What is, therefore, our task today? Shall I answer: “Faith, hope, and love”? that sounds beautiful. But I would say - courage. No, even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is recklessness. For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature… we lack a holy rage - the recklessness which comes from the knowledge of God and humanity. The ability to rage when justice lies prostrate on the streets, and when the lie rages across the face of the earth … a holy anger about the things that are wrong in the world. To rage against the ravaging of God’s earth, and the destruction of God’s world. To rage when little children must die of hunger, when the tables of the rich are sagging with food. To rage at the senseless killing of so many, and against the madness of militaries. To rage at the lie that calls the treat of death and the strategy of destruction peace. To rage against complacency. To restlessly seek that recklessness that will challenge and seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdom of God. And remember the signs of the Christian Church have been the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove, and the Fish … but never the chameleon.
--Kaj Munk, 1944 (spoken before he was martyred at the hands of the Nazi Gestapo)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Songs, Part 1
[Chad blogging] On Sunday, we sang "Salvation is Here". The first part of the lyrics are:
God above all the world in motion
God above all my hopes and fears
I don't care what the world throws at me now
It's gonna be alright
Hear the sound of the generations
Making loud our freedom song
All in all that the world would know Your name
It's gonna be alright
'Cause I know my God saved the day
And I know His word never fails
And I know my God made a way for me
Salvation is here
God above all the world in motion
God above all my hopes and fears
I don't care what the world throws at me now
It's gonna be alright
'Cause I know my God saved the day
And I know His word never fails
And I know my God made a way for me
Salvation is here
We have sung this song a lot before, but on that day I was thunderstruck!
God reminded me that in everything, and especially in this adoption, He is working His plan and will for not only my life and Melissa's life, but also the lives of our children and their children (the generations).
To give some background to that, as a family we have talked about the fact that God has called us to a multi-generational vision--that we must be very intentional with our kids about salvation and why we believe what we believe so that they will be equipped to do the same with their kids, who will do the same with their kids...
The other thing He spoke to me is that He is at work around the world and has chosen to graft vines from China and Ethiopia into our family tree (the world) with a purpose of bringing salvation to two children who need the Lord.
I cannot help but wonder how He is going to use these children in the next generation. It is my fervent prayer that we will be faithful in the plans He has for us.
God above all the world in motion
God above all my hopes and fears
I don't care what the world throws at me now
It's gonna be alright
Hear the sound of the generations
Making loud our freedom song
All in all that the world would know Your name
It's gonna be alright
'Cause I know my God saved the day
And I know His word never fails
And I know my God made a way for me
Salvation is here
God above all the world in motion
God above all my hopes and fears
I don't care what the world throws at me now
It's gonna be alright
'Cause I know my God saved the day
And I know His word never fails
And I know my God made a way for me
Salvation is here
We have sung this song a lot before, but on that day I was thunderstruck!
God reminded me that in everything, and especially in this adoption, He is working His plan and will for not only my life and Melissa's life, but also the lives of our children and their children (the generations).
To give some background to that, as a family we have talked about the fact that God has called us to a multi-generational vision--that we must be very intentional with our kids about salvation and why we believe what we believe so that they will be equipped to do the same with their kids, who will do the same with their kids...
The other thing He spoke to me is that He is at work around the world and has chosen to graft vines from China and Ethiopia into our family tree (the world) with a purpose of bringing salvation to two children who need the Lord.
I cannot help but wonder how He is going to use these children in the next generation. It is my fervent prayer that we will be faithful in the plans He has for us.
An amazing journey
Gosh, I feel somewhat overwhelmed before I even begin!! God is amazing and why He would call us on this road to adoption humbles me. Most days I am just trying to make it through--teaching, loving, feeding, etc. our beautiful but quite ACTIVE 4 children. I wonder sometimes if I am even equipped for the ones I have now but I have to remind myself--minute by minute sometimes that He is sufficient and that His power is made perfect in my weakness!
Let's see, I guess I need to go back about a year and and a half ago when we came home from China with sweet Sarah Beth. I need to let you know a few things about our children. They have tremedous hearts for adoption and God loves to speak through them to their somewhat stubborn parents! Actually I think before we even left for China the kids were planning our next adoption, but I remember distinctly soon after we returned Abby and Noah began drawing pictures of their brother. He had beautiful brown skin and curly dark hair.
Although Josh wasn't "into" drawing pictures he too was very on board. We wonder if they get up very late at night and plan and scheme while Chad and I are sleeping!!! After many pictures they said emphatically, "We have a brother and he lives in Africa." Whoa.... Chad and I were a little overwhelmed to say the least. I remember saying we just needed some time to get adjusted to Sarah Beth!!!
Well, God did give us about 6 months to rest before He started speaking to Chad and me! In late Spring of 2008 I was attending Beth Moore's Daniel bible study. I was at one of our Monday night discussions when the Lord clearly spoke to my heart about our new son and that we were to call him Gabriel. Although the kids felt certain that he lived in Africa, Chad and I were not convinced until May of 2008 when we read "Red Letters Campaign", by Tom Davis. This book truly led us to understand the plight of Africa with its magnitude of orphans due to the AIDS pandemic. We both became so drawn to Ethiopia and knew we were to adopt from there but were not sure of the timeline. In steps God again. He is always right on time although in our flesh many times He appears to be ahead or behind OUR schedule. So thankful it is really HIS schedule and not ours anyway!
In October of 2008 Sarah Beth and I were taking a Kindermusik class, which she loves (We just keep taking classes)!! I had been praying about God's timing to adopt and feeling fearful about starting the process again. The second week of class we stopped at the sign in table to fill out our nametags and when I went to throw our paper away, on top of the trash was the nametag Gabriel. It shook me up because I had just been praying about the adoption and here was our son's name right there in plain view. Well, I just let it slide until the next week, same story... on top of the trash was the nametag Gabriel AGAIN. Well, I grabbed it out of the trash and later that day showed it to Chad. "Do you think this is God speaking?" I asked.
We decided to pray about it and ask God for a "fleece" or a sign that this was really from him. So... the next week SB and I go to the sign in table and there was no nametag on top... I guess I had just imagined all this was God but then was stopped in my tracks!!! I looked up and there in front of us walking to another class was a little boy with the nametag Gabriel on his back!! I just stood there crying....not only had God given us a sign, but we felt he had gone even further to show us a little boy. We knew it was time to act, because certainly our son must be waiting. We began immediately looking for an agency and through God's leading found our agency, Celebrate Children International.
We began our homestudy process in November and here we are again...waiting for yet another child to join our family. We feel so blessed and honored but frightened at times as well. We are always wondering what God is up to!!
As Chad shared we had been looking (I guess I should say I had been looking) at our agency's waiting children list. Both of us felt overwhelmed by the prospect of choosing a child when they ALL needed a family. We were shocked when Sue our director called us about two boys. We both knew this was from God so we began fervently praying for God to direct us to our son or sons. Through much prayer and further discussions with Sue we felt the younger one was to be our son. But we are amazingly open to another child if that is God's desire for us. Please pray we will hear God clearly on this!
Well, let me tell you about our precious new son. We have tons of pictures of him and he is adorable. We can't wait to share them at a later date when we we can. He has those bright eyes like Sarah Beth and a never-ending smile like Noah. We are in love!! He is quite a bit younger than we had anticipated. We think he is about 3 1/2 to 4. We are pretty sure he and Sarah Beth are not even a year apart. Wow, two preschoolers running around again but we love our crazy life!
When we heard his story we were heartbroken. He was given over by his mother about a year and a half ago as she was dying of AIDS. We thankfully have pictues of her and she is a lovely, dignified woman who loved her son dearly and wanted the best for him. I am so thankful we have pictures of her for Gabriel someday. He was actually adopted by another family in Florida but when they got to Ethiopia they changed their minds. We have no idea how anyone would could say no to him but rejoice that God saved him for us!!! We found out that the other couple are not Christians so we feel so thankful God would choose us to raise him in faith. We cannot wait to wrap our arms around him and welcome him into our family. Sarah Beth said last night, "brother's coming home." Yes he is, and soon we pray!
Let's see, I guess I need to go back about a year and and a half ago when we came home from China with sweet Sarah Beth. I need to let you know a few things about our children. They have tremedous hearts for adoption and God loves to speak through them to their somewhat stubborn parents! Actually I think before we even left for China the kids were planning our next adoption, but I remember distinctly soon after we returned Abby and Noah began drawing pictures of their brother. He had beautiful brown skin and curly dark hair.
Although Josh wasn't "into" drawing pictures he too was very on board. We wonder if they get up very late at night and plan and scheme while Chad and I are sleeping!!! After many pictures they said emphatically, "We have a brother and he lives in Africa." Whoa.... Chad and I were a little overwhelmed to say the least. I remember saying we just needed some time to get adjusted to Sarah Beth!!!
Well, God did give us about 6 months to rest before He started speaking to Chad and me! In late Spring of 2008 I was attending Beth Moore's Daniel bible study. I was at one of our Monday night discussions when the Lord clearly spoke to my heart about our new son and that we were to call him Gabriel. Although the kids felt certain that he lived in Africa, Chad and I were not convinced until May of 2008 when we read "Red Letters Campaign", by Tom Davis. This book truly led us to understand the plight of Africa with its magnitude of orphans due to the AIDS pandemic. We both became so drawn to Ethiopia and knew we were to adopt from there but were not sure of the timeline. In steps God again. He is always right on time although in our flesh many times He appears to be ahead or behind OUR schedule. So thankful it is really HIS schedule and not ours anyway!
In October of 2008 Sarah Beth and I were taking a Kindermusik class, which she loves (We just keep taking classes)!! I had been praying about God's timing to adopt and feeling fearful about starting the process again. The second week of class we stopped at the sign in table to fill out our nametags and when I went to throw our paper away, on top of the trash was the nametag Gabriel. It shook me up because I had just been praying about the adoption and here was our son's name right there in plain view. Well, I just let it slide until the next week, same story... on top of the trash was the nametag Gabriel AGAIN. Well, I grabbed it out of the trash and later that day showed it to Chad. "Do you think this is God speaking?" I asked.
We decided to pray about it and ask God for a "fleece" or a sign that this was really from him. So... the next week SB and I go to the sign in table and there was no nametag on top... I guess I had just imagined all this was God but then was stopped in my tracks!!! I looked up and there in front of us walking to another class was a little boy with the nametag Gabriel on his back!! I just stood there crying....not only had God given us a sign, but we felt he had gone even further to show us a little boy. We knew it was time to act, because certainly our son must be waiting. We began immediately looking for an agency and through God's leading found our agency, Celebrate Children International.
We began our homestudy process in November and here we are again...waiting for yet another child to join our family. We feel so blessed and honored but frightened at times as well. We are always wondering what God is up to!!
As Chad shared we had been looking (I guess I should say I had been looking) at our agency's waiting children list. Both of us felt overwhelmed by the prospect of choosing a child when they ALL needed a family. We were shocked when Sue our director called us about two boys. We both knew this was from God so we began fervently praying for God to direct us to our son or sons. Through much prayer and further discussions with Sue we felt the younger one was to be our son. But we are amazingly open to another child if that is God's desire for us. Please pray we will hear God clearly on this!
Well, let me tell you about our precious new son. We have tons of pictures of him and he is adorable. We can't wait to share them at a later date when we we can. He has those bright eyes like Sarah Beth and a never-ending smile like Noah. We are in love!! He is quite a bit younger than we had anticipated. We think he is about 3 1/2 to 4. We are pretty sure he and Sarah Beth are not even a year apart. Wow, two preschoolers running around again but we love our crazy life!
When we heard his story we were heartbroken. He was given over by his mother about a year and a half ago as she was dying of AIDS. We thankfully have pictues of her and she is a lovely, dignified woman who loved her son dearly and wanted the best for him. I am so thankful we have pictures of her for Gabriel someday. He was actually adopted by another family in Florida but when they got to Ethiopia they changed their minds. We have no idea how anyone would could say no to him but rejoice that God saved him for us!!! We found out that the other couple are not Christians so we feel so thankful God would choose us to raise him in faith. We cannot wait to wrap our arms around him and welcome him into our family. Sarah Beth said last night, "brother's coming home." Yes he is, and soon we pray!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Where do we even start?
For all of the bloggers out there who have disowned us for our lack of focus on blogging, we apologize. Our original intent has been to blog from the beginning of our second adoption process, but we just did not feel ready. Over the next several blogs Melissa and I will update this blog to share with you where we are with the process (keep reading for some very important news!) and to share our hearts with you about what God has been doing in us and for us in this adoption journey.
I'll (Chad) start...
For me, there has just not been a connection to this process. I clearly knew that God was calling our family to adopt (God was speaking to all of us, not just Melissa and me) and that He had impressed upon us that we were to go to Ethiopia, but every time Melissa wanted to scan the pictures of children on our agency's site I could not connect. It's not that I was resistant to the adoption, but I just did not feel that that would be the way we would find our son.
We were working through all the various things that must be done (Home Study, I-600A stuff, and dossier prep), but not with a clear focus toward a timeline. Then it happened--God moved!
We received a call from the head of our agency to tell about two boys that she felt led to share with us from her recent trip. As we prayed through whether this was how God would reveal our son, I had to come to grips with whether I would let God be God. Melissa can tell you that when people would ask me about the adoption, I was emphatic that I was prepared to adopt one son, but no more.
In our prayer time I had to commit to God that if he brought both boys to us to adopt, then I would follow Him in faith. In my mind I was thinking, "God, you are killing me!", and you know what? He was. It was about dying to self. In Luke 9:23 and 24 it says, "Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.'"
At this point, He has led us to the younger one and we have completed the paperwork with our agency to adopt him, but we have also updated all of our paperwork to reflect that we will adopt another child if God leads in that direction.
With this direction at last, we have moved in earnest to complete the dossier and as I type, it is in Washington, DC with a courier who will shepherd it through the US Department of State and The Embassy of Ethiopia. The dossier should reach Ethiopia in May and be heard by the courts in July. If we pass court, we will travel in August. I will let Melissa with her mother's heart share more with you about our son (who we will name Gabriel).
I will blog later about some of the many ways that God has spoken to us through books, Scriptures, and songs during the last several months. The song that you are probably hearing right now is "Mighty to Save" by Hillsong--I will write about this more later, but this song continues to speak to me about what God is doing through this adoption. Another one that is powerful is "Salvation is Here", also by Hillsong.
I'll (Chad) start...
For me, there has just not been a connection to this process. I clearly knew that God was calling our family to adopt (God was speaking to all of us, not just Melissa and me) and that He had impressed upon us that we were to go to Ethiopia, but every time Melissa wanted to scan the pictures of children on our agency's site I could not connect. It's not that I was resistant to the adoption, but I just did not feel that that would be the way we would find our son.
We were working through all the various things that must be done (Home Study, I-600A stuff, and dossier prep), but not with a clear focus toward a timeline. Then it happened--God moved!
We received a call from the head of our agency to tell about two boys that she felt led to share with us from her recent trip. As we prayed through whether this was how God would reveal our son, I had to come to grips with whether I would let God be God. Melissa can tell you that when people would ask me about the adoption, I was emphatic that I was prepared to adopt one son, but no more.
In our prayer time I had to commit to God that if he brought both boys to us to adopt, then I would follow Him in faith. In my mind I was thinking, "God, you are killing me!", and you know what? He was. It was about dying to self. In Luke 9:23 and 24 it says, "Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.'"
At this point, He has led us to the younger one and we have completed the paperwork with our agency to adopt him, but we have also updated all of our paperwork to reflect that we will adopt another child if God leads in that direction.
With this direction at last, we have moved in earnest to complete the dossier and as I type, it is in Washington, DC with a courier who will shepherd it through the US Department of State and The Embassy of Ethiopia. The dossier should reach Ethiopia in May and be heard by the courts in July. If we pass court, we will travel in August. I will let Melissa with her mother's heart share more with you about our son (who we will name Gabriel).
I will blog later about some of the many ways that God has spoken to us through books, Scriptures, and songs during the last several months. The song that you are probably hearing right now is "Mighty to Save" by Hillsong--I will write about this more later, but this song continues to speak to me about what God is doing through this adoption. Another one that is powerful is "Salvation is Here", also by Hillsong.
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