.End It.

For so long I had been sleeping with my eyes open. If you have read here for any length of time, you no doubt know how a passion was lit inside of me regarding social justice - how my eyes were opened and my life was changed. (I can hear the sighs and feel the eye rolls from here.) I just cannot seem to shut up about it, though. Sometimes I come here and sit down to write these kind of posts, and I think to myself did I buffer this post enough with other fluffier, more appealing and palatable posts around it? And it kind of stinks to have to think that way, but I know that I scare people away. Writing and sharing my heart and what I have learned is one tiny way that I can fight injustice, though, so I cannot keep silent.

(source)

Because I think Jesus calls us [the Church] to be on the front lines of fighting injustice.

Today, January 11, is the national day for human trafficking awareness.

Human trafficking is slavery.

Slavery still exists.

It exists here in our country, and it exists around the world. There are women slaves, men slaves, and babies and children who are slaved. It. is. wrong. I believe that slavery, poverty, and the orphan crises are the greatest grievances in our generation. I believe that the generations that come behind us will look at us and wonder why we did not fight for these injustices; much like we look at the generations before us and wonder why they did not fight against the slavery and racism in our infant country. That is partly why I am so, so passionate about social justice. But these are not simply causes to me. I am not on some kind of fad kick (three years is pretty long for a fad anyway). These are human beings created in the image of God, and as such I believe I will answer for my part in this one day - because I do have a part - we all do. I also believe that we have the ability to end this.

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? – Isaiah 58:6

There are 27 million slaves in the world today. (source) Let's help free these men, women, and children. If we follow Jesus, I believe we are called to bring justice where there is no justice and hope where there is no hope. To sit by and ignore these 27 million human beings (many of which are enslaved simply so that we can buy more stuff at lower prices) is wrong. It is just wrong.

Martin Luther King Jr. said it so well, He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it. I think we would all at least acknowledge that slavery is evil, but now it is time to actually move our feet and fight against it. An easy first step is for us all to spread awareness - bring to light that which has been hidden. We can make people aware by sharing what we know; when people know the truth they then must choose how to move ahead and ignorance can no longer be their excuse.

It is time to examine the items we purchase, and realize that every single time we purchase an item that was made because of slave laborers, we are saying slavery is okay. Do your research. I have talked a lot about fair trade and chocolate here. Google. Ask questions. Understand that the "cheap" price tag may actually be costing someones life. Let's not be okay with that. I am guessing we would not be okay with that if it were our baby out in that field enslaved to bring us chocolate, so why is it okay as long as it is someone elses baby?

I urge you to pray for the 27 million people enslaved today, and I urge you to stand up and be a voice for them, to fight this injustice. I want to see history change. I want to see these 27 million people freed, and I long for them to know the love of Jesus.

Will you stand in the gap for slavery?

Please check out End It: Shine a light on slavery here.

Check out what Compassion has to say here.


Here is a short video on human trafficking.

 

These are PEOPLE. They are someones mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, child, grandchild. What if they were your loved ones?

.It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas.

Or not....

but this is for you organized types, which I exclaim loudly, I am not, don't put me in that camp! (there I feel better now), perhaps you are already thinking about, and even shopping for, Christmas. So I wanted to throw this challenge out to you! Last year Jim and I took the challenge to only spend money on Christmas gifts for friends and family that funded causes that combat social injustice- this included gifts for our children.

God continues to open our eyes to the needs around us and around the world. It is easy to feel defeated, though. The need is so, so GREAT. However, this was something relatively simple for us to do as a family, and we pray it made a small difference for God's glory. It was also a nice way to spread awareness about social injustice issues. Most of the gifts we purchased came with a little card that described the ministry, and what the funds from the gift went toward.

So my challenge for you, if you choose to take it, is to choose at least one person on your gift list, and buy them a gift where the money for that gift funds a cause to combat social injustice. You can take it as far as you want and purchase all gifts this way, or just buy one gift. I believe that even one gift can bring God glory and make a difference in another human being's life.

My sweet friend, Bethany has created a pinboard on Pinterest, and allowed me to contribute to it, that is dedicated to websites selling items that fit in the above categories. We've done all of the leg work for you, as we have spent several hours pulling sites together. All you have to do is go to our board, browse and shop. Bethany and I do not benefit from this in any way. We just wanted to have a way to encourage other believers to live out Micah 6:8 in a practical way, and we wanted another way to speak up for those without a voice.

To start shopping, simply go to our pinboard here.

And please, please share this on your blog, on facebook, with friends and family. You do not even need to link to us or credit us in anyway. I do not care if you take this blog post as your own, or copy all of our pins onto your own board. I just want to challenge us all to shop with a purpose this Christmas and to make a difference by sharing the love of Jesus Christ for the glory of God.

(source)

Happy shopping friends....

and Merry Christmas!

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PS Please leave links here to any sites I may have missed. We will continue to add to our collection! If you are an adopting family raising funds via a fundraiser we will add you as well.

.How to {Really} Help Adoptive Parents.

I have been thinking about this a lot.

I will write about Jamesy's appointments soon (probably tomorrow). I am still processing everything that was thrown at us. Overall we walked away at peace and feeling very positive - praise God! Your prayers were felt and very much needed (and are still needed but more on why to come).

So you have friends who adopted or people in your church who adopted and you want to help? What do you do? I have a few ideas. {wink}

Pray for the family. {Really} pray. Ask the family specifically what battles need to be prayed over, because there are battles, real, hard, scary at times, battles. Then let the family know that you are praying for them, for the redemption in their child, for the siblings who are experiencing huge changes in their world, for healing, for the unification of their family. Be specific rather than just saying I'm praying for you. Prayer will be honey to their hurting hearts.

Celebrate with the family. Adopting a child is just as special as birthing a child, so act like it. Send congratulatory cards, buy a small gift for the child if you would like, do whatever it is that you would do to show any other family that was adding to their home, that you get how special the life of this child is to their family.

Cook meals for the family - especially when they first bring their new child home. It's hard to even explain what those first few weeks and months are like - especially if jet-lag is in the mix.. It is not like bringing a birth child home. It's just not. It's normal for adopted (especially internationally adopted) children to have major sleep issues - which brings about very little sleep for the parents. And many of these children are not newborns who sleep during the day giving their parents that much needed reprieve. A fresh, hot, thought-out meal could mean the world to a family hanging by a thread. Even a lukewarm, day old casserole would be a welcome sight on most days.

If the family is not cocooning or done cocooning invite them over for dinner, for normalcy. Let them see that you support them and that you are in the whole process with them, you are fighting beside them. And if the dinner is not normal, because things seldom are right after adoption, be okay with that, roll with that, merge into the family's new rhythm. If the family seems a bit dysfunctional, a bit more needy, just love them all. Just empathize as you can. Just smile and hug them.

If the family is working on attachment and therefore needing to do things that look different and odd - especially in the church setting, then welcome them, acknowledge them and their child, give them grace when their child squeals for the umpteenth time in the middle of the church service. Support the attachment process. Shoot a stressed out dad or mom a reassuring smile.

Unless you have adopted, or deal with counseling severely traumatized children, or are a social worker and have dealt with adoption, don't offer parenting advice. And don't judge when parenting is way different then what you did with your birth children. Grace.

Invite the siblings over for a play date. Their world has completely shifted, and ostracizing them just makes everything even more confusing. Play dates in the adopted families home will probably be sparse for awhile as there is no guarantee how any given day will play out, but the siblings still need to interact with their friends. And it is very awkward for an adoptive family to have to invite their children over to your home. They probably won't do it. Or take school age children to school and pick them up again, or take them for ice cream, or to the park. Let the parents spend a few moments alone with their new child without feeling guilt for neglecting the siblings.

Help with yard work. Pull weeds, mow the lawn, shovel the driveway. Maybe even offer to wash a load of laundry. All of these things distract from the intricate bonding process, that is so vital the first few months and even year, that is happening inside of the home.

Be a friend. A genuine friend. Use the phone. Check in on the family. Send a card. Listen. Really, really listen to the struggles, the battles, and ask good questions that show you understand and are really invested right along with the family. Don't expect everything to be normal and rainbows and roses, and be okay with that. Sneak the mom or the dad out for coffee or a walk - just a moment to get away, to breathe, to laugh together, to celebrate the victories, and cry over the battles that remain. Just be there. Having someone who will listen and not judge is an amazing gift. The neediness will not last forever.

Allow the family to freely express frustration, discouragement, hurts, fears. Give the same grace you would give parents of newborn birth children. Yes, adoptive parents chose this path, but it doesn't mean it will be easy, or that they need to pretend it is.

Even if you don't get adoption, if you don't get what the family is going through - smile anyway and give the family a hug. Kindness goes a long, long way. And maybe fake it until you make it. The family probably already knows you don't get it. Actions are loud, but faking it just may show the family that you are at least trying.

I am sure there are many others that can be added to this, so feel free to add them in the comments.

PS the photo from the last post was fruitflies, and my homemade trap. Ick.

.I Can't Stay Quiet, & I Won't Apologize.

The famine in Africa.

God brings it to mind, and the beautiful people that it is killing, every single day. I have linked to it too many times to count on facebook. I am sure that people think of me as the crazy Africa lady, or the person that tries to guilt everybody into feeling/doing something. I have tried to stay quiet, but every. single. time. the Holy Spirit nudges me again to speak out, and then I get slapped around with this.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Proverbs 31:8

(source)

So even when the photographs make people uncomfortable (even when they make me uncomfortable), I will share them - like the ones that accompany this news article. Because God allowed me to go to Ethiopia and see things that I could never have imagined, I now feel responsible to, at the very least, advocate.

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. James 4:17

A group of parents from my agency got together and created Adoption Families for Famine Relief. I love getting on facebook and seeing that my adoption friends are just as passionate as I am, and that I am truly not alone in this. There are a lot of us crazy Africa people advocating hard for the people and the continent that we fell in love with. I love what God does through adoption, and how the biggest rescue comes in the lives of the parents who adopt - not in our children that we adopt. Please, please check out the website. A lot of time, thought, prayer, and discernment went into it. I believe they present great, safe, and trustworthy organizations to give funds too for the famine in Africa.

My Jamesy is from the horn of Africa. These are people created in the image of God with souls. How will we share the gospel if they die? It is estimated that around 800,000 children will die. I cannot even wrap my mind around that - 800,000 precious Jamesy's. It's only because of the grace of God that it is not my Jamesy, but each of those 800,000 represents someone's Jamesy. If my children were dieing because of starvation and dehydration, I would pray the body of Christ would do something and not just sit back and watch.

I need to put things into perspective. Maybe the things that I thought mattered so much for today don't really matter at all. Let's start using our kingdom eyes and stop turning our heads away so that we can soundly sleep on our cushy pillows in our lavish homes at night.

(source)

Just 50 cents is enough to feed one person for one day.

I can't stay quiet about this.

And I won't apologize.




PS I was also contacted by this blogger, Lara, and I was asked to promote her blog to my sweet readers. Her friends hijacked her blog and are throwing her a virtual baby shower in order to raise money to bring her Ugandan son home. (Don't we all wish we had friends like that?!) There are huge prizes being given away to those who donate - one being a sweet dslr camera! Check out her blog for more info. on the virtual shower.

.What I Still Don't Understand.

It's been less than a year since God ripped the blinders off of our eyes and pointed us to our responsibility regarding orphans. I am still so ashamed that I did not see it until then. I wasted a lot of years.

From the moment people heard about our plan to adopt we heard strange things regarding orphan care. We heard how this was the journey God had for us not for everyone. While I can agree that yes, that may be true of adoption it is absolutely not true of orphan care.

Orphan care is not an option if you are a true believer in Jesus Christ.

I have spent a lot of time since January studying what the Bible has to say about this subject. I do not want to preach something that I am not positive is true. I did not have to look far to see God's will for believers concerning orphan care. The Bible is not secretive about it. In the Old Testament alone more than 40 references can be found that show His compassion and concern for the orphaned. (And this is a separate issue from taking care of the poor and needy which we are also called to do!! Although one can argue that if you participate in orphan care you are taking care of the poor and needy, which is true. But visa-versa is not true.)

The reason to participate in orphan care is not because some lady on a blog, or some pastor behind a pulpit, or some video made you feel guilty. No, there should be no guilt felt. Jesus does not ask us to feel guilty. He asks us to do something. From reading the passages on orphans I have easily concluded that a one time act is not what He asks of us either. It should be a life time of care for orphans.

"If we are motivated only by the need, we will run out of gas rather quickly. Our ultimate motivation comes from a God who adopted us as children when we were alone." (Jed Meddefield)

All believers should have a burning desire to care for orphans, not only because it is our biblical responsibility as a believer, but as an overflow of our heart. Because we were all orphans, we were all defenseless, fatherless, without hope, and God adopted us! Don't you get it? Orphan care is an almost perfect reflection of the GOSPEL! Sure it is scary and messy and hard, but our redemption was all of those as well. Our Redeemer sacrificed everything to adopt us. Can we not in return do something to show the world this beautiful living portrait of our adoption?

When God adopted us He made us His own - not like his own. He gave us an inheritance, and He gave us an identity. That in itself should be enough to put a desire in us to mirror this for someone else. Plus He commanded Christians (James 1:27) to do the same to orphans. Adoption should be driven by the gospel. Orphan care should be driven by the gospel.

"The Gospel is not a picture of adoption, adoption is a picture of the Gospel". (Al Molher)

What I still don't understand is why orphan care is still considered by many Christians to not be their calling? I cannot understand how one can read all of the passages in the Bible that talk about orphans and walk away thinking they have no responsibility, that only a select few are called to that. Again, I am not just talking about the beautiful privilege God allows some to have of adoption. I am talking about orphan care in general. And there are so many ways to care for orphans.

I am fervently praying over this month of November as we celebrate National Adoption month. I pray that churches would once again rise up, just like the early church did, and defend the fatherless, speak out, care for, and start adopting these orphans. Our churches should be overflowing with families that have adopted, with ministries supporting orphans, etc. I am praying for an orphan revival. I am praying that this is true in my own church.

We have not been given a choice regarding orphan care, and it's time we stop acting like we have.

Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

How can we make disciples and teach them to obey if we are not obeying everything commanded of us??



There are an estimated 860,000 orphans in Rwanda, as last reported by unicef. The 1994 genocide, AIDS, and hard living conditions account for much of that number. This and the photo above were taken from here.

(Right now our hearts have been burdened for children of Africa, but God burdens people's hearts differently. There are orphans all over the world, and right in our back yard that need care. If we all follow where God leads than all of the orphans everywhere will get care. Please do not think that we think Africa is the best place to help. It is merely our best place right now.)

Post Script: I am not the only one that has discovered what the Bible demands of us as believers. Read here.
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.You Did it To Him.

Excuse me as I try to process and find the right words. I'm not sure if I can. My prayer is that you hear my heart, regardless of my inadequate words.

It's been one week since we have announced to the "world" our hopes and plans with our adoption. One week. In this one week, I have seen Jesus in people, unlike I ever have before.

Last Sunday evening my husband and I lay in bed. Jim was really wrestling with the enemy over finances for this adoption.

We had time-sensitive paperwork that we needed to return to our agency before we could be assigned a family coordinator and truly start our dossier. However, we could not hand in that paperwork without an accompanying check. A check for which we did not have all of the money, and we knew Jim was not getting paid for another two weeks. We had raked over our budget with a fine-tooth comb. A good portion of our monthly bills had to be paid last week. We tried to scrimp where we could - no buying groceries - we've lived out of our pantry. Absolutely no extras, but we still came up short. We also knew that once we handed that check in we also had to pay almost $200 for 8 hour online adoption classes. We were advised to get these classes behind us before the mountain of paperwork for our dossier happened.

I could tell Jim was worried and anxious and unsure. He kept going over and over our finances thinking maybe we had missed something somewhere. He checked our savings and checking accounts multiple times. The money wasn't there, but we knew this was what God had called us to. We knew that this was His timing - as crazy as it seems. We knew that even though this journey is crazy and uncomfortable that it was right.We had read countless adoption stories written by other believers, and in every single story the message was the same.

God loves adoption.

God loves His orphans.

God will move mountains for adoption and His orphans.

I took that to heart and repeated it over and over to myself and to Jim. By saying this out loud I was willing myself to believe it. And even though it has only been a week, and we are still in the early stages of our adoption process with miles to go before our baby is in our arms, God has shown Himself more than capable.

And the instrument that He has used to show us that has been you. My blogging friends. A community of women that I have {mostly} never, ever met face to face. Only a very small portion of the money we have received has come from people we know. Jim and I were able to send in our paperwork and check this week. This morning, as we were going through our excel spreadsheet, where we are keeping track of donations, we were amazed to see that God had provided exactly what we needed for both the $1125.00 check to send to our agency and the $200.00 for our classes.

Wow.

I am humbled. I am amazed. And dear friends, for you truly are just that, I am ashamed. Every time we receive another donation I say to Jim in amazement, so and so who blogs at -------------- just donated to our adoption fund. Can you believe that?! Some gave $10.00 that they could have truly used for themselves, some were led to give their tithe, and some are also on the adoption journey and still felt led to donate to us. I have cried buckets of tears over your generosity - over your sacrifices on our behalf. My cheeks are soaked and my vision is blurred as I try to type out this post. I am ashamed, because I am not sure if I would be as sensitive to God's leading in my life. Would I be willing to donate our hard earned money to people that I do not even know?? I pray that after this experience my answer will be whole-heatedly yes!! It is Jim and my prayer, that as soon as our adoption is final, we can pass this love and encouragement on and donate money to others seeking to adopt.

That's what Jesus would want.

My dear readers, you have taught me a valuable lesson this week. You have been an instrument for Jesus Christ, as you reached out to us. You have reminded me that God is capable. He is more than capable! Our next mountain of $8000.00 doesn't even make me flinch anymore. I know God is going to provide. I know He is in it.

How do I know?

Because of you. Because you were the hands and feet of Jesus this week.

Thank you. How do I find the words to thank people for having a hand in uniting our family? For wanting to see our sweet baby in our arms?

I'm not sure I'm still trying to figure that out.

Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. ~Matthew 25:40

Ultimately I know all the glory goes to God, who has orchestrated and ordained this.

Thank you Jesus. You are my all-in-all. Worthy is Your name.



YOU are the treasure that I seek.
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