tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32785180914915097492024-03-13T16:44:20.477-04:00The Derringer BlogBethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.comBlogger282125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-69657101225537793832013-12-06T14:07:00.002-05:002013-12-06T14:07:49.289-05:00To Santa, or not to Santa: That is the question.From the day Mike and I got married, we've always talked about when the day comes for us, if we'd do "Santa" for our someday children. <br />
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I have so many memories of growing up and going to church on Christmas Eve and closing the service with candles and singing "Silent Night." But then that's when the baby Jesus talk stopped. We'd rush home to find that Santa had already visited our house. (Santa came early for us, thanks to my neighbors, since my Mom always worked on Christmas morning.)<br />
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But now that I'm an adult, and have an entirely different view on things (Santa is not the center of my world come December every year) I'm not sure I want to push Santa. I've always tried to figure out what words to say to explain my reasoning. Then, one of my good friends, Dez, posted her thoughts on the very subject matter, and it was almost the same thing in what Mike and I had been thinking. I'd like to share her thoughts with you:<br />
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<em>"Now that I’m a momma, I’ve been asked by quite a few people how Christmas will be celebrated in my household. Obviously, we believe that Christmas is a holiday celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christmas fun and traditions come in to play once you have children. Santa, Elf on the Shelf, naughty or nice lists… you know the other side of Christmas. A recent online convo between friends has helped me put words to how I’ve always dreamed Christmas in my family would be. Read on if you care… **Soap Box Warning**<br /><br /> The reason we celebrate Christmas is to remember the birth of Jesus, the greatest gift of all. God gave Jesus to us and, I think, that’s where Christmas gifting traditions come from. A mommy writer (link below) put it perfectly, “God gave us that gift when we didn’t deserve it. Not a signal person was ‘good’. We were all on the naughty list. He didn’t tell us there was a wonder gift coming on December 25th, but maybe we wouldn’t get it if we didn’t shape up, so we better all watch out.” God’s gift was coming despite our behavior. His gift is unconditional love.<br /><br /> And, as parents, don’t WE have unconditional love for our children? I rather my children know constantly (to the point of annoying them when they're teens!) that I love them no matter what and nothing they can and will do will EVER change that. I want to spread that LOVE all the time, and especially at Christmas. My children will be getting gifts because I love them, not because they’re naughty or nice. <br /><br /> Using Santa as “the bad guy” just doesn’t seem fair. I don’t want to preach and teach, “If you’re good, THEN you’ll get stuff.” Children- at the age of believing in Santa- are not ever bad. If they’re at the appropriate age to believe in Santa, they’re never “bad enough” to never get gifts. Let’s face it- even if your kid is the biggest trouble maker, you’re STILL going to buy him gifts. Why waste your breath for 25 days, essentially, bribing your children? “If you’re good, then…” (This same theory can apply to dessert after dinner. No dinner, no dessert. You’ll eat when you’re hungry. I’m not going to coax you… I digress.) Can you imagine the uproar if parents really stuck to the “If you’re bad, no gifts” idea? Santa would be boycotted. <br /><br /> When I was a kid, Santa didn’t come either. Why? Cuz being a single mother, Ma simply couldn’t afford piles of gifts to split between “from Mom” and “from Santa”. Ma worked very hard for the gifts she was able to provide for my siblings and me, so she should get the hugs, kisses and thank yous, not Santa. I do remember one year when I was in junior high where I would’ve sworn Santa was real. It was a very rough financial year in our home and there weren’t many (if any?) gifts under the tree. Christmas morning we were all just being quiet when someone knocked on the front door. By the time we could answer, whoever knocked was gone but there was a ginormous bags of gifts left on the stoop. I remember Ma crying; she didn’t even know who it was from. After we opened the wonderful blessing, Ma made sure we knew that this was an act of kindness and generosity from someone, not Santa. Someone in our community (church? School? Neighbors?) gave us these gifts and we should thank God for them, not Santa. Christ’s love shown through the gifters and He deserved the glory. To this day, we only have guesses as to who the gifts came from.<br /><br /> So, Santa won’t be visiting our house. There won’t be presents under the tree from Santa. Now, don’t call me Scrooge or “that crazy Christian lady.” I don’t think Santa is a bad word or a metaphor for Satan. Santa will be fun, magic and make-believe, no different than Frosty the Snowman, Mickey Mouse or Super Heroes. Kids can grasp that those are fun and pretend, so why not Santa? (Note: The Easter Bunny will be the same. Except Tumnus will give RJ a basket.) We will take our kids to visit Santa and they can chat with him and take pictures. They’ll do the same thing with Mickey and Princesses over the years. If they can just love the fun, excitement, playfulness and pure childhood joy of those characters, Santa can be just the same. He doesn’t need to be the bad guy always watching them and taking presents off their stack if they misbehave. Santa can be a delightful part of Christmas instead of a cop. Mickey would never deny my child a high five if he just smacked his sibling. A Princess would still hug them if they threw a fit not 5 minutes ago. A superhero would still rescue them from a burning building even if my kid started the fire. Santa would still fill their stocking on Christmas Eve even if they cried all the way home from the church service. <br /><br /> Now, please hear my heart here: If your family does Santa or even that Elf on the Shelf thing, I’m NOT judging you. As Miley says, “Only God can judge us.” My friend Heather said it nicely, “The fact is that families are different. People are different, act different, think different and believe different things… these differences don’t make anyone right or wrong, just different. The difference of how Santa is treated is one great example of teaching kids how to respect the differences in others.” From the earliest age, my children may view Santa as pretend, but they’ll also know love, tolerance, respect, acceptance and friendship to all types of people no matter gender, race, orientation, and religion, Santa or no Santa. <br /><br /> And isn’t LOVE the point of this whole big holiday anyways?"</em></blockquote>
Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-61843062327598758812013-10-17T22:40:00.000-04:002013-10-17T22:52:02.778-04:00A Journey Home - Pt 1Our church is getting ready to wrap up a 6 week spiritual growth campaign called "A Journey Home." Before we started the 6 weeks, I'll be honest... I was rather skeptical. Why? I don't know. I just was. But I know now that the skepticism wasn't of God or from God - at all. <br />
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To get why this has been such a big deal to me, my heart, and what I feel God has been tugging at my heart to do for nearly 2 years now, I need to give you a brief timeline of the last few weeks. (This is going to take a few blog posts to accomplish.)<br />
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The first Sunday for "A Journey Home" was also the same weekend Mike and I took in our first respite care / temporary care of 2 little girls through a local non-profit ministry called <a href="http://www.safe-families.org/home.aspx/indianapolis" target="_blank">Safe Families</a>. We wanted to work with Safe Families because we wanted to help make a difference in the lives of some kiddos. (And honestly - to see if we were ready to have our own kiddos. To see if fostering to adopt would be an option for us someday.) I haven't talked much about their visit due to their privacy, but also because it's taken a few weeks for me to process what that one weekend with those girls did to my heart. <br />
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The girls were 4 & 5 year old sisters whose family had fallen on some rough circumstances and for that weekend, felt they couldn't safely and adequately take care of their children, so Mike and I took them in. We thought "hey - we've babysat our nieces, nephews and friends kiddos for a night" or "I babysat kids all through middle school / high school / college - watching a 4 & 5 year old for the weekend will be easy peasy." Let me just stop right there and laugh at myself. If I could take back those thoughts, I would. I type laugh today, but that weekend, I wasn't laughing; I was crying.<br />
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The first night the girls were with us, things went well. (I was still thinking "easy peasy" at that point.) My favorite memory from the entire weekend was the first night. The youngest sister approached Mike and I after playing with Crosley, and out of the blue asked, "When Crosley dies, will he go to Jesus?" I was NOT expecting this little girl to know Jesus, let alone ask if my dog would go see Him someday. So, curious me responded by asking, "Do you know who Jesus is?" Her response brought tears to my eyes. She said "Yep" and then started singing "Jesus Loves Me." <br />
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Saturday morning was what I imagined a normal Saturday morning with two little girls in the house would be - food, cartoons, playing with the dogs, laughter, etc... Late that morning we took them to a parade, and come to find out, it was their first time going to a parade! The girls (with assistance from Mr. Mike) had a blast collecting all the candy in their goodie bags that was being thrown out from all of the floats. They kept asking us, "Is this all really for me?!?!" It was so much fun watching the excitement on their faces.<br />
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The afternoon was the first glimpse into the "real girls." I say "real girls" because in hindsight, I've realized that the first 18 hours they were with us, they were on their best behavior and not being their normal selves. Once they got comfortable with us, their best behavior went by the wayside. <br />
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Saturday night when we went downtown with our friends and their kiddos, even more of their normal behavior surfaced. I didn't know if I wanted to cry or scream. Honestly - I just prayed. That was also when I started to realize what a huge difference their family life was from how Mike and I live, from how our friends we were with are currently raising their kids. I also realized that after we corrected their behavior, there was no "I'm sorry" but always "I love you?" That question mark is intentional. They wouldn't state it but ask it. That worried me. I was NOT saying "easy peasy" anymore. Instead, I was getting kicked, hit, spit and yelled at. The youngest even yelled at me "I don't love you anymore!" when I made her go to bed. I wasn't quite sure how to respond to her. My gut reaction was to say "Good! You shouldn't love me anyways. You just met me!"<br />
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Sunday morning we took the girls with us to church - the first Sunday for "A Journey Home." They'd been promoting the 6 weeks for such a long time, I didn't want to miss it. We took the girls to their respective Sunday classrooms, and then Mike and I went to the service. The message that Sunday was titled "The Promise of Home." And how Pastor Steve started the message that morning totally caught my attention:<br />
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<i>"As Christians, we're children of God, and yet many of us live as if we don't even know Him. We live, we think, we act like fatherless orphans because we never truly have embraced our heavenly Father's love on a personal level. Unfortunately, the storms and disappointments of life, well they've made us afraid to trust; afraid to let go; afraid to risk becoming vulnerable by believing God when He simply says, "I Love you." I know that sounds overstated. I know that it sounds maybe even confusing because some of you may say, "Well I know God loves me" but those are words that we speak so casually these days... "I love my dog, I love hamburgers..." We say those words so easily, but when it really comes down right to it, when we talk about a relationship of love, when we talk about a parents love for a child, that's the type of love, even beyond that, that God has for us. And I think that for some of us, that's really difficult for us to comprehend because we don't love ourselves."</i></blockquote>
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When Pastor Steve said "orphans" my ears perked. The girls were far from orphans - they have a mom and a dad, but for the weekend, they kinda were. Really, anytime I hear "orphan" mentioned these days, my ears perk. When Pastor Steve said that we say "I love you" so easily, I thought of the girls again. It made me wonder if they really knew what love meant, or if for them, it was just a word to try to get out of trouble. <strike>I love</strike> I really like it when a sermon feels like it was penned by God just for me.<br />
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As we drove home from church Sunday, we asked the girls what they learned at church. The oldest was proud to tell us "We danced and talked about Jesus!" YES! The rest of the afternoon we made blanket forts, played games, laughed, colored pictures, read books - you know - normal little girl stuff. (There may have also been a standoff in the kitchen over manners...) Sunday night was more realization of what a difference a stable, healthy family can make for a child. It also left me questioning if hosting kids was what Mike and I were supposed to do. I had envisioned hugs, laughter, love - not getting kicked, hit, spit and yelled at. But then I remembered the sermon. These sisters, for all I knew, didn't have a great home life. They really didn't know the true meaning of love. That broke my heart and also is what made me change my mind. If, even for just the weekend, Mike and I were able to bring them into our non-violent home, give them warm food, warm beds, CLEAN clothes, toothbrushes, hugs, laughter, but most importantly, an opportunity to learn about Jesus and His unconditional love, then we did our job.<br />
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That was nearly 5 weeks ago. I have no idea what happened to those girls after I dropped them off to their mom that Monday morning. I think about the girls all the time. I decided not to let that one weekend stop Mike and I from opening our home to other children in need. After all, we all yearn to have a place to call home. There are THOUSANDS of kids out there who wish for the promise of home. Mike and I are just waiting for a child to journey into our home forever.Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-24637519181981412672013-08-11T23:06:00.000-04:002013-08-11T23:06:00.869-04:00"All of Our Songs"Have you ever come across something you had long forgotten about? Something that when it was first given to you, it meant the world to you, but as the days, weeks, months, and years went on, it was set aside, and eventually stored away, and you forgot about it?<br />
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Mike and I have been doing a lot of cleaning the last few weeks - mainly in our bedroom to make way for the new night stands he built. I had to clean out my old one, and in the process, I found something I completely forgotten about. My heart skipped a beat as soon as I saw it. Written on the white Memorex CD, in Mike's distinct handwriting, was "All of our songs." It was a CD Mike had given to me when we were dating in college. <br />
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I put it in the nearest CD player I could find and immediately was taken back quite a few years. The memories of sharing these songs with Mike came flooding back.</div>
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<em>John Mayer - Back To You</em></div>
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<em>Frank Sinatra - Just the Way You Look Tonight</em></div>
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<em>Allison Krauss - When You Say Nothing At All</em></div>
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<em>98 Degrees - My Everything</em></div>
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<em>98 Degrees - The Hardest Thing</em></div>
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<em>Beatles - In My Life</em></div>
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<em>Don Henley - This Love</em></div>
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<em>Edwin McCain - Could Not Ask For More</em></div>
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<em>Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight</em></div>
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<em>Michael W Smith - In My Arms Again</em></div>
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<em>Paul Brandt - I Do</em></div>
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<em>Savage Garden - I Knew I Loved You</em></div>
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<em>Rascal Flatts - These Days</em></div>
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It's fun to sit and remember why each of those songs were important or special to each of us; how many of them ended up being a part of our wedding; how many of them, whenever I hear them today, nearly 14 years later (when we first met in college), still make my heart skip a beat. </div>
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I love you Mike!!!</div>
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Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-76095897779370872982013-07-22T23:21:00.000-04:002013-07-22T23:21:59.762-04:00WorshipWhen you go to church, how often do you feel like you're really worshipping God during the service? I'm not talking about just singing along with the words on the screen and lifting your hands because everyone else is. I'm talking about real, true, pure, AUTHENTIC worship. The kind of worship where you are so moved, you're in tears. The kind of worship where you literally get on your knees in reverence to God. The kind of worship where you're hands are reaching out to God, and all you can do is reach just a little further to feel that much closer to Him.<br />
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I honestly feel like I can say that in my 32 years, I have only experienced real true pure authentic worship over the last few years. That's sad, but it's my own fault. I used to be old school and thought worship could only be accomplished by standing up in a pew and singing the same songs that I'd sung all the years before out of a hymnal. Come to find out, I really wasn't worshipping at all. (Gasp!) I was just singing the words because that's what you did at church on Sunday mornings. How many of you can relate?<br />
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Yesterday was one of those Sundays where I witnessed and experienced real, true, pure, authentic worship, and it wasn't in your stereotypical church either (the kind with stained glass windows and a steeple) This church was in a night club and it was in one of the most un-Christian cities in America (<a href="http://cities.barna.org/the-most-post-christian-cities-in-america/" target="_blank">ranked #9 by the Barna Group</a>) The coolest part? There were people from NYC, Atlanta, GA; Philadelphia, PA; Central Ohio, upstate New York, and a few people from other countries. (That's just who I got a chance to talk to during the 4 minutes of greeting time. I know there were so many more there!) The part that gives me Godbumps... they were all there not because they had to be, but because they wanted to be. <br />
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<em>Say what?</em><br />
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They were there because they wanted to be! They were at church in NYC on a Sunday, when they could have been out shopping on 5th Ave, walking around Central Park with all the tourists, or in bed at their apartment recovering from the night before in Greenwich Village. But they weren't! They were getting their church on!<br />
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I'll freely admit during the first song I wasn't focused on the service... I was too focused on taking photos and getting the best shot. But once the first song finished, I realized taking photos was NOT the appropriate thing to be doing. God opened the doors for me to finally worship at this church... keyword WORSHIP... not take photos. So I put the camera down and started taking it all in, and I'm forever glad I did. God knew I needed my worship tank to be refilled. <br />
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One of the songs yesterday morning was "Closer" by Hillsong Live. Take a listen:<br />
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As the chorus began, you could hear everyone start to signing louder, and louder, and louder. It was beautiful! People wiping tears from their face because they were professing to God that all they want to do is grow closer to Him. Best friends hugging each other while lifting their hands in praise to God (not because everyone else was, but because they were literally reaching out for Him.)<br />
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The other song we sang, "Chris Is Enough" was also by Hillsong Live (surprise...)<br />
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They sang this right before the message and after the message. And as you heard "Christ is enough for me, Christ is enough for me" being sung, you realized it was getting louder and louder with the people singing louder with confidence and declaration.<br />
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The bridge "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back... no turning back... The cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back... no turning back...." had people dancing on the floor and balconies with arms raised, hands over their hearts, and cheering. It wasn't a rock concert (which a lot of old school minds think today's contemporary worship is just a big 'ol rock concert) but a concert of praise and worship to God. A real, true, pure, authentic worship service in the heart of NYC. God is so good. Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-17228379847599668682013-07-01T21:56:00.000-04:002013-07-01T21:56:03.851-04:00Another WhisperIt's been awhile since I last wrote. There's been a lot going on since I last wrote. Did I say a lot? I mean a TON! But no matter what is going on in our lives, God always seems to whisper, "Hey you, I'm still here."<br />
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This last week I spent at Creation North East - a very LARGE Christian Music festival in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania with 9 wonderful people - 9 of my co-workers.<br />
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Festivals are always fun and interesting and they always leave a mark on my heart. This year, it left a different mark. The first few days of Creation, I saw a number of people walking around in t-shirts that said "LOVE" but instead of an "O" there was an outline of Africa. I really liked the shirts and wanted to find out more, so when I got a few minutes I ventured up to the merch barn to ask about the shirts. They are made by an organization called <a href="http://www.krochetkids.org/" target="_blank">Krochet Kids International</a>. I figured since there was a giant print of Africa on the shirt, the organization helped somewhere in Africa. Yep. I was right. Uganda is somewhere in Africa. UGANDA! I purchased a shirt for Mike and myself. <br />
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After leaving the Krochet Kids merch table, I started walking back to my work's setup at the festival and walked past the <a href="http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/" target="_blank">Operation Christmas Child </a>table so I decided to stop and chat for a second. Since returning from the Dominican Republic with OCC last December, there's a special place in my heart for that organization. I chatted with the OCC staff that was there and they handed me an envelope of a picture from one of their recent distributions - a photo of a little boy gripping on to his shoe box in UGANDA. I got Godbumps. (aka Goosebumps but God arranged.)<br />
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I couldn't wait to tell a few of my co-workers about what had happened - one of which, I've now found out, has a very similar passion for Uganda. It was just what I needed. I needed a few more signs from God to let me know Uganda is not out of the picture for Mike and I.<br />
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Sunday afternoon, as we were walking into the airport in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania, we noticed a group of people gathered together with balloons, cameras, a lot of inter-racial families (some very ADORABLE kiddos) signs that said "welcome home," and a bunch of smiles. I looked at one of my co-workers just as we were both thinking out loud "I wonder if they are welcoming home an adoptee?" We walked past them, through security, and into a place to eat. But my mind was still wondering about that group.<br />
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Just as we were sitting down to eat, I noticed two ladies and a child walk past us - the child was waving a flag from Ethiopia. I mentioned to my co-workers that I bet that child is going to the group waiting on the other side of security, so I walked over to the window in the restaurant that overlooked security and the group waiting to see if they would greet one another. They did. It was beautiful. I had tears in my eyes. I can only imagine the tears that were in the eyes of the people in that group... the tears in the eyes of the family who just welcomed home their newest family member... the happy tears in the eyes of God. It made me want to jump on a plane at the airport and head to Uganda.<br />
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Thank you, God, for yet another whisper from you about Uganda. Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-33353997553111524162013-02-19T21:05:00.000-05:002013-02-19T21:06:10.781-05:00Not NowMike and I attended our second information meeting with an adoption agency. We also received our second "no" on adopting from Uganda through their agency. (Both agencies currently are operating Uganda pilot programs and are currently closed to new potential families.) And then I read my devotion for today: "Day 23: Not Now" The devotion started off with this:<br />
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"When God says no to a prayer, it doesn't always mean <i>no</i>; sometimes it means <i>not yet.</i> It's the right request but the wrong time."</blockquote>
I can't tell you how many times I've heard this phrase from various people in my life for different situations, and each time, they've proven to be correct because if we heard a "yes" instead of a "no" things would be different at this very moment. Like I did at those times, I want to do right now. I want to stomp my feet, cry, and scream at the top of my lungs, "WHY NOT RIGHT NOW?!?!?!?!" but instead, I'm going to take that energy and put into prayer. There's a reason and only God knows. Mike and I'll just have to wait until He see's fit to let us know.Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-30034038080073879952013-02-05T11:13:00.003-05:002013-02-05T11:13:51.208-05:00God of Angel ArmiesFor 3 years now, I've been reading Sarah Young's "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Calling-Enjoying-Peace-Presence/dp/1591451884/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360079148&sr=8-1&keywords=Jesus+Calling" target="_blank">Jesus Calling</a>" Devotional. Each day there is a different message, and I continue to be amazed, even though I've already read the entire devotional 2 times, that I can re-read February 5th today and have it speak to me completely different than it did on February 5 of last year.<br />
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"SEEK MY FACE, and you will find not only My Presence but also My Peace. To receive My Peace, you must change your grasping, controlling stance to one of openness and trust. The only thing you can grasp without damaging your soul is My hand. Ask My Spirit within you to order your day and control your thoughts, for <em>the mind controlled by the Spirit is Life and Peace.</em></div>
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You can have as much of Me and My Peace as you want, through thousands of correct choices each day. The most persistent choice you face is whether to trust Me or to worry. You will never run out of things to worry about, but you can choose to trust Me no matter what. I am an <em>ever-present help in toruble</em>. Trust Me, <em>through the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea</em>."</div>
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But it doesn't stop there. After sharing today's devotion with my co-worker, she opened up her daily devotion from <a href="https://gotandem.com/" target="_blank">Go Tandem</a> and the topic? "Slacken My Grip." (I'm getting the feeling God wants me to give up control of something...)<br />
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Both devotions referred to Psalm 46:<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><div class="line" style="margin: 1em 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="text">"God is a safe place to hide,</span><br />
<span class="text">ready to help when we need him.</span><br />
<span class="text">We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,</span><br />
<span class="text">courageous in seastorm and earthquake,</span><br />
<span class="text">Before the rush and roar of oceans,</span><br />
<span class="text">the tremors that shift mountains.</span></div>
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<span class="text">Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,</span><br />
<span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">God</span></span><span class="text">-of-Angel-Armies protects us.</span></div>
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<span id="en-MSG-6312"><span class="text">River fountains splash joy,
cooling God’s city,</span></span><br />
<span class="text">this sacred haunt of the Most High.</span><br />
<span class="text">God lives here, the streets are safe,</span><br />
<span class="text">God at your service from crack of dawn.</span><br />
<span class="text">Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten,</span><br />
<span class="text">but Earth does anything he says.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span id="en-MSG-6313"><span class="text">Jacob-wrestling God fights
for us,</span></span><br />
<span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">God</span></span><span class="text">-of-Angel-Armies protects us.</span></div>
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<span id="en-MSG-6314"><span class="text">Attention, all! See the
marvels of </span><span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">God</span></span><span class="text">!</span></span><br />
<span class="text">He plants flowers and trees all over the earth,</span><br />
<span class="text">Bans war from pole to pole,</span><br />
<span class="text">breaks all the weapons across his knee.</span><br />
<span class="text">“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,</span><br />
<span class="text">loving look at me, your High God,</span><br />
<span class="text">above politics, above everything.”</span></div>
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<span id="en-MSG-6315"><span class="text">Jacob-wrestling God fights
for us,</span></span><br />
<span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">God</span></span><span class="text">-of-Angel-Armies protects us."</span></div>
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<span class="text">And after reading that, I had another "Are you serious God?" moment... because one of my favorite songs on the radio right now comes straight from that passage... a song that I've heard a few times already this morning at work - Chris Tomlin's "Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)" </span><br />
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So today, I'm laying down what I think I'm having control issues over, and giving it all to God. God's Angel Armies (including my nephew Sam) are always by my side.</div>
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Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-65560914779476347112013-02-03T16:11:00.000-05:002013-02-03T16:15:24.346-05:00Putting on Our WadersLast Monday, my co-workers and I started a 40 Day Prayer Challenge with and for each other. We're reading a book by one of my favorite authors, Mark Batterson, called "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Draw-Circle-The-Prayer-Challenge/dp/0310327121/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359923907&sr=8-1&keywords=Draw+the+Circle%3A+The+40+Day+Prayer+Challenge" target="_blank">Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge.</a>" With each day's readings there have been little nuggets of information I highlight in the book, and think "I need to remember that." Todays reading was the exception - I highlighted it all. And, as always with God and me, it seems like I read today's readings at just the right time.<br />
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Mike and I went to lunch with some friends of ours today, and towards the end of the lunch, I shared where we were in the process of adopting from Uganda - that we're still researching which agency we are going to use, and that we don't want to rush into this. I feel like I've been saying "we don't want to rush into this" for awhile now. There obviously has been NO rushing, but there's also been NO movement on our part, except for the email inquiries I've sent out to a handful of agencies. After we returned from lunch, I read today's reading in the prayer challenge, "Day 7: Put on Waders" and as some of my co-workers like to joke around and say, "BOOM!" </div>
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Here are some of the sections I highlighted:</div>
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"God is honored when we act <i>as if He</i> is going to answer our prayers! And acting <i>as if </i>means acting on our prayers.... Don't just pray about your dream; act on it. Act <i>as if God</i> is going to deliver on His promise." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"If we want to see God move, we need to make a move. If it seems like God isn't moving in our lives, maybe it's because we aren't moving. But if we make a move, God will move heaven and earth to honor our faith."</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"We're so close to the dream, so close to the promise, so close to the miracle. But we're waiting for God to part the river, while God is waiting for us to get our feet wet."</blockquote>
I read these few lines and immediately was taken back to our lunch conversation. We've been praying about the adoption, and God has made it very clear that it's what He wants us to do. He made the first move by warming our hearts to the entire idea of adopting from Uganda, but now Mike and I need to make a move - we need to put on our waders, get our feet wet, and actually start the process. <br />
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The best way to summarize my feelings this very moment, Mark Batterson said it the best <i>"...that first step is always the hardest and longest. It will require the most faith. It will feel the most awkward. But if we step out in faith, signs will follow." </i><br />
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Please be praying as we take our first big step. Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-27623624927281915042013-01-20T12:30:00.000-05:002013-01-20T12:38:37.627-05:00Let's Do This!It's been awhile since I posted about our interest in adopting. For quite awhile, it felt like God was constantly poking Mike and I with little messages saying, "You need to adopt from Uganda!" but then it went dry for awhile. I don't know how to explain it where it would make sense and not make me sound crazy. We just didn't hear anything. And we're not going to rush into adopting a child unless we know, with full conviction, that this is what God wants us to do. <br />
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While I was in California last week for work, a few of my coworkers asked me where we were in the adoption process and I told them just that, and then didn't think anything of it. (Cue: God)<br />
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Do you remember me writing about the festival I was at last August and the lady I met from Uganda? (<a href="http://www.bethderringer.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-festival.html" target="_blank">You can read the post here.</a>) The morning after my friends asked me about our adoption process and I said I really hadn't heard anything from God lately, I got a message from her - in UGANDA. I couldn't believe it. Well, I could believe it. It's God. He knew I needed a reminder that, yes, He does want Mike and I adopting a child from Uganda. Reading her message quickly brought tears to my eyes. I emailed Mike and I told him about it, and then told my coworkers that had been asking about adoption. One of their responses, "Don't challenge God - he'll take you up on it every time!"<br />
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But it doesn't stop there. Apparently God was making up for lost time and felt I needed not one, but two pokes from him, which I did. Friday night was our staff banquet. Our company has started awarding a Community Service award to a listener who has made a difference, and this year the award went to 2 sisters, ages 8 and 10, who raised $25,000 for children in UGANDA! As soon as Uganda was mentioned, my friend who was sitting behind me (same friend who was asking about the adoption process) grabbed my shoulders and squeezed tight. He knew God just laid another one on me.<br />
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All of this to say, as we were leaving Friday night, I looked up to the sky with my arms in the air and said, "OK God. OK. Let's do this."<br />
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<br />Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-50496523657303979992012-12-26T23:34:00.003-05:002012-12-26T23:41:38.678-05:00The Dominican Republic in PhotosAs I've written these posts about my time in the Dominican Republic, it's been REALLY hard to pick out just a few things to share with you. I want to write about everything that happened on the trip, I want to tell you about every child I interacted with and every morning devotion that Chris prepared for our team. I want to tell you about all the children that forever stole my heart. I want to tell you about the country that humbled me. I want to tell you how God worked on my heart. But I can't. I can't put to words some of the things I saw and felt. But I can show you through photos.<br />
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For my final post on my trip to the Dominican Republic with <a href="http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/" target="_blank">Operation Christmas Child</a>, I wanted to share with you a little photo montage I put together with the photos I took on my trip. <br />
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It's never too late (or too early) to start "giving Christmas away" through <a href="http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/" target="_blank">Operation Christmas Child</a>.<br />
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<i>This video features the song "Give This Christmas Away" by <a href="http://www.matthewwest.com/" target="_blank">Matthew West</a>, (C) 2009 Simple Tense Songs (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.) Wyzell Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.) Songs For Delaney.</i>Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-16416267799459215172012-12-22T10:30:00.000-05:002012-12-22T10:30:00.258-05:00Build-A-Box on Christmas!Even though we're just a few days away from Christmas, you and/or your kids can still help pack a shoe box online to make a lasting impact on the life of a child. Operation Christmas Child has created a program called Build-A-Box, where, through their website, you can digitally pack a shoe box for a boy or girl by selecting gifts from their list of items, and even include a personal letter and photo of yourself or your child. (This is a huge hit for the children who receive the shoebox so they can learn about where it came from and who sent it to them.)<br />
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<a href="http://www.samaritanspurse.org/api/track.php?motv=Y000-OCCB_BABBlogger&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.samaritanspurse.org%2fgiving%2fbuildabox%2f%3f%26utm_medium%3dbbanner_BAB%26utm_campaign%3dbab12" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img alt="Operation Christmas Child" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/static.samaritanspurse.org/images/graphic_resources/2012Banners/BAB_300x250.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 250px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 300px;" /> </a></div>
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You can start building your box at Operation Christmas Child's <a href="https://www.samaritanspurse.org/giving/buildabox/" target="_blank"><b>website</b></a> or by clicking the image above. </div>
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Mike and I packed a box for a little girl aged 2-4. (Something I learned on my trip was that there are always a LOT of boxes for kids ages 5-9, but there's not nearly as many for the other age groups.) In the box I packed online, I choose a stuffed animal, a slinky (I had taken slinky's with me to the Dominican and handed them out - the kids LOVED them!) a jump rope, a harmonica, an etch-a-sketch, sunglasses, and hair accessories. Automatically included in the shoe box are essentials like soap, wash cloth, toothbrush & toothpaste, hair brush, pencils, pencil sharpener, crayons, chalk, coloring pad, and a notebook.<br />
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After I chose what to put in the box, I uploaded a photo of Mike and I, wrote a note to the child who will get the shoe box, and then checked out.<br />
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For $30, Mike and I know that we'll have given a child, where in many cases is in a third world country where a toothbrush & toothpaste, a stuffed animal and sunglasses, would never be obtainable to them, a chance to be a child. More importantly, we're helping share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bless kiddos throughout the world through Operation Christmas Child.<br />
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When we have children of our own someday, in addition to physically packing shoeboxes as a family, I can't think of a better way to share Christ's love on Christmas than to pack a shoe box online for a child.Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-75212247933856259122012-12-21T23:42:00.005-05:002012-12-21T23:42:56.027-05:00The Dominican Republic Part IVOur last distribution in the D.R. was at the <a href="http://pedroacademy.org/index.php" target="_blank">Pedro Martinez Foundation</a>. To get to the Foundation, we drove through the city, which seemed like it took forever. We saw all types of people, buildings, cars, vendors, animals, etc along the city streets on our way there. (I was amazed at the number of dogs we saw just running the streets!) When we pulled up alongside the Foundation, the first thing I noticed was the rod iron gate across the entrance and the stone wall surrounding it. It was the complete opposite than anything else we'd experienced so far on the trip. We walked through the gates and saw this beautiful building!<br />
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As we walked into the building, we were met with a sea or red and green shirts and the students standing and applauding us. To think that these kids, who had no idea who we were, stood to applaud us was humbling, very humbling. I wanted to say "No, No - we need to be applauding you!"<br />
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After the presentation and the shoe boxes were handed out came the time to open the shoe boxes. In Operation Christmas Child style, they counted down while the kids very eagerly sat in their seats holding tight to their precious shoe boxes to open them.<br />
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I had a great time going around <strike>talking</strike> trying to talk to the kids in my very broken Spanish about what they got in their shoe boxes. They had so much fun digging through the boxes to see what they got, and if they weren't sure on what it was that they were holding, they'd hand it to me, and I'd do my best to describe it. If I couldn't describe it, I'd end up playing with it so the child could figure it out.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opening his Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box</td></tr>
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Another item I will try to include in shoe boxes for the kids are bags. The kids LOVED it if they got a bag in their shoe box that they could store all of their toys in.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet boy holding tight to the bag that came in his shoe box</td></tr>
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My favorite part of the distribution took place after all of the shoe boxes had been handed out. As the kids were leaving the building to go out to the AWESOME playground for a break, the Cha-Cha Slide started playing in the sound system. A few of us in the group started doing the dance to the song, and some of the girls at the Foundation started giggling. Kathy and got the girls to start dancing with us. We were able to grab a quick picture afterwards.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJys96j0GhdNlX5urf4B3tDWf4t_8OqSEJS6VsbY3H24FQYQN7WYJAyD_y5rHfkxvayHGGFXnhXW8rPGei9_azbPYxtMQM-58wEvpyYn1l12AgXf5xIr3uGh81YB6QJc1NFYkhGi0DI66g/s1600/DSCN1005_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Group shot after dancing the Cha-Cha Slide</td></tr>
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After the mini-dance session, we headed outside to get ready to leave. I was surprised to see little groups of kids all over the playground huddled around their boxes. Apparently, they were having trading sessions. I could only imagine their conversations. "Hey, I'll trade you this beanie baby for your match box car..."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpQ9USWIXWQqF-KPM_AxvbgR6I6ZjetGcIrf2po17y3spbV_30maX-Xe03unu8Rct5J6ObuiqZmL4-73Lbw9lwKYjnPG1dPn_-k59fBzLI7flPk3c2g1_Um1Kyly4Z6TKF1rmDGP3dUL2/s1600/DSCN1036_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpQ9USWIXWQqF-KPM_AxvbgR6I6ZjetGcIrf2po17y3spbV_30maX-Xe03unu8Rct5J6ObuiqZmL4-73Lbw9lwKYjnPG1dPn_-k59fBzLI7flPk3c2g1_Um1Kyly4Z6TKF1rmDGP3dUL2/s640/DSCN1036_web.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inspecting their friends shoe box goodies</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDasGOO4e4CzXrShUCuFge_HGIvJTVg2cXzynew3H3NQoC_w2B2jkoIWW1PMZbRz7mGlmsJ82maOeqovSIQ-iOFlfcUGwS38rArdzPYlDHOg1XafOuBYTaXRdpZgGbSb80dpkQ-QplZas/s1600/DSCN1039_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDasGOO4e4CzXrShUCuFge_HGIvJTVg2cXzynew3H3NQoC_w2B2jkoIWW1PMZbRz7mGlmsJ82maOeqovSIQ-iOFlfcUGwS38rArdzPYlDHOg1XafOuBYTaXRdpZgGbSb80dpkQ-QplZas/s640/DSCN1039_web.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More shoe box goodie inspections</td></tr>
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All of the kids were wearing green and red shirts, the colors in Operation Christmas Child's logo. While we were outside, a young guy walked up to me, and before I could understand what he was trying to ask me, I caught a glimpse of his bright red t-shirt. What was the likelihood of me, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, finding a Ball State University t-shirt on one of the kids receiving an Operation Christmas Child shoe box? (For those of you who are not in Indiana, Ball State University is about 45 minutes north of where I live and I have many friends who graduated from there.) I couldn't believe it! I had to figure out how he got that shirt. Come to find out, many organizations like Goodwill and the Salvation Army will donate clothing to needy organizations overseas. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFu4zNRQXcKESzyfFxIS3H1QEMQ0a0EqRx8Ii_-fpL_MGGBrqBIsQZ0_mEDHAxMV5qkB3WHarQcl2Dnvgp7tobi-a_hWCMrnkcz0jIOukyRIM-d4VhcEPcVwt88Kthyphenhyphend13O-VYPKRKBE3K/s1600/DSCN1042_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFu4zNRQXcKESzyfFxIS3H1QEMQ0a0EqRx8Ii_-fpL_MGGBrqBIsQZ0_mEDHAxMV5qkB3WHarQcl2Dnvgp7tobi-a_hWCMrnkcz0jIOukyRIM-d4VhcEPcVwt88Kthyphenhyphend13O-VYPKRKBE3K/s640/DSCN1042_web.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new friend, the Ball State University fan!</td></tr>
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The last photo I took before we boarded the buses to head to the airport was one of my co-workers that I was so privileged to travel with for the week. Nathan thought it would be fun for us all to let our inner-child out and climb on the spider web on the playground.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzugb5VdBVaLIjiI_EpqMymOutflcPfoTXdavORayuXAlruHF7gHl7atUObR-xYJuBfSqaUYNJDXhZRhOmIPiwpLil99IdWvsjzL3y1tzW-umzVcgHbySMcTEiJnddJYL1Ni-zZQnpwTNH/s1600/DSCN1046_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzugb5VdBVaLIjiI_EpqMymOutflcPfoTXdavORayuXAlruHF7gHl7atUObR-xYJuBfSqaUYNJDXhZRhOmIPiwpLil99IdWvsjzL3y1tzW-umzVcgHbySMcTEiJnddJYL1Ni-zZQnpwTNH/s640/DSCN1046_web.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The K-LOVE Staff monkeying around :-)</td></tr>
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As we pulled away from the foundation and our last distribution for the trip, I started to think about the 1500+ kids we interacted with during the week - kids who were given shoe boxes thanks to the 1500+ people in the United States that took time away from their schedules to go buy some toys to put into a shoe box. I had heard numerous stories from friends, co-workers, and listeners at work about shoe boxes and the impact they made, but never really <i>got it</i> until I saw it with my own eyes.<br />
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Matthew 25:45 has a whole new meaning to me now: <i>"Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."</i><br />
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Tomorrow, I'll tell you how you can pack shoeboxes online!Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-89261074074936868702012-12-19T08:36:00.001-05:002012-12-19T08:36:52.361-05:00The Dominican Republic Part IIIWhen looking back at my days in the D.R., I'd have to pick Thursday as the most memorable. <br />
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Thursday morning started like the others with breakfast, worship and devotions, and then we loaded the buses for our distributions. Our group went to a small church, Iglesia de Dios Misionera La Gran Comision Tercera, in the community of Mata Godo. We drove through the city and then into the country to get to there. Once we arrived and pulled alongside the barbed wire fence surrounding the church, the director of the church, Filomena, came running towards our bus full of energy, obviously very excited! This distribution was one of the smaller ones (only 150 kiddos) so we were able to interact with more of the kids in the community. <br />
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As we walked towards the church, we found all of the kids quietly waiting on the benches inside the church - some of them peeking out the window to look at us.<br />
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The same events took place as the first two distributions: the local OCC Volunteers lead a great presentation for the kids including singing "Jingle Bells."<br />
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After the presentation and signing, it was time to hand out the shoeboxes. We all grabbed boxes and started distributing them to the kids. This is when I learned one of my best lessons about packing a shoe box: I was handing out two boxes - one was cardboard and one was plastic. I handed the cardboard box to a little girl and as I was getting ready to hand the plastic one to the girl next to her, the first little girl dropped the cardboard box and grabbed the plastic. The kids LOVE the plastic shoeboxes because they can be reused later. Mental note made!<br />
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As the kids started to open their shoeboxes, the skies let loose and the rain started to come down. Some of the kids didn't mind - they were too excited about their shoebox. But some of the other kids scattered - some inside the church - some inside the school bus next to the church - some ran down the street. One little girl just stood next to me like she was lost. She couldn't have been more than 2 years old. That's when I remembered that I had some pillow case dresses in my backpack made by some of the ladies at my church, so I grabbed one and gave it to her. With the language barrier, she wasn't sure what I was giving her, so I slipped the dress on over what she was already wearing. It was perfect!<br />
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One thing that surprised me when handing out the dresses was that I didn't give them to just little girls like I thought I was going to. I gave 2 of the dresses to 2 of the moms in the community. They were so small that they could wear the pillow case dresses as tops for themselves.<br />
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Normally after our distributions are complete and we've had a chance to interact with the kids, we loaded the buses and headed to the next location. But not this time, and that's why this distribution was my favorite. Our bus had to leave to take someone to a bus stop, so we ended up being at our distribution site much longer than any of the others. This is when I met the little girl I wanted to bring home with me. She had the biggest eyes and biggest eye lashes!<br />
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I started playing with her, tickling her neck, smiling at her, and lifting her up in the air, and she was smiling and laughing! After playing with her for a little while, through the help of a translator, her mom told me that I was one of the only people who was able to make her laugh and smile like that in the 1 year that she had been alive. She told me that her little girl loved me! Cue the tears! I couldn't imagine a little girl, who was 1 year old, barely laughing and smiling. It broke my heart. It let me know how different our worlds really were.<br />
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I was also able to teach a little boy how to play knuckles. (When you bump fists, and then your fist explodes and goes "BOOM!") After a few short times of repeating the action, the little boy caught on and eventually started yelling "BOOM!" at the end with a giant smile. It made my heart happy that I could make him so happy with such a simple game. <br />
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Right before we left the community, our translators started playing a few magic tricks with the kids and before long, a group of kids had gathered around them. After the magic tricks were done, they started singing and dancing with the kids.</div>
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The kids were having a great time not because we just brought them shoeboxes, but because we were spending time with them singing, dancing, laughing, playing games, giving them hugs, and paying attention to them. We were showing them God's love. It made me want to put them all on the bus and plane and bring them home with me.</div>
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Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-26971637610066672032012-12-11T20:28:00.002-05:002012-12-11T20:34:39.696-05:00The 100 Millionth Shoe Box Tour Grand Finale<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1Iw1HElJVEM" width="525"></iframe>Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-25675384337210240902012-12-11T09:15:00.000-05:002012-12-11T09:15:00.621-05:00The Dominican Republic Part IIFor those of you who know me, you may find the following statement hard to believe, but it's true: Wednesday morning, I was awake before my alarm clock went off. I was so excited to get the day started; to get to participate in my first ever missions trip, to help distribute the 100 MILLIONTH shoe box with Operation Christmas Child! <br />
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The morning started with breakfast, a small worship service let by Sid (an AMAZING man of God!) and a devotion led by Chris, the Regional Director for Operation Christmas Child in the Americas and Caribbean. One of the songs Sid sang really caught my attention, and I thought it could not have been more appropriate for our first day - Fee's "Send Me Out"<br />
<blockquote>
<i>Jesus, Lord of my salvation, Savior of my soul. </i><br />
<i>Send me out to the world to make You known. </i><br />
<i>Jesus, King of every nation, this worlds only hope. </i><br />
<i>Send me out to the world to make you known. </i><br />
<i>Send me out to the world. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I wanna be Your hands & feet. </i><br />
<i>I wanna be Your voice every time I speak. </i><br />
<i>I wanna run to the ones in need, in the name of Jesus. </i><br />
<i>I wanna give my life away, all for Your kingdom's sake. </i><br />
<i>Shine a light in the darkest place, in the name of Jesus. </i><br />
<i>In the name of Jesus. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Carry to the broken-hearted mercy You have shown. </i><br />
<i>Send me out to the world to make You known. </i><br />
<i>And to the ones in need of rescue, lead me I will go. </i><br />
<i>Send me out to the world to make You known. </i><br />
<i>Send me out to the world. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Here am I, I will go. </i><br />
<i>Send me out to make You known. </i><br />
<i>There is hope for every soul, send me out, send me out. </i><br />
<i>Here am I, I will go. </i><br />
<i>Send me out to make You known. </i><br />
<i>There is hope for every soul, send me out, send me out.</i></blockquote>
After breakfast and devotions, we boarded the buses to head to the first distribution. After an interesting ride passing palm oil factories, we arrived in the community of Sabana Larga del Gonzalo. The distribution took place at the school in the community, Pedro Mir. As the buses pulled up on the dusty dirt road, we pulled up alongside a fence filled with little brown and black fingers with sweet brown eyes staring at us. This is when my heart started beating a little faster. We got off the bus, walked through the gate in the fence and suddenly there were all of these adorable faces staring at us!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the kids at Pedro Mir</td></tr>
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We immediately went and started to interact with the kids. Although, my first interaction wasn't quite what I expected… I was standing amongst a group of some of the older girls at the school and before I knew it, someone had pinched my rear! I wasn't sure what to think, so I found one of our translators, Marcel, and asked him if that was some sort of way Dominicans great others and he started to laugh at me. His response: "HA! No! They are just being mean. You're odd looking to them with your white skin and red hair. They were making fun of you!"<br />
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The local Operation Christmas Child volunteers put on an entertaining puppet show for the kids talking about the importance of Christmas.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puppet Show put on by the Dominican Republic Operation Christmas Child Volunteers</td></tr>
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It was interesting to hear what the kids yelled out as what they considered important: Apples, Grapes, Presents, Family. In the D.R., apples and grapes are considered special treats. The kids were told about Jesus and his love for each and every one of them. And that Christmas was about more than just apples, grapes, presents, and family. That's when we came into play. Operation Christmas Child created cartoon booklets in Spanish that explains Jesus to the kids. We handed the books out to the 250-300 kiddos that were there. After that came the moment we had all been waiting for - handing out the shoe boxes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnjoa4iCAmQihDHcTj56DnX4lnmLPR7em2KY_Q5DH0WrsuaDOr4WOk-9BAbys1iUII1N3FNeh4lC04PSdPGhvQXg2BIDvhpMtxZ66bgWBDFVn4xXsOf7YmFnZkMLw0F-PFlZgpWPxbEI6F/s1600/DSCN0701+copy_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnjoa4iCAmQihDHcTj56DnX4lnmLPR7em2KY_Q5DH0WrsuaDOr4WOk-9BAbys1iUII1N3FNeh4lC04PSdPGhvQXg2BIDvhpMtxZ66bgWBDFVn4xXsOf7YmFnZkMLw0F-PFlZgpWPxbEI6F/s640/DSCN0701+copy_web.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the girls waiting to open her shoe box</td></tr>
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The 100 Millionth shoe box was delivered by a young lady named Evilyn. As Evilyn sat down with Brenda, the little girl who received the shoe box, a forever friendship was formed. Not until the delivery of Brenda's shoe box did Evilyn and the Operation Christmas Child staff find this story out about Brenda: Brenda was born to an unwed Mother and Father and was unwanted by her Mother so her Father took her. Although, he realized he was unable to care for little Brenda so he reached out to his Aunt to care for her. When Brenda was 5 months old and weighed only 4 pounds (yes 4 pounds) her Father placed her in a shoe box, tied it to the back of his motorcycle, and rode to his Aunts house. He placed Brenda in a SHOE BOX! Only God could have arranged a story like that - Brenda delivered to her Aunt in a shoe box, and a short few years later, was selected as the recipient of the 100 Millionth Shoe Box from Operation Christmas Child!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjn0d-OpDfni2zePzjcP1Q-7QStk8qicWQsjJDuvqkKH5fjbedvPH7xyJWIPUdp4sOyb8Iol6hYblFkao8ACPLGDLJNMesvkFa9xXwH3ijtMm-L3WmmqdW4TJLguMEcMIRv-6KHrteZgh/s1600/DSCN0708+copy_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjn0d-OpDfni2zePzjcP1Q-7QStk8qicWQsjJDuvqkKH5fjbedvPH7xyJWIPUdp4sOyb8Iol6hYblFkao8ACPLGDLJNMesvkFa9xXwH3ijtMm-L3WmmqdW4TJLguMEcMIRv-6KHrteZgh/s640/DSCN0708+copy_web.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evilyn with Brenda and the 100 Millionth shoe box</td></tr>
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One of the shoe boxes I handed out was to a girl who was around 12-14 years old. She was holding a little boy, but when I handed her shoe box to her, she handed me the little boy. He was adorable. After holding him for a few minutes, he fell asleep. At that moment, my concern changed from handing out shoe boxes to loving on this little boy - giving him a shoulder to sleep on. I could have held him forever. I ended up holding him nearly 30 minutes, but it was almost time to leave, so I found the same girl and gave him back. When I gave him back, she handed me back her shoe box. I couldn't believe it! I immediately gave it back to her, pointed at her and said "This is YOURS! Jesus loves you!"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqobxdXxkMlXQQqbIV5d2gGDwhGDLrY49VLU8rxgQX829sXp0ZG5OYKlpVXAL4vjDCMfkoNA6_kKmvCOvLMNvgUDBly0Nww85H8S2kyTH0wRdzq-Jy-1hIovQp4CFiD-sXc2esymwzdbMd/s1600/DSCN0709+copy_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqobxdXxkMlXQQqbIV5d2gGDwhGDLrY49VLU8rxgQX829sXp0ZG5OYKlpVXAL4vjDCMfkoNA6_kKmvCOvLMNvgUDBly0Nww85H8S2kyTH0wRdzq-Jy-1hIovQp4CFiD-sXc2esymwzdbMd/s640/DSCN0709+copy_web.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with the sleepy little guy</td></tr>
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As we were leaving, I noticed a little boy standing all alone blowing something up. As I got closer, I realized he was blowing up a soccer ball he had received. It hit me that the soccer ball he was blowing up very well may be the ONLY soccer ball he ever gets. I'm not sure why that hit me so hard, but it did, and the tears started to flow. Then I started to think about how my dog even has his own soccer ball to play with. Next year, I'm going to try to include inflatable soccer balls in my shoe box.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtIf4uSCKYaqU0kvH53XMPeZL-YGUPVFhC21wNTCLpH7pTTlnqB8PGYSsqIcIHpt-WTuOfPXDORUnSsNVQIwMrP8jfem2zKsMm_9hJkbg5R4qve_WN7HrJc2SzeQgrcdQMa-f6ttH3kOe/s1600/DSCN0718+copy_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtIf4uSCKYaqU0kvH53XMPeZL-YGUPVFhC21wNTCLpH7pTTlnqB8PGYSsqIcIHpt-WTuOfPXDORUnSsNVQIwMrP8jfem2zKsMm_9hJkbg5R4qve_WN7HrJc2SzeQgrcdQMa-f6ttH3kOe/s640/DSCN0718+copy_web.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blowing up his Operation Christmas Child Soccer Ball</td></tr>
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After our first distribution, we took a lunch break (consisting of Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches - yes!) at a gorgeous waterfall not too far from Pedro Mir. We had to hike a bit to get to it, but once we got there and saw it, it was worth it! Although, we ended up surprising an unsuspecting couple enjoying a quiet moment (until we arrived) at the waterfall! Oops! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7nuz9aTlPzC-4T8xETaA-BoflvZ7lsz91WCe_6sjzveZq0hz2iLvX-yLiZZ6_W_5KGsm6CNv6Pi4sin20o6CTZhXG4aX-Y7y2bJy1vPgPLCtboqedt5S11ykxYpCtnZbFQxGarTF60Mk8/s1600/DSCN0726+copy_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7nuz9aTlPzC-4T8xETaA-BoflvZ7lsz91WCe_6sjzveZq0hz2iLvX-yLiZZ6_W_5KGsm6CNv6Pi4sin20o6CTZhXG4aX-Y7y2bJy1vPgPLCtboqedt5S11ykxYpCtnZbFQxGarTF60Mk8/s640/DSCN0726+copy_web.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
The second distribution was fairly similar to the first - hundreds of little kids receiving gifts from Americans that brought more joy to their eyes than I could ever explain. Gifts that many American kids would scoff at if their parents ever dared to give to them - items like toothbrushes and toothpaste, pencils, hair barrettes, and flip flops! <br />
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Our day started with us singing that we wanted to be Christ's hands and feet, we wanted to be His voice to everyone we met, we wanted to run to those in need, in His name. We wanted to give our lives away, all for His Kingdom's sake, we wanted to shine a light in the darkest place, in His name. Seeing the eyes of those children as they opened their shoe box and received toothbrushes and toothpaste, crayons, stickers, and slinkies, and as we told them, "Jesús te ama" made me feel like we were the voice of Christ and helped shine Christ's light to those adorable kids that day. There's no better feeling.<br />
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Tomorrow, I'll tell you about the little girl I wanted to pack in my carry-on luggage and bring home with me.Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-37105150144026229172012-12-10T18:03:00.001-05:002012-12-10T18:15:18.836-05:00The Dominican Republic Part IHave you ever had emotions and nerves that you just couldn't explain? As I was sitting at the airport last Tuesday morning waiting to board my flight to Miami, FL and then to the Dominican Republic, I thought I could cry at any moment, but not because I was sad, but because I wasn't sure what I was! I was nervous, happy, excited, and did I mention nervous? The trip was not only my first missions trip, but also my first time leaving the U.S. You hear, read, and see stories of all sorts of things happening when leaving the U.S. and let's just say my mind kept thinking the worst.<br />
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Once I arrived in Miami, I went straight to my next gate in hopes of finding some of the other team that would be traveling with me. We all we were wearing blue t-shirts that had <a href="http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/" target="_blank">Operation Christmas Child</a> (OCC) on the front and Dominican Republic on the back so it would be easy to spot each other at the airport. My nerves started fading away as more and more people from our group started to arrive in Miami. As we all boarded our flight to the D.R. together I thought to myself, "Alright God, let's do this!" and boy did we!!! <br />
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Once we arrived to the airport in Santo Domingo and went through customs (not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't anything what I thought it would be) we grabbed the luggage and boarded our buses for the 40 minute ride from the airport to our hotel. This would be the shortest ride in the buses the entire week and also my first eye opening experience at culture and life outside of the United States. The main road we took was Autopista Las Américas, which boarders the Caribbean Sea. It was amazing to look out the left side of the bus and see the colors of the Sea - blues, purples, teals, aquas - and then look out the right side of the bus and see what we would consider poverty in the States but nicer homes for the Dominican Republic. We crossed Rio Ozama and turned onto Avenida George Washington to our hotel. <br />
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Before dinner, the OCC staff gave us a few hours to freshen up and get ready for the week. Two of the other ladies, whom I now ADORE, and I decided to be brave and try to cross Avenida George Washington by foot in order to get to the Sea. The best way to describe this experience is this: Do you remember the game Frogger? Yeah. We were Frogger trying to cross to the other side without getting squished! At one point, the 3 of us were standing in the middle of the Ave with cars passing us on both sides and I wasn't sure if we'd be able to continue across to the Sea or not, but we did, and I was able to catch the sun setting over Santo Domingo. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituvQOi-7O33Gq5Y5WFFTRdOizb_seNVkV7bl9tIQupk3Gx9-h508WQZrk7koVWN6GNwOy_OzldJDkfr9ttE0QgN2LhqEgnpzXBU-Xf5kWajTDZVq3wap09am3xQSO3Eyi23qIVHMRuhuW/s1600/DSCN0665+copy_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituvQOi-7O33Gq5Y5WFFTRdOizb_seNVkV7bl9tIQupk3Gx9-h508WQZrk7koVWN6GNwOy_OzldJDkfr9ttE0QgN2LhqEgnpzXBU-Xf5kWajTDZVq3wap09am3xQSO3Eyi23qIVHMRuhuW/s640/DSCN0665+copy_web.jpg" title="The sun setting over Santo Domingo and The Caribbean Sea" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sun setting over Santo Domingo and The Caribbean Sea</td></tr>
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As the three of us stood there watching the sun set, Chris Tomlin's "How Great Is Our God" kept repeating in my head: <br />
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<i>He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide<br /> And trembles at His voice<br /> Trembles at His voice
<br />How great is our God, sing with me<br /> How great is our God, and all will see<br /> How great, how great is our God </i></blockquote>
After the sun went down, we once again braved crossing the Ave to our hotel so we could join the rest of the team for dinner. And boy, was dinner delicious! After dinner, we were beat from traveling all day, and went to our rooms. As I laid in bed, I kept wondering what Wednesday morning would hold. What would we see? What would we experience? How would God use our team to impact the lives of the children in the D.R?<br />
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Keep reading tomorrow to find out!Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-80221868450102275712012-11-02T22:24:00.002-04:002012-11-02T22:51:21.808-04:00He Knew<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Have you ever prayed for something for a really long time, but never expected God to actually answer that prayer? You thought that maybe, someday, in the far far FAR future, it <i>might</i> happen? Yep. That was me, until this week. This past Tuesday, God answered one of my prayers.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Growing up, I would hear people at church talk about mission trips, but really had no idea what they were. Once I found out what mission trips were, I honestly thought, "Why on earth would someone give up their vacation time to go work for and help other people? Isn't vacation time when you're supposed to lay around and relax?" Knowing what I know now, if I could go back in time, I would say to myself "Oh, ye of little knowledge!" Come to think of it, there's a LOT of things I'd say that about. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Over the last few years, God has worked on my heart... a LOT! I've felt called to serve on a missions trip. Really, I've had on my heart that when Mike finishes nursing school, we would serve on a medical missions trip together. But missions trips cost money, which we don't have much of right now, so I figured that some day we'd be able to serve together. I'd been praying that God would open the door for one of us, if not both of us, to serve on a missions trip - to give back to others.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Last week I was asked at work if I would be interested in going on a missions trip with an organization called Operation Christmas Child.</span></div>
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If you're not familiar with <a href="http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/" target="_blank">Operation Christmas Child</a> (OCC), it's an organization that was started to share the love of Christ to children in need through gifts in shoeboxes. The shoeboxes are packed with items like tooth brushes <i>(to an American child, they would probably be upset to get a tooth brush, but to a child in foreign country growing up in poverty or in an orphanage where 30 kids share a single tooth brush, having your OWN tooth brush is a BIG deal)</i> coloring books, crayons, small toys, hard candy, gloves, hair bows, hair brushes, pencils, paper, etc. Basically as much stuff as you can fit into a shoe box that would bless the life of a child. This year, OCC will be delivering their 100 Millionth shoe box. Yes, I said <b>100 Millionth</b> shoe box! That's 100 MILLION sweet little faces who have been given, quite possibly, the best gift in their life. </div>
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I talked to Mike about going on the missions trip and he responded with a fast "Go for it!" so I told my boss I was interested. She said to hold tight and they'd get back with me soon to let me know if I was selected or not to go on the trip.</div>
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Because I knew the possibility was there to go on the trip, I went ahead and applied for my first passport. The day I mailed out my passport application was the day before Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast, and my passport was headed straight towards Philadelphia. I was a bit nervous thinking about my application making it to Philly in one piece, or if part of it (including my original birth certificate) would be out floating in the ocean! </div>
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This past Tuesday, I found out that I, along with one of my co-workers from our Kansas City office, and one of our DJ's from California, will be going on the missions trip. We leave December 4th for the Dominican Republic!!!!!!!! Thursday, I found out that my passport application made it to the Passport Office in Philly. Thank you GOD! </div>
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I can not believe that God has answered a prayer, that He himself placed in my heart. Every time I talk or even think about the trip, I get excited. I'm as giddy as a child on Christmas morning just thinking about the trip! Thinking about those kids opening their shoe boxes, the excitement in their hearts and on their face that a complete stranger cared enough about them to send them a box full of gifts! To think that we have such a loving God that He would put into the hearts of people to create such a blessing program and ministry - and that I get to serve alongside them in December!!!!</div>
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Looking back, I've realized that God really knows what He is doing. God really knew what He was doing when I left my job in 2009 to take my current job. He knew I would FREAK OUT at the thought of walking away from a $20,000 raise. He knew I needed to have faith and gain His trust walking away from that raise for my current job. He knew that I was pretty self centered and really only cared about what was best for me. He knew that I needed to have a serious reality check to figure out that everything ISN'T about me! (Imagine that!) God knew all along that He was going to strangely warm my heart towards others - specifically others less fortunate and orphans - and do this through my current job. He knew what it would take to humble me. He knew all along that my heart would lean towards missions and orphans. He knew that on December 4th, 2012, he would send me to the Dominican Republic for a missions trip with Operation Christmas Child. <br />
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All I can say is, "I want to know what He knows!"</div>
</span>Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-1103431728334505932012-11-01T19:18:00.001-04:002012-11-01T23:08:49.833-04:00November: A Month of Many ThingsI can't believe it's November 1. I kept looking at my calendar at work today thinking "This just can't be right, can it?" November means so many different things: A busy month at your local dentist office (due to Halloween candy induced cavities) the start of the hectic holiday season, the month my husband refuses to shave due to "No Shave November", the month I get my first passport (more on that in another post) a month of many thanks and reflection, the month all of my co-workers and I refer to as "OCC" month (Operation Christmas Child month) and one that many of you might not be aware of - Adoption Awareness Month.<br />
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As you know, God has laid on Mike and I's hearts to adopt a child, so this month has a little more significance to us than in previous years. We have many friends and family who have adopted or were adopted themselves, and have witnessed first hand what a beautiful thing adoption is.<br />
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During November, please remember the MILLIONS of orphans, domestically and internationally, that long for someone to call "Mom" and "Dad; someone to hold them and say "I love you"; someone to call their own.<br />
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As Mike and I lean on God, our families, and the knowledge of family and friends who have gone through the adoption process over the few years, please be in prayer with us that in God's timing, we'll be able to bring home God's precious gift - a child!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/12616432" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="400"></iframe>Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-72544084669786955822012-10-13T20:50:00.000-04:002012-10-13T20:50:15.254-04:00Love Will Be Enough For UsThis afternoon, Mike and I took a trip to Eagle Creek Park to scout for locations for a family photo shoot we're doing next weekend. We'd been to Eagle Creek a few times before, but never spent a lot of time just walking around. Despite it being a grey, overcast day, it was still gorgeous to see the fall colors popping against the grey sky. <br />
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After we left the park, I told Mike that I don't need a big house with lots of rooms - I'd rather have a small old house with lots of land. We don't need all the other stuff. As long as I've got God, my man, and my dog, I'm good. "Love will be enough for us."<br />
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There's a peace that comes over me when I'm away from it all - away from work, away from technology, and just at one with God in the nature He created.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCviJAxYNJSZ7w78b7mEthY1DmHz3Rugqwvb2IHoDr-UtiLlZuJ3opXtd35oQ1ml2X9U98v-Nsoxwf9BR4t6C9e-bJ49OlDvpyn7EM5GtW82Wdi9AD9Ky3mhQOVmFgnN2qRizga9vvk8Ra/s1600/IMG_0178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCviJAxYNJSZ7w78b7mEthY1DmHz3Rugqwvb2IHoDr-UtiLlZuJ3opXtd35oQ1ml2X9U98v-Nsoxwf9BR4t6C9e-bJ49OlDvpyn7EM5GtW82Wdi9AD9Ky3mhQOVmFgnN2qRizga9vvk8Ra/s400/IMG_0178.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We caught this man fly fishing. It was rather interesting to watch him fish with this.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WJGxGihVx3K3ODQ6CTXEBYpyJrNWEykSRZS0fw2ThHr7jOjoa-eBuOi2E67iRN7A4dHHkHBN8YxPAV8pSAlkXHogCsPUF09FJMHwrlanKdPjRCTAb42qkJhril2eM6DbsQrEmNlNNyfM/s1600/IMG_0187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WJGxGihVx3K3ODQ6CTXEBYpyJrNWEykSRZS0fw2ThHr7jOjoa-eBuOi2E67iRN7A4dHHkHBN8YxPAV8pSAlkXHogCsPUF09FJMHwrlanKdPjRCTAb42qkJhril2eM6DbsQrEmNlNNyfM/s400/IMG_0187.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lilly Lake at Eagle Creek Park<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBujr2fpHRQjXbd1-GJq6oA8L3zOzhKHAI9BlHlt15fOM-gmvLfa4XPTOMi5vHc-vgBxoApnW48qGk0KkP1nmFdO8ablBL6d6SUVCGEx3YXWvC4HcekQtokoEKm4E-W4jH3ob27ZPlIefT/s1600/IMG_0188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBujr2fpHRQjXbd1-GJq6oA8L3zOzhKHAI9BlHlt15fOM-gmvLfa4XPTOMi5vHc-vgBxoApnW48qGk0KkP1nmFdO8ablBL6d6SUVCGEx3YXWvC4HcekQtokoEKm4E-W4jH3ob27ZPlIefT/s400/IMG_0188.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The water was calm enough that Mike had fun skipping rocks.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4ZaNwNzhT71mKX6hDCSa1TrCNTikyZ9CIM4CSuenPizNRP8VwzdtpGTDdBwOYTQzg8y_RP2B9H42O1zu9sUCToU2LYhvsNXfdrh0ztH3Cyj6Bw6pZ5gwwwEUcG88E6dFaw_awKILmSCc/s1600/IMG_0195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4ZaNwNzhT71mKX6hDCSa1TrCNTikyZ9CIM4CSuenPizNRP8VwzdtpGTDdBwOYTQzg8y_RP2B9H42O1zu9sUCToU2LYhvsNXfdrh0ztH3Cyj6Bw6pZ5gwwwEUcG88E6dFaw_awKILmSCc/s400/IMG_0195.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My man. I can't put to words how much I love this guy!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGUU2j-JKZ2UoqiXfUjH044YYsxInQyyAzrUCkCSdUmg-8RTzsDytaq3KFLEGQr4I_LZGQ10pNmF3wQIuqBGQ8tV8JRybfEdzpX9tCPofPLMomtfzm9Cnw-e4gOTbDQd8AWXSD4YRWe0m/s1600/IMG_0205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGUU2j-JKZ2UoqiXfUjH044YYsxInQyyAzrUCkCSdUmg-8RTzsDytaq3KFLEGQr4I_LZGQ10pNmF3wQIuqBGQ8tV8JRybfEdzpX9tCPofPLMomtfzm9Cnw-e4gOTbDQd8AWXSD4YRWe0m/s400/IMG_0205.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's blurry, but out of nowhere, this guy darted out in front of us on one of the trails near the lake.</td></tr>
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It also reminded me of Brandon Heath's new song "Love Will Be Enough For Us" (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2FQmcfhLQA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">You can listen to it here</a>].) <br />
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<b>Love Will Be Enough For Us</b> <br />
<i>(Brandon Heath, Dave Barnes, Joe Moralez)</i><br />
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We’ll build a little cabin on a really tall hill<br />
Plant a little garden, pray for every meal<br />
And we'll grow and we'll grow<br />
Take a little nap on the butterfly grass<br />
Just you and I and the clouds that pass<br />
Hold me close, hold me close<br />
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We'll be living out where the river bends<br />
Where the grass gets green and the highway ends<br />
Living easy<br />
Where it’s you and me baby and the daffodils<br />
Kids growing up in the rolling hills<br />
And love will be enough for us<br />
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Rain’s coming down on the old tin roof<br />
It’s a lullaby storm in the middle of June<br />
Falling slow, falling slow<br />
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So what are we doing on the 7th floor<br />
Of a high rise apartment praying for more<br />
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We’ll build a little cabin on a really tall hill<br />
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<i>© 2012 Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing / Big Skwawka Music (ASCAP). All rights on behalf of Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing and Big Skwawka Music administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. / Songs of Razor & Tie / No Gang Music Publishing (ASCAP) (adm. by Razor & Tie Music Publishing, LLC) / Elf Tree Publishing (ASCAP)</i></blockquote>
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<br />Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-38466188906684714502012-10-02T20:32:00.000-04:002012-10-02T20:32:31.054-04:00Nom Nom Nom<br />
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I usually don't snack on popcorn - not sure why, just wasn't a big fan. Until now. I tried a bag of Smart Select's Cinnamon Brown Sugar popcorn and couldn't put the bag down. This is not normal for me since I usually don't chow down on popcorn. <br />
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After a couple of fist fills of popcorn, I offered Mike some, secretly hoping he wouldn't take any so there would be more for me; but he did and LOVED it! <br />
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The popcorn wasn't stale (which is great since it's in a resealable bag) and the flavor wasn't too much - or too little for that fact. I had fun licking my fingers after shoving my hand in the bag for another fistful.<br />
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Needless to say, the bag of popcorn won't last long in our house. Guess that means we'll just need to buy more!<br />
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<i>(DISCLAIMER: I'm reviewing this product for free as part of the BzzCampaign, and I'm a BzzAgent.)</i>Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-41060792923506296252012-10-01T21:26:00.002-04:002012-10-01T21:26:15.901-04:00FirebirdWe all collect things - Baseball cards, Barbies, Precious Moments, Frogs, Pillow Pets, etc... I have a unique collection that I started when I was in high school and continue to add to it today: Children's Books.<div>
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I can remember spending hours at Little Professor Books or Anchor Room in Fort Wayne looking through all the children's books. I do feel like I should say the books I collect aren't your everyday children's picture books; they are children's books that carry a message with beautiful illustrations. </div>
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51n6p09ZnWL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51n6p09ZnWL._SS500_.jpg" title="Firebird" width="320" /></a>A few weeks ago, I received a copy of a children's book that I've had my eye on for a couple of months now: "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1433679175/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1433679175&linkCode=as2&tag=deaandmordea-20">Firebird</a>" by Brent McCorkle and Amy Parker. </div>
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I first learned about this book this summer when I attended a private screening for the new film "<a href="http://unconditionalthemovie.com/" target="_blank">Unconditional</a>." The lead character in "Unconditional" is a children's book author and illustrator. From when she was a child, she had been drawing a bird character and always intended to write a book about the bird, but as she grew older, a very traumatic situation caused her to walk away from illustrating and writing. After running into an old friend, she found inspiration again to illustrate and write, and finally put to paper the story of the bright orange baby oriole, Firebird.</div>
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Much like the character in "Unconditional", Firebird finds out that God's love, no matter what you're going through in life, is always there - constant and unchanging. Sometimes you have to deal with the storms of life, but if you don't give up and keep going, the clouds will break and you'll see the beautiful glow of sunshine - God's unfailing love.</div>
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The message of the book, while an adult can appreciate it, is written so a child can understand it. I think I'll be purchasing a few additional copies to share with our nieces and nephews. </div>
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Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-87084808286548741772012-08-29T12:42:00.001-04:002012-08-29T12:42:21.476-04:00A New Hobby: Woodworking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm going to take a few minutes and brag on my husband. This man, I honestly think, could do anything. He wanted to play the piano, so he sat down one day, listened to a song, and then played it. He wanted to take photos, so he grabbed my camera, and started teaching himself. (I think he's better than me most days!) He wanted to be a nurse, so he's finishing the last two semesters of nursing school with an AMAZING GPA. He's going to be one of the BEST nurses - I just know it. He wanted to build us some lamps, end table, coffee table, and mirror for our living room, and he did. With perfection. Here are some photos of his latest project. Let us know if you're interested in him making you some too. :-)</div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-31128577802519041492012-08-28T22:06:00.000-04:002012-08-28T22:06:01.679-04:00Inside My MindDid you ever not get your way as a child, and then throw the biggest temper tantrum ever? I know I probably did it a lot. Back then, it was directed (I'm guessing) towards my parents, or whomever made me mad. I want to do it now, but it's not directed towards my parents this time, but God. I want to scream, shout, stomp my feet on the ground, shake my fists, and cry!<div>
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I want to know why I have to wait. I want to know why my heart aches just thinking of waiting. I want to know what Mike and I are going to learn from waiting. I want to know what God really wants us doing when Mike graduates next May. I want to know if God really does want us adopting from Uganda, or if He wants us adopting from somewhere else. I want to know why my heart aches for certain things, but there's been BIG road blocks put up in front of those desires. </div>
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These are just a few of the thoughts going through my head and heart lately. </div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-78483908780735258392012-08-11T13:13:00.003-04:002012-08-11T13:15:22.221-04:00The FestivalDo you remember my post back in June - I wrote about working a new music festival last year where at first I was dreading the festival, but a year later, I realized why I was there all because of God? (<a href="http://www.bethderringer.blogspot.com/2012/06/god-is-good-all-time.html" target="_blank">Read post here</a>) My co-worker and I went back to the same festival yesterday, and I kid you not, God once again, used that festival to speak to me. This time, it didn't take a year for me to realize it!<br />
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The headlining artist for the festival this year was one of our top artists at the radio station we work at, and we knew that the artist would draw a crowd from Indy up to the festival, so we signed up to go again this year. Like last year, once we arrived on site, it was pretty dead for a few hours, but that gave my co-worker and I time to talk about other work stuff, as well as brainstorm some new cupcake flavors (the important stuff!)</div>
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The big difference was last year we sat in our vehicle to keep cool where this year we sat in our vehicle to keep warm! It was unseasonably chilly last night, and after being used to the 90+ degree temps we've had the last few months, 60 degrees felt darn right cold! Not to mention the rain and light mist that continued throughout the afternoon and evening.<br />
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Towards the end of the night, after my co-worker and I had already talked about freezing and shivering, and that if the headliner wasn't at the festival we probably wouldn't even be there, two ladies walked up to our tent and we started talking with them. After a few minutes, we found out that one of the ladies is from UGANDA! As soon as my co-worker and I heard that, we just looked at each other and smiled. I then stepped aside and started talking with the lady from Uganda, Josephine, and found out that she's visiting the U.S. for the ministry she is with in Uganda. Not only hearing that she was from Uganda, but what her ministry is, was a total God moment! Her ministry is a Christian ministry that works with young girls, ages 12 and above, pregnant teenagers, as well as vulnerable women in Uganda, to empower them to overcome their circumstances. Josephine is a professional counselor who helps pregnant teenagers who contemplated/tried abortion, and has started a safe home for pregnant teenagers, as well as 3 other programs for women in Uganda. I couldn't believe it! </div>
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Once again, God used the same festival to open my eyes and let me know that HE IS IN CONTROL.</div>
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Josephine and I've agreed to keep in touch. If you'd like to follow along with her ministry, I've added a link to her blog on the left side, under Blogs I Read. It's called "<a href="http://thefortressuganda.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Fortress"</a></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278518091491509749.post-69411255095964570722012-07-26T22:09:00.000-04:002012-08-11T13:15:49.857-04:00Questions<div>
Last week when Mike and I decided that we do want to adopt a child from Uganda was one of the highest of highs I've had since the day I told Mike "I do." I mean, we could see and feel God talking and moving in our lives. There was NO question to either of us that God has his hand in everything. I've never felt such a strong conviction that God was talking to me, dropping little signs here and there, just waiting for me to start piecing them together. But tonight, I sit here wondering, is Uganda what God wants us to do, or is He just testing to see how willing Mike and I are to follow Him? </div>
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Since we first made public our decision of Uganda, we've had a handful of people comment on the International aspect of it, saying we should adopt from here in the US. Then, this week, I went to a movie screening with my co-worker and it was basically about stepping up and making the difference in the life of a child. The movie was set in Nashville (my dream city) and was dealing with fatherless inner city African American kids in Nashville. One scene in particular caught my attention: The main character was hospitalized and it was questionable as to if he was going to survive. One of the young boys that he mentored (who was technically an orphan but being cared for by an older woman in the projects) came to visit him at the hospital, and the child looked at his mentor and asked "Will you be my Dad?" Cue: tears! Cue: guilt trip remembering there are beautiful kids here in the US that need dads and moms too!</div>
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We did a pre-application with an adoption agency this week in order to participate in an information session they were holding tonight. After the information session this evening, they emailed us saying we weren't approved for Uganda "right now" but instead we should consider Ethiopia or Bulgaria. Cue: tears! I know there are other agencies out there, and I know we are just starting this entire process, but it's still disappointing when you hear a "not right now." </div>
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So my question tonight: is God just testing us to see if we would follow His leading of changing our hearts from domestic adoption to international (by dropping all the signs for Uganda), and then switch the plan on us once He knew we would follow Him? Or is it the enemy trying to find any possible way to put a halt to us following God to Uganda - a country that doesn't see the same God we do?</div>
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Please don't think I'm crazy for having so many contradicting thoughts. I re-read this and think "you JUST decided you want to adopt - slow your heart down and wait until Mike's done with school before you think about this anymore." But I can't. I have never felt so convicted by God on anything before. God made it VERY clear that Mike and I are to adopt a child, and I was pretty darn sure it would be from Uganda. We need to open our home to a child that wouldn't have the opportunity to grow up in a loving, Christ centered home. </div>
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So please pray that God continue opening the doors that He wants opened, to the places He wants us to adopt from, and when He wants us to adopt. (My heart tells me now. My wallet and brain tell me to wait. But it's not up to me.)</div>Bethany Derringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07296408019481890321noreply@blogger.com2