The Family of God

Friday, June 9, 2017

I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God!
I've been washed in the fountain, 
Cleansed by His blood.
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm a part of the family, 
The family of God. 
by Bill and Gloria Gaither

Click here for the full story behind the song.

According to Gloria Gaither, someone in their church experienced a devastating accident. The whole church rallied around the family to help provide all the necessary things to get through it all. The Gaithers were overwhelmed by how God worked through His children to accomplish so much. One thing lead to another and "The Family of God" was born. 

It stands to reason that since we are God's children and His instruments of love, that He would use us to provide miraculously for His Family. That's what we do at ALIVE Bible Studies, at Vacation Bible School, in the Single Moms Oil Change, at Empty Bowls, at Christmas Served with Love, and with all the mission projects we do. When we make ourselves available to Him and pay attention to the world around us, we should naturally reach out to those in need. 

But, you know, being family isn't just about love and support. Sometimes it's about instruction and discipline. Who better to provide correction than someone who loves you and cares about your future. 

Lord, thank you for my spiritual family. And thank you for making me their sister. Help us all to work together to accomplish your will. 

 

Are You Adopted?

Thursday, June 8, 2017

The New Testament tells us that we can have a home with God by doing the following:

• Admit that we are sinful and that there's nothing we can do to earn our way to heaven. 
• Believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he came to earth to die on the cross as payment for our sins. 
• Invite Jesus to come into our hearts and to become Lord of our lives. 

We mustn't miss the fact that by doing this, we actually become adopted into His family. And He loves us as much as He loves Jesus. 

...the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father."
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He wants us to call on him as our loving daddy.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians‬ ‭3:26-29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What is our inheritance?

Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25:34‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Our inheritance is eternal life with God in heaven where we will praise and worship Him until the end of time. 

Lord, I'm so glad I have been adopted into your family -- that I have just as much of a right to be in heaven with you as Abraham, Moses, or King David do. Thank you for your love and your provision for me. I am so thankful to be your daughter. 

 

International Birthday Traditions

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

 

Norwegians celebrate birthdays with chocolate cake and by dancing with a friend. 

Russian children celebrate by giving their classmates candy on their own birthdays. Adults also hang gifts from clotheslines for children's birthday parties. 

German children get candles, cake, and presents on their birthdays. They also get out of homework and household chores. 

Single adult men over 30, however, have to sweep the stairs at their local courthouse while their "friends" throw garbage at them. 

Ecuadorian children are traditionally named for a patron Saint.  So they celebrate their birthdays on the date their saint was born. On their actual birthdays, children just get a card. 

Vietnamese adults and children all celebrate their birthdays on the same day: Tet. This is also the first day of the new year. 

Indian children get to celebrate their birthdays in three ways: they put on a new set of clothes in the morning, they eat a special meal, and they get to touch their parents' feet!

Dutch children celebrate ages 5, 10, 15, 20, and 21 as their crown years. On these days they receive big gifts and get to drink lemonade and hot chocolate.

Australians get to have fairy bread on their birthdays (i.e. buttered bread with sprinkles).

 

Jamaicans throw flour at each other on their birthdays. 

Canadians are likely to have someone sneak up on them on their birthdays and smear butter or grease on their noses. 

Argentinians pull the ears of the ones having birthdays. 

One year for Will's birthday, we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. I had gone ahead of time and had taken a cake and candles for the waitresses to bring out to us. Not having been there when someone else had had a birthday, I had no idea what was on the horizon.

When the time came to bring out the cake and candles, the whole staff came out with it, singing "Happy Birthday" with very distinctive Chinese accents and with the music playing overhead -- and they sang it THREE times! The first time was sweet. The second time was a bit embarrassing -- for ALL of us. And the third time was just plain AWKWARD!!

But it did establish a fun Birthday memory for our family!

Lord, I firmly feel that it is pleasing to you for us to find things in this life to celebrate. And honoring someone on their birthday can really be important to them. Help us to do a good job of valuing each others' lives and celebrating the masterpiece You created. 

Happy Birthday to Patrick

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

 

Twenty-eight years ago today, I woke up like Anya other day. A friend of mine came over to help me pack up my kitchen because we had just bought a new house and would be moving soon. My big, fat belly made it difficult for me to do much packing!

We had barely boxed up one set of cabinets when it hit me -- I was in labor. 

So I paged Bill and he called me from a pay phone at Mr. Gatti's. That's right. There were no cell phones at that time. And there used to be phones throughout the community that you could place a quarter in and call someone. Also we thought we were pretty cool to have been able to use a pager for our last trimester just in case I needed to reach Bill. 

Anyway, he left his lunch date with Stan Harwood and came flying home to take me to the Medical Center at Bowling Green. 

About 3 hours later we had Patrick. 

He was such a cute little boy. He was always on the top of the growth chart for height and weight (and head size). So by the time he was 18 months old, he was wearing the same size clothes as his brother who was 26 months older. 

Somewhere between 6 and 18, Patrick was, we'll say, a handful. I am so glad I didn't wring his neck because now he is an absolute joy and blessing. He has married a wonderful woman (Klecenda Curtis) who is very much like a sister to Lizzie. And he is a middle school teacher in Madison County (which is pretty funny when you consider what a challenge he was as a youth). 

So Happy Birthday, Patrick. Thank you for taking care of your daddy on your birthday. You are such a blessing. I'm glad to be your mom after all!

Happy Adoption Day, Lizzie!

Monday, June 5, 2017

 

Nineteen years ago today, the Forts (plus Amy Miller, our baby sitter) gathered at the courthouse in Richmond to appear before the honorable Judge Jennings in order to finalize Lizzie's adoption. It was really interesting to hear the Judge explain the particulars. 

 

• From that day forward, Lizzie would be a Fort. 
• She would be equally entitled to all rights and privileges as any other heir to our estate. 
• Her birth certificate would be changed to list Bill as her father and me as her mother. 

After all the legalities were complete, we asked the Judge if we could take a picture with him. He laughed and said, "You know, it's not very common for people in my court to request a picture with me." How true.  

 

One of my favorite pictures from that day is of Patrick holding little six-month-old Lizzie like a sack of potatoes. She was as content as she could've possibly been. 

 

Every year since that day, we have celebrated Lizzie's adoption day on June 5. We wanted her to always know she was adopted so that it would never be a surprise for her. For the longest time, though, she thought EVERYBODY had an adoption day. That's pretty cute. 

Today as we celebrate the addition of this precious child to our family, we recognize that with her our family is complete. 

I have said it many times. It was as intended that Lizzie be our daughter as it was for Will and Patrick to be our sons. We are so blessed to have these three wonderful children!

Lord, thank you so much for this precious daughter you gave us nineteen years ago. Thank you for the tremendous love and sacrifice that her birth mother made in entrusting her to us. Bless her, Lord. And bless our baby girl. 

Memory Verse 2017 -- Week 22

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Abiding in Christ

 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him; 

so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Spend the week focusing on this scripture: 

• Read the verse in your Bible. 
• Read the passage before and after it. 
• Write it in your journal. 
• Ask the Lord to show you how it applies to your life. 
• Put it on a piece of paper and post it in a prominent place in your home so that you can see it often. 
• Put the words to music. Make up a tune or use one you already know. Singing always helps in the memory process. It's a left brain / right brain thing. 
• Always memorize the scripture reference with the verse so you can remember where to find it in the Bible. 

The U.S. Coast Guard

Saturday, June 3, 2017

 

• In the 1790s, the Revenue-Marine (or the Revenue Cutter Service) merged with the United States Life-Saving Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard.
• The Guardians serve to protect our waterways and ports and to save the lives of sailors in peril.
• Although one of the U.S. branches of the military, the Coast Guard isn't a part of the Department of Defense. Instead, it is an arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
• During the 1870s, the Coast Guard "ran" Alaska.
  They enforced hunting and fishing laws, rescued ships in the region, held "court" for the purposes of prosecuting criminals, and supplied provisions like food, medicine, and supplies to the villagers along the coast.
• Lloyd Bridges, Beau Bridges, Jeff Bridges, Arnold Palmer, and Cesar Romero were Guardians.
  And so was Popeye.

 

• On any given day, the Coast Guard conducts over a hundred searches and rescues, saves a dozen lives, seizes hundreds of pounds of marijuana and cocaine, and investigates any number of vessel casualties.
• Like the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, the Coast Guard has its own aviators. In fact, two of them flew in the Space Shuttle program.

I've been amazed about all the different things that the Coast Guard does. Here's an interesting blurb from a drug seizure earlier this year. 

 

The Coast Guard offloaded approximately 4.2 tons of seized cocaine, worth an estimated $125 million in wholesale value, at Coast Guard Sector San Juan. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier seized the contraband and apprehended four Guyanese smugglers following the interdiction of the 70-foot fishing vessel, Lady Michelle, in international waters north of Paramaribo, Suriname Feb. 16, 2017. (DEA courtesy photo)

Lord, thank you for these men and women who work tirelessly to keep our shore lines, ports, and waterways safe. We are very fortunate to have them.