Thoughts on Black Friday

On the day after Thanksgiving, there might be a few words that immediately come to your mind…

Black Friday (which this year we actually chose to avoid)

Crazy Shoppers
"I ate too much"

Lack of Sleep because you stayed up all night to get that “that amazing deal”

Thanksgiving Day Leftovers
"I ate too much"

 The Start of Christmas Movies on TV

Getting out the Christmas Decorations

Listening to the First Songs of the Christmas Season
Did I mention eating too much?

 For me, personally, Thanksgiving leftovers might be one of the first things that comes to my mind the day after Thanksgiving.  I must say I am a very big fan of Thanksgiving leftovers (well, quite honestly I enjoy leftovers any time really) However, in enjoying “my Thanksgiving” for a few more days, I know that what is on my table is not the same in other parts of the world. We so quickly hurry Thanksgiving day along and can so easily get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Black Friday and the commercialism of Christmas that we fail to spend time to truly reflect on the things for which we truly should be thankful for- one of which can simply be the food we put on our table.

Let me explain what I mean and expound on a thought that most likely many of us have rarely considered when we sit down to enjoy our leftovers after Thanksgiving Day.

Consider this- the orphan’s table.

Now, you are probably wondering what exactly I mean by this, but let me take a moment to expound and give you a wonderful resource for your children, youth groups, small groups, and families- one that will help to teach a simple truth of gratefulness and will impact you and your family far greater than “just words”. 

I’m sure that many of us have never paused to think about what an “Orphan’s Table” looks like the day of Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, or in general every day.  For most of us, we have an abundance of food, but for street children or orphans, many have little more than a simple meal of porridge or rice in many cases. My first observation of this came when I traveled to work in India. The photo below will be forever etched in my mind as staff at this orphanage, home to more than 600 children, took out large metal buckets of food to dish out to the children. Each child sat on the concrete floor and ate their meal out of a metal pan while flies flew all around. This is basically what they ate every day with very little deviation.

Oh the days before digital photos were the norm - :)

I think about our table yesterday during Thanksgiving (minus food, of course, as you can see below)

and I think what a great contrast the above photo taken in India looks like in comparison to what our Thanksgiving table looked like yesterday. Yet, this is the reality of what life is like for many children and adults around the world from day to day both in our own country and around the world.

It has been said:

Experiences Impact us far Greater than Words.

I can honestly say that these seven words hold an incredible amount of truth. You can certainly hear someone talk about any topic they choose, but until you experience it yourself they are but "words" to most of us. I would encourage you to check out the incredible resource and link below that comes from Christian Alliance for Orphans (which the organization I work for is a part of)  as it explains how you can have an “Orphan’s Table” event or host one with your family, children, or church.

An Orphan's Table

Orphan's Table Prayer & Discussion Guide

It’s quite a simple idea, but one that can be so impactful. Here’s how it works:

In order to focus on what a meal might look like in other parts of the world, gather your family, children, friends, or small group and create a very sparse setting where your entire group will eat a very minimal meal together (one that would be commonly shared by orphans around the world- i.e.- rice or Gruel ) and during the meal discuss the issue of orphans around the world, and center on Scripture and a time of prayer for orphans.  It will certainly stir up thoughts and spur conversation towards the things that we take for granted and for which we should be thankful. We hope you will find these resources to be helpful to your family or to your church.

For those of you who are curious, here are a few testimonies from other churches, youth groups, and families who have participated together in “An Orphan’s Table” on Orphan Sunday and throughout the month of November:

“The best part of our experience was hearing the children praying for orphans.  Praying that they will get a hug before bed, praying they might get to eat some watermelon or pizza and listening to them talk about how good their lives are and wanting the same for children without families. Hopefully we planted seeds for a lifetime.”

“We had the most incredible orphan’s table experience with our own children.  They were so worried about being hungry, as we fasted before we ate the lunch, and did not eat again until later that night.  We were really able to see the light bulb come on in their hearts and minds as they put themselves in the place of children all around the world who are hungry.  The verses and questions that went along with our evening were amazing."

“We hosted 'The Orphan’s Table' for 30 teens.  We started by talking about inconveniences they may have experienced this past week.  They shared experiences such as the pencil sharpener at school being full, the pizza being cold at lunch, people driving too slowly on the road, etc.  We then talked about the inconveniences that orphans face and that we were going to partake in a typical orphan meal.  They were asked to line up and walk through the kitchen to get their meal, and then take it to the garage to eat.  They sat on flattened cardboard boxes, with plastic bowls and drank water out of “dirty” cups.  It was silent as the girls looked at the food and it dawned on them what real inconveniences might truly look like.”

If you’ve ever hosted or participated in a similar event, we’d love to hear from you! 

Our Big Thanksgiving Announcement

Thanksgiving... 

(and Day 22 of National Adoption Month)

A day set aside to look back over the year and all that God has done in our lives. In our reflection, our minds went back to a year ago today, when we announced to part of our family that we were adopting from China. (we wanted to make this announcement in person last year, so we shared with Nate's family on Thanksgiving day and my family the following weekend)  The day before Thanksgiving last year, we received a call from our adoption agency that our application had been approved to adopt from the China program. It was somewhat surreal just hearing them tell us we were approved to begin moving forward. (even though we knew we met the requirements, there was still that feeling of "I just want to be sure they approve us") We didn't want to announce it to our families until we at least had the "green light" from our agency.

I remember both Nate and I being so fidgety (or maybe it was just me) during Thanksgiving dinner last year knowing we had a big announcement to make, but just trying to figure out when the "timing was right". Certainly, I don't know what it feels like to be pregnant and 'keep the news a secret", but I think the way we both felt this time last year having kept something this big a secret for several months, we were ready to tell someone. When you know something that's as big as this it's so hard not to "slip up" and say something on accident in day to day conversation, so we just knew the sooner we could get through the next few weeks of sharing with family- and then our friends- the better.  To make this special announcement, we had planned it all out as we had wanted to purchase books for our parents to give to them with the "announcement" inside with a note that said:

 "Please read to me when I arrive from China and come and visit you- Love Baby Rockey"  

Truthfully, we weren't even sure our families would actually "get it" so we decided to add one more little item into the book hoping it would clarify what message we were trying to get across. [obviously those within the China adoption community are all too familiar with this commonly used photo (albeit a little over-used), but even still- we decided to print it off and attach it to the book hoping that along with our above note and further explanation in a short letter, it would get the point across without confusion.

Just to be clear, this is not real and was not a picture of "our child in China" 

Well, no matter how much planning you do to try to make something work out the way you sometimes want, it doesn't always turn out the way you intend. We had purchased the same book for both sets of parents in advance ( a book about a little girl being adopted from China) and were having it shipped to Nate's parent's home; however, we got a call the day before Thanksgiving that something had occurred with the shipping and the books would not be arriving and both of us were just a bit disappointed and frustrated as we had purchased an actual "child's storybook" that has an adoption message in it- and thought it would be perfect. So we cancelled our order, and here is what transpired.

We were in a scramble to find a book for "our announcement" so we spent time online and on the phone trying to track down this particular book we had previously ordered and had only a few hours before everything would close for Thanksgiving. We wanted to try and find this book or at least one that was 'adoption themed' for a child. (in case you are wondering- there are scores of children's books written for domestic and international adopted children to help them learn about adoption or that have adoption related themes- another post for another time) 

Let's just say we went from store to store striking out each time and of course because we were out of town and weren't familiar with anything around us, we thought what any good book junkie would think " if I can't find it here, Barnes & Noble should have something that would work." (well, that was our logic anyway) So several hours later, we went with "Plan B" and went to a nearby town (since we were slightly in the middle of no where) to look for another option. 

Much to our dismay, even Barnes & Noble didn't quite come through for us on this one. 

SO............what did we do you ask?

We opted for a children's book about different countries (though sadly, China was not actually in the book- we figured this "global children's book" would still do the trick, so we put it together and prepped everything for "our announcement". After Thanksgiving dinner, while we were all sitting around in the living room, we decided to make our little announcement.

Safe to say, there was a lot of excitement in the air, a lot of shocked faces (and a few confused ones, to which we had to clearly explain what was going on) and one very excited "Aunt-to-be" who lives in Asia and was excited about having a Chinese niece. It was certainly a fun ending to Thanksgiving last year.

So fast forward to this year's Thanksgiving-- in lieu of being new homeowners, we hosted Thanksgiving at our home and part of Nate's family and part of mine were able to join us this year. It was a full day of food, laughter, conversation, and thankful hearts.

To our other family who couldn't be with us this year:

 You were missed. We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.

To our soon to be daughter halfway around the world:

 We don't yet know who you are or when you will arrive, but we hope next Thanksgiving you will be sitting at our big long table enjoying your "first Thanksgiving"(and we'll be sure your uncle doesn't eat all of the mashed potatoes so that you can have some)

At the close of this Thanksgiving day, we have much to be thankful for.  We could all sit here for hours and list the things we can be thankful for and the ways in which God has so richly blessed us, but at the close of this day, I'll just list a few:

I'm Thankful for:

A wonderful husband... 

who loves and supports me more than I'll ever comprehend. Who sees me for who I am and loves me despite me "being me" sometimes. Who has such a giving heart and passion for life and people- AND who still willingly helps me hang 'another thing' on the wall because I can't do it by myself. [this last one is just for you in honor of 

being two months- post move :)]

Loving Parents & Family...

who joined us today as well as those who could not be with us. We are blessed to have such wonderful family in our lives and are always thankful for each of them and how they each mean something different to each of us in different ways. We wouldn't be where we are today without each of them.

Precious Grandparents...

that though they may be getting up in years, they never cease to amaze me sometimes with their witty comments or what they are still able to do. Though my grandfathers are no longer living, it is special to have two grandmothers that are living and to have the privilege of knowing Nate's grandfather and grandmother as well. I'm thankful for each of my grandparents (both those who have passed and those who are still with us) and their godly examples throughout my life. I'm thankful for a grandfather who served in the military and gave me the freedoms that I enjoy today. 

Today's Technology...

Let me explain on this one, but I must say that I'm also thankful that we have incredible technology today which allowed me to see my cute little grandma "Facetime" on the Iphone with my sister in TX today. She may not have understood how it works, but the reaction--Priceless.

A Wonderful Church Family...

who we are blessed to have the opportunity to serve alongside.

My Freedom...

and the opportunity to live in a free nation that, at present, allows religious freedoms. May we never forget that our "freedom" was not free for another.

God's Abundance in My Life...

and all that we have so richly been given by His hand. We have a home this year that He has provided for us while many around the world don't have. I have a job that allows me to work with incredible people, an incredible ministry, and place precious children into adoptive families.  

Though this list could continue on, both Nate and I close this day with thankful hearts and hope that each of you found something in your day today for which to be thankful. From our home to yours- Happy Thanksgiving.