Our Journey to Adoption, Part IV - Unique and Unexpected

We never dreamed we would be connected to our future children by shopping in a boutique shop downtown Saline, but that’s what happened!

My Mom met a friend for coffee and afterwards her friend wanted to look around in a shop across the street. They struck up a conversation with the store owner who started talking about her daughter (Brook). Brook had recently taken in a special needs baby, but had later been approached by another foster Mom to consider adopting two small children who needed a good home. The parental rights for the two small children were likely to be terminated soon. However, Brook wasn’t able to take them on, too. My Mom then chimed in and said that we were licensed to foster and gave the store owner my number!

My number passed through several hands before getting to the foster Mom, and it somehow got transposed in translation so she wasn’t able to reach me. God had her be persistent, though. She reached out to Brook again and Brook realized she knew my sister. So, she Facebook messaged my sister for our numbers and the foster Mom finally got through to Joe! We told the foster Mom we were very interested in meeting the children and scheduled our first meeting at a park in July of 2015!

Coincidence? I don’t think so. I think God had ordained the meeting a long time ago. What seemed like an unexpected and unusual encounter was part of God’s plan to accomplish His purposes!

In my Bible study this week, we studied Jesus’ unique and unexpected way of healing a blind man. It all happened the way it did so God would get the glory!

John 9:1-7    As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶ After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷ “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

God does things today for the purpose of displaying His work. He displayed His glory in the unique and expected way we met James and Sarah!

How have you seen God work in unique and unexpected ways? How does that help you and me trust Him for the future?

Alice 

Listen And Learn

A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”

But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”

Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”

But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”

Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”

“Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.  Matthew 15:22-28

When I was a teenager, an early mentor of mine told me to always listen because you never when you might learn something.  It was also a necessity because my mother would have conference calls talking with colleagues from home, and I had to literally sit at times for almost an hour before I could actually speak to her.  I guess that’s where I got my sense of patience as well, and as strange as it seems, those two things would be invaluable attributes that help me to connect to people.  Why?  People want two things no matter if it is with a stranger or their spouse of over fifty years.  They want to be heard, and they want to feel valued.  To take time out to listen to someone serves that purpose because there is no more precious commodity than . . . time.  When we speak about solving problems, we cannot start unless we truly understand the issue.  What is wrong?  Why do you feel that way?  How can I help?  These are questions that we as Christians should be asking all of the time.  However when speaking to Millennials, it often feels like . . . well preaching.  When I have a conversation with my twelve year old daughter, I tend to preach first and ask second, and I need to get better at listening.   When we talk about the church being in a crisis with Millennials, we talk from a place of what we know, which is what our parents and our experiences taught us.  That’s not all bad.  However, we can’t solve this crisis preaching the Gospel first.  We can by sharing it, but we can’t share without first listening.

Jesus teaches us to listen and understand before acting.  The story of Gentile woman with great faith showed Jesus’ ability to turn listening into a teachable moment.  Here was a woman pleading with Jesus to heal her possessed daughter.  I read as the disciples urged Him to send her away, and how Jesus said nothing for a while.  Then, He said, “I was sent ONLY to help God’s lost sheep – the people of Israel.”  One might ask, “Why would Jesus exclude her just because she was not a Jew?”  This is part of the teaching because His audience was not just the Gentile woman.  It was His disciples.  When Jesus seemingly ends the discussion saying, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs,” we are almost left speechless.  This feels like our response to those who have chosen not to believe, right?  Why would we take time away from those who share our belief and spend it on you, the non-believer?  Then her response, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table,” is the most amazing and dare I say ‘perfect’ response.  What could Jesus say?  He did not dismiss her saying, “I’m the Son of God, I do not need to hear this.”  She had acknowledged Jesus as Lord, ‘master,’ and her authority figure.  He listened, and acknowledged her faith.    If we acknowledge Jesus as God, He is all knowing, and thus, He knew the response was coming from the woman.  He wants us to see that all can come to Him no matter where they came from!  It was that teachable moment for the disciples that God is God to all who would acknowledge Him as Lord of their lives, but we cannot acknowledge others without first doing as Jesus did and listen.

Spreading the Good News of Jesus requires us to understand where people are first.  Our mission then becomes to share how God can help them where they are and not condemn them for where they are.  If we are to help those who choose not to believe, our response must be to first listen and hear their pain, frustrations, and concerns of where God fits in their life.  Only then can we truly share the Good News.  Do you know someone who has rejected the Gospel?  Have you taken time out to understand why?  My prayer and challenge is that we are willing to do what we Jesus knew all along; listen and learn.  Amen.

No room

Luke 2:1-7

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  And everyone went to their own town to register.

 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Have you ever needed to book a hotel room when some major event was taking place near where you were trying to book a room?  Right now I’m actually trying to make some reservations for the weekend that my niece will be getting married in February.  Turns out that besides being the weekend after Valentine’s Day, there is also a big tournament in town so rooms are harder to come by than if we were going the weekend after.  The prices are up and the pickings are slim. 

Now imagine Joseph and the stress he was under as he came into Bethlehem to register for the census.  Here he was, unable to book a room before getting there, going inn to inn, looking for a place to stay.  He has with him his bride-to-be that is about to go into labor. 

Then you have an inn keeper that really wants to help but he has no room.  He clearly saw that not helping was not an option.  So he sets them up with the only place he could find, a stable.  At least there, they would be sheltered from any weather. 

What are you stressing over today?  Nothing is too big for God!  Take it to him today.  Allow him to provide that shelter that you need.

Get In The Game!

Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:16-20

You know, turning fifty is an amazing time in your life.  Many people become afraid of what the future holds as their life may have fallen short of what they expected.  Others find purpose and spend time focusing on the next chapter in their life.  I believe that I would fall more toward the latter having been blessed by what God has done in my life.  If you are like me, you realize that while there is much to be grateful for what He has done, He is not done with us yet.  I realized as much yesterday as I felt Him tugging at my soul.  A friend sent me a link to an article about Millennials, and it was titled, “12 Reasons Millennials Are OVER Church.” (see http://tosavealife.com/faith/12-reasons-millennials-church/) 

As faithful Christians, this is OUR problem.  It does not matter if we are in our early twenties or retired, we are officially in crisis.  How much so?  The stats are telling.  Only 1 of 5 Millennials attend church regularly.  Almost 60% of Millennials raised in church drop out.  More than 1 in 3 Millennials are anti-church.  We are not saying neutral here.  We are saying firmly against it!  It was as if God punched me in the face, and said, “So Kent, what are you going to do?”  While there is much that I have wanted to do over the next part of my life, looking deeply into this article made it clear what my calling would be.  As a pastor once told me, we can’t just be in the huddle every Sunday and not play in the game Monday through Saturday.  As this election should have taught everyone, the time to act is now.

There is a reason God asks of us to make disciples of all men and women.  We are His voice for those who cannot hear any voice.  An entire generation hangs in the balance on what we decide to do.  Yes, God can do anything, and here’s the funny thing.  What does God moving have to do with our obligation to serve Him?  You see, we often look to God to handle things when the reality is, God chose us.  We are both responsible and accountable.  It’s easy to pass this off on others, but the reality is when God asks, we are to respond as humble and obedient servants.

God wants us to be engaged in the battle for souls.  We are not just responsible for ourselves for as Rick Warren so perfectly stated, “It’s not about you.”  We are often caught up into our circumstances, and as such, get distracted from the big picture.  When we are in crisis mode, we need to respond pronto!  Along those lines, we must acknowledge that an entire generation is in crisis, and God calls on us to respond.  Are you going to ignore the warning signs anymore?  How will you get involved?  My prayer is that we do as God called on us to do and get in the game!  Amen!

Our Journey to Adoption, Part III - Moving forward

We finally got our foster license in February 2015. It took 9 months to complete all the paperwork, interviews, background checks and training to become a licensed foster home. I wrote a devotional about it at the time… Anyway, we got a call 3 weeks later for an 8 day old baby girl! We were shocked and excited! My Mom and sister washed all their baby stuff in the 3 days before we were to pick her up. Then, we got another call that it was decided to keep her in the temporary foster home she was already in. We were all very disappointed.

The next few months were quiet. No more phone calls came. We were told it might take a while since we were only open to certain children 18 months and younger. However, never having done it before, we weren’t led to change any of our restrictions.

Last week I talked about multiple “right” choices before us at times and that sometimes God seems to want us to take one step of faith forward with the wisdom He’s given us. He doesn’t always give us step-by-step instructions. So, as we waited for a foster child, a friend recommended another fertility doctor and we made an appointment. We went through repeat tests and some new tests and the doctor did find one possible hurdle to pregnancy. For several months we tried some natural things to counteract. However, we still didn’t get pregnant and didn’t get a call to take in a foster child.

I do like it when God lays things in my lap and I often want to sit back and wait for that in each situation! We were willing to patiently wait for the children God had for us, if children were His will. However, He wanted us to actively participate.

God expects us to move forward in faith with the wisdom He’s already revealed to us. In Jesus’ parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the one that took the talent and did nothing was rebuked harshly.

Matthew 25:26-29 His master replied, “you wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. “

“Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” 

As we move forward in faith, God grows our faith (gives us “more” faith). Where are you sitting back waiting for God to work, when He might be waiting for you to take a step forward in faith before He reveals the next step? 

Alice

Tues Devo: Position of trust

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (NASB)

The other day I was goofing around with my son when he took a fall (he is fine…he is boy, they bounce!). He was holding on to me, and asked me not to hold him while he climbed. He made a tactical error in his climb when he let go with both hands. As I scooped him up, the look in his face I will not soon forget. There was a mix of fear, shock and confusion. There wasn’t much pain in his face –the shock and confusion were overwhelming. In his mind, he was with his dad – nothing could happen to him. He was used to holding on and being safe. But when you let go, and ask to not be held, bad things tend to happen!

Looking back at this I thought of the verses in Psalms from a different perspective than before. My son fully placed himself in my trust. There was no checking to see if he agreed with what I was doing or how it was being done – it was a simple equation that being in my presence received his trust. Do I deserve such trust? Perhaps not – but my heavenly Father does. Perhaps how this trust plays out is why Jesus later said to His disciples “Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”” (Matthew 19:13-14, NASB)

Have a blessed day as you put yourself fully in His trust.

Will Hill

Journey to Bethlehem

Luke 2:4-5

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

As I was reading through this account, I started thinking about my last pregnancy.  Around this time, four years ago, I was seven months pregnant with my first born son.  Now not all pregnancies are rough, but mine with my son was horrible and by seven months, I was so huge, I felt like I could hardly move some days. 

Here was Mary, who was clearly very pregnant.  Even with the best of pregnancies, I just cannot imagine what she had to go through, traveling all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  Most doctors today would advise you against such travel in your third trimester. 

Over the next couple of weeks, I want to take simple passages, such as this, and help us to visualize being in the situation.  While not all of you can relate to Mary in her pregnancy, I’m sure you’ve all known women at the end of their pregnancy and just how miserable they get. 

As you get to the very end, they tell you to go walk the mall or something like that.  Mary sure did a lot of walking at the end of her pregnancy!

Now for you guys that have had a pregnant wife or friend and have been around toward the end, I’m sure you can only imagine what Joseph was going through.  He needed to go to register, needed to take Mary with him as she was pledged to be his wife, and here she was probably miserable throughout the trip.  He was probably slowed down because of her pregnancy and probably felt helpless in taking care of her. 

I know that my husband often felt this same way when I couldn’t move very quickly and would complain about something that he really couldn’t fix. 

Today I hope you can simply imagine what that journey would have been like for Mary and Joseph.

Our Journey to Adoption, Part II - Choices

In 2010, Joe went back to school for a master’s in psychology (after financial constrains led to his job loss as a youth pastor). So, I thought maybe God was going to wait to give us children until after Joe finished his masters and got another job. However, we did eventually see a second fertility doctor, who again didn’t find any issues.

Joe graduated in 2012 and got a full-time job at a treatment facility in 2013. No pregnancy ensued, though. We didn’t sense any direction from God regarding adoption, either.

Then, in 2014, we were led to again call the Department of Human Services about attending a foster orientation. They were no longer hosting orientation classes, but contracted with Orchards Children’s Services to conduct in-home orientation classes. So, a lady came out to our home. (We let her in and didn’t lock her out! J) After orientation, we could choose any agency to go through to get our foster license. I didn’t know which agency to pick. Even after prayer, it wasn’t clear. Joe thought we could go with Orchards as they did the orientation, so that’s what we did.

God knew it didn’t matter where we got licensed. He knew the unique circumstances that would connect us with James and Sarah. It only mattered that we got licensed and not who licensed us. I had worried about selecting the “right” licensing agency when God knew it didn’t matter.

Sometimes any of the choices before us are the “right” choice. I often want God to specifically direct me to a certain choice. I don’t want to make a mistake. However, He is Sovereign!! He will accomplish His plans even if I do make a mistake.  

Job 42: 1-2 Then Job replied to the Lord: I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you.

Have you ever been stuck in a situation where any choice could be the “right” one? Besides prayer, we should also check our options against God’s Word. Do any of the choices violate any of His commands? If not, we don’t need to keep sitting and waiting but can move forward in faith with any choice.    

James 3:13, 17-18            If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom… But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

Are you in a situation where many options seem good? After much prayer and checking your options against God’s Word, you can move forward in faith with any of the choices. Then, be open to God’s confirmation or redirection as you take one step of faith after another!

Alice  

Focus And Do

So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.  For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.  You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.  James 1:21-25

My youngest daughter is a master of diversion.  When she is in trouble, she will try to quickly acknowledge what has happened and been done wrongly.  However rather than focus on what was the poor behavior, she tries to quickly change the subject.  She realizes that the place of punishment and consequences is not where things end well for her.  So she moves quickly to things like, “Dad, I did really well in school today,” or, “Mom, do you know what happened in cheer?”  Of course, we direct her back to where the focus should be, but nonetheless, she will keep trying.  Her determination and persistence is a great thing.  However as parents, we have to channel it where she focuses on the right things, and then does the right thing.  In thinking of the big picture as a Christian, that is our challenge as well.  It’s a lot more challenging though because we may tend to focus on the stuff that seems important instead of on Christ.  Today, I want to encourage you to focus and do.

If we trust in God, we will walk closer to Him with each step.  In each action where we read His word and act on it, we move closer to God’s plan for our lives.  Here is the interesting part.  If we are truly focused on God, it is not to say that every step will be in the right direction.  In fact, we may very well fall off course.  My life is filled with errors and missteps where I knew the right pathway but made the wrong step because I might have wanted something more than what God wanted for me or got distracted and hastily made a decision without trusting God.  In the end, these were choices I was neither proud of nor happy with.  Yet, they were key moments of learning where God through either His discipline or revealing to me His plan allowed me to move forward.  In the end, the steps still moved me closer to Him and not further.  There’s a reason the Bible is called ‘The Living Word Of God.’  It is not a vacuum that we read and say, “Ok.  That makes sense.”  It asks us to focus on it, reflect, and then act.  It is how it manifests itself from just being words on the paper to as James wrote the living “word God has planted in your heart.”

We live in a world that is built to ensure that we are disconnected from God.  The thing is that it can be so subtle, we often lose sight of it.  Hebrews 12 states, “(L)et us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”  That is why it is important that we focus on Jesus Christ for if we do, our actions (or walk) will be on God’s right side and our faith found ‘perfect.’  What is stopping you from converting God’s word into action?  How can we be better doers than readers?  My prayer is that we not only pause to adjust but also focus and do.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Checkup

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (NASB)

Hello,

Have you ever stepped back and evaluated your thought process leading up to a decision of where to spend your time, or how much effort you are about to (or about not to) put into prayer or reading your Bible? While I am not advocating talking to yourself ( J ) I would recommend slowing down some and forcing yourself to think on a step-by-step level as you approach your walk with God when you have big personal moments coming in the near future, and evaluate your decision making process.

Are you letting the big personal moment impact how you approach God and your choices through the day?

Now, I am all for letting things have a positive impact on our walk with God – but we need to be aware of how we view our relationship with God. If we get caught up in changing our behavior based on something big coming up – how are we really treating God? Do we still view Him as our Savior – deserving of our unconditional love and commitment as He has secured our eternal future? Or, are we looking to superficially and temporarily look good while we have something on the line that is visible and temporary?

Again, I am all for improving our walk with God and doing better on a daily basis – I just think it is worth an introspective look by all of us as to our motives for decision making. When we catch the motive starting to slide, just pause for a moment and adjust. Thank God for who He is and what He has done for you, reminding yourself of what your true motivation should be.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill