Ft Worth Stock Yards

Abby's 4th grade class went on a field trip to the Ft Worth Stock Yards yesterday. It was undoubtedly the best field trip that I have had the privilege to be a part of. If you go- you MUST pay $8 per person for the guided tour & request Peggy. She was great. It is well worth it!

I have been here (in Texas DFW area) and never knew most of the history that was shared in the tour. It is an understatement to say that I liked this trip. Probably one of the most interesting things was the auction. This was really incredible to see. Lots of $$.

I highly encourage everyone to take this trip. I think Greg and I may go back in December....without all the little munchkins.

Well, it's 10:00...

Sundays are my favorite day of the week. A run down of what this day usually looks like for me: Get up around 7:30 a.m. (compared to the 6 a.m. alarm I'm hitting Monday thru Friday) Eat, drink coffee, read the paper...etc. I make the girls lay all of their clothes that they are going to be wearing to worship out on our dining room table the night before. dresses, shoes, underwear, glasses...anything that goes on their body HAS to be on that table. I do not want to get into "it" before we go to worship. :) After they are dressed i then begin my "dress" ritual. we usually walk out the door around 10:00. Pick up a girl down the street and head to Westminster. Today we had a guest preacher who will be leaving for India soon with his wife and children. His sermon was very convicting as well as thoughtful and motivating. After worship we had our third Sunday lunch. everyone stays for this. it is truly one of the highlights of our families month. my kids absolutely love this lunch. on a normal Sunday, when we have no obligations (i.e.- bday parties, showers, etc) we come home and the rest of the day we are free. since my husband pastors and works a part-time job also, Sunday afternoons until we go to sleep Sunday night are literally the only time during the week that we are not "somewhere" else. the work of the pastor is weight-bearing. i am shocked at times to hear the grumblings and mumblings of parishioners. i am reminded of the saying, " if you have spent an hour in prayer over something - the elder in your church has spent three hours in prayer over that same thing." what is meant by that is : they do not approach their office, calling or position flippantly. i know, because i am his wife, that my husband eats, thinks, prays, breaths, studies, & feels the responsibility of his parish. all of that to say- on Sunday afternoons, he has just finished a sermon that he has spent a week or more preparing and he has not yet begun to "engage" with his sermon for the next week. so, we are usually free to hang out with friends, watch a movie, go to rockwall or on a date. fun, lazy stuff. today was different.
this month we have had 4 birthdays. no lie- it is like Christmas for everyone in this house EXCEPT for me and the 7 year old. EVERYONE else gets to look forward to Party Month. today, Sunday, we surprised my, now 38 year old, husband with an overnight get away. he and 2 of his closest friends went to Big D to stay in a hotel, go out and eat and I'm certain- smoke cigars. he was so excited. i know I'm crazy...because...i had two extra kiddos staying at our house tonight (because their parents got tickets to the cowboy's game and i couldn't say no because the stadium is awesome and i would want to go to that!) so- i left lunch today, ran to a bday party that started at 1:00 and lasted till 3. came home and the kiddos had just arrived. kissed my husband goodbye. swapped my van for my friends suburban. took the pizza orders from kids who think that i care what their "favorite kind of pizza is", cleaned messes, gave baths, gave meds, put kids to bed everywhere, and now i am wasting my life away on the computer. my kitchen looks like a scene from Hoarders. A family of rodents could live off of the popcorn and pepperoni that is on the kitchen floor. yet i remain calm. drinking coffee, fully loaded, looking at the open dish washer filled with clean dishes...wondering, "when was the last time i cleaned that ceiling fan?"
there is a couple in our church that brings home grown garden veggies to everyone every Sunday. i love this for so many reasons. one reason is because it is a deliberate act of love & kindness. this is a man of few words but big actions. a real servant. i told someone one day, jokingly ,that i could picture myself dressed like a pilgrim taking a squash and saying slowly, like a quiet puritan woman, "Thank you for the bounty, sir." (maybe it's better described as an english, dicken's type accent. why is this aspect so important to me???) there are literally 3 huge bowls that i am looking at right now, in my kitchen, of peppers, tomatoes, and pears. i seriously have to think of something to make and of neighbors to share with because they will not last long.
my great aunt who is in a nursing home, not for much longer though thanks to my mom, has truly struggled with life as of late. her whole life she has had the ability and the means to come and go at her will. her mind is pretty good but her body is failing her. the ability to hold her self upright, walk unassisted and drive are no longer options that she has. she has seen the "glory days" of her life.
as i think back over today, and the monotony that seems to loom around the other 6 days, i really do want to engage the "fullness" of it. i want to plunge into the deep end of "this" thing. kids everywhere, ripped hole in my chair, fingernail polish remover spill on my dining room table, crack in my tile, black paint hand prints in my hall, spankings, threats, kids spitting (man- it sounds like i live in a meth house).
one day when life rips it all away from me....when i am almost 80 and i have "used it up"...i want to genuinely, thankfully and graciously say, "Thank you for the bounty, Sir!" (minus the pilgrim garb)

"you're courage ask me what i'm afraid of..."

i have been thinking a lot about the ordinary christian life. i believe that, in order to be consistent, my life should mirror that of Christ. i just finished reading, fields of the fatherless, by Thomas Davis. my friend, Christi, let me barrow it and i read it in about a day. at the same time, i have been listening to Sara groves' song, i saw what i saw, about her trip to Rwanda. i have never visited Rwanda. i have been to India, Amsterdam, Mexico & Houston. however, this song immediately took me back to my first day in a child protective services waiting room. i remember these three kids who came in to meet their mom for a visit. they waited and waited. finally the foster mom took them aside and told them that she hadn't shown up, she comforted them and they left. i think that was the moment that i changed. it "cut me to the soul". i think that it was then that i realized that i must choose go to "the hard place". i think in our consumeristic society we have lost touch with eternal realities. we would not need short-term mission trips if we were living "with" the poor, the orphan, the widow & the stranger. please know that i am not criticizing short-term ministry projects, i just think that somehow their has been a shift that has made these the norm as opposed to us actively seeking life among these that Christ lived among. i in know way feel like i have attained this type of life. i am, however, trying to push myself to detox from familiarity and comfort & deconstruct my rituals. i am trying to look for people who are uncommon to me, engage people who look different than i do, seek out the stranger, the lonely and to help the widow and the orphan in their distress. i think that many of us give up too fast. we try to "change" but because of the mechanical akwardness we feel in the beginning we stop. we have to push through. wedenesday night we read this passage in ezekial 16:49, "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." romans 12:16 says, "live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. never be conceited." deuteronomy 10:18-19, "He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of egypt." we must ask ourselves why we are investing in the things, places, institutions and people that we are investing in. how are we measuring our success? how are we defining success? i have been wrestling with all of these thoughts. choosing to live the ordinary christian life is counter-cultural. it is tiring and revealing. to end with the words of sara groves:

I saw what I saw and I can't forget it
I heard what I heard and I can't go back
I know what I know and I can't deny it

Something on the road, cut me to the soul

Your pain has changed me
your dream inspires
your face a memory
your hope a fire
your courage asks me what I'm afraid of
(what I am made of)
and what I know of love

we've done what we've done and we can't erase it
we are what we are and it's more than enough
we have what we have but it's no substitution

Something on the road, touched my very soul

I say what I say with no hesitation
I have what I have and I'm giving it up
I do what I do with deep conviction

Something on the road, touched my very soul

Something to think about-

http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/08/education-in-color/

Parenting the Hurt Child

This is the title of one of the books that we purchased this weekend at The Greater Houston Adoption and Orphan Care Conference. The conference was informative, encouraging, motivating and convicting.
I am always intrigued by the people that the Lord has us cross paths with. Josh and Amy Bottomly, who co-authored the memoir, From Ashes to Africa, spoke in the same room as us the hour before. Josh did a wonderful job reminding me of the powerful ability that one person has to "bring order to chaos". Josh and Amy have partnered with The Red Letter Campaign(I also met Sam and his wife, Wendi, who started this campaign with a goal of raising $50 K and to date have raised $750 K) and Children's Hope Chest "to form an online community that sponsors three orphanges in Addis Ababa." What an encouragement, motivation and kick in the butt to "do something"...anything but nothing. I have honestly not thought too much about over seas adoption. I think that I am too lazy. It embarrasses me to say that, however, that is what I see when I look in the mirror. To adopt overseas can be a lengthy, expensive, pain-staking endeavor. I am praying that I would be able to have a hand in bringing change to some of these impoverished areas, for these impoverished people.

"...fourty two thousand children were adopted from foster care alone in 1999. There were sixteen thousand adopted from countries oversees. Almost all of these children have suffered trauma, be it movement from home to home, by parent or orphanage care, or abuse. Some of these children have fragile genetics. Many others were bathed in alcohol and drugs before birth.. Some were left on porches, and more than a few were recovered from trash containers or rescued from homes in which most rooms appeared to be a trash container." (pg.9) "Whether a child's mother left him in China due to socio-political reasons- or if he was dumped in a U.S. high school bathroom because his mother was terrified to tell anyone about her pregnancy- the end result is the same: the infant was abandoned by the woman who gave him life." (pg.15)
I remember reading excerpts like those pre-adoption and thinking, "Man, these people are really reaching. The kid didn't even have solid memories- there is no way that all of these "issues" can be pinned on abandonment & loss." Today, I think differently.
Things are not the way they are suppose to be.
When a new mom jumps at every whimper of her pink, fragile, baby- God smiles. "Children are a blessing from the Lord."
When a father boast to his neighbor about his son's accomplishments - God applauds."This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."
When a mom or dad works all day, and sometimes all night, to take care of the child that has been entrusted to them - God blesses. "I have been young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread."
The sad truth is that this is not the reality for thousands of infants, babies & children. What a scary time to be born into the world.
Foster care, adoption & orphan care can create a messy "life". I have to be honest, I do not think that every one should adopt. I do not believe that every one should foster. I do not believe that every one should move overseas to live at the orphanage. I think that there are some people that can handle fostering better than orphan care- and their are others that are up for the task of adoption.
However, I do believe that all three of these are our responsibility. In some way- we must help the family that fosters. In some way- we must care for the traumatized children and minister to the shell shocked families who are raising them. In some way- we must walk along side those who have moved to Ethiopia to care for the 10 year old orphan and her 4 younger siblings.
God, help us.

Blog in Motion

i am going to try and post before the weekend! what a crazy life...field trips, presentations for 1st grade classes, presentations for high school students....stop the train and let me get off. i have something i'm working on- hopefully i can complete it!

New Life

I have had an interesting couple of days. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I signed up- and as far as that goes, I'm still not sure what to think. Yesterday and today I got to speak to a couple of health classes at the high school. I was working on my Master's in Public Health when my life was re-directed. I have always wanted to have my hand in this field because most of the voices there tend to be a little more liberal than mine. I think it's good to have balance. After volunteering at Thomas Street for over a period of about five years, and engaging in dialogue with people whose views on life are as opposite of mine as one can conceive, the flame was fanned to greater heights. I do believe that being involved in the foster care system & CASA is another way to make a difference. But the past couple of days have been what I was preparing for.
Worldview is something that most high school students never think about. It is like air to them. They rely on it without thinking about it. They trust it- even though they can't explain it. And they defend it -however illogical it may be. It is necessary that the kid thoughtfully consider why and how she draws her conclusions, agrees to her presuppositions and makes her life-altering decisions. Before I became a parent I spent most of my time with kids their age. After high school, while I was still in college, I worked with teenagers. I am still amazed that parents let me take their children on trips, over-night excursions and teach them in a structured setting-about life, the Bible, other people & our relationships with them, for about 4 uninterrupted hours a week. I am glad that their are adults who truly care about "making a difference" in the lives of youth. For the most part they need all of the good advice that they can get. That being said, I think that teenagers have the capacity to think deeply, reason logically and love deeply. However, we live in a society that demands little of them, labels their disrespect as individuality and "dumbs down" any potential "life altering" conversations that we might actually engage in with them.
The opportunity that I had was to speak to them concerning worldview, abuse & pornography. The discussion, I felt, was very honest, revealing and interesting. EVERY girl, All of them, said that one day they wanted the person that they marry to be "hard working". That was interesting to me because they wrote their "List of Top 5" privately. I would love to see some type of "generational trend" research concerning this. (I made a list when I was in high school of what I wanted in a husband and that never crossed my mind. I think I said something like: 1. he has to be blonde 2. he has to be a cowboy. 3. he has to be casual....nevermind.) I know that I said college graduate. NONE of them said that. When speaking to a lady in my church who is 80 on Sunday, she said that she used that exact phrase (hard-working) when she was growing up to describe what she desired. "Why?" I asked. She said, "Because my dad was so sorry." Anyway, I digress. Only two of the girls out of 22 said that they were not allowed to date because "their parent were over-protective." All of the girls said that their parents needed to meet the person that they were going out with, however, none of them said that their parents actually asked the "potential" date any questions. They just wanted to know who he was before their daughter got in the car with him.