Lovin' Much

Last weekend I got to have breakfast with Alison... a sweet friend that is adopting from Ethiopia. We spent over two hours at Chick-fil-a while her kids played on the playground. They were so precious!!! I am so thankful to have been able to talk face-to-face with someone who is going through and experiencing what we are right now. So thankful for that time!

I also wanted to tell you about a giveaway that she is doing. Click HERE to read about her AMAZING giveaway (that I am a little partial to :) )



Hope everyone had a great Monday!!!

A Cord of Three Strands

One of my great friends, Sara Berry, just published a new book called A Cord of Three Strands. The book is a true story of a sweet lady that lives in our town and it is FABULOUS!!! It involves one teenage girl giving her child up for adoption. It involves one woman's desire and longing for children. It involves redemption and grace and a story only God could create.

I read the book in two days and BAWLED the entire time. Such a sweet, sweet story. Here is the promo video for the book. You can go to www.bethelroadpublications.com to order your copy....and she has some other great books that would be great Christmas presents as well....

Especially the sweet children's book .....A Home for Him (for boys or girls).... AMAZING artwork and tells Biblical truths plainly so that kids can understand.

Let me know if you read the book (or books) and what you think :)

Anna

Radical

I recently just finished reading Radical by David Platt.  I've heard of this book for some time but didn't have a strong desire to read it.  On a whim I picked up the book at Barnes and Noble and decided to purchase it.  Now, while there are some extreme statements in this book and it is no substitute for The Word, it has challenged me and unnerved me.  You know, one of those books that I almost wish I hadn't read because now I am forced to wrestle with some issues I would rather push away.

 I am comfortable.  I have a pretty nice house in the exact neighborhood I wanted...a wonderful husband....a dog and soon to be daughter.  I live a comfortable life.  But, I almost think when our life is comfortable...we are not truly living the life God created us to live.  When we are comfortable we are not dependent on Him.  God has been challenging us on this....especially when we decided to adopt from Ethiopia.  I was not comfortable with adopting a child that didn't look like us.  Now, don't start throwing stones....I am just being honest.  It took me by surprise when I realized that was in my heart.  God worked on my heart for a year and now I am so excited I can hardly stand it.  But, I would not call the process "comfortable." I would call it amazing, crazy, and completely reliant on Him, but not comfortable.

God is breaking us in some other areas of this as well....so please pray that Russ and I would be willing to truly serve Him and to quit chasing the American dream and be radical in our pursuit of "making disciples" which to me means  bringing others to Him through relationships for His glory.

I have heard people say that after reading this book...they felt like they must just sell everything and move across the world.  While I am sure that is exactly what God intends for some and perhaps I will do at some point... I also feel like the book challenged me to be radical in Tupelo, MS where I am called right now.

A few quotes I underlined:

"How many of us are embracing the comforts of suburban America while we turn a deaf ear to inner cities in need of the gospel?"

"This is how God works.  He puts His people in positions where they are desperate for his power, and then he shows his provision in ways that display his greatness."

"Fundamentally, the gospel is the revelation of who God is, who we are, and how we can be reconciled to him.  Yet in the America dream, where self reigns as king (or queen), we have a dangerous tendency to misunderstand, minimize, and even manipulate the gospel in order to accommodate our assumptions and desires.  As a result, we desperately need to explore how much of our understanding of the gospel is American and how much is biblical.  And in the process we need to examine whether we have misconstrued a proper response to the gospel and maybe even missed the primary reward of the gospel, which is God himself."

"It's a foundational truth: God creates, blesses, and saves each of us for a radically global purpose.  But if we are not careful, we will be tempted to make exceptions.  We will be tempted to adopt spiritual smoke screens and embrace national comforts that excuse us from the global plan of Christ.  And in the process we will find ourselves settling for lesser plans that the culture around us - and even the church around us - deems more admirable, more manageable, and more comfortable."

This post is heavy....just wanted to let you all know what is going on in Anna's life :)

Have a great Saturday night!!

Anna

ps--still no referral :(  we are at 6 1/2 months now.  Hopefully, it won't be long!!!

From Ashes to Africa

I am pretty much obsessed with blogs. I spend way too much time reading them and am currently having to learn "time management" skills to ensure that I don't stay up all night reading them....which I would never ever do :)

I had seen this blog before but not until after they had gotten back from Ethiopia. I saw that they had a book coming out on their adoption so I ordered the book. I received the book on Wednesday and had finished it by Thursday. From Ashes to Africa is an amazing story on going from extreme hurt and pain to a joy so amazing they could have never dreamed it for themselves. Please check out The Bottomly's blog here and order their book here. This book will stir up many emotions in you but leave you with a hope and peace that only God can provide.

While I do not know the pain that The Bottomly's went through, I do know what it is like to know that you have a child out there (or soon to be born) and want them home. Reading about The Bottomly's getting Silas made me excited about the day that we get our child!! My heart is becoming more and more ready.

ap

Russ and I have been on a much-needed vacation to San Francisco. So romantic..and do you want to know one of the reasons why. Let me tell you. I have been reading Stephanie Meyer's book Twilight. Basically, it is a book about a teenage girl being in love with a vampire. Yes, a vampire. And let me tell you this, I am addicted! There are four books and I am almost through with the second book. Back to being romantic..these books make me have LOVE my husband. Just being honest. I actually thought last night--I wish my husband had super-powers. Those words are like music to his ears, considering his obcession with the make-believe world.

AP

Jesus in Beijing

In light of the Olympics and my upcoming trip to China, I am reading Jesus in Beijing. The product description of the book describes it as "the great unreported story of the Chinese giant and its enormously rapid conversion to Christianity and what this change means to the global balance of power." The author David Aikman is a former Time magazine Beijing bureau chief. So we shall see.


Have any of you ever read this book??

Anna