Apology for an over-abudance of bold and large text, among other things

Who's been really lazy about blogging lately? Oh yeah, that would be me!?! Sorry.. I told you before, if the Holy Spirit doesn't give it to me - I got nothing. So glad my friends do though!! Here are some facts from an entry I swiped from my friend Beth, who has 3 bio kids and now one adopted through DSS. Beth has been awesome about supporting us with our adoption. I am learning that once you are bitten by the 'adoption bug' and see the need, and feel the hurt for these poor children - it is impossible to keep quiet. Like I did for 14 of my adult years....

As I read on another blog somewhere - if we say we want to be a child of Christ, to have Him live and shine within us, we sign on to follow His commandments. To say, I like this one but not that.... are we truly being 'like Jesus'? He didn't tell us to fight homosexual marriage, he didn't tell us to fight against the Democrats stupid policies, he didn't tell us to build huge churches, to have the latest sound system and worship services to help draw in more people. All those things may be right, and do have their purposes.

But he DID say to: "welcome a little child in my name... do not look down on these little ones... feed the hungry.... give them something to drink..... invite the stranger into your home.... clothe the needy.... visit those in prison... release the oppressed.... be merciful... invite the poor into your home.... help the weak."

And those just came from His words in the gospels. Not taking into account all of scripture being God-breathed. I could go on for pages! With the exception of dropping a bag full of clothes off at Good-Will every couple months, which of the above, of Jesus' commandments, can I truly say I did regularly up until now?

Anyway - since I didn't have anything to say - back to Beth's blog:

Sad Statistics

Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

WORLDWIDE: if roughly 6% of born again Christians adopted ONE child, there would be almost no orphans in the world.

In the U.S. (remember, the rich folks): if 0.14% of born again Christians in the United States adopted a child from foster care each year, there would be NO waiting children in our foster care system.

Still from Beth's blog:
"That is a fourteenth of ONE PERCENT of born again Americans. This breaks my heart! There is no excuse. So often I have heard folks say, "I'm not called to adopt." And in their case, that may be true. But how can it be possible for 99.9% of "wealthy" born again Christians NOT be called to adopt??? To top it off, it is FREE to adopt a child from the foster care system, and the government often times will provide medical and monthly financial assistance for children adopted through the system. Older children adopted get their college tuition paid for through the government.

Please know, I am not condemning people who have never adopted, and have no plans of adoption. I simply wanted the statistics to be known. I am but one person, and as Noah often reminds me, we can't save them all. But I can give one child a home. I can make the difference in one child's life. For an orphan in a third world country it can be the difference between life and death. For an orphan in the U.S. it is the difference between having a stable, loving home, or growing up without experiencing the love of a family. I beg you to prayerfully consider... what has God called you to? And if it is not adoption, how can you help care for the children who so desperately need a family?"

Matthew 25: 45
"Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of the least of these, you did it unto Me."