Stac’s Place

Kim and I are spending this Thanksgiving out of town, but not like we thought we’d be. We loaded the kids into the van and headed for the sunny South. We were hoping to be in China.

We’re extremely grateful for the family we get to see this week. Every day, we’re reminded of the countless blessings that we experience. We have it so good on so many levels: family, church, friends, the place we live…Yet at the same time, there’s a growing sense of anticipation for Annabelle’s arrival. Our emotional rollercoaster tends to stay pretty positive, but there are some moments each day that the reality of the situation breaks through. We find ourselves wondering what she’s doing, how her day is going, if she’s nervous about the move to America, how we’ll adjust to each other, how big the language barrier will be…

While I am saying Thank You to Jesus for all the ways that he’s been gracious/faithful/good to us over the past year, I am also saying Please Hurry as it relates to Annabelle…

A couple of weeks ago, some killer-creative people from our church put together a prayer event for orphans called Real Religion. There were interactive prayer stations all throughout the building designed to get to the heart of the matter–Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

I have been reading from the booklet that they handed out that night, 50 More Stories of Hope. 50 short stories with a prayer and action following. If you haven’t picked one of these booklets up, you should grab one. But be warned–if you cry easily, keep the kleenex handy.

Here’s a video that is attached to one of the stories that I wrote for the booklet…