Perfectly Pensive

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New Lens on Life

 

 experimenting with Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8  II

Riches from Afar (part 3)

 

A few days ago I received word that again our case was scheduled for review.  I had just finished reading Isaiah, and for the third time a scripture leapt from the page into my heart.  Isaiah 60:4-5

 

"Lift up your eyes and look about you:  All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.  Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come."

 

At three in the morning as one mother could not sleep, she prayed for her daughter's family.   To know that God cares deeply about details and only God makes genuine families, the email from the Philippines that approved our adoption was time-stamped at 3:15 am.  Therefore, it is with great delight I announce we are gaining riches from afar, a son and a daughter.  They are coming home in the near future. 

 

As I've poured out my heart to Jesus during this process, I know that He speaks to the unworthy.  He delights to turn the unqualified into parents of nations, and He births the craziest ideas in His people.  We get to live His magnificent adventure and be blessed by his very own hand with the riches of the nations.  Some argue that adoption bankrupts you, your husband will never be able to retire, and you are fools asking for trouble.   Let it be known when you are part of God's distribution, an impoverished spirit is impossible.   I'm humbled that the Richest Man in the World has bestowed more wealth on our lives.  Sweet daughter and son, who am I that the Lord would look on me with such favor to make me your mother? 

 

Riches from Afar (part 2)

 

The days went by and our case was not rescheduled.  I was longing for the day that our lives, condensed on paper, would plead before the board in the Philippines, "Approve us!  Make these precious children orphans no longer."  As I waited I continued reading in Isaiah.  When I reached chapter 49, verse 22 and 23 stood out to me.  Here again:

 

"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'See, I will beckon to the nations, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.   Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers...Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.'"

 

I thought of the grace of Jesus to repeat words to my doubting heart.  I already had one son from the east who had a king for a foster father and a queen that nursed him, but I was sure the verse was there for what God was still going to bring to pass.  Out of the nations God calls children into his eternal family.  My precious Father adopts recklessly, because he adopts out of the richness of his mercy, but also through the willing poverty of his Son.  What can I add?  So let it be said, so let it be done.  Make us like unto you,  dear Father.   Thus we wait a bit longer.

 

Riches from Afar (part 1)

 

A big decision that would affect the rest of our lives was scheduled to be made on July 8.   I was praying for the Lord's favor that we might be able to adopt two siblings.   I shared with a friend that I was waiting for a word from the Lord.  My friend, her husband and seven kids wrote me that they would be praying that God would be glorified as he DOES set the lonely in families.  As only the Lord can orchestrate, I began reading Isaiah chapter 43 that day.  Because I wasn't reading on a plan, I just picked up where I left off reading in Isaiah from the day before.  I started to cry when I got to verse 5 and 6.

 

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth--"

 

I was overwhelmed that Christ would let me read those words on that particular decision day.  I felt so unworthy in His Presence.  Tears slipped down my cheeks because I was amazed that he would choose to speak to me and whisper his intimate intentions so that I would feel them in a resounding way.  And as often happens, when you get a word from the Lord, disappointing circumstances loom large and entice you to doubt what you just heard.  Therefore, it wasn't surprising that the next day I found out that the board in the Philippines did not discuss us or the children we hoped to make ours.  Our case was still unheard. 

Five in a Row

 

 

Birthday Glow

My Nine Year Old Twins

 A cake of many colors for my son who can't make up his mind and decides his favorite color is rainbow. 

 

May the 6 layers represent for him:

 

Yellow for the sunshine warm on your face.

Orange for a life full of vitality.

Pink for a memory full of the things of Christ.

Purple for royal sonship.

Blue for Jesus' washing away of sins.

Green for the pasture He leads you in.

 

Happy, Happy Birthday, Teddy!

 

 

The Beautiful Mess

 As we made a quick jaunt to one of my favorite stores to buy a gallon of blue paint, the moon was already high in the dusky sky.   It was just Teddy and me.  Teddy said, "Look at the small states."  With English still only a year and a half spoken, I wasn't sure what he was talking about.  He told me to look again and I tried to figure out to where these small states were.  For my clarification he added, "Look at the small states like California and Idaho."  Now I was really confused.  Next Teddy pointed out the obvious outlines of the western states on the moon.  How could I argue with his discovery.  Then he matter-of-factly told me the states looked kind of messy.  His moon talk completely enchanted me, and I learned that even the surface of the moon is a beautiful mess to those who are not persnickety about geography.

On Quiet Waters

Dress Up in a Dressed-Down World

 

 

 

How did you get so old?

Have a Beautifully Bookish Summer

 

Though this is a painful, sobering book of the real cost of following Jesus for a former Muslim, Rifqua writes naturally of her head over heels love for her Savior which makes it surprisingly uplifting.   She wants the world to know that she does not regret fleeing from the death threats of her own family into the arms of Jesus.  Her courage in the midst of extreme persecution and severe testing is extraordinary.   This is a story told about life in America as a Muslim background Believer and the disturbing world of Child Protective Services and court rooms.  It is a powerful read.

 

 

Maybe because I can't read music, I have a natural awe of those who can.  The lyrics of music and haunting melodies stir the heart of a young boy and make him into a musical genius.  I found this an interesting read about the man who preserved many of the negro spirituals for an entire new generation.  The author weaves Burleigh's parents and grandparents stories into the narrative and it makes for a rich multi-generational reason why songs can act as oral history and help cause people to remember that which shouldn't be forgotten.

 

Here a raw, real life wife shares why sharing her husband did not bring about marital bliss.  As a polygamist's wife she learned firsthand how another human can't satisfy and her works-based salvation was a hoax.  If you have Mormon friends, this is a book that might give insight into how their communities are very closed and cautious with outsiders because of the fact that their founder and forebearers were pretty much all polygamists.  How social services are needed for such large families is not surprising or how the young pretty girls become prey for ridiculously older men.  It is a frightful existence and a once staunch supporter of polygamy shares how her dreams were shattered.  The best part about the book is that in her later years Jesus mends her broken heart and she encounters the love she always wanted in Jesus' unconditional, full attention way.

 

 

 In the former Soviet Union persecution as a Christian was as common as food shortages.  This testimony of a pastor's child shares how her world turned upside down when her family members were arrested.  The conditions of their multiple internments were faith building, yet bitter with longing to be together as a family again.  God preserves her family in an 11th hour miracle, but it comes at great cost.

 

First I'll say the author is a scoffer of Christians.  However, she writes with soul-searching candor about her year in North Korea teaching ESL that the book proves fascinating.  Though she doesn't quite understand all she sees, she wants to dig deeper and expose her students to the world outside of their birth country prison.   This is a book that you can feel the author's pulse rise and legitimately so. I think the author unwittingly argues for the softening effect of Christianity as she is distressed to see the winsome boys morph into foul-mouthed rabid animals.  It is not surprising that a nation that arrogantly topples Jesus' rules become foaming at the mouth fanatics that scare even another unbeliever.

 

By being smuggled out of China, Tiananmen Square comes alive through the eyes of a highly-visible leader and speaker of the student movement.  Besides recounting the bloody democratic push of China's young elite college students, Chai Ling vents her other frustrations with the communist system through her own personal story.   I learned a bunch about the land of my fifth treasure and am extremely thankful for the author's present push to expose the horrifying way the government handles population control.  She is a woman full of courage and a warrior for truth and freedom.

 

Like the last book, I read this one and couldn't feel more blessed to have been born a woman in America.  Life is hard for most of the world's women.  One unusual man is trying to influence a male-dominated Muslim culture with the idea that girls deserve an education along with their brothers.  A former mountaineering bum becomes a resourceful, committed promise-keeper and repays a small community that saves his life by coming back to build a school for their children.  The building doesn't stop there.   He tirelessly travels thousands of miles on behalf of his rural children and asks to build further schools in the world's most dangerous pockets.  The fact that he gets permission and follows through and constructs is quite astounding.