PEDIGREES
To all my Grandkids.
As you all, know, I have been watching recent unfolding world events through the lens of Biblical prophecy, and I am amazed and deeply humbled at the privilege I have to be observing first hand what may be the culminating events of history before the establishment of Jesus' kingdom (more…)
Shannon Van Roekel's BlogThoughts from my Dad, Noel Haynes, Part IIIJanuary 13, 2012 
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Jan 5, 2012. The New Year is here, and Sandra and I are taking this opportunity to wish you all the best for the new year, and to pray for each of you “that God will fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding, in order (more…) Thoughts from my Dad, Part IIJanuary 13, 2012
ARMAGEDDON UPDATE
16/12/11 The European economy continues to self-destruct. The merchants of the world were watching with baited breath last friday for some word from the European summit that would reassure them . The solution proposed consisted of getting the 27 EU nations to agree to imposed fiscal and budgetary austerity measures that would meet Germany's conditions (more…) Thoughts from my Dad, Part IJanuary 13, 2012
SERMONETTE – LAST DAYS
2 Peter chap. 3, verse 8 : “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise, as some count slowness,but is patient toward you, not wishing that any (more…) A Baby Changes EverythingJanuary 4, 2012 
“The test is positive! We’re having a baby!!” 30 months later, “We’re expecting again!” 26 months after that, “Oh boy, how will we tell your mom?” Crossing the normal parameter of 3 to abnormal 4: “Um…Honey, there’s something I have to tell you.” And for baby # five, “At least our family allowance check will be bigger next year.” 17 years have gone by since that announcement. Our baby is bigger than both his dad and me. Today the words I choose to announce the advent of children into our home sound strange, even after all my experience. “The father called. He’s signing the papers tomorrow.” And with that signature, two small girls become full-term residents in our household - to love, to feed, to clothe, to bathe, to educate…for a lifetime. A week before Christmas I had sat in the nursery pondering the children playing there. Two boys were adopted inside Canada, considered high need infants, they were brothers and sons now to loving young parents. Twin girls from Zambia, adorable in their matching pink outfits, had been more difficult to adopt. Their parents were required to make the long trip to Africa and live there for nine months before being able to bring them home to Canada. And there were my girls, too. Mosetta and Aamina. Full sisters, born to a couple we had met through Union Gospel Mission, their young lives had already been smeared by drugs and alcohol and all the ramifications thereof. On the verge of obtaining custody of these young ones, to raise as our own, I had been waffling between incredible relief and gratefulness to finally have them in our home, full time, experiencing stability and love, to quaking fear at the thought of what we were about to take on. These words from Scripture wafted through the televised monitor, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people…And this will be a sign to you: you shall find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger…” Our Lord’s birth and parentage were weird and complicated, to say the least. And more valid and real than anything before or since. Emmanuel. God with man. He is with us. That is what matters. That is why the nursery is full of these wonderful children. That is why our lives are being shaken with the blessings of children from God. More than our need for comfort or rest or ease, are the needs of these babies and God’s plan for them. How comforting that His plan for His own Dear Son, that hurt so much and cost everything, is alive still today: salvation. Saving us. Keeping us. Giving us life… And helping us, in spite of our lack and shortcomings, to share in that purpose with Him. Perfect Father, thank You for these little ones You have given. Help us to be more like You and less like us as we raise them. Help us to teach them to love Jesus so they can be saved and kept and have life, forevermore! *Note: For backstory on this blog, read the “Baby Girl” blogs. Seeds of Hope in a Desperate LandDecember 6, 2011
August 2011, Ndola, Zambia – A mother squatted wearily and, groaning, expelled a baby into the world. She was careful to not look at the face. The mewling cries made her task unbearable. She cut the cord with a dull blade, allowing her new baby, slippery from birth, to fall through her hands and into the pit latrine below her. The cries turned to wails. The mother shuffled away from the latrine, pushing tears from her cheeks.
As horrific as this is, it’s not an uncommon practice for women in Zambia. The cost of living there is higher than in Canada, yet the average daily wage is only one dollar. With AIDS endemic in the region, many women have lost their husbands and must raise a family alone; often the husband has left a parting gift – HIV and a death sentence. Left to die in the stench of human waste, the flies thick on her bloody body, the baby continued to cry. But the choice her mother had made – death – was not to be. God, in His providence, was about to give this little one something...(click on picture to the left to read full article) To Run or not to RunSeptember 19, 2011
I grew up sheltered.
The green valley that is my home in Canada has never heard the report of machine gun fire from an attacking army, much less the Canadian Army. The Fraser River has never turned pink from spilt blood. Our schools occasionally go on strike, but because of Teachers' Unions, not because (more…) Run For ReliefAugust 25, 2011 
For a millon villagers in Burma, running is not a choice...
Organize a Run Event, of course! At least, this is what has happened to me. Now, instead of calling it "writer's block" or "life's interrruptions" I can say, "I'm (more…) Baby Girl 6February 20, 2011
Time to update you on Baby Girl.
Sorry it's been so long. But I think I have good reason. It's taken time to adjust to life without Marie. Yes. She went back to live with her father the week before Christmas. We have a "grandparent" relationship in place, however, that gives us babysitting opportunities with her during the week and sometimes she comes and sleeps over. As anyone who fosters can probably tell you, there has been a lot of upheaval during this transition, with Marie, obviously, enduring the greatest part of it. Prayer has become a constant thing. Panic is an unproductive emotion that I am learning to squelch. Gratitude for each and every moment I hold her in my arms and watch her run around the house wells up inside; messes and spills and broken knick-knacks mean so so little compared to the joy of having her here. But the best thing, the greatest blessing, has been one I didn't foresee. Now that we are "grandparents" to Marie and her baby sister, we have grown in relationship with their mom and dad. A parent relationship. My husband and son-in-law have been able to give Marie's father some work here and there. Marie's mom and baby sister have moved into the same son-in-law and daughter's basement suite. The whole family comes over for a meal on Wednesdays to enjoy dinner with our very traditional, home-schooled family. It is a time of relation stretching and building and culture crossing for this young man and woman who have two children together, but aren't together, who have struggled with drugs and still struggle, and who have all the potential in their lives that a renewing, resurrecting, and redeeming God promises. This is a new season for us. Our family has been shaken, grown, and shifted. But Marie is loved and reasonably "safe" and one day she will be a stronger woman for the fact that her earthly father truly loved her and desired her. She will be in the right place to understand a little bit of her Heavenly Father's love for her and to receive that love. For that, I would do it all again in a heart-beat. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." -Hebrews 11:1 "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." -Hebrews 11:6 Baby Girl 5November 7, 2010
Tonight I went to a Seeds of Hope - www.seedsofhopecm.com -banquet to hear about the work this organization is doing on behalf of AIDS/HIV infected and affected children and orphans. Six years ago my husband volunteered to help build a school/village there and our five kids and I joined him there for the last two months. It was life changing. I have talked about that experience in another blog (Faith).
But tonight it was difficult to look into the faces of these kids who we cuddled and taught and played with when we lived with them and who have now grown so big. We haven't been able to get back to Zambia since then...in spite of often wishing and praying that we could go. Six years later. I look into their faces flashing by in a power point. This morning my husband and I dropped Marie* off at her father's apartment for her third overnite with him. Next weekend she stays for two nights at a time. December 15th she stays indefinitely. I am afraid. I am afraid of the emotional wrecks she and I are both becoming. She is fussy, clingy and naughty as she struggles to figure out where she belongs in life. I am tired of coping with a two year old "on steroids" while grieving the imminent loss of the daughter she has become. I am afraid to grow distant from her. Afraid of what that distance might become. I am afraid to say goodbye. Tomorrow is Sunday. (Don't forget to set your clocks back) Tomorrow I will wake up and go to church. By God's mercy Marie and her father will come with us. By God's strength and grace I will sing praises to God from my heart. I will offer a sacrifice of praise. Praise when it hurts. Praise instead of tears. Accept my offering, Father God, Suffering Savior, Comforter. Blessed be Your Name. You alone are worthy. *Name changed |
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