Orphan Sunday

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." (James 1:27 ESV) 

Today, there are 153,000,000 orphans worldwide. There are 120,000 orphans in the US with another 400,000 children who are in the US foster care system. 6,000 children are in the Alabama foster care system. 350 children are in the Madison County foster care system.

This is a local and global issue and WE are CALLED to HELP. 

This is a very real and pressing matter. In 2012, there were 408,425 children in the US foster care system. 50% of the girls the system were pregnant by 19.  50% of these children were incarcerated as young adults within two years of "aging out" of foster care. 74% of prison inmates were once in the foster care system. 80% of death row inmates were once in foster care. 

If this is what foster kids are hearing today, how much hope are they getting? Where is the church? Why are there still 153,000,000 kids left without a loving family? 

In our society, we see a picture of a beaten dog or neglected cat on TV and it breaks our hearts. It causes us to take action, whether that be donating money or service or even adoption. But, when there is a picture or story about a beaten and neglected child, it's suddenly too real for us. 

I am not saying that everyone is called to foster or adopt a child. It is a calling from The Lord. But, we are still called to help them. We are still called to love them. We are still called to give them a hope. 

At Royal Family Kids Camp, I can say that we are focused on loving the foster kids who we are with. We encourage them and build them up. We give them fun and safety. We show them that they are cared for and loved, not only by us, but by their Heavenly Father. We point them to Him, who is our solid foundation and eternal hope. 

In John 14:18, Jesus said "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." We are called the sons and daughters of the Most High God. He will never leave us or forsake us. What if the church could exemplify this to all of the orphans in the world today? It would be a miraculous transformation.

Expectations

Expectations- a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future;
                        a belief that someone will or should achieve something.

My definition- seeing potential to succeed with continuing work; can bring disappointment; can                           easily get out of hand; need to be God- centered, not self-centered; realistic.


Genetically, we all have expectations. I have three categories of expectations: for ourselves, others have for us, and we have for others.

We have expectations for our lives, for who we want to be, and what we want to accomplish. If they are centered around God's will for us, these types of expectations are good. They keep us accountable with ourselves. 

The expectations that get us in trouble are the ones we have for others and the ones others have for us. Everyone has their own idea for their life and 99.7% of the time, we do not know what it is. Having expectations for how someone should live, how they should act, and who they should be just does not make any sense. But, we all still do it (do not forget, we are all works-in-progress). We can make expectations for anyone: friends, family, classmates, anyone. But with people we have a personal relationship with, it can cause tension and break the relationship. They could feel as if we were pushing them to be something they are not. Which, probably, is not our goal. Some expectations are not harmful, but helpful. This is where we need to know the other person. We need to stop assuming that we know what is best for everyone and that we know the future. Because, spoiler alert, WE DO NOT. That is God's job, not yours. Let Him handle it; He has since the beginning of time. 

But, the flip side of that is other people having expectations for us. In my life, I see this through parents, other family members, teachers, mentors, friends, classmates, church members, and anyone else. (Remember, not all expectations are harmful; some are helpful.) But, there is constant pressure of "Am I doing what _____ would want me to?" or "I think ____ would want me to be like more _____." Other people are setting standards of who we should be in life. Those standards are insanely high too. A few examples from teenage-christian-girl world: I have to get a 36 on my ACT to go to college and be successful. I need to set aside time everyday to read my bible and pray because that is what they said I should do. I need to fix my appearance, remember "always classy, never trashy." The list goes on and on. The real kicker, though, is we pay so much attention to the expectations set by others, we are not focusing on the most important ones set by God. We are truly setting ourselves up for failure, if we keep doing this. Others have unrealistic expectations for us and our lives and we end up feeling like an immense disappointment when we fail to live up to them. But in Colossians 2:10, it says,"and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority." We do not need to worry about what everyone else thinks and expects from us because in Him, we are made whole. He sees us for who we are and He knows our future; and He, The Almighty Ruler, loves us. In Habbakuk 1:5, it says, "Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe even if told." If we trust in His Will for our lives, instead following someone else's or our own path, we will be in awe of His work.  If we look to Him for guidance and focus on His expectations for us, we will be walking on His straight and narrow path, one step at a time. 

About Me

Before I dive into the blogosphere, I want you to know something. I am writing this blog mainly for myself. If people read my posts and get something from it, that is fantastic. But right now, in this season of my life, I have realized I like words and my thoughts. So, I will do my best to write them with as few grammar mistakes as possible. But, about me... Hmmmm... I really do not like talking about myself, so that can be a fact right? I have an amazing family that is so loving, encouraging, and up lifting. Also, they are pretty hilarious. Being the youngest, I have always had four strong examples to follow with them around. My friends are caring and kind. They, also, keep the laughter going all the time. They are always willing to be there for me, no matter what the circumstances are. I have the cutest, dumbest puppy. I have been provided a great education with fantastic teachers (mostly). I have an eclectic taste of music, but to me, it is simply perfect. Music is an instant 'get away' for me. I have an addiction to coffee. There, I finally admitted it. Any size, type, temperature, flavor, brand, I will drink it with a smile on my face. Lastly, the MOST important thing about me, I am not perfect. I am not even good. But, I have a Savior who sees all my flaws and short comings and chooses to love me anyway.  He loves his children to the point that He would give His life to set us free forever. Because of this, my only purpose in life is to live for Him. Because of this, I will strive everyday to become more and more like Him. Because of this, I am able to have hope in Him. I named this blog "One Step at a Time" while looking at Proverbs 4:27, which says "Avoid evil and walk straight ahead. Do not go ONE STEP off the right way." If you are constantly watching where your feet are going and making sure each step in on track and complete, how can you stumble? I believe these five words are a perfect reminder of the bigger picture, the "right way" of living for Him. So, remember, take life one step at a time.