Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widow in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. - James 1:27-

This morning I went to the abortion clinic for the first time in a while. (Side note: one of many perks of becoming recently unemployed - Saturdays open!) I chose my favorite little sign: Do Not Commit Murder - We Will Adopt YOUR CHILD.

We weren't the only ones with signs today. I noticed, behind the pile of things the three pink-vested volunteer clinic escorts collected at the corner of the building, a handwritten sign. Upside down, it said adoption at the bottom. Why, I wondered, would they have a sign that said that?

After we prayed, grabbed signs, and began walking the sidewalk, one of the escorts held up the sign. She continued to as they talked and laughed, mostly ignoring us. The sign was written clearly in bright colors.

Lucas County Children's Services
has lots of children 
waiting for adoption.

When the woman flipped it over, I saw the other side.

Put your money where your mouth is, it read.

Anger and defenses rose immediately. What do they know? Many in our group have adopted both internationally and in the US as well as become foster parents. Surely our money and our actions are where our mouths are.

But then conviction rose. The sign is right, if not its attitude; we should have our money where our mouth is. I thought of 1 Peter 3:16. "Keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame."

Is this the case? Are we so active that the mouths of those who rise against us are shut?

Praise God for the families who are adopting. But are not many of us resting on their laurels?

I wonder, should every family feel that the burden of adopting is on them unless God clearly shows the otherwise? I remember a statistic I heard: if one family from every THREE churches adopted an eligible child from foster care, and the rest of the families supported that one family, there would be NO CHILDREN in the American foster care system left waiting to be adopted. None. Surely there is at least one family out of every three churches that should adopt!

Not everyone can adopt. But we know that, and how quick we are to make excuses! And how many ways there are to help. Are we giving to families who are adopting? Are we praying? Are we babysitting, bringing meals, or providing emotional support? Are we being especially careful to assist in the training and raising of adopted children?

Are we judging others' methods? As Dwight L. Moody put it so beautifully, I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it. With high costs and the issues that always come with adoption, even of babies, it is easy to criticize how families overcome this obstacles to adoption and how many they adopt.

Are we supporting women who decide not to abort their children? Are we supporting ministries that do?

The brassness of the women who volunteer at the clinic is provoking. The women going in almost never respond to the counselors from our group that call out to them. Once, one of the escorts blocked the face of a woman going in from our view with her sign. After escorting one woman in, two of them gave a high-five. It was sad and creepy, highlighting how they deceive the women going in.

We wanted to silence them. I wanted to bring every child that has been adopted in our church and stand them on that corner with a sign, a great big sign. These children were given life in a new home. Your child can be too. Choose adoption.

Parker asked me a few weeks ago, "If someone going in said to me, "If you, you personally, will adopt my child, we won't abort it," should I do it?"

"Of course," I replied. It doesn't matter that we're less than 10 weeks away from the birth of our first child, nor that we're not rich, nor that we live in a small apartment. I wish it would happen, rather than add to the mass of unmarked murders.

Sometimes, though, it's easier to submit in the big things. In a sense, it's easier to decide to adopt a baby and love them as your own than to love the annoying kid your friend adopted, easier to give up thousands of dollars to go to another country to rescue an orphaned child than to give up a few pizza nights to give so someone else can.

Do not give God's enemies occasion to blaspheme. May the church so love the orphans, not in words but in deed, that the mouths of the world are stopped.

A Time of Beginnings

Note: This badly written post is probably boring, but it has babies in it, so it's all cool.

Each year, I marvel at how the time has gone by. At how different than I expected things were. At how long ago last year seems.

I hope it doesn't keep getting more and more like this forever, because each year the gap between this January first and last seems bigger than the previous one did.

This year is no exception, and I don't think next will be either.

The blog only saw eight posts last year, one of which I did not even write. My year was filled with other things, being more busy than perhaps ever before. I got different glasses, got contacts, got a car, finally got my license, got married, moved out and lived in an apartment for the first time, and changed my name within about a month's time.

This year, we'll have a baby before our first anniversary.

(This is added on and not really part of the flow, but I must mention baby Keith. He's awesome, and being an aunt is delightful.)

And so, as my dear husband has been recommending, my blog needed an update as well. My focus isn't books as much as before, but more of the path ahead, which is why I like this background photo looking down a road in Mesick, MI from our honeymoon. The look will be evolving for a while, probably.

I haven't thought much past Christmas this year - besides baby, of course! - and it is now past Christmas, so I should probably do that. But a few thoughts for this year.

We want to have people over frequently, about twice a month. It's really delightful to be the ones to have people over and not have to go anywhere! Connections with people you have into your home form in a way they don't in other settings.

I want to read more books. I have not made time for that much, really since I started college. Parker set us up with this app called Todoist. Clever title, no? Hopefully that will help both with this and with being more organized in general, another of my goals.

To grow closer to God is an easy thing for a Christian to say and resolve. But this past year. I have neglected my relationships in some areas, no more so than here. Thankfully my wonderful husband has been challenging and pushing me to devote time to Bible study and particularly prayer, as well as memorization.

He also tells me I need specific goals - hence the twice-a-month having people over and Todoist. Perhaps this is a goal in itself: make ideals break down into specific goals.

I could go on forever, but time is such a valuable thing. Two more thoughts.

Baby! That is all.

And next year, I want to know and understand and communicate with my husband 52 thousand, as Melody would say, times better than I do now. And those three, God, husband, and baby, will make this year quite an adventure.