ADOPTING JOY

My sister and her family are adopting Joy

and I'm hoping that we can help them bring her home by supporting their t-shirt fundraiser.

If you would like to join us, just click HERE to purchase a t-shirt that shares the message of adoption and also helps to bring Joy home! $15 of each t-shirt purchased will go directly to Joy's adoption expenses.

Just type in the code JOY when you checkout.

As the Metzgar family walks by faith, knowing that God will accomplish His will, I pray that they feel loved and supported by a community willing to rally around them as they are adopting Joy.

www.adoptjoy.blogspot.com

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I find it hard to live by faith, and confide entirely in God, when the way is dark before me.

But if the way were plain and easy, where would be the room for confidence in God?"
-Ann Judson from My Heart in His Hands

KIDS AROUND THE WORLD

We're always looking for ways to serve the Lord together as a family and Kids Around The World is one of our favorite ministries to work with. A couple of years ago when our good friend, Paul, joined Kids Around The World, we became aware of how this ministry brings food and hope in Jesus' name to people in need around the world.

I love that the kids get to be involved in almost every aspect of this outreach and I love that a regular homeschooling day can turn into an education of the heart.

Setting up the packing tables:
 

On the assembly line:

 

 

Writing messages on the boxes:
 

 

Packing boxes full of meals:
 

 

Really getting into it :)
 

 

Praying over the boxes before they are shipped:



 

Kids Around The World builds playgrounds and distributes food as they share the gospel in desperate places. The ministry touches lives in many ways through the food packing events here in the US that open the eyes of those serving, through the short term mission trip opportunities, and most importantly through the sharing of the gospel as tangible and spiritual needs are met worldwide.

Check out www.kidsaroundtheworld.com to learn more, to schedule a packing event, or to go on a mission trip to distribute the food, build a playground, and share the Good News!

 

www.kidsaroundtheworld.com

"Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you,

as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’"

Matthew 25:37-40

HIS LITTLE FEET

 

If you ever have the chance to see His Little Feet perform, you will be abundantly blessed! The heart of God beats with the strength and depth of their worship. The humility of Christ shines brightly in the eyes of each child and team member.
We were so blown away by this exceptional group!

You can visit His Little Feet to see their tour schedule or to book the choir. Their ministry touches so many lives in a variety of ways and gives multiple opportunities to the body of Christ to bless others and also be blessed.

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Romans 10:15b

DEPENDENCE

"It does not matter whether you are predominantly a person of strengths or weaknesses on the natural level. You may be the most competent person in your field, but you can be sure that if God is going to use you, He will cause you to feel keenly your dependence on Him.

He will often blight the very thing we feel confident in, so that we will learn to depend on Him, not on ourselves."

"If God is going to use you and me,

He will bring adversity into our lives so that we, too, may learn experientially our dependence on Him."

-from Trusting God (Even When Life Hurts) by Jerry Bridges

If you have felt the sting of God's love through His grooming process, then this thought from Jerry Bridges makes perfect sense. It hurts. But, it's supposed to hurt so that we can find our Savior, so that we can learn to need Him. Thus, we rest assured that everything that comes our way has been sovereignly ordained by a good God. Like an infant, we learn trust.

"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you." Isaiah 66:13

This is one of my favorite Bible verses and all the more since I've become a mom.

Trust. Dependence. Refuge. Comfort. LOVE...

 

...just a few of the words used to describe our parent/child relationship with our Father God. He is the best parenting role model. He encourages me with His kindness, forgiveness, and availability to me and I find myself dependent. How much farther was I from Him when I found sufficiency elsewhere?

And so I pray, "Lord, make me more like you!" knowing full well that my plea comes with a cost. How I long to become more and more like Him and yet the road is rough. This journey I signed up for isn't easy. It's hard. It requires chiseling, pruning, dependence.

"His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love."

Psalm 147:10-11