Radical or Biblical?

I have been reading the book by David Platt - Radical: Taking back your faith from the American dream for the past couple weeks. The book club at church is meeting next week to discuss it and I'm looking forward to hearing what others have to say about it. Platt brings up several points about the sin of materialism that is accepted in the American church as the norm and the centrality of missions in the church instead of simply an optional program intended for a certain type of person.

The chapter I was reading last night highlighted the statistics regarding the poor and needy in the world saying numbers on a page can seem cold and distant. Platt has adopted previously and is in the process of adopting again. He states, "We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes."

Although I do not know their names and I haven't seen their faces, as I lay in bed last night my heart ached for my children. For the first time I shed tears as I thought about their lives on the other side of the world. I don't know if they are getting enough to eat or if they have a safe place to lay their head. I don't know know if there is someone to pick them up when they fall down or to help dry their tears. As much as I trust God and His timing that doesn't ease the increasing desire I have for my boys to be home.

Some musings from Vegas

As I write this I'm sitting pool side at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. I am in Vegas for a software development conference. God knows that I love to travel and He also knows that I am trying to save money in every area of my life right now. To be able to essentially take a free trip is just another of the blessings that He has given me since I said yes to this whole adoption thing. I feel extremely grateful for the opportunities He continues to provide for me. One of these opportunities was to watch the Lion King production. It was a remarkable show full of vibrant color and energy. Since the story takes place in Africa I couldn't help but think about my children as I looked in the face of young Simba.

Tomorrow I leave to come back home. It will likely be the last airplane I will be on until I leave to go to Ethiopia. As I near the holiday season I am aware that it will likely be my last Thanksgiving and Christmas without my sons being home. Each of these events reminds me that with the passage of each day I am one day closer. I intend to be thankful for not only that but also to be thankful for all of the time in between because each day is a chance to live for the One that has orchastrated all of this according to His plan.

Waiting...

Most days I've been pretty content waiting. Even with the frequent questions that I've received about when the boys will get here I've been extremely optimistic. Today is different. Today I'm tired of waiting. I want my sons to be home. I want to be able to pick them up and hug them and look into their eyes as they smile. Although I know that God is teaching me a lot through this time in between having all of my paperwork done and getting on a plane to Ethiopia, I'm ready to go. Hopefully this moment will pass soon because I know I still have several months of waiting ahead. Until then, I may be listening to the following song by John Waller a lot...

I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You, Lord

And I am hopeful, I'm waiting on You, Lord

Though it is painful, But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident

Taking every step in obedience

While I'm waiting, I will serve You

While I'm waiting, I will worship

While I'm waiting, I will not faint

I'll be running the race, Even while I wait

I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You, Lord

And I am peaceful, I'm waiting on you, Lord

Though it's not easy, but faithfully I will wait

New

I spent a good majority of yesterday working in my yard preparing my flower beds for the new growth of spring. As I was weeding yesterday I noticed there were some beds that really didn’t need much work and there were some that had quite a bit of junk in them that needed to be cleaned out. This seems to be a direct parallel to our lives.

This time gave me an opportunity to contemplate on Sunday’s message and the verse that seems to be popping up in my life a lot lately. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) Sunday was the grand opening of our new church building and it was an exciting time filled with new faces. It was one of those services where you leave and there is no doubt that God was in your midst and is moving in a mighty way. I’m extremely excited for the future of Centerpointe and the opportunities I am going to have to serve there.

This process of new and preparing for the new is the dominating theme of my life right now. I have vowed to prepare the ground of my heart for my new children and I believe that is why there is now a hunger and a thirst for God in my life more so than ever before. There is a lot of new going on in the lives of the people around me as well. I have some friends whose lives are changing dramatically, a cousin who is getting married in December, and a mother who has decided that after 27 years of teaching she is going to retire to take care of her grandchildren while I am at work. My mom’s willingness to join with me in my desire to care and love the orphans of the world by entering into a new phase of her life makes me feel extremely blessed and fortunate.

As winter draws near there is always the thought of the coming spring. This winter is going to be a winter of waiting and some days I may be more patient than others. However, I have hope that along with spring will come two little beautiful Ethiopian boys into my life and I will never be the same. The thought of spring coming brings to mind a song I recently heard by Steven Curtis Chapman, "Spring is Coming". I went to see the Chapman family in Lousiville last week. Mary Beth's book is amazing and the way this family's faith has sustained them is truly inspiring. The lyrics from this song just sum up a hope that can be found no where else than in Jesus and makes me long for the day that I see him face to face.

Faith

Sometimes this whole process seems very surreal. I talk about my children and I dream about the future with them and I have yet to see their faces. I am buying toys for them and am making plans for their room and I don't even know their names. I heard something recently in a sermon I was listening to about the battle of Jericho. The speaker defined faith as speaking of something that has not happened as if it already has happened. That is what God has called us to do and how he has called us to believe as his followers. I have faith that very soon I will hold two little boys in my arms and my world will never be the same.

As of today my dossier is on its journey to our nation's capitol. My placing agency expects that to take about a week and then it will be off to Ethiopia. It is anticipated that once in Ethiopia it will take 2-6 months to receive my referral. Each stage of this journey is another step closer to the moment where my faith and reality collide.

Planting Trees

This morning I went to the yard sale my church was having to raise money for the fixtures in the new building. Mostly I was going to support the church but there is part of me that is now somewhat addicted to going to these sales and buying cheap toys for the boys. On the way we passed a greenhouse that sells trees. There are four sequential signs, Love God, Love Your Family, Plant a Tree, We have the Trees. It just made me laugh.

Tonight I spent the night at an adoption conference in Lexington. It was an evening with a mix of uplifting music and a message by a leading spokesman for adoption in the body of Christ. It was a great night. I have to say that the message that touched my soul the most was part of a song sung by Andrew Petterson. The lines were "He took a plane to Africa, He gathered up into his arms an orphan son. So many years from now long after we are gone this tree will spread its branches out and bless the dawn. So sit down and write that letter, sign up and join the fight, sink in to all that matters, step out into the light. Let go of all that's passing, lift up the least of these, lean into something lasting, planting trees." It is impossible not to note the symbolism in beginning and ending my day with the same thought of planting trees.

Monday morning I am headed up to Cincinnati for a meeting at the Department of Homeland Security, well actually the USCIS Office (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). This is the last step for me until I receive my referral.

He Provides (oh and my dossier has been sent)

I heard a quote from Corrie Ten Boom the other day, "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." The speaker was relating this to taking financial risks, stating that God always pays for what He orders. If God has provided the vision, he will back that vision.

I find this to be coming true each and every day as I travel this journey with My Heavenly Father and Friend. The yard sale was a success. It could not have been a more beautiful day and I was able to collect quite a bit of money. However, for me that is not what made it successful. It was a success because of those that rallied around me to donate their time and extra stuff to the sale. It was all of the people throughout the day that spoke to me about adoption and the encouragement they gave. It is the woman that works with my mom who gave her some money because although she failed to make it to the sale wanted to show her support. God will provide the money but He will also provide those along the way to help me through this journey. I am so very grateful!

Pictures from the yard sale:


I received an email last week that some requirements for the dossier had been changed in regards to Ethiopia's adoptions. This caused a little delay in sending out all of my paperwork because I had to gather together a few more documents. I finally got the last bit of information needed yesterday and I was able to drop that off at the FedEx Box last night. It was a great feeling to have this step completed.