Personal Stuff
Legally Parents!!!
Our adoption agency just called … our court case was heard on Tuesday and we passed!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are now the legal parents of Eyasu-3 years, (uh-ya-sue) and Abreham-5 months!!!!!
Adoption Update
We received news today that our court case was once again not heard as scheduled. Apparently, the government agency in charge of the adoption process in Ethiopia had other priorities that day and so court cases were postponed until later dates. At this time we do not know when our case will be rescheduled.
This news is of course very disappointing as we felt like the light at the end of a year+ long tunnel was approaching. While we know the theological answers (ie. God is in control, In God’s time, etc. etc.) for this situation, the emotional ones are harder to swallow. But we press on, praying all the more fervently for this process that God began in our hearts to be completed, knowing that He finishes what He starts (Phil. 1:6).
Beth & I continue to be overwhelmed by the prayers, support, and encouragement!! Thanks so much and we can only ask that you continue to pray with us, for us and for these two brothers.
“He is father to the fatherless … He sets the lonely in families.” Psalm 68:5, 6
Adoption Update: Court Delay
Right now we have been told by our adoption agency that our court date is being delayed until Feb. 22nd.
As we have learned this is all part of the journey of adoption … a journey God is using greatly in our lives and in the end we know it will be worth the wait!!
Thanks so much for everyone’s prayers and encouragement!!
Some specific ways to pray:
- For the children
- For the court process to go smoothly
- For Beth & I: peace that passes understanding!!
I Get Into Trouble When …
“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” –Proverbs 14:12
“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” –Proverbs 27:12
I did a little self-evaluation today, trying to be prudent and see how and when I get myself into trouble. Very humbling exercise but hopefully it will prevent some suffering.
Here’s what I came up with … I get into trouble (mental, spiritual, relational, etc.) when …
- I forget God’s Word is powerful, sufficient, and true.
- I try to impress people.
- I try to prove myself to people.
- I let my emotions overrule my beliefs.
- I act like it all depends on me.
- I talk too much.
- I try to do important things or have meaningful conversations when I am hungry, angry, or tired.
- I am not still before God.
Adoption News: A Court Date!!
Today another milestone in our adoption journey was reached — we have our court date!! Our scheduled date is February 10th. This is sooner than we anticipated 
The purpose of court is for an Ethiopian judge to verify everything regarding the adoption process — paperwork, reasons for adoption, our qualifications to be adoptive parents, ethics, etc. etc. If all the criteria are met and the judge is satisfied, then we are declared the legal parents of these two brothers!!
However, we keep reminding ourselves that lots of things can hinder the court’s verdict, everything from bad weather to incorrect paperwork. So we are praying for a smooth process … and that we “pass” court on the first round.
Once we pass court, we are expecting to travel to pick them up within 4-6 weeks. This means that if everything goes “smoothly” we could the boys home by the end of March!!
Thanks so much for the continued prayers and encouragement!
Our Adoption: It’s a Boy … x 2!
Last week we got a call from our adoption agency … a call we have been waiting on since we began this process one year ago. The call was our “official referral” to adopt two orphaned brothers from Ethiopia!!
We have spent the past week looking at pictures and reviewing all the information provided to us about these children. We have prayed, asked follow-up questions, talked to our families, and prayed some more. AND today, we mailed our official acceptance, signifying our desire to adopt these brothers and bring them legally, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually into our family.
The oldest brother is 3 years old; his younger brother is 4 months old. We can hardly stop looking at their pictures, thinking about them, and praying for them … BY NAME! We can’t wait to travel and bring them home
We cannot share much more (pictures, names, locations, etc.) at this time about them because of privacy and confidentiality agreements designed to protect children.
What happens now?
- We get a court date. In court an Ethiopian judge must legally make these children ours. As of now, we do not have a court date but expect one sometime in February. {Nothing is guaranteed until we pass court.}
- Once we pass court, then we arrange travel to Ethiopia to pick them up. The trip is about a week long and involves meeting the children, their caretakers, visiting birth relatives (if possible), and obtaining visas at the American Embassy.
- PLEASE PRAY FOR THESE 2 BOYS and FOR US!!!
My New Position: An Example (Part 2)
{You can read Part 1 here}
Our doing and working are but the fruit of Christ’s work in us. It is when the soul becomes utterly passive, looking and resting on what Christ is to do, that it’s energies are stirred to their highest activity, that we work most effectively because we know that He works in us. {From Andrew Murray’s, Abide In Christ]
The other day I was tempted to sin by saying something I shouldn’t say. The comment would have been funny and the people I was with would have laughed; however, it would have also been sarcastic, at someone’s expense, and generally not very encouraging.
For several months in my time with God I have sensed Him stirring in me to watch my words and to be more encouraging as the Bible instructs in Ephesians 4:29. Unfortunately, after my Quiet Time these words are quickly forgotten. Scripture memory, “will power” and trying harder have yielded little results or fruit because they are the products of my own power. Jesus’ words “apart from Me you can do nothing” expose the faults in my strategy.
But now because God is stirring me to remember my position, claim who I am in Christ, and let Him work through me a different result occurred. When the tempting situation happened, I sensed God saying “Abide in Me”. I rested in that thought, I yielded to that truth, and God’s power working in me overcame the power of the temptation to speak words that would not encourage.
This same thing happened when I was tempted to feel anxious about something at church and then feel burdened to act on anxiety rather than on God’s work. Again, “Abide in Me” and the anxiety was averted and I rested in the God who never sleeps to be my peace because of my position in Christ.
The believer can each day be pleasing to God only in that which he does through the power of Christ dwelling in Him. The daily inflowing of the life sap of the Holy Spirit is his only power to bring forth fruit. The believer lives along in Him and is for each moment dependent on Him alone. [Andrew Murray, Abide In Christ]
My New Position (Part 1)
This holiday vacation was much needed for me. Like a car, I needed a spiritual tune-up. God, like a trustworthy mechanic, was more than eager to help. What were the symptoms of my condition?
- My sense of duty for God was high but my love for Him was low.
- My heart was growing insensitive and impatient with people and with God’s ways.
- I was carrying burdens and feeling anxieties God never intended for me to carry.
- I had forgotten or was ignoring God’s promises which left my faith vulnerable and my heart unguarded.
Then I began a slow study of John 15 and these verses grabbed my soul:
4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
My position is NOT to worry, NOT to carry heavy burdens. My position is to remain (or “abide”) in Christ. My position is to draw life FROM Him and then give TO others. When I draw on my own reserves, I will dry up, wither, worry, and waste away. But His reserves are limitless and unending (see John 7:38) and my position is to receive everything from Him.
These words from Andrew Murray’s classic, Abide in Christ, really spoke to me:
“God had destined [me] to something better than short-lived blessedness, to be enjoyed only in times of special prayer, and then to pass away … He has prepared for [me] an abiding dwelling with Himself, where [my] whole life and every moment of it might be spent, where the work of [my] daily life might be done, and where all the while [I] might be enjoying unbroken communion with Him.”
Murray goes on to say that “the whole Christian life depends on the clear consciousness of our position in Christ.”
This is how this is translating in my life:
1) I begin each day with a yielding of myself to Christ. I must remind myself that I am100% dependent on Him and Him only, surrendering my self-confidence to Him as my Source, my Vine.
2) I remind myself constantly that I am IN Christ. The world wants to get me out of position. God simply wants me to realize my position: in Christ I am fully accepted, fully righteous, and fully His.
3) I look to where God is working in me and cooperate. I don’t have to make things happen. I don’t have to force things. God is working, stirring and moving. I simply wait, watch, and discover God’s work. When I pray now, I seek to discern how and where God is working. When I read the Bible, I read not looking for mere information, but looking to see what stirs my spirit in God’s direction for I am IN Christ.
Twilight: What Can the Church Learn?
In an attempt to learn about our culture so we can better minister to our culture, I will stay on the Twilight bandwagon for one more post (first post is here). This time let’s see how we in the church might learn from this series.
1) People like a good story and the Bible is full of them. Bible & boring do not belong in the same sentence.
2) People are starved for people they can identify with and relate to and will even pursue pseudo-relationships with fictional characters. Church & the opportunity for meaningful relationships should go hand-in-hand.
3) People want a hero. Jesus is the ultimate and only real hero.
Why Is Twilight So Popular?
{Forgive me for this momentary lapse in my blogging to comment heavily on pop culture, of which I try to study or at least be somewhat aware …}
The #’s are in and they are shocking: Twilight New Moon took in $140.7 million dollars on its opening weekend (#3 all-time)!! It was the biggest Fall opening in history. And what is even more remarkable is the storyline seems so, well, so outlandishly freakish: girl falls in love (nothing new there) … with a vampire (Whoa!) … who is opposed by a pack of guys who become wolves (What!?!) … one of whom likes the girl who fell in love with the aforementioned vampire (Say that again!).
So here’s my question: Why is it so popular and why did I, of all people, get drawn into this freakishly weird love-gone-wrong story?
1) People like realistic love stories. I know the vampire-wolf part is not “realistic” but love is never easy, is way more complicated than we care to admit, is opposed by forces often outside our control, and takes a lot of effort to work. At the core the Twilight series is a love story … the vampire-wolf stuff is just part of the “complications”, as Edward would say.
2) There is a character in the story that most people can easily identify with. Again, look past the vampire-wolf mythology to the heart of the characters. We all want someone who understands us, someone who shares an experience, a struggle, a hope or a dream that we have. This is the power of a good story … fiction or not, realistic or fantasy … it does not matter. People will flock to something they can relate to either personally or emotionally, either in real life or only in their dreams.
Do you struggle with a habit? Do you have a “fatal flaw” that sometimes holds you back? Are there things about you that you wish you could change? Then look no further than everyone’s favorite vamp, Edward Cullen.
Have you ever fallen in love with someone or something that you couldn’t have … or have in the way you wanted? Ever had your heart broken? Ever struggle with where you fit into life’s big plan? Then you’ll identify with Bella Swan, the main character who tells us this story.
Ever compete for something you valued and lose? Ever feel like you’re always a day late and a dollar short? Ever feel like the nice guy who always finishes last? Jacob Black is your guy!
{Incidentally, regarding points 1 & 2 … this why I love the Bible: full of real people experiencing real life! I can relate!}
3) The plot line is anything but predictable and routine. Most stories fall into a predictable pattern that has the audience or reader guessing with incredible accuracy how everything will end. Not so in this book. The twists and turns are virtually non-stop. This is why we see the two camps: Team Edward and Team Jacob emerging. People are pulling for their guy, but unless you read all the books you really never know who Bella will choose or how or why she will make her choice. This is creative story-telling at its best because routine is death to creativity. Now some will say that this creativity is too much and is big-time “jump the shark” stuff. That criticism may be fair but the audience is so desperately hooked on getting to the final answer, they tolerate and even enjoy it.
4) Twilight scratched an “itch” by finding a good niche. This series has proven that teenagers and women are a powerful bloc of people who were ripe for a blockbuster made for them. 80% of all ticket sales on opening weekend were purchased by women! A film, book, or movie rarely succeeds by trying to be all things to all people. It’s wise to know your target audience. It’s also wise to know that your target audience will bring people outside of your target audience with them for the ride (i.e. the husband or boy friend).
5) For whatever combination of reasons Twilight has reached a cultural “tipping point”. Tipping point is a term that basically means unstoppable momentum. People on the outside of this momentum can’t understand it, they criticize it, question it, mock it, and even hate it … but they are powerless to stop it. Think about the emergence of social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Many of these tools have reached a tipping point where now we see CEOs, football coaches, and politicians updating their status and sending out “tweets”. Only in hindsight do these waves become explainable. So it is with Twilight — we can’t really explain it … yet.