If I could have Jesus sit at my kitchen table, I would love to ask him about the issue of "faithfulness". Every one of us would love to hear "Well done, good and faithful servant" on the other side. But what does faithfulness look like to Him? Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:14-30 through the parable of the talents. This is fascinating because His explanation here might not be what one would expect. Faithfulness is not just the typical "absence of doing wrong". Oh no...it's much more than that.

I love Dr. Thomas Constable's summation of this parable: "Faithfulness involves using what God has entrusted to one to advance His interests in the world. It involves making a spiritual profit with the deposit God has entrusted to each disciple."

So to unpack this a little....The master was going on a journey. While he was gone, he entrusted talents to 3 servants. A talent was a unit of exchange. 5 could be as much as a person in that time would make in a lifetime! Each servant got a different amount, according to their ability. Those who were given more were expected to gain more. What was true then is still true now, greater privilege means greater responsibility.

Immediately the slaves with 5 and 2 talents got to work. They took what they had and used it for the master's benefit. The third slave played it safe by burying the money. When the master came back, the first 2 were commended with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." The last slave didn't fare so well. The master had entrusted something of His, and this slave had not done with it as the master expected. He wasn't willing to risk. He played it safe, and as a result accomplished nothing for his master's benefit. In the end, he lost not only the talent but also joy in his master's presence.

So comparisons are pretty easy here. The master is God. He has put within all of our hands different talents....some more, some less but all expected to be used to build His kingdom and not our own. What would talents be for us? Here again, I defer to Dr. Constable: "We should understand the talents to be all the working capital that God entrusts to His disciples. To limit the talents to spiritual gifts, natural abilities, the gospel, opportunities for service, money or whatever, limits the scope of what Jesus probably intended. All of these things constitute what God has given His servants to use for His glory."

*Faithfulness involves understanding that all we have is His, and that it is working capital we use to build His kingdom.

*Faithfulness is willing to trust God and take risks with those things. To do that means we must walk by faith and not by sight.

It's unfortunate when people think that faithfulness in their Christian experience is a focus on staying away from the "thou shalt not's". They want to play it safe like the third slave. That's not the way to have a great impact with the life we've been given. God has the most exciting, purposeful life planned for each one of us...and it involves advancing His kingdom by using what He has put into our hands. Faithfulness is putting that to work for Him. It's risky and it requires great trust. But it's a ride like no other....

Nobody's Coming

The last thing we want is for this blog to be all about our family and our little adopted orphan. But the things coming out of Collins' mouth these days are profound, and are a driving force as we put one foot in front of the other to accomplish the mission of Orbie for Orphans.

I'm not a person who cries, but I'm crying as I type this. My husband just held me as I let it out, and before that I spent 15 minutes bawling my eyes out in the shower. Tonight was like any other night. I was putting Collins to bed. Got an idea from a friend to have each of us think of something that we could thank Jesus for before we said bedtime prayers. I told Collins that mine was going to be that she had the incredible experience today of taking a plant and a card to an elderly friends home that just got a cancer diagnosis. On her turn she said, "I fank (thank) Jesus that in China you came. Mommy, I worried you not come! I worried Mommy and Daddy not come!" We talked it about it a little, I kissed her goodnight, and then ran to the shower to release the pain inside. Approximately 153 million orphans. Less than 1% of that number adopted each year. The pain I could imagine my child felt, worrying that we weren't coming TIMES MILLIONS. And guess what? Chances are...nobody IS coming.

That is the very reason we started Orbie for Orphans, and that is the very reason we are asking everybody we know to help us do this. A child that has nobody, and will get nobody....needs to be reached with the truth that "Thee Somebody" is with them. This is the One that will never leave them or forsake Him. The Great I AM. The One that loves them the most, and the only One that can heal them and give them hope for the future.

I've moved way beyond being "worried" about asking people to give to our organization. This is for orphans who are "worried" that nobody is coming. I'm getting courageous because I'm asking for children who have nobody.

2 nights ago we were going to Conner's basketball game and I asked Collins if she was going to sit with the cheerleaders like she normally does. She said she'd rather sit with us. She said, "I'm away from you too long." I said, "No, we've been together all day." She said, "Mommy, in China I'm away from you too long!" Last night, when I asked her what she wanted to thank Jesus for she got a huge grin on her face and said, "A BIG family!" She went from nobody, the big ZERO, to parents, 2 brothers, grandmothers, cousins, aunts and uncles....It blows her mind. When we started this whole adoption journey, we wanted a 2-3 year old. I can see why there was a much better plan. A child who spent ages 2-5 in an orphanage could tell us what it was like being an orphan. After having her 16 months, all those feelings are finally being expressed. It's heart-wrenching, but it compels us. Her pain and the love of Christ compel us to get the message to these kids that Somebody came 2000 years ago just for them. "Even if my mother and father forsake me, the Lord will take me in." Psalm 27:10

A Good Pain

Tonight I was racing through the bathroom, trying to get Collins' bedtime routine done in about 3 minutes. I was rushing to get her in her p.j.'s, teeth brushed and hands washed so that I could get back downstairs to our friends and the Phase 10 card game. In the flurry of activity, she softly said, "Mommy, I've got to tell you something." Occasionally I have enough smarts to know that this is gonna be one of those golden moments. I stopped, leaned down and looked into her eyes. She said, "In China, I MISSED you." I said, "Oh Collins, how I missed you! I waited so long too. Did you know you didn't have a mommy?" (She was in the orphanage from age 2 to almost 5). She shook her head yes and said, "I prayed for a mommy." Earlier today, Carl was trying to get her to go with him to the track to run and play soccer. Normally, that's right up her alley but today she said no, she wanted to stay with me. She said, "I away from Mommy too long in China." As we finished up our conversation tonight I was reminded of that familiar pain...the pain that a small child or teenager feels who doesn't have a mom or dad. That pain is good for Carl and I to feel, because it motivates us to work harder and faster to get this much needed Bible Study to these broken hearts. This is a huge vision that God has put before us. It will take an army of people to make it happen. We need families who might give up eating one meal out a month, who could send $30 a month to Orbie for Orphans. Or a mom who could give up one Starbucks a week and send us $20 a month...a man who could sacrifice one golf game a month and send $75. Please prayerfully consider joining us in this incredible mission to bring life change to kids without families.

Thee Priority

I have not been very successful with New Year's resolutions in the past, but this year I have been thinking about priorities. Because we are a few weeks into 2012, I would guess that most of us have recently had at least a thought or two about our priorities. What is most important to us and how is that fitting into how we will spend our time this year? It just hit me the other day that Jesus quite clearly addressed the topic of priorities in the story of Mary and Martha. Jesus had come for dinner and Martha was busy, making sure everything was done just right for Him. Mary spent her time listening to Him, sitting at His feet. Martha was frustrated and overwhelmed as she served Him. Mary was being filled, sitting in His presence. When Martha asked Jesus to get her some help, He responded by giving her a big TRUTH that applies to each and every one of us. He was kind to her, but told her that her life was burdened and distracted by the variety of things she was doing. Instead, she was to do the one thing that was needed: listening to Him. This was the priority. This was the indispensable thing. This was the thing that affected everything else.

We adopted Collins 15 months ago. One of our consistent issues is the need for her to listen to me. Her teacher needs this from her at school. I need this from her at home. Coming out of a life in an orphanage, she is fascinated by EVERYTHING. She is easily distracted and can tune me out in no time flat! But as her parent, listening to me is non-negotiable. She can't run into the street, she has to brush her teeth everyday and stay with me in public places. She has to stay in a place of dependent on me. That is what listening to Jesus shows....an attitude of dependence. Those who know they can't make it without Him spend time with Him. Those who trust Him have no option but to spend time with Him. And those who love Him do what He tells them to do. Collins came home from school and told me, "Teacher said I have to listen and obey." That about sums it up for all of us....

I Miss Jesus

We were pulling into the parking lot last week for Conner's basketball game and Collins was singing Happy Birthday to "Jesus died on the cross". She was silent for a few seconds and then quietly said, "I miss Jesus." It was a sweet and funny comment, but it's easy to relate to that on this December 12th. The psalmist said, "The nearness of God is my good", and yet my experience has been that it takes great determination to be near Him at Christmas. We all have so much to DO. The commercialism of Christmas is everywhere. Many are in deep pain. Whether it's busyness or loneliness or the fun of Christmas shopping, cooking and decorating - we can miss Him. How ironic that the celebration of His birthday can be such a distraction from Him. Collins, I miss Jesus too.

The Widows and the Orphans

Carl Toth

Here's picture of Collins and my mom 11 months ago. Collins was meeting her grandmother for the first time. Unfortunately I just spent the past week helping my mom begin the difficult transition of moving into the "assisted living" phase of her life. She's been diagnosed with Alzheimers and has gone from being very independent to someone who is confused and helpless. She struggles with names and remembering things. All of a sudden, normal day to day choices are complex for her. For 5 days I saw her struggles and vulnerability firsthand. By the time I got home, I felt like I had been on a mission trip. I was wiped out emotionally, physically and spiritually by that experience because it was MY mom that was struggling. The trip gave me a renewed understanding of the entire scope of James 1:27. God says part of pure Christianity is taking care of 2 groups of people - the orphan and the widow. We understand the plight of the orphan because of Collins and our experiences with orphans overseas. But now I can understand why God says to take care of both of these groups. They're both alone. They're both vulnerable and broken. As a pastor for 25 years, I've seen so much....but this week changed me. I have a renewed passion for these two groups. They have alot in common, and they're not pleasant similarities. Experiencing their plight firsthand, it's easy to understand why they are especially close to God's heart and why He clearly lets us know that we are to take care of them.

George Mueller on faith

"Remember, the very time for faith to work is when our sight begins to fail. And the greater the difficulties, the easier it is for faith to work, for as long as we can see certain natural solutions to our problems, we will not have faith. Faith never works as easily as when our natural prospects fail." George Mueller