Marshwiggles

I'm going to start posting Chronicles of Narnia stuff that I've been pondering....

Leave it to C.S. Lewis to weave key theology into children's story books.

Here's one from Puddleglum, a Marshwiggle who is neither fully frog nor fully human. And quite the most down cast creature. Poor Puddleglum always sees the glass half empty and the world dark and dismal. However, in his shining moment, he stands up to the Dark Queen of the Underworld who has enslaved an entire population and brainwashed them into forgetting everything of joy, brightness and beauty. Her attempt to do the same to the children from Narnia is thwarted when brave Puddleglum interupts her scheme by stomping out the poison she's placed on the fire and saying:

"One word, Ma'am," he said, coming back from the fire; limping, because of the pain. "One word. All you've been saying is quite right, I shouldn't wonder. I'm a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won't deny any of what you said. But there's one more thing to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things-trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we're leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that's a small loss if the world's as dull a place as you say."
— C.S. Lewis (The Silver Chair)

Broken...

I'm not much of a writer...

and I don't think anyone really reads this...

but I have something to say...

People who know me know I'm not much of a crier...

Things don't make me tear up easily.

But I will tell you what does.

Kids.

specifically, the forgotten...and the orphan...

Really, watch this clip and see if it doesn't bring tears to your eyes:

I remember watching this for the first time and weeping...

You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more. Psalm 10:17-18

Does your heart not BREAK over the cries of these forgotten children?

How about when you think that they are a few...out of 143 MILLION orphans around the world?

Of those millions, how many are chained to cribs because of mental disabilities-left to waste away without love or care?

How many are bound in slavery until the physical labor, wracking disease or simply the failure to thrive steals their lives?

How many live feeling abandoned, unwanted, in the way, un-loved, forgotten and abused?

How many have been considered 'cursed' due to a stigma in their culture due to an uneven amount of fingers or toes, missing a limb, or because their top teeth grow in first? These 'cursed' children are tossed aside and left to die for fear of the 'curses' they may bring to their family and village.

How many baby girls will be victims of gendercide? Is a female child of less value than a male?

How many have their childhoods stolen away to care for their families because there is no one else?

It breaks my heart...

In the scope of everything, 143 million is daunting. Paralyzing. Incomprehensible. What could 1 person possibly do to even make a dent in that number?

The truth? Not much. One person can't fix this...

But...

If everyone does SOMETHING. The concept of the 'orphan' could be eradicated.

Child sponsorship is a GREAT way to do this. World Vision, Compassion, World Help, New Generations Ministry's and Starfish Ministry are EXCELLENT sources for sponsorship. I LOVE sponsorship-because it raises up leaders. It gives entire generations hope. And with healthy generations, we can see change around the world.

Adoption is another option. I read on a friends blog that TODAY ALONE 200 new orphans became legally free and paper ready in China. In my family, there are 7 kids. Of those 7, 5 have been adopted. Including me. (by my AWESOME dad :). Giving kids a forever family is something that cannot be replaced-even by the best orphanage.

And lets not forget about foster kids. There are waiting kids in the US who get bounced from home to home to home...in a time when identities are formed and ideals are set, it's a terrible thing to not be wanted or to not know where you are going to sleep at night.

Above everything else, there is prayer. This is something EVERYONE can do. Let's bombard Heaven with our prayers for the orphan. Our Father LOVES the orphan and grieves deeply to see them hurting. He will hear us from Heaven and will answer us. So let us ask. And let us see children healed.

Obviously this is just the tip of the ice burg...but it's what's on my heart. Please don't just listen and feel sad. Let it stir you to action.

Be blessed, and remember the orphan...

Boys...in Africa

In this world, there are 6 boys that I love more than any other boys in the world.

Last Thursday, 2 of them left for Africa.

And this Thursday, 3 of them are coming home.

Yup.

It's time.

I can't wait.

BEHOLD!

Once upon a time...there was a family who loved God and children very much.

Their home, while humble, was always loud, always crazy and very full of love.

As time passed, the family believed it to be the will of the Lord that they adopt more children into their family - which had plenty of love to spare.

Around that time, the oldest child embarked on an international journey while the parents pondered and put in place a plan to welcome new little ones into the family.

While traveling the world sharing her love of Jesus with others,

the oldest daughter spent a significant time in prayer about her new siblings

-whoever they were

-whenever they would come

-wherever they were from.

Very clearly, the Lord spoke to her the names of two precious children and showed her the face of a beautiful african girl she had never seen before.

The next available time she had to communicate with her parents who were miles and miles away-she shared this revelation about the children.

She told them about hearing the names 'Victoria' and 'Gabriel' and about seeing the face of a little girl...

The mother, back home, couldn't believe what she was hearing-the Lord had opened the doors only days before for them to officially adopt a Ghanaian boy named John and a Ghanaian girl named Victoria... with haste, the mother sent pictures of these sweet children to her daughter overseas. The daughter confirmed that yes, it was indeed that girl's face the Lord had

showed her...but what of the boy?

Could his name be changed to Gabriel? or the middle name perhaps? but no...the parents were adamant that Gabriel was not to be included in their new sons name.

Confused, the oldest daughter was still grateful for the confirmation from the the Lord about her new sister-the sister she had been waiting for her whole life!

Returning home from her expedition, the daughter was doting over the pictures of her new siblings-whom at the time, were still living in an orphanage in Ghana...

When, while being educated about all the different children-she lost her breath when someone showed her a picture of a little boy named Gabriel who was also living in the same orphanage...

HE EXISTED!

Perhaps she HADN'T heard incorrectly-perhaps it WAS in the Lords will that this boy be part of her family!

However, being so focused on the current expansion of the family-the parents did nothing about Gabriel, except encourage the daughter to continue to pray.

The daughter did so-fervently-and even met the little guy while visiting the orphanage where her new siblings were living.

Joy of all joys-the adoption of John and Victoria happened and they took their new place as members of this crazy family.

This new version of the family grew and bonded as only one full of such deep love can...and yet, that precious name whispered to the daughter while overseas never left her mind. She asked over and over WHY his name had been revealed to her when it just didn't seem to be in God's plan...until...

Two years later, with tears streaming down her face, this family's mother comes to the oldest daughter saying:

'We're supposed to adopt Gabriel'

The daughters heart was filled for she knew YEARS ago that this boy was meant for their family!

December 16th. 4:15 a.m PST...A SON! Adoption Order Granted!!!

Rejoice! For the Lord speaks and acts. Not in our time. In His.

Now, this precious boy who has been on my heart for 2.5 years is just a few papers away from being able to come home.

Will you join me in praying for this to happen and to happen quickly?

Because I miss him...and he needs to come home to his forever family.

Gabriel Blaske! I LOVE YOU!

My life according to the Beatles

Which Artist? The Beatles

Are you a male or female? She's a Woman

Describe Yourself: I am the Walrus

How do you feel? I feel fine

Describe where you currently live: Penny Lane

If you could go anywhere, where would you go? An Octopus' Garden

Your favorite form of transportation: Yellow Submarine

Your best friend is: Eleanor Rigby

What’s the weather like? Here comes the sun

Favorite time of day: A hards days night

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called? Lucy in the sky with Diamonds

What is life to you? Across the Universe

Your fear: Back in the USSR

What is the best advice you have to give? Tomorrow never knows

Thought for the day: Being for the benefit of Mr. kite

How I would like to die: The fool on the hill

My soul’s present condition: Day Tripper

Your motto: Can't buy me love

Lucy

So... My recent life adventures have brought me to a realization. I should have been named Lucy. Truly. It just fits! Here...Let me show you:

FIRST-the immortal Beatles song, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. It's bizarre...and eclectic...and occasionally misunderstood. The Beatles are a staple in my music library...and this song is iconic.

Next: Who doesn't love Lucy? A fiesty wanna be performer who loves to dress up and make funny faces...shall I go on?

Thirdly: Lucy Van Pelt
The main purpose perhaps for my current obsession... I am playing the role of Lucy in the Musical Production of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. Loud, brass, bossy, sometimes crabby...

And doesn't like the snow...All while dreaming of being queen and spilling out sage advice for cheap. But in the end, she's a family girl at heart and even has niceness deep down inside.

Soooo....there ya go....
these are little known facts that now...
you know!

Picnik

I took my favorite pics of my family and tweaked them...enjoy!

And when Mr. Brother #5 comes home from Ghana-I will post cute pics of him too!

25 Randoms

I got sucked into the facebook trend-everyone is doing them...so I thought I'd post mine here as well... enjoy. :P

1. My favorite thing to do is to pretend. I'm constantly trying on odd clothes-the people i work with often think i'm insane- and becoming someone else. I love story telling and theatre because of it.

2. i'm untidy...my desk, my room...i live with piles. i know (mostly) where things are in my piles, and thats how i like it.

3. i NEED things to be symmetrical, in odd numbers, and able to collapse into 1. My aunt i think is the only person who TRULY understands this about me

4. I can sleep ANYWHERE. buses, trains, floors, light, dark, sitting, standing...ok maybe not standing...but hey i guess i've never tried. i developed this skill while traveling. its very handy.

5. i'm a type 1 diabetic and a carboholic....i'd say a deadly combination...pasta and breads-oh how i love thee...

6. I usually dislike chic flicks-i prefer a good action film...but becoming jane makes me cry...every time. I'm an austen girl at heart.

7. when i was little, my parents would ground me from reading. i LOVE books.

8. knitting is therapeutic for me...all my unfinished projects testify to that. my hands CONSTANTLY need something to do-knitting, crocheting, silly putty, filing my nails, doodling, finger spelling, etc. etc.

9. 'there are DOZENS of us!' i'm an AVID arrested development fan

10. i prefer watching movies and tv shows with sub titles. it comes from watching bollywood films in hindi... i'm a dork but i don't care.

11. my middle name is my sisters first name: victoria

12. i have the BEST job in the world-i get to teach dozens of kids each week about Jesus. and get to be a total spaz about it. 

13. having a strong personality combination of otter and beaver makes me a squirrel.

14. i spend WAY too much time on facebook...i guess you could call it an addiction

15. my current favorite color is purple. it makes me happy. i wear something purple everyday.

16. someday, i'd like a pet snake.

17. the sound of styrofoam feels like someone is rubbing velcro up and down all my bones. it makes me want to scream. 

18. my hair is curly-please don't touch it. its very difficult to manipulate...and often rebels against my gentle pleads to lie still and in order. 

19. i'm very afraid of being trapped underwater-not of water itself, just being trapped...under it...

20. someday, i'd love to hang glide and bungie jump. but never sky dive-or ride in a submarine (see answer 19) 

21. sometimes...i think i will become the crazy cat lady who teaches children how to act, has pink hair and wears lots and lots of tie dye...another part of me denies it with everything in me...

22. Jesus loves me, and i love love love love Him. remove Him from my life and you'd have one nasty, vile, disturbed, vicious, horrendous hurting little girl...because of Him, I live free. and whole. with purpose. with hope.

23. my bestest best friend lives on another continent. i see her randomly and sporatically but i love her more than a sister. amberly, i miss you!

24. working with a bunch of women occasionally makes me not ever want to be married or have kids...they make me laugh-poor tyler...if its rough for me, i can't imagine what its like for him. 

25. I'd much rather plan everything than to be spontaneous. i like order and process-i see end results better than dreaming up ideas.
hmmm...guess thats 25.... :)

Insanity

I have recently fallen out of the blogging sphere for several reasons. Which I plan on outlining here:

1. my baby-my laptop-and I were calmly walking down the stairs when in a twist of terrible fate, I slipped and fell and my laptop went bouncing...resulting in my screen looking like this:

Sad sad sadness... the wonderful, friendly (not) people in the geek squad section in best buy calmly told me that my screen was cracked and there was nothing I could do to fix it.

Luckily, I am now the proud owner of 2 mac books-one with a broken screen that I can't part with yet due to all the pictures, music and general info still stored on it, and one beautiful new one I am currently typing on. Yay!

2. My family moved into a gorgeous house with lots of space for all of us. In a stroke of genius, we moved the weekend of thanksgiving and my mommy's 40th birthday. Like I said, brilliant.

3. Even with my own room apart from the rest of the children, life at home is crazy-so when my amazing friend Maggie invited me to move in with her into a house in town-I said yes. I'm moving out in a week. Who does that?

4. In December, my life was hectic. I overtook the project of the annual Christmas program at church-where I work. It was a HUGE ordeal for my little 19 year old self. And it turned out FABULOUS! I had a dance team who worked incredibly hard

 and a cast about 20 3rd-6th graders put on a play about the nativity. So precious.

5. I also got to be in a SUPER fun murder mystery masquerade for our youth group's volunteer appreciation dinner.  All dressed up and acting like a snob. So fun.

I think thats it....thats a pretty quick catch up on what I've been doing for the last few month...pretty exciting huh?

Snow White

Oh the fairest of them all....
They SAY mirrors don't lie...
Hmmm....
I'll let YOU be the judge.

Harvest Carnival 2008

Sisters!

ANYONE who knows me, knows I take EVERY opportunity to dress up. You don't have to ask me twice. :D Heres what I mean:

Butterfly

Indian Girl (This one is authentic-I actually wore this around India)Waitress (For the EDGE)

Super Splash! Twin NightA Pirate? Go figure....

Ezekiel : Psychedelic!
Guess it kinda runs in the family :D