As Orphan Sunday approaches Nov. 6, 2011, a day where we remember children without a family. I am reminded of words spoken by the orphans. I must tell you, wise words sometimes come out of the mouths of babes. The plight of the orphan is near and dear to my heart. Two of my children are adopted, once orphans, without a mother or father to care for them. I have thought about what the orphans have spoken. What could I do? How should I respond?

The first orphan I will highlight is a bright, thought-provoking, young girl. Upon meeting her in the Ukraine, she began her interrogation by asking me "Why would you want to adopt from the Ukraine and why would you want more kids?" She wanted a prudent answer. She knew I had four children and that was plenty in her eyes. Excellent question! What did motivate me? A verse comes to mind, I Jo. 3:1 "Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God!...". God's love towards me compels me to love others. (She is no longer an orphan)

Another child, a seven year old, orphaned, Ukrainian boy is continuing to ask his teacher "Can you find me a mom?". How does one answer him? He is not asking for something frivolous, but for someone to care for him. My conclusion comes from Is.1:17 "Learn to do good; Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.". God calls me to defend the orphans whenever I can, this is His heart. (He is still an orphan)

As I listen to what comes out of the mouths of the orphans I long to respond with the heart of God, one overflowing with love. For me , my response was to reach out to a nine year old orphan from the Ukraine, who trustingly at our first meeting, looked into my eyes and grabbed my hand and said "Mom?". Would I or wouldn't I answer her plea? I answered yes, because of God's love for me and my desire to live and give His love to others. James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion is visiting widows and orphans in their distress..." . God wants me to model true religion, not just to be religious, but by being involved in their lives. (She is no longer an orphan)

Will I allow God's love to compel me to love others, particularly the orphans? Will I assist in defending the orphans whenever I have the ability to do so? And finally, does my life model “true religion” or am I merely religious? My desire is to look and listen for the need of those around me, will you join me?

Before you get too excited this is not about losing weight, sorry. Better yet, it is about how you and I view ourselves. If I were to be completely honest with you, sometimes I think that I am pretty great. Fortunately, time and circumstances make their way into my life and reveal something about me that is quite the opposite of greatness, failure. The harsh reality of my life is that I am the “Biggest Loser”.

The seasons in my life when I am met with ease, or I can match my situation with my own talents and abilities hide the truth about the real depth of who I am. Let me illustrate this for you. Chaos enters my life and the challenge is before me. The children are not cooperating, the house is a disaster, my energy level is low, the calendar is filled, and I become hopeless. I turn to complaining, being rude, wallowing in self-pity, and focusing on my inability to conquer. Yikes, I am the “Biggest Loser”. Not so spectacular after all.

The Apostle Paul had a strong grasp on who he was , and understood what it meant to be the “Biggest Loser”.

• What did Paul use to assess himself? .

“Let Him weigh me with accurate scales, and let God know my integrity.” Job 31:6

GOD IS MY JUDGE

• What was his assessment of his own life before God?

“To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given......” . Eph. 3:8.

I AM THE LEAST

• How did he view his accomplishments?

“Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” Php. 3:7

MY DEEDS ALONE ARE GARBAGE

• Who saved Paul from his sinful self?

“It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, whom I am foremost of all.” I Ti. 1:15

GOD IS MY RIGHTEOUSNESS

Viewing myself as the “Biggest Loser” brings proper focus on who I am and Who God is. It is true I am weak and sinful, but God being rich in mercy gave His life for me, even me. Thus, I can encounter uncertain days and trials because there is Someone greater than I. If you are finding yourself face to face with who you really are, won't you run to the One who died for your sins? God is in the business of saving the “Biggest Losers” and giving us strength to endure all that comes our way.

Being the mother of six children, I find myself entrenched in plenty of excitement. Each of my children are uniquely gifted to bring an abundance of excitement into my day. Frankly, sometimes I wonder “How am I going to handle this? What should I do?” I know that I will never be able to dodge all the thrills and buzz of our home. What I can do is consider how I ought to respond to those “little rascals” .

To give you a picture of the adventures the “little rascals” bring I thought I'd share a few:

A local artist (in our home), colored a cooperative cat extremely green, freakishly rendering the cat into the “Grinch”.

• A wanna- be- beautician replicated the 80's mullet with precision causing her to resemble Cyndi Lauper, “Miss Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.

• Our ever talented handy man, who has difficulty zipping his paints, meticulously removed all the switch plates on the first floor with great ease and silence.

• An illusionist in the family thought concealing a smelly smoked fish in an underwear drawer would be a place mom would never look .

• Our yard boy decided we did not need our lawn mower to be assembled any longer, nor did we want flowers on the plants. CHOP!

A persistent little chef rendered my chili recipe into “Dilly Chili” with a quick stroke of genius by adding an entire container of dill into the pot.

The truth of the matter is not what my “little rascals” are doing, but how I am responding to them. When my children walk away from my interactions with them, do they see an angry, proud, and irritated mom? Or do they see a mom who is patient, humble, and a servant who takes time to help them? Am I leading them to God by exhibiting my trust in Him (even during chaos)? I must confess it is easy to be selfish and act inconvenienced by their shenanigans, but God has called me to love them and to view them as more important than myself. Will my children see that I love God and them more?

My “little rascals” need a mom who ponders on how to respond to their struggles, sins, and mishaps in a way that would be pleasing to God. I pray that my “little rascals” will see right responses and do like wise. The parenting responses I want to have are found in the following passages:

I Co. 13:4 “Love is patient, love is kind,.....love is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not take into account wrongs suffered,”

Eph. 6:4 “Fathers do not provoke your children to anger; but to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

One of the number one movies of all times is the Wizard of Oz. It's no wonder why so many love this movie, the characters and the plot are captivating. The lead character, Dorthy, is far from home and and desperately longs to get home. Her infamous line is “There is no place like home .” Her desire for her home is one I should readily identify with. I should love my home and long to be there.

The home I am to yearn for, is not the home I am currently living in. As a follower of Christ, my home is heaven and I should aspire to be there. Heb. 11:16 “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.” Unfortunately, I must confess, I find my affections drawn and competing for things of this world, not heaven.

Why do I find my heart satisfied in this world when I am to be a“stranger” and “alien”? I have a bad case of spiritual amnesia. I forget Who bought me, Who I am to live for, and where I am to set my heart. (I Co. 6:20, Matt. 6:21) I am near-sighted, earthly minded, and temporarily satisfied.
How do I live in this world, and yet realize “There is no place like home ” a.k.a. heaven? I must ask myself two questions:

What am I thinking about?

What I can buy.

What makes me comfortable.

What pleases me.

What I want.

What am I doing?

Serving myself.

Doing what is easy for me.

Working to fill my bank account.

Collecting things for myself.

“There is no place like home.”. Php. 3:20 “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” I must always think about where (be far-sighted) my home is and live my life anxiously awaiting that home as I live for the One who bought me.

For those of you who were 80's kids, do you remember the old Garbage Pail Kids Collection Cards? You know those cards that mimicked the Cabbage Patch Kids, yet were about as detestable as they come. They took those sweet little Cabbage Patch Kids, which were intended to be cute and made them completely disgusting. When it comes to my speech, I sometimes look more like the Garbage Pail Kids, gross and reproachable.

God created me to reflect Him in all I do, including reflecting Him in my speech. For all those times, when I had could have said something that would have made someone look good, I said something that made them look bad... I resembled something ugly, not God. When I had an opportunity to say something that would encourage someone and I opted to be critical instead.....I never portrayed God. Times when I could have used my lips to speak thankful words....I opened my mouth to complain and grumble....I did the opposite of what God designed my lips to do.

I know I must actively turn away from being a “Garbage Mouth” and turn and model God with every word that comes out of my mouth. Making my words pure and full of grace for those who hear.

“She opens her mouth in wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her lips.” Pro. 31:26

“Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth only that which is necessary for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Eph. 4:29

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Ps. 19:14

So, maybe the next time before I speak I will ask myself:

- Will this be something that others would consider to be kind and helpful to them?

- Would I be embarrassed about the things I said if others overheard?

- Am I modeling speech that I want my children, friends, and others to imitate?

WHAT DO I WANT TO BE KNOWN AS, A “GARBAGE MOUTH” OR A “GODLY MOUTH”?

Everywhere I turn I see an appealing opportunity to make my self look better. My options are so numerous, it is like going to an all-you-can-eat buffet and being overwhelmed with all the choices. Everything in me says you deserve whatever you want , take it. So many inticing things are available, it almost seems too daunting of a task. If I no longer like my hairstyle, I can get extensions. If my middle is a little softer than I wouId desire it to be, I can have it “tucked” (whatever that means , where exactly do they tuck the fat into?). Honestly, I realize I could spend a lifetime pursuing alI those things. Yet, if I am truly honest, I would have to admit I need a makeover in a desperate way, but one of a different accord. I need a spiritual make over.

Any make over has its purpose and desired outcome for the one pursuing it. Generally, we want to “look good”, have people notice, and complement us on the way we have changed. My greatest desire though, is to “look good” and have others notice, but I want it to be because of how I am being made over spiritually. If I began to change, I think people would notice. A makeover that would cause others to go' “WOW”, what is different with you?'. I Pe. 3:15b “...and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.”

I am sure a whiter brighter smile would make me more appealing to people, but even more than white teeth, would be having a countenance that was overjoyed with serving my Lord . What would need to change so I could “WOW” the crowds? I would need to concentrate on:

1) Focusing on things of eternity vs. earthly things. Col. 3:2 “Set your mind on things above, not on the things which are on earth.”

2) Being ready and willing to do good for God. Titus 2:14b “ a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

3) Having a thankful attitude vs. being a grumbler Php. 2:14-15 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves blameless and innocent, children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,”

4) Trusting God with whatever He has for me, resulting in a joyful countenance. Pro. 31:25 “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.”

Are you in need of a makeover that will really make a difference for eternity?