Links I'm Lovin'

These things have blessed me, encouraged me, or made my tummy happy this week.  Thought I'd pass them along...

Adoption:

Tara Livesay (her family lives in Haiti but is stuck here in Texas for now) is featuring guest posts on her blog from people who have adopted.  The content is real, not for the faint of heart, and eye opening.

You can read those posts here.

Christianity Today is running several articles about adoption right now.  My favorite so far is this one:


Abba Changes Everything by Russell Moore (author of Adopted for Life).



Motherhood:


For the Young Mother:  Ministry, Guilt, and Seasons of Life

This article is a great reminder for mothers.  I love how the author says it is good to take our guilt out and look at it.  Make sure it's from God.  I think we can either swing one of two ways as mothers.  We either feel guilty all the time when we really shouldn't, or we always dismiss guilt as silly even though it might be good to lay that guilt out before the Lord and honestly hear His heart about our lives and the way we spend our time.

The author says beautiful things about being a mother.  I loved every word.  In light of all that God has been teaching our family about the kingdom this year...about caring for the poor, the orphan and the oppressed I wanted to mention that even though motherhood is a giant job that requires God's grace every single day, in no way do I think scripture suggests that a woman is supposed to bury her head in her couch and exclusively focus on her own family.  (I don't think that's what the author is saying either, I just know a few years ago I would have been tempted to read the article and use it to justify only thinking about us instead of asking God to teach us to love our neighbors as ourselves).

Focusing on our family.  Living out the other commands in scripture.  What a fine line to walk.  It will take much prayer and sitting at the feet of Jesus to know when our families have become an obsession instead of a place where the gospel is taught in word and in deed so that truth radiates, not just in our homes but outside of it. Discipling our children and investing in them is right and good, but our theology must move us to action as families. I believe God wants to teach all of us as women how to mother well, but how to also love the poor, care for the orphan, fight for justice and be a voice for the oppressed.

I believe it is our love for children...that love that God specifically gives to women to love and nurture the children in our homes that should cause us to look around us, to open our eyes and fight for children who have no mother...no voice...no advocate.  Because we are mothers we read about orphans, about injustice (especially to children) and it causes us to get fightin' mad...ready to pray...to sacrifice those new curtains so a child can go to school or live in a safe environment.

It's exciting to me that women can fight for freedom, pray, change the way we shop...do many tangible things to help the gospel go out, to advocate for those that need it, to raise awareness and be a part of setting the captive free right from our own homes.

What a beautiful thing for our children to learn from us as we love and serve them.

In the kitchen:

Homemade Ranch Dressing.

I had given up on Ranch.  Too weird for this momma.  Too many foreign words in the ingredient list.  Oh how I had missed Rand Dressing!

Until Kirby showed me this...

Make it Yourself - Homemade Salad Dressings from the Passionate Homemaking blog.

My children literally cheered!  This Ranch is delicious!