My least favorite day of the year!

I am always so thankful for November 1! It means that I have one whole year before I have to deal with Halloween again.

I know that Halloween had "religious" beginnings, but it is my firm belief that those have been altered by the world. I had some misgivings about Halloween early on in my life. But it wasn't until I was in college that my convictions became solidified to the point that I stand firm in my belief that for us, this is not a holiday to be acknowledged.

I was working with a youth group at my home church when I was attending college. One Halloween for the youth meeting, the your minister invited the local Police Chief to our meeting to share about what he sees at Halloween. What he shared made an impact on me that even 15 years later stands firm in my mind. I didn't live in the best part of my college town, but I had a wonderful little house and even better neighbors that watched out for me. But just three blocks from me, by a park was an abandoned office building. What the Police Chief shared was that on Halloween every year, there were blood sacrifices performed by the Satan worshipers. The place where the sacrifice was performed was marked with the blood to show what had occured there. That building had a sacrifice in it the year before....it was marked with human blood! This means that a person was killed there as a sacrifice to the enemy.

God used that testimony to show me that I don't understand all that happens in the spiritual realm, but that there is a battle that is not of flesh and blood but between the spiritual forces of evil in this dark world and the Angels sent to fight on our behalf from the Heavenly places. For someone who grew up in a very traditional home where spiritual warfare wasn't ever a topic of conversation, this was a pretty amazing realization.

I went home after that meeting and threw away all my Halloween decorations. I had never had anything scary anyway...just cute little ghosts and witches that I thought were harmless. They probably were, but for something so real, I didn't want to even leave a crack in the door for the enemy to enter my home.

This conviction carried over to my children. I have never allowed them to participate in Halloween. When John was a principal, they would dress up and go to the fall festivals, but even now I regret that. My kids don't understand. They think I am a horrible mom for denying them this "right" to dress up and trick or treat. But this is just the beginning of me having to takea stand with my kids that might not be popular. And frankly, being popular is not what God has called me to as a parent. As they get older, they have a little more understanding of my belief and conviction, but it is still a battle every year of why I don't let them dress up and get candy. It seems so innocent to them.

So just one more ways that I am a Jesus Freak! I think responses from people on this are very interesting...I do not sit in judgement of people who participate in Halloween...I just wish I could get the same from them. This is a personal conviction that God laid on my heart. I don't pass that long to anyone else, but for me to not abstain would be in direct disobedience to God. I don't make a big deal of it, and in fact don't say anything unless someone asks what we are doing for Halloween or what my kids are going to be. Then I just say, we don't participate in Halloween. That is when the attacks usually come! Sometimes, I do wonder, are they attacking me because there is some truth that rings in their Spirit that brings conviction that they don't want to hear??? But regardless, once again, this year, there are no costumes or candy at the Petree house! We will be going ot our church for a petting zoo, chili cookoff and hot dog party! I am excited about that! Every other year, we have gone to Toys R Us and made our Christmas lists for family! (great idea if you need something to do tonight! There is NO ONE at Toys R Us on Halloween night!).

Less than 24 hours now until this will be behind me for one more year! Then there will just be something else for people to judge me on because of my radical convictions! :)

We have to do more!

Ok, I know I have said that a thousand times, but really, WE HAVE TO DO MORE!!! I don't care how much you think you are doing right now (yes, I am telling myself the same thing) you and I have to do more! Did you know that the home country of my Addy and Eden is NUMBER ONE in the WORLD for infant and under 5 mortality? And Liberia, the home country of my son is number 3 in the WORLD!!! In Sierra Leone, 160.3 babies of every 1,000 live births die, and 278.1 children out of every 1,000 die before they reach their 5th birthday! My Addy is part of that statistic people! These are not just numbers! I have a picture of my sweet girl looking at me right now on my shelf and I have shed tears on the fresh dirt that covered her tiny body.

In Liberia, 132.5 babies out of every 1,000 live births die and 205.2 children out of every 1,000 die before they read their 5th birthday! My son came home at 3...what if he hadn't? He might have been one of these statistics!

We have a baby who was! Sweet Marion died at nine months. We don't know why? The doctors couldn't tell us. She was in the hospital, receiving fluids, antibiotics and blood, but she still died.

Watch this!


We HAVE TO DO MORE!!!

If you agree, go to our website: http://www.addyshope.com/, click on the "more than adoption" button and donate towards David's Peanut Butter Shack that we will be building next to our orphanage to give life saving vitamin enriched peanut butter paste to the malnourished children of Liberia! We are going to drop those numbers! We can make a difference! Liberia will be off the top 50 by the time we get done! I am not a name it and claim it type of person, but I know God has put this passion in me for a reason, and I refuse to stop until we have no more childrne dieing because of malnutrion or God takes me home, whichever comes first! Will you join me?

Some words to carry on.....

Just another nugget of Truth from a Heavenly Father who wants to meet us right where we are! This morning, I needed to be reminded of this!
Psalm 27:13-14
"I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage, yes, wait for the Lord."

I am so glad we get to see His goodness in the land of the living! I am do thankful that we don't have to wait for heaven to taste and see that He is good! But I do have to wait until He decides to move the mountains or turn the hearts...and that part is the hardest part for me! But hope of seeing His goodness, the anticipation of seeing the miracles allows me to be strong and take courage and I will wait for the Lord!

I knew I loved Abraham!

I love it when I find a new treasure in the Bible..something I know I have read a thousand times, but it is fresh and new because of where I am in my life right now.



I was reading in Exodus and came across chapter 18: 20-32. God reveals his plans for Sodom and Gomorrah to Abraham. So Abraham "bargains" with God! He asks God, "will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the unrighteous?" The men in the Bible who question God's motives or direct statements always intrigue me! Probably because I find myself doing that too! Some would say, God is God and that is just the way it is! You don't question Him. I agree that GOd is God and that is just the way it is, but I think He loves our questions when brought with the right heart! He wants us to know Him intimatly, and how will we do that without asking the hard questions?! But the next part is what is the best!



God doesn't say, "Away with you mear man! I am God and I will do as I wish whether righteous or unrighteous!" No, not my God! He responds (vs 26), "So if I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, ehtn I will spare the whole place on their account." Wow! He listened to Abraham! He agreed to spare the whole city because of just 50 (there are a month of Sundays of lessons in that one little thought!). But it gets better!



Abraham had the guts to go even farther! Verse 27-28 tells us that Abraham apologizes for talking to the Lord because his is but "dust and ashes", but he goes ahead and asks if five were missing from the city? Would God destroy a whole city because of five? And once again, God concedes! He agrees to spare the entire city if he finds only 45 righteous people. It goes on and on like this until Abraham gets down to 10! God agrees to spare the whole city if He can find just 10 righteous people!



Now the sad ending is that not 10 could be found....God allowed Lot and his wife to escape (she is the one who looked back and became a pillar of salt). Out of a whole city not 10 righteous could be found! Sadly, I wonder what God would find in our town in the US today!

That is not the part I love about this story though...the part I love is a man who would stand before God, be real, and ask the tough questions! I am off to ask some tough questions myself!

Some decisions

Pray for the P-tree house! Important decisions to make...spiritual warfare...not always on the same page...makes things hard!

I want to see the miracles!

I have felt since June that God has me on the top of a snowy hill sitting in a sled toppling back and forth, but not yet racing full speed ahead down the hill with all the thrill and anticipation and even a little fear that it would bring. You know, like the Grinch when he is on the hill about to race down to Whoville?

I have no idea what the "thing" is that will push me over the edge! But I think it is close! We have had friends in the past say that we are addrenaline junkies and go from one crisis to the next to avoid our issues. At first, I embraced that and tried to make sure we stopped. But lately, I am realizing that we are not adrenaline junikes, we are God junkies! And for that, I will not be ashamed!

I had the most intimate time with God I have ever had this past summer! I have seen more miracles in the past 6 months and seen the visible hand of God more than I have in my entire life....and I love it! I have tasted and seen that He is good, and I can't get enough! You see, those crisis as our friends saw them were the risks God called us to take in order to walk by faith. Can you walk by faith and not be on the edge? Isn't that what faith is? Being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you cannot see?! Yes we adopted a baby boy when our marriage was on the rocks....that was 7 years ago and we are still married! What if we had let our marriage issues keep us from adopting him because things weren't "just right" for us to do it? We would have missed out on more than I can even imagine! What if we had not bought a house that hadn't been lived in for over 8 years in a town with NO resale value? We wouldn't have started the adoption of the girls had we not moved because our current house was too small..we wouldn't have had the money to move here when we needed if we hadn't had the huge blessing of an unbelievable profit in that town with NO resale value, what if I had quit the agency when things were so tuff they took the very life out of me and my family instead of pesevering and "shoring up the stakes"? I would have missed a trip to Liberia that saw God move in mighty ways across a government that had been allowed to stop adoptions! No it is not adrenaline I seek, but a life fully sold out, no reservations for God!

I realized that this week as I heard God call us to the next faith walk! It is big! I am not ready to share it here yet, but stay tuned! As I got up from my quiet times this weekend, I was energized in a way I haven't been before...and through maturity of the last few years, I was energized not just for the "big thing", but for the daily tasks that need to happen to make sure my family is cared for, my home is running smoothly, etc while I wait for the "thing" that pushes us over the edge of that hill to run full speed ahead after God.

See, I firmly believe that the end time is drawing near. I am no Biblical scholar, and I have no real "proof" to base that on. It is just something I feel in my Spirit. We have to do more....people are dieing to know the hope that we have! I believe God is seeking people who will worship in Spirit and in truth...not just on Sunday when the music is playing, but Monday through Saturday too when life is rolling. I believe He wants to show His glory! I believe He is looking for people willing to walk outside the box, take the risks, let the faith walk take them over the hill so that He can show miracle after miracle! I believe that the dead can still be raised! Have I seen it, no! But God says in His Word that He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow! Yesterday He did it, so that means He can to it today and tomorrow also!

As I sit with people and talk, really listen more than talk, I am realzing that I am more and more of a Jesus Freak with each passing day! My mind has truly been transformed. Ifind that people around me don't understand me, and I really don't understand them. I see the things that people around me are chasing after, and I have no interest in them. I am not saying that I am above them, please do not hear me say that! I am just different. I find the most difference to be among "Christians". I really don't 'get' most of them. God has done a work in me that has taken me to a place that I never dreamed or imagined. I still have my worldly battles..food, wanting a bigger/nicer house (even though the one He has blessed me with is more than I ever truly believed I would have), wanting to be able to buy the latest fashions for me and the kids, wanted sculptured nails to look like everyone else, etc, etc... But for the most part, I am finding I want to seek God more than I want to chase after these things and I am just trying to find the balance. But for me to not share with the people who are seeking in some way the knowledge I have and the hope that I have would be the biggest mistake and the biggest waste of my experiences I can think of!

So I have stopped worrying about being different and gladly wear the title Jesus Freak! Yes, it causes much frustration at times...many times...because people do not understand me! But that is ok! One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess...and I want to be on the front row!

So stay tuned....I believe in miracles, and I expect big ones in my life over the next months! I believe there is a movement in the body for just this thing! I have many friends across the cyber world who understand what I am saying exactly...so if you are in the same place, leave a comment with your blog address! Tell us about your miracles or the journey God has you on that you know will end in a miracle! Let's encourage one another in this walk we are on! I can't wait to see what God has in store, can you?

Is this a sign...

....that we have lost control??!!!

I promise he has not seen this around here! :)
And here is the fact that hit the tree!

Another P-tree first!

Well, we have our first broken bone! Guess which one it is......























Drum roll please.........

Yes, my sweet, laid back Ava fell off the couch Thursday night and landed just right. She broke one of the bones in her forearm. She has been a real trooper! They thought they would have to give us pain medicine with codeine and she is not even taking tylenol! She is like her momma! Hee!Hee!

Right now it is just in a splint with ace bandage. Our pediatrician is making an appointment for with a orthopedic doctor to set it and get a cast. It did not break all the way through, so they said that would be ok.

Oh, and Noah ran into a tree today. Yes, that is right. He ran smack dab full speed into a tree! So he has a swollen lip, black gums and black face. We don't take them anywhere together for fear of beign arrested for child abuse! Just kidding!

How many?

So how many people can you fit in the P-tree house? We currently have three adults, 9 children from 9 years to 7 months, and one teenager! And I LOVE it! When we bought this house, I prayed that God would use it to glorify Him. So I thought we would host a small group or something like that...but I never dreamed we would have it full of kids and their family! What a blessing!

The adoptive mom for the children we have been taking care of has come to spend time with them until the lawyer has all the paper work needed to let them go to their home. Pray for her...pray for them....she is going from 2-5 children and this will be their 3rd "mommy" to adjust to in just 4 weeks.

They are doing great and as I type, I hear giggles galore coming from the bedroom where they are staying! What a sweet sound!

E-mail from God

Just got an e-mail that I know is from God...ok, not literally, but with what I am feeling/struggling with today, I have to say that God meant me to read this as I usually just delet these!

I get the daily life coaching e-mails from Juli Alvarado. Today, this was her quote:
"Focus not on the tragedy in our world but on the hope in our world. You are hope for our future."

How much?

How much does it take to break a person's spirit? I have had some really low times this past year, and about the time I think I have climbed out of the pit, I find myself sliding back in. I read blogs like my friend in Bonkland who has also had an unbelievably rough year. I have followed an amazing couple through a battle with brain cancer that ended in a woman much younger than me meeting her maker and leaving behind an amazing husband and precious little girl who will only know her mother through the stories of others.

All of us are truly just trying to follow hard after God and live a life that leaves Him saying, "Well Done!" I know He is a loving, faithful God. I don't always "feel" that way, but I know His Word to be true, and that is what it says. But at times like this in my life and in the lives of my fellow warriors, I just look up to heaven and ask "Why?" Why do we have to struggle so much? Why does following such a loving God bring so much pain and heart ache. Why do so many stories that start with a Christ Follower walking in obedience end in heart ache and pain? I know God doesn't owe me an explanation. I know He is God, and that is just the way it is! As much as I think I will ask Him when I get there, I doubt it will matter anymore when I am before Him in all His Glory.

But here, while I am still on this earth, struggling through a world of sin and hurt, I just wonder how much it takes to truly break a persons spirit. As if fighting the daily stuff isn't enough, so many times my dreams are even against me! Last night was one of those nights....so real! So heart breaking, so devastating! Today is just a hard day....this has just been a hard year. I don't understand, but I know I must fight on! Today is just one of those days that fighting on will mean clinging with all my might to the leg of my Heavenly Father and asking Him to carry me through this day.

Impact

You never know the impact of what you are doing! Toben is the only child of color in the entire Parent's Day Out program that he attends. When I went to his open house last week, I noticed that there was a black baby doll in the living center. It caught my eye (and I noticed that the rest of the dolls had the "well loved" look while this one was definitly newer). I kind of smiled on the inside that they would make sure there was a baby doll who was Toben's color in his class.



Well, today I was in another classroom and looked down and saw a black Cabbage Patch Kid (obviously new also). Evidently babies of color have been added to all the rooms! I love it!

A true friend!

Since leaving our church of over 3,000 people, John and I can count on one hand the number of people that have checked on us or even inquired as to where we are. It has left us feeling a little lonely at times. But then a friend like Kami calls and says, could you use a nannie or house keeper for a few days?! It didn't take me long to say YES!!!!! So she laid down her life for John and I, took vacation days, drove 12 hours with someone she didn't know and paid for a plane ticket home (with the generosity of a couple of her friends). She will have been here one day shy of a week. She has been invaluable! She has taken care of kids, folded mounds of laundry, made many meals, read tens of books, seen the ugly details of the inside life of the P-tree family, undid brades for hours on end, change diapers, settled fights, cleaned up puke...you get the picture! She was invaluable! Honestly, she probably allowed me to keep my sanity this past week.

So to my dear friend (and her precious husband who let me steal his wife), THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!! You are loved and appreciated! You are a true example of John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

The end is here

Today is the first day off the Daniel Fast! My coffee is brewing! I made it with only one cheat! On Tuesday, I had a down day....one of those days that I was just fed up with God asking me to do things but not feeling like He was providing the resources, time to do it! So in rebellion I ate a chocolate chip cookie....yes, I know that sounds jeuvinile! It is! But I came to my senses and went back on the fast quickly.

We are looking forward to eggs for breakfast and meat for dinner! I am sure I think I will stay on the veggie/fruit plan for lunch just so I know I am eating a little more healthy than I was. I lost 16 pounds over the 21 days, and I don't want to put any of it back on! While that was not the purpose of the fast, it was a really nice side effect and got rid of any excuses for not being able to lose weight! It also put me below pre-Ava preganancy weight!!! Wooohooo!!! Now the goal it so get to pre-Callie pregnancy weight....yes, she is 8! ;0)

A Visit from Angels

I got a call last Thursday while I was at Wal-Mart with all three of my "new" children. It was from a friend, well, actually we have only met twice before now. She had hear that we had thre unexpected guests at our home and wanted to know how what we needed. I kind of laughed and said I wasn't sure at this point. She asked about food, and I said that would be great. She said she would bring by a casserole later that evening.

About 2:45, my doorbell rang. I went to the door, and they were on my front step with an Excursion loaded with grocery bags. I asked what I needed to take in, and she said, "All of it!" I couldn't believe it! These people who barely knew me were being Jesus to our family! I would be dishonest if I said that I hadn't worried about grocery money with three very hungry Liberian children at my house! But every time I started to worry, I would just remind myself that we had the credit card to fall back on...not a great plan when you are trying really hard to get out of debt!

But God provided in a huge way! I have no idea the money they spent on those groceries, but I know that I had to make an extra pantry in my laundry room and had to take some freezer and ice box stuff over to my parents until I have room for it! They truly were Jesus to us! It was awesome for our new kids to see that someone who didn't even know them loved them! And it was awesome for our other four to be the recipient of such a blessing! I can't even tell you what it did for me! I pray God blesses these two ladies and their families far beyond what they blessed us with!

A rough road

I have kissed two little boys more today than they have probably been kissed in their life.

But the hurt these boys have can't be healed with kisses.

At nine and seven, you should not have hurts that can't be kissed away.

I have rocked two boys today whose feet drug the ground as we went back and forth.

I sang words over each of them that I wondered if I even believed as they came out of my mouth.

I cried with them.

I thanked God for my little dark brown boy who didn't hurt this way when he came to us.

I thought of a girl still in West Africa...does she cry tears for me?

I wanted to run up and down my street telling people that there are hurting children and we need more people to help.

But along with the pain today was the unashamed, uncontainable laughter as children were in a swing for the first time feeling their stomach drop as the swing went back and forth!

We did have some great times today....and this is why we press on through the pain and travel the rough road! There is a pot of gold at the end....and little nuggets of treasures beyond wealth along the way!

Less of me!

This morning was one of those 'quite times' that was REALLY quiet! Didn't get much out of what I read and didn't really 'feel' it was profitable. I decided to go for a quick morning walk as I have gotten out of the habit of doing that and I was very sleepy! I needed to wake up! I cna't say that the walk brought great answers either, but when I was getting ready this morning with my praise music, God just flooded me. He reminded me that I always come to my quiet times wanting to find out what He wants from me....trying to bring something to Him. He reminded me that at times He just wants me to come, that's all! He wants to fill me up, no expectation...just for me to rest in Him, who He is, what He wants for me! That is hard for me to accept! I have lived most of my life trying to earn peoples love. The awe of a God who loves me unconditionally is almost more than I can grasp! But this morning, He made it so real to me! Ao today I am just asking for less of me and more of Him!

I survived!

I survived my first day as mother of seven! My house wouldn't say the same, but we are all alive, all bellies are full and all people under 4 ft tall are tucked snug in bed! I have much to learn about maneuvering 7 around! We will have to have a little more structure than normal around here just to survive, but it will be great! I LOVE getting to love on these kids right now. We spent most of our day outside today...that is what Liberians are used to! :)

When we were picking Toben and Ava up from school, I looked back and the two of the children staying with us had Ava and Toben's hand. I was so proud of my kids! They have just taken in these children like they have always lived here! Even little Ava that has no clue why these three children are with us! They look nothing like her, but she doesn't care! That is probably what I love most about what God allows me to do with my life right now. My kids are exposed to children who are hurting! They know children out there have less than them and they gladly offer their parents and their hearts to such as these! I am a proud mommy tonight!

I think I'm ready!

Three dozen eggs, three pounds of sausage, 30 hot dogs (aka Liberian 'sausage') 6 pounds of hamburger meat, a large brisket, box of mini corn dogs, large jar of mixed nuts, some cereal and I think I am ready for 7 kids! Bring them on!

Really, we are excited to get to host these little guys during this time! I get to love on them and tell them God has a perfect plan even though we humans are all a little confused right now! We are going to have a blast these next few weeks! Not sure how much work will get done around here, but it will wait! Right now I get to love on three kids for a brief time who need love...then I get to send them on to a loving family! It doesn't get any better than that!

This is what it has come to!

I have to tell you that the temptation to get off this fast has been overwhelming the last couple of days! I have really wanted a piece of chocolate, a cup of cofee or a big plate of Mexican food! Oh my goodness! But John refused to let me quit, so I stayed the course! Fruit and veggies with beans it was...only I made a trip to the health food store! I went to find rice milk because my friends Kami and Jeremy who are doing this with me recommended rice milk over Soy. I also wanted to find a cereal that I could eat as I hadn't had much luck with that at the regular grocery store. I found this!

Tofu cheese and Bible bread! Yes, folks, this is what it has come to! If you had told me I would touch tofu cheese a month ago, I would tell you that you are crazy! But it tasted wonderful! It has the texture of velveeta and the flavor of....well, it is kind of a flavor all its own, but good! I might not think that if I hadn't been craving "real" food so badly, but that cheese and cracker meal was great! :) John will not touch it! Just the words "tofu cheese" had him in a tizy! Callie wouldn't try it either. That's ok, leaves more for me, and it is expensive!!!!

The smell of bacon....

is torcher on a Daniel fast! Oh my goodness! I am starving, but fruit just doesn't sound good! I need to find something to make that John and I can eat that is different from what we have been eating. We are almost half way through! I haven't cheated one time! It was only by God's strength that a piece of bacon didn't go in my mouth this morning! We fix big breakfasts on Saturday mornings, so I fixed, bacon, eggs and waffles for the kids. I will go choke down my oatmeal! :)

Really, though, it is good. It is good to rely on God for something silly like not putting a piece of bacon in my mouth! Then when something big, ummmm like parenting 7 children for a limited time, comes, I know I can trust Him there too!

Yes, you read that right, John and I will have 7 children for a little while...just a few weeks. We have a situation (can't share details for confidentiality reasons) where we need to take in three kids until legal documents can be finished for them to go to their home in Colorado! God has a great sense of humor, huh?! I don't even have a car that will hold just me and all the kids! Our van and Suburban only hold 7 (7+1=8) ha!ha!

But let me just say how proud I am of my hubby! Everyone knows when a child is in need, I will jump on it before I even think! That is just how I am wired! But John was the first one to say, "they can come here"! Thank you, John!

I am sure the next few weeks are not going to be easy, three new kids that will be going through a huge emotional crisis, my four that are always in emotional crisis (at least in their minds!), running the ministry which is about to explode (all good things right now!) and do life as usual! I just try not to think about it! God knew this was what tomorrow held for me, so as long as I am on my face, trusting Him, it will all work out! Crazy thing is that we already had beds for all three...not in the right rooms, but we have beds! We will have four boys and three girls, for the first time in this house, the boys will out number the girls! Oh my!

So say a prayer for us if you think of it! I may not be blogging much for the next few weeks...if I am absent you will know why! We will pick the kids up on Monday night!