Ruth, Home for Christmas

Our friends the Balt's want to bring their daughter home before Christmas!! Kim went with me to Uganda - a huge answer to prayer!! She and I didn't even know each other very well, but we had mutual friends. She basically told me that she felt the Lord was calling her to go with me (even though she had always said she never wanted to go to Africa!). It was THE LORD!!! All details (even child care for her 3 children at home) came together for her to leave in less than 2 wks to go to Africa for an indefinite amount of time! It was beautiful! The Lord had plans for her there because she fell in love with Ruth! Through prayer, her and her husband, Tim, believed it was God's desire for their family to adopt Ruth.

Let's help them bring Ruth home!!!

"There's no other face that's my mom"

This is the SWEETEST video on transracial adoption! I LOVE their relationship!!! I pray, pray, pray to have a relationship like this with our kids...all of them!

Talitha Piper's adoption interview

John and Noel adopted Talitha as a baby (when they were 50!) ; ) You can read an interview with Talitha here!

He's gonna be walkin'!

Jeremiah is getting stronger every day!! 2 wks ago he started pulling up onto his feet and standing while holding on to things. This week he started walking with a push toy! And today he stood all by himself for the first time!!! Maybe by Christmas he'll be taking steps? Maybe?! ;)

Bear turned 5 today...unbelievable!

I don't know what it is about 5, but it's significantly different than 4 to me. It means they are officially growing up. They are officially no longer babies. So wonderful and so sad. I love seeing our kids learn, grow, and flourish, but it's hard to see them grow too! I still remember the first time I saw our little Bear....8 months old....how can she be 5??!!!

She's growing into a little mommy daily! I asked her the other day what her favorite things to play with were. She said 'my baby brother' ; ) Not surprised by that answer, I tried to rephrase it, 'what are your favorite things to do?'. I like to feed my baby brother a bottle and play with him' ; ) Of course you do. And it's true. She just isn't that in to toys unless it's to help entertain another child. She would way rather be interacting with babies or showing somebody else how to play with something. : )

She's also a super duper helper! She came up to me at least 3 times today and said, 'mommy, what can I do to help you?'. SO SWEET!!! "Just be near me!!" : )

Bear, we love you! We are wordlessly THANKFUL that we have been given the opportunity to be your parents. You are a spunky little girl, with a compassion that longs to see justice done! I can't wait to see what Jesus does with your passions sweet girl! Will He take you to Kenya, will you build things, will you have the 6 children you tell me you are going to have one day? I don't know - whatever it is, sweet girl, I hope you do it all for our Savior! He alone is your portion...forever!

Hair Bows for Adoption

Got girls you are buying for this Christmas? Or need some new bows for a little girl in your life? Don't get them elsewhere - get them here AND help orphans!!! My friend Kendra, a passionate mamma for Jesus and orphan care, started Sugarplum Boutique to help support orphans and adoptions! Sugarplum Boutique helped us bring Jeremiah home!!! ; ) We think she's pretty amazing...and we love her bows too :)

She's doing a giveaway right now - head over there and enter the drawing! ; )

Advent Conspiracy

What if Christmas became a world changing event again?

Adopting older children

Living on Purpose

I can't imagine having a disability in Uganda!  But Deborah is doing it, and living it with passion and purpose!  Glory to our King!!!

Coming soon: There's going to be some Ugandan made Christmas gifts available to help support the disabled people and orphans that Show Mercy International.  Check out their website for more information or email them for details!

If we really want to be like Him....

Katie wrote a stirring post on loving all the way we love our own because ALL are God's.  If we really want to be like the Lord, then we should strive to love like him!

KKK continues to claim Christianity

This article took my breath away.  The thing I HATE most about this is that the KKK associates themselves with 'Christians'.  Probably one of the most twisted views of Christianity there is - it's all lies.  Satan is a deceiver, and he has deceived the Truth of the Gospel from the KKK.  May Jesus turn their hearts of stone to flesh, let the scales fall from their eyes, may their pride bring them to a hard fall that they may see and hear that JESUS is Lord, all men are created equal and in His image, and all are in equal need of a Savior to pay the debt we owe.

It's Christmas time

O..It's Christmas time...WHY would we spend a cent to make the wealthy, wealthier when we can help make the adoption of an orphan REALITY? This one is AWESOME!!" Carolyn Tweitmeyer

'Getting knifed in the face was a gift of grace'

Do you think you'd say that if you were robbed and left with a 5 inch long/ 1 inch deep knife wound in your face?  I don't know how I'd respond to such a wound (the thought of my fleshly response makes me shudder).  But this happened to the missions pastor of Austin Stone in Southeast Asia on his recent trip.  He shares his reflections here, and they are worshipful, God honoring, stirring reflections!  Take a moment to be stirred to live radically for the Gospel!

Here's a nugget from his post,

Immediately after the attack, as we ran for safety and sought medical care, I wanted to feel the Lord's presence with us. Our hearts were racing, our emotions were barely steady as blood gushed from my wound onto my shirt and pants. I wanted the physical comfort of the Lord's presence. But I did not feel it; rather, I had to believe it. Where my feelings failed, my mind thrived. I remembered Scripture and believed it. My heart followed the leadership of my head and believed in the Lord's comfort and presence even when I did not feel it. This experience encourages me to memorize more Scripture, so that in my next trial, my head will be fully armed to lead my heart.

Amen!!!!  Only by GRACE would I respond as he has.  May the Lord give us the grace we need for the suffering He has called us to that HIS Name may be glorified and our joy may be complete in HIM.  

"Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts." Proverbs 20:30

Desiring to be a mission minded family

Jason found Mission Minded Family, and that led us to go and find what Noel Piper wrote in 2002 about 'creating world Christian kids'.  

Creating World Christian Kids

Here are some easy-to-do suggestions for helping your children become world Christians:

• Read National Geographic.
• Check out library books about countries or regions of the U.S. where you have friends or special interest.
• Take and make opportunities to hear and learn different languages.
• Read aloud together missionary biographies and stories with foreign settings.
• Keep a globe or large world map handy for easy reference.
• Mark the locations of friends on the map-Detroit, Almaty, Madison, Bangkok.
• Notice aloud newscasts or articles about distant countries.
• Read together the Global Prayer Digest and pray for the day's unreached people group. Your minds will be sent daily to a different part of the world. Your children will learn what kinds of words to use when they hear you praying for God's will to be done in the world.
• Include children in conversations with foreign students, missionaries, world travelers and emigrants to this country.
• In conversation, assume a future anywhere in the world for your children, not just the U.S.
• Read letters from missionaries as personal letters, not as mass mailings-children love to get mail.
• Put missionary pictures on the bulletin board alongside your other favorite friends. Your child will grow up knowing, "Some friends live far away in Nebraska, some live far away in Cote d'Ivoire. It's all in the same world that's on my map. Who knows where I might live when I grow up?"
• Go to the airport to send off missionary friends. When you gather in a circle for one last song and prayer together, you give older children a sense of the importance of aligning with God's purposes in the world. A younger child will grasp that it's great fun to go to the airport, and this must be something special because we don't usually sing and cry at the airport!
• Most of all, help your children learn that the U.S. is not the only country God made, our ways are not necessarily the best ways, and English is not the only language.

I love Noel's ideas - so practical and helpful!!!  

Here's a few specifics we love to read:

One of our favorite books is Window on the World.  The kids are finally at an age where they can appreciate what they are learning.  It's so exciting for them to take turns each day choosing the country/people they want to read about, and it stirs their hearts to pray for them.  We either read this or we read from the Global Prayer Digest that Noel recommended.  

We are also enjoying reading about heroes of the faith like Adoniram Judson, Jim Elliot, Gladys Aylward, Brother Andrew, Amy Carmichael, and more!  They are making Heroes of the Faith for young readers now, and they are great!

Another family fave is God's World News.  The kids LOVE getting the newest magazine in the mail.  And I really enjoy reading it with them!    

I was also just reminded that we use My Father's World for homeschool for this purpose!  They desire to make world Christians through their curriculum.  It's the whole reason we chose their curric! :)

May the Lord use these tools to draw our kids hearts to rejoice and be a part of HIS plan for every tongue, tribe, and nation to worship HIM!