"Merry Christmas" by Third Day

There's a little girl trembling on a cold December morn

Crying for momma's arms

At an orphanage just outside a little China town

There the forgotten are

But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire

And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine

It's Christmas time again but you're not home

Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone

And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms

And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights

I'm warmed by the fire's glow

Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white,

Make angels in the snow

But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears

And hope that heaven's angels come to carry you here

It's Christmas time again but you're not home

Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone

And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms

And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

Christmas is a time to celebrate the holy child

And we celebrate his perfect gift of love

He came to earth to give his life

And prepare a place for us

So we could have a home with him above

It's Christmas time again and now you're home

Your family is here so you will never be alone

So tonight before you go to sleep,

I'll hold you in my arms

And I'll tell you from my heart,

and I'll tell you from my heart

I wish you Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Aiden!

Christmas Pictures!

To view the rest of our Christmas photo's Cick Here

"All I Really Want for Christmas" by Steven Curtis Chapman

Well I don’t know if you remember me or not

I’m one of the kids they brought in from the home

I was the red-haired boy in an old green flannel shirt

You may not have seen me – I was standing off alone

I didn’t come and talk to you, ‘cause that’s never worked before

And you’ll prob’ly never see this letter anyway

But just in case there’s something you can do to help me out

I’ll ask you one more time

All I really want for Christmas

Is someone to tuck me in

A shoulder to cry on if I lose

Shoulders to ride on if I win

There’s so much I could ask for

But there’s just one thing I need

All I really want for Christmas is a family

Well I guess I should go ahead and tell you now

If it’s really true about that list you have

Somehow I always seem to end up in a fight

But I’m really trying hard not to be bad

But maybe if I had a brother or a dad to wrestle with

Well, maybe they could teach me how to get along

And from everything I’ve heard

Sounds like the greatest gift on earth would be a mom

All I really want for ChristmasIs someone to tuck me in

A shoulder to cry on if I lose

Shoulders to ride on if I win

There’s so much I could ask for

But there’s just one thing I need

All I really want for Christmas

Is someone who’ll be thereTo sing me “Happy Birthday”

For the next 100 years

And it’s OK if they’re not perfect

Well, even if they’re a little broken, that’s alright

‘Cause so am I

Well, I guess I should go

It’s almost time for bed

And maybe next time I write you

I’ll be at home

‘Cause all I really want for Christmas

Is someone to tuck me in

Tell me I’ll never be alone

Someone whose love will never end

Of all that I could ask for

Well, there’s just one thing I need

All I really want for Christmas

All I really want for Christmas is a family

Just a family

That’s all I really need

Do you have an extra bed in your home?

Why not share it with a child or teen who needs a family?

Do you have extra money in your account?

Why not find a family who wants to adopt but

doesn't have thousands saved up?

Do you have extra time?

Why not pray for the 143 million orphans in the world

that each one would get a family soon?

http://www.reecesrainbow.org/

Merry Christmas from the Keno family to you!

John, Mary Ellen, Heather, Andrea, Krista, Brent, Jennifer, Karl, Aiden and David

"This Christmas" by Toby Mac

Joy to the world
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing

Now Jonnie never got his wish on December 25
That's what he said when he left the orphanage
9 years old, but Jonnie was an old soul
Gonna spend his first Christmas in a real home
Showed me a picture that he drew the night before
Was a picture of a man standin' outside a door
I asked him who it was and he said someone I only see in dreams
Comforts me when I cry myself to sleep

Father of the fatherless
Be with your sons and daughters this Christmas
This Christmas

Believe in angels?
Jonnie asked me starin' at the sky
I said I do and saw a sparkle in his eye
Big brother for the weekend respondin' to the season
Took the chance that givin's better than recievin'
Two nights, a new family, some holiday cheer
We laughed and sang
Came on a midnight clear
We gave, received, and as we headed to close
We looked to the heavens and it started to snow
Down blessings

Father of the fatherless
Be with your sons and daughters this Christmas
(You ain't livin' til you choose to give love and joy andpeace to one of His)
Father let us not forget
The children who are all alone this Christmas
(You ain't livin' til you choose to give, you ain't livin' til
You choose to give)

(James 1:27)Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this
To look after orphans and widows in their distress

Merry Christmas everyone

Joy to the world
The Lord is come
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing

Redemption

This was written by Derek Loux just over a year ago...

Friday, December 12, 2008

Renee' and I are sitting in the office of a telephone company in Novograd Valenski, Ukraine, using wireless internet. We are in the middle of adopting three special needs boys from an orphanage here. Two of the boys have Down Syndrome. Roman is high functioning, energetic and happy. Dimitri has serious mental retardation, failure to thrive, and though he is five years old, he is the size of a 1 year old. He has sores on his face, a distinct smell of death on him, and yells out if we try to do anything with him other than hold him. Because he has less ability to respond and learn, he naturally gets less attention and care from the orphanage workers in this world of limited resources. The harsh reality of the "survival of the fittest" principle is a life and death struggle that this little boy is losing fast

Our third boy Sasha, is a brilliant six year old who has Spina Bifida (the condition our son Josiah died from in 1996). He is like a learning sponge that can't get enough! He is happy and alert and thirsty for knowledge and experience. So with two of our boys, we get an immediate return on any investment we make. With Dimitri, there's not much immediate gratification. In fact, it's unknown when and if there will be a return at all.

This is the kind of situation that makes the carnal, fallen, human reasoning think, "Why try? What's the point? What will this produce? What good will this do? Why not select a boy who has more potential? This looks like a lost cause.

Two days ago we drove for hours into the Ukrainian countryside to the village where Dimitri was born. We met with officials there and signed papers and answered their questions. We also went and saw Dimitri's house. The day had been long, we were still recovering from jet lag, I was beginning to really miss my six daughters at home and all the familiar things our fragile human hearts entangle themselves with in feeble attempts to feel secure.

Sitting in the dark on our very long drive back to Novograd that night, the Holy Spirit began to whisper to my heart, and new understanding about redemption began to take shape.I was thinking, "Man, adopting this little boy has been so much work. This is exhausting, expensive, uncomfortable … and it doesn't feel very rewarding right now." What am I doing in some little Soviet car in the dark, in the middle of rural Ukraine in frozen December, as the driver dodges cats and potholes? What if Dimitri doesn't improve at all? What if we get "nothing" out of this? …

Ahhh, there it was; that dark, fallen, unreedemed, selfish human love, rooted in the tree of the knowledge of "good and evil". The love the Greeks called "erao" love. The love where we treat someone as precious and treasured for what we can get out of it. This is unlike "agapeo" love, the God kind of love that treats someone as treasured and precious for their good, not for my good. It's when I love a person in order to meet their needs, having no expectation of them meeting any of my needs. At a whole new level, God is working His kind of love into my weak heart, and He's using little Dimitri to do it.

On the drive home that night, the Lord whispered in my ear, "This is Redemption. Derek, do you know how far I travelled to get you and bring you back? I had to be separated from my Son, in order to get you, just like you are separated from your children in order to get these boys. Do you know how expensive it was for Me to purchase you? It cost me everything. Do you know how broken, sick, damaged, twisted, dirty, smelly, and hopeless you were? And at the end of it all, you had nothing to give me or add to me. I did it for you. I emptied myself and became nothing so that you could have it all. This is redemption.My friends, adoption is redemption. It's costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him.

And when He redeems us, we can't even really appreciate or comprehend it, just like Dimitri will never comprehend or fully appreciate what is about to happen to him … but … he will live in the fruit of it. As his Daddy, I will never expect him to understand all of this or even to thank me. I just want to watch him live in the benefits of my love and experience the joys of being an heir in my family. This is how our heavenly "Papa" feels towards us.

Today, settle your busy heart down and rest in the benefits of redemption. Enjoy the fruits of His goodness, and stop trying to "pay Him back". You'll never get close you goofy little kid.
__._,_.___

Please Pray for This Family...

One of our Reece's Rainbow adoptive families has been struck with tragedy this morning. Please pray for them...


Derek Loux, who was such an important part of our IHOP (International House of Prayer)family for many years, is now in the presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Early this morning as he was traveling home from Colorado, Derek was killed in an automobile accident when his car hit a patch of black ice. Derek had been in Colorado to receive more extensive training in how to minister to victims of human trafficking,
For years, this precious man of God has faithfully served his Lord and our Missions Base in so many areas, including helping pioneer the Forerunner Music Academy, where he served as director. Derek was part of the IHOP-KC senior leadership team, a worship leader in the House of Prayer, and a frequent IHOP-KC conference speaker. He has recorded professionally as a musician, singer and songwriter; including his albums Paper Religion and Fragrant Burning. Before joining IHOP-KC, he served as the director of IHOP-Indianapolis for four years.
Derek’s life passion was adopting and restoring orphans; he pioneered the vision of the Orphan Justice Center – a haven of restoration for rescued orphans. OJC recently become an official part of IHOP. His tireless voice for the weak and voiceless indelibly marked us all. How we will miss him.Renee and the children will need so very much love and support, not only in these first weeks, but for many years. In the immediate, Pamela Stead will spearhead all practical care for the family. Please contact her (pamelastead@ihop.org) if you want to be involved in practical helps. We ask you to please give the Loux family (immediate and extended) privacy to grieve, and only go to the home if invited. There will be many ways to give – meals, childcare, home care, finances. More details will follow soon on how you can give to this precious family, as well as Memorial plans.
We do not grieve as those who have no hope, but oh how we grieve. For Renee, for children who have lost their earthly father, and for our family who has lost a marvelous comrade. Until that Day when He dries every tear…we mourn with the Loux family. wwwlouxfamilyblog.com
The IHOP Leadership Team

Our Anniversary Dinner

Nativity Calendar

Beautiful bouquet from John for our 25th Wedding anniversary

Our tree skirt that we bought many years ago at a craft sale in Lantzville

Brent and Daddy relaxing after the tree is all up

Heather placing the angel on the top of the tree

Jennifer helping to decorate the tree

as is Karl

and David and Daddy

They are pretty and plastic!!

Aiden doing a great job on the lower branches

such concentration David, good job buddy

relaxing with a nice cup of hot chocolate

Momma Mary getting hot chocolate ready

Brent and Jennifer checking out the ornaments

Aiden supervising Daddy

Getting the Christmas Tree

Starting to Let Go...

We have been blessed to have had our whole immediate family with us for Christmas for the past 24 years. Our two oldest girls arrived home this year on December 17. Heather is staying home for three weeks and Andrea for two weeks. Heather starts back to school the second week in January and Andrea starts her new fulltime job January 1.
Our third daughter will arrive home on December 23 but only for 5 days. It was very hard to get our Christmas tree today without Krista. While she is here we will squeeze in as much as we can but I also know she needs to sleep while she is here as she works crazy, long hours and many days in a row at the farm.

This is the process of letting go, knowing that Christmas will never be the same and that someday our girls will phone to say, "Mom, I won't home for Christmas this year." So we will enjoy our 5 days, 2 weeks and 3 weeks that we get this year, being thankful for each day we can all be together.

Aiden is quite convinced that we live in Canada and every other place is Bulgaria! When Heather and Andrea arrived home he told them they had come from Bulgaria to Canada! And now he is waiting for Caca Krista to come from Bulgaria to Canada too! Did I mention lately how sweet this boy is???

A Christmas Tree

Aiden has seemed worried that wherever we have gone in the past couple weeks he saw Christmas trees but yet we didn't have one at our house. He told us several times that in Bulgaria there are Christmas trees too. Well finally today, on our 25th Wedding Anniversary!, we trudged out to the back 40. Through mud, horse droppings, barbed wire fences, snow falling, wind blowing, D yelling, puppy jumping, Aiden directing everyone (bossy boy!) we found our tree. It is a big, beautiful, bushy tree. Definitely not a Charlie Brown tree! We had it home, in the tree stand, tied to the walls (we are paranoid after our tree fell down years ago), lit up, lovingly and painstakingly decorated by dinner time.

Thank you to Andrea and Heather for making us a beautiful dinner for our anniversary.

This evening we watched Home Alone together. It is one of our families' favourites! We hope Aiden did not pick up any of the language from the movie! or any ideas about tricks to play on us!

Aiden has a small decorated tree in his room and he fell asleep tonight gazing at it. Ahhhh finally he has his Christmas tree.

Our Angel...

Please meet Dennis. We have been praying for him this past year and God in His Sovereign way has now found a forever family for Dennis!!

This family will need to raise close to $25,000 to save Dennis from a life in an institution in his Eastern European country. He also has medical needs that will need to be attended to as soon as he comes home.

We are asking you today to help this family raise the funds to bring Dennis home soon so he can get the medical help he needs and most importantly that he can have a dad and mom and brothers and sisters!

To donate to Dennis' fund go to:

http://www.reecesrainbow.org/angeltree2009sponsorpage.html

and press on DONATE

For our Canadian friends your gift will not be tax deductible. We are hoping to be able to give tax receipts to Canadians by this time next year.

Please go to:
http://www.reecesrainbow.org/familysponsorshipinprogress.html
to read all about Dennis' new family.

Isaiah 58:10
"and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday."

Help Save Ruslana

This little one will be sent to a mental institution February 1, 2010 if her adoptive family cannot gather the $25,000 to adopt her and have all their paperwork finished by then. Eighty per cent of children who are sent to these horrible mental institutions die within the first year. Please click on her picture to see how you can help.


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Beautiful Bulgaria

I came across this folklore about Bulgaria:

"There's an old legend narrating that God summoned all the peoples on earth to give each a piece of nature's beauty. Every people had its share of God's creation. It so happened that Bulgarians turned up late and there was no earthly beauty left for God to give them. So God presented them with a piece of Heaven...

Situated in South-Eastern Europe, in the heart of the Balkan peninsula, Bulgaria can boast a unique combination of breathtaking high mountains, luscious valleys, azure sea and fine white sands. Together with the temperate climate, this unrivalled scenery makes the country ideal for both summer and winter tourism. The 13th-century turbulent history of its people, marked with great upheavals, only turns Bulgaria into an even more exciting place to visit.

The old state of Bulgaria was established in 681 AD by the Bulgars-a Turkic people-and the Slavs. In the 9th century, the Thessaloniki brothers Cyril and Methodius created the Slavonic script (later known as the Cryillic alphabet) that was to lay the foundation for great literacy and cultural achievements. Overrun by the Ottoman Turks in 1393, the country was in a state of non-existence for almost five hundred years, but regained its independence in 1878. After World War II, Bulgaria entered the Eastern Communist Block. In November 1989, however, the totalitarian regime was overthrown and since then the country has been undergoing democratic changes which, hopefully, will soon reestablish Bulgaria as a part of united Europe."

from the English-Bulgarian Phrase Book by Hermes

Dreaming of a White Christmas

There was snow all across Canada for Christmas 2008. From coast to coast to coast everyone had a white Christmas. This was the first time since 1971. Here on Vancouver Island we usually have a green Christmas. I wonder what God has in store for us this year? I know our girls who live on the prairies are sick of snow already and are hoping for a green Christmas. My vote is always for a white Christmas. Growing up in Ontario we pretty much always had snow on the ground at Christmas so this seems normal for me. Having lived on Vancouver Island for 28 years more years than not I have seen a green Christmas so really, really enjoy the years we have snow.