Wordless Wednesday

Food for Thought

I've been reflecting on this today . . .

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead! But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

James 2: 14 -18

Wow, I just love how James tells it like it is! Faith and deeds cannot exist independently of each other. Our good deeds are evidence of real faith! Faith that saves produces good deeds! So how can we call ourselves Christians and not do anything about so many physical needs around the world?

From World Bank:

Over 1 billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day.

37 percent of people in the world live on less that $825 a year.
38 percent of people in the world live on less than $3000 a year

If you make $25,000 a year you are in the top 10 percent of the world’s wealthiest people.
If you make $50,000 a year you are in the top 1 percent of the world’s wealthiest people.

Every day over 26,000 children die of either hunger or preventable diseases!

"In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action is dead!"

So what are we going to DO about this?

Provision

God first planted the idea of adopting in our hearts back in 2007. Since that time, we have been saving for it. It wasn't always much; a little bit here, a little bit there, but by the time we actually started the adoption process we had quite a bit saved.

A few months ago God told us to give all that money away. I'll admit, it was pretty hard for me to let that money go, knowing that we had some big expenses coming up for our adoption. But God asked us to trust Him, that He is faithful and will provide. How could we hold onto all that money for future expenses when there were so many needs in front of our eyes right NOW? But more than that, God was asking us to obey Him and trust Him to meet our needs.

Back in October we applied for a grant for our adoption. It was the one and only grant we applied for and we were told that our chances of receiving any money weren't very good because SO many families apply and they have to turn many down.

So last week we were shocked when we received an email from the organization saying that we had been awarded a grant. Not only were we awarded a grant, but it was a very big amount! They even told us: "Please understand that this is not our "typical" grant, but God must want to bless you doubly!" Wow! Praise be to God! I am so amazed that, even when I have doubts, God is still so faithful!

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done." Psalm 105:1-4.

Kuru Fasulye

It's about time I shared a recipe on my blog with you all! I have been learning to eat such different things since we moved here, and boy, do I really love Turkish cuisine! Yum!

Over the last few months I have been getting pretty good at cooking Turkish food. We have been learning to eat a lot less meat and a lot more vegetables, rice and beans. Turks sure do know how to make a good vegetable dish. Usually vegetables are not just eaten as a side dish but as a tasty main dish served with rice. Most vegetables are cooked in olive oil with onions and tomatoes and garnished with salt and sugar. So yummy!

Something I love about Turkey is the bazaar! You can find everything and anything there. For those of you from Lancaster, PA just imagine Green Dragon but BIGGER! We go twice a week and buy all our fruits and veggies and anything else we might need. There are SO many different kinds of fruits and vegetables here, a number of which I have yet to identify!







Colson and Vienna also enjoy going to the bazaar because at many of our stops they are offered, apples, oranges, bananas, you name it! You can go to the bazaar and have a whole meal for free :)

One of our favorite dishes is Kuru Fasulye. It's a white bean dish that you serve with rice. Here is what you will need:

2 cups white beans
4 tablespoons margarine
2 large onions
2 large tomatoes
4-5 cups of meat stock
1 green or red pepper
salt

Soak the beans in cold water for 8-10 hours. Drain. Put them in boiling water and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes, until they are about half done. Drain them. Chop the onions and brown lightly in margarine. Add peeled and chopped tomatoes, the pepper cut into 4-5 pieces and 2 teaspoons of salt. Cover and cook on very low heat for 45 minutes. Add the beans and the stock. Cover and let simmer until the beans are tender.

Here's a picture of the finished product, it's not mine, but you get the idea :)

This is a very popular Turkish dish and our family loves it! As we say in Turkey: "Afiyet Olsun!"

Stranger in this Land

* Sometimes I feel like my thoughts are all over the place, so maybe what I'm going to write won't make much sense. But I am beginning to enjoy having this blog; it's been a place to not only keep friends and family in America updated, but to also journal my thoughts and feelings.

These past few weeks have been especially hard for me. Up until this point I haven't missed "home" all that much, but lately I've been lonely and missing family, friends and everything that is familiar to me.

It's not like we don't have friends here, but I've been realizing something about relationships. We have to be intentional about them! I can't just stay in my house all day and expect people to come knocking on my door and want to hang out. I have to make a point to go and visit my neighbor or invite friends over for tea and dessert. This is very hard for me because I'm still learning the language and trying to figure out the culture and I have such a fear that I'm going to say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing.

Slowly Turkey is beginning to feel like more like home to me, but that is because I spend the majority of the time in my home. I am most comfortable in my home, but when I step foot outside my door I feel so out of place and like everyone is watching me and waiting to see what I will do. Of course, we are foreigners in this country and we do stick out like a sore thumb, but that doesn't mean that I should stay cooped up in my house all the time just because it's easier than going outside where I (GASP!) might actually have to talk to someone!

I have to get out of my comfort zone if I ever want to build meaningful relationships here. I have to be willing to take risks. I have to be willing to open up my mouth and speak Turkish even if I will make mistakes and be corrected. I can't let that fear stop me from speaking or I will never learn to communicate with people and build relationships.

That is what it's all about anyway, it's all about relationships! Relationship with God and relationship with others. God did EVERYTHING for the sake of relationship! He sent his one and only Son to die a horrible death on the cross for our sins so that we could have a relationship with Him!

Maybe living here won't ever be comfortable and maybe I won't ever feel completely at home, but maybe that is how it is supposed to feel. Because wherever I am, whether it be Turkey or America or any other place, I am a stranger in the land. This world is not my home!

Pictures for your Perusal

I know it's been awhile since I posted and I will update soon, but for now here are some pictures of the kids to keep the Grandmas happy ;)

Haircut Success!

We decided it was finally time for Colson to have a haircut. It hadn't been cut since last summer and after that experience we thought we might just let it grow forever ;)

The last time we tried to give Colson a haircut we only wanted to trim it, but ended up buzzing it all off because he just wouldn't keep his head still. He was hysterical the whole time . . . crying, screaming, violently shaking his head back and forth, appendages flailing! And nothing worked to calm him down, believe me, we tried everything! We fed him snacks, promised him candy for doing a good job, let him watch a movie, but nope, he just wasn't convinced that we weren't trying to kill him! Somehow we did manage to buzz his hair, but after that experience we couldn't even get anywhere close to him with a scissors or clippers again or he would start to freak out! He was deathly afraid of getting his hair cut and we thought we had scarred him for life!

So imagine how shocked we were this morning when we asked him if we could cut his hair and he agreed?! I guess he's just getting older and can be reasoned with now. . .

Well, this is how he started out . . . definitely not liking it!





Getting a little braver . . .

Trying not to cry

What finally got a smile out of Colson . . .

. . . Lightning McQueen (aka Şimşek McQueen - Colson has never seen the movie in English) and leftover birthday cake!

And that, my friends, was a MUCH better experience than the last time! Here's Colson proudly pointing to his new haircut.

So adorable! I do miss his long hair, but the new look is growing on me!




Of course, Vienna needed to have her picture taken too.

And who wouldn't want to take a picture of this beautiful face?

Then Colson and Vienna wanted to have their picture taken together (this NEVER happens) so I took advantage of the cute brother/sister moment and took about a bazillion pictures! I just love these next 3 pictures. . .

*Sigh* I just love these guys! How did they get so big already?!

P.S. I just heard Colson say to Joel: "Daddy, I want to go cut my hair again!" What is with this boy?! He goes from being terrified of haircuts to wanting two in one day! Haha!

The Cost

God has done a lot in our hearts this past year and it has resulted in many changes in our lives. I think I'm only now starting to realize the cost of following Jesus. Before, it was on my terms:

"I will follow you, Jesus, but only when it's safe, when it's comfortable, when it's easy, when I don't have much to lose."

That is such wrong thinking! In fact, that isn't even following Jesus at all. Following Jesus isn't pick and choose! I was so blinded by religious thinking that I didn't even see that I was really walking in disobedience to Him. Following Jesus needs to be on HIS terms. It requires radical sacrifice, radical obedience, radical compassion for the lost and for the poor. . . it's radical period! It doesn't make sense to the world and often times it doesn't even make sense to those who call themselves Christians. It requires EVERYTHING, the cost is GREAT! 

Why is first century Christianity so completely foreign to us today? Being a follower of Christ back then meant giving up everything you had! It required everything! How have we strayed so far from that path? Today, we are practicing a Christianity that is un-biblical and that tries to sugar-coat things to make it appealing to the lost.

Did Jesus do that? Did he make it easy for people to follow him? Did he tell people that they could follow him and keep all their stuff and go say good-bye to their families first? Did Jesus tell his followers that they would never have any struggles, that life would be easy and full of rainbows and lollipops?! Heck no! He told told people things like: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14: 26-27). Those are some hard verses!

He goes on to say: "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33).

Following Jesus is not a decision to make lightly. What Jesus said was hard! He lost a lot of people with those words, because let's face it, that was some tough stuff!

If I am to really follow Jesus then I must do what he says. His words should determine how I live! If Jesus says it, a follower of him does it. If I am to follow Jesus then I should be living my life for the the lost and the poor!

Sometimes when I think to myself, "Oh, it will be so hard to give this away," or "it will be hard to sacrifice that." Well that is just selfish and stupid. What am I living for anyway? Treasure on earth or treasure in Heaven? Because when we live our lives in light of eternity, it won't be hard to sacrifice at all. In fact, it won't even be a sacrifice, because we know we will have treasure in Heaven. And that treasure is Him!

Please, please take some time and listen to this !  I know, it's a lot (I think 7 or 8 sermons), but please, set aside some time out of your day to listen to it and let it challenge you, let it change you! Joel and I listened to one every night for a week. Good stuff!

These teachings put into words exactly what God has been speaking to us lately. And he says it a lot better than I can! But to warn you, it's some tough stuff! It isn't exactly the most easy, encouraging, comforting thing to hear. But it is truth!

Happy Birthday Colson!

Today was Colson's 3rd birthday! It is so hard for me to believe that he is 3 years old already, the time went so fast! I am really enjoying the age that he's at right now. He is starting to have real conversations with me and I just love it! I am having so much fun getting to know his little personality, he has such a tender and compassionate heart.


We had a small party for Colson tonight with some neighbors and friends and all day long Colson was asking when his friends were coming so he could share his cake with them! So sweet, I love that kid!

Colson REALLY enjoyed blowing out the candles on his cake (which I made and Joel decorated - he's the artistic one). We sang to him in Turkish and then had to re-light the candles a few more times so he could blow them out again and again. He had so much fun, I wish I would've got a picture of it!

Here's some pictures of the birthday boy! On a side note, I just updated my blogger editor and can't figure out how to change the order of the pictures or how to write anything in between the pictures. Please leave a comment if you know how I can fix this, I have no idea how to navigate my way around blogger!

So, about the pictures . . . yes, I know Colson needs a haircut, but we can't get anywhere near his head with a scissors or he starts freaking out (tips, anyone?)!


The girl in the purple is our neighbor and Colson's most favorite person EVER! Seriously, he just loves Irem. He walks around holding her hand and he cries when it's time for her to leave. He loves going to her house and tells me at least once a day: "Mommy, I love Irem, do you love her too?"  She is 11 years old, but treats Colson like a little brother, he has a special place in her heart too and it is so neat to see their relationship.