Tuesday, November 18, 2014

This girl...



Was born on an unknown date, in a house that no longer exists
 somewhere in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia...

Was sent to an orphanage around the age of 6 or 7,
 along with her younger sister and brother, when her mother died...

This girl was sad...
                      This girl was afraid...

Became their constant guardian and protector, comforter and "mother"...

was separated from her baby brother because,
'it is too hard to find families willing to adopt more than two children at a time.' ...

This girl was broken...
                             This girl was loving....
                                                                               This girl was courageous...

Was adopted and brought to America when she was almost 9 years old...
did what she had always done...
 faced the challenge with all the courage she could muster!...
 threw herself into every struggle with the will to win...
and determined to find the good...
even when the pain came in floods and  threatened to drag her under...

This girl was hurting...
                             This girl was confused...


But she pressed on...

Never willing to let the pain that the past created,
 become the only future she would know...

This girl was determined...
                                   This girl was forgiving...

This girl is amazing...
                  This girl is strong...
                                                                This girl is wise beyond her years...


This girl is a woman I am so proud to know...

This girl is our daughter!

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Not Our Problem?

The most recent government statistics give us the hard truth that we are not making progress... or if we are, it is not nearly good enough, fast enough, or thorough enough!
When you look at these numbers, can you take a minute and soak them in?
Can you put a face on each one, or better yet, a name?
Do you see that these are neighbors, cousins, sisters, brothers...ours?
We like to say that it is not our problem, that someone else was irresponsible and failed.  Made bad choices and fell, taking their children down in their own destruction.  But the hard truth is, that we are failing.  Society is failing them, and if we consider ourselves one of the human race, we must take responsibility for our part.  If we have a part, what are we doing with it?
Its true that we can't fix it all.  But can we do more than place blame?  More than turn away?  More than nothing?  Maybe just one small thing?
Here, I will help you do one small thing...

Watch the video, ReMoved

And then,

If you are really courageous, post it to your site, or facebook with the same challenge.

or...

look away.


Here are the numbers---

There are currently 402,378 children in foster care!

                                                  31,498 of them have been in for 5 years or more!

101,840 are waiting to be adopted!

Almost, 20,000 age out of the system every year-that means they are booted out at age 18 with no where to go!  Of these, 40% had been homeless, 60% of the men had been convicted of a crime, only 25% got a diploma, and 50% were involved in illegal substance abuse.

Still don't think this is our problem?







ReMoved

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Well, dear hearts...2013 is behind us. 

 It leaves me with such a mix of emotions.  On one hand, I'm not sure there has ever been a year that I was so thankful to watch disappear in the rear view window!

 And yet, there is a part of me that doesn't want to let it go. 

Trials and treasures were so intricately woven into the fibers of the past 12 months.

 If only I could preserve the details under glass and set it upon a mantel.

  Seeing it fade behind me, I fear that it will be shortly lost to memory as well.

  But I have both hope and a terrible dread that there will be years to rival it, in the future.



The lessons learned through the trials of this past year fly in the face of fear...

There are no mistakes-

We are the ones that have been chosen to face what we face at this very time, for a perfect purpose.  So stand tall and look up!  God wants YOU on the frontline of THIS battle.

We don't have to know why-

Asking why the challenges exist, or why we are the ones that have to face them, waste energy and make us bitter.  What we need to ask is, what am I suppose to learn through this?  We already know why they are here...because YOU are the person GOD WANTED in this PLACE at this TIME!

Look up-

You can't fight a battle, when you are staring at your belly button!  Who has God placed around you, others that are struggling, people who want to help, a beautiful creation to lift your spirits and give you hope, a sunrise to remind you that its a new day...the best remedy for emotional exhaustion is to give thanks and to give to others.  Sitting in the corner licking our wounds only leads to infection- get up and give to others!

What challenges are you facing, how do you get through each day?

Share with us, so we can encourage each other.

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