God's Love... a Member of the Redeemed!

 

God's Love...God's love is His strong affection He has for us as His creation. God's love is like the father welcoming back the lost son while at the same time putting his arm around the older brother and demonstrating graciousness and sincere love for His older son. It is God's unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern that He grants us.

We were able to go home 42 days after Matthew birth. We went home with an antibiotic pump and an Nasal Feeding tube. It was October 31^st of 2003 and in that year it was a Friday. On Monday, we received the hospital bill for over $473,000. We had no idea how we were going to pay that bill. On Tuesday we received a letter from our insurance company informing us that we had an clause in our insurance that if we were transferred from a participating provider to an non participating provider, the company would cover everything as if it were the original hospital.

Instantly, I recollected my original prayer 45 days earlier... “God, just let us take him home” and God said, “no.” If we had left the hospital...the insurance would not have paid anything. The right answer was, “no.” God's love was willing to say, “no” so that God's love could draw us in to His story of the redeemed.

The insurance paid everything but our co-pays. We had a ten dollar copay for every doctor we saw and that bill was over $3000 in co-pays. The insurance paid the bills while church members and friends raised the funds to make up the co-pays. Every medical bill had been paid and cleared by the end of the month of November. We never asked for financial help...God just does what he does best and demonstrated the truth “everything belongs to the ones that are redeemed.”

Matthew is now nine years old and since his birth, God has continued to draw us into his story with four more children. Another biological child in our six year old girl that does not have down syndrome, but is very special in every typical way. We adopted Nicholas Mark, who had down syndrome and who died in our arms at two months old from complications from heart surgery. Nicholas is our treasure waiting for us in heaven. We have adopted Kendyll Andrey who has down syndrome and he is three years old. We have also adopted Nathan Israel who is a year old and he also has down syndrome.

I started these blog post last Monday with the following question in mind, “How can a person become a character in the story of the redeemed?” The answer is, “By spending time with Jesus and he will give you a story...not because of you, but because of who He is! And when you have been with Jesus and you have experienced God's intimacy, God's Concern, and God's Love, you can't help but tell your story as a member of the redeemed.

You know I love ya, Don

Best, Better, Great, Greatest!

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:1-5

The disciples come to Jesus and ask, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom?" They are asking the greatest creation of all, the actual Son of God, and the One all creation will worship in the new Kingdom. What arrogance and boldness on the part of the disciples. They are literally looking into the eyes of the greatest One in the Kingdom of heaven and asking, "Who is the greatest?"

Yet, Jesus doesn't zap them down like the fig tree. He doesn't curse them with boils or call down fire to burn them off of the surface of the earth. Jesus could have easily made it so that they had never been born. Jesus doesn't show any anger in the text at all.

Jesus simply call over a child, holds the child and says..."Do what he is." Jesus doesn't tell us to mimic what this child does, but that we are to be what the child is. A child is a follower, filled with joy, amazement, wonder, and innocence. A Christ-follower sees a child and does what the child is.

It is easy for us to look at the disciples and pass judgment on their arrogance. It is easy to point the finger at them. But, are we not just as arrogant, egotistical, and self-absorbed. Every time we decide to do it our way without considering God's direction, wisdom, and support, we are figuratively saying, "Who the greatest Jesus...you or me?" We should not accuse the biblical disciples, you and I are just as bad as they were, if not worse.

So, the next time you see a little child in all their innocence and joy...see yourself in their eyes and don't just mimic the child...be the child. Trust Jesus beyond the words of life and give him everything you hold and the "stuff" that is holding you. You Know I love ya, Don

Childlike Faith!

I am reading "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. I highly recommend it. This is an exerpt from page 74 concerning Childlike faith. It touched me and I think it will you as well:

"What is childlike humility? It's not the lack of intelligence, but the lack of guile. The lack of an agenda. It's the precious, fleeting time before we have accumulated enough pride or position to care what other people might think. The same un-self-conscience honesty that enables a three-year-old to splash joyfully in a rain puddle, or tumble laughing in the grass with a puppy, or point out loudly that you have a booger hanging out of your nose, is all that is required to enter heaven. It is the opposite of ignorance. It is intellectual honesty; to be willing to accept reality and to call things what they are even when it is hard."

"Lord, grant me childlike faith and forgive me for my unbelief. We miss you, Nicholas, and we know Lord Jesus that he will always be our son. We also know that you can make another perfect fit for our family as he was. So, forgive us for our unbelief and help us in living an abundant life by having child-like faith. Amen"

You know I love ya, Don

My Children are so cute, just look and see!

The Three Bestest Children!

Brother Bonding Time!

My New Carry Bed! Thank You Ladies Bible Study!

Merry Christmas!

Sister Bonding Time

Notice My Guitars!

Christmas 2010.
Matthew is 7, Alice is 4, and Nicholas is 3 weeks!
You Know We Love Ya,
Don

Friday Funny - Children and church

One particular four-year old prayed, "And forgive us our
trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.

To anyone that has ever had someone else put their trash in their baskets...have a great Friday and Memorial Day.

You know I love ya - Don

Friday Fun - @#*&% Tone and desperation

There was once a single mom with two children, age's five and three, who was constantly battling their bad language. She tried everything to get them to stop swearing, including taking them to a child psychologist. After months of frustration, she thought to herself, the candy did not work, time out did not work, and even ignoring the their behavior did not work. Now they're swearing even more. So I'm going to treat these guys the way my mom treated my brothers when they were swearing.

The next morning the five-year-old got up, and he went into the kitchen. Mom asked, "Honey, what would you like for breakfast this morning?"

He looked up and said, "Just give me some of those @#*&% old Wheaties."

With that she swatted the kid, and across the kitchen he flew. His three-year-old brother, who was watching, was amazed. He had never seen anything like it. then his mother looked over at him and said, "And what do you want for breakfast?"

He looked at her and with wide eyes said, "Well, you can bet your @#*&% I don't want any of those @#*&% Wheaties!"

You gotta laugh...I also wonder where the Children were learning these words. Have a great Friday and you know I love ya - Don