Sorry, this is going to be a long one. I am not sleeping. I love sleep and it is rather late, but about 100 things are keeping me awake. First of all, the
Gould family adoption fundraiser was a smashing success! I can't even describe how wonderful it all was and how faithful the Lord has been through the whole process. Originally my mom and I were heading it up, but I have a tendency to get really excited about and idea and rally and go crazy and then fall off the band wagon when things get tough. Its a sin and its wrong and God is really revealing that to me lately. Anyway, my mom was really the lady of the day, along with several other amazing women who have more perseverence than me. We held the event
at Sodium, which is really a pretty amazing ministry in itself.
Michael and Julia enjoying some lunch.
My mom working the silent auction in her one less orphan shirt from the
Elliots. She is my hero and my best friend. I love her. :)
The soon to be big sister of a beautiful Ethiopian sibling!
Me working the silent auction.
Lela Grace and the Gould's youngest son Ian (affectionately known as Sho on the blog:)
My brother Joseph (in the Titans shirt) and the oldest son of the family that lived with us last summer. Love them.
The Lord brought in SO much more money than any of us were expecting, which was such a huge blessing. I was so blown away and the thought I was carrying around in my head all day was "Lord, you really are good!" I think its something I know in my head all the time, but yesterday literally everywhere I turned all I could see was the goodness of the Lord. He is who He says He is. He is faithful. He is good.
The second reason I can't sleep is because of this girl.
Meet Diana.
Isn't she beautiful? Her precious little pixie cut and missing tooth, ah. Diana is an orphan on
Reece's Rainbow. She has Cystic Fibrosis, a lung condition that is terminal if untreated. Diana needs a family badly so that she can get vital medical attention, her time is short and every breath is a struggle for her. Several people are working hard to get her story out there so if you have a blog or a facebook page be sure to share about Diana. You can see
her information on the Reece's Rainbow website and visit
Dreams For Diana which is a blog all about her! Her eighth birthday is approaching in April the 24th, wouldn't it be amazing if her forever family could commit to her by then? Please help spread the word where ever you can!
Finally, just lately I've been convicted about advocating for the orphan, sure, its easy to do on a blog or with people who already know about and love orphan care, but what about in everyday life? How can we get loud about orphans on a daily basis? I have several ideas that will probably each get a post in themselves in the next week but I do want to mention one thing.
At my school, the seniors final project is an oral defense of a thesis they have written. I've written about the thesis process before, but this year its a little different. We give a 3-5 minute speech in front of more than just the school and then answer three questions defending our thesis. My paper is about adoption and I am excited for the opportunity to get to share in a way and to a group that I wouldn't normally get to. While was at my teacher's house the other night practicing, she threw me a practice question about practical ways for people to get involved. I was surprised. I was expecting something a little more scholarly or historical perhaps. I listed off a few things, but now I am going to make a list and have several really doable ways for people to get involved in orphan care after hearing my speech. I am so excited and nervous, I really need the Lord to just use me and have it actually be all Him.
My pastor preached recently about Sodom and Gomorrah and about how God didn't destroy those cities because their was too much sin, but because their weren't any guardians. Not even 10 were to be found in the city, Abraham asked. We as Christians are called to be guardians and preists in this world, interceding and covering. We are called to be preservers. We are called to be salt.
This evening I was praying for Diana and asking the Lord for a specific verse for her.
"For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality."
~1 Corinthians 15:53~
What does salt do? Salt is a preservative. Salt makes that which is perishable, imperishable. God is swallowing up death in victory and we are a part of the story. We are the salt. He is making all things new.
So we do not loose heart.
Julia and I right before it started
