destruction

Thankfully, our neighborhood was spared - we didn't even lose power for very long and sustained very minor damage, but as we drove through other parts of town we quickly realized what a big difference living only 10 miles East made! These pictures were taken in our old neighborhood, where we lived only 2 months ago. They are still without power.
We are so grateful and continue to pray for those who were affected by Ike!

preparedness

Here we go again! As we prepare for and wait for Ike's arrival, it brings to mind those who choose not to prepare. I don't go overboard, but just prepare in case the stores will be closed for a few days or if we have additional guests who need a place to stay. Those who do nothing to prepare end up not only putting a needless burden on others, but miss out on the peace and security of being safe and keeping your family safe.

Thinking about this brought the "parable of the virgins" found in Matthew 25:1-12 to mind:

"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not."

As I continued researching this parable, I found a summary that says it perfectly:

The thing to note here is that they all had the lamp (the Word), but it is only those (the wise) who had the oil that were allowed into the marriage. What is the oil ? The Bible says," Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."(He 1:9). This "oil of gladness" is what seperates the virgins in the above parable. It is only in the utter abandonment to the love of God that one truly becomes "the Bride of Christ". And this in turn brings on the "oil of gladness". The above parable shows that even though some people have the Bible and read it, that they are missing it's most important value by not having that intimate, personal and total relationship with the Lord.

So what I'm trying to say is while being prepared for a storm is good and wise; are you prepared for death? Do you have the "oil of gladness" - a personal, real, relationship with Christ Jesus?

Stay safe.

Randomness

I was asked to share 6 random things by Christina and to tag 6 others. I doubt 6 people read this (I would know you do if you commented every once in a while), but here goes:

Here are the tagging rules:
Post the rules on your blog
Write 6 random things about yourself
Tag 6 people at the end of your post
If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag

1. I've never been much of a "reader", but I've been deliberate lately to try to change that. It takes me forever to finish a book, so I usually keep my latest book in my purse so I can read a little at a time (I'm currently reading The Shack). I also love books on tape. My favorite way to stay informed is to read online newspapers and listen to talk radio.
2. I have some spelling and grammatical pet peeves. It annoys me when people use the word "anyways" and misuse "your" and "you're".
3. I'm an introvert and get really nervous when any attention is put on me. I even took 4 years of drama in high school to help me come out of my shell. It didn't work. :)
4. I used to be extremely obsessed with having things done a certain way, such as the way I would fold and hang my towels, but then I had kids and got over it. Life is too short to lose sleep because there are dirty dishes in the sink.
5. I don't understand why so people love Obama SO MUCH. I don't pretend to know everything about him, but such a fundamental issue like allowing partial birth abortions is big enough for me to not want to vote for him. I take everything the candidates say with a grain of salt - they're applying for a job, after all, and will tell you what you want to hear. Judge them by their past actions and experience.
6. I don't "forward" emails and I have "broken" more than one chain letter/email in my life, so I don't plan on tagging anyone. Sorry, Christina!

I'd love to hear from some of you! Have a happy day!

Time to Step Up!

During our training today our case worker told us of a story of a nine year old girl who was in the foster care system, and while in care, her biological mom died in a fire (she was running a meth lab in her home). The case worker took the girl to the funeral, where there was a chapel FULL of relatives there who were mourning the loss of the girl's mom. Can you imagine having a large "family" like that but still no one is willing to take you in - talk about rejection. First by her mom who neglected her child which caused her removal in the first place, then by family not willing to step up. Some even had the nerve to ask the girl for her contact information so they could "keep in touch". (the girl ended up "aging out" of the system when she turned 18)

The segment we were studying was on Separation, Loss & Grief. One thing I've heard over and over is no matter what a child has been through, they almost NEVER speak about their parents in a negative way and will defend them no matter what. Regardless of the circumstances, removal from their home is a tramatic experience for most kids.

I'm struggling right now with judging people who would do this to a child, but that's another fight. Our fight right now is to help save some of these kids.

Life at Rio Bend

We'll we're almost fully unpacked and settled at our new home at Rio Bend. It's such a huge blessing to have room for everything and for everything to have a place. Hopefully I'll soon have time to actually get it there, but in the meantime, we are enjoying our new community. Most of all, we are enjoying our incredible neighbors. Since we're not licensed yet, we've tried to make ourselves available to provide some respite care to the families out here, even if it's just taking someone to the pool while their babies nap, or allowing them to go out on a date night.

The agency we've decided on is Arrow Child & Family Ministries . Things are moving along quite well, and today found out we can probably be licensed by the 30th of this month, and could get our first placement as early as the 31st. We also found out how desperate the need is for foster families willing to take "older" children. "Older" children were described as ages 10 and up. Usually when they're that old, their parents have already terminated their rights to the state, so these are children that no one is fighting for. Another huge need is for foster families willing to take in sibling groups. This are exactly the kinds of kids we've been praying for and know God is already preparing our hearts for them.

Thank you for your continued prayer for our family during this process. We covet your thoughts and prayers for the children that will be in our care.

Hardware Removal

I couldn't resist sharing the photo of Dr. Orth removing the screw from my ankle...It didn't hurt at all (but was very sore later in the day)! Dr. Orth is the best! If you ever need an Orthopaedic Surgeon, I would highly recommend him!

Oh yeah - I got a good laugh when Morgan was describing her "swelling" and cankles. Take a look at what my lovely leg now looks like.

Updates and Craziness

We got approval today to move in to Rio Bend but will have to start over the licensing process with another agency. It's a complicated mess but I'll spare the details for now. (If any of you know of a great child placement agency (CPA), please let me know! We may end up going directily through CPS but haven't decided yet.

I also saw my Ortho. this morning and tomorrow he will remove the screw that is visible on the open wound and hopefully we'll see some new growth in that area. If there is not enough change in a few weeks, then he will go in and remove all the hardware. He wants to leave it in there as long as possible to be sure the bones are totally healed. Typically hardware is not removed until years after the initial injury, if at all. He keeps telling me that he's never had a case like this in 22 years of practice, so I guess that makes me special! :)

Well, back to packing...we thought we were close to being done, but we have way more junk than we thought, so stay tuned for more updates!