Biruki wisdom

Biruk has a very centered view of life.  Here are just 2 of his gems of wisdom:

I asked him if he was ever sad about events in his past and if he is ever missing Ethiopia and his former life. 
He said, "Why I be sad?  Your life is your life.  You live it.  Why I be sad about it?  I can't change it.  It's just my life."

This is what I heard him tell Hanna today when she said she couldn't do something because it was too hard. 
"Everything is hard when you don't know how to do it. You just have to keep doing it until it is not hard anymore.  That is why things are easy for me."

This is from a 13 year old boy who lost his father when he was very young, was physically abused by subsequent men his mother was involved with, was shuffled between the homes of other family members, watched as his younger brother was sent to America while caring for his mother who was dying of AIDS.  He had the choice to stay in Ethiopia but chose to go to America with Hanna and become my son because if he didn't, his older sister could not take a job as a servant in Dubai. He has told me that until his mother died, he loved his life.  I could go on, but I think you get the point. 

I can't help but recall my own paltry list of "trials" in comparison to his.  Shame on me for being so insulated that I can't see how my heavenly Father has abundantly blessed me. 
Who expected my son to be so much like Paul.  Would that I were more like them both.

Philippians 4:11-13

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

A Psalm for Thanksgiving

Psalm 100
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.  Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing.  Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.  Give thaks to Him, bless His name.  For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.

Retort to the Reluctant

THE DEFINITION OF EVIL IS WHEN GOOD PEOPLE SEE INJUSTICE AND DO NOTHING.


It is no secret that I am an orphan advocate. While I don't believe that everyone can or even should adopt a child, I do know without a doubt that every Christian has a roll to play in their care. Just like every Christian has a roll to play in helping the homeless and the imprisoned. I, as an individual, cannot possibly meet all of these needs. It is physically impossible to do. I am however part of a larger body, the body of Christ, and together we enable the group as a whole to fulfill all the needs set before us. If our church is not even attempting to meet these needs, well, that's another post, I am just setting the stage for what should be happening and how it gets done.

Back to orphan care specifically. I have heard it argued recently that perhaps it is not the Christian's responsibility to feed, clothe, help the poor and suffering (to include orphans). That really our responsibility is only to Christ's brothers and sisters (Christians). That since salvation is only for the called, then our responsibility is only to them. I believe that this argument takes you down the road of "there is no need to evangelize because the called are called and will come to Christ", but again, that is another post for another time. I will do what I can to keep on task. I will touch on it a bit, because it is an integral counter-point to the argument against helping all.

Are we really supposed to meet the needs of everyone? Lets see what Jesus did.

In Matthew 15:32-39, Jesus had been addressing a crowd of over 4,000. Verse 32 says, "I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way. "

Jesus preaches indiscriminately, and He feeds indiscriminately. He never says, "Here's a list of those who have become My brother. Feed them and send the others on their way." No. He gave His message to all and He fed them all.

Ezekiel 18:5,9b
If a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness... but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing... "he is righteous and will surely live," declares the Lord God.

Mark 16:15-16
And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned."

The parable of the soils in Mark 4 likens us to sowers sowing seed on all kinds of soil. He doesn't tell us to only sow on the good soil. We sow the seed everywhere. It is for God to know His gift to the Son. We are the workers.

I could go on, I just wished to establish that we are not told to be discriminate in who we give help to. In Romans 12:20 we are even told explicitly to feed and quench the thirst of our enemies. We are to overcome evil with good.

God's heart for the orphan is clear. In 36 different places in the Bible orphans are mentioned and in all instances, we are either being exhorted to help and protect, someone is being condemned for not caring for the orphan, or God Himself is protecting them.

I am never going to write that YOU MUST ADOPT ORPHANS. What I will say is that you had best be doing something, and if the Holy Spirit is prompting you to act and you are fighting Him, woe to you. What are you thinking? Don't you trust Him? Don't you believe that He knows what's best for you? Are you really going to tell Him that what He has planned for you is just not right?

James 4:17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Orphan Sunday

Every 15 seconds another child becomes an orphan in Africa.
Every day 5,760 more children become orphans.
Every year 2,102,400 more children become orphans in Africa alone.
In Ukraine and Russia 10-15% of children who age out of the system commit suicide before age 18.
60% of the girls are lured into prostitution.
70% of the boys become hardened criminals.
Many of these children accept job offers that result in their being sold as slaves.

IT IS TIME TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!!!

Proverbs 24:12
Once our eyes have been opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act.

Tesfe Means Hope

When Mel came home, we made a movie chronicling his arrival. I finally completed one for Biruk and Hanna.

I love a rediculous story

Read this story and felt like sharing. Enjoy a good laugh or take this as a warning, which ever applies.

Drinking and driving his recliner don't mix
Duluth, Minn.- A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to driving his motorized La-Z-Boy chair while drunk.
A criminal complaint says Dennis Le Roy Anderson, 62, told police he left a bar on his chair after drinking eight or nine beers.
Prosecutors say Anderson's blood alcohol was 0.29, more than triple the legal limit, when he crashed into a parked vehicle in 2008. Police said the chair was powered by a converted lawn mower and had a stereo and cup holders. Anderson, who was not seriously injured, was ordered this week to serve two years' probation.

True love

Let me state for the record that it is an honor and a privilege to be my kids' mom. They already had a mom and a dad, but because we live in a fallen world, they all needed a new one. God commissioned us to be their parents. I rejoice daily that he picked us and gave us the will to say yes.

Last week I was definitely feeling the pressure of a down week. I would be lying if I never admitted to wanting to "stab myself in the eye". (For some reason this is my relief valve of choice. Apparently all the pressure is behind my eye.) Sometimes it is very hard to have the patience required to meet their needs. The reason it is so hard is that alone I CANNOT DO IT. I can only do it when He does it through me. It gets hard when I think I am doing it myself. I rip the steering wheel from God's hands and yell "I got it" as I tear the wrong way down a one-way street. Then God stops the car, tosses me back into the rear seat where I belong and we continue on our journey. Guess who thought she was driving last week? Guess who ALWAYS thinks she is driving?

Yep, its me.

Through my struggle to meet Hanna's heart needs and find connection with her, God is revealing to me just how conditional my love is and how unconditional His love is. As God's child, I am stubborn, self centered, rude, inconsiderate, impatient... the list goes on. In spite of it, God loves me so much that He sent His perfect Son to take the wrath for all of that so I could go to heaven.

The definition for love is as follows:

Love is giving of myself to meet others' needs whether they deserve it or not and expecting nothing in return.

As a parent, I expect obedience. In fact, I require it. Do I get it all of the time? Ha! Do I love my kids in spite of it? You bet.

As Heavenly Father, God requires things too.
John 15:12-13a
This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this...

How do we accomplish this?

John 15:13b
that one lay down his life for his friends.

I must lay down my life for my children. In order to obey God, I need to love them and set aside my own selfish desires in order to meet their needs.

They need a mother.

That mother is me.

Thank you God.