Q&A

Questions and Answers

With our desire to use this blog primarily as a resource to encourage adoption and the biblical responsibility all believers have to visit orphans we decided to open it up for some discussion. Please email any questions or thoughts you have on adoption to chad_amber_rollins@yahoo.com

We will post your question (without using names) along with our answer on the blog. These questions can range from... "how do I get started?"...to..."what's it like adopting a child of a different race?"...we will do our best to answer your questions and if we can't we will search for resources that can! We want to be a blessing and encouragement to you.

Mercy

This past week I was washing the dishes and cleaning up after dinner. Chad was watching James and they were enjoying some father- son time rolling all over the floor in the living room. I can't remember exactly what Chad had asked James not to do but James of course living in his "almost, 2 year old flesh"...did it and because it was direct disobedience there was going to be a consequence. James quickly began protesting because he knew exactly what was coming. Chad took him into his bedroom and I prepared myself for the dramatic screaming and alligator tears that were about to follow Daddy's discipline. All of the sudden it got quiet, I heard Chad talking softly to James..."James, Daddy loves you very much and my desire is for you to be obedient. You directly disobeyed Daddy but Daddy is choosing to show you mercy tonight, just as God has shown His mercy towards us." All of the sudden James walked out of his room, grinning from ear to ear, very pleased that Daddy had shown him mercy. Chad followed and said, "James, what did Daddy show you tonight?" With a big smile and that sweet little voice James said, "Merceeeee."

My heart was overwhelmed with gratitude for a husband who loves our son by not only telling him but demonstrating to him biblical truth. It was also filled with joy and gratitude as I began to mediate on the magnitude of mercy my Heavenly Father lavishes on me day after day, after day. Of course even if the only mercy I was ever shown was that at the cross when by His death He brought me out of my depravity into a relationship with Him and gave me eternal life, that would be more mercy than I could handle but praise the Lord, for it doesn't stop there! For each and every day I do not love him with all of my heart soul mind and strength and each and every day my heart is desperately wicked and each and every day I am consumed with self. Yet each and every day, God in His great mercy with loving kindness forgives and pardons my debt.

Thank you, Father. Thank you, Father.

Truth

I had a few minutes to jump on and post and wanted to share something I read recently and have been thinking about a lot. I am reading through an amazing book, actually probably the most convicting and biblical books I have ever read on "Marriage." It is called, "When Sinners Say I Do," by Dave Harvey. I wish I could share more specifically about the text surrounding this quote but I will leave you with this for now...

"Spiritual maturity comes not just from knowing what to avoid but rather what to pursue."

So Overdue!

Well, as you can very well see I have not been a good blogger at all. To be completely honest I have been convicted that many times my time on the Internet takes away from more important things so I have been taking a break from blogging and have decided I will do it when I can but only when I am not sacrificing something else. I love to read everyone else's blogs but it seems hard to do that and update mine so it has been nice to just read about all of your families and not worry about blogging every time. I have however gotten some hate mail :-) for not updating the blog and I am constantly torn because I want so badly to use the blog to encourage adoption, I guess I have to take care of the home front first. Still getting this Mom thing down.

First of all...and a little late...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We trust you had a meaningful time celebrating the birth of our Savior!

We had a wonderful Christmas and this year more than ever really tried to take in the precious time we have with our family. James had a ball and called all of his presents "prizes." He now thinks whenever you go to anyone's house you get a "prize." We are working on that. :-)

James is 20 months old now and a busy, busy boy. He adores his daddy and carries a football around all the time. His new obsession are the little jibitz for his crocs, he just about can't handle himself he likes them so much. We are so thankful for such a happy little boy!

Chad was able to go to the Sugar Bowl game in New Orleans with his 3 brothers and they had a great time! He was glad he got to see Tebow's last game! We all love Timmy, go Gators! I stayed home with James and had a fruitful trip to TJ Max. :-)

Praise the Lord we finally found a new church home! We are so grateful for the Lord's leading in this process and are so overjoyed with this new opportunity to worship and serve. We are starting the new members class at First Baptist Lake Butler and Lord willing we will be joining after the completion of that class. I know, I know....Lake Butler, that's what my family said, it's in the middle of no where and the last place we thought we would look, but we feel sure it is the place God would have our family serve and we are so excited!

In other news, my brother Dave leaves Thursday morning for New York. He is starting the spring semester at Kings College in Manhattan. He will finish his bachelors there in Culture, Media and the Arts. His school is actually in the Empire State Building...I know, pray for Mom! We are very excited about this opportunity for him but very, very sad to say goodbye. Please be in prayer for Dave as he travels and begins this new chapter, please pray for our family as we adjust to him being gone.

While we are talking about brothers, Chad's brother Gavin is running for re election for Keystone Heights City Council March 2nd. Gavin did a great job with his last term and stood strong on important tax issues, please support him again and tell your family and friends as well! Please also pray for Gavin as he campaigns over the next month.

We begin the process this month for the search and adoption of our second or maybe even third child. We have no idea how long it could take or what all will be involved but we are thrilled to begin. We should know more come February so we will definitely update!

One last thing, we will be hosting a couple from the Ukraine for about 12 days starting this Sunday! We met Andriy and Katya about a year and a half ago when they were visiting the states. They returned for the Passion Conference in Atlanta and will be staying with us after their time there!

I probably won't be blogging much over the next two weeks but will try to update more!

Praying you all have a wonderful New Year in the Lord and the truth of His Word!

Amber

This and That

I thought I would write a quick post about some quick recipes I have been using lately that are working great for our family! It is really important to me to make sure my family and are I eating healthy, I love to use whole foods and natural ingredients but sometimes it can be hard and a little expensive.


Here are a few random things that work great:

Smoothies!










This is a great way to help your family get lots of nutrition without the fuss! I love fruit and will eat just about anything, Chad does as well but won't take the time to cut it up or get it out of the fridge. :-) James is just down right picky! But he LOVES smoothies. He calls them icecream...whatever works! I try to make each of us a smoothie everyday, this way I am guaranteed no matter what else happens that day, everyone has had a huge helping of fruit. You can also put spinach in for some green and they will never know! Try putting in wheat germ or flax seed as well, great fiber!

My quick and easy recipe:

1 cup of frozen mixed berries

half of a banana

1/4 cup of fat free light vanilla yogurt

splash of orange juice

(any other fresh fruit I might have laying around can be thrown in too!)

Blend it all together in your blender!


Trail Mix









I don't know about you but some days just get busy and we need a quick healthy snack on the go. I personally love chocolate but know I have to eat it in moderation! Trail Mix is a great snack, packed with protein, antioxidants and little chocolate! You can add lots of different things and make it your own!

1 can of unsalted peanuts

1 can of unsalted or lightly salted cashews

1 cup of almonds

1 cup of craisans

1 cup of M&M's or cup of Chocolate Chips, or both! Whatever you prefer

I also love to add more dried fruit, sometimes it just depends on whats on sale!

Pour all ingredients in large freezer bag and shake it up. I will go ahead and put some of my trail mix in little snack sized zip lock bags so it is ready to go!


One more thing...this time of year is a great time for soup and soup is a cheap and easy way to feed your family while remaining healthy.

There are tons of soup recipes and you can find them everywhere! This is one of my favorites.



Nana's Vegetable Soup







1 lb. ground beef ( I like to use Morningstar Farms Veggie Crumbles instead of red meat)

1 med. onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

1 can kitchen sliced green beans

1 can whole kernel corn

3 potatoes, diced

1 large can tomatoes, (I squish with my hands)

1 med. can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano

1 or 2 bouillon cubes

salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef or veggie crumbles and add onion and stir until onions are translucent, add tomatoes and possibly a little water if you think you need it. Add bouillon cubes. Add carrots and cook for about 10 minutes, then add other vegetables, salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables are very tender, probably 30 to 45 minutes. This is great in the crock pot all day as well.



Hope these are some fresh ideas!

A Look Back

November 08

June 2009

November 2009

photos taken by our wonderful friend, who just happens to be an amazing photographer, Pam

Exactly one year ago today, I received a phone call that would change our lives forever. At around 9:30 am on Thursday, November 13th while sitting at my desk at work, I would answer the phone and hear the words, " Are you the girl?" "Are you the girl...the one interested in adoption." Most of you know the rest of the story...within a matter of hours I was on my way home, talking a mile a minute on the cell phone trying to get anything and everything I could so I would be somewhat prepared for the six month old baby boy who would be arriving any minute. I will never forget when the social workers car pulled in the drive way. My heart was in my stomach, I had no idea what do expect. I looked calm but was going crazy inside. Chad was of course, calm, stable and had the most precious and comforting look on his face. We walked over to the little car and were greeted by the kind smile of a woman we had never met. I will never forget looking down into that carseat at his tiny little face. He had just woken up, he had no idea how his little life was about to change, neither did we.

"Could this really be happening? I went to work today, a day I thought would be like any other day, and now here I am, still dressed in my scrubs, looking at a child that could be my son." "Lord, please prepare me quickly for this journey, I trust you, Father, I trust you." I remember praying constantly. I didn't know what else to do, I was excited, nervous, scared and overjoyed.

After a series of questions and some basic information, the kind woman drove away, there we stood in the doorway, holding our James and looking at each other in disbelief...already head over heals for this little brown eyed boy.

From there, our sweet love story began.

Thank you, Lord, for November 13th, 2008! It is a day that will forever remind us of Your overwhelming faithfulness and sweet redemption.

Seeking out Evidence of God's Grace

I share this not as someone who is cultivating humility in her heart but rather someone desperately aware of the sin of pride in her heart and life. I recently finished CJ Mahaney's "Humilty" and was greatly challenged by a call he gives to believers. In Mahaney's book he brings to the surface one of the greatest ways our pride shows it's ugly head: being critical of others. I know this is true in my life. We see the damage of this in our homes, our churches and in our witness for the gospel. Now, I am not speaking of giving godly correction to a believer living in sin but rather constantly picking apart the lives of others, in a manner that is critical and hurtful. We do this so much more than we even realize. One day after reading Maheney's book I tried to count that day how often I had a critical thought towards someone or said something critical to those around me. Let's just say by lunch I was heavy with conviction.

In his book, Maheney challenges us to change this by confessing our sin, this of course has to happen first. He then challenges his readers to indentify evidences of God's grace in the lives of those around them. He uses the example of Paul in Corinthians. As Paul is writing to the church at Corinth he is writing to correct serious doctrinal and moral errors and yet in his opening line he tells them, "I give thanks to my God always for you." Why? "Becuase of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus." (1:4) So where do we begin? Mahaney encourages believers "to be intimatley familiar with the fruits of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faitfulness, gentleness and self control. Make a practice of how the spirit manifests these traits in the lives of you see around you. Likewise, familiarize yourself with the Spirits gifts. (Romans 12:6-8, 1 Cor. 12:8-10 and 12:28, Ephesians 4:11, 1 Peter 4:11) and observe the spirit equipping believers to teach, to lead and to serve." This next statement from Maheney brought much conviction as I had to deal with what I was not doing..."What a joy and privelage it is to disern this activity in the lives of those we love and care for- and to draw their attention to how God is at work in their lives."

I know this is most important in our homes, towards our spouses and our precious children. I know if your like me we are so quick to point out that which needs to be changed in the life of our spouse, or areas that our children frustrate us. How different would our homes be if we were intentionally seeking out and pointing out evidences of God's grace in the lives of our spouses and children. When was the last time I sat down with my husband to share with him the ways I see God at work in his life? How often do I point out the areas James has challenged me today rather than thanking the Lord for the sweet spirit and fun personality he has?

I have a very long way to go, I am grateful for the Lord's mercy and the grace my husband and son give me on a daily basis. One thing is for sure, I have been deeply convicted about the pride that harbors in my heart and challenged tremendoulsy to actively pursue cultivating humility there. For me, that starts with asking the Lord to reveal to me all the ways He is at work in the lives of those around me. For when I am critical I am prideful.

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth(which begins in my prideful heart) but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Eph. 4:29

How much would change if we diligently worked to practice these truths in our homes and churches? I can only imagine.