... learning to live beyond myself. (Yay for online bible studies!)
... appreciating kids who are well.
... having fun with introducing N to solids.
... enjoying my time with the preschoolers at church.
... tired out at the end of each day!
... loving my family.
... forgetting that N is adopted.
... thankful that the two older ones love having the little one around.
... happy that K had the day off today.
... surprised at how much I enjoy the music of Imagination Movers.
... believing God.
... trying to get back to cooking more often.
... listening to Christmas music already.
... tickled by the kids' singing and dancing.
... glad that the kids are in bed early tonight.
... missing cooler weather.
... accepting that there will always be laundry to do.
... being random.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday
I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Psalm 27:13
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
tapestry
In our adoption journey, one of the turning points for us was when we heard a speaker at our church in Claremont pray during a worship/prayer time one evening. At that time, we had only just started toying with the idea of adopting our third child, but we had nothing concrete, only talk.
That evening, Jennifer Kennedy Dean said a prayer that resonated with K and I, separately. She couldn't have known that we at that point wanting to grow our family. She couldn't have known that we had mentioned adoption in passing. But her prayer, and the words that she said... For K and I, it opened our eyes to the fact that God had planned for us to have this child, even if he grew inside of someone else.
Those words resonated with each of us so deeply. Those words were the words God wanted us to hear.
A short while after that, we decided that we would adopt.
Fast forward to this week.
We received a present in the mail a few days ago to celebrate Noah joining our family. (Thank you, Debbie!) It was a book by Jennifer Kennedy Dean called Legacy of Prayer: A Spiritual Trust Fund for the Generations. It's an easy read, filled with lots of great ideas about praying for our children.
But this is what stood out for me. This is what was new for me.
In the book, Jennifer shares that thirty years ago, when she was 19, single and in college, she found out she was pregnant. She writes, I knew instantly what God was telling me to do, and never once have I second-guessed it. He wanted to me to place the child for adoption.
After she hands her baby over to his adoptive parents, she calls him, Child of my womb, child of their hearts. The answer to their prayers lay in their arms, and strangely, also the answer to my mother's prayers for me. My wounds tell a resurrection story.
All those years ago, Jennifer made what was probably one of the hardest decisions in her life. I can only imagine how heartwrenching it must be to give up a child for adoption. I can only imagine how much Noah's biological mother loved him, that she would do what she thought was best for his life.
I am convinced that Jennifer's experience gave her the words for K and I to hear that night in Claremont. What we would think of as a mistake gave Jennifer the experience to have the words to say that would change my family.
God takes all our mistakes, our bad choices, our poor decisions and weaves it into a beautiful tapestry. We cannot see it all, and this side of heaven, we may never see it all. But at the end of the day, his tapestry is beautiful. Always.
That evening, Jennifer Kennedy Dean said a prayer that resonated with K and I, separately. She couldn't have known that we at that point wanting to grow our family. She couldn't have known that we had mentioned adoption in passing. But her prayer, and the words that she said... For K and I, it opened our eyes to the fact that God had planned for us to have this child, even if he grew inside of someone else.
Those words resonated with each of us so deeply. Those words were the words God wanted us to hear.
A short while after that, we decided that we would adopt.
Fast forward to this week.
We received a present in the mail a few days ago to celebrate Noah joining our family. (Thank you, Debbie!) It was a book by Jennifer Kennedy Dean called Legacy of Prayer: A Spiritual Trust Fund for the Generations. It's an easy read, filled with lots of great ideas about praying for our children.
But this is what stood out for me. This is what was new for me.
In the book, Jennifer shares that thirty years ago, when she was 19, single and in college, she found out she was pregnant. She writes, I knew instantly what God was telling me to do, and never once have I second-guessed it. He wanted to me to place the child for adoption.
After she hands her baby over to his adoptive parents, she calls him, Child of my womb, child of their hearts. The answer to their prayers lay in their arms, and strangely, also the answer to my mother's prayers for me. My wounds tell a resurrection story.
All those years ago, Jennifer made what was probably one of the hardest decisions in her life. I can only imagine how heartwrenching it must be to give up a child for adoption. I can only imagine how much Noah's biological mother loved him, that she would do what she thought was best for his life.
I am convinced that Jennifer's experience gave her the words for K and I to hear that night in Claremont. What we would think of as a mistake gave Jennifer the experience to have the words to say that would change my family.
God takes all our mistakes, our bad choices, our poor decisions and weaves it into a beautiful tapestry. We cannot see it all, and this side of heaven, we may never see it all. But at the end of the day, his tapestry is beautiful. Always.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
a praying parent
Your prayers for your children will not shield them from heartache or even from wrong turns. Your prayers do, however, guarantee that every problem, every difficulty, every wrong choice is already factored into God's big picture. Every struggle will forge in them a deeper faith and deeper love for the Father. This is what you want for them. Let God do His work in them.
Jennifer Kennedy Dean, Legacy of Prayer: A Spiritual Trust Fund for the Generations
all clear
Noah cleared the last of his medical tests today. We are in the clear!
He did great, even though he did have a catheter inserted at one point.
We are thanking God!
He did great, even though he did have a catheter inserted at one point.
We are thanking God!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
theology for a four-year-old
We are driving back home from spending the day at my mom's, when J asks from the backseat, "Mom, why God let us scold him?"
Hushed silence.
I ask him a few questions to try to figure out what he means. Eventually, I figure he's talking about seeing people mock Jesus when he was on the cross. He insists he's seen it in a book. I have no idea where.
K and I exchange looks. And K says loudly, "I'm driving, I need to concentrate."
Chicken, I hiss at him.
Which only confuses J more, because now he thinks chickens have somehow entered the picture.
Sigh. I take a breath and plunge in.
Not everyone believed Jesus when he said he was the Son of God. So people made fun of him. And even now, not everyone believes in God and in Jesus. We are blessed to know him.
It seemed enough for J. For now at least!
Hushed silence.
I ask him a few questions to try to figure out what he means. Eventually, I figure he's talking about seeing people mock Jesus when he was on the cross. He insists he's seen it in a book. I have no idea where.
K and I exchange looks. And K says loudly, "I'm driving, I need to concentrate."
Chicken, I hiss at him.
Which only confuses J more, because now he thinks chickens have somehow entered the picture.
Sigh. I take a breath and plunge in.
Not everyone believed Jesus when he said he was the Son of God. So people made fun of him. And even now, not everyone believes in God and in Jesus. We are blessed to know him.
It seemed enough for J. For now at least!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
building
Every once in while, J will ask if Noah will go back to the Philippines. On one or two occasions, he's asked when Noah will go back.
We pounce, of course. Never, we say. Noah is part of our family now. He's your little brother. God made us a family. God brought him to us. (To which J once replied, "No! He came on an aeroplane!")
J doesn't ask angrily. It isn't that he wants Noah to leave. But the way Noah joined our family was different. Different from E. Different from other families.
So we keep explaining, that the difference makes no difference to us.
We've had a couple of friends ask us how we managed to adopt a child that bears a resemblance to me, and to his two older siblings. I don't know. But it's nice; maybe this will make it just a little easier for Noah.
my boys
We pounce, of course. Never, we say. Noah is part of our family now. He's your little brother. God made us a family. God brought him to us. (To which J once replied, "No! He came on an aeroplane!")
J doesn't ask angrily. It isn't that he wants Noah to leave. But the way Noah joined our family was different. Different from E. Different from other families.
So we keep explaining, that the difference makes no difference to us.
We've had a couple of friends ask us how we managed to adopt a child that bears a resemblance to me, and to his two older siblings. I don't know. But it's nice; maybe this will make it just a little easier for Noah.
my boys
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
