Letting It Go

Last night our small group at church got together for some wonderful food and a night of playing games. Between us, we had more than 25 board and card games to choose from. After a few rounds of Scattergories and Hit or Miss in mixed groups, we decided to start a new game in which the women and men would compete against each other. 

Out of the large inventory of games came Outburst (circa 1986). Somehow, this had made its way out of our game closet and to the party. We laughed our way through a few rounds of the game before finding a more "current" game. (The women still aren't sure how the men ended up with "planets and famous nightclubs" and we managed to pull out "trucks" and "Vietnam." Who knew the truck category had more than 3 words for "18 wheeler"!) 

At the end of the night we sorted and packed up our games. As we once again laughed at the 1986 Outburst game, a good friend made a funny, but true observation. He marveled, not that we had a game from 1986, but at how many times we must have made a conscious decision to move the game. We began to count how many moves we had made in 16 years and came up with 3 states and 6 houses (for a total of 6 moves). Ummm...not sure how this game missed the moving sales!

I am wondering how many times we make the same choice in our personal and spiritual lives? We experience a life change (either through life circumstances or a conscious decision). Some days, months, or years later, something happens and we realize we have unintentionally or unknowingly brought along something that is no longer useful, helpful or healthy. It may be a habit, negative thoughts or feelings (anxiety, bitterness, shame, etc), or even a relationship. More than likely, it is "taking up space" where God desires to do and give so much more.  

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14

Praying today for wisdom and courage today to consider how God would have me "press toward the goal" and what He would have me forget or let go of to make more room for the things of Him.  And who knows, maybe Outburst will make its way into our adoption garage sale in April!  

Waiting with hope

(Photo not taken by me!)

"Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40:30-31

I worked as a counselor at a summer camp between my freshmen and sophomore years of college. Above my bed was a poster with a picture of an eagle with the above verses under its wing span. These were among the verses I memorized during college. Over the years, the Lord has been gracious to bring to mind these and other verses just when I need them. 

Saturday morning, I lay in bed, pondering this phase of our adoption journey. We learned this week that we need to pay half of our Congo "official" fee earlier than we expected. This fee ($2000) is due before we are matched with our little girl. We anticipated our next payments would be due in a few months, after we were in the grant application process. 

As I thought about these things, God brought the verses to mind once again. The version I learned is the KJV: "but they who wait upon the Lord." I thought for a while about what it means to wait on the Lord on this particular journey and was encouraged by the strength that these verses promise.  

We know the adoption is not about us, nor is it in our control. The control part is the hardest, though, to be honest! However, God led us to the adoption journey, has given us direction, and has graciously given us what we have needed so far. We are slowly learning to accept that each waiting period and turn in the road is apart of His plan and His timing to bring her home. We will give Him the glory for all things.

Trusting the Lord, interestingly, was the theme of my quiet time (Jesus Calling) today. I'm thinking He wants us to get this one! 

 "He will have no fear of bad news;

his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord." Psalm 112:7

Thoughts from Thom

I’m not sure how it is for you, but my faith journey usually involves me doing those things I know I should be doing; reading my Bible, praying, being involved in church and the ministry at the BCM, etc. without a lot of direct divine intervention. I strongly believe that God speaks to us through His word, though His spirit and through the lives and testimony of brothers and sisters who walk this journey of faith alongside us.  For me, this has been the normative manner of God’s activity in my life.

What do you do when God clearly and directly speaks to you? How do you respond when you receive an obvious message from the Lord? God spoke very personally to me as Lori and I decided to follow His leadership in adoption. I felt God calling us to open our family to this opportunity and then saw as God confirmed this calling and repeatedly communicated His will for us to seek adoption in the Congo.  (ask me sometimes, there are some really funny stories!)

As with much of my journey of faith, I have no idea how this will end and ultimately what God is going to do in and through our family.  I trust that God will lead us to the child, or children, He has for us to welcome into our family and I hope that we will be aware of the lessons God has for us along the way.  Although I’m unaware of the specifics, I’m confident that there are lessons of faith, trust, perseverance, hope, disappointment, celebration, and sovereignty along the way. I’m equally sure, though often unseen and unheard, that the Father in heaven will be directing and guiding each step.

  “I will instruct and teach you in the way which you should go;

   I will counsel you with My eye always upon you.”

                                                                           Psalm 32:8

The Thornton Family is Growing!

We're following God's call to grow our family 

through international adoption!

Whew! It feels so good to write those words as we continue on the journey God has placed in our hearts for some time now. After much prayer, scripture reading, and research, we have decided to respond in obedience and pursue adoption. Over the past month, we have discussed this in our home, shared with our extended families, and sought wisdom from trusted friends. 

The country God has placed before us and given clear direction toward is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the top of the blog, we give more details about this country and why our hearts are drawn there. 

We are at the beginning of the adoption process. We anticipate many ups and downs and unexpected turns in the road. While we do not know what the future truly holds, we are trusting the Lord for this journey and His timing! 


Without a doubt, we cannot travel this journey alone. We know that we first need the Lord to "supply all [our] needs according to His riches in glory" (Phil. 4:19). These needs will be physical, emotional, and financial. We also look to family and friends for support. 


Some of the ways we need your support:


1) Prayer. For our family, that we will not be consumed or completely overwhelmed with the process before us. Pray that we will seek and trust God's wisdom each step of the way. Pray for our child(ren) who wait for a forever family and for us to come to them. It is sobering to realize that God already knows their name(s) and who they are!


2) Encouragement. We will undoubtably become frustrated or discouraged along the way! We welcome supportive questions, conversation, and your continued friendship throughout this process. 


3) Financial support. There is no way around it: adoption is expensive. Our journey will cost about $30,000. We appreciate any purchases from our site. We are starting with t-shirts (pre-order) and will add cool jewelry, photo cards, coffee, and other fun things soon! You may also make a donation of any amount toward our adoption expense. At this time, financial donations are not tax-deductible. We are looking into possible ways to make this available in the coming months. 


4) Share our story. Post our blog link on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter "tweets," or share the old-fashioned way- face-to-face with your friends at church, office, over coffee, etc. Ultimately, this isn't about us, however; it is about sharing God's story and His love!

5) Subscribe to our blog by email and/or subscribe as a member. We will use the blog as the primary way of sharing about our adoption journey. This will be the easiest way to follow the journey. (If you are local, we are also open to coffee and conversation with you at Starbucks or a local coffee shop!)

Traffic jams and love/hate relationships

My mind and heart have been in a bit of a "traffic jam" lately. Processing the mission trip to Uganda is more difficult than I expected. Prone to unrealistic hopeful expectations and impatience, I envisioned being able to sharing stories easier and knowing "what does this mean for my life" sooner. I am grateful to have had conversations with other team members and realize this is normal!

Prior to going to Uganda, I read both mission trip and adoption blogs. Many quote the following verse:

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act." Proverbs 24:12

I must confess I have a love/hate relationship with this verse. First, though I have searched, I cannot find this verse in this exact translation/wording. However, I cannot deny that it accurately represents the truth of the verse and here is where the real conflict enters. 

The experience in Uganda was beyond eye-opening. We came into contact with many heartbreaking situations, the kind that makes you "want-to-sell-everything-and-move-to-Africa." We held beautiful babies and children, who, though loved and cared for, live without a mommy and daddy and care we consider to be standard. The kind that makes you want to "bring-one-home-to-a-forever-family-now."  We saw injustices that were impossible to comprehend, the kind that makes you want to "sign-up-for-another-mission-trip-as-soon-as-possible." 

We return with eyes opened and hearts broken, more aware of the things that breaks the heart of God. The difficult part is knowing what to do discerning how God wants me to respond. As a wife and mom, a very important part of this journey is partnering with Thom to seek how God is leading our family. We are praying and seeking God to lead and guide us on this journey.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

Blessed and Amazed

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

James 1:17

If I keep waiting until my thoughts are clear and I have nothing more pressing to do, I will let another month pass without writing and drop the blog altogether. Since this is one of my creative outlets, I will pick up as if it I never missed a day!

We have had many wonderful things happen over the past month. I will start off by offering praise to God for the amazing way He is providing for the Uganda mission trip in July!!!  Though I have faith, I would not be real and transparent if I did not admit that I was tempted to second guess myself in early March.

As of today, however, God has provided through more than 20 friends and family members---$2675!!! Even as I type the numbers, I am still in awe and slight disbelief. My plane ticket will be purchased on May 22 and I will know the balance due at that time (approximately $525). The Lord is so faithful and good!

With the trip cost almost "checked off," I am excited about being able to shift focus to my favorite part of the trip--supplies and necessities for the orphanages!!!  My first conference call with the mission team is tomorrow night. While I am looking forward to "meeting" the others during the call, I hope to learn more about what we can bring to the orphans and their caregivers. My hope is that my checked bags will bring 100 lbs of formula, medicine, diapers, clothes, etc. I will post as soon as I find out!!!

Other exiting (if not old) news is the advancement of Katie's Destination Imagination team from state to DI Globals! Thankfully, for us, Globals is held in Knoxville, TN. Thom and I (beginning in March) are the coaches for the team. We will travel with Katie and the 6 other team members at the end of May. They will compete against other teams from across the US and around the world. We are proud of them and look forward to guiding them through this experience!

David is enjoying baseball once again this Spring. Tonight at church he was asked to list his gifts. He named art, running, and baseball. It is a blessing to see him express confidence in the gifts God has given him!

Spending time with family when the days get a little crazy is of most importance. One Sunday afternoon we took time to fly kites together as a family. What a relaxing day!

On Easter weekend, we traveled to SC to spend time with Mimi & Papa and my brother's family. The weekend went fast, but we really enjoyed spending time with them and celebrating the resurrection of Christ!

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through him." 1 John 4:9

Intended for good

Yesterday was another snow day in our county. This meant I could "work from home" and spend the day with my kids. My job includes providing counseling for tmiddle and high school students who have landed in the schools' Moderate Intervention Service classrooms because of severe behavior problems or mental health diagnoses. Though I love my job (on most days), a day out of school now and then isn't such a bad thing for me. The kids don't mind being out either! They had another fun day playing in the snow...an activity that usually doesn't end up in fighting!

Quiet time at home also gave David time to be creative. Mimi and Papa gave him a big bin of art supplies for Christmas. The boy loves to cut paper to make various things, usually animals and snowflakes. It is cool  to see what he creates:



A reindeer he designed and made



An owl he made out of a paper guitar



As the kids found ways to keep busy, I found time to catch up on my "reading through the Bible." I have tried this many times in the past, but have failed miserably. This year we picked out a chronological Bible,which has a reading plan for each day. Though I had fallen behind this past week, I was able to get back on track.

I read about the life of Joseph (yes, I said life...I was really behind!).  As a teenager, Joseph was sold into slavery by his older brothers, who then told their father he was dead. A series of bad events followed. As a slave, he worked for a man named Potipher. He was wrongly accused of sexual misconduct and served time in prison. Through all of these difficult times, God was with him. Eventually, he was placed in a leadership position in Egypt by the king and was able to help prepare for a famine and provide for the people.

Through the famine, he came back into contact with his brothers and eventually his father. In their time of need, despite their history, Joseph made provisions for his family and they moved to Egypt.  After their father died, they feared Joseph still held a grudge with them and asked for forgiveness. 

Joseph's response has stayed with me: "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Genesis 50: 19-20). This is an amazing response, one that both encourages me and challenges me.

I embrace these words as I have seen difficult things in my own life that God intended and uses for good. However, the words challenge me as I think of many people in my life who have suffered and struggle:  sweet friends and family members who will have to face difficult anniversaries of many kinds this year, friends who have lost jobs--for the second or third time in less than a year, friends who are learning how to care for their elderly parents, those who are still displaced after the flood in Nashville last May, and others who struggle in many other different ways. I pray for God's mercy and grace in the pain, hope for the future, and God's sustaining love through it all.