What does it mean to follow Jesus?

    One of my most favorite parts of being a mother is reading aloud to my children.  It is something I have done since they were fresh from the womb and I have done it almost every day since.  We have read all kinds of books, from fiction to biographys.  Serious books.  Books of christian martyrs.  You name it we have read it or something like it.  Today we just started the old book In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon.  Upon reading the first chapter with them this morning I was startled by the timeliness of it.  If you haven't read it let me share a little with you.  I will try to be short;)  A tramp comes into the congregation of First Church and flips everyones world upside down with a question.  The question was  "What does it mean when you say you follow Jesus?".    Last night as I couldn't sleep..again...I had one thought in my mind.  The thought was can we hear Jesus.  If Jesus speaks to us, and the Bible says He does, can we hear Him over the noise of our lives?  Or does our wants, needs, thoughts, desires drown Him out?  We have our own agendas for our lives.  And being good Christians we include Jesus...in a box...marked Sunday or Wednesday.  Please don't think I am pointing fingers cause I am not!  To be terribly honest one of my own ongoing thoughts is how very much I loathe the carpet in my kitchen and the fact that I want desperately a new living room suit!  I am ashamed to confess to you that I have thought on these two things so very very much  that I don't think I have heard very much from Jesus lately.  Or maybe I have I just have tried to turn up the volume of other things so I wouldn't have to let go of my pursuit of my southern living dream.  Oh sure you can make any pursuit seem holy.  I mean after all I AM adopting and I NEED a nice comfortable home for my family.  Please hear me I am not saying having nice things is wrong.  Simply the focus of having them and letting that or what ever fills the blank for you, consume us.  Jesus has snapped me to attention this month with statistics that I have shared with you and others like every 2.2 seconds an orphan ages out with no family to belong to and no place to call home.  You read that right EVERY 2.2 SECONDS!  Every day.  What does it mean to follow Jesus?  We sing about it.  We talk, alot, about it.  To follow means to copy after, to imitate.  Does that hurt anyone else??  Do our lives copy, do we imitate the words of our Jesus?  Something to think about.  Something to consider as we get ready to observe our first Orphan Sunday this weekend.  What is Jesus saying to us?  How do we need to adjust our lives accordingly?  How will these adjustments change the world for Him?  Or how will they not if we don't?  Again I hope you hear my heart and don't misunderstand my words.  I am, as I shared, a sinner, too.  I will leave you with the words from the book.    The tramp is in the middle of his speech and shares he had sat outside on the steps of a church and could over hear the words coming from those inside "...but what I feel puzzled about is what is meant by following Jesus....Do you mean that you are suffering and denying yourselves and trying to save lost, suffering humanity just as I understand Jesus did?  What do you meam by it?"  What DO we mean?
Pressing On
Carrie

5,760

     Did you know that every day 5,760 more children become orphans.  "That just can't be right", I know is what you're thinking, but it is!  Somebody should DO something.....right???  RIGHT!  Pray for those orphans who desire a family.  Ask God how you can you be used.  The numbers seem so overwhelming.  But as I read this quote this week "Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.", I was reminded we all have certain talents and skills and gifts that God placed in each of us to be used for His glory.  Some adopt.  Some fund adoptions.  Some go.  We ALL can do something.  So much jockeys for our attention today, but how much is of eternal value?  It is really easy to get discouraged in the wait time of our adoption.  It can feel down right impossible.  When I am at my weariest I imagine Caleb, Grace-Ann and Jacob in a dirty jail cell.  Needing me.  Needing their daddy to come to them.  I am instantly reminded to press on.  May we not grow weary in well doing friends! 

Pressing On
Carrie

2.1 billion

Good Monday morning all!!!

The countdown has begun to our get together on Sunday!  I hope you have all made plans to be there.  Our, speaker Gwen and later in the evening service her husband Scott promise to be encouraging and inspiring.  In November christians around the world place special emphasis on the plight of the orphaned and the blessing of family.  I want to give you one statistic to think on today, it is startling.  There are 2.1 billion people on this earth who proclaim to be christians...if only 8% of these 2.1 billion christians would care for just 1 child there would be no orphan statistics left.  Let that settle in.  Hope to bring you statistics like this all week to set our focus as we look forward to Sunday at 4! I pray our time together will be life changing in the most non cliche way possible.  In the way Jesus and His words transform our lives. Transformed mine.  Don't forget bring a friend and a chocolate dessert!

Pressing On,
Carrie

Something New

Morning all!

Hope you are working it all for Jesus this Thursday morning!  The great news is we are sliding downhill right into our weekend!  I am really excited to share with you some special news.  I want to invite you to our next Chicks and Chocolate, Sunday, November 17 at 4 o'clock!  I have struggled to word this email all morning.  Now sure some of it has been the fact that three children kept begging for breakfast and the phone rang and a fire had to be made cause I was freezing but the other part is that this is so close to my heart that I can't get my emotions together to put words down for you.  On November 17 Grove Level will kick off its very first Orphan Sunday.  I am overwhelmed with excitement as the fruition of so many prayers and emails and research come together.  To kick off this ministry we have invited a very special family to come share their journey with us.  Scott and Gwen Oatsvall have six children, two biological, two from China and two from Uganda.  I became familiar with their family and their ministry when I first sensed God's calling on Terry and I to adopt.  I would lay awake and read all I could get my hands on about orphans and countries and families and all that God says in His word.  I stumbled upon their blog one night and it has been a constant sense of encouragement as we have pressed on through this long difficult journey.    Their family takes very seriously God's word and living out their faith.  God using ordinary people to do extraordinary things are the words Scott uses to describe their story in his book "And 1..." and I can't wait for you to hear it in person.  Gwen will share with us at our Chicks and Chocolate and Scott will speak in our Sunday night service.  I hope you will make every effort to be apart of these two special events, you will not be disappointed! I pray that your heart will be stirred as mine always is.  Please be careful not to dismiss this due to you thinking your aren't called to adopt because there are so many ways you can become involved in orphan care not to mention hearing a story of God doing some really awesome things in a family's life and getting glory for His amazing love.  We were once orphans until He pursued us!  Isn't that just so wonderful.

Also in the coming weeks we will be unveiling our GLBC Orphan Care ministry t-shirt.  The best thing about this t-shirt is all the profits go to the Queens for the King ministry. 

Please spread the news about all the special happenings we have coming up.  Invite friends and family!  Pray over these events with me.  Show up at 4 on November 17 with your special chocolate goody and then hang around for the evening service.  Lets continue to push back the darkness and shine God's light on those who live as though they have no hope.  Be apart of something bigger than ourselves!  Love you and shoot me an email to let me know you are in!  Hopefully below (if I did it right) there is a picture of the Oatsvall family and you can check out their blog at oatsvallteam.blogspot.com

Pressing On,
Carrie Smith

Borrowing from another blog...

Hey girls this was so good and so spot on that I wanted to share.  I don't know if any of you ever struggle with comparing yourself to others and their work but I know I sure do.  This if from the blog that I have mentioned several times before in my emails.  Girltalkhome.com by Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters.  I am so grateful for the work of the Holy Spirit and the way he constantly pricks my heart and stirs my mind at just the right moment.

In our frenetic society we are already so busy with homework, jobs, and families, that the five good works in 1 Timothy 5:9-10 may feel overwhelming.
But we must remember that Paul was talking about what these widows had accomplished throughout their lifetime, not all at once. Giving themselves wholeheartedly to good works no doubt looked different at various times in their lives.

For moms of small children, you are applying this verse every day, all day. As my husband often says “no one has a harder job than a mom with young kids.” This statement felt true to me when I had little ones, and now that I am watching my daughters mother their children, it rings more true than ever.
You may not be the first to show up in a crisis or do the most hospitality, but you are washing little feet all day as you humbly serve your family. I pray you know God’s pleasure in your faithful service. It is pleasing to him, and even though no one else may see, “your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matt. 6:4).
I also know women who are eager to do good works, but despair because of limitations such as sickness, aging, a disability or a crisis. If you feel, “put on the shelf” as Charles Spurgeon vividly described it, then take his advice and pray for others. For there is “no greater kindness” you can do for someone. You may not be able to serve others in physically demanding ways, but you can still bring honor to the Savior through good works.

We all have different capacities and gifts, and so we must resist the temptation to compare. This is not a competition. Every woman who sincerely serves the Savior gives glory to God. It all comes down to one question: Do I strive for a reputation of good works in order to reflect the Savior’s Good Work?
And remember this: When all is said and done, after we have spent and been spent doing good works, we must, as one wise man once said, make a heap of all our good works and all our bad works and flee them both to Christ.

Can You Do Me A Favor???

Hey gang hope your summer is going great. 

I had every intention of sending out an email about Father's Day and detail all the wonderful things I love about Terry Eugene Smith.  And while he IS wonderful and I AM grateful I am now sending out an email to beg you to please lift our adoption to the Father.  I am asking you to pray for us at 11:11 of every day.  A.M. and P.M.!  A long time ago I heard a man ask for prayer for the Jews to come to Christ at 11:11 of every day.  I don't remember the reason only that it has been over 20 years ago that I heard it and it has STUCK still to this day. At 11:11, if I notice the time, I think to myself "pray for the Jews".  My kids even know the story and will announce "11:11 pray for the Jews".  Ok I am stealing the prayers meant for the Jews but are you really praying for the Jews and can't you, if you are praying, add us to the prayer?  Any who....I covet your prayers in these specific areas
1) Pray that God will be with our child/ children's safety.  May they know we are coming.  That they would be protected from predators, human trafficking, enslavement, and sex trade.

2)  That God would be in the midst of the family connected to this child/ children.  That they would know God is real and loves them because a family so moved by God's love and His rescuing redeeming power wants to show love to an orphan on the other side of the world.....And I'm crying now.  I cry every.single.time.I.think.this.thought.

3)  Pray for Ethiopia.  The orphanages.  The precious people.  The government.

4)  Pray....and this is bold....Pray God would get us to them.  ASAP.  That our papers (dossier) would get in the right hands....quickly.  The governments offices there shut down from around July/August to October!!!!!  Meaning our paperwork will be sitting there!!!!  Our children too!  This part grieves me so.  Seemingly dead time is hard to swallow!  If you have ever missed someone so much and longed to be with them again this is how we feel.  Special moments come and we all feel as if someone is missing.  The kids every birthday or occasion say maybe this is the last time we do this without them mom.

5)  Pray that we will make the most of the waiting.  That we will be excellent students of His word.  That all 5 of us would grow where we need to grow and change what needs to be changed.  That God would deepen our love for each other as we prepare to make room for more.  OH HOW PRECIOUS!!!

6) And finally please ask God to open your heart.  How does He want to use you in the cause for the orphan.  Over and over in His word, Old Testament to New, He instructs His people to care for the orphan, the widow and the sojourner.  Is He asking you to open up your heart, your extra bedroom, your extra bed?  Is He asking you to give to another family who is called to adopt like He moved so graciously on others for us?

We covet your prayers.  I beg you to pray.  I pray that God would cause you to notice 11:11 like never before.  Pray big for us. Pray we would hear news, see their faces.  Hold them.  Pray that as a lost world searches for real Christianity that our little, loud, crazy, imperfect family would show Christ.  Thank you in advance, and as the psalmist says "I pray and then watch for you to move"  I love you all.  Happy Fathers Day.  Hug your dad and tell him all the things he did right.  And tell your Heavenly Father how you love Him and all the things He has done on your behalf.

Pressing On,
Carrie Smith

Summit 9 blogger giveaway

I am writing this post as part of the Summit 9 Blogger Giveaway to answer the question of

"Why I want to attend the Summit 9?"

In no particular order of importance....

1)  Dennis Rainey is our hero and best friend.....(only he doesn't know it yet!)

2)  Being in the same room with people who all have  a heart for adoption and for orphan care would be... well, a little taste of heaven.  This means no weird looks or questions like "Why do you want to adopt when you already have three children of your own?"  Once your eyes have been opened to the orphan crisis it is so hard to go about your day normally ever again.  A new normal day begins with opening your eyes and praying for your child(ren) that are not with you and your night ends with desperate supplications for those who are in such agonizing situations that they are faced with being unable to take care of their own children and the pain that accompanies the joy of adoption.  Wrestling, wrestling, wrestling.  Only those who have been on this journey understand all these emotions and tears. I long to be in a room full of people ahead of me, beside me, or behind me on this same road.

3)  When God called us to adopt we became aware of such great need.  We felt overwhelmed with numbers and statistics.  We began to read every book and blog that we could set our eyes to.  This led us to see that every church needs to be involved and mobilized, taking part in what is so important to our Heavenly Father.  But we feel ill-equipped on the Hows.  We know this conference is the answer to the Hows.  For such a time as this has God raised up a people who will take His word seriously and bring Him glory and make Him known.  We want to be apart of that.

Pressing On
Carrie

You need only be still...

I have always hated to hear a christian use the phrase "I had to pull myself up by my bootstraps."  A) what are bootstraps any way and how do you pull yourself up by them?  B)  The theology behind pulling yourself up is all wrong for people who are followers of Christ.  Now I realize it is just  a saying and few people give any thought to the implications behind these words.  But to me, to say this means there was something in our human nature that was able to rescue ourselves, or pull us out of a pit.  As believers we know there is no good thing in us.  No strength apart from the Father.  Scripture says "He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the garbage pile..."  Psalm 113:7.  There is no power of positive thinking, no psychology to unwarp our sin warped minds.   A couple of weeks ago I found myself in the mud.  Or maybe a dark cloud.  I could list a number of reasons of why I think I found myself there but the truth of the matter is it doesn't matter.  I was just there.  Stuck.  I couldn't pray my way out, I couldn't read my Bible out of it.  I was depressed and worn.  I knew the truth but my mere knowledge did nothing for my state.  Like a person trapped in quick sand the harder I fought the lower I sank.  I could not pull myself up by my bootstraps.  Thankfully Terry recognizing where I was, decided to take me away for the weekend.  What Christ did through him I will never forget.  Christ reminded me I only needed to be still.  Terry began to read God's word over me.  I sat very still and listened as the words of Philippians washed over my ears, my mind and my soul.  Words like "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion....that love may abound more and more....do all things without grumbling or complaining...(OUCH) that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world holding fast to the word of life...our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a Savior who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body...let your reasonableness be known to everyone...do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  I could go on and on.  And as crazy as this sounds Terry read The Heidelberg Catechism.  Now before you hit delete, hang with me.  I realize lots of people shy away from catechisms.  What began as a way for parents to teach their children the foundations of their faith somehow got twisted into that salvation can be attained by memorizing the catchism.  But don't throw the baby out with the dishwater....  There is some wonderful truths taught in a simple way that for a mind troubled with thinking things through clearly, it can offer much hope.  The Heidleberg is a warm-hearted series of questions and answers that remind us of what and why we believe what we do.  I will not list all the questions but I do want to mention one that God used to clear my head.  Question 1.  What is your only comfort in life and death?  A.  That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death— to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.  He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.  He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.  Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
Seriously good stuff, right?  I hope this rambling made sense to you.  God taught me so much that weekend.  We also went on a hike.  A short but steep one.  God spoke to my heart there too.  Life is so much like a hike.  One in deep woods.  One where you have this goal at the end.  One where there will be  a beautiful view or a massive in your face waterfall.  But on the way up you can't see a thing.  And it is so hard that all you can do is look down.  The trail is steep and covered in roots and limbs and pine cones and all sorts of hazards.  So we just keep looking down.  We look down so long that we get tired and want to stop it is so long we want to go back down.  But your husband urges you on. The spirit urges you to press on.  Then finally you make it to the top.  And you look up and there is this beautiful waterfall and it is so close you get wet and you are so glad you didn't quit.  That is life.  Life is a long hard hike with mountains and vistas and waterfalls along the way between valleys and gulches.  But and this is a big but the lifter of our heads is there with us.  There are no bootstraps on this trail.  Just Him.  At times He trains our hands and fingers and feet for the battle and other times He declares He will fight for us, walk for us while He carries us, we need only to be still and silent.  Whatever you are needing this morning, may you know Him, the lifter of our heads. 

Pressing On,
Carrie Smith

No Pain, No Gain....

This world is not our home.  Death is not our end, for those that belong to Him.  Today, I am reminded that pain has a point, when we are His children.  The words that cut deep.  The wounds that seem to never heal, or worse, heal ever so slightly only to be stabbed at again.  All serves to draw us closer to our Heavenly Father.  Lifting our wounds to Him instead of licking them alone in the darkness of our soul.  Darkness reminds us of our need for Light.  No one likes to fumble around in the dark looking, looking for answers or hope.  As daughters of the Light He shines to us, beckoning to not lay down in the dark, to keep straining ever forth His truth that brightens our hearts, minds and even our faces.  Today in the midst of all these clouds that seem to be so constant lately Jesus shined His face on me and spoke to my heart.  Pain has a point.  Pain gets my attention.  Pain makes me cry.  I hate it, still.  As long as I have been walking this narrow road, I still don't love pain.  I don't guess I ever will.  But today, the stinging began and I wanted to wallow in my pit.  But then, after the tears came the familiar blanket of His love, the warmth of His grace.  A warm glow from within that said "Pain has a point.  It is never for no reason dear one.  Never once have I let your tears fall unnoticed.  Come closer to me.  Learn of true forgiveness from me.  Remember all I have forgiven you of.  Oh, remember?  Remember where I found you?  Let me have this ugly pain and turn it into something beautiful for my glory....that's it....let me have it....go on....give it to me....there, there precious.  I have you.  I have this.  Trust Me.  I will never leave you or forsake you."  Oh my soul how tears stream down my cheeks.  This time not from the pain but from the healing.  His most wonderful healing.  This poor girl called and He answered me, again.  Praise Him.  Jesus I love you.  Help me to love like you.  Help me to take your light into darkness.  Help me not to shrink back, because never once have you shrunk back from me.  And I have been dirty and oh so stinky.  Oh Jesus.  My Jesus.  Oh to stand before you and sing to you always.  No this world is not our home and death is not our end.
Press On
Carrie

Parenting All Wrong

It hit me like a ton of bricks just a few minutes ago....I am a parental failure!  I have come to realize I have been parenting all wrong the whole time and I only hope God's grace will cover all my mistakes and fill in the gaps.  I am ashamed to admit but feel compelled to share at the same time.  Go ahead and call me "Crazy".  Maybe in my confession I can prevent any of you who are behind me from making the same mistakes.

 I am just going to say it real fast. 

I have tried to prevent my kids from suffering.

It all started at the moment of conception.  When I started backing off of caffeine and artificial sweeteners during pregnancy.  Not wanting to hurt their developing brains and cause ADD or something. (which obviously didn't work)  Those things were smart.  But then came advice like "don't raise your arms over your head or you could wrap the umbilical cord around the baby's neck".  What???  Now while I did not follow that little nugget I have found my self from infant to teen, trying to buffer, what the world outside my four walls could hurl at my 3, soon to be 4 little offspring.  Obviously trying to prevent physical harm is right along with what my Heavenly Father would ask but as far as suffering period I think I have done them an injustice.  News Flash kids: people are going to be mean to you.  They are going to hit, lie, judge, spit, push, gossip and all other horrible things to you.  Just as they did to our Jesus.  All of this started out of a very pure motivation.  I love them.  And not to uncover all the stuff that I asked Jesus to toss, but my own growing up had a little more pain in it than I wanted for my own children.  But now as I wade through these new waters called "gulp" puberty I think I have neglected the pure prize of suffering.  A follower of Christ can not deny that never are we closer to the heart of God than when we are hurting.  Over and over again God declares "I am close to the broken hearted".    Please don't misunderstand what I am saying.  I am definitely not endorsing chasing after pain or risks in order to draw near to God.  I have simply discovered the joy in the pain that comes at a believer on this journey.  And I do not want to over protect and deny my children of the shaping that takes place through the bumpy and sometimes harsh moments of life.  At the ripe old age of 35 I can shout "I am grateful for the God-ordained suffering".  For example,  watching my parents divorce caused me to search for and treasure a Godly husband.  Call me mushy but yes I still dang near swoon every day of my life with Terry Eugene Smith.  (Get.Over.It. and go swoon over your man and quit making fun of me.)  Trying not to sound cliche here but those gut-wrenching days made me who I am today.  Broken. Redeemed.  Healed.  Yes, healed.  He rescued me.  He healed me.  Tears flow from grateful eyes and a humble heart.  Do I really want to pull my kids out of those moments?  Only putting them around people just like them?  Only putting them in situations where they will succeed?  If so, where is their need for Christ?  Even now Satan whispers this will be misunderstood.  What kind of parent wishes pain on their children's lives?  That is not what I pray for.  I pray for Christ to heal their hurts.  I pray for Christ to be their best friend when there is no one, not one.  I pray for God to show through them His glory in the midst of victories, yes, but more often their humility.  I pray that their testimony be potent to a hurting world.  

Isaiah 61:1 is a prayer of my heart.  That as my wounds have been bound and as I have been set  free, that I may in turn be used to do the same.  That is where the beauty of the suffering shines.  Caleb, Grace-Ann, Jacob.....May the Spirit of the Lord God be upon you, may you bring good news to the poor; may you bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. .