tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62934979239173795782024-03-05T13:04:20.315-05:00The Moon is a LiarThoughts on my unconventional life to spread God's fame.Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-45951317968336275432012-10-19T09:36:00.000-04:002012-10-19T09:36:40.290-04:00<h3>
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Overlooked orphan to Trophy of Grace </h2>
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part two</h4>
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From Deprivation to the American Dream</h3>
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The ride home from JFK airport told the story. Our new son George had arrived in America and the level of sensory deprivation he had endured was glaringly apparent. I sat in the back seat of the car with this little waif. He was 14 months old, but the infant car seat he was in swallowed him up. His frail body was almost obscured by the padding so that all I could see clearly was his bald head and alert brown eyes. </div>
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Those eyes. They were hyper-focused out the window and barely took time to blink. And then there was the frenzied kicking. Something was exciting this boy on this dark, rainy March night, but the something was escaping me. I knew George had spent 14 months of his life inside a government building. His almost translucent white skin told me he had rarely, if ever, experienced God's gift of the sun. And we had seen the pictures. He spent his days sharing a rusty iron crib with two or three other babies, their only playthings, their own shadows on the wall.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George at the orphanage in Timisoara, Romania, sharing a crib with two others.<br />
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And then it hit me. The rain was coming down in torrents. It was making music on the car roof if you took the time to listen. What sounded like incessant rapping to my over-indulged ear, must have sounded like a symphony to George's unaccustomed ear. And the flood lights lining the airport exit road. They were what was mesmerizing George through the window. I noticed for the first time how vivid and bold they looked; so bright they each had their own halo surrounding them. The orphan had landed and jubilee had begun.</div>
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Each week George was home he reached a new milestone. After a year of living in a prone position in a crib, George didn't have the strength to hold his own head up. Once he was able to hold his head up,</div>
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he learned to sit up, and then scoot on his bottom--which was his version of crawling. One disturbing behavior was his habit of violently rocking himself side to side whenever we put him in his bed for a nap or for his night's sleep. We realized this was his way of self-soothing and self-comforting since he had rarely, if ever, been held or comforted by the overworked and superstitious orphanage staff. It was a subconscious behavior. If we walked into a room where he was sleeping, causing him to stir, he would begin to desperately rock in his sleep to bring himself back to a deeper sleep phase. </div>
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Miraculously, before our eyes, as the love of our family and good nutrition had it's way with him, George began to be transformed. The weight added to his 14-month-old frame first made him look like a healthy American infant. And then, as his hair began to sprout, George started to look like the toddler he actually was. His sallow cheeks became the glowing color of health and when he smiled, we all agreed, God had made him handsome.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George at about 16 months old.</td></tr>
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George's days became filled with all of the experiences of a typical American boy. There was preschool in our small Connecticut town. And there was celebrating: Birthdays, holidays, field trips, family movie night and family game night. George blended into the culture and started headed for what looked like normalcy, except with the flavor of the typical Dennehy family craziness thrown in. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The garlic bread bag makes a fine hat.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He even cheerfully accepted the indignity of being dressed as a pumpkin. With Dad, Mike and older siblings, Marissa, Ryan and Erin on Halloween.<br />
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-33135722200944094382012-09-21T08:18:00.001-04:002012-09-21T08:18:24.834-04:00My son George's first single: "It's a Gift" <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3ojlRgB5Pw">Here is the lyric video. I love these because words are everything to me. Jordan Lawhead and Jason Reeves, the writers, nailed it!</a>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-51965826287290151712012-09-21T07:30:00.000-04:002012-09-21T07:30:03.926-04:00Five Minute Friday: WideWIDE<br />
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Ok I'm a Presbyterian, so verse memory is not my forte, but when I hear the word "wide" my mind goes immediately to Paul's beautiful statement in the New Testament that goes something like this, " I pray that you may how long and deep and WIDE is the love of Jesus."<br />
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I just love the thought of how WIDE Jesus' love is. It give me comfort chills. His love is so big, I can't run to it's borders. I can't stumble out of it's parameters when I'm having a bad day. And there's room. Room not just for me and my foibles, but for countless others and their foibles. <br />
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His WIDE love embraces people from all nations and ethnicities. There is no deed too bad to keep someone locked out from this love.<br />
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And the bigness and wideness of Jesus love provides a wild and fulfilling adventure for those who submit to it. With something so Wide to follow, everyday is a new storyline full of Kingdom surprises. Who will He bring to me today to invite to share in the Wideness? Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-18843327112114178162012-09-12T13:02:00.000-04:002012-09-12T13:02:22.134-04:00A Son, Two Families and One Extravagant Love<h3>
How God is Transforming an Overlooked Orphan into a Trophy of Grace</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Dennehy performing live on Acces Direct, Romania, September 2012</td></tr>
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My adopted son, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">George Dennehy, who was born without arms, is receiving worldwide attention for his unique ability to sing and play the guitar with his feet to the glory of God. Here is his story.</span></h4>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Beginnings</span></div>
It began almost 18 years ago in a remote Romanian village. Comolsu Mare isn't significant enough to show up on most Romanian maps. It's a cluster of bungalows and patches of land where small sustenance farmers eek out a living. There are a few shops and churches and a road that leads to bigger places.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comolsu Mare Romania, December 1994</td></tr>
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John and Elena Dragan lived here with their three young daughters when the unspeakable happened. Elena gave birth to a long-awaited first son, but the boy had no arms. John the farmer wept and Elena fell into despair as little George with no arms was whisked away by the doctors.<br />
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The Dragans faced an impossible situation. If they brought their boy home, he would be shunned by the townsfolk. Handicaps were largely considered a curse from God. And what kind of life would their armless son lead on a small working farm? George was placed in an orphanage in the city of Timisoara and Elena and John went home to piece together the shards of their broken lives.<br />
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As George languished in an understaffed orphanage, God was tweaking the hearts of a young couple in the United States, my husband Mike and I. Mike and I and our three children were living a comfortable life in New England, but God's extravagant grace to us was making us restless to serve Him in a more profound way. The black and white, blurred photo of the 3-month old armless boy in Romania led the way. The Bethany Christian Services Newsletter said he was "born with no arms" and "desperately needs a loving home."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharon and George at the orphanage in Timisoara, December 1994</td></tr>
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When word reached John and Elena that a US family was willing to adopt George, panic set in. Why would an American family with three children want their son--a reject, a pariah? Rumors of evil intentions fueled their fear. They decided that only a face to face meeting with these Americans would quell their fears sufficiently to trust Mike and I to take their son away with us for good.<br />
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The Meeting</h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike, Sharon and Erin Dennehy with the Dragan family, December 1994.</td></tr>
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Then the impossible situation shifted to us. How could we convince a mother and a father from a different culture, that speak a different language and that are deeply wounded from the circumstances surrounding their son, that we have good intentions?<br />
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I knew that only God could speak a language that we both understood. It was His Word that birthed an understanding between our two families which has spanned 18 years. I knew that George's parents needed to understand what happened to their son was not a cruel accident. That a loving, redeeming God had created George uniquely for a purpose. After reading portions of Psalm 139 which I had highlighted...<br />
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<i>13. For you (God) created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.</i><br />
<i>14. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know</i><br />
<i> that full well.</i><br />
<i>15. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.</i><br />
<i> When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16. your eyes saw my unformed body. </i><br />
<i> All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.</i><br />
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...Elena put the Bible to her chest and said through discerning tears, "I will hold this close to my heart until I die."</h2>
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The story continues in a coming installment...</div>
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<br />Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-36678589849396344902012-02-10T20:14:00.000-05:002012-02-10T20:14:16.593-05:00There is Eternity in our HeartsI was taken aback by the passengers. Our Delta flight from Narita, Japan to Bangkok was full of them. <br />
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The ones on the fringe.<br />
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The aging male couple, so full of apparent gaiety that you almost missed the sadness in their eyes.<br />
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The elderly British couple. Their tweed jackets and pile of books said intellectual. The man’s use of a notebook-sized magnifying glass in addition to his substantial spectacles spoke of diminishing faculties.<br />
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The bohemians with the head scarves.<br />
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The young people with the intricately shaved patterns in their short hair.<br />
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The tattooed who had turned their skin into a statement.<br />
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Those with ravaged faces from a lifetime of taking in too many substances.<br />
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I had never seen such a collection all in one place.<br />
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And then I realized what this was about.<br />
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Thailand. Maybe the closest approximation to Paradise on earth. The fragranced air. The vibrant tropical flowers, ubiquitous, even in the squalid slums. The balmy, moist climate. Beauty in all corners: majestic mountains, teeming ocean, verdant life everywhere.<br />
Thailand is The Garden of Eden, minus the cherubim guarding the entrance with the flaming swords.<br />
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We were all banished from it, yet we all long for it. The goodness, the freedom, the pleasure, the beauty, the glory of that place called Paradise.<br />
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“He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecc. 3:11<br />
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It’s elusive to the natural man. So we try to find it anyway we know how. We try as many methods as we can to experience it, and by the end of our lives, some of us are left with but one option. Hop a plane and go there.<br />
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But where we land is not the real thing. Yes it’s a picture He has graciously given us, but it is a shadow of the real thing.<br />
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I wanted to shout to them, “Yes you CAN go home again. He has made a way. The path is narrow, but His yoke is easy and His burden is light.”<br />
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To say, “Stop trying to find your life. Lose it to Him. “<br />
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“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” Jas 4:10<br />
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He’ll lift you up so that you can taste and see the real Paradise. Dimly now at first. But with His promise that it will be yours. Utterly. Completely. And forever with Him.Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-63436898111280340832011-11-09T10:39:00.002-05:002011-11-09T10:43:36.338-05:00What trouble brings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<b>My husband lost his job yesterday.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>The job that provided sustenance for two adults, 8 special needs children and a son in college.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>The job that we viewed as our provision for now and the future.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>And it has brought trouble.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>It has brought anxiety.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Anxiety over how we will pay our mortgage so we won't lose the house.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>It has brought concern.</b><br />
<b><br />
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<b>Concern about how we will continue to feed this large brood with just our savings and how we will pay for the glasses that Kali needs without medical insurance.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>It has brought gut-wrenching sadness.</b><br />
<b>Sadness that the 7-year-old limbless girl, the girl we named Hope, will not have a family after all. </b><br />
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<b>It has brought perplexity.</b><br />
<b>Trouble was not in our plan. Trouble has turned our world upside-down. </b><br />
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<b>But in the midst of these human emotions, trouble is bringing us a deep, satisfying drink from the well of God's grace.</b><br />
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<b>Trouble is bringing us an awareness of how much we are loved.</b><br />
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<b>We are enveloped by the kindness, prayers and expressions of love from those around us. The support is always there, but we aren't fully aware of it until trouble comes.</b><br />
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<b>Trouble is making us see the preciousness of our children's hearts.</b><br />
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<b>We are cherishing the offers of their McDonald's gift cards and savings to help buy food, their suggestions of job possibilities (Wal-Mart and PetSmart were the favorites) and their declarations of not wanting Christmas gifts this year.</b><br />
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</div><b>Trouble is bringing greater strength to our marriage relationship.</b><br />
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<b>Two people, often distracted by the busy-ness and the cares of this world, are verbalizing, "I love you," to each other often and praying together with a never-before-experienced depth and zeal.</b><br />
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</b><br />
<b>Trouble is bringing a renewed awareness that God is our portion, and not an earthly job.</b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">I say to myself, "The LORD is my <span class="Highlight" style="background-color: #ffff96; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 0px;">portion</span>; therefore I will wait for him." (Lamentations 3). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"> God has engraved this on our hearts afresh.</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Will trouble crush us? God forbid.</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Trouble shows us that His promises are real.</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"I took you from the ends of the earth, </span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">from its farthest corners I called you.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I said, 'You are my servant':</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I have chosen you and have not rejected you."</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"So do not fear, for I am with you;</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I will strengthen you and help you;</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Isaiah 41:9-10 </span></b><br />
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</b>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com1Ashland, VA 23005, USA37.7590318 -77.47998369999999137.7253033 -77.5070222 37.792760300000005 -77.452945199999988tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-555186983924611102011-09-24T14:08:00.000-04:002011-09-24T14:08:07.651-04:00Parenting and adoption: The Benevolent Dictatorship<i>"I've been hearing a lot lately about parents and social workers checking in with their children about whether they should add to their families through adoption. I'm all for open and honest parent/child communication, but when did the family unit become a democracy?</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>We don't typically ask our children if they agree with their curfew or the amount of allowance they get, do we? We don't consult with them because we know that we will get an age-appropriate opinion--an opinion that years of experience has taught us parents is not the wisest.</i><br />
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<i>As Paul says in I Cor. 13:11, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man I put childish ways behind me."</i><br />
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<i>When Mike and I decided to adopt for the first time, back in 1994, we told our three biological children, then 8, 6 and 4, about our plans. We included them in the process, explained our sense of calling to help a homeless child and enthusiastically invited them along on this family ministry adventure.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i> The boy we were hoping to adopt (now our son George) was born without arms and was languishing in a Romanian orphanage. The superstitious Romanian orphanage workers, believing he was born this way as a curse, were reluctant to touch him or feed him. He weighed 9 lbs. at a year old, couldn't hold his own head up and his medical report said, "this boy will soon die."</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Our three children accepted the "helping a homeless child" part, but of course, reacted the way most kids would. One of them said to us, "If we're gonna adopt, could we at least adopt someone with hands and arms?"</i><br />
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</i><br />
<i>The adoption was a scary step of faith for Mike and I as well, but because of the assurance we had from the Holy Spirit that this was the path God wanted us to walk, we were able to confidently explain to the kids that God wants us to want the unwanted and to love the seemingly unlovable. He calls them "the least of these" in his Word. We explained that his Spirit would compensate for our human weaknesses in this area. We told them that hardships and challenges would help us grow in faith and maturity as individuals and as a family, and that through the experience we would be richly blessed.</i><br />
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</i></div><i>We've gone on to adopt seven more children since George. Each time we've told our existing children about the new addition we've met with some mild protestations. After all, it's a natural reaction for a person of any age to balk at sharing resources, things and parents with yet another "outsider." But the argument on our part has gotten easier. Whe one of the adopted kids protests, we can point to the fact that if we had "taken a vote" of the existing siblings, they, themselves, would not be part of our family.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>I've suspected all along that our family focus on others rather than self has had a healthy impact on who our children have become, and that some day, they would understand more fully what this adoption calling really means. A recent note from my 23-year-old daughter, Marissa, who is spending a year teaching and helping at an orphanage in China, has been a precious confirmation of this.</i><br />
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<i>Marissa was never much of a complainer about growing up in such a large family, but I know she would sometimes dream about the "normal" life some of her contemporaries from smaller families had: the creatively-themed yearly birthday parties, the annual trips to Disney World, and the general parental fawning that an only child could expect.</i><br />
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<i> Marissa sent me this note a few weeks ago on the occasion of my 50th birthday. She gave me permission to share parts of it.</i><br />
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<i>"I miss you so much--being here at an orphanage especially, I think of you all the time. I think 'Oh, Mom would love this' or 'I wish Mom could be here for this' or 'wish she could talk to these people.'"</i><br />
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<i>"Being on the other end of the adoption world, the end where kids sit and count the days until they get a forever family, I have come to appreciate more and more what you have done with OUR family and what a special thing adoption is and what kind of thing you really give." </i><br />
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<i>"I tell people about our family and they all say that you must be a 'miracle worker' and 'a very special person.' People in the States say that, but it is different coming from the mouths of people who work here, because they see families come to adopt all the time. Coming from experienced people who understand what a difference adoption makes, but also what a difficult but miraculous process it is. I understand now that they aren't just giving lip service. You really are a special person and I love you so much!"</i><br />
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</div>Thanks be to God for letting us participate in his work in the world and for giving us the grace to do so!<br />
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</i>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-36489081413328945982011-08-06T19:23:00.015-04:002011-08-06T19:33:11.460-04:00God's love changes everything<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AKZr3YkxOCK_02R8XHWOqvNCts05eJTc5iQ8XtG2w9Ev-GAdv0Lha4ZnbbYvGN3_Ryg1lkT9KKddfjLEaaCUO9t_5aXg_bFfrYrGztPXZB8RDETsCTpgY-3R34kFwO6ruSZuFph59Q0/s1600/Caris+at+Winn%2527s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AKZr3YkxOCK_02R8XHWOqvNCts05eJTc5iQ8XtG2w9Ev-GAdv0Lha4ZnbbYvGN3_Ryg1lkT9KKddfjLEaaCUO9t_5aXg_bFfrYrGztPXZB8RDETsCTpgY-3R34kFwO6ruSZuFph59Q0/s400/Caris+at+Winn%2527s.jpg" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caris Dennehy</td></tr>
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Young Life Capernaum is a ministry that shares the love of Christ with young people with disabilities. Share the joy with me. Check out this slide show from this week's camp. Our daughter, Caris, is one of the enthusiastic participants.<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc8186iVCBc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc8186iVCBc</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc8186iVCBc"></a>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-90107524562404930622011-07-13T10:14:00.000-04:002011-07-13T10:14:38.929-04:00The Moon is a Liar: Packing for eternity<a href="http://themoonisaliar-sharon.blogspot.com/2011/07/packing-for-eternity.html?spref=bl">The Moon is a Liar: Packing for eternity</a>: "How would you feel if your task for this week was to sort through all of your earthly belongings and condense them down to 50 Rubber Maid tu..."Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-90568368464207264652011-07-13T09:51:00.001-04:002011-07-13T09:52:08.993-04:00Packing for eternityHow would you feel if your task for this week was to sort through all of your earthly belongings and condense them down to 50 Rubber Maid tubs? And what you couldn't fit into that space would have to be sold, given away or trashed?<br />
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Well that's exactly what my friends April and Scott Salvant are doing this week. They, along with their five children (3 biological and 2 adopted from Haiti), have answered God's call to serve Him in Haiti. The boat full of their stuff leaves in a few weeks and now the joy that comes with saying "yes" to God is being temporarily muted by the reality of saying good-bye to loved ones and the stuff of this World.<br />
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April has been thinking a lot about these words of Jesus this week: "Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being." (Jesus, Matt. 6:19-21, message). <br />
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Most of us Christians would readily assent to the wisdom of this verse. Most of us probably feel like we try to live this way. Mike and I spend most of our income to feed, clothe, house and otherwise raise to adulthood our eight adopted children. We are investing our treasure in souls that are eternal. But still, we live in a big comfortable house, have more clothes than we can wear and don't lack any good thing. <br />
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The Salvants, on the other hand, are experiencing the extreme of this idea. The family is selling their seven bedroom house, Scott is giving up a lucrative job and the family will be relying on support from other believers to live. <br />
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God doesn't call everyone to take this path. It may seem impossibly hard to some of us; but Jesus does promise that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. The Salvants know that they are losing their lives to save them. And what a glorious day it will be when they experience the treasure that's waiting for them in Heaven.Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-15418999190989859792011-07-04T10:21:00.000-04:002011-07-04T10:21:11.903-04:00This is TRUE Freedom<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xerKqtH_ZEA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-41410590314504593052011-06-14T08:26:00.000-04:002011-06-14T08:26:44.346-04:00Should I Teach My Kids to Hate Me?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWq_9RzYok9bxZywl3hx1lJzJDio0wTWU07rOUkgfT1MbW1lBuwQLOT3BqyGqI-kiSoHnKTkeipEr-vpQKR6IVFKYm3APvXDV2XZuaVL4R3GxFkOHopl-KnMRUYT7rqJN6NpUB7BEe9ag/s1600/Ry+and+Ris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWq_9RzYok9bxZywl3hx1lJzJDio0wTWU07rOUkgfT1MbW1lBuwQLOT3BqyGqI-kiSoHnKTkeipEr-vpQKR6IVFKYm3APvXDV2XZuaVL4R3GxFkOHopl-KnMRUYT7rqJN6NpUB7BEe9ag/s400/Ry+and+Ris.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I know, the title is provocative, but they are Jesus' Words, not mine. He says in Luke 14:26, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple."<br />
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I think American Christians are in danger of making family and family time an idol. <br />
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This may sound contradictory coming from someone who highly values family and spends most of her waking hours dedicated to her family. And it may sound counterproductive in a culture that is struggling to keep families intact, a culture where families are hard pressed to find time in a week to sit down to a family meal together and peer activities can threaten to steal all of our children's time. But let me explain.<br />
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Mark D. Roberts says in his post today in The High Calling, "... one prevalent barrier to Christian discipleship is too much attachment to family, especially as defined by cultural, traditional and personal values. During my parish ministry, I watched good church-going parents use the 'priority of family time' rationale to get in the way of their teenagers' growth as disciples of Jesus. Family time would preclude the regular involvement of their kids in Bible study groups. Family vacations kept their teenagers from being part of life-changing mission trips." <br />
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We parents have so much control over our kids. It feels good to be surrounded by our offspring. We feel like royalty when we're surrounded by them at the table--especially on the sentimental days like holidays. We send subliminal messages that our approval and even financial support is tied to expected behaviors of family loyalty above all else. But Jesus speaks a better Word.<br />
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Yes, the word hate is hyperbole, but he is making the point that our children are <b>His</b> first and ours second. That we should be raising them in such a way that their obedience and their first priority is Him and His kingdom, not me, as a parent, and my kingdom. We should be teaching them that serving Him is our highest joy and that familial love is an added gift.<br />
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If I, someday, am sitting alone with a book on Mother's Day because my children are elsewhere occupied with my Father's business, I will consider myself a success.Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-26888644173430146102011-05-16T08:57:00.000-04:002011-05-16T08:57:56.346-04:00To Be Educated<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8iv2whz4bNHxmYWJPnMsNGVBEuyjfdmG4aNW_BE-KKHKz4tELK9HwYjIRl1kGWeSUnpryrvKk1IAcY42ANJHGx322hxJdx7XmvRukgZOppkPiktdD_fu-sVKOn6R79EhxUzr99P9tA8/s1600/Rissa+graduates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="130" width="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8iv2whz4bNHxmYWJPnMsNGVBEuyjfdmG4aNW_BE-KKHKz4tELK9HwYjIRl1kGWeSUnpryrvKk1IAcY42ANJHGx322hxJdx7XmvRukgZOppkPiktdD_fu-sVKOn6R79EhxUzr99P9tA8/s400/Rissa+graduates.jpg" /></a></div><br />
My daughter Marissa graduated from James Madison University last weekend. All the pomp and circumstance got me thinking about the meaning of education. And then I remembered this insightful piece that a friend had given me years ago. <br />
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<b></b>To Be Educated<br />
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By Carolyn Caines, Columbia Heights Christian Academy<br />
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If I learn my ABC's, can read 600 words per minute, and can write with perfect penmanship, but have not been shown how to communicate with the Designer of all language, I have not been educated.<br />
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If I can deliver an eloquent speech and persuade you with my stunning logic, but have not been instructed in God's wisdom, I have not been educated.<br />
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If I have read Shakespeare and John Locke and can discuss their writings with keen insight, but have not read the greatest of all books--the Bible--and have no knowledge of its personal importance, I have not been educated.<br />
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If I have memorized addition facts, multiplication tables and chemical formulas, but have never been disciplined to hide God's Word in my heart, I have not been educated.<br />
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If I can explain the law of gravity and Einstein's theory of relativity, but have never been instructed in the unchangeable laws of the One Who orders our universe, I have not been educated.<br />
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If I can classify animals by their family, genus and species, and can write a lengthy scientific paper that wins awards, but have not been introduced to the Maker's purpose for all creation, I have not been educated.<br />
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If I can play the piano, the violin, six other instruments, and can write music that moves men to tears, but have not been taught to listen to the Director of the Universe and worship Him, I have not been educated.<br />
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If I can run cross-country races, star in basketball and do 100 push-ups without stopping, but have never been shown how to bend my spirit to do God's will, I have not been educated.<br />
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If I can identify a Picasso, describe the style of Da Vinci, and even paint a portrait that earns an A+, but have not learned that all harmony and beauty comes from a relationship with God, I have not been educated.<br />
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If I graduate with a perfect 4.0 and am accepted at the best university with full scholarship, but have not been guided into a career of God's choosing for me, I have not been educated.<br />
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If I become a good citizen, voting at each election and fighting for what is moral and right, but have not been told of the sinfulness of man and his hopelessness without Christ, I have not been educated.<br />
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However, if one day, I see the World as God sees it, and come to know Him, Whom to know is life eternal, and glorify God by fulfilling His purpose for me, then , I have been educated.Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6293497923917379578.post-1431192749666936272011-05-11T08:26:00.000-04:002011-05-11T08:26:03.333-04:00Why the title? The Moon is a Liar?Why would a blog about family, faith and adoption be titled, "The Moon is a Liar?"<br />
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Because I think this Romanian folk saying summarizes life under the sun. <br />
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The Romanian word for the moon in the waxing crescent phase (top drawing) starts with a letter that looks like the shape of the moon in the opposite phase (bottom drawing) and vice versa. The saying was used to help school children remember to use the word starting with the letter OPPOSItE the shape of the moon when naming it. When I first heard a Romanian say this, it stopped me in my tracks. This statement was inadvertently conveying profound spiritual truth.<br />
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The natural world and our natural human inclinations lead us to conclude one thing, but the Spirit of God speaks a better (and radically contrary) Word.<br />
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"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Proverbs 14:12<br />
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Jesus said some hard words in the Gospel of Matthew,<br />
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"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." <br />
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and...<br />
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"Whoever wants to become great among you, must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first, must be your slave--"<br />
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and this from I Cor. 1:27 - 29, "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.<br />
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That is why he chose: me, a person who thought she should have a career unincumbered by marriage and family, to be the mother of 11... me, a person afraid to fly in a plane, to travel to places all over the globe to bring home his orphans...me, a person who needs more sleep and is less organized than the average person, to run a household of 13...my husband, who really just wanted to be a gym teacher, to provide for this brood...<br />
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That is why: a "throw-away" Romanian orphan, born without arms, plays the cello more beautifully than many with arms...an abandoned Indian orphan is a straight A student in an American school and a leader of youth in his church...<br />
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That is why: dear friends of ours, self-professed materialists, caught up in the allure of the world to the point of near self-destruction, are now powerful apologists for the transforming work of God's grace to a needy world...<br />
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Yes, the moon is a liar...but God tells the truth.Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14930011064588158161noreply@blogger.com2