Straight from the Heart

Pebblestone Creek Love Like Jesus!

Let me introduce you to Mrs Fran and Mrs Debbie.  These two amazing ladies invest their time and love at Pebblestone Creek the preschool at StoneRidge Fellowship.  Emily loves preschool and she loves these two women.  I understand why now.  I spent the day there with Emily for her birthday and was so impressed by the programming but more impressed by the love and respect shown to these wee little ones by these two wonderful women.  How awesome that we have Godly women who show the love of Jesus because they believe that children matter!

Mark 9:37
“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Volunteers Rock!

This past Saturday was StoneRidge Fellowship's second Saturday serving opportunity. It is one of the things we do as a local mission outreach. We got the idea from GCC in Indiana and for months now have, once a month on the second Saturday left our church building and gone out into our community to serve for a few hours. Practically we are trying to be the hands and feet of Christ in our city. Second Saturday rocks. I want to take the opportunity to share a story from this weekend that hopefully will encourage our volunteers at StoneRidge.  Two ladies from another church came to serve with us.  They came because two years ago they attended the Leadership Summit at our church and were so impressed by our volunteers that they came back the second year and certainly were not disappointed the second time around.  They went online to our website and noticed that we were running Second Saturday and decided to come out and see what it was all about and to serve with us.  I am so proud of our volunteers and I love serving alongside each and every one of them.  Leadership Summit folks...well done.  You showed excellence and you showed that you cared! Ditto for the Second Saturday folks.  I'm posting the video from our first Second Satuday again as a reminder of how awesome three hours serving can be.  If you haven't been to one we can't wait to see you and can't wait to see how God will use you to touch someone else.  Don't worry if you don't attend StoneRidge come we'd love to meet you and serve alongside of you!

Adoption - Potential, Faith and Hope!

Adoption is the opportunity to turn lives around. Not only the life of a child but the lives of an entire family.  I am feeling so thankful tonight for my family. Emily our daughter that came to us through adoption is the sunshine of our family and she is a gift from God to us.  She has completely transformed our home and our lives adding love and a daily visible picture of the glory of God. Children are our hope for the future.  Many many children (over 140 million) are listed as orphans in this world. So many of these children receive messages that they need not dream, that they need not have aspirations and need not expect to live rich and satisfying lives.  That somehow, because they have lost or never known their parents that they are not only disadvantaged but somehow devoid of the usual potential that many of our children believe they have.  Their only disadvantage is that they have been put in a circumstance that for many is out of their control.  It is sad to think that because they have no parents then therefore, they have no potential. This is not so in God's eyes.  God tells them to trust and have faith in their potential. ""...For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future..."
Jeremiah 29:11.  These children need not be identified by their circumstances and we need to be careful and understand that children will always live up to the expectations that we have for them. Understanding that potential will change children on a level that we can not see.  Today is orphan Sunday.  Please pray for these children.  Pray for their potential, pray that whatever environment they are in that they will encounter nurturing people who point out that they matter and that they are not defined by their circumstances. Pray also for all of the waiting families in this world who are just waiting to bring their heart children home. Emily is our heart child. Emily was always meant to be in our family.  This is not a second best for her or for us this is where God meant her to be. We are so glad and we are so very blessed that God entrusted us with her.