The Evil Upon Us

Posted on February 2, 2012 by joy

Indianapolis has been preparing for the Super Bowl for a very long time. Everything seems to be in place as families are flocking to downtown to enjoy all the fun-filled activities. Amidst all the flurry of activity are precautions that are being established for the evil that is coming. The largest sporting event in the world brings with it the largest gathering of sex trafficking.

The Indiana state legislature recently pushed a bill through that ups the penalty for those involved in sex trafficking. Hotel workers, cab drivers, those in public safety have been briefed on how to better identify trafficking activity.

Organizations, ministries and volunteers have distributed means of help, literature and put into place ways to help and deter this vile activity. Our own Bible study has agreed to fervently pray especially over the next few days. My husband, two of our children and I will be walking some of the streets in downtown Indy on Saturday and praying for God to protect and to convict.

Man has done all that he can to prepare. It appears we are ready for battle! But we are helpless without God in the midst of all of this!

What YOU can do is to PRAY!

PRAY that God would protect those who have been held in bondage to man's sick addictions.

PRAY that God would allow those who are in bondage to be rescued, set free and restored.

PRAY that God would convict the hearts of man, that they would turn from their evil.

PRAY that God would do whatever it takes to thwart the works of the enemy in this selling of humans.

PRAY for discernment for those who are volunteering and working – that they would successfully stop this type of activity.

PRAY for God to supernaturally move upon this city this weekend.

Man makes his plans, but God moves the heart of mankind.

Joy

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Testimony Tuesdays

Posted on January 31, 2012 by becky

On Tuesdays, we take time to focus on some of our families that have received grants from Katelyn's Fund.  May you be blessed by their stories…..

 

Adoption has been our hearts for quite awhile.  I (Kandace) had the privilege of visiting Romania while in college, I spent some time in an orphanage there, and my heart was inclined to the orphan ever since.  God placed it on our hearts that sometime in our marriage we would look to adopt a child.  We are very excited to be a waiting family right now.  

Our family is blessed with three biological kids, Ella (7), Mya (6), and Gavin (3).  After Gavin was born we prayed that God would lead us to make the right decision about adopting.  After much prayer, we felt we could no longer tell God that this wasn't for us, we both felt so inclined that this is the road God has prepared for us.  

As we move ahead in the process we are learning much about adoption and about the heart of the orphan.  Our prayer is that God will equip us, as we know that this is a road that is not easy, however we see the amazing blessings that come with the challenges.  

We would like to thank Katelyn's Fund for their prayer support.  We left our interview with the board members feeling an overwhelming sense of peace that this was the decision that God planned for us.  Thank you also for the financial support!  We have been so blessed by Katelyn's Fund!  

Becky

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unexpected blessing

Posted on January 31, 2012 by linsey

For those of you who follow this blog, I would like to introduce myself: Hi, I’m Linsey! I am first and foremost a child of God. I am also a wife of almost 7 years, a mother of two, and a campus minister to college athletes. I am new to the adoption community as my daughter, Hadassah, that I was given through adoption is only 3 1/2 months old! I have a 1 1/2 year old son, Hudson, that God graciously gave to me through a natural pregnancy. I am sure both of these precious gifts will provide me with many blog post ideas (as they are already proving to be God's tools in my sanctification!)

So many unexpected things happen throughout an adoption. Some of them good and others, not so good. One of the surprises that happened to me in our adoption journey was the relationship with Hadassah's birth mother (I’ll call her T to keep privacy). We had an open, domestic adoption. We received the call that we were chosen by this birth mom only 5 days before she was due. I didn't have much time to build a relationship with her. When the social worker told me she wanted to talk and pray with me once we accepted the placement, I knew God had something special in store. How do you begin a conversation with a woman who has just asked you to take her baby as your own? What do you say when you are thousands of miles away and you know very little about her? I asked the Holy Spirit to give me words and I opened my mouth. I told her how this is how the body of Christ is suppose to work, by helping one another in a time of need. It is what Jesus does (and did!) best. He takes mistakes and turns them into something beautiful for His glory.

When we arrived in Louisiana on Monday we went straight to the agency and to our surprise T was there to meet us. It was evident that God had prepared our hearts to meet each other. The conversation was easy and our personalities clicked. The social worker said she had ever seen an adoptive mom and birth mom be so relaxed around each other the first meeting! Then came the waiting game. While my husband and I expected to be in and out of Louisiana in 4-5 days, our baby girl took 10 full days from our arrival to come out! Out of that waiting, God was able to further develop the bond between myself and T as we went to her doctor’s appointments together, texted daily, and talked constantly. As much as I wanted to control the situation, the 10 days of waiting forced me to trust that God had a better plan than me. I need to be reminded of that every now and then!

The morning of Hadassah’s birth is a day I will never forget. Not only did I get to witness the birth of my daughter, but I also got a chance to hear T’s life story in the 5 hours leading up to her delivery. She told me how God had used this pregnancy to bring her into a relationship with Jesus. 10 months prior, I had specifically begun to pray for the future birth mother of whatever child God would have for me and my husband.

How great is God? October 13th will always be a day that points me back to God’s grace. That day He gave me a specific answer to a very specific prayer 10 months prior. He also gave me a daughter. Hadassah.  Hadassah Grace.

Linsey

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Bloom where you’re planted–the scriptural version

Posted on January 29, 2012 by wellon

As an Alabama girl living in Chicago during 2008, the below-freezing temperatures for days on end did a number on me: not only was I literally frigid and tense, having forgotten the feeling of warm toes and fingers, but my heart was freezing as well. My resistance to finding joy, contentment, and patience where the Lord had me was robbing my days. To catch you up on my story, my husband and I had lived for three years in North Carolina for graduate school; another year for school in Chicago took us 500 miles away from family and dear friends in Alabama and no closer to seeing where our future would land us. My heart called out for communion with those whom I loved and who knew me, for a culture I cherished, and for a temperature I could bear.

It was over Christmas break that the Lord used an idiom my mom had said all my life to teach me one of the most profound spiritual lessons of my life: BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t believe in the truth of this statement, but I was determined that if this was going to shape the way I lived, thought, acted, and trusted, it would have to be grounded in Scripture. In one of those powerful quiet times you’ll remember the rest of your life, the psalmist’s words resonated deeply: “TRUST IN THE LORD AND DO GOOD. DWELL IN THE LAND AND CULTIVATE FAITHFULNESS.” (Ps. 37). While the rest of the passage attests to the Lord’s centrality in believers’ lives, his redemptive work in the world, and the path for believers to follow, it was those words that changed the way I regarded my circumstances, whether those I would choose or not.

To dwell in the land signifies and active, life-giving, fruitful and productive action and manner. It is not waiting passively, begrudgingly, or with an eye toward “what is next?” It is an in-the-now, I’m-all-here, and I’m blooming where I’m planted decision to live in the very circumstances the Lord has placed us. It is a call to work, a call to minister, and even a call to rest in the One who loves us and calls us to participate in a plan of ultimate good.

Through many twists and turns, I sit now here on my sofa in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with two dogs below me, husband to my side, twins asleep in the next room, and babies in Africa whom I love but have never met nor know their names, faces, or ages. It is another season of waiting, a season with which we are all familiar, but it need not be one of emptiness, idleness, or discontent. Let us dwell as we wait.

Wellon

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The sword

Posted on January 27, 2012 by niki

One day, some friends and I were all sitting together discussing the Lord, the world, the Holy Spirit and how He works, etc.  One of my friends who has walked with the Lord for many decades paused, turned to the guy beside him and said, "Pass me the sword."  Immediately, friend number 2 reached for the bible and passed it to friend 1.  Isn't that wonderful?  It was an automatic response.  Pass me the sword.  This week I read in Matthew 10 these words in verse 34.  Jesus was talking, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to earth.  I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."

At Christmas time, we look to the baby Jesus and sing about peace on earth, goodwill to men….but as I read this passage from the grown up Jesus man.  I see that even though the happy ending to our Christian story will be peace…..Jesus came to do something else, too.  He cam to bring a sword.  He came for battle.  He came to war against the devil who was wrecking the world that God created.  Jesus is the Lamb of God, but He is also the Lion….and he came for justice and righteousness.  Our saviour is a just God.  Our savior is a warrior.  Our saviour will go to battle for us, even now, because He brought a sword.  We posess this sword in the Word of God.  We need to use it.  We need to "pass the sword" to one another and help fight these battles against sin and evil.

Some of my spiritual battles are big and obvious and some are small and subtle….the weapon is the same.  The outcome is the same, by the name of Jesus my Lord.  I'm in constant battle and I know many of you are as well.  Be encouraged today, my friends.  He came not to bring peace, but a sword.  He came to arm us with weapons to fight and to defeat satan and to be victorious in Jesus name.  He came because He knew we needed help.  He did not leave us, he left his Spirit to live with us and transform us and help us and fight with us, for us.  That feels really good, doesn't it?  We have the weapons we need, but we need to use them.  The battles are not won if the weapon sits on the shelf. 

Pass the sword, please.

Niki

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Salt ‘n Pepper

Posted on January 26, 2012 by connie

 
Something’s been rolling around in my heart lately.

Why is it so hard to be salt in this broken world?

Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.”

What’s the purpose of salt? It’s to flavor and season. It should change the thing it’s placed upon, making it come to life!

Such is Jesus’ affirmation to us as salt. If our Christian walk has no flavor, if we blend in with the world, we are of no value. But no matter how radically independent we are, most of us have some desire to fit in. Especially when the goin’ gets tough.

Radically following Jesus can be so l.o.n.e.l.y.

So how do we pepper our faith with perspective?

In my flesh, I struggle to NOT view situations only in the present. The present is all I know. But if I truly trust God’s sovereignty (and I do), then I realize that He knows what is for my good and for His glory.

I don’t have to know about tomorrow, and I certainly don’t have to worry about it. I only need to seek Him in prayer and immerse myself in His Word.

I often think of Paul and the amazing transformation Jesus made in his life…and his desire to never turn back no.matter.what.

And sometimes I think of Peter after stepping out of the boat, walking toward Jesus when reality hits him, “Lord, save me!” That's where I'm at now. I just need Him to take my hand – no, pick me up and carry me through some days.

I really want to be radically transformed and radically dependant. Even when it brings loneliness and criticism.

I’m a long way from that, but in Paul’s words, “…if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”

Lord Jesus, please help me to be the salt of my environment, and pepper my walk with eternal perspective so that I may joyfully testify of your grace.

Connie

Categories: Faith | 2 Comments

He is Able…

Posted on January 25, 2012 by daleea

He is Able…

I know of so many mama's whose hearts cry out to begin the journey once again to find their precious child who waits for them somewhere in the world…  Others are waiting to begin the adoption journey for the first time.  Often times it is the husband, the daddy who is not yet ready to proceed, or who is  adamantly saying no.  I was once that mama whose arms ached to hold her daughter so far away… I am her once again, as I beseech the Lord to continue to bring my babies home.
I want to encourage you… I want to testify to you, that our God is ABLE!  If you are yearning to adopt, it most likely is God who has put that desire in your heart.  Do not become disheartened  by any mountain that stands before you.  Whether it be a spouse, finances, house too small, non- supportive family… what ever mountain it may be, the Lord is able to move it!  I can tell you from personal experience, as well as seeing it time and time again, that if your husband or wife has not yet said yes to growing your family, that God is bigger!  He is able to change their heart and He will do so right at the exact moment that they need to say yes in order for Him to lead you to the child that He has chosen to be your son or daughter and you to be their mommy or daddy.  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, stay the coarse and keep praying…
Sometimes it seems like it takes forever before you are able to move forward.  When the Lord put our Isabella Faith in my heart, her daddy was not saying yes to another child, we did not meet China's financial qualifications for another child, and we did not have the money to pay the adoption/ransom fees.  Two and a half heart wrenching years later, her daddy said yes and we began to raise the money as we stepped out in faith that Jesus would work it all out.  A couple months later, my husband received a promotion that made us qualify for the adoption and we began our paperwork.  God provided every dollar we needed to bring our daughter home.  (Katelyn's Fund was part of His plan to bring her home.  Our family received a grant that not only helped cover the adoption fees but was also a big hug from God assuring us that He had it all worked out and would provide all we needed for our daughter to become orphaned no more!)
After four years of carrying my child in my heart, on February 14th, 2011 I held her in my arms… God moved the mountains in His perfect timing, to lead us to OUR daughter… HE IS ABLE!

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Testimony Tuesdays

Posted on January 24, 2012 by becky

On Tuesdays, we take time to focus on some of our families that have received grants from Katelyn's Fund.  May you be blessed by their stories…..

 

We have four biological children, Grace, Lainey, Joah, and Asher, and we are eagerly waiting to travel to Taiwan to meet and bring home our son Zachary who will be two in October!  We are so passionate about adoption and are so blessed to be on this journey!   We have thought and prayed about adoption for a couple of years now and God stirred both of our hearts to say that now is the time.  In March, we saw a picture of a little boy from Taiwan who was on a waiting child list.  We had seen a number of these pictures before but this time I (Jaymi) was brought to tears when I looked at his face.  We decided to inquire about him and soon we were applying to an agency!  We found out in late April that this particular little boy had been adopted by another family so our agency encouraged us to look at their waiting child list.  Our hearts were so soft to these children who were waiting to be adopted.  The thought of a child growing up without a mom and dad because he or she was considered too old or too sick or "imperfect" in some way just breaks my heart into pieces.  Justin and I, at different times, noticed a little guy in a birthday hat and I'll never forget when Justin said, "That's him."  It was the same little boy I had already inquired about earlier that day!  So we began the process to adopt this precious little boy.  Our kids are thrilled to have Zachary as a brother and they have been a big part of this every step of the way.  They have such compassionate hearts towards children without mommies and daddies.  Currently our paperwork is working its way through the system in Taiwan and we hope to be able to travel by early spring! 

Katelyn's Fund has played a huge role in our adoption journey. I remember when some families from my church adopted children from Guatemala and one of those families was the De Jongs, founders of Katelyn's Fund.  I will never forget Katelyn's story and the impact it had on my heart.  I believe this is really when God began the dream of adopting one day.  I have had the joy of being a part of the Sioux Falls Katelyn's Fund support team and have heard numerous adoption stories, each one a miracle, and have been so encouraged by this group.  For awhile I felt my role was to support adoptive families and help Katelyn's Fund Sioux Falls get started, but it wasn't long before it was our time and I smiled when we would tell people we decided to start the adoption process and they would say, "It's about time!"  I am so thankful for Katelyn's Fund and believe that God began it and is using it in a mighty way to care for his precious children.  When Justin and I met with the Katelyn's Fund board we got to see the heart of this ministry and it is rooted in prayer.  We were beyond blessed by this group of people who long to obey the call to care for the orphans as they prayed over us and just loved us.  Thank you so much to Katelyn's Fund for your priceless role in our journey to Zachary and also to opening our hearts to intercede for the millions of orphans who still wait.

Becky

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The gaps

Posted on January 23, 2012 by laura

An email arrived today. It was addressed to two little Ethiopian sisters who joined our family five short years ago. The email contained a picture of a smiling mama holding current pictures of the two little girls she had said good-bye to so long ago.

The message was simple. It said, “We are well. We love you and may God bless you.”

I am at once humbled and befuddled by God’s plan for these girls. How could He in his wisdom remove these girls from the arms of their praying first mom in order to send them half-way across the world into the arms of this ordinary family?

I may never know why. I can only humbly pray that God fill in the gaps for His precious children. I pray for God to fill the gaps of their earthly parents’ love with His all-encompassing love; fill the gaps of their understanding with the peace that passes understanding; Fill the gaps of competence and confidence of their earthly parents with the assurance that He is their Abba Father.

My God fill in the gaps for this mama too.

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Sunday Scripture

Posted on January 22, 2012 by becky

Romans 8:39  39 "neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I want you to be all mine.  I am weaning you from other dependencies.  Your security rests in Me alone – not in other people, not in circumstances.  Depending only on Me may feel like walking on a tightrope, but there is a safety net underneath: the everlasting arms.  So don't be afraid of falling.  Instead, look ahead to Me.  I am always before you, beckoning you on – one step at a time.  Neither height nor depth, nor anything  else in all creation, can separate you from My loving Presence.

Taken from Sarah Young's Jesus Calling

Becky

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