Living Intentionally

I Love New Years! There is something very inspiring about getting to start over with all sorts of new possibilities. I look back at past years and think, "I had no idea on January 1st that we would be foster parents, or that we would be waiting to go to China or that I would run 13.1 miles." So on this January 1st, I get to imagine what God might do through me in the next 12 months and get excited.

That being said, I know that most things don't just happen without some intentional living. None of the above would have happened if I hadn't been looking for what God was prompting me to do. If we want to get healthier, raise children who love Jesus, or see more children adopted, then we have to plan for it. Intentional living means knowing what you want the end to look like and beginning the process by taking the steps needed to get there.

Have you ever felt the Lord directing you towards adoption? January is a great month to begin looking for adoption seminars. Find an adoption agency in your area and make a call. Check out a book from the library on the subject. It doesn't matter so much what you do, just do something. "A man plans his ways, but the Lord directs his footsteps."  This is a bible verse I learned many years ago and always serves to remind me that if I am living for God, he will direct me in the way I need to go. The only way I can mess up is not to go anywhere.

Jesus told a parable about a master who went on a trip and gave talents to his three servants. When the master returned, he commended the two who had done something with their talents, but the one who had hid his gift was declared "wicked and lazy." You see, God expects us to do something with what he gives us. Not using our gifts is equated to burying it. Basically, if you are not living the life God has for you, you are dead. You might as well be buried with your good intentions.

Right now, think of what God has laid on your heart and take a step in that direction.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

How was your holiday? Were you slightly disappointed because you didn't get something? Did you feel a bit ignored by someone or were annoyed by someone in your family or something that didn't turn out quite right i.e. Christmas dinner? Now that the big day is behind us, let's look at it with a little more perspective.
          Were you fed a good meal?      Were you warm?  
             Did you have someone give you a hug and tell you they loved you? 
Well then, you had a great day. So many children don't have these luxuries, yes I will call them that because feeling full, warm and loved is not basic in an orphanage.

Many of these children wait not because they have severe physical or emotional needs but because they are unseen. It is not easy to look at them and think about them; it is much easier to turn away. Maybe you aren't in a situation where you can adopt or maybe you have a different cause that you support so you skim over the topic and hope someone else will do something. Let me encourage you that you can do something. Please consider doing one of the following 4.

You can pray for these children that they will find their families.
You can talk about these children and share their pictures enabling them to be seen by others.
You can give money so that a family can adopt.
You can take that first step on the journey and walk into adoption. God will show you the next step and the one after that.

I feel blessed in this season because I have family, but mostly because I have a God who cared enough to send me a savior and adopt me into His family. Wishing that you may know the love of the Father this beautiful time of year.

"Can't" is going down.

Today I found myself thinking, "I can't do it." It doesn't matter what "it" was I thought I couldn't do, what matters is that I realized there was a limitation I had placed on myself. When I thought more about it and the many things I have done that I thought I couldn't, I understood that this was just another situation where I had a choice. The choice has always been this: stay where it is safe and only mildly stressfull OR go where you are unsure of yourself and your abilities. How many times in our lives have we turned aside from something that we knew would be difficult and thought, "I'll do this when..... when I'm stronger... when I'm older... when I have more money... when my life isn't so crazy......the list goes on and on.

 At the bottom of all these hesitations is a fear that we won't be good enough. So, today I decided "Can't" is going down.
     I won't stop just because I don't do something the best, or the fastest.
     I won't stop just because I hear 100 times how bad it was when someone else tried to do it.
     I won't stop just because I don't yet know how to do it.
     I won't stop just because I make mistakes and have to re-do it.
     I won't stop just because others have given up.

So, what is IT that you think you can't do?   Is it selling your house and moving, going back to school and getting a degree, writing a book, running a marathon or maybe adopting a child? I challenge you to take the first step toward "I can." This Sat. Nov. 23 is National Adoption Day and I will be taking a few hours to do what I thought I couldn't.  Join me?

"If God is for us who can be against us?"

New Beginnings

    

       "May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance." 2 Thes. 3:5

My oldest son was married last week and I spent a lot of time thinking about parenting him and how quickly the time went by. It seems but a few years since he was in little league, or sitting at our table learning his multiplication. Everyone told me that the time would go too quickly and I tried to heed their advice and enjoy every moment. I have no regrets as he begins his new life with his bride.

I say this because when some people think about adoption they think that they are too old or have waited too long to begin with another child and I want to remind them how quickly the years go by. There are many older children waiting for a family; children who are 8, 10 or older.  They only have a short time left before they will be adults, and right now they don't have anyone to show them what having a family means.

If you are reading this and feel God nudging your heart, take the next step. Search the web for an adoption agency and begin asking questions or go to rainbowkids.com or adoptuskids.org and look at the list of children who are waiting for a family.

Be The One

Use Your Opportunities

"Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ...Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should." Colossians 4: 3-4

     When Paul wrote these words in his letter to the Colossians, he was in chains; yet, he was still looking for a way to share the Gospel of Christ. He had "poured out his life," and could have rested at this point, but he knew that there was always one more person who needed to hear the message of grace and forgiveness. Someone near him needed to know about the free gift of eternal life.

                          This is exactly how I feel about the message of  
                                    Adoption. 
There are families out there that could open their hearts and homes to one of the more than 13,000,000 children. They need to know that the obstacles can be overcome. They need to hear that it doesn't matter how old they are or how much income they have. If God is in it, nothing is impossible.

I would like the churches to know how they can help families reach these kids by starting an orphan ministry.

I would like businesses to know how they can effect a positive change for an orphan in their community.

Friends, I can't do this alone. I need you to share this message so that people begin talking.  If we want to reach these 13,000,000 we can't rest. We must pray for opportunities and we must pray for the ability to clearly state how we can bring these children home.

If you, your church, your organization or your business are concerned about orphans, let me come and speak. Give me an opportunity to share what I believe is the heart of God.

        Be The One 

Nothing To Lose

  
  Who has the most joy in their life; the person who has everything to lose, or the person who has nothing to lose?  When an individual has many possessions and is comfortable, he or she has a hard time making any kind of change in their lives. They are afraid to lose everything. Compare this to someone who has decided that they don't need everything and that God knows better what is required in their lives.

     There is a secret to having Joy in your life and it does not involve possessions, careers, money or feeling busy. On the contrary, it often involves losing all of these things, not because they are bad in themselves, but because they create the idea that a person has done something themselves and God can not work through someone who is leading their own way.

     There is a line in a song by the Newsboys that says, "you say I'm living like a beggar; I call it killing the fool."  I love this line because we must all constantly "kill the fool." The fool is the part of us that wants to look like "someone," the person who wants to be noticed either for who we are or what we've done. When we get rid of the fool, we are open to whatever God wants to do in our lives. We have gotten rid of all our expectations of what out lives should look like or what we will become. We have nothing to lose because we have already laid it at the foot of the cross.

     When God puts a call on your life, can you easily say "Yes, Lord," or do you argue and tell him why it is impossible? I encourage you to get rid of all the superfluous parts that have no eternal value and become a person who has nothing to lose.

                 BE THE ONE

The seed, the plant and the fruit.

    

       
                "May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants." Psalm 144: 12     

      I've been in the garden a lot this summer with my adopted son. He loves growing plants. He loves the planting and the picking and even the weeding. When we first started showing him how to garden, he was amazed that the little seeds ended up to be big plants. The kernels of corn grow to ears with silk attached. Radishes are small specks and grow quickly. Flowers are the same way. A small hand is large compared to the tiny grains of life that develop into beautiful colors.
   
     I realized recently that we are the same way with out children. We see them when they are small and we think we know what they will look like when they are grown.  We see a bean seed and think we know, "our child will be a bean, of course."  However, God has the blueprint and often what our children will become is not what we image. Over the last 22 years of being a parent, I have been amazed and surprised to see what my children have developed into. Their interests are varied: from hockey and calculus to dance and Shakespeare. From journalism and baseball to horses and soccer.
   
     As parents of children we haven't birthed, I think we do more watching than expecting. We don't have genetics to go from, so we pay more attention to their interests. Sometimes we, knowing their past, try and steer them away from certain things.  We need to remember that their interests come from God and he is the one growing them. We can never truly know what the final result will be: what God is creating for His glory.  

     We must remember that God uses everything. He uses the earthworm and the rain, the sun and the minerals from rocks to raise up for himself  "well-nurtured plants." We then only need to tend them; to make sure they get enough water and that the sun does not wither them. We need to keep out the harmful pests and sometimes stake them next to a strong support so that they will grow tall
 
      Once the plant is grown, there should also be fruit; however, sometimes the fruit takes years to grow. The apple tree planted won't produce fruit for many seasons. The watermelon may look ripe on the outside but on the inside it is still undeveloped and needing many days to ripen. It takes patience to be a gardener and it takes patience to be a parent especially an adoptive parent. Praise God that he is patient with us and that he is not finished with me (or the children given to me) yet.

                    Be The One