Be Like Christ

A couple of girls and I are studying Philippians 2:5-11.  Talk about convicting. 

“Have this mind/attitude” v.5 says.  Right before that, I read we should consider others better than ourselves. And, look out for other’s interests besides my own…   (I need to read this everyday-multiple times!)

Oh, so the Philippians struggle with this like I do?

Then I read how Paul puts it in perspective…

Jesus- He is God- knew He was God- but did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.   Jesus èGodèCreator of ALL THINGS -by Him, through Him, and for Him were ALL THINGS made-  And in Him ­ALL THINGS hold together.   He was there when I was made in the secret place (Ps.139:15).  He calmed a raging storm, walked on water, fed thousands, healed diseases, cast out demons, raised people from the dead, rendered a fig tree unfruitful, changed water into wine, and forgave a lame man- a prostitute- an adulteress, etc.

He could have used His power for personal benefit.  Ha, what would I do if I could have His abilities for a day?

But, no, He “made Himself NOTHING” or emptied Himself taking the form of a bond-servant- which means [to completely and absolutely assign all personal rights over to the authority and will of another person].  (The Discovery Bible pg. 542) 

He was born in the likeness of man… God to human… (ponder THAT for a while…)

Then- perfectly obedient to the Father’s will- obedient to die the death the Father chose for Him (beatings and floggings and mockery of this innocent God/Man beforehand).  Not only innocent, but

                         Perfect,

                                  Good,

                                           Gracious,

                                                            Kind,

                                                                    Gentle…

He hung on a cross- cursed (Gal 3:13)

                                                            For hours

                                                       Forsaken by God-

                                                Weighted by the full brunt sin-

                                                                  Mine

                                                                 Yours

                                                             Everyone’s                                                    

Hmm…“Have this mind/attitude”…      

                Consider others better than myself... 

                And, look out for other’s interests as well besides my own…

If Jesus, God, could empty Himself and let go of All His rights, surely, hmm, what…could…I?  

Gina Linden, Domestic Adoption Social Worker

The Climate of Endless Possibilities

Having joined Lifeline just months ago, I was ushered into a place that held many unknowns for me. Though my husband and I walked through his adoption of our two oldest daughters, and my heart has always desired to adopt a sibling group into our family, what I’ve experienced in the adoption world in comparison to Lifeline’s range of outreach is only the tip of the iceberg.

I would expect to become moved– as I have – by the many ways that Lifeline has reached out to the needs of the orphan, provided safety and rescue to those involved in human trafficking. I would expect to become thankful that such an organization makes it their ministry to continue to provide education for individuals to make a better life for themselves and their children. I would expect to be amazed at the dedication of the staff as they have reached out to birthmothers who long to place their baby into a loving adoptive family, meeting the heart cry of adoptive parents all over the United States. 

What I didn’t expect was the way that the small things that seemingly slip “under the radar” so to speak, have made the most profound influence on my life and have become HUGE in the grand scheme of a day.  Small things become huge very quickly, such as a simple blog about a family who has held their long awaited child in their arms for the first time.  Small things – a simple prayer in the morning becomes an outpouring of love by staff members for a family in need.  Small things – the way detailed communication can embrace an otherwise frustrated situation and bring a peace and hope that have never been known before. Small things – the way that the tedious things we do each day can be used to create amazing, redemptive stories and meet big dreams with hope, love, and the gift of a new start for so many.

Lifeline, from the ground up, twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week, is striving to bring hope and the light of God’s provision to the orphan, the poverty stricken, the abused and neglected, the uneducated, and those who feel they have no hope and no future.  This ministry fulfills on a daily basis Christ’s desire to meet the needs of those in need everywhere with compassion, hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11 tells us the hope that God has for us… "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”  New Living Translation (©2007). Lifeline’s willingness to minister and meet the needs of those less fortunate, brings a climate of endless possibilities and allows us to reach out all over the world to people of all ages.

Ursula Wright, Georgia Case Worker and Birth Mother Counselor

Trust

It is official. . . As of last month, I have been a ‘Southern Belle’ for a full year.
The last couple weeks have been a sweet time of reflection. There is also abundant anticipation for all God has in store.

One thing I can testify to: God most certainly is in the business of giving you your heart’s desires. . . He is the one who puts them there. Within His will, and His ways, and His provision and timing and plan- He knows what is best, and when is best.

Trust Him.

Pre-Alabama, I was in Kansas. I had seen God bring families together through adoption- both internationally and domestically. I also had the opportunity to serve and walk beside young women who were pregnant or currently parenting. I knew adoption was of His heart. I also knew these young women needed role models, support, encouragement, and the love and forgiveness of a Savior.

The fruition of these two hearts desires has been a beautiful collision. I have come to know God in such a serious way. . . and I cannot deny. . . my life is His story to shape.

God knew. He knew what it would take to stretch me beyond myself, and help me see life with His eyes. Just recently He gently reminded me. . . “Remember those years of prayers? And standing upon the promise of Jeremiah 29:11 and Proverbs 19:21 and Isaiah 30:18 and Colossians 3:10? Remember how you were not quite sure where I would lead you? Do you see now how all that helped me get you here? You are loved, dear child. And there is more to come.”

I am sure you have also had times in your life when you were able to look at where you were, and realize where He has brought you. There are things you are hoping for, believing for, hurting for, and desperately praying for today. They may be things He laid on your heart long ago, or it may be something that recently broke the surface.

Realize- God may have already answered that prayer. . . you just do not know it yet. You may be praying today for your child. You may not bring that little one home until next year. Maybe it will be three years. Maybe in three days, your case worker will call with the news of a referral, or a birth mother who would like to meet you, or a child who needs a forever family and a home. Maybe you placed a child for adoption 19 years ago tomorrow, and you hope to hear from them soon.

Whatever it is you are praying for- believing for- and hoping for- know this. He already has it answered. I pray you know His love for you today. Be blessed.

Michelle Staab
Birthmother Counselor

Home

Home. . . Home, sweet home. Home is where the heart is. There is no place like home.

Being so far away from what I always knew as home has been a beautiful, sometimes achy, growth-filled experience.

Home helps shape us. It can be a place of comfort or craziness. Home can mean a million different things. Family. Food. Friends. Plains. Mountains. Trees. Rest. Joy. Pain. Light. Love. Peace. Some can make a home anywhere. Some have the same home their entire life. There are even some who do not claim anywhere to be home. What does home mean to you?

Take a moment today to thank God for home. . . maybe that's where you're at today. Maybe it's a home you knew long ago, far away, or maybe it's thanking Him for the promise of our TRUE home for eternity.

Join with me in praying for the precious lives that are coming home to their forever families. They have hard days, too, and they miss what they knew of home. It may be difficult for us to comprehend, especially since some of these children grow up in horrific conditions. They may have not had every need met, or every care cared for. But alas, that was home. Pray that their hearts find rest as God shapes and grows them into their new home. Pray that Romans 12:9-12 will come alive for them. . . that they will know love to be sincere. They will hate evil and cling to good. That they will experience devotion, honor, and a zeal for His Spirit. Pray they will know joy in hope, patience in affliction, and become faithful in prayer. Believe with me that the God of all comfort will comfort them and help them know home.

This weekend, I will be in Kansas for a sweet visit home. (Ruby red slippers and clicking my heels has proved insufficient. . . but a plane ride and a few hours in the car will get me there.) I am so looking forward to the familiarity, the hugs, laughs, and the sweet time there. I will also be happy to return to sweet home, Alabama. I am grateful for how much I have learned to appreciate home in my absence from it. I am thankful for home here. And I know some day we will all be at home- in our TRUE Home- forever.

Michelle Staab
Birthmother Counselor

God is everything that is good...

God is everything that is good, and right, and true.
He is Love, and is all that love is.
He is holy.
He is wholeness.
His heart is deliverance and restoration.
He is committed to the unchangeable character of his purposes.
These attributes stand alone. Even if there were no evidence around us of these things, this is who God is.

And among other things I’m sure, this is what He says to His Beloved, to our achy places, our unknowns, our concerns, and our questions:
I am your Maker-Creator. I set you in motion, and have plans for you that you cannot even begin to ask for or imagine, according to the purposes in my heart.
When it seems in your circumstance that you cannot find the evidence of this reality, let your belief and trust rise up in the face of who I am.
Let my character be what you hold all things up to, “knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
And hope does not put you to shame (it does not disappoint),
Because my love has been poured into your heart through the Holy Spirit who has been given to you.”
I have sealed you with a guarantee and a guide into your inheritance!
“You who have fled for refuge have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before you. You have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on your behalf…”
“For I who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ have shone in your hearts to give the light of the knowledge of my glory in the face of Jesus Christ.”

In his face, there is no other reality.
He is the only reality for you.
In his eyes, there is assurance.
There is hope.
In him, there is the tangible promise that I am committed to your good and my glory, and that I will absolutely go to whatever lengths necessary to see this through for you and in you.
In my Son, is your identity. For you have exchanged your life for his. As you surrender to this, I show you who you really are in him.
In Christ, is your new reality. For you have exchanged the false reality for a new one, for riches beyond measure. You are now a part of that reality, that family, that Kingdom.
Seek Me and seek my Kingdom above all, and all else will be added; still yourselves in the midst of your circumstance and give room for yourselves to know me there and to acknowledge my presence… this is where perspective and alignment come and give way to the discovery of what I am doing and will do.
I love you.
I am for you.
Press into me, and believe me for this.
I am here.
And I am intricately involved…

Father, I pray that we would be still. Stir up our belief and trust in you, that our communion with you, would give way to the alignment that You are taking us from grace to grace, glory to glory… that we may know You and walk with You into the good gifts and the promises that You have. And that this assurance, this reality would draw others into You.
May we give thanks in all things. God, we love You back…

Kara Leigh Prichard
Birthmother Counselor

He Knows His Plans…

As an adolescent I was drawn to mission work. I dreamed and prayed for an opportunity to go overseas on a mission trip. My heart always longed for Russia, but God closed that door for me, and gave me something greater. In the summer of 1998 I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I traveled to Ukraine, to a little city 50 miles from Chernobyl called Chernihiv. I had the opportunity to live in an orphanage for an entire month. God revealed to me His love and mercy and His desire for us to care for the orphans. These precious children were looking for love and acceptance; they too had dreams. They dreamed to have a family that would take care of them and love them. It seems to us, those who have been loved and cared for by a family, as an unfamiliar dream, but this was their only dream and desire. These children would light up with just the mention of Jesus; they knew that He created them and loved them and has a plan for them. The very mention of His name brought hope to those little faces. This very experience created a passion within me to become involved in an orphan care ministry. As I moved on in life I wondered if and when God would ever give me the desire of my heart. As a staff member with Lifeline I now have been given the desire of my heart. I have the privilege to see God at work through our orphan care ministry all over the world, and see the light of Jesus in these precious children and the families who love and care for them. I know one day I will return to Ukraine and see those precious children again. This verse was given to me while in Ukraine in the summer of 1998. “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) This is one of the key verses Lifeline uses. When I heard this I knew God had me exactly where He wanted me. I encourage you to seek God with all your heart for your dreams and desires, so you too can have the desires God wants for you.

Serving Him Gladly,

Joanna L. Turner
Birth Mother Counselor

You Can't Miss Out

I’m so thankful for Dave Wood’s recent entry. I’m thankful for hearing the big picture about our country- though sad- and yet, also hearing about hope because the Lord is working in His people (as He will continue to do until the end) - but especially in the area of loving orphans. He is such a kind, gentle and strong Father.

I have worked over these past 8 years with women, mostly single, as they consider future plans for themselves and their child(ren). I want them to know what I have had to be reminded of way too often:

1) I will not miss out on God’s perfect, good, and pleasing will. At the same time, I have responsibility. I’m commanded to seek the Lord and His kingdom first (Matt. 6:33) and then “all these things” will be given us. I’m commanded to love Him with ALL my heart, mind, soul, and strength (Matt. 22:37-40). I’m told if I draw near to Him, He will draw near to me (James 4:7-8) and to not be double minded (have my mind/heart in the Lord AND….). (We cannot serve two masters -Matthew 6:24) I’m told that if I delight myself in the Lord, He will give me the desires of my heart (because my delight is in Him). I’m told if I don’t conform to the world, but am transformed and renew my mind, I will KNOW His good, pleasing, and perfect will (Rom. 12:2). He is a good Father and knows how to give good gifts to His children- and knows what gifts are best (Matt. 7:11) When I really take the time to do less and sit in His presence, to tell Him what’s on my heart, to read truth and dwell on it, to tell Him how awesome He is (and He is regardless of what’s happening in my life), to express thanks to Him, and to pray for the saints & those who don’t know Him, I am most at peace. I see Him move. I feel content. He fulfills these promises to draw near to me, to give me the desire of my heart. I am called to trust in truth even when it doesn’t look good around me or I’m hurting. Faith does not disappoint. I’d love for the women we work with to know this in the depth of their hearts and (as I need to) sit and walk in it.

2) Been reading through a book Captivating. It’s for women, though all could learn from it. It shares how women reflect a part of the Lord in that He wants to be pursued by us (not that He needs us, mind you), but He is a relational God and delights in relating with us (for some strange but great reason). One of the bottom lines for why women do some of the things they do to seek attention is to know “am I lovely?” Wow. What a question. As those made in His image, I’d say we all reflect the beauty and loveliness of God in some way. However, in Him, through the blood, through how He’s made us- we are lovely. The more we grow in Him, the more we reflect Him and are lovelier. We can’t be prideful about it as He is the ultimate lovely One, and we are just poor reflections of Him. But, the truth is, no one, no thing, no anything besides Him truly makes us lovely. Oh, that our women would know that they can truly be lovely –especially before our perfect Father, Brother, Friend, Lover who delights in His children.

And when we rest in these truths (and get rid of the sin that so easily entangles, keeping our eyes on Him), we are better for ourselves- AND- those around us- spouses, family, friends, children, orphans, saints, unbelievers. We follow His command to love our “neighbor” as ourselves. We can be confident in Him and His perfect plan and then love more completely and wholly because we trust, we sit in truth; we know He’s working it out for our (moral) good. He’s got us.

Gina Linden
Birthmother Counselor

Invited

Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days. My parents host an open house for our family, friends, and neighbors . . . well known as the "taco party". Pounds of meat, crockpots of cheese dip, tons of crispy corn shells and other miscellaneous treats and toppings await our guests. It is a sweet time of catching up with folks, watching kiddos play, and simply being together. It is a little bit of chaos but truly something special.

We do not send formal invitations to the taco party; our guests know they can bring along anyone they wish. Every year, same time, same place. . . and it is always a delight to see who stops by. Pictures are made, stories are told, and love and laughter are all around.

It makes me think of the many invitations God has for us. He invites us to come to Him. To accept forgiveness, To allow Him to make us new and whole. . . He invites us to know Him in the deepest places of our being- hurt, shame, healing, and hope . . . He is always present and all around us, and He is constantly inviting us. . . be with Me. rest in Me. know Me. love Me. tell Me. believe in Me. follow Me.

Feel Him near you this Christmas. Holidays can be bitter sweet- a great time to be together but also a reminder of people or things that may be absent from our lives. Even if God seems so far away. . . follow that distant star to the stable of new life. Come to Him empty so you can be filled. Come to Him broken so you can be healed. Come to Him hurting so you can be comforted. Come to Him grateful so you can celebrate and rejoice together. Know you are His, and you are ALWAYS welcome. . . and that is an invitation for every moment of every day, wherever you are and whoever you are. He is waiting- door open, feast prepared, and arms outstretched. . . ready to hold you.



A big holiday hug to you this Christmas, from your Lifeline family!

Michelle Staab
Birth Mother Counselor

Matthew 6:26

God is such a GREAT God . . . a God who chooses to meet us where we are, walk with us every day, and reveal Himself to us in such beautiful ways.

At the beach this weekend, I was enjoying the fresh sea air, my toes in the sand, and the water as far as my eyes could see. The beach always brings me to a place of peace and solitude and wonder and awe in our God. He is such a BIG God, and He formed the world with so much diversity and beauty. He forms US with such diversity and beauty.

He has moved me to love His children with a depth that only He could give. . . whether it be a precious newborn baby, a courageous birthmother, children waiting to be adopted so far away from here, our patiently waiting adoptive families, or the sweet community I have found in my coworkers. . . it ALL moves my heart, and I know it moves the heart of God as well.

Which brings me to the fish I almost stepped on . . . the broken-in-half, stinky fish on the shoreline. I thought to myself, 'how sad- some fisherman could have made some money on that little fish, if it had been caught in a net, or on a line. Nobody wants it now, this fish: laying on the shore, broken in half, dead.
Nobody will want to pick that up, or eat it, or even look at it more than once; it will probably just rot there.'

That little fish put a bit of a damper on my shoreline walk. I even took a picture of the fish so I could show my friends how sad it looked. Then I went to sit in the sand and journal and be still. . .

Until something caught the corner of my eye. A bird found the fish, and proudly carried it in its beak as it hopped along the shoreline. This bird was DELIGHTED in the fish. God reminded me, "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26).

Of course. . . of course. What was stinky and useless and TRASH to the world was a TREASURE to that sweet bird. God CARES about that bird . .
. takes care of that bird. . . and He offers even more to US. More than stinky, broken-in-half fish washed up on the shoreline.

God reminded me of His children. This world is fallen and cold and
hard- and there are clients we meet or children we serve who have truly been cast away from the world- told they are unworthy, they are wrong, hopeless, they are not redeemable. . . that they are unforgivable, alone, and they are nothing. How humbling to be called to meet them in that place where the world has thrown them aside . . . what a joy to walk with them into the courts of His Kingdom.

His Kingdom, here on earth- His Kingdom of LOVE and TRUTH and forgiveness and wholeness and beauty and community. Life will not instantly become easy, but with God on our side, and people fighting for us, and realizing that GOD. DOES. TAKE. CARE. OF. US. . . that God CARES. . .

THIS Truth is what moved me from my little hometown of Hays, Kansas to Birmingham, Alabama. 1,000 miles away from home, to serve our Incredible God in a ministry that FIGHTS for His children, believes in His purpose and strives to share the heart of God as the heart of our ministry. . .

Thank You, God, for caring- for providing- and for being all You are.

Michelle Staab
Birthmother Counselor

Choosing…

I just spoke with a woman who made a choice.
Because of this choice, she has been shunned by her friends.
People who do not even know this woman are talking about what she has done.
Even her own family has nearly disowned her.

This woman chose to begin a relationship with a man who was abusive.
Other choices led to her becoming pregnant.
But these choices,
These are not what has caused scorn and even rejection from those around her.

She discovered the little life living inside of her after she had already made the choice to walk away from this man.
And there, she found that she faced another choice.
And she chose life for her child.
After much consideration, and what she called destiny,
She chose an adoption plan for her child and found Lifeline.

It was this choice that eventually led to the chastisement she is now experiencing.
No one in her culture understands the decision she has made.
No one in her culture even cares to…
People would rather scratch their heads at her, speak against her character, or worse in her eyes–
Speak things about the choice she has made that are not even true.

This woman stared in the face of the life that she would welcome this child into, and said that this was not what she wanted for him… no matter how much love was there swarming inside her.
This was a decision she made.
It was no one else’s.

As if making this choice were not already, difficult enough…
People ask her how she could choose to “give her child away.”
People condemn her for not “struggling with her child.”
People attempt to make her feel guilty for the decision she has made.
These perspectives are those of people who do not understand the sacrifice:
One of great courage, for the benefit of her child and the children she is currently parenting.

What can be seen by just reading this small attempt to convey her story is that this woman possesses a great deal of strength; an attribute that life cultivated early on.
This has served her well throughout this journey.
And will continue to do so…

Zooming out for a moment, or maybe zooming in, the larger story is that God has been there all along.
His love, his presence, his commitment is the thread that is strung through all of these experiences; it is woven into the fabric of her life. And indeed, is the strength that until this point, she has known as her own.

This woman is coming to realize the reality of this and is pressing into God in a way she has not known.
I am convinced that as she chooses Him, He will deliver her into places she cannot even begin to ask for or imagine.

And so it is that as this woman chose to listen to The still small voice that gently guides her…
And as that led her to choose life and life in abundance for her child, what she did not know is that she was likewise being led to choose it for herself.

And so it is that this is what she has chosen:

Beauty for ashes,
Strength for fear,
Gladness for mourning,
Peace for despair.

O what a glorious God. Glory and honor and praise to Him, the One whose heart, whose very character is to make good on all things… if we let him. His heart is wholeness. His heart is restoration. May we choose this, and may we honor these women who have chosen this for their children and for themselves.

Please join me in believing God for wholeness in her life, that through the power of the Holy Spirit she would experience healing. Believe with me for her safety. Believe with me that relationships in her life would experience restoration and richness like they have not known, and that others would fall away, as God moves her forward. Believe with me that the adoption community/family in her area would begin surrounding her, that she would be strongly supported. Believe with me that the Holy Spirit would begin to open her to choosing community among the body of believers, and that his body would serve her and her family and that salvation would come to their house.
Believe with me for these things on behalf of all birth mothers.

Thank you so much for being the body with me in these things.
Hallelujah, that he has given us such access and authority in his Son…
God, pour out your goodness on the life of this courageous woman and on the lives of other courageous women like herself, that they would know and choose your character and that it may result in praise and glory…

Kara Leigh Pritchard
Birth Mother Counselor

Nurturing Women--a message from our Birthmother Counselors

I am privileged to work with precious women. It was nice to be reminded about how much Jesus loves/loved women. May the following be an encouragement to you as a woman and/or to the women in your life.

At a time when men and especially Rabbis didn’t talk to women (even women of good repute) in public, Jesus cared for women despite the cultural bounds of His time. Here are some examples that came to mind (you can spend time reading and thinking through the precious details):

1) He publicly commended a woman with a bleeding issue for her faith (she was probably shunned by others for years) and called her “daughter” (huge!). (Luke 8:43-48).
2) He raised a 12 year old girl back to life. (Luke 8:40-42;49-56)
3) When brought before Him a woman caught in adultery to test Jesus (by law they were supposed to have brought the man too!), Jesus does not condemn her, but clears the crowd by writing in the sand, and forgives her. (John 8:1-11)
4) Jesus stops a funeral procession and raises a widow’s son back to life (he was her only means of support left). (Luke 7:11-17)
5) He purposely went to Samaria (at a time Jews went out of their way to avoid the area) and spoke to a woman of ill repute and not only engaged her into conversation publicly, but revealed Himself as the Christ (something He rarely did outright). (John 4:7-45)
6) Jesus publicly commended and forgave a woman who came to Simon’s house and wept at His feet and poured perfume on Him. (Luke 7:36-50)
7) He was in fellowship with Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42) and He was moved emotionally after their brother died and raised him to life. (John 11:1-46)
8) One of my favorite stories is when Mary M. goes to the tomb to see Jesus’ body (for anointing purposes) and ends up talking to Jesus. He chose Mary as the first person He showed Himself to post resurrection. (John 20:11-18)

Jesus told the Samaritan woman “if you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water (John 4:10). Matthew 7:11 says “if you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” I don’t know what His good gifts are planned for you, but our gentle and humble hearted Savior still wants us to come to Him (Matthew 11:28-30) and ask approaching His throne of grace with confidence that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (James 4:16)

Thanks Jesus!

Gina Linden
Birthmother Counselor