Category Archives: Love

Our 3rd Adoption Anniversary

Adoption, Faith, Inspiring Stories, Love, , , , , , ,

“One million reasons why, you shouldn’t even try.
After all you’re just one heart, a single candle in the dark.
And there are shadows here, feeding on your fears,
That you don’t have what it takes – who are you to make a change?”

“Whatever you do, just don’t look back.
Oh somebody needs the light you have.
Whatever you do, just don’t lose heart.
Keep on pushing back the dark,
Keep on pushing back the dark.”

Today we celebrate the third anniversary of the day our adoption of the four younger kiddos was finally finalized. Three years ago, this day appropriately fell on our Thanksgiving day, which made it truly a day to be thankful for.

The above video shows our adoption journey, which began June 2014 with our first hosting trip.  It took two years, four hosting trips to the US, and three international trips to Eastern Europe later, before we could FINALLY say “It is official”. None of it was easy, none of it came without heart wrenching decisions and tears, but every single second was WORTH IT! I can’t imagine life without these kiddos in it.

At the time we were ecstatic to have finalized the adoption of our four, but we were also deeply saddened that the oldest had decided not to be adopted at that time. However, as our last post explains, we are now overjoyed that he also made the decision to be adopted and his adoption was finalized almost a year ago. We will have to update our video as we near the anniversary of our second adoption of our oldest young man.

I have said before that I came into this adoption journey with the wrong mindset that I was saving them. The truth is though, that they have saved ME. They have saved me from my selfishness.  They have saved me from my greed.  They have saved me from focusing on things that truly don’t matter in the end.  They have turned my heart outwards instead of inwards.  They have focused my heart on those things that are eternal, instead of the things of this world that will pass away. They have been a true blessing to our family. THANK YOU JESUS!

Now that I am on the other side of our adoption journey, I want to encourage you to pursue your passion, whatever it may be.  Live without regrets!  Take that leap of faith!  JUST DO IT!  Whatever you have been given, use it.  Whatever your talents are, employ them.  Whatever you are dreaming about, GO FOR IT!  It is never too late.  Have no regrets! Don’t let fear stop you, fear is a liar!

BE BOLD!

Take to heart these four points I learned from a sermon about where faith takes us…

—to the point where we need to make decisions that involve BIG RISK
—to the starting point of long journeys
—to the point of waiting for the impossible
—to the point of giving everything you have

Sometimes we just need to step out of the boat and have faith that even though we can’t see the end, God knows the ending, and he will never leave us or forsake us.

(song and lyrics are from “Pushing Back the Dark” by Josh Wilson)

The craziest thing happened to me today…

Faith, Inspiring Stories, Love, Ramblings..., , , , ,

I felt this deserved a spur of the moment post because stuff like this just doesn’t happen?

Today there was a message left on my answering machine stating it was the IRS and they had an open case filed on us, something about past taxes. It seemed suspicious to me, but because we had recently been the victims of identity theft, including a letter that had been sent to us legitimately from the IRS stating someone had accessed our tax information, I figured I would call back. (Yes – I now know that the IRS will NEVER call you, they will ALWAYS send a letter, FYI.)

When I called the number back the person who answered the phone gave me his name and told me he was “an officer of the IRS Tax and Crime Investigation Unit” along with his badge number (no, I have no idea if this is an actual unit of the IRS or not). He then proceeded to tell me that I was a primary suspect in a legal case from our Federal taxes in 2013. He began to ask me who filed my taxes, which I did not tell him, and then proceeded to warn me that within the next 45 minutes there would be a local law enforcement officer at my door because there was a warrant for my arrest.

At this point, I pretty much had decided that this was a scam. I said, “Sir, I am sorry, but I don’t believe that this is true and I think that you are trying to scam me.” Now – here is the CRAZY part…

He said, “I am so sorry. I am so, so sorry. You sound like such a nice woman, I don’t mean to harm you.” I could barely believe what I just heard. It took a second for my brain to process it.

I said, “Wait. What?  Did you just agree with me that you are indeed trying to scam me?” I have had people try to scam me on the phone in the past, but always the person on the other end just hangs up when I politely tell them I believe it is a scam. I have never actually had someone admit to me on the phone that it was a scam and APOLOGIZE?! I wasn’t sure what to respond to him. He just kept apologizing.

Since I had his ear, and he hadn’t hung up on me yet, I figured I would encourage him to stop what he was doing and find a better job. I shared with him that we were good people and that although I recognized this scam, there are a lot of other good people out there who would easily be taken advantage of with this sort of thing. And that was a shame. I ended with telling him I truly hoped he would go home tonight and think about the consequences of his actions and find a better job that would actually benefit society instead of harm it. He agreed that he needed to do that and would. WOW!

Honestly, he sounded very sincere with his apologies. I truly hope that he did go home and rethink what he was doing with his life and turn it around for good instead of evil. But here is my point…IF I had been rude to him on the phone, IF I had just hung up on him on the phone, we never would have had that conversation. He never would have apologized and rethought in that moment about the damage he is possibly inflicting on families and individuals.

Our words have power. They can tear down or build up. They can instruct or cause harm. It is up to us. I pray today that we can all (including me!) try to do a better job about using our words to positively build up those around us, whether they be the people we are closest to, the cashier at the store, or the scammer on the phone. You never know how you may influence someone positively or negatively simply with the words you choose.

So choose kindness. Always.

put on a heart of kindness

Providential Relationships and Mr. Owl’s Journey in the Around the Worldpress Amazing Race

Adoption, Around the worldpress amazing race, Faith, Inspiring Stories, Love, , , , , , , , , , ,

A few weeks back my pastor did a sermon on Providential Relationships. I’ve been thinking about this ever since, and how often it seems that God places just the right people or circumstances into my life at just the right time. Mr. Owl’s first destination on his journey in the Around the Worldpress Amazing Race began because of this very kind of relationship.

As I said in my first post ever, “How do you do it?”, often at the start of a journey we can’t see where it will end. As we look back though, we can see the path emerge. We can begin to understand the why and the how of being led in certain circumstances.

Some people may call this fate. Some may call it coincidence. I prefer to think of it in terms of God’s providence. One of my favorite life verses is:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.— Romans 8:28 NASB

Personally, it is such a hope-filled verse.

God is working behind the scenes, directing all things towards His purpose. He takes our free will into account, yet He is the one in the driver’s seat. He is working it ALL, the good, the bad, the ugly, towards His divine purposes even when I don’t believe it, or I don’t see it, or I don’t understand it at the time or this side of Heaven.

And so it is with my own story. And so it is with my adoption story. Before I even came back to God, He was working in my life preparing me for my calling to adopt my children. I didn’t know what was to come, but He knew. Now as I look back, I can connect the dots. I can say, “Ohhhhhhhh, now I understand. Now I see. Thank you, Lord”. To connect all of the dots leading up to our adoption would take several posts, so I am going to focus on the dot that led to Mr. Owl’s first destination on his Around the Worldpress Amazing Race.

My family had moved from California to Michigan and I opened a home-based preschool for a few years when my first son was very young. As a new baby Christian, only coming back to the Church after many years as an atheist (THANK YOU church janitor, with your sweet and simple consistent invitation to your church. Your short, providential relationship, one where I don’t even know your name, changed the course of events for my entire family!), I felt a strong call to make it a Christian-based preschool. This was the first big stepping out in my faith for me. The first child that God placed into my care was without a doubt in my mind, a powerful providential relationship for both of us. Caring for her absolutely prepared me for adopting my children who did not know English, and it also proved to be a much-needed, powerful care placement for my first student as well.

This lovely girl, we shall call her Jewel (for she is a gem!), came from China to America at the tender age of four and spoke no English. Her Chinese parents spoke Chinese to her at home, but they desperately wanted her to learn English and to connect with the English-speaking children of her new city.  Wanting the very best for their daughter, they enrolled her in one of the most expensive, top reviewed childcare centers in the city. Jewel spent three months there and learned ZERO English words. She seemed to withdraw from the children and the teachers there, and her parents were concerned. They began their search for a new care setting for their daughter.

Through a series of what I prefer to call God’s providence, Jewel’s mom “happened” to catch a post that my Christian realtor had lovingly offered to post on her blog about my moving into the area and beginning a Christian preschool from home. What are the chances? This is the ONLY contact I got from that post, but of course, I am convinced that was THE contact I was supposed to make. Jewel’s parents enrolled her as my very first student. We were all a little concerned. She was older by a year than my son. At the beginning, it was just the two of them (until other students enrolled) and obviously they were opposite sex, would they make a friendship? There was also the concern that she did not speak English, and although my background was in teaching, I had little training in ESL methods.  But what I DID have, was FAITH, HOPE, LOVE,  and DETERMINATION.

This proved to be enough. And of course, God’s will never fails.

Early on, Jewel’s mother shared with me that Jewel told her my son was the nicest child she had ever met in China or in America. That is what she needed the most. She needed unconditional love in her childcare environment. She needed trust. She needed those caring for her to be reaching out to her in intentional, loving ways, despite language barriers.

Caring for Jewel taught my family the lesson that it doesn’t matter if we speak the same language as the person we are with. Everyone understands the language of love. Everyone understands a smile. Everyone understands a hug. Everyone understands a hand held out to help up a fallen person. We don’t need to speak the same language to feel these things, to understand these things, to trust these things.

Jewel quickly learned English, and our family was amazed at how fast children’s brains can learn new languages. She has grown into a lovely young lady, already taller then her mom. She excels in school, plays the violin and piano beautifully, and swims competitively.

Jewel’s family were the very first people to offer to help in our Around the Worldpress Amazing Race. We sent Mr. Owl to Jewel’s grandfather in China, who enlisted the help of a local second grade girl. She is the daughter of Jewel’s mother’s childhood friend who was touched to hear about our adoption story and wanted to help with the project. Following are the two letters the little girl wrote back to us. The English translations are below.

OwlPic1

To Mr. Owl: Wish you a very pleasant journey and happiness forever.

OwlPic2

To my family and future hosts: Dear friends, I am very happy to have a chance to introduce you to my hometown: Xitang, China. I hope you’ll like it.

Below are the wonderful photos of the little girl in Xitang, China holding our signed letter and Mr. Owl. If you are wondering how to pronounce “Xitang”, you can click hear and listen to three different audio recordings of people pronouncing “Xitang”.

ChinaGirl1

My children were in awe to see her holding THEIR letter with Mr. Owl, in this new, distant land. They peered over the photos to see what they could spy in each.

ChinaGirl2

They quickly realized that it must be somewhat cold there right now, due to the warm jackets, yet their trees have green leaves. They also noticed that there seemed to be a lot of water there, with boats and homes and/or businesses that were right on the waterways. Once we looked up Xitang, China we learned that it is an ancient, scenic water way town with nine rivers that criss-cross throughout it. Due to the beauty of the town, it has been a popular tourist destination as well as famous for landscape paintings.

ChinaGirl3

Looking at the photo below, my children all jumped and yelled “those look like pelmeni she is eating, but in soup!” Pelmeni are somewhat like a ravioli almost, filled with meat, and are commonly eaten in Latvia and Russia with sour cream, ketchup or vinegar.

ChinaGirl4

It is amazing to me that even though our world is so large, at the same time it is so small,  especially in this day and age where technology and the internet can connect people across the globe in seconds. We should never underestimate the power we have to connect with others. We each have a story within us, and our stories can inspire, help, encourage, teach and lift others up. We should be willing to allow God to use us in other people’s lives, as well as to allow God to use other people in our own lives.

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The Around the Worldpress Amazing Race was born from a genius idea over at Cyranny’s Cove. My connections with her in the blogosphere also led to my new favorite pair of travel socks, because you know, God’s providence can even lead you to discovering some really awesome travel socks, if you let it.

THANK YOU LORD, for bringing people into my life at just the right moments. May I always be brave enough to listen to Your urgings and promptings. I would also like to say THANK YOU to Jewel and her lovely family. Thank you for sharing your gem of a daughter with me for the short time I was able to care for her. She taught me life-long lessons that impacted an entire family and helped bring four orphans home forever. THANK YOU to Jewel’s loving grandparents, I know how involved they are in their grandchildren’s lives, and I am thankful that they have offered to help in our little project. THANK YOU to the little second grade girl in Xitang, China for sharing her stunningly beautiful hometown with us. Thank you and your mother for taking the time to bring Mr. Owl around Xitang and share your photos and letters with us. We loved your photos and your letters and we wish you peace, love, happiness and many blessings forever!

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image reprinted with permission from hearlight.org, see here

Haters gonna hate, hate, hate…

Faith, Inspiring Stories, Love, Ramblings..., , ,

Not everyone will like you.

Not everyone will understand you.

Some will form ideas about who you are and what you stand for based on nothing more than superficial interactions with you, or brief knowledge of some basic facts about you. Some will even go so far as to gossip about you, or worse, do something to actually disrupt your life.

The Bible clearly tells us that we are to love each other. Paul exhorts us to try as hard as we can to be peaceable to everyone we meet. Jesus goes a step further and tells us to love our enemies. He knew we would be faced with people who hated us. When you are caught in this situation, you need to remember…

I know this is easier said then done. This continues to be an area that I personally need to work on. I want everyone to like me. I would be a liar if I didn’t admit that sometimes I like to play the role of a mind-reader, assuming I know what others are thinking about me. But the truth is, I’m NOT. I really don’t know what others are thinking about me and honestly, it should not matter.  I should not care what others are thinking of me.  The only one I should be worried about judging me is the ultimate judge. He is the only one that I should worry about. And I already know where I stand with Him.

I was talking about this with a friend and she gave me some wise advice. She suggested that we need to be careful not to be double-minded. For example, if I trust God to take care of my family through this adoption process, but I don’t trust that I am only accountable to Him, then I am being double-minded. She reminded me that God is an all or nothing God. We can’t pick and choose the pieces to have faith in. This was eye-opening for me.

As much as we may want others to like us, there is only ONE that we are accountable to. There is only ONE who’s opinion of us we should worry about. The rest doesn’t matter.

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The Power of a Love Note

Inspiring Stories, Love, Parenting, , , ,


After 21 years of writing and hiding notes for my oldest daughter, I was blessed to be the recipient of HER notes the other day. I found them when I was having a tough time. And oh my, it is truly uplifting, affirming and just plain lovely!!!!Who wouldn’t want someone to take the time to write a few nice things about you and then hide them for you to find?How would it change your day to find a note like this, encouraging you, appreciating you, inspiring you?Since it is Valentine’s Day, I encourage you to BE the LOVE around you. Perhaps today is the day that you could leave some love notes for the people in your life to find?!?! Simple, cheap, and leaves a HUGE impact!

Be a Good Samaritan

Faith, Inspiring Stories, Love


This is Dan. I had the pleasure of meeting him at my hotel this morning during breakfast. I was sitting alone, messing around on my phone, when Dan came up to me and offered me $1 to use my phone to call his mom. He said he was cold and hungry.  As I was trying to understand the situation, the hotel staff quickly came up and tried to shoo Dan away. Once I realized what was going on, I told the hotel staff that Dan was with me and all was fine. I invited him to sit down at my table and have some breakfast with me and tried to ignore the disapproving glances of the other guests all around me. I handed him my phone to call his mom and set about fixing him a few plates of food.

Then I tried to share some unconditional love with Dan. I tried to talk with him as I would talk with any friend. I listened to his stories. Dan shared with me that he was an adoptee (before I even told him my own adoption story, how cool is that?) and that he was placed with his adopted family when he was 3 days old. He said he figured his mom was “a hot mom” and that is why she gave him up. He said his adopted family does not like him and that he can’t live with them. He also told me he had just come from Florida to Green Bay two days ago because he thought he could live in his family’s garage here (I’m in Green Bay for my uncle’s funeral). Unfortunately, he was kicked out of there as well and now said he had nowhere to go. When I asked him where he had been previous to Florida, he said he couldn’t remember. It was clear to me after speaking with Dan for awhile, that he probably had some psychological problems. He seemed to have some irrational fears that people in fast food places where trying to poison other people, and things of this nature.

My heart breaks for Dan and all the other lost souls like him in the world. They are in need of love, just like anyone else. They are in need of understanding, just like anyone else. They are in need of support, probably more than most people, because of his underlying mental conditions. Yet, they are pushed out of our homes. They are pushed out of our establishments. They are sometimes even pushed out of our churches. It is such a shame. We could all be Dan one day. We could all be the person in need one day. We should take care of our neighbors as we would want others to take care of us.

The Bible tells a parable of the Good Samaritan, a story we should all take to heart.

Luke 10:25-37New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

There are many references to being a good neighbor in the Bible. Jesus tells us that we should treat ALL people with respect.

Matthew 25:35-40New International Version (NIV)

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

For we never know who we are truly entertaining…

Hebrews 13:1-3 New International Version (NIV)

Concluding Exhortations
13 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

As Dan and I were talking, he said to me that he didn’t think he would ever be in love. This was my entry point to trying to share a bit of the gospel with him. I shared with him my view that people in our society get the definition of love wrong. They think that love is that gooey feeling you get for someone, instead of an action that we do. I shared with him that Jesus is the model of true love, unconditional love, that He laid down his life for us because THAT is what true love looks like. It is not a feeling, but an action (in my humble opinion). I tried to share that unconditional love with Dan this morning. And I told him that it was not me, but an extension of God’s love pouring out of me.

Then just as fast as Dan came to my table, he said he was getting his things and disappeared…I can’t get him out of my mind. I thought he was getting his things and coming back to my table, but he was gone. I wanted to get him a new pair of gloves, but I couldn’t find him. So now I pray for Dan, and all those like Dan in the world. The people that are seen as the “throw-away” people of our society.

It’s interesting because just yesterday a fellow blogger (also a Dan!) told his story of coming upon someone like the Dan I met today in his own life. You can view his story here: and subscribe to his awesome youtube channel to get more encouraging videos like this one below!

So as fellow blogger Dan also said in his video, I say here——-I tell this story NOT to pat myself on the back— ALL THE GLORY TO GOD— but to encourage others to be the Good Samaritan to the broken, the poor, the “throw-away” people of this world.

Do unto others as you would have them do for you.

(Luke 6:31, Matthew 7:12, Leviticus 19:18, James 2:8, Galatians 5:14, Romans 13:9-10, )

Trust in Him

Adoption, Faith, Love, Parenting, , , , , , , , , ,

Today, I am holding tightly to Your promises, Lord. I am clinging to Your truths. Not what the world tells me. Not what my friends tell me. Not what I tell myself. But Your truths, Lord.

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When I have had a rough day. When my kids are throwing tantrums. When I have to drag seven children to the grocery store. When my teen is ignoring me. When my husband is working long hours and I am so, so exhausted, it is easy to forget how much I am loved by my Father. My father who understands, who cares, who wants to comfort me like no-one else can. My good Father, who encourages me to crawl up in His lap for awhile and find my peace in Him.

I remind myself that I am not exempt from pain just because I am a Christian. Quite the opposite, actually. (John 16:33) Jesus himself warned us that in this world we will have troubles. Not maybe. Not if you’re not following the rules. Not if you’re not a good enough person. No- everyone. You WILL have troubles. It’s pretty clear.

The catch is that we are called to respond in ways other than the world would. We are called to put our faith before our fear. We are called to bear all things. We are called to allow God control in our lives.

When we allow this, we can accept His promises. We can accept His grace, love and mercy. We can allow Him to heal, comfort and restore. He takes the broken things and lets His light shine through the cracks, so brightly, that it’s undeniably Him at work.

So as I’m going through my day and I don’t understand what God’s plan is, I trust. When I feel like my heart is being ripped from my chest, I trust. I hold tightly to His promises. I trust in Him to make all things beautiful in the end. Where it matters. Where He can see and I can’t.

Thy will be done.