Mom and Dad's visit May 2009

We had a BLAST with my parents. This was their second trip out to the Motherland. This time was nice because it was warm. This made my mom and I very happy. I can't begin to recount all the funny stories and cool things we did, but here are a few pictures to sum it all up.




This is at a local park. The goal of this little game was to stick a ratty old net into nasty bacteria-filled water and pull out a lucid, floundering or completely dead fish. The kids stayed at that station for most of the time there. Lovely.



Here's the grandparents and the kids with the Olympic FuWa's. We walked around the park, had a picnic and then rested a little that day. We had a good balance of hang time, play time and adult talk time.





My little guy thought the fish were gross and instead stayed in the ball area. Probably good, because no way one of those fish was not going to be put in his mouth.



We took a day to bring them to the Great Wall in our city. It was a little crowded becausue it was May holiday here, but we had fun. This part of the Wall is nice because it's a much easier climb.





What a cute Mom I have! All our neighbors commented on how young she looked. They also all thought that my parents should move here because the swine flu is so serious in the States. I tell them that they have jobs and our neighbors simply tell me that my parents should call into work and tell them they moved to China.



Mom, Selah and Malachi took a little rickshaw through Hou Hai in Beijing. It's a beautiful area with historic hutongs. This is after the guy chasesd us down, helped my Mom, Charis, Kesed and I find the other half of our group by giving us a free ride-stroller and all.







Dad and the kiddos as we're waiting for Mimi and the other 2 to come back from their ride.



I was so proud of my parents and their flexibility with food. They ate Chinese breakfast, street food, hot pot, Korean BBQ, local snacks, the whole deal. I was really proud of them. They also did 3 sleep-overs with 3 of the kids! What troopers.



Sweet friend, DaYu and Charis playing on the monkey bars. She came with us to Beijing and hung out for few days with the fam. It was nice too to have her there while we were all crying and trying to catch a bus home. We were a mess.



I wish I could write so much more about their trip, but I figured that if you have to continue to scroll on a blog, you're readers will no longer read. My parents are such generous, wonderful people. We're hoping it won't be as long before we see them next time. It was a sad bus ride home. We Love You!

A Great Word on Christian Teaching

Again, Jonathan Edwards is right:

"I don't think ministers are to be blamed for raising the affections of their hearers too high, if that which they are affected with be only that which is worthy of affection, and their affections are not raised beyond a proportion to their importance, or worthiness of affection.

I should think myself in the way of my duty to raise the affections of my hearers as high as possibly I can, provided that they are affected with nothing but truth, and with affections that are not disagreeable to the nature of what they are affected with."

Parents and Adoption Update

Here's a little update in our world:

My (Carrie) parents came for almost 2 weeks.  It was a fantastic trip.  I'll do a blog and photo dump soon.  We had been getting in a good rhythm to where it just felt normal to have them live so close by.  And then all of the sudden, they boarded an airplane to return home.  I.hate.goodbyes.   You'd think I'd be good at them by now, with as much as we've moved, but it seems to have just gotten harder.  

While we were with them, we got an email telling us that our adoption case might not be heard next week.  I can't even write this without getting weepy.  Bottom line is that the government thinks there might be some corruption happening in the case where the child has been abandoned.  That's our case.  While I'm excited that the government is acting quickly on corruption leads, it's hard for the parents and kids who are waiting.  I feel like I'm in the last trimester of pregnancy that seems to drag on and on and on.  I am getting antsy and I have a hard time waiting.  

But I read through Deut. 8 this morning and am so thankful to the Lord for his steadiness, his goodness and his faithfulness.  He brings us into hard situations because He loves us and wants to help us learn discipline and grow through being disciplined.  Like a good father should.  We're trusting you Lord.  You've displayed yourself in perfect timing this entire adoption process and once again we're at a place of complete lack of human control.  Thank you Lord for this opportunity to grow. 

I've Been Published!

Ok, so it's self published, but none the less here's your chance to check out what I've been working on for the last couple of months.  It's called "Made in China." I've put together a recipe book of local Chinese dishes-spicy green beans, sweet and sour pork, eggplant, and tons more.  There's pictures and hints for Chinese cooking.  And characters, pinyin and an ingredient list for those of us who live here and want to cook Chinese dishes.  

 We'd also love for those who have adopted Chinese children, to be able to cook some authentic food for their kids and teach them all about the wonderful country that is so much a part of their history.   Click on the book to the right side bar of this blog or to www.blurb.com and it will send you to the bookstore that's carrying my book.  

BUT....

the best part of this whole deal is that ALL of the proceeds are going to help a ministry called Mercy Ethiopia.  They take in street kids in Ethiopia and give them food, shelter, education and hope.  Their vision is for the kids that do have parents, to reunite them with their families and provide their for their necessities, while trying to reunite and build a healthy family.  It's a great vision that will hopefully build a great foundation of physically and spiritually healthy families in this wonderful country.  Check out their web page.  

And then....

get the cookbook, pick up some chopsticks, boil some rice and get your Chinese food on.  

The book represents so much of our heart:  adoption, China, Ethiopia and food.

Knowing and Doing are totally different

James 4:17 "Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."

So this verse has been kicking my tail since the kids and I went over it together last night.  This verse has been permeating many of my decisions I made today.  Last night when I went to bed, not long after, Selah threw up.  I knew I should have her come and sleep with me so that I can take care of her.  That verse ran through my head.  My flesh wanted to leave the mess for the morning and tell her to go back to bed.  

When Selah came in, Charis always comes in also.  "This is the right thing to do."  But my flesh was angry because Charis is a crazy, loud sleeper.  So this invitation meant no more sleep for me.  

Kesed was really upset when he woke up this morning.  My flesh said "he's fine, he'll get over it and go back to bed."  But that was not the right thing to do.  The right thing to do was to check on him and love him, unselfishly.  

This sounds like a day with many victories....until the afternoon happened.  I lost my temper, more than once, I put the kids to bed 45 minutes early, I got angry and was frustrated.  As I got in the bath tonight (that's the place God likes to deal with me) and I was reminded of this verse.  

It seems that somewhere between lunch and home school, I forgot it.  

I think this is a great parenting verse.  I hear all these moms who seem so loving ALL of the time.  But I'm not going to full myself into thinking they are always that patient.  We all have these times where we're at the end of ourselves and we want to crawl into a quiet room with some good coffee and sit there until WE decide to get up.  No demands.  But then I remembered the joy my family brings to me.  The joy it is to serve them.  So tomorrow, I'm going to plaster this verse to my forehead and stop making excuses for be selfish with my time.  And how if I want to see more of God, I'm going to have to eliminate the sin of knowing the right thing to do and not doing it. 

"Emotional" Calvinism

To be a Calvinist intellectually essentially means you believe what has been dubbed TULIP:

Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints

However, as I have been reading various texts emphasizing God's sovereignty, I find myself even more interested in being a Calvinist emotionally.

Thankful
Unconditional Love
Limited Anxiety
Inexpressible joy
Patient

The truths behind intellectual Calvinism should fuel one's emotions. Those who call themselves Calvinists would do well to respond emotionally in keeping with what is claimed intellectually. THEN, to God would be all the glory!

Oh, buddy....

Last night, we were making some gifts for my parents who are coming soon, and Malachi got in trouble.  He was sitting in his room, very disappointed that he was missing out.  And when Brad went in to talk with him, this is what Malachi told him:

"Daddy, (sniff, sniff) I am just filled with sorrow."

Wow buddy, that's really sad.  

Do I have faith?

People always want to know, "Am I saved", "Do I really know God?" "What is genuine faith?"

A verse I read this morning is so clear:
"And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.'" (Numbers 20:12)

Moses is punished for not believing, having faith in God (v. 12a). Then, the Scripture clarifying how we know that; in other words, what faith looks like, "to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel" (v. 12b).

We know we have faith when our lives publicly make much of the holiness of God. By "holy", the Bible at least means God's unique glory displayed in his infinite perfections. Therefore, in our attitudes and acts of obedience, are we making him look infinitely precious in the eyes of others? Or, sadly, do we make Starbucks, investments, our children, or our reputation look more precious to us?

God loves you and....

Piper's words on prosperity gospel.

This needs to be heard. We've heard people here reading "health and wealth gospel" type books that have been translated into their language. I hate that so much of that type of teaching is coming from our home country. It's really sad.

Needless to say, we love this video.

Happy Easter 2009

We love Easter. For obvious reasons...we love Easter. What can be a more beautiful and tragic event in all of history. For God to come down in humbled form. To come, for the sole purpose of glorifying Himself, His justice and His grace all wrapped up in the event of the cross. Simply mindboggling. Getting to share this story brings us all much joy. Here are some other (albeit, a little more trivial) things we've gotten to do;


We made paper flowers:



Here's our final display:



We dyed eggs, let them dry and then added some marbling. We took tissue paper and put it inside a bowl. Then the kids took a spray bottle to dampen the tissue paper and rolled the egg around in it. It added a cool marble to our eggs. And it was also much easier for little hands to do by themselves. I'll probably just do it that way next year and skip the cup dye.



We had a big party last year with lots of kids, candy, crafts, and an egg hunt. As we were processing Easter this year, all our kids kept talking about was "when is the egg hunt???" I mean, asking until it hurt. So we decided to forsake the egg hunt. We are just really serious about not letting secular traditions trump Jesus. We told our kids it's like them having a birthday and instead, we celebrate Dora the Explorer instead of them. They wouldn't want someone else celebrated when it was "THEIR" day. They got that and seem to get our concern. So the whole weekend has been about Jesus-as it should be.



Here's my handsome little buddy.



Then we peeled the eggs and used the egg shells to make beautiful crosses.




This is a neighbor who is also an art teacher. We spied her this morning painting some of the gifts of spring. She's actually painting the side of our building enthroned in white blossoms. It's beautiful. We've been checking in on her progress all day.


An update from art lady friend: my kids are now being allowed to use her brushes to paint the grass and trees bright orange. Sometimes I have to remind our friends that you CAN tell kids no.



During our family worship time, we reenacted the crucifixion and resurrection using homemade play-dough and figurines. We had teddy bears, rubber duckies and pirates all watching the crucifixion. Then today Jesus (played by a pirate) rose from the dead and the kids had to find him in the house. We wanted them to understand the experience the disciples were having at the time of Jesus' death and resurrection.



It was a wonderful weekend filled with sweet worship. Thank you Jesus!

Strange Misconceptions about Adoption

People say lots of weird things to you when they discover you're adopting. These are things that have been said to us or other families adopting from Ethiopia. So not all of these were said to us, but others who have adopted. But I'm sure it's just a matter of time before we hear similar things. God seemingly left out a filter when creating some people.

I can't wait to see a REAL black person. This one is obviously directed to our family, as we live in a country with very little skin color diversity.


One time we were at a park and Addis (a little boy adopted from Ethiopia) wouldn't keep leaves out of his mouth. Every time we put him down, he put a leaf in. A friend at the park with us asked, "Is that what he is used to eating in Ethiopia?" Yes, we found him roaming free on the savannah foraging for berries. He is a baby, not a herbivore.

Ethiopia is in Africa, right? So is he going to be (pause because they aren't sure they are supposed to be saying it out loud) you know, African, black? Generally, this question is posed as informational, as if we haven't considered that we will be raising an african american son.

Speaking of african american, that particular term was difficult for a friend once. "No, he will be african" he told me. "And American," I added. "Yeah, I guess. But it's still not the same." Not sure why that mattered, but it did during that bout of verbal curiosity.

There are various poorly planned stereotypical comments made, generally surrounding sports. Football and basketball are the topics of conversation that usually draws out these awkward moments. I have a standard answer for this one that I will pass along for the moment that it comes up in your conversations. "Yes, and next we are going to adopt an asian baby because we really want an olympic gymnast."

And, my all time favorite, "will he speak english?" This question has been asked in a hundred different ways. "It will be interesting to see what he speaks once he starts talking." "I wonder if he can understand anything you are saying." "He will probably need some speech therapy to get caught up." My general response is, "when your baby was 8 months old, what did they speak?" We got this same line of questioning when telling people we were moving to China. "Will your kids be able to speak English?"

A guy directly asked a an adoptive mom "are you Madonna?" "huh?!" "Ya, you've got fancy sunglasses and you're a white family with a black kid."

It has been asked by at least three people at this point. "Do you plan on telling him he is adopted?" My answer is usually a polite, "Yes." What I want to say is, "No, we prefer him to think his mother had an affair and we don't want him to know his biological father."

My oh my. People.

It's Martha Time

It was FINALLY warmer today! As in, we didn't have to wear our long underwear. But with warmer weather comes strawberries and next come peaches. But here's the deal. The last couple of times I've noticed that the strawberries are just not lookin' right. Apparently the same chemical they put in the clouds to make it rain, also produce some wigged out fruit. Do you think it's ok that we're eating these things? It's not like "oh, kids look, there's this weird strawberry in the bunch." Because it's pretty much all of them. What do you think, eat or stay away?





On to more uplifting things, we made these fun things over the last two days. We love doing crafts in our house. This was was really fun and used scrap paper and home made glue.




Homemade Glue is super easy and eco-friendly (just don't think about the fact that the ingredients you are using to make glue are also the ingredients in most of the bread products we eat. Colon cleansing anyone??)

Add 1 c. flour to a sauce pan
Add 1 cup hot water to sauce pan

Mix until smooth.

Add 2 c. flour and stir.

It will still be a little lumpy, but stir until blended together. Turn the heat up and bring it to a boil, stirring the entire time.

About 7 minutes later, it will thicken to a pastey texture.

Use paint brushes to brush it on.



You put vaseline or in our case oil to cover a bowl. Then, we ripped up scrap paper. A layer of strips for the base and then smaller pieces for the inside. And just keep on until you've got 4-5 layers. Then I pulled them out of the bowls for a little bit to make sure they wouldn't stick. I put our paper bowls in the sun to let them dry overnight. Then we painted and decorated them this morning. They turned out really cute, the kids did a great job. Selah also made a little fly and stuck it to the end of the frog's tongue, but it's hard to see in this picture. Then we all headed to the store to pick up some candy to put in our little bowls.







While Martha would be proud of our little craft project, she would not be at all excited about our strawberries. Those bad boys aren't coming from any organic farm using natural fertilizer flown in from Argentina and grown in pure oxygen in some remote farm in Connecticut. Sorry Martha.

COURT DATE

We got our court date to pick up our sweet little girl-May 22^nd!!!! What does this mean in the Ethiopian adoption world? It means that once we pass court, we get to travel 4-6 weeks after. Now many times families don’t pass court the first time. The courts want some other signature or something, but it’s about a 50% chance of passing the first time!!! We are so excited. Be praying that we pass the first time. And recently, some court dates are being moved up. So pray for that too J.

3 miracles yesterday

There's tons of paperwork that has to be done for adoption.  All of it time sensitive and needing immediate attention.  One of the most important forms,  the embassy worker forgot to have us sign before we left-in january. So the first week of February, they emailed and told us to scan our signature in and they would take care of it.  We did that-3 times.  We then made 8-9 follow-up calls making sure everything was ok.  Never once talking to a real person, but leaving messages.  I'm not sure why nobody from Homeland Security was EVER answering their phones, but that's for another time.  So 2 nights ago, I had a dream about our adoption paperwork.  I was very clearly told (by whom, I'm not sure) that our paperwork was not being taken care of. 

So, I (carrie) had this dream.  At 8:30 am, I called and actually talked to a person.  It's now been 2 months since our paperwork has been filed.  He said "Oh ya, your paperwork is sitting right here on this desk.  We haven't received your scan yet."  Trying to remain calm, I explained to him the seriousness of their complete screw up and that he'd better get this stuff going...NOW.  He was helpful though.  But praise the Lord for the dream.  Because we never heard back from the embassy, we just dropped it and hoped everything was ok.  Well, everything was not ok, so thank you Lord.  

Later that day, we got a phone call from our landlord.  A lot of you know that her family wants to move back in to our apartment in August/Sept.  This causes some problems with the adoption if we don't pick up our little girl before we have to move.  So we've just been waiting to see how God's going to figure this one out.  Well, our landlord called and said that her 16 year old  daughter "thought that it was too much trouble for us to move.  That moving to a new country with small kids is hard enough and that they shouldn't make us move out of their apartment." So they are going to rent another apartment on a 5th or 6th floor instead, so that we can stay here!!  I can't tell you how incredible this is.  When we tell this story to our friends here, their mouths drops open in shock.  They have never heard of a landlord having this kind of compassion on their tenants.  Again, thank you Lord!

Lastly, as Brad and I were walking home that same day, we ran into bird lady.  We call her my personal sanctification.  If it's not complaining, she doesn't say it.  But she told me how much my Chinese has improved and how wonderful I'm doing.  I was in shock!

God was so incredible as He showed us several miracles yesterday.  I give Him all the credit!

The Bible, "Theological Education Matters!"

This week, while reading in Acts, I was struck by a passage that says a lot about the need for people to do theological education. By theological education, I mean more disciplined, thorough, systematic reflection upon the teachings of Scripture. It can be done either at a seminary OR in a local church context.

That theological education matters is NOT obvious to all people. Many, many people reject it as too intellectual or as tending to make people disobedient, "ivory tower" type Christians. For a while, when I was younger, even I demurred seminary education. This criticism is short sighted and unbalanced.

In Acts 18, we hear of Apollos,"He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit,he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue" (Acts 18:24-26a)

This guy was obedient, read his Bible, preached the gospel, was bold...why mess this guy up with theological instruction? Yet, continue reading..."but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. (Acts 18:26b-28).

If we don't have pastors and leaders more thoroughly competent in the Scriptures, beyond attending Bible studies and having "quiet times", our churches will tend to fall victim to the shortcomings of our traditions and to the subtle lies of heresy and worldliness. It is not enough to settle on "the simple basics". Deceptions are never so "simple". To take such a minimalistic view is to disregard the importance of God's entire Biblical revelation....Anyone willing to say they want to throw out Romans and Hebrews because their too "heady" and "theological"?

Homeschool conference

We got to go down south for a few days to attend a home school conference.  It was fantastic.  I would  love to add some zippy commentary, but I'm tired, so it's mostly pictures.  We got to go to a minority village place that has lots of the Chinese minority groups represented.  It was fun to get to introduce the kids to all the different groups around our country.  And some friends of ours from the States were performing while we were there.  So a friend of mine and I took our oldest daughters for a night out on the town.

We've got some updates, but they will have to come later this week.  One of which is that our landlord wants her apartment back.  Ok, ok, really, you'll have to wait until later. 

Here's Brad and some "hot chicks".

You could buy some beer bottles and throw them at a rock. Yes, that's spend money and throw bottles at a rock. But the sign reassures you that "smashing things can bring you peace and relaxation".




Our kids had a blast trying on hats and watching shows of the different groups.








This guy was making bamboo cups. He did it all with just bamboo and a really sharp knife.

We had a great time, but it's always nice to be home again.

What a gift!

Here are a few verses to cure all ungratefulness. Notice the common theme:

Acts 5:31, "God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins"

Acts 11:18, "When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life."

2 Timothy 2:25, "...correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth..."

Phil. 1:29, "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake"

How often we dare to presume our autonomy and prerogative to repent. What a cure for pride and staleness in our walks with Christ. God grants repentance.  In Acts 11:18, they glorified God because of this grace, not despite it. What a gift!

Sweet Sister

Two days ago, Charis was looking at pictures of the new baby and she said to the computer "Sister, come home! Sister, you come home! Why are you not home yet?"

Continuation of the Red Scarf Drama

So Selah is now at a new school. It's right behind our apartment complex. She's got lots of friends there and is doing really well. And with the start of a new school, come the continuation of the desire to wear the prized red scarf. We did a post previously about how the red scarf is worn by people that are considered good students. It's to recruit for the Party when the students are older. We've decided to let her wear it and just see what happens. Well, last week, Selah came home so excited. She is now one of three 'red scarf police'. She stands at the doorway while students come in for the morning and checks to make sure they're wearing their red scarf. If they aren't, she reports to either the teacher or the 'head' of the red scarf police. (mind you, these are all 7 year olds).

So not only is she wearing the scarf, but promoting it's conformity. We are going out of town for a few days this week for a home schooling meeting and she told me that she's really concerned that she won't be at school to implement her red scarf duties. She was also excited that she could feel genuine when she sang the national anthem said the pledge. She said before her red scarf, she just felt like she was pretending, but now it's for REAL. She also refers to former important Chinese leaders as grandpa. As in Grandpa Deng Xiao Ping, for those of you who know your Chinese history.

So there you have it, the next chapter of the "Red Scarf Drama".

Only half like our blog?

Some people only read half our blog. Some like the picts and family. Others like the theology.

If you want to undersand what makes us tick better, you might want to check out one of both of these links:

TIME magazine's recent issue discussed 10 of the ideas most changing the world right now. Check out Idea #3 Changing the World

Also, some people may wonder why we're always posting sovereignty of God, Calvinistic, election, "reformed" type posts. Some people may have no idea what those words even mean we just typed. (Yes, "we" since most people don't realize how often Carrie does theological posts too.) For those interested, a good book to pick up to explain the other "emerging" movement in the American church might be Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists .

Timely Words to the "First World"

"For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked." ---Jesus (Revelation 3:17)

Why don't I just rest?

In Exodus 16, God is so frustrated with the Israelites.  He gave them 2 days worth of food so that they could rest on the Sabbath.  But the some of the Israelites decided to go out and gather food.  God had ALREADY supplied their needs, yet they went on searching for more.  Why do we feel the compulsion to keep searching when God has already supplied what we need?  What do we think we’re going to find?!

 

So I’ve been searching my heart for the areas of my life where I am frantically searching for something.  What am I searching for? 

 

Is it:

Answers to prayers?

Plans for my future?

Purpose in life?

Validation?

 

Whatever it is, I do know one thing:  He has already abundantly supplied for my needs….I am only to rest. 

Impatience

Jan Johnson in When the Soul Listens wrote: 

“Waiting on God is a problem only if you are in a relationship with God for utilitarian purposes – to get the prize from the vending machine.  But if you are in the relationship for God Himself, waiting means you still have what you want – God – even while you wait.” 

How Jesus Used Election to Evangelize

Matthew 11:25-30, At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; [26] yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. [27] All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. [28] Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Verses 28-30 are some of the most loved verses in the Bible. They are Christ's evangelistic appeal to us to come to him. However, I don't know that I've ever heard someone show the foundation for these verses, which of course are the words right before it, v. 25-27, which is one of the most overt passages in the Bible teaching the sovereignty of God in salvation. Why does Jesus so emphasize these truths in order to invite people to follow him? [I recently heard J.I. Packer say that the doctrine of election was a "family secret". By contrast, the Puritans were actually quite explicit to use God's sovereignty as a basis for their evangelism.]

Verses 25-27 where Christ "rejoices" in God's pleasure in hiding the truth from some people while revealing it to others actually gives people reason to run to Jesus. Unfortunately, too many people are embarrassed by the doctrine and sadly think they are contradictory doctrines.Verse 25a humbles us, reminding us that God alone decides who shall be in his kingdom. As king, he has the right to save or not to save people. It's a miracle he saves anyone. Further, it gives us confidence that we can be saved when we see how great is our sin. We can't save ourselves, but God can do the impossible! He is sovereign. On the other hand, verse 25b gives us hope that God is eager to save us! It is God's good pleasure ["gracious will" in the ESV] to reveal truth to the humble. In fact, v. 27 says, "no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." Obviously, even the unsaved saw Jesus with their physical eyes; the whole point of the passage is that Christ rejoices that God keeps closed or opens our spiritual eyes.

Therefore, we must resist our democratic heritage to the regard that we lose the ability to understand a completely sovereign King. We should gladly proclaim God's sovereignty in salvation as a way of offering humility, confidence, and hope. Election has long to long been seen as a philosophical, abstract system. NO! When we talk like this, it looses it heart. God in Christ has shown himself a personal King, giving us glad reason to come to him for rest!

Where do they learn this stuff?

Where do our kids learn these things?

 

The other day a friend of ours was cooking with our kids in the kitchen. She corrected our son on some small thing he did. Immediately, he looked at her and said to her, “You want a piece of me?” [He was joking]

 

It’s in the DNA I’m afraid.

A Graceful Glimpse into God's Heart

I love when God gives us a peak into His heart. Last month, we received our referral for our baby girl. For those of you unfamiliar with adoption, it's like the day you find out you are pregnant. There are joy, tears and a sense of being overwhelmed that all happen simultaneously. With the referral, we get a picture. I can't post it yet, but she's a cutie.

So a while ago, I'm sitting in a corporate setting and experiencing the grace of worshipping with many saints. That's something my soul longs for here-corporate worship through song and prayer. I miss it dearly. So I'm sitting, listening, pleading with God, singing, and just loving Jesus. All of the sudden, the picture of our little girl goes reeling through my mind over and over again. She's sitting in Ethiopia....just waiting. We are her parents, but she has no idea, no concept and no way of finding us on her own. She can't up and walk out of her orphanage. She can't just escape her situation. She can't save herself. I get overwhelmed just reminiscing this day. So God gave me this picture of her to remind me that this was EXACTLY who I was before Jesus came in a saved me. He rescued me from myself. He rescued me from my ungodly future. I was sitting there, not realizing I needed saving. I couldn't save myself. I couldn't pull myself up by my bootstraps. I couldn't earn my way to salvation. Just as our baby girl. She can't earn her way into our family. She can't do a thing, until we go and GET her.

About 12 years ago, God came and GOT me. He captured my heart, my soul, my future. And now I am HIs-forever. There is not a thing that our kids can do to separate us from them. Just as it is promised to God's children "nothing can separate you from the love of God." But first, we have to be His child.

I love when God gives us an overwhelming sense of who He is. I cannot imagine that day when I stand before Him in all His glory. That 15 minutes of insight was almost more than my soul could take. Thank you Lord for small glimpses and large Graces.

OH, that's why it snowed....

So now I know why we've had this captivating 2 days of snow. Thank you Mother Iodine for causing the clouds to fall this blanket of white.....geez.

One Cure for Anxiety

IF we are earnestly seeking our joy in the Lord’s glory in our lives, be comforted by the following words which continue to renew us daily. It’s not Scripture but it summarizes so much of the Bible well:

 

“God uses us more than we know and less than we plan.”

 

Thanks be to God through Christ our Lord!

2 Snow Days

I realize there are 617 pictures on here, but I'm trying to use fun pictures of my kids enjoying the snow to convince myself that winter is a good thing.



There's nothing like warm homemade doughnuts, good friends and thick snow.









Most of the gang from yesterday regrouped to make snow cakes today. Then it was to our house for some hot chocolate and de-thawing.







Here are some other creations from around the neighborhood. What's your vote?

Charis' 3rd!

We've now got a 3 year old not so little any more girl. We celebrated her birthday both while we were away and again at home.






She got lots of dolls! Including one that came in the mail from our good friends. She was beyond excited to get a package addressed to just HER. She's very loving to her dolls and her little brother, making sure they're ready for bed. Then she sings and prays for them.



She's still afraid of things, including: dogs, cats, hot water and pooping in squatty potties. She's become quite the jokester and most of her knock knock jokes end with a dramatic pause, the word 'poop' and falling over in bellied laughter.




Many of her sentences are half Chinese and half English, so we have to listen really closely to her. And her newest thing is disobeying in Chinese. Yesterday, I heard her say to Malachi "I don't like you", but she said it in Chinese. So I corrected her and said, "Charis, you may not say 'I don't like you' to your brother." She replied "I didn't mommy, I said 'wo bu xi huan ni' (that means "i don't like you" in Chinese). So I had to correct her in Chinese and she changed her attitude.




We put a candle on the pizza instead of cake. At home, we have a tradition that the birthday person gets to pick the meal. Then we share what things we love about that person. She's so cuddly and loves to play. She loves to be a part of the group and make sure everyone is comfortable and taken care of. She's a wonderful girl....Happy Birthday!!!

Holiday Boycott

I'm holiday worn out. I made Brad a dinner and we had an in house date night for Valentine's Day, but other than that we just skipped it. I'm feeling really overwhelmed with keeping up with Chinese and American holidays. So I'm going to start just skipping them.

It's nice being over here, because we don't have to be bombarded with the signs, commercials and ads reminding us that yet another holiday is coming around and that we are neglectful parents if we don't celebrate, decorate, cook some specific food and lavish our kids with presents. Well, I for one am revolting. I'm tired of the pressure to have perfect holidays. It seems that there's a holiday every 2 weeks. And between birthdays and holidays, I'm just done. We're going to downsize on celebrations this year. I'm just not sure what to skip.

Valentine's day and Halloween are definite skippers for me. And we're going to up the anty for St. Patrick's Day because I like St. Patrick. I figure my kids won't know it's really a minor holiday, so celebrate we will. So if you've got suggestions on holidays to skip, let me know, I want a long list of holidays that I've been given permission to skip.