The 27 Million Song

You might be a fan of Matt Redman. Or, you might not know who I’m talking about. If you’ve heard a proper British accent singing a worship song that you’ve also heard lots of other Christian artists cover, you’re probably listening to Matt Redman. Anywho. Matt Redman & LZ7 collaborated to create an inspiring song called 27 Million. The song was created to raise awareness of the twenty-seven MILLION (read that number again for me, please) modern day slaves around the world right now.

Perhaps you saw Liam Neeson in the movie Taken and applauded the former Obi Wan Kenobi for kicking butt and taking names in order to rescue his kidnapped daughter from sex traffickers. Or maybe you saw the episode of CSI where Horatio rescued all those girls from Eastern Europe who’d been promised jobs in the US but were really being sold into slavery in the sex industry.

Maybe, like me, you thought of this as a problem ‘over there’ and not here until you heard a news story about a woman who’d been taken from a party in Raleigh, North Carolina, and brought to eastern North Carolina with the promise of a job. She was being held hostage in a trailer off a lesser-travelled highway, and given poker chips to pay for her food and personal necessities, in exchange for performing acts that I don’t want to mention here because I want to keep this blog G-Rated.

We can’t afford to be ignorant to what’s going on around us. And maybe we can’t do everything to solve this problem, but here’s a chance to do something today.

This is the official music video introducing the 27 Million Song. After you get inspired, you can buy it on iTunes — $1.29 on US iTunes here, it’s £0.99 on  UK iTunes here. Proceeds will go to the A21 Campaign, a non-profit engaged in the abolishment of injustice in the 21st Century. They’re making a difference and you can help!

Sure we can’t do everything, but what might be possible if we decided to do something, together?
xCC

First Year in Review {Part Two}

Yesterday I began the arduous and heart-sore task of sharing those lovely monthly photos we took, to share the Tank’s progress from Speedy Delivery to our crawling, cruising, drooling bundle of joy who just turned one. It turned into a photo fest because there were so many in-between shots it felt wrong not to include to tell the story.

Hope ya don’t mind.

We were in North Carolina, close to seven months old, Tiger Tank meeting his maternal grandparents for the first time, big brother beginning Preschool. Emotions were soaring and dipping and soaring again…

I had a birthday…did I ever show you my awesome cake?

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{From Africa to North Carolina…well done, cake decorators! They even included Madagascar, my favourite!}

And suddenly six months was seven!

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{Seven Months Young!}

And the unexpected joy of having a child in the middle of a transcontinental move just keeps flowing…

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Month 8 was a smiley one…we struggled to keep this little guy still and keep my hands out of the picture, but not let him fall off this chair! See?

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{‘Course the 8 Month Story Went Live After the Tenth… Whoops!}

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We headed down to visit Uncle Russ in Atlanta for Thanksgiving, and we got to see our precious cousin, Emmi Claire! {And her parents, with a wee one on the way!!}

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And the 9 month milestone took place at Uncle Russ’s.

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{Nine Months On the Outside!}

It was in this very spot the Thanksgiving before where we opened the envelope to find out if the Tank was a Tank or a Tinkerbell!

Then, we missed Goo-Goo and Gammy, but loved seeing family and friends for our first Christmas.

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{What’s not to love about MATCHING TRAIN SWEATERRRRRS! YIPPPEEE!}

And by then 10 Full Months had come and gone…
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{Ten Months, And Leave the Lid Down}

We moved into our new place and the weather outside was chilly!

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Before we knew it, eleven was the number on the shirt and oh my the baby days were cruising by too quickly!

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{Grace-Laced Elevensies}

And with the blink of an eye, it seems this year went by about as quickly as the crazy drive to the hospital where the journey began.

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{And the rest of the 12 months photos still need a download and an edit, and are forthcoming.}

Through sleepless nights, drooling and teething, unmentionably awful diapers, brothers already having little spats and arguments over toys, even through getting sprayed with milk or personally receiving on my own face many-a rejected taste of food — through it all I am more convinced than ever that “Children are a gift from the Lord. They are a reward from Him.” {Psalm 127:3}

I am fearfully and wonderfully thankful. And wow, we’re just getting started.

xCC

The Faith to Face Lions

This morning I was turning my attention to the Lord, declaring my trust in His goodness, thinking about believing God and not just believing in God. Faith is being sure of what you hope for — certain of what you don’t see yet. There are things I don’t see yet, but I see God. There are things I don’t understand yet, but I know God. I understand that God is strengthening my faith muscles by stretching me to believe the unseen will be seen.

While hanging with Tiger Tank in the nursery Sunday morning at church, I heard bits and pieces of the sermon being piped through on the TV. One thing that caught my attention was our pastor’s discussion of panic. When a person gets truly panicked about something, they are so distraught that they are no longer capable of rational thought. A fight or flight sort of animalistic nature takes over. You might call it freaking out.

In prayer this morning I reflected on Daniel’s response when he was facing the fight of his life. He was a believer of God (not just a believer in God) and he was a man of prayer. And he was such a solid and upstanding chap, so marked by excellence, the only way his enemies could find fault with him was to make praying to his God illegal.

And plotting against him, in jealousy and hatred, they convinced the king to sign a decree which would do just that — make praying to anyone other than the king illegal. The punishment for getting caught praying to anyone other than the king? Being thrown into the lions’ den.

You’d think this would be the cue to freak out.

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{Photo credit to our quick-witted and dear friend, Waynne Meintjes}

But what happened?

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. {Dan. 6:10}

Incredibly, Daniel didn’t freak out. Although he was in the middle of a crisis — lions looming ahead of him, not knowing how it was going to be resolved — he didn’t give up on God and stop praying (though that might’ve looked like a temporary solution to his problem). He didn’t start praying more, either. The way it’s explained, he just kept on doing what he’d already been doing, just as he’d always been doing it.

That kind of resolute consistency is just remarkable to me. I know I pray a heckuvalot more when I’m nervous, afraid of what’s going to happen, feel like I’m facing a crisis…staying on the sane side of freaking out.

What a resolute demonstration of trust in the God Daniel believed.

Sometimes we face mountains or lions, and it’s time for us to step up, step out, or make a change. But sometimes, there’s really nothing we can do to change our situation. The best demonstration of trust in God is to keep on consistently turning to Him — in the desert or on the mountaintop, through hungry times and in times when favor and providence flow.

Paul said it this way:

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” {Phil 4:11-13}

And isn’t it funny that we read that last verse and think about it as the reason we can run marathons or scale mountains? But in this context, Paul is saying,“I know how to be peaceful and content — I know how not to freak out no matter what my circumstances are. This is the power of Christ at work in me — through His strength, I can trust God in every circumstance.”

If you feel like you’re facing lions today, can I encourage you to keep trusting, lean hard into His strength, Remember His Faithfulness in times past, and remain consistent in your walk with God?

He has delivered, He does deliver, and He will deliver. Holding tightly His Word, His Truth — this keeps me believing God. He will give you a firm place to stand. He will keep you from sinking. Or freaking out.

xCC

First Year in Review {Ouch}

Though my heart knows It’s All Gonna Fold and that’s okay, still it’s tough to see the first year of our little one’s life come and go. Though today he’s really only a day older than yesterday, and only two days past the day before, still this counting we like to do gives opportunity for reflection — and the reminder that it does indeed fly by, our time, and we best take heed, number our days, and have the time of our life.

For the sake of the grandparents and relatives far and wide and across the pond, and for the interest of you other dear friends whom I cherish who might take an interest, here’s the year in review, through those precious monthly photos I’m now ever-so glad we took the time to take. And I might throw in a few extras because, well just because.

As many of you know, it started right here with the 90 minutes (or less) labour, and the nine minute delivery of the nine pound boy.

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Those precious first meetings and first moments…oh my heart.

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{This is the picture that almost wasn’t.}

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We began the monthly tradition with a simple blue pillow as a frame of reference for size…

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{Photographing a One Month Old…}

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He captured our hearts so quickly.

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And isn’t being a brother just so special?

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{Two months Old!}

Another month went by…so many changes, so fast!

We captured a picture that captured my heart…

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Or two…

How you doing?

And suddenly…

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{Three Months Old!}

Our days in Gordon’s Bay began to fold up like a blanket,

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but our boys kept our spirits flying high.

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And month four was the last one on that lovely couch we bought at an auction, in that lovely home we miss dearly.

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{Four Months Happy!}

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Then it was tears and packing, boxes and goodbyes, filling up Mr. Potato Head to the brim, for one more long trip from Gordon’s Bay to Bloemfontein.

We celebrated month five in Bloem. Tiger Tank happy as ever.

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{Five Months, Sugar Sweet!}

We relished moments that would become precious memories.

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And we made that magical trip to the Kruger National Park…

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And there’s just too much to tell about that…

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A birthday boy!

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And before we knew it, five was six! Half a year, come and gone!

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{Six Months, on the Hubs’ Birthday!}

This baby seemed to find it all hilarious.

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After a beautiful trip to Knysna, it was time to head to the airport, and on to the UK.

He rather fancied London, we think.

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But Scotland even more so…

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And then it was North Carolina. And some introductions.

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And, Big Brother started preschool.

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But since North Carolina takes us halfway through Tiger Tank’s Inaugural year, and this little post has gotten rather long, we’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow! My heart, wandering down this memory lane — it needs a break!

More to come–

xCC

It’s All Gonna Fold

Anachronism explanation: I wrote this post last week. :]

It struck me on a Friday. Reading words from the first chapter of Hebrews:

You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail. {Heb. 1:10-12, emphasis added}

And it struck me on a Tuesday. With the words of Ann Voskamp as she considered her life, the world we live in, how to practice the presence of God, observing and asking:

The world I live in is loud and blurring and toilets plug and I get speeding tickets and the dog gets sick all over the back step and I forget everything and these six kids lean hard into me all day to teach and raise and lead and I fail hard and there are real souls that are at stake and how long do I really have to figure out how to live full of grace, full of joy–before these six beautiful children fly the coop and my mothering days fold up quiet? {One Thousand Gifts, p. 120}

On the Wednesday I stared down at a baby boy, dreamily drinking his milk and about to fall asleep for a belated morning nap. This day, tomorrow, and then he’ll be a year old.

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Everything about life as I know it will sooner or later change. That image, of the heavens and the earth folding up, it nearly startled me. Like a tablecloth covering a table, a garment covering a bare back — the cloth can fold up, be removed. The thing underneath, that is the thing which endures.

Underneath the stoplights and grocery stores and tin shacks and post offices, beneath the television stations and grandfather clocks, libraries and even the mighty Amazon River — this one thing remains. When all that we’ve ever known, life as we know it folds up like a blanket at the end of time, set aside, work accomplished, there will be what there was in the beginning. God.

In the beginning was God.

At first this understanding is hard for me. I’m not a big fan of change. Stay eleven months, baby. Stay healthy, body. Stay living, friends and family. Stay here.

But I am so glad I know the One who endures. Him who saw, foreknew, predestined, purposed and planned my very soul.

I’m so glad He is good. I’m so glad He never changes. Knowing that this isn’t all there is makes the fact that things are going to change a little easier to handle. This life is like a tablecloth, or a garment covering the real thing underneath.

We who were created by Him and for Him — Him for whom all things are and by whom all things are — have the privilege to accept the invitation He wrote and paid for, the one that will bring us to His glory.

And a little bit of peace comes to this Mama-soul, knowing when this folds up, the childhood and the onesies, the swaddling and the sippee cups, sleepless nights and pajamas dancing on the living room floor — when Time itself is neatly folded and put up in some eternal linen closet, still somehow, Glory to God, the best is yet to come.

xCC