Blog Archive
2/13/12
Colin man turned 7
So this guy turned 7 last week. I love this picture....it is so Colin. This child's passion is swords, soldiers, guns, and any kind of battle. He plays pirates, cowboys, SWAT, army, and CIA. He is also one of the most tenderhearted little boys I know. He can't stand unfair actions, wants to help all the orphans and those in slavery around the world. He wants to give and give and give. He loves his Jesus and tells me that he wants to be a man of God.
Colin, my prayer for you is to keep all the boldness He has given you, all the loud, all the kindness, and all the compassion...use it for Him. Stick to what you know is right and help others along the way. Keep that smile and laugh forever!!
12/23/11
Christmas thoughts
As we get closer to the 25th I am busy making sure I have the right food stocked for the right celebration, the gifts wrapped and ready, and planning schedules in my head. We talk about this season as a time for family, friends, and Jesus' birth. But am I really making sure that is what our Christmas is about?
Being a parent means that I get to celebrate this time of year with little people who are super excited about all of it. I set the example of what Christmas is to my children. I wonder how I am doing? Am I showing them that all I care about is the "right" present, the "right" wrapping, and the "right" amount of gifts. Do Josh and I put way to much emphasis on being nice for Santa to come? Or are we making sure that they know the whole reason for Christmas is Jesus. Do they know that His birthday is a the ultimate celebration? This is why we give to our loved ones. Are those gifts we are giving causing debt and stress or are they from the heart and in line with what God has called us to do financially? Are my kids going to know that if we were not celebrating this birthday we would be lost eternally?
All I know is that we are trying. We celebrate Advent and have a big party Christmas Eve for baby Jesus with cake and ice cream. Santa does come to our house Christmas morning because my kids love the story of Saint Nicolas and why he brought gifts. We have learned all about our traditions and where they came from. We have selected gifts for each other that give back and help those who are the least of these.
We are far from getting all this right and I welcome any advice you may have to make sure that my children know what we are celebrating Christmas for. I hope you have a blessed Christmas and know His love for you this 25th.
12/14/11
Our baby turned 3
So this little guy turned 3 this week. We have had three years of this smiling, bossy, and funny boy. He is loved by his big brothers and loves them just as much.
Cade loves to read, play "get away from dad", loves his teachers, and chips ~n~ cheese. He is smart and loud. He is silly and persistent. Our family would be very empty without him!
God gave us the perfect little guy for our third son.
12/1/11
Ten Years....Ten Whole Years People!!!
So ten years ago I was a bride today. I got to wear a dress that made me feel like a princess complete with a tiara. I wore earrings my groom gave me and a necklace too. I carried the bible my mom carried on her wedding day. I was so ready to start this life with this man who was crazy about me.
We did it. We said "I DO!" and kissed the best kiss I had ever had. It was our first married kiss and it was perfect. We danced, ate cake, laughed a lot, and kissed even more. And then I'm sure we kissed some more.
There are things that I will always remember from that day:
*Being so nervous all day because I didn't have Josh there beside me
*Seeing him for those few moments alone before the pcitures and ceremony and having all my nerves disappear.
*Our first dance...not wanting it to end.
*Feeling so grateful to all the people who came and celebrated with us.
*Knowing this was it! I was going to be a part of a life with someone forever.
I got our album out and showed the boys. That is a interesting experience! They are so honest. And they loved it. I did too. I loved seeing the anticipation, the smiles, the excitement. I love that we had no clue what our next ten years would look like!
In ten years we have had three kids, are in the process of adding another one, moved five times, got introduced to type 1 diabetes, and grown a lot closer to God. We laughed about the fact that we thought we would be in Paris for our 10 year anniversary. We thought we would probably have two kids by then. We were sure we would be living overseas. God's plan was way better and much less self absorbed.
This guy I married has changed so much and in some ways not at all! The stubborness is still there, but now with a passion for his family. The wise cracking is mixed in with silliness with the boys. The desire to lead has become a desire to lead his family. The intelligence he has always had has been used to explain the big things in life to his sons.
I really like this guy that God picked out for me. Our ten married years (eighteen if you throw in dating!) have been loud, busy, and loving. Bring on the next ten!
11/28/11
We are not the rescuers, we are the rescued
A message from David Platt who is bringing his daughter home from China:
I am reminded as we go into tomorrow that the initiative for adoption obviously resides with a parent, not with a child. A child does not choose to initiate adoption; instead, a parent chooses to adopt a child. The same is true in spiritual adoption, as well. The Word is clear that in our sin, we were once children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3), alienated from God (Colossians 1:21) and totally unable to save ourselves from our sin in order to become His sons. Talk about special needs. Our minds were blinded (Romans 1:21-23), our emotions were disordered (Romans 1:26-27), our bodies were defiled (Romans 1:24-25), our wills were distorted (Romans 3:10-12), and our relationships were broken (James 4:1-4). We were slaves to sin (John 8:34), lovers of darkness (John 3:20), morally evil (Genesis 8:21), and spiritually lost (Luke 19:10). And the good news of the gospel is that God saw our need and initiated our adoption:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:3-10).
Understanding this biblical foundation of spiritual adoption is critical for understanding the proper motivation for physical adoption. We have a tendency in our day to romanticize adoption, envisaging cute children around the world (both domestically and internationally) just waiting to be adopted. Obviously, they are all cute in their own ways, but they are also needy…and many of their needs are great.
As a pastor of a church that is, by God’s grace, captivated by an adoptive culture, I have talked and prayed with countless parents who have fostered and/or adopted children with challenging needs. And the only sustainable motivation for these parents is the glorious reality of the gospel. What do you do when the child you adopted has fetal alcohol syndrome and can’t ever seem to sit still without throwing a tantrum? What happens when that child’s birth mother was addicted to crack cocaine and as a result, he or she has permanent brain damage that affects their behavior for the rest of their life, and in turn their teenage years turn into a living nightmare for you, for them, and for your entire family? What happens when the years that child has spent in an institutional orphanage by themselves causes them to not know how to even begin to receive love, so that every time you try to show love, they resist it? What happens when the child you adopt is dangerous?
Mere altruism will not sustain you in situations like these. Only the gospel will. Because in the gospel, you are reminded on a daily basis that there was a day when you were a child of wrath, filled with evil desires, totally unable to control your sinfulness, and desperately in need of Savior, and God reached down His hand of mercy past the depth of your wickedness in order to adopt you as His own. When there was no initiative to draw you to Him, He initiated a relationship with you. So now, when you see a child with minor or major needs, you reach out to that child, simply because you realize you are that child.
My goal is certainly not to paint a grim picture of adoption, and many children in foster and/or adoption situations are perfectly healthy. But adoption is not easy, and children are indeed needy. It’s important to realize, then, that we adopt not because we are rescuers. No, we adopt because we are the rescued. And in this way, the gospel uniquely portrays, compels, and ultimately sustains adoption.
I am reminded as we go into tomorrow that the initiative for adoption obviously resides with a parent, not with a child. A child does not choose to initiate adoption; instead, a parent chooses to adopt a child. The same is true in spiritual adoption, as well. The Word is clear that in our sin, we were once children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3), alienated from God (Colossians 1:21) and totally unable to save ourselves from our sin in order to become His sons. Talk about special needs. Our minds were blinded (Romans 1:21-23), our emotions were disordered (Romans 1:26-27), our bodies were defiled (Romans 1:24-25), our wills were distorted (Romans 3:10-12), and our relationships were broken (James 4:1-4). We were slaves to sin (John 8:34), lovers of darkness (John 3:20), morally evil (Genesis 8:21), and spiritually lost (Luke 19:10). And the good news of the gospel is that God saw our need and initiated our adoption:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:3-10).
Understanding this biblical foundation of spiritual adoption is critical for understanding the proper motivation for physical adoption. We have a tendency in our day to romanticize adoption, envisaging cute children around the world (both domestically and internationally) just waiting to be adopted. Obviously, they are all cute in their own ways, but they are also needy…and many of their needs are great.
As a pastor of a church that is, by God’s grace, captivated by an adoptive culture, I have talked and prayed with countless parents who have fostered and/or adopted children with challenging needs. And the only sustainable motivation for these parents is the glorious reality of the gospel. What do you do when the child you adopted has fetal alcohol syndrome and can’t ever seem to sit still without throwing a tantrum? What happens when that child’s birth mother was addicted to crack cocaine and as a result, he or she has permanent brain damage that affects their behavior for the rest of their life, and in turn their teenage years turn into a living nightmare for you, for them, and for your entire family? What happens when the years that child has spent in an institutional orphanage by themselves causes them to not know how to even begin to receive love, so that every time you try to show love, they resist it? What happens when the child you adopt is dangerous?
Mere altruism will not sustain you in situations like these. Only the gospel will. Because in the gospel, you are reminded on a daily basis that there was a day when you were a child of wrath, filled with evil desires, totally unable to control your sinfulness, and desperately in need of Savior, and God reached down His hand of mercy past the depth of your wickedness in order to adopt you as His own. When there was no initiative to draw you to Him, He initiated a relationship with you. So now, when you see a child with minor or major needs, you reach out to that child, simply because you realize you are that child.
My goal is certainly not to paint a grim picture of adoption, and many children in foster and/or adoption situations are perfectly healthy. But adoption is not easy, and children are indeed needy. It’s important to realize, then, that we adopt not because we are rescuers. No, we adopt because we are the rescued. And in this way, the gospel uniquely portrays, compels, and ultimately sustains adoption.
11/19/11
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