Adoption

This video circulated through my Facebook & Twitter newsfeeds twice last month. It is powerful, to be sure.  I watched it a handful of times back to back. I cried.  I shared it. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rztYMMhMT2Y[/youtube]

(For reference, Sam was 8lbs when he was BORN, and at one and a half years old, weighs 25lbs.)

"The pure joy that will come from a rescue and a ransom of a child's life is probably the most satisfying thing you can imagine. [George Dennehy]"

The video made me overwhelmingly THANKFUL for how many personal friends I have that are smack dab in the middle of adoptions - right now.  I'm not sure how I got to be friends with such amazing people - I really lucked out in that department.

*My friend, Brandy is bringing home Nora from the DR Congo.  Nora is only 4 days older than Brandy's biological daughter, Grace, so, God willing, this time next month, Brandy will have "twins."

*My friend, Susan, also known as "The Greatest Pediatric Physical Therapist Ever" (she taught Madeline to sit, stand, and walk), is waiting to bring home Yulia, a 14-year-old from Ukraine.  After a disappointing delay in the adoption process, she felt it was because God was asking more.  She is now waiting to bring home not one, but three teenagers from the Ukraine.

*My friend, Christie, is bringing home a baby girl due in April.  She found out about the opportunity three weeks ago.  With huge faith and courage she opened her heart and home and said "yes" to the process.  She was chosen by the birth mother this week.  Radical obedience.

*My friend Joe and his family are purposefully seeking to adopt a baby with special needs.  Joe and his wife are not just anti-abortion; they are pro-life.  They (like all adoptive families) are paying a huge sum of money to live out their conviction that every life has value, and to show mothers of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies that there are families willing to raise and love children of all levels of ability.  They already have three young biological children, one of whom has special needs.

Seriously, how is it that I've come to know such beautiful, compassionate, generous people?

I've not been quiet about how my heart beats for adoption.  Now is not the time for my family; I say this with prayer and peace.  But because it's a real conviction and passion, I can't just push the pause button on action.  I try every day not to settle with being "touched," but to allow myself to be moved.

"Self-deception slithers in when we mistake appreciation for application or being touched with being changed." [Beth Moore]

If you are certain that adoption is not for your family, or if you're like me, and it's just not for your family now, you can still be moved by and for the orphans of the world.  Here are the stories of my four friends, interview style; I'm hoping that they move you like they've moved me.

Brandy and Noah

Who are you adopting or seeking to adopt?

Lord-willing, we are adopting lovely Nora Divine from the DR Congo. Although she is now 16 months old, we still refer to her as our “baby” Nora. Apparently she has an enamoring personality since we’ve already been contacted by 4 adoptive families asking if we’ll send pictures and updates to their daughters who miss playing with their baby Nora from the orphanage. Nora is only 4 days older than our biological baby girl, Grace. We tell Grace about her “twin” sister all the time and she can now proudly point to Nora’s picture and say “Sissy.”

 How far along are you in the adoption process?

We have endured almost 3 years in our adoption process, which has felt particularly long since we were originally told the Congo program would only take 6-9 months. Praise God, our next step is actually the last step! We’re fundraising for our travel expenses now, and are tentatively planning to go to the Congo this month to bring our little one home! We are only waiting on her visa, which could be issued any day now, and then we’re approved for travel!

Why did your family choose to adopt?

My husband and I were first drawn to adopt through the influence of our close friends who adopted a son and daughter from Ethiopia three years ago. We were able to walk with them through the entire process and were extremely affected by the profound significance of their adoption as it relates to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Previously, we had regarded adoption as a wonderful "second chance" for couples struggling with infertility, but through our friends, we were humbled and amazed to learn the beauty of the Gospel as it is revealed through adoption.

My husband and I were so touched by this connection between the Gospel and adoption that we couldn’t help but want to be a part of it with our own family. James 1:27 became more than just words on a page as we were challenged to critically consider God's call in our own lives.

When we were desiring to start a family, we chose to pursue adoption right away rather than looking at it as an option "down the road." The Congo is the poorest country in the world where 20% of children die before their 5^th birthday. It’s also the “rape capital of the world” where if you’re a woman, you know you’re likely to be a victim. Those statistics and the fact that we met the qualifications for this country made us choose the Congo and international adoption.

It was special to find out afterwards that Noah’s late grandfather had always prayed for the Congo and even intended to be a missionary there at one point. Although he never made it there, his prayers for the Congolese will likely have impacted little Nora Divine’s life forever as she will soon become a part of our family.

In the end, we chose to adopt because we’re so grateful God chose to adopt us! We are eager to love and care for our sweet Nora Divine and we love all the ways God has showed His special intention in placing her with our family. For example: Nora and Grace being “twins,” or how Nora’s birthday was the date I had hoped Grace would be born on – 9/10/11 (the coolest birthday ever), and even that Nora’s given name is “Divine” and she is truly our divine gift! After the months and years of waiting, we are still so happy we chose to adopt and can’t wait to really begin this adoption journey once we bring her home!

Brandy and Noah's Fundraising site (and more pictures of Nora Divine) is here.

Susan and Jerry

Who are you adopting or seeking to adopt?

We are adopting three teenagers from Ukraine: Yulia is 14, Iryna is also 14 and her brother Oleg is 12.

(The three Ukrainian kids and Susan and Jerry's three biological children at Christmas.)

 How far along are you in the adoption process?

We have completed our home study and sent our 600A form to USCIS. We are awaiting approval from the US government to adopt internationally, and in the meantime, finalizing our dossier to be submitted to Ukraine as soon as our approval comes in.  Also, we are aggressively fundraising.  All expenses are paid to date out of our own pockets, but we have $15,000 due to submit the dossier and then travel expenses to raise.  Our journey began last April, but we didn't actually begin official adoption proceedings until August 2012.

Why did your family choose to adopt?

This whole thing began with an organization called ProjectOneFortyThree that sponsors the hosting programs in Latvia and Ukraine twice a year; in the summer and at Christmas. Once we were approved, we selected a child, (what I mean is I God selected our child...that soon became obvious) and she came to live with us for seven weeks in June 2012.  Her name was Yulia, she was 14, and she was OURS! We knew it from the moment we saw her.  You see, we had been asked of our intentions upon applying as a host family (host only, adopt or undecided) and we were certainly open to adopting, but were not going into this with the intent to adopt.  That was over the second we saw her smile!

All too soon, the day came to put her back on the airplane to return to Ukraine.  We all cried...for days! It was one of the worst days of my life.  In our grief, we were fueled to begin the adoption process so that we could bring her home permanently.  We were working diligently with the home study, but it soon became apparent that there was no way we would get our Yulia home before Christmas, and therefore decided to re-host.  This was an expense that we really could not afford, but there was no WAY my baby was going to spend Christmas in that orphanage.  She had lived there for eight years of her life and as long as I had breath in my body, she would spend as little time there as I had the ability to control!

Strangely, however, there was unrest in my heart.  We were supposed to do something else, but I didn't know what. I shared with Jerry and the kids my struggle, and that I felt God was telling me that there were other children that needed us.  Once again, everyone in the family agreed and looking at the "kids needing hosting" list, we found not one, but two kids, a sibling set, who resided at the same orphanage Yulia did. Along came Iryna and Oleg Petryk, ages 14 and 12.  This time we only had the three kids for four weeks, but in that time, we knew this was our new family and we knew why our home study had been delayed.  If our home study had been completed on time, it would have only been approved for us to adopt one child.  Now we could "tweak" it and have it written for three!

Susan and Jerry's story and fundraising site is here.

Christie and Q

Who are you adopting or seeking to adopt?

We have been chosen to adopt a newborn baby girl from Florida due on April 6!

 How far along are you in the adoption process?

We just found out about this situation three weeks ago and were just chosen by the birth parents this week. So, we are currently in the process of updating our home study and fundraising!

Why did your family choose to adopt?

We started our adoption journey 3 years ago and were blessed with our little girl, Moriah.  We were then presented with the opportunity to adopt her biological brother this time last year.  We were heartbroken when his adoption failed (their birth parents chose to keep him at birth).  We had written off ever adopting again and were trying for biological children when this current situation arose.  Two weeks ago I was getting ready to head out the door when I received a message from a fellow adoptive Mom that said, "I have a birth family that's looking for a married, Christian, inter-racial couple, with only adopted children for a baby girl due April 6."  Say what!  Why don't you just add, "And their names are Christie and Q!"  Because of the criteria the birth family was looking for, we couldn't say no!  So, we were obedient to what we felt the Lord was asking us to do and here we are....trusting and believing!

Christie and Q's story/blog is here. Their current fundraising campaign is here.

Joe and Hannah

Who are you adopting or seeking to adopt?

We are seeking out a child with special needs. We clearly have a heart for individuals with special needs seeing as we already have a child with Down Syndrome. I can't fathom the notion of anyone passing up on a Benji! What a blessing he has been. When we met with our adoption counselor for the first time, she confirmed our intentions by telling us that Special Needs adoptions are one of the biggest needs. We were told that Joe and I would be with only a handful of other adoptive parents on the registry willing to adopt Special Need Infants.

Where are you in the adoption process?

Fundraising and waiting!  We are home study approved for a domestic adoption (Within the US – we did not do an international home study and therefore, are ineligible to adopt overseas – at least for this adoption! Who knows, maybe we’ll adopt again in the future!).  We are looking to get a family lawyer and working on procuring an adoption loan for $20,000!!!! (WOW!!!!) We are hoping to raise at least part of this. Definitely a faith journey!

 Why did your family choose to adopt?

We believe every life has value and that those with special needs are a valuable and wanted part of the community. If there is no one to care for these babies, how would a mother be persuaded to choose life for her child? We want to show the world that "Benji's" are worth fighting for! They are worth loving. They are worth sacrificing for.

Joe and Hannah's blog and story is here.  (There is a link to their PayPal account on the site.)

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I'm so thankful for people like Brandy, Susan, Christie, and Joe (and Kelly and Jamie...) who know that the widows and orphans and impoverished and suffering in the world are not someone else's responsibility.  I'm thankful for people who do not shy away from the command and the call, even when it sounds radical and difficult and costly.  Would you consider helping me help them bring their babies home?  Will you be more than touched, will you be moved?

"Far too often I hear, "If people can't afford what it costs to adopt, they shouldn't adopt."  We were crushed one time by a person very close to us who said, "How come when YOU hear from God it costs ME money?"  Usually I am too hurt to respond with adequate words.  I saw this from my very smart friend on Facebook and had to share, 'When a family seeks help in raising funds for an adoption, it's not like asking people to pitch in toward a new boat, or help pay for a vacation. What they are doing is committing to heal, with God's help, a child who has suffered the profound damage of being unwanted and unloved. They are obediently living out the command given in James 1:27 to care for the orphan, clothing the gospel of Christ's redemption in flesh and blood and now. When they ask for the body of Christ to come alongside them financially and prayerfully, they are giving us the opportunity to be a part of the miracles God works through obedience.'"  [Via Christie's Facebook this week]

Amen and amen.

Ophthalmologist

I'm 27 years old, I have a college education, I've been raising a daughter who sees a dozen vision specialists every year, and I JUST NOW learned how to spell the word "ophthalmologist."  There is an extra "h" in there, and an "l."  For the longest time I could remember one superfluous letter, but two was too much.  NO MORE!  I must be growing up. This morning Madeline had her yearly check-up, and today was the first time I didn't go with her.  There were lots of reasons, including Sam's schedule, writing work, rush hour in ATL, and more.  It was the best of all our options, but there have been lots of Mom-tears over the last 48 hours.

I got up at 5:20.

I'm sorry, did that not resonate with you?

I GOT UP AT 5:20.  That is how much I love my child.

Madeline was in remarkably good spirits considering I normally have to lure her out of her bed with breakfast foods.  A trail of little zucchini muffins all the way from her bedside into the living room, like Hansel and Gretel.  Madeline does a lot of things well; waking up is not one of them.

I put her in her Light Up The Darkness shirt, because it brought me joy.  It brought Madeline joy too, until she got in the car and realized that her shirt did not actually light up the darkness.

Dan put me on speakerphone when the doctor came in, and I went crazy-mom.  I asked every question that Dan had already asked and gave him way too much information/opinion/commentary about the size, shape, color, distance, contrast, and velocity of every single object Madeline appeared to have noticed in the last 365 days.

I birthed her; such is my right.

This was the first check up where Madeline was verbal enough and cooperative enough to give us some solid information.  As in, "Yes I can see that letter."  This was the first check up where they were able to check each eye individually.  It was the first check-up without me.  The first check-up that we did not have to man-handle her little head into that giant machine with the chin-rest.   Big day.

Madeline was chipper, enthusiastic, vocal, and cooperative.  She is the best.

Her greatest disappointment of the day was not the early rising, the drive, or even the eye drops; it was that her class was learning about spiders today, as this is "creepy crawly insect" week at school, and she had to miss it.  She requested that I go to the library and get "a really good book about spiders" while she was at her appointment.  I will oblige.  Because I love my child.

Here are some quick thoughts about vision loss today:

1. It's okay with me if Madeline never sees any better than she can right now.  That's called peace, and it's amazing.

2. Madeline continues to blow everyone's socks off with how well she uses her functional vision.  No vision teacher or doctor has ever interacted with her and not left astounded.

3. I wish that you could know how it feels for me to sing the words to Amazing Grace.  I wish that you could feel the anguish and joy of "was blind but now I see."  Or to read Psalm 139: "The night will shine like the day for darkness is as light to You."  Or 1 Peter 2:9: "...That you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." Or any one of the hundred other references in scripture to our lost-in-the-sin-sick-darkness and to God's bright and morning star, light-of-the-worldness.

Everybody can experience God's bright rescue - Dan and I don't have any advantage in that department.  You certainly don't need a child with vision loss to feel the deep, deep darkness in your soul or to see it in the world.

But - we do have the great privilege of seeing blindness, literally, every day.  We get to see how it affects everything.  We understand the fullness of joy we would experience if our daughter's vision were completely restored - if she could see like we can see; we can access that emotion easily.  I was thinking about this just the other day, about how badly I want to be there when Madeline sees, fully, for the first time.  I want to watch her face.  That thought/emotion is never far beneath the surface.

Because of our understanding of literal blindness, we are able to translate that insight and emotion to spiritual blindness.  We can apply what we know (feelings of grief, loss, anger, injustice, hopelessness, desperation, dependence, need for healing) to our own spiritual condition.  Like copy/paste.  When God says that our eyes are blinded by sin and mortal-humanness, that we live in darkness - we are fortunate enough to understand the level of lostness and need that He's getting at.  I get what what happen if Madeline wandered out of the yard; I have to push the thought out of my mind often because the fear is not healthy.  It would be dangerous for any child, but magnified for my darling.  She could not see roads, cars, ditches or ant hills.  Unlike most school-age children, she could not find her way home.

Oh, we understand fully, the depth and desperation of our need.

And therefore, we are able to understand the sweetness of The Light.  

This is why I cannot read a single verse or sing a single stanza about God opening the eyes of the blind, or delivering us from darkness to light, without crying.   I never have to pause and imagine what that would feel like - I already know.

The Light feels like - like joy so full it makes your ribs ache.  Like a thousand tongues to sing a thousand praises would never be enough.  Like body-rocking-sobs.  Like relief so big that your knees give out and you fall on your face because you can't stand up under the goodness of it.

It feels like glory.

It feels like salvation- because that's exactly what it is.  

"You are a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light...once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found; was blind, but now I see."

My Mother-In-Law

I was at the doctor's office last week trying to convince someone with a prescription pad to give me some decent meds.  My usual pharmaceuticals are too strong for le bébé (due to the lame and sorry ears of which I've previously lamented) and therefore totally out of the question. While I was in the waiting room, I had the most enormous surge of affection for my mother-in-law that I've ever had, ever.  (And that's saying something because she watches my kids so that I don't have to be institutionalized, and also, she gave me the keurig.)

As I was sitting there, awkwardly trying to cross my legs, in complete denial that my belly is now FAR too big to attempt to keep my legs closed no matter how skilled of a contortionist I may be, an elderly woman got out her cell phone and made a call.

She called her law office.  I know this because the volume on her phone was so loud that I could clearly hear the clerk on the other end of the line.

The only thing more awkward than listening to her renegotiate her will, offer her son's full legal name, disclose personal financial information, and discuss her real estate properties loudly and in front of everyone was what happened next.

As soon as the elderly lady hung up the phone, a second woman whipped around in her chair and said,

"There is not one single part of your brain that told you how completely inappropriate it was for you to have that conversation here in front of all these people, huh!"

Oh boy.

1. There was no good way for the elderly lady to respond to this.  It was a statement, not a question. 2. The mean woman didn't move to sit next to the elderly lady.  She didn't whisper, pull her aside, or mention it on her way out the door. 3. The mean woman did not speak out of concern for the elderly lady. 4. The mean woman was loud, huffy, superior, snide, accusatory, and...well...mean.

The only thing more awkward than being present for this confrontation was when the elderly lady said,

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you sweetie.  I guess everyone in here is so stuffed up with colds, hee hee hee.  What did you say now, sweetie?"

At which point the mean woman repeated herself and followed up with a completely ridiculous rant about how she was going home to steal the elderly woman's identity to make a point.

The only thing more awkward than that was when the elderly lady, still giggling, TOOK A POLL OF THE WAITING ROOM.  (The common sense.  Where has it gone?)

"Was anyone else here bothered by the conversation I just had?  Hee hee hee."

I thought, "Surely, surely, there is not a third person in this waiting room crazy enough to get involved."

Oh, Kate, how you underestimate the stupidity of humans.  And the number of crazies in middle Georgia.  After all, Honey Boo Boo's interview house is less than a mile from my doctor's office so maybe none of this should surprise me.

A third woman piped up and said, "Well, this was neither the time or place..."

I will spare you the play by play.

The point is, I sat there for fifteen minutes listening to three total strangers squabble and peck at each other in the doctor's office.

As I watched this little social experiment unfolding I thought to myself,

"Hold the phone, that lady is somebody's MOTHER-IN-LAW."

That belligerent woman who WOULD NOT DROP IT is somebody's mother-in-law.

And that is how it came to pass that on a Thursday morning, sitting in the doctor's office, I had the most enormous surge of affection for my dear, sweet, mother-in-law, who would never chastise another person publicly in a waiting room.

It also occurred to me, as I sat there, how much of the world's ugliness would be cured if we all just learned when to keep our mouths shut.

"A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered.  Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue."  [Proverbs 17: 27-28]

Live Second, Day 4: "Addiction"

Day 4 of Kate’s Live Second journey. Sign up to follow as Kate and 14 other bloggers dare to Live Second for 60-Days-of-Second. Start your own journey and get the Live Second book in stores December 9. I have an addiction. Like all addictions, it's ugly.  When I write it you're going to make some judgments about me, no matter how hard you try not to.  No matter how hard you try to remember that we all have our baggage and that Christ died to save me, when I say,

"I am addicted to having and wanting expensive things,"

some presumptions are going to force their way into your minds.

You might presume that I grew up in privilege, and in a sense, you'd be right.  I've learned that "privilege" is enormously subjective, but I've also learned that the suburb in north Raleigh where I grew up places me in the very upper echelon of global society.  Maybe even American society.

I got a car when I turned 16, and my parents paid for it.  When I crashed it the following year I got another car.  I traveled a lot; I went to France on an exchange trip when I was in the 7th grade and to the Bahamas for a family wedding when I was in the 11th.  I had nice prom dresses that I didn't pay for, and, while I still have a sizeable student loan, my parents paid for three-quarters of my private 4-year college education.  This was absolutely the norm in the community where I grew up.  My family was not wealthier than my friends' families - in fact, we had a lot less than some of them.

I've never struggled with anger, alcohol, unhealthy relationships, substance abuse, gossip, or eating disorders, but I struggle against materialism and consumerism still.

After five years in full-time ministry.  After five over-seas mission trips which exposed me to third-world poverty.  Three years after God gave me an enormous burden for cross-cultural missions.  After three years of moving towards minimalism, three years of deliberately increasing my giving.  After years of living meagerly on one income with 2 kids (and one on the way), it's lurking under there - in my sinful parts like a dark, dirty cancer.

A.W. Tozer wrote this about sin, specifically materialism and greed:

"The ancient curse will not go out painlessly; the tough old miser within us will not lie down and die obedient to our command. He must be torn out of our heart like a plant from the soil; he must be extracted in agony and blood like a tooth from the jaw. He must be expelled from our soul by violence as Christ expelled the money changers from the temple."

This is true of all sin, and it is at once terribly depressing and wonderfully encouraging.

It's depressing because it hurts.  It's depressing because it's exhausting.  It's depressing because we don't ever get to stop fighting.  It's depressing because we might never stop wanting whatever terrible thing it is that we want.  (What is it for you?)

But it's wonderful because we are not alone.  This addiction, this struggle, this desire that will. not. go. away. is what Paul was talking about when he wrote, "I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."

It's wonderful because Paul is a pillar of the Christian faith; he wrote 13 books of the Bible.  He served God so fearlessly and faithfully that when we read accounts of his life and faith he almost sounds superhuman.  It's wonderful because, as Doug writes in Live Second, "The mark of a follower of Jesus, of one who lives Second, is not perfection (though that will come in the end); it is the fight, the struggle to turn the tides of our desires toward the Maker of our souls."

I recently wrote a post about how much I LOVE living in a teeny, tiny house - how it is one of my new favorite things.  There are a lot of surprising, magical reasons, but upon further reflection, I think one I didn't list in my post was that it keeps me fighting.  It's not a bloody, battle-weary kind of fighting; it's a peaceful, joyful, falling-in-love-with-my-cozy-home kind of fighting.  The tiny house forces me to do that which I know I SHOULD BE DOING anyway, and they payoff for the fight is nothing short of miraculous.  Deep, abiding contentment.  I love this little home more than any other place we've ever lived.

I'm at peace today, despite my dirty little longing for fancy clothes and a new car.  I have peace because God is huge and vast and omnipotent and His selflessness and generosity in me is enough to conquer the selfishness hiding there a million times over.

His forgiveness is complete, perfect, enough (for my addiction, and for yours). He's on my side.  He's for me.  He's with me (and you). He's my shield and my sword and my portion in the fight.  And His grace is sufficient, Hallelujah.

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Read Live Second, Day 1 here. Read Live Second, Day 2 here. Read Live Second, Day 3 here.

Live Second, Day 3: "Physical"

Day 3 of Kate’s Live Second journey. Sign up to follow as Kate and 14 other bloggers dare to Live Second for 60-Days-of-Second. Start your own journey and get the Live Second book in stores December 9. I've found that the physical world and the spiritual world are inextricably combined.

I like to imagine that they were stirred up in a big pot in heaven before they were poured out in creation.  I imagine that God poured in a bottle of tangible things and a bottle of intangible things, and as they swirled together in the big cosmic mixing pot, all the atoms combined to become molecules - and there is no separating them.  Now our every-day, physical lives are infused with divine significance - there is no "my life on earth" and "my spiritual journey;" there's just life, everything included.

There is no biblical mention of a giant, cosmic mixing pot, but the picture makes me smile.

So on the fourth day, as I read through Live Second, I got physical.

I read this.

(I'm not the most diligent underliner, so sue me.)

"Sin shall not be your master."  The cool thing is, technically, sin IS NOT your master.  Christ freed you, that's what the resurrection was all about, you just need to stop taking sin's orders anyway.

Too often we (I) live like those poor circus elephants who are chained to a stake in the ground to keep them from running off.  As babies, they tug and pull on their chain, but can't pull up the stake, so one day - they just stop trying.  Then they grow into massive, intelligent creatures who could uproot two dozen stakes in the ground - but they don't.  Because they're broken in.

If some sin has mastery over you, it's not because you can't be free; it's because your mind is broken in.  Our sinful nature says, "Do this," and instead of questioning its authority, we just concede like lemmings.

So this is what I did this week:  I said, out loud, to my sinful nature who was barking orders at me to feel sorry for myself and whine and eat some more,

"No.  I do not take orders from you any more."

It was only me and the kids in the house at the time, but I plan to keep telling my sin nature to shove it, so if you hear rumors about me and schizophrenia, you can ignore them.  You can say, "No, she doesn't hear voices, she's just talking to her sin nature."  Not that that sounds any less crazy.

But I'm tired of living like a broken-in circus elephant, and I bet you are too.  It's not the life we were created for.

Saying "No" out loud solidifies our resolve.  It makes it final, a decision.

The physical act of speaking matters.  I think that the reason a lot of people don't pray is because they've never talked to God out loud before - they've never tried the words out on their tongue.  The reason some people don't budge during worship is that they've never lifted a hand before, nobody ever made them try.  Walking down to the alter feels ENORMOUS because it's wholly unfamiliar.

Physicality matters.

I think it's important to tell children, "pray after me," and lead them phrase by phrase through a prayer.  I think it's important for a worship leader to ask a congregation to lift their hands with palms facing out - to express exaltation of God, and for us to try praying on our knees to express desperate need and submission.

Some people say that these kinds of corporate actions are rote - empty and ritualistic.

Hogwash. 

It's leading.  It's teaching.  It's discipling new believers and equipping them with spiritual practices that will help them draw near to God.

This week, as I was challenged through Romans and Live Second to stop enslaving myself to sin, I've  been intentional to infuse the physical into this spiritual struggle.  I encourage you to do the same.

Form the words with your mouth and say them.

"No, sin, I don't take orders from you any more.  I am not too (tired, hungry, turned on, depressed, angry, entitled, insecure, sad) to stop.  I do not answer to you.   I have a new master.  A better master.  He is loving and joy-giving and life-orchestrating, Hallelujah, and I take orders from Him now."

Make those words so familiar that they become your gut reaction, your first-responder-reaction to temptation.  Pray so consistently every morning that you start doing it even as you hit the snooze button.  Praying half-asleep doesn't mean that it's insincere, it means that it is INSIDE OF YOU.

And that's the secret: that's how you start living with a new nature, how you start living as a free creature instead of a chained one - you get the truth inside of you.

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Read Live Second, Day 1 here. Read Live Second, Day 2 here.