Learning something new.

Last month I started taking an introductory ASL (American Sign Language) course with a family friend.
I thought I'd enjoy it and knew I would benefit from it. I recently started taking steps to land a job working exclusively within the special needs community, so I thought learning some sign language would be a huge asset.
I didn't know I was about to fall in love. . .

Since I have started my class. . . I've watched numerous ASL lesson videos online, practiced and studied (almost) nightly, and I have read articles and books on Deaf culture. Basically, I've just been learning as much as I can with the resources that I've been given and the things I've found myself.

IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I HAVE ENJOYED SOMETHING THIS MUCH.

I just spent my most of my evening learning new signs and practicing some I've already known. I sent a video to a friend of mine, just showing off some of my new signs. My friend immediately commented on how genuinely happy I looked signing. Just hearing that made me smile, I know I have so much more to learn. . . Nevertheless I am so thankful that I've had  the opportunity to learn something so beautiful and interesting.


***Here are some sweet kiddos that are deaf or hard of hearing that need families. ***
These children will not reach their full potential in institutions, they would THRIVE in a family.
The first child on my list is "Lanie", she's the child I will be raising money for during Angel Tree. . . I love her so.

http://reecesrainbow.org/36282/lanie-l

http://reecesrainbow.org/50131/penelope

                                       

http://reecesrainbow.org/66356/syler

http://reecesrainbow.org/53317/richard

http://reecesrainbow.org/64568/antonio

                                         

http://reecesrainbow.org/1078/b657

                                        

http://reecesrainbow.org/1124/andruisl

                                           

Treasure.

The past few days I was at a conference full of strangers. When lunch time would roll around I would find a stranger to sit next to and start a conversation.

Seated all alone at a table not so far from me I see a small and stern-looking woman with round glasses. I pray silently and sit down next to her. We talk about our cities, passions, and she tells me all about her publishing company. Then we start to talk family, I tell her all about my niece and nephew that recently came home from Eastern Europe. I show her pictures and the minute she sees Sam, she points to my phone's screen and tears fill her eyes.

The she tells me about her sister, Kelly. Kelly had multiple special needs and was taken care of primarily by family until she passed away in her early twenties. She told me that Kelly was her family's greatest treasure, she was almost always smiling. She later told me how her mom fought so that her sister had the best education and doctors. How their lives were so much better with Kelly in them, how it's been over twenty years but her heart still aches for her sister. One thing that my new friend said more than once was how grateful she was that her mother insisted that her and her sister had the same experiences. Sunshine, sledding, trips to the big city. Kelly lived! These precious ones below deserve the same. . . they wait to be chosen and loved. They desperately need families.

http://reecesrainbow.org/53284/mildred

http://reecesrainbow.org/40592/kanani

http://reecesrainbow.org/57996/kraig-29-10

Photos from lately.

           

         

For Kyle.

I had another post planned, but this is a post that I have to make. 

Late last year a certain country closed their doors to American adoptions. 
So many people's lives were altered by these events, some of the children over there had people coming for them. They were chosen. . .they still are. I know that their names are still engraved on the hearts of their parents and will be forever. They are still loved and wanted. 

I was heartbroken to hear that this sweet-faced little guy passed away yesterday. 
Someone's son. 
Kyle was chosen. 
I like to think that tonight he's sitting on Jesus' lap. . . no more tears or fear. Just love, the love that this sweet little guy yearned for his entire life. 

There is so much we can do . . . 
Yesterday after I heard about Kyle I listened to song by a band called "Take it Back!"  and they say it perfectly. 

"This has to end here .
This has to end right now.
No longer can we wait for things to all work out.
Just open up your eyes 
and look past your front door.
Your sisters in the streets and your brothers at war. 
Compassion has been lost in a nation built by greed ,
but we could be a generation that is truly free." 

Tonight look past your suburban street or your city loft. . . think of the sweet little loves that are locked away. 

In honor of sweet Kyle I urge you to pray for an orphan tonight, if you don't pray at least look at some of these sweet faces. Every last one of these children matter, they deserve to live in a home with people that love them. They do not deserve to die alone alone, children are meant to be in families. . . not institutions.

http://reecesrainbow.org/59329/phoenix

http://reecesrainbow.org/41347/ginger-jamie-twins

http://reecesrainbow.org/64331/lynda

http://reecesrainbow.org/38349/maddie-l

                                                 

Angel Tree!

**So I know Christmas is a few months away, but I'd like to tell you about something that I'm going to be doing in these upcoming months. So all of you can get excited with me! **

I remember when I was little, the way my heart would skip a beat when I saw wrapped boxes under a tree.
I remember singing "Away in a Manager" with my children's choir at church.
I remember eating Christmas cookies until I was nearly bursting.
But thing I remember most of all have nothing to do with presents or traditions. . . family.
Jesus surrounded me with family, I was loved.


This year through Reece's Rainbow, I get to help a very precious little girl get closer to finding her family.
Every year Reece's Rainbow does a HUGE fundraiser called Angel Tree.

Meet Lanie. This is the little lady I've committed to raise funds and awareness for. Isn't she beautiful?! Look at that little button nose and her tiny glasses. I just want to squeeze her!

Lanie is seven years old and she's living in an orphanage in Eastern Europe. 

She's waiting, waiting to be a daughter. I can't imagine the joy she'll feel when she finally gets a long-awaited hug from her papa and kiss from her mama when she's scared. This precious girl needs the love that only comes from being in a family. 

I've got some really neat fundraising ideas in the works for Lanie during this holiday season. (Including the auction of some one of a kind art pieces!) But I'm open to any ideas you may have.

 Lanie is loved by many people here in the states and I want to urge all you to continue posting her photos and telling people about her.

LANIE IS LOVED. 

I can't wait for the day that I see pictures of her with her future family, safely in her mama's lap. 

***Angel Tree officially starts November 1st. . . If you'd like to have your own Angel Tree child this holiday season or would like to help me in any way email me at emmyxjoy@gmail.com and I can point you in the right direction***

Change of heart, new beginnings, and precious faces.

Sometimes words don't come out the way we want them to, I wish I could just show you the content of my heart on this subject without words. But since that's not possible, you get to read the contents of where I sit currently. How my heart was stirred & how it happened.

So I remember visiting this youth group when I was about 14 years old, this missionary and his wife were visiting and they showed us this slideshow of the kids they were helping care for in a country that seemed so far away. They didn't ask us for money, they just asked us to not forget about their kids and to always pray for and care about orphans. I agreed to do that, I swore that day that I'd always care about the fatherless but I slowly forgot about them and their faces were a distant memory. But then something amazing and incredible happened. . .

Fast-forward to the week of Christmas last year, my sister-in-law showed me a picture of a precious little guy. Big brown eyes, handsome tiny face, the works. . .while looking at him I remembered those precious ones from the missionary's slideshow all those years ago. I felt about 25 emotions at once, that night I prayed harder and longer than I had in a VERY long time. Not just for the sweet little brown eyed boy in the photo, but for his friends and for the kids in those photos I saw over 10 years ago. The sweet, little, and handsome brown-eyed boy is now my nephew and his story is just beginning. I can't wait to hold him in my lap and tell him how loved he is. I can't even explain with words how grateful I am for him, his parents, his siblings and their part in my story and how my eyes were opened. (I'm sure there will be more on that in a later post.)

These precious ones below sit and wait for their stories to begin. Look at their pictures. Donate to their funds if you're able (links provided under every picture), pray for them, tell people about them, and please don't forget their faces.

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."--James 1:27 NLT

http://reecesrainbow.org/41347/ginger-jamie-twins

http://reecesrainbow.org/60615/ava-mia

http://reecesrainbow.org/59313/iggy

http://reecesrainbow.org/59329/phoenix

***Also my friend is currently on the road via Van's Warped Tour, with her non-for profit, SKAD.       They are reaching out to kids that desperately need to feel the love of a Father and need to know that they aren't forgotten. She's dedicated her life to loving the unloved and shining light in some of the darkest places. Support these wonderful Jesus lovin' folks, make a donation, "like" them on facebook, see what they are doing, and pray for them as they continue out on the road. ***

Learn more about SKAD via the links below:

https://www.facebook.com/StealKillandDestroy

http://stealkillanddestroy.com/

https://twitter.com/SKADworldwide

Instagram: SKADigram

Arks, hope, and photos from lately.

 Lately I've been thinking a lot about Noah. . . you know that guy who built that big boat?
I can only imagine how insane he looked building the ark, I can almost hear the people of his day snickering and laughing as they passed by. But Noah obeyed, he used God's blueprint, and he lived.

Sometimes it's really hard as a human to obey, to just listen and do what we are supposed to be doing. There are times in my own life where I don't do that, I'm pretty sure we're all guilty in that sense. But there is hope and there is a promise, a promise that every thing will be alright. It may not be today or tomorrow, but eventually you'll be just fine. For Noah that promise of hope and better days took the form of a rainbow. . . in a once stormy sky. I'm learning to just be still and obedient during storms, even though my personality says otherwise some days. There are brighter days ahead for all of us my friends, keep your chins up.

Check out the two cuties on my sidebar, their names are Jamie and Ginger. They need a family.   Click on their picture for more information and feel free to share their photo and pray for them.
As always, for prayer requests you can email me at emmyjoyprays@gmail.com.