Exciting News

"A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation.  God makes a home for the lonely. . ."  ~Psalm 68:5,6a

God's heart for orphans being loved is what inspired the making of All I Want for Christmas, and even if just one child ends up in a loving home because of this film, it will have been worth it.  That same heart is what motivates us to share this film with as many as possible.  We are excited to announce that, in order to better accomplish the sharing of the film, we have created a site on the web just for All I Want for Christmas, also known as "The Little Adoption Movie".

It is thelittleadoptionmovie.wordpress.com.  All I Want for Christmas can be viewed there, and viewers can read more about the reasons behind the film, the making of the film, more about God's heart for adoption, and more about His incredible love toward each of us.

As an extension of His own hand, and in His name, adoption mirrors the heart of God toward each of us.  While we were helpless to save ourselves, Jesus Christ came into our world to rescue us from the life we were doomed to because of our sin.  "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."  ~John 1:12,13

Will you help spread the word?

All I Want for Christmas

Five and a half years ago, our world changed forever when God tapped us to travel halfway around the world to adopt a teenage girl we had never met.  But as much as our world changed, her world changed even more as she received the fulfillment of her greatest wish--a family!  We can wholeheartedly say that the joy has been every bit as much ours as hers!

The hardest thing to do was to leave the others behind in the orphanage, the children who begged for someone to please find them a family.  Last Christmas, our biological daughter wrote a song that expressed the longing in their hearts and it became the spark which led to the creation of a short film, with the help of dear family and friends.  The six minute film is finally finished and we would like to share it with you.   Just follow the link below. . .But be warned:  your world may never be the same!

All I Want for Christmas on Vimeo

For the sake of the souls of the children left behind in orphanages, or passed from foster home to foster home, all over the world, would you help us spread this little adoption movie as far and wide as possible by as many means as possible?  Maybe you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who needs to see it!  And maybe someone who you'll never know this side of heaven will be adopted, not only by an earthly family, but into God's family, too, because you did!

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,

for the rights of all who are destitute.

Speak up and judge fairly;

defend the rights of the poor and needy"

Proverbs 31:8-9 (NIV)

P.S.  If you'd like to know more about our adoption experience and how God orchestrated it, you can follow the link on the right to our adoption blog.  The news isn't so new anymore, but the experiences and lessons the Lord taught us transcend time.

Unexpected Storms III-- The Song He Knew We Needed

My dear readers,

I know only a little something of the storms just a few of you are going through right now, but our precious Heavenly Father indeed knows the details of every one of the storms in each of our lives.  He anticipates our needs and is perfectly able to meet them.  In a way, He did that for us when He gave us this song.

It wouldn't be right to keep this song to ourselves, when He intends that we pass on the comfort He gives.  So I share this song (just a living room recording), not to focus on me, but I earnestly pray that you can hear beyond my voice to the words and character of Jesus as He reveals Himself in the gospels.  If you haven't already had a chance to, I humbly encourage you to take a moment to read about the backdrop against which this song is set.  Truly, I think understanding the song's backstory will make it's meaning richer.  Unexpected Storms--Part One especially sets the stage with the Biblical context from Mark 4, and Unexpected Storms--Part Two (Ben's Storm) will give you a glimpse of how God, in His perfect timing, used this song to encourage our family.

May it be a blessing. . . and yes, of course, you may share it if you think it will encourage someone else.

Trust in Him at all times, O people;  Pour our your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.
Psalm 62:8

The words are on the video, but in case they are too small to read, I included them here as well.  You can also hear the song on Vimeo here.

Captain's Anthem
© 2011 Carol Carpenter
Inspired by Mark 4:35-5:1

V1
There will be days
When you think the waves
Will surely break over your boat.
Your knees are knocking,
And your boat is rocking,
And you're not sure you're staying afloat.

Chorus
But this storm was never meant to scare you;
Instead, my friend, it will prepare you.
This whirling storm was never meant to be a threat;
You belong to me, so please don't fret!
Storms will rise,
Dark clouds blind your eyes,
But your strength is not in what you see--
Your strength is found in depending on Me.
Your strength is found in Me!

V2
When courage may waver,
Know that I am your Savior--
Don't let fears run away with you!
When faith starts to slip,
Remember:  I planned this trip.
You're here to see what I can do!

Chorus

And this storm was never meant to scare you;

Instead, my friend, it will prepare you.

This whirling storm was never meant to be a threat;

You belong to me, so please don't fret!

Storms will rise,

Dark clouds blind your eyes,

But your strength is not in what you see--

Your strength is found in depending on Me.

Your strength is found in Me!

Bridge

Can't you see that fretting is a waste?

Surely by now you've had a taste

Of My power and majesty--

No storm ever gets the best of Me!

Chorus

And this storm was never meant to scare you;

Instead, my friend, it will prepare you.

This whirling storm was never meant to be a threat;

You belong to me, so please don't fret!

Storms will rise,

Dark clouds blind your eyes,

But your strength is not in what you see--

Your strength is found in depending on Me.

Your strength is found in Me!

V3

I'm here in your boat;

I will keep you afloat.

You've got to understand Who I am!

Unexpected Storms-- Part Two (Ben's Storm)

Instead of me telling you about the 'storm' we ran into, I will let our thirteen year old son tell it in his own words--

A beautiful day.  A broken kite line.  A mad dash.  A slip on wet grass.  “Crack!”  What?  Why?  How?

Some would say that problems and trials are what they’re called: problems and trials.  I disagree.  James says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)  You see, God always has a purpose for what He does.  Trials aren’t brought along to make you miserable—they’re brought to strengthen your faith and teach you.  Starting in March of this year, I’ve been getting first hand experience in this, and I would like to tell you some of the things that I have learned and grown in because of my own trial.

Saturday, March 12, 2011, was a beautiful day.  In the afternoon, I went outside intending to get the mail on my bike.  Then, I saw that it was an excellent day to fly a kite.  So, I hurried into the garage and returned with the kite.  The wind was very strong and the kite went up very quickly—too quickly.  For a few minutes, things went well, but the wind was definitely too strong.  The kite started acting very wild because of the wind, and then, all of a sudden my line broke, and I saw the kite headed straight for the power lines and road in a twenty-mile-an-hour wind!  You can imagine what I thought.  A second later, I took off running as fast as I could go after the kite.  I chased it clear out of our yard, and into our neighbor’s yard.  As I ran, I realized I was running on wet grass.  I kept on running after the kite, and as it went down, I started to reach for it.  But on my last stride, my right leg went out from under me, and, as my leg went down, I heard a loud “crack”.  I wondered what I had done and hoped it was nothing too bad.  It took a lot of pain, effort, and time, but I finally dragged myself back to the house.  After I reached the door, I just rang the bell, thanked the Lord that I made it, and fell back exhausted!

I was very grateful to the Lord that the kite stopped where it did—About fifteen feet from the road and just underneath the power lines!

As you could guess, the door was opened, and a very grateful Ben was helped into the car, which we took directly to the hospital.  X-rays of my leg showed that the femur neck (around where the ball of the big leg bone joins the hip socket) of my right leg was broken.  I couldn’t believe it.  Not that I denied the reality, but it was quite a shock!  Truthfully, I had hoped that I had done something much more minor, like tearing a tendon or ligament, or just dislocating my hip.  My hopes were dashed.  Stuck with a broken hip!  “Why?”  “Why did the Lord let this happen?” I wondered.  I knew that the Lord was with me and that He always has a reason for what He does, so I decided to trust the Lord, and then we asked the Lord what He wanted me to learn from this.  Within hours, He started making things clear. . . .

. . .Surgery--that word made me gulp.  We were also informed that the surgery could not be done at the hospital I was at (much to my temporary relief!).  On the way to a different hospital, I had a conversation with one of the paramedics.  I said, “It’s always nice to know that if you ever have medical problems, you know where you can go.”  Then I said, “It’s also nice to know where your eternal destination is, too.” . . .

With me having a broken hip, you can imagine that a lot of nurses and doctors would be visiting my room.  God had given me an amazing chance to be a witness for Him!  My Dad encouraged me to just be myself and be polite, so that is what I did.  I thanked everyone who helped me, I was polite and attentive to what people said, and the Lord used just that. I think one reason God allowed me to break my hip is because of the opportunities to be witnesses that He has given us through this trial.

. . .One of the things the Lord taught me through this was to trust Him more, and also He has shown me how He provides everything we need.  In my case, it was hospitals to go to, the right people to help me, gentle people to help me, assurance from my Dad, who had experienced a broken leg himself—telling me everything would be alright, a chance to talk to the surgeon to get our questions answered, His provision of peace, and His strength (which I still need) in recovery.  He has also shown me, in a very up close and personal way, that I can do a lot more through His strength than I realized before this!

God does bring trials along so that we can learn and grow because of them. This is stated quite clearly in Jeremiah 29:11.

“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not calamity, to give you a future and a hope.’”

Sometimes we may not understand His plans, and it may look like calamity, but we can rest assured that it is for our good.  This is also found in Romans 8:28.  So, if God uses trials for our good, our proper response should be to thank Him for the trials that He brings us—in whatever form they may come.

Now, I know, at first this might sound a bit extreme to some.  But if you think about it, (I’ll use a hospital example) if you had an extremely dangerous disease, which only one very-knowledgeable health agency knew about and guaranteed they could help you get over, you would probably want their help right?  But what if I told you the doctor they sent drove a ‘souped-up’ model T, wore chainmail and a sword, his tools were a saw, hammer, flashlight, and jackhammer, his note taking was done with a quill and papyrus, and his beard was nearly tripping him. But he claimed he did know how to help you. What would you think now?  Would you still want their help?

Believe it or not, this situation is like life.  Just like the sickness, we have areas in our lives where we need help and need to grow.  There is an Agency that wants to help you.  That Agency is God’s spiritual health agency—God wants us to grow and become more like Him.  One of the ways He does that is through trials, and, like I said before, we need to be ready to accept His help through trials in whatever form they come, and thank Him for it. Just like the doctor from the agency, the trials could be baffling, weird, ridiculous, or even scary, but we can be sure that the trials are for our good.

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or became His counselor?’” (Rom. 11:33 & 34)  We serve a very creative, caring God who, I know first hand, does things in ways we sometimes don’t understand.  But we can trust and thank Him that He knows what He is doing and that He does work all things to the good of those who love Him!   ~ Ben


You've been reading an excerpt from Ben's writing about what the Lord taught him through this storm.  For the most recent update from Ben, see ONE YEAR LATER...The View From The Top.

About thirty-six hours before Ben fell, I had shared with our family the song the Lord gave me about unexpected storms in our lives (based on Mark 4--see Unexpected Storms--Part One).  A night or two after Ben got home from the hospital, when I came to tell him goodnight, he was lying there humming that song.  As we started talking, we discovered that the first night we spent in the hospital, while we each thought the other was asleep, both of us were actually awake with the truths in that song comforting our hearts while it silently went through our minds.  If you would like to hear what God did, you can listen to the song here.