7/31/2013

(nearly) wordless wednesday


Way up high...
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7/30/2013

Freebie roundup

Well, it's been a crazy summer of freebies around here, hasn't it?

I'm willing to gather that you may have missed a single one of the freebies my friends from Adventures in Odyssey and Focus on the Family productions. It happens. I forgive you.

But as summer stretches ever longer before us, and it's still not time for your angry horde of children to start their school work, I have a peace offering to get you through the home stretch.

I'd like to call it the freebie roundup. All the  free goodies I had to give you this summer all in one tidy post.

If you were thinking of sending me a thank you gift, please make sure chocolate is one of the key ingredients.

Ahem.

A weeks worth of devotions and puzzles from 90 devotions for kids

A 5 chapter preview of Brock Eastman's newest book Unleash, plus some other fun videos my kids got a kick out of.

Book one of the Adventures in Odyssey Imagination station

Summer service toolkit - all sorts of short stories, games and activities for your youngster.

7/29/2013

Raising a beggar, part 2

We’ve talked before about my Russian born son and his behavioral quirks that come from living on the streets and in an orphanage for his first seven years. We know he is intimately acquainted with the desperation that drives individuals to seek handouts from both strangers and friends.


While mostly a ghost of his past, the fears that cause these beggar tendencies still surface from time to time like I talked about here. We’ve learned a few coping mechanisms to help him feel more secure and not feel the need to ask strangers for candy or money.

So he’s mostly ok with not being a beggar anymore.

But then there’s the reality that other people in our world still face desperate circumstances that cause them to do whatever it takes to survive.

Like that pan handler on the busy street corner we drive past on a regular basis. The one I never stop to give a handout to.

The other afternoon little Max and I were out cruising around town in our little white minivan when we pulled up to that intersection. The one our resident beggar hangs out on, and Max asked me why he was there and what the words on his sign meant.

I wasn’t quite sure how to respond. Was this a time to learn the meaning behind responsible compassion? For him to hear the truth that this man didn’t need my money as much as he needed a job that helped him feel like he was contributing to the good of mankind?

As much as I wanted to explain the truth that I need to careful about who I financially assist I don’t want him to think that there are some people who aren’t worth helping. I also want to fully respect his social history and the fact that he can relate to that man’s desperation. I didn't want him to be ashamed of his past behavior, when we know he was simply trying to survive. That it wasn’t his fault his first set of caregivers didn’t provide for his basic needs.

And as I'm digging through my thoughts on how to approach this "teachable moment" for my son the reality hits me that perhaps God arranged this exchange to be a teachable moment for me. What if God gave my son the social history He did because He wants Max to understand the desperation of others, with resources to do something about it. That He wants my Max to be generous to a fault so that others don’t have to face the desperation that he’s known. And in doing so push my boundaries of acceptable levels of charity.

Sweet Jesus thank you for bringing a representative of the world’s desperation into my house. I want to give with reckless abandon in my best effort to curb other people’s acts of desperation. Show me the best way to use my resources. Amen.

7/26/2013

and the winner is...

Don't you just love giveaway days?

I do! They make me want to dance. But then my kids all roll their eyes at me like this. Did you see it? That was me impersonating my children rolling their eyes.

Ok whatever. We all know it doesn't matter what I write here, because you're just skimming to see if you were the winner.

I could totally say poop and you'd never notice.

See, you didn't notice.

Alright. Enough nonsense.

On to the winner.

If I must.

According to our handy dandy random number generator our winner is:



Which is:

Sarah JB, who has honestly entered every single giveaway I think I've ever offered! Yippee! email me your address so I can get this book in the mail!


And for those of you who didn't win I have a runner up prize. How about a free excerpt from the book just to wet your appetite. Now don't go thinking this download is like a half a devotion and a memory verse. Shame on you. You should know better by now. My friends at AIO are surprisingly generous with their freebies. There's enough in this freebie to keep your kids busy for a week. I promise!

Go get it here!

7/25/2013

Guest post - the waiting child

Thinking about Adoption? Have you considered the Waiting Child?

When my husband and I first started our adoption process, these children were referred to as “Special Needs” which frankly is a little scary. We knew we were called to adopt but our dreams centered on a perfect small bouncing bundle of joy. How wrong and selfish we were! We were looking at it through the eyes of the world, not the eyes of our Heavenly Father.

After several months of paperwork and blocks in the road, our caseworker mentioned these children as a possibility to us, we looked at each, initially with fear and trepidation, and said, "We don't think so", but God had other plans. He began to work in our hearts and brought people into our lives who had adopted children from China on the waiting child list and showed us that He had a completely different plan, one far more wonderful than anything we could have imagined with our finite minds. He showed us that we didn't need be scared of this special list of children but rather to see them as beautiful children created by their Creator, perfect in His eyes, and waiting for us to adopt them!

God gently whispered into our hearts. “I love you regardless of your imperfections. I loved you so much that I sent my one and only flawless Son to die for your sins. If you were already perfect, you wouldn’t need me. All My children are beautiful to me.”

 Anthony (limb/finger deformities) &
Grace (amniotic banding syndrome, psoriasis, mild club foot) 
So What if instead we called them "Waiting Children"? Doesn't sound as intimidating, right, and it is the truth as well! Furthermore, what if we thought of "Special Needs" kids as "special", amazing children in "need" of or "waiting" for a forever family? What if God had said, "Oh, I don't want to save people with problems, only perfect people"? None of us are worthy of Him! We are all special cases in comparison to our great God. 

The truth of the matter is that many children on this list in China have things that can be corrected in the United States such as cleft lip/palate or limb deformities. I am not saying that this is an easy path or one that should be tread lightly, and of course, there are children on these lists with even more severe issues. But does God always call us to the easiest path? Pray about God's plan for your adoption and seek His will alone. Don't focus on the fact that you want a "healthy" child but rather on the child God has for you. When you know that you are following Him and His will for your life, step out in faith, trusting in His perfect plan. Yes, there will rapids along the way, but He has promised to carry you through those times of trial and difficulty that are inevitable. He will be faithful. WE CAN TRUST HIM!! "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understand.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." (Prov. 3:5-6)

God has worked in amazing ways in our lives through our children, and we are excited to see what else He has in store for us and our children in the future.

____________________________________


Suzanne, Grace, Anthony & Adam Meledeo
After struggling with infertility for five years, God led Suzanne and her husband, Adam, to His Plan A for their lives, adoption! Their daughter, Grace Lihua, came into their lives on May 8, 2011 (Mother’s Day) from Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China, and their son, Anthony Jianyou, joined their family on January 14, 2013 from Shanghai.  After a career in Politics, Suzanne is thankful for God’s provision in their lives that now allows her to work part time as a Pilates Instructor while home schooling their children. You can follow their adoption journey and life on their blog, Surpassing Greatness.


Oh, hey and we have a giveaway this week! 90 Devotions for Kids, written by the creators of Adventures in Odyssey. Leave me a comment here (or via my facebook page if the comment thing doesn't work - it's persnickety sometimes!) I want to pick you!

7/24/2013

(nearly) wordless wednesday




skyline...

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7/23/2013

Struck blind in a parking lot, a true adoption story

As with most adoption tales, ours is filled with countless beautiful pictures of God’s intervention in our lives as He successfully moved Heaven and earth to put our youngest son in our home where he rightfully belonged.
This is the tale of the precise moment I received my call to adopt. Some of you may have already heard the story of the precise moment I knew Max was my child. But I'll go out on a limb and say most of you haven't.

So here's my story of being struck dumb in the church parking lot with the reality that my fourth child was standing right next to me and I didn't even know it. Enjoy.

My husband and I had always planned to adopt someday, and even in those early days when adoption was mostly just a theory, Russia was very much on our radar for some reason. Back when adoption was more of a theory than a reality for our family we figured it best to set those dreams aside until our biological kids were older. Maybe when the house was paid off. When we would have time and energy to breathe, to invest fully in a child who might need a bit more from his parents than these two distracted Jesus-loving sinners might have.

But you know what happens when you make a plan right?

Jesus laughs in your face. Loudly.  

As with most of my good stories, you'll have to read the rest of it on someone else's blog. A great big thank you to Suzanne of Surpassing Greatness for sharing one of our stories.    

Oh, and did you hear that we have yet another giveaway this week? Check it out!

7/22/2013

Devotional guide - giveaway

This summer my friends at Adventures in Odyssey have spoiled you all rotten, have they not? Rot-ten. I've lost count of all the goodies and freebies they've given me to pass on this summer.

And we're not done!

Woo!

They've recently released a new devotional guide for youngsters titled 90 Devotions for Kids.

Ohhh, I haven't seen the inside of this one yet, but doesn't it just look so darned fun?

So the next question- who wants to win a copy? Aside from me that is. I hate it when they give me something awesome to giveaway, but don't send me a complimentary copy to keep.

If the title wasn't enough to make you twitter with excitement, here's the blurb they sent me describing the book:

One of the great new Adventures in Odyssey products released this year is 90 Devotions for Kids, aimed at kids 8 to 12. This soft-cover book draws you in with illustrations, puzzles, and kid-friendly applications. It also includes a daily Bible verse, daily challenges, words of encouragement from different AIO characters, and more. Even if your kids aren’t already Adventures in Odyssey fans, they’ll enjoy these daily devotionals, and get to know the Odyssey crew along the way.

This devotional, and the edition coming this fall (90 Devotions for Kids: Life Changing Values from the Book of Matthew) are great tools to help your kids put a regular pause in their day for Bible reading, prayer, and thoughts about God. If you start now—by the first day of school, you’ll already have a spiritual component scheduled into your kids’ routine. After that, everything else will hopefully just fall into line!

Leave me a comment so I can pick you!!

7/19/2013

Guest post - I want more

Hey there!
I'm so happy to have you with me today as I have invited my fellow adoptive mama blogger Erin Martin to share a few words with you about her dreams for her boys. Enjoy!

Dear Douglas, Freeland, and Casper,


I’m going to have to tell you something that may be hard for you to understand at first. I don’t really want you to be happy. I know. It sounds bad, but hear me out.

You see, my sons, I’ve heard too many parents say, “I don’t really care about ________, I just want my child to be happy.” I want so much more than that for you!

I want you to be uncomfortable. I want you to feel discomfort when you see injustice, suffering, and poverty in this world. I want you to be so uncomfortable that you are moved to do whatever you can to alleviate the suffering around you. I want you to be uncomfortable with half-truths and justifications; I want you to be so uncomfortable with easy answers that you turn to God for the true answers to life.

I want you to cry. I want your hearts to break when you see people exploited and oppressed. I want you to know the heart wrenching suffering of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone so that you can reach out your hand to them and help to turn their pain to joy.

I want you to be foolish. I want you to see the overwhelming needs of suffering humanity and believe that you can make a difference. I want you to calmly move past the naysayers and get busy doing whatever you can, wherever you can, however you can.

I want you to be angry. I want your heart to burn when you are faced with temptation to throw your life away in an empty fling that will “make you happy” for a few minutes. I want you to feel so angry that you spurn the temptation with everything within you.

I want you to be holy. This will mean that you need to pass up a lot of things that people in general consider necessary for “happiness”. And it is going to take power beyond your own. This will require power straight from God. But I’ll let you in on a little secret here, boys, God’s power is always there wherever you are and is always enough whatever you face. Who wouldn’t want power like that?

I don’t want mere happiness for you, my precious boys.


I want you to be content. I want you to know that peace in your heart is not dependent on outward circumstances. I want you to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the best place on earth for you is the place God calls you to fill. And I want you to be content there.

I have seen your sweet hearts as you sacrifice for the needs of others. I have seen how you have taken your sisters into your hearts and accepted them without hesitation or reservation. I am proud of you, my sons. I want so much more for you than mere fleeting happiness. I know that God hears my prayers as I plead with Him to keep you and to shape your hearts desires. And I trust Him to answer.

All my love,

Mommy

Hi, my name is Erin, and I blog at God Has Answered. I love to write about my faith, my five children, and adoption. I started blogging to document our youngest daughter's adoption from China. After our daughter came home I continued to blog about her adjustments, and eventually expanded to include advocating for children who are waiting for families. I’m always looking for great blogs to read, so if you have time please drop by or leave a comment, and let me know where I can read about your life.Here is a link to my blog. Martins in China

7/17/2013

(nearly) wordless wednesday



11th trip around the sun...

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7/15/2013

11 times around the sun


Dear Alex
As your birthday approaches and I sit to write the yearly birthday letter I think back to the adventures you’ve had without me this summer. Camping with one group of friends, serving with another. Both groups of friends extended you the opportunity for growth, and you reached out to accept the life lessons they had for you with vengeance.
Hearing the stories your leaders shared with me, hearing the stories you had for me, all I can do is look at you and think, “who is this fine young man living under my roof, and what happened to the ornery stinker who was here yesterday?”
On the eve of your eleventh birthday I look at who you are becoming and I smile.

You are every parents dream child. Beyond being the easy compliant kid, you are hard working, caring, reliable, and goofy as all get out. I wish I had 10 of you. I think we all do.
This planet needs more people like you. More people who jump at the opportunity to lend a hand, no matter the task. More people who are willing to sacrifice a few moments from their own agenda to help even when there’s nothing in it for you. More people who seek wisdom and purity as earnestly as you.
Although your dad and I have secret dreams of locking you under the stairs so no one else can have you, we both know that God has a different plan for your life. As you approach young adulthood, you also approach a time when you will have an enormous impact on this world.

Don’t silence that voice in your head that says you can’t challenge status quo. You can. You should. Did you hear me when I said the world needs more people like you? Stand up. Be heard. Your friends need to hear what you have to say. There are many people who need to hear what you have to say.
So my advice for you on the eve of your birthday sounds much more simple than it really is, but here it is anyway. Be bold.
 
That’s it.
You are such a people pleaser. A gentle wind. You’re never the one who rocks the boat.
It’s time to learn how.
Rock the boat. Stop being a people pleaser, and start being a Jesus pleaser. Stand up for what is right, no matter what the people around you think. There is so much about you that Jesus loves, and wants you to share with the world. You aren’t doing anyone any favors by trying to ignoring the injustice you see for the sake of keeping the peace.
Love you dude. Can I getta head bonk?
 
Mom

7/12/2013

We bleed chlorine


From where I sit in my little deck chair, I see the head tops of three Peterson children all gleefully bouncing around a shimmery blue swimming pool. I hear the loud spr-oing of the diving board as child number four does his umpteenth cannonball off the diving board.
And for a moment I allow myself to reminisce of days past when I was a little bouncing head, joyfully bobbing around the pool. Day in and day out, I was in the neighborhood pool across from my parents house. More days than not, all summer long.
As I sit here, all grown up, watching the children from my perch underneath the shade tree, as I’ve done just about every day this week, I think a bit deeper about this thing I call the pool.
I’ve always been the happy pool mama with wet towels flung all over the back seat, the mama who felt more alive wearing a slightly damp suit as she cooked her evening meal. The mama who gets a kick out of smelling chlorine on her clothes.
But as much as I’ve loved having access to a pool for my three healthier kids, I so totally love having it readily available for my special boy. My boy who doesn’t transition well. My boy who freaks out when things are a bit different than usual.
Greater joy has no mama than this chlorine junkie mama when the special boy hollers “POOL TIME!” as he approaches the car during the school pick up line.
Yes, little boy it’s pool time.
Go splash your worries away until your insides stop aching. Go pound your frustrations into the diving board. Be free for just a bit until you really do have to conform to Mama’s standard of living.
Let the pool be your constant companion. As you grow into your own skin realize what a healthy coping mechanism you’ve stumbled upon. Develop an addiction to chlorine. You need the pool and the sooner you realize how much the pool helps you the better off you are.

7/11/2013

Brave Mamas don't do paper snowflakes


Many of you have heard the story of how God prepared my heart for international adoption. But for those of you who haven’t heard this tale yet, I’d like to share a few words with you briefly about how God challenged my comfortable status quo as he prepared Max and I simultaneously to enter our new roles as mother and son.
Enjoy. 


Like many young fresh faced women starting out in life I had a road map to life. Written in my teenage years it looked like this:
Go to college, get the degree, find the man, have the babies, win the mother of the year award. You know, the prize for women who home school, help run the children's ministry, and have a loaf of fresh bread on the table every night.
And it worked. Sort of.
Three years ago I had an awesome life. Sufficient income, sufficient housing, and a loving family. My three beautiful, sweet, well mannered children were the envy of all the moms at playgroup.
And it was awesome. Really awesome. But as we all know, what we think will be awesome is never really as awesome as we assume it will be.  My life was a bit of a cakewalk, and I wasn't hungry for cake. I wanted the dirty, gritty raw emotion that came from bravely following Christ without abandon. And making paper snowflakes with my kids wasn't really doing it for me.
I'll bet you're wondering how this story plays out, right? How I went from being a slightly spoiled mother of three to a rather threadbare mother of four...

You'll have to read the rest here

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