{"id":302520,"date":"2012-05-09T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-09T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/gods-call-to-adoption\/"},"modified":"2012-05-09T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-05-09T15:00:00","slug":"gods-call-to-adoption","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/gods-call-to-adoption\/","title":{"rendered":"God&#8217;s Call to Adoption"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some decisions you make as a family. One of those would be the decision to adopt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-05-09.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"24.71M","filesize_raw":"25908367","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2818],"tags":[2712],"podcast_series":[7873],"cwp_profile":[3125],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302520","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adoption-and-orphans","tag-adoption","podcast_series-real-moms-real-jesus","cwp_profile-jill-savage","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/302520\/gods-call-to-adoption","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302520\/gods-call-to-adoption","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"pWIYXNuXm9\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/gods-call-to-adoption\/\">God&#8217;s Call to Adoption<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/gods-call-to-adoption\/embed\/#?secret=pWIYXNuXm9\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;God&#8217;s Call to Adoption&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"pWIYXNuXm9\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Some decisions you make as a family. One of those would be the decision to adopt.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-05-09.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 How many parents, who think about adoption, are focused on their desires for their family?\u00a0 Jill Savage said there was a paradigm shift in her thinking when, instead of thinking about her family; she started thinking about the very real needs of real orphans.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 Honestly, that was the moment I became an adoption advocate because I realized that there are more families out there that need to understand they may not need another child, but there\u2019s a child who needs a family.\u00a0 There are a lot of families that can offer that to children.\u00a0 That was really a profound experience for me.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Wednesday, May 9<sup>th<\/sup>.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 Jill Savage joins us today to tell us about the journey her family went on that brought a new son home.\u00a0 We\u2019ll hear her story today.\u00a0 Stay tuned.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 Thanks for joining us.\u00a0 There are some decisions, that you make as a family, where if you sat down and you did the list on paper of pros and cons, and, \u201cHow logical is this?\u201d, and, \u201cHow much sense does this really make?\u201d, you\u2019d go, \u201cNo.\u00a0 It\u2019s probably not a good decision;\u201d but you make them anyway because God says you don\u2019t walk by your list, you walk by faith.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Whatever is not of faith is sin.\u00a0 It\u2019s not saying we\u2019re to blindly step off into the darkness without having used our minds; but to your point, Bob, when it\u2019s all said and done, God expects us to trust Him with the future and with big decisions.\u00a0 That\u2019s why prayer really matters and why our walk with Christ matters.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tJill Savage has written a book called <em>Real Moms\u2026Real Jesus.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>Jill, you really believe that real prayer works, too; don\u2019t you?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 I sure do.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen it work in our lives in many ways.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019ve actually seen prayer work in regards to adoption.\u00a0 Where did adoption come from in your life?\u00a0 You work with moms through <em>Hearts at Home<\/em><sup>\u00ae<\/sup>.\u00a0 You have a ministry to thousands of moms across the country\u2014have five children\u2014but you have a story about adoption that is powerful.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, actually, adoption never did fit into our lives, at least as far as we knew it.\u00a0 Because my husband and I have four biological children, as far as we were concerned, we were finished.\u00a0 At that point in time, in my life, I thought of adoption\u2014adoption was for families that couldn\u2019t have biological children.\u00a0 That\u2019s the way they built their family.\u00a0 I never once had thought about adoption for the sake of a child who needed a family, but God was going to change that perspective in the journey that He eventually led us on.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 As a young lady growing up, you\u2019d never thought about it as a teenager?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 No, never crossed my mind.\u00a0 Mark and I\u2014I don\u2019t even think Mark and I\u2014at this point in time, we would have been married 20 years.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think that we\u2019d ever even uttered the word adoption.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 So, what happened to cause this idea to show up on your radar screen?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I was actually speaking at a mom\u2019s group in our community.\u00a0 A woman walked up to me.\u00a0 She said to me, \u201cJill, you wouldn\u2019t happen to know of a family who\u2019d be interested in adopting an eight-year-old little boy, whose best friend is a little girl who was adopted by a family in our community several years ago?\u00a0 They\u2019ve been looking for a family for this little girl\u2019s best friend.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cNo, I can\u2019t think of anybody who would be interested in adopting an eight-year-old little boy.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tShe said, \u201cWell, in case you do, here\u2014here\u2019s his picture.\u201d\u00a0 She handed me a picture.\u00a0 It had contact information.\u00a0 \u201cIf you think of anybody, you let me know.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cOkay.\u201d\u00a0 I went to turn and put the picture away.\u00a0 As I glanced down at the picture, it was as if God tapped me on the shoulder and said, \u201cOh, by the way, Jill, I almost forgot to tell you.\u00a0 Let me introduce you to your new son.\u201d\u00a0 I mean, it was just like I knew he was ours.\u00a0 He looked like my boys.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Hold it!\u00a0 Hold it!\u00a0 Hold it!\u00a0 Wait a second.\u00a0 You had never, ever entertained the thought of adoption\u2014and you turn a picture over and look into the eyes of an eight- year-old boy\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014and I said, \u201cHe\u2019s mine.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014\u201cHe\u2019s mine\u201d?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 But I couldn\u2019t say that aloud nor could I really admit that.\u00a0 All I did was get emotional.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s going on in my head.\u00a0 I\u2019m thinking, \u201cThat\u2019s about the most insane thing I\u2019ve ever thought in my entire life!\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI stood there just\u2014I mean, I was almost frozen\u2014just looking at the picture.\u00a0 I had a friend with me.\u00a0 She walked up to me and said, \u201cWhy are you getting emotional about that picture?\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Put it away.\u201d\u00a0 She said, \u201cWell, if you are going to get emotional, I think you should put it in your Bible and pray about it.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cI think you need to go home right now.\u201d\u00a0 (Laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cWhat kind of friend are you?\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, exactly!\u00a0 She tucked it in my stuff, and I went home.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t stop thinking about this little guy.\u00a0 My husband came home in the middle of the afternoon\u2014the kids were all at school\u2014and he came home.\u00a0 I said to him, \u201cHoney, I had the weirdest thing that happened to me,\u201d but I couldn\u2019t bring myself to tell him the whole truth\u2014okay?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, this is what I told him:\u00a0 \u201cSomebody handed me a picture of this little boy, and I think we must know the family who\u2019s supposed to adopt him.\u201d\u00a0 He said, \u201cOh, really?\u00a0 Let me see it.\u201d\u00a0 I went and dug it out, and I gave it to him.\u00a0 He got really quiet; and he said, \u201cJill, this little guy looks like he belongs in our family.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cDon\u2019t say that because, now, I have to tell you everything that I sensed and I felt!\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI got honest with him; and I said, \u201cThis is what my experience was.\u00a0 That\u2019s about the most insane thought I\u2019ve ever had in my whole life!\u201d\u00a0 Both of us\u2014I mean, honestly, we didn\u2019t even know what to do with it.\u00a0 We just said, \u201cOkay, I guess we just need to pray about this because this is like insanity.\u00a0 Why would we even be thinking this?\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe did.\u00a0 We both agreed.\u00a0 We prayed together at that moment.\u00a0 Then, we decided we were just going to talk with the Lord about it individually for the next few days.\u00a0 We would come back together that weekend.\u00a0 We came back together on the weekend and said, \u201cAlright, what do you sense?\u201d Both of us said, \u201cHe\u2019s ours.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got a kid on the other side of the world.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got to go get him.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt was just\u2014still\u2014I\u2019m still pinching myself, going, \u201cThis is craziness.\u00a0 Number one, by the time we\u2019re going to adopt him, he\u2019s going to be nine.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to drop a nine-year-old into our family?\u201d\u00a0 He speaks another language.\u00a0 He was in Russia.\u00a0 We never even thought\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 He was in Russia?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 He was in Russia!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 So, his best friend, this little girl, used to live in Russia.\u00a0 She\u2019s now living in Illinois?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, just down the street from us.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t know their family at all.\u00a0 We thought, \u201cWell, it\u2019s\u2014we better bring our kids along.\u201d\u00a0 We called a family meeting that weekend\u2014little did we know how God was preparing our kids\u2019 hearts ahead of us.\u00a0 You see, from the time\u2014our daughter, Anne, was almost 18 at this point in time\u2014and from the time that she had been about 14, she would say to us, \u201cYou know what?\u00a0 I don\u2019t think our family is complete.\u201d\u00a0 We\u2019d look at her like she had two heads.\u00a0 We\u2019d say, \u201cHoney, trust us.\u201d\u00a0 She\u2019d say, \u201cI know that, Mom, but I just don\u2019t feel like our family is complete.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s like, \u201cWell, you\u2019re entitled to your feelings, but you\u2019re wrong.\u201d\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThen, our son had inherited a set of bunk beds from his brother about two months before this.\u00a0 We would tuck him in every night.\u00a0 He would say, \u201cWho\u2019s going to sleep in that other bunk?\u201d\u00a0 We\u2019d say, \u201cAustin, nobody is going to sleep in that other bunk.\u00a0 That\u2019s for when your cousins come and visit.\u00a0 That\u2019s for when your friends stay over the night after school.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNo, somebody is going to sleep in that other bunk.\u201d\u00a0 We played this little game every night for the last two months.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 So, even though you had never had the thought about adoption, your kids were pressing the envelope about filling your family out with another child and filling the bunk?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 We really didn\u2019t even see that.\u00a0 We sat down with our kids.\u00a0 We told them the story that had unfolded in the weeks previous and said, \u201cWhat would you think if you had a brother?\u201d\u00a0 You know, when you have older kids, their first thought, \u201cAre you pregnant?!\u00a0 Ooh, that\u2019s gross!\u201d\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 \u201cNo, I\u2019m not pregnant.\u00a0 What if he was nine years old?\u00a0 What if he was from Russia?\u201d\u00a0 They are just like, \u201cWhat?!\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br>So, we unfold the story.\u00a0 By the time we finished the story, Annie puts a fist on the table.\u00a0 She says, \u201cI told you our family wasn\u2019t complete!\u201d\u00a0 Austin says, \u201cThat\u2019s who\u2019s supposed to sleep in my bunk bed.\u201d\u00a0 It had not crossed Mark and my thoughts that either one of those were a prelude to what we were doing.\u00a0 So, we knew, without a doubt.\u00a0 That was confirmation for us.\u00a0 He was ours.\u00a0 We began to pursue adoption.\u00a0 We said, \u201cYes,\u201d before we knew the price tag.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 The price tag was?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 $34,000.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Your husband is a senior pastor?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 At this point in time, a senior pastor in a new church plant.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019re a stay-at-home mom?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, stay-at-home mom, and that $34,000 exceeded his annual salary.\u00a0 So, we had no finances to do this.\u00a0 I remember sitting in a restaurant with my friend\u2014a friend of mine\u2014and I was saying to her, \u201cJulie, this is financial suicide.\u00a0 This is craziness.\u00a0 I cannot believe we\u2019re doing this.\u00a0 Yet, if we don\u2019t do it, we\u2019re going to completely be disobedient to what God is pressing on our hearts; but we don\u2019t have the money.\u201d\u00a0 She said to me, \u201cJill, our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.\u00a0 He just needs to sell a few cows to make this happen.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019d heard that verse before, but I\u2019d never thought about it in the form of God selling cows.\u00a0 Do you know\u2014within about three weeks, we came up with a family fundraiser\u2014and we made $5,000 on this fundraiser that we did.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Now, wait.\u00a0 There are families going, \u201cI\u2019d like to do one of those fundraisers.\u00a0 What did you guys do?\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know what we did?\u00a0 We made\u2014one night we were playing cards.\u00a0 My grandfather had made these little blocks of wood that had slots in them.\u00a0 So, when the kids are\u2014their hands are too small, they can\u2019t hold a deck of cards\u2014they can put their cards, their hand, in the slots of wood.\u00a0 The kids said, one night as we were playing <em>Uno<\/em><sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, and several of them were using the slots of wood, \u201cHey, what if we made these and sold them at the <em>Hearts at Home<\/em> conference coming up?\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe were about a month out from a <em>Hearts at Home<\/em> conference, where we were going to have almost 5,000 moms at this conference.\u00a0 We said, \u201cI wonder if we could do that?\u201d\u00a0 You know?\u00a0 My husband began to look into it.\u00a0 With the help of our church and every member of our family, we made a thousand of those babies.\u00a0 We sold them for $5, a piece, and made $5,000.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 There\u2019s a lot of card playing at your conference; isn\u2019t there?\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 You guys have too much fun.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 Those things\u2014I still have women, seven years later, asking me if we still sell those things.\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 We don\u2019t\u2014maybe somebody would like to take over on that.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Next time you\u2019re going to adopt you\u2019ll do that; right?\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Oh, my goodness.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 How did God supply the other $30,000 or so?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, you know, within two weeks, we learned about an organization that did grant matching.\u00a0 If you raised $5,000, they would match $5,000.\u00a0 So, within a couple of months, we had $10,000.\u00a0 We did send out letters to family and friends.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe also did another fundraiser\u2014our daughter came up with it.\u00a0 She called it <em>Cooking for Kolya<\/em>.\u00a0 She created a little menu of our family\u2019s favorite meals.\u00a0 She sold them as freezer meals to her teachers at school.\u00a0 I remember one teacher\u2014we\u2019d put the little story of what we were raising money for on the order form.\u00a0 One teacher at school bought a $6 pan of brownies for $50 because he caught the vision.\u00a0 By the time we made our first trip to Russia, $19,000 we\u2019d raised.\u00a0 We were just amazed that God had sold that many cows.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Walking into a Russian orphanage, though\u2014that is an emotional scene.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 It was very emotional.\u00a0 It was very emotional to see the number of kids who did not have families of their own.\u00a0 That was probably the first time I\u2019d ever really seen poverty.\u00a0 Probably, where my throat got kind of closed off and the emotion hit was when I walked into a room.\u00a0 Kolya wanted to show me his bed.\u00a0 His bed was one of 18 beds in a room.\u00a0 He proudly walked over to his bed to say, \u201cThis is where I sleep.\u201d\u00a0 As I looked at this room, that was just full of beds, I thought, \u201cWho sits down and tucks these kids in at night?\u201d\u00a0 Then, I realized, \u201cNobody does.\u00a0 There\u2019s nobody to tuck them in at night, and everything that Kolya owned fit into his pockets.\u201d\u00a0 That was eye-opening to me.\u00a0 It really was.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHonestly, that was the moment I became an adoption advocate because I realized that there are more families out there that need to understand they may not need another child; but there\u2019s a child who needs a family.\u00a0 There are a lot of families that can offer that to children.\u00a0 That was really a profound experience for me.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, I will say I did not instantly bond with Kolya.\u00a0 I mean, I enjoyed my time with Kolya, but I wasn\u2019t bonded to him.\u00a0 So, we got a knock on our door\u2014the way that this worked out is Kolya could stay with us.\u00a0 He stayed in the hotel with us for three days so that we could bond with him\u2014we could get to know him\u2014and, ultimately, make a decision whether we really wanted to adopt him.\u00a0 So, you go back for the second trip.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe got a knock, meaning it was time to go to dinner.\u00a0 Kolya misinterpreted that.\u00a0 When we said, in our limited Russian, that it was time to go\u2014we told him it was time to go to dinner\u2014he thought we were leaving for real.\u00a0 He began to cry.\u00a0 He began to cry, and he was inconsolable.\u00a0 I finally said to Mark, \u201cGo get an interpreter.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what he is not understanding here.\u201d\u00a0 As Kolya just cried and cried, I found myself scooping him into my lap\u2014just like I would when the kids were really little.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWithout even realizing it, I began to just rock him, and hold him, and began to whisper the words, <em>lyublyu<\/em>, into his ears\u2014which, <em>lyublyu <\/em>in Russian is, \u201cI love you.\u201d\u00a0 I realized in that moment that, \u201cThis was my child.\u201d\u00a0 He needed me just as much as my other four, across the ocean.\u00a0 I had not seen that kind of emotion out of him, but that emotion really connected with my emotion and my nurturing side.\u00a0 That was a very bonding moment for us as mother and son\u2014pretty powerful experience.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Hearing you tell this story can stir somebody\u2019s heart.\u00a0 I just want to make sure, that while we\u2019re stirring hearts, we\u2019re also giving a little reality check because there may be some moms or dads listening who are going, \u201cIs God tapping me on the shoulder?\u201d\u00a0 If he is, you need to be listening and paying attention; but the wise builder counts the cost\u2014just give us a reality check about introducing a nine-year-old boy into a family of six, already.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 A Russian nine-year-old boy into an American family.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, it was exhausting.\u00a0 Our older daughter, who was actually in college by the time we adopted Kolya, and our youngest son, actually bonded with him immediately.\u00a0 They were also the two that had that vision ahead of time\u2014immediately bonded with him.\u00a0 Our two middle children struggled.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tProbably, about two and a half months in, my son came to me\u2014and he was 16 at the time.\u00a0 He said, \u201cYou know what mom?\u00a0 It feels like he\u2019s the neighborhood kid who doesn\u2019t go home.\u201d\u00a0 I thought, \u201cWow!\u201d\u00a0 You know what?\u00a0 That\u2019s a pretty accurate description for what it sometimes feels, even for me.\u00a0 I really appreciated his honesty.\u00a0 I affirmed his honesty; and I said, \u201cYou know what?\u00a0 Evan, that\u2019s the way it sometimes feels for us, as well; but we\u2019re in a season where we have to choose to love.\u00a0 We <em>know<\/em> that God brought him to us.\u00a0 I know that over time that\u2019s going to happen\u2014that we\u2019re going to be able to see him fully integrate into our family.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI will tell you a funny story that happened about nine months after that conversation with Evan.\u00a0 Our family went out to have ice cream.\u00a0 I heard one of the kids say, \u201cSo, Kolya, in Russia, did you have ice cream?\u201d\u00a0 He said, \u201cYes, we had ice cream; but in the orphanage, we didn\u2019t get it very often.\u201d\u00a0 They went on to ask some more questions.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBefore long, Kolya\u2019s saying, \u201cYes, sometimes, I had to like dig through garbage cans to have food.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m thinking, \u201cThat\u2019s actually not true.\u201d\u00a0 He didn\u2019t have to dig through garbage.\u00a0 I\u2019m thinking, \u201cThis kid is spinning a tale.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m listening, and he\u2019s talking a little more.\u00a0 He is just pulling the sentimental out them and the pity out of them.\u00a0 They\u2019re just like, \u201cReally?\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019s like, \u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0 Then, he goes on a little more.\u00a0 \u201cReally?\u201d\u00a0 Finally, he says, \u201cNope.\u00a0 I\u2019m just kidding you.\u201d\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI will tell you what\u2014that was a bonding experience for those kids because they realized that he could dish it out just like they could.\u00a0 He became their brother in that weekend.\u00a0 They still look back on that and tell that story of where they realized, but that was a year in before they had that bonding experience.\u00a0 I would say we turned a corner with that.\u00a0 It began to be a more positive experience for them.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, the regular listeners to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> know this is a subject that we have a tender heart for.\u00a0 James 1:27 says, \u201cReligion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep one\u2019s self unstained from the world.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI don\u2019t understand it, Jill.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure you don\u2019t either, but there is something about going near the orphan that puts you very close to the heart of God.\u00a0 For those who are called to adopt, that\u2019s a great privilege.\u00a0 It will not be as easy as you thought it might be; but for all of us, I think\u2014I think we are called to go near in various ways\u2014either to help the orphan through giving, through coming alongside those who do minister to them, foster care kids.\u00a0 Some of our children, who are now adults, are thinking about getting in the foster care system and, perhaps, adopting.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI would just challenge the listener if, indeed, as Bob said, \u201cThey\u2019ve been touched\u201d\u2014maybe not as profoundly as you were by looking at Kolya\u2019s picture\u2014but if they\u2019ve been touched by this, they need to ask God, \u201cWhat do you want me to do?\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 I agree.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you want me to do about the 140 million orphans there are in the world?\u201d\u00a0 This is a catastrophic, humanitarian need that only the church, only the body of Christ, is capable of addressing today.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, on our website at FamilyLifeToday.com, we\u2019ve got a link to the area of our site where we can help you think through how you can respond to the issue of orphans\u2014what you can do.\u00a0 In fact, we\u2019ve got information there that offers ten ways that you can go near the needy child\u2014the adopted child.\u00a0 Again, go to FamilyLifeToday.com for more information about our <em>Hope for Orphans<\/em><em><sup>\u00ae<\/sup><\/em> outreach and how you can play a part in caring for the orphans around the world.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Jill, I want to say, \u201cThanks,\u201d to you and Mark for being obedient to God.\u00a0 I think you mentioned the word, \u201ccrazy\u201d, about ten times; but ultimately, it was a step of faith.\u00a0 By the way, I understand what you\u2019re talking about there.\u00a0 I just appreciate you, your ministry, and your book, <em>Real Moms\u2026Real Jesus<\/em>.\u00a0 You\u2019re a real person.\u00a0 Thanks for being on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jill:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank you.\u00a0 Thank you.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 We have got copies of that book, by the way, in our <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> Resource Center.\u00a0 You can order a copy from us online at FamilyLifeToday.com; or call 1-800-FL-TODAY to request a copy of the book, <em>Real Moms\u2026Real Jesus<\/em>\u2014great book to give to mom as a Mother\u2019s Day gift.\u00a0 Again, go to FamilyLifeToday.com to order, or call us at 1-800- \u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY\u201d.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI have to tell you our team here is\u2014we\u2019ve been very busy in the last several weeks.\u00a0 We are finishing up a project\u2014actually, hoping to finish it up this month.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been working on taking themes from Dennis Rainey\u2019s book, <em>Stepping Up:<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em><em>A Call to Courageous Manhood<\/em>, and making that into a video series for guys to go through in the men\u2019s group at their church or with a group of other guys.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve got three or four friends, just invite them over and go through this together.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br>We\u2019re pretty excited about how this is shaping up and so are some friends of ours.\u00a0 In fact, we\u2019ve had some friends of the ministry who have come to us recently and said, \u201cWe want to make sure that this <em>Stepping Up<\/em> material gets finished on time.\u00a0 We want to make sure that you\u2019ve got the funds you need to do what needs to be done.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, what they\u2019ve done is they\u2019ve put together a matching-gift fund, which has $650,000 in it.\u00a0 They\u2019ve said, \u201cDuring the month of May, any money that your listeners donate to <em>FamilyLife Today,<\/em> we will match that dollar-for-dollar, up to a total of $650,000.\u201d\u00a0 Of course, their hope is that you\u2019ll be excited about what\u2019s happening here at FamilyLife and that might motivate you to go online or to call us and make a gift this month.\u00a0 Of course, knowing that that gift is going to be doubled\u2014that it\u2019s going to be matched dollar-for-dollar\u2014that should provide some additional incentive, as well.\u00a0 Would you consider doing that?\u00a0 Go to FamilyLifeToday.com and make an online donation; or call, toll-free, at 1-800-FL-TODAY.\u00a0 I just want to say, \u201cThanks,\u201d in advance, for whatever you\u2019re able to do in helping us take full advantage of this matching-gift opportunity.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, tomorrow, hope you can be back with us.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to talk about generosity.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to talk about how we, as parents, can help our children develop a heart of generosity\u2014cultivate that as a character quality.\u00a0 Brad Formsma joins us tomorrow.\u00a0 Hope you can be with us, as well.\u00a0 <br>\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you.\u00a0 However, there is a cost to produce them for our website.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2012 FamilyLife.\u00a0 All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 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