A gift with meaning

Lookie what our friends delivered to our house yesterday! I've had a lot of meaningful gifts given to me in my life, and this one ranks right up there among the top! It's a tea platter with all our favorite things: homemade gingerbread muffins, tea bags, a CD, a candle, and a jar of "Russian Tea Mix" with an orphan ministry message on it!














Here's an up-close of the Russian Tea Mix, and on the lid you'll see a cute homemade "tag" that looks like a tea bag. And there's Kirill on the front. Kirill is the precious little boy I blogged about recently. Look at the message: "Remember to pray for Kirill and Russian orphans."

I cannot express in words how thrilled I was to receive such a meaningful gift. It was more than a gift. It was an encouraging reminder that there are sincere prayer warriors who are lifting up these children who so desperately need someone in their corner. And it was also a creative twist to being an advocate for orphans. If one person in every church or community would give similar gifts to their friends for birthdays and special occasions, just think of how many orphans would be prayed for and thought about throughout the year. This has given me HUGE encouragement and lots of little ideas that are spiraling off of it.

Kirill's tea bag is now hanging on our refrigerator as a daily reminder to pray for this little guy!

Trust and Silence

Some of our friends loaned us a wonderful book that we've been reading. It's called Lady on a Donkey, by Beth Prim Howell. I had never heard of this book, but it is a treasure. It's one that gets the beautiful chant from our children: "Read one more chapter, Mama. Please...just one more chapter!" It is the story of Lillian Trasher who was a missionary to Egypt and worked with hundreds of orphans. As we've been reading through it, I've felt the Holy Spirit impress many things on my heart. Lillian trusted God for everything...their daily food, their clothing, etc. They lived hand-to-mouth, which we tend to shun in American society...but for Lillian, it was a beautiful daily gift "from God's Hand to Lillian's mouth." This simple trust propels me forward in the same direction. I YEARN for that simple trust in my Heavenly Father, and that appears to be the road He's walking me down with many lessons in practicing this simple faith that is profound enough to move mountains. And the one lesson that stands out to me above all the others in this book is: SILENCE.





When there was no more food in the orphanage (every few days or so), Lillian would climb onto her donkey in search of food for all the children. Before her donkey set out on the journey, she would pray, "Which way do I go, Lord?" And then she'd sit in total silence waiting for (expecting!) His voice. She'd hear Him, and she'd head out in the direction He said. Sometimes to the north, sometimes to the south, sometimes to a new village, sometimes to a village she had visited before...but ALWAYS in the direction He told her. And every time she'd arrive at the intended village, they would always give her precisely what she needed for all the children in the orphanage. When we first began to read the book, we'd hold on in suspense as we hoped in our hearts that she'd find the food and supplies she needed. And, after watching God answer time after time, soon we began to KNOW in our hearts that she'd receive all she needed. Why? Because Lillian would always sit quietly on that donkey and wait in silence for God to tell her which direction to go that day. With that step in place, we grew to expect her to always receive what she needed.





This is an area where God has been growing me for months now...being quiet before Him. Up until now, the lessons have revolved around simply being quiet in faith that He's working on something that I'm tempted to stick my hands into to "help." Up until now, the "be still and quiet before God" lessons have centered around me just waiting while He works on something. But now, the lessons are beginning to challenge me toward Lillian's type of silence. She was silent in expectation of Him telling her which way to point her feet that day...silent as she waited for Him to tell her what she should do that very moment in her life. This is a radical trust. It's the from-moment-to-moment trust that most of us don't dare to dip our toes into. I had to wonder WHY we don't rely on God as fully as Lillian did, and I believe it's because 1) we are self-sufficient with our jobs, our income, our insurance, our many safety nets and rainy-day savings...we are so self-sufficient that we have no need to be God-dependent unless it's a "big thing" that we cannot handle ourselves...and 2) we don't like to wait in silence.





This led me to a very intriguing idea... What if I could somehow move into that standing-on-thin-air faith that Lillian had...the same faith that George Mueller had...the kind of faith that only comes when 100% of my hope is in God, with no other security but Him. What kinds of things would change in my life? What miracles and treasures am I missing out on because my hands are too full holding onto my earthly securities?





I'm not advocating that anyone gets rid of insurance and quits their job! I'm saying that for me in my life, God keeps leading me into deeper dependence on Him. And I find that I can only go so far into that mode because there's a roped-off section of my life where I prefer to have control...to make sure my safety nets are in place "just in case." And what a radical idea it is to contemplate what life would be like if HE ALONE was my only hope...the sustainer of my every day existence. Definitely not for the faint of heart! But Lillian Trasher's and George Mueller's lives are so beautiful that it makes one wonder what we may be missing out on.



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P.S. As I was getting ready to hit the "Publish" button, something jumped out at me... Lillian Trasher and George Mueller lived in different places and different time periods, but interestingly, they had almost identical types of faith. Their faith led to similar life experiences...full reliance on God for daily needs to feed, clothe and minister to ORPHANS. And here I live in yet another place and another time period, and God is leading me deeper into this same type of faith. He's given me the same calling of caring for orphans. Perhaps each person who truly follows His steps into orphan ministry MUST have radical faith. Perhaps to truly have life-changing ministry among orphans REQUIRES a faith so true that God Himself is our only hope. Perhaps the verse He led me to years ago (before I could ever understand its meaning) is the key to orphan ministry: Hosea 14:3 "Assyria cannot save us, nor can our strength in battle. Never again will we call the idols we have made 'our gods.' No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy." Perhaps my life has to be so fully completely radically dependent on God so that the orphans can readily find HIS mercy in me...my hope fully reliant on Him so that when the orphan looks to me, he finds instead my Heavenly Father who meets every need. Oh, Lord, please let this sink into my heart and become part of me!

Praying

My children blessed my heart greatly this week. A day after learning about a failed adoption of some sweet friends of ours, my daughter came to me in tears. She expressed, as only a child can, how unfair life is. She wanted to open up a place where children who are not adopted can grow up safely and happily without being transferred to a mental institution. Then in the next breath, she wanted to bring home every single child who needs a home (143 million!!). She wished she were older so that she could do some of these things. The uncomplicated and beautiful love of a child!

Why do we adults have to complicate things? Why can't we love like children? If someone needs a hug, they give it (even if the needer of the hug has a stinky diaper). If one of their brothers or sisters is thirsty, they don't think twice about pouring a cup of water for them (even if they couldn't quite manage the water pitcher). And when they see children who need a home, they ask me, "Mama, why don't people just adopt them?" Nothing like a child's honest question to make ya think! Why isn't it so clear-cut for adults? Perhaps because we've complicated our lives too much with things and events and plans and fears. I don't know, but I do know that the simplicity and depth of a child's love moved my heart.

So, we came up with a plan for some too-young-to-adopt-or-open-a-children's-home children to actively help orphans in profound ways. They went to Reece's Rainbow's website and wrote down the names of several of the children. They then transferred the names onto a prayer chart, with some children to be prayed for on Sundays, another group on Mondays, etc. Every day of the week they have a list of children to pray for, and they take this job very seriously.

Why is it that we adults can look at pictures of children who need homes and then shut down the computer without thinking twice about them? Whereas children see the faces and think of the LIFE behind the picture on the screen. They imagine how it feels to be alone in that crib at night. They worry that these precious orphans will be afraid during thunder storms (my youngest son still prays for his sister to not be afraid of thunder storms even though she has been home from the orphanage for 4 months...he just sympathized with her for so many months as he thought of her in that bed alone). Lord, please give us the eyes of children and let us enter into the suffering of these orphans!

PRAYING is the big thing. Any of us can pray, and it's a profound way to help these children. Really, who else is praying for them? What a mighty work we can do right in our own homes...lifting up these children to God! I was thrilled that my children had this idea. The Holy Spirit gave them a burden for other children, and then He was faithful to give them an outlet to lift that burden to Him, the Father of the fatherless. I want desperately for them to always go to Him for all their needs, and what an incredible blessing to see them go to Him on behalf of others too. Warms this Mama's heart!

Kirill

I went to bed praying for a little boy named Kirill, and I woke up thinking about him. Then this morning when I decided to visit my own blog (sorry...I've been absent from blogging world lately), I had a comment from someone who is advocating on behalf of another little boy with a very similar name: Kiril. Interesting "coincidence." Anyway, please visit her blog and contribute just $1 to Kiril's adoption fund on Reece's Rainbow. Please spread the word. This little one is PRECIOUS!!

http://www.findingkirilsfamily.blogspot.com/


My heart has been especially heavy lately with so many children who are on their way to institutions if they are not adopted soon, and I found myself crying out to God. I don't understand, Lord! Oh how I wish I could somehow save them all! And yet this morning His still quiet voice reminded me that it is not my might or anyone else's might that saves them. In HIM ALONE do the orphans find mercy.

Yes, we play a role. We are His vessels. We simply MUST follow Him, listen to the exact directions He gives each of us and the obey in simple faith. But, when we have advocated and have worked so hard and have prayed fervently...what do we do then?? We REST in Him. We keep advocating and giving our time and resources and praying fervently...all the while resting in Him and trusting in HIM to fulfill His plans for each child. Psalm 33:4 "For the word of the Lord holds true, and everything he does is worthy of our trust." EVERYTHING! Even those things that don't seem fair to us (the children who are transfered)...even the things we don't understand (the family whose adoption dreams are crushed)...if we truly trust Him, then we know that everything He does is worthy of our trust. Everything.

Today we have the opportunity of helping Kiril and Kirill find their forever families. Kiril can be found at the blog link I gave above, and Kirill can be found on Reece's Rainbow's at-risk page. Have you seen him? He is so cute! Here's a link to his picture...he's the 3rd child on this page. www.reecesrainbow.com/newsite/atrisk.html And while you're on that page, please say a prayer for each child on that page. Kirill is very very close to being transfered to an institution, so please be in fervent prayer for his forever family to find him. These children may not have anyone else praying for them, so please pray on their behalf. We CAN do something...we can pray, give, advocate on their behalf, adopt. And the outcome we place in God's Hands, trusting Him even when we don't understand.

Early Work

Too many times I have found myself "behind" all day long. Those days are hard for me because I WANT to be able to say yes to those cute dimpled hands that want me to color alongside them, but instead I have to make breakfast/lunch/dinner, do the laundry, check math problems, make bread, give baths, juggle 25 different things while smiling (okay, maybe I'm not smiling for all 25 things!!). :) Soon it's bedtime, and I wonder why in the world I never got a chance to color in that coloring book (or read that fun book or take that walk).



Ahhhh...and then there are the days I love! The days when time has a beautiful pace. There's time for the walk to pick up colorful leaves. There's time to make those scones that we've been wanting to make for a long time. There's time to sit with the younger ones and color a whole page without rushing. It's in those moments when they seem to open up and share secrets. They seem to swell up with love for me, and a spontaneous "I love you" with a hug is placed a round my neck. It's THOSE moments that I stick in my pocket and want to keep forever and ever in my memory.



For me, the key to finding that unrushed pace has been in getting an early start. It's choosing to get out of that warm bed and get downstairs. It's the quiet time alone with my Heavenly Father, seeking wisdom for the day (and please help me be a good Mama today!). And it's the "early work" that has made a huge difference for me.



If I know the things I have to do for the day, I can easily see what needs to be done before they wake up so that I can focus on more important things during the day. For example, if I blog when my children are awake, everything starts to come undone in the house (Mama loses focus on the things at home and gets sucked into cyber world!). I've also found that starting my bread dough takes much longer if I wait to do it when everyone is awake for the day. I find myself trying to teach 2 math lessons, direct the preschoolers to activities and get my bread started. So, right now before my children are downstairs, I'm blogging while my Kitchen Aid is kneading my bread dough (I blog, go add more flour, blog, turn up the speed on the Kitchen Aid, blog, go add more flour). Soon I will set the dough to rise, and when little angels are downstairs for the day, anyone who wants to can help me form rolls with the dough, as I've found this to be a fun and easy activity to do with them.



Today has a good rhythm...a steady calm rhythm...without Mama rushing to juggle too many things at once. Laundry has just finished washing and needs to go in the dryer. Little ones can help fold, and big ones can help put it away. These are things that we can do together...AND they are things that fit nicely into a steady rhythm in our house (laundry is put away every afternoon when they get their rooms ready for night time).



Breakfast is scones,bananas and hot tea (ready to go on the table). Lunch will be fresh rolls with apple butter and fruit (dough is rising). Dinner will be chicken salad sandwiches (chicken is almost thawed and will soon be marinaded and then baked...later I will shred the chicken with one or two helpers).

There's peace in knowing what lies ahead of us today. There's a steady rhythm that allows for the flexibility of reading that extra chapter in our quiet time book when they plead with me for "just one more chapter, Mama!" There's a rhythm that fits in the must-do's and allows time for the oh-I-wish-we-could's.



And it all begins with me pulling back the warm sheets when it's still dark outside and then submitting to the "early work" that otherwise would throw off the calm routine.



I'm actually on track this morning. I'd better put the blog to bed before it all comes unravelled. :)

Still and Quiet

Recently something happened that was not at all fair, and my insides screamed for justice! I took matters into my own hands (see my recent post about my idol of control...and pray for me!). Yep, I did it again...I tried to fix things (people!), and I ended up with a bigger mess than when I started.



So, when I awoke at 2am the next morning, I began to pray. I REALLY wanted God to show me what to do when I face circumstances like that. And again I found Him to be faithful. He led me straight to Psalm 131. It's short...only 3 verses...but its impact was immense. "Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don't concern myself with matters too great or awesome for me. But I have stilled and quieted myself, just as a small child is quiet with its mother. Yes, like a small child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord---now and always."



Have you ever been reading God's Word, and the Holy Spirit just stirs something?? Well, this hit me... I am to be STILL and QUIET, even when something unfair or upsetting happens. And that is not a natural still and quiet. It is supernatural and only comes from my soul resting fully completely in my Lord. If I truly trust in Him as I say I do, then I will trust Him to make the wrong things right. If I truly put my trust in Him, then my soul will wait confidently, being still and quiet instead of taking matters into my own hands.



And that little piece of wisdom unlocked a whole other area that I had been seeking Him in...

We are praying about some very specific ways of helping more of His children (more details to come!). And He spoke very clearly to me, saying that these children need an atmosphere of healing. Our own daughter who has only been out of the orphanage for 3 months needs a daily atmosphere that fosters the healing she needs. I remember one day a few weeks ago I was rushing about the house getting things done (the never-ending list that we Mamas have), and I was just busy busy busy rushing to and fro, from room to room. Our daughter came up to me and clung to my leg. I scooped her up, kissed her and then continued my pace to get the next thing done. But my Heavenly Father stopped me in my tracks, and as clear as day in my spirit, I heard, "She cannot heal like this." It literally STOPPED me right where I was (right in front of the dryer with the door open and a pile of laundry waiting to be folded)!

There's nothing wrong with getting things done. We NEED to keep an orderly house. But the busy rushing and nervous energy does not facilitate a calm atmosphere where little hearts can thrive.

So, when God brought me to those verses about being still and quiet before Him, I knew He was teaching me HOW to create an atmosphere in my home. Sometimes we get busy just to be busy, when in reality we need to just still and quiet ourselves before Him and do just those things He's setting before us. His careful pruning shears come out again, and I submit to them. Lord, help me truly believe that YOU are working in everything, and let me confidently wait on You with a quiet and still spirit.

(And how do I get my to-do list done without rushing about?? Well, that is an ongoing challenge. I'll share more someday soon.)

The Face of Love

Last night during dinner I met the tangible love of Jesus.







She was sitting next to me in her high chair, and she reached out her little arms towards me. I leaned in for a hug. But before I could leave her embrace, she stopped me a few inches from her face. She put her hands on my cheeks very softly and just smiled at me, looking deep deep into my eyes...way past my eyes and into my soul. I can honestly say that it was one of the times in my life when I felt most loved for just being plain ol' me. She smiled and did a throat noise that meant, "My whole being loves you." As long as I live, that moment will be etched in my memory. In that space in time I experienced one of the purest forms of love that one human can have for another. And I choked on the lump in my throat as it hit me: "Lord, You sent this child to teach me how to love."







Our journey to our youngest child was a long bumpy road that led all the way to an orphanage in Taiwan. She has Down Syndrome, which meant that the odds were not in her favor in her home country. We knew God was calling us to step forward to adopt her as our daughter. We knew He was calling us to love her.







But what we didn't know was how little we really knew about love. It took us by surprise that this child we set out to love was the very one who is teaching us how to truly love. The kind of love that she naturally gives to us...the way she intuitively pats our backs when we are sad, the way she tries to smile even when she isn't feeling well, the way she stops a hundred times a day to just come hug us...and the way she took my face in her hands last night and taught me some fundamentals of love. It's the simplicity of not only making eye contact but looking past the eyes and into the inner person...and accepting with joy what you find inside that person (no matter what mess you may see in them). It's making someone else feel like they are the most important and cherished person on the planet.







I had to ask myself the question: How many times have I loved my children that way? My husband? My friends? My parents? The needy person I'm supposedly "helping"? How many people have felt as deeply cherished as I felt last night with those precious messy hands on my face? I'd venture to guess zero.







I want to be more like my daughter. Some may say she has a syndrome that makes her different. And I say YES, thank the good Lord that she is beautifully different! If only the whole world could experience that kind of love!