LifeChange

11 Reasons To Be In A Life Group

Life Group sign-ups are going on right now at Life Church.  Here are 11 reasons you should be in one:

1. Meet other people
2. Be challenged in your walk with God
3. Be inspired by others' stories
4. A place where you can be prayed for
5. Gives you something to do each week
6. Another opportunity to see the people you enjoy from church
7. A place to figure out how to apply what you heard on Sunday to life
8. A place to help and serve others
9. The very first Christians did this, so why shouldn’t you?
10. A place where others accept you
11. Jesus was a part of a small group

Search the groups and sign-up for one here. 

Marathon for our Adoption

Our friend from church Greg Williamson has decided to run a marathon for our adoption.  He will run the United States Airforce Marathon on September 19, 2009.  We are extremely thankful and humbled by his willingness to do this to help bring our two children home from Rwanda!  I encourage you to check out his page and support his efforts.

Creating Margin In Life

Many people lives theirs lives on the edge, just a step away from disaster.  God has been teaching me through our current series called Rhythm at Life Church and a book I'm reading called Spiritual Leadership to create margin in my life.  Henry & Richard Blackaby describe margin as "the reserve amount of time, money, energy and emotional strength people maintain in order to remain healthy."

Margin applies to every area of our life.  I believe this is one of the key ideas behind why God commands us to rest and keep a Sabbath.  He knows that He did not create us to go 110% constantly with no break.  He doesn't operate this way, and if we are created in His image, why should we think we are any different? 

Here are some practical ways I'm creating margin in different areas of my life:

• Financially - establishing an emergency fund and monthly budget to make sure we don't over extend our finances or live on the edge where we can't absorb a financial blow.
• Relationally with Courtney - regular date nights and times where we are intentional about spending time together and talking about life. 
• Health - regular times to workout and rest.  This includes taking short naps and being physically active. I'm spending more time now taking naps and being active then I have in a long time... I used to feel guilty about this time, thinking about how I could be working but have realized that these times make me much more productive and focused when I do work.
• Occupationally - work hard, stay organized, and regularly take times to step back and look at the strategic picture.  This makes sure I'm not getting a lot done and being efficient with my time, but not being effective.  This is a struggle for me.
• Spiritually - fighting to maintain a personal time with God each day, and a day each week for a Sabbath.  It seems there are always interruptions and distractions that want to invade these times.

What areas of your life are you living on the edge and need to create some margin?

12 Ideas To Raise Money For Adoptions

One question we get from other families adopting is what have we done to raise support.  For both our adoptions (especially the current one) we have relied heavily on support from others.  We have always been amazed how God has worked through family, friends and strangers to meet our needs.  Here is a list of some ideas we've used to raise support:

1. Support Letters - by far our best resource to tell others about our adoption and provide them an opportunity to support us. Here is the letter we sent out earlier this year: example letter.
   
2. Garage Sales - we've had two this time around.  Asked for donations from friends & family.  Very successful.
3. T-Shirts - did this our first adoption.  A lot of work for minimal return in support money.  Was a cool way to get people talking and telling others about our adoption as they wore our shirts around.
4. Frozen Cookie Dough - almost did this for our current adoption but decided not to due to time restraints.  Idea is you sale frozen cookie dough to friends, in front of stores, etc.  Known others who have done very well with this.
5. Employee Matching - one of our friends who supports us has gotten his employer to support his gifts 3:1 for our current adoption!
6. Employer Benefits - during our first adoption my employer at the time gave $4k to our adoption.  Many employers have this benefit as part of their benefits package.
7. Marathon - we have a friend that is running a marathon in September to support our adoption.  We are using FirstGiving to collected donations.  Details here. 
8. Side Jobs - Courtney and I have both done many side jobs for people in exchange for money that goes towards our adoption.
9. Grants - Lots of paperwork and no return in investment for us here.  See a list of the ones we applied for here.
10. Adoption Loans - we've never used one but there are many out there.  Check your local banks, credit unions and adoption non-profits online.
11. Adoption Donation Accounts - AWAA has a benefit called the Eternal Family Fund which accepts donations on our behalf that are tax deductible for the donor.  There are some independent organizations you can set these up through as well if your agency doesn't offer this.  Very helpful.
12. Adoption Tax Credit - this doesn't really help you up front when you need the money but the federal government does currently offer a tax credit for once you complete your adoption.  Details here.

Hopefully the above helps.  If you have any questions or others ideas we'd love to hear them!  Thanks.

Encourage --> Courage

Today at Life Church we started Life Group sign-ups for our fall semester.  As we've been preparing for this Life Group semester I've been thinking a lot about Hebrews 10:25:

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The author of Hebrews says a lot in this single statement, but I want to focus on the "what" he tells us to do as I believe it's one of the primary functions Life Groups serve in the community of Life Church.  The author tells us to encourage each other. 

At the root of the word encourage is courage.  The time we spend in the context of Christian community, and especially Life Groups, should make us walk away with courage to live life to it's fullest. 

There is a never ending line of people, books, news, television shows, employers and lies that tell us we don't have what it takes, that we aren't valuable, that we're weak, inadequate, marginal, an accident, helpless and hopeless.  However, we need people in our life that remind us of the truth.  That remind us of who God created us to be, that we do have great potential and purpose.  That's what happens in a Life Group.  They're a place for people to gather together to encourage one another.  As we leave our group each week we should walk away with courage, reminded that God has created and empowered us to live a life of love and power (2 Timothy 1:7.)

How about you?  When you spend time with someone do they walk away encouraged?  Do they leave with more courage then they came with?

Want to sign-up for a Life Group?  You can do that here.

Adoption Update: At least two more weeks...

Well, we received the phone call today that we were NOT hoping for.  We had been told that we would probably be receiving a referral sometime this week, however today we were told that we are going to have to wait at least two more weeks.  AWAA and the orphanage in Rwanda have matched us up with one child, however our second one (the older child) they are having to do a new match as the child they were origianlly looking at did not meet the age range we had specified. 

I must admit that this news is a little disapointing and frustrating at the same time.  However, we will continue to wait knowing that God's hand is in control and that we can trust in His plans. 

There has been some good news on the adoption front for the other two families that were waiting on referrals with us.  They both received referrals this week!  The Limmer family received their referral for a 13 month old boy, and the Higgins received a referral for two boys, one 17 months and one 33 months old.  We are really excited for them as we have gotten to konw them well as we've shared this common experience together.

A Leader That Prays

Some notes from my discussion this morning on prayer with some of our leaders:

What role does prayer play in your life?

 Why do we struggle having prayer be a regular part of our life?

· View prayer as passive, leaders like to act

· Too busy

· Too much noise in our life (audio, visual, relational)

· Don’t believe it works, or don’t see it as being essential

 Why must prayer be an essential part of our lives?

1) To learn God’s will/agenda: see Jesus’ example Mark 1:30-39

2) To accomplish God’s will:  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” - John 15:5

3) To have God active in our life: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” - Jeremiah 29:13

4) To have access to God’s wisdom “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” - Jeremiah 33:3

5) To give your stress and worries to God “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” - 1 Peter 5:7

 Application - A Leader That Prays

1) Do you have faith that prayer makes a difference?  If the answer is no then all the other steps below just become religions exercises.  Ask God to increase your faith and spend time in God’s word to see a God who responds to prayer.

2) How is the noise level in your life?  We often want God to speak more loudly and clearly to us.  Car radio example - God can either speak louder or we can turn down the noise in our life.  What are ways you can do this?

3) Is prayer a part of your relationships with others?  Ask, how can I pray for your right now?  And do it.  Marriage, kids, friends, co-workers… prayer can be a key element to these relationships.  Relationships based on God and prayer are much deeper.

4) Is prayer a once or twice-a-day event or is it a regular interaction with God? “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

 

Waiting

Last week was supposed to be the week we got our referral.  It didn't happen.  Actually the last three weeks were each supposed to be the week and they weren't.  Ask any family that is going through an adoption what is the hardest part of the whole process?  You may expect them to say the large amounts of money it cost, or the huge stacks of paperwork, or the uncertainty with traveling and bringing a child from another culture into your home.  However, I think most families would say the most difficult part is the waiting. 

Yesterday at church Pastor Denis Roy spoke.  Denis has become good friends of ours as he prepares to plant a church in Brownsburg called New Day Church that will start meeting on September 13th.  Denis spoke about obstacles to hearing God's voice using Habakuk and looking specifically at how Habakuk postured himself to hear God's voice in Habakuk 2:1-3.  A large portion of Denis' message was about how impatience keeps us from hearing God and how the theme of waiting on the Lord is common throughout scripture. 

My soul waits for the Lord
       more than watchmen wait for the morning,
       more than watchmen wait for the morning.  (Psalm 130:6)

but those who hope in the LORD
       will renew their strength.
       They will soar on wings like eagles;
       they will run and not grow weary,
       they will walk and not be faint.  (Isaiah 40:31)

Since ancient times no one has heard,
       no ear has perceived,
       no eye has seen any God besides you,
       who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.  (Isaiah 64:4)

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  (Acts 1:4)

Denis' definition of impatience was "the fear of missing out."  We can relate to that right now in our adoption.  We fear missing out on some significant event in the lives of the children we are adopting, or that they could get sick and not have us there, or something could happen with the paperwork or in the court systems if the process doesn't move along quickly.  

This was a message Courtney and I needed to hear.  God's word is clear that His timing is always perfect, He is never late or early.  We have seen God prove Himself faithful countless times in the past in our lives but we sometimes forget.  Thank you for this reminder.  We will wait on God, be it another day or another month, and know that the referral of our two children will come at the perfect time.

Fireworks - the quick thrill

I used to love fireworks.  When I was young I'd save up money (way more then my parents ever wanted me to), go to the fireworks store with my dad the week before July 4th and spend everything I had.  I remember the excitement leading up to that night, organizing and planning how I would set them off, in what order, which would be saved for the finale.  Then the night would come and everyone on our street would bring their fireworks to our circle and we'd set them off together.  There was something about playing with fire, the smell of the gunpowder, the danger, the bangs and lights in the sky that was exhilarating.  It was the one time of the year I was allowed to be a pyromaniac.

Now I don't get excited about fireworks anymore.  I still like to watch them but the investment of time and money just doesn't seem worth the few seconds of thrill that I get form them.  I guess I've come to realize that the fireworks are just brief, short and temporary.  Perhaps I've discovered larger and better things to invest my resources in.  Maybe I'm just old.  I'd like to think I've become wise and no longer live my life for the immediate reward, but have a longer term perspective.  Not sure which.

Tonight, instead of playing with fireworks I'm spending my time taking a bunch of soda and popsicles out to a local park and giving them away for free (if the weather holds out.)  Why?  To tell people that God Loves Them.  That's all.  No strings attached.  Probably no immediate rewards.  Not as fun to watch as fireworks but the long term results will be far richer.