Be still and know that I am God..

What does it mean to be truly still? I have never been very good at calming down and sitting still. Even as a child, I never wanted to sit still in fear that I may miss something important. Now that I'm an adult, even in my busiest times when all I want is a break, I don't know how to stop. I feel like there's always something to do: an email to send, a phone call to make, a dinner to prepare, a load of laundry to be done, or a bill to pay. Even the times when I think I'm resting, my mind is still going a million thoughts per second. I know being still doesn't just mean physically. It is so much deeper than that. It means resting in who God is. When we realize who God is it changes our whole perspective. When we are truly still, God speaks. When we are truly still, God moves. When we are truly still, powerful things happen because it is in that stillness that we realize, God is God and we are not.

He is calling us to Himself. Rest in who He is today.

Lyndsey Williams, Kentucky Case Worker

What I Have Learned

My sweet friend Tera Melber, who is a friend of Lifeline, wrote this blog post on  the airplane on her way home from Ethiopia with their new precious son.  I wanted to share it with you!  May her words speak to you as they did to me.  

Lesley Scott, Kentucky State Director

"What I Have Learned":

This is what I have learned, not what I have mastered. I am utterly helpless. I could not blink without God causing me to blink. I couldn't take one breath of air without Him opening my lungs and filling them with the oxygen that He has provided. I am utterly unworthy. I am not worhty of being born in America to parents who love me. Not worthy of being introduced at a young age to the Gospel. Not worthy to be married to a strong, faithful, God-fearing man who loves me and cares for me. Not worthy of being a mom to six incredible kids; all who are so different with such different stories, hopes, and dreams. Right now, I sing in my heart, the old hymn....I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder why He would love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean....how marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall ever sing, is my Savior's love for me.

This week we have watched God's hand guide every aspect of our journey. Lots of travel troubles, UGH. Through it all, when I would feel anxiety welling up in my heart, I would hear Him asking me, Do you trust me? Do you really mean all the things you say to everyone else? Do you trust me to work out circumstances according to My plan, not yours? Do you recognize that you are not in control? Over and over, I know that He was and is telling me that in good or bad I must choose to trust that this journey is HIS. This journey of the life that He has planned and intended. I don't always react the ways I should to difficulties.  I still get very anxious, want to control situations and people, but honestly....deep within my soul, I do trust Him. I may not like the plan, but I trust that He has ALL worked out. I'm on a plane right now on our last leg home from bringing home our boy. We are surprising the other 5 kids with an early flight home. Soon we will be the eight of us. Our boy is sleeping peacefully. He fully trusts us as his parents. We know where he is going. We know what is in store of the other end of this plane ride. We had a plan to bring him home. Everywhere we've led him, he has willingly gone with a smile on his face, hand held out to take ours. Fully trusting. May I be the same with my Heavenly Father who has the plan."

Psalm 34:8-11
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Tera Melber

Kentucky Celebration

Imagine for a moment running into an old friend while traveling across the globe . I am sure this reunion would include grinning from ear to ear, big hugs, and laughter. This is what we saw on Saturday at our Lifeline Kentucky Family Reunion and Celebration. We saw children with a friendship that began in an orphanage in Ethiopia playing together again. We heard them laughing. We watched as they crawled into their mommy's and daddy's laps . It was such a wonderful day of fellowship as we celebrated all the sweet children running around and prayed for those who will join our families in the future.

As a Lifeline Staff Member, I loved being able to meet our new families and introduce them to others in the process. As an adoption advocate, I was amazed to see all the families that have been blessed by adoption and all the lives that have been changed. As an adoptive mom who met many of these same children while in Ethiopia picking up our son, I stood in awe of God’s goodness, grace, and love. At our reunion, I was able to see that shy child who would not speak in Ethiopia now running around, laughing like crazy. I was able to see the tiny, underweight baby who I held who is now healthy and thriving. I was able to see several older children who I know sat in an orphanage and wondered, “When will someone come for me?” These same children walked in with their parents as beloved sons and daughters!


It's easy to see from those pictured above why every aspect of our reunion was wonderful! I would definitely say that our first Lifeline Kentucky event was a success and I am looking forward to our next time together. If you are a family that was able to attend, I would love to hear about your favorite part of the day.

Brittney Armstrong
International Adoption Assistant
Lifeline Kentucky

Tedi

My friends, JT and Natalie, adopted their precious son, Tedi, from Ethiopia in 2010 and I wanted to share one of their blog posts with our Lifeline families:

A little over a year ago, Tedi had little identity. He was given up as a three year-old. He was a victim of the harsh realities of being born in a developing country. Tedi’s identity is no longer that as an orphan; he is an heir, handpicked, redeemed. Tedi is now an integral part of our family’s story. My identity is that I am no longer lost. No longer am I an orphan. The God of the universe loved me enough that He sent His only son to death. He sent His son to the cross so I could call him Daddy. This fact did not weigh heavily on me until I became a Dad. I cannot imagine allowing Tedi to die to save people who ridicule, mock or upset me. The exciting thing is that God feels this way about everyone who has ever lived!

Today, there is absolutely nothing that Tedi can do to separate from my love. It doesn’t matter how badly he acts or how many times he asks me “Why?” (by the way, we are at about 250 today- UGH!!!). The same can be said of my relationship with Jesus. No matter how many times I screw up (and people that know me know that is a lot), Jesus only loves me more. What an amazing example of unconditional love He shows each of us. The first moment I met Tedi, I got down on one knee and let him walk slowly to me. I embraced him and whispered in his ear, “Mommy and Daddy came a long way (I meant that both literally and figuratively) just for you, Tedi. We love you so much.” I felt him trembling in my arms; he was scared. I quietly started singing the chorus to one of my favorite songs:

“And I’ll be by your side whenever you fall, in the dead of night whenever you call. Please don’t fight these hands that are holding you. My hands are holding you.”

I find myself singing this song to him often. My hope is that one day, Tedi will realize that this song is not only being sung by a father to his son, but by our God to him.

Tedi knew no English when I first met him in Ethiopia. Our first few days together were like the world’s longest game of charades! I think it is a good thing that he could not communicate to me because, if he could, I am sure he would have said things like this in the first few days:

-“Who is this crazy white dude and why does he think he is funny?
-“Does he really think I am getting on this plane?"
-“Why are all these people cheering for me at the airport in Louisville? I can get used to this.”


One of the coolest things in adopting a child is watching him/her gradually (some slower than others) trusting their new family. Unlike if he had been born to us, Tedi had experienced life without us and was living as independently as a three year-old could. He did not and does not have to trust us. After nine months home, I still get chills when Tedi chooses to call me “Daddy.” When he first got home, he would wake up in the middle of the night and we would find him standing in the dark living room moaning pitifully. Gradually, he would come closer to our room if he woke up. After a month or so, he would stand at the foot of our bed and moan. I vividly remember the first time, instead of moaning, he yelled for his Daddy!!! Much like the process Tedi went through; I have gone through stages of trust with my Heavenly Father. I think God gets the same joy when I call him Daddy.

One thing that scared us before we met Tedi was the reports we received from other families who had visited with Tedi in his orphanage. Every one of them told us the same thing: Tedi was very shy, didn’t open up and was kind of a loner. Several described him as sad. Natalie and I were scared that perhaps he was severely traumatized by his experience and would suffer extreme attachment issues. Here are some pictures of Tedi before we met him.

Those of you that have met Tedi know that he could never be described as shy, closed off emotionally, or sad! When Tedi became a part of a family and had a Mommy and Daddy that loved him, everything changed for him. He went from being all alone to being accepted and loved. The same can be said of our relationship with Christ.

I am thankful that JT and Natalie shared their post with us. I am new to the Lifeline team and as an International Adoption Specialist; I am so excited that Lifeline is offering adoptions from ETHIOPIA! I have adopted two sweet boys from Ethiopia (2008 & 2010) and my family has fallen in love with the country and people of Ethiopia. With more than 5 million orphans in Ethiopia, there is such a huge need. This program is currently running about 12-15 months. Children from birth to 13 years old are available for adoption (HIV+ children are also available). If you have questions or would like more information on our Ethiopia program, click here, and please call (205) 967-0811. We look forward to telling you about Ethiopian adoptions and these sweet children.

Lesley Scott
International Adoption Specialist - Kentucky