Free Speech - "Let Them Eat Chick'n"

Maybe it comes as a result of having an ex-Marine as my church history professor in seminary, but the one thing I took away from his class was this....

Protect the right to express all beliefs because therein are your own protected.

So, I'm trying to wrap my head around this whole Chicken scene, and a few thoughts come to mind.

1. I am really tired of mock-tolerance.  Really, it is selective tolerance....which is not tolerance at all.  I am also really tired of the LGBT agenda putting their "plight" - so called - on the same level of discrimination and bigotry as 1960's civil rights issues.  Those who laud themselves as having grasped the bigger picture, accepting more diversity of beliefs and lifestyles, who post the "COEXIST" bumper stickers on their cars, have grasped nothing.  The truth is each religious system holds itself up as mutually exclusive.  There are not several ways up the mountain.  Even the most open religious thinkers ultimately believe that the reason every road leads to peace is because...well, you were really on THEIR road to begin with, even though you called it something different.  So if there is only one way, which one is it?

2. People who own up to their own beliefs about their religious practices or lack thereof, without apology, are the bravest of us all.  And they have every right to act on those beliefs.  Freely.  Without poking and prodding from non-believers.  The head honchos of CFA have every right to believe what they want and spend their profits accordingly.  They are free to express those beliefs.  They follow, from my understanding, all federal equal opportunity employment laws.  So what's the big deal?  If you don't like or support what they like or support....shop elsewhere.  Simple as that.  But don't get on the bandwagon that they shouldn't have those beliefs.  The Constitution that protects their expression of those beliefs is the same one that protects yours.  You even have the right to a peaceful assembly to protest, if you feel so inclined.  Those are rights that can coexist.  If they can't, you can't have either one of them.

3.  There are actually BIGGER fish to fry (chicken?) in the whole question of where do I spend my money?  Have I vetted brands and businesses I frequent to make sure their products do not violate child labor laws in underdeveloped countries?  Do they give kick-backs to any human-trafficking organizations?  Are they fair-trade brands?  CFA has committed no atrocities in relation to any of these questions.  So what if they are pro-traditional family?  They are also for fair trade, equal work opportunities, clean businesses, polite staff, and dawgonit, good food.  I believe there are churches in our country that are attempting to build more inroads toward fostering loving relationships with those of non-traditional lifestyles.  But such lambasting from the left makes it hard to do so.  We want to love you.  We want to see Christ work in your life.  Cut us some slack.

4.  In answer to the question that ended point 1, if there is only one way, which one is it?  In a survey of various world religions, each has an end goal of eternal or personal peace.  Each has a mentor that led the way or set down the ground rules.  Each has a system of traditions and rituals that are intended to bring the participant closer to the goal.  But the difference between Christianity and all of these is this....There is an acknowledgment of the failure of organized religion to produce those end goals.  Instead, all hope is placed upon one perfect person who fulfilled what we could not, only the Son of God himself.  And by His substitutionary death upon the cross, finalizing what all the previous sacrifices had failed to produce, he paid our debt, the debt of our sin.  All other religions rationalize away or attempt to make atonement for sins by one's own actions.  Security is not assured.  But those who accept the propitiating payment supplied by Christ will have it applied to their account.  There is no other way.  There is no other Name under heaven given to men whereby they might be saved.

And if you choose not to believe that, then at least protect my right to believe and express it, because I will be protecting yours.

House Cleaning

1.  No bites on the Bowflex yet.  So it is still up for grabs.  If you have specific questions about the model and dimensions, to make sure it will fit in your house, comment below and I will get those for you.

2.  One more night of Family VBS, and a little tickle in the throat has turned into a full-blown upper respiratory crud that has been triggering my gag reflex all day.  I would appreciate some prayers for myself and AC, as she has also been struggling with the coughing and sinus drainage.

3.  I had a great devotional thought that came out of spending some time with the girls this week.  But I can't remember it now.  Pregger-brain strikes again.  That would have been a great third point to this post.  Since I don't have anything more meaningful to say, I'll leave you with this:

Family Style VBS - or in Southern Baptist terms...."We've never done it this way before"....

This week we embarked on something new at IBC.  We have been dealing over the past year+ with several issues that began with the burning of our education building and specific challenges to ministry that the  condensing and crowding and chaos presented.  

Last year, when VBS season rolled around, we tried Backyard Bible Clubs in two strategic neighborhoods - one in close proximity to the church with few attending members to reach the unchurched in that area, and one in a subdivision with several children who attended both regularly and periodically, but some of whom's parents did not attend with them.  Making everything portable, keeping papers and artwork from rolling or blowing away...all part of the difficulty of this format.  It works in some cases, but didn't really reach as many as we had hoped to reach through the efforts of all the teachers involved.  And it took several workers, because we did a morning and an afternoon session. We had to have two art teachers, two recreation leaders, two song leaders....It was just a lot of asking for volunteers, most of whom were already teaching Sunday school, Awana small groups...they were maxed out.

So we decided to look at a way to keep the idea of VBS at our home church location, but do something that would work with no more space than the sanctuary, fellowship hall, and choir room.  In praying for our church, for necessary leadership and teachers, and for families, God laid on our hearts (mine and Joe's) to keep families in tact.  Everyone of our children's Sunday School teachers....EVERY SINGLE ONE....is a parent.  They may or may not be teaching their child's age group.  We've taken the nuclear family and exploded it in the modern church framework.  

There is a place - as a teacher, I can say this with 100% certainty - for age-appropriate teaching in the church.  But the ultimate model for discipling children is found in Deuteronomy 6.  It is for the parents to lead, guide, equip, and send out their children as ministers of the Gospel.  It is for the church staff to equip the parents to do so.  And if all those parents are plugged in as teachers, when do they get equipped?  If we had a traditionally themed and scheduled VBS, those same people would have volunteered as the teachers.  We had to give them a break.

The other conviction about doing VBS this way came from scripture itself, with its multiple references to the church and Christ as a family unit.  God instituted the family before He called for a tabernacle.  The latter took its design, according to God's perfect plan, from the former.  Each has a Head, a Bride, and Children.  We want the church to operate in that framework, following the authority of the Head - Christ, honoring and protecting the Bride - the Church, and training and sending out the Children - individual believers.  In the same way, we want healthy families where the father is empowered with Christ's authority to be a godly Head for his household, whose job is to honor and protect his bride, and together they nurture and send our their children as lights into a dark world.

That led us to this VBS format.  We set up the sanctuary with round tables and chairs.  The Bible study material is coming from AWANA's home study "God's Plan for the Family", but any curriculum that incorporates Bible reading and good discussion questions that parents can facilitate would work.  The schedule for the evenings is as follows:

6:00-6:30 Family Fellowship - Dinner around the tables, with 2 or more families per table

6:30-7:00 Family Worship - Grown up and Kid friendly worship selections with the freedom for kids to move around as they praise.

7:00-7:30 Family Study - Bible teaching time followed by question and answer sessions facilitated by parents at each table.  Part of the goal is for children to recognize their parents as spiritual leaders and encourage a level of comfort for more spiritual discussion to happen in the home.

7:30-8:00 Family Activity - Because the weather has been so unpredictable, and because the parking lot and sidewalks are ripped to shreds because of the construction going on around the church, we opted for arts and crafts.  But had we been able to use the outside facilities, there would have been more recreation and even a family scavenger hunt.  Still, it's fun watching dads trying to use sequins and glitter glue.  This might be at least one area where mom needs to be the authority.  Sorry, guys.

Success for us is measured by smiles on faces, hugs around the neck between parents and children, seeing adults with grown children plug in as "foster parents" to children who didn't have someone to lead them, and ultimately, as we become more finely tuned toward the Gospel story throughout the week, seeing children and parents led to Christ, whether that be an initial or a more intimate relationship.  Success is also seeing those same parents who lead small groups week in and week out lifting their hands in praise, feeling refreshed and encouraged, ready to pour themselves into their ministries and the children they serve.

Success is a healthy family and a healthy church.

Thanks to all of the volunteers in the kitchen, nursery, tables/chairs, sound/computer, and craft department for helping us bring all of these pieces together.  We're having a blast!!!

Bigger/Better #4 - Part 2

Here's a stock photo of the Bowflex Sport that's currently up for grabs.

It has already made a splash, and there are whispers in the wind of a great trade coming.

Thanks again for following along with our journey to finally close the book on this adoption.  I don't know why it makes me feel this way, like I'm missing some closure.  I guess because I've read enough Dave Ramsey to know that things you carry debt on aren't really yours until you've paid it off.  There's no worry of anyone putting a lien on the girls - even the house for that matter.

We are in covenant agreements with two ministries that helped us with the adoption.  They are awesome about accepting payments however we send them, and they don't call and badger or anything like that.  The no-interest adoption loans really are great options for families who want to adopt but think they don't have the means.

I will say this, for those of you prospective adoptive parents who are looking into programs and countries, Russia is THE most expensive country to adopt from.  Did we know that at the time?  No.  But would it have mattered?  No.  Especially not in retrospect.  I did a little researching through a friend's adoption agency to see what their different country rates were.  On average, Russia was $30K higher than the other eleven or so countries that agency works in.  More in some cases.  We are fortunate to only have the amount left to payoff that we have, considering.

We're getting there.  Heck, as of right now, we are almost 10% of the way there.  Thanks again for walking with us as we take these little footsteps.

Bigger/Better #4

Our next item up for bid

....wow, is it just me, or did anyone have a flashback of the Price is Right just then?

....is a Bowflex.  The owner is still getting me model numbers and pictures.  I can tell you that it was purchased in 2007 for $1200. 

So what do you have that's bigger and better?  Just think - Your muscles could be bigger and better after working out on said bowflex.  Win-Win.

Goal:  1. $22000 in adoption debt payoff

 

- 2. Before the surprise package gets here.

Thanks for playing!

Trade #3 - Bigger and Better

So far, we've gone from two pink paperclips to fancy flip flops, and now Thomas the Train.

The next item up for bartering is a Thomas the Train reversible play table with 60 trains and both the city and the mountain track sets, with station house.  Table is green on one side, city streets on the other.  Retail value is over $350.

Here's a picture of the table and trains.

I'm so thankful for people's responses to this.  We all have stuff we don't need lying around.  I am still too chicken to read "7" by Jen Hatmaker, but I just might be in a place of spiritual sensitivity by the time this is all over.

I've had some great - DUH! - moments of God lighting me up lately, but my best blogging happens when I'm at work and the girls are at school.  Not much gets accomplished during the summer.  I will try to record what I can and get back into the swing soon.  For now, we'll keep playing the trade-up game until we've met our goal of paying off the $22000 in adoption debt before our little "SURPRISE" shows up.  (7 months and counting).

In case you're curious, we have decided on baby names, whether this one is a boy or a girl.  We're going to keep the first names starting with A, because no matter how they got here, they were all Plan A.  No back up plans, no accidents, just perfect and planned by God.  

Now, go find those rookie baseball cards in grandma's attic!

Bigger & Better #2

Okay, here's the second item for trade.

A brand new, in the package, with tags still attached, pair of size 8 Bandal Beach flip flops in black with two interchangeable bands - Tammy (white) and Lucy (red).

Retail value is $67.

You know the game.  The sandals - excuse me, Bandals - are yours in exchange for something bigger and better.  Get creative.  Get, like, "Antiques Roadshow" creative.

Here are some pics from Amazon of said Bandals.

Another Little Step...

First, for some good news.

I was selected at Teacher of the Year at my elementary school for this past school year.

And now for some REALLY good news.

Surprise, surprise.

We are adding another member to the family!

God has his funny ways.  After eight years of trying to conceive, God gave us peace and the go-ahead to pursue international adoption.  He flung doors open and shut in a process that I have often equated to the ripping and roaring of the Mississippi River.  Wide and calm at some points, then so deep and turbulent at others that to attempt to float or cross it means almost certain death.

We had just gotten to a wide spot in the river.  Things had calmed down.  We had made peace with our house, learning to live with a little bit of mess.  We were almost out of the diaper and sippy cup stage, moving on to big-girl-panties and open top containers.  Life was good.

Now, make no mistake, we had been praying for some time about a trip back to Mother Russia for another child.  And I had been following a list of available special needs children in China, praying about that route also.  But everything was down the road.  We didn't want to make a big jump in that direction until we were one year out from the girls starting kindergarten.  We needed to focus on Anna's mobility, big changes on our home-church scene with the pastor moving to another sheep-fold...you know, just some stuff we had to take care of first.

Sound familiar?  Sound like - "I'll follow you, Jesus....First let me go home and bury my father..." ?

So here we are, ten + years into marriage, me about to round the corner from 35 to 36, making some major headway on a weight loss plan and lifestyle change - I mean, I ran my first 5K on Mother's Day weekend - mini life goal achieved!  And what should we find?

My first ever positive pregnancy test.

This is NOT what we were expecting....to be expecting.

We're excited, nervous, confused as to why the Lord would allow this to happen at a time that does not seem to us like ideal circumstances.  We're praying about selling our house, selling our car, selling anything not bolted down on Craigslist...."Elvis" has only been in the building for 8 weeks, and he/she has already overturned every apple cart we've got.

Because, here is the issue.  We still have 22,000 in debt from the last adoption.  We haven't complained the first time that we've had to make those payments back, because it was SOOOO worth it.  But things are going to get tight around here with another to put in daycare.  We're looking at making some MAAAAjor changes so I can quit my job after one more year of teaching.

So I'm asking for some help.  Don't worry.  I'm not asking for money.  People don't have a whole lot of that to give out these days.  I'm wanting to do some trading.

Did anyone follow the "Red Paperclip" story of a gentleman in Canada who bartered his way from a red paperclip to a free house?  It took him less than a year to work his way through some deals, but he got exactly what he set out to do.

So here you go.

What would you trade me for two pink paperclips?  Something bigger and better.  These are coated paperclips in the shape of a high-heel shoe.  Unique and fun.  Send your memos with a little something extra.


Okay, your turn.  Post your bartering chip in the comments section, and I'll take my favorite of the lot, which will be turned around and bartered again until we can pay off as much of our adoption debt as possible.  We'll continue this game for the next 7 months - with a close out on Feb. 14, a few days from our due date.  Let's see what we get.  It could be an item or a gift certificate for a service you provide, but it has to be something tangible that could be traded.

Ready, set, go....