sit down and write that letter. sign up and join the fight. sink into all that matters. step out into the light. let go of all that's passing. lift up the least of these. lean into something lasting. planting trees.
what trees are you planting?
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
will you help?
i have no clue how many people read this blog. but tonight i'm posting this plea hoping that at least a handful of people will read it and choose to make a difference in the life of a child.
our friends, daniel and abby umlauf, are in the middle of a second adoption from ethiopia. last december, they received a referral for a little boy they had planned to name moses. unfortunately, the region in which moses was from closed to adoptions around the time they accepted his referral. for five months, they waited for moses' adoption to proceed. when it did not, they eventually -- with much heartache -- accepted another referral for a little boy they named asher. but they still felt that moses was their son and wanted to adopt him if his region re-opened. last week, they found out moses is officially available for adoption. his paperwork is completed. all he needs is his family to complete the necessary steps to finalize the adoption. what's standing in between the umlaufs and moses is $14,000.
i know that seems like a big amount of money. i know to them it seems impossible. but if we can all give a little, it can turn into a lot.
there are a lot of people out there who think fundraising for an adoption is wrong. there are a lot of people who think you shouldn't adopt unless you have all the money. but the reality is, there are millions of children who literally can't wait for people to get their lives settled and their finances in order. they need families right now. so when i see a family like the umlaufs -- a family so in love with this little boy they know is their son, a family willing and ready to bring a child into their family -- i believe it's my responsibility to do whatever i can to help them because moses needs his family.
if you have children, please consider that you would do everything in your power to get to them if they were not with you. you would ask your family and friends for help. and you probably would even appreciate it if a stranger came to your aid. i'm asking you to put yourself in the umlaufs' shoes and ask what you would want someone to do for you. and then i want you to do that thing.
here is the website you can go to give. when you get there, click donate now and click general fund under specify donation. move on to the optional section and select CWA family. make sure to write "daniel and abby umlauf" so the donation is applied to the umlaufs' account. seriously, even $5 makes a difference. and if you'd like to help the umlaufs in another way, let me know and i will put you in touch with them.
our friends, daniel and abby umlauf, are in the middle of a second adoption from ethiopia. last december, they received a referral for a little boy they had planned to name moses. unfortunately, the region in which moses was from closed to adoptions around the time they accepted his referral. for five months, they waited for moses' adoption to proceed. when it did not, they eventually -- with much heartache -- accepted another referral for a little boy they named asher. but they still felt that moses was their son and wanted to adopt him if his region re-opened. last week, they found out moses is officially available for adoption. his paperwork is completed. all he needs is his family to complete the necessary steps to finalize the adoption. what's standing in between the umlaufs and moses is $14,000.
i know that seems like a big amount of money. i know to them it seems impossible. but if we can all give a little, it can turn into a lot.
there are a lot of people out there who think fundraising for an adoption is wrong. there are a lot of people who think you shouldn't adopt unless you have all the money. but the reality is, there are millions of children who literally can't wait for people to get their lives settled and their finances in order. they need families right now. so when i see a family like the umlaufs -- a family so in love with this little boy they know is their son, a family willing and ready to bring a child into their family -- i believe it's my responsibility to do whatever i can to help them because moses needs his family.
if you have children, please consider that you would do everything in your power to get to them if they were not with you. you would ask your family and friends for help. and you probably would even appreciate it if a stranger came to your aid. i'm asking you to put yourself in the umlaufs' shoes and ask what you would want someone to do for you. and then i want you to do that thing.
here is the website you can go to give. when you get there, click donate now and click general fund under specify donation. move on to the optional section and select CWA family. make sure to write "daniel and abby umlauf" so the donation is applied to the umlaufs' account. seriously, even $5 makes a difference. and if you'd like to help the umlaufs in another way, let me know and i will put you in touch with them.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
11 months
for history's sake, i wanted to write a little about being 11 months into waiting for a referral.
i realized the other day that our adoption has now spanned 3 different years -- 2009, 2010, 2011. two years ago this month, i was sitting in a religions of africa class taught by a sweet little man named dr. mugabe from zimbabwe (no relation to the awful dictator). and, at the time, i was completely closed to the idea of adoption from africa.
"what will people think of white people raising black kids?" i often said to jamie.
now, 2 years later, i'm on the edge of my seat. for almost a year, we have been sitting on a waiting list for 2 kids from africa. i never could've guessed in a million years we'd be here. but honestly, we'd really like not to be here anymore. we really, really, really want our referral. we thought maybe this was our week.
my parents told me on sunday, "don't be disappointed if it's not tomorrow." and i assured them that what i would feel if we didn't get our referral was the same feeling i've felt every day for the last 11 months -- a sadness, an aching, a numbness in my heart that just longs to know my kids. that feeling is always there. but perhaps what has worsened in the last bit is a feeling of hopelessness, a feeling of not knowing how much longer we'll have to wait, a feeling of wondering if our referral will ever come. the darkness of uncertainty looms heavy. jamie told me tonight he's been having trouble focusing at work because he's so distracted by the waiting. i feel that too.
and, to be honest, it's very tempting to look at God and quote him everything the bible says about his care for the fatherless and those who are vulnerable and those who are in need...only to then ask him why he hasn't hurried up. sometimes it just doesn't feel like God cares all that much.
but i'll risk sounding cliche and say that things are coming together in ways we can't imagine, for reasons we can't understand. and when i think God has not heard our crying, has not heard our frustration, has not heard the prayers of so many on our behalf...i am reminded that scripture tells us he is listening:
"then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, 'i cannot watch the boy die.' and as she sat there, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to hagar from heaven and said to hear, 'what is the matter, hagar? do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there...'" (genesis 21:16-17)
"during that long period, the king of egypt died. the israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with abraham, with isaac and with jacob. so God looked on the israelites and was concerned about them." (exodus 2:23-25)
"my soul is in deep anguish. how long, Lord, how long?...i am worn out from my groaning. all night long i flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears...the Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer." (psalm 6:3,6,9)
i realized the other day that our adoption has now spanned 3 different years -- 2009, 2010, 2011. two years ago this month, i was sitting in a religions of africa class taught by a sweet little man named dr. mugabe from zimbabwe (no relation to the awful dictator). and, at the time, i was completely closed to the idea of adoption from africa.
"what will people think of white people raising black kids?" i often said to jamie.
now, 2 years later, i'm on the edge of my seat. for almost a year, we have been sitting on a waiting list for 2 kids from africa. i never could've guessed in a million years we'd be here. but honestly, we'd really like not to be here anymore. we really, really, really want our referral. we thought maybe this was our week.
my parents told me on sunday, "don't be disappointed if it's not tomorrow." and i assured them that what i would feel if we didn't get our referral was the same feeling i've felt every day for the last 11 months -- a sadness, an aching, a numbness in my heart that just longs to know my kids. that feeling is always there. but perhaps what has worsened in the last bit is a feeling of hopelessness, a feeling of not knowing how much longer we'll have to wait, a feeling of wondering if our referral will ever come. the darkness of uncertainty looms heavy. jamie told me tonight he's been having trouble focusing at work because he's so distracted by the waiting. i feel that too.
and, to be honest, it's very tempting to look at God and quote him everything the bible says about his care for the fatherless and those who are vulnerable and those who are in need...only to then ask him why he hasn't hurried up. sometimes it just doesn't feel like God cares all that much.
but i'll risk sounding cliche and say that things are coming together in ways we can't imagine, for reasons we can't understand. and when i think God has not heard our crying, has not heard our frustration, has not heard the prayers of so many on our behalf...i am reminded that scripture tells us he is listening:
"then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, 'i cannot watch the boy die.' and as she sat there, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to hagar from heaven and said to hear, 'what is the matter, hagar? do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there...'" (genesis 21:16-17)
"during that long period, the king of egypt died. the israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with abraham, with isaac and with jacob. so God looked on the israelites and was concerned about them." (exodus 2:23-25)
"my soul is in deep anguish. how long, Lord, how long?...i am worn out from my groaning. all night long i flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears...the Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer." (psalm 6:3,6,9)
Monday, December 27, 2010
fun give-away!
i'm a big fan of give-aways. head on over here to win a super-cute headband and a pair of earrings. seriously, i've been dreaming about that headband ever since i saw it, and i don't normally wear headbands!
and if you didn't catch yesterday's post about adoption and advent, check it out. it's one of my favorite posts i've written in awhile.
and if you didn't catch yesterday's post about adoption and advent, check it out. it's one of my favorite posts i've written in awhile.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
advent & adoption
last week, i shared a few words at our church about advent from the perspective of adoption.
i have gained a new appreciation for israel and how God's people waited centuries for the promised messiah. in many ways, i know what it must have felt like to have little affirmations throughout history that God would one day redeem his people, and yet, at the same time, still anxiously have to await the day when the promised messiah would be revealed.
for us, we have had those same little affirmations along the way in our adoption process. we celebrated each time a new piece of paperwork came back, when we had the money to pay for one more fee, when we finally got on the waitlist. with each little step, we have known that we are closer to the day our children will be revealed.
and the waiting, at times, has been laborious. it has brought tears and anxiety and heavy hearts. i imagine this was true for God's people as they awaited the messiah. despite all the prophecies -- that the messiah would be born in bethlehem, out of the tribe of judah, out of david's line, to a virgin, etc. -- the people of israel had no clue when the messiah would come or what he would look like or even how the world would be changed when he arrived. all they really knew was that he was coming to rescue them from their sins and sorrows -- to restore them to God's perfect shalom.
i don't know yet what it feels like to receive a referral -- to experience the moment of having our children revealed. but i do know that the essence of christmas is the celebration of promises being fulfilled. we celebrate christmas because the messiah has come -- the promised hope of the world was revealed to us. and for those of us on this side of christ's birth, we now know him and all he has done.
on christmas, i often feel in the depths of my heart, that i have inadequately celebrated christ's birth. and this year, like so many, i have felt that. there may be little i can do to fix that because i am human, prone to allowing other things to overshadow the great miracle of christmas. but i want to foster a deeper sense of celebration in my heart not only for my sake, but also for my children's, because i want them to understand that christmas is the celebration of christ's birth, his coming, his revealing -- and not a celebration of presents, santa claus, memories, or even family. and as i have imagined over and over in my mind what it will be like to receive a referral, i have now seen that that moment may be a litmus test of sorts for my heart each christmas. because i know that my heart will overflow with such celebration, joy, peace, and contentment when my children are finally known to me.
and if that is true, how much more should my heart overflow with celebration, joy, peace, and contentment not only at christmas, but everyday, knowing that jesus -- the long-awaited, promised messiah -- was revealed to the world more than 2000 years ago!
come, thou long-expected jesus, born to set thy people free. from our fears and sins, release us. let us find our rest in thee. israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art. dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.
*oh, and if you haven't heard, we are very close to a referral. we will receive the next referral for unrelated children. our agency is currently waiting on paperwork for children they know is being completed. please pray the paperwork comes in this week so that we will receive our referral next week when our agency re-opens january 3rd.
i have gained a new appreciation for israel and how God's people waited centuries for the promised messiah. in many ways, i know what it must have felt like to have little affirmations throughout history that God would one day redeem his people, and yet, at the same time, still anxiously have to await the day when the promised messiah would be revealed.
for us, we have had those same little affirmations along the way in our adoption process. we celebrated each time a new piece of paperwork came back, when we had the money to pay for one more fee, when we finally got on the waitlist. with each little step, we have known that we are closer to the day our children will be revealed.
and the waiting, at times, has been laborious. it has brought tears and anxiety and heavy hearts. i imagine this was true for God's people as they awaited the messiah. despite all the prophecies -- that the messiah would be born in bethlehem, out of the tribe of judah, out of david's line, to a virgin, etc. -- the people of israel had no clue when the messiah would come or what he would look like or even how the world would be changed when he arrived. all they really knew was that he was coming to rescue them from their sins and sorrows -- to restore them to God's perfect shalom.
i don't know yet what it feels like to receive a referral -- to experience the moment of having our children revealed. but i do know that the essence of christmas is the celebration of promises being fulfilled. we celebrate christmas because the messiah has come -- the promised hope of the world was revealed to us. and for those of us on this side of christ's birth, we now know him and all he has done.
on christmas, i often feel in the depths of my heart, that i have inadequately celebrated christ's birth. and this year, like so many, i have felt that. there may be little i can do to fix that because i am human, prone to allowing other things to overshadow the great miracle of christmas. but i want to foster a deeper sense of celebration in my heart not only for my sake, but also for my children's, because i want them to understand that christmas is the celebration of christ's birth, his coming, his revealing -- and not a celebration of presents, santa claus, memories, or even family. and as i have imagined over and over in my mind what it will be like to receive a referral, i have now seen that that moment may be a litmus test of sorts for my heart each christmas. because i know that my heart will overflow with such celebration, joy, peace, and contentment when my children are finally known to me.
and if that is true, how much more should my heart overflow with celebration, joy, peace, and contentment not only at christmas, but everyday, knowing that jesus -- the long-awaited, promised messiah -- was revealed to the world more than 2000 years ago!
come, thou long-expected jesus, born to set thy people free. from our fears and sins, release us. let us find our rest in thee. israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art. dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.
*oh, and if you haven't heard, we are very close to a referral. we will receive the next referral for unrelated children. our agency is currently waiting on paperwork for children they know is being completed. please pray the paperwork comes in this week so that we will receive our referral next week when our agency re-opens january 3rd.
Monday, December 20, 2010
the most humble gift
i have been humbled by the generosity of a woman i barely know.
rachel has been attending our church for the past 6 months or so. i remember the first sunday she visited. she came clunking down the steps of our sanctuary (it's an old school auditorium with stairs leading from front to back) in a wheelchair, apologizing with every thud her wheels made as they hit the next step. she was completely different than the rest of our congregation -- older, a little more rough around the edges. as time went on, i found out rachel lives mostly on food stamps and disability payments. she once struggled with addiction. she uses a motorized wheelchair to get around town. i also learned she loves art and playing the flute.
she is one of the kindest souls i've ever met.
last night, she approached us at church with a gift haphazardly covered in bright red wrapping paper. "i picked a gift for you that i thought you would think was pretty, and that jamie could feel the texture," she told me. when i unwrapped the present, i found three small wooden pieces -- a teapot, tea kettle, and frying pan -- that can hang on the wall. my heart was crushed in a million pieces as i thought about rachel's generosity to us. she said, "i had been praying God would help me buy christmas presents, and then someone left a box of gently used stuff on my porch one day. so i prayed over the things and asked God to show me what i should give each of my friends."
thank you, rachel, for reminding me that generosity is not about how much you give someone but rather the heart from which you give.
rachel has been attending our church for the past 6 months or so. i remember the first sunday she visited. she came clunking down the steps of our sanctuary (it's an old school auditorium with stairs leading from front to back) in a wheelchair, apologizing with every thud her wheels made as they hit the next step. she was completely different than the rest of our congregation -- older, a little more rough around the edges. as time went on, i found out rachel lives mostly on food stamps and disability payments. she once struggled with addiction. she uses a motorized wheelchair to get around town. i also learned she loves art and playing the flute.
she is one of the kindest souls i've ever met.
last night, she approached us at church with a gift haphazardly covered in bright red wrapping paper. "i picked a gift for you that i thought you would think was pretty, and that jamie could feel the texture," she told me. when i unwrapped the present, i found three small wooden pieces -- a teapot, tea kettle, and frying pan -- that can hang on the wall. my heart was crushed in a million pieces as i thought about rachel's generosity to us. she said, "i had been praying God would help me buy christmas presents, and then someone left a box of gently used stuff on my porch one day. so i prayed over the things and asked God to show me what i should give each of my friends."
thank you, rachel, for reminding me that generosity is not about how much you give someone but rather the heart from which you give.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
for our dog...
we know a girl who came back to faith because of dogs.
sounds funny, right? but the more i know our dog, hudson, the more i understand how a dog could've played such a pivotal role in her life.
we rescued hudson 2 years ago today. and since then, he has caused us a lot of trouble. in the first month we had him, we visited the emergency vet twice and spent $1200. i can't even count the number of things hudson has destroyed since he's been in our family. our life revolves around his separation anxiety and the simple fact that he needs his humans all the time. he has inconvenienced us, frustrated us, angered us...we have had moments where we've wished we'd never seen his cute picture on the rescue page.
but we love this dog. i mean, love him. one day, he accidentally got himself locked in our laundry room, and we couldn't find him. i seriously thought he was dead somewhere and bawled before i even thought to look in the laundry room.
i think God is like that with us. he loves us unconditionally. no matter how many stupid things we do, no matter how many terrible messes we make, no matter how inconvenient or frustrating we are to him...he loves us unfailingly and unwaveringly. and it has nothing to do with how good we are, but rather all to do with how good he is. so that no man can boast.
so thank you, hudson henley dean, our 4-year-old labradane. you have shown me God's heart for me. i can't wait for some little ones to be riding on your back.
*please note that while i love my dog, i do not want this post to seem like i view him like i do my children. children and animals do not have equal value, and the adoption of a pet is not the same as the adoption of a child.
sounds funny, right? but the more i know our dog, hudson, the more i understand how a dog could've played such a pivotal role in her life.
we rescued hudson 2 years ago today. and since then, he has caused us a lot of trouble. in the first month we had him, we visited the emergency vet twice and spent $1200. i can't even count the number of things hudson has destroyed since he's been in our family. our life revolves around his separation anxiety and the simple fact that he needs his humans all the time. he has inconvenienced us, frustrated us, angered us...we have had moments where we've wished we'd never seen his cute picture on the rescue page.
but we love this dog. i mean, love him. one day, he accidentally got himself locked in our laundry room, and we couldn't find him. i seriously thought he was dead somewhere and bawled before i even thought to look in the laundry room.
i think God is like that with us. he loves us unconditionally. no matter how many stupid things we do, no matter how many terrible messes we make, no matter how inconvenient or frustrating we are to him...he loves us unfailingly and unwaveringly. and it has nothing to do with how good we are, but rather all to do with how good he is. so that no man can boast.
so thank you, hudson henley dean, our 4-year-old labradane. you have shown me God's heart for me. i can't wait for some little ones to be riding on your back.
*please note that while i love my dog, i do not want this post to seem like i view him like i do my children. children and animals do not have equal value, and the adoption of a pet is not the same as the adoption of a child.
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