Psst...

Carry on...

So Have You Been Thinking About National Adoption Month?

Remember when I said there are lots of things you can do for National Adoption Month?

For example, helping someone who is trying to adopt?

A friend of a friend pointed me to THIS BLOG, where Leah and her family are getting ready to travel to bring home their son. They are trying to raise the last of the money they need and are giving away a Nikon D3100 Digital SLR Camera Kit to one lucky person who donates to their travel expenses.

Why not go see Leah and wish her family the best in their adoption...and if you decide to donate when you're over there you may end up with an amazing camera!

National Adoption Month

Did you know November is National Adoption Month?

Yep, sure is.

You may remember that the first couple of years of this blog were dedicated almost exclusively to Mari's adoption. Remember this post when we told you we had changed our adoption plans?

Best decision we could have ever made.

I know that God doesn't call everyone to adopt. But He does call everyone to care for orphans -- there are so many things you can do: pray, donate to Reece's Rainbow's Angel Tree, help someone trying to adopt, the sky's the limit. Why not at least give it some thought and some prayer time this month?

IMAGINE.

Today is a normal Friday.
I'm sitting here at home, waiting for my niece, planning my day, drinking my coffee.
But today is anything but normal.

Today I am wishing I was in Rochester, NY, where they are getting started on Day 1 of
Women of Faith's IMAGINE
conference.

Last Friday I was in Fort Lauderdale listening to Dr. Henry Cloud talk about everything from how to be happier to monkeys -- hey, don't laugh! Everyone needs a monkey to help them through the scary and hard times. He talked of transformational moments, when we change from a negative to a positive emotional state through connections with others, and of necessary endings, those times when we can't move on to what God has for us without letting go of something, sometimes even good things if they don't align with our future. And, yes, he made it clear that to make it through this thing called life we all need our monkeys - the people we can count on to be in our corner and encourage us.

We got to hear Sheila Walsh explain that, "Fear is contagious, but faith is contagious too. Surround yourself with people who encourage you." She reminded us that, "Peace is not the absence of trouble, it is the presence of Christ." And she reduced me to tears when she sang You Raise Me Up.

The Friday night comedian, Kenn Kington, had us in tears again (of laughter this time). I am still not convinced he was talking about his family and not mine in a lot of his bit! He might have hit everything except the annual Christmas Lights fiasco around here. Hilarious.

(I only have two rotten cell phone pictures, sorry.)

We were just a few feet from the stage and right on the aisle so the presenters walked right by us on their way to The Porch, where all the speakers sat during the program, and on their way backstage during the breaks. It was so neat to be able to smile and say hello to Angie Smith, Lisa Harper, and Nicole Johnson as they walked by. These women have been through some really heart-wrenching experiences and are thankful because their faith is stronger for it. Throughout the weekend each bared her heart and soul on that stage and even though some of it was hard to listen to I give each of them a lot of credit for having the courage to stand in front of all those people and be so open.

At the end of our time together Luci Swindoll reminded all of us to appreciate every moment and not to spend all of our time wishing for something different. Luci brought along her brother, Orville, for a special treat.

And, even though picking a favorite part of the weekend is really hard, I may have to go with Mary Mary! Hearing them speak and, of course, seeing them perform was incredible. I love.Love.LOVE them! (but I really wish I had a better photo...)

I am already trying to figure out how to make it back next year when they are in Ft. Lauderdale on October 25 & 26, 2012. Who wants to come with me?