The boys clean the basement, arrange bean bags, and eagerly anticipate the precious women that grace our house.

When they arrive, Ruth barks and the boys share their latest triumph as they swing open the door in an dramatic gesture.

And sometimes, weeeeellllllll basically every Monday night, my friend Kristen stirs up some new God-nudge in my heart.

It always keeps me up late thinking.  Praying.  Dreaming with the Lord.

Kristen is one of those passionate people.  A tender heart.  She owns the kind of Bible where the pages resemble tissue paper.  (Because they have been so loved on.)

She walks around with that quiet and gentle spirit that is so admirable, desirable, and comforting – yet she would be the first to deny its active presence in her life.  Yet it is so there.

She’s just like that.

Kristen is always quoting from some book or podcast.  And nearly every time I find myself documenting those words somewhere within my Bible.

You know why she remembers quotes?  She applies them.

I Got to Sit on the Couch

Tired and hungry and feeling slightly sorry for myself (which is a story for another day), I entered our makeshift chai walla basement tonight.  There sat our girls.

Tonight there was a spot on the couch (Kristen always sits in the same spot because it has a place for her chai).

She on the tan couch and I on the plaid couch gave me a spot that allowed me front row seats to the inner workings of Kristen and her walk with the Lord.

I knew it would be good.

And it was.

Did YOU Know This?

Did you know there is a Bible verse that says,

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1: 27

I knew it was in the Good Book.

But until tonight, I guess I thought it was written for someone else.

I Forgot

Once upon a time, the Engineer and I were told that it would be highly unlikely that we would ever have children.  Because of this disheartening news, we began the process of adoption.

It ended with a positive pregnancy test.

So often when something good comes along . . . we forget what we were presently working on.

But I question if we should have given up on the idea of adoption.

(Surprise!  My dear Engineer, you are sleeping as I pound out my thoughts on the computer that is currently choosing to work.)

Bypassing the Red Tape

Look after the orphans.

Look after the orphans.

No. Look. After. The. Orphans. 

While I can’t just go and adopt a kid tomorrow, I can begin to invest in the orphans I do know.

Well, that I know on paper.

I have neglected them.  We maybe write our Compassion children three times a year.  It has been this way for nearly three years.

Ugh.

What kind of example and I setting before my children . . . the children I desperately want thinking mission-minded thoughts when they are adults.

Yet, all I seem to do is talk about our short three month season in India as if we lived there for years.  I can’t continue to live vicariously through that experience in the past.

Our Compassion children live in India now.  We KNOW first hand what their lives very well might be like.

How sad.  They are valuable. Yet, so focused on the past . . . we chose them . . . not considering THEIR future.

They have to write to us . . . but I GET to write to them.  It is an honor to invest in these children that God HIMSELF created for a purpose.   

I get it God.  I so get it. 

Action Points

• Sponsor a Compassion Child.  We currently have two.  But I am going to talk with the Engineer about expanding the family.  We have four in-real-life children – who aren’t orphans.  What if we take in four Compassion Children through sponsorship . . . . letters . . . . gifts.
• Read more about Blog Month at Compassion and join in the conversation
• Join me in knowing ALL the precepts of the Lord as we #writetheword to #endbiblepoverty
• Sponsor Bible translation through One Verse

I know. I am passionate about ministry. Blame it on Kristen. She started it.

Whatever you do, don’t read this post . . . and do nothing.  Consider and act on the action points listed above.

Birthday Buddy

You know, recently Asher had a birthday.  We lavished him with love and gifts, because it was HIS birthday.

Naomi has a birthday coming up.  And we will do the same for her.  But what if one of her gifts was a birthday buddy? 

Having our Compassion Child share a birthday with my own flesh and blood, would likely be a connection I would not soon forget.

What tugs at your heart?

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