My Grown Up Christmas List

Have you ever heard the song, "Grown Up Christmas List?"

For me it has to be sung by Amy Grant.

Not popping into your head? YouTube can help.

The tape this song was on was a standard at our house growing up. We loved us some Amy Grant.

(Most of you who read this are probably nodding your head but I know I'm dating myself here...)

Essentially the song is about a grown up wish list for Santa...

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list

It's not got a ton of great theology in there. Until Jesus returns lives will be torn apart. War will start. Time will never heal our hearts. There will always be people without friends.

Right will win in the end, but on this earth it will never always win.

But the good news is love WILL never end for those who know Jesus Christ.

And so I'm not making a christmas list for Santa.

But, I have been thinking about what I'm asking the Lord for this coming year.

My Christmas Prayer List:

- For Dorcus to have a family. 

Dorcus is a little girl who remains in the orphanage who rescued our David. It is my heart's desire that a family would obediently answer the call to adopt this precious one. I'm praying they will be brave and say yes and begin this crazy journey called adoption. I can't wait to meet them and help them in any way I can.

-For God to equip our family to love and share the good news with the families of Afterschool Adventures.

This is our mission field and we desperately need God to reach it. I am asking for God to continually break my heart for the harvest in this community. That we would sacrifice, love, be hands & feet, and know how to do it to God's glory and these children's benefit. We CAN NOT do it alone.

-For my kids to be world changers for the kingdom.

Parenting is hard. I feel like I'm failing at it a lot. And I have definitely figured out my kids are only going to be the people I desire them to be by the grace of God. But I'm going big on this one. I'm not just asking God to save my kids. This year I am going to ask him to show their little hearts the big plans he has for them to grow his kingdom. I want to raise world changers and prayer is my parenting strategy. (I might have stole that from PBT and tweaked it- but its good stuff.)

So there you have it. This is what I'm praying about as I look to 2015.

There are so many more things, but these are the three I'm putting my prayer team on.

(aka making sure my kids are on board because they are so persistent in prayer sometimes it secretly makes me jealous)

Black Friday

Have you ever wondered why they call it BLACK Friday?

Me too. So I did a bit of research. (aka I typed it in a search engine)

Here is what I discovered.

The day's name originated in Philadelphia, PA, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic that would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. Use of the term started before 1961 and began to see broader use outside Philadelphia around 1975. Later an alternative explanation was made: that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss ("in the red") from January through November, and "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or "in the black".

I copied that from Wikipedia just for you. I'm generous like that.

I think I have only gone Black Friday shopping once. And to be honest it was like the second round black Friday shopping. I've never stood in line or any of the other craziness. Although I'm not being critical either way... I don't like to start riots around here. I just desperately needed a post idea.

But, I started thinking about all that a color can communicate. 

And it got me to thinking you might be interested to know that all my kiddos are a color. I guess some people might think that sounds weird, but its totally normal in our little family. If you know us well you probably even know which each of their colors are. It started as a survival technique when I had two girls only 19 months apart. And it has definitely come in handy now that I have two boys that are only 10 months apart. But, it has turned into much more fun than that. I always tell my kids that I love them their color. I love them all the same but that love takes on different shades according to their own personal bent.

Gracie I love you the purplest. Its perfect that I gave you purple because it was my color and I'm just not a "pink" girl. And since you are my mini me that worked out like I planned it that way. Purple is the color of royalty and you know how to pull off a regal command like any queen. And you truly are the queen bee of our family. You were definitely born with a bent to rule, and I can't wait to see what you do for God's kingdom.

Faith, I love you the pinkest. Even thought I'm more purple I absolutely love being the mama to a pink girlie girl. You are our princess in every way and I'm so glad we saved pink for you. You are the pink to Grace's purple and you two make a perfect sister pair. Pink is the color of a ballerina and you can dance into almost anyone's heart. It's also the perfect sprinkle color and you are our sweet little cupcake baker and spa maker. I can't wait to see all that God will call you to love with your pink heart.

Titus, I love you the greenest. I guess I'm non-traditional since I went with purple and green before pink and blue. But, you kind of just choose green all on your own. I also love it because you truly are our green giant, and a gentle giant at that. You became the bull in our china cabinet and we just loved that because we've always liked cows around here and they eat green grass so it all works out nicely. Speaking of green grass I'm pretty sure your daddy expects you to be involved with a brown ball and some green grass someday. I can't wait to see all God does in you as you grow in him. It's going to be giant.

David, I love you the bluest. You aren't sure about being blue, sometimes you would really like your color to be red. And that really fits you too because you just weren't sure in the beginning about us telling you anything. But, you have grown into a blue brother that loves your best green buddy fiercely. When you two get together its not always blue skies its more like a thunderstorm. But, rain makes for green grass! You are also blue like jazz. Your love and God given talent for music is so fun for us to enjoy. You can also make us laugh till we are blue in the face. I know God is going to use you to make sure others aren't blue, and that they know God's love for them.

Purple. 

Pink. 

Green. 

Blue. 

Oh, how I love you each more than you know!

Don't Dig Up

"Don't dig up in doubt what you planted in faith." -Elizabeth Elliot

As I reflect over this past year this quote resonates with my soul. This year has not so much been about planting for us as its been about throwing away the shovel and trusting God in the things he has already planted in our life.

For almost two years we planted in faith for our fourth child. Even when the outlook was very dim we believed that God could bring our son home. And he did. In January he was planted in our family. Praise the Lord! And the first year home is amazing. Amazingly hard and amazingly good. We had to choose not to doubt. To not doubt that God could not only bring our boy home but he could help him learn what it means to be a part of a family. And he has. We have got to watch redemption up close. Its messy, and hard, and very very good.

I watch the soil and a little seedling is raising its leaves to the sun.

I am thankful for my family of 6.

Last year the Lord planted the Afterschool Program in our hearts. Really it wasn't a program. It was a whisper to go over to the apartment complex across the street from our church and to quote Jen Hatmaker to, "Turn the love out." What began as a non-attended Sunday School class turned into a bustling after school program. We had NO IDEA what the Lord had planned. Definitely more than we asked for or imagined. I'll be honest many days I have got out my shovel and cried out to the Lord in doubt, "Its too much!" On paper bringing home an adoptive child and starting an outreach ministry in the same time frame doesn't sound like a good idea. There is that shovel again. It might not have been a good idea but it was most definitely God's idea.

I fling dirt and repent and tromp back down soil. 

I am thankful for the beautiful ones God has given our family to love.

We thought this year might hold a glimpse of what God has planned in the future for our family. We had hoped it was time to plant in faith again. Something new. Last spring we packed up half our house. A sink/floor drain plumbing disaster had caused our basement family room/bedroom to be gutted and need of redoing....again. We were sharing a bedroom with our boys, everything was covered in drywall dust and we were done. We got a storage unit and started preparing our house to sell. And yet here we are in our little yellow house. Still praying and seeking. Still confused, but trying again to learn contentment.

I dig a hole waiting for the Lord to plant something NEW in it. He chooses to water what he has already given, somedays with my tears.

I am thankful for my husband's job that provides food for our table, a home that keeps us warm and close together, and a city I've fallen back in love with as my home more times than I can count.

In 2014...
I have dug up in doubt.
I have replanted.
I have begged God to water.
I have felt the sun.

I am thankful.