This was such a great post, I just had to provide a link for you. It expressed how I think and feel, but probably in a gentler way than I might have come across, had I written it myself.
I'm working on that... (smile).
http://dirkydirk.blogspot.com/2010/11/living-simply.html#links
Hope you enjoy... and are challenged by the truth of it.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Corn Dogs and Waffles
No husband home to make dinner for tonight. Usually this would be a breakfast-for-dinner kind of night, and the kids and I would be excited to have fried potatoes, french toast, or some such stuff. (Jason's not big on breakfast-for-dinner. He'll eat it, but there's a mental block there for the poor guy. I think that's insane. I mean, what can be more fun than breakfast for dinner, right??)
Don't feel like making potatoes. No bread for french toast. No fruit left in the house. No motivation to make anything whatsoever. So...
...yep, you guessed it. Corn dogs and frozen waffles for dinner. Can we find one trace of anything nutritional or healthy in either of these items? I think not. Did I think about at least trying to feed my children something decent? Yes. Did that go anywhere? Nope.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this.
Don't feel like making potatoes. No bread for french toast. No fruit left in the house. No motivation to make anything whatsoever. So...
...yep, you guessed it. Corn dogs and frozen waffles for dinner. Can we find one trace of anything nutritional or healthy in either of these items? I think not. Did I think about at least trying to feed my children something decent? Yes. Did that go anywhere? Nope.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Video-happy
OK... It's getting late, and I should take my sick self to bed. But I am video-happy tonight apparently. For someone who knows so little of technology, it's astounding me how many fun things are out there for me to waste my time on! Seriously... waste. But, hey... just in case you are so inclined to waste a little time tonight as well, these are for you.
A VERY cool video... I could watch this again and again!
One of my favorite songs with video from my all-time favorite TV show. Oh how I miss you, LOST.
My other all-time favorite TV show... "The Cosby Show"... love this clip with their lip sync routine! Oh man, wouldn't it be great if there were something fun and clean like this on TV now? Hopefully you can view this one from the youtube link below...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSvGdfOfLFw
A VERY cool video... I could watch this again and again!
Morning Elegance from MillyFilms on Vimeo.
One of my favorite songs with video from my all-time favorite TV show. Oh how I miss you, LOST.
My other all-time favorite TV show... "The Cosby Show"... love this clip with their lip sync routine! Oh man, wouldn't it be great if there were something fun and clean like this on TV now? Hopefully you can view this one from the youtube link below...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSvGdfOfLFw
Book Recommendation: "Radical"
This book was lent to us by some friends. I LOVED it. Really... I loved it. It is not comfortable, it is not easy... but that's why I liked it so much... it's exactly the stuff that God's been teaching our family over the last several years. Seriously, if you're not afraid to be challenged right out of your "American Dream" life & mindset, then it's really worth checking out. As I write this post, it's only $5.oo or so at Amazon on sale.
Here are some videos that sum up the message of the book:
Here are some videos that sum up the message of the book:
RADICAL from David Platt on Vimeo.
About Radical from David Platt on Vimeo.
Orphan Sunday Videos
I tried to put these videos in the previous post about Orphan Sunday, but I am not a computer nerd. I'm just a plain ol' nerd... with no computer skills whatsoever! :)
But, I finally figured it out... so here they are.
Really... they're worth a watch.
But, I finally figured it out... so here they are.
Really... they're worth a watch.
Do Something Now from Children's HopeChest on Vimeo.
Creation Groans from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.
True Religion from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.
Why Love Orphans? from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Orphan Sunday
We had the privilege to be part of something called "Orphan Sunday" in our church just a few days ago. A small group of us really desire to share the need for the church to stand up and obey God when he tells us to care for the orphan and the widow. Thankfully, our church stood behind us and allowed us to use this past Sunday's service to that end. (Many churches were doing the same thing on the same day, which is exciting and encouraging to me.)
About 5 of us shared our involvement and experiences with orphan care and adoption, our Pastor shared about the blessing of obedience to the Lord in this area, and we even had worship music that reflected God's heart for the fatherless. My heart was in its element.
I was really nervous to share in front of so many people (and we don't even have an extremely large church!), in fact... I often thought as I prayed about what I should share in the month before, that I would MUCH rather write it all up so people could read it. But the bottom line was that this was important. Much more important than my being nervous. SO, I kept praying for God to lift the anxiousness. He was so faithful. I was still a bit nervous, but I was able to say what was on my heart, and even went so far as to add things not in my notes! That, for me, is incredible... :) So, I KNOW that the Lord was giving me courage and words to share. In fact, some of what I said, I can't even remember!
Jason shared the basics of our journey so far... and what God's been teaching us through it. I loved hearing him share! Here's the gist of what I shared : (And I struggled with my emotion through a good part of it.)
I think that what we have been learning in the past 3 years is that this life is just not about us. It is not about my comfort. It is not about my ease. It's not about my agenda. It's about God's. It's about giving ourselves away. It's simply about seeking Jesus and obeying him.
It's the obedience part that can be tricky.
But we are to take Jesus' name, and love, and light into places that are dark, and hard, and difficult, and dangerous.
That is where orphans abound.
We have experienced that war is being waged over the fatherless... because our God, who is Father to the fatherless, pursues them, and so does his enemy. If we engage in this battle, we're in the middle of the war.
During the year we searched in foster care to adopt children who needed a family, we were stretched in so many instances. The Lord seemed to bring us to so many children who were WAY different than we thought we were open to originally. Each time, he seemed to be saying, "What about these children... would you take them?" And each time, we struggled through our fear and our doubt to get to the point where we said, "Yes, Lord." But each time, God would then shut the door. We pursued a sibling group of four children. Crazy! But, we got willing, and God closed the door. He brought along a little guy who was HIV positive, and I struggled through the very real possibility of having to watch him die. We got to the point where we were willing to let our hearts be broken in that way, and God shut the door. It happened again and again. Many, many kids. I don't pretend to understand all the reasons, but I do know that our hearts were broken over and over again for his children... all sorts of his children. And I'm glad. I don't want that to be different.
We've seen that there is a war over them all. I can stand up and fight for them, act in respond in obedience to Jesus' commands, or I can pretend that he doesn't mind when I look the other way.
But, honestly, it's difficult and risky for me to stand up and fight for people I don't know. So- the Lord has given us the past three years to get to know some orphans. Face to face. He's opened our eyes to what this war is all about.
It's ugly... and frustrating... and heartbreaking at times. It's caused us to depend on the Lord as we've never had to before. It's SO worth it though, because while obedience is painful, God is an incredible rewarder. Our family has experienced true HOPE and PEACE and JOY... even in the midst of some very difficult realities. Our hearts have been broken over his children, but I can now truthfully say that I wouldn't want it any other way.
What a crazy three years it's been. What a refining and reshaping time it's been. We are no where closer to parenting orphaned kids at this point, since we have no idea what will happen in Liberia, but God has certainly developed a heart in us for his children. In fact, it's only because of the many trials and shut doors that our eyes have been opened to the larger need. We are in this for good now. Forever. Just not sure what that means yet. :)
About 5 of us shared our involvement and experiences with orphan care and adoption, our Pastor shared about the blessing of obedience to the Lord in this area, and we even had worship music that reflected God's heart for the fatherless. My heart was in its element.
I was really nervous to share in front of so many people (and we don't even have an extremely large church!), in fact... I often thought as I prayed about what I should share in the month before, that I would MUCH rather write it all up so people could read it. But the bottom line was that this was important. Much more important than my being nervous. SO, I kept praying for God to lift the anxiousness. He was so faithful. I was still a bit nervous, but I was able to say what was on my heart, and even went so far as to add things not in my notes! That, for me, is incredible... :) So, I KNOW that the Lord was giving me courage and words to share. In fact, some of what I said, I can't even remember!
Jason shared the basics of our journey so far... and what God's been teaching us through it. I loved hearing him share! Here's the gist of what I shared : (And I struggled with my emotion through a good part of it.)
I think that what we have been learning in the past 3 years is that this life is just not about us. It is not about my comfort. It is not about my ease. It's not about my agenda. It's about God's. It's about giving ourselves away. It's simply about seeking Jesus and obeying him.
It's the obedience part that can be tricky.
But we are to take Jesus' name, and love, and light into places that are dark, and hard, and difficult, and dangerous.
That is where orphans abound.
We have experienced that war is being waged over the fatherless... because our God, who is Father to the fatherless, pursues them, and so does his enemy. If we engage in this battle, we're in the middle of the war.
During the year we searched in foster care to adopt children who needed a family, we were stretched in so many instances. The Lord seemed to bring us to so many children who were WAY different than we thought we were open to originally. Each time, he seemed to be saying, "What about these children... would you take them?" And each time, we struggled through our fear and our doubt to get to the point where we said, "Yes, Lord." But each time, God would then shut the door. We pursued a sibling group of four children. Crazy! But, we got willing, and God closed the door. He brought along a little guy who was HIV positive, and I struggled through the very real possibility of having to watch him die. We got to the point where we were willing to let our hearts be broken in that way, and God shut the door. It happened again and again. Many, many kids. I don't pretend to understand all the reasons, but I do know that our hearts were broken over and over again for his children... all sorts of his children. And I'm glad. I don't want that to be different.
We've seen that there is a war over them all. I can stand up and fight for them, act in respond in obedience to Jesus' commands, or I can pretend that he doesn't mind when I look the other way.
But, honestly, it's difficult and risky for me to stand up and fight for people I don't know. So- the Lord has given us the past three years to get to know some orphans. Face to face. He's opened our eyes to what this war is all about.
It's ugly... and frustrating... and heartbreaking at times. It's caused us to depend on the Lord as we've never had to before. It's SO worth it though, because while obedience is painful, God is an incredible rewarder. Our family has experienced true HOPE and PEACE and JOY... even in the midst of some very difficult realities. Our hearts have been broken over his children, but I can now truthfully say that I wouldn't want it any other way.
What a crazy three years it's been. What a refining and reshaping time it's been. We are no where closer to parenting orphaned kids at this point, since we have no idea what will happen in Liberia, but God has certainly developed a heart in us for his children. In fact, it's only because of the many trials and shut doors that our eyes have been opened to the larger need. We are in this for good now. Forever. Just not sure what that means yet. :)
A "Shout Out"
This is a "shout-out" to the amazing home-group of people who have prayed for our family and our adoption for some time now. Art & Carol, please pass on to everyone our deep appreciation for being able to meet with you and fellowship with you. Thank you for listening to our hearts, and most of all, thank you for caring enough to pray faithfully. It blessed us to be able to be with you! I hope you are all doing well! I gave my Dad some pictures that he will pass on to you sometime soon! :)
With Love,
Corrie
With Love,
Corrie
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