Proverbs 21:13

Proverbs 21:13 "Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered." What does this verse say to your heart? That is the question of the week.

This verse "shouts out" to me that helping the poor is a very important thing to do if we want our prayers to be heard by the Lord! I am quick to think, "This verse does not apply to me. I care about the poor." Then, the Lord reminds me that "hearing" the cry of the poor is not enough. If I hear or see and do not act, I am in fact, closing my ears to the cry of the poor. James 1:22 says, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."

So, what does the word tell us to do? Well, all throughout scripture the Lord shares with us where His heart lies...with the orphan, the widow, the fatherless, the stranger and those in prison. If we want to serve Christ and find His heart, we will serve the least of these. Matthew 25:31-46 shows us this very thing. When we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, welcome and clothe a stranger, visit the sick and those in prison, we are actually ministering to Christ himself! When we don't act on behalf of the least of these, we are actually looking into the heart of Christ and walking away.

I think everyone should adopt someone. We can all pray for the Lord to lay on our hearts a specific someone you can adopt...an orphan, a widow, a single mom and her children, a military mom, a stranger, a foreign exchange student, a neighbor, or prisoner...and we can HEAR and ACT!

Extreme Poverty...

"How do you explain extreme poverty to your kids?" Most of our kids today are so blessed, I think it is actually hard for many of them to grasp any "explanation" of poverty...just like it is with us as adults. I think until we "see" it ourselves, we just don't get it. I think that is why mission trips, etc. are so helpful. They help us "see" what we can only try to imagine or catch glimpses of on TV. My kids are at the age (7 and 8) where they are finding out that everyone doesn't live like they do and they are beginning to ask questions. The first thing we did a couple of years ago to "show" our kids a glimpse of the poor was to adopt an angel off the Angel Tree at our local Wal-mart. I took the girls and let them pick a girl who was their age and we went shopping together. While we shopped, we talked about what we were doing and why. This has become a yearly tradition for us. Last year we started an allowance with the girls. I bought some canning jars and gave them 4 a piece. We labeled them, "Church," "Savings," "Spending," and "Giving." When they get their allowance they divide it up between the 4 categories. Of course one goes to church for offerings, one they don't touch, one they get to spend however they choose, and the giving money is used at Christmastime so that now they help buy the Angel Tree gifts with some of their own money. It has made it more personal for them and they know they are helping someone in our community. As we talk with our kids about a little bit more extreme poverty, we decided to sponsor a child through Compassion International. They are a phenominal organization and you actually get to correspond with and even visit the child you sponsor if you so choose. Again we chose a little girl who is around the same age as our daughters and we chose a little girl from India which is where we are adopting from! This makes our discussions about her and her family even more personal. The girls help me correspond with Ganthy by writing letters, drawing pictures, picking out stickers and color pages to send, etc. We also pray for her and her family together. This is such a simple, non-threatening way to talk about poverty. But, more importantly, you are not just "talking" about it with your kids, you are actually changing someone's life together. As my girls and my son get older, I cannot wait to do more. I hope this desire to help others follows them the rest of their life. I hope we can take each one of our children on a Compassion Mission trip when they turn 13 years of age. I think it would change their lives...and mine...forever!

Red Letters Campaign

Wow, besides the whole adoption support thing, blogging is opening up a whole new world for me. :) I live such a sheltered life. Some of the mom's have started posting some blogs for a site called the RLC or Red Letter Campaign. The title is based on the book by Tom Davis, "Red Letters," which really hits home about LIVING out your faith. (This book is next on my list to read.) I have read his book "Fields of the Fatherless," which is amazing and a must read for everyone. Anyway, this site is a place to blog about issues of adoption, poverty, AIDS, etc. I guess I will be joining the ranks and each week I'll try to post a blog that answers one of the questions they are asking on their site. I'm not an expert on anything, by any means, but I don't mind sharing my thoughts, so we'll see how it goes. :)

"Secret Thoughts"

Today I finished reading the book, "Secret Thoughts of an Adoptive Mother," by Jana Wolff. Aside from a few choice words, I loved the book. It was very open and honest and reflected some of the very same thoughts that I have begun to experience during this waiting time. I think that adoption education and adoption reading are beneficial, but it has been scary for me as well. I headed into adoption with very rosy glasses on I think...very sure of what we were doing and ready to go. Somewhere along the way, although I am still sure that adoption is God's choice for our family, doubts have crept in. I think it is probably the same for other adopting families. The biggest questions in my mind right now are, "Am I making the right decision to adopt internationally...a child from another race and culture?" And, "Will this choice cause my child problems as he grows up with parents who don't look like him and can't provide him with much of a sense of his culture?" Even as I question in my heart...those secret thoughts...my heart still lies with India. I still believe the Lord has directed us there. He has clearly closed the door to other countries for us and has opened the doors and supplied the needs as we have pursued this path. I once asked a dear friend and adoption advocate at the agency we used for our home study, "How can you know how to choose domestic, foster care, or international adoption without feeling guilty for not being able to do it all?" She told me that God places a specific burden for a specific kind of adoption on families hearts. She said to follow God's leading on my heart. I believe that God has a family in mind for every orphaned child if they would just listen and follow. So...we are following...in spite of the roller coaster of adoption emotion that has so recently become a part of my life. :)

Approval!

I have been out of town for two weeks for the birth of my niece, Jenna...awesome...and just got back online tonight! I saw the news from our agency that ISRC in India has received their recertification approval! They are just waiting on the official paperwork and then hopefully the doors will reopen and the adoptions in process can move forward...maybe even this week! I am so excited for the families who are at the top of the list and have been waiting for what seems like forever. Of course I am excited for us as well, because the more referrals that go through means that we move up the list. :) I am glad to be back! I have missed my online adoption family and their support more than I knew I would.