Thursday, July 7, 2016

Which One Would You Leave Behind?

Two little itty bittys from Reece's Rainbow went to be with Jesus in the last few days.
 
 
Both of these precious teeny little babes had families who were racing against the clock to go get them.
 
It breaks my heart.  They had families.  They were loved. They just never knew it.
 
Two little ittys.  Teeny weeny little babes so very loved from afar.  Now in the loving arms of their Savior. 
 
I need some Kleenex.
 
Thank you to each and every one of you who helped the Schultz family meet their 10,000 matching grant. They are now fully funded.  I am so excited for them.  Four babes are soon going to have the joy of being part of a family and you helped make that happen!!
 
Thank you!
 
I struggle each time I enter the Reece's Rainbow Facebook room. There are so many families who are working so hard to raise the ransom for their kiddos.  The cost of adoption is high. Most families don't have that kind of money sitting in an account somewhere. 
 
There are some who would say that they shouldn't commit until the funds are there but I look at the two wee ones up above and know that it isn't realistic or fair to make them wait even a minute longer.  Kids die. Kids age out. Kids rot.  They need out yesterday.  Not in two years. Or five. Or ten. 
 
Every child is precious and each one is worth fighting for.  Hanging out at the reunion last week and seeing all those precious babes I am even more convinced.
 
The sassy ones.
 
 
The future models of America.
 
 
The tender hearts.
 
 
The adorable beyond words.
 
 
Each one is worth the ransom.
 
 
Those who say wait... who would you pick to leave behind while you earn enough to raise the ransom?
 
 
The teeny one who spent far too many years in utter neglect in his crib?
 
 
 
The sweet boy who needed medical intervention?
 
 
The hurting little girl who wants with all her being to be loved best of all.
 

 
The boy hidden behind the locked doors.
 
 
Which ones are not worth the ransom??
 
 
All of them are worth it.
 
 
Every single hungry little soul!

 
They are worth every single one of our donations.
 
 
They are worthy of our prayers.
 


Precious in His sight.
 
 
 
Each one cost their families thousands and thousands to ransom them.
 
 
And I guarantee that every single one of those families would raise it again to bring them home.

 
They would do it again.

 
No babe left behind.

 
Not a single one.
 
If you are like me and get totally overwhelmed about how to help and who to help I have an easy easy solution.
 
You can do what I do every month.  You can GO HERE and give to the 5/5/5 families.  Every month 5 families are featured and all the money raised is divided up evenly between those five families.
 
Why 5/5/5...  because if everyone gave just FIVE dollars for 5 families then on the 5th of the month those five families would be blessed.  Five dollars doesn't seem like much, but if a whole host of people committed to giving 5 a month on a recurring basis then we could make a HUGE difference in the lives of 5 families... then 5 more.. then 5 more... and so on. Every single month.  That's 60 families in a year. 
 
In the last two years.... 115 families adopting 148 children have been blessed through 5/5/5.  $64,129.00 has been raised. 
 
Consider how fast that number would rise if every single person reading this blog today went to 5/5/5 and agreed to donate 5.00 a month. Hit the recurring donation button and you won't have to think about it again.
 
5.00.
 
For 5 families.
 
Every month.
 
Because every single solitary child is worth the ransom.
 
And families don't typically have ransom money sitting in their bank accounts.
 
 
And Owen.. who is one of the orphans on the 5/5/5 this month ... he doesn't have the luxury of waiting. He urgently needs surgery that cannot be done in his country.
 
Would you leave him behind?
 
 
 

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Pots of Gold

5 sweet, precious days surrounded by a whole host of little pots.



 Little pots of gold.



Little pots and their many brothers and sisters and Mamas and Papas.


 
All of us there with our precious pots to celebrate, refresh, renew.

 
All of us there because we found our pots through a ministry that has been around now for 10 years.

Reece's Rainbow

 
All of us there because sometimes we need to be around other Mamas and Papas who are walking the same road we are walking.

 
All of us there because our pots need to be surrounded by other pots who share their story.

 
All of us there to laugh and cry and rejoice and mourn.

 
5 sweet days.

 
So so many precious pots of gold.



We made new friends.



We caught up with old friends. 



We enjoyed the itty bittys.



 
 We shared our stories. We loved on each other's children.


One of my greatest pleasures was watching my two sons being accepted and included.  They were wanted. They were loved.
 



 
These pictures are just a tiny glimpse of our week.



It was such a sweet blessing to be surrounded by so many families and so many sweet children.
 

 


 

 
Each one so special. So precious. So incredibly unique.
 

 

 
Pots of gold. 
 

 
I am so thankful for every single one of these pots of gold.


 

I'm especially thankful for these two pots who are now counting down the days until next year!


 
My very own little pots.


Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Just Two Little Rascals and Me


Tomorrow these two little rascals are getting up early with me and hitting the road. 
 
 
They can't wait.  We are going to Atlanta for three days. While I work at the Association of Classical Christian Schools convention they get to bum around the city, hang out in the pool, watch all the TV our little house in the cable-less woods doesn't have and play way more hours of electronics in a day than Mama allows in a week.


Then on Saturday we are driving to Kentucky where they will get to spend 5 delightful days hanging out with a ton of Reece's Rainbow families at the Yogi Bear Campgrounds.

 
Staying in our cabin will be one of John's best friends from the orphanage... Annie. 
 
How's that for laugh out loud fun???
 
 
Just two little rascals and me.
 
Oh what fun!
 
 

Monday, June 20, 2016

Unmeasurable

He's a quiet man.  Humble. 
 
 
As tender-hearted as they come.
 
 
 
His love for his sons is deep and vast.
 
 
 
And their love for him...
 
 
Unmeasurable.
 
 
 
It was a special Father's Day with a very special Father Papa/Dad
 
 
 -----------------------------------------------
 
The Schultz family is still $3,000 short of matching their $10,000 matching grant.  Please Please Please join with me and help them match their grant... They are crossing the ocean in a matter of days and truly need that grant!
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Ross, Jade, Oliver and Victoria.... They are worth the effort...

I can never predict on this blog what is and is not going to move someone's heart. I learned long ago that there isn't a formula I can follow to get people to respond to my words. There have been times when I have spent tons of hours thoughtfully and carefully writing a post only to watch it seemingly fizzle and  burn almost as soon as I hit publish.  There are other times when my posts go nuts after only a few minutes of writing.  I can't predict. I don't even try. I don't have this little blog set up so that I earn money when I write. I don't set aside post times to advertise for our business.  
 
 I just write what the Lord puts on my heart believing that those words will touch the hearts HE DESIRES for them to touch. If that means only ONE PERSON is moved then writing is worth the effort!
 
Last week I shared a post called Nobody's Children. It didn't go viral. It didn't go nuts.  But it did move some of your hearts and because of that the Schultz' moved a tiny bit closer to raising the 10,000 they need to get their 10,000 matching grant.
 
I'm sharing them again this morning.  They now have travel dates. Their plane tickets have been bought. They are still a little over 4,000 short of raising the 10,000 they need to get the matching grant that will mean they are fully funded.
 
I can't move hearts. I can only be faithful to share the need.  They have a need.  Will you help them? 


 
 
Four children are going to meet their Forever Family in a matter of weeks.
 
Please, let's help them get home!!
 
 
 

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Nobody's Children


My little boys are counting down the days. In two weeks they will drive with me to Atlanta, Georgia to the Association of Classical Christian Schools Convention. Nope. That's not why they are excited although staying at a BIG hotel and spending two days hanging out in the city with a babysitting while Mama works is fun to think about. They are excited because AFTER the convention we will be driving to Kentucky for the Reece's Rainbow Reunion. 
 
This year we are sharing a cabin with a very special girl and her family.
 
Annie (Reilly on RR) and John grew up together in the orphanage. Rob and I had the loving privilege of meeting her when we adopted John. To say we love her would be a HUGE understatement.
 
 
A few weeks ago we were blessed to be able to celebrate her 12th birthday with her.
 
 
My little boys are so so excited to go to Yogi Bear!! And they are doubly excited to hang out with Annie for the week.
 
I'm excited because I get to hang out with a bunch of other moms who have treasures like us.
 
Two years ago at Yogi was a little guy who was "Nobody's Child." He was being hosted by an RR family and was the ONLY child at the reunion who didn't have a Mama or a Papa.
 
Simon (Valera on RR)
 
 
Well one of the Mamas there took one look at "Nobody's Child" and knew as soon as she saw him that he was her son.  The crazy part was she was in the middle of another adoption in an entirely different country.
 
That didn't stop her.

Last year he was at the RR reunion again.  No longer "Nobody's Child", he now had a Mama and a Papa and brothers and sisters.
 
But the story doesn't end because back in his orphanage wait four other "Nobody's Children."  Four. 
 
These beautiful, precious treasures.
 

 
 
The Schultz' met these four children in Simon's orphanage and it was a no brainer for them... they had to go back to bring them home.
 
They are SO CLOSE to travel.
 
Only weeks away.
 
All that stands between them and getting these sweet kiddos is a phone call letting them know when they are to travel.
 
And yes.  Money.
 
But here's the really really cool part... They have a $10,000 matching grant. 
 
When their grant account reaches $11,119.16 they will receive an additional $10,000 and will then be fully fully funded.
 
Unfortunately, they have a LONG ways to go to match their grant and little time to do it.
 
So here I am asking begging you to help the Schultz family match their grant!!
 
They are stepping out in faith.  Will you step with them?
 
A phone call and money are the only two things that stand in the way.
 
We can't make the call but we can help with the money.  Every single dollar is doubled. So that five dollar bill wadded up in your pocket will become ten.  Twenty  will turn into forty.  A hundred will be two hundred.  A thousand will be two thousand.
 
Help make four "Nobody's Children" a family's precious treasures.