Responding to Boston with Strength and Grace

This is why the terrorists will never win. 

They want us to scatter like mice. They want us to turn on each other.

But it never quite works out that way. 

My old Pastor used to say that a crisis creates nothing; it simply reveals what is already there. And what this crisis has revealed - once again - is a  core of strength and grace.

Take a good look, terrorists. This is the face of America. Yes, we have soldiers, sailors, and police who will chase you to the gates of hell. And I am proud of them. But we also have young people like Tatyana, who will pick up the people you leave for dead and teach them them to walk again. 

This is why you can't win.

We Stand with Boston

Source: NetRightDaily

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son

Rudyard Kipling

North Face Endurance Challenge

There are three things that Val and I have learned about adoption:

• It's a race against time;
• We've got to push way beyond our comfort zone;
• We're not on this journey alone.

It's a race against time because our children face a very real danger of aging out. If that happens, it may mean a life on the streets. As for the comfort zone - instead of kicking back and enjoying the empty nest, we've joyfully made the decision to open our home to some very needy young people. And we're not alone. Not only have we sensed God's presence, but we've come to love an amazing community of people who are giving themselves to helping children. They - you - inspire us.

So here's the racing metaphor: Next June, I'll be running the North Face Endurance Challenge as part of the RODS Racing Team. Believe me, this race is way beyond my comfort zone.

But I'd like you to be part of it. Please consider sponsoring 1 mile of this 26.2 mile race. On the day of the event, I'll be carrying the names of each sponsor with me and praying and thanking God for you during your chosen mile. And you'll be helping Estelle and Gerard to find a home.

Please share this with your friends and consider signing up. Most of all, thank you for your prayers and continued concern.

All donations will go directly to Reece's Rainbow, a 501(c)3 Registered Public Charity. Due to the nature of international adoptions, no one can guarantee that every adoption will go through as planned. No matter what happens, though, all donations made to this race will go towards the adoption of an at risk child.

To sign up, or to learn more, just click here.