Come join us!

This morning on the way to school I noticed a billboard advertisement for a brand of beer. The picture on the billboard was of some cowboys with the sun setting in the background. Evidently, it had been a hard day of adventure on the ranch for these fellows, and they were headed in for a cold one. The caption simply read, "Come join us!"

Really? Come join you? Have you been on a ranch? It's a lot of work! Hot, sweaty, dirty - and last I knew steer smell bad too! I might enjoy the conversation at the end of the day, but to live in that adventure is way too much work!

And so goes the American existence. Men buy beer and trucks because it makes them feel like they are a part of the adventure that the advertisers put in front of them. Women buy stuff because it makes them feel good too, but in a different way (BTW, there is an early morning sale at Kohls this weekend from 7am to 9am).

I believe that Jesus is calling us to join Him in an adventure also, but most of us hear the call in the same way we look at the dudes on the ranch - "Really? Come join you? Have you been in God's adventure? It's a lot of work! It causes me to see things in my life that I don't want to deal with! I find out that I'm not all that great of a person after all! And more than that, people have died doing that!"

In my short experience of following the call of God on my life there have been times filled with great joy and excruciating pain. Intense times of prayer and times when my heart is so full of joy I want to dance (being raised baptist I haven't figured out how to do that yet though). I can now, in a small way, relate to David's mood swings found in the Psalms. In one verse he says God is his rock and another he asks if God cares about him. He is so schizophrenic! - and now so am I.

So, after four and a half years of learning to live in this adventure, I have to say, "Come join us!" While it's hard work, and often my heart hurts more than I could have ever imagined, the joy of loving Jesus and living in His adventure is way better than working on a ranch and drinking beer with my buddies at the end of the day.

God is Good

"The Evil One uses the pain and confusion of a fallen world to shadow doubt over God's goodness" (Bold Love)

As I have struggled through this "wait" to bring the boys home, I am OK most of the time. I know that God is in control and his plan is perfect. I know that I have to trust Him for what doesn't make sense at all to me. But then comes those unexpected times that knock me off my footing and I feel broken. I don't see Him, I don't understand what He is up to, and I am mad. Does He care?

I have been reading the book "The Journey of Desire" by John Eldredge and today God used it to bring me back into focus. Jesus answered that question, "Does He care?" when He went to the cross. It is so easy for me to want answers to everything I don't understand -- but in reality He proved His love for me on the cross.

His LOVE-- that is what I must cling to. He IS good, ALL the time.

Early on in this journey the kids and I claimed the song, "God is Good -- All the Time." I guess it is time to dust it off the shelf and start claiming it once again.

Awana Comes to an End

Awana is a wonderful kids club that promotes scripture memorization and we absolutely love it! There isn't a better time to hide God's Word in their hearts and the program makes it fun too! Because our church doesn't have an Awana program we are especially blessed to be able to take part in a program sponsored by another local church. They are wonderful to our kids and have blessed us in so many ways!

This year the trophys didn't quite arrive on time so they will have to wait a few more days to actually receive the real thing!

This year all 3 kids finished their books for the year, and as this was N's last year he completed 2 books to earn the Timothy Award -- Great job buddy! They all worked hard and we are proud of them!

Dance Recital

The end of the school year brings the end of lots of great activities and busyness!

M has loved dance the last couple of years and is now able to take it at school. Prior to starting school in January she was taking classes at a local studio, and b/c she had worked so hard on these dances, she completed the year with them and a 5 hour dance recital! UGH! What is it with these massively long recitals?? M doesn't even like them that long!!

She did a great job and it is a delight to see her gracefulness develop and along with it, her ability.

Great job sweetheart!

Bagging Day

I am always amazed at the opportunities that God brings down our path, and today we were so blessed to be a part of an outreach sponsored by one of the housechurches in our church. This housechurch sent a team of doctors to Haiti through Lifeline Ministries this past winter, and they came home determined to do more. Today we had the opportunity to assemble the food packets that will be distributed and used to feed 64, 000 kids in Haiti!

All of us, the kids included, were able to work for almost 3 hours and they loved it. We did everything from assembling the mix to sealing the bags. I have no idea how many bags we actually filled, but it sure seemed like alot!

What is even more exciting for us is that God is opening up connections for us with Haiti, here at the end of our adoption. We have never thought that we would bring our boys home and lose sight of Haiti, but we had no idea what it all would look like. Now, here is the beginnings of an outreach to Haiti right here in our own backyard. They already have plans for more events, plans to build a home for some Haitians, and a bigger "bagging day" for next year.

Beyond that, our own orphanage has benefitted from this outreach in the past. Last year when I cleaned out one of the storage rooms we moved MANY of these Kids Against Hunger Boxes into it. Who knows, but perhaps we were mixing food for kids we have already met.

It was a great opportunity!

You Know Your Not Still 12 When...........

You Break Your Thumb Racing your kids on your Razor Scooter!


UPDATE: The doctor was WRONG-- even with the x-ray! It really isn't broken, just badly sprained--YEAH!

Getting What You Don't Deserve

Do you ever stop and think about all the things in your life that you take for granted? Do you think of the many blessings (large or small) that God brings your way that you certainly don't deserve? Last week I was gently reminded of this and God's grace when my loving husband unexpectedly whisked me away to the middle of nowhere!

I know I was pretty grumpy that Friday -- all day-- as I dealt with the daily activities of life that seem to generate so much stress (bills, kids, unmet expectations, no shower yet, and lack of sleep). And to top it off my 2 youngest ones almost lost of the privilege of going into the gymnastics class b/c of so many problems on the way there- ugh!. I literally sat in the car crying out to God trying to decide what in the world I should do about them. Of their own accord they came to repentance (thank you Lord) and we did complete the class.

When I arrived home I was met with a smirky grin from my son and a husband who whispers, "We are leaving." My thought was that he and N were leaving and I had no idea where. He quickly set me straight that he and I were leaving and he had taken care of it all! From childcare arrangements to packing for me ---- N said, "He packed half of your closet!" The sitter was a couple from our housechurch, and already there to spend the weekend with our kids! (TGHANK YOU~)

Blown away -- YES!! You see Rob NEVER takes care of any details like this, and when I asked him about it he said, "Lists! I asked God and he gave me lots of lists!"

We were blessed with the opportunity to stay in a "cabin" of a family we had recently done a Bible Study with and it was AMAZING! It was the perfect place to "Be still and know that I am God!" Something I desperately needed to do. We ate, we talked, we journaled, we slept, we walked around the property, and we rested. It was wonderful!

I am so glad God in His graciousness has granted me so much more than I deserve! One of the challenges of the weekend for me was to see Him more fully and to show Him more clearly to my kids. I often forget that the only think I deserve is eternal damnation, but because of His grace I have so much more-- SO MUCH MORE!! Thank you Lord Jesus! It really shouldn't be about the stress of the day, but the source of my strength!

THIS is what makes my Mother's Day so special!

Math and Science Day for Homeschoolers

This is N's design for an egg protector for the 20 foot egg-drop challenge that he participated in. Unfortunately his egg did break, but he already decided that if he ever gets to do it again that he will simply add a parachute to it. He won first prize for creative design however! Great job buddy!

They also had an instructor come who talked with them about aerodynamics and gave them the opportunity to do some target practice using PVC piping and air currents (from a hair dryer).