Blooming

Happy Wednesday! Spring is coming - at least there's some blooming going on in my living room. Purchased & gifted too late to plant this fall, I planted hyacinths, paper whites & tulips. They are really growing quickly; the hyacinths already blooming & filling my home with a lovely delicate scent. Gracie is so excited to check on them every morning...actually multiple times during the day. Though snow remains piled in some parking lots, we have a bit of spring in our home. :o)

It's been quite a week already & I'm looking forward to the weekend. I probably blew my A in Speech/Hearing Science in yesterday's exam - bummer! Had a minor fender bender on Monday after ballet. It's bent & between both ends of the Saturn, this is the 4th new bumper. So sad & quite the sign of distraction, both on the surface (cute ice cream cone comment from the backseat) and underlying (finances, school, single mom stuff). I'd crab more, but we have company visiting from the party!

Hey hey...don't forget to hop over to the Vicks CaringTributes & vote for our GraceFULL Heart entry. We are 1 of 8 finalists vying for a $10,000 prize package including an amazing comfort getaway & a bunch of other awesome stuff! Only 3 more days of voting...yeah!! Big thanks in advance for helping out this bloggy mom! As Grace would say, "You're the BESTEST!"

Captured by the title, Field of the Fatherless by C. Thomas Davis, I pursued the link & found a book worthy of reading & sharing. See the moving review below & check out Davis' blog for heartful reading.

No more blinders!, June 15, 2006 By Drew B. Moser (Archbold, OH USA) - See all my reviews
"In this world you are an orphan; eagerly anticipating your adoption as God's child. In this world you are a widow; longing for reunion with your Bridegroom. In this world you are a stranger; a pilgrim waiting to become a citizen of heaven. And in this world, God has called you to care for the orphan, the stranger, and the widow."

So starts Tom Davis' short, but powerful book on compassion to the orphan, the stranger, and the widow in Fields of the Fatherless. I'd highly recommend this book to all followers of Jesus, regardless of your call to adopt. It's applicable to the entire body of Christ.

Utilizing the metaphor of the Old Testament practice of leaving a portion of your field for the 'stranger, the fatherless, and the widow' (Deut. 24:19f), Davis offers a passionate plea for living a life of compassion to the less fortunate.

These less fortunate (strangers, widows, orphans) are mentioned over 60 times in Scripture! Yet we tend to have blinders on when reading our Bibles. Studies show that Christians give less than non Christians to AIDS related causes (the leprosy of our day).

But in ignoring the orphans, the widows, and the strangers, we are missing out on an incredible, joy that can only come with sacrifice. For in the eyes of the orphan, we catch a glimpse of God.
Davis writes: "To feed, clothe, and treat the fatherless as members of one's own family is to live out the call of Christ." (55) This book is a great advocacy tool in raising up the church to live out its call to the fatherless. I will be passing it out to my senior pastor, and our mission board to read and (I hope) inspire. We'd encourage you to do the same. It's a quick read, consisting of over 6 chapters, and refrains from using technical adoption jargon. Rather, it simply and passionate pleads the case for the downtrodden in our world.

"But whoever has this world's gods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?"--I John 3-16-17