Thanksgiving Reflections

Sitting at the laptop enjoying a cup of coffee on Saturday (not just any Saturday - OSU/Michigan Saturday) and reflecting back on two days of feasting and fellowship.  It has been a very nice holiday weekend.

I needed this respite.  Life has been challenging for me of late.  I know that God is granting me strength in the midst of these circumstances and that He is using them to refine me.  Some might look at what I am going through and say, “ I could never do that.”   And others would say, “dude, that’s nothing.”  So I won’t use the blog to say - woe is me.  I am grateful that God is molding me and shaping me.

As I had the privilege to look around two Thanksgiving feasts (Michelle’s family on Thursday and my family and some friends yesterday), I realized that God has blessed me with many who love me and care about me.  He opened my eyes to the exorbitant blessings of feasting food, so much so that we will have leftovers for a long time.  It is a joy to walk into a warm house and know that I have a very comfortable bed to retire to each night.  God has granted me the ability to work and plenty of work to do for the foreseeable future.  I have a wife who loves me and three kids who think their dad is a king.  Blessing upon blessing upon blessing.

And I find my mind wandering 7418 miles east.

I am wondering what the tummy mom of our soon to be son would think of my life.  I am sure that her trials and challenges look far different than mine. Did she get to eat today?  I pray so.  Did the father of my son have the chance to work today?  Is he able to?  Is he even in the picture?  Do they have a house to live in?  A bed to sleep in?  Are there other children in the family that wonder if this pregnancy means that there will be less food for them?  

I am grateful for the opportunity to take a break from the routine of life and reflect and gain some perspective.  The Rogi are a truly blessed family. May we all be a little more thankful each and every day.

"If the only prayers you said in your life were 'thank you', that would be enough" - St. Athanasius

Going Mongo! December 11th

There is a BLESSING to fundraising.  How is that?  Well, it gives the Rogi an opportunity to share our heart about adoption.  And do you know what's a BIGGER BLESSING?  YOU have the opportunity to be an integral part of bringing an orphan to his forever home.

My friend Amy over at Feet 2 Our Faith puts it this way:

We need the people of God to come alongside us and partake in the story. We need your prayers and your encouragement. Our adoption becomes a gift to not just our family and our future kids, but also to those who choose to involve themselves in it. They have great joy as they see our thermometer rise. Can you imagine the joy they will share when they see us in the same photograph with our newly ransomed children? Oh! It makes my heart race with excitement!  (read entire post here)

Amen!  I couldn't have said it better myself - really!

With THAT said...............

The Rogers Family wants to invite you to dinner - and THEY'RE GRILLIN"!

Khris and I are grabbin' our "swords" and joining the BD's Mongolian Grillers to cook up some stir-fry, Mongo-style, for everyone in the restaurant.  Sounds FUN, right?  Well, we're putting the FUN in FUNdraiser to support our Ethiopian adoption!

When?  Sunday, December 11, 2011
Where?  BD's Mongolian Grill in the Arena District
               295 Marconi Blvd. in Columbus
What time?  5:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Proceeds from the ticket sales benefit the

Rogers Family Adoption Fund

"How much are tickets, and what is included?"

That is an EXCELLENT question!

Here's the rundown:

$23 Good for Unlimited Stir Fry, Fountain Beverage,
and Mini Dessert

$21 Good for One Bowl of Stir Fry, Fountain Beverage,
and Mini Dessert

$12 Kids 3-11 Good for One Bowl of Stir Fry, Fountian Beverage, and Mini Dessert

(Tickets do NOT include alcoholic beverages and do NOT have cash value)


"But how do I get tickets?" you ask? 

Well, it's EASY!

If you see me frequenlty, you can buy them directly from me.  (checks payable to Michelle R. Rogers)  If not?  You can order your tickets via the Paypal button on the sidebar right over there    --------------->>>>>>>>
See where it says "For Our Ethiopian Adoption -- God Bless You!"?  Click the "Donate" button to purchase tickets.  The button is there below the Little Rogi's picture?

(Aren't they darling?)

Please indicate which tickets you are purchasing and the quantities in the comments along with your delivery preference.
If you are in the Columbus area, I would be happy to deliver your tickets to you.
If you would rather I mail them out, please inticate your delivery preference in the comments section in Paypal checkout along with your mailing address.  Please add $.50 processing/mailing fee with your total (just the cost of an envelope and stamp).

Questions? Leave a comment on this post with your contact info and I will follow up with you (I will not post your contact info on the blog).

What a blessing you are!
Thank you for joining us in this mission to...
...learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.  Isaiah 1:17

Wild Olive Tees

 Since the last post, we have been chugging away on the paperwork for our international adoption.  We are only a few documents away from completing our home study so we can get our USCIS paperwork done.  My goal (realistic or not) is to be DTE (that's Dossier to Ethiopia) for Christmas.  

This means I need to have our homestudy approved in the next few weeks so we can file our application with USCIS, get that USCIS approval letter and send our Dossier to Ethiopia.

♪♫ All I want for Christmas is 

a DTE, a DTE, a DTE ♪♫

As I read the blogs of parents in the online adoption community, I see LOTS of fundraising efforts on behalf of bringing little ones home to their forever families.

 

Wild Olive Tees is our next fabulous fundraiser.  
Here is their mission:

"Wild Olive adoption tees have been created as a means to help families fundraise for their impending adoption. Our goal is to partner with adoptive families to help them gain support from friends and family to offset the cost of their adoption, and in turn, help bring children home to their forever families!"

What a blessing for these adoptive mommies to have this heart...  

Thank you Wild Olive Tees!

Christmas is coming, so get some shopping done!
Our fundraising period is 

NOW thru December 14th.  JANUARY 11TH!
(Thanks Wild Olive Tees for extending <3)

Click the Wild Olive icon or  "fabulous fundraiser" above to order yours today.  Be sure to use our family code ROGERS1019 when on the check-out screen so that Wild Olive Tees can track our fundraising.

Speaking of Christmas...

we still have our
 coffee store open at
  Just Love Coffee <=== Click Here
 to order.

Ethiopian Sidamo has quickly become the favorite coffee around here! 

Not So Much An Update

Well, we continue in the paper chase process of our adoption.  We should be finished with our home study by the middle of October and be able to send our USCIS paperwork at that point.

While we think of things to blog about...  here's the video we took of the kids on Christmas morning when we announced our adoption.  Enjoy!

Well Under Way

A lot has happened since the last time I posted.  In May we put our application for adoption in to America World and waited until the beginning of June to hear whether we were accepted or not.  Once we signed the agreement and paid the first installation of the program fee we waited to hear from our new family coordinator.

The LORD is teaching me to wait.  I think I get it.  I am confident that waiting is what God wants from me.  I don't see the BIG picture and I know that in my waiting, God is working.

While we waited, we had our first Adoption Benefit Garage Sale.  The kids manned a lemonade/hotdog stand that grossed $125 in two days!  God is amazing!  The goods we sold for the rest of the sale brought the grand total to $450 for our adoption!  Wow!  God is AMAZING!


Since the garage sale, we have "met" (over the phone) our new family coordinator with America World and our home study coordinator, we have read and signed a bunch more paperwork, and are looking forward to our home study orientation next week.  Thus the paper-chase begins.


We have also started looking at different ways for you to get involved in our journey if you would like to.  Our first venture into fund raising is for all you coffee lovers out there or for the coffee lover in your life.  We have partnered with a great organization called "Just Love Coffee."  If you go to our store on their site and purchase a bag of coffee, we receive $5.  So go, buy lots of coffee.  See if you can get your office manager to make next months coffee purchase from us.  Maybe your church would like to buy some for Sunday morning services.  And you know, it is never too early to start thinking about Christmas...


Click on the Just Love Coffee Roasters image below to go directly to our adoption fundraiser page.

http://justlovecoffee.com/talesoftherogi

Thank you for blessing us in our adoption process!

Peace and Comfort

So, the waiting begins. We placed our adoption application to America World's Ethiopia program late last Wednesday evening. I got an automated response and then have heard nothing.

It has kind of been bumming me out a little bit - off and on. I have had fears that we won't even be accepted into the program, but I know God is good. He has brought us to this point in our lives of choosing adoption to grow our family. As we await word from America World, I am comforted by Scripture, prayer and song.

My friend shared Isaiah 26:3 with me:

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You."

God is keeping me at peace as I wait. I do trust Him.  If you read further, verse 8 is my heart as well, because ultimately, my desire is to see God glorified in my life:

"Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."

As I read in my quiet time, every day there is a verse that the Lord speaks directly to my heart.  It's amazing that no matter where you are reading, there is relevance to your life and the Lord will minister to you and speak to you through His Word.  


"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."  2 Timothy 3:16-17


I am also thankful for all the prayer that covers us as we walk this adoption journey. I really can't express how I am touched by the prayers of the saints.  Thank You, Lord, for surrounding us with people who love and serve You, and who are praying for us.


And then there's music.  Music always ministers to me - as well it should I guess, being a musician and all.  As we were driving home from church last week, the Lord got my attention using the song that was playing on the CD player.  Khris and I were in a focused discussion about God's sovereignty through our adoption journey.  I have had doubts that this thing would ever happen and he reminded me that our adoption will come to pass in the Lord's timing, not mine. As we were talking, the words being sung were, "I know You're with me...  I know Your love will light the way."  The Lord - MY Lord - spoke to my heart then and there.  I need to walk in this faith that I claim daily in my words.  After we put the kids to bed, I entered the rest of our information and submitted our online adoption application.


The next day, I was driving the kids to music lessons, and couldn't wait to back up that track in the van to listen to the entire message of the song.  The Lord was right there, in the van, bringing me comfort and peace.  My heart was bursting with His love for me.  I am seeing Him more clearly than I think I have in a long time.  Thank You, Lord Jesus, my God.  Oh, how I love You, too!

AFTERMATH by Hillsong United

The skies lay low where You are
On the earth You rest Your feet
Yet the hands that cradle the stars
Are the hands that bled for me

In a moment of glorious surrender
You were broken for all the world to see
Lifted out of the ashes
I am found in the aftermath

Freedom found in Your scars
In Your grace my life redeemed
For You chose to take the sinner's crown
As You placed Your crown on me

In that moment of glorious surrender
Was the moment You broke the chains in me
Lifted out of the ashes
I am found in the aftermath
And in that moment You opened up the heavens
To the broken the beggar and the thief
Lifted out of the wreckage
I find hope in the aftermath

And I know that You're with me
Yes I know that You're with me here
And I know Your love will light the way

Now all I have I count it all as loss
But to know You and to carry the cross
Knowing I'm found
In the light of the aftermath

I want to see Jesus, too

I am often challenged by others and their walk with the Lord.  I read this today and was definitely challenged.  I so love Him and want others to see Him in my life.  ~Michelle