Faith that bleeds

"The dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted, the unloved--they are Jesus in disguise... [Through the] poor people I have an opportunity to be 24 hours a day with Jesus. Every AIDS victim is Jesus in a pitiful disguise; Jesus is in everyone.... [AIDS sufferers are] children of God [who] have been created for greater things. (1/13/86, Time) Mother Teresa

In Matthew 25:40 Jesus said, "Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me--you did it to me." Was he truly saying that we will find him in the lives of the poor? This is a rich mystery.
We shouldn't be surprised. Our God is indeed a God of mystery. Isaiah 55:8-11 says,
"I don't think the way you think.
The way you work isn't the way I work."
God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think."

What if all Christ-followers lived the Red Letter words in the Bible--Jesus' words? What if we offered the hungry something to eat, gave one of our many coats to someone who was cold, and truly loved all our neighbors as ourselves? How radically different would our lives be? How different would our world be if Christians were really living as little Christs?

Abortion...A big deal!

Here is part of an article written by Randy Alcorn. He says what is in my heart! I hope what you read will impact your life!

Check out this website: http://www.tinyurl.com/ywcrzb for a beautiful slide show of living unborn children at various stages of development.
In contrast to these, go to http://www.abort73.com/HTML/I-A-4-video.html to see what an abortion really does to children. Warning: these are not made up photos; they are not exaggerated. They are real. This is simply what abortion is. Uncloaked, uncovered, unimaginably horrible.
If, like many, you get upset about the fact that people would post these pictures or that I would give a link to them, I suggest you reserve your outrage for those who defend the right to commit such atrocities against children. it is not the photos that are immoral--it is the abortion that is immoral. The photos only tell the truth most of us don't want to see.
No, if you are "prochoice," I'm nearly certain you won't go to the slide show showing what an abortion is. My question is, "Why would it be hard for you to watch something that you defend as being okay?" If you are willing to stand up for the legal right to do something, shouldn't you be willing to look at what that something really is? We hate the pictures because they tell the truth--that abortion is not merely a word on a page or in a debate; it is a horror inflicted upon children.
God's Word says of the innocent, "Precious is their blood in his sight" (Psalm 72:14). He sees their blood, even if you and I turn away from it.

Randy Alcorn
Eternal Perspectives Ministries
39085 Pioneer Blvd., Suite 206
Sandy, OR 97055
www.epm.org

Update

I just received an email from Hope adoption. They referred out 6 infants last week--4 of which were UNDER the age of 1 month! WOW! We were hoping to get one that young, but have been told by many agencies that they would be older! How exciting!

"God laughs at odds. No matter how big the request, how lofty the hope, or even how statistically impossible the task, He can do it - and infinitely immeasurably more. May God be seen for how great He really is!" Ephesians 3:20 (paraphrase)

A decision!!!

We have finally made a decision on what agency we will go through!!! This has been a very meticulous decision as all agencies vary so much. Prices vary, plus rules vary. Most agencies require that your youngest is at least 2 years old before starting the process. Then it can take still an additional 12-18 months after that to complete the adoption. For us that would mean that it would be at least 3 years before we would have our new baby in our arms. The agency we decided on is Hope Adoption. They actually had the least waiting time for an infant - 6-9 months total! Plus, Mya's age was not an issue at all for them! It has been awesome to see how God has worked out the details. He has truly made if obvious the doors He wants closed and the ones He wants open! There are still many decisions to make...do we go ahead and start now even though we are fast approaching Spring break-up, (the time of year with little to no income)? Do we wait till after Spring break-up to start the paperwork? Ideally we would like to be working on the paper work while Jesse is off work and try to complete our home study etc. during that time. We will wait and see. Thanks for reading and sharing in our joy! Ashley

The Shack

Have you read it? Maybe you should! This books has impacted my life and I wanted to share it with you!

Fun times

Making gingerbread houses with friends!

Choices

We are trying to pick an agency. We currently have it narrowed down to 2. Actually, we are still waiting for the information packet from one of those. Waiting....checking the mail anxiously every day...sure that it will be here "tomorrow"... I know this is the very beginning of the waiting process. I have heard that if there is one thing you need when adopting, it's patience!

"Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee." Psalm 143:8