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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Little Known Facts About Me...

1. I still use strawberry Lip Smackers lip gloss at age 24.
2. My favorite smell is an apple pie baking.
3. I love to read things my friends have written- thoughts, poems, songs, books, blogs, etc.
4. I've never had a hair cut that I've loved.
5. My sweet husband Patrick gets better every day. Every day he gives me a reason to love him more.
6. I will always have cats.
7. I circulate between the same meals at every restuarant...usually something glazed or with teriyaki sauce.
8. I'm terrified of being pregnant and giving birth... and will do anything I can to get out of it.
9. I wish I could live at Bethel.
10. I love to travel, especially to places where I can still shower regularly and use a western style toilet.
11. I love doing creative things but most of my inspiration comes from something someone else has already done (Love you Frankie). What's original these days anyway?
12. I cover my ears in the shower so they don't get wet.
13. I don't eat vegetables, but I eat everything else. :)
14. I'm deathly afraid of the ocean, and usually wear platform shoes or heels if I have to go in.
15. I love to bake and create my own recipes.
16. I have a 2 year old sister and I feel as if she is my own child and sometimes wonder why she can't live with me.
17. I love the fall in a big way. There's something in the crisp air, warm drinks, beautiful leaves and scarves that makes me the happiest person on the planet. I always feel confident and free in the fall.
18. I don't wear tennis shoes and socks with pants.
19. I have so many things that I want to do in my life, and I'm afraid of pursuing one thing because I feel like I'd be missing out on other things.
20. I love taking walks near the river or in the mountains.
21. I'd like to think of myself as very easy going, but I'm totally not. I'm working on that though.
22. The song "Heavenly Day" will always change my mood and take me back to my wedding day...which was the most perfect day of my life thus far.
23. I love letters and emails and notes and messages from friends. Words are my love language.
24. Kittens, warm blankets and pastries are also love languages of mine.
25. My dad is the most generous person I have ever known and I pray that I would possess even a fraction of his compassion and generosity for others that he has.
26. I love a good book on a porch or by a fire.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Something Weighty

If anyone knows me, they know that I have the hugest heart for adoption. I long to take the children of the world who have no one and give them a family full of love, support, grace, and encouragement. Adoption has been my deepest heart's cry as long as I can remember. I think it would be amazing to have my own children. To have children that look like me and have mine and Patrick's quirks and mannerisms. But there is something inside of me that is not satisfied with leaving millions of children on the streets, with no one there to hold them or to give them a better life. No one to give them undivided attention or take them to dance or soccer practice. No one to teach them how to share or how to navigate through the awkward middle school years. No one to just be there.


There are 143 million children in the world with no place no call home, and no woman to call "mom" and no man to call "dad." And I want to bridge that gap. I want to contribute to the number of decreasing orphans in the world. I want to adopt everyone.


Tonight I watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with the Kadzis family. This is the most inspiring family I have ever seen. For the last two hours I have been sobbing uncontrollably. George and Barbara Kadzis had a son of their own, and then they adopted 6 more children from China...5 of which have special needs. One is deaf, one is blind, two have cleft palates that have required multiple surgeries, and one is missing bones in his right arm. They live in a 4 bedroom house with 1 bathroom. About a year ago, George Kadzis found out that he had brain cancer. They removed the tumor, but said there was no way to know whether or not the cancer would return. Sure enough, the cancer returned and ravaged his frail body with no warning. It was George's dying wish that his family have a better and safer home to live in. George was on all of the videos, but when it came time to do the show, he was in the hospital. Three days after his house was finished he passed away, never having seen his dream fulfilled.


At the beginning of George and Barbara's adoption processes, George went to see Stevie Wonder in concert. He was in awe of what a miracle it was that Stevie could play the piano and compose such beautiful music, despite his disability. So George decided to find a way to use music to unite their unique Chinese family. Each child played an instrument and had composed countless of their own pieces. The last surprise for the Kadzis family was a music room, full of new instruments and equipment to record their own music. When the family walked in, Stevie Wonder was sitting down at the new grand piano playing it for the family. He continued to play while the family talked to him and asked him questions, and then he sang the song "I just called to say I love you," but he changed the words to "George just wants to say he loves you." It was George's dying wish that his family have everything they need in his absence. Stevie Wonder singing this song to them was so sweet to me.


I turned off the television having witnessed such extravagant love and devotion. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I loved watching this precious family lean on each other and teach each other. I loved watching Barbara care for her husband so well and lavish her love on him in too many ways to count. She was so proud to be his wife. She was so proud of her beautiful family. Never has anyone exemplified love the way that Barbara and George have. Love for each other. Love for not just the orphans, but for "the least of these." The very, very least of these.


"Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:18

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Rants Part 2

First of all, I'm a poor time manager. You give me 3 hours to work out, catch up on some reading, have a snack and put a load of wash in the washing machine, and instead I'll choose to watch a full 3 hours of America's Next Top Model without getting up during the commercials. Regardless of how productive I can be at work, when I get home and have no plans, I'm worthless. I have a dream of reading countless books each week, painting beautiful pictures, being really creative with second-hand stores and fabrics, getting into a deep Randall Worley-type study of the Bible, cooking elegant dishes, and soaking in God's presence every afternoon. But what will I do with my time instead? I'll watch Gilmore Girls, Oprah, America's Next Top Model, the Bachelorette, So You Think You Can Dance, and an occasional Real World episode on MTV. I know, real mature. I'm 24 and have done very little classical reading, have hardly developed any sort of work-out routine, have used our iron once, and effortlessly cook many of the same meals week-to-week. Maybe there's a support group for people like me. Then again, maybe it's just called maturity.