Stormy Wind - Check!

Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!

Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars! 
Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!

Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!

 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty is above earth and heaven.

~Psalm 148:7-13

Thoughtful Thursday

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.

~Colossians 1:10 (KJV)

Thoughtful Thursday

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

~Isaiah 26:3

Thoughtful Thursday

Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.

Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:

And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

~Isaiah 58:7-11 (KJV)

A Journey Begins

I realize I haven't posted much lately (other than Thoughtful Thursday posts) and the reason is that we have been super busy and have gone through so much in the past two and a half months it is almost hard to believe all that has happened.  As most of my blog readers (all six of you) know, we have been on a roller coaster ride known as foster/adoption. I have been struggling with how much to share about this journey on my blog which is why I haven't written anything up to this point- not because I don't want to share it with my readers, but because we have to be very careful with confidentiality (not just for the sake of the children we care for and their families, but for our protection as well).  It has been such a huge part of our lives these past two months though that this journey is what I want to share about most.

Let me start at the beginning, so that you have an idea of what I'm talking about, how this journey stated, and where it has led.  We learned last spring (that's spring 2011) that the foster care coordinator for our county had visited local church offices in the area to get the word out that there was/is a need for foster and adoptive parents.  We felt a little tug at our hearts when hearing this and quickly learned that a few families in our church had decided to go through the 36 hours of training (this training is required before you can even submit an application and begin the home study process). Having no knowledge or experience with the foster care system, but with God whispering in our ear, we decided to take the training and find out what it was all about.  We called and registered for the upcoming training that was scheduled for later that summer and fall.

We took the training in August and November of last year, and let me tell you that nothing in my 30+ years of life could have prepared me for it. I could write an entire post on the training and statistics alone, but suffice it to say that it was heartbreaking, eye opening, encouraging, shocking, and about 25 other adjectives I'm not going to type out here.  There were many, many times along the way when I said: "I don't want to do this," "We are crazy," "I can't do this," but we continued to pray about it and ultimatley decided that God had placed us on this path for a reason, so a week after completing the training in November we mailed in our application.  We progressed through the application and home study process and on February 16, 2012 we were officially licensed foster/adoptive parents.  Exactly one week later we received our first call.

That first call did not end in a placement, but it sure threw me for a loop. I was totally unprepared when the foster coordinator called and told me they had a child in custody that needed to be placed in a foster home that day (placements are almost always same day). I remember thinking this couldn't be happening, and did I really sign up for this, and how did she get our number, and how in the world are we going to do this. I told her I needed to call Jason and that I would call her back. I called him at work and filled him in, and then I told him that I couldn't make the decision and that he was going to have to do it (no pressure or anything). And he made the decision: he said, "Well, this is what we signed up for." So, I called the coordinator back and said we were available to take the child if needed, but by that time she had heard back from another family and she felt they were a better match so we left it up to her and she placed the child with them. This was a total relief for me (did I mention that I was TOTALLY UNPREPARED for the call and all that it entailed) because during those 20 minutes my heart was racing a mile a minute and I was near panic mode.

This all brings us to 11:40am on Monday, March 26 when the phone rang with our second foster placement call. I was much more prepared this time and when the coordintor gave me the information I immediately said yes...our first foster child arrived at 6:30 that night and we officially earned the title of foster parents (nothing like baptism by fire, right?).

To be continued.....

Live Like That

Loving this song right now! (lyrics below or listen here)

Live Like That
Sidewalk Prophets

Sometimes I think
What will people say of me
When I'm only just a memory
When I'm home where my soul belongs

Was I love
When no one else would show up
Was I Jesus to the least of those
Was my worship more than just a song

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that

Am I proof
That You are who you say You are
That grace can really change a heart
Do I live like Your love is true

People pass
And even if they don't know my name
Is there evidence that I've been changed
When they see me, do they see You

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that

I want to show the world the love You gave for me
I'm longing for the world to know the glory of the King

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that

Dance Recital

After five years at the same dance studio we switched this year. The switch was mainly because I wanted something closer. Sissy adores dance and would take class everyday, so I knew it wouldn't be long before she would be taking multiple classes each week. We have friends who dance at Vitoria (if you follow the link to the Vitoria homepage you can see Sissy in two of the photos) and so we decided to give it a try, and overall it has been great. There are a few bumps that need ironed out (and I must admit I stressed over a couple), but overall it is a wonderful studio. Sissy and Dittle both danced this year and they both loved it. Dittle took a ballet/tap class and Sissy took a ballet class, a contemporary class (which she loves), and was part of the Student Dance Company.

Dittle in her dance constume

(she did tap for the recital)

Sissy in her ballet costume

(I didn't get a picture of her in her contemporary costume)

Imperative

im·per·a·tive [im-per-uh-tiv]
adjective 1. absolutely necessary or required; unavoidable

We heard many good speakers at the Teach Them Diligently Convention that we attended back in March (I know - don't judge), but one speaker had a huge impact on both of us. We listened to several presentations by Answers in Genesis President Ken Ham and what he shared was truly eye opening. So much so, in fact, that I believe it is absolutely imperative that all Christians hear, understand, and 'get' it. I believe his insight and the ministries of AiG and the Creation Museum are vital for today's Christians. This is AiG's Vision Statement taken from their website:

Answers in Genesis is a catalyst to bring reformation by reclaiming the foundations of our faith which are found in the Bible, from the very first verse.

We, as Christians, need to have a clear 'understanding of the times' (1 Chronicles 12:32) and of today's culture in order to reach people with the message of the Gospel, and that is exactly the mission of AiG. As Ken Ham puts it (my paraphrase), "In order to evangelize a secularized culture we must begin at the beginning, and we must replace the foundation of a culture based on man's word with a foundation built on the Word of God."

In addition to replacing the faulty foundation of today's world we must also realize the importance of starting at the beginning (Genesis) because that is where the foundation is laid.  If we don't teach that the Bible can be completely trusted and literally understood regarding the origin of the earth, universe, and man, then how can we expect non-believers to accept the rest of the Bible, specifically the Gospel, as truth?

Another area that AiG focuses heavily on is apologetics, and after listening to several of his presentations I am convinced that teaching apologetics is vital to the mission of the church (particularly in regard to children and youth) because the Bible says that we must 'always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear' (1 Peter 3:15).

At the conference we purchased AiG's Foundations Bible study curriculum. We have watched the first six sessions and the are EXCELLENT. We have found the information so powerful that we are considering offering it as a Bible study in our home in the fall (not making any promises, but drop me an email if you'd be interested).

After hearing Ken Ham I simply cannot stress the significance of his message enough. For more information please check out these aAiG rticles:
Apologetics: Introduction
How Can We Stand on Scripture in an Evolution-Pushing Culture?
Creation Evangelism

Easier Said Than Done

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

~Dr. Seuss