I've been trying to blog more regularly. I think it takes some practice. Although my very straightforward sister very gently mentioned that I'm not that great of a blogger. Yes, I know- I'm not a writer and it's hard for me to get text to display emotion like my eyes and voice can. So I apologize for my very matter-of-fact posts, but I'm doing my best!
We spent the day at a local Orphan Care Seminar. It is such a great gathering of friends and such an encouraging day for us as we continue to hear God's heart for the orphan. I cried a couple of times today, which was better than last year (all day). We actually attended the seminar last year, looking for answers to how to get started in adoption. God really used that day to grab our hearts and test us to see if we were hearing Him.
We had a table set up with info on Reece's Rainbow and were able to share with several people about waiting children with Down syndrome and our journey to Maria. We also sold drinks at lunch and made about $100- thank you to all who donated!
There was a great speaker with some practical help for encouraging attachment with adopted or foster children. She spoke about the balance between nurture and structure. The funny thing, in her descriptions of "children from difficult backgrounds", it sounds exactly like some of my kids (I won't say which). My children have been with me since birth, breastfed and all and yet why do they display similar behaviors to children who come from homes of neglect and abandonment? Anyway, we got some valuable skills from her session and will be practicing and preparing for when Maria joins our family.
The last thing that stands out to me from the seminar was something the pastor pointed out. We all know James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."
But the pastor reminded us to also read the context of this verse. Just five verses earlier, James writes: "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
Oh, how I pray the church will get this! Why is adoption and foster care not a priority for the church? Why aren't we "doing" what God's Word is telling us to do? Why do we continue to ignore James 1:27? Why do we continue to ignore the orphan's cry? Why does it have to come to this?
We are all called to care for orphans. Please pray and ask God how He wants to use you to provide for an orphan.
I feel the same way about blogging too Gentry. I talk with my hands and how do you do that on a blog?
ReplyDeleteI agree about the balance of nurture and structure. When it's applied with loving care everyone in the family benefits from it.
I think the reason why so many churches ignore the orphan's cry is because it would require giving up SELF and there are too many that are trying to be like the world which is all about SELF.
Adoption is not about us. It's about God receiving all the glory:) Christ has adopted us.