God is at Work

I was so encouraged last week by hearing the heart of another mom who is adopting a 3 1/2 year old boy from Ethiopia. The Lord has been generously providing financially for their family to bring him home, and she was thinking about how their son doesn’t even know all this is happening on his behalf. He sits, day after day, in an orphanage.

She says, "Though he is too young to ask a lot of big questions, I’m quite sure he perceives a lot of unknowns. It would surprise me if he didn’t have fear or anxiety that is greater than what a child should have to carry, and someday he may even grow to ask all the “Why?” questions. If and when He does, I pray God fills and satisfies his hungry soul with the reminder of His faithfulness. When our son Chernet sits helpless, God is moving!

As I consider all of this further, my mind goes to stories in history that declare the faithfulness of God, even when it wasn’t always seen until years later. The Israelites were in captivity in Egypt for 400 years before God brought their deliverance, and though generations went without understanding the bigger picture of what God was doing, when it was time, His rescue came with astounding greatness. Even in those 400 years, God never let the people out of his sight and care! Chernet sits, and waits. Nearly every week he has been in the orphanage, he has seen children come in without families, and others go away with new families. He doesn’t have a clue–but God has not forgotten him!

When we are tempted to despair and feel forgotten, may God help us to recall His faithfulness in the past and may this help us to hope! Even as I write this, I realize how weak I am–prone to fear so many things. May God help us to be faithful and may He help me to not live in fear, but in trust that He is a loving father who works out all things for the good of His children!

Check out Psalm 77 for more encouragement! The writer is in the midst of real struggle and honestly expresses it, but he doesn’t end there. He turns his attention back to the faithfulness of God in the past and it fills him with hope for the future!"

Photogenic

Children

A friend passed along Mark Dever’s sermon, “Let the Little Children Come to Me” from Mark 10. It was practical and encouraging about child-rearing and seeking after a personal childlike faith.

I was also struck by his description of the tragic mindset of the world -- that people don't want to settle down and make a family because they want to make a difference. As if the two are not one and the same!!

The kids and I listened to it together one afternoon and I hope you have the time to check it out too -- http://www.sbts.edu/resources/category/chapel/. It's the sermon from April 20.

How Are We Doing?

Some friends have been asking how we're doing now that my mom has been gone and I'm home with two babies. And I'm so thrilled to report that we're doing GREAT! Our children are very happy, content, easy babies. They're being loved and they love that. I think they're too young to really grieve the things they've left behind in Ethiopia or feel confused about who all the new people are in their lives. They're surrounded by friends and family who enjoy them, and they're thriving. Our days are full of smiles and laughter.

Staying home with our children is by far the best job I've ever had. God has been so good.

We're working with them on sleeping through the night and they've made some real progress -- praise the Lord! They're still really young, but they recognize each other and I can tell that they'll enjoy having each other as company as they get older.

 

Before we brought them home, I'd read that during the first few weeks adopted children shouldn't be held by others for more than 5-10 minutes and that one of us should be in their sight if we're not holding them. I've always imagined that I'd be a much more laid back mom than that, but of course I was more than willing to do whatever our babies would need. I'm happy to say that this has been completely unnecessary for our kids. They love people, and at the same time they clearly know their daddy and mommy apart from the crowd. I pray that even as they grow, they would feel secure in our family and thankful to the Lord more and more for all He has done.

So...we're doing great! And as great as life is, we rejoice even more in the Lord, He who is the only one worthy of our praise and worship. Our joy is found in Him!!

Psalm 97:12 Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.

Psalm 33:21 Our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.

Lifesong For Orphans Blog

It has been such a blessing and a joy to work with Lifesong for Orphans through our adoption process -- most of you would remember that they and Louisville Orphan Care Initiative selected our family for a $4000 matching grant.

Today they used a post from our blog on their blog! You can check it out here. Isn't it such a wonderful thing when Christians can rejoice together in God's work among us?

They Make Friends Wherever They Go

When Adoption Fails, the Gospel is Denied

Russia has put a freeze on all international adoptions in response to the tragedy of a women sending back her newly adopted son. There are approximately 3,000 families that are in the middle of the adoption process through Russia, and their cases are all suspended now.

Albert Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote a great blog post about it called When Adoption Fails, the Gospel is Denied. It won't take much of your time, and it's worth it to get to the end.

Widows and Orphans

The Lord has given me the privilege of developing a relationship over the last few years with a 93 year old widow at our church named Geneva. I visit Geneva every other week at her home, and we pray at the end of our time together. I've often been struck by the beauty of her prayers for our children, and thought at those times about how God's Word tells us that He cares for the widows and the orphans. It's especially sweet for me to see a widow care for (former) orphans too!

It's been a joy to take our babies with me to visit Geneva since they've been home. Here are a few pictures of our last visit.

James 1:27  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Whistle While You Work

Daddy and Mommy

We love being parents. Hubby told me once that he thinks about our kids all day -- thinks about their faces and the way they look at him. The love we have for them is more than I ever could have imagined. God has blessed us beyond measure. We are so very, very happy.

Here are a few fun pics of life lately...

Visiting daddy for lunch at work

So expressive

He can do it all by himself (this was just for a pic...we still hold the bottle to feed him!)

Thanks for the Bumbos, Bishops and Browns!
(Our little guy loves chilling out, and our funny girl hits it like it's a drum)

Pray for Russia's Orphans

From Dr. Russell's Moore's blog. Dr. Moore has two adopted sons from Russia.

The Russian orphanage where my wife and I found our sons, then Maxim and Sergei, was the most heartbreaking place I have ever been. Its sights and smells and sounds come back to me every day.

But, even more so, before my mind’s eye every day are the faces of the children we couldn’t adopt. The little girl who peered around the door frame every day as we visited our then-future sons in their room. What happened to her? What will happen to those like her, and like my sons, who are waiting now for homes and families, someone to love them and feed them and hug them?

Until now, my hope has been that Christians from America, Canada, Germany, France, or somewhere may have adopted them, to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. If the anti-adoption Russians get their way, I fear that these children will be sentenced to institutions, never to find families.

There are other Maxims and Sergeis, sitting day and night in cribs somewhere in Russia. Let’s pray that the Russian people make the right decisions for them. And let’s pray for the providence of the One who promises to be a Father to the fatherless. This situation isn’t just a human interest tragedy. And it’s not just a foreign policy issue.

Russia’s orphans aren’t foreigners to those of us who’ve been adopted into the family of Christ. They’re Jesus’ little brothers and sisters (Matt 25:40). He won’t forget them.

And neither can we.

Russian Adoptions

From Christian Alliance Blog:

The internet is abuzz—from Yahoo News to NPR to the Daily Beast—with the tragic controversy surrounding a single mother from Tennessee, who sent her adopted Russian son back to Russia, solo on a plane, claiming that he was acting out in ways she could no longer handle.

The mother certainly merits the sharp criticism she’s earned, and, if we can find it, compassion and prayers as well. She cleary lost grip on the reality of what adoption represents: that is a permanent intertwining of lives, a sacred commitment. Her choice was like that of a new mother imaging she could simply reverse motherhood by taking a crying newborn back to the hospital—just as, sadly, sometimes happens.

The story highlights a number of important issues. A few of these are:

The vital importance of thorough understanding and preparation before adoption. Initial reports strongly suggest that the mother had no anticipation of the difficulty she might face in seeking to care for the 7-year-old boy. Children who have spent many years in an institution often carry wounds that take time, sacrifice and much patience to heal. The simple truth is that because every child so deeply needs the love and permanence of a family, years in institutional care are not without consequences. This, of course, is precisely why adoption is to be far preferred to orphanages whenever possible, and why it’d be a tragedy multiplied by thousands if the Russian government allowed this exceptional case to halt international adoptions, as they are now threatening.

The need for community. Adoption should never be viewed as a “just-me-and-my-child” undertaking. All parents, especially single ones, need the support, encouragement, advice and practical aid of others as they raise their children. This is particularly true with adopted children coming from difficult backgrounds. This is why the local church is key to a full vision for adoption. Adoption should not be seen merely as a family wrapping around a hurting child, but as a community wrapping around a family wrapping around a child. The best church adoption ministries never focus just on the process of getting a family to the point of adoption, but on the whole journey that will include many years of great joys and real challenges after the child has arrived.

The significance of motivations. Adoption should never be undertaken merely as a way to fill our own cavernous needs. It’s always wise to avoid judging motives, but it does appear that the Tennessee mother was adopting in large part to fill an emptiness within her own life. Of course, just as with marriages entered for such reasons, adoptions in which the child is primarily a means to personal fulfillment, comfort, or other self-focused reasons are bound for trouble. No other human being will ever fill the gaps in our own lives completely, especially those with profound needs of their own. So, if we are not prepared to give much more than we receive—whether as parents or in marriage—we’re likely to “want out” before long.

There are real risks that this sad situation could derail other Russia-to-U.S. adoptions, and thus relegate thousands of adoptable orphans to life in institutions. In light of this danger, our friends at JCICS have done a great job pulling together a concerted response to this situation. They’re seeking to confront the serious wrong done to the 7-year-old Russian boy, while also working to send a clarion message to our friends in Russia that this situation does not reflect the reality the vast majority of adopted Russian children experience in the U.S. If you have stories that can help them convey this message, I’d encourage you to join their “We are the Truth” initiative here.

Smiling Faces

Our son and daughter are so happy, and they bring us so much happiness!

Psalm 16:2-3 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad."

Message from the Philpots

Our son and daughter received letters from the US government welcoming them to the country, and enclosed were their permanent resident cards.

To all of you who have prayed and given to help us bring them home, we can't say this enough...

I Love You, Mom!

My mom has been staying with us since the day we came home with our babies -- almost one month of her company and invaluable help. Today she flies home.

Mom, I miss you so much already! I love spending time with you. I'll always treasure these first few weeks with our babies and with you. If you could stay here indefinitely, I'd be all for it.

I can never thank you enough for all of your help. I couldn't have done it without you! I've learned so much from you about being a mom.

And you know how our sweet babies love you.

You're an excellent grandmother. Thank the Lord that you're our kids' grandmother!!

The Days They Were Born

Before we saw pictures of our children, I often wondered if they were already born or if they were still in someone's womb. Would I be doing anything of significance on the days that they were born, or would those days of utmost importance seem like ordinary, routine days to me?

It turns out that our baby girl was born the day before my sister gave birth -- the first baby any of my siblings had ever had. The day our baby girl was born was full of excitement and anticipation for me because I was waiting for a call from my sister to say that she was in labor. I had my cell phone on my desk all day. Birth and new life were on my mind.

Our baby boy was born two weeks later, while we were visiting my sister and her husband to see their new son. We were fresh from holding a newborn boy and thinking hard about our own. The day that we think our boy was born, we took a picture on the beach that we like to call "Our Children are Across That Ocean!"

God's sovereignty never ceases to amaze me.

Happy Resurrection Day

Happy Resurrection Day from the Philpot family!

I Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Thank You, Lord

I Samuel 1:5 ...the Lord had closed her womb.

Psalm 145:17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works.

Lord, thank You for closing the womb for us so that we could be the parents of these two precious children!!