Memorial Box Monday: A bed

God really blessed our family in several different ways this past week, and I'm so excited to tell you guys about how amazing our God really is!

Thursday morning I was leisurely sleeping in, when my only little boy, Jonathan, came knocking on my bedroom door to tell me that someone was here. I wasn't expecting anybody, so it got me up and running pretty quickly. Who should be at our door but the director of our foster care agency! Apparently she had been trying to call us all morning, but had been unable to get anyone on the phone. She went to all of that trouble just to let us know about a potential placement. During our discussion, she asked if I had enough beds, and I was like, yeah, sure! Of course I do. I went upstairs to spread the news, and Tink was like.. "Um.... no, mom, you don't!" And then I counted the number of beds. Oops!

Of course, I sprinted to my computer, frantic to see if I could find one locally for sale. It also had to fit into a rather strict budget. I went to Craig's List, and a listing had been posted nine minutes earlier for a really lovely daybed with a mattress for a rock bottom, way better than I had dared to hope, price. I immediately e-mailed the seller. I let her know that the bed would be for our new foster placement, and prayed that God would push the seller to choose us!

A couple of hours later, I got a call from the seller. She chose us to purchase the bed because she, too, was a foster parent. Wow. We went to pick it up, and she said "God Bless You" on the way out. There's not a doubt in my mind that God provided a bed for one of our three new little ones. I'll put a little toy bed in our memorial box as a symbol of how God provided something amazing in record breaking time.

Ah... so much more to tell...

Memorial Box Monday: The House

Yep, I've been gone. Tons happened. I'll try to tell it all, but today I want to focus on our biggest surprise blessing from the last several months.

My honey and I were in the kitchen talking one day in late January or early February. We were about to legally outgrow our house. Let me explain. Our rental house was great for us. It had 3 decent size bedrooms, a very large living area, a place for the kids to play, good yard space, and all of that in a safe neighborhood. It was a perfect, God-sized blessing for those two years. As you readers may know, we moved in the house with only two kids, and now we have 5. Jonathan, being the only boy, had a very small bedroom to himself. Tink, Indie, and Juli shared a room, and JP, Sassy, and myself shared another. Sassy could share the room with us until she turned 2, and then she needed to be in her own bedroom, but the "girls" room was already maxed out. We had two options. 1) We could rent a bigger house, or 2)We could convert the living space into the girls room/playroom. We were both a little frustrated with our options. We have been praying for years for a home to call our own, and we just didn't want to go through the process of renting again, and we weren't financially prepared to buy.

After despairing a bit about our prospects, we agreed that God could do anything, and we would begin to find another home for us, knowing that we probably would have to give up a safe neighborhood to account for size. I had been looking at a rental home online for several years. Yes, years. It had a lot of balconies, so I was a little concerned, but the listing said that the home had 3-5 bedrooms, so I was willing to take a look.

We went to view the home on a very, very snowy day in February. We found that it had been empty for around 2-4 years. I was shocked, people, because this house was .... big. 5 bedrooms in actuality. Two of them big enough to hold "legally" 3-4 kids. There's a huge multi-purpose room upstairs, a big kitchen and dining room, and the kicker --- a ginormous yard big enough for football games. It wasn't perfect. It needed lots of updates, most of which were cosmetic. The layout is a little odd in spots, and the living room is pretty small (which was a big concern for us because we minister to college and high school kids, and we need room to congregate). However, we both saw room to grow, and to add to our family. We were aware that there was a small chance of a rent-to-own option, so we talked to the realtor about it.

After weeks of paperwork and such, we finally sat down to have a conference call with the elderly gentleman who owned the home. We were praying, and praying, and praying that we might have a chance someday, by way of rent-to-own, of owning this home and filling it with the pitter patter of little (and not so little) feet.

Aren't you glad that God is so much bigger than us? That in his infinite wisdom, when his plans come to fruition, that we can only stand at gape at how much he really, really loves us?


That conference call took a very unexpected turn. The owner of the home did not want to enter into a rent-to-own contract, and he was not at all happy with the appraisal value of the home. My heart was just pounding in my chest, and I saw our dream of a huge family get flushed. We were having a lot of trouble understanding the gentleman on the phone, and finally the realtor told him we would discuss the situation and call him back.

We discussed and lost hope. The phone rang, and it was the owner of the home, calling back to make a slight clarification. He didn't mean he didn't want us to buy the home. He just wanted TO FINANCE IT FOR US! Yes, no lending company, no two years of waiting to see if we could qualify to buy the home. Just straight owner financing.

I'm still in shock that God, in his great mercy, did what we thought was absolutely impossible-- he gave us a home so that we can raise our family, bring orphans home, foster children, and open that home up to youth and college students. The scale of this blessing is just out of this world. It's supernatural. It is, and only can be, GOD!

We received a little notecard from the former owner of the home the other day, and that will go into my memorial box to symbolize how God gave us such a huge answer to a prayer.

A long time coming...

This one has been brewing in my head for quite some time. On this thankful thursday, I want to thank you, in advance, who are willing to pray with me.


I often wonder...

Imagine, one day you are sitting in your living room, cuddled up to your hubby, watching a little TV. It's really cold outside, but your heater's working fine, and you're enjoying some hot cocoa and cookies to offset the weather. It's one of those heavenly moments where all is right with the world.

Then your doorbell rings. Well, that's odd, who can that be at this hour? And in this weather? You go to the door and open it, and find... a child! Maybe 3 years old -- crying nearly frozen tears, lips blue with cold. She's dressed in rags, and she's dirty, and her stomach is sunken in. It's obviously been a little while since she's had a good meal. In that moment, what would you do?

Oh, I know! You'd pat the child on the head and explain that you simply couldn't help her out. Your budget is stretched, and there's no room in the house, and you just couldn't take on any more responsibility right now. Maybe you'd give her a little baggy of cookies and send her on her way. You'd smile at her retreating back -- isn't she cute while she's eating those cookies? And you'd close the door, return to cuddling with your hubby, and hope you didn't miss any of the show after the commercial break.

Would you really do that?

OF COURSE NOT! You'd have that kid in out of the cold in fifteen seconds flat, and be calling social services as soon as you could put your hands on a phone. You'd fix that child a meal, and you would give her blankets and warm clothes. Of course you would!

So what's the difference? Why aren't we the same way with children that we good and well KNOW are living like this, but aren't standing on our doorstep. Should geography really dampen our compassion for this child? Do you think that God cares whether that kid is standing on your doorstep or standing in an orphanage in Uganda? Of course he doesn't!

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

It's simple. Frighteningly simple.

Matthew 25: 31-46

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

See? CRYSTAL CLEAR.

But, maybe you are saying, "I can't be a good parent!" That's okay. There are other ways to help the orphan! Sponsor a child through Amazima or give to Project Hopeful. Or just sponsor a couple you know who are in the middle of adopting a child.

Maybe you are saying, " I don't have the money to sponsor a child or adopt a child!" That's okay. There are still things you can do. You could be a foster parent, for instance.

AND, most importantly... YOU CAN PRAY!!!!!

Right now, the battle for the orphan is brutal. I believe, according to a word given to one of my bloggy friends, Linny, that God is sick of our apathy towards these little ones, and toward Him. We have to pray for God to stop this attack. You see, right now even our government is halting issuing Visas to children who have already been approved for guardianship through Uganda. The enemy is steadfast in stopping these children from going home.

So, do something!! You can. Do the most important thing. PRAY!!

Thankful Thursday

Today is one of those days when it's hard to be thankful. My grandfather passed away a couple of days ago, and his funeral was today, but I'm so thankful that he had a long and healthy life! He was almost 84 years old, and was on the roof cleaning out the gutters just a few weeks ago. I'm thankful that my grandmother is still with us, and that we have more time yet to spend with her.

Family is such a precious gift! Love on yours, today.

Loving the Difficult Child

I feel like, at 30 years old, I have a pretty healthy image of myself -- both the flaws and the good parts. At least, I used to. I've always loved children, and I've always been good with them. I'm stern, but consistent, without being mean, and I shower children with love and affection. I thought those were set-in-stone truths about me.

Then God showed me something that came as a very unpleasant surprise.

As you all probably know, I was chomping at the bit to get some little ones in my home. I missed little gummy smiles and even diapers. I got what I wished for, but I'm finding it's not at all like I imagined. About 8 months ago, two little girls arrived in our home. The little one was a joy, particularly for the first couple of months. Now she's going through the terrible twos, which is not so fun, but is totally expected. Indie, the 2, now 3, year-old, though, has been a challenge of epic proportions. She hasn't set anything on fire or killed anyone (yet), but it's the little things. Constant lying, constant disobedience, jaw-dropping defiance, sneaky behaviors, stealing, inciting arguments and fights.... I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Last night, she woke up Tink at 4:30 in the morning by throwing things at her. Which is not the first or even fifth time this week she has thrown something at Tink.

To make this long story short, I'm totally defeated. I lose patience constantly with her, which makes me more short and on edge with Sassy, and even Jonathan and Juli to some degree. I feel like I'm constantly at "simmer" just waiting to boil over. Right now, I'm not good with these kids. I've tried every disciplinary tactic at my disposal, but nothing works. I keep wondering how Jesus would handle a kid like Indie, and I keep coming up with LOVE, and forgiveness. So here's the big money question. How do I show love to this child?

Tink and I were discussing love and marraige recently, and I was emphasizing to her how love is an action, not a feeling. Loving someone is treating them with respect and kindness, and putting their needs over your own, not some butterflies-in-tummy emotion that is so very temporary. And then I thought about Indie. Is my love for her coming out in my actions?

Busted.

But the problem still remains. How do I love her, yet guide her in the way she should go? How can I love her, yet protect the other little ones in my home (like, protecting Tink from projectile objects?). So, God has shown me that I have some work to do... any ideas on how I might do it?

The return of Thankful Thursday!

December the 10th is now such a special day for our family! One year ago today, "Tinkerbell" pranced her way into our lives, and we are so incredibly thankful! I know that many of my Thankful Thursday posts have focused on her, but on this day, in God's infinite wisdom... guess what we just got in the mail? Our adoption petition! We hope to go get this signed today, and that should be it!! We have to await finalization, but that is petty much guaranteed.

I am so thankful that God had a plan for our family, and it was very different than mine.

Gobble, Gobble!!

Despite sickness, we've had a great week here at the Paul household. I cooked my first Thanksgiving feast (with some help from Bailey, Mom, and Tink, of course), and it went beautifully. We did some Black Friday shopping, and we've been resting and enjoying each other.

I am so thankful for my Jesus! I am thankful for a home to live in, and 5 beautiful little souls that fill it. I'm thankful for a husband who is steady and strong who loves God in a real way. We have been blessed beyond imagining this year.

Sometimes I feel like we are stuck in the "in-between", just waiting for the rest of our lives to start, but I realized today that we are exactly where God wants us for right now. I praise you my Father, for right now.