Challenging truth

Great wisdom from a great man of God:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_DYdXiebTM&mode=related&search=



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITP3ucoCqLk&mode=related&search=

Miracle Boy!

Ok, not only was it a miracle that Berny was able to get out of Haiti before the paralysis went to his chest and he stopped breathing, but now he is wowing the doctors with his recovery time. They told us to expect atleast a 14 day hospital stay - he stayed 4. He came home with me yesterday. He is now moving both arms, can feed himself small pieces of food and can sit completely unassisted! God truly has His hand on this child!!

Quick update and prayer request

I don't have much time, but wanted to let you all know that our very first foster son, Berny, is back in the States with a diagnoses of Guillain - Barre Syndrome. God worked so many miracles to get him here and to provide the care he needed. Berny is now on the road to recovery, but will need months of physical therapy to gain back the use of his arms and legs. He will be staying with us during that time and we are happy to have our "first Haitian son" back in our lives. Please pray for a full and complete recovery quickly so that he can return to his loving family in Haiti! If you want to know more about Berny there is a bit of his story at the Angel Missions blog - www.angelmissionshaiti.blogspot.com

My Baby Sister

I was eleven years old when Emily was born. She was so cute and so funny and so spoiled by everyone. When she was six I left for college. When she was nine I got married and moved away. I missed so much of her growing up years and I was not there for her the way I wish I had been. She is now 21 and we have developed this beautiful friendship that is such a gift from the Lord. She has become such a mature woman in her walk with Him and I am so proud to be her sissy. Now for the big news... she is ENGAGED! I am so happy for her I could bust. Not just because of the importance of the moment, but because God has sent her an amazing man. He is so kind and so in love with the Lord, and so in love with my sister! He treats her like the princess we all know she is! Aside from planning my own, I have never been this close to wedding planning before. It is so fun to watch Em's face light up and see the joy this gift from God has brought to her life. Thank you Lord for cool blessings!

Suffering

Is suffering our calling? It was Christ's calling. Should we expect more, better, different. Maybe the latter if anything. And yet it seems our suffering is part of our brotherhood with Him. We "share" in His suffering and get closer to Him and others are drawn to Him. The sin and suffering in the world is often what makes people put up their walls against God. They claim this self preservation as "goodness". We are "good" and a "good" God would not allow this and that. How prideful are we? God who sent His Son - in fact ordained the slaughter of His son before the world began - has clearly said that there is a place for suffering. And HE is the only One who has been or ever will be GOOD! So, as I sit here and try to make sense of the suffering I have seen and have yet to see, but know will come, I wonder. I wonder how and why and if and when. I wonder where and who and what and then... I rest. I rest in Him. The almighty creator. The Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. My Maker, Sustainer, Redeemer and Friend. My sweet Prince of Peace.



"This suffering is all part of what God has called you to. Christ, who suffered for you, is your example. Follow in His steps."

1Peter 2:21 NLT



So, to all the "what would Jesus do" talk (which sort of annoys me, but I digress) we can say that He would suffer. He would not "pursue happiness" in it's colloquial sense. And are we not all going to suffer? Whether you know the Lord or not you will have awful stuff happen in your life. If you don't know the Lord your suffering is just suffering. It holds no purpose or meaning. If you know the Lord it is your opportunity to commune with your suffering saviour. To reflect on the amazing, glorious grace it took for him to suffer on your behalf. It is your chance to point others to Him. It is beautiful. It is...dare I say it... good.


Listen to Up To The Mountain (MLK Song) by Patty Griffin : http://free.napster.com/player/tracks/19177072

The Enemy

I have been a Christian since I was 6 years old. I know that Satan is the enemy. Culturally though, we don't talk about him much or give him much credit for anything. Lately I have been trying to decide what exactly he can and can't do. It seems every time I set about to do something for the Lord things go wonky. Some examples: I decide I will do devotions with my kids first thing in the morning, and whammo the next morning somebody is sick. Or I start to think we should begin another adoption and for sure that day will be a horrible parenting day. The kids will drive me insane and I'll yell or something and think, how could I have more when I can't even handle the ones I have? I don't know if satan has anything to do with this stuff, but I do know that God is my shield and protection. So, I have been actually making myself say out loud, "Lord protect us from the enemy. Don't let us be intimidated by his pitiful tactics. Be our defender." Honestly, it feels awkward, but I do feel peaceful and strong when I just give everything back to God. So I end up glad I said it - like I just needed to get it out in the open. I know we wrestle not against flesh and blood! I don't want to give satan too much credit, but I also don't want to pretend like he doesn't exist "prowling around like a roaring lion looking for some victim to devour." 1Peter 5:8 NLT

I have often heard people say that if you are feeling opposition then you are probably headed in the right direction. I guess that is encouraging... in a scary sort of way(:

"Take a firm stand against him (the devil) and be strong in your faith."
1Peter 5:9

Haiti here we come!

For months Jay and I have been saying we need to get away. We toyed with the idea of a cruise or some all inclusive type resort where we never had to lift a finger or plan a single moment. It sounded all well and good, but just felt so...I don't know, indulgent maybe. Plus, we couldn't get this picture (http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/02/16/world/americas/16haiti.html) out of our heads. So the plan just fell off into the distance as life's business took over. But then I started feeling the urge to go back to Haiti. Then the other day Jay called and said that on his way to work he heard a sermon and he knew we were supposed to go to Haiti together. I am so very excited to be heading back. We hope to get to meet D's birth family and especially want to see some of the country outside Port Au Prince. I am busily planning it all out in my head, but feel very strongly that God has a reason for us to go so I just am praying that we will be open to His leading during our time. Perhaps he can use us to encourage, comfort or lift up those we come in contact with. At the very least we will love on some kids at the orphanages and get some more experience in the country that we hope will one day be our home.

Maybe?

Meet Peter and Peterson. They are D's brothers and they are currently living at an orphanage in Port Au Prince, Haiti. They have been there for over a year now. They are nine years old, and they are boys. Their chances for adoption are not good.

They are my most recent moral dilemma. I feel very strongly the urge to adopt them. They come to me often throughout the day in odd little ways. I see a set of twins at the lake. On a TV show the other night a character named Pete Peterson. The Dateline special about the family who adopted twins from Russia and then went back for the other TWO older sets of twins. I see their faces every morning when D wakes up. Their big brown eyes look up at me through him and I wonder what they were like at his age, if they felt safe and loved. I think of their mother, and how she would probably like for them to be with D and us. They are already being separated from their big sister who is being adopted to California. And yet I can't decide if wanting them is much like wanting to be a missionary. Do I just want to "save" someone? Do I just want to appear to be doing the right thing even if I am not sure if it is God's directive for my life? And there are concerns. They have likely suffered abuse although to what degree we don't know. We have younger children in our home that could become potential victims if they acted out. Older child adoption even without these possible issues are full of unknowns. And in fact the "knowns" are even more disconcerting. They WILL, with full awareness of what they have lost, grieve for their home and their family. They WILL test and try their new family to see if they are staying put this time. They WILL struggle to adjust to a culture so foreign to their own they feel as though they are on another planet. The "maybes" sound better. Maybe they will be the resilient type. Maybe they were so well loved by their birth family that they are already grounded in their worth as children of God. Maybe they are strong enough, brave enough, and loving enough to make it through such a drastic life change at such a delicate age with their souls intact.

Maybe... we are supposed to be the ones to help them do it...