in the backseat {veterans day 2014}

even after a grim cancer diagnosis his buddies were still asking him, "roger, why are you always so happy?"

that's what our guest speaker told us on veterans day this past tuesday. his friends -- even his doctor -- over the years have wanted to know his secret ... wanted to know why he always seems to be so darn happy.

roger wise went on to tell the audience what he tells anyone who asks, "it's because i'm in the back seat. God's driving my car and i'm happy to hang out in the backseat. i'm just along for the ride. that's it. that's all of it."

roger explained that since he wasn't in charge, he didn't have to worry. "if God wants me standing in 6 months, i'll be standing ... looking up. and if God wants me laying down in 6 months, i'll be laying down ... looking up."

i sat in the director's chair with my headset and my tech notes and i began to listen closer to the words of our guest speaker. and though i was the gal who had to be sharp and ready and on top of the next cue, i couldn't stop the tears from running down my cheeks.

what a message to hear on this veterans day. with an auditorium packed full of almost 2500 people -- school children. senior citizens. busy moms and dads. soldiers. heroes. the disabled, the discouraged, the disease ridden. what a message. what a gift.

and me, the chief sinner.
me, the chronic controller.
me, the one who had just spent her last 24 hours stressing over the details of this program and trying to fit all the moving parts into a perfect order and pace.
me, who had left the dress rehearsal the day before, climbed into my car, and wondered how in the world everything would combine in time for a program which hinged on military precision and the fine details of decorum. me, the woman who (because she's weird) has always kinda liked to sit in the director's seat.

"i'm just in the backseat, but God's driving my car." and those words of roger wise tuesday morning, nailed me, right between my control-seeking eyes. this was not in my notes, not part of the script, not even especially what i wanted to hear. but tuesday morning i got the message. loud and clear.

tuesday, our school held its 20th veterans day celebration. for the past twenty years perimeter christian school has been putting on a program to honor the heroes of our country. and a celebration it was! every extra element imaginable was added to the show this year ... including a ballet number, a marching band and a special tribute.

when i was asked to step back into my old position as director, i was quick to agree. i did this for several years prior to moving to minnesota.

no big deal. easy peasy. could do it in my sleep. (not really, but you get the point).

but by the end of monday's dress rehearsal, i'll be honest, i was second guessing myself.
"who did i think i was?"
"what did i think i could handle?"
"why wasn't i better organized?"
even ... "why in the world had i said yes?"
you know ... those kind of phrases which fly willy nilly through our heads when the chaos level and fear of failure has risen to a precarious level.

i left the auditorium feeling defeated.

by the time i got home i had already texted several friends and asked them to pray.

asking a few friends to pray?  --- best director's call i made all day!

please pray.

at perimeter we like to do it right. we like to do it well. we care about the details. and, honestly, i love that about our school. i love that blazers are buttoned and ties are straightened and knee socks are pulled up and cheeks are scrubbed clean and heads are held high.

because on veterans day, we are there to honor people who take that kind of thing seriously.

soldiers are trained deep in discipline. they are raised up in practices of respect and responsibility.

and the last thing any of us working on this special day want is to have them show up to something sloppy or half-hearted. so we all give a little extra to pull it together. i can't tell you the number of people it takes. i don't even know the number ... but it's big including everything from decorations to drum rolls ... from flags to final curtains.

and clearly, in these past 20 years, God has been in the driver's seat. His hand is on this program as it has been on this school. blessing it. growing it. driving it forward.

as a part of tuesday's celebration, our headmaster, bobby scott, invited gayle murray to join us. mrs. murray was the 3rd grade teacher who came up with this idea 20 years ago. she spoke a few minutes about how this all came to be.
"i wanted to do something different on veterans day, but i didn't know what. i didn't know what i could do. but then it occurred to me, i could be thankful. so i began there."

that's how this celebration found its start 20 years ago, and that's still the heartbeat of what holds it together today -- thankfulness. we are thankful to the men and women who have served our country well and it is a privilege to put on a program which shows our gratitude.

from my spot in the tech booth tuesday, i could see veterans out in the audience ... the smiles ... the tears ... the beautiful emotion evident on their faces. and i was reminded of what we do and why we do it. it's not just another program to direct or another chance to perform ... no ... it's about HONOR and GRATITUDE and GIVING BACK to those who have given so much.

and if that means a few extra hours of planning or a hectic dress rehearsal on monday, then so be it. it's worth it. every minute of it. it's worth it when we hear the 4th graders belt out the "armed forces medley" or watch small children wave flags and welcome veterans. it's worth it when we get to listen to a young boy's essay telling why his grandpa is his hero -- a man who once battled for his country and is now battling Alzheimer's. it's worth it to see the faces of these veterans as the colors are posted or their branch is recognized or "taps"" is played. it's worth it and it's humbling.

i am humbled and i am reminded that regardless of our title or our position or even our determination, we are not in the driver's seat. whether we are talking about our precious health or our beloved homeland ... we have no control over the outcome.

roger wise explained that this knowledge is what makes him happy.

it's easy to think (at least in my world) that if i have all my plans in place and all my ducks in a row (and my house clean - let's not forget that) ... it's easy to think THEN ... THEN i will be happy. and though i do not want to discount the immense pleasure of clean floors, i was reminded this week in a veterans day program that all the T-crossing and plan-making and detail-orchestrating in the world isn't going to be what makes any of us happy.

it's surrendering our seat.

soldier or barely sane woman ... school child or senior citizen ... surrender.

no matter our rank or our responsibilities ... no matter our medals or our mistakes ... we belong in the backseat.

got to catch a quick glimpse of this little american proudly waving her flag!

the JCVA posted the colors this year -- an honor to work with these men.

our headmaster, bobby scott, is presented an award for leading our school these past 20 years in this program.

ballerinas danced beautifully to "we will not forget." 

veterans stand and are honored when their branch song is sung in the medley.

6th grader, asher, explains his poster. a soldier bowing to the cross. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice.

essay winners

mr. levon stack blew the roof off the house singing "the star spangled banner" acapella.

think of what our country's freedom has meant to these girls ...

a couple of these pictures are mine. 

but the REALLY GOOD ONES belong to TIFFANY GODFREY AND JEN STYLE!

 thank you for these beautiful pictures talented ladies!

the promise concert recap on orphan sunday

"religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: 
to look after orphans and widows in their distress ..."  ~ james 1:27

it’s taken me a few days to get my act together. okay ... maybe more like a whole week.
last weekend was the promise686 concert and i have yet to post a blog or add an album of pictures from the event.

but today, on this orphan sunday, i’m motivated to share what took place last saturday night.

we had 14 of these canvases around the pool/patio area.
just some of the kids who have come home with the help of promise686.

the ministry, promise686, which helped bring bella home 4 years ago, has been growing steadily since we’ve been in minnesota and when they called and asked if i would help lead a fundraiser for the ministry, i couldn’t say no.

and just like that (haha) ... we put on an outdoor dinner and concert under a big white tent on a beautiful night in october. good music, good food, good wine and good people gathered together to hear about what God is doing in an anything-but-good-situation.

promise686 is committed to helping children in crisis. through adoption and foster care, promise686 helps families raise money for grants to bring home kids.
promise comes alongside families both financially and physically – huge areas of need when dealing with kids who have no one.

kids who have been abandoned, neglected or orphaned.
orphaned.
{orphan}.

i've actually had a few different people tell me that word makes them uncomfortable.

yes, that's what they've said, "uncomfortable."

well, i would hope so.

seriously.

but for the majority of us, the idea of orphan can be something we loosely associate with a cute red head on broadway singing her heart out about tomorrow.

that's as far as our brains will allow us to go --- just a cute kid, with a cute dog who ends up living with a millionaire.

a fairytale.

except, in reality, there are over 150 million orphans in our world.

and in their reality, these kids don't have much to sing about. the reality for these kids doesn’t provide much hope for tomorrow, because today, they are still orphans.
real ones.
kids living without a mom or a dad or sisters or brothers.
kids who are alone and kids who are lonely.

psalm  68:5-6 says that God is "father to the fatherless ...God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing..."

maybe that broadway dream isn't so far-fetched when God gets involved, right?

when God calls families to the family-less.
when God sets the lonely in loving places.
when God leads imprisoned children out in singing.

i don't know about you, but i'm visual. i love to see pictures in my mind to help make sense of things and when i read that verse i see 150 million kids of every color, shape and size being led forth in singing and it's a beautiful picture because i know that's God's heart.

God – the Father to the fatherless.

and we see it everywhere.

we have lots of friends who have adopted kids internationally and domestically. just this morning we sat in church next to dear friends who adopted both domestically and from the ukraine.  another family was in front of us who has for the past 6 years been waiting and fighting for their daughter in krgystan – they are finally getting close! just behind us was a family who added their 5th child in a recent domestic adoption (their oldest is 6)!

seriously, adoption is all around us.
and i love that.
but there are still so many.
so many orphans.

so many kids who still need to come home.

last weekend, we hosted this fundraiser and invited 200+ people to come and hear. people who weren’t aware of what promise686 is doing …people who had the ability to help make a difference … people who, perhaps, didn’t even realize there was a crisis.

through videos and stories and short talks, the evening was a celebration of what has already taken place and an awareness challenge to what we all can do to continue these efforts.

i was excited about all the beautiful elements of this party … but without doubt, the most beautiful part of the evening was hearing people say, “i want to help. I want to support … i want to give.” what they were really saying is, "i want to help bring more kids home."

we can’t solve the orphan crisis in one evening. but we can do our part … and that’s what God calls us to – just doing our part. whether it be to pray, to act or to give --- we all have an important part to play.

so the word orphan makes people uncomfortable.
i get it. and, personally, i’m so glad.
i’m glad because i know it’s in our comfortable places that we become numb to the nudgings of Jesus.

so, Lord, go ahead ... and make us uncomfortable.

as the person responsible for the atmosphere of our event, my job was to accommodate our guests … to ensure a good meal, good entertainment and good overall experience – to make them comfortable.

And where everything in me wanted to do that and even enjoyed doing that … the prayer of my heart was always, through all of it, “Lord, make us uncomfortable that we would see the crisis of these kids and hear the cries of the orphan.”

"i always questioned if i was ready to adopt and then realized no child was ready to be an orphan." ~ unknown
(stole this quote from my dear friend, diana's post today)! 

each table was named for a child who has been adopted or fostered with the help of promise. the centerpiece had the child's name and picture and at each place setting a little bit of the child's story was shared with the guests. each table told the story of a different child.

this is april and she's amazing. no kidding, she was my right hand or wing-woman on this event! 

love her.

the evening began with a cocktail party poolside! what's not to love about that?

 rose and her dad, jeffery, shared the powerful story of how she and her brother came home from haiti. it was almost the only time in the evening i actually stood still and listened. it's one thing to hear about adoption and orphans from adults ... a whole other thing to hear it from the children. 

that's andy cook up there on stage -- he's the executive director of promise686. he worked tirelessly on the details of this event. i remember the phone call when he shared the vision of this evening with me. pretty cool for all of us to see it come to be.

everyone enjoyed the music of ed roland of collective soul and the sweet tea project.

the promise concert -- tonight!

we've been in the middle of another october prayer challenge this month -- praying MORE for our kids.  those posts are on my sparrow Facebook page each morning ...

but i'm sharing today's post here ...  praying for the lonely.
AND ... praying for this evening's event --- THE PROMISE CONCERT.


october 25 *the lonely*

this october we've been praying MORE for our kids.
but today i'm going ask us to pray for those kids who aren't in our family.
in fact, we're going to pray for kids who aren't in any family.
the lonely.

the orphans, the abandoned, the neglected, the ignored.

i'm involved with an adoption and foster care ministry called Promise686. and tonight we are hosting a large awareness event/fundraiser. 200 plus people will gather this evening under a {really cool} white tent, up on top of a hill for dinner and music and discussion because they care about the lonely kids in this world. 

it's a wonderful ministry -- one that came alongside us in our adoption of bella -- and it's growing. tonight is a celebration of what God has already accomplished in Promise686 and a challenge in how we can take part in what He's yet to do. 

psalm 68:6 "God sets the lonely in families ..." that's it. that's God's plan -- to bring lonely kids into the arms of mamas and daddies and sisters and brothers. to give them not only a strong roof over their heads, but to give them tender roots in their hearts. to connect them. to embrace them. to become one with them. family --that thing we take for granted until we don't have it ... or until we never knew it. 

oh y'all ... pray for this event. there's a ga-zillion details to pulling off something this large scale. we've been working our tails off for several months now, but we need your prayers for this evening. yes, i'm worried about everyone's dinner being served warm and the sound system working seamlessly, but mostly, mostly, mostly, would you pray that people have hearts to hear and eyes to see what part they can play in reaching out to the lonely. 

adopting? fostering? serving? giving?

we may not all be called to adopt, but we are all called to do something. tonight is about whatever that something is that we can do to help lonely kids. 

dear Jesus, "Father to the fatherless ..." we know your heart for the children of this world and your plan to set the lonely in families. we know you have created each of your children -- orphan or already home -- in your wisdom. your heart breaks for those who hurt. Jesus, open our eyes to the work that you want us to do. break our hearts for what breaks yours. move us to mercy. create in us fresh compassion. encourage us to more action. unhinge us. unglue us. undress us from the things which slow us ... from the distractions which keep us blind and busy. Lord Jesus, would you stir hearts and open eyes even this evening under the big white tent, up on a hill. a-men.

please check out the ministry page on Facebook or on the web.
Promise686 
http://www.promise686.org

i promise to post pictures in the next day or two! 
(this picture above is the a little glimpse of our centerpieces). 

a letter to mamas of young girls everywhere ...

we see them ... out there in our backyards, on our driveways, at our kitchen counters.

they are young and beautiful.

sometimes amusing.
sometimes awkward.
sometimes even (though we'd never admit it) kind of annoying.

they are little girls growing from tiny to tall ... from toddler to teen ... from innocence to understanding.

and we can't imagine how they will ever be anything more than just what they are at this exact moment.
it is hard to see how they are changing and what they will become.

some days it's a slow process. painstaking.
other days, and they grow a foot and change moods like a pair of jeans.

and we are left watching and wondering and waiting.

these young girls.
all full of possibility. potential. promise.

last night, my college-aged daughter and i got to go see her best friend, annika, in her volleyball match. annika's playing D1 volleyball for georgia tech. (that means she's really, really good).
we sat in the stands and cheered her on like she was flesh and blood. these girls have been friends since 1st grade -- i suppose that's about the same.

annika's an amazing athlete and it was so fun to watch her play at this new level of college volleyball. thrilling, in fact!
afterward we hugged, took a few pictures, even got annika's autograph! she's like our own little superstar.

and driving home ... i couldn't help but remember annika and emily playing "pepper" with the volleyball in our backyard way back then.
many years ago.
two little girls honing their skills. giggling and goofy. zero control. chasing wild balls. i can remember one afternoon them coming sweaty into my kitchen to ask, "mom, do you think we'll make the team?"

they did.

and now these girls are 18.
annika playing for georgia tech.
emily, just a year ago, closing out her  own volleyball career with a senior year state championship.

both girls, with these big moments.

and yet i can see them, clear as day, in our backyard on buttercup trace. all legs and arms and enthusiasm. as a former player and coach, i loved watching these girls get better, but, i'll admit, i had my moments of wondering. did any of us think they'd not only make the team as 6th graders but grow up to experience a state title or an athletic scholarship?

mamas, i know sometimes you see your own
little girls and you wonder about them.
who are they?
what are they?
what will they become?

it's exciting, but it's also intimidating.
there's so much life to get through. so much living to be done. so many hurdles to encounter.

and i'm not just talking about the hours in the gym, but the bumps on the road and the pain in the process.

for several years, i had the chance to disciple annika and emily in a small group at our church. and i'll be honest, there were times when i didn't get their jokes or grasp their attitudes or understand why they were so ... so middle school-ish ...

there were times when emily didn't want to talk to me ... (or listen).
there were times when i couldn't help notice the eye roll or the pre-teen embarrassment.
there were times when i wasn't sure they'd ever move beyond the stage of food in their braces and fart jokes.

and then i see them last night hugging on the court. beautiful young women. one friend performing, another friend so proud. and my heart swells to see it.

to know THIS is what those little girls in my backyard have become.

we cannot foresee the big accomplishments and grand moments ... we cannot promise them state titles or athletic scholarships ... as mamas of young girls we can't do everything, but we can pray and hope and believe and encourage.

and we can be encouraged.

tonight, i wanted to share this little slice of their lives with y'all as a reminder ... God has something grand for your girl. whether it be out on the court or encouraging from the stands ... He's got something great planned for that gangly little gal bouncing a ball out on your driveway.

i know some days it's hard to see it.

but, i encourage you, hold faithful to the promise God has for your precious girls. He's every single day making, molding, and shaping them into something beautiful.

with love,
signed the mom of an almost all grown-up girl

praying MORE for our kids (again)!

i never repost or repeat. i think it goes against some kind of blogging world code of conduct. except that i'm going to do it this month. a year ago, we journeyed through the october series "praying MORE for my kids." and ... i'm feeling compelled to do that again this october. we started today, in fact. you can find the prayer prompts each morning over at my even the sparrow facebook page.
even the sparrow - jody mcnatt

this is the blogpost which kicked off the series last year ... here it is again! i don't know what your praying and parenting and family and kids all look like -- but in my house, we are still in need of MORE PRAYER.

join me. again.

some of this will be repeat from last year -- word for word -- some of it will be fresh. this month i'm in the middle of planning an adoption fundraising event in our community ... and i need a little wiggle room in my responsibilities. =) thanks for understanding!

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

so, i'm curious ... what is one thing you could do {more of} for your children?

let me first tell you what i think your answer isn't going to be ...

it isn't going to be...
   more laundry.
   more meals.
   more money.
   more treats.
   more driving.
   more privilege.
   more movies.
   more trips to the mall.

am i right?

i'm pretty sure none of you were tempted to go down one of those paths. for the most part, we already do an awful lot for our kids. we give them an awful lot -- perhaps, at times, even too much.

no, i'm not sure my kids need more of anything at the moment ... i mean clean laundry and healthy meals are good things, but if i had to be selective, i can't say i'd put them at the very top of my list.

now, i'm not assuming we all think exactly alike, but i have a hunch that a few of you might have answered you would like to pray more for your children ... maybe even pray more with your children.

so maybe it was just a few of you or maybe it was most of you ... regardless, i bet some of you do want to pray more.

funny! because lately, that's been on my heart too! (so glad we're talking here today).

perhaps it's because i have five of them, and somedays praying for (or with) five kids takes an awful long time -- we have a boatload of issues and needs to address in our household ... but, truly, i think it's mostly just a parenthood thing. doesn't really matter if you have two children or twenty, you probably would like to be better about bringing them before God's throne. because regardless of the number of children in your home, they all pretty much need to be prayed for. now, if you do happen to have 20 children shuffling around under your roof and calling you mom, please let me know, and sister i will add YOU to my prayer list for sure!

so, i have an idea:  (that phrase always worries my children) how about we do that! how about we join together and pray for our kids?

we are about to flip the calendar to a brand new month -- october! (my personal favorite). what if we all virtually come together, bow our heads, kneel before Him and cover our kids in prayer.

what if we even call it something special like a 31 day prayer challenge?

what if we make a commitment and even put our name on it? i don't want to stress you out, but maybe we even write it down! make it real ... draw our line in the dirt ... stake Christ's claim on our kids.

what if?

now before you slam your laptop shut and run away shrieking ...  just think about it.

consider joining with me this month and committing to a focused 31 days of prayer for our kiddos. i know commitment is hard. i get it. lately, i have a hard time committing myself to a one-a-day vitamin. i understand. but it really won't be between you and me ... it's between you and God. and it's for your kids ... and what's more, it works!

i mean, i don't know about you, but i could use a little revival in my house this month. i've got some kids (and they've got a mother) who need a little bit of prayer intervention. you know what i'm saying?  i'm hearing the grumbling, i'm watching the resistance, i'm aware of the attitude and i'm sensing the self-centeredness ... and i'm talking about me as much as i'm talking about them.

bottom line: i'm looking for God to do a holy work in this home. and i wouldn't mind some company if your'e willing to come along. whether you have a three year old or a 43 year old, i bet you still want to pray for your child.

i'll say it again, i am looking for God to do a holy work in this home. and after 18 years of parenting, i am more convinced than ever it doesn't begin with me and my mother-power, it begins with prayer and God's power.

many years ago, i read stormie omartian's book, the power of a praying parent. it's definitely up in the top of five of my must-reads for parenthood. half my book is underlined from my time spent in its pages. this gal may have a crazy kind of name, but, believe me, she's got some really good stuff to share ... she writes:

I believe that being a parent is becoming more and more difficult each year because of what our children are exposed to and bombarded with everywhere they turn. But we don't have to be worried sick, dreading what is around the corner, or fearing the worst. We don't have to be tossed to and fro by every new stage and age and trend and fad. We have the power to make a big difference in our children's lives through prayer. That doesn't mean we abdicate our responsibilities as parents. It means we partner with God to raise our children as we pray for every aspect of their lives.

Praying for our children doesn't mean that nothing will ever go wrong in their lives. But when it does, we don't have to beat ourselves up for not being perfect parents. Besides, it's not being a perfect parent that makes the difference in a child's life, for there are no perfect parents. It's being a praying parent that makes a big difference. And that's something we can all be."

so, would you join me?

i know somedays we are all so busy "doing" for our kids, we forget to stop and pray for them. if you asked me which is more important, i would surely answer you: prayer! but, even knowing (and believing) that text book answer, doesn't mean i am good at it.

i kneel every day to empty the washing machine or to tie a shoelace or scratch something sticky off my kitchen floor but do i truly remember to kneel every day on behalf of my children?

is it more important for them to be covered in clean clothes or to be covered in holy prayer? we all know the answer ... but somedays it's hard to put down the chores and rise up to the challenge. it's as choice. but i know how it works (at least in my home):   somedays we choose to handle it ourselves instead of handing it over to Him.

my plan is simple ...

each day i will post a PRAYER WORD on my even the sparrow facebook page  (please join me there if you haven't already). i will post one word and a scripture verse to go along with it. i'm sure that word might mean something different for each of you ... or even for each of your children. it's just a prompt. that's all. i am not promising anything here except a simple and committed prompt to pray ... God takes care of the rest. that's His department, not mine. (a-men)!

i'd love to hear from you. leave a comment. leave your favorite verse on prayer. let me know how it's going ... or just leave your name and a smiley face or a cute emoji and i'll pray for you as you pray for your kids. and feel free to pass this along to a friend or two.  let's see what happens in this harvest month of october when we choose daily to pray MORE.

"devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” ~ colossians 4:2

october prayer topics for our kids ....  heart * gratitude * character * gentleness *   peace * self-control * friendships * dreams *  health * generosity * patience * attitude * purity * confidence * boldness *  wisdom * unity * perseverance * joy * righteousness * future *  compassion * truth * willingness * humility *  love * prayer * passion * rest * contentment *  excellence

"and this is the confidence that we have toward Him, 

that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.

 ~ 1 john 5:14 

again, here's the link to my facebook page where i'll be posting daily prayer prompts in this month of october. join me there or click on the following link which will also be updated daily with the prompts from my blog. 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jody-McNatt-even-the-sparrow/182617438580535