Embrace the Camera

  Nothing much going on this week.  Just the usual keeping up with life.  So I caught a few frames with Fluffypants and Munchkin, aka Roxy and Saki. :)


                                                            Saki

Roxy

                                 Me and Fluffypants

 Happy Thursday!


MnM

Embrace the Strawberries,,, er, camera.

This past weekend Mike and I went to the Strawberry Festival with our friends Heath and Erin and their daughter Blakely.  

I love this photo (even though my eyes are kinda closed) :)

We saw the usual fun, fair animals, like this crazy rooster:

Saw a fun, little stunt/pirate show:

And of course ate some strawberries

Mike found some super awesome sunglasses.

And we got to hang out with good friends and a cute baby!

Super awesome fun times! (yeah, I said it) :)

MnM

Ethiopian Adoptions (URGENT!)

I know multiple people who are in the process of adopting children from Ethiopia.  Word has recently come down the line, saying that they are reducing international adoptions by up to 90%.  Ethiopia is the country with the largest number of orphans IN THE WORLD! Not allowing these children a chance to find their forever families would be a tragedy.  My sister-in-law wrote about why their adopting from Ethiopia saying this:


Why are we adopting and why from Ethiopia?
I have received this question a lot since we've made this decision! It is the number one question asked...why? I mean obviously we can have biological children-right? And why adopt form Ethiopia.....why Africa? So for all of you curious minds here are some hard facts to handle....just imagine. Most people aren't aware of the orphan crisis in the world but it is real, and it won't just go away. Every child deserves the love of a family.
Here are your facts(I did not write this but got it from the source at the bottom):
Orphan Statistics

Every 15 SECONDS, another child becomes an AIDS orphan in Africa

Every DAY 5,760 more children become orphans
Every YEAR 2,102,400 more children become orphans (in Africa alone)
143,000,000 Orphans in the world today spend an average of 10 years in an orphanage or foster home
Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but…
Every YEAR 14,050,000 children still grow up as orphans and AGE OUT of the system
Every DAY 38,493 children AGE OUT
Every 2.2 SECONDS, another orphan child AGES OUT with no family to belong to and no place to call home
In Ukraine and Russia 10% -15% of children who age out of an orphanage commit suicide before age 18.
60% of the girls are lured into prostitution. 70% of the boys become hardened criminals.

Many of these children accept job offers that ultimately result in their being sold as slaves. Millions of girls are sex slaves today, simply because they were unfortunate enough to grow up as orphans. 

Reliable statistics are difficult to find, even the sources often list only estimates, and street children are rarely included. But even if these figures are exaggerated by double, it is still an unacceptable tragedy that over a Million children would still become orphans every year, and every year 7 Million children would still grow to adulthood as orphans with no one to belong to and no place to call home. They are totally vulnerable and easily fall prey to predators and slave recruiters. The disastrous outcomes of most children who age out of institutional care is evidence that these children don’t know the meaning of love, and are unable to comprehend God’s love. Receiving Jesus Christ makes no sense and too many of them will never have a chance to become adopted children of God.

The Christian Response
The Christian solution for this tragedy is to give orphan children the good news they really long to hear.


The Gospel of Adoption
The good news that orphan children need to hear is not only the fact that they will be adopted by a loving family, but also the good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross to make it possible for them to become adopted children of God. Our adoption by God is the ultimate expression of His love, and was the ultimate purpose of Jesus’ life on earth and death on the cross. This is truly the Gospel of Adoption, and it is written in Galatians 4:4-5 and John 1:12


If orphan children never experience a family’s love, how can we expect them to comprehend God’s love?
Adoption by a Christian family is the best way for orphan children to become adopted children of God. Not all are called to adopt, but anyone can love and minister to orphan children by helping other families adopt. 
Sources: http://www.hfgf.org/statistics.pdf.


I mean how can those statistics not hit your heart?!  Not to mention that God calls us to care for the widows and orphans.  


Below is the information on what's being proposed and how you can help:

Help Us Advocate For Ethiopian Orphans

An Important Update The Ethiopian Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) has announced a proposal to decrease the number of adoptions they will process and approve—even by as much as 90%. They are planning to accomplish this decrease by limiting the number of approved cases to only 5 per working day. This change is currently set to begin on March 10, 2011. Please know that no one fully understands this proposal yet. This will impact every agency and the families that each serve. This means that all agencies are working together in their advocacy making a very strong force that is working on the behalf of children and families. Currently, all agency staff are waiting for the Director of MOWA to return to Ethiopia. Once she returns they will have a chance to sit down and talk over the implications of this proposal. To attempt to counteract this proposal, the Joint Council on International Children’s Services (JCICS) has put a “Call to Action” in place. This sort of international advocacy is what JCICS does, and they do it well. We are strongly encouraging you to read their post below and follow the suggested steps. You can also share this with your family, friends, Facebook friends and church to do the same. It is so important that we are all united in this effort! We are all advocates in our own circles of influence—and it is good to partner with you in this!

JCICS Call to Action March 8, 2011 Joint Council: Emergency Campaign for Ethiopian Children What You Can Do: 1) Sign the petition to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi – and pass it on! 2) Have you adopted from Ethiopia? Please send us up to 3 photos and 50 words or less with what you would like the Ministry to know about your child – we’ll compile the information and send a book to the Ministry of Woman’s Affairs. Send your photos and stories to advocate@jointcouncil.org bySunday, March 12, 2011 to be included. Please note that sending photos and stories gives Joint Council unrestricted right to use the information you provide. 3) Share…Please send this Call to Action to family members, other adoptive parents, and everyone you know! Post, forward and share your adoption stories via Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. Make sure you include us in your posts so we can all hear your stories! Here’s links to our pages:Facebook,Twitter and our our blog. 4) Stay informed: Get up-to-date information regarding the situation in Ethiopia by signing up to receive information from us: click here to do so, make sure you choose “country and issues specific information” and “Ethiopia.” And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and our our blog. 5) Help ensure our advocacy can continue: Joint Council is a non-profit and receives no government funding. Please join us in ensuring more children live in safe, permanent and loving families.Donatetoday! Please help Ethiopian orphans find their forever families!  (Sorry for such a long post!  But thanks for making it through this important information! It means more than you know!)  MnM

Embrace the camera

Since I love photos, I thought I would join in on this opportunity to Embrace the camera. Emily from the Anderson Crew --> http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/ started this project to get those of us who are always behind the camera, out in front of it. So, I've finally decided to join in. :)

There's been a lot going on this week, so here's some pics from this week's busy events:

Mike and I celebrated the wedding of our friends Charleigh and John.  So excited for them to make it official :)

I cheered on my friend Bonnie as she ran her first half marathon. I'm so proud of her!

We enjoyed dinner with my parents and grandparents before they left to go back to Ohio.  It was great to have them here and we'll miss them!

Yea for an actual blog post! :)  Happy Friday y'all! 

MnM

AMAZING!

Davids will no longer be an orphan!  He has a family!

Thank you for all of your kind words and prayers!

I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU AS ORPHANS- I will come to you. John 14:18

A child running out of time!

I know I don't have a huge following, but I wanted to pass this on in hopes that others would too:

Is he YOUR son?
Please pray he finds his forever family soon!!Go here.... time is running out!!!

MnM

Food for the soul

So I haven't exactly kept up with my once a week blogging, as it had been over a month since my last post.  But I'm back and hopefully I'll stay on top of it. I'll try to post a update about the last month soon. 

Last Thursday Mike and I went out to a restaurant that we've wanted to try for a while, but just never made it there. It's called Fred's Southern Kitchen.  We weren't really sure what to expect (other than traditional southern food, obviously).  So we get seated (on our way to our seats I noticed them playing Keep Changing the World by Mike's Chair) and the waitress asks if we'd like the buffet.  (I didn't know they had one, but Mike was all about it, so I figured, what better way to find out what's good)

So we of course try to be good and both start with a small salad, but then proceed to take a little of everything (well not everything, but you get the idea) and our plates looked something like this:

This picture unfortunately does not show the DE-LICIOUS sweet potato souffle.  I have never enjoyed sweet potatoes, but in an effort to always try new things, I tried some.  Holy cow!  It was like a dessert. It tasted like brown sugared baked pecans.  I'm now in search of a recipe for this.  :)

I noticed that throughout the meal there were only Christian artists playing.  And then on our way out I saw a booklet on their newsstand that said "Breakfast for the soul."  So I picked it up to check it out and it was a journal to record your reflections on certain Bible passages every day.  The inside cover said this:

"Like most everyone, you've probably missed a meal at some point.  Remember how you felt as the day wore on?  It starts with that empty feeling in your stomach, with the hunger pangs reminding you more and more of your need for food.  And as that hunger grows, you find your energy beginning to drain away.  

When believers miss a day in God's Word, they experience the same effect spiritually.  God's Work is designed to nourish our minds and spirit, and without it, we're left feeling empty, and our 'spiritual energy' drains away.  Hebrews 5:14 says '...solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.'

Many believers feel attending weekly worship provides more than enough time in the Word.  But just as your body can't thrive on one meal a week, your spirit will never flourish on just one day a week in His Word.  And, just as a healthy adult should be able to feel himself, a believer should be taking in the Word by more than just hearing it.  Taking the time to read God's Word allows God Himself to speak directly to you.  In James 1:22 it says: 'But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers...'.

Are you hungry?  Jesus himself said: Luke 6:21 'Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.'  I promise you, by taking time to be in His Word daily, your life will be transformed.  Make a commitment to stay with the reading plan for 30 days and see what takes place in your life.  You won't be disappointed.  

2Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

I've heard that basic comparison made before, but not in such detail.  I thought the visualization was on point.  

So I've never been to Fred's or any of the associated restaurants, but I can definitely say, 

I'll be back. :)

MnM