup cake
Looking for her presents
Singing Happy Birthday songWe celebrated Selah's first Birthday with us. She terned 7 years old. She had a princess party and cup cakes for dessert. She had a blast celebrating her first b-day with us. I hope to celebrate more b-day's to come. I love you Selah and Happy Birthday.
In every picture she has a big smile. I can just see she really enjoyed her probable first b-day party. I love that big smile it makes me smile.
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