The smallest thing for you, might be the BiGgEsT thing for the kids!

Our sweet dear Missy moved home with her family on June 2nd.  Easy transition?   No, not easy.  Hard work, and worth it.  Her dad worked so hard for one year to get his baby girl back. And he did it.  We are so proud of him.  We are also proud of Missy for always doing the next thing.  It sure seems like as soon as that girl gets settled in somewhere she is moved.  She has had to do some back and forth between foster care and her dad's house as they were in the adjustment phase.  But now she is there full time.  They are working so hard at learning how to be a family and we are so happy for them.  

There are so many foster kids out there.  Such a large HUGE ginormous need.  What most people don't know is that there are ways to be involved without housing someone long term if you want to.  

One of the best ways I can think of is respite care.  You still get your foster license, but you can do short term help.  So if a foster family needs a rest for a day, you could do that.  Or if they are leaving town for a weekend, you could do that.  That would be a great way to influence and meet the kids.  And you would be meeting another huge need which is helping the foster parent to not burn out.

Missy lived with us for one year.  Man could we tell some stories!  Right Missy?:)  We sure have some giggles now over some of the things that girl would do.  Were we perfect?  Not even close.  Did we give what we could and do our best?  Yes, and yes.  

One of the hardest things for me as foster mom was that I felt as though I failed every day.  I don't say that for pity.  It is what it is.  I was so deficient in knowledge for her individual needs, that it was just hard for me to feel like I was giving enough, or the right stuff.  I also was juggling two little boys and then our newest one came smack dab in the middle of that year, so it became 3 little boys.  At any rate, God showed me that He was asking for my best.  Though I thought my best was extremely insufficient, it was what was required.  So I had to start to learn to rest in that and pray for wisdom and insight.  

The other verse that I love is:  LOVE NEVER FAILS   So while I felt totally insufficient, I was doing my best to agape love.  Which I know never ever fails.  So I would rest in that. 

So, should you get involved?  If you can YES!  Please!  The smallest thing for you, might be the BIGGEST thing for them. 

DOING vs WAITING

Picture with me if you will a man named Doing, and a man name Waiting. 

Doing.  Doing sees the needs around him and knows that he will simply do what he can do.  It may not be much, may not seem like much, but he knows that it is better to give what you can, or do what you can do than to do nothing.  He knows that smiling at a stranger, being kind to the rude, or offering a helping hand, giving someone one dollar, even if they need $1,000, because he had a dollar...He knows that doing something is better than doing nothing.  He is aware of what goes on around him, and wants to do what he can when opportunity arises.  He gives out of what he has, even if it isn't much.

Waiting.  Waiting always considers his own needs first.  Waiting never has enough.  He never has enough money or time.  He can't stop to listen to someone hurting because he is busily heading somewhere else.  He doesn't have a dollar to spare because he is saving his money for something else.  He doesn't have extra food because "what if" his paycheck isn't as big next week and he needs the stash of yummies in the pantry...He can't let someone who needs a roof use his spare room because someone in his family "might" be coming to stay sometime this year, and "what if" it's at that same time???  He worries, he saves to the extreme, and makes sure he takes care of #1 first.

A sweet woman spoke at an Upwards Basketball game this year.  She used Isaiah 58 as her text.  And what stuck with me was a simple truth.  The time is now.  If you have a penny, give a penny.  Your penny matters.  If you have a loaf of bread, give a loaf of bread.  You bread counts.  She was saying so many of us keep waiting until this bill is paid off, or we save this much, or after this event or that birth, finish school..etc etc... The point is is that there are endless things and circumstances.  She was referring to fostering kids.  Her point was that we can all think of 100 reason to wait, or why the time isn't right.  She was saying that if we do that, there will never be a good, or right time.  I also thought her speech applied to any deed or opportunity that arises.  

How about just make available who we are right now, 

and what we have right now?  

Delightful Fruity Goodness

well, WELL, well~!
I cannot believe I haven't blogged here since December~!  Well I can if you consider the fact that our household increased again:)  And then b-day's, Holiday's, out of town guests....I guess I can believe it:)

Well TODAY

I 

AM 

here

to tell you that 

LOVE NEVER never NEVER fails.

That smile you give when someone looks sad.  Or you are kind when someone is not.

Those things are ALWAYS something because

LOVE

NEVER

FAILS

GOD

IS 

LOVE

AND HE

NEVER

EVER

FAILS

Today I will tell a very shortened version of a girl dear to our heart named Tee.  That's what we'll call her.  She would just die if she knew I named her that. HA:)! January 2011, Tee was placed in our lives.  We loved her.  We helped her.  We visited her.  We took her shopping.  We spoiled her as much as we could.  We almost became her foster parents!  But God had another plan.  (Josh spent a small FORTUNE on her!:) )

For some time we thought we might have some regrets...definitely some lessons learned. One thing we knew is that we followed God, and without doubt HE lead the way.  Sometimes it felt like it was for nothing, but we knew God had a plan, even if we never got to see exactly what.  

We were out of touch with her for a time in 2011 and then toward then end of the year we got back in touch again.  She thought she had burned bridges with us.  And we said NO WAY!  We loved you girl.  Just how you are and were.  She started hanging out again, going to church etc.  Of course some out to eats and shopping:)  Then one beautiful baptism Sunday, she feels God tugging at her heart, and GETS BAPTIZED in front of the whole church.   After that the changes she started making in her life were astounding.  God showed up big time in her circumstances!  

In January she got an amazing opportunity to go away to school.  So we had her over for a special dinner.  We all shared our special memories of her, and we all prayed over her.  At the end of dinner she told us that for a long time she struggled with believing God.  She said all the people she had met that professed to be Christians were pretty miserable.  She said in meeting us it was different.  We were happy.  And it stood out to her.  We were so humbled.  

So all that to say.  For a time we could have thought that love failed.  BUT love never fails.  We were so privileged to see FRUIT!  But even when you don't, you can walk by faith saying 

LOVE NEVER FAILS.