Thieves

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and

where thieves break in and steal..."

 Matthew 6:19

This is what my dad came home to yesterday after work.

Thankfully, my parents were not home when the thieves broke in.  And thankfully they didn't do much damage.

Apparently, they opened a few drawers in other rooms on their way to the master bedroom but didn't take anything out of them.  In the master they put the 4 night stand drawers on the bed and then dumped my mom's jewelry drawer on top.  They wrapped the comforter around it all (including the stuffed animals from the grandkids that were there for decoration) and headed out of the house.  They also took the laptop.

You can see the comforter missing, the night without drawers, and the jewelry drawer discarded.

The nightstand drawers had memorabilia: notes and piddly things the kids had given them but that were sentimental and invaluable to my parents.

In Mom's jewelry drawer were mostly pieces of costume jewelry but also her original wedding ring set from 48 years ago and her current diamond ring which she had taken off to help Dad do some outside work. 

 

Also, her dad's watch and her mom's watch and other jewelry were in that drawer.  They are both deceased. 

What they stole was hardly worth the effort to them.  But to us, those things are priceless and irreplaceable.  I feel sick over it. 

They have lived in this house for 35 years.  They are not materialistic just sentimental.  I'm praying desperately that we at least find the important jewelry at a pawn shop somewhere.

Court Date

We have a court date!  Tuesday, December 21 we will have met our girls face-to-face and stand before a judge who will hopefully say,

"Then, they are yours!"

I say "we" will stand before the judge but an hour ago I was definitely not planning on traveling.  Being prego and not able to get all the recommended immunizations I didn't want to risk anything. But after talking to the director and knowing the girls will be there!!! makes it very irresistible. 

I've got to pray for clarity.

But I'm excited! That means if everything goes well, the girls will be home either Feb 5 or Feb 19! I'm praying for the 5th.

Yea!!!!

Video from Jessica's Hubby's Recent Visit to Ethiopia

Giving

I've always been cheap.  And in the last few years have really been conscious of my spending.

Never so much as I have in the last 6 months, however.  And not because of the $26,000 (minimum) needed to bring our girls home, of which we had almost none. 

And not just because people have been so kind and generous to donate money toward the adoption and items for our upcoming Yard Sale with a Cause (although that has pretty much halted extracurricular spending because how can I accept such gifts and go about buying something not on our needs list.)

In the last 6 months I have just really come to the realization of how wasteful we (those of us in affluent countries) are.  Ask yourself:

Do I really need a new pair of shoes? Or another purse? 

Do I need another dress for church?

Couldn't I make it one more winter with the jeans I wore last year?

How many accessories do I really need?

Is it necessary to eat out every week?  or several times a week?

Is there a better use of my God's money?  It is He who gave it to us!  What are we doing with it to honor and glorify Him?  What are we using it for that has eternal purpose.

Are we giving till it hurts?

One night as we were reading and discussing Radical with the kids, one of them said, "I think we do a lot."

And he's probably right.  We do give to and sponsor those in need.  Probably more than people making twice what we do with half as many kids.  But my answer for all the children was,

"But we still aren't giving till it hurts."

Oh sure I gave up having my house cleaned from top to bottom every month so we could sponsor kids in Haiti.  Big deal! 

To obey is better than sacrifice! 

I Samuel 15:22

 I'm starting to think that's in the Bible because what we consider to be sacrifice really isn't.

One dinner out each month = a month's worth of meals, education and medical care for a child in a impoverished community.

One new shirt = hope for a child without Jesus.

A family vacation getaway = a year's worth of the above.

Or better yet, why not be hope for one orphan for a lifetime.  There are millions who need a home and family of their own!!! 

I loved Jessica's posts (a 5-part series) on their journey to adopt again (they just brought 2 girls home in January).  Something that gave me goosebumps was when she said:

"Yet I could not shake the feeling that someone was missing. Our empty chair at our table and empty seat in our car were a constant reminder to me that we had room for one more...

Our house is not huge, less than 1800 square feet...And some might question how we could possibly add another person to the mix...

But the more I got away from society's ideals, the more I realized we had everything that we needed and more..."

Think about it.  How much excess is in your home that you call necessary but really isn't? 

Could you lower your standard of living to make room for one more?  I used to think we couldn't lower ours any more but obviously I wasn't looking at our current "standard" properly.

I watched a documentary once and the subject of it, who grew up very poor, said his widowed mama always told him, "Son, never eat the last biscuit." 

He always wondered why she wouldn't let one of the 7 kids eat that biscuit.  One day, he heard a knock at the back door.  His mama opened it and handed out that last biscuit to a homeless man.  She told him, "There's always someone worse off than you."

Jesus says that one day when He sits on His glorious throne with all the nations at His feet, He will separate those who were true followers from those who only hoped or acted like His sheep.  He will say to the righteous,

Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.

To the rest, he will say,

Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.

Matthew 25

It's a....

I had a sonogram this morning at the doctor's office and we found out that we're having a....

  BOY!!!

Yea!!! We're all so excited. 

Now we just have to make sure the name we've picked is going to be the one that sticks.  That's one of the reasons I need to know ahead of time.  Because we have totally changed one of more of the kids' names before they were born.

This Coloring Book

Breezy Tulip and Emily Rose are so talented.  You have to check out the coloring book they just put out.

I have wanted some of Breezy's artwork for a very long time and I think I might have to put this coloring book on my wish list! 

Join the Club

Did you know we're part of the same club?

Yep.  All of us. Every single person on this planet. From the serial killer in jail to the orphan baby in Russia.

We're all a part of the sinners club.  We all desperately need a Savior.

And for those who have decided to give their lives to Jesus, we all desperately need Him help us day in and day out to overcome the sin in our lives.

Your kids are a part of the club, too. 

For those of us who are diligently trying to train our children, rather than ignoring and neglecting their sin, it can really start to wear on you at times.  You might get annoyed, aggravated or down-right mad.  But remember, you're members of the same club. 

Never say to your child, "What is wrong with you?"  Because what's wrong with him is what's wrong with you!

Even asking, "Why did you do that?" or "Why do you keep doing that?" is unnecessary.  The answer is easy.  Because they're sinners!

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,

but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12

You may feel like your battling your kids, but in reality you are in a battle FOR your kids.

You're on the same team - whether they know it or not. 

So when correction or discipline time comes, try to remember:

1. to restore your child in a spirit of gentleness. Soften your voice rather than raising it. Check your tone.

2. to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. Find out what really happened first - even if you think you already know.

3. that you are in the same boat with this child.  Remind them of what a gracious Savior we have -forgiving freely and ready to provide a way of escaping temptation.  We all need Jesus to overcome the sin in our lives.

4. and speaking of forgiveness, forgive your child.  Truly forgive as Christ has forgiven you.  Give him/her a fresh start each and every time.  Try your best to treat each act as if it's the first time you've ever seen them do it.

5. when you don't have the words, pray for wisdom knowing God is ready to give it generously.

Ready!

Yesterday in the mail we received a video from our agency's director who just returned from Ethiopia.  I couldn't wait until Roddy got home so the kids and I watched part of it then last night we all sat down to finish watching it.  The video was of the director going to the care center where our girls are.  It showed them introducing themselves and doing a little Ethiopian dance.   It also showed them receiving our care packages. 

When it was over Gray said, "How much longer..to get them?"

I said, "Probably four months."

Gray, "Awww."

I said, "Are you ready to have them here?"

And they all said, "Yeah!!"

I love that even my boys are excited and thankful they all have sweet hearts and want their sisters home!