One More Home

I can't begin to think the phrase " This is my story..." without finishing out the tune "This is my song Praising my Savior All the day long..." Maybe you know the one? I first read those lyrics on the pages of an old-fashioned hymnal, but you can still finding them winding through the air courtesy of more modern artists like this version here. And, well, the story I'm about to tell you, it has plenty of reasons to praise and give thanks. It's my story, my adoption story. In 1975, three people sat at very opposite ends of the spectrum. On one end, there was a married couple who had been trying for years to conceive a child. And on the other, was a very young girl with a baby on the way. This girl was barely 15 the day she went into labor. The child of a divorced home in the 70's, I tend to imagine that she probably had very little in the way of support. And yet, even though the decision in Roe v Wade had been handed down just a few year

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." James 1:27 NLT This verse has become rooted in my mind over the past few years. For each and every Christian, this command applies, but not every one of us will reach out in the same way. Some of us will go to the corners of the earth to build and repair orphanages.  We'll lead vacation bible schools, love on those sweet precious faces and tell them the story of Jesus. We'll send shoe boxes full of Christmas goodies through Operation Christmas Child, or maybe sponsor a child through an organization like Compassion International. Some will stay right where they are; open up their homes to the children who need a safe place to call home for just a short time. Those foster families will provide comfort and care for children who live in an unsteady world, and need more than ever to know a gentle, loving touch. Th

"  Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,     looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV) A few weeks ago, I was taking a walk through our local sports park. I passed by one of the baseball fields and heard the familiar crack of the bat followed by loud cheering from the fans in the stands. I don't know if you've ever been to a little league game before, but they are quite entertaining. It always puts a smile on my face when a child first starts hitting the ball coming off the pitching machine, because the first thing that usually happens is they freeze. I'm sure their brain is saying, "Oh my goodness, did I actually just hit t

I promised you an update about how Summit 9 went, and well, it's been a week since 3,000 plus people piled themselves into a not so tiny church, sharing a heart for God and a passion for reaching the fatherless. It was awesome. Not the type of awesome where I'm giddy, feel like typing the word in all caps, and then ending it with 5 exclamation points. But awesome in that I felt so much delight in God that He blessed me with the opportunity to come together with so many like-minded believers, where we worshipped side by side and my insides were flooded with so much knowledge and inspiration that it was almost too much to hold. More than one moment was spent with silent tears sliding down my cheeks, some a testimony of joy and others sorrow. Either way, I didn't feel the need to wipe them hurriedly away in the hopes that maybe no one saw, but I was perfectly content to sink into each and every emotion. So, I'll give you a few highlights of just what you missed ou

I'm sure you were thinking the next post you would read would entail all the wonderful happenings of Summit9, and folks, it's coming. But, we have more important matters to talk about right now. Urgent matters that cannot be ignored. It came to my attention that, while I was away, a family I am connected with has hit a crisis point. The Wiederholt clan consists of a mom and a dad and four adorable little boys, one of which was adopted from Ethiopia. Jess stays home and schools all four balls of energy, a feat of which I am envious, for that is a path I am terrified to walk. This wonderful family has been led to once again open their hearts, not to one more child, but to two. God has this amazing way of getting our hearts to expand to hold more love than we ever thought possible, and this is just one example of that at work. It's here that we find ourselves sitting in the midst of a crisis point. These two sweet babies are a sibling set in Uganda, both HIV positive. Wh

Every morning I set my alarm to 6:30 a.m. It may not seem early to some of you, but it is to me, and I try and absorb every moment of sleep I can get until 6:30 rolls around. I don't wake my children until 7:00, and even though they get an extra half hour snuggled under cozy covers, they don't act like 7 is much better than 6:30. Except for days like today. Today, my middle child was up getting his clothes on fixing himself a bowl of cereal before my alarm had a chance to make a peep. Yes, people, he was a pre-6:30 a.m. riser. And, having been blessed with three wonderful children, I have mom ears attuned to the third power. So, I heard every moment of his being awake. It seems his drawer needs some WD-40 to shush it's protest at being pulled away from the dresser, and we have giant metal spoons that must be dropped from a height of 5 feet above the china bowls that the cereal is being poured into. 6:30 a.m. went out the window, although I laid there trying to hold onto