Surreal

Surreal, that is the best way to describe the life since Thursday, March 20 from 12 noon until right now! (I had no idea the gift that would be born to us the very next day after my last posting.) Seth is awesome - well worth unexpected mid-day phone call to come to Columbia pick him up as he is discharged from the hospital, then the hour of complete chaos that followed, and of course the missed sleep here and there! (God is amazing, not only did he answer in a great way, but in ways we couldn't even imagine...another awesome gift at Easter...that is almost too much!) As we were signing the papers and even seeing him for the first time, I had an incredible since of calmness...and it hasn't left yet. (Which says a lot for the highly stressed woman I have always been!) This little guy is the only thing that has ever made me forget about completing the to-do list, inboxes, and a kept house! NO ONE ever told me being a parent was so much fun - even the late nights!! Marcus is an incredible dad - not that I was surprised! Seth, you were worth the wait!!

Adoption - a powerful message

For those of you that missed the Carolina Hope / Caedmen's Call concert a couple of weeks ago - here is an amazing video that was shown. What an amazing take on adoption!!! (By the way...we are still waiting!!! No word yet...please keep praying. We know it is all in God's timing, but waiting to start a family is hard work!! ;0) Enjoy the video....

Give me normal and HOME!

I am so glad this week is done and over!!! Nothing last week was normal or ordinary. I like variety, but make it somewhat ordered-variety please. Here was the total randomness of last week:

• - So I realized the reason for the 4 am wake up from God about the vine and the branches. I'm so thick in the head sometimes! It was about intimacy, total dependence on Him! I need to be reminded of that often - I tend to handle things on my own too often and intimacy doesn't always come nature to me. But I still wonder why God felt the need to wake me up at 4 am for that one!! (Maybe that was His way of being intimate!)
• - Monday afternoon I met up with some friends to catch Eve Ensler (author and activist of ending violence against women) to speak at Clemson. She was incredible. Her controversial play, The Vagina Monologues, have helped women all across the globe find their voice after being assaulted and has made a huge impact in raising awareness, funding, and changing laws. Another reminder that one person can make a difference with passion, determination, and compassion.
• - Tuesday I spent the day at Fair Oak Elementary presenting the Safe Touch Program for 2nd graders. That's always a great experience. Kids want to know about keeping their bodies safe...I wish more adults would take prevention as serious. (I've contacted 8 to 10 churches now concerning the Stewards of Children training...So far there is no interest or immediate need to schedule Sexual Abuse awareness or prevention in our area. I WILL NOT BE DISCOURAGED OR FRUSTRATED...change takes time!)
• - Wednesday I tagged along with Marcus to keep him company on a sales trip to Tennessee.
• - Thursday we hit the road again, this time to Orangeburg to check on the family - mom's heart cath went well! Thanks for your prayers and thoughts. :^)
• - We made it back in time for Home Group and practice Thursday night!!
• - Friday was the usual helping out at the church office. And then the rest of the day....STRESS. Marcus and I played some original and covers songs at The Corner Bagel. We haven't done that in 10 years!!! (It probably showed!!) But life right now for us is about going beyond our comfort zone (I am definitely not comfortable singing!!) and living without regrets. It was a good experience! I learned a lot and have somethings I want to work on...so it is all good, I'm just really glad it is OVER!! Thanks TO EVERYONE that came out Friday night...Your support meant A LOT to us!!!
• - Saturday we hung out again with our friends under the bridge - Always a blessing. Then we did NOTHING the rest of the day....We were exhausted!!

I've sat down several times this week to blog, but just too tired. With all the car time and new experiences this week, there have been new thoughts and lessons learned...maybe I'll blog on that later, but for now I'm looking forward to a normal week ahead and catching up with an old friend tonight.

Until next time - be blessed!

A True Hero and Survivor

The story of teenager, Elizabeth Shoaf, was told on Dateline tonight. Her story speaks of the reality of pure evil in our world and the strength to overcome it. I am always moved to hear how others survive sexual assault. Each story in someway pushes me to advocate more. There is so much out there that often doesn't support them - our justice system, myths, stereotypes, even family and friends. I will blog more on this issue later, but for now I wanted to share with you a true survivor. Elizabeth proves the strength and resilience of kids - we adults can learn a lot from her.

This story happened in South Carolina. Elizabeth's story is not the norm. Statistics show that only 10% of abusers in child sexual abuse cases are strangers. 90% of children are sexually abused by people they know and trust.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23522127/ (Dateline Story- In to the Woods)

http://insidedateline.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/03/06/739278.aspx (Elizabeth's Blog)

"survivors are part turtle
we are part potato bug
we know enough to go fetal
'til it's still up above" - Ani Difranco

"and what if there are no damsels in distress
what if i knew that and i called your bluff
don't you think every kitten figures out how to get down
whether or not you ever show up" -Ani Difranco

Love Each Other

I have had a "Godly-prodding" since very early Sunday morning to read John 15. I woke up thinking about these verses about the Vine and the Branches. For 3 days I have read this passage - but I don't think I have really gotten why God felt the need to wake me up at 4 am to tell me about it again. Still working on that one.

But in reading it today my "ADD" kicked in and I got a little side tracked on the chapters before John 15, mainly John 13. I love to highlight when I read...OK, I have to highlight!! I guess it is the way I learn; through using all my senses - some people can just read and it sticks. But I have to read, write it, touch it, and talk about it. Does that mean I am a slow leaner?!? Oh, who cares at this point in life...see there it is again...non-diagnosed ADD, so sorry.

Anyway John 13...I have verses 34 and 35 highlighted and even notes written beside it. So I have thought about this one before. But today it hit me in a brand new way. The beginning of the chapter is where Jesus washes the disciples feet. A most humbling, beautiful moment for the disciples. I think I would be much like Peter - "Jesus you really don't have to wash my feet." Peter is so awesome. Jesus said you don't get it, if I don't wash your feet you can't be a part of what I 'm doing. Then Peter says well in that case...wash my feet, hands and head!! He intentionally wanted to be about doing God's work. But later he denies Jesus not once, not twice, but 3 times! If I was around at the time, I immediately think about the labels I'd put on Peter, anger I'd have toward him. Then I read my highlighted verses later in the chapter.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. - verse 34-35.

Jesus had spoke numerous times about how the disciples were to love their neighbors. But this verse was a little different, and revolutionary still today. Believers and followers of Christ must love each other (Christians love each other? Told you it was revolutionary)!!! But look again at Peter's comments, right after Jesus says this Peter is asking..."Lord, where are you going"??!!! Did he miss a key point because he was stuck? I can't help but to picture a child at camp the first day... the counselor is going over all the important stuff and you get to the most important rule for the cabin to remember for the week ahead and they ask in the middle of all that, "What's next?" You wonder...Did they just miss the key to living happily together with 11 other random people for a week, without mom and dad I might add?!?

Peter was stuck in a moment...Where was his Rabbi going? Jesus was leaving him physically yes, but first Jesus wanted him to get a key point in working with fellow followers, LOVE THEM. How often do we still get stuck today and we forget we are supposed to love other believers. All the time! A lot of times fellow believers are our worst enemies. Everyone is out doing what they think is the most important thing, then disagree someone else because their opinion is different. I honestly find it easier to love non-Christians more than Christians most days. This idea isn't new and wouldn't surprise Jesus. It was the religious that outraged Jesus most of the time! That is why he said love each other. Because how we love each other is judged by the world. Why would they want to join a group that doesn't love each other anyway?

I got a little out of sorts last Friday night at a Christian concert. There were many reasons, but this one I just can't seem to let go of and I've heard it a million times before. The concert was a fundraiser for a local adoption agency that was raising money for their new program that served orphan's in Ethiopia. I overheard the couples conversation behind me and then loudly the man protested, "Why can't they do something here in the US?" After years of hearing similar protest, I wanted to turn around and ask him what was he doing to make an impact in the US or have you considered domestic adoption? (Thanks to Marcus, I didn't!) We are a body!! How ridiculous would we look if we were all doing the same thing??

Jesus knew that there would be plenty that we would disagree on and he knew that we would judge each other, brutally sometimes. And yes many times Christians are way off base with the things of God. But the great theologian, Rich Mullins said it best, "It is not that some Christians are bad people. They are sometimes just wrong, very wrong."
And Jesus commands us to love them anyway!