"Orphan Justice" Book Review

Back in April, I went on a date with Daddy. After a nice dinner, we found ourselves browsing the Christian bookstore (big surprise, I know. J) As I walked past one of the shelf-end displays, a book caught my eye, entitled “Orphan Justice” by Johnny Carr. The subtitle really jumped out at me: “How to Care for Orphans Beyond Adopting.” Caring for orphans is something I’m passionate about and adoption is the number 1 way to help that pops into most people’s minds.

But for teens like me, adoption won’t be an option for a number of years. But I want and feel called to help NOW. When I opened the book and saw page after page of endorsements from people like Katie Davis and Jim Daly, I knew I had to read the book. While I’m not usually a spur-of-the-moment shopper, I couldn’t get to the register quick enough. J

I was definitely not disappointed! Johnny Carr starts off with his story, and how he went from never wanting to adopt, to now being the adoptive father of 3 special-needs children. The book then takes one topic related to orphans and discusses it in one chapter. Some of these topics include orphans and human trafficking, orphans and HIV/AIDS, orphans and orphanages, orphans and poverty, orphans and foster care, and more.

One thing that I really appreciated about the book is Johnny Carr’s honesty. He’s not afraid to ask the hard questions and point out the flaws in current orphan care systems. The problems related to orphans are complex, and do not have easy answers. About half-way through each chapter, I would have to set the book down a minute as my mind reeled from the complexity of our broken world.

That might make you think you don’t want to read this book. But the best feature of the book is the end of each chapter. After discussing the deep problems of a certain subject, each chapter ends with a section called “What You Can Do.” There are 3 different paragraphs; something ANYONE can do, something MANY can do, and something that FEW can do. Johnny Carr does a great job of writing in a way that makes you want to jump out of your seat RIGHT NOW and do something to help orphans. These 3 options at the end of each chapter are a great way to give guidance on how to help out a specific problem related to orphan care. There is no excuse NOT to help after reading this book.

I would highly recommend this book for ages 12 and up, particularly those who may already be involved in some type of orphan care, or who are passionate about serving orphans. Another good reality this book points out, is that EVERY Christian has a RESPONSIBILITY to care for orphans. It’s not some optional command in the Bible. While our levels of commitment will be different, we’re all called to do SOMETHING.

Roma and Rubia's Birthday

Earlier this month, we celebrated Roma and Rubia’s birthday! We actually celebrated it a bit early. We’ve been celebrating birthdays on the weekends so that Dad can be with us (he doesn’t have as much vacation time as he used to, so he can’t always take the day off during the week.)

We started off our morning with cinnamon rolls, fruit, and cheese (not pictured.) Thankfully, unlike the last birthday, we did NOT melt anything in the oven. J

Keeping with tradition, the twins got to open one gift at breakfast. They were quite excited to get new ear buds for their MP3 players!

Shortly after breakfast, we dropped the dog off at the kennel and headed towards. . . well. . . we kids didn’t know! J (Our birthday trip destinations are always a surprise.) We later found ourselves at the Dallas Heritage Village! This historical village is filled with buildings from the Dallas area that were built between 1840-1910.

Thankfully the weather was good for being outside, but I have to say that it was just a little warm for these still-thick-blooded-Northerners. J The temperature hovered at 90 all day with pretty high humidity levels and not much wind. But thankfully all the buildings were air-conditioned (so they’re not *completely* historically accurate, but here in Texas, you need climate-control!)

Our first stop was the De Leon House. This little house would have been home to railroad workers, who were mostly Mexican. Some of us tried grinding corn into cornmeal. It was NOT easy!

Next we toured a Shotgun House which came from an African-American neighborhood from the north side of Dallas. I don’t know how well I would adapt to living in a home of this style! But I thought of my friend, Sarah, when I saw this trunk because of her project to restore a trunk of her own. J

I wish this picture came from a woodworking shop or something like that, but unfortunately it comes from the Doctors office. My limbs begin to ache and quiver when I think of them being sawed off!

Mom and Dad in the carriage house.

Roma and Rubia with Nip and Tuck, two Mammoth Jack Donkeys. These guys are as big as horses!

My favorite house of the day was the Gano Farmstead, after Richard Gano. The layout of this home is known as “Dog Trot” because of the open breezeway down the middle of the house. I absolutely *love* how open it is, but with all the violent storms we’ve had lately, I’m beginning to rethink whether or not I would actually like living in a house like this all the time. During good weather it’s great! :-)

We then took a guided tour of Millermore, a huge home built in the Greek Revival style.

One of the most fascinating things about Millermore was the hair art. Back during the late 1800’s, creating embroidery-like art with human hair was a common way to memorialize people, particularly after they died. The intricacy is amazing!

We also toured a hotel, a school, a church building, the train depot, a dentist office, an apothecary (in the back of the doctor’s office), another large home, a bank, and the general store. By the time we saw everything, it was around 3:30 in the afternoon. I was starting to feel a little fatigued after walking around in the heat without water (I was a bit dumb and left it in the car.) We were quite grateful to get in the car and head towards dinner at Buca di Beppo!

As shown by all the empty glasses, cold drinks never tasted so good. :-)

Photo Credit: Mark

We started off with a delicious antipasto-like salad. We also had some of their Italian bread with oil and vinegar.

Next came delicious cheese bread!

We ordered two different main dishes, Veal Marsala, and Prosciutto-and-Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken with pesto sauce (pictured above.) I had the chicken, and it was some of the most delicious chicken I have ever eaten! We also had yummy rosemary roasted potatoes on the side.

Photo Credit: Roma.

Even though we were having birthday cake, several people desperately wanted to try the chocolate-chip canolis. So we purchased one order of them and everyone got a bite (they were also really good!)

But we didn’t go home right after dinner. We went boot shopping! Roma and Rubia were so excited to finally get their own cowgirl boots. Roma ordered a pair of pink, brown, and green Justin boots, while Rubia purchased kangaroo Ferrini boots.

When we got home, they opened the rest of their gifts. They got several nice nature-related gifts, as well as other things.

Then it was time for cake! Mom baked a delicious Chocolate-Coconut Confection birthday cake (recipe coming soon!) We had it with vanilla bean ice cream.

While their birthday was long (and we were quite ready for bed!) we had such a good time celebrating as a family! These two bring a lot of joy into our lives, and they are truly a double blessing to us!

End-of-Year Life Group Party

This past Sunday, Mom and Dad’s Life Group from church had their end-of-year party! (Life Group is small adult Bible study groups our church does instead of Sunday Schools.) EVERYONE was actually able to come to the party (41 people total, 21 adults and 20 kids) so it was a lot of fun!

It was the perfect evening for a cook-out! We had burgers and hot dogs with all the fixings, cole slaw, fruit salad, veggies with dip, chips, and Texas Caviar. For dessert, there was a chocolate pudding pie, a white gluten-free cake, chocolate peanut butter cookies, a white cake with fruit filling, and chocolate sheet cake.

We had a great time visiting with everyone together. While the regular weekly study is over, they still plan to get together 2 or 3 times over the summer. We’ll miss seeing everyone on a regular basis, but we look forward to enjoying a relaxing summer and getting back together in the fall!

Hudson Taylor Quotes

~Posted by Rubia

Recently I finished reading a book for school on Hudson Taylor, a famous and well-known missionary who lived in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. I really enjoy non-fiction books about real missionaries, mostly because everything or at least almost everything that you read about them is true and really happened! The book is from the “Trailblazers” series, written by Catherine Mackenzie. It was a very good book about Hudson’s life as a missionary to China, and all of the hardships and adventures he went through, and how God was with him every step of the way.

These are some of his quotes that I read:

“When I cannot read; when I cannot think; when I cannot even pray; I can trust.”

“There is a God; He has spoken to us in the Bible; He means what He says.”

“You do not need a great faith; but faith in a great God.”

“Is our path dark? God is our sun. Are we in danger? God is our shield.”

“I have not known what anxiety is since the Lord taught me that the work is His. My great business in life is to please God. Walking with Him in the light, I never feel a burden.”

This one is one of my favorites:

“When will it dawn on the Lord’s people that God’s command to preach the gospel to every creature was not intended for the wastepaper basket?”

Taylor’s son Howard goes on to say that “Hudson Taylor prayed as if everything depended on the praying and worked as if everything depended on the working.” I think that this is true considering how he acted in this book.

I think that my favorite quote, at this time especially, would be when Taylor said “I have not known what anxiety is since the Lord taught me that the work is His.” During difficult times, God has taught me to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Also to “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (Phillipians 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:7). I believe that God is pleased when we trust in Him.

Pushing on a Pull Door

Photo Credit

If hope is what you're after

I can take it and turn it into rain

Your tears become laughter

I will catch them and turn them back again

I will catch them and twist them back again

When you're upside down, then you see it all

That you spend all your time pushing on a pull door

You made a plan

You think you're in control

You're flying

But you're way too high to fall

And hey man

Check around the corner

Because it's coming

Here's your wakeup call

Don't hear Me coming?

I'm your wakeup call

When you're upside down, then you see it all

Everything's the wrong way around but clearer than before

When you're upside down, then you see it all

That you spend all your time pushing on a pull door

I will shake you

I will make your shattered dreams unwind

Because it's only when it comes to pieces

Only then as time increases

You will find the peace that you've been dying for

You'll realize that all this time

You've been pushing on a pull door

You've been pushing on a pull door

Upside down, then you see it all

Everything's the wrong way around but clearer than before

Oh you know, when you're upside down, then you see it all

That you spend all your time pushing on a pull door

When you're upside down, then you see it all

Everything's the wrong way around but clearer than before

When you're upside down, then you see it all

That you spend all your time pushing on a pull door

Hey, pushing on a pull door

You've been pushing on a pull door

--by “for KING & COUNTRY”

Recipe--Lemon Bars

Despite the fact that we often post dessert recipes, we really don’t eat dessert all that much (promise!) We try to keep desserts to just two nights a week (Tuesdays and Fridays.) A couple of weeks ago, Roma volunteered to make dessert for our Friday pizza and movie night. She made these delicious lemon bars, which are so simple, yet so tasty! It’s a great, refreshing dessert for this time of year.

Lemon Bars

1 cup chilled butter

2 cups all purpose flour

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

¼ cup lemon juice

Powdered sugar (optional)

Cut butter into flour until crumbly; press into an ungreased 13”x9” baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes; set aside to cool. Blend eggs, sugar and lemon juice together; pour over crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes; cool. Cut into squares. Dust with powdered sugar (optional.) Makes 24 servings.

"Walking in Broken Shoes" Book Review

Recently, my Mom was spending some Amazon gift cards she received last year. She was so sweet and bought a little something for each of us. J She gave me a choice between 4 or 5 different missions-related books. I was so excited when my copy of “Walking in Broken Shoes” by Susan Magnuson Walsh arrived! I had never heard of the book until Mom mentioned it to me, but it sounded like my kind of book.

Susan Walsh—a pediatric nurse practitioner—led many short-term medical missions trips to Haiti prior to the earthquake in 2010. The first half of the book describes these trips. The book is written mostly in journal form, with lots of email updates and personal stories.

While I found the book interesting up to that point, my interest really piqued half-way through the book. Susan Walsh was in Haiti with a team when the January 2010 earthquake hit. She gives an incredible first-hand account of what the tremor felt like, the emotional responses to the quake, and the devastation felt in Pétionville. Thankfully no one on their team was hurt, but immediately following the quake, they found themselves serving at a hospital where they saw every injury imaginable.

Susan Walsh describes their experience as that of a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH unit.) People were missing limbs, losing blood at life-threatening rates, and so much more. Many of the people in the hospital were dead. Her team did the best they could to treat injuries for 6 or 7 hours after the quake, but the number of people requiring treatment was enormous.

Because of the condition of the airport and the chaos, their team—which was supposed to leave the day after the quake—was stranded in Haiti for several extra days. Their ordeal of trying to get out of the country was nightmarish.

She also goes on to describe the trips she made back to Haiti following the quake. The very last chapter gives a very good analysis of where things stand in Haiti today, including the issues that have been dealt with, and the issues that have not been resolved.

I really appreciated the book because it not only gave an excellent first-hand account of an earth-shattering (literally) event that nearly every person in Haiti bears scars from, but it also gives a great look into the tremendous needs of the Haitian people. The issues are complex, sticky, and difficult to deal with. At times it feels like the mess has gotten so big, it can never be cleaned up.

But God is still sovereign over all. He will use tragedies such as the 2010 earthquake for HIS glory and to make HIS Name famous in Haiti. Susan Walsh does a great job of sharing her personal testimony and how God worked in her life through all the situations she was a part of in Haiti.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone high-school aged and up, particularly those who are considering medical missions work. Parts of the story are heartbreaking, but I think our hearts need to be broken more often, because brokenness brings us to a point of action.

Mother's Day Celebration

This past Sunday we celebrated Mother’s Day! Hallmark holidays like that tend to be lower-key in our family, but we still made sure to celebrate what a wonderful Mom we have. J

After church we took Mom out for lunch. Dad and Ben had been to this catfish restaurant in our little town, but the rest of us hadn’t been yet. We concluded that there are certain things we like here and certain things we prefer at the other catfish place we go to.

I had to laugh when this little guy’s plate came out. J He had fried okra, popcorn shrimp, and hush puppies. Basically, he had a plate of fried brown blobs! But to his credit, he only ate half of it.

I had salad, fire-roasted corn, fried catfish, and hushpuppies. I have to say that this restaurant has the best hushpuppies and fried jalapenos that I’ve had so far. The fire roasted corn was really good too. But I prefer the actual catfish at the other restaurant.

This restaurant is also known for its pies. They have some pretty unique ones. We were all going to get German Chocolate pie, but they had just run out. L I opted instead for their cream cheese pie, which turned out to be almost the same as pecan pie. It was good!

As soon as we got home, several people crashed for naps. After going to a conference Friday and having friends over Saturday, we were pretty well wiped out! I took Mikey on a 3-mile walk to offset lunch. I thought I was doing great and felt like I had a lot of energy. When I got home, I took a book out to our wooden swing to read for awhile. I hadn’t sat for more than 5 or 10 minutes when I found myself sprawled out on the wooden swing sleeping. NO idea how that happened. J

Around 5 p.m., we gathered in the living room for our weekly family Bible Study. After that, we gave Mommy her Mother’s Day cards and gifts. We are so blessed by such a wonderful Mother!