Book Review: THE HOLE IN OUR GOSPEL by Richard Stearns

This book is extremely hard to sum up in 200 words or less. It has opened my eyes and made me think about the children that I have sponsored in a whole new way. Richard Stearns challenges his readers to take poverty, hunger, lack of healthcare, etc. as a personal problem that CAN be fixed and changed by us....everyday people that God desires to use.

He speaks about the sin of omission and how sometimes we would rather "bury our head in the sand" so-to-speak than to deal with the problems going on in the world. Sometimes we do this purposefully, but many Americans do this because they are too busy with their own lives to care about what happens to tens of millions of children in the different parts of the world. Too often our eyes are on what we want/need instead of how we can help a child change the course of their life and to change history for their family.

I spoke this past week on how I was challenged to take my sponsored children personally as God intentionally used the timing of a letter from our child in Uganda to prove to me the point that Richard Stearns was making in his book. I will never think of my kiddos again as just someone else's child. They have become more personal to our family.

I'm so glad that I read this book because it has opened up my eyes to ways in which I can help more and has encouraged me with my desire for missions. I don't feel God has called me directly to the mission field, but He has called me to encourage and help out missionaries and those trying to reach the ones that I cannot. I've always had a heart for missions, so I'm glad to have read this book, for the statistics alone are eye-raising. To know that Christian Americans are less likely to help a child with AIDS because of the stigma shocked me. We should be the first to help. Why are we the last? So many questions were raised in this book and so many challenging answers to not just say we believe, but to live as though we believe. God has commissioned us, but so often we ignore it. I challenge you to read this book and not be moved or changed because of it. If you do read it, share your opinions!

Pop

B love his grandparents. I've dedicated several posts to this fact of him enjoying them so much more than us, it seems! We think it's because they just might be spoiling him and giving him what he wants. That's just our suspicion, though! I made a photo album for B because he loves to look at photographs. I decided to include everyone in our families so he could become familiar with who was who. He repeats names after me and can locate anyone if I ask him where someone is. The other day, we were looking through and I asked him to say "Nanny." He said it. He then pointed to Pop, which he says a lot, and decided that Pop should no longer be "Pop." Instead, he should be.....

Our son....in Uganda

Daddy T and I feel very strongly about Compassion International and World Vision. There are a lot of great programs out there, I'm sure, but these are two that have been around a long time and have been a great experience for us.

I am currently reading a book that talks about how Americans tend to be less compassionate towards the poor in other countries because of the fact that we can't see them. It's almost our human nature. What we can't see or experience for ourselves tend to be less of an impact on our lives. We don't tend to notice the pain or suffering or hardships in the other countries. Why? Sadly, a lot of it is because of our busyness, our unawareness, and to some extent, our own selfishness. For most Americans, those families and kids are just another family and kid suffering. Yes, it's sad, but how much can one person sending money really impact a kid?

I say this to say that we sponser 4 kiddos. I don't say that as a bragging right or to make anyone feel guilty. We feel that we have been blessed and we want to make sure that we are giving to the causes that Christ has led us to give to. We sponsor in Uganda, Thailand, Rwanda, and the Philippines. There has been so much political unrest in all of these places, as well as natural disasters that has affected these kids. In fact, our child from Uganda is an orphan...from AIDS. Anyway, we have sponsored these kids for several years, but it wasn't until yesterday that we got the point and really thought of these kids as our kids. Sure, they have other parents (in some cases), but I have heard over and over that these kids tend to think of their sponsors as second parents since we are able to provide them with things that their parents would love to give them but can't afford. We never saw ourselves as that.

Yesterday, we got a letter from our child in Uganda. He is almost 20 and has talked about his career path that is now available to him due to our sponsorship. He shared his favorite verse with us, and talked about how he prays for us daily. He talked about the major landslide that had just claimed a lot of lives and land and crops in Uganda. He asked for prayer for his friends and family that had died or suffered because of it. He thanked us for sponsoring him and shared some of the opportunities he has had because of it. He wrote this all in English, by himself. All of our other kids need a translator, but he has learned English so well that he doesn't (and has incredible handwriting for a boy!). He then ended his letter with the words that brought tears to my eyes. He said "I remain your son." To him, since his parents were gone, we were giving him the opportunity his parents would have wanted him to have, I'm sure. Daddy T and I were so moved by those simple words and I can't wait to write him again. I'm so thankful that God gave us our kids and that they are learning and growing in Christ, as well as getting their clean water, clothes, and their families are given opportunities to work in jobs that they weren't offered before sponsorship.

Please consider sponsoring a child. It will make a huge impact spiritually in your life, and you will be amazed at how close you become with that child overseas.

Jesus

B did it! He says his prayers and talks to Jesus. The other night we were praying (in the form of our song that we sing before dinner) and I told him we had to talk to Jesus. He closed his eyes and said "Jesus." As I proceeded to sing the song, he hummed the tune and then said "God" when we got to "Thank you God for our food." I couldn't believe it! I love hearing him sing about Jesus and talk about Him. I wondered if he ever even understood anything we were teaching him about Jesus and he does. It is so wonderful to know that even the small things are making a difference in his little life. I look foward to watching him grow in his knowledge of Christ and the importance of God in his little life.

St. Barnabas

This post is mostly for my grandfather. He has been told so many stories about these people that I work with and wanted to share this with him. If you click on the article, you should be able to see it in a bigger version. I absolutely love working with the older and wiser people. They are so much fun and keep me on my toes! They are very sneaky, too. I love hearing the stories of what they know and have learned in their past. I love when they sing and when they speak for the first time through song. My favorite is when a patient with Alzheimer's sings every single word and then will hold an appropriate conversarion with me and their daughter. For that particular 30 minutes, their daughter is able to remember their mom as she once was. Those are the music therapy moments I love, among so much more!

Sissy loves B!

We had a 3D/4D Ultrasound done this morning before work. It was one of my favorite things to do with B because I wanted him to be able to look back and see what he looked like in my belly. It just fascinates me. I know there's a whole controversy about ultrasounds and people feel strongly both ways. I do not. After reading the research and studies and knowing that my doctor only gives one (except at the beginning to find out how far along I really was since we didn't know), I feel okay with the decision to do the 4D. It was confirmed that it's a girl. I made sure before we paint her room next week!

It was amazing to watch her movements and to feel them at the same time. I now know EXACTLY when she is stretching by watching the screen (and of course, my bladder). She is mostly head-down, but can still move. She loves to cuddle with the placenta and sucks her thumb and plays with her toes. She also smiles EVERY time B gets near my belly and talks. She doesn't smile if it's me or Daddy T, but only with B. They already have a bond! I bet she really smiles when he gets into trouble! Oh her time will come, I'm afraid. She has a little hair already (which is good) and her profile looks more like Daddy T. However, she does look like B from what we could tell. She moves constantly and doesn't sit still (confirmation for Daddy T so he didn't think I was crazy talking about how she never stops). You could see her open and close her eyes. That was fascinating to me. I just couldn't believe that she was doing all of these baby-like things that she'll do outside the womb. I know it's to be expected, but to see it is amazing. Just like childbirth. It's just one of God's many miracles, but I find it simply amazing. Something that no human can reproduce and claim credit to. Made in the image of God.


Pictures with her eyes open. The placenta is a little in the way, but she was all snuggled with it.




Her heartrate was at 133 bpm. Much better than from 2 weeks earlier and the glucose test! We'll see what her heartrate is this afternoon at my doctor's appointment.

Shoes

My baby boy loves shoes. He likes to take them off, put them on, take them off, grab a new pair, put those on, slip his shoes into even bigger shoes (mine or Daddy T's), and then repeat this process. For some reason, he loves shoes. It really bugs him when other kids have their shoes on, too, because he wants to be helpful and take theirs off and on for them. I'm not for sure if all kids go through this stage, but I do like to think so!

We have bought him sandals for the summer partly because we can't make it in and out of the car with both socks and shoes on his feet. My favorite part of summer is that I no longer have to search the car all over to find where he threw or stashed the socks this time. I only have 2 shoes to look and I can quickly manage to unvelcro those to put them on his feet in record time. Yes....those sandals were non-negotiable in my eyes. Daddy T didn't understand until he spent a weekend in the car. Now he agrees!

But....do you think that those lovely sandals (3 pairs, in fact, because we have play, dressy, and flip flops) are his favorite? Yes, I'm talking about those easy shoes that let your feet breathe and make you feel cooler just thinking about them. No! These are the ones he likes. He picks these shoes over all of them hands down. It drives Daddy T and I crazy because these shoes just do not go with everything. We've decided to allow him to wear them when he wants (within reason) since he loves them so much and won't be able to fit into them too much longer. It cracks me up because they are cute shoes, but with shorts, they can look a little dorky. I had to take a picture as proof that he can never blame us for dressing him "dorky." I will forever be able to say, "You chose those shoes yourself, little man!" His Uncle J will be quite proud of these shoes, I think.

Kiddie Pool....wish we had one in our backyard!

Visit with Nanny and Papa

I mentioned yesterday that we went to Florida for a mini-vacation. My family is from Florida, originally, and my grandparents still live there. We love going to visit them and spend time with them. We really have been wanting to go back since it's been almost a year since we had last been to Florida. We both desire for our children to know our families well and for them to be a huge part of their life. I mean, B still has his great-grandparents and his great-great-grandmother alive and kicking! Not many people can say that! I am so thankful that God has allowed them to watch him grow up.

As soon as we got to Nanny and Papa's house, B was ready to get out. He walked in and went to Papa and decided that he looked like someone who might let him get away with anything. From what I hear, Papa has changed since his fatherhood days! Come to think of it, so has my dad! B grabbed Papa's hand and took him outside. He wouldn't let me or Daddy T come with him since he was trying to talk Papa into opening his car door so he could spend approximately 45 minutes or longer "driving" the car and making truck noises (which are cute!). We did manage to open the door and tell Papa not to open his doors!



B then discovered Nanny's blood pressure machine. We toddler-tested it and it passed the test. As far as we know, it was still working when we left!


B then managed to find the candy jar. I'm not for sure if it was "left out" on purpose or if it normally sits within view, but he swiped it and kept begging for Nanny to open the lid of jellybeans. Since he was with his great-grandparents, we allowed them to give him 4. It was a special occasion....

Last, but not least, we went out to eat at our favorite restaurant. Everyone, and I do mean everyone in our family, likes to eat here when we go to visit. It's called Dixie Crossroads and they have the best corn fritters. I think B ended up eating 5 and I had powdered sugar covering my belly by the time I was done. B had it covering his little nose, which is what the picture below shows.

I'll leave you with what a 30-week belly looks like the 2nd time around....

We kept hearing B laughing quite loudly in the back of the house, so Daddy T took the camera and snuck in to get this video of what was causing the laughter. When Papa came back into the living room with B, all he said was "You're gonna need to repack his suitcase." That's it!

Training and Mini-Vacation

We spent part of last week in Orlando, Florida. I was doing my HealthRHYTHMS training (a completely different post to come), so we decided to make it a mini vacation. We left on Wednesday and spent the night and the rest of the next day with my grandparents. B had so much fun with them. (Once again, a different post with pictures coming!) We left Thursday afternoon to head to our hotel. It was beyond anything that Daddy T and I had imagined it would be. We never stay at places like this, but since we got the conference price and my sessions started at 7:30 a.m., we opted to stay there to make things less problematic. I'm so glad we did. This place had 5 pool, a kiddie pool, slides, a "beach", a playground, tons of food places, as well as many other perks. Our room overlooked Epcot and some other park, so we got to see fireworks promptly at 9:00 p.m. each night. B really liked watching those.

Daddy T spent the mornings running little B ragged and putting him down for a nap so that he was ready to go by the time I got done with my sessions at lunch. B has never slept so much and so hard. He would go to bed by 8:00 p.m. and sleep until 9:45 a.m. or longer. Daddy T really felt like he was on vacation since he got all of his sleep in! I was kinda jealous that I didn't get to experience this wonderful sleeping pattern. He still napped for 2 hours or more during the day, too!

We had the best time listening to B squeal with delight and do his silly little run across the resort due to his extreme happiness. I wish I could have gotten it all on camera, but I couldn't. The best I could get is some video from the kiddie pool, which is at the bottom of this post and I'll add in some of the next one. (I'm too impatient to let it all download in one sitting!)

We had contemplated taking B to Animal Kingdom, but between me being 30 weeks and exhausted from sitting all day and all of the traveling and B just wanting to run free, we decided that it wouldn't be any fun for him to be stuck in his stroller all day or for him to be forced to sit. We think we made the right decision (and many have confirmed). For him, playing in the pool all day and the sand and running around the yard was like Disney to him. He doesn't even know who the Disney characters are, yet, so it's not like he'd really have cared to see them. One day, though......


Our beautiful hotel:

We watched the Epcot fireworks from our room every night. It's hard to see it by the picture, but we could see Epcot and some other park (which we weren't for sure which one it was).

B figured out that he could climb if he pulled out all of the empty drawers and stepped in them. Very sneaky!

Our resort was huge! It was connected with 2 hotels. I only took pictures of ours, which was the Dolphin resort.

He is my child. Daddy T and B rode this escalator for 30 minutes while waiting for me to finish with my conference.

Yes...I know, my eyes are closed. Daddy T forgot to tell me when he was taking the picture.

Here is some video of B in the kiddie pool. He had a blast! Can you tell?

Hopefully tomorrow I'll add the pictures from our visit with my grandparents. B had a blast with his Nanny and Papa!