Blogging for Orphans

OCA Mission Moments from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

They sat in the studio with an expectant glow as they spoke about their children they had yet to meet, but who they claimed as their very own...

Josh: "As unbelievers, we are aliens. We are strangers. We are separated from God. But God has come in and adopted us, through Christ, to be in His family."

Jenn: "And we're just so thrilled that our family can be a picture of that to the world! And just like we would never question our true son-ship to God the Father, it's been an encouragement to us to think about, we really don't have to question whether these kids are our true children... cause they are!"

When Josh and Jenn Philpot felt God's nudging toward adoption they weren't sure where they would get the money. They received a matching grant through the Orphan Care Alliance (OCA), turning the $6,000 they had raised into $10,000, and making it possible for them to bring home not just one child but two!

OCA is a multi-church alliance in the Louisville/Southern Indiana area. Adoption funding is just one part of their ministry. Their many outreaches include recruiting and training foster parents, mentoring local foster children, assistance for local churches in launching orphan ministries, international orphan care, and more! They are also a part of Lifesong's Outside the Walls Network, which connects churches to serve orphans more powerfully together than they could on their own.

Celebrating All the Wins!

Church planting has been a long and lonely road. It is sort of like a ball game in that you win some and you loose some....in our case it has been energy, drive and sometimes people. There are weeks when we are on cloud 9 and then there have been weeks when we are all just dragging, no energy whatsoever. The holiday season was rough, lots of low attendance Sundays. I know that attendance shouldn't mean that much, but when you are a church of 15 and you only have like 20, you cannot help but get discouraged. Then January & February came........things have begun to turn around. Our energy has gone through the roof. This has been truly a God thing, and I also think it has a lot to do with us stepping back and celebrating the wins, ALL of them! We used to think the only wins were having large crowds and seeing people come to Jesus (seeing people saved is our number 1 focus), but some of our celebrations now are just the simple fact that we can set up church each Sunday, the fact that we have raised 32% of our $5,000 goal to dig a well in only 4 weeks, or the simple fact that God has so graciously blessed us with so much musical talent that we cannot fit them all on stage each Sunday, or that we meet in a HUGE building for FREEEEEEEE! Jesus has given Oasis the ability and the drive and it would be selfish of us not to jump in with everything we have and say "use US Lord, use US"!

I have been through my times of doubt and depression as I have battled with the idea of do we even need to continue and I can tell you now, without a doubt that God is holding this church together and wants it to succeed. Our God never ceases to amaze me. When I say we can't, He says "oh yeah, well watch this!" So, God has shut my mouth and boy am I glad He did. I am so thankful for Oasis church and all the other churches in our surrounding area who see the needs outside their four walls! What a mighty God we serve!

To the Moon & Back

For as long as I can remember my mother has always followed the phrase "I love you" with "to the moon and back". The more grandchildren she has it seems they say it more and more. Both boys have said it numerous times, but as they have gotten older they seem to be out of the habit of adding that phrase, which at times is sad. Campbell on the other hand, cannot say it enough. Our conversations today went something like this.....

(While throwing the ball with the boys, CG is prancing around the yard in her old tap shoes)

"I love you mommy"

"I love you Campbell"

"To da moon and back mommy"

"To the moon and back Campbell"

(While swinging at the park this afternoon)

"You know I love you mommy"

"And I love you Campbell"

"To da moon and back"

"That's right, the moon and back"

She just can't seem to say it enough and that is fine with me.

In November I found a rustic, wooden sign with "To the Moon and Back" painted on it and I bought it for my mom to hang in her dining room. It suits her well!!! My mom is a wonderful, godly lady who loves her children and grandchildren. I am thankful for her, and so are my kids! We love you nanny, to the moon and back!

Monday, Monday

This post totally rocked my world today. Please, please, please check it out!!! Here are some ways you can help us out!!!!

1. register for our 5k in May, visit this site to register online!

2. purchase a bag of GREAT coffee from this site!

3. donate yard sale items by bringing them buy our house or messaging us on facebook so that we can pick them up

4. purchasing one of our one of kind adoption tees or hoodies

5. donate $5-$25 dollars, every penny helps

Help us bring our little Anya home!!!

Waiting Mail and Some Great News

Busy week, even busier weekend and wouldn't you know I had to catch the stomach virus from some of my lovely, hand sanitized sweethearts at school. So, I was out of work two days this past week, which I hated. I always feel guilty when I miss work, I mean with budget cuts and everything, attendance is a must, no time to be hugging that porcelain throne you know? I finally went back to work again on Friday and received a great email from our adoption coordinator at AWAA! Basically it told us about some things we need to be doing while waiting for our referral and also that we should have our little girl in about 9-10 months??? Wait, seriously, this is actually happening? So, we are on cloud 9 and still a little nervous! We are now moving into full fundraising mode at the end of February......why? Well, I finish my masters and have had little time for anything else, but come March 1st I will be FREE!!!!

Among other things, our new series at church begins tomorrow called "I killed Jesus"......we have had some very interesting conversations with people just about the title itself. This series is sure to be eye opening and heart breaking. BIG things are happening at Oasis, and we have no one to praise but God for that!!!