From Michelle:Abby Update:
Abby is doing absolutely wonderful. I have spent my day chasing after an energetic 4 year old. I am tired, but I loved it.
Abby's white count is so high, she doesn't need anymore of the shots they were giving her to stimulate their production. Abby is thrilled there will be no more of those pokes. Abby is not complaining of any pain, so they are weaning her off of her IV morphine, in order to prepare her for going home.
Abby's wound is healing, BUT it is only about half healed. The tentative plan is to discharge by Tuesday and continue IV antibiotics and wound care at home. Once Abby is switched to oral pain relievers, she will be ready to go home.
The biggest challenge will be getting 5 different specialty doctors to approve her discharge, in time to arrange home health.
Abby's wound still needs a lot of healing and has a big raw, open area. Please continue to pray for its healing and for protection from further infections. Keeping germs out of it at home with SpideyLandis will be as much "fun" as keeping the hospital germs out of it.
Please pray for wisdom for the doctors and for myself as we rap up this hospital stay. I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to be home soon, but I am not pushing for it, without the doctors' blessings.
Abby loves to stand on the base of her I.V. pole and go for a ride.
We have wood floors in our house too, so she often gets
rides around the house when she's hooked up.Michelle Answers:Kritter Krit asked:What are your thoughts on changing a child's name to *Americanize* it after an international adoption? Does it depend on their age, their wishes?From talking to older adoptees and other adoptive parents, I don't believe there is one "right" answer to this question. I can tell you what we have done with out first 3 adopted children's names, but I have no idea what we will do with our NEXT adopted child or children. (I wonder if Brent will read this. ;-)
All of our adopted children have a lot of legal names. We kept most or all of their birth names and then added a more American names. Abby's name is actually Abigail. Her birth mother named her after Abby's maternal grandmother. I love it that she is able to keep a name that meant so much to her birth family. Hopefully it will mean something to Abby, too.
Being older when we adopted her (nine), we originally intended to keep calling Sami, Samrawit. Samrawit is still her legal name, but she now introduces herself as Sami. We tried to say her name the way they did in Ethiopia, but hearing Brent and I say her name, with an Oklahoman accent grated on her nerves. She was hilarious when she talked about it, but we could tell it really bothered her. Most non-family members chose to not try to say her name and a lot who did try, butchered it. We all wanted to say it right, but couldn't get it close enough to be comforting to Sami.
We did want to add a name that would be easier for Americans to pronounce, but we didn't bring the subject up until Sami noticed her friends, who were adopted from the same orphanage, all had new names and their Ethiopian names. Of the names Brent and I liked, Sami LOVED the name Hannah. It is special to us not only because of its biblical origins, but because Sami lived at Hannah's Hope, Ethiopia.
Kelly asked:I was wondering how Sami is able to be at the hospital so much? Is she homeschooled? Do you homeschool all of your kids? I bet Abby really loves when Sami is there to play with her :) I'm so glad that they can spend time together even when Abbys in the hospital!
Sami is our only child that we are currently homeschooling. We decided to homeschool her before Abby was diagnosed, and it has worked well during Abby's illness. We use a web-based curriculum that keeps track of progress, grades and time spent learning. Sami loves it and is learning quickly.
http://www.time4learning.com/ I couldn't teach her, when Abby is sick, without it. With a laptop she can do school at the hospital or at clinic appointments.
Abby and I love having Sami at the hospital.
Michelle asked:How is Sami doing with everything. She had just come to the USA and then Abby got sick.
Sami has wonderful coping skills. Skills she learned by enduring hardships. While, as a mom, it breaks my heart that she has gone through so many hardships, God has used those lessons to help her cope beautifully with the challenges Abby's illness brings.
Before Sami had ever met us, she decided to love us, trust us and embrace us as her family. The bond those choices allowed us to form, have made it much easier to continue to bond with her, parent her, teach her, and have fun with her, in the midst of our current challenges.
Sami is a fun, confident, loyal, hardworking and loving daughter. We couldn't be more proud of her.
Shari asked:
First, let me say that I consider it a privilege to be able to read your blog and pray for your family. When you adopted your children, how did you start the process for overseas adoptions?
Once you determine it is God's will for you to adopt and that you are willing to obey Him, the next step is finding a great agency. A wonderful agency will hold your hand and guide you every step of the way, a bad one will torture you for years with empty promises. I know it sounds like I am exaggerating, but trust me, I am not. One of the very best resources out there is,
http://www.redletterscampaign.com/adoption-411-2/Kelli Bosarge asked:
Hi Brent and Michelle, one more question. A friend of mine has a son with Leukemia, and read my prayer request for Abby. He was wanting to know what form of Leukemia Abby has (ALL, etc). I didnt know what to tell him.Abby is High Risk, Pre B ALL, MTHFR Positive, t/t genotype
Brent Answers:An email to me asked:Did you ever hear from Left Out?Yes, I did. I’m glad he decided to contact me. He is a young man (14) who does not have a spiritual friend or mentor, and is looking for someone who can answer his questions about God. I told him I would be that person for him, and I hope to be able to disciple him to the degree I can via email. Sounds like a very nice young man.
Nadara asked: I would love to know your opinion on parents in the workforce. Specifically outside of the home. Do you think one parent should be with the kids full time? I currently stay home with my 4 girls but have great respect for working parents as well.There is no Biblical RULE about both parents working. I think a very substantial argument can be made for the benefit of a parent staying home full time with the children as well as an argument that NEGLECTING the parenting of our children would be an ungodly choice. However, we have Biblical precedent for industrious working women, ie. The Proverbs 31 Woman.
It is a matter of liberty and conscience for each Christian family. No matter how convicted any of us are about “man works, woman stays home” it remains just that: a personal conviction. If the Bible plainly stated that as a command, I’d be the first to say so. Our command is to raise our children to love and serve the Lord.
My personal opinion and conviction is that if both parents work outside the home AND THE CHILDREN ARE BEING PARENTED BY SOMEONE ELSE, that is a less than ideal choice. I realize that some parents have no choice, but far too often that “no choice” is because a certain level of lifestyle wants to be maintained. In those cases, we do our children a real disservice.
It is our duty and privilege to make sure, whether both parents work or not, that our children are genuinely parented by US, not other people while we work, if at all possible. If we have to give up “lifestyle” to be at home to parent our kids, then that is a sacrifice you’ll never regret.
As the kids get older and the opportunity arises for both parents to work without sacrificing parenting, then there is no Biblical reason to say “no” to it. And I’ll say on the flip side, it is in NO way a “lesser” choice or calling for a couple to decide that the wife never works outside the home, even after the kids are grown. It is a matter of personal liberty in Christ and like all matters of liberty, we should not elevate our personal convictions to “doctrine”.
Purple moose asked: People read the Bible and come up with such different opinions, and are convinced that only theirs is right. How do I know who is right?Fortunately, God will only judge me, based on me. I don’t have to worry about what other people believe. Each Christian has the duty to study God’s Word and to the best of their ability, be honest about what it says, and do their best to obey what they believe to be true.
If “perfect doctrine” determines salvation, none of us will saved. Fortunately, faith in Christ is the determining factor. Learning doctrine, studying the Bible, and trying learn what God says is part of our “sanctification”, that is, the process of becoming more and more Christlike every day.
I often tell people to quit listening to everyone else, and just get your Bible out. Forget the man-made systematic theologies and doctrinal camps… you are perfectly capable of opening your Bible, reading it, asking God what it means, and then other teachers like me become a “help”, not an authority.
Christy asked: A few posts ago you added three new buttons of children to pray for, and Zoey was one of them. Then I noticed that she disappeared....where did she go?
Zoey’s mom requested we remove the badge.
Mandy asked: Been wondering about this: I was asking for prayers for Grady not long ago. He did very well with the *clearance appt* and then got his tubes and all went well. The prayers worked. Or did they? Would that have happened even without the prayers? What if we had all prayed yet things didn’t go well. Did we not pray right? enough? Did God not want things to go well? Just some ponderings I’ve had and would like your take.We pray. God hears. We trust in God’s sovereignty and providence. Would good things still happen if we don’t pray? We better hope so because I know we don’t pray for every single good thing that happens. Did you pray to wake up breathing this morning?
Sometimes we pray and things don’t go well. Does the mean we prayed “wrong”? Sometimes. But sometimes we just didn’t know that God had other plans. Sometimes we pray “right” and God has something better, or different. Sometimes we pray "right" but something in our life is hindering our prayers.
Here’s a post I did about prayer one time that I think might be interesting:
http://www.seriousfaith.com/dvo/devotion.asp?teachingnumber=347When God AnswersPsalm 140:6 I said to the Lord: “You are my God; Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord. (NKJV)I was sitting in on a Bible study the other day when someone said, "God always answers our prayers. He either says 'yes', 'no' or 'wait'." I have heard that countless times over the course of my life from Christians in every stage of their walk with God, from the pulpit to books to Bible studies.
Over the years it has just become one of those "standard" Christian sayings that everyone nods their head to and passively agrees with. For some reason when I recently heard it, it caused me to stop and think about it. It dawned on me that it is not profitable to perpetuate overly simplistic cliches about Christian issues.
First of all, God does NOT always answer prayer. It is our assumption that God's silence equates to "no" or "wait". That is OUR assumption. God's silence may be for any number of reasons: We may not have met the conditions God requires for answered prayer:
- Sin must be confessed (2Chron 6.26; Psa 66.18; James 5.1; Prov 1.28)
Unforgiveness must not be present (Mark 11.25)
We must be asking for the right reasons (1John 5.13-15; James 4.3)
We have to have faith in Christ (John 15.7)
We ask in Jesus name for His glory (John 14.14)
We have to be obedient (1John 3.22)
We must ask God in belief (Mark 11.24)
You must be treating your spouse in a Godly manner (1Pet 3.7)
God's glory may be increased through His silence
God's silence might be part of a bigger plan we don't, or can't, know about
God may have His own reason and choose not to reveal it (Deut 29.29)
Christians walk by faith and promises that frequently don't include answers or explanations. When God does answer, there are any number of variations to "yes, no or wait" that He may reply:
- Yes
Yes, with conditions
Yes, with corrections
No
No, unless....
No, except for...
No, but if you will...
Wait
Wait, until I have...
Wait, until you have...
Beyond that I can think of other ways God might answer us as well:
- You should already know the answer
I have already given you the answer
You are not ready to hear the answer
You don't want to hear the real answer
You aren't listening, I'm already answering
You aren't capable of understanding the answer
I'll tell you but you still won't hear the answer
You've already decided what you want the answer to be
By constraining God to three easy answers, we take alot of the hard work out of prayer. The "hard pursuit" of God is where much of our spiritual growth occurs. Remember the old "magic 8 ball" that had the answer window in it? You would turn the ball over, then turn it right-side up, and the "answer" would appear in the window.
Sometimes we treat God like a "magic 8 ball" when we box Him in with predetermined answers. We ask our prayer, spin God around, and get the magic answer. And we can predetermine the answer 33% of the time because we've limited God to three choices.
James 5:16b - The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (NKJV)
God is so far beyond our understanding there is no doubt many ways God COULD answer us that we would have no ability to comprehend. My feeble little list in this lesson surely does not even scratch the reality of the ways our Infinite and Creative God could answer our prayers.
When you pray, you have to meet the requirements God plainly requires in order for your prayers to be considered in the first place. Assuming those requirements are met, don't limit God to a few simple answers that we can compartmentalize. Stand in wonder and awe at the Almighty God who can answer our prayers in ways we cannot fathom.
And don't worry about if you get an answer that you don't instantly comprehend or understand. You have to believe and have faith that whatever answer God provides, whether or not you can hear it, grasp it or see it, it is BY DEFAULT the perfect answer!
Laugher Lives Tuesday is a day when we all get to look forward to a good laugh. No rules, no stress, just OPEN SEASON FUNNY!
Tina Sami Davis Jr. Turner played to packed house: Landis.
It's not too late to get into this months blog directory. We've had about 900,000 page views of the March issue!
Hi/Lo Thursday
Landis prays so sweetly for everyone in our entire family.
