"I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" Psalm 27:13-14

Hello Friends!

Right now I’m sitting in the car in my garage listening to two pretty calming sounds- a steady rain and Payton’s soft snores.   If you know us well, you know that we have a very sweet, very busy little girl.  Her former Sunday school teacher, Miss Becky, once told me that Payton was the busiest child she had ever worked with.  She’s not hyper and has a great attention span, but her mind never stops until her head hits the pillow at night.  Unfortunately, her head only hits the pillow at night.  She stopped napping shortly after turning two, and I have tried everything (short of hiring Julie Andrews to come sing the “Stay Awake” song from Mary Poppins) to settle her down enough to sleep in the middle of the day, but the only thing that works is a car ride.  So, here we sit.  I’ve figured out that sometimes I just have to give up the fight, let go, and do things her way. 

Funny that I can concede to doing things a three-year-old’s way from time to time, but I’m still learning to let go and do things HIS way.  We’ve already visited the fact that adopting our next baby wasn’t in my original plan.  I took the leap, adjusted course, and trusted Him with that one.   I am learning though, that each detail of our journey is important to the Lord and He has them all figured out- He doesn’t need me to manipulate circumstances and come up with grand ideas- can you believe it?!   Jeremiah 29:11 reminds me that He has plans for me- prosperous plans!  And Psalm 119 reminds me that before my first breath he had a plan for each and every day of my life.   I can let go…

After giving up my plan of carrying my next child, it was time to face the fact that this would also mean giving up some serious cash.  Billy’s biggest fear in adopting was the financial side of things.  Me carrying a baby meant a couple thousand dollars for our insurance deductible, as opposed to at least $25,000 to adopt.  Billy is a businessman and the numbers obviously didn’t lean in favor of adoption.  Thankfully the Holy Spirit was in favor, and opened Billy’s eyes to more than dollar signs.  Still left us with the question of where the money was going to come from…

I worked it all out.  We would have a yard sale and raise some money, I could make some things (I can be crafty…) and sell them on Etsy, we could apply for a grant, and then our church would help us with the rest.  This was great- if Walnut Street got behind this financially and some other organization like ShowHope or LifeSong helped too, maybe other couples in our church would be encouraged to adopt- after all, the money is what holds a lot of people back.  Okay, God I’ve got it all worked out so- Go!

Well, He did “Go” but not in the way I had planned.  About the time our first chunk of money was due, Billy’s business absolutely took off and exploded.  We saved every penny for the adoption in a matter of a few months.  (Shout out to Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace, which we had gone through about a year earlier.  Ramsey’s ideas of budgeting had us in a place where putting extra money aside was possible, and it really kept us focused on doing so.)  And then, just like that, after the money was set-aside in an account, the business slowed back down- not to where we were hurting, but to where we have enough for our present needs.   I am beyond thankful the Lord has blessed my husband with an abundance of intelligence and business savvy- to God be the glory.

His plan was pretty great, and impossible without His orchestration, so you would think by now that I would let Him call the shots, but instead, I fight impatience daily.   I want my baby sooooo badly.  At an adoption fundraiser last weekend, we had the privilege of watching a video of some friends meeting their children in Ethiopia.  They showed some pictures of an orphanage where there was the sweetest baby girl sitting in a cardboard box because they had nowhere else for her to sit.  I wanted to stand up and yell, “I’ve got a place for her right here in my arms!  Get me a plane ticket, I’m ready to bring her home!”  I can’t seem to get that precious girl off my mind.  I know God has a plan for her (one that I pray includes a forever family), and a plan for us- I also know I have to trust Him to work out the timing of that plan.  If this sounds familiar from another posting, sorry- this is a lesson God re-teaches me daily.  Maybe eventually I’ll have it down. 

One thing I have learned during the waiting- He waits , too.  I want to be united with my child so much it hurts- His desire to be united with His children led to the worst pain possible- the sacrifice of His son.  If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, you need to know He waits for you- He wants so badly to be with you that He sent His son to die for you.

If you do know Jesus, praise God.  You’re already united with Him through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and you will be united with Him face to face one day.  But for now, we wait…

"Take up the cause of the fatherless..." Isaiah 1:17

Hello again, Friends!

In my last blog I wrote about how Russell Moore’s Adopted for Life had begun to teach us and change our hearts.   The first thing it taught us was about the beauty of our own adoption as God’s dearly loved children.

The next thing the book began to shed light on for us was God’s heart for the orphan.  Psalm 68:5 says that the Lord is “ a father to the fatherless.”  Isaiah 1:17 urges us to “defend the cause of the fatherless.”  Psalm 146:9 tells us that He “sustains the fatherless.”  And many other scriptures remind us of how just how strongly God feels about the orphan.  Perhaps the most often quoted is James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” 

I realized in my reading both Adopted for Life and the Bible that His heart breaks for those without fathers, and I had to ask myself, does mine?  Well, I can honestly say that my heart is now completely broken for the orphans of the world, but that is nothing that came by my own doing.  Several years ago while Billy and I were working at Crossings (the KY Baptist camp that Dad started), the staff did a sign language interpretive movement (something I ususally HATE) to a Rachel Lampa song, “My Father’s Heart.”  Hear are the lyrics of the chorus:

My love is not my own, it all belongs to you

And after all you’ve done, the least that I can do

Is live my life in every part

Only to please my Father’s heart.

I realized that summer that one of the only things keeping me going through a grueling schedule was the love I had for the campers.  Why did I love these middle school and high school kids that I had never met before and would never see again this side of heaven?  One reason only- God gave me a love for them.  A few years later, I taught the sign language to my middle school music class at Oldham County Christian Academy of Louisville and realized I had found the same love for these students- a love that could only come from the Father.  This was a love that meant I hurt when they hurt, I rejoiced when they rejoiced, and their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being was really important to me. 

This is the same love I feel for the babies, toddlers, children, tweens, and teenagers in our country and around the world that have no family to look after them.  Sure, God often puts loving, caring individuals in their lives, (although, not always- perhaps because those called to be these individuals aren’t obedient…), but there is no friend, teacher, orphanage worker, nurse, etc., that can give a child what a family can give.   The proof is in the numbers.  Approximately 30,000 chilren age-out of the U.S. foster care system each year, and they enter a cold world without the love and support of a forever family.  Here is the unfortunate reality for far too many of these kids[1]:

-25% become homeless

-56% are unemployed

-27% of the male children end up incarcerated.

Elsewhere in the world the statistics are the same or worse.   Every day young women around the globe are leaving the institutions and foster homes where they are raised and ending up on the streets as young homeless mothers or as prostitutes and slaves. 

I realize that these numbers can be overwhelming, and thus, paralyzing, but we cannot just sit and do nothing.  The Lord does not call every family to adopt or foster, and every orphan is not adoptable by law, but the Lord does call each believer to play a role in orphan care.  It’s not a suggestion, it is a mandate… remember James 1:27?

So where do you start?  First, if you read this and really don’t care enough to do anything, begin by praying.  Ask God to give you his heart for the orphan. 

Second, get online and start doing some research.  There are orphan care ministries worldwide that need :

 Your Prayers-  Pray that the Lord calls Christian families to adopt and foster, and that these families are obedient in response.  Pray that our churches are broken by the plight of the orphan and that they are mobilized to care for and minister to the orphans here and elsewhere.  Pray that orphans are well cared-for and loved by the institutions, group homes , and foster homes where they live worldwide.  This week I urge you to pray specifically for Lisa and Keith Johnson, who are in Ethiopia as I write this.  They had the joy of meeting their babies, Isaiah and Lydia yesterday, and they go to court for their initial approval on Monday- Pray that this goes smoothly.  They will come home without Lydia and Isaiah sometime next week, and then have to wait eight to ten weeks before they are given a second court date and can return to Ethiopia, this time to bring their babies home.  Imagine meeting your children and then having to walk away and leave them in a third-world country for two months or more.  This will be extremely hard, and the Johnsons (including their three biological children) will need your prayers.

Your Time- Look for short-term and long-term mission trips through your church or organizations like showhope.org.  You can also minister to orphans right here at home.  One church in town spends time with the teens living at a Sunrise children’s home and makes breakfast for them once a month.  You could also check out casaforchildren.org, an organization that helps people become court appointed advocates for children.

Your Money- There are countless opportunities to sponsor orphaned children with a monthly gift- check out worldhelp.net (Billy and I have sponsored a precious Filipino boy through them for years) compassion.com, showhope.org, worldvision.org.  –These are just the ministries I thought of off the top of my head- there are so many more!  You can also help other families bring home their children by a financial gift.  Adoptions can cost upward of $25,000, and most families are not able to complete the process without the gifts of friends or the assistance of grant programs like LifeSong and Show Hope- which are funded by donations.  Also, the Johnson’s are having a fundraiser on Sat. the 21^st at Little Flock Baptist Church if you are interested-  I’d have to check with her to see if they can handle any more people…

So there you go… a few ways for you to get started in caring for orphans if you’re not already doing so.  Sorry if I rambled today, I just think many people want to do something, but have no idea where to begin. 

One other thing, though- You can also give your love to an orphan.  Consider whether the Lord is calling you to adopt or foster.   If you have questions please feel free to contact us- if you can’t tell, we really love to talk about adoption J.  If your heart is being drawn to adoption but you are stuck in fears and concerns, well, stay tuned, because we’ll get to that….

Blessings,

Jodi

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[1] Statistics from pbs.org/newshour

"And by Him we cry, 'Abba, Father'." Romans 8:15

So, I didn’t finish The Power of a Praying Parent, but early in the adoption process, I did make it through Russell Moore’s Adopted for Life.  Let me just say that this should be on every believer’s reading list, whether adoption is something you’re considering or not.  The Lord has used this book in the lives of thousands (including mine and Billy's) to draw attention to some major truths of His Word, one of which I’ll share some thoughts on today-

If you are a follower of Christ, you are adopted by God the Father and are now a co-heir with Jesus, himself.  You are a child of God.

Unfortunately in our culture today, “all God’s children” is a phrase thrown around casually, and usually when used, refers to all those whom God created, which is of course, all of humanity.  However, scripturally speaking, all of creation is not a child of God.  Being called a child of God is the gift of being a follower of Christ (Galations 3:26, Romans 8:14-17, 1 John 5:12) and something that should never be taken lightly.  The highest price- the life of beloved Jesus- was paid for us to be called children of God.  

Billy and I have the great responsibility and privilege of teaching tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders in Sunday School, and we have a group of boys in class originally from Burundi, a small country in Africa.  These guys are an absolute joy to be around, and they really love the Lord.  A few weeks ago our lesson was about God’s discipline of us, and we were discussing how His discipline shows that we are His children and how much He loves us. (Hebrews 12:7)  Billy used the example of how he would deal differently with Payton if she was acting up (which, of course, never happens...) and some other random child.  One of our boys from Burundi said something to the effect of, “What, you don’t love other children?”  Now, first of all, it is important to know that they informed us that culturally they are used to it being acceptable, and expected, for any adult to discipline (even by spanking) any child, whether it be his own or not.  We, of course responded that yes, we absolutely love all children, but that God gives parents a heartbeat for their own children that is different.  There is a kinship and intimacy between parents and their children that is indescribable and unlike any other relationship.  It was so important to me that the boys get this because I felt that they really needed to understand the amazing truth of 1 John 3:1- “What great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!”  It is unfathomable that I, a lowly sinful person, am called a child of God!  I am not some random kid at the playground, I am not one of His "Sunday School" kids, I am not even a nephew or niece- I am HIS kid.   I know I will walk in an orphanage in the coming months and my heart will overflow with love and ache for every child I see there- but there is one in particular that will be mine.  God loves all people, but praise Him, that we, as believers, are not only loved, but are His children!  Our journey through the adoption process has shown me the beauty of my own adoption in a way I had never seen before.

When our baby comes home with us, he or she will legally be a Baker for life.  He will share an inheritance with his sister Payton.  He will have a hope for health, education, and a longer life.  He will be disciplined in love and taught the great truths of our God. 

He will be from Ethiopia. Let me share with you a little about this great country that has been devastated by war, drought, and disease.:[*]

-There are over 5 million orphans and children who have lost one parent.

-More than half the population lacks access to clean drinking water.

-Over 2.3 million people in Ethiopia are living with HIV.

-One out of every 20 children born alive die in their first month of life.

-The leading causes of death for children under five are easily treatable diarrhoeal diseases.

-47% of the children in Ethiopia are moderately- severely underweight.

-82% of the population survives on less than $1 (US) a day.

-There are thousands of child prostitutes and street mothers.

-There are between 150,000-200,000 street children.

Here’s the thing, these are grim, overwhelming statistics, but they compare nothing to the situation from which the Lord has rescued us.  When we were people without Christ, we were people wandering without  a purpose, without an inheritance, without a  hope for the future- people headed to hell.  Before I was a child of God, I was "a child of the devil" (1 John 3:10).  Sorry if that sounds intense and horrible- it's supposed to, but for us to truly understand the miracle of our adoption in Christ, we have to realize the pit from which He brought us.  When Jesus died for us and rose again, everything changed.  He made a way for us to have a true forever-family, an inheritance beyond belief, a purpose here on earth, and the promise of eternity with God the Father.   What a thought.   I hope that you know for certain that you are a child of God, but if you doubt, let’s talk.  Let me introduce you to a new Daddy, a new family, a new hope. 

I want to make sure you aren’t confused, though… Billy and I are not adopting because we want to “rescue” a child.  We love Ethiopia and the colorful culture there.  It is our prayer that God’s hand would be upon that country and that the statistics would change.  Our adoption agency has awesome ministries that are helping change lives there daily.  In the meantime, though, there are over 5 million orphans in Ethiopia that need families, and God, in His grace, has chosen us to be one of those families.

We are adopting because the Lord called us to do so.  

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[*] Statistics taken from unicef.org and worldvision.org

Check out this video- one of our family favorites- Third Day's "Children of God"

"Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children." Lamentations 2:19

I mentioned in my last blog that the Lord has truly used this adoption journey as a learning experience for Billy and myself.  But, to get to what we’ve learned recently, we need to back up to just over three years ago when I was pregnant with Payton.

Early during my pregnancy I was reading Stormie Omartian’s The Power of a Praying Parent, given to me by my mom, who had read it earlier in my life and had definitely learned the necessity of praying for your children.  In Chapter 1, Omartian states, “I had countless agonizing concerns for my son’s social, spiritual, emotional, and mental growth, but most compelling of all, I feared that something bad might happen to him.  Kidnapping, drowning, disfiguring accidents, irreparable injuries, diseases, sexual molestation, abuse, rape, or death all played across my mind as possibilities for his future.”  Now, I struggle with anxiety sometimes, but I can honestly say that until this point, these thoughts that Omartian shared had never crossed my mind.  That one statement was all it took, though.  I was already in love my precious child, and the thought that something bad could happen to her terrified me.  Omartian wrote that she learned to “identify every concern, fear, worry, or possible scenario that came to [her] mind as a prompting by the Holy Spirit to pray for that particular thing. “  Then she encouraged the reader to begin making a list of concerns and start praying over them.  Well, I was pregnant and hormonal and now a worried mess.  The intention of her book is obviously the opposite- to tune you into the Father’s heart for your child and help you learn to pray for His will for her.  Unfortunately, I was such a basket-case that I stopped reading (yes, I realize now, a mistake). 

A few days later, I was on my way to Ballard High School, where I currently worked, and I was listening to Steven Curtis Chapman.  I was exuberantly singing along, when I became overwhelmed to the point of tears by the lyrics of “It’s All Yours:” 

I walk the streets of London,

I notice in the faces passing by,

Something that makes me stop and listen

My heart grows heavy with the cry,

Where is the hope of London?

You whisper and my heart begins to soar

As I’m reminded,

That every street in London is Yours.

The chorus reminds us that everything is God’s, “from the stars in the sky, to the depths of the ocean floor.”  The Holy Spirit informed me right then and there that I had no business worrying about my baby.  She wasn’t mine to worry about.  She was God’s.  I was simply being entrusted with her for a time.  Would concerns and worries come occasionally?  Yes, only now, I would remember that she belonged to the Father to whom I was lifting her up in prayer. 

I memorized Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  When worries came, I gave them to God, just like Omartian had urged.  The Holy Spirit used this verse in particular when I was rushed into an emergency C-section after 18 hours of labor.  I was scared, and began repeating this verse out loud over and over- pretty sure the nurses thought I was crazy.  The Lord’s peace took over and I was once again reminded that this sweet baby was His.  He was in control. 

So, here we are, three years later waiting on another baby.   A few months ago I was starting to get really impatient and ready for answers.  When?  How old?  Boy or girl?  Will he or she be relatively healthy or we will have a long road when we come home?  I was driving along and a familiar tune started on the radio- a song that had become one of Payton’s favorites, by the way- “It’s All Yours.”   I almost had to pull off the road when the second verse began to play-

I walk the dirt roads of Uganda

I see the scars that war has left behind

Hope like the sun is fading

They’re waiting for a cure no one can find

And I hear children’s voices singing

Of a God who heals and rescues and restores

And I’m reminded

THAT EVERY CHILD IN AFRICA IS YOURS.

Wow.  Ok, God, this baby is yours, too.  Seems like I should have known that, right? 

This morning I checked Facebook and saw that some friends of ours, who are heading to Ethiopia next week for their first court date, asked if anyone would be willing to give donations of clothes, toys, diapers, and such for the babies in the orphanage.  One of those babies in the orphanage could be my baby- my son or daughter.  The thought makes me insanely happy that I have another child and intensely sad that he or she is not here with me now.  I sat in the bathtub crying, begging God to speed this process up a bit, when the Holy Spirit came charging in again-  “I have a plan for each day of your child’s life- those in an Ethiopian orphanage and those in your arms.  Remember that child is mine first.  There is no way you can love him more than I do.  Trust me with his life.”

 As I was flipping through Power of a Praying Parent to get quotes for this blog, I came across the following: “We need to pray for the future, and we need to pray against the effects of past events.  When Kind David was depressed over what had happened in his life and fearful about future consequences (Psalm 143), he didn’t just say, ‘Oh, well, whatever will be will be.’ He cried out to God about the past, present, and future of his life.  He prayed about everything.  And that is exactly what we must do as well.”  New concerns and worries will surface, and some old will return, but the Lord has taught me to pray and to trust that everything is His- including, and maybe even especially, my two children.