Lemonade for Sale - Build a Water Well!

We made $80 at our lemonade stand this morning! Can you believe it?!? We had a blast. People were SOOO generous. We're thinking it had something to do with the cuteness of the kids because people were willing to give even before they knew why! When people would ask how much for a cup of lemonade, one of the girls would say, "One dollar, but you can pay more if you want to." Ha ha. And, many of them did. One man brought us his change jar from home!!

This was such an awesome day! I HIGHLY encourage you to give it a go in your neighborhood. (And, if you do please leave a comment - we would love to hear about your success.) We are planning to do nine more weeks, with our grand finale on the day of our huge neighborhood yard sale. Here's how we did it....

First, we watched the video about Dollar for a Drink so the kids would understand the information if our customers asked.















Then, we added the lemonade mix, water and ice.















We squeezed some REAL lemons into the lemonade to make it extra tasty!















The kids stood out with a sign and had a cheer, "Lemonade for Sale - Build a Water Well." Zach had a short speech prepared that he said to every costumer who would listen. : ) Next week, we are going to print stickers to put on the cups with the DfaD website and have postcards to hand out with additional info





































We counted the money and celebrated! After we found out the total, one of the girls said, "Now THAT was worth it!" Mission accomplished.

Serving and Lemonade

*NOTE: Please hang on to the end of this post, there is an invitation for YOU! (And, if you linked through FB, I wasn't trying to trick you - I AM really excited about sharing this with you! Read on, you'll see....)

This post isn't about our adoption at all, but it is about another work God is doing in our family! This summer I have tried to provide some productive structure to our days. Each kid has a chart on a clipboard with various daily activities, including chores, school work practice, Bible time, quiet reading, "funtivity", etc. I feel like Michelle Dugger. Except that we never really pull it off. Most days, my kids watch too much tv, we go swim, and maybe conquer one or two of the things on the chart. I find that chores, school work practice and quiet reading go out the window, but we MAKE SURE we accomplish our daily funtivity. In mean, it IS summer!! And, I have found that I am always super excited about Bible time. Here's why...

Each day we do something different for Bible time - scripture memory, prayer with Mommy (each kid has his own turn to tell me how I can be praying for him), Bible study with Daddy (similar concept, except with David), writing letters to our Compassion International friends, and (my favorite for the summer) serving others. It has become really important to me that our kids equate Bible time with more than learning Bible stories or even memorizing scripture. I want them to understand that it takes doing to understand and learn what the Bible really means. Not "doing" in the sense of becoming good little boys in order to please God, but "doing" in the sense of experiencing what the Bible teaches, particularly about loving and serving others. In order for them to serve others, they have to become self forgetful and are able, then, to become more mindful of God and how He loves people.

So, each week we go through this process. First we ask, "Who do we know who needs to be served?" Jesus washed the disciples' feet and told his followers to "go and do likewise." He didn't mean, necessarily, to go and wash more feet. He washed the disciples feet because, in that time and culture, it was a job that needed to be done and that job was done by a servant. Jesus became a servant to those he loved. So, when we "do likewise," we first need to figure out what people need. Then, we try to think of ways we are able to serve them. It has really been a lot of fun!

I am SUPER DUPER excited about our latest project!! We are joining the effort of Joshua Guthrie in raising money and awareness for his organization Dollar for a Drink. Joshua is a teenager from our area who decided to do something about the global water crisis and started with this simple concept. You MUST go to the Dollar for a Drink website and see all the wonderful things God has done in the short time DFaD has existed!

Anyway, it all started when the boys and I were watching Joshua's latest promotional video and the boys really understood the need for water that is so widespread around the globe. And, they could easily understand how we could serve those people, by giving money and spreading the word. We started thinking about ideas to generate as much money as we could, and God gave us the perfect idea - open a weekly lemonade stand, selling cups of lemonade for $1 and telling our customers about Dollar for a Drink! We are going to have our lemonade stand open most Saturday mornings (weather and schedule permitting) in our front yard. People always descend upon our area for yard sales this time of year and we are hoping that will bring us plenty of customers. We have invited other families in the neighborhood to join us by bringing some of the supplies that we'll need each week and working the stand.

It's a win, win, win! Kids LOVE to do lemonade stands and they learn how they can make a difference in this world. Money and awareness will be raised for DFaD. AND we are hoping this will serve Joshua by blessing him and encouraging him to keep it up! (I have known Joshua since he was in preschool, so it is especially fun to join his effort!)

AREN'T YOU SO EXCITED!?!? You should be, because you could do it, too! You could set up a lemonade stand in your front yard, as a one time gig or as an ongoing project. You can easily donate the money you raise by using the donate feature on the DFaD website, so it doesn't matter what part of the country you are in. DO IT!! DO IT!! You know you want to! : )

I will post pics of our first ever "Lemonade supporting Dollar for a Drink" tomorrow!! If you are in Jackson, come by and get a cup of lemonade! (We will be in our front yard from 9-11 am).

This is the Way, Walk in It

I am up waaay too late, but I have to unload all that God is speaking to me now at 2:30 in the morning. In one week's time, my life circumstances have been turned upside down somewhat. I have felt God telling me to quit my part time job at the kids' school and stay home full time because I need to be more available at home. I threw a pretty big fit about it because it wasn't really a choice I would have made for myself. It was a job I loved, in a place I loved, working with people I love to work with. But God softened my hard heart and has made me content to do what His will is for me. God is good and His plans for us are good. I trust that.

So, one of the first things people say to me when they find out that I had to lay down my beloved job is that maybe God is freeing me up because our baby is on its way. That would be convenient, huh! But, in the same week we found out a few things regarding the adoption.

1. There has been a decrease in birth moms who are coming to the agency to make an adoption plan. For whatever reason.
2. There are now an unprecedented number of families who are available to adopt a child of any race. If the birth mom has no preference, they go with the longest waiting families and we are second on that list. If she wants to choose the family for her baby, however, she has plenty of families to choose from. Now we have some competition. Ha ha!

This is a GOOD development, that there are so many families, and we praise God for it! But, I have been tempted to feel confused. One reason we felt compelled to pursue domestic adoption was because of the need for people willing to adopt transracially. But, that was only one of the reasons. The other reason is that God has spoken clearly to us - "I am growing your family and your next child will come through adoption."

God spoke to us! That is a huge claim to make - that the Creator of the universe, God, spoke to us. Me and David. Christians need to realize what an outrageous thing this is to say. I could elaborate, but I'll just linky-loo you to a sermon our pastor preached recently on this truth, when it becomes available on our website. Stay tuned for that one.

This has been a recurring theme in things I read and hear - that God speaks to us. Some people ask how we know that God has "called us" to adopt, meaning how did we conclude that God was telling us to do this? Seems kind of obscure - I understand that. One way I experience the leading of God is when I hear certain truths repeated every time I turn around, it seems. That certainly happened in our call to adopt and it is happening again, now, with this revelation that God is speaking to us through our adoption journey.

The last time this theme came to me was the morning of April 16th. Anyone remember the events of morning? We were preparing to go pick up baby girl. I had not been very emotional about the whole thing (surprising) until I was running on the treadmill that morning (even MORE surprising) and I become overwhelmed by the knowledge that this adoption was completely born in our hearts because GOD SPOKE TO US!

When biological children come along, there are things that automatically motivate you to conceive a child. Maybe it's a desire for a baby or to be pregnant, other people starting their families, pressure to start a family perhaps, a longing to pour yourself out for the sake of another, cute baby clothes, whatever. (Not an exhaustive list, mind you.) Then, sometimes there are other "automatic motivators" - I'll just leave it at that. But, our experience with adoption has been that our desire and resolve to adopt originated solely by God speaking in our lives - "Do this." That's the beautiful realization that absolutely overwhelmed me on the treadmill that day. When I see this baby's face, I will have the knowledge that God did this, it was not of ourselves. Of course, it was God's work that brought our sons to us through biological means, but just as that experience was unique and special in its own way, so is this.

God spoke to us again today, but in a way I never expected. We got information about a baby to be born in July in a far away state, and the question on the table was - "Would we want to let the birth mom there know that we are interested in potentially adopting this child?" We received very detailed information. And we really both sensed, strongly, that we were not the family to adopt this child. So, we said no.

No matter what adoption process you are in, there are times that you have to declare what type situations you are willing to take on - whether in your paperwork or when you get a call about a baby. I have always wondered how we would know if we needed to say "no" because we are SOOO inclined to say "YES." How do you say "no" without feeling guilty or unsure? Well, God spoke and the answer was obvious. We felt a complete confidence and peace about it.

I won't go into details for now, but God is speaking to me again tonight - in the middle of the night. (I won't complain, since it is God, but I really hope David lets me sleep in tomorrow morning. He should, right? I mean - God spoke for cryin' out loud!) This is what I am hearing - I just know that our baby (or babies - we are open to two, in case you didn't know) is real and that when this all unfolds it is going to blow my head off, in terms of who God is and how He can work all things together. Not because I am confident that it will all go my way, but that God is truly amazing and much bigger than I am.

The scripture that has been ever present on my mind tonight is Isaiah 30. It's long, but the whole chapter is a beautiful, complete story of God's sovereignty and grace and begs to be read in its entirety. Even still, I am including some highlights that are particularly descriptive of God's steadfast love for me (us), despite my wavering and fit-throwing heart. It also describes the way God speaks to his children - tenderly, specifically, effectively, and how he redeems them when their hard hearts don't listen. Lastly, it testifies to the power that is overwhelming when God speaks.

Do Not Go Down to Egypt
“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD,
“who carry out a plan, but not mine,
and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit,
that they may add sin to sin;
who set out to go down to Egypt,
without asking for my direction,

And now, go, write it before them on a tablet
and inscribe it in a book,
that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever.
For they are a rebellious people,
lying children, children unwilling to hear
the instruction of the LORD;
who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us smooth things,
prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path,
let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel,
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
But you were unwilling,

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.

He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry.
As soon as he hears it, he answers you.
And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver
and your gold-plated metal images.
You will scatter them as unclean things.
You will say to them, “Be gone!”