thanksgiving sunday

We put up our Christmas tree yesterday.
Rather, I should say that Nick and Macy put it up.

It's way earlier than I care for.
But since Brenden loves Christmas so much and he's going
to be home tomorrow for Thanksgiving,
I thought it would be nice.
Want to be my golden child?
Move away, then come back, then go away again.

Anyway,
for whatever reason I thought it would be fun to put the tree in
our school room.
Regret started filling my heart early-on.
But I need to keep that to myself,
lest I will be dragging the thing, lights, ornaments, and all,
to the living room,
all by myself.

So. It stays, I reckon.

Macy is sort of like Wilson from Home Improvement...

But this photographer doesn't give up.

Nick worked extra hard.
He loves him some Christmas too.

Mother, enough.

Half-way through our decorating efforts,
we went to my parents' house for our family T-day dinner.

And since my sisters and I all moonlight as
supermodels, we figured we should take a few photos.
Of just us.
Because that's just the sort of thing we do.

Umm, I really have no words.
But suffice it to say,
don't even try to mimic the pouty face.
It takes special training.
It will be in all the fashion magazines soon.
Really, it will.

Cutest girls around.
We think so anyway.

Back to the decorating.

And Isaiah no longer will pose as a normal person.

He insists on being a dinosaur.

A scary dinosaur.

Be very, very afraid.

Come on, Lucy.
We're outta here.

Have a super duper Monday!

143 million....without a family

I read this post on my friend Cari's blog,
who got it from another blog.

It really moved me.
I hope it does you as well.

Awhile back I was sitting in a new class that we had just begun at our church. The instructor was doing one of those ‘getting to know you’ types of deals where they go around the room and each person has to tell something about themselves. I remember him asking us to ‘tell the one thing that was most important to us in the world- the one thing we could not live without- but it couldn’t be God or family- because everyone would say that- it was a given”.

There was a quiet hush around the room, you literally see could see people pondering their thoughts, searching desperately in their minds or something- the one thing- they couldn’t live without.

What about you?

What is THE one thing you couldn’t live without besides God or your family?

Go ahead, take your time…

Think about it for a minute…

Now I truly hope some of you are not thinking your mascara or your blackberry… if so, I give up.

Perhaps some of you are thinking 'food and shelter'…

That is a good answer…. Those are things you cannot live without- yet every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes--one child every five seconds.

Which got me to thinking even more….

Food, shelter, family, God…

If it is a given that family and God are the ONE thing that we Christians realize we do not want to live without -and food and shelter are another thing we know without question we cannot live without- then why is it that if we know these things- only 34% OF CHRISTIAN FAMILIES CONSIDER ADOPTING and ONLY 1% OF CHRISTIAN FAMILIES ACTUALLY DO??

In the past, we have actually had one pastor laugh at us and say we were crazy for spending so much money on an adoption…

In the past we have had another pastor tell us that the church doesn’t get involved with adoptions or they would have to help everyone…

How can this NOT be a priority for the church?? How can it not be a given that we should be concentrating on these things? Because we can preach the gospel until we turn purple, but until people have their immediate needs met, until people actually witness Christs love they will not be able to believe the truth.

So what's stopping us?

Is it because it is a inconvenience?
Is it because we are afraid?
Is it because it is too much work?

Is it because it might cost us something?
Is it because we might have to make a sacrifice?

Isn't that exactly what Jesus did for you?

And are you willing to stand in front of God one day and tell him that?

I once read this quote from Mahatma Gandhi and it broke my heart... He wrote:
“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

That is something that I would like to change...

And it needs to start now, today.

I want you to know that I do realize that I am probably preaching to the choir here…

I am quiet positive that most of you who stop by my blog already have a heart for adoption...

You ARE doing something besides shaking your head, mumbling how unfortunate for them and then looking the other way.

This was so obvious to me after the AMAZING comments I received after my last post.

But just in case... just in case -as in God not 'google' led you here- and you have felt God stirring your heart towards adoption...

What’s stopping you? (and if it’s the money, go get that pickle jar!!!)

"If only 7 percent of the 2 billion Christians in the world would care for a single orphan in distress, there would effectively be no more orphans”.