Consistent Inconsistencies...

From Max Lucado's book, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior. Thoughts as we reflect on the sacrifice of Good Friday's events.

"I suspect the most consistent thing about life has to be it inconsistency. Choosing not to be neatly catergorized, life has opted to be a tossed salad of tragedies and triumphs, profanity and purity, despair and hope. The bad is perplexingly close to the good. The just is frighteningly near to the unfair. And life? Life is always a clocks' tick away from death. And evil? Evil is paradozically close to goodness. It is as if only a sheer curtain separates the two.

It's this eerie inconsistency that keeps all of us living our lives on the edge of our chairs. Yet, it was in this inconsistency that God had his finest hour. Never did the obscene come so close to the holy as it did on Calvary. Never did the good in the world so tightly intertwine with the bad as it did on the cross. Never did what is right involve itself so intimately with what is wrong, as it did when Jesus was suspended between heaven and earth. God on a cross. Humanity at its worst. Divinity at its best.

Something is said at the cross about inconsistencies. Something hopeful. Something healing. Simply stated, that which is consistent did battle with that which is inconsistent, and the consistent won.

Something is also said about God himself. God is not stumped by an evil world. He doesn't gasp in amazement at hhe dearth of our faith or the depth of our failures. We cannot surprise God with our cruelties. He knows the condition of the world...and loves it just the same. For just when we find a place where God would never be (like on a cross), we look again and there he is, in the flesh."

A Half a World Away...

With the prospect of a referral in the very near future (between now & May), our little guy has been on my mind almost without end the past several days. Upon exiting my bed this morning, I found my feet leading me to the nursery closet where I touched the sweet clothes waiting to be worn. As I ran up the stairs from the kitchen to the bedrooms, I found my eyes glancing at the crib just waiting to be filled with blankets & toys and a very special little boy.

Its overwhelming (at times) to realize that as we embark upon our daily routines, halfway around the world our son is experiencing a world we cannot imagine. Africa & America are so different, so far away. Countless unknowns flood my mind; does he cry in the darkness with hunger? does he shiver in the night at the sound of dogs barking outside the thin walls of his home? does he have brothers & sisters sleeping on the floor nearby? is his mother sick or slowly dying? does his father even know that he's been born? does he know that he has a daddy & mommy whose arms ache to hold him for the very first time? does he know, deep within his heart, that he is loved by the One who created him so wonderfully?

I filed these words in my 'adoption file' months ago & cannot recall where they originated from but this afternoon the words seemed to match my thoughts...

A half a world away – sometimes it seems we’re so far apart
But half a world away is not too far for a journey of the heart.
My little one, my bundle of joy – I’m waiting for you
My precious son, my baby boy – I know you’re waiting too.
A half a world away – a child waits for a family of his own.
While a half a world away – a family waits to bring him home.
My little one, my bundle of joy – I’m whispering a prayer
My previous son, my baby boy – I hope to soon be there.
I hope that we will no long be...A half a world away.

Check out Jami's blog at www.livelaughlove5.blogspot.com for links to other adoption thoughts/stories.

PHOTO: National Geographic.

An Attitude of Contentment...

I have been reading a few books lately on organization & time-saving solutions. Many of the tips are about de-cluttering our lives (and minds) & creating realistic/do-able solutions with tools available. I came across a phrase that has been tumbling inside my head the past couple of days. The words are quite simple but the attitude described within profound.

"If we aren't content with what we have, we will never be content with what we want."

And the Winner Is...

Rebekah (& Matt)! Congratulations & prayers that your Weekend to Remember will be just that. I will mail the certificate to your address (using the 2006 Ministers Book). If this is NOT the correct address, post a comment and I will track down your current one. Blessings to you!

NEW Designs By Blake Blogspot...

I wanted to let you know that I have created an exclusively Designs by Blake blogspot (see link in sidebar of this page). This blog will be posts of a more personal nature; that blog will be more business-orientated. I will be posting both design projects which we've completed for our clients & random, practicial home design tips, too.

A Weekend To Remember GiveAway

Almost 100,000 people attend a FamilyLife Marriage Conference annually; this life-changing conference has been deemed a Weekend to Remember. One participant summarized the experience as follows: "This was the single most enriching event or activity I've ever done, period. I am so fired up about my marriage and family."

We had the opportunity to attend this event last year and it was an incredible opportunity to celebrate the ways in which our marriage is strong & healthy (only by the grace of God) and to discuss areas for improvement. We recently received a gift certificate for a FamilyLife Weekend to Remember conference. The gift certificate waives the $129 (per person) registration fee and expires 12/31/2008. Check out the following link for details regarding locations & dates for the 2008 events: www.familylife.com/conferences/marriage.asp

In order to be eligible to win this gift certificate you must be (a) married and (b) make a committment to redeem this certificate prior to its expiration date. NOTE: Please understand that we sincerely we want to make sure this gift will be utilized by the winner.

I will plan on drawing a winner next Monday so please post a comment by 5PM on March 10th. Let's see; how about each comment include one trait or characteristic that you admire most in your spouse (praise) & one 'problem' area within your relationship that could handle a bit of a 'tune up'...(prayer)

Give Me an "A"...

I haven't posted much news about our adoption because there is little to report but I thought I would share an upcoming benchmark. This coming Wednesday (March 5th) marks the 6-month mark from the date our dossier was accepted by our adoption agency. CHSFS has communicated a timeframe for receiving a referral of 6-9 months so TECHNICALLY, we could get 'the call' at any time (although realistically it'll probably be April-May until that occurs). A little bit scary! A whole lot exciting!

Since we plan to announce our son's name upon receipt/acceptance of a referral, we thought it might be a good time to begin dropping hints & see if anyone can guess our little guy's name prior to the official announcement. I will be posting hints randomly. Feel free to guess but I cannot promise that I'll confirm whether your guesses are right or wrong (sorry to be such a spoilsport!)

I have decoupaged our son's entire name to hang in the nursey, so each letter revealed will be one of the letters that'll one day hang above his crib. DRUMROLL...there is an "A" in our son's name. Could be the first letter, maybe the last, or perhaps somewhere in between. Hopefully we'll receive a referral soon and you'll not have to wait long to find out.