Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is coming! More importantly the new commericals are coming! Let's just hope the advertising industry didn't go too far.
Not only is the Super Bowl, it's coming to the DFW area! Brent and I love this city, esp. Fort Worth. While the living in the city is extremely fun, we mostly love the people that we met there.

I worked with a guy named Paul at an Air Brush store for awhile. Paul is a true Jets fan. The Jets were always his team, even through all the losses, he still had hope for them. I wish I could hear him now! I know he is hoping the Jets can make it this year! Paul was one of my favorite people I have worked with. He and I had conversations about Christ. When I left, my gift to him was a Bible. I don't know if he ever opened it. I hope so. I hope he will believe.

But as my friend Tim said, the outcome of Super Bowl doesn't really matter. There are more pressing matters we have to consider. Here is one:

Natalie Grant and Tenth Avenue North PSA for Traffick 911 from Nate Bernard on Vimeo.

Below: This is an excerpt off of Tim's recent blog.
"Thousands of lost souls will flock to the Dallas area and they will embrace the things that lost people do. Among those will be predators who are looking for women and children to exploit for their sexual pleasure or profit. I am ashamed to say this, but the thought probably would have never crossed my mind without a friend sending me a document today that revealed statics of human trafficking in Texas and Houston in particular. Hundreds of women and children will be brought into the Dallas area so that others can pay money to do with them as they please. That takes some of the excitement out of watching the big game doesn't it?"

"Of course this happens every year at the Super Bowl but the awareness of this problem is being raised to a new level this year because of the game's location. In 2006, 25% of reported trafficking victims were in Texas. Our state is prime territory for the trafficking industry's 9-32 BILLION dollar annual business. Several things contribute to this. The I-10 corridor, our unsecured border, the vast size of our state, and the ability for traffickers to blend their victims into the Hispanic culture. Unfortunately, it gets even closer to home for NEHBC. The majority of the 25% of victims reported were in Houston. Our city's proximity to I-10, the Mexican border, and our port make us a prime spot for this industry. This is happening in our Jerusalem and our Judea. We cannot ignore it. So what do we do?"

"First of all, I'm not asking you to boycott the game like some groups are advocating. If you feel called to do that by all means do so. I will be watching the game. However, I bring this to our attention because it should matter to us. It should shake our souls and wrench our hearts with pain. Certainly this happens worldwide. Just ask our missionaries in Estonia, Tom and Jennifer. This is a major problem in Tallinn where they live. Yet it is happening at an alarming rate right outside our front doors here in Houston, TX. This is where God has placed us to live our lives and to reach the lost for Jesus. We must be aware of what is happening around us and that includes the spiritual needs of those we are called to reach. The chances of you and I encountering someone sold into slavery through human trafficking are great. I raise this issue only to open our eyes once again to the pain, suffering, and sin that is destroying lives around us. This practice violates the image of God and devalues human life which is precious to our Lord."

"Second, I am simply asking you to pray for these victims and for those who exploit them for profit or pleasure. Pray for the families whose children have been kidnapped and sold or forced into this industry. Ask the Lord to open your eyes to what is happening around us and to reveal to you ways that you can help these victims or change the hearts of their abusers. Pray for the ministries at Farrington Mission as they are in a high risk area for human trafficking. This is just one of many social justice issues that we face as believers in a lost world. May God give us the wisdom and resources to face these challenges with the gospel and change lives for His glory."

The trouble with ligaments

It is snowing again! This time they are predicting inches! It's so cold here! I do wish that the snow had waited a few days. Brent has torn ligaments in his wrist and was scheduled to go see a specialist tomorrow. But now he will not be able to go because of the snow and ice. It is causing him a lot of pain and I hope that there are no long term effects since he has had to wait so long to see the specialist. I hope that they can reschedule him for sometime this week. He has some pain meds and anti-inflammatory, but they are really no help. His hand is so swollen that is looks like the hamburger helper hand in the commericals!

How did he tear the ligaments, you ask? Well he tore them by rolling a frying pan. Yes, really. He has a presentation that he does with feats of strength. He really enjoys it and incorporates the gospel while doing the feats. He even got to do a show in Colorado with Team Impact a long time ago. One of his stunts during that show was to blow up the hot water bottle and bust it! Well he blew up the hot water bottle and busted it! I was glad I was not there to see that! It's a dangerous stunt! But feats of strenth might be over for awhile - at least for his right hand!

So while you are reading this please say a prayer for Brent's hand/wrist.
Thank you!

New Look

So I plan to change the look of this blog. I am always changing it. But I stumbled upon this great site. You can also buy premade layouts for $5.00 and all of it goes to this families adoption. Pretty cool, I thought.

Merry White Christmas

Copy Cat

So once again my friend Sandra has found a fabulous addition to a Christmas party. I decided to copy cat her thoughts for you! I love it! Try it out!
Here is the link. It's from City Cradle Design

Here's the Deal......

So here's the deal....we almost adopted 4 kids...again. The same 4 as before. We had a to have our medicals updated. They added a few tests and and x-ray. When we sent in our medicals, it was necessary to have our dossier reviewed again. This time we were told if we wanted the 4 siblings we could have them. What? Shock.

So okay, we thought and prayed about it for weeks. I mean sincerely prayed. Sometimes I say I pray about things and then I really don't. This decision affects too many lives to count, mainly 4 or 6 if you count us, and I have learned my lesson about not praying about things in my/our life. I am perfect at messing up my own life, so I didn't want to mess up four other lives. Especially since thier lives have been such a mess already! I was even doing Pricilla Shirer's study "Discerning the Voice of God" during this time. Everything Brent and I were reading and talking about seemed to lead to make the decision to adopt the 4 kids.

This brings us to December 1. We drove down to our agency to talk with them and tell them we had decided to move forward. This meeting set all kinds of things in order. Write a letter of intent, get a psychology update, print off a few forms to fill out, find a organziation in which to send tax deductable donations, etc. Even that night we had a man call wanting to know where to send their donation - we hadn't told him that we had decided to go ahead in the process. A few other events were happening that we thought was confirmation from the Lord. Everything is going smoothly, except, my spirit is twisted. That's the only thing was so weird. It was not the feeling I expected after saying yes to them. I literally felt as though my spirit was being twisted around inside me. I couldn't figure it out.

Fast forward to December 15, we are meeting with our psychologist. The 15th just happened to be the last appointment she had open for the year.
It was a cold, snowy, rainy day. I love days like that! The meeting went so well. I actually thought she would say we were out of our minds! haha!
Our agency is right across from her office, so we stepped over to say hello. Pat saw us through the door and motioned for us to come in. It was the kind of motioning where you instantly know something is wrong. We walked to the office and Anne told us that our letter of intent had been rejected. At first, I wasn't sure what she meant. I just thought, okay, so we write another one? No. That was not the meaning. There were some changes in Peru. Without disclosing all the details, there seem to be some political moves when our letter of intent was submitted and it was rejected. We had been told this was a done deal. But now there was no deal at all! We weren't really sure what to think about the news. What do we do now? We didn't know, we still don't really know.
Confusion was the main feeling of the day. Had we "heard" wrong? What about all the things we thought were confirmations along the way? What does this mean? It is still confusing and sad that children's lives seem to be in the hands of political parties. However, I know the secret: children's lives, all lives, are really in the hands of the Creator. He holds this world. Nothing happens unless He says yes. Charles H. Spurgeon has great quote:"Wherever God in His providence guides you, let it be your joy to know that He is too wise to err - too good to be unkind." ---
You, we, must believe God. So what did we decide?
We decided to keep our home study update the same - adopt 1- 4 children (siblings) and change the ages to 0 - 11. Who knows what will happen next? We just keep going and waiting and sincerely praying.

We still have the organization set up in which to give tax deductable donations. If you would like to give, please leave me a comment and I'll send you the info.

I know this is long! Just wanted to let you know what was going on with the adoption.

Link

For those of you who love to plan parties. The Birthday Girl blog is so great. I found this on my friend Sandra's blog. She is incredibly crafty. She has a great love for God and people. She loves to plan parties and make others feel special.

Here is her blog: Birthday Girl


Enjoy your party planning!

Moving

Be on the look out! This blog is moving soon!

Well we are not moving, just the blog.

Christmas

I am unusually excited about Christmas this year. I have been for awhile. This is unsual because Christmas is not my favorite holiday. I would much rather celebrate the fourth of July. But this year, I can't wait to enjoy each Christmas party.
We received an email update this week from some friends who are adopting from Ethiopia. In their email they highlighted some Christmas traditions in Ethiopia. I thought that was a good idea, so I went in search of some traditions in Peru.

This is what I found (from the random websites that I came across):

First of all it is the summer season.

Peruvians have midnight mass or they wait up till midnight - Noche Buena - and then the celebration really begins. Feasting and dancing with neighbors, friend, and family can last till early morning. Lighting fireworks add to the festivities.

Some communities perform plays.

The Nativity may be set up for a month before Christmas, but Jesus is not placed in the manger until after midnight on Noche Buena. Symbolizing that He has been born.

Another Christmas tradition in Peru is the chocolatada. A chocolatada is usually organised by churches, businesses or shops. The people there give hot chocolate, some bread or biscocho (a sweet bread with dried fruits inside), some sweets or maybe a toy to poor children (some websites included elderly people too)

Hmm.....Jesus, fireworks, and chocolate :) I think I will fit in.

By the way....

November is National Adoption Month.
His Voice for Sudan is currently raising funds for their 4th orphanage.
Please support this orphanage by purchasing this song from iTunes. All proceed will go towards the orphanage.