A few NEW thing - Welcome!

So, I kinda knew this would happen, but I kinda didn't. I was hoping that I would plan things better, but I knew I wouldn't.. Thus here's two NEW things for the New Year :)

First off, I'll be doing a new approach to my updates, as I've gotten some good feedback from many of you. I've learned I'm not "pithy" enough ;) and that, if I could give more "cliff notes" versions, ya'll would be more inclined to read it.. So, I'll start with bullet points at the top of each update that are succinct and hopefully clickable. It'll look like this.. 

** Cool thing happening in Baltimore! Check out this link for more details.. ( Links in ASL and English)

** Remember that 90's commercial with Bob "WeHadABaby-ItsABoy".. ? (Link in Spoken English and written transcript)

** Matching Grant expires tonight - every little bit helps!

(I'm trying to figure out how to code so that the bullet point will take you down to that part of the update if you are one of the people who said you still like to get the "meat of the story". For now, you'll have to scroll down to the corresponding headline.) 


COOL THINGS!!
Right now, students are gathered for Cru's annual Winter Conference in places like Indy, Denver and Atlanta. However, if you clicked the link for Baltimore's conference Live Stream you will see that they are the only one offering the main session with an ASL Interpreter! This is the second year for the conference to offer the Interpreter on a live stream feed, and the staff has been great to work with us. I'm so grateful for their willingness to help us reach the Deaf community with this solid and refreshing content about God's character. Our hope is to expand this to more conferences next year. If you've got a few minutes, check out the video archives! :)

(Second New thing - BABY!)

WE HAD A BABY - ITS A BOY :)

     He was around 41.5 weeks, "a week late" by medical standards, but when he decided to come it was a fast and furious hour and a half labor. Daddy caught him, the midwives didn't make it in time! As soon as we shared with family and close friends the replies came back - "what's the story behind his name"?? Like with Jaelyn, it took us over two days to decide for sure what his name would be. I always tell people, "It's so hard for me to name a human! It's not like a cat that I can change their name later if I don't like it." ;)
     For Azael and I, the names of our children provide an opportunity for us to create an Ebenezer. We want to honor the Lord in the names we choose for our kids, and allow them to be constant and visual reminders for us of where He has brought us on this journey called Life.
     When you look up Kaspien (pronounced like Caspian) on baby name websites, they will say, "We don't know what this name means, can you help us out?" So I guess we get to decide what it means.  :) It's counter part Caspian - as in the Caspian sea - is near where Azael and I went on a Vision Trip with Cru this past May. God used that trip to stretch us in good ways, so part of the name comes from a reminder of our time there. The spelling of Kaspien includes "aspen" - as in the trees. Aspen trees grow in a communal root system. Azael and I have been in search of "community" since we married, not really finding a thriving place to root ourselves. Our move to Iowa has been a bountiful place to bloom, and connect deeply with like-minded SIGNING (Deaf and Hearing) couples and it's been a breath of fresh air for us. So, to us, Kaspien means "Finding home, settling where community thrives."
     When Azael was offered the opportunity to work in Iowa on the ASLV Bible Translation team, we had only been in California 2 weeks and were quite unsure if we should pick up and move again. The name Adoniram kept coming to mind for me, and I found it odd (since we didn't know if Baby was a boy or a girl). I knew of Adoniram Judson from reading about missionaries when I was younger, but I didn't fully remember his story so I googled him. Adoniram Judson lived in the 1800's, and his main work in Burma was Bible translation. Azael and I felt confident that this was God confirming for us to yet again pack up and move, this time to Iowa. We chose to keep the 'a' in Adonai - the name of the Lord in Hebrew, and were also blessed by the opportunity to honor Azael's mom in the process with her name 'Dona' being included in the spelling of Adonairam.

So, that's the story behind his name..

GIVING
I'm trying to make the transition from the event based budget I've had in the previous years to a continuous operating budget starting in 2017. In order to make that transition, I need to end this year well and start next year strong. Thank you to everyone who has already given. Thank you also for your consideration to steward your resources well! If you've not yet given, click this link for secured online giving. Thanks for your continued support!

May the new year find us doing more kingdom work than before!

Soli Deo Gloria

:D

Meditations&Musings4Mondays: Things pondered..

Monday's postings are longer, more in-depth thoughts or stories that I feel the need to share. If you don't have time to read this now, you can look at the cliff notes versions in the bullet points at the beginning of the posts.. When you have the time, please feel encouraged by the stories God is telling, and musings that he brings to my mind. 
HAPPY MONDAY :D
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* For those of you who've labored (birthed a child):
          Thoughts about the "round yon virgin"..

* It's not about the $$, its about the ministry (yours AND mine):
         Thoughts on year-end appeals, and monetary giving and motive..

* "Drudgery is the test of genuine character. The greatest hinderance to our spiritual life is that we will only look for big things to do." - Oswald Chambers

 MOTHER AND CHILD
    As we are in the season of Advent - I being in my own personal season of waiting on this baby inside of me to "finish cooking" - I was struck by a wonderment the other day during a conversation with my midwife. I experience "toning or practice contractions" (also known as "Braxton-Hicks") for two months or so before my baby is actually born. They started daily in June with Jaelyn, and she was born the first week of August. With this baby, it was about the beginning of November that I've daily had partial or full-uterine contractions. I know this is not common for everyone, as I have a friend (who has birthed 6 kids) tell me she only has contractions on the day she delivers.
    On social media there is a trend now to "tell the birth story" of your child's entrance into the world but I suspect it's been a word-of-mouth tradition shared for ages past.. However, the gospel writers, being men, left out that part of Mary's story, only telling us that "she brought forth her first born son" .. and so it causes me to wonder.. Did Mary have "practice contractions" leading up to the birth of Jesus? As she rode on the donkey, did she sometimes have to catch her breath at the intensity of her body "preparing room" for Jesus's entrance? Hollywood would like us to believe it was a dramatic arrival to Bethlehem with her in transition as Joseph frantically searches for a place for her to give birth.. But still, I wonder.. Maybe they got to Bethlehem, found a place, then her water broke the next day and Joseph had time to track down a local midwife to come help with the birth. It being her first child, I don't know all the Jewish customs, but I have to assume that there was help from a local midwife.. How long was Mary's labor? A short 5 hours? or a taxing 24 hours?
As I wait for this second child of ours to come into our arms, these are my ponderings of late.. :)


JOYFUL GIVING
    From November 29th to December 31st it seems as though we've entered the era of social media pressured giving. As much as I want to take advantage of the social media trend, I also feel a tinge of remorse. I want to be an outlet for God to use your gifts, talents and resources to meet a need that I feel is very blaring, but I don't want to do it at the expense of you spending time with our Abba and asking Him where it is He wants you to invest those things. I am not a "one-man-team" and can't do it all on my own - so I need you to partner with me to accomplish the things that He's given me the vision to do. But I also don't want it to only be a check-mark on your financial duty to "give". I want you to want to be generous because you realize that you've been given much - and in that "much" you want to be blessing to others. I want to be a conduit of blessing for you, not a sieve of gilt on you.
   So I wax and wane in my support-raising efforts during this time. I did try to capitalize on the #GivingTuesday wave, as I keep hearing the saying, "People want to be a part of something bigger than themselves".. but I struggle to keep the fundraising side of things at the front of what I do, because I don't want you to give out of obligation - I want you to give because you see the vision, you can feel the need, and you want to be a part of the bigger picture too..
    And maybe that's where I've failed you in the past.. I've not painted you that picture, given you those stories - the Evidences of Glory - that are happening on the college campus with Deaf students right now. I've neglected to broaden your horizon's about the Deaf community and the lack of understanding they possess when it comes to Christian things *mainly* because of the lack of information available to them.  I hope to do a better job in the coming year of raising awareness regarding a Deaf individuals access to Christian resources as well as introduce you to some of the key players who are working alongside me in this fledgling ministry. Thank you for your time and patience as I learn how best to bring these things to your attention. And thank you for those of you who have been joining me on this journey from the beginning. I truly do value your partnership, and am grateful for the team that our Heavenly Father has provided thus far. May we continue the journey together, further up and further in! :)



MAKING MASTERPIECES IN THE MUNDANE
    And it's that quote from Oswald Chambers that has me thinking about the state of the ministry - where I find myself currently - two years in and still trying to figure out all that I should be doing. I actually prefer the "behind the scenes" work of a conference or event to the "stand in the spot light" side of interpreting. However, in doing the behind the scenes work, I don't always take time to consider that the work I'm doing will be of any real value to anyone other than myself, and those it immediately impacts - ie: attendees, conference planners, etc.. As I've been taking some courses provided by Cru on leadership, I've found myself realizing that in pioneering this trail within the larger organization of Cru, I'm actually leaving blue-prints along the way for those who will come after me. I'm laying foundation that others will build upon. And in doing so, I need to not only look to the here and now, but also to think about the others that will come after me, and how what I establish now will either be the "norms/best practices" for the future or the "draft that gets thrown away for faulty planning".. I long to be the former in my current role. I want to not get stuck in the "drudgery" of establishing a ministry, but I want to make sure I'm laying a solid foundation for the next generation of workers in Deaf ministry to follow. What about you? What do you see as mundane in your current situation that could actually be the formation of Christian character with in you?


Praying that you find this holiday season full of rest and time to reflect. In whatever way our Adonai is prompting you - to do, to give, to rest, to be - I hope you heed His advice and dwell there for a bit. :)

Soli Deo Gloria
:D