To Blog.
Where do I start? I've never "blogged" before, and honestly, I don't even read blogs. So why am I starting a blog (is that the right way to say it, or should it be "why am I starting to blog?"?)? The answer is simple: so that people who want to see what we're up to - or, more realistically, what God's up to in the lives of these five Leonards - can have access to this open book of our journey together. I don't know if you'd call it an extraordinary journey, but some extraordinary things have happened along the way. I don't have a road map that tells me how we'll get where we're going, and while wisdom says that's a good thing, if I'm honest I'll admit there have been times I've longed for that knowledge. As we walk our unknown road together as a family, we invite you to join us. And we give God the glory for all the things He has done and the things He will do.
Prologue
I'll try to keep this part short and sweet, but who can resist the chance to show off such a great family? I mean, really?
We're a family of five, and Dustin and I have been married for going on ten years. Dustin is a cartographer and God-lover. He is the strong leader of our family, and has made countless sacrifices for us over the years. I am a teacher, and have gone from teaching high school and middle school, to teaching kindergarten, and now to teaching first and second grade homeschool. We started a photography business together, and are using all of the proceeds for orphan care - but I won't go into that now. We have three wild, crazy, precious kids. Derrick, who is possibly the sweetest little boy on the face of this earth, just turned eight. He's our practical problem-solver, and has come up with all sorts of inventions and contraptions, most of which serve purposes that I don't quite understand. Kyler, who just turned six and lost his first tooth, is our resident Lego-maniac. He never lets me leave his side without a heartfelt hug and kiss, and keeps me laughing all day long - mainly due to his childlike philosophizing of things such as the purpose mankind, the glory of God, and why houses are stuck to the ground. Micaiah, otherwise known as Mickie, is an expert at puzzles and will do just about anything if the reward involves something with sugar, or means that she "won." She's three-and-a-half, and her claim to fame is her signature hair-do: two little Mickey-mouse buns (or, as she calls them, bunny-buns) on the top of her head.
The core of who we are as a family rests on the foundation of Christ. We are drawn tightly to each other because we are drawn tightly to Him. Dustin and I try to be real with our kids, and to be honest in our struggles and in our hopes and joys. They've watched us walk confidently as we walk with God, and they've watched us fall flat on our faces when we try to do things in our own strength. And they've witnessed first-hand the faithfulness of our God, who never leaves us or forsakes us.
We're a family of five, and Dustin and I have been married for going on ten years. Dustin is a cartographer and God-lover. He is the strong leader of our family, and has made countless sacrifices for us over the years. I am a teacher, and have gone from teaching high school and middle school, to teaching kindergarten, and now to teaching first and second grade homeschool. We started a photography business together, and are using all of the proceeds for orphan care - but I won't go into that now. We have three wild, crazy, precious kids. Derrick, who is possibly the sweetest little boy on the face of this earth, just turned eight. He's our practical problem-solver, and has come up with all sorts of inventions and contraptions, most of which serve purposes that I don't quite understand. Kyler, who just turned six and lost his first tooth, is our resident Lego-maniac. He never lets me leave his side without a heartfelt hug and kiss, and keeps me laughing all day long - mainly due to his childlike philosophizing of things such as the purpose mankind, the glory of God, and why houses are stuck to the ground. Micaiah, otherwise known as Mickie, is an expert at puzzles and will do just about anything if the reward involves something with sugar, or means that she "won." She's three-and-a-half, and her claim to fame is her signature hair-do: two little Mickey-mouse buns (or, as she calls them, bunny-buns) on the top of her head.
The core of who we are as a family rests on the foundation of Christ. We are drawn tightly to each other because we are drawn tightly to Him. Dustin and I try to be real with our kids, and to be honest in our struggles and in our hopes and joys. They've watched us walk confidently as we walk with God, and they've watched us fall flat on our faces when we try to do things in our own strength. And they've witnessed first-hand the faithfulness of our God, who never leaves us or forsakes us.
"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
As children of the living God, we yearn to actively show Him to the world as we seek to know Him. Figuring out what this looks like and how to enact it will be a lifelong pursuit, but what a life it will be! In seeking to know God's heart, we have seen how He loves the unlovely. After all, He loved us before we ever could have reciprocated that love! He softened our stony hearts and turned them toward Himself, and we have come to know more and more what it means to have life abundantly. While it may fly in the face of what the world says is true, I know we did not deserve this.
Look at Micah 6:8 again, and read it slowly. What does God call us to? To what is good--to doing justice and to loving kindness as we walk with our God. Does that blow you away?! God requires us to walk with Him! And while we're humbly walking with our God (it's still jaw-dropping, isn't it?), we must do justice and love kindness.
Do Justice. In the words of Mark Labberton, "Seeking justice is about living a life that seeks to help others flourish and break the barriers that keep human flourishing from happening." And it's called justice, not mercy, for a reason. If you want to learn more about what this should look like in the life of a believer, read Tim Keller's Generous Justice.
Love Kindness. According to Doug Goins, "Kindness, or the Hebrew word hesed , which means “loyal love,” is the greatest attribute of God in the Old Testament. It defines his steadfast covenantal love. Our call is to love people in the same way that God loves us: unconditionally, mercifully, passionately, consistently, kindly, and with loyalty."
This is where, I believe, many of us who love God get stuck. We like the part about walking with God, but we wonder what good we can possibly do as we're walking - after all, we rarely see suffering in our everyday lives. And most of our friends, neighbors, and family members already are flourishing! So how are we supposed to walk humbly with our God while doing justice and loving kindness? The answer lies in going where God goes. After all, if God wanted us to remain right where He put us, never venturing away from our comfort zone, He would have called us to stand humbly with our God. But this is not what He has called us to; we are to be active as we go where God leads, never allowing our spiritual legs to atrophy.
Look at Micah 6:8 again, and read it slowly. What does God call us to? To what is good--to doing justice and to loving kindness as we walk with our God. Does that blow you away?! God requires us to walk with Him! And while we're humbly walking with our God (it's still jaw-dropping, isn't it?), we must do justice and love kindness.
Do Justice. In the words of Mark Labberton, "Seeking justice is about living a life that seeks to help others flourish and break the barriers that keep human flourishing from happening." And it's called justice, not mercy, for a reason. If you want to learn more about what this should look like in the life of a believer, read Tim Keller's Generous Justice.
Love Kindness. According to Doug Goins, "Kindness, or the Hebrew word hesed , which means “loyal love,” is the greatest attribute of God in the Old Testament. It defines his steadfast covenantal love. Our call is to love people in the same way that God loves us: unconditionally, mercifully, passionately, consistently, kindly, and with loyalty."
This is where, I believe, many of us who love God get stuck. We like the part about walking with God, but we wonder what good we can possibly do as we're walking - after all, we rarely see suffering in our everyday lives. And most of our friends, neighbors, and family members already are flourishing! So how are we supposed to walk humbly with our God while doing justice and loving kindness? The answer lies in going where God goes. After all, if God wanted us to remain right where He put us, never venturing away from our comfort zone, He would have called us to stand humbly with our God. But this is not what He has called us to; we are to be active as we go where God leads, never allowing our spiritual legs to atrophy.
"And who is my neighbor?" The expert of the law, to Jesus.
Jesus, on instructing the man who knew everything about the Law, told him a story of indifference contrasted with compassion. We've all heard the story of the Good Samaritan. We've scorned the religious leaders, and thought of ourselves as most closely identifying with the Samaritan. But let's take a step back. If we were to draw a few parallels between the world of Jesus' day and the world today, we might come to a different conclusion. According to True Religion, authored anonymously, the rich of Jesus' day probably only made up 2 to 5 percent of the total population, and consisted mainly of kings, leaders, or landowners. The wealth they had was vastly greater than that of the majority of people around them. Roughly 80% of those around Jesus would have been very poor, struggling daily to provide enough food for themselves and their families. When looking at our own country today, things don't seem very comparable, given the large number of people living in the middle class, who don't need contributions, but also don't feel they have enough to give lavishly to others. So how do we middle-classers take what Jesus said and learn from it?
The answer comes in asking Jesus the very question that the expert of the Law asked: Who is my neighbor? And don't ask it unless you're ready to have your borders stretched a little (a lot). Given that Jesus often traveled several days' journey in His own ministry to reach out to those in need, and that we today can reach practically any destination on earth within the same framework of time, the author of True Religion concludes that, in God's eyes, EVERYONE is our neighbor! Worse yet, the author compares himself (and as I read it, I compared myself) to the rich man of Jesus' day - the rich man who has a beggar at his doorstep and does nothing to help him. If you don't remember the conclusion of that story, it would be worth your time to read through Luke 16:19-31.
There are many statistics regarding the poor in this world that are staggering, but suffice it to say that, according to a recent study done by the United Nations, if the total of everything I own (home, car, investments, cash, etc.) is worth more than $61,000, I am included among the wealthiest 10 percent of people on earth. I'm the rich man. And meanwhile, almost half the world lives on less than $2 a day.
The answer comes in asking Jesus the very question that the expert of the Law asked: Who is my neighbor? And don't ask it unless you're ready to have your borders stretched a little (a lot). Given that Jesus often traveled several days' journey in His own ministry to reach out to those in need, and that we today can reach practically any destination on earth within the same framework of time, the author of True Religion concludes that, in God's eyes, EVERYONE is our neighbor! Worse yet, the author compares himself (and as I read it, I compared myself) to the rich man of Jesus' day - the rich man who has a beggar at his doorstep and does nothing to help him. If you don't remember the conclusion of that story, it would be worth your time to read through Luke 16:19-31.
There are many statistics regarding the poor in this world that are staggering, but suffice it to say that, according to a recent study done by the United Nations, if the total of everything I own (home, car, investments, cash, etc.) is worth more than $61,000, I am included among the wealthiest 10 percent of people on earth. I'm the rich man. And meanwhile, almost half the world lives on less than $2 a day.
A choice to make.
When Dustin and I began to realize what we had to give--when our focus changed from what we thought we needed to all the things God had blessed us with, including our great marriage and wonderful family, we began to ask God what He wanted us to do. It would take me pages and pages to show how God revealed the first steps of the path He wanted us to walk, but let me just give you a quick summary.
We stopped standing still and started walking with God.
And so the story begins.
- When asking our pastor if our church could have an orphan care/adoption ministry, he said, "Yes. Go for it!" (We've since learned that this is very uncommon!) And he said this knowing we had no idea how to do this, or even what our first steps should be. We didn't even know what an orphan care ministry looked like!
- We watched some of our good friends adopt, and started to wonder if maybe, just maybe...
- I received an email from the Christian Alliance for Orphans, an organization I'd never heard of before, inviting us to attend Summit VI. It included courses such as, drum roll, please... Orphan Ministry 101: How to Start an Orphan Care Ministry in Your Church! Our church covered all our expenses, and grandparents watched our kids so that we could go. We came home with our lives changed and perspectives shifted, knowing it was time to start the adoption process.
- When we were barely making enough for us to stay in our modest house and feed our kids (thank God for hand-me-downs from friends!), God called us to adopt. We considered all avenues, finally realizing that the path He'd marked out for us was a toll road, and wasn't lined with money trees. We simply didn't have the money we'd need to adopt, much less raise another small person in our home. But the week we decided to step out and begin the journey in spite of what things looked like, Dustin received a call for a job interview. A few weeks later he had a new job, complete with a much-needed pay raise. (Oh, and did I mention that the annual salary was $8 over the exact amount we'd been praying for?)
- After asking God to close and open doors, He faithfully led us to discover much about the adoption arena. Doors were open long enough for us to learn, and then closed to lead us to the next step. What we've learned along the way has been very helpful as we provide other families with information so that they can go through doors that God opens for them, but closed for us.
- We've had a crib set sitting in our cluttered garage for a few years, and you can't blame me for not trying to sell it. The thing's been on craigslist and sitting on our driveway during garage sales - and I'm not asking much for it, believe me! In fact, during our last garage sale, which we were using as an adoption fundraiser, I told Dustin, "Ok, if God doesn't let us sell this crib today, even with this practically-nothing price tag, He must want us to adopt a baby!" We both laughed and tried desperately to sell it to anyone who looked remotely interested, since at the time we thought we were adopting a 3 or 4-year-old. Turns out, it looks like we were wrong. And, turns out, it looks like the crib remains sitting in our garage. (Disclaimer: I've learned enough after walking with God thus far that the paths He leads us on will suddenly change directions. So if, a few months or years down the line, we find that He wasn't leading us to adopt a baby, just remember we're leaving room for Him to move as He wills.)
We stopped standing still and started walking with God.
And so the story begins.
Title.
Our story is just beginning. I'm not sure yet how it will turn out, so for now I'm just going to call it "Title."
It's a little intimidating, putting this all out there for anyone to read. I mean, things could get messy. I might not always come across looking happy and full of faith and excited and patient and trusting and ready for all of this. I might expect one thing, fully convinced that God is bringing us to location A, and end up in location J! That would be embarrassing. In fact, there's a whole slew of things that could go horribly wrong in this book - things that make us look horribly...human.
But not having a tidy little story; not looking like I have it all together...those things are good because they're truth. It's a blessing to know that, while I'm typing out what's happening in our lives and hearts, God is the one writing this story. And I do believe that He is going to take the mess of details that somehow have to fit together; He'll take the mess of who we are, and He will make something beautiful.
It's a little intimidating, putting this all out there for anyone to read. I mean, things could get messy. I might not always come across looking happy and full of faith and excited and patient and trusting and ready for all of this. I might expect one thing, fully convinced that God is bringing us to location A, and end up in location J! That would be embarrassing. In fact, there's a whole slew of things that could go horribly wrong in this book - things that make us look horribly...human.
But not having a tidy little story; not looking like I have it all together...those things are good because they're truth. It's a blessing to know that, while I'm typing out what's happening in our lives and hearts, God is the one writing this story. And I do believe that He is going to take the mess of details that somehow have to fit together; He'll take the mess of who we are, and He will make something beautiful.
Click to set custom HTML