Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Tis the season for parades, green beer, shamrocks, and articles talking about why St. Patrick's day isn't all about parades, green beer, and shamrocks.

First, a few misconceptions about Patrick:

Patrick isn't really a Saint with a capital S, having never been officially canonized by Rome. And Patrick couldn't have driven the snakes out of Ireland because there were never any snakes there to begin with. He wasn't even the first evangelist to Ireland (Palladius had been sent in 431,about five years before Patrick went). Patrick isn't even Irish. He's from what's now Dumbarton, Scotland (just northwest of Glasgow).

Patrick was 16 years old in about the year 405, when he was captured in a raid and became a slave in what was still radically pagan Ireland. Far from home, he clung to the religion he had ignored as a teenager. Even though his grandfather had been a priest, and his father a town councilor, Patrick "knew not the true God." But forced to tend his master's sheep in Ireland, he spent his six years of bondage mainly in prayer. He escaped at the suggestion of a dream and returned home.

Patrick was in his mid-40s when he returned to Ireland.Palladius had not been very successful in his mission, and the returning former slave replaced him. Intimately familiar with the Irish clan system (his former master, Milchu, had been a chieftain), Patrick's strategy was to convert chiefs first, who would then convert their clans through their influence. Reportedly, Milchu was one of his earliest converts.

Though he was not solely responsible for converting the island, Patrick was quite successful. He made missionary journeys all over Ireland, and it soon became known as one of Europe's Christian centers. This, of course, was very important to fifth-century Christians, for whom Ireland was one of the "ends of the earth."

Caleb's arrival

7 years of blessings

This past Sunday was Caleb's Birthday. He turned 7. It seems like yesterday, he became a part of the crazy Rivera Family. God always has far better things planned for our lives. When the idea of adoption came up, we thought an older child. We had given away all the baby things, except books! We were working with Amazing Grace Adoption Agency. Their mission was to place children in Christian homes. We had just requested information from them, regarding the whole adoption process. Well, we received an email from someone at our church, who volunteered at Bethany Christian Services. The email stated that a baby was born and no one was on the waiting list to receive them. How can this be! I always thought you had to wait months, maybe even years until a child would come available. No, that's not always the case. If you want a white baby, then you may have a long wait, but if you would be open to whatever racial mix a child may be, then the wait could be much shorter. In God's eyes, every child is special and unique. If God designs children to be every color under the sun, then we should not limit what God can do through the life of a little one of Any color. I quickly called Ted to explain the situation. There was no hesitation in his voice, " I want that baby." After a phone call to Amazing Grace, I quickly phoned Bethany Christian Services and said, "we want that precious baby." After many weeks and hours of paper work, home studies, physicals, and interviews, we were approved. We currently hold the record for fastest turn-around time for adoption paper work. Even though the Bethany office is in North Hills, all of the paper work had to be returned to Ashville, at the main office. We over-nighted,(is that even a word?) faxed, and mailed everything at record speed. At last we were approved. We were granted permission to visit him in his foster home. (Winston- Salem) This happened two weeks before the scheduled ceremony, when he would become a permanent member of our family. It was difficult to know what to do. We all wanted to see him, but we knew that we would have to leave him behind after our visit. Jonathan, told me that we should wait until we could see him and take him home. I knew that I would be miserable if I could not take him home. So, the decision was made not to go for a visit, but wait for two more weeks when everything would be final. Those two weeks crept by so slowly. April 25th finally arrived. The day was filled with excitement. We had to wait until 6:30pm. Nine months of waiting were rolled into one day! Friends from church and Ted's work all filled the center. Everyone was looking for the baby. The tiny guest of honor made a quiet and humble entrance. I ran my hand through his curly dark hair and kissed his little cheek. I still remember the first time I held him. Why did God pick us to raise this little blessing ? I felt so unworthy. Tears were running down the faces of our friends gathered there. All the chatter had stopped. It was that most wonderous moment of falling in love at first sight. We sang hymns and read Scripture. One of the hymns we picked was, Be Thou My Vision. I've always loved the words of this song. (Anastasia sang this song at Jonathan & Jillian's wedding) This was a wonderful ceremony to welcome Caleb into our hearts and home. God worked out so many of the details for Caleb to arrive in our family. We weren't even working with Bethany at the time of his birth. What a great God we serve! Truly, all things are possible with God!

Caleb gets mail from CA

Today was a very special day. Caleb received a birthday package from CA. Jonathan & Jillian sent an extra special package to Caleb. We took pictures so they could enjoy the moment. The headband has not left his head. He's wearing it to Upward and then to Awana for " what I want to be when I grow up " night. We can only assume that it will be on his head for bedtime. Thanks Jonathan & Jillian for your thoughtfulness. We love you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 105th Birthday Theodor Seuss Geisel

"OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!
THERE IS FUN TO BE DONE! THERE ARE
POINTS TO BE SCORED. THERE ARE GAMES TO BE WON."

Early Birthday Fun !

On Friday night , we went to the RBC Center to watch the Harlem Globetrotters' Show. Caleb loved their mad skills. Enjoy the show:

Greg Fishel gets it right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we woke up to 4 inches of beautiful snow. Anastasia's school was closed. Everything has shut down for the day. The one Wake County plow is slowly making the rounds to clear the roads.