Festive Praise Instead of Despair

To all who mourn in Israel,

he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,

a joyous blessing instead of mourning,

festive praise instead of despair.

In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks

that the Lord has planted for his own glory. -Isaiah 61:3

I Am Her Dad

"And that leads to the second thing that changed my fear. This thought hit me (and continues to do so): there’s a difference between being her father and being her dad. It’s not just semantics for me. She’s not mine, but she is. She’s not from me but she’s a part of me. She’s not my flesh, but I’d give my life for her. She’s my daughter. I may not be the guy who is responsible for her being in the world, but I am the guy who is responsible for her. And gladly. I may not be her father, but I am her dad."  Pastor Trent, Heritage Park Baptist Church

http://trenthenderson.blogspot.com/



Resting In Him,
~s

No Greater Joy Dad

Many of you are followers of No Greater Joy Mom, now there is No Greater Joy Dad, written by Adeye's other half, her hubby Anthony.  Below is a portion of his latest post... to read the full post go to nogreaterjoydad.blogspot.com

Monday, May 9, 2011Reluctant Husband Syndrome - Question 1



I am very excited to address something known in the blogosphere as RHS--


Reluctant Husband Syndrome.


You can count me in as one of “those husbands” who has not been on the same wavelength as his wife when it comes to adopting a child.

Guys, we should start a support group. “Hello. My name is Anthony, and I’m a reluctant husband.”

Well, thanks be to God, I’m a lot better now. And I won't step off the wagon!

So I want to speak to you husbands, you RH cowboys, who need a little help sorting through this stuff. In this post, I address the first in a series of typical questions you may have as an RH. Please feel free to write to me if you have any questions, you need prayer, or you want to scream. I am here for you.

QUESTION 1:


I might consider adopting, but later. So what’s wrong with putting it off for a year or so?

To read the rest of Anthony's post go to nogreaterjoydad.blogspot.com  Anthony is a great writer and writes from his heart.

Blessings,
~s

A Dream Come True

Nashville Rock and Roll Marathon

April 30, 2011

A Dream Come True

Racing with my biggest boy.

This mama's heart is so happy!!

In 2001, I entered the world of running and racing.  I have completed 4 marathons over the years, and with each marathon, trained diligently for 6 months to prepare my body to compete and to finish the 26.2 mile races.  After each race I distrinctly remember the moment, "WOW, I just ran 26 miles! That is unbelieveable."

In 2005 I had my third knee surgery, and the orthopedic uncerimoniously told me "You are no longer a runner, get a bike."  He of course was not a runner or competitor.  If he was, he would have been more sypathetic and understanding.  Now my general practioner is not only a runner, but a cyclist and a competitor also and she understands the feeling of not being able to run.

So I got a road bike.  Not the same.  I enjoy riding, have only participated in one road race. Haven't really gotten serious about cycling yet.

But I did take up power walking, which is almost running.  And, I decided to compete in a half marathon and test my legs.  I mentioned it to my oldest son and he jumped on board to run the half marathon and participate with me.  He was a cross country runner in high school.    He's graceful and athletic and determined.  He has great running form, and a great attitude.  I've always wanted to race with him, but the opportunity just never came about.  I've been blessed with being able to race with my younger boy.  During the time I was training with Team In Training preparing for the marathons, my youngest and I ran a few 5ks together.  That was always fun, he always kicked my tail.  Just being out there participating together was awesome.  So, having my big boy say he'd do it with me was in fact a dream come true.

We registered for the Nashville Rock and Roll Marathon.  The marathon was this past Saturday. We flew into Nashville on Friday afternoon and immediately headed over to the convention center to sign in and pick up our race packets. 

OH MY GOODNESS!  The amount of people there was incredible.  The energy was unreal.  IT ROCKED!

Saturday our day started at 330 a.m., we left the farm at 415 a.m. and got to LP Field,  the Tennessee Titans stadium, by 530 am.  This was the finish line for the marathon and half marathon.  We jumped on a shuttle and headed over to the start line.  Start time was 7 a.m.  We got in line for the port a potties.  We waited.  We waited. We waited.  There were so many runners there it took 40 minutes to reach the head of the line we were in. And there was something like 100 potties! By this time the race had already started. We headed out to find our corrals and wished each other well.  I am much slower than he is, and it took my starting corral 48 minutes to reach the start line after the race had already started!  It is a good thing for timing chips on our shoes, once we cross the start line our time officially starts.

The weather turned our to be perfect for race day.  It had stormed and flooded most of the week, but Saturday turned out to be incedible weather for a race.  The atmosphere and people along the course were so encouraging and friendly. The bands and cheerleaders made it all so much easier, especially once you got to those last couple of miles. 

But what I love most of all about competing is the sincrere friendliness of the other runners and spectators.  It doesn't matter how fast you are,  how slow you are, if you are an elite runner or a power walker.  Everyone is so nice, so friendly, and we're all out there for different reasons, some raise money for non profits, others are trying to qualify for other races, others are walking/running in memory of loved ones and the one reason we are all out there...because we love it.

My boy beat me by almost an hour.  But, I did better than I had planned by 4 minutes!  And, I even saw a girlfriend along the way at mile 10 and stopped and hugged her.  Sherri says I get to deduct a minute from my time for stopping and saying hello!

It was great having quality time with my big boy.  We toured the Winstead Hill, and the
Carter  and Lotz Houses in Franklin, TN and got a crash course on the Battle of Franklin.  Enjoyed Cracker Barrel, and fellowshipped together.

I love the man-child of mine.  Thank you Jesus for blessing me by lettimg me be his mama.

Rejoicing,
~s

ADOPTION QUILT GIVE AWAY

Isn't this an awesome quilt?  Do you see your adoption t-shirt in it?

Three families are working together on this give away.  They are raising needed adoption funds to bring 4 treasures home from Ethiopia.

http://journey2ethiopia.blogspot.com/p/easter-quilt-giveaway.html  [Young family]

http://toonefamilyjourney.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-adoption-fundraiser.html [Toone family]

http://justonemore4us.blogspot.com/2011/04/quilt-giveaway-only-1.html [Burlingham family]

I'm heading over to each of their blogs and make a small donation to each family.  All it takes is $1 to get in on the give away.  $1 for a chance to win the quilt and  help bring 4 little people home to their forever families.

The give away started Easter Sunday and will run for 3 weeks.  I plan to donate as many times as I can over the next three weeks.

There is also a side drawing going on.   Anyone who donates and gives a shout out on their blog will be entered into a drawing for a custom made Family Values canvas.

Let's be the hands and feet of Christ and help these families bring their treasures home to their forever families. 

Let's help make it one less broken heart - 4 times over!

Rejoicing because He has risen,

~s

HE HAS RISEN!

At The Foot Of The Cross

Where I Am Made Complete

You Have Given Me Life

Through The Death You Bore For Me

May your Easter be filled with love, peace, and joy

Thankful and grateful for a Savior who died for me,

~s

Anthony Shares His Heart

http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2011/04/mindful-of-orphan.html

April 18, 2011



“mindful” of the orphan


Anthony shares his heart.....

What is it in the heart of God that cares so much for the orphan? I don’t mean to question the obvious. My plea is more of an exclamation out of sheer amazement and pure awe.


“What is man that you are mindful of him?” Psalm 8:4


And much less, what is a forgotten child that you are mindful of him? I have come to realize recently that an orphan child is not just abandoned by his family or even by her country. She is abandoned by the world. And at the risk of turning away any reader of this post, you and I are in the world.






Before I entered the world of adoption, for most of my life, I never once was “mindful” of the orphan. Any orphan. That’s what orphanages are for, right? Those kids are taken care of! They get three square meals a day, surely. They sleep on beds and not on the street. They get love and attention from the caregivers of these institutions. Surely!






But most orphans do NOT get three square meals a day. They may NOT have beds to sleep on, just mats on the floor. And if they do have beds, where are the mattresses? We’re talking wooden or metal slabs. And all too frequently, they get attention from caregivers alright. How’s this for attention—fondling, rape, beating, being thrown in cribs, neglect, being left to wade in their feces and urine all day long, being tied to wooden “toilet” chairs, being rented out for the day to beggars who need to invoke more sympathy, and even murder?






These are very real occurrences. I know. I have first-hand or second-hand experience on each of these happenings mentioned.






How many orphans worldwide experience this on a daily basis? Well, think about this: today there are 147,000 million orphans in the world. That’s five million more than the entire population of Russia! Now consider that most of these orphans live in countries that are not “mindful” of them. You can imagine.






But now imagine this, even if an orphan lived in a five-star orphanage (we are imagining, right?), is his or her life better off without a family? If you are a five-year-old child, would you rather live a lonely existence at the Ritz Carlton or in a loving, Christian family that lives just above their means?






Shame on me. I have not been mindful.

If only.


If only the world heard the stories.


If only I had time and money to travel the world to shoot video footage what we hear on a frequent basis but the world doesn’t. I WISH that me and my video camera were invisible so I could stand behind the caregiver at her desk when eight-year-old Vanya from Eastern Europe runs up every day to see if a family is coming for him yet.


Or when a friend of ours, who just arrived in a country for their second trip, gets ready to go back to her lodging after her first day back seeing their five-year-old. I want to shoot how he melts down in hysteria and tears, crying out, “Don’t let my mommy leave me! Don’t go, Mommy!”


Maybe then the world will realize why God’s heart breaks for the orphan.


Maybe then God’s people will get a fire under them to do something about it.


Maybe then the Christian who is in awe of other families who adopt many times over will kneel down at their bedside tonight and do one simple thing: ask God what HE wants THEM to do about it.


Maybe then we will finally see these millions of helpless, hopeless children find their forever families.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
I am blessed to be able to call Anthony and Adeye friends.  They have such a heart for the orphans of this world.
 
Seeking a heart like HIS,
~s