Restore

Early morning reading in Isaiah with Jeremy and RESTORE pops out of the page at me.  My mind wanders to a friend whose marriage is dissolving.  Desperate, urgent prayers begin for restoration.  Restoration of health, mind, spirit, heart, relationship.  

Restoration of life and love.

Later I recall I haven't heard from a friend all weekend about her son.  Again RESTORE.  Pleading prayers for God to restore hearts, minds, souls, relationships.  

Restoration of hope.

A blog post from a friend fighting cancer informs me of her recent struggles with chemo treatments and steroids and I whisper RESTORE. 

Restoration of body.

Searching this word in Scripture and I am reminded HE is the one who restores.
Psalm 23:3 
He restores my soul.

Psalm 30:3
O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

Lamentations 5:21

Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—

Three times the Psalmist in Psalm 80 says:

Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

As I am begging for restoration, I am praying for us to have a posture of trust, surrender, repentance.  

Restore means to get back what was lost or taken away.  To bring back or reconstruct, to reestablish.

Included in all these prayers for restoration is a prayer for 

Restoration of faith.

Lord God, may you bring back health, 
 reconstruct life, restore lost relationship and hope
and reestablish faith.
 

 

Christmas letter a little late

Most years of my married life I have sent out a Christmas letter or poem or something that hopefully let's you know what's up with us without sounding boastful or boring. And since I've had a blog, I usually post it here too.  I let all of December and January slip by without taking the time so here's what's up with us for 2015:

I started a new kind of list not too long ago.  Inspired by Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts, I began naming gifts in each day—big and small—and giving thanks.  Here are a few I will share with you.

Jeremy and I sharing 20 years of marriage.  All the “remember when…” moments, the laughs, the struggles, the victories, the changes.  I don’t want to take for granted our days, our life together.  He is my favorite.

Katerin getting her driver’s license.  What is amazing about this gift is not how she can help drive her siblings to activities, although that is AWESOME, but how she completed the online class totally independently after learning English only the year before.

Emily making new friends in school.  You may not realize how hard this has been for her over the years.  But this year Emily has grown A LOT -- becoming more confident to be herself and to open up to others.

Marian donating 11 inches of her hair—cutting off 11 inches of her own hair!  What you may not know is that Marian values her hair maybe more than anything.  What I love about this gift is how this outward thing shows a beautiful inward transformation.

Wesley sharing all kinds of sports facts with me.  As I listen I am amazed that he thinks I care about these things and that I should know them.  I love how he offers these facts about any sport and my response of “uh huh” is acceptable.

Omar showing his creativity.   It’s the detail he adds to a Lego creation and what he comes up with in sculpting plastilina or even wiki sticks.  It won’t be just a boat or a plane, it will have something to it that causes me to not just say “uh huh” but “That’s cool, Omar. “  I’m fascinated by his ideas and what he finds around the house to make the cool factor happen.

Saimon providing lots of laughter for all of us.  He makes honest observations and asks questions that crack us up—like “Was I born close to my birthday?” What’s even better is that he is starting to enjoy laughing about the things he says with us.

Savannah loving to read.  So much so that her teacher had to call me after school one day to tell me she will have to take Savannah’s books from her at the beginning of class, and she will only get them back when she gets her work done properly.  And because of her reading, I get interesting facts about sharks and questions like “Were you alive during Hurricane Katrina?”  that only require an “uh huh” from me.

The way our friends love us.  We have friends that pray daily, bring a meal, invite us over (we are a lot to invite over), host us overnight…even at short notice, know our faults and lean in anyway.  These are the kind of friends that remind me of Jesus.

 

Jesus and how He saves us.  How He came to us and for us.  The gift of His salvation would be gift enough.  Yet He gives us so much more.  

Dinner at the table

Last night was the first night in MONTHS that we ate dinner together as a family at the table.

I put the leaves out at each spot and asked everyone to write what they are grateful for on the back. I went into it with prayer and low expectations. I told the kids that since we will have less times like this where we will eat together as a family that I wanted to do it more often with intention when we can.

As expected, more than one kid wanted to tell about something they were thinking about. At the same time. As expected, not everyone had a great attitude. But we were all there--all of us.

I had the opportunity to teach one not to stick her finger in the gravy boat, lick her plate, or lick the drops on the side of the gravy boat.

The last one to share about his thankfulness circled his finger in the air and said, "This."
When I asked him what "this" meant he said "dinner together at the table."

What I didn't expect was what happened after dinner.  Three helped with dishes.  We waited to do homework until after dinner and so I was worried about how that would go, but one helped a couple littles.  More spontaneous hugs happened.  And one offered to help make lunches this morning.

Thankfulness precedes the miracle.

Yes, it does.

#1000gifts

1. Pumpkin spice candle burning on a cool, damp morning.
2. laughing with friends
3. an unexpected "thanks, mom"

This is how it begins.  My journey to 1000 gifts.  I have heard of Ann Voskamp's book for a few years and thought, I need to read that, but have never picked it up.

An invitation to go through the study guide with 8-10 of my people came a few weeks ago and we have begun.  Something added to my Mondays that I really look forward to.

4. A text from an old friend, "you've been on my mind all morning--miss you!"
5. Nicole bringing me chili dinner and closing the van door that was left open at 9pm.
6. Restful sleep in the hours before the sun rises.

I have needed this study.  For a long time.  I'm kinda sad as I look at this past year and find that I didn't take many photos.  I let hurry and worry and busy-ness rob me of relationship and connection.  I let my own dark places keep me from making our family time.....from making our family have time...together and meaningful.

In the past 5 days I have had to hear myself say to others out loud that we don't eat dinner together.  We don't make plans to have family vacation together.  And when I think about it, the only time we are together as a family is a 20 minute drive to church Sunday mornings.

7. Savannah's laughter at the chair stuck on dad.
8. misspelled words
9. losing football games to bring the season to an end. (yes, I'm thankful for that.  Have I ever mentioned I'm not really from Texas? I wear red and I go to MOST of the home games and I think that's enough.  I mean, they're 10. And I don't bring noise-makers unless you count Saimon and I don't wear blingy Tshirts, caps, or flip-flops.  Enough.)

Now that I have offended 97% of the football moms in Texas, my point is this....my attitude has been stinky and joy absent.   And if I believe Him and He shows us thankfulness leads to life and victory and joy, and I want life, victory, and joy, then I begin. to practice. gratitude.

10. nudgings for family time.

Not just a bag of oranges

A cool thing happened yesterday. When I was making my kids lunches I put the last orange in Omar's lunch box and thought, "I'm not going to the store until tomorrow so Omar won't have oranges in his lunch tomorrow." Insert disappointed emoji.

I wrote it on my list and that was it.

My friend Jean has brought us a couple meals lately.
 
Just because.
 
I'm not pregnant and nobody died but she has brought me two meals in the last couple weeks.  (So grateful! That's being the church.)

She brought us a meal yesterday – – chili, Fritos, cheese, brownie-cookies, and guess what else… 

a bag of oranges!

When I saw the bag in her hand I just smiled. 

Really God? Really?

Who brings a bag of oranges when you bring somebody a meal? I have never brought anybody a bag of oranges when I brought a meal.

I just smile every time I see the oranges. God is so sweet.  Just a little reminder that He is real and cares about the small things.

Homecoming Anniversary

From our first pic as a family of 9 to the latest one taken this summer, it's still hard to believe today marks our Homecoming 3 years ago. 

Many have said we are inspiring, amazing, a beautiful picture of the gospel. 

When I look back I think "how did we survive those first 5 weeks in a guest house in Colombia? how did we manage with 3 teenage girls in one room when we got home? how did we learn to live together, learn language, just FEED everyone all the meals and snacks, learn how to love, grow, give space, lean in, get help?" 

There are many days I wake up or go to bed thinking "this is too hard. It's just too hard." 

And it's true but that's how I know God is REAL. 

He is WITH US. 

We are too weak, selfish, ill-equipped but HE fills in the gaps, gives us gifts of helps from His people, gently leads us. 

There were times I could not encourage others to adopt, but people ahead of me kept hoping, believing for me. 

Now I can encourage you to say YES to adoption. Say YES to whatever God has for you. He will not call you and leave you to it alone. 

I am thankful for the good and the bad. How God uses and does not let us stay at our worst. He gives us new mercies and grace. YAY FOR GRACE! 

Happy Homecoming Anniversary Katerin, Emily, Marian, Wesley, Omar, Saimon, and Savannah! I am so privileged to see God work in you and through you. 

You ARE an inspiration! I love you with my whole heart! 

Thank you, God, for letting me be mom to these kids. 

Don't deserve it-- and that IS the gospel.

Christmas in November! Join the Mission Trip!

Applications are due for the upcoming mission trip happening November 20-29, 2015 to Kigali, Rwanda!  It's not too late to join the team.  Contact tentalentsint@gmail.com for more info and fill out the application here.

I wanted to repost a blog I shared over 3 years ago if you are wondering WHY GO.....

Why go?
This is the question I have gotten in the past and have asked myself.  Why go all the way to Rwanda for just 10 days when it cost so much money?  Wouldn't it be better just to send that money to help cover school fees, medical care, and food for the orphans?

God answered that question again and again as we just spent the last couple weeks loving the orphan in Rwanda.

He first answered it through Mike. 

(on the right)

Mike started Ten Talents International in Rwanda which is a program that helps children stay in their families through sponsorship and provides a home for boys who used to live on the streets.

Mike shared that as the only person in his family who became a Christian at a young age, he grew up not knowing what a christian looked like.  It wasn't until he was a young adult and found a church that he saw how a christian lived.

For the boys at the Home of Innocence, some of them lost their families during the genocide and so they have never had a family.   They do not know what a mom and dad is supposed to look like.  What living in a family is like. 

They don't even know what to hope for.

So Mike shared that when we come, these boys SEE a family.  They see a husband and wife, a mom and dad and it gives them a picture of what to hope for as they grow up and someday start their own families.

Why go?

We spent one afternoon sitting in the living room at the Home of Innocence sharing stories of our lives with one another.  We listened to the stories of about 20 boys and young men.  They listened to our story.  When asked of them, "What is your favorite part about having teams come visit?"

They responded without hesitation,

"Knowing you."

Why go?

This question was answered in a little girl named Shema and her single mother.  Shema is the sponsor child of Jeff and Marissa Anderson through Compassion International.  Jeff and our team was able to meet Shema and her mother one afternoon.  Jeff brought them pictures and gifts for both of them from his family.  She showed him her school, their small home, and the goat the Anderson's had bought for them last year.

Shema's mother is HIV positive.  She has no husband and no other family.  Their home was very small, dark, and empty. 

She told Jeff,

"Thank you for coming.  Seeing your love and care for us gives me HOPE."

Money given to this family for school fees, food, and a goat provided much needed help, but it was Jeff's visit that gave them hope and light to their darkness.



Why go?

Michael Jr answered this question for us one evening over dinner.  Michael (we call him Michael Jr at times) lost his family in the genocide and he now lives with Mike and Lisa McColm as their son.  As a young boy he lived in a home much like the Home of Innocence.  He remembers teams coming to visit from America.  We asked him what he thought about the teams and this is what he shared...

"I couldn't believe they would come so far and bring us gifts.  They could have easily stayed where they were, but they didn't.  I felt like I did not deserve it.  When I would ask them about their jobs and they would tell me they worked for some big bank or something, I could not believe it.  Because no one living in Rwanda who had a similar job would ever talk to me.

When they left, it was like the worst feeling.  You knew you would probably never see them again and the feeling that you had when they were here.  I cried.  But knowing that they came to give glory to God also made me want to be closer to God."

(Michael Jr in the middle)



Why go?

Jesus said when you do it for the least of these, you do it for me.  His heart beats for the fatherless.  We go to feed Him, clothe Him, but most importantly,

to know Him more.