Our son "C" is doing well. He called me on his way home the other day and was happy to be out and about. His doctors will have to ascertain whether it is best to keep him "in" and work with him or put him before a medical board and perhaps medically retire him. We'll see what the Lord decides.
Thank you all again for all of your prayers.
Our landlord had to pull the carpet out, and Pam talked him into just leaving the old vinyl flooring the way it was. We'd much rather put out area rugs that we could roll up in future flood situations. We finally got the kids computer hooked up and running last night, they missed it terribly. We had moved it out of the family room and didn't have anywhere to set up a temporary station for it.
We lost a lot of momentos in the garage. That was the thing that hurt the most. We've been slow about moving things into the house to hang up, and had much less room to put them around to display...now they're gone. Oh well, on to making more memories!
Report cards came out. We got 2 honor roll kids, and 1 that had all highest marks (too young for honor yet). We have one that's struggling fiercely. The new ones are all progressing well and working hard.
Funny story:
"A", our 8th grade daughter, was in line to get her H1N1 flu shot at school. The person at the desk asked for her name. For most people in 8th grade that's normally not a problem. Well, we changed all of the children's first names when we brought them home. However, we'd been dragging our feet about re-adoptions, so their legal names are still their birth names. They have to remember that when asked. The school uses their legal name. Ok, still not a problem, if you've spent your life spelling your name in English letters...which she hadn't. She hesitated first because she couldn't remember it, then again when she was asked to spell it. She saw the name on the paper and pointed to it and said, "There, that's it." What made it even more difficult for her is that the school had had it misspelled for the first couple of months before we finally got someone to correct it, so she wasn't sure if they had it right or not. Then the lady asked for her birthday! LOL She knows what day her birthday is, but couldn't remember what year it is because she just used to responding with how old she is. LOL (With the Ethiopian calendar being nothing like ours, it makes it hard for her to transition)
By the way, we just finished our re-adoption of our first 3 (L, H, & J) and are waiting for some letter from the Dept of something or other that allows us to get their new birth certificates.
We have to start on our next three. We did the 1st 3 in NC, the next 3 will be in VA. Is there anyone out there who've done re-adoptions in VA by themselves? I found this one web site that tell you how to do it (for Norfolk residents) and I just need a little help in understanding some of the steps and documents.
Thanks
Juan
THE JOHNSON CHRONICLES: FOLLOW THE JOHNSON FAMILY'S UPS AND DOWNS!
Showing posts with label orphans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label orphans. Show all posts
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Home Again, Home Again!
It's finally over - four weeks of training, sitting in a classroom 8 hours a day, trying to pay attention and retain so much information, and tests upon tests. Eating out 3 meals a day for fours weeks is not all what it's cracked up to be. I missed Pam's cooking, with a passion. Thankfully I was able to come home on the weekends; some of the students came from too far away to go home on the weekends.
Richmond VA (Virginia's capital - for the geography challenged among us) is an interesting phenomenon of beautiful buildings and old south charm, but it's downtown area is so many desolate empty buildings lining the streets. There are some whole city blocks of vacant buildings. Thankfully there are a few buildings being remodeled for re-use, but the city doesn't look like what one would imagine a capital city would look like.
I've got a long "honey-do" list to get into. I'm going to have to dig deep to make it up to Pam for being the great lone soldier while I was gone. I was as frugal as I could be in saving my travel per diem up to we could afford to take the kids to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg next month.
School starts a week from Tuesday. The kids are getting anxious to meet new friends and teachers. With 7 kids in 4 different schools, it's going to be a hard and long process to get into a comfortable rhythm.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Whew!
It has been a whirlwind summer so far. I know I have not posted as much as I normally have. There are lots of reasons...Our trip to Africa which just about did my legs in. (I have had horrible leg cramps since then), husband's loss of his job, and my hours at work changing and being cut back. Add to this 3 new little ones - 7 total. That has doubled all my life chores, i.e. laundry and meals - lots of meals!! We had my daughter and her family come with friends in tow.
Then Juan gets a new job and has training out of town - for a month! In the middle of this we moved to a new city, into another home. I had to pack the hold house, and change utilities. I had to do the entire move by myself because Juan doesn't have any vacation time yet. I had to register the kids into 4 new schools, talk with all the guidance counselors, set up ESL, set up testing, take the kids for physicals, and immunisations.
Now this obviously isn't my first adoption, but this adoption just sent me into huge postpartum "baby blues". Who am I kidding; I am (was) flat out depressed. Then, on top of the depression, I was feeling guilty that I was depressed. I was afraid to talk to anyone about it since I'm the one that wanted to adopt - so why would I be depressed? I was also afraid to talk about it because depression is so misunderstood. Well meaning people wanting to to say that it is a spiritual problem. "Just get right with God." I know that I am totally right with God and I'm still depressed! Depression is an illness and it can get better or worse - but it is treatable. I am so thankful that I have a good doctor and I am now being treated. I am also thankful for my closest friends who have been with me through this the whole time. I feel a lot better and I am not crying all day!
Each day I am becoming more and more like my old self. So if I've missed returning any e-mails - email again! I am on the road back!
Then Juan gets a new job and has training out of town - for a month! In the middle of this we moved to a new city, into another home. I had to pack the hold house, and change utilities. I had to do the entire move by myself because Juan doesn't have any vacation time yet. I had to register the kids into 4 new schools, talk with all the guidance counselors, set up ESL, set up testing, take the kids for physicals, and immunisations.
Now this obviously isn't my first adoption, but this adoption just sent me into huge postpartum "baby blues". Who am I kidding; I am (was) flat out depressed. Then, on top of the depression, I was feeling guilty that I was depressed. I was afraid to talk to anyone about it since I'm the one that wanted to adopt - so why would I be depressed? I was also afraid to talk about it because depression is so misunderstood. Well meaning people wanting to to say that it is a spiritual problem. "Just get right with God." I know that I am totally right with God and I'm still depressed! Depression is an illness and it can get better or worse - but it is treatable. I am so thankful that I have a good doctor and I am now being treated. I am also thankful for my closest friends who have been with me through this the whole time. I feel a lot better and I am not crying all day!
Each day I am becoming more and more like my old self. So if I've missed returning any e-mails - email again! I am on the road back!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
What I hate about moving
One of the parts I hate about moving is looking for and starting over again in a new church family/group. We pray that the Lord leads us to where He wants us to serve. We try to stay out of the way of His leading, but I'm human... We try not to find a duplicate of the church we had to leave, that's the hardest thing to do. The music and singing worship will be good, but different. The children's church/Sunday school will be good, but different. The small group gatherings will be good, but different. As much change as we've endured over the years, it's still challenging to accept change. It's stressful, it's tiring, it's scary.
We went to Believer's Church today. I'm fairly sure they are a Baptist church without the denominational tagging. The people there were all very friendly and inviting. The music was good, the facilities were very nice. Unfortunately the lead pastor was out for vacation so, we'll go back again when he returns. We realize the pastor is not the church by any means, but we kind of get the jist of where the flock is by getting to know the lead pastor. You know, where is the leader going; how close is he following the LEADER?
We have a couple other churches in the area that were suggested to us, so we'll visit them as well. Please pray that our eyes and ears will be open to the Lords leading. We need a place to serve and a place for our children to grow and be nourished.
We went to Believer's Church today. I'm fairly sure they are a Baptist church without the denominational tagging. The people there were all very friendly and inviting. The music was good, the facilities were very nice. Unfortunately the lead pastor was out for vacation so, we'll go back again when he returns. We realize the pastor is not the church by any means, but we kind of get the jist of where the flock is by getting to know the lead pastor. You know, where is the leader going; how close is he following the LEADER?
We have a couple other churches in the area that were suggested to us, so we'll visit them as well. Please pray that our eyes and ears will be open to the Lords leading. We need a place to serve and a place for our children to grow and be nourished.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
One month today!
It has been one month today that we met our babies - the new recruits to the Johnson Clan. WOW! If every month flies this fast, before we have a chance to get to know them they'll be bringing home their babies.
Spending all day, every day with a person, it's amazing how quickly can get to know each other. Now, having a language barrier makes it a little difficult, but that becomes part of the dynamic. We've been able to get around that barrier because Leah has been our resident interpreter. That has been such a HUGE blessing. A large part of the beginning stages of adopting older children from another country is the communication. There's getting them to understand where they are, why they are here, what are our expectations, what are the new rules they live under etc.
Even with Leah, we don't get a lot of communication from their side of the relationship, but they're kids. They're still trying to get through the shock of it all. Well, a trade off for having someone here to interpret everything for us is that children - and probably adults - tend to slow down their language learning process. The boys still have not learned to put any sentences together on their own. We still get one word responses and requests - "TV, toilet, bicycle, play, water, etc." Zoe, on the other hand, is making three and four word sentences, both in responses and requests. Obviously, that has a lot to do with being a girl, and some to do with her character.
Zoe is extremely extroverted. She tends not to want to be by herself. She thrives on being the center of attention, and leans toward being a drama queen. Her expressions are grandiose, and her voice loud and bubbly. When we have our family time at the dinner table, you can see that Zoe is just busting at the seams waiting for her turn to say something. (Waiting your turn is a constant learning subject with all three). She's quick to shed a tear if she feels offended or is hurt while playing, but she will quickly change gears when she sees it's not getting her anywhere. So that tells me she's adaptable. Zoe loves to laugh and will frequently laugh so hard, tears come streaming down her face - it's a delight to see. With so many new big sisters and brothers around, she's learned that she's not the boss anymore, so that's subsided greatly. Her tiny stature sometimes makes me forget that she's eight and not five.
Davis is very quiet, even among his birth siblings. He loves riding his bicycle more than anything else. He has no problem asking for things. Of course, I have no problem saying, no. We're working diligently on getting him to use full sentences - or phrases. Because of his extremely dark complexion, other children teased him a lot so he's a little more sensitive than most. He tends to be a whiner, something we have to work on - we're not family that puts up with whiners and tattle-tails. Davis loves to laugh, and is ultra-ticklish. You even look like you're going to tickle him and he starts shrieking with laughter. He was the first get his medical physical done and he's in very good condition(still waiting on lab results). With only one good pediatrician on this beach, getting an appointment is hard. The funny thing is, Davis is matchstick thin but his weight is "average" on the growth chart. You can count his ribs and the boy's knees are wider than his legs, people! Ethiopians have denser bones and muscle tissue is all I can say. I don't see this as being a life long problem, because this boy can EAT. He'll eat as much as I do, and eats faster than anyone at the table. That is a habit formed in Ethiopia (a long story that we've not quite gotten the grasp of yet)
Justin's extreme shyness is his major character trait. When he does speak (which is very infrequently) you can barely hear him. When he speaks or when we talk to him he looks down at the floor. He's slow to try new things (other than food, he's a good eater). He has a quick and easy smile, that will keep him out of trouble at school. I think he's going to be our atheletic one, and he loves soccer. He's a bit air headed (we say blond) so we're continually having to remind him of the family rules and expectations. He's also a bit clumsy when playing with the little ones, so we have frequently remind him to be careful.
I've started a reading program we found on-line, "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons" So far, so good. It's supposed to be able to teach them to read at the 2nd grade level by the time you get to the end. That will be great for Zoe and Davis. Justin will have some major issues, obviously. We are going to have some major education issues with all of them because they can't read, even in their own language. But hey, what good is a roller coaster without a few loopy-loops? Right?
We're ready for the ride of our lives. All hands up! WHOOOOHOOOO!!!
Spending all day, every day with a person, it's amazing how quickly can get to know each other. Now, having a language barrier makes it a little difficult, but that becomes part of the dynamic. We've been able to get around that barrier because Leah has been our resident interpreter. That has been such a HUGE blessing. A large part of the beginning stages of adopting older children from another country is the communication. There's getting them to understand where they are, why they are here, what are our expectations, what are the new rules they live under etc.
Even with Leah, we don't get a lot of communication from their side of the relationship, but they're kids. They're still trying to get through the shock of it all. Well, a trade off for having someone here to interpret everything for us is that children - and probably adults - tend to slow down their language learning process. The boys still have not learned to put any sentences together on their own. We still get one word responses and requests - "TV, toilet, bicycle, play, water, etc." Zoe, on the other hand, is making three and four word sentences, both in responses and requests. Obviously, that has a lot to do with being a girl, and some to do with her character.
Zoe is extremely extroverted. She tends not to want to be by herself. She thrives on being the center of attention, and leans toward being a drama queen. Her expressions are grandiose, and her voice loud and bubbly. When we have our family time at the dinner table, you can see that Zoe is just busting at the seams waiting for her turn to say something. (Waiting your turn is a constant learning subject with all three). She's quick to shed a tear if she feels offended or is hurt while playing, but she will quickly change gears when she sees it's not getting her anywhere. So that tells me she's adaptable. Zoe loves to laugh and will frequently laugh so hard, tears come streaming down her face - it's a delight to see. With so many new big sisters and brothers around, she's learned that she's not the boss anymore, so that's subsided greatly. Her tiny stature sometimes makes me forget that she's eight and not five.
Davis is very quiet, even among his birth siblings. He loves riding his bicycle more than anything else. He has no problem asking for things. Of course, I have no problem saying, no. We're working diligently on getting him to use full sentences - or phrases. Because of his extremely dark complexion, other children teased him a lot so he's a little more sensitive than most. He tends to be a whiner, something we have to work on - we're not family that puts up with whiners and tattle-tails. Davis loves to laugh, and is ultra-ticklish. You even look like you're going to tickle him and he starts shrieking with laughter. He was the first get his medical physical done and he's in very good condition(still waiting on lab results). With only one good pediatrician on this beach, getting an appointment is hard. The funny thing is, Davis is matchstick thin but his weight is "average" on the growth chart. You can count his ribs and the boy's knees are wider than his legs, people! Ethiopians have denser bones and muscle tissue is all I can say. I don't see this as being a life long problem, because this boy can EAT. He'll eat as much as I do, and eats faster than anyone at the table. That is a habit formed in Ethiopia (a long story that we've not quite gotten the grasp of yet)
Justin's extreme shyness is his major character trait. When he does speak (which is very infrequently) you can barely hear him. When he speaks or when we talk to him he looks down at the floor. He's slow to try new things (other than food, he's a good eater). He has a quick and easy smile, that will keep him out of trouble at school. I think he's going to be our atheletic one, and he loves soccer. He's a bit air headed (we say blond) so we're continually having to remind him of the family rules and expectations. He's also a bit clumsy when playing with the little ones, so we have frequently remind him to be careful.
I've started a reading program we found on-line, "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons" So far, so good. It's supposed to be able to teach them to read at the 2nd grade level by the time you get to the end. That will be great for Zoe and Davis. Justin will have some major issues, obviously. We are going to have some major education issues with all of them because they can't read, even in their own language. But hey, what good is a roller coaster without a few loopy-loops? Right?
We're ready for the ride of our lives. All hands up! WHOOOOHOOOO!!!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
How can I say no?
12 years ago when I took Jesus serious at His invitation, I said "Yes" to Him and gave Him my life and my life has never been the same since. I have chosen this road I'm on and I can not say no to Jesus. Oh, He allows me to choose to say yes or no, but how can I say no?
At times people ask us why we are doing what we are doing. People sometimes think we're crazy or foolish. What they don't understand is that to say no to a child in need is to say no to Jesus. To turn my back on someone I can help is to turn my back on my Lord.
I spent my first 44 years living my own life to please myself. My goal was to be successful - in the world's definition of success - and at times I was very successful, but I was so unhappy inside. I knew deep down inside that there had to have been so much more to life than just what the world viewed as success.
As I matured in my walk with Jesus, I got serious about what it was He wanted out of my life. He was serious when He said, "Take care of the poor and defenseless orphans." How could I say no to a beautiful little boy that had special needs as he languished in an orphanage in China? How could I say no to these two sibling groups of brothers and sisters as they struggled for survival in Ethiopia? So many others had said no to them. I would be saying no to God. My God is big enough to help me. He pours His love and nurturing through me so that I can be a loving and nurturing mom to these older orphaned children. I will not say no to God. I have to say yes, even if He places more kids in our hearts and minds.
Sure, I would love to travel the world as I did before them. I would love to buy another sports car. I would love to live in a swanky loft in the big city. That would be me all the way. But it's not about me...is it? That is not what I am called to do. My life is not my own. I am bought and paid for, I belong to Jesus.
Maybe when my little ones are grown and gone I'll see that sports car or that loft, or maybe not. My reward may wait until Heaven. But, I'm not taking this journey for a reward. God has called me and I'm being obedient because I love and trust Him. How can we say we love the Lord God but live in comfort while the unloved go unloved? How can we say we love the Lord Jesus while the orphaned stay orphans, or while the street kids roam the streets? How can I say I love the Lord and stand idle as the poor become poorer and are exploited by the rich? Loving the fatherless, loving the abandoned and loving the seemingly hopeless requires a sacrifice.
This road will be long, lonely and VERY difficult. I may be misunderstood, unappreciated, and maybe even scorned by the very ones that have been put into my life. But Jesus NEVER said that it was going to easy, full of songs and flowers and earthly rewards. I know this, but how can I say no? The true Christian walk is not a walk in the park, picking flowers and singing love songs to the Lord. He put his here to love Him. To love Him is to serve Him. To serve Him is to serve those whom He loves. Parenthood is a life of service.
How can I say no to them when they need me - He did not say no to me.
At times people ask us why we are doing what we are doing. People sometimes think we're crazy or foolish. What they don't understand is that to say no to a child in need is to say no to Jesus. To turn my back on someone I can help is to turn my back on my Lord.
I spent my first 44 years living my own life to please myself. My goal was to be successful - in the world's definition of success - and at times I was very successful, but I was so unhappy inside. I knew deep down inside that there had to have been so much more to life than just what the world viewed as success.
As I matured in my walk with Jesus, I got serious about what it was He wanted out of my life. He was serious when He said, "Take care of the poor and defenseless orphans." How could I say no to a beautiful little boy that had special needs as he languished in an orphanage in China? How could I say no to these two sibling groups of brothers and sisters as they struggled for survival in Ethiopia? So many others had said no to them. I would be saying no to God. My God is big enough to help me. He pours His love and nurturing through me so that I can be a loving and nurturing mom to these older orphaned children. I will not say no to God. I have to say yes, even if He places more kids in our hearts and minds.
Sure, I would love to travel the world as I did before them. I would love to buy another sports car. I would love to live in a swanky loft in the big city. That would be me all the way. But it's not about me...is it? That is not what I am called to do. My life is not my own. I am bought and paid for, I belong to Jesus.
Maybe when my little ones are grown and gone I'll see that sports car or that loft, or maybe not. My reward may wait until Heaven. But, I'm not taking this journey for a reward. God has called me and I'm being obedient because I love and trust Him. How can we say we love the Lord God but live in comfort while the unloved go unloved? How can we say we love the Lord Jesus while the orphaned stay orphans, or while the street kids roam the streets? How can I say I love the Lord and stand idle as the poor become poorer and are exploited by the rich? Loving the fatherless, loving the abandoned and loving the seemingly hopeless requires a sacrifice.
This road will be long, lonely and VERY difficult. I may be misunderstood, unappreciated, and maybe even scorned by the very ones that have been put into my life. But Jesus NEVER said that it was going to easy, full of songs and flowers and earthly rewards. I know this, but how can I say no? The true Christian walk is not a walk in the park, picking flowers and singing love songs to the Lord. He put his here to love Him. To love Him is to serve Him. To serve Him is to serve those whom He loves. Parenthood is a life of service.
How can I say no to them when they need me - He did not say no to me.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Our Trip to Ethiopia (Part 1)
We started out on Saturday the 16th. Linda and Gary took us to the Norfolk Airport, where we stood in a seriously long line. The whole time we're in line, I was watching the confusion going on at the counter. I felt that things were not going to go smoothly, but instead it was a piece of cake.
God slips in treats for His children ever so often, just to keep us moving. The airline's web site said that overweight charges would be $150 for anything between 51-75lbs. We had three huge tubs full of stuff donated by our church family and friends that were between 50 -75lbs. Plus we had our one check suitcase that we had at around 50lbs. The lady only charged us $150 total! So the extra money that was donated for excess baggage, we were able to donate to the orphanage.
We flew from Norfolk to DC and from DC to Ethiopia. We met quite a few families on their way to Ethiopia to adopt children, mostly babies and a few youngsters. The trip to Ethiopia was fairly forgettable (Which can be a good thing). I'd almost swear Ethiopian Airlines must hold beauty contests for their flight attendants. Amazing.
We arrived in Addis Ababa on Sunday, midday. Going through customs and immigration in Addis Ababa was long and tedious, but fairly uneventful as well. We met a Church group from Montana that was coming into Ethiopia for a couple of weeks on a short term mission trip. They were really excited to get to work. We were met at the airport by an Interpreter/Driver from CWA, who took us to The Ethiopian Guest House.
We had a suite that took up the top floor of the guest house, it was a beautiful and welcomed sight for very tired eyes. Thankfully we arrived at the guest house right at bedtime, so our bodies didn't have to struggle to get to sleep. Of course because of the 7 hour time difference between the East Coast and Addis, that was the last night of restful sleep for either of us. The only negative of the room (I'm American I have to complain about something!) was the bed - hard as a stone.
But, sleep we did because we were going to meet our little ones in morning.
God slips in treats for His children ever so often, just to keep us moving. The airline's web site said that overweight charges would be $150 for anything between 51-75lbs. We had three huge tubs full of stuff donated by our church family and friends that were between 50 -75lbs. Plus we had our one check suitcase that we had at around 50lbs. The lady only charged us $150 total! So the extra money that was donated for excess baggage, we were able to donate to the orphanage.
We flew from Norfolk to DC and from DC to Ethiopia. We met quite a few families on their way to Ethiopia to adopt children, mostly babies and a few youngsters. The trip to Ethiopia was fairly forgettable (Which can be a good thing). I'd almost swear Ethiopian Airlines must hold beauty contests for their flight attendants. Amazing.
We arrived in Addis Ababa on Sunday, midday. Going through customs and immigration in Addis Ababa was long and tedious, but fairly uneventful as well. We met a Church group from Montana that was coming into Ethiopia for a couple of weeks on a short term mission trip. They were really excited to get to work. We were met at the airport by an Interpreter/Driver from CWA, who took us to The Ethiopian Guest House.
We had a suite that took up the top floor of the guest house, it was a beautiful and welcomed sight for very tired eyes. Thankfully we arrived at the guest house right at bedtime, so our bodies didn't have to struggle to get to sleep. Of course because of the 7 hour time difference between the East Coast and Addis, that was the last night of restful sleep for either of us. The only negative of the room (I'm American I have to complain about something!) was the bed - hard as a stone.
But, sleep we did because we were going to meet our little ones in morning.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
We're HOME!!
Well, here we are...Exhausted but elated none-the-less. Our "babies" are home in our arms. Justin, Zoe, and Davis. I'm going to make this brief and then the details will start coming in, in short quips as I have time.
Suffice it to say that the trip though short, made profound impacts on our lives. This was not only because of the three new lives joining us, but for the experiences we had in Ethiopia. The Lord had several divine appointments for us while we were there. We met some beautiful Christian people. We saw some heart wrending scenes. We took in some very interesting experiences. And again, our lives were changed because of all of it.
Ethiopia is full of beautiful people - both poor and rich, living basically side-by-side. We met many adoptive families in Ethiopia, that was heart lightening - even if there were 20 some crying babies on the plane ride home!
We got to experience the deep, deep love of a church family that does not hesitate to step in and do whatever is needed - Brenda, Linda, & Nancy - took care of our babies while we were gone. We will forever be indebted (a debt of love) to them. May the Lord pour out tremendous blessings on them.
Nancy kept up our blog for us while we were gone. She writes better than I do.
Much, much more to come.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Why the name changes?
We've been asked why do we choose to change our children's names. Adoptive parents have a choice to change or not change their children's names.
- When Pam and I bring our children home, changing their names gives us as parents that sense of primary parenthood because we named them. (That may sound shallow to some, but it's meaningful to us)
- We try to parallel the Lord's adoption of us. When we became Christians, we became new creatures with new lives, new cultures, and new languages to learn. Several times, He gave his newly adopted children new names (i.e. Abram/Abraham, Jacob/Israel, Saul/Paul)
- Some of our children have fairly difficult names to pronounce (There are people who still screw up my name). We wanted to ease their problems in school. Try on Netsanet, Tseganesh, Bereket, Fujian, Meron, Efraim, and Tsegahun. A couple of them are not too difficult.
- We have retained their birth names in the legal names. Their birth names and family names will become their "middle names". So once they reach adulthood/college they can go by any name they choose.
Some adoptive parents change names, some don't. We know one family that has changed some of their children's names and not the others.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Life is Good!
Spring is here and summer is around the corner:
- I spent last Saturday at 3 different kids' soccer games.
- Our schedule calendar had only about 3 days with nothing on it for this month (No wait, that's just being a big family!)
- Yesterday, Pam went to watch the sunrise at the beach with a couple of her close friends (Imagine a beach chair, some hot coffee, warm sun, a cool morning breeze & good friends).
- Our dog, who normally hates the outdoors, (We sometimes call her Miss Princess) takes about 10 minutes to do her business now before she decides to come back in.
- The boys are wearing shorts and sandals to school.
- Kids at school are starting to get into more and more trouble (The girls are telling us about drug busts, bomb scares, fights- and these are "good" schools)
- I'm wearing shorts and sandals everyday now.
- We only have 3 weeks before we go to Ethiopia!!!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
It's Getting Close
It's March! April 8th (Our court date in Ethiopia) is right around the corner. Then May 12 (Embassy date) will be right around the corner from there. Pam and I are starting to make trip plans. One of the main things we are planning is taking things to the orphanage. Our adoption agency (CWA) gave us a wish list. Something to remember is that though it may cost us a little more to take it with us, Ethiopia is suffering through astronomical inflation. Last year it peaked at 67% and this past January it was down to 37%. Consider the fact that almost 80% of the population of Ethiopia lives below the poverty line ($2 per day); living hand to mouth is sometimes more than "all they can do to get by". EVERYTHING is costing them more and more to buy everyday, especially food! Inflation for us in the US in 2008 averaged less than 4%!!
We are going to take some of those large plastic tubs/containers and carry as much as we can with us. We need your help in supplying these things. We'll also need to have donations to help pay for the excess baggage cost, as well. Below is an abbreviate list, of things that are important and can fit in those containers:
Anti-fungal cream
Anti-biotic cream
Disposable latex gloves
Hand sanitizer
Liquid vitamins with iron and/or anti-worming agent
Baby formula (powdered)
Baby toiletries (baby powder, soap, diaper rash ointment, lotion, etc)
Baby wipes
Plastic baby bottles
Bottle brushes
Children underwear (either sex, all sizes)
Toothbrushes & toothpaste (children and adult staff)
Toiletries for the nannies and staff
Children's Christian DVDs (teaches English & ministers to them as well)
Zip Lock bags (from sandwich size to extremely large)
Vegetable seeds for their gardens
Twin bed sheets & pillow cases
Coloring books & Crayons
Note books
Jump ropes
Puzzles
Small sturdy toys
Small kitchen utensils (vegetable peelers, small knives, serving spoons, dish cloths)
Along that same vein, Pam and I are still trying to raise funds for our adoption and trip. Right now we're about $5000 short. Since I lost my job, it's going to be even harder. If you want to help, you can give by using the Donate button on the right side of our blog. We are also going to need a few things for when we come back with the 3-2-B ours (Who will soon be 3-Who-R ours).
We don't know what sizes they are right now, just small.
Boys Jeans & T-Shirts (size 5-14)
Girls clothes (size 5-10)
Remember if you want to donate directly to CWA for Food4kids or any of their other projects, go to www.cwa.org.
Feel free to ask us for more information.
Blessings
Juan
We are going to take some of those large plastic tubs/containers and carry as much as we can with us. We need your help in supplying these things. We'll also need to have donations to help pay for the excess baggage cost, as well. Below is an abbreviate list, of things that are important and can fit in those containers:
Anti-fungal cream
Anti-biotic cream
Disposable latex gloves
Hand sanitizer
Liquid vitamins with iron and/or anti-worming agent
Baby formula (powdered)
Baby toiletries (baby powder, soap, diaper rash ointment, lotion, etc)
Baby wipes
Plastic baby bottles
Bottle brushes
Children underwear (either sex, all sizes)
Toothbrushes & toothpaste (children and adult staff)
Toiletries for the nannies and staff
Children's Christian DVDs (teaches English & ministers to them as well)
Zip Lock bags (from sandwich size to extremely large)
Vegetable seeds for their gardens
Twin bed sheets & pillow cases
Coloring books & Crayons
Note books
Jump ropes
Puzzles
Small sturdy toys
Small kitchen utensils (vegetable peelers, small knives, serving spoons, dish cloths)
Along that same vein, Pam and I are still trying to raise funds for our adoption and trip. Right now we're about $5000 short. Since I lost my job, it's going to be even harder. If you want to help, you can give by using the Donate button on the right side of our blog. We are also going to need a few things for when we come back with the 3-2-B ours (Who will soon be 3-Who-R ours).
We don't know what sizes they are right now, just small.
Boys Jeans & T-Shirts (size 5-14)
Girls clothes (size 5-10)
Remember if you want to donate directly to CWA for Food4kids or any of their other projects, go to www.cwa.org.
Feel free to ask us for more information.
Blessings
Juan
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Monthly update
Our adoption agency, CWA has started something new; they will be sending out monthly updates of the children. This is a fantastic idea, even if they miss a month here or there, it is reassuring to get them. On the update is a picture of the child (separate from siblings), age and measurements. Of course the reliability of the measurements is very questionable. The one we received the other day has the two youngest growing an inch or two and the oldest losing almost two inches since that last update we received.
They also have each of them losing two years in age. Pam and I are hoping this was just a clerical error because that would put the youngest one in kindergarten - Pam has had enough of kindergarten, let me tell ya. We had each of our boys repeat kindergarten in order to gain both academically and maturity. This would be five years of kindergarten Mommy - not something she's looking forward to.
Then the shock of all shocks...they shaved our baby girl's head. I'm sure it done in order to help treat some type of fungal infection, but it was shocking none-the-less. She has about a quarter to half inch of hair on her little head. I was almost in tears imagining how she must have cried so hard when they did that to her. She's still the cutest little peanut with a precious smile.
The middle one, we expected to see a cast on his arm because his medical report said he had a healing fracture of the elbow. No cast. Shrug. Either the medical report was wrong, or they didn't put a cast on it for long. We'll have to remember to have an x-ray of both of his arm's when they finally get home.
We are STILL waiting for our I-171 form from the INS!! We've written twice and our social worker has written once, to no avail.
Merry Christmas!
They also have each of them losing two years in age. Pam and I are hoping this was just a clerical error because that would put the youngest one in kindergarten - Pam has had enough of kindergarten, let me tell ya. We had each of our boys repeat kindergarten in order to gain both academically and maturity. This would be five years of kindergarten Mommy - not something she's looking forward to.
Then the shock of all shocks...they shaved our baby girl's head. I'm sure it done in order to help treat some type of fungal infection, but it was shocking none-the-less. She has about a quarter to half inch of hair on her little head. I was almost in tears imagining how she must have cried so hard when they did that to her. She's still the cutest little peanut with a precious smile.
The middle one, we expected to see a cast on his arm because his medical report said he had a healing fracture of the elbow. No cast. Shrug. Either the medical report was wrong, or they didn't put a cast on it for long. We'll have to remember to have an x-ray of both of his arm's when they finally get home.
We are STILL waiting for our I-171 form from the INS!! We've written twice and our social worker has written once, to no avail.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Whoa! It's December already?
I'm getting wind burned by how fast this year whipped by. It's funny how when you stop to look at things; if you look forward to something, time creeps by and when you look at the year as a whole, the time just flashes by. Fortunately or unfortunately - depending on how you look at it, Pam and I are at the age where time normally just whips by. Most of life is fairly routine with taking care of the kids, working our "9-to-5" and participating in things at church.
Right after Thanksgiving, Pam and the girls pulled out our Christmas tree and the decorations. And let me tell you, they did up the tree so beautifully that it almost brought tears to my eyes. It is absolutely gorgeous. Simple, balanced and non-thematic. I actually love passing it and just gazing at it. And that's saying something because I'm not much of a Christmas person, (a left over neurosis from a previous marriage) but I'm working on changing it.
This year we plan on making Christmas small, but memorable. As time goes by we're getting to understand the wastefulness of the commercial Christmas and the lack of true giving. Of course I've always hated the part of spending gobs of time, money and effort trying to buy gifts for people when you haven't the slightest clue what they really want or need. That part irks me the most. But that's me.
There is a growing trend that our family and I hope yours will join - instead of spending gobs of time, money and effort on buying those mindless gifts that people don't need (and probably don't want), spend it on charitable causes. There are food banks, health care providers, orphans, shelters (for either people or animals), heck even "tree hugging, earth loving" organizations that could use your money. Send it to them. Send it in the name of a gift recipient. Give to someone who can't give back and truly enjoy the spirit of giving, rather than the spirit of exchanging. Give hope.
Right after Thanksgiving, Pam and the girls pulled out our Christmas tree and the decorations. And let me tell you, they did up the tree so beautifully that it almost brought tears to my eyes. It is absolutely gorgeous. Simple, balanced and non-thematic. I actually love passing it and just gazing at it. And that's saying something because I'm not much of a Christmas person, (a left over neurosis from a previous marriage) but I'm working on changing it.
This year we plan on making Christmas small, but memorable. As time goes by we're getting to understand the wastefulness of the commercial Christmas and the lack of true giving. Of course I've always hated the part of spending gobs of time, money and effort trying to buy gifts for people when you haven't the slightest clue what they really want or need. That part irks me the most. But that's me.
There is a growing trend that our family and I hope yours will join - instead of spending gobs of time, money and effort on buying those mindless gifts that people don't need (and probably don't want), spend it on charitable causes. There are food banks, health care providers, orphans, shelters (for either people or animals), heck even "tree hugging, earth loving" organizations that could use your money. Send it to them. Send it in the name of a gift recipient. Give to someone who can't give back and truly enjoy the spirit of giving, rather than the spirit of exchanging. Give hope.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Husbands and wives - commitment
Just a quick thought I wanted to share.
Pam and I have an agreement in our marriage. I believe it is something that all couples should have in order to have a successful marriage. We agree to share everything 50-50. I do all the small, trivial things and Pam does all the hard, important things. Now ever so often, she gets the feelings that this agreement is a little tilted in my favor and I have to remind her that 50-50 means 50-50. I don't know why she complains! For example, I remember to turn the TV on when we want to watch it, and she remembers to pay the cable...50-50. She cooks great tasting nutritious meals, and I stop what I'm doing (which is normally pretty important, let me assure you) and I eat it...LOL
Marriage...isn't it a great institution? I'm committed.
Pam and I have an agreement in our marriage. I believe it is something that all couples should have in order to have a successful marriage. We agree to share everything 50-50. I do all the small, trivial things and Pam does all the hard, important things. Now ever so often, she gets the feelings that this agreement is a little tilted in my favor and I have to remind her that 50-50 means 50-50. I don't know why she complains! For example, I remember to turn the TV on when we want to watch it, and she remembers to pay the cable...50-50. She cooks great tasting nutritious meals, and I stop what I'm doing (which is normally pretty important, let me assure you) and I eat it...LOL
Marriage...isn't it a great institution? I'm committed.
So close we can smell it.
Waiting to hear about our Kids. Oh the wait! Waiting is harder than working, harder than praying, harder than wishing, harder than hoping. We know that God works everything for our own good and waiting builds patience, which builds character, which makes us better tools in God's hands. I always laugh when people ask what they can pray for for us. I always so, whatever you do don't pray for patience. Patience isn't a gift, it's a by product of trials and waiting. So don't pray for patience for me. Pray for resolution, pray for answers, pray for results, NOW!! :o)~
As we're waiting, Pam and I talk more about what it was like when we went to Ethiopia to get our kids 2 1/2 years ago. The pictures above were taken the very day we met them. They were brought to us from the "foster" home in Addis Ababa. We got to spend about 3 hours with them. We talked to them, listened to them, and watched them talk to each other. "L" the oldest, tried to act so mature and serene. "A" the middle was already trying to convince us that she was the smartest, the two of them argues over every answer they tried to give to us when we asked a question. In retrospect, neither of them were answering correctly because they weren't really understanding what the heck was going on. "J", the "baby" just played. He was cool with whatever was going on as long as his sisters were around. Our own "D" was just happy to have a brother and could care less about the sisters. He pretty much still feels that way.
I can't wait for the next set of pictures, especially family pictures.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Orphans - It's not getting better, it's getting WORSE!
I found this article this morning. Come on people, we who have the ability, have the responsibility to do something, anything to help.
Ethiopia to see sharp rise in orphans running households: NGO
Buzz Up
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) – Ethiopia will by 2010 see a four-fold increase in the number of orphaned children aged between nine and 19 who are heading families due to AIDS, poverty and conflict, a local NGO said on Friday.
Some 225,000 households will be run by children, up from 77,000 in 2005, Addis Ababa-based African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) said in a report.
"This is going to be an explosive problem," said Assefa Bequele, the agency's director.
"In some households, the oldest child is also the principal care-giver to a terminally-ill parent," said the report.
Ethiopia is one of the world's poorest countries. The government estimates that 1.5 million Ethiopians are infected with HIV, while the World Health Organization says nearly 2.8 million are infected.
Parenting can be so much fun
Last night we had a fun example of why good spelling is such a necessary skill.
We were sitting around in the family room watching a movie, when our oldest daughter comes in.
"Dad, how do you spell 'cowgirl'?" Now, I'm thinking, this has to be a trick question or something, but then I remember who's asking. Because of her struggling English skills, her spelling skills are dismal. So...
"C - O -W, girl. Why?" At this point she starts laughing hard, and sits down in her favorite spot in the family room. She has a huge comfort pillow in a corner of the room, on the floor. She actually dislikes sitting on the couch or the club chairs.
"I was talking with Corey on the phone and he was asking me what I dressed up like for Halloween." Corey is her big brother, a Marine stationed half way across the state. "When I tried to tell him 'cowgirl', he couldn't understand me, so he said for me to spell it. I didn't know how to spell it, I think. So I said "I think it's C-A-L-L-G-I-R-L." At that point Pam and I started laughing uncontrollably.
"Baby, you need to go call your brother and straighten that one out. There's a big difference between a 'cowgirl' and a 'call girl'."
"Why? What's that mean?" I'm in tears right about then.
"A 'call girl' is a prostitute, baby. Something I'm sure you don't want him thinking you were dressing up like."
"Oh, 'cause he was like, 'are you sure you have that word right? Where did you get that idea?' I told him 'Mom did'. Then he's asking if I'm sure again and again. I said 'yeah'."
Pam and I are laughing so hard we can't see straight. What made it even funnier was that we were at church on Halloween, because our church holds a "Trunk-or-Treat" event for the community and people dress up for it. Then we're having to explain to her little sister what "prostitute" means. The older says to her, "It's a bad girl." That doesn't quite get it, so I ask the older one to explain to the younger one in Amharic because the little brothers are there. She gets it then. Of course that's after one the little brothers asks, "What's a prostitute?"
She finally decides it would be a good idea to go up and call him again. After awhile she comes running into the room with her cell phone and says, "Corey wants to talk to you." She gives the phone to Pam. Pam is laughing so hard she can hardly talk.
When I get on the phone, Corey says, "I normally wouldn't want intrude and tell people how to raise their kids, especially you, but COME ON!" We talk some more and share a good laugh. He says he might be able to come for Thanksgiving. I say, "We'll all dress up for the occassion" and Corey say, "Yeah, I'm coming as a pimp."
Needless to say, it's times like this that all the troubles of being a parent, evaporate.
You gotta love it!
(For those reading this who live in the local area, be kind. Remember she's a teenaged girl)
We were sitting around in the family room watching a movie, when our oldest daughter comes in.
"Dad, how do you spell 'cowgirl'?" Now, I'm thinking, this has to be a trick question or something, but then I remember who's asking. Because of her struggling English skills, her spelling skills are dismal. So...
"C - O -W, girl. Why?" At this point she starts laughing hard, and sits down in her favorite spot in the family room. She has a huge comfort pillow in a corner of the room, on the floor. She actually dislikes sitting on the couch or the club chairs.
"I was talking with Corey on the phone and he was asking me what I dressed up like for Halloween." Corey is her big brother, a Marine stationed half way across the state. "When I tried to tell him 'cowgirl', he couldn't understand me, so he said for me to spell it. I didn't know how to spell it, I think. So I said "I think it's C-A-L-L-G-I-R-L." At that point Pam and I started laughing uncontrollably.
"Baby, you need to go call your brother and straighten that one out. There's a big difference between a 'cowgirl' and a 'call girl'."
"Why? What's that mean?" I'm in tears right about then.
"A 'call girl' is a prostitute, baby. Something I'm sure you don't want him thinking you were dressing up like."
"Oh, 'cause he was like, 'are you sure you have that word right? Where did you get that idea?' I told him 'Mom did'. Then he's asking if I'm sure again and again. I said 'yeah'."
Pam and I are laughing so hard we can't see straight. What made it even funnier was that we were at church on Halloween, because our church holds a "Trunk-or-Treat" event for the community and people dress up for it. Then we're having to explain to her little sister what "prostitute" means. The older says to her, "It's a bad girl." That doesn't quite get it, so I ask the older one to explain to the younger one in Amharic because the little brothers are there. She gets it then. Of course that's after one the little brothers asks, "What's a prostitute?"
She finally decides it would be a good idea to go up and call him again. After awhile she comes running into the room with her cell phone and says, "Corey wants to talk to you." She gives the phone to Pam. Pam is laughing so hard she can hardly talk.
When I get on the phone, Corey says, "I normally wouldn't want intrude and tell people how to raise their kids, especially you, but COME ON!" We talk some more and share a good laugh. He says he might be able to come for Thanksgiving. I say, "We'll all dress up for the occassion" and Corey say, "Yeah, I'm coming as a pimp."
Needless to say, it's times like this that all the troubles of being a parent, evaporate.
You gotta love it!
(For those reading this who live in the local area, be kind. Remember she's a teenaged girl)
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Purpose Driven Life
Today we discussed the 2nd purpose that God designed within our lives - Fellowship/Relationships. God the God of love; in many scriptures He is called love. He made us to have a relationship with him. That part was one of the most difficult for me to fathom. Here is a God so immense, so perfect, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient and He wants a personal relationship with me. This same God who has created the universe that none can calculate its size. This God created more stars than any human can begin to imagine the total numbers. More stars than we could count. A universe so massive that our closest star is light years away and the farthest stars we can't begin to imagine the millions of light years away. The God who created all of this, cares if I love him or not. This God sent His son to die because He cares about how I will spend eternity. I will never fully get my brain wrapped around that.
But not only does He want us to love Him, he wants us to love one another. Jesus even said that the whole Bible - this book of laws, rules, precepts, and theology could be summed up into two commands from God. Love God with all that we have and all that we are, and to love one another like we love ourselves. Pretty danged simple, but we have the hardest time doing it. Why? Because we love ourselves first; and in so doing we leave little room to love anyone else.
Truly love them.
He doesn't want "Lone Ranger Christians". The ones who think they can go it alone. Yet from the very beginning, He said that it was not good that man exist alone. He even knew that relationships would be hard work - for us. We need to start living without the masks that we develop over the years. The masks that say - Hey, I'm not perfect, but you'll never get me to admit to any unacceptable imperfections. The masks that say, I don't have any problems, I don't need any help, I don't have any doubts. The masks we form for our church family, the other masks for our work relationships, the other masks for our home family, and the masks we have for our friends and relatives. Taking off the masks, and being absolutely transparent is totally counter intuitive. Hold up the shields at all costs. We do that to ourselves and to one another. Take them off, be vulnerable to one another...truly love.
He wants us to be hospitable, accepting, humble, nonjudgmental, friendly to one another; especially to other Christians. "They will know you are my disciples by your love." Love for one another. I think we fail that by our dogmatism in denominations. Some people think that denominations are like salad bowls or soups with differing flavors, something to suit each taste. I personally think that is a crock. We need to work together not against each other.
Why can't we just get along? :o) Because my circle is better than your circle, that's why. If you don't believe me, ask God, He'll tell ya! That is what we do to each other.
Fellowship...get along, share, support, give, take, care...LOVE
But not only does He want us to love Him, he wants us to love one another. Jesus even said that the whole Bible - this book of laws, rules, precepts, and theology could be summed up into two commands from God. Love God with all that we have and all that we are, and to love one another like we love ourselves. Pretty danged simple, but we have the hardest time doing it. Why? Because we love ourselves first; and in so doing we leave little room to love anyone else.
Truly love them.
He doesn't want "Lone Ranger Christians". The ones who think they can go it alone. Yet from the very beginning, He said that it was not good that man exist alone. He even knew that relationships would be hard work - for us. We need to start living without the masks that we develop over the years. The masks that say - Hey, I'm not perfect, but you'll never get me to admit to any unacceptable imperfections. The masks that say, I don't have any problems, I don't need any help, I don't have any doubts. The masks we form for our church family, the other masks for our work relationships, the other masks for our home family, and the masks we have for our friends and relatives. Taking off the masks, and being absolutely transparent is totally counter intuitive. Hold up the shields at all costs. We do that to ourselves and to one another. Take them off, be vulnerable to one another...truly love.
He wants us to be hospitable, accepting, humble, nonjudgmental, friendly to one another; especially to other Christians. "They will know you are my disciples by your love." Love for one another. I think we fail that by our dogmatism in denominations. Some people think that denominations are like salad bowls or soups with differing flavors, something to suit each taste. I personally think that is a crock. We need to work together not against each other.
Why can't we just get along? :o) Because my circle is better than your circle, that's why. If you don't believe me, ask God, He'll tell ya! That is what we do to each other.
Fellowship...get along, share, support, give, take, care...LOVE
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Last step for us in the Adoption
Yesterday we drove to Raleigh-Durham's INS office to be finger printed. A four hour trip each way. We were in and out in about 12 minutes!!!
That is the very last thing for us to do. Now it's the waiting time. Wait and wait and wait. Waiting and working toward something is not so hard; but just waiting is hard.
If you want to pray for something, pray with us that we can get a December court date. Our wish and prayer is to be able to travel and bring them home for Christmas. Can you imagine what kind of Christmas that would be? It would be great too because they could enjoy some down time with the other kids at home during Christmas break.
Please continue to pray with us for financial resources. We're still hoping for adoption grants and/or loans and haven't gotten anywhere yet.
Continue to pray for orphans and widows around the world. Pick a specific country or city and pray for all those that work with and for them.
As the economy continues to drag and struggle, please pray for those without jobs or who own small businesses that are struggling.
Thanks.
That is the very last thing for us to do. Now it's the waiting time. Wait and wait and wait. Waiting and working toward something is not so hard; but just waiting is hard.
If you want to pray for something, pray with us that we can get a December court date. Our wish and prayer is to be able to travel and bring them home for Christmas. Can you imagine what kind of Christmas that would be? It would be great too because they could enjoy some down time with the other kids at home during Christmas break.
Please continue to pray with us for financial resources. We're still hoping for adoption grants and/or loans and haven't gotten anywhere yet.
Continue to pray for orphans and widows around the world. Pick a specific country or city and pray for all those that work with and for them.
As the economy continues to drag and struggle, please pray for those without jobs or who own small businesses that are struggling.
Thanks.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
40 Days of Purpose
Our church, Nags Head Church, is studying the book by Rick Warren, "A Purpose Driven Life". We study the book in our various small group meetings, and our pastor, Rick Lawrence, teaches about it on Sunday. For those who aren't familiar with the book, its basic premise is that as Christians we should not just live our lives in survival mode - existing day to day waiting for Christ's return or our demise. We were put in this earth for a purpose; we should live for that purpose and seek to accomplish that purpose. Of course the difficult part is, discovering that purpose.
The purpose is not found "within", nor can anyone else tell us what it is. It comes only from God our Father. Just as all of creation has its purposes, each of us has a purpose. In my experience, you can sort of see the people who are living in a purpose driven life. It's not about them, it's about what they are doing. It's not about happiness or success. It's about obedience to God's leading.
I remember earlier in my life there were people who used the term "living in the center of God's will". Now as I look back, I believe they were trying to live a purpose driven life, but called it something else. This is not to say that they actually achieved this goal of living in the center of God's will, but they felt as if they were. I was sort of jealous of them. However some of them were fluent speakers of Christianese. You know, they're the ones that use that special set of vocabulary that only "mature" Christians could understand. Sometimes if you sat and listened to them you wanted to just say, speak English! They were so much impressed with themselves and they wanted to impress each other. These were the ones who tended to use the "center of God's will" conversations.
So finding our purpose, is it a journey or is it a goal? I guess a little of both. Once you find your purpose, it simplifies your life because you can drop all the other unimportant things in your life and you can concentrate on living that life. It helps you say "no" to other things that just clutter up and make you busy but not productive. It doesn't guarantee success in life. At least not in the world's definition of "success". But if you know that you are being obedient, you don't look for success, you just look to obey... That is what God is looking for from us.
The purpose is not found "within", nor can anyone else tell us what it is. It comes only from God our Father. Just as all of creation has its purposes, each of us has a purpose. In my experience, you can sort of see the people who are living in a purpose driven life. It's not about them, it's about what they are doing. It's not about happiness or success. It's about obedience to God's leading.
I remember earlier in my life there were people who used the term "living in the center of God's will". Now as I look back, I believe they were trying to live a purpose driven life, but called it something else. This is not to say that they actually achieved this goal of living in the center of God's will, but they felt as if they were. I was sort of jealous of them. However some of them were fluent speakers of Christianese. You know, they're the ones that use that special set of vocabulary that only "mature" Christians could understand. Sometimes if you sat and listened to them you wanted to just say, speak English! They were so much impressed with themselves and they wanted to impress each other. These were the ones who tended to use the "center of God's will" conversations.
So finding our purpose, is it a journey or is it a goal? I guess a little of both. Once you find your purpose, it simplifies your life because you can drop all the other unimportant things in your life and you can concentrate on living that life. It helps you say "no" to other things that just clutter up and make you busy but not productive. It doesn't guarantee success in life. At least not in the world's definition of "success". But if you know that you are being obedient, you don't look for success, you just look to obey... That is what God is looking for from us.
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