National Adoption Month

This month is National Adoption Month. I want to throw my voice into the mix as saying Christians should be all about adoption. Legal adoption, Spiritual adoption, adopting churches, adopting a piece of the freeway, I want to be about all of it. My wife and I have this pattern of new life set up in our story. Married in 2000. Kid #1 in 2002. Kid #2 in 2004. Kid #3 in 2006. A different kind of birth in 2008 (wink, wink). So adoption may be a way's off for us, and it'll probably be on an even year. Right now we try to be Father and Mother to a few select young people God has brought into our life. Fathers and Mothers, that's what our world needs more of. That's what the church needs more of. Interesting random thoughts. Here's a few voices that have inspired me in this area:
Rev
Los
Ruiz

I don't own a storage unit.

I received some research results from Focus on the Family this week that suggests Clergy have greater happiness and job satisfaction than most other occupations. The irony in that is the award winning percentage was like 67% are happy at their job! Isn't that great! Only 33% of those who have the call of God on their life are miserable and unsastified! And most of those are probably Baptists (there's no research for this, I'm just guessing). All jokes aside... I do like my job, and I am priveledged to be friends with some of the most gifted communicators on the planet. The problem is, I'm always working when they are preaching. This creates a real conflict when I go on vacation and want to visit 7 different churches on one sunday and my wife is thinking we should just do church in the car. So I came home from conference on Saturday and was catching up on all my bloghead buddies and found out my friend Dan was preaching at the Grove this last weekend. I was mildly dissapointed I couldn't be there but I had to play the "guy in charge" at our church this last weekend. Divine appointments? God brought the same message to our church via Dave Ruiz, (the coolest trumpet playing Russian missionary you'll ever meet)! Of course, I had to listen to Dan's message via the streaming video and BAM, it was like getting hit again (but in a good way). So here's a snapshot of the conversation that took place in my kitchen.

"So maybe adoption is not just, like maybe we should consider that, if we can't have kids... maybe this is how we as christians should be living out our faith." says my wife.

"Dan Lance and Dave Ruiz would certainly agree with you." says me.

"But do you?" asks my wife.

Why does God always hit me with the one two punch? Why is Pastor Dan hitting me with this spiritual uppercut? Why during a week when my checking account is a mess, and I'm scheduled for a vasectamy on Thursday, is God speaking to me about growing my family? I guess it's time to "prayerfully consider" being a little less comfortable. What will it look like to care for the orphans and widows? I somehow feel like Dodgeball for Rwanda is not enough.