Update on Olga

***Their Chip-In account is up to $710!!!  If was all give what we can, they will be fully funded this week.  We can do this!!!***

I wanted to give you all an update on the precious little girl named Olga who truly has changed my life. 

About a month ago, I joined many other bloggers in an attempt to raise money so that her forever family could bring her home.  You can read my post here:  A Day to Save Olga.  What an amazing response we saw!  In just a few days time, so many people responded to the call by praying, donating and/or sharing the story with others.

I come to you now asking you to rally together once again.  While they have raised around $20,000 so far, the anticipated costs for this adoption is around $35,000.  For those not familiar with international adoption, you are probably looking at this number in shock!  I know I did when I first became aware of it.  It is outrageous that it should cost that much money!  But, no matter how disgusted we are by the complicated, over-priced system, the fact remains that these children NEED TO BE RESCUED!  If you haven't read my previous post, please take a minute to do so. 

These children are unwanted.  They are considered defective and disposable. 

And yet, there are loving families here that desperately want to open their homes to these babies.  The Abell family has the means to support another child.  They have the space, the love, the ability, and the desire.  But no matter how much they are willing and able to bring another child into their life, that $35,000 initial cost is overwhelmingly difficult to come by.  How many people do you know that have that kind of money just lying around? 

If they had chosen to bring another child into their family biologically, this would not be nearly as complicated.  Medical insurance covers most of the expenses involved in a pregnancy.  Unfortunately, there is not equivalent insurance coverage for adoption expenses.  So because they chose to rescue a child that is in desperate need of a family, they have this enormous up-front cost.

This is not a situation where the family is getting in over their heads.  They have not made this decision lightly.  They are not going into it blindly. 

They are following God's call on their family. 

Most of us at one point or another help to raise money for something.  We raise money so that people can get the medical treatment they need.  We raise money to help fund research for various diseases.  We raise money for organizations that help end human trafficking.  We raise money to help people recover from natural disasters.  We raise money all the time for so many different causes.  But they are all similar in that they are there to help others in their time of need.

This is not a welfare case.  This is not supporting someone who just doesn't want to work to get what they want.  This is not enabling someone who doesn't know how to manage their money.

The Abell family has cut out all non-essential expenses such as "cable, eating out, haircuts, birthday parties, vacation, knick knacks, etc."  Chris has taken on a second job and works extra hours any chance he gets.  They are scrimping and saving and working.  Jenn is making and selling various items.  Yard sales, bake sales, MaryKay sales.  They are doing everything they can to bring their daughter home.  You can read more about their journey, their struggles and their undying love, hope and determination for their daughter in their latest blog post here. 

Won't you be a part of helping them bring her home?

What can you give?  $10?  $25?  $50?  More than that?  Some tax return money that could be used to help a little girl get home?

I want to challenge you to be a huge part in this wonderful story. 

First, pray for this family.  Pray for peace and wisdom and strength.  Pray for miracles in the process.  Pray for Olga...for her safety and health. 

Go to the family's blog, Saving Our Starfish, and donate to their "Dossier Submission Chip-In" account on the right-hand side of the page.  Give what you can.  Check out all of their fundraisers and participate.  They currently have $635 towards their goal of $5458.  Let's all join in and blow the top off that goal!

Then, share this story.  Email it to all your friends.  "Share" it on Facebook.

I have seen what can happen when we rally together. 

Let's do it again.

Is this your daughter?



I was very excited to see that Dateline did a story this past weekend about orphans in Russia.  It was a wonderful story entitled The Boy From Baby House 10, that focused on a spunky little boy named Vanya who came dangerously close to living out his life in a mental institution.

I have shared the Today Show story about Serbian institutions with you before in my post Sweet Babies.  This story from Dateline shows some of the same conditions, but is a redemptive story.  Through Divinely providential circumstances, Sweet Vanya did find a forever family.  Take a few minutes to watch his story here. 

What struck me most was how his mother found him.  It was through word-of-mouth.  Information passed from one person to another.  Nothing over the top.  No large-scale efforts (though such were attempted).  What saved Vanya from possible death as a child in that dreadful institution?  Somebody shared his story.

So simple.  Yet so effective!

So, here I am again...asking you to share this story.

Look at these faces.  Don't just scroll past them.  Don't glance and look away.  Really look into their eyes. 

These are children.  Babies.  All they need is a chance.  A loving environment where they can grow and play and become healthy and strong.

They need a mommy and daddy.  A family who will snuggle them. 

Is that you?  Is that someone you know? 



Sylvia



Look at this precious face. 

Sweet, lovable little girl. 

Somebody's daughter.

Is she yours?



Danila

Take a look at this adorable little girl.


Active love-bug is how she is described.


Does she belong in your family?



Laura



How about this sweet girl...

Beautiful brown eyes...

Is this your daughter?

Are you familiar with the concept of six degrees of separation?  Wikipedia defines it as "the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of, "a friend of a friend" statements can be made, on average, to connect any two people in six steps or fewer."  Many will recall the "Kevin Bacon Game" which uses this concept to connect any actor or actress to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less.  Fun trivia game.

How about we use this concept for something much more important?

I firmly believe the parents of these three girls can be found by me and you.  You know someone who knows someone who knows someone.  A friend of a friend of a friend is the mother of one of these precious little girls.

All you have to do is share the story.



Amazed

What a gloriously beautiful Colorado day!  Windows open, kids outside, smells of fresh bread baking...

Even if it were a dreary day, I would still be in awe.  Yesterday I witnessed such an amazing thing.  I saw people step up all day long to help someone they don't know, someone they may not have even heard of before yesterday.

People were donating their hard-earned money.  People were praying faithfully.  People were re-posting and forwarding the message.   Just thinking about how much God was able to multiply the efforts.  Patti, the blogger who started this, got over 25 bloggers on board.  Let's just say that each of the bloggers got even 10 people to pass it on.  Those 10 got even more to pass it on.  When all is said and done, our faithfulness to press the "share" tab was multiplied beyond what I could have imagined.

Many times through-out the day yesterday as I checked the totals and checked Facebook, I was brought to tears by the hearts and generosity of my friends. 

YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!

I have seen blog fundraisers before...usually with spectacular give-aways.  But this was different.  Everyone who blogged about it, shared it on Facebook, forwarded emails and donated money all did it just for the sake of this little girl.  There was no chance of getting something in return.  You all did it to bring this girl to a loving home...to rescue her from horrific circumstances.  And for that, I am so overwhelmed with gratitude.

As I have said before, this little girl is in my heart.  I cannot wait to see her home with her forever family and watch her grow big and strong... 

There is still time to help.  The process of international adoption is a long and stressful one.  The Abell family still needs your prayers and support.  You can still donate HERE on their blog to the "Chip-In" account to help towards their Dossier.  Again, (from what I understand) they have to submit $7000 with the paperwork before they can even find out if she has been transferred yet.  Can you imagine living in the state of not knowing?

So, I just want to again say THANK YOU!  Seeing people step up for a complete stranger because it's the right thing to do is overwhelming to me.

You guys ROCK!!!

A Day to Save Olga

Today I am sharing with you a message from a friend.  Her posts on her blog, A Perfect Lily, about Olga back in December opened my eyes, and I will never be the same.  Today, many of us bloggers are joining together to spread the word about this sweet girl and her family, The Abells, who are trying to rescue her.  They need $7000 ASAP to do so...Patti's note explains more.  When we started the day, the grant was at $75.

UPDATE:  The Abells have $1477 in their "Chip-In" account!!! And the family sponsorhip grant is up to $4548.94!!!  Let's keep it climbing!!!


Please take a few minutes to read this message from Patti. 

"But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help--how can God's love be in that person?"  I John 3:17 NLT

Once our eyes are opened, how can we turn away and do nothing?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear friends,
So many of you already know this beautiful little face....



Olga turned five last month. She has spent the last five years in an orphanage in Eastern Europe, without the love of a mommy and daddy- simply because she arrived in life exactly as God designed her. One chromosome too many, and her fate was sealed from birth.





Sealed, because in Eastern Europe, babies who are born with Down syndrome are deemed unacceptable at birth. They are discarded as cast-offs of society, and when they turn five they leave the only home they've ever known...




And I wish I could say that for most of these children, leaving that home meant going to a place of safety, a place of happiness, a place where they would finally know the love of a family...know what it meant to be cuddled or sung to or read to, tucked in at night, prayed for, loved.

Instead, they are taken to a place that most people wouldn't leave their family pet.


A place of living hell, where they will never know the tenderness of a parent, never know the security of being raised in a family, and there they will stay, one ugly, pain-filled day at a time...until they die.






I read a post last December that stayed with me to this day. It was called from baby dolls to bedstraps.The blog author wrote about Elizabeth, an orphan on Reece's Rainbow who had been transferred to a mental institution, waiting for a family to step forward for her. Her words still haunt me.

I wonder where she thought she was going as they led her out of the orphanage that day. Did she think that maybe it was finally her turn? That they were taking her to her forever Mommy and Daddy?

And when they instead took her inside that dreadful place, when they shaved her head and tied her to a too-small metal crib

when they turned their backs and

walked

away…


when they left her confused, terrified,

in a room where the wails of schizophrenic adults echo through the cold air

what was going through her young mind?



Did she wonder if she was being punished?



How long did she hold out hope that this was only temporary?

That any minute, they would come and take her back to the baby house

to her baby dolls and teddy bear,

to her best friend, Angelina?


Did she long to free her arms from the restraints

to cover her head with her hands to drown out

the scary noises

the scary sights

the scary smells?



That could be my Lily….


It could be your child.

And what if it were?

What if you woke up one morning

and by some hellish, twilight-zone twist of fate

your child wasn’t still tucked into that warm bed down the hall,

what if your child was trapped

across the dark sea

in that nightmare that is

the institution?

What

would

you

DO?

Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. Proverbs 24:11

Elizabeth is being rescued today, thanks to the efforts of that blogging mama, and others like her.

Olga is being rescued today, thanks to so many of you...you gave so much and created such a large grant that a family was able to step forward and start the process of adoption.

The Abells have done so much already, towards rescuing Olga. I can't even imagine all the paperwork and prayer and emotion and finances that goes into an international adoption. They have done numerous fundraisers, and will continue to do so until they can bring Olga home.

Through the help of so many, a grant of over $13,000 has been raised for Olga's adoption. That grant is set aside for the final travel costs and fees that it will take to bring Olga home. It will take every penny of that and then some.

Right now the Abells are in need of raising the $7,000 that is needed to submit their dossier for Olga. Without that dossier we don't even know if Olga has been transferred yet. Here in America you just pick up the phone and ask these questions. But here in America we don't tie five year old girls to cribs to keep them from climbing out.

The Abells need to submit that dossier as soon as possible- at the very least to find out if she has been transferred already- because I know an army of prayer warriors who is going to want to know that piece of information as well. And at the very most, it could be able to hold Olga at the baby house until the Abells can rescue her. I wish I could say with certainty that she won't be transferred- truthfully we just don't know that.

Olga has been so heavy on my heart for months- friends, I want you to know that I DO trust that God has a plan here.

I prayed like crazy for a way to help the Abells. I truly believe that there is a network of people who love Olga here in blogland...a net that is woven by God and is stretching out across this blessed country we live in, and even beyond to generous hearts in other nations. I really cannot express enough how thankful I am to be a small part of what God has already done for Olga, Peter and Kareen. But I don't think our job is done.

Olga needs us.

I don't want her to spend one more forsaken day in that place than she has to.

We're not doing a giveaway here today. I don't even think we need to do one- I know so many just have a heart to help and to give, and prizes were never the real reason we all gave anyway.

So I'm just asking- for one day- for you to do whatever you could to help Olga. Whether that's $10 or $20 or even a hundred...if you are able to help raise this money for the dossier, please do so HERE...

This is the link for the Chip-In giving on the Abell's blog.  (Scroll down and find the "Chip-In" box on the right-hand side of their blog.)  Every single dollar goes to the Abell's adoption fund to help towards the dossier, and every single dollar will help.

We're calling this A Day to Save Olga, because there are about 17 of us blogging mamas who have set aside this day to blog, post on Facebook, pray, give and spread the word to SAVE OLGA.

Will you help us?

I know you will:)

Love,
Patti
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please prayerfully consider what YOU can do to help.  Don't just turn away.
~angela

Olga

At the end of September, I had a very vivid dream...the kind that feels so real. 

In my dream, it was very cold outside and I was in a strange place....another country, perhaps.  There was a precious little girl named Olga who was running away from something.  When I asked her what was wrong, she told me that some bad men were after her.  I scooped her up, ran and hid.  I held her close in my arms and told her it was ok...she was safe now.  Then I woke up.

I woke with such an overwhelming desire to "rescue" a little girl, knowing that there are so many who are being chased by the enemy. 

In early December, a friend of mine posted a link on Facebook to this blog about a precious girl with Down Syndrome named Olga. 

It so very much touched my heart.  I have closely followed this blog ever since, posting links frequently on Facebook, trying to get others to see the stories.  You see, God had prepared me with that dream...and now He was showing me the ugly truth of it. 

My eyes were opened.

This sweet Olga has been so much a part of my thoughts and prayers and heart since then.  She is what prompted me to start this blog.  There are many other facets to my story with Olga that show how much God is in the details.  Maybe someday I will share those pieces of the story.  But, let me just say that she will always be in my prayers and a part of my life....for she truly changed me. 

Olga was a Divine Interruption.

What if it were your child?

God is so faithful to answer prayers that are in His will.  Over the past couple years I have read alot of books with heart-breaking stories, some biographies, some historical fiction.  About a year ago, while reading some of the historical fiction and sobbing my eyes out, I cried out to God.  I asked Him to open my eyes to see what He sees...to break my heart for the things that break His heart.  Boy, has He ever answered that prayer! 

These days it feels as if my heart is going to literally burst.  Do you know that feeling?  My chest actually physically aches.  Both last night and this morning, I felt like it took every ounce of my strength and concentration to not break down into the ugly cry.  Oh, how heavy my heart feels!

Today, I got to spend my morning snuggling precious babies.  I helped out in the nursery at our Bible Study.  We had four sweet little ones, and four of us adults to care for them.  While I thoroughly enjoyed playing with them, watching them giggle and rocking them to sleep...I could not stop thinking about all the children who never experience this.  All those precious babies in orphanages around the globe who never giggle at their caregiver, who don't get rocked to sleep, who don't get cereal-o's to snack on just because.  The thousands of beautiful children who spend their days laying or sitting in a crib crying because there is no one to pick them up, who don't know what it is to play, who don't get their diaper changed but maybe once a day.  The children who don't know what a loving embrace feels like, who don't know what safety and peace and joy and warmth and love feel like.  All because they are not "perfect". 

I want you to take a minute and picture your own children.  Whether they are little now or were long ago, picture your child as a toddler.  Now imagine that someone took that child away from you and put them into one of these orphanages where they were not hugged and not loved and not cared for, but rather neglected and ignored and abused and forgotten.  They were forced to stay in their crib all day long...in a room full of cribs with crying children who were never attended to...a room that smelled horrendously from all the children made to sit in their own filth...  A place where they barely got enough food to sustain them, and no one ever picked them up to cuddle them.  Endless days of dreadful existence. 

And your child is there, crying out for Mommy and Daddy to come...crying out for nothing more than to feel loved and secure and safe.

Could you turn your back on your child?  Leave them there?  Say it is not your problem?  It is not your "calling" to go rescue them?  Someone else needs to do it?

No?  Then why do you turn your back on the ones that are there? 

You may not have been the one who abandoned them.  But you are the one who is ignoring and neglecting them.

If that were your child over there, you would stop at nothing to save them.  No one and no thing would stop you from getting there as fast as you could to rescue them.  Your thoughts and actions would be consumed with trying to get them back into your loving arms and safe home.  You would be appalled and disgusted by what you saw there.  You would be angry that anyone could do that to a child.

So why don't you feel that way now?  Are those children any less deserving of love than the ones in your home?   Is it ok that they are treated that way?  Should you just leave them there and do nothing because they are not your responsibility?  Of course not!

It is your responsibility!  It is your calling! 

"Defend the cause of the fatherless..."  Isaiah 1:17

Doing nothing is not an option.  God says clearly in many places in the Bible that we are to take care of the fatherless.  In the book of Deuteronomy, He gave the Israelites many laws and instructions on how to live.  In there He repeated many times how they were to provide for the fatherless.  Does He care about the orphans less now, in today's society?  I'm pretty sure the answer to that is absolutely not!  He loves them and wants them taken care of just as much today as ever. 

"If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered."  Proverbs 21:13

So why do we go about our lives thinking that it is someone else's problem to deal with?  We live in a nice, suburban bubble here in America.  Even if we "struggle" a little financially, we still have no idea what much of the world's "struggling" looks like.  And instead of reaching out and trying to educate ourselves on the matter and figure out a way we can help, we gladly put on our blinders so that we can fully concentrate on our own lives.

"Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves!"  Ezekiel 34:2

You need to prayerfully consider what you can do to help.  As I said before, doing nothing is not an option.  Can you financially support a family who is adopting?  Can you babysit for a family who needs to take the training classes?  Can you make meals for the family who just brought their child home?  Can you donate $10 or $25 a month to an adoption grant, such as the ones on Reece's Rainbow?  Could you use your tax return to help a child get a home?  Can you forward this post to others?  Can you educate and encourage others to take off their blinders?

Could you open your heart and home to another child?

No matter what it is, trust God to help you...financially, emotionally, physically.  He is faithful!  You won't have to do it on your own.  Whatever it is.

Just do something!

And, may I make one more suggestion?  Don't pray, "Lord, let my heart be broken with the things that break your heart" unless you are really prepared for it to happen in a big way!

here i am

I ask your forgiveness right from the start.  My thoughts are all jumbled up in my brain today.  Maybe it's the lack of sleep.  Maybe it's all that has been weighing on my heart lately.  Probably a bit of both.

I have often struggled with praying honestly, "Lord, use me.  I am here to serve you as you see fit.  Whatever you want for my life, I want.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  Nothing else.  Lord, I want your will."   You see, I am terribly afraid He will do it! 

What if He asks me to uproot my family?  Move across the globe?  Start a time-consuming ministry in an unknown area?  Give up things I hold dear?  Step out of my comfort-zone?  Help a needy person?  Adopt an orphan or two?  What if He just asks me to walk across the room and share the Gospel with a stranger?  Or worse yet, a family member?!

I often feel like God is calling out, asking for volunteers to step up to the front...and I am sitting in the back, sliding down in my chair with my head bowed trying to hide from view. "Please don't pick me....please don't pick me..."  You see, I have an idea of what my future is going to be.  A plan.  The schooling plan.  The vacation plan.  The retirement plan.  So many plans. 

"Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails."  Proverbs 19:21

Why is it so difficult to trust God?  I mean trust completely.  No lip-service, while keeping a tight grip on our own plans.  Trust Him.

"Here I am."   I love that phrase in the Bible.  It has really been jumping out at me lately.  There are numerous examples of men answering God, "Here I am." 

Such as Abraham in Genesis 22.  Abraham obeyed immediately.  No hesitation.  No questioning.  No rationalizing why he shouldn't do it.  Immediate obedience.  The result?  Tremendous blessing. "I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore...and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."  He got to experience first-hand, Jehovah Jireh...the God who provides.

Then there's good ole Moses.  His story in Exodus 3 is certainly not his finest hour.  And yet, this is a story I can identify with.  This is my paraphrase of what went down:

God:   "I have seen. I have heard. I have come to rescue them. So, now go." 
Moses:   "Who, me?" 
God:   "I will be with you." 
Moses:   "But, what if no one listens...." 
God:   "Tell them I sent you. They will listen." 
Moses:   "But, what if they don't believe me..." 
God:   "I will perform miracles." 
Moses:   "But, I'm not qualified..." 
God:   "Go. I will help you." 
Moses:   "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." 
Then the God got very frustrated with Moses.

Wow.  As a mom, I want to send Moses to his room until he can obey immediately without whining and arguing!  Seriously!

But, oh...how we are all like Moses.  Isn't it easy to come up with excuses why you shouldn't have to do what God has told you to do?  Reasons why it is someone else's calling and not yours?

Abraham or Moses?  Who do you want to be like?  I seem to be more like Moses, but desperately want to be more like Abraham.

When God opens your eyes to something that calls for action, DO SOMETHING!  Be like Samuel and say, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 

But what if He hasn't "called" you?  You don't feel any great "calling" on your life?

Open your Bible.  If you proclaim the name of Jesus...if you are a Christian and want to live a faithful life: Open your Bible.  It doesn't take a scholar to find the "calls":

"Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?  Does not he who guards your life know it?  Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?"  Proverbs 24:11-12

"Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans..."  James 1:27 NLT

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves..."  Proverbs 31:8

"Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act."  Proverbs 3:27

"But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help--how can God's love be in that person?"  I John 3:17 NLT

"Whoever Welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me."  Mark 9:37

Or how about this one:

"Then the King will say to those on the right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me.  I was in prison, and you visited me.'

`Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' 'And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'"

"Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, `Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons! For I was hungry, and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn't give me anything to drink. I was a stranger, and you didn't invite me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me no clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.'

"Then they will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?' And he will answer, `I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.'"  
Matthew 25:34-45

What are you doing -- or REFUSING to do -- for Jesus?

 

As the song says, What Now?

What will you do?  Will you pull a 'Moses' and argue with God?  Or will you stand up right now and choose to follow Him?

Tremendous blessings await the Abrahams of today.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"  Isaiah 6:8

Why bother?

There are so many orphans in the world.  There are so many children with special needs who have been abandoned.  There is no way I can make a dent in that number.  So why bother?  There will still be thousands upon thousands who will be doomed to life in an institution.  Why should I get emotionally involved in helping one?

Consider this story that I am sure you have heard before:
                     

The Story of the Starfish....

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."adapted from The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977)           

Make a difference in just one life and see the ripple effects.

If everyone donated just $10 to Danila, we could make a difference for that one.  What is $10 to you?  A few lattes?  A couple of kid's meals at the local fast-food restaurant? 

She's one who needs us.

I'm sure most of you have seen this as well.  Watch it, and think about sweet Danila and all the other precious children at Reece's Rainbow. 

Help rescue one.

One more.

It matters.

Just one....

Don't wait until it's too late to say, "I could have saved one more..."

God's Hand

I was thinking today about how God uses us, even when we don't realize it.  I am repeatedly amazed at God's visible Hand in my life when I obey him.  I recently finished the book "Something More" by Catherine Marshall.  She ends chapter 5, which is entitled "The Joy of Obedience", with this statement:  "Always and always the understanding comes after the obedience."

How true is that?!  How often in our lives are we confused and flustered over something we don't really understand, but that we have to do, for one reason or another?  But once we do it, and look back on it, it suddenly all makes sense.  Trials are no fun, that's for sure.  We must remember, however, that God is refining us.  We must trust His guidance.

And what about those times when you think you should do something, but you aren't sure if it is from God or not.  I'm sure many of you have gotten this forwarded email story called "Buy the Milk", author unknown.  It is a beautiful story, worth reading again:

A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor had spoken about "listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice."
The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?" After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways. It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray,"God, if you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey."
As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, "God is that you?" He didn't get a reply, so he started on toward home. But again, the thought came to him... buy a gallon of milk.
The young man thought about Samuel, and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. "Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk." It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk. So, he stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started toward home.
As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, "Turn down that street." This is crazy, he thought, and drove on past the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I will".
He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in a semi-commercial area of town. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark, like people were already in bed.
Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street." The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. "Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid."
Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk. Finally, he opened the door and said, "Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something but, if they don't answer right away, I am out of here."
He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you want?"
Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep.
The man asked, "What is it?"
The young man thrust out the gallon of milk and said, "Here, I brought this to you," he said.
The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway speaking loudly in Spanish. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face.
The man began speaking and half crying, "We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk."
His wife in the kitchen yelled out,"I ask him to send an angel with some. Are you an Angel?"
The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put it in the man's hand. Then he turned and walked back toward his car and tears were streaming down his face. He knew then that God does still speak to people... and answer prayers.

This story chokes me up every time I read it.  But I know what you are thinking.  It's just a fictional story someone made up to solicit an emotional response from people, right?  Probably.  But I know for sure that God does use us to bless other people.  I have seen it in my own life.  A friend of mine has often told me that my obedience in helping to start a MOPS group saved her from complete insanity when her children were little.  I didn't really want to start the group.  But God told me to and I obeyed.  Through that many, many very close friendships were formed...friendships that truly were the "sane" force for us young moms.

I experienced this once again just this week.  Through this blog, in fact.  Prior to a few months ago, I had never even heard of Reece's Rainbow.  I came across them by accident, it would seem (I now know otherwise)...all because of a forwarded post on Facebook.  I was touched and blessed in tremendous ways through another blogger's obedience to God's call.  She inspired me to start my own blog...to do something to help these children who deserve loving homes, not institutions.  And after months of thinking about these children non-stop and praying about it, I did something.  I started this blog in an effort to help these children.  Little did I know that my obedience would in-turn touch someone else. 

A friend of mine from college contacted me yesterday after she read my blog.  It seems her family is planning to adopt and they have been considering Reece's Rainbow.  I know this doesn't seem like much...but, to me it was a lot.  A connection.  A note from God saying, "Yes.  You are on the right path."  That's what I got from it.  I had no idea that someone I knew was praying about that decision.  Maybe that was a nudge from God for her as well, I don't know.  What I do know is that when we obey God, His blessings are poured out on many.

Take a minute to check out the blog that got it all started in my heart, A Perfect Lily.  I promise you will be touched beyond measure.  Not only does she have an amazing heart for God and these precious orhpans, but she is putting that into action in a MIGHTY way.  She regularly has amazing give-aways.  All you have to do is donate, post on Facebook or on your blog and let her know.  Then you will be entered to win one of many prizes.  Through give-aways like the current one and people just walking in obedience, she has already helped to raise tens of thousands of dollars for three little ones.  And on top of that, we have seen two of these precious children get homes and a family is inquiring about the third! 

They are just waiting on all the formal paperwork and such to be done, and then they get to leave the orphanage forever!  And all of this happened, because of one woman's obedience to God's nudgings....and in turn, many more people's obedience to spread the word and/or donate money.  God is GOOD!!! 

Don't ignore God's nudgings.  Does reading about this make you feel something?  Does your heart break when you watch the Today Show clip?  Then do something.  Post this link on Facebook.  Who knows, maybe one of your friends is waiting for this nudging from God.  Or maybe a friend of a friend. 

Maybe through the continual forwarding and reposting, sweet Danila will find her family. 

What if YOU are a vital piece of that chain? 

It doesn't take much to get the word out.  Don't just let your feelings end with you. 

C.S. Lewis, speaking of man, says it so wonderfully in "The Screwtape Letters": 

"The more often he feels without acting, the less he will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel..."

Do you long to see God's Hand in your life?  Do your part and then sit back and watch Him work.  I promise, you will be blown away!

"Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."  James 2:17

Sweet babies

Today, I am stepping out in faith.  Today, I am trusting that God will do a mighty work.

You see, my eyes have been recently opened to atrocities on the other side of the globe.  Unthinkable things happening to innocent children.  In Eastern Europe, children with Down Syndrome and other disabilities are deemed unacceptable.  Many parents are strongly encouraged to put their babies in orphanages at birth.  Here they stay, some in unspeakable conditions, until they find a forever family.  Unfortunately, there are many who do not. 

But that's not the worst of it.  At the age of 5 or 6, they are transferred to a mental institution.  Once transferred, there is very little chance of them ever finding a family and reaching their full potential.  Instead, they waste away in dark rooms, sometimes tied to their beds for hours or days at a time.  These are precious children who just need a chance.  Sweet babies and toddlers who need proper medical care.  Innocents that only want someone to love them.

Here is a clip from the Today Show about the institutions in Serbia.  These exist all over Eastern Europe.  I warn you, it is hard to watch.



Now, I know this can all come across as quite dramatic.  And here in the priviledged land of America, we are often shown pictures and stories of the sadness around the world, innundated with requests for 'sponsorship' of some sort.  But please, please don't get numb to the needs of others.  There is so much that you can do to help.  You don't have to adopt 15 orphans with special needs to make a difference.  You don't even have to adopt one. 

There is a wonderful organization called Reece's Rainbow that raises money for adoption grants for the sweet children in Eastern Europe.  The average international adoption costs $25,000+ and many families who have a heart for it, don't have the bank account big enough for it.  That's where Reece's Rainbow steps in.  They provide grants for these children so that they can find a forever family to call their very own. 

What can you do to help?  Blog about it.  Post about it on Facebook.  Donate money.  Pray for the families who are in the process of adopting.  Pray for the sweet children who are in need of a family.

Over on the side of my blog, you will find a link.  Sweet Danila is getting very close to aging out of the orphanage.  The more money in her grant fund, the more likely she is to be adopted.  Help me give her hope.  You can donate via PayPal right here through my blog.  You can link this blog to your Facebook page. Please consider taking a few minutes to look into this and pray about how you can help.

It could mean the world to this sweet girl.