repost from June 2006- Poem for My Julia

Wrote this back in 2006, felt like I needed to repost it as it still reflects my heart these days...

Far Away

I love you and I have loved you before you were born,
And I miss you, you’ve been far away for far too long.

I keep dreaming you'll be with me,
I will not stop trying, I will not give up,
Until I see you face to face,
Wash away your tears of pain with my tears of love and joy.
You’ve been far away for far too long.

I need you to hear me say, “I love you, I miss you.” Do you hear that even now?
Far away, far away, but in the closest part of my heart.
My heart aches to have you close and love you.
You’ve been far away for far too long.

One day there will be no distance, there will be no doubt,
And in your heart you will know you are wanted, needed, loved and cherished.
And the pain and loss you now feel will be far away, far away.
You’ve been far away, far away, for far too long.

I love you.
I have loved you before you were born,
And I miss you.
You’ve been far away for far too long.

June 2006 Randy Burtis

4-6 months

Got word from FOI(our Agency) that they expect we will get a referral in "4-6 months". They are conservative and have not given an info out, in any areas of this process, unless they are assured of it. I have appreciated their integrity in this, and so this excites me(obviously).So a Sept- November 2010 is our window and then travel 6-8 weeks after that.

So we know Julia has been born(as we expect the referral will come with her at 6-9 months old,give or take).

This is exciting but also adds an urgency in my Daddy heart that my little girl is out there and I want her loved and cared for. So my prayer is that she would, ideally be in foster care, and GOOD foster care, getting loved on, held, fed and cared for. If less than that, that the care givers in the orphanage will be exceptional and caring and that she will come to us developed enough that she can be cared for to be "whole", developmentally, and that we can nourish her body and spirit to catch up to where it needs to be.

ReChurch-Healing you way back to the people of God by Stephen Mansfield

The point of this book is to help those who have been hurt by someone in the church be restored and healed from that hurt, and frankly it is a book that,sadly, is needed and the author does a really good job of explaining the scriptures and bringing out insights in practical and essential ways.

Having walked through this process myself, prior to reading this book, I can affirm that his points are sound and discerning and will help others walk through this, if they are willing to put the work in to being restored.

He has an EXCELLENT section on walking through forgiveness, bringing some insights that are not often heard yet are directly tied to the right understanding of the Greek words used in scripture.

The first part of the book reads a little slow, but the entire book is a quick read. That said it is full of deeper processes that, if the reader wants to experience healing, needs to take the time to process, do some soul searching and some work, but it is guided by solid biblical principles and is explained in clear language.
He brings up some interesting thoughts on predestination, but not in the way you would typically think, so there is some material that challenges your thinking as you work through the processes he outlines.

I would recommend this book for those who have traveled the church circles in the past but have become disconnected from the church due to experiencing some hurt from leadership or church members.

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book, but I am free to post openly my own thoughts, positive or negative, on this publication.

Anticipation

Have to say anticipation is growing in our home. We are starting to talk more about the practical dynamics of having a couple little ones around. We are also anticipating we will hear word of the next round of matches in the next 9-12 days, and hoping it gets us into May Matches. Started doing more research on traveling there, and what to anticipate there... Set up the blog to post posts via email as blogger and facebook are often blocked when  in China, so we want to anticipate any issues there... spring is in the air and the anticipation of summer is there which I think is fueling anticipation of what we hope will be an exciting Fall in seeing us get closer to THE day. Being a realist,I still anticipate some ups and downs in this, but it is nice to anticipate a finale to this as we head to the 4 year mark... Now anticipate this posting as I send it :)!

more posts

Seems the secret is to say I won't post and i end up posting more LOL. Found this quote which I thought was good:

Our children are not ours because they share our genes...

they are ours because we have had the audacity to envision them.

That, at the end of the day...or long sleepless night,

is how love really works.

--- Unknown

It is saddening to hear the negative slant some are taking with international adoption due to the recent incident where a US parent sent their Russian adopted son on an airplane back to Russia without consulting their agency or anything it seems.

This woman needs to be charged or something, it is just unthinkable to treat the child like that. If she couldn't handle him(and sadly some kids do come so "damaged" that they need more care) BUT then get help...

Then there is news(old to us) that UNICEF is being called on their anti adoption stance in Haiti. GOOD STUFF. We heard months ago from a friend who went down there about how UNICEF was working against the needs of these kids. So I hope that now that it is coming more to light that they repent and change their tract!

and then there is the earthquake in China. That is a concern, but not knowing where our Julia will come from we have no idea. We do believe she has been born now and our prayer is we will see her before 2010 is done(or early 2011)...but time will tell...

Spring seems to have settled in. Managed to get the bike out and cycle in to work today. We are moving offices(in stages, complete move in a couple weeks), so lots of physical stuff today,taking a break for a snack and relax before hauling more books...

Interesting poem

Found this on the China adoption forum I hang out on, thought I would post it...
Mother Bridge of Love

Once there were two women who never knew each other.

One you do not remember, the other you call Mother.

Two different lives shaped to make you one.

One became your guiding star; the other became your sun.

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it.

The first gave you a need for love. The second was there to give it.

One gave you a nationality. The other gave you a name.

One gave you a talent. The other gave you aim.

One gave you emotions. The other calmed your fears.

One saw your first sweet smile. The other dried your tears.

One sought for you a home that she could not provide.

The other prayed for a child and her hope was not denied.

And now you ask me, through your tears,

The age-old question unanswered through the years.

Heredity or environment, which are you a product of?

Neither, my darling. Neither. Just two different kinds of Love.

-Anonymous

Up to april 17 done

Been ages since I posted. Word is they have done another 6 days, that means there has been 2, six day batches, which, to get technical seems to point to the "fact" they are working, not on calender days,but number of files to match, This is good news if it true.

Estimates figure in that we SHOULD have a referral before 2010 is over. I figure by July we should be able to more closely predict(within a month or so) of when this is gonna happen.

So that is slightly hopeful news on the China front. :) :)

On the Katie front, well she is 14 months, and still pure joy, although we are seeing shades of attitudes and the odd fit coming out.

She has 6 teeth, can run, loves peek a boo and her fav book is "I love you through and through" which she will have read to her 3 or more times a day EASILY.

She loves Skyping with Grandma, and gets put out of anyone else is on there or if we are on the computer and not skyping.

This is a busy month, so rather than my hopeful statement that I will post more, I will be realistic and say, not likely for a bit, got a bunch of magic shows(including an out of town gig friday), doing pulpit relief for a couple weeks for my senior pastor, trying to build up my Christian Education Board, we are moving offices to a new location, 6 pages of lines to memorize for a skit on Sunday(got about 4 down),got my anniversary to celebrate tomorrow, plus my regular work load.

The Flowering Cross by Beth Ryan, illustrated by Renne Graef- Book review

This children’s book is about a young girls befriending a mean old neighbour while building on a tradition of adding a flower to a cross at Easter as part of her family’s response to the gospel message. This books message touches nicely on loving our neighbour, sharing the gospel, the meaning of Easter, and the value of meaningful family traditions. It is well written and illustrated.

This book would hit elementary grade children excellently, but would still be of great value to preschoolers also. I think this is a GREAT book for families. As part of its content it has a flower cross project families can do, but even better, this book has what is called Faith Imprints(TM) on each page. What this feature does is give the parents a Scripture verse to read with their family along with a discussion question. MOST EXCELLENT!!!!

Having a resource for parents to use to help them discuss spiritual matters with their families are needed, and I HEARTILY recommend this to families to help them accomplish this purpose. I can see this being used yearly as part of long lasting family Easter traditions. I look forward to using this with my own family!

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

up to april 11 2006 done

You wanted an update, here we go :)!

They matched april 5-april 11 this month. We are May 19, so a 6 day batch, which is good, haven't had one of those for quite awhile.

We still hope it is end of 2010 or EARLY 2011 that this will happen for us!

Book Review- The Vertical Self by Mark Sayers

“How biblical faith can help us discover who we are in an age of self obsession” is the goal of this book.

The author approaches it in an interesting way, drawing from historical trends(some interesting observations about African cultures impact on today’s trends), celebrities as models of what he deems the horizontal self(some concise and pointed observations about Marilyn Monroe as a gauge of what is beautiful), looks at the evolution and impact of the words “cool” “sexy” and” glam” and how that is shaping today’s church ministries. From there he moves on to the biblical discussion and establishes how we are a culture that gauges things on the horizontal plane, moves to showing ways to live ,develop, and flourish in establishing who you are and meant to be using vertical means.

I could elaborate more on his defining of the horizontal and vertical, but that is one of the strong points of the book and worth discovering for yourself. I enjoyed his historical observations, he presented it in an engaging way that didn’t turn the book into a long history tour, but got to his point with it. In explaining his biblical principles he uses vivid word pictures and examples, but I don’t feel he uses them to their full potential, the book would have a better depth if he spent more time expanding on those principles.

This isn’t the definitive book on the subject, but I feel the author does bring out a couple good points on the pursuit of holiness and the concept of wholeness found in biblical peace which are worth exploring. It is an easy read that has some decent extras such as a study guide and short interview with the author which rounds out the book. I think the book will most hit those in their 20-30’s, and would recommend it for them.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”