It's almost time!

The Lifeline Celebrity Classic is fast approaching and this year proves to be one of the best Golf Tournaments to date. On Monday, June 6^th, we’ll welcome business and political leaders, lifeline families and supporters and a long list of Auburn, Alabama and new this year – Atlanta Braves – star athletes to Greystone Founder’s Course to tee off for the cause of the orphan. Our Golf Tournament is one of the biggest events of the year at Lifeline, raising over $50,000 for the organization. We are so thankful to our sponsors and celebrities for partnering with us in our mission to give a future and a hope through the gospel picture of adoption.

If you or your company would like to participate, there are still a few spots available for team and hole sponsorships. Call or email Kate Anderson at 205-967-0811/kate.anderson@lifelineadoption.org for information on the opportunities.

A huge thank you to our Sponsors and Celebrities!

Chris Hammonds, Atlanta Braves (www.hammondfoundation.org)

Brandon Cox, Auburn

Joe Cribbs, Auburn

John Croyle, Alabama

Al DelGreco, Auburn and Jox Radio Celebrity

Byron Franklin, Auburn, Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks

Bobby Humphrey- Alabama, Denver Broncos

Antonio London, Alabama, Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers

Bill Newton, Auburn

Major Ogilvie, Alabama

Rob Pate, Auburn

Thomas Rayam, Alabama

Lamonde Russell, Alabama

Wimp Sanderson – Alabama, University of Arkansas Basketball Coach

Ben Tamburello - Auburn, Philadelphia Eagles

Stan White, Auburn

Calvin “Speedy” Wilburn – Rick & Bubba

David Langner, Auburn

Andrew Zow, Alabama

Rickey Gilliland, Alabama

David Smith, Alabama

James Callier, Auburn

Wes Byrum, Auburn

Ryan Pugh, Auburn

John Parker Wilson, Alabama

Philip Yost, Auburn

A Commitment

Recently, I sat at two of my friends’ weddings as they committed their lives to one another. I watched their vows being exchanged and the beautiful ceremony, and I thought back several years ago to the commitment that I made to my spouse. The commitment to be there no matter what, to love and to cherish him. To be there for him, always. It brought me to a place of panic.

Am I committed to the one who loves me, who pursues me, and was committed to me before I even knew Him? Do I give enough? Do I trust Him enough? Do I spend enough time with Him? With my every need...every blessing...every want…Am I committed enough?

Then I read over and over again the word of God:

As for me, I would seek God and inquire of and require Him, and to God would I commit my cause Job 5: 8

O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You. Psalm 84: 12

Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth and faithfulness. Psalm 31: 5

He is committed to me. I don't give him enough of me.

Do I only lean on Him when it is easy? I pray Lord that my commitment to you is great. That you know I will seek Your presence and truth in my life. Even when it seems out of reach.

"When commitment is based on the wrong things, only bad results will befall us. In John 12:18, people come to see Jesus out of curiosity, not commitment. "Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him." In a matter of days, these same people stood by and watched Jesus crucified. So much for commitment. The Bible warns that we should base our commitments on faith and truth, not on common things such as curiosity or self-gratification."

Help me to seek Your will. I pray patience for your will. Lord I am committed.

Jackie Maddox

Post Placement Coordinator

We are the body…

I wanted to share the lyrics of one of my favorite songs with y’all by Mandi Mapes…

We are the body of the most High
We are the bride of a Savior
And we fall for the King of the kingdom
As we sing the songs of salvation

And we stand for those who cannot stand for themselves
And we love the loveless
And we go where Your light’s not shining
We are the body of Christ

We shine like a city on a hilltop
We boast in the Spirit living in us
And we march on a road leading to freedom
As we reach out our hands to the fallen

And we bring living water to the thirsty and
We live for the One who was and is and is to come
So our life counts for something greater than ourselves
We are the body of Christ

And our anthem will be a song of praise to the King
“He is worthy, He is worthy”
With one voice we will sing, “Where oh death is your sting”
He is mighty, He is mighty

I just started working at lifeline about a month ago and I have never been surrounded by so many people who love the Lord like these men and women do. This song comes to my mind a lot when we gather together for prayer in the mornings. This might sound like I am bragging, but what I am really trying to get across is that the Holy Spirit is present here at Lifeline and in the hearts of the people I work with. I am humbled and encouraged everyday by the faith and love of the people around me. I am so thankful that the Lord has allowed me to join such an amazing group of people who stand for those who cannot stand for themselves and love the loveless. And they do it well.

I want to leave you with some verses from 1 John 4:9-11, where John tells us what love is “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our Sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” Be encouraged, you are loved. My prayer is that you will know the love of our savior. My prayer is that you will be surrounded by men and women like the ones I work with who are people who love like this because of the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through them.

Amy Floyd
Human Resource Coordinator

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

Called By Name

“What’s in a name?” This is arguably one of the most recognizable lines in Shakespeare’s writings. Yet I find myself disagreeing greatly with the sentiment behind it. In this dialog, Shakespeare’s Juliet is debating the importance of a name on a person’s identity. She argues that a name is not a defining point in who a person really is. While there is truth to this, something contrary to this idea has been on my mind a great deal lately. And that is the absolute importance and beauty of a name and what that means to us as people and as children of God.

I remember when I was a little girl my mom had a book of names from when she and my dad were naming myself and my siblings. I would spend hours flipping through that book and finding out what all of my friends names meant. I love the idea of having a name! And even more so, of the why behind the name. When someone I know has a baby and they spend days, weeks, and months choosing the perfect name for that child, I am always eager to know why they chose it. Is it a family name? Is it because it has a significant meaning? That has always fascinated me!

I recently met with a family in order to conduct their first post adoption report after bringing their precious daughter home from China. Karis was 2½ years old when she was adopted into her forever family. I was amazed to hear her mom and dad tell me stories of how Karis has truly embraced her new name! She is old enough to know that it is, indeed, a new name… and to know that it is identified with her new life here with her new family. Her attachment to her name is such that she does not accept any kind of nickname. Karis’ older brother and sister, the biological children of their parents, love being called by a nickname, but not Karis. Her parents told me of how she will correct them if they call her anything other than “Karis”. Similarly, if someone tells her she is silly, she will reply, “No, I’m Karis”. This precious little girl knows that her life here is new… and a part of that is the new name that she has been given. She loves that name and desires to be called nothing but the name associated with the new life that she has.

I can’t help but think of the Old Testament scripture where God commands us not to fear and reminds us that He has called us by name: “But thus says the Lord, the one who created and formed you: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine.” (Isaiah 43:1). Like Karis, we too have been brought from our old identity into a new, forever family. We have been rescued from an ugly past- one with no hope and no future, and redeemed as God’s beloved children. And as a part of that, we have a new identity. We have been called by name. May we treasure that identity: child, loved, chosen, redeemed. These are only a few of the names by which we have been called by our Creator, Savior, and Abba Father.

Mallory Blackmon

International Social Worker