We Are Adopting! - 7/16/2010

We have been pursuing adoption since the beginning of the year, and are nearly done with the paperwork! We have submitted an application to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to bring an orphan from another country into the United States. When we receive the confirmation form (the I-171H), our Dossier will be complete! This was a long process, and all that will remain is to have the whole thing notarized in the state capitol and mail it to Ethiopia with a referral for the child we've applied for.

This is not a cheap process, but we have been blessed to be able to provide for the costs to bring our next child home. However, during the process a new regulation was approved. We now have to travel to Ethiopia twice - before you only went once to bring your child home. We weren't prepared for that added expense. So, we are accepting any donations to meet our goal for the extra plane tickets. If you feel led to contribute, just use the "chip-in" widget in the top left of the blog. Thank you to those of you who have already contributed, every little bit helps!

In the meantime, please pray that His will be done in this process and that we would be sensitive to His leading in choosing the child He has in mind for our family. Thank you!

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The Twelve - 2/4/2010

Mark 3:14, "He appointed twelve - desig-nating them apostles - that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach."

Perhaps choosing twelve apostles, or messengers, was necessary - but why twelve of them? What is the significance of choosing a dozen? Why not three or seven or twenty-five?

I think maybe Christ linked Himself with the very foundations of the Old Testament by choosing twelve apostles, in this way affirming once more that He is the son of God; that it was His story laid out and prepared for throughout the generations of Israel's family.

Originally God established the nation of Israel through twelve men. Israel was the name of a man who had twelve sons. These were the great-grandsons of Abraham, with whom God made His covenant and whose descendants God promised would outnumber the stars. All Jews for centuries traced their lineage back to one of these twelve men, using their names to identify the tribes to which they belonged.

This literally was God's family - which is why we sometimes refer to the Israelites as God's "chosen people." This is the family to whom God delivered His word, and He promised to send His son, the Messiah, through this same family. The world would know God and be saved by this family - because it is the one into which Jesus was born. Salvation then was offered to everybody "...because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." - Romans 1:16.

Christ came to save all men, not just the family or nation of Jews to whom He originally preached, if they just believe His message. So, Jesus chose twelve more men. These men were sent out into the world to preach the good news which, like a fire spreading across a dry wheat field, covered generations and continents, eventually spanning the globe. Those who hear and accept the good news that started with these apostles are then grafted into the family that God made - the same family that started with those twelve other men so long ago. This is why it is sometimes explained that Gentiles are "adopted" into the family of God, like in Ephesians 1:5, "He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will..."

So, what is the one and greatest link between the Old Testament and the New Testament? As a Christian, I believe it to be Jesus Christ. The Old Testament establishes God's covenant and relationship with man, prophesying and preparing the way for Jesus Christ to fulfill the law and embody (literally) God's plan to save man from sin and eternal separation from Him. Much of the Old Testament involves preparing the very family into which God's son would be born - the Israelites.

Twelve men and their descendants set the stage for the arrival of the Messiah. Twelve more men carried the news of the Messiah’s arrival into the rest of the world and are the reason we know today of what Jesus accomplished.

In the book of Revelation, John explains how these 24 men will be honored, since it is by them that God's presence and knowledge spread to all of mankind, making the members of God's family innumerable. Revelation 21:12-14 describes part of the “New Jerusalem,” stating that,

"It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and the names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel ... And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."

Surely, if these men are to be memorialized in the city of heaven for all eternity, we shouldn't take lightly how God used them for His glory. By the family of the twelve sons of Israel, the world is able to enter into God's presence - the "gates" to the city as described in Revelation. And once in God's presence, we stand firm on the Truth preached by the twelve apostles - the "foundation stones" of God's eternal Holy City.

Thank you, Jesus, for your plan and your grace, that we might all be saved and come to spend the rest of our days with You.

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The Coolest Kid EVER - 7/5/06

"Do you wanna know why none of the ashes from the fireworks hit us?"
"Why, Kelsey?"
"Because I prayed."

So adorable!!! My niece joined my wife and I for the Fourth of July Weekend. We watched the fireworks show the city put on, with primo seats almost directly underneath the display. A lot of the embers were falling nearby, and one especially hot piece landed on the blanket of the people behind us. It was still glowing and sent the family into a panic. My niece apparently was worried the same drama would unfold on our blanket, so she prayed. Then she believed with childlike faith - relied entirely upon God - that we would be safe.

Mark 10:15, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

This is the same kind of faith we are commanded to develop. We must learn to simply rely on God. When we pray for something, of course it will come to pass because we know how great and powerful our God is.

I had my niece all weekend for camping, fun, and some quality time before my wife and I move to Belize. It was so very, very hard taking her back home. For both of us. But, I had made a CD of the latest Christian hits for her last time she stayed with us. She informed me this weekend that one of her favorite songs on that CD is the same as mine.

I made a point to emphasize that as much as I love her (which is a WHOLE lot), God loves her even more. Like this song that she told me she liked. Like He loves all of us...more....

More
by Matthew West

Take a look at the mountains
Stretching a mile high
Take a look at the ocean
Far as your eye can see
And think of Me

Take a look at the desert
Do you feel like a grain of sand?
I am with you wherever
Where you go is where I am

And I'm always thinking of you
Take a look around you
I'm spelling it out one by one

(Chorus)
I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more

Just a face in the city
Just a tear on a crowded street
But you are one in a million
And you belong to Me

And I want you to know
That I'm not letting go
Even when you come undone

(Chorus)
I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more
I love you more

Shine for Me
Shine for Me
Shine on, shine on
Shine for Me

(Chorus)
I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more

(Chorus)
Than the sun
and the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you, yesterday and today
Through the joy and the pain
I'll say it again and again
I love you more
I love you more

And I see you
And I made you
And I love you more than you can imagine
More than you can fathom
I love you more than the sun
And you shine for me

Jesus thank you so, so much for calling my niece at such a young age to learn of your Great Love and grow up under your protection and provision. I pray you show her that, though the sorrow may last for the night, your joy comes in the morning.

I love you, Kels!

Big Events - 6/21/06

It's hard sometimes to think of what my mom would say during life-changing events. She passed away in September of '03. Since then, I married my best friend, my little brother married an awesome woman, and they gave me another niece. Now, my wife and I are stepping out on faith - going on an adventure to Belize where mission work and employment blend into one.

What would my mom say?

Luckily, I know her heart so I have an idea of what she would say. And she knows Jesus Christ (she lives in His house right now). I know Jesus, too, and she is most likely aware of what He is doing in my life right now. So I know what she probably is saying.

I think God helped this become incredibly clear when Melissa and I were driving home from Tacoma on Father's Day. God the Father's Day...

She had fallen asleep, and I was listening to the radio. A song that I had heard dozens of times before started playing. It was a familiar tune, but I never paid any attention to the lyrics - until now. Suddenly all of my attention was fixed on this message playing in my car. I believe it is exactly how my mom would react to the news of my traveling to Belize to teach junior high in a Christian school. This is where the lyrics started speaking to my heart:

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
to dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
and help you find your wings

May passion be the wind
that leads you through your days
And may convictions keep you strong
guide you on your way
May there be many moments
that make you life so sweet
But more than memories

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
to dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
and help you find your wings

It's not living
if you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off
but I'll cheer as you fly

...so let my love give you roots
and help you find your wings

Thank you Jesus for your presence; for reminding me of my mother's love - the roots of which will be there for me whatever this life brings. Thank you Lord for filling my heart with dreams and the faith it takes to do great things for you. I praise your holy name, Jesus. Amen.

Mi Sobrina - 2/28/06

Ésta es mi sobrina, Jocelyn. En ésta foto, ella tiene solamente doce días, que significa que ella no tiene tanto personalidad como parece aquí.

It's A Girl! - 2/5/06

Welcome to the world, Jocelyn Karalee! 2/4/06

"You made my whole being;
You formed me in my mother's body.
I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.
What you have done is wonderful.
I know this very well.
You saw my bones being formed as I took shape in my mother's body.
When I was put together there, you saw my body as it was formed.
All the days planned for me were written in your book
Before I was one day old.
God, your thoughts are precious to me.
They are so many!
If I could count them, they would be more than all the grains of sand.
When I wake up,
I am still with you."
Psalm 139:13-18