A lot of people have been asking me if I'm excited about leaving tomorrow for China. Honestly, I don't know how to answer them. Of course I'm excited! I mean, we're flying half way around the world with my whole family (including my mother-in-law). We're getting ready to add a little girl to our family full of boys. And this little girl, who's almost two years old, doesn't know us... doesn't know English... we don't know Chinese... and we are going to take her from everything she's ever known to live with us back here. Exciting? Terrifying and wonderful and sad and beautiful and traumatic and a dream come true and, yes, exciting, too.
This morning I woke up with butterflies in my stomach. (My stomach is always the first physical indicator that something's going on.) I guess it's kicking in that I'm about to leave on a journey that will forever change my life... to meet the other woman of my dreams :) Amy told me earlier that she has to tell herself to breathe. My prayer has long been that I would be a really good father. Ben and Will have been relatively easy so far, but a girl--will I know what to do? Talk about heartache! I know this little girl will have the capacity to either make my heart soar or break it to pieces. With all my heart, I hope I can be everything she needs.
I love you, Kate. I can't wait!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
8 days to go
How is it that time is moving so slowly? (Although I still can't seem to get everything accomplished I've got on my to-do list!) I can't wait to get my arms around this little girl!
These pictures are now six months old, but we just got them last week in a file we were sent from our agency. What a wonderful surprise! (Click here for more recent pictures.)
These pictures are now six months old, but we just got them last week in a file we were sent from our agency. What a wonderful surprise! (Click here for more recent pictures.)
One week from tomorrow we get on the plane to China, and in 11 days from right now (given the time change) we should be meeting our daughter! I can't believe how amazing this is.
We're hoping to have good internet access on our trip so that we can post regular updates to our blogs-- this one and Amy's (see "Raising Tomatoes" on the right-hand side of the page). We look forward to reading your comments as we post from China.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
thoughts on "stress"
I love it when, even in the midst of leading a Bible study, God puts some pieces together in a whole new way.
This past Sunday morning during our normal youth Bible study, we were talking about dealing with stress and the things that cause stress. I had already planned and prepared, but in the midst of sharing some Scripture, God showed me a really cool connection that has really stuck with me.
1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." There are some things that I care about that others don't care about like I do (e.g. my wife doesn't care about my baseball card collection, some old books I've held onto, or my large collection of baseball caps). It's okay, but knowing her love of yard sales, I don't trust her with these things. In this verse, God assures us that he is trustworthy... he truly cares about us and the things we care about (the things that cause us stress). Because he cares about our cares like we do, we can feel confident to trust him with them, to "cast our anxiety on him."
Add that to this verse: Matthew 6:33, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." It seems that God is also saying that he wants to change our focus. He wants to make sure that our priority is him and his kingdom, and, as a result, the other things we care about will be taken care of, too. He wants us to replace our worry with another activity--pursuing him. It seems that he is saying, "I want you to care most about the things I care most about."
Which I think leads to this muddled, but insightful, principle related to the stress in our lives: God cares about what I care about, but he also wants me to care about what he cares about. This is the heart of deep relationships--interconnectedness. Shared priorities. Mutual concerns. Loving one another.
(By the way, Amy really does care about the things I care the most about... I just like giving her a hard time about how much she likes getting rid of things in yard sales.)
This past Sunday morning during our normal youth Bible study, we were talking about dealing with stress and the things that cause stress. I had already planned and prepared, but in the midst of sharing some Scripture, God showed me a really cool connection that has really stuck with me.
1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." There are some things that I care about that others don't care about like I do (e.g. my wife doesn't care about my baseball card collection, some old books I've held onto, or my large collection of baseball caps). It's okay, but knowing her love of yard sales, I don't trust her with these things. In this verse, God assures us that he is trustworthy... he truly cares about us and the things we care about (the things that cause us stress). Because he cares about our cares like we do, we can feel confident to trust him with them, to "cast our anxiety on him."
Add that to this verse: Matthew 6:33, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." It seems that God is also saying that he wants to change our focus. He wants to make sure that our priority is him and his kingdom, and, as a result, the other things we care about will be taken care of, too. He wants us to replace our worry with another activity--pursuing him. It seems that he is saying, "I want you to care most about the things I care most about."
Which I think leads to this muddled, but insightful, principle related to the stress in our lives: God cares about what I care about, but he also wants me to care about what he cares about. This is the heart of deep relationships--interconnectedness. Shared priorities. Mutual concerns. Loving one another.
(By the way, Amy really does care about the things I care the most about... I just like giving her a hard time about how much she likes getting rid of things in yard sales.)
Thursday, September 18, 2008
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