It's the Most Wonderful Time .... of the Year

For most Americans those words evoke the lyrics of a traditional Christmas song.  But for our family spring is the preferred season.  Spring means Doyle and Sydney's birthdays, Easter, and the Dowd Family Reunion.  This spring we also saw Jenson reach a new milestone.  On April 7, Jenson tested for his orange belt in Tang Soo Do karate.  Here he is, just after passing his test with flying colors, along with his instructors Masters Matt and Nick Coffman.  Nick often brags that Jenson trains and works harder than almost any student he has.  We're so proud of his hard work !

What a weekend!  - Because the Sunday after Jenson's belt test on Saturday, we also enjoyed  Sydney AND Doyle's birthdays AND Easter Sunday on April 8th.  Let's just say our house was an explosion of gifts, cakes, and chocolate.  (For those of you who know me well, you realize how painful this was for me as the Queen of Health Food!)  Doyle and Sydney opted to open gifts and have their cakes on Saturday evening.



This year Doyle chose a strawberry pie in lieu of a cake, so I at least made a low-carb crust with almond flour and tons of butter.  The homemade strawberry filling was topped with real whipped cream.  We all needed a nap after consuming a piece of this beauty!

Sydney has been caught up in the Hunger Games book trilogy and the new movie (which she and Doyle saw at the midnight premier).  God surprised us all by letting us find a steal of a deal on a second-hand bow and arrow set for her as a birthay gift.  Sydney was shocked!  As a mother I adore finding surprises for my kids and this one was so much fun.  We truly had a difficult time keeping it a secret but once she received it she headed outside to learn the sport of archery. 

Sunday morning we headed to church to celebrate the resurrection of Christ with our church family.   The kids (and Doyle) were patient as I had them pose for the obligatory Easter-Sunday-New-Spring-Clothes photo.

One week later we headed to Indian Springs State Park to enjoy visiting with Doyle's siblings and their spouses, children, and grandchildren.  All told there were about 80 Dowd descendants of Arlin and Jimmie Lee Dowd present Saturday. 

Here is Doyle holding his great-nephew Jackson Pham.  Jackson's grandmother is Doyle's sister Becky.  What was so special about seeing little Jackson was hearing the praise report about how God recently healed him of reflux and severe food allergies.  He is gaining weight, sleeping through the night, and doing much better than before. 

Perhaps the sweetest stories told Saturday was shared by Doyle's aunts and uncles who were siblings to Doyle's mother Jimmie Lee (now in heaven).  Several of them told us how Doyle's parents sent money for books and clothes to them while in college in the 1940's, how his parents took them in to live in their home (already full with 10+ kids at the time!), and how their home was a place of love, laughter, and God's presence.    They managed to do this while working multiple jobs themselves, raising a large family, and dealing with Doyle's father being a survivor of tuberculosis only recently treated. 

Psalm 78:4-6

4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.

5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children,

6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.

We of the second generation are enjoying the spiritual and physical heritage of those who've gone before us.  I hope and pray that I can leave such a blessed memory behind of how I invested with God's love into the lives of others.



Here Am I... Send Me... But Clothe Me First !

^"8Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:8.

Saturday evening my phone rang and it was my aunt, Mary Ellen.  She was calling to congratulate our family on an accomplishment of my Dad's.  Thursday, February 23rd, my father was Chaplain of the Day at the Georgia General Assembly.  He was invited to open the Assembly in prayer and with a devotion.  My aunt shared memories with me of my deceased paternal grandmother.  She was a godly woman, a minister herself, who lived to share Christ's love with her family and anyone God put into her pathway.  My aunt and I spent a few moments imagining how proud her mother/my grandmother must be in heaven knowing that her son was offering a vivid witness of his faith before others.

(Lily, my mother Mary, and my father Randy preparing to be called up to share the devotion.)

Earlier that same Saturday I had enjoyed the privilege of attending a baby shower for my niece by marriage, LeMai.  She and her adoring husband John are preparing to welcome their first baby (boy) into the world sometime around April 30.  At the party I met John's step-mother, who began sharing with me her family stories of faith in action.  God had already blessed her with five grandchildren, several of whom were adopted domestically.  Her face shown with pride as she unfolded her daughter's call to mission ministry when just a teen and how God had later led her to the path of adoption. 

Sunday morning we sat in the first worship service as our pastor unpacked his sermon about the "Generosity Gamble."  Pastor Jason Britt prodded us to see that true generosity is when we get comfortable being uncomfortable.   When God calls us to His love, it is not simply to hold it for our benefit.  True generosity looks outward becoming a conduit of Divine Love.  To finish our service Pastor Jason had our mutual friends Derek and Michele Fort share about God's recent call to their hearts.  Through a series of events God has called the Forts to international adoption.  They believe specifically to a daughter from India, but they are patiently and in faith stepping out to see God lay this path before them.  Michelle's face radiated a combination of excitement and nervousness as she asked us to pray for them on this journey.

One thing is becoming more and more obvious to me (O.K., maybe it's taken me a while to get there, but I AM getting there...).   Life takes on extraordinary meaning when we listen to God's call upon our heart.  In my grandmother's time a female minister was out-of-the-ordinary to say the least.  But she laid a foundation for the faith of generations to come.  In the life of John's sister, a call to missions became a call to adoption in the next season of her life.  She and her husband have given three girls a family to call their own.  Michele and Derek have had many prayer-filled sleepless nights lately over an unmet daughter at risk for homelessness and prostitution in India.  Each of them have answered a call.

Isaiah wrote his story of calling in an uncertain time politically and economically.  In fact uncertainty was the only certainty of his time.  But he stepped out knowing the power and presence of the God who had called him.  Many times I've wanted to step out, but I've been so afraid that I'll mess it up, or that I'll fall short of finishing the job, or that I don't have the resources I need to do what needs to be done. 

This morning in my first awake moments of groggy brain fog, the Holy Spirit sent me to Judges 6.  Poor Gideon!  Living under constant military attack, working overnight to hide their precious food and grain from the enemy.  God shook his world by calling him courageous.  God then called him to put the local idols on a public altar, and move on to overthrowing the Midianites.  In verse 34 it says:

 ^"34But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with Himself and took possession of him..."  Judges 6:34 (AMP)  As I read this verse I knew how my grandmother stepped out to receive the call to minister in a time when women's careers were not lauded nor encouraged.  I was reminded of how God's Spirit literally carried our adoption paperwork through American channels so we could put Jenson on hold in a system that planned to put him out.  And I know this is how God will empower Michele and Derek to find and bring their child home from despairing circumstances.  God chooses to call unlikely people, sometimes in comfortable places -- others in perilous times or impoverished means.  But when He does, He clothes them with Himself so the glory goes totally to Him.  My prayer today is for my friends and myself to stay clothed in Him so His love can do generous things through us.  I'm glad I'm not alone as I take the road of His choosing!

Fait Accompli

The last few days have led to some fun accomplishments in our family.  Although we all dream about surprise victories in life, most of the time our greatest deeds are when opportunity meets preparation.  Such is the case in recent days for us.

Each January our church hosts an AWANA Grand Prix event.  The participating students each begin with a stock wooden car that can be modified and designed to individual tastes.  Then they compete against one another in various races.  Here's some video of what happened during this year's races with Ethan and Lily's cars:

Although we didn't end up winning the award, the kids learned a lot about diligence, patience, and supporting others.

Another January accomplishment was Jenson's first Tang Soo Do karate belt test.  He was successfully promoted from a white to a yellow belt.  He has worked SO hard and his instructors Masters Matt and Nick Coffman have complemented Jenson on his dedication and determination to master the principles.  Way to go, Jenson !



This year we began a new homeschool adventure by joining Scholars Guild, a homeschool co-op community that offers accredited classes once a week.  Sydney is in 8th grade this year and has really enjoyed working with her history instructor, Mrs. Becky Yount (who also is proficient in Russian and likes to surprise Jenson with her Russian questions).   As a part of Mrs. Yount's work, her students were given the opportunity to contribute a National History Day assignment and offer their work in a competition at the University of Georgia.  This was Sydney's first project for this program.  She chose to design a web-page on Narcissa Whitman, a missionary to the Oregon Territory during the pioneer days.  Here's a link to Sydney's page: http://47135798.nhd.weebly.com/index.html.

On February 18th, she and her fellow SG students headed to UGA to have their projects judged by a series of history experts and professors.  Each student was interviewed by the judges as a part of the competition.  We were thrilled when Sydney took 2nd place for Junior Divison web design !  Sydney and the other awarded students advance onto the state level competition to be held in April.

Ethan Fountain, Sydney Dowd, and Katelyn Hensley

All of the Scholars Guild participants, including medal winners and teacher Mrs. Becky Yount

Last, but certainly not least, Lily is celebrating her 9th birthday on February 22nd.  Because it's a middle of the week birthday, she opted to have a few friends over to celebrate the weekend before.  It's hard to believe my "baby" is already 9!! 

What to most families may seem mundane party planning, was a big deal for us that taught us another reminder of how God provides in the big and small requests of our hearts. Since Lily was 1 year old, we've known she has food allergies and Celiac Disease (gluten intolerance). Because of that I've always had to make her birthday cake at home since the typical bakeries don't do allergen-free cakes. While I'm good at old-fashioned cooking, I am NOT a pastry chef, so my kids have had to endure years of plain cakes. Last year we met a wonderful man named David Kilpatrick who lives in the Atlanta area and does bake custom allergen-free cakes. All week Lily has been waiting to pick up her specialized Hello Kitty cake. When we met David to pick up the cake, Lily almost burst into tears to have such a beautiful thing to enjoy for her party. Thanks, God, for hearing the inner requests of a 9 year old's heart!

Lily, Lexi, and Zoey

Lexi, Ryleigh, Lily, and Zoey

So, I'll end this post with a passage that reminds me of how God really does know my innermost thoughts and desires.  How gracious He is to us -- How comforting it is to know He cares about every little detail of our lives.



Psalm 139

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

¹ O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
² You know ^[a]when I sit down and ^[b]when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
³ You ^[c]scrutinize my ^[d]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
^{4 [e]}Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
⁵ You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

Will You Call Me Sweetheart ?

Time is rushing along in our lives, but some things seem either to stay the same, or repeat.  Truly Solomon displayed wisdom when he wrote,

"What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun."

Ecclesiastes 1:9

In our family, we've had both good times and bad repeat themselves.  January 18 was my 22nd wedding anniversary with my amazing husband Doyle.  Since it fell during the week, we had planned to go out to dinner that Friday night.  Unfortunately, that Friday morning Doyle was let go from his job.  It seemed a bit of deja vu for us because he had also experienced this in September of 2009.  Instead of celebrating with a fancy dinner in an upscale restaurant, we celebrated with pizza for two and a simple date night.

In a way this was a blessing.   Since Doyle had been hired for that position he had been under incredible stress.  What we found out in retrospect was that his job entailed responsibilities previously completed by not one, but three employees.  He was under pressure to do the impossible and it played itself out when the company decided it wasn't working (!) and that they needed to restructure.  As a part of the restructure, they eliminated Doyle along with some other employees.  When Doyle called to tell me he was coming home early and why, he actually seemed happy.  I could hear a peace in his voice.  He had been relieved of a burden that had proven futile to carry for him.

While being unemployed again will be a financial adjustment for us (this time we have one more mouth to feed), we know God will be faithful.  That doesn't mean that we are constantly up emotionally -- quite the contrary.  Back in 2009 he was unemployed for seven months before finding another job.  This was difficult.  Personally, I'm glad I don't have to watch the husband I love start wrestling with depression each Sunday evening as he mentally prepared to go to a job on Monday that was an unhappy place for him.  Like Joseph of the Old Testament we're unable to perceive exactly what purpose our pit and prison has had for us.   I know Doyle, like Joseph, was undeserving of the criticism heaped upon him.  Like Joseph, I am striving to bear no resentment to those who facilitated the pit, the slavery, and the prison.  God's love for us, and our love for one another will carry us through this.  Eventually we hope to see His greater purpose for this season. 

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."  Hebrews 11:6

During the last few months of his work there, we had definetely been seeking God under the great difficulty Doyle had been experiencing.



Last weekend when I went grocery shopping I had an unexpected volunteer to go with me.  My 12-year old Ethan leapt at the chance to go help me.  While he's usually enthusiastic to eat what I buy, he doesn't usually volunteer to help me get it.  Once we got to Kroger, he made a beeline for the specialty candy bars.  With a shy voice he told me that he was shopping for Hannah, his friend from church.  I had noticed in recent weeks a few comments from siblings about his attachment to her so this wasn't a total surprise.  By Sunday he had the candy wrapped in a bow.  As we parted company for Sunday School I asked him if he was ready to see Hannah.  He flashed me his biggest grin.  My mother's heart couldn't help but notice that while his pre-teen heart was ready to venture into love, his face still showed me a young boy's smile missing a tooth.  He is growing between two life seasons.



For Valentine's Day 2012 I am blessed with so many sources of love in my life;  my supportive, hard-working husband, a 17 year-old son who hugs me each morning, a 13 year-old daughter who sings songs of praise while she does her chores, a 12 year-old son with a tender heart, and an almost 9 year-old daughter who lives to love people.  Most of all, I have the Creator of love who overshadows my life with His faithful promises.

"Who shall ever separate us from Christ's love?  Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation?  Or calamity or distress?  Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?  ... Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.  For I am persuaded beyond doubt that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:35-39

Letting Go for 2012

(Ethan ice skating for the first time.)

Well, we managed to survive the holidays.  Actually, we had a much more peaceful Advent Season this year since I had not just returned from overseas with a new child (like Christmas 2010)!  But one thing I did take advantage of was some extra time to read. 

A couple of books on parenting which caught my eye were Gary Smalley's, "Love Language of Teenagers," and "When Love is Not Enough," by Nancy L. Thomas.  Smalley's book focused on how to communicate love that is received by your teen.  Thomas' book focused on how to parent adopted children, specifically those with RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder).  What surprised me what the theme that both books had in common:  I cannot control the behavior of my children.  That may sound elementary to most parents, but I needed the reminder.  Currently our children are 8, 12, 13, and 17 years old.  Since our adoption of Jenson, we've had myriads of adjustments to make including relational, medical, educational, and time management.  I had slipped down the slippery slope of thinking that I needed to carefully manage all the details of our lives so that everything would flow smoothly.  Most of all, I had fallen for the temptation that I could and should control not only my children's behavior, but also their hearts.

Reality is... I control neither.  As a Christian parent I want to ensure that my children grow up with a Biblical worldview.  As a caring parent, I want them to be healthy, develop good habits, and become productive citizens of the global world we live in.  Trying to enforce, or simply force them to rapidly develop these attributes had become my major stressor.  Lately I had watched my appetite slip.  My sleep evaded me.  My peace disappeared.

One afternoon Lily and I were returning from a trip to the market, when the local PBS channel began playing medieval Christmas songs.  "God Rest You Merry Gentlemen," was featured.  I actually listened to the words of the song:

God rest you merry, gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray.

Refrain:
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy!

The Holy Spirit pricked my heart with the reality that I had stopped resting in Christ.... that I was letting everything dismay my heart.... that I was going astray from His comfort and joy.

So I had my New Year's Resolution intact for 2012.  To let go.  Let God manage my children's hearts.  Does that mean that I no longer ask them to brush their teeth, eat their vegetables, do their schoolwork, or pick up their clothes?  No.  But it does mean I won't nag them to do what they already know to do and that I will allow the consequences of their actions to teach them.  Grungy teeth, hungry stomachs, displeased co-op teachers, and nothing to wear to a party can teach them a lot more than me being a monkey on their backs. 

Most of all, I let God manage their hearts, because His love for them is greater than mine.  His interest in their future is larger than my grasp of reality.  His desire for glory through them exceeds their own plans for today or tomorrow.  Rest.  Holy Spirit, teach me to do that.

(Jenson, Sydney, Joy P, Sydney P ice-skating on their own slippery surface)





The Best Birthday, Ever

Well, this birthday has been haunting me for a while.  The B-I-G    40.   It has been sending me nasty notices for a couple of years now, in the form of teasing comments from "loved ones,"  surprise gray hair, and laugh lines which are no laughing matter.  Because the last few months have involved much adjustment thanks to our adoption, I opted not to have a party or go out of town for a long weekend (Doyle's suggestion).  No big party, no big gifts.  Someone forgot to tell God about this plan. 

After coming back from Ukraine, I was in super-Mom mode -- trying to catch up on two months worth of missed activities, landing right in the middle of the holidays; it was exhausting!  All the kids were sick during winter, Jenson's educational gaps became priority #1, and we added a new homeschooling co-op to our schedule.  However, in my heart of hearts, God had begun to prompt me to alter my main priorities with the kids.  I had been living moment by moment, stomping out little urgent fires as they appeared.  Yet God kept prompting me. 

When school started in September, I said, "O.K."  We went back to basics with our children and began working on the essential catechisms of the Christian faith, using a wonderful curriculum from Christian Liberty.  Who made me?  God made me.  What else did God make?  God made all things.  Why did God make you and everything else?  God made all things for His own glory.  Each morning we read Scripture that supported the catechism, read our daily Proverb, and prayed to start our day.  All the while, a 16 yr. old heart in our home was learning why he was made and by whom.  How sin entered the world and created an eternal gap between God and man.  How he was loved and how a Savior came to bridge the gap and restore him to God.  Each week he came home with questions after youth services and Sunday morning and Sunday School.  "Why do you go in the water?" (baptism)   "Why do people go in front of church and other people come and touch them and pray?  (altar service)   If I had $1 for each time I had heard, "What this means?" 

Sunday evenings, our youth pastor, Wright Humble, has an organized service just for middle school students.  We usually drop the boys off at 5 pm, then come back at 8 pm to pick them up.  Last Sunday, October 9th, Jenson came running to the car and he immediately started talking.

"Guess what I did?" - J

"What?" me

"Guess!" - J

"I don't know.  Let me think." - me

"O.K., I tell you!   I trust Jesus." - J

"Really?  That's wonderful!" - me

"Yes, my heart was hot and I think I need to pray with Pastor Wright.  So I go, and Pastor Wright he talk with me and Mr. Wynn come and I pray." - J

"Do you know what that means?" - me  (We've been discussing this at home a lot.)

"Yeah, sure.  It means I have God in my heart." - J

Since last Sunday we've had many conversations to make sure he understood what he did and the significance of his decision.  He understands completely. All the hours of prayer, paperwork, airplane flights, meetings, court hearings in Ukraine, court hearings in the U.S., all of it allowed this child not only to find an earthly family, but a heavenly one as well.  God gave me the best birthday gift ever last Sunday night.  With my gift, all heaven threw a party. 

He's Ours -- Again !

Today marked a last step in our adoption journey with Jenson.  Several months back we made the decision to domesticate Jenson's adoption.   To make a long story short, this will allow us to have Jenson's legal birth records reside here in Georgia, rather than only in Ukraine.  It also formally recognizes our decision to become Jenson's parents according to American law.  While he immediately was our son upon finalizing his adoption in Ukraine, and he immediately became an American citizen when we landed in the U.S. in December, now he is our son by an American, domestic adoption.

Similar to our Ukrainian adoption process, we had to submit our home study, along with copies of all of our Ukrainian court decrees, Jenson's visa, and his American citizenship certificate.  What we had not anticipated was the degree of the judge's concern over the quality of this adoption.  Let me explain.  Perhaps due to recent national publicity over interrupted international adoptions, or press regarding a horrific child trafficking case involving Walton county adoptees, our judge was worried.  Despite the fact that we have already been checked by DFCS, Georgia state, U.S. federal, FBI, Interpol, and Ukrainian national child welfare authorities, and criminal background checks were done and passed by ALL of these authorities, our judge had doubts.  A mere ten days prior to our hearing date, we were told we would have to submit to another home inspection and child interview by a court-appointed guardian to determine the security and emotional well-being of our already-adopted son Jenson.  You can imagine our confusion about this request which was not required by domestic adoption law.  Our adoption attorney admitted she'd never received a request like this before either.  So, what to do?

If there is one thing we've learned during our adoption process, it is the ultimate power of God activated by prayer.  We quietly shared this concern with close family and friends who had walked through the adoption with us from the beginning.  We decided to acquire a post-adoption placement report, earlier than mandated.  We also asked for help from the neuropsychologist Dr. Federici, who recently assessed Jenson's academic standing.  And we prayed, and prayed, and prayed.  More than the additional financial expenses this would involve, it just seemed that this was more an attack of Satan, than a needed step in our parenting journey of our new son.

Four days before our hearing, we received a call that the hearing would be terminated if we didn't schedule the in-home assessment.  Overnight, I forwarded, through our attorney, the summary letter from Dr. Federici (which gave a glowing approval of our successful adoption).  We told the clerk of the court that we understood their concerns, but could they please assess the psychologist's findings, and the post-placement report before making their final decision?   And we prayed.

The next morning, I got a very happy call from Ms. Christina Bennett, our attorney, who stated the judge had reversed his assessment requirement, and our hearing was back on!   This Monday morning at 9:15 a.m., we had the privilege of allowing our three biological kids watch as the judge reviewed our request, our attorney had us swear under oath our commitment to Jenson, and the judge talked with Jenson over his contentment in being in our family.  Within twenty minutes we were done, including having our photo taken with the judge. 

Even though at this point we already KNEW it to be true, we had confirmation again.  God DOES answer prayer, and He GAVE us Jenson as our son.

The All-American Dowds, and Judge Wynne

Jenson, Rebekah, Doyle, Attorney Christina Bennett