They need to be loved too: Autism, DS, HIV

This is a really hard blog post to write. I'll tell you why.

First, let me show you some children. You can click their names to see their profiles.

James

This is James. He is 11 years old, and he has Asperger's, (which is a type of autism,) and ADHD.

Here are some more children with "symptoms of autism," or "suspicions of autism."

William and Tommy

I believe this is William. He has "autism symptoms."

I believe this is Tommy. Both boys are listed together on one profile. Tommy has "developmental delays."

Jenna

Jenna's profile says "possible autism."

Zeke

Zeke's profile says "suspicion of autism."

Justine

Justine's profile says that she has autism.

Why did I show you these children? You may ask, don't I normally post children with CP? Yes, I normally put on kids with CP, but I felt God saying "Put these children up."

I said in the beginning of this post that this is really hard to write.  This is the reason why.

My brother, who is 7 years old, has ADHD and is on the autism spectrum, just like James. He's extremely smart, (like, beat me in every game of chess kind of smart,) and can remember things very accurately.

I've had a hard time trying to accept my brother the way he is. I'm not going to hide it. There was a period of time when I didn't really want to do anything with him. I always thought it would end in disaster. Now though, I'm slowly learning what I can do with him and what I can't really do with him.

Sometimes playing with my brother can be very fun. One time I was playing pretend with him.We pretended that we were in an arena and I was beating many different monsters. He was being the monsters. One of the monsters was booger babies. (He made those up. lol) I've also jumped on our trampoline with him. A couple times we played the game, "Who's Still Standing," on the trampoline.  (That's a show we liked to watch.) It was really fun. 

Children with autism are special too, not just the children with CP I put up all the time. Everybody's Special means everybody's special, whether you have Autism, CP, DS, HIV, or not.

God allows different things to happen for different reasons. He never once said," Oops, I put an extra chromosome in that girl." Or, "Uh oh, this boy is going to have HIV." No. Everyone was created by God. There is a reason why my brother is the way he is. There is also a reason why you are the way you are. God never makes a mistake.

One drop at a time

Last night, before I went to sleep, I thought of something. I imagined a faucet and a cup. The faucet was turned off, but there were still drops of water going into the cup. It was a slow process filling the cup with water because it was one drop at a time.

Then I thought of something else. It was about midnight last night when I was thinking about this. Isn't that the same when it comes to adoption? You have the cup, which is the amount of money needed to adopt the child, (or children,) that you want to adopt. Then you have the faucet and the water. The faucet represents friends, family, churches, etc that help raise the funds needed to adopt your child.

Then we get to the water, which is the money. Every drop of water that goes into the cup fill the cup with water. Every dollar that goes into a RR child's account help raise the funds needed to adopt that child.

So next time you think you didn't give enough money to a child on RR, remember the drops of water. Every dollar counts, just like every drop of water counts in a cup of water.

Late night thinking has it's benefits!

Obedience

Obedience: what is that?

Today I've been thinking about obedience. It all started when I read about Noah's Ark in Genesis 6-9. This one verse really hit me. It's in Genesis 6:22.

Genesis 6:22
²² Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Okay, now lets back up.

God told Noah to build an ark so the animals, his family, and he could be safe from the worldwide flood. He told Noah how many animals needed to be on the ark. He also said they were to be one male and female of every kind. He even told Noah how to build the ark.

Here is the beginning of Noah's Ark.

Genesis 6:1-22

6 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they marriedany of them they chose. ³ Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with^[a] humans forever, for they are mortal^[b]; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
⁵ The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. ⁶ TheLord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

⁹ This is the account of Noah and his family.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. ¹⁰ Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. ¹² God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. ¹³ So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. ¹⁴ So make yourself an ark of cypress^[c] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. ¹⁵ This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.^[d] 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit^[e] high all around.^[f] Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. ¹⁷ I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. ¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹ You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. ²⁰ Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.²¹ You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

²² Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

What does the last verse say? It says, "Noah did everything just as God commanded him." What's that called? That's called obedience. Noah obeyed God and was saved from the worldwide flood.

Now, lets turn the story around. What if Noah didn't obey God? What would have happened?
I can think of one thing. He would have drowned in the water along with everyone else on earth.

What else would have happened? Not only would he have drowned, but his whole family and the animals would have drowned. (That is, unless God told one of Noah's sons to build the ark.) The end result would have been no one living on the earth. No man, or creature would have survived the flood.

How does this apply to us today? God promised he wouldn't flood the whole earth again. So what can we learn from this story? I've learned about obedience.

If God told you to do something, would you do it? Noah didn't wonder if God really wanted him to build the ark. He just built it. He didn't say, "Is God really going to flood the whole earth?" He didn't wonder, he didn't question, and he didn't disobey God. He just built the ark and knew that God would protect him and his family from the flood.

If God wants you to do something, please don't wait! If you know for certain that you are supposed to do that specific task, then do it! God called you to do it, not someone else. This doesn't just apply to adoption, but it applies to everyday choices you and I make every day.

Please keep praying for these precious children. Pray that they will be adopted by families that will love and take care of them.

Marla Matters

Yipee! Marla has over $1,000 in her account! Yay! It's much better than the $20.00 she had back when I first saw her profile. (I think that was in April. I'm not absolutely sure though. Time is going by too fast.)

Marla Matters

Marla Matters is a new facebook page that was made to help advocate for Marla. When you click on the link above you will go right to the page. You will be able to see what fundraisers are going on to help raise money for her.

The book sale was absolutely amazing! It turned out very well. Last time my mom and I checked there was $650.50 raised for her. I think it went up since then. Isn't that amazing?

               

I wish I could tell you how much I love Marla. Yes, I know I've said it a hundred times, but I wish I could tell you the longing I feel to go get her. I want to go get her and take care of her. I've said it over and over to my mom. And, just a few days ago, my mom called her "my daughter." Whoa. I might be getting the mother instinct, even though I'm not a mother. I don't know what else to call it.  I don't want her to go into the institution. I want to keep her safe from harm. I want to show her that I love and care deeply for her.

Darina

There is going to be another fundraiser for Darina, Haven, and Marla soon. It will be a 31 bags fundraiser with new items for the fall. It's started now, and it will end on September 20. Check it out by clicking on this link. 31 Fundraiser for Darina, Marla and Haven

Also, on September 15 Haven's Art Gallery will be ending. There are still more pictures and crafts being added for bidding. They are really pretty so check out the page! Just click on the Haven's Art Gallery link to see the page.

Haven

Please pray that these precious girls will be adopted by loving families soon.

Let's help Marla!

We are so close to meeting the matching grant for Marla. She needs $211.00 to meet it. Can you give $5.00? $10.00? Every dollar counts.

Let's help Marla!

This was written by Julia Arnold Nalle.

What do you think when you see this little girl? What do you see? Honestly - I see neglect and abandonment. A child forgotten and left to die. It looks hopeless. Who will rescue one so weak - so helpless? I see a child who is LOST and will be LOST FOREVER unless WE do something. She doesn't have a family coming. She doesn't have ANYTHING. But she does have a matching grant. A small matching grant. It isn't much but dang it... it is SOMETHING. Sadly... It is NOT being met. It isn't even halfway to where it needs to be. All she needs is 500.00 to get another 500.00 and people... THE PERSON GIVING THE GRANT WANTS TO GIVE MORE! But he doesn't think anyone cares about this child. DO WE?? DO WE CARE??? IS THERE ANYONE WHO CARES??

Marla