Sunday, May 16, 2010

Numbers...


Numbers and Images have been plaguing my mind... leaving me speechless, clouding my day, showing me humility, stealing a piece of my heart.


For a long time now, the sheer amount of orphans in this world just staggers me.  Did you know that there are approximately 147 MILLION orphans?!   And yet there are approximately 2 BILLION Christians in the world... 


Christians who are being called to follow teaching of the BIble, the words of God which tell us...


I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.

John 14:18


You are the helper of the fatherless. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

Psalms 10:14,17-18


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

James 1:27


Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families.

Psalms 68:5-6


When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all you do.

Deuteronomy 24:19


Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.

Isaiah 1:17

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.

Proverbs 31:8-9


And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.

Matthew 18:5


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!

Matthew 25:40

 

Which means that if "WE" were truly living this out, if only 7% were truly following Christ, truly living these words... There would be No. More. Orphans.  None.  And pictures like those in the former video... those now in my head non stop... simply would NOT exist.  We would be neighbors.  We would help one another with food and shelter; simple, basic needs.  We would take in orphans.  We would help widows.  And we would have instead pictures like these...



It challenges ME to live even more frugally than we already do.  To cut out some of our summer plans to focus on those I can do for free or next to free with coupons and deals and specials.  To work even harder to come up with fundraising ideas.  To go back through all of our clothing “buckets” and weed down even more, taking the extra to our local consignment store and in turn putting that money into our adoption fund.  To do the same with those toys that pile up and seem to rarely get used.  To advocate for the people of the country we're adopting from.  To do my part to help so that this country of the future is a safe, beautiful, happy country where my (hopefully) future child can be proud to return to visit.


I will do my best to live out these verses... how about you?

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About Me

I am a single mom to four amazing kids; each of whom just happen to have been adopted. The first three were adopted through foster care, and we just completed an international adoption from Haiti. Our family has grown through adoption and I am all the more blessed to know each of my children. I worship a mighty God, teach Special Ed, love bargains, and am inspired by Pinterest... come along with us for the ride!


Olivia - 14

Olivia - 14

Braeden - 11

Braeden - 11

Liam - 9

Liam - 9

Macy - 5

Macy - 5

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What you should know about HIV

-HIV can NOT be spread through casual/household contact. HIV is not spread through hugging, kissing, shaking hands, sharing toys, sneezing, coughing, sharing food, sharing drinks, bathing, swimming or any other casual way. It has been proven that HIV and AIDS can only be spread through sexual contact, birth, breastfeeding and blood to blood contact (such as sharing needles). - HIV is now considered a chronic but manageable disease. With treatment, people who are HIV+ can live indefinitely without developing AIDS and can live long and full lives. - People who are HIV+ deserve to be treated with love, respect, support and acceptance as all people do. Additional information on transmission of HIV can be found on the Center for Disease Control website: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources

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Orphan Crisis

• 147 million orphans in the world
• 50 million orphans in Africa 
• Every 14 seconds a child is orphaned by AIDS
• 16,000,000 have been orphaned by AIDS
• Every week, AIDS claims as many lives as American fatalities in the Vietnam War
• 854 million people do not have enough to eat
• Malnutrition is associated with the deaths of 5 million children under the age of five
• Every 2 seconds an orphan dies from malnutrition


Hence the title of my blog

Little Did I Know

Little did I know that the road would be so rocky
Little did I know that the trip would take so long
Little did I know that my heart could hurt so much
Little did I know that God is never wrong

Little did I know that love could be so powerful
Little did I know that a dream so far could go
Little did I know that God would place the right ones
Little did I know that my heart, so large, could grow

Little did I know that a dream has it’s own timing
Little did I know that this day would finally come
Little did I know that four souls would be sent to guide me
Little did I know that they would choose to call me mom

But God knew all along and He had a plan to follow
God knew all along that my dream would soon come true
God knew all along that we five should be together
God knew all along that I’d share it all with you