.Ethiopia.

I am not sure how to process what is about to happen to me. I am about to step into a whole new world. I am on the precipice of understanding life in a whole new way.

I am naive... but I am about to abandon naivety.

I have only begun to realize what "poor" means. I know that it will have a whole new definition. I have been trying to understand compassion... but what will that mean in Africa?

I have been asked, what do you fear? Have you been educated about water/food/disease, etc. It's not those things I fear... I am afraid that there is still so much callous in me, that I will somehow be able to come home, unchanged.

God... press on my heart a new understanding. Please, do not let me come back the same!

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.It's been forever.

I know, it has been forever since I last posted. To say the least I have been busy. Redoing missions, bringing a dog into the home, and trying my hand at being "artsy." I have yet to feel successful in anything.

The good news is that God is working in my heart and that well much of it I am not ready to share, I think it will be time really soon. to pacify you in the mean time, I will let you see my not-so-good Africa...


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.The Princess and the Toad.

This marks my official first "mommy blog" moment.

I honestly have no intention of this place becoming an avenue for my gushing about my wonderful kids. Not because I don't want to gush about them, but because this place is about something else.

Today, those two worlds collide. Recently, I have been having some struggles being a good Daddy. I have been frustrated, torn, and bothered. I cannot express to you how badly I want my son home. And, somehow in the midst of my journey to bring my son into his forever family, I allowed the frustration of paperwork, the tare of a missing family member, and the bothersome nature of waiting to seep into the time I have been given with my two beautiful children that are already living in their forever families.

I have been listening to Steven Curtis Chapman, and was struck by these lyrics and what they mean in regards to my two kids:

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms'
Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song'
Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone...

It won't be long, and this season will be gone...

To my princess:
You are beautiful... The special little one that taught me what it first meant to want to hurt for someone else. You are the one that showed me how sacrifice can be something to treasure!

To my toad (b/c he looks so much like Toadstool from Mario):
Your compassion for others will never leave my mind... May I never forget that no matter how valued the prize, you would not take without making sure there was enough for Sissy!

God, give me the eyes to see the life you have granted me to live now.

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.The Isaiah 58 in Me.

Isaiah 58 details an account of God's people crying out to Him... basically telling the God of all creation how He should respond to their "sacrifice."

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’
(Verse 3)

God then responds to their cry by informing them that their "sacrifice" is not sufficient. Their expectations of what God requires is so menial, while their expectations of His provisions is so incredibly lofty.

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
(Verse 5)

This is where I have found myself for about a month now: Crying to my Father, "do you not recognize what I have given up for Your sake? When are you going to come through for me?

How arrogant! I have essentially scoffed at all the amazing things God has done in my life, because He chose not to meet my expectations for a court date!

Me: God, I need $30 k for an adoption...
God: Done. (still waiting with confidence for about $4k)

Me: God, I need my social worker to act swiftly on my behalf.
God: Done. (completed 1 day after our final meeting... unprecedented)

Me: God, I need... (a million little details)
God: Done. Done. Done. Done. (you get the point)

Me: God, I need a court date by the end of October.
God: That's not My timing.
Me: How dare You.

How dare me. God, forgive me for questioning Your timing. You are perfect, I am flawed, and I submit myself, once again, to Your plan... It is right!

Now, on to fulfilling the rest of the Text:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains
of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed
free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the
hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when
you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from
your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like
the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your
righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will
be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

"If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing
finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf
of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your
light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the
noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your
needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose
waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and
will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer
of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. “If you keep
your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you
please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the
LORD’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going
your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle
words, then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause
you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on
the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Give me the strength Father!

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.My Son, My Journey {Part 3}.

"Do you believe I can be your everything?"

I can still remember the clear sound of His whisper in my ear.

"Am I really sufficient?"

Somehow, unwittingly, I uncovered the reality that my journey is mostly a reflection on how people have impacted me. So, I am going to continue in that way... until things change or until I run out of people.

With that said, meet Jo. A sweet, gentle woman that God placed in our path. She and her husband are seeking adoption via ET as well. In fact, it was her blog that led to our watching Lucy. The part of her journey that found its way into my story came after we chose to adopt.

Honestly, I thought it would be the most fantastical news anyone would want to hear. I thought that when I told people our plans, they would run up and down the streets. They would say things like "I am so proud of you." or "God is so awesome to have put this on your heart." Instead, our story was kind of... "so, we have been accepted to adopt via Ethiopia!" {cue the crickets.}

That's when Jo spoke the words into my life that I needed to hear. I wish I could say them all to you, but honestly, they are hers not mine. When it all is said and done, of all the things she said... the words I will never forget were: "I am doing this because I love God and I believe HE is in this. I want to be in His will and I want to be like Jesus for this little life." {me too, Jo}

{Part 3, Truth 3} Jim, it is about God, a little life in ET, and your obedience... not anything or anyone else.

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.At the Heart of the Gospel.

The heart of the Gospel... the heart of my Savior.

I realized for the first time the other day that there are two things planted deeply within the heart of God... Marriage and Adoption.

For some reason, it had never occured to me before now how much God cares about those two things...

On the one hand, here I am, the filthy whore, standing before my Knight in shining armor.

I shutter to picture it: How must my pathetic plea sound?
I am sorry I slept with him again... he just treats me so nice... I know there has never been anyone who cares for me like you... but it makes me feel good to be with him... {I just threw up in my mouth a little.}

On the other hand, God reaches down and looks at my poor impoverished condition, and says... I want to make you My son.

And here I am, with nothing to offer on either account... No way to bring glory to me... All I can do is point to my Creator and say "Glory to God... Glory to God, forever..."

It's no wonder marriages are falling apart everywhere, it makes sense that there are 147 million orphans...

Why? Because we're comfortable...

God, send revival... in me.

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.Dear Anonymous.

This afternoon I received a tearful call from my wife (You can read her thoughts here). She said, "we just received an anonymous donation to our adoption for $4,000." I have no idea what to say or do... so whoever you are, this is what I have to say:

I have been working through a theme in my life lately. The theme? Shaken.

Shaken by the holiness of my Creator. Shaken by the reality of my sin. Shaken by the Glory that He deserves. Shaken by the small place I give Him. Honestly, today I am once again shaken.
Shaken by the fact that He used you for His glory by grasping me... a miserable wreck... a realistic failure... a complete mess.

I have no words.

This is all I can say: Thank you for allowing Christ to use you to show me something about Him. May His name and renown grow because of your humble gifts... and may I continue to be shaken.

Thank you God for your greatness.

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. We Need Help.

These are not words that we have ever had a desire to write. Honestly, we don't want help. We want to do it all on our own. But we desperately need help. We have said for a long time that the Christian journey is not one that should be traveled alone. However, when it comes to money... don't ask. When it comes to hardship... don't ask. The journey we were referring to was "the good stuff." In other words, when God does something in your life that is exciting and dynamic, make sure you tell everyone you know.

Here's the problem: What do we do when we need help?

One of the stated goals of my wife and my journey through adoption is to expose to Believers, those who call on the God of all creation, to the reality that He will move heaven and earth for His orphans. That you don't have to take out a massive loan, or be incredibly wealthy to make this thing happen. That God will move you-to sacrifice everything. That He will move others-to sacrifice some. And in the midst of it all, no challenge: mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually will stand in the way of Him accomplishing what He wants.

The Roadblock: Our Pride.

Over and over we have told ourselves, “if He wants to, He will move people.” “If He sees fit, He will motivate others to help.” Here's the reality: That's true. However, our motivation for coming to this conclusion was not deep faith, but crippling pride. So we have committed to swallow our pride and boldly ask people to help. This is not easy for us, but neither was selling our "prized" possessions. The reality is there is a child in Ethiopia waiting for us to be the leaders we need to be, and lead the charge to bring him home. The Bible clearly states we are to bear each others burdens, but in order to give people opportunity to do so; we have to humble ourselves and share our burdens. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

So Here's the Deal:

We are going to boldly ask God to burden 300 people to give $100. Then, we are going to ask person after person if God has laid it on their heart to give. We are going to humble ourselves time after time until we hold in our arms that little life that our God and we value so highly. We are also going to try to be that $100 donor several times over for our adoption and eventually for someone else’s (perhaps yours!).

So, we humbly ask: Are you one that God has burdened? Are you one of the 300 privileged individuals God is using to bring our child home? If so, please give... not for us, not even for that precious child on the other side of the globe, but because you are called to Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked. and because Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. We are not all called to adopt, but we are all called to do something. Maybe this is your something.

Maybe God isn’t calling your family to be a part of our journey financially, and that is okay. Would you still surround us in your prayers? If you feel led would you pass our need along to others – on your blog, face book, or any place else you desire to?

We are getting close to being able to send our dossier over to Ethiopia and that takes a lot of money – a lot, a lot. We also will have a program fee due at this time, as well as future financial needs of airplane tickets (we have to travel twice), hotel stays, embassy fees, visas etc. We know that this amount of money cannot be raised in our own strength or through selling our own stuff. We’ve tried. To think about the amount of money that is still needed is overwhelming to us, but it’s not to the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills! We long through this fund raising process for God to receive the glory and for this journey to scream His name.

So, we are going to do it.

We are going to ask for help.

We think this pleases God.

Will you please help with the remainder of our financial needs?

Are you one of the 300 people who God will use to give $100?

Maybe you are not, but maybe you have a little that you want to give. God blesses every gift no matter the amount. We have seen that.

Please prayerfully consider whether or not you are part of our journey to bring our baby home for the glory of God. 100% of all donations will be used to fund our adoption. You can use our chip-in on the right hand side of my blog, or you can email at amomentcherished(at)gmail(dot)com for our address if you prefer to go that route.

Maybe God allows adoption to cost so much so that we would truly rely on Him and His moving the body of Christ to be partners in our journey.

With grateful and humble hearts,
Jim & Tiffany

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