Family reunions for adopted kids

My sister is currently in Ethiopia picking up my latest family member, Zoie.  She is a beautiful baby and I can not wait to meet her! I stumbled across this helpful article in families.com that might be of some help to those of you who have also adopted children in to your homes:

Many adoptees report feeling part of their immediate families, but never quite feeling like “part of the gang” at extended family gatherings. Especially when these reunions are of people who live far from each other and don’t know each other that well, much of the talk may center on who looks like who, on memories of someone your child never met, on family history and ethnic traditions which your child may be conscious of not being a part of. Even if your child is used to looking different from you and your spouse, being the only brown child in a sea of twenty blond cousins drives the difference home…read more here.

A great word for single women!

I’ve recently discovered ecounseling.com, and I must admit, I am impressed.  Check out this article for single women by Michelle McKinney Hammond:

Take stock of your life. Where are you right now? So you are single. For now that is God’s assigned season for your life, so live in the moment and make the best of it. 

Seasons do change—but wearing summer clothes in the middle of winter has never made summer come any sooner. Therefore, deal with where you are in life with gusto. Find out what God would have you do to occupy your time, talents and energy this day, this week and try not to look any further. Jesus said to concentrate on today for tomorrow and its troubles would come soon enough. I can testify to that! 

There will never be a time like right now in your life to do all that you have ever longed to do—to accomplish whatever goals you have set for yourself. And yes, you should have goals. A woman without a vision for her life will perish as sure as she is born. God did not create you to simply exist. He fashioned you with something to do, so find out what it is and get busy…read more here.

Lessons from the road…the road to greatness

Check this out by Diane Langberg, “The Road to Greatness”:

As a minor speaker at a major happening, I was able to observe a great deal of church business going on. And some of it made me wonder what has happened to the Church. 

At one point, a well-known figure appeared with an entourage of four young men. Wherever he went, they followed in his wake. He swept in, spoke, and swept out. They followed attentively, ever vigilant to his needs. He was known, important and they were important by association. Others clearly looked on with envy. They, too, wanted to be part of the inner circle. He was obviously a leader and to be with him meant something of significance. His entourage was there to serve him. 

As I watched, I thought of another scenario. In this scene there is also a major church leader and he, too, has an entourage. His is larger—12 to be exact. They follow him wherever he goes. They are attentive, listening and feel important by association. Others are envious and long to be part of his inner circle. Even those in his entourage jostle with one another to be first or closest to him. There is, however, a startling difference…read more here.

Don’t worry - be happy by praying and focusing on God

Who do we turn to in times of trouble? I know for me I used to turn to the person I experienced on a physical level, whether that be my parents, brother, sister, or friend. When we are stressed out it is easy to turn to people or things of this world for comfort and guidance. But Paul is pushing us to a much better, and in fact, much healthier response when we are stressed out.

Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

Paul is encouraging us to run to God, let God know what is going on with our lives. When we pray, we reach out our hands to the Almighty in trust and reverence. The best part of us reaching out is that God takes our hand and comforts us - and he does it far better than anyone on this earth could ever do.

When our eyes are fixed on God it just becomes easier, and fellowship with Him gives us the wisdom and certainty to know how to move forward in a way that is pleasing to God, others, and even ourselves.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. How do you pray?
2. What do I do if God doesn’t answer my prayer right away?

Teen awaits life-saving phone call

Check out this incredible story that is taking place right here in my home town of Houston:

A 13-year-old boy is waiting for the phone call that could save his life, KPRC Local 2 reported Sunday.

Nick LeGrand is like a lot of teenagers — he’s a huge sports fan.

“It would be so cool to play baseball, basketball and football,” he said.

But he can’t play. He’s attached to an oxygen tank 24 hours a day. Nick only has 19 percent lung function and is constantly short of breath.

He was diagnosed with primary pulmonary hypertension when he was 3 years old. His lungs don’t function properly. [read more here]

Popular columnist suggests an affair to help marriage

The Chicago Tribune’s, Cheryl Lavin, who writes the popular advice column “Tales from the Front” had the following advice to one of her readers’ questions:

Dear Trapped: You’re too young to take a vow of celibacy. I’m afraid the anger you’re suppressing will overwhelm you and one day you’ll do or say something you regret.

No one thinks that an extramarital affair is a good idea, but in your situation, it may save your sanity and, ultimately, your marriage. There’s an enormous difference between having an affair because you’re bored and having one because you’re denying a vital part of yourself.

It’s certainly better than wishing your husband were dead. And no one who isn’t in your shoes should condemn you.

If you were my sister, I’d tell you to find a male friend and have a discreet sexual relationship. I know this advice is controversial and certainly not an ideal solution. But your problem doesn’t have an ideal solution.

Readers, what advice do you have for “Trapped”? (emphasis added)

The woman’s question to Lavin was simply:

I’m a 42-year-old woman. I’ve been married to my husband, who’s 58, for 16 years. We had an extremely active, passionate sex life for the first eight years of our marriage, but none since. I miss sex desperately. I’ve contemplated affairs and divorce many times. I love my husband so much, but I’m miserable without sex.

The reader goes on to share how their sexual relationship originally stopped because of major physical discomfort and even pain from her husband. Hello! She mentions that he’s never gotten any help with the physical issues, which is fairly normal because most men are ashamed when they are not able to perform sexually.

I will say that he is not coping well with his physical issues, and needs to get help. However, the wife is not coping well either by wanting to divorce or have an affair. First things first, a healthy marriage is not just about sex. It is hard to reconcile with someone who says she “loves her husband very much” but then is willing to leave him because he’s hurting or willing to have an affair.

When your marriage comes up against hurt or physical ailment, do not quit. The greatest gift you will ever give yourself is to learn how to love your spouse unconditionally, like Christ loves you. I would never tell this to someone who is in physical danger, but when your spouse is hurting physically or emotionally, the best course of action is to love them through it.

That way, everyone wins.

A treasured member of the marriage community has died

I just received this email from the Marriage CoMission:

Our friend, colleague, and fellow champion for marriage, Dr. Stephen Judah, passed away peacefully on Friday evening, ending his short battle with esophageal cancer. We honor his faithfulness, integrity, passion for his work and devotion to his family.

Please be in prayer for his wife of 37 years, Sharon, and their daughters and sons-in-law, Heather and Daniel Wood, Hillary and Graham Rouse, and Holly Judah.

Donations in honor of Steve may be made to the Healthy Marriage Collaboration, of Central Ohio at 1085 Pauline Avenue, Columbus, OH 43224 (for more?information, visit heathymarriagecolumbus.org) or Upper Arlington Lutheran?Church.

For more about Steve?s brave battle with cancer, please visit, http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/stevejudah

Stephen, we miss you but take comfort with the knowledge that this is your homegoing.

Diane Sollee, Director of Smart Marriages, had this to say about Steve:

I just received this notice from the Marriage Comission and want to share it
with the Smart Marriages list. Stephen has been a vibrant force in the
Marriage Education movement, in the Ohio Marriage Education movement, and in
our Smart Marriages Coalition. He presented in Denver and was very much
looking forward to presenting his Essential Disciplines model in San
Francisco. He will be missed by so many. - Diane

Divorce accepted

In the face of the overwhelming negative effects of divorce, I can not believe this is true! There is an educational problem in America about divorce. So I’m giving you a special download that summarizes the effects of divorce. You can download the files (PDF) by clicking Why Marriage Matters and Why Marriage Matters to Children.

A record 70% of Americans believe divorce is morally acceptable (up 59% from ‘00), finds Gallup’s ‘08 Values and Beliefs Survey. Of the poll’s 16 ethical issues rated for moral acceptability, divorce was #1, followed by gambling, embryonic stem-cell research, homosexuality and abortion. Extramarital affairs (often a cause of divorce) are at the bottom of the list, with just 7% of Americans finding them morally acceptable.

HPV: do these three letters scare you to?

I’ve been completely unsure and slightly negative toward the latest vaccination called HPV. Of course this is the one for little girls from age 9 to 26 that helps prevent cervical cancer (which is caused through sexual activity).

I’m not a doctor, but something just doesn’t sit right with me and the fact that 100% of all girls are being asked to take it. Do not forget that Merck recently had to pull all of its arthritis medicine off the shelves because it caused major heart issues.

Check out this young woman’s site for HPVTruth.org:

What’s the Truth About HPV and The Cervical Cancer Vaccine?

I’m a young woman concerned about my health, about preventing illness, and about the well being of young women everywhere. With these concerns in mind, I looked into Merck pharmaceutical company’s new product, Gardasil, a vaccine that claims to prevent cervical cancer by preventing infection with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).

Experts say HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that may cause some forms of cervical cancer. The concept behind the Gardasil vaccine is that if women avoid HPV infection, they will avoid developing the forms of cancer HPV is thought to cause.

Gardasil works by introducing ?dead? HPV virus into our bodies through series of three injections that cause us to produce HPV antibodies. It is believed that these antibodies will protect us from contracting HPV if it is passed on to us during sexual intercourse.

After reading up on HPV and Gardasil, I have a lot of questions. For example:

Becoming the Family of Your Dreams

Title: Becoming the Family of Your Dreams
Location: Southern Pines, NC
Description: Your marriage and family is important to you and our newest seminar addresses the critical needs for both relationships. In today\’s world, it\’s not enough to simply strive for a healthy marriage, children are under attack from many different directions and you need guidance on how to help your child grow into a loving and responsible adult who follows the will of God.

Becoming the Family of Your Dreams is a not just a life-changing event but a family-changing event as well. You will learn and discover the six most important elements to a happy family; a family who can stand up against the onslaught of today\’s culture and be proud for who they are and who they are becoming.
Start Date: 2008-08-08
Start Time: 00:00
End Date: 2008-08-09

Perspective: ‘Marriage and Divorce’

I found this little gem of a blog post from my trusted Google article search, you’ll want to check it out:

Dustin and I have been married now 11 years. They have not all been wonderful years. But every year has had wonderful in them. We were pretty young when we married, I was 22 and he was 21. We were both pretty dumb when it came to marriage. We were head over heels in love, or infactuation, lol. We were floating on a cloud as we entered marriage. Real life had yet to really hit us.

Read more here.

We’re on TBN tomorrow with John Tesh!

We will be on TBN this Thursday (June 19th) from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. CST. The show will also be available on Friday at 4 p.m. CST. If you want to see the show online, you can access it at www.tbn.org/video_portal.

If you want to find what station the show is on in your market, please go here. John Tesh is hosting the show, so you won’t want to miss a thing!

Parenting matters - the life of Tim Russert

You will want to check out the recent interview with Tim Russert’s son Luke. It is a great example of what it looks like when you work at leaving a legacy with your children. By the way, the legacy that lasts is a legacy of love!

I recently heard the most amazing quote, and I’m forgetting who I heard this from, but it goes something like, “What is the one thing you will bring with you to heaven? Your children.” Now that is a legacy worth leaving.