I have been studying Ephesians quite a bit lately, as you can probably tell by the last few posts I have made. I have been teaching Ephesians in our adult Sunday School class. It has been a great class, but will be interrupted as there is not room on Sunday morning in our new building for the class. So, I am doing something interesting this weekend. I told everyone to finish reading Ephesians (we are halfway through chapter 3). I told them to make a list of questions, and we will discuss some of them next week. So how do I study for such a class? I was struggling with that today. As I was beginning to study the end of chapter 3, I came to the realization that I know how to study the Bible. If others have questions, maybe it would be best if I just helped them see how to study this for themselves and come to a conclusion. Perhaps that would be ten times better than spitting out answers to their questions. You think?!
Interestingly enough, as I was studying the last part of chapter 3, I was amazed at Paul's prayer. If I prayed like this, perhaps the power and strength he is praying for would be clearly manifested in my life. He bows his knees on behalf of the saints, in order that they would be strengthened with power through the Spirit, which is in our inner being. When I read that, I stopped. The Spirit is in my inner being. If you are a saint, one who is in Christ, then the Spirit is in your inner being. Now the Holy Spirit being resident in our inner being is huge, but how often do we, saints, Christians, actually live our lives as if the Holy Spirit is residing inside of us. How often do we indulge in something as if the Spirit of God was nowhere near us? The Spirit of God dwells within me, and I have the nerve to disobey Him. So here is the question, which I heard second hand from a preacher: Is the Spirit residing in you, or is the Spirit presiding in you?
The Spirit presiding in us is exactly what Paul was praying for. It is only then that we will be strengthened with power and will comprehend the breadth, length, height, and depth of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. Paul says that is when we are filled with all the fullness of God. WHOA! I pray that I may submit myself wholly to the Spirit in my inner being. Adopting a child and raising him/her in this world without living by the Spirit is dangerous. As Krissy and I will be the chief role-models for this child, I want nothing other than for our lives to reflect the presence of Christ in our hearts. I want it to be so evident that our children grow up knowing the love of Christ better than we do. May my flesh be put to death, and the Spirit preside in my life.
Speaking of being put to death...we (the ministers at church) are reading through a book by David Nasser, A Call to Die. We began last Wednesday, and are going through the season of lent. The subtitle is: 40 days of fasting from the world and feasting on God. It is a great work. It is just as the title says, a call for us to die to ourselves and submit ourselves to God. I recommend the book to anyone. It is best if you go through it with a group of people, so you will be held accountable. The Spirit is working on me through this book.
Thank you to all who are praying for us. We are still waiting to hear from the agency that the social worker has signed their agreement. Once that takes place we will schedule time with her and get moving. We ask that you all continue to pray for/with us as we seek God's hand through the entire process. Our main prayer concerns (in my view) are: patience, provision (money), preparation (for being parents), something else that begins with a p, and peace. Thank you for being the body of Christ with us!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
The Game...
I've always heard that the adoption process is just a game of hurry up and wait. And we're getting our first taste of it.
We have contacted a social worker to do our homestudy. She must be approved through our agency, and they will supposedly let us know when she has been approved, and we will begin scheduling things.
I'm not sure what all is involved in the homestudy, but I've been doing my research to find out.
http://adoption.state.gov/parents.html is the government website for prospective adoptive parents, and that has proven to be extremely helpful. They have a publication, Adoption from A to Z that has lots of information in it (can be found at http://adoption.state.gov/pdf/Intercountry%20Adoption%20From%20A-Z.pdf ), and what they have to say about homestudies is:
ELIGIBILTY TO ADOPT
Before you can bring a child home from another country, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must determine that you are able to provide a loving, stable home for that child.
The most important requirement for USCIS approval is a home study that establishes your ability to care for a child. Every state has different requirements for this home study, but in general all home studies will detail personal, financial, and medical information. They will include items such as personal references, fingerprint clearances, verification of employment, proof of health and life insurance, and sometimes photos of your home and family.
Home studies are typically prepared by a social work professional or organization, though state laws vary. Your adoption service provider should know the requirements of your state, and make sure that your home study satisfies all laws and regulations (including those of the Hague Adoption Convention). If adopting from a Hague Convention country, your home study must be completed by an accredited adoption service provider unless the home study preparer qualifies as an exempted provider. Once your home study is complete, it will be submitted to USCIS.
It has me a little nervous, to know that our lives will be scrutinized by some outsider, but when I really stop to think about it, Gary and I have absolutely nothing to hide. We are aware that we are not perfect, and we are who we are. It does make me a little perturbed that we must be "studied" in order to adopt a child, when there are people all over the country that should not be getting pregnant and bringing another human being into their mess of a life. However, I realize that it's just for the safety of the children, and when I know that we don't have anything to hide or be ashamed of, it calms me, and helps me realize that it's for the best. We will endure the scrutinizing, and come out stronger on the other side. :)
If anyone has any advice to give on this part of it, I'm all ears!!
We have contacted a social worker to do our homestudy. She must be approved through our agency, and they will supposedly let us know when she has been approved, and we will begin scheduling things.
I'm not sure what all is involved in the homestudy, but I've been doing my research to find out.
http://adoption.state.gov/parents.html is the government website for prospective adoptive parents, and that has proven to be extremely helpful. They have a publication, Adoption from A to Z that has lots of information in it (can be found at http://adoption.state.gov/pdf/Intercountry%20Adoption%20From%20A-Z.pdf ), and what they have to say about homestudies is:
ELIGIBILTY TO ADOPT
Before you can bring a child home from another country, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must determine that you are able to provide a loving, stable home for that child.
The most important requirement for USCIS approval is a home study that establishes your ability to care for a child. Every state has different requirements for this home study, but in general all home studies will detail personal, financial, and medical information. They will include items such as personal references, fingerprint clearances, verification of employment, proof of health and life insurance, and sometimes photos of your home and family.
Home studies are typically prepared by a social work professional or organization, though state laws vary. Your adoption service provider should know the requirements of your state, and make sure that your home study satisfies all laws and regulations (including those of the Hague Adoption Convention). If adopting from a Hague Convention country, your home study must be completed by an accredited adoption service provider unless the home study preparer qualifies as an exempted provider. Once your home study is complete, it will be submitted to USCIS.
It has me a little nervous, to know that our lives will be scrutinized by some outsider, but when I really stop to think about it, Gary and I have absolutely nothing to hide. We are aware that we are not perfect, and we are who we are. It does make me a little perturbed that we must be "studied" in order to adopt a child, when there are people all over the country that should not be getting pregnant and bringing another human being into their mess of a life. However, I realize that it's just for the safety of the children, and when I know that we don't have anything to hide or be ashamed of, it calms me, and helps me realize that it's for the best. We will endure the scrutinizing, and come out stronger on the other side. :)
If anyone has any advice to give on this part of it, I'm all ears!!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Adoption and Redemption
Ephesians 1 is one of the most theologically rich passages in the New Testament. The language used to explain how blessed the Church is probably gets overshadowed by the Christ-centered message Paul uses. It is in fact necessary to capture both the role of Christ and the magnitude of the Church in this passage. Among the concepts mentioned are the idea that we who are in Christ have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. There is a sense in which this has a present manifestation, but it also is yet to be fully realized. We have every spiritual blessing in part now, but in the end we will have every spiritual blessing fully.
Paul also talks about how God predestined us to be adopted as sons through Christ. many twist this scripture to mean that I was predestined to be adopted as a son. There is not a singular pronoun for the audience in the entirety of chapter 1. Many times he says we and us, and sometimes he says you all. The Church is the object that was predestined to be adopted as sons through Christ. So guess what, those of us in Christ, the entire Church, have been adopted as sons, as God determined before the foundation of the world. We now belong when once we did not. But another term is mentioned to describe our spiritual blessings in Christ.
Paul says we have redemption through his (Christ's) blood. It is as if we were indebted to God, and we did not have the right currency to pay him back. God had the right currency (Jesus' blood), and He paid for our debt with His own currency. I know that it is an analogy, and it breaks down the more you think of it, but I wonder how closely related the idea of adoption and redemption are.
If you consider the fact that Krissy and I are going to adopt a child, it seems that we are being like our Father, who adopted us as sons through Christ. But at the same time we are physically redeeming the child, as the cost is very high, and the child could not pay for their integration into a family. Spiritually, we have redemption through his blood, which is the forgiveness of sins. Physically, the child God has for us has redemption through the money that will pay for the adoption process. Again, the analogy breaks down, but the similarity is good enough to make a point. Though we are physically adopting and redeeming a child, nothing would be better than the spiritual blessings God has for them in Christ Jesus of adoption and redemption. So we pray now and continually for the child God has for us, just as Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers in chapter 1. We pray that we will train this child up in the way they should go, that when they are old they will not depart from that way. May our physical blessings become a window to the spiritual blessings awaiting them in Christ. More importantly, we pray that there will be a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God, that they may have the eyes of their hearts enlightened to know more fully the hope to which they are called, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the greatness of his power toward us who believe. To God be the glory! He will be all in all! Amen!
Paul also talks about how God predestined us to be adopted as sons through Christ. many twist this scripture to mean that I was predestined to be adopted as a son. There is not a singular pronoun for the audience in the entirety of chapter 1. Many times he says we and us, and sometimes he says you all. The Church is the object that was predestined to be adopted as sons through Christ. So guess what, those of us in Christ, the entire Church, have been adopted as sons, as God determined before the foundation of the world. We now belong when once we did not. But another term is mentioned to describe our spiritual blessings in Christ.
Paul says we have redemption through his (Christ's) blood. It is as if we were indebted to God, and we did not have the right currency to pay him back. God had the right currency (Jesus' blood), and He paid for our debt with His own currency. I know that it is an analogy, and it breaks down the more you think of it, but I wonder how closely related the idea of adoption and redemption are.
If you consider the fact that Krissy and I are going to adopt a child, it seems that we are being like our Father, who adopted us as sons through Christ. But at the same time we are physically redeeming the child, as the cost is very high, and the child could not pay for their integration into a family. Spiritually, we have redemption through his blood, which is the forgiveness of sins. Physically, the child God has for us has redemption through the money that will pay for the adoption process. Again, the analogy breaks down, but the similarity is good enough to make a point. Though we are physically adopting and redeeming a child, nothing would be better than the spiritual blessings God has for them in Christ Jesus of adoption and redemption. So we pray now and continually for the child God has for us, just as Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers in chapter 1. We pray that we will train this child up in the way they should go, that when they are old they will not depart from that way. May our physical blessings become a window to the spiritual blessings awaiting them in Christ. More importantly, we pray that there will be a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God, that they may have the eyes of their hearts enlightened to know more fully the hope to which they are called, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the greatness of his power toward us who believe. To God be the glory! He will be all in all! Amen!
Friday, February 20, 2009
We're Adopting!
Alright, so here I go. I'm finally making time to let it out (to those people who even still read this blog).
We have started the process of adoption. We were notified last week that we've been pre-approved to adopt from Mongolia (the country that's just north of China).
It has been a long and arduous road so far, in taking this step. Gary and I both have so many questions, fears, doubts, hopes, and dreams floating around in our heads. It's hard enough communicating to each other, that we wanted to make sure we were sure about this before we announced it to anyone.
It's hard to explain the way I feel right now. If I were to describe myself in a particular setting, it would be as if I was on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, looking out at the water and seeing a HUMONGOUS tidal wave rushing at me. In the negative, it would knock me off my feet and drag me around a little before I could come up for air again. But in the positive, it would be refreshing to come up for air, with a new perspective, a new life, and a child in my arms. There are days that I just want to run for cover and hope and pray that it all just happens and that it just gets over with. But then there are days that I want to go grab my surfboard and ride the wave all the way over to Mongolia to reach our child. Thank the Lord that He is so much bigger than this tidal wave. He calms the storms and our hearts.
We found and chose an agency in Tennessee called Small World Adoption Programs. It's an extremely pro-life agency, which adopts to only Christian families. Everything that we've read and corresponded with them has been extremely positive and so clear. Their website is on the sidebar of our blog, in case you want to check it out.
I guess, from what we've read, the process will take around about a year (give or take) for us to have a child in our arms. There are lots of forms, interviews, trips, classes, and phone calls that we need to make, and it seems dauntingly overwhelming right now, to a couple who just knows that we want a child.
It's interesting how the Lord reveals His plan for us. Through painful experiences, and questions of why things are the way they are, He reveals his perfection and His almighty omniscience. He has told us in His word to care for the orphans and widows, and this is how He has decided for us to, in our small way, meet that need in the world. By making Gary and me infertile, for now. He has placed such a strong desire in our hearts to parent a child, that we feel it is necessary to adopt an orphan. It fills that hole in our lives, and more importantly, it gives parents to a motherless and fatherless child.
On that note, I can't imagine being born and not having a mom or a dad. Having grown up in a household with both parents (something that is becoming less and less common), I can't imagine any other childhood. The same people that took me home from the hospital still call me their family. I anxiously await the day that I can give that same privilege to a child - to have two people to call "Mommy and Daddy."
I found it really interesting when, in talking with my older sister Annie, who has two extremely adorable and beautiful children, what she said to me. I was lamenting over the fact that Gary and I have been unable to have our own children and will I feel like if I adopt, will that child truly be my own...?, and she replied simply that, "No matter what we may think, our children are, in fact, NEVER our own." That kind of put me in my place. Kind of like, *blink, blink* "Really?" I mean, that might be easy for someone to say who has not been in my place...poor, pitiful me... But for someone to say that about two children that she bore herself...? Unthinkable. Or...do I really even know what I'm talking about? "Aww, quit yer whinin', Krissy. I have amazing plans for you that you will never be able to fully comprehend." That's what I hear God my Father saying to me right now. Praise His holy Name!!
So, in ending this blog (that was cut short the first time I tried to publish it), I humbly ask anyone reading this to join us in prayer.
1. Pray, first and foremost, for the orphans. Millions and millions of fatherless out there are being overlooked, and living in horrifying conditions. Pray for their health, life, and salvation.
2. Pray for our child(ren). Pray that, even if he or she may not even be born - or conceived - at the time that I post this, that the Lord would keep him or her safe in His loving arms, and when we receive him or her, that we would do justice to being the parents that God has planned us to be.
3. Pray for Gary and me, as we wade through the paperwork to make this all happen. Pray for our emotional and mental stamina, as I know this can be a very long and tedious process. Pray for our finances. In a time that is so uncertain, economically, we don't have any idea where a good portion of the funding will come from. But God Does!!
4. Pray for our agency, Small World. Their website and newsletters blew me away, with how amazingly pro-life they are. Pray for all the families that will be using them to adopt.
I will try my hardest to keep things up on the blog. Please please pray.
Love,
Krissy
We have started the process of adoption. We were notified last week that we've been pre-approved to adopt from Mongolia (the country that's just north of China).
It has been a long and arduous road so far, in taking this step. Gary and I both have so many questions, fears, doubts, hopes, and dreams floating around in our heads. It's hard enough communicating to each other, that we wanted to make sure we were sure about this before we announced it to anyone.
It's hard to explain the way I feel right now. If I were to describe myself in a particular setting, it would be as if I was on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, looking out at the water and seeing a HUMONGOUS tidal wave rushing at me. In the negative, it would knock me off my feet and drag me around a little before I could come up for air again. But in the positive, it would be refreshing to come up for air, with a new perspective, a new life, and a child in my arms. There are days that I just want to run for cover and hope and pray that it all just happens and that it just gets over with. But then there are days that I want to go grab my surfboard and ride the wave all the way over to Mongolia to reach our child. Thank the Lord that He is so much bigger than this tidal wave. He calms the storms and our hearts.
We found and chose an agency in Tennessee called Small World Adoption Programs. It's an extremely pro-life agency, which adopts to only Christian families. Everything that we've read and corresponded with them has been extremely positive and so clear. Their website is on the sidebar of our blog, in case you want to check it out.
I guess, from what we've read, the process will take around about a year (give or take) for us to have a child in our arms. There are lots of forms, interviews, trips, classes, and phone calls that we need to make, and it seems dauntingly overwhelming right now, to a couple who just knows that we want a child.
It's interesting how the Lord reveals His plan for us. Through painful experiences, and questions of why things are the way they are, He reveals his perfection and His almighty omniscience. He has told us in His word to care for the orphans and widows, and this is how He has decided for us to, in our small way, meet that need in the world. By making Gary and me infertile, for now. He has placed such a strong desire in our hearts to parent a child, that we feel it is necessary to adopt an orphan. It fills that hole in our lives, and more importantly, it gives parents to a motherless and fatherless child.
On that note, I can't imagine being born and not having a mom or a dad. Having grown up in a household with both parents (something that is becoming less and less common), I can't imagine any other childhood. The same people that took me home from the hospital still call me their family. I anxiously await the day that I can give that same privilege to a child - to have two people to call "Mommy and Daddy."
I found it really interesting when, in talking with my older sister Annie, who has two extremely adorable and beautiful children, what she said to me. I was lamenting over the fact that Gary and I have been unable to have our own children and will I feel like if I adopt, will that child truly be my own...?, and she replied simply that, "No matter what we may think, our children are, in fact, NEVER our own." That kind of put me in my place. Kind of like, *blink, blink* "Really?" I mean, that might be easy for someone to say who has not been in my place...poor, pitiful me... But for someone to say that about two children that she bore herself...? Unthinkable. Or...do I really even know what I'm talking about? "Aww, quit yer whinin', Krissy. I have amazing plans for you that you will never be able to fully comprehend." That's what I hear God my Father saying to me right now. Praise His holy Name!!
So, in ending this blog (that was cut short the first time I tried to publish it), I humbly ask anyone reading this to join us in prayer.
1. Pray, first and foremost, for the orphans. Millions and millions of fatherless out there are being overlooked, and living in horrifying conditions. Pray for their health, life, and salvation.
2. Pray for our child(ren). Pray that, even if he or she may not even be born - or conceived - at the time that I post this, that the Lord would keep him or her safe in His loving arms, and when we receive him or her, that we would do justice to being the parents that God has planned us to be.
3. Pray for Gary and me, as we wade through the paperwork to make this all happen. Pray for our emotional and mental stamina, as I know this can be a very long and tedious process. Pray for our finances. In a time that is so uncertain, economically, we don't have any idea where a good portion of the funding will come from. But God Does!!
4. Pray for our agency, Small World. Their website and newsletters blew me away, with how amazingly pro-life they are. Pray for all the families that will be using them to adopt.
I will try my hardest to keep things up on the blog. Please please pray.
Love,
Krissy
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Church
It is times like this that I think of the church and how she is so misunderstood by people in our country. The church is that rugged old building in the middle of the small town. The church is the place where we go in our nice clothes every Sunday. The church is a social institution for helping the poor. The church is our place of worship. The church is none of these things!
The church, as so beautifully described by the apostle Paul, is the body of Christ. Just as the body of a water molecule is an oxygen molecule attached to two hydrogen molecules, so Christ's body is made up of those who have believed and have been sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Being in Christ is "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). The church is not a building; well, not one that we would recognize. Paul did describe the church as a building in Ephesians 2:19-22. The Greek word for house is oikos. The root of that word is found in many of the key words in this passage. We are no longer strangers and aliens (paroikoi), but we are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household (oikeioi), built on (epoikodomethentes) the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, and in Him the whole structure (oikodome) is being joined together into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him we are being built together (synoikodomeisthe) into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Maybe the church is a building, but not one that is earthly. We are the dwelling place of God; it's not me, but it is us!
Our local expression of the universal Church, Northside Christian Church, is about to move into a new building. It is immaculate, and was built to raise eyebrows and hopefully bring the community in the doors so they can hear the good news of Jesus. This does not abdicate us of the responsibility of sharing the gospel outside the walls of the church, but what if that idea has infiltrated our minds? What if Joe Christian says, hey, I just have to get them to church, and I have done my job? That's not the church, that's a building, Joe! You are the church! So what then is the purpose of the building? It is to attract people. It is to be a place where open arms welcome them from the world of darkness and despair. It is to be a place where the church can come together for corporate worship and for the community around us to be able to get away. Here is a picture of what the building looks like.
It is a beautiful park-like setting, and we will open it to the community to use: to fish in the pond to play on the playground, to use our picnic tables, to play disc golf on the course at the rear of the property. But will the church be the church by going and making disciples in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the very ends of the earth? Let's hope the focus is on Christ and not on a building! Distractions are everywhere in the world, and I appreciate our pastor's plea to the church to remember what this is all about: reaching a hurt and dying world around us with the good news of Christ Jesus. May our community become the building Paul is talking about at the end of Ephesians 2 by breaking down the dividing walls (Ephesians 2:14)!
The church, as so beautifully described by the apostle Paul, is the body of Christ. Just as the body of a water molecule is an oxygen molecule attached to two hydrogen molecules, so Christ's body is made up of those who have believed and have been sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Being in Christ is "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). The church is not a building; well, not one that we would recognize. Paul did describe the church as a building in Ephesians 2:19-22. The Greek word for house is oikos. The root of that word is found in many of the key words in this passage. We are no longer strangers and aliens (paroikoi), but we are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household (oikeioi), built on (epoikodomethentes) the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, and in Him the whole structure (oikodome) is being joined together into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him we are being built together (synoikodomeisthe) into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Maybe the church is a building, but not one that is earthly. We are the dwelling place of God; it's not me, but it is us!
Our local expression of the universal Church, Northside Christian Church, is about to move into a new building. It is immaculate, and was built to raise eyebrows and hopefully bring the community in the doors so they can hear the good news of Jesus. This does not abdicate us of the responsibility of sharing the gospel outside the walls of the church, but what if that idea has infiltrated our minds? What if Joe Christian says, hey, I just have to get them to church, and I have done my job? That's not the church, that's a building, Joe! You are the church! So what then is the purpose of the building? It is to attract people. It is to be a place where open arms welcome them from the world of darkness and despair. It is to be a place where the church can come together for corporate worship and for the community around us to be able to get away. Here is a picture of what the building looks like.
It is a beautiful park-like setting, and we will open it to the community to use: to fish in the pond to play on the playground, to use our picnic tables, to play disc golf on the course at the rear of the property. But will the church be the church by going and making disciples in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the very ends of the earth? Let's hope the focus is on Christ and not on a building! Distractions are everywhere in the world, and I appreciate our pastor's plea to the church to remember what this is all about: reaching a hurt and dying world around us with the good news of Christ Jesus. May our community become the building Paul is talking about at the end of Ephesians 2 by breaking down the dividing walls (Ephesians 2:14)!
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