We’re Adopting a Child!
You know by now something of our desire to adopt a girl from Ethiopia. Many of you have already encouraged us with your words, prayer, and $$. Thanks for how you’ve supported us, are supporting us, and for the further support you’ll give. We’re continually being asked how all of our friends and family can be a part of this. Thus this post.
Why Are You Adopting?
I’ve posted several entries as to why we’re adopting. Please take the time to read those here: http://jponajourney.blogspot.com/.
How You Can Partner with Us
Prayer. We’re on a roller coaster of emotions. The process is a flurry of activity one day and sit around and wait another. We are misunderstood on one hand and greatly encouraged on the other. Pray that we stay patient, joyful, and loving. Pray that we find favor in the eyes of the “system” every step of the way. Pray that our family experience unity. Pray that we bring in a ton of money to pay for this. Pray that we gain opportunities to share the gospel.
Money. From start to finish we anticipate needing to raise $20,000. So, we’re asking our friends and family to give us as they desire and are able in order to make this adoption happen. Some of you can give very little. Thank you. Some of you can give very large amounts. Thank you. No gift will go unappreciated. Please consider financially supporting us on this journey.
Encouragement. Many of you have commented on our facebook page, called us, written us, and met with us to affirm our decision. You don’t even know how much we need that. Don’t stop. Don’t forget about us. Don’t withhold your love.
Ways to Give
Mail: Simply send us a check to
1925 Wiltshire Bld
Huntington, WV 25701
Online: You can give online at: http://jponajourney.blogspot.com/.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Ways We Hope to Influence Others Through Our Adoption
By no means is this exhaustive. I anticipate adding to this list as we go, but as of now, we have these hopes for influence:
1. Adoption, we’ll be able to share the story of our adoption in Christ with many.
2. We hope to motivate others to adopt.
3. We hope to challenge our church, www.crecommunity.org, to be intentional in following God’s command to the church to care for orphans. We should lead the charge in this lifestyle.
1. Adoption, we’ll be able to share the story of our adoption in Christ with many.
2. We hope to motivate others to adopt.
3. We hope to challenge our church, www.crecommunity.org, to be intentional in following God’s command to the church to care for orphans. We should lead the charge in this lifestyle.
Ways We Hope to Be Changed By Adopting
We're fully aware of the ways in which adopting will change our family dynamic. An extra life to provide for, protect, and pastor is no small task. The way in which my other children relate to each other and the world around them will be altered significantly. We embrace that. In fact, here are a few ways we hope to be changed:
1. We expect to experience a deeper appreciation of our own adoption in Christ.
2. Through adopting a child of another race than our own, we’ll gain a deeper global understanding and appreciation of others unlike us.
3. Through adopting of another race, we’ll empathize more realistically and viscerally with the injustice of racial disunity.
1. We expect to experience a deeper appreciation of our own adoption in Christ.
2. Through adopting a child of another race than our own, we’ll gain a deeper global understanding and appreciation of others unlike us.
3. Through adopting of another race, we’ll empathize more realistically and viscerally with the injustice of racial disunity.
Ways We Hope to Model The Gospel
The gospel is the good news that we have been removed from the just wrath of God as sinners by the faith in the death of Christ for our sins. Christ died for us as our substitute. The Father accepts Christ's death as ours. He adopts us into his family as sons and daughters. (2 Cor. 5:14-21). We want to model that in our personal adoption of a child in these ways:
1. We’re not adopting out of any need for another child, but out of the overflow of our joy and love that we want a child to enjoy and share with us. God did not create and adopt us through Christ because of any insufficiency or need.
2. We hope to predetermine and choose a child of no merit of their own but by our love for them. God chose to create and choose us based on his kind will, not on any quality in me.
3. Our decision to adopt a child has likely been made before the child is even born. God knew before the foundation of the world that we would be his son and daughter.
4. We’ve chosen to give equal rights, privileges, and status to my adopted children as my biological children. In Christ, we have the same rights, privileges, and status that Jesus has with the Father.
5. We hope to reflect racial reconciliation by adopting a different race than our biological children. Through the Father’s adoption, every race is and will be united in Christ.
6. We desire to adopt a great cost to ourselves. Our adoption was through the sacrificial death of the Son of God. We hope to demonstrate great cost in purchasing the adoption of our child.
1. We’re not adopting out of any need for another child, but out of the overflow of our joy and love that we want a child to enjoy and share with us. God did not create and adopt us through Christ because of any insufficiency or need.
2. We hope to predetermine and choose a child of no merit of their own but by our love for them. God chose to create and choose us based on his kind will, not on any quality in me.
3. Our decision to adopt a child has likely been made before the child is even born. God knew before the foundation of the world that we would be his son and daughter.
4. We’ve chosen to give equal rights, privileges, and status to my adopted children as my biological children. In Christ, we have the same rights, privileges, and status that Jesus has with the Father.
5. We hope to reflect racial reconciliation by adopting a different race than our biological children. Through the Father’s adoption, every race is and will be united in Christ.
6. We desire to adopt a great cost to ourselves. Our adoption was through the sacrificial death of the Son of God. We hope to demonstrate great cost in purchasing the adoption of our child.
The Central Reason We're Adopting
The central and over arching reason that Sarah and I are adopting is because of the glory of God. That is the reason we do everything. I’m preaching through Ephesians at Crew these days, so let me show this in Ephesians 1:3-6.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
That is why we’re adopting. This verse clearly tells us that as God in eternity past, before anything was created chose to demonstrate his glory. He wanted to declare to everything and everyone everywhere how magnificently beautiful and excellent and perfect he was. And in His infinite wisdom and mind, he asked the question, how will my glory be most powerfully displayed? And his answer was: I will predestine in love through Jesus Christ that there will be adoption. Adoption is predetermined in love and comes from God. Adoption is through Jesus Christ. It results in the praise of his glory. So adoption is from God, through God, and to God.
So, as people, who are made in God’s image and called to mirror that to our world. Being people who have been loved, chosen, and adopted by God for his glory, why wouldn’t we adopt as well? We want to adopt like God adopts.
Obviously, there are other reasons:
• Provide a loving, safe, and secure home for a child who doesn’t have one.
• Make a difference in the African AIDS crisis, by adopting a child who lost their parents to AIDS.
• Adopt from a strained society that has 4-6 million orphans it is struggling to care for.
But the central reason is a gospel one. We are adopting because we are Christians, plain and simple.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
That is why we’re adopting. This verse clearly tells us that as God in eternity past, before anything was created chose to demonstrate his glory. He wanted to declare to everything and everyone everywhere how magnificently beautiful and excellent and perfect he was. And in His infinite wisdom and mind, he asked the question, how will my glory be most powerfully displayed? And his answer was: I will predestine in love through Jesus Christ that there will be adoption. Adoption is predetermined in love and comes from God. Adoption is through Jesus Christ. It results in the praise of his glory. So adoption is from God, through God, and to God.
So, as people, who are made in God’s image and called to mirror that to our world. Being people who have been loved, chosen, and adopted by God for his glory, why wouldn’t we adopt as well? We want to adopt like God adopts.
Obviously, there are other reasons:
• Provide a loving, safe, and secure home for a child who doesn’t have one.
• Make a difference in the African AIDS crisis, by adopting a child who lost their parents to AIDS.
• Adopt from a strained society that has 4-6 million orphans it is struggling to care for.
But the central reason is a gospel one. We are adopting because we are Christians, plain and simple.
Monday, February 15, 2010
We're Up
Welcome to our blog. We're a family of 5 in the process of adopting a baby girl form Ethiopia. We love the thought of you all praying for us, cheering us on, and joining us on the journey
We'll be posting updates, reflections on Christ, stories about our family, plenty of pics, and a way for you to encourage and be encouraged. Subscribe to us in your RSS feeder or check back often. We want you in on this with us!
We'll be posting updates, reflections on Christ, stories about our family, plenty of pics, and a way for you to encourage and be encouraged. Subscribe to us in your RSS feeder or check back often. We want you in on this with us!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
