Lauren, author of Our First Failed Adoption featured on WAGI on March 9th, has been invited to a live interview Monday morning, April 4th. She will be chatting with Gus Lloyd on his show Seize The Day at 8:00 AM EST about their adoption story. It will be on satellite radio, Sirius 159, XM 117. Or, you can listen online here.

Go to her blog and leave her some words of encouragement as she prepares to share!

The early bird doesn’t always get the worm.

Out of the 38 entries for the giveaway, #36 was chosen using a random number generator.

Abby and her super sweet little guy Max won the Seeds Family Worship cd! Abby, take a look around the store and let me know which cd you are choosing and I’ll get it all squared away for you.

Everybody else, go check out Abby’s blog. They adopted their little guy domestically via a private adoption. Just finished reading their adoption story and this great post.

I’m sure she’ll have Max singing “Blessed are the Booty Hearts” in no time. Okay, it might be a couple years. But, she’ll be singing it in the meantime.

It all started so tiny, almost as a whisper. We were driving in the car, watching the trees fly by and my daughter said,”Mama, I want to do something to help the orphans too.”

We were heading to Mexico in December to serve in an orphanage and had been talking about what it would be like. She thought for a few minutes and said, “Mama, I want them to have fun…how about if I make them paper airplanes and have a big party?” Then, a few minutes later, “But, Mama, they need food and medicine and Bibles too…”

Lord, meet me, join me. Make my aim, Lord, this Advent to bring joy to you through the giving of myself–my time, my plans, my agenda–for you to use. My gift of myself to you must take priority over my gifts to my family and friends. After all, it is your birthday we are celebrating–not mine, not my children’s, not my husband’s, not my friends’–your birthday, Lord. Part of my gift to you is loving the people you have put in front of me–those who are easy to love and those who are not. I want to give you my response to lonely people around the world–the orphan, the widow, the ones who are all alone, the ones who others have passed by. But, I do not know how to respond. Forgive me when I do not take the opportunities you have put in front of me to do it. Help me, Lord, to be able to do it.

Keep at the front of my mind that the cleaning of my spiritual house must take priority over the cleaning of my physical one, that nourishing my family’s souls is more important than holiday meals, that encouraging peace and harmony in my home is more beautiful than twinkling lights. Remind me, Lord, that in-filling times alone with you must happen alongside outpouring times with others. Remind me, Lord, and enable me to act in obedience with that reminder.

May an awareness of your presence fill me every moment of my day so that rather than you being squeezed out of my busyness, I will be aware of you walking with me as my shepherd. You are the only one this Advent season who can help me find those ordinary yet amazing experiences of joy that you provide with such grace and mercy and love amongst all the responsibilities, pressures, and heartaches of this world.

Lord, meet me; join me; forgive me; enable me; remind me; be present with me; reveal yourself to me.
Amen.

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Kelly is a stay-at-home mom/manager to 4 children–one of whom is celebrating her first Christmas home this year. She adapted this prayer from an anonymously written advent prayer she received at a women’s Bible Study that inspired her to take it and write one for herself. Though she’d love to spend more time writing, she is a part-time editor and part-time blog-surfing junkie, always on the lookout for good resources and essays to post on this site that are way better than what she could come up with. You can learn more about their adoption story as well as follow day-to-day life on their personal blog.

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When we reach 200 followers, there will be a giveaway for one lucky follower.

So, if you haven’t done it already, join!

When Tim and I married long ago, I knew I wanted to have strong family traditions. I wanted to establish certain things we could do each year for certain celebrations as well as family time. Some we did when it was just the two of us (like the Tree of Thanksgiving); others we started when Ethan was born, and we continue to add some each year.

WHY?

Doesn’t this add to your to-do list, you might ask. My answer would be yes. But, it is things that I love to do. I think it is very important! Family traditions are just that…FAMILY traditions. We have so many things in our lives that include others–church, sports, clubs, etc. These are great things that I want to be involved in, but I am very protective of our family times. Times when it is just us–growing and enjoying one another, hopefully strengthening our relationships.

I would recommend the book Celebrating the Christian Year by Martha Zimmerman. I love this book, and the fact that she agrees with my view on family traditions doesn’t hurt either! 🙂

Jesus taught that the His Father’s desire for us was not a religion but life. The best way to experience joy in that life is through meaningful relationships. How do relationships happen? What causes a relationship to grow? Relationships grow as people experience things together. It is psychologically true in relationships that doing things for the one you love increases your love for that person. Observing family traditions is one way to demonstrate your love for the Lord. At the same time your actions are speaking volumes to your children, and all the while the love between you and them is growing.

I really think that having these special little things we do together creates a common bond between us, especially the boys as they grow older. I have so enjoyed listening to the boys tell the girls about what we are going to do on this day or that. And, just when I think “oh, maybe this year we’ll skip that part,” I hear the kids talking in anticipation about it. And, I realize that it IS important to them. Their family and its silly and serious traditions are important to them.

This morning the kids woke up to find our Christmas countdown thingy out. We open a door a day to find a note, verse, project, or candy inside.

The Dec. 1st door opened to “Prepare a road for the Lord through the wilderness, clear a highway across the desert for our God…thus shall the Glory of the Lord be revealed” Isaiah 40:3, 5.

As we begin this season of Advent, I pray that you and your family will find special ways to “prepare a road for the Lord” in your busy schedules. December is full of traditions in our house, that I am happy to share. I would love to hear of any of your family traditions, as I am always open to more!

Handwoven fabrics are special! Like babies and snowflakes, no two are ever exactly the same. Families are like tapestry. Many threads run through each piece. As you participate with the Lord in the weaving of your family, choose the threads carefully. Remember time helps to hold the fabric together.

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After our daughter’s adoption in 2007, we were sure we wanted to adopt again. While in China, our hearts broke for our daughter’s story of abandonment, and our eyes opened to the desperate needs of millions of orphans. We returned home with our beautiful daughter and also with a new priority in our lives. We talked about adoption with everyone we knew and were able to start an adoption and foster care ministry in our church with another like-minded couple. I am a homeschooling mom of 4, soon to be 5. We are waiting for the referral of our son or daughter from South Korea. You can follow more of our family traditions, as well as our busy life, on our blog.

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When we reach 200 followers, there will be a giveaway for one lucky follower.

So, if you haven’t done it already, join!

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)

If there was ever a secret for unleashing God’s powerful peace in a situation, it’s developing a heart of true thanksgiving. My son, Jackson, knows this. I came to understand how powerfully he knows this when editing a paper he wrote recently. Jackson hasn’t always lived in the safety and security of our home. For the first 13 years of his life, he lived in a forgotten orphanage in the third world country of Liberia, Africa.

Jackson’s paper was about the corruption and greed that caused the civil war in his native land. He did a great job recounting the facts of the story. But the difference between Jackson and most other kids explaining a historical event, is before we adopted him – he lived in the midst of the horrific conditions of this war.

During one part of the paper, he described what it felt like to be naked digging through the trash looking for the treasure of thrown away food.

The treasure of thrown away food.

I can hardly type those words without crying. This is my son.

And yet, despite the horrific conditions of his childhood there was an unexplainable thread of peace woven through his recollection of the story. A powerful peace centered in the awareness of God’s presence.

The truly thankful person is a truly peaceful person. They have made a habit no matter what to notice, pause and choose.

Noticing something for which to be thankful no matter what circumstance they’re in.

Pausing to acknowledge this something as a reminder of God’s presence.

Choosing to focus on God’s presence until His powerful peace is unleashed.

I doubt any of us will find our treasure in thrown away food today. But will we be a noticer, a pauser, a chooser – a person of thanksgiving no matter what circumstance we’re facing?

I find this truth about the power of thanksgiving over and over in Scripture. What was the prayer Daniel prayed right before being thrown in the lion’s den and witnessing God miraculously shutting the lion’s mouths? Thanksgiving.

After three days in the belly of a fish, what was the cry of Jonah’s heart right before he was finally delivered onto dry land? Thanksgiving.

How are we instructed to pray in Philippians 4:6 when we feel anxious? With thanksgiving.

And what is the outcome of each of these situations where thanksgiving is proclaimed? Peace. Powerful, unexplainable, uncontainable peace.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 4:7, NIV).

One of Webster’s official definitions of thanksgiving is: “a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness.”

I wonder how we might celebrate God’s divine goodness today?

I wonder what might happen if we decide in the midst of our circumstances today to notice, pause, and choose something for which we can truly be thankful….

Dear Lord, will You help me to notice things for which I can be thankful in each circumstance I face today? Will You help me remember to pause and acknowledge this as evidence of Your presence? And will You help me to remember to choose to focus on Your presence until Your powerful peace rushes into my heart and helps me see everything more clearly? Thank You for the reality that being thankful truly changes everything. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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TerKeurst, L. (2010, June 24). The Treasure of Thrown Away Food [Encouragement for Today from Proverbs 31 Ministries Electronic mailing list message]. Available in full from www.proverbs31.org

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Lysa TerKeurst is an author and speaker who helps everyday women live an adventure of faith through following Jesus Christ. As president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, Lysa has led thousands to make their walk with God an invigorating journey. Lysa