so, i was just tagged in this blog....not sure if you want to read it, but BOY, sister friend is feeling really strong..and the pictures?!??!! WOW!

go to this link: nogreaterjoymom

HOPE. This next generation of kids GET IT. THEY GET IT. there are more "20 somethings" giving there life away at home and overseas then EVER before. IT is ASTOUNDING to watch. And it is not the easy road. These kids are dealing with malaria, special needs, malnourishment, HIV/AIDS, DEATH on a daily basis. THeir "daily dealings" would leave most of us over here in our "comfy little lives" in counseling for years.

My nephew is one of these kids. My first trip to Africa we took him along. He was a typical kid. He had a little rebellion in him...just enough to make you wonder what he was thinking:) His heart has always been as big as EVER, but his "tough guy persona" overshadowed it a bit. I knew if I could get him in the right setting that he wouldn't be able to resist the tenderness that was really in his heart....and that is basically what happened on our trip. LITERALLY, before our eyes, we watched a transformation happen. Writing about it today brings tears to my eyes. He is a junior at UT. Any extra time that he has these days, he is boarding a plane serving. Honduras, Haiti, Uganda..you name it and he desires to GO AND DO. I received an email from him a few nights ago and this is what I read:

Passion. What exactly is passion? Webster’s dictionary describes the word passion as an emotion, an intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction, and also as love, a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept. As followers of Jesus Christ, what does the word ‘passion’ mean to us and what are the implications of it in our lives? First and foremost, we are to have a passion to seek and pursue Jesus. After all, if scripture is inherently the word of God and is God inspired, which we do believe as followers of Christ, we should look no further than the Word of God to reach a verdict. I believe to truly be passionate about Jesus, means to be passionate about the things that Jesus himself was passionate about. One of the clearest passages of Scripture that sheds light into what Jesus was passionate about is Matthew 25 verse 31-40. Jesus is speaking about the final judgment of mankind and the manner in which man will be judged. He talks about separating the goats from the sheep according to how they had lived their lives. Verses 34-40 read:

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing, I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?”

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”

James also sheds light into Christ’s heart in James 1:27 when he says:

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for the orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”

Jesus was passionate about those in society that were in the most dire and destitute situations. He cared deeply for ‘the least of these!’ If we love Jesus, and desire for His will to be done in our lives, wouldn’t it make sense to love the people that he loved? To care for the people that he cared for? This is the essence of Christianity! As John the Baptist says in John 3:30, “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” It is not about you!

As we pour our lives into His people, feeding the hungry, ministering to the homeless in our communities, giving clothes to those who don’t have any, visiting the sick in our hospitals, and the prisoners that have been incarcerated in the name of Jesus Christ, we are fulfilling God’s will for our lives!

I have often asked God what his will for my life is. For a long time I was frustrated because I didn’t feel like He was telling me anything. However, after spending time in His word it became clear to me that Jesus has already told us in His word what His will for our lives are, it just varies depending on where or what you are doing as a vocation.

In what has been termed ‘The Great Commission’ Jesus tells his disciples their last duty as disciples of Him. Matthew 28 verses 18-20 reads:

“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the command I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

This is our charge also as followers of Jesus Christ. To go! What does that mean? It might mean to get on the interstate and drive to your local rescue mission and minister to the homeless in your community. It might mean to get on a plane and visit the orphans and widows that are dying of HIV in Africa. We have all been called to different things. Some have been called to adopt, some have been called to help finance the adoption process for others, and some have been called to disciple youth in their church. Whatever it is, Jesus says go. The word ‘go’ is a verb, it is an action! It’s also important to remember that Jesus says make disciples of ‘all’ the nations. Some might say that they really have a heart for the least of these in their own community, which is fantastic. However, if you only have a heart for those in your own community then you are ministering to a very small percentage of Jesus’ heart. I don’t believe any person that says they are a follower of Christ does this on purpose, but Satan deceives and convinces people to believe and act in such a way.

If someone asked me what I am passionate about, I would first say that above everything else, I am passionate, and unashamed (Romans 1:17), about Jesus Christ because He saved me and has completely changed my heart. I would then say that because I am passionate about Jesus, I am also passionate about the 147 million orphans that have been created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) that don’t have mom or a dad. I am passionate about the 27 million people in our world that are enslaved, the most in global history. I am passionate about the more than 7.5 million children under the age of 5 that day each year from malnutrition and preventable causes. I am passionate about educating the 785 million illiterate people that live on our planet. I refuse to believe that God would create as many people that live on our plant, in His image, for them simply waste away and die. We are to have an eternal perspective, in that we view every single living person as either going to spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus, or eternal damnation in Hell. The sense of urgency is real, and because of I am passionate about these people because Jesus was passionate about them and I am in love with Him!

I ask you to examine your heart and seek Jesus Christ through Scripture and prayer so that when our time on earth is finished we will be as Paul was in 2 Timothy 4 verses 7-8:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now, the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return. And the prize is not just for me, but all who early look forward to his appearing.”

What, or whom, are you passionately living for?

Now, this makes an auntie's heart proud.

My Grace is the same way. Our Honduras trip was just enough to hold her over until she can step foot on those red dirt roads this summer. My Michael is starting to ask also..."when can I go?!" It's such a huge pull at their hearts to get out and DO that they can hardly stand it. THE BODY OF CHRIST....the next generation GETS IT and I am so thankful that I have a front row seat:)

if there is ANYTHING that I have learned on this journey called life is that satan is real. He is alive, well, and willing to kill, steal and destroy. satan does not like anyone caring for orphans. plain and simple.

those of you who follow me on facebook or twitter know that Gwen and I went to the Created4Care conference this past weekend. I wont mention that it took us 7 hours to get there instead of 4 1/2, because we were so excited to be together and get away that we headed SOUTH, but on the wrong interstate! hahaha. thankfully, we were not in a time crunch, no one was screaming at us, and we had a FABULOUS time catching up on each others lives:)

The next morning the conference center was packed! it was so exciting to see over 400 women from all over the nation come and "retreat" with other moms that have adopted, in the process of adoption, or contemplating it. Just the numbers alone brought tears to my eyes...OR maybe it was because my throat hurt so bad, I wanted to cry every time I swallowed? Gwen and I left home Thursday night, and by Friday morning i felt as though razor blades were cutting my throat. I was speaking on HIV, 2 panels, and a breakout session on moms that drive a bus (ha) throughout the weekend. How else would satan attack? of course, my throat.

In my mind, I started going through the ways to rebuke satan. we rely on God’s power, not our own. Second, we rebuke in Jesus’ Name, not our own. Third, we protect ourselves with the full armor of God. Fourth, we wage warfare with the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God. scriptures are full ofexamples of spiritual warfare. Revelation 12:7-8, Ephesians 6: 10-18, Matthew 4:1-11....to name a few.

I took tylenol around the clock, and pushed through. On my way home, i tried to stop and get my throat swabbed...no one was in. Monday morning I went straight to the doctor....STREP. started on an antibiotic and on Wednesday I called back, throat still KILLING me and now spitting blood. SOOO, they changed my meds, I am now on the mend after promising my doctor that I would lay on the couch all day today (hence me posting on my blog hahah)

My heart is still heavy from my HIV break out session. The room was FULL. I am SO conflicted on the whole disclosure issue. I pray and ask God to make it clear to me daily, it's all fear, so I will continue to pray for Him to give me peace. There are days when I wish we had not told anyone about Josie being HIV+...the days when I feel my mama bear claws come out in protection for her. But what if I hadnt told? I wouldnt have a platform to encourage and educate, my children wouldnt have been able to watch the MIRACULOUS journey that we have been on from the front row, the emails wouldnt have flowed in telling me the news of hearts being open to adoption for HIV children, my family would have to live with a secret, and if I don't share... the stigma STAYS! (truly, the list goes on and on and on. ) I am praying each day that all of my children will find their identity in CHRIST. Not in what their life holds...what their HEART holds. Check out this video....MIRACULOUS.

After coming home from Honduras, I had an acquaintance ask me about my trip, which led to more questions about my family, and even more questions about my life in general. Inevitably, the question "what happened in your life to inspire you to adopt and help others the way that you do?" My answer: "I walked alongside a birthmother with my first two adoptions, it wrecked me. my heart ached for those women like it has NEVER ached before. The blinders were removed from my eyes, and I haven't seen life the same since."

I have spoken multiple times on domestic adoption. It TRULY holds half of my heart. I will NEVER be the same. It truly changed my life forever.

Josie has strep throat. She was up earlier than the rest of the crew this morning. As I snuggled up on the couch beside her, with coffee in hand, I opened my laptop and THIS is what I read:

I am a birthmom. I became a birthmom to save my sons life. My fiance put me in the hospital when I was four months pregnant with broken bones and a concussion. I had bruises around my neck from where he tried to strangle me. He told the police he would have killed me. He wanted me dead. I was thrown into a table, into walls, into the floor. While pregnant. With his son. He had no doubt the child was his (he said as much), he just didn't like the fact my doctors appointment took longer (in his mind) than it should have.

This was a man who had custody of two other children from his prior relationship. Full custody.

This was a man when he went to court on domestic violence charges was told by the judge "This is your SIXTH domestic assault charge- perhaps you should CONSIDER anger management classes". No conviction, no charges, just told to CONSIDER anger management classes. I didn't know of the five others before me... I just knew then I wasn't his first, and I wouldn't be his last. I got on a plane the next day and flew to another part of the US.

I placed my son for adoption through a closed adoption to protect my son. He told me at the court hearing that he would see my son taken from me as he had taken his other two. With his history of violence now known to me, I wasn't willing to risk it.

I gave birth thousands of miles from any friends and any family. I placed my son in the arms of his new mother, who I only knew by her first name. I signed the papers, and left the hospital when discharged. I burned all the adoption documents, all the hospital papers, all the hospital mementos, etc just in case he ever managed to track me down. There are no pictures of me with my son. I have no pictures of him. If I close my eyes, I can still remember his face...

I don't know where they are from. I don't know where he is today. I don't know what he looks like. I don't know how he's doing. I don't know if he enjoys fire trucks or police men. I know nothing... as you mentioned, I don't even know if he's alive or not.

I do think of him daily. I do wonder if I made the right decision. The choice I made DOES tear me apart. It still breaks my heart even though it's been close to a decade since I said goodbye...

There are women just like this one ALL over the world. These women are willing to make the MOST sacrificial decision of their life, because their love for their child is so deep.

Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Joshua 1:5
No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

1 Kings 8:57
May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us.

Psalm 94:14
For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.

These are just a few of the verses that remind us that HE will NEVER leave us or forsake us in the bible. I pray that all of the women that are living through circumstances like the one above will cling to these promises so they will not feel alone and despair.

In the meantime, what are YOU doing to love these women through these hard times?