The Ivey’s are changing the world…and my heart

The world of blogging is amazing to me. People you’ve never met can really change your perspective, and your life.

Over the past few months I’ve been following the lives of a family I’ve never met. They share their stories, struggles and most importantly, their journey through trying to adopt 2 beautiful children from Haiti. And right now Aaron and Jamie could really really use your prayers! I beg you to join me, and many others who are lifting them up in prayer and pleading for God to move mountains that could possibly prevent them from being united with their precious children.

My heart has been opened and changed by their blogs, and specifically by their heart for adoption. It was a topic that I was always unsure of. And now, I don’t see how anyone can have a negative view of it. And it’s now something that I plan on doing when the time is right. Why WOULDN’T it be right to take in and love and give a home to a child who otherwise would be overlooked by the world.

I read a statistic that was something like, if 7(?)percent of Christians adopted a child there would be no orphans. I don’t remember where I read it, or what the exact number was, but it was a small number. And that blows my mind.

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

I think it’s interesting that in the same breath, that passage mentions taking care of the orphans and widows, AND not letting yourself be polluted by the world. How do those go together? Because it seems that a main excuse people use (and I’m not saying that EVERYONE HAS TO adopt, just looking deeper into why we should) for not feeling called to adopt is to say that it is too hard, too scary. The world has corrupted so many things. And because the world feeds us lies about adoption leading to broken families who can’t get along and adopted children who hate their adopted parents…we have come to FEAR adoption in some ways. What if it messes up your comfortable life? What if it changes the way you and your family live. But who would try and decieve us to believe that “what God accepts as pure and faultless” is in fact impossible? I can only think of one Sneaky Little Bastard… the same one who would love for use to believe that many things are impossible, he would love for us to forget that through Christ who strengthens me, all things are possible. All things. Possible. God moves mountains. Don’t let yourself be polluted by the world.

If God sees something as pure and faultless, and if it models His love for us, why would we expect it to fail? Is it challenging and heartbreaking at times, I’m sure it is. But does that stop God from adopting us as His own and taking us in without question to love us for eternity? Nope. So why should it stop us?

Let’s join in prayer and beg for God to move what seems like us to mountains, but to Him are just little pebbles. And stop by Aaron’s blog and/or Jamie’s blog to read it for yourself, to see their hearts, and to encourage them. They’re trying to change the world through loving children as God loves. They’ve changed my life, and through that, will end up changing atleast one other child’s life in the future. And THAT, that is pure and faultless.

Let’s be The Church right now. Pray. It works wonders.

Cookies and dirt don’t mix. Or, they shouldn’t.

We live in a country where any one of us can go eat a cookie whenever we want to. Most likely, this cookie will be a decadent and sweet treat…one of countless varieties on store shelves and in pastry cases. With the amount of money we make, we could probably purchase, let’s say, around 50 cookies in a day, and still afford real meals and gas etc.

Well, we’re freakin lucky here. Not because we should eat that many cookies in one day, but because there are parts of this world where having the freedom and resources to even eat a single meal each day is an unknown concept.

In Haiti, the food prices are soaring faster than our gas prices. These are people who live on, in most cases, less than $2 a day. That’s less than a Starbucks drink, and that’s their entire income for the day; and that money probably needs to be stretched further than we know ($2 for food, clothing, transport, water, housing, etc).

Because of this dire situation, many Haitians (and people living in other impoverished areas) have resorted to eating dirt.

Yes, dirt. Eating dirt.

There’s a problem here.

People are taking what little food resources they do have (a little butter or oil etc) and mixing it with dirt to make “cookies”. They do this so their stomachs dont ache as badly. People are eating dirt so their hunger pains are lessened. WHAT!? How did Haiti get like this? How are thousands of people all across the world in this same situation? When did people forget to look out for one another…to share what we’ve been given?

It’s a huge problem. It’s only one of the problems. It’s a heartbreaking issue. It’s God’s children neglecting eachother on so many levels. It’s overwhelming. It’s wrong.

It’s a chance for us to make a difference. It’s an opening for change in the way we all live, think and spend. It’s a reason for our hearts to grow.

So what can you and I do about it? How are we supposed to create any change?

Sponsor a child. From any country. There are hundreds and thousands of children who need sponsors. That translates into hundreds and thousands of families whose lives would improve by you helping one of their own. That leads to hundreds of thousands of communties that would begin to succeed and change. It isn’t only tangible support, but showing that you care enough about someone you’ve never met to give of yourself to see their lives improve. And it all starts with one. One decision made from heartbreak that will create hope. And hope spreads like wildfire.

Learn more about the issues in Haiti through Lori’s blog about the Rescue Center. You can donate to help them help the people of Haiti.

Pray. It does wonders. Pray for the country, the people, the government. Any country, any people, any government. We are all in need in our own ways.

Spread the word and show others how easy it is to make a difference. Use what you’ve been given.

Trust me, you’ve been given more than enough.