Sorrow and Joy

So blogging has been put on the back burner due to the addition of twins to our household.  Just a little busy with 3 under 2???  Busy and full of blessings!

Well right now our house is full of sorrow and Joy I think I am truly learning what that means.  We are overjoyed with the addition of the twins and the upcoming adoption finalization of our little man.  And yet at the same time I am burdened with sorrow as my dear friend has been diagnosed with Leukemia.  The feelings I have experienced have surprised me in many ways as I just recently watched one of my husbands mentors loose his daughter to Cancer.  She was young sweet and innocent.  We were devastated when she passed away.  There are some things Kate Merrick wrote that now hit me harder.  You see as much as I have seen cancer I have not SEEN cancer.  It is something I wish no one would ever have to witness.  There is something about seeing someone you love in pain.  When you see them weak and weary.  It is heart breaking.

In all of this I know I have two choices.  I can become bitter and full of hatred and anger, or I can fix my eyes on the promise of Jesus.  I choose the later.  I could ask why or I could ask the LORD to come and be in the midst of this.  I choose to ask Him to come.  I know her cancer is treatable and I do not know how this will all end, but I do know I serve a God that is bigger then her cancer.  I also know that I serve a God that loves her more then I could ever love her.

So I press on with my friend in this battle and at them same time enjoy the blessing we are experiencing in life and they feel so much more joyous!  And I share those joys with her because in the midst of her pain I know the LORD intends to bless her in ways she could never imagine.


Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Romans 8:18 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

Joshua 1:9 " Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you where ever you go."

When I hear this song I feel I am both the beginning of this song at the same time and yet the theme is the same "I will bring Praise!"

Go clean your room!

So recently I saw this video of Francis Chan talking about how we often treat the teachings of Jesus.  He talks about how we memorize what Jesus says and we talk about it in bible studies but we don't do it.

I have been sitting on what Francis Chan said for about a week now.  I can't shake it.  Jesus was very clear in his teaching what we do for the least of these we do for him.  What we "DO" with our actions, not what we do in our heart, or the verse we memorize that says to help the widows.  Why is it when it comes to our father in heaven we think its enough to say well I memorized that verse about caring for the orphans and we talked about in bible study.  Oh and one time I donated some money to a non-profit.

I mean really it sounds so ridiculous.  But yet it so what we do as humans.  We like to be comfortable and doing what Jesus says means putting your heart on the line.  It means being emotionally involved with broken people.  Not an easy thing to do.

I think this quote sums it all up.
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny him with their lifestyle" -Brennan Manning

Are you being Jesus to the world today?  Are you feeding the poor?  Are you caring for the widows?  Are you loving the orphans? Or are you living in your safe Christian bubble, only spending time with your friends who believe what you believe?  Are you living a life with little risk?

Be radical  because Jesus was radical, live with all you have.  One of the greatest gifts you can give your children is showing them how to step outside your comfort zone and love those the world says are unlovable.  Because that is what our LORD did for us.  He loved us when we were unlovable.  He loved us while we rejected him.  So when that person rejects you love them more.  Love them harder.  Not with your words, not in your heart, but with your hands and feet.

Maybe I should stop doing dishes

So it was quiet in the house and I decided to power out some dishes.  I went into the kitchen set up some music and got started.  A few songs in and my eyes welled up with tears.  I couldn't help but think of the grief and pain involved with adoption.  My heart was breaking for my little ones birth mom and the loss that they have all experienced.  Even when we have eternal hope life is hard and our hearts hurt for this broken world.

You broke my chains of sin and shame and you covered me with your grace.

You mend my life with your holy fire

You cover me with grace

You are the hand that reaches out to save

I am set free oh oh oh oh

It is for freedom that I am set free

I am set free-All sons and Daughters

May we all experience freedom in the midst of this broken world.

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

It's not Safe

Sometime ago I listened to a sermon that Britt Merrick preached and in it he said it's not safe to follow Jesus.  He spoke about when a family friend was going on a mission trip and her started to write "be safe".  He said he stopped himself when he realized Jesus never called us to be safe in fact he called us to do quite the opposite.

As we have been walking this path of adoption Dustin and I have quickly realized that when we live a life that isn't safe it is full of lots of hurt but also lots of blessings.  As you have read in the past we started off the Journey looking for a "safe" adoption plan.  A child that was on the road to adoption with a low risk of going back.  As the LORD worked on our hearts we found ourselves saying it doesn't matter how long they will stay we will love them anyway.  We will love them with all we have and hold nothing back.

The LORD had used Britt and Kate Merrick to show us our children were a gift.  And that everyday we have with them is a gift.  A couple of weeks ago Britt and Kate's daughter Daisy (age 8) went to be with the LORD.  She has changed many lives across the world.  The LORD used her suffering through 4 cancer diagnosis for his glory.  We loved harder and more willingly as we watched this story unfold.  When I watched the memorial last Saturday it was full of laughter and tears.  They web cast it and I along with almost 4,000 others watched from home as they filled up the auditorium they had used in Santa Barbara.

Adoption is risky.  Following Jesus is risky.  But oh it's so worth it.  Because when you get that child in your arms you will know that God choose you to be their parent.  It maybe for a week or a month or maybe 65 years.  But he choose you to love them.  So don't be afraid if they may leave tomorrow or next week, just love them anyway.

When you encounter the birth parents love them with all you have.  They need your love too.  When you are dealing with social workers and Judges love them with all you have.  In the end love wins.  We need to not be afraid we just need to love everyone like Jesus.  You will never say I loved them too much.

To read more of Daisy's story you can visit Pray For Daisy

There is a blog and multiple videos including her memorial service.

Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous.  do not be afraid or terrified of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.

Help one Child

I discovered a new non-profit today that works with foster children and  foster parents.  Their goal is not to just recruit more loving homes for these children who need a family but to support the families who want to love them.  As well as impacting the lives of the foster children in the system.  They have some creative ideas that I would love to see happen in Santa Cruz.

My favorite thing they do is called Tuesday night suppers.  They go into the group homes cook with the kids in the group home, eat with them, and then play board games with them.

There are so many ways we can help these children!

How will you step outside your comfort zone and love these kiddos?


Help one Child

Dishes and Tears

Lot's of tears have been shed over the last 5 days but today a big wave hit my while doing the dishes.  The music was playing and the kids were having fun and giggling next to me on the floor.  From Friday's massacre of 20 innocent children and 7 adults, to Daisy Love Merrick I just couldn't keep them back.  I silently cried as the tears rolled down into the soapy water.  I pleaded with the LORD asking  him to heal Daisy Love and was gently reminded as I cried that he loved me and Daisy more then anyone ever could.

If you don't know Daisy's story she is an 8 year old girl who has just been diagnosed with two cancerous tumors for the 4th time in her short life.  She isn't just any 8 year old girl to us though.  Her dad was/is one of my husbands mentors.  He discipled my husband and taught him what it meant to be a man after God's own heart.  If you have met Britt you know he is a man after God's own heart and if you met my husband you can tell he is a good teacher.  Because of this Daisy holds an extra special place in our hearts along with her whole family.  Christmas 2011 we stood at church chatting with her mom (Kate) while Elijah Merrick played with the children.  She told us how happy she was that Daisy's cancer was gone (that was after the second diagnosis) yet she knew that all these treatments had taken a toll on her sweet body.  That image is burned in my mind as I held our 5 week old little boy that was born in our hearts.  At that same moment we told her how Daisy's story and their faith had given us the courage to take the steps that led us to him. My heart breaks on so many different levels.  For Daisy as her body aches and she starts chemo again knowing that her tumors are inoperable.  For Kate and Britt as I know as a mother and father how much they just want to take the pain away.  For her older brother who probably wishes he could take away the pain too.

In all of this I know that God is good and he is bigger then any tumor even when I don't have the faith to believe it.  This year at Christmas we will hold our little ones a little tighter and tell them we love them a little bit more.  We will remember that our children are not ours but that they belong to our Father in heaven who loves them so much more then we ever could.  And he will not forsake us.

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

John 11:35 Jesus wept.

To read more of Daisy's story and witness her families incredible faith go here www.prayfordaisy.com

Chains

I got in the car yesterday and an old Jars of Clay song was on.  The second verse stood out to me as a sad state that happens in our lives.

Sitting silent wearing Sunday best

The sermon echos through the walls

A Great salvation through it calls to the people

who stare into nowhere, and can't feel the chains on their souls

It's the time when you forget what it feels like to be wrapped in our Saviors love.  When you forget the feeling of what it was like when you first realized how much the LORD loves you.  When the songs become just what you do instead of an overflow out of your heart.  Or just that picture of being silent wearing Sunday best and the legalism that can come with that.  And then there is the part that hits so hard " and can't feel the chains on their souls."  I think it hits so hard because I have been in this spot and am no longer there.  The chains of the yoke we weren't meant to bear.  Thankfully you don't have to do anything to get rid of the chains.  The LORD does it for you.  We all have chains we can't feel so it is good to ask everyday for the LORD to remove the things we aren't meant to bear so we can fall more in love with him.  

Thankful the LORD never leaves us where we are!