February Adoption Raffle

To be quite honest, these raffles do not bring in oodles of money for our adoption.

But . . . I. LOVE. RAFFLES!  Why?

1.  Every little bit helps.  $5 here, $10 there . . . it all adds up to our son coming home.  Totally worth it!

2.  And, most importantly, the raffles are a chance for friends, family, and even strangers to partner with us in a really fun way.  To have a page in Easton's story.  To be a part of something bigger than themselves.  And maybe, just maybe, to win a great prize!

This month's raffle comes from the generosity of my sweet friend, Misti.  She is always championing the cause of orphan care and adoption and has been a huge supporter and encouragement to me since we began this journey.  She has three adorable kiddos and hopes to become an adoptive mama someday too!  You can follow her adventures on her blog.

 Misti would like to buy a Hello Somebody watch for the winner of the raffle! 


The winner will even get to pick the color of their watch so you know you will get exactly the one you want.  Or the one your sweetheart would want.  Great Valentine's prize . . . just sayin'. 




The great thing about this raffle is not only that you get to rock a cool watch, but that it is a purchase with a purpose.

Hello Somebody's mission . . . (We exist) to feed and educate children, by providing an avenue of knowledge, in order to break the cycle of poverty and hunger within their generation.

Hello Somebody has partnered with Africa New Life based in Kigali, Rwanda and is sponsoring 100 street boys to go to school and receive a first-class education, 2 meals per day, tutoring, mentoring and spiritual guidance. The program costs $100,000 for the entire year. That means for every 70 Hello Somebody watches that we sell, a child is completely sponsored.

So this is literally a Win-Win-Win (The Office anyone?).  We raise money for our adoption, you possibly get a cool watch, and young boys are given the life-changing gift of food and an education.

And if this wasn't enough, Misti also donated $30 in iTunes gift cards! (and who can resist this cutie?!)

A watch and $30 for iTunes is up for grabs, folks!!

So here is how the raffle will work . . .

A $5 donation will receive 1 entry for the raffle.
A $10 donation will receive 3 entries for the raffle.
A $20 donation will receive 7 entries for the raffle.
If you give more than $20, I'll let you know about the number of entries!

Steps to enter the raffle . . .

1. Use the Donate (PayPal) button on the right side of the blog to make your donation or you can pay me directly.
2. Let me know about your donation through facebook, email or by commenting on this post.
3. I will send you an entry number(s).
4. I will use a random number generator to pick the winner.

After you donate, if you share the link to this blog post on your blog or on facebook, I'll give you an extra entry! Just let me know that you shared the link!

I'll announce the winner on Saturday,February 4th so you only have a few days to donate and spread the word!

Remember that all the donations will help us bring Easton home from Ethiopia!

Reason #487 Why I LOVE Chick-fil-a

Three weeks ago, Chad and I had the opportunity to go on the Best. Retreat. Ever.

First of all, it was free.  Yep, completely free.  That alone makes it the best ever because we could actually do it!

It was also media free.  No TV, no internet, and we only used our phones to check in on the kiddos.  So good to be disconnected from the chaos for a few days.

And what really made it incredible was that there was no program, no schedule to keep . . . except meal times and I'm perfectly fine with keeping that one!  We were able to read for hours, pray in quiet, sit by a fireplace (I'm still trying to talk Chad into getting one installed in our house . . . LOVE), hike in absolutely beautiful surroundings, talk and talk and talk with no interruptions or little ones pulling or yelling at us . . . Just plain amazing and exactly what our hearts needed!

The retreat was at Winshape Camps, the camp and retreat center owned by Chick-fil-a.  It is in Rome, GA on the campus of Berry College and the setting is breathtaking.  There were flocks? herds? of deer everywhere.  The guys kept being like, "if only I had a gun."  I'm not much on eating deer (news flash:  it DOES NOT taste just like beef), but prefer to just watch them run and play!

They have lots of marriage retreats through the year, but this was the Pastor's R & R that only happens twice a year.  They let a senior pastor and his wife come for zero cost, but it's a once in a lifetime thing.  As if we didn't already love us some Chick-fil-a . . . they now hold a new place in our hearts!

A fellow pastor in NOLA told Chad about it a few months ago and asked if we wanted to go.  A free trip with no kids . . . absolutely!  Plus it was so fun to go with this other couple because the 8 hour drive gave us lots of time to get to know them, talk about our stories, and about what God is doing in our city we all love! 


We all seriously expected that this would be a large conference, maybe 100 to 150 people.  So imagine our surprise when we get there and learned that there were only 5 couples coming!  10 people!  It was so cozy, casual, and intimate instead of the big and crowded like we expected . . . that would have been fine with us, but it was so much better than what we hoped for!  We had great conversations at meals with the group and really tried to build each other up.  We also had lots of laughs . . . one guy had a joke for every topic that came up, we played The Newlywed Game and I nearly wet my pants from the answers that were given (and the "looks of death" that usually followed), and many laughs came as I followed Chad each day on whatever "adventure" he wanted us to do . . . he is such a boy!


We joked that if we had known how incredible it was going to be, we probably would have saved the trip for another time, a time when we felt really burnt out or stressed.  But praise God that He brought us there, not in a time of crisis, but for a time to be refreshed and refueled in a way that will hopefully protect us from getting to a place of crisis.


So if you are a pastor, I would highly recommend that you pick up the phone right now and reserve a spot for September or January!  You can thank me later!


Here are some pics from our trip . . .

Chick-fil-a doesn't roll like a cheap hotel . . . our rooms were gorgeous and so cozy!

If I wasn't eating or hiking, you could find me here.  A fireplace is the only thing that could make me want to live anywhere other than NOLA . . . besides God of course!

We hiked up to a reservoir on our first day.  We both feel like nature does a lot to refuel us so we were in heaven!

This is Chad trying out the acoustics in Frost Chapel, a beautifully and really old church on campus.  I'm told that the wait list for weddings is around 3 years.  I understand why.  I'm betting there are girls that come to school, reserve a date, and just pray that they have a guy and a ring by that time!!

We had a chef cooking fabulous meals just for us!  Did I mention that we had dessert twice a day.  I probably gained 5 lbs while we were there, but I loved every bite.

No round tables and folding chairs  . . . we all sat around this fancy dining room table for each meal.  And there was a different place setting for each meal.  The guys could care less, but the ladies ooo'd and aaa'd at each meal.  

Our hosts . . . Terry and Theta.  Talk about the gift of hospitality.  They served us, encouraged us, and made the retreat 100 times better than we could have imagined.  

Our last breakfast was, of course, Chick-fil-a chicken biscuits.  We love you Chick-fil-a!!

That Kind of Friend

I've talked about my best friend, Lisa, before . . . how awesome she is, how crafty she is, how generous she is . . . she rocks!

But the thing I love most about Lisa and her husband Charlie (who goes by C3 in our house) is that they live out Hebrews 10:24 in our life . . . "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."  They are definitely "iron sharpening iron" for us.

Don't get me wrong . . . we talk about what our kids are eating, how to discipline, how to lose weight, etc.  But we also talk a lot about how God is teaching us, confronting our sin, challenging us as followers of Christ.

Everyone needs a friend like that.  A friend who when you confess sin won't just try to make you feel better about yourself because compared to others you aren't that bad, but instead will let you confess and cry, but then commit to holding you accountable to walking in the Spirit.  A friend who won't roll her eyes and try to talk you out of it when you talk about how God might be calling you to something "radical", but will push you in taking that leap of faith . . . and might actually jump on that journey with you . . . because what could be better than doing it together?!

This happened last week as I talked with Lisa about my wrestlings with Luke 12 that I wrote about in my last post.  She just "happened" to be reading Luke 11-15 each day in her own time in the Word so she knew exactly how God was speaking to my heart . . . He was doing the same in hers.

So I'm talking about purging and sacrificing for others in need and she says, "I get it and I'm about to send you a video that will push you over the edge!"

Not "But Cole, you need all that stuff." or "Cole, you can't make a huge difference with what little you have so why even bother."  or "Cole, aren't you being a little extreme?"  But "Let me be your real best friend and partner in the Gospel and just give you that shove you need so we both go falling into radical abandonment to Jesus."

Love her.  And C3 too.  (Chad and C3 have these same conversations, though somehow they don't take near as long as ours do!)

Here's the video Lisa sent me.  It is part of a sermon from Francis Chan and is so heartbreakingly true.  I (we) have been a huge loser in the game of Follow the Leader and Simon Jesus Says.  I've not done what He has clearly asked of me in Scripture.  And my disobedience shows what is truly in my heart . . . a lack of compassion for those hurting around me and that I've closed my eyes to the emergencies in our world that I can help alleviate.

So watch the video.  Let God speak.  Then obey.  And if you don't have a friend that will push you over the edge into radically following Christ . . . find one.  And make sure that you are that kind of friend too.

Luke 12

**Warning**  I feel like lately my posts could be seen as downers, pretty heavy stuff.  It hasn't been my intention to be so intense.  But being in the Word will do it to you.  It constantly confronts my sin and beckons me to the life that God desires for me.  I can't think of anything better to write about . . . even if it isn't all rainbows and butterflies!  So here goes . . .

I'm reading through the Gospels, a chapter each day.  But I have a problem . . . I can't get past Luke 12.  Today is my second day to read it and I still feel like I can't move on.  It is a call to action that I haven't yet fully taken.

Luke 12 is wrecking me.

You should read it.  Now even.  But be warned, once you know, you can't go back to claiming ignorance.  You either choose to obey or disobey the Word of the Lord.  There is no middle ground.

Scared?  You should be.  I didn't really see it coming.  I was just doing my daily reading, loving being immersed in the life of Jesus each day.  I did expect for that Life to radically confront mine, but maybe I was secretly hoping it would be a little more gentle, less in my face.  Nope.

So I'm reading along and verses 1-12 teach a warning against hypocrisy, about fearing God above man, about our value to God, not being afraid to acknowledge God before men.  Good stuff.

Then I get to v. 13-21 about the Rich Fool.  He has so many crops that he has to build bigger barns to hold it all.  He delights and feels secure in all his possessions, so much so that he decides he can spend a few years just eating, drinking, and being merry.  Not so.  That very night God demands his soul and all that stuff is left behind.

We all know that our hope and treasure shouldn't be in possessions.  (Although putting that into practice is a little tougher than you'd expect, right?)  But verse 21 struck me as never before . . . "So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."

What does it mean to be "rich toward God?"  That question stuck in my mind as I kept reading.

I read on in v. 22-31 about not being anxious about anything . . . what you will eat, drink, or wear because God knows that you need them and will provide . . . "seek his kingdom and all these things will be added to you."

Here is where I really started struggling.  What about those people who are seeking God, but are watching their children die from hunger?  Or those that are dying of diseases because they don't have any clean water to drink, but love Jesus with all of their hearts?

I know God is a Promise Keeper, so I started asking how it is that so many who love Him could be experiencing such poverty and hopelessness on earth.  How do they feel as they read this passage?  Do they question God's love for them? 

Verses 32-34 gave me my answer.  They probably don't question God's love for them.

They question mine. 

My love for God.  My love for them.

I'm being called out on the two greatest commandments . . . Love the Lord your God will all your heart, soul, mind and strength.  Love your neighbor as yourself. 

Jesus acknowledges that there will be needy people on the earth, but that God absolutely desires to provide for them.  How?  Through His children . . . "Sell your possessions and give to the needy (v33)."    Do I really love my neighbor as myself?  As I heard Katie Davis say, "Myself doesn't want to starve, so . . ." 

Verse 34 says, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  Ouch.  Is my treasure in my stuff or in being a part of seeing PEOPLE cared for and given the Gospel?  Is this what it means to be rich toward God?

Somehow I kept going, but verse 35 hit me hard, "Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning."  Basically, get in the battle and stay in the battle.  Stay awake!  Get on board the mission God has given you and don't give up.

And if all this wasn't enough, verses 47 & 48 put the nail in the coffin (funny expression, but quite appropriate here . . . put myself in the coffin and nail it shut . . . am I ready to die to self?)

Anyway . . . my heart was heavy with the Word and then I read this . . . "And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating . . . Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more."

After being confronted with this Truth, I feel that my life as it is now has me prepped for a severe beating.  I've clearly seen the will of the Master, from all of Scripture, but even specifically in Luke 12.  I can't pretend like I don't know.  It is a matter of obedience.

I have always been brokenhearted over those in poverty, in hunger, and thirst, without their basic needs being met.  But I will no longer let it stop at my heart.  It has to propel me into action.  Not that I haven't ever done anything to help, but I know I can do more.  I have certainly been given much.  Much is required, not suggested, from me.

I've been reading Kisses from Katie and God has used it to stir my heart to radical obedience.  But I think I (we) so often have a tendency to think that radically living out the Word means we have to move to Africa and live in a hut.  For some, like Katie, it does.  And it might for me or you.  But I fully believe that God calls and empowers us to live that same radical life wherever He has placed us.  How can I live this life right here in New Orleans?

I'm certainly not done processing all this and I'm asking and listening for how God wants me to specifically respond to this Word.  But I can tell you that for starters the Gilbert house is about to be purged!  I so don't want my heart to be bound up in possessions so many are about to be sold!

You'd think that being faced with this Word would leave me scared or nervous, but the exact opposite is true.  I'm excited at the thought of becoming even more free from the things of this world and living a life more in tune with the heart of God.

Where I'm at today

So here are three amazing things that have happened already today . . .

1.  A friend sent me a message on facebook asking how the adoption process is going.  Simple, but so good.  Our adoption is on my mind a million times a day, but it is nice to know that we aren't the only ones who remember, pray, and anticipate our little man coming home.

2.  We got invited to a dinner on Saturday night to celebrate Ethiopian Christmas!  Our friends, the Palmers, brought their son home from Ethiopia in 2011 and this will be Anna's first try at making Ethiopian food.  Thankfully she said she wouldn't be offended if we needed to make a McDonald's run for the kids . . . and Chad. :)  What a blessing to be able to start weaving Ethiopian traditions into our life.

3.  Our friends, Owen and Amanda Nease, are on their way to NOLA with their newborn daughter, Emery, that they just adopted in Texas!  God used our prayers for the Neases to speak to us about our own adoption and it has been such a joy to walk beside them during their adoption journey.

Exciting, right? 

But as amazing as these things are, my heart has been so heavy today.  I didn't really understand why until Chad came home from lunch and I ended up a puddle of tears in his arms.  I realized how these amazing things were weighing on me.

**Disclaimer**  I'm about to confess the feelings of my heart.  I am fully aware that they come from a focus on self . . . my plan and my timing.  Be gracious . . . because thankfully that is the character of the God I've already poured my heart out to.

1.  Like I said, I love that people ask how we are doing, where we are in the process, etc.  But today as my friend asked if we would have Easton home in 2012, I had to painfully type that the timeline is now 24 to 36 months of waiting, which means it will most likely be 2013 or even 2014 before I bring my son home.  Talk about a knife in the heart.  This is a long road, y'all, and we are just at the beginning.  I so bad want to "wait well" but I admit that I have to take a deep breath as I consider what is ahead.

2.  I'm so excited about celebrating Ethiopian Christmas with friends, but I must confess that I'm a little nervous about keeping my emotions in check as I watch the Palmer's precious boy run around . . . all the while aching to experience that with my son.  I want to be fully here, in the now, but I find it hard to do when part of my heart and mind are on a country and a little boy across the ocean.

3.  I am 100% overjoyed that the Neases are coming home with their baby girl today.  But I also can't deny the jealousy or envy, I guess, that I feel.  Not like I want it happening to me instead of them, but that they are at this point in their journey and it will be years before we get to experience the joy of this day in our own journey.  *Remember, be gracious . . . I'm being gut level honest here.*

So there it is . . . blah.  Believe me, I'm not enjoying this heaviness, this focus on the negative, the fact that my emotions are operating according to what happens to MY plan or hope.

So I had a good cry with Chad and it helped just let out the tension inside. (Seriously . . . how did I get such an amazing husband?  I could never deserve him.  I just thank God for His gift.)

Than Chad reminded me of what Joseph said in Gen. 50:26, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." 

Joseph is a man that knows about waiting.  Waiting in circumstances far worse than my own.  But at the end of it all, he saw God's purposes and PERFECT plan.  A plan which included the saving of many lives.

So while I don't think that people in the adoption process intend it for harm, I know that Satan sure does.  He is an enemy of the Gospel and is therefore an enemy of adoption, which beautifully declares the Gospel.

So I could just be really mad at Satan or really bitter about the process taking so long . . . or I could trust God, the same God that was sovereign over Joseph and used his horrible circumstances to save lives.

Chad helped me put it in perspective.  What if, two years from now, when we feel like we've been waiting for an eternity and it is becoming ever-increasingly hard to wait well . . . what if then God uses our story to speak to another family about adopting . . . saving the life of a little one somewhere.  That opportunity to be a part of saving more lives than just our Easton might not happen if this adoption went MY way . . . having him home yesterday! :)

So if you were disappointed as you read my yucky, selfish feelings . . . sorry, I'm real.  But know that the Word and Chad brought me back to trusting God's sovereignty . . . for now.  :)  I have a feeling that I'll be going through this more times than I'd like in the next few years.

If you want to pray . . . pray for trust, pray that we would wait well, but it wouldn't hurt to pray that the process would pick up the pace a bit!  There are hundreds of families waiting to make an orphan a part of their forever family!

Stay Awake

I'm not a big New Year's resolution kind of girl.  Probably because I've failed every time I've dared to make one.  Don't get me wrong, goals are good, discipline is good, but it usually ends up being more of a shame and failure thing about March than a rejoicing in success on December 31st. 

Even still, there is just something about starting fresh that draws me in and makes me want to right all that is wrong in my life . . . and do it all this year! 

Chad wrote something to our church that God had impressed on him about this issue and it was really powerful to me . . .

January 1 has historically been a very intense day in my life as I attempt to implement my lofty goals. The result is usually pride and a strong sense of accomplishment. No one would likely fault me for this, but as I reflect on the fruit of my efforts, I find myself at odds with the Gospel. Pride is the great enemy of humility, and humility is at the heart of the Gospel..."he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Phil. 2:8)

I should have been quicker to see that year after year of failed New Year's resolutions are perhaps an indication of something more than weak willpower. Maybe the resolutions are defective. Maybe I have made the means the end and have lost sight of the end all together.

Paul charged Timothy to "train yourself for godliness." (1 Tim. 4:7) In other words the goal is godliness, not training. When our goals, even our spiritual goals, become ends rather than a means to the end, we run the great risk of becoming prideful.

I'm pretty sure that often make the disciplines involved with training the ultimate goal instead of just the means to the real goal . . . godliness.  Being closer to the heart of my Father.  Reflecting Him more.  Fulfilling the mission He has given me.

So as I came to my time with Jesus this morning, I resolved to not make self-defeating resolutions.  I was just honest with God about my desires to know Him more and the fact that I didn't know exactly how He wanted to do that in my life, but that I'm ready for a new year of growth and purpose.  

And just like He always does, God spoke.

Mark 13 was my reading for today and such a timely Word.  

³³ Be on guard, keep awake.^[a] For you do not know when the time will come. ³⁴ It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants^[b] in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. ³⁵ Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows,^[c] or in the morning— ³⁶ lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” 

So what is my plan for 2012?  

Stay Awake!  

And not just staying awake while sitting around doing nothing.  In verse 34, all the people weren't just left hanging out at the house.  No, they were left with a mission, with work.  

I'm going to stay awake by being about the mission He has given me . . . to glorify God by making disciples of all nations.  Mark 13:10 says it clearly, "And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations."  

So I guess my New Year's resolution boils down to just being obedient.  The Great Commission in Matthew 28 isn't just for the elite, for a chosen few, for those with special training.  It is for me . . . and you.  And it isn't a suggestion.  It is a command.  Will we obey?

Chad pointed out in his sermon that we forget what a gift the Great Commission is to us.  If we truly desire to know God, then being given a mission is a blessing because in order to complete our mission it is necessary that we draw near to God, trust in His wisdom and strength, and cry out to Him to do what we can't . . . change hearts.   

As we live out the calling to make disciples, we will find ourselves becoming the men and women we desire, and God desires, us to be.  The kind of people we hope to become when we make endless resolutions that can have us defeated before we even begin. 

So I'm going to immerse myself in the Word of God (without stressing over a reading plan like usual), grow in prayer so as to intercede for others and join in the work God is doing (without making a detailed list of 5 things to pray for each day like I've done before), and I'm going to engage in the mission of making disciples in New Orleans and all nations (without worrying about getting the words out right instead of focusing on the heart of the person in front of me).

Happy New Year!