The Poppies' Blog

Holy

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:45:00 +0000

H eaven and Earth are full of Your Glory

Happy 2012! London Fireworks!

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:17:00 +0000

M y what now can be considered Annual New Year's fireworks post from London! AMAZING! If you haven't donated to the 2011 Christmas Angel Tree yet, this has been an amazing night on the Angel Tree! http://static.reecesrainbow.org/angeltreekids Our 2011 AT Warriors are hardcore! Go watch the miracle unfold! Only a few hours left!

Ok, London 2012 Fireworks... London, England Host of the 2012 Olympics

Reece's Rainbow on ABC World News Tonight!

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 02:46:00 +0000

I f you missed it you will want to see this! This is the segment from World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer about Reece's Rainbow! It was beautifully done! Thank you ABC for being a voice for our angels!

video platform video management video solutions video player

The Queen's Speech 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:11:00 +0000

H er Majesty, the Queen's Speech 2011

The Rich Family In Church

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:58:00 +0000

I saw this post and had to write to obtain permission to repost it. I hope it touches you as much as it did us.

The Rich Family In Church
By Eddie Ogan

CLICK to read the article on the original site

I'll never forget Easter 1946. I was 14, my little sister Ocy was 12, and my older sister Darlene 16. We lived at home with our mother, and the four of us knew what it was to do without many things. My dad had died five years before, leaving Mom with seven school kids to raise and no money.

By 1946 my older sisters were married and my brothers had left home. A month before Easter the pastor of our church announced that a special Easter offering would be taken to help a poor family. He asked everyone to save and give sacrificially.

When we got home, we talked about what we could do. We decided to buy 50 pounds of potatoes and live on them for a month. This would allow us to save $20 of our grocery money for the offering. When we thought that if we kept our electric lights turned out as much as possible and didn't listen to the radio, we'd save money on that month's electric bill. Darlene got as many house and yard cleaning jobs as possible, and both of us babysat for everyone we could. For 15 cents we could buy enough cotton loops to make three pot holders to sell for $1.

We made $20 on pot holders. That month was one of the best of our lives.

Every day we counted the money to see how much we had saved. At night we'd sit in the dark and talk about how the poor family was going to enjoy having the money the church would give them. We had about 80 people in church, so figured that whatever amount of money we had to give, the offering would surely be 20 times that much. After all, every Sunday the pastor had reminded everyone to save for the sacrificial offering.

The day before Easter, Ocy and I walked to the grocery store and got the manager to give us three crisp $20 bills and one $10 bill for all our change.

We ran all the way home to show Mom and Darlene. We had never had so much money before.

That night we were so excited we could hardly sleep. We didn't care that we wouldn't have new clothes for Easter; we had $70 for the sacrificial offering.

We could hardly wait to get to church! On Sunday morning, rain was pouring. We didn't own an umbrella, and the church was over a mile from our home, but it didn't seem to matter how wet we got. Darlene had cardboard in her shoes to fill the holes. The cardboard came apart, and her feet got wet.

But we sat in church proudly. I heard some teenagers talking about the Smith girls having on their old dresses. I looked at them in their new clothes, and I felt rich.

When the sacrificial offering was taken, we were sitting on the second row from the front. Mom put in the $10 bill, and each of us kids put in a $20.

As we walked home after church, we sang all the way. At lunch Mom had a surprise for us. She had bought a dozen eggs, and we had boiled Easter eggs with our fried potatoes! Late that afternoon the minister drove up in his car. Mom went to the door, talked with him for a moment, and then came back with an envelope in her hand. We asked what it was, but she didn't say a word. She opened the envelope and out fell a bunch of money. There were three crisp $20 bills, one $10 and seventeen $1 bills.

Mom put the money back in the envelope. We didn't talk, just sat and stared at the floor. We had gone from feeling like millionaires to feeling like poor white trash. We kids had such a happy life that we felt sorry for anyone who didn't have our Mom and Dad for parents and a house full of brothers and sisters and other kids visiting constantly. We thought it was fun to share silverware and see whether we got the spoon or the fork that night.

We had two knifes that we passed around to whoever needed them. I knew we didn't have a lot of things that other people had, but I'd never thought we were poor.

That Easter day I found out we were. The minister had brought us the money for the poor family, so we must be poor. I didn't like being poor. I looked at my dress and worn-out shoes and felt so ashamed—I didn't even want to go back to church. Everyone there probably already knew we were poor!

I thought about school. I was in the ninth grade and at the top of my class of over 100 students. I wondered if the kids at school knew that we were poor. I decided that I could quit school since I had finished the eighth grade. That was all the law required at that time. We sat in silence for a long time. Then it got dark, and we went to bed. All that week, we girls went to school and came home, and no one talked much. Finally on Saturday, Mom asked us what we wanted to do with the money. What did poor people do with money? We didn't know. We'd never known we were poor. We didn't want to go to church on Sunday, but Mom said we had to. Although it was a sunny day, we didn't talk on the way.

Mom started to sing, but no one joined in and she only sang one verse. At church we had a missionary speaker. He talked about how churches in Africa made buildings out of sun dried bricks, but they needed money to buy roofs. He said $100 would put a roof on a church. The minister said, "Can't we all sacrifice to help these poor people?" We looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a week.

Mom reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope. She passed it to Darlene. Darlene gave it to me, and I handed it to Ocy. Ocy put it in the offering.

When the offering was counted, the minister announced that it was a little over $100. The missionary was excited. He hadn't expected such a large offering from our small church. He said, "You must have some rich people in this church."

Suddenly it struck us! We had given $87 of that "little over $100."

We were the rich family in the church! Hadn't the missionary said so? From that day on I've never been poor again. I've always remembered how rich I am because I have Jesus!

The Rain, the Storms, the Hardest Nights

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 23:02:00 +0000

T his song has been around for awhile but I could have written it... not that our 'sufferings' are any match to hers... her husband had a brain tumour shortly after they married... which is where this song was born... in the realisation that how we think God blesses us might very well be quite the opposite...

I talk often about the things God has brought us through... I will always praise Him for the things He's done for us. But days like today when I learn of a little child who was beating cancer getting meningitis and that took his life today... I realise just how small our struggles have been by comparison. I know that so many of you who read my blog are so faithful in your prayers, you have prayed with me for the families and children I've shared with you over the years and you've prayed for us so many times. Can I ask you to pray once again? Please pray for this little boy's family who went to meet Jesus today. But as you pray for his family, please pray for all of the families who have lost loved ones today. I know there were several other children who also died today. There are so many hearts broken tonight. Only God could begin to heal the pain these families are feeling.

I know there are so many who need prayer right now, it can be overwhelming at times. One thing I've learned over the years is that at the times we need prayer the most, the most important prayers WE pray are the ones we pray for other people also in need.

Please let me know if you have any prayer requests. It would be my honour to lift your need up to our beautiful Saviour.

Lyrics: We pray for blessings, we pray for peace. Comfort for family, protection while we sleep. We pray for healing, prosperity. We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering. All the while, You hear each spoken need. Your love is too way too much to give us lesser things. Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near? What if trials of this night, are Your mercies in disguise? We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear. We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near. We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love. As if every promise from Your word is not enough. All, the while, You hear each desperate plea. And long that we'd have faith to believe. Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near? What if trials of this night, are Your mercies in disguise? When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win; We know that pain reminds this heart, that this is not, this is not our home. It's not our home. Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near? What if my greatest disappointments, or the aching of this life; Is a revealing of greater thirst that a world can't satisfy? And what if trials of this life, the rain, the storms, the hardest nights; Are Your mercies in disguise?

Bethlehemian Rhapsody!

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 13:15:00 +0000

S omething fun for the kids... (well, the grown ones too!)

What a Sacrifice that Saved My Life

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:16:00 +0000

B e sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8

The past week I've watched as the enemy has been doing just this... seeking whom he may devour. It would seem that he is ramping things up a bit so I'm writing this post to remind not just him, but those whom he is battling against, that he may NOT devour anyone of them!

The following Scriptures are not just reminders to us but I have found that reading them aloud in prayer has all the power with which they were written accompanying them... that power is not matched to the power of the enemy... no, that power is the power that not only created the universe but that power created the enemy in the first place. The enemy will not prevail over the power of Heaven. Sometimes we need to re-read to the end of the book to remember that...

Here are a few of those reminders...

2 Corinthians 10:3-4

³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

Ephesians 6:11

New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

¹¹ Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

I remember as a child in Sunday School putting on the whole armour... we'd pretend to be putting on the belt of truth and the shield of faith and the rest... it wasn't until I was an adult that it actually that it dawned on me that it isn't reading those verses and pretending to put them on that readies us for battle against the enemy... but that as we LIVE these things and actually learn and memorise the Word that we are prepared for battle. Though, I admit, I go through those motions with Little Poppet. As she grows up she will know how we actually prepare for battle. Of that I'll be sure.

Deuteronomy 3:22

²² You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.’

2 Timothy 4:18

¹⁸ And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!

Colossians 2:15

¹⁵ Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

2 Samuel 22:3

³ The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;
      My shield and the horn of my salvation,
      My stronghold and my refuge;
      My Savior, You save me from violence.

2 Samuel 22:4

⁴ I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
      So shall I be saved from my enemies.

1 John 4:4

⁴ You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

1 Corinthians 15:57

⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14

¹⁴ Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

Isaiah 54:17

¹⁷ No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
      And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
      You shall condemn.
      This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
      And their righteousness is from Me,”
      Says the LORD.

1 John 3:8b

For this purpose Christ was revealed, to destroy all the works of the evil one.

Luke 10:19

¹⁹ Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

From the outside we may appear defeated... poor, defenceless even. I am here to tell you that we are not defeated. God has (as my life verse, Genesis 50:20 says "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.") taken the things the enemy meant for harm and used them for HIS good.

Our life is a record of miracles of provision and protection. We have woven into our being proof that not only does God exist, but He is holding us in His mighty hands. We may not be wealthy at this stage in our lives, not by the world's measure... but when you hold us up to the Light you can see that the very fibre of our beings is made from the cloth of Heaven where one day we will spend Eternity.

John 1
⁴ In Him (Christ) was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

My friends, when the enemy attacks you, do not despair! Do not lose your Faith! Cling to God and praise Him! It is during these times that the things of this world crumble at His feet and you will see a miracle. The things we've learned and the changes He has made in us, in the strength of our faith, has been worth every step of the trials we've faced. I would not trade what we've learned and FELT of our Saviour for all the money in the world. I say this, hand on heart... God's finest hour is usually our worst.

Let yourself feel Him holding you, listen to His heartbeat. Know that He is still the Sovereign God and nothing of this world can change the fact that as His children, made in HIS image, YOU as a child of the Most High, Almighty and LIVING God, joint heirs with Jesus, adopted as His child, YOU have authority over the enemy. Your eternity is sealed... nothing, no one and no power or scheme or attack of the enemy can take that away from you.

The best thing you can do when you are faced with the enemy attacking you is study your Bible and praise God... Praise God in all things as His Word says. Praise Him even for the hardship you are facing because it is through our weakness that He is made strong. We are given His strength. Praise Him that no matter what this world has to offer us, we will be spending eternity with Him in Heaven.

Praise Him and learn all you can about His Word. The more you learn of the Bible, the smaller the enemy gets... seriously.

The victory has been won... this song is a reminder of the power of that sacrifice, the blood of Jesus. It was no small thing what was done for us on that Cross. Our salvation was not cheap. It cost Jesus everything. I want my life to show this. I want my words to reflect that value. There is nothing in this world of comparable value. The enemy knows it which is why he attacks... so if he knows it, I surely should know it!

Praise God, enjoy the song, worship Him, and read His life letter to us... His Word. And know that we are praying for you... Blessings, friends.

Wherever You Go...

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:11:00 +0000

To read about the seaside in chronological order CLICK HERE

T his has been a very busy week for us. We've had lots of appointments, the Mr. had one on Tuesday and then we had one on Wednesday and one on Thursday for Little Poppet. We haven't had much time to pursue our journey, in fact. But it was definitely a week of importance in that regard. I'll explain... (be sure to have a look at the bottom of the post for a Christmas Gift that you can give for FREE!)

Firstly, in regards to our getting to the seaside, we've had plenty of times where we are excited and have total faith in God getting us there (me being the one most thinking we can get there by Christmas because, that is what I want for Little Poppet's Christmas present... being able to live the life of a little girl, not the 'boy in the bubble'), but then those moments of great faith get distracted by the enormity of just how little we can actually even do. How on earth we think we can do this with nothing is beyond cheeky!

But God has shown us this week that He is holding us ever so tightly in His hands... for those of you who are also friends on facebook, some of this will be a rerun but let me still share it... the two appointments for Little Poppet involved people with multiple cats. Our health visitor (also a family friend) not only has cats, she wears a woollen coat (wool is possibly the worst of the allergens for Little Poppet), so she suggested we just go for a walk around the neighbourhood (she also lives nearby). She'd been round the house a couple weeks ago when Little Poppet and I were out so we planned for Wednesday to have a proper meet up.

So we went for a very long walk, which Little Poppet LOVED and she met a couple of children out and just had so much fun talking to them when they went past... one little girl was dancing saying duck so Little Poppet was most glad to join in! It was actually a lot of fun and so that day was definitely a good day! I'd asked on fb for prayer for Little Poppet that the cat appointments wouldn't cause her a lot of struggle and that night at bedtime (the time I attempt to call bedtime, but LP just uses it as a few minutes to lie down to wind up for the rest of her night so she can stay up til 11pm sigh...) there was very little if any evidence she'd been near a woman with cats wearing a woolly coat. Praise God!

I, on the other hand, was in agony. I had awakened a couple of mornings earlier with a lower back pain... nothing terribly debilitating, but just no way to be completely comfortable. The walk for over an hour did me in. I could barely move that night and was in agony! Again, asking for prayer on facebook because I was in pain... (if you aren't friends with me on fb, maybe you're blessed to not have me and all my prayer requests LOL!) Several people gave me wonderful advice, including information on a lower back belt that helps your back to heal. I looked into one of these, out of our price range so I was going to just have to grin and bear it.

The next morning I awakened in even more agony than the night before. I could not move, it hurt to even blink. We had to phone the people of Little Poppet's other meeting to let them know I couldn't make it so the Mr. would be attending instead. I would just stay home with Little Poppet jumping all over me and moan in pain LOL!

That meeting was at a cafe up the road from us and not even ten minutes into the meeting, a woman came in with a DOG. I won't even bother explaining that in England, it is NOT ok to bring dogs into an eating establishment, but it was a dog on the dangerous dogs list so it was one that it is compulsory to have on a lead...which it was, just the woman was not holding the other end of it... it was dragging on the ground... So, besides the man with cats, his coat also wool, the other woman with a wool coat, a dog was now in the mix... and a dangerous one at that. If Little Poppet and I had made that meeting, she would have ended up in A&E for the allergies... as well, she likes to sometimes sort of shout or laugh loudly so who knows what that dog would have done in that circumstance.

I don't have to know because God allowed me, yes ALLOWED me to have a back ache that kept me home. We have had several things like this where what we thought was something to ask God to help us get rid of turned out to be a much bigger blessing or a way He was protecting us. So we are praising God for my back pain! It probably won't surprise you that last night, the pain was literally gone. This morning I have a tinge of 'remember that back ache I let you have to protect Little Poppet?' but seriously no pain... Isn't God amazing?

I could tell you about something else this morning involving her food that is just the same, Him protecting her but it isn't quite as interesting so I won't bore you with it! I'll just say this, this week has been partially about God letting us know that we can trust Him even in the small details and the things we think aren't working out the way we think they should, are truly His plans to prosper and protect us!

I also, because of my poorly back, was reading a couple of blogs. I normally don't have time to read blogs... I have plenty of work to do but also with home educating Little Poppet, I have very few minutes to spare anymore. But my back was making it so even lifting both arms to work on my computer was too hurtful. So, I took the time to read... and both blogs I read were of families that were following God's lead, even one was in regards to something specific to the health of their child... it was just the nudge we needed to encourage us that this move to the seaside for Little Poppet's health and well being was the right path to take. The details? I trust so explicitly that God will work them out... and I will be trumpeting it from the mountaintops when HE gets us there... because we simply can not do it on our own.

I said this in a previous post... and I just want to say it again because it becomes more true by the day!

God has traded our worldly goods for His riches and for that I'm eternally thankful.

I praise Him for allowing us to be without the things that separate us from Him.

I honour Him because He has grown our faith to mountain peak proportions.

I thank Him for allowing us to need Him so fully, to know we had no way to do it on our own...

So that we knew we were being held ever so tightly in His hands... so close we could feel His heartbeat.

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1v8-9 (emphasis mine)

Ok, so what is the FREE Christmas Gift idea?

The Reece's Rainbow 2012

Orphan No More

Reece's Rainbow Calendar
(calendar design by Poppies Blooming that's me!)

Click on Expand to view full size

Download the calendar pdf here

Simply save or print from the pdf file

Always **Select FIT TO PAGE
Printing on photo paper is recommended

If you would prefer to download the pdf as a .zip file, CLICK HERE

To print them professionally, you can provide the pdf to your local printer or a Kinkos or Staples for printing. If they need further information or a different format please send an email request and we can send the files as your printer requests.

If you'd like to put this calendar which will automatically change each month on your blog
right-click inside the box and select all.

If you have the 2011 calendar already on your blog, it will continue in 2012

so there is no need to replace the code.

An End to Down Syndrome?

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:55:00 +0000

N ot if I have any say in the matter.

Some things I have to say about children with Down syndrome...

The love you experience with a child with Down syndrome draws you closer to God... no wonder the enemy is fighting so hard to extinguish them.

___________________________________

What I wrote on my design website...

I've heard it said so many times

...Though we are all made in God's image, people with DS seem a lot closer tothatimage......

by the parents and
family of these wonderful people
that it has changed them,made them better people,
helped them know and understand God more fully.

The enemy tried to get rid of Jesus too.

My prayer is that he is no more successful in this than he was in

ridding the world of God back when Jesus walked this earth.

___________________________________

Until you've loved a child with Down syndrome, a part of your heart and a part of your soul remains unawakened and a part of Heaven remains unrevealed.

The end of Down syndrome?

You decide...

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Oppression can only survive through silence. -Carmen de Monteflores

The only thing necessary for evil to triumph.....is for good men to do nothing. -Winston Churchill

... £7 unWell Spent

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:57:00 +0000

To read about the seaside in chronological order CLICK HERE

This weekend we started going through...every.thing.we.own... to see what we can throw away, what we can sell, and what we don't really use but we're keeping so we could put those things in boxes. So, when I say we started... I mean, we packed 3 boxes lol.

It is amazing just how much clutter one collects over the years... and add two more people to that and you have basically what we have... a lot of drawers that are basically hiding the fact that we tend to never throw anything away! I posted this on facebook yesterday...

So, in our attempt to start packing, William is emptying out drawers that are really just his 'filing' system... ie, tat (junk, clutter). So, he asks me what I think we should do with some of the things. Some background btw, we have things that he doesn't want to keep that I do, things that fall into the category of furniture, NOT tat, but things he'd have put out ages ago if it weren't for my thinking they were useful. So, when I said, 'just throw them in the bin, no need to be precious about things that should have been put in the bin years ago'. He responded with 'finally (insert grin) you're coming around to MY way of thinking.' I told him... 'I've always felt that way about YOUR stuff'. Short lived victory on his part.

So, yeah, we're moving right along!

We did find one thing out, that honestly, if William had been on time for his appointment, we wouldn't have heard. It just confirms my theory that the times when things just keep happening out of the blue that keep you from getting out the door could very well be divinely planned! :) But we're looking into this as it would be a huge help to us!

What wasn't a help to us, last week, was what can only best be described as my greed... a friend of mine posted on facebook a HUGE parcel she received from another mutual friend from the US that was filled with sweets from America. I mean, a HUGE parcel. Filled with sweets that we don't have here in Old Blighty, so as I examined the photo (yes, I sat here staring at the enlarged image trying to make out what everything was) I started thinking... I want that... and that... hmmm that looks interesting too...

So, I showed it to the Mr. Well, I was sure his sweet tooth would cause him to want them too and then he'd help me on my quest... he really didn't see what I was seeing. The 'candy corn' was such lovely autumny colours and that was what the first obsession was... I wanted Candy Corn. I posted on facebook that I wanted some and several people found links for me of places in the UK you could purchase it. They also left comments telling me it didn't taste nice and one friend told me that there are lots of ingredients in US foods that are banned in Europe.

Undeterred, I kept telling the Mr. how I'd found different items for different prices until finally, in a momentary lapse in judgement, he told me I could use the £7 he had in paypal from some bike things he'd sold to purchase the candy corn and by this time I'd also been told about circus peanuts so I'd found these too.

I looked on ebay for candy corn and circus peanuts and soon found a shop that sells a LOT of US products. So, I bought a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese, Lucky Charms breakfast cereal, 15 individually wrapped circus peanuts (these are like our shrimp or banana foam sweets, though ours are not individually wrapped... ), and a bag of candy corn.

I had such hope they'd all arrive the same day, but they didn't... they came over the course of 3 days. Which I initially thought was inconvenient but it turned out to not be quite so much...

The first items to arrive were the circus peanuts and macaroni and cheese. We immediately started unwrapping the circus peanuts and trying them. These, as I mentioned, were very similar to some foam sweets we have, again, ours aren't individually wrapped. Peanuts is also a bit misleading as they are the size of the entire monkey nut, not just the peanut inside... but everything is bigger in America lol...

Later in the day, I was so looking forward to the macaroni and cheese. We read the instructions on the box and I decided it sounded like a LOT of milk so I opted for mine to be made with water and butter... and the space shuttle orange dust that came in the box with the mini macaroni pasta. The Mr. made it with milk for his portion.

yes, I photoshopped the photo...

He came up with the two bowls and we wondered about the nearly glow in the dark orange colour, but I was not hindered by that. I was so excited, I took a big bite of it. The Mr. wasn't going to even touch his based solely on the expression on my face when it hit my taste buds. He did allow me to try his, made with milk, just in case that was why mine tasted as it did... but no, it wasn't even a noticeable difference. As well, I'm used to not using milk since I'm allergic to it. I ate 3 or 4 bites of the macaroni and 'cheese like substance' before giving it to the Mr. He didn't like it, but he finished it all since it was our meal. Men seem to be different to women in this. I won't eat something I don't like, no matter how hungry I am... whereas a man will... Anyway, within ten minutes (this is NOT an exaggeration, I give you my word) we both were feeling stomach cramps and nausea. It didn't end well. at. all. Upon further inspection of the ingredients (our ingredient lists are amazingly simple... no chemicals added to our foods), we learned that it had milk protein and some chemical names we didn't know what they were... but being allergic to milk, it took hours for me to feel better and the Mr. wasn't overly impressed either.

Being people who ~~never learn~~ are adventurous, the following day when the Lucky Charms arrived, we immediately got two bowls, two spoons and a bowl of water for me and milk for the Mr. (I use either water or fruit juice for breakfast cereals since I can't have milk... the Mr. is also allergic to milk, not as much, but he 'prefers' to just suffer through...sigh). We poured the strangely shaped cereal into the two bowls. Not sure what the 'message' is from Lucky Charms, having both oats shaped in Christian fish, but also having a magical leprechaun... but the 'marshmallows' made the milk and the water turn a lovely shade of ... murky grey. Still, the cereal wasn't too bad. Within seconds we were both absolutely buzzing... wow! We read the ingredients on this and were confused as to why they say they are filled with vitamins and great for kids. Please read this... we did not, nor would we ever, give this to Little Poppet! LOL She's never had sugar and I'm convinced US sugar is different to ours. It must be, it was listed 3 times in the ingredients... 'sugar, oats, more sugar, marshmallows made of space shuttle ingredients, did we mention sugar?'.

Fifteen minutes later we were both taking ibuprofen to hopefully help our increasing migraines. But... we also ate another bowl of it each lol... the Mr. finished it off. Strange flavour but not necessarily bad tasting... but US sugar must be like crack, you are instantly addicted. That's all I can guess as to why we kept on eating it even though we were nearly crying in pain.

So, the next day when the candy corn arrived, you'd think we'd have refused the delivery. No no... not us... we opened the bag as fast as we could and poured out the... wax like sweets. We can't think of any sweets here that are similar. And the mix of corn and honey flavours was not what I call nice. Ok, yes, I was warned of this on facebook. A warning I will take to my grave because the Mr. would not be impressed if he knew I'd been forewarned! I didn't like the candy corn... at. all... the Mr. didn't either but as you can guess, he still ate it. What wasn't eaten we put string in and are using them as tealight candles around the house. Ok, I made that part up. He ate it all.

The funny thing is, I had no less than 5 people offer to send me parcels with macaroni and cheese and candy corn and circus peanuts. I would have felt guilty having someone go out of their way like that for me so I didn't take anyone up on it. That may have saved our lives. We've decided that Americans are tougher than we thought. Certainly your stomachs are! LOL...

Of course, as I'm writing this, I'm thinking what the Mr. can sell so I can buy some sugar free very cherry jelly belly beans.

No Church

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 13:32:00 +0000

T oday is Sunday and we're unable to go to church... again. Little Poppet's health visitor came round unannounced this week and she has cats AND she was wearing a woolly jumper (translation: wool sweater). The two absolute worst things for Little Poppet. So for the past few days we've been covering her in her prescription cream, also spraying colloidal silver on her skin (we found this to actually really help) and wondering when it is going to 'break'. Not really sure if there is a technical word for this, it is when the eczema stops going from getting angrier and angrier and cracking and bleeding and it starts to recede.

So, right now we're battling that instead of worshipping God in a room full of people who have pets... sigh... This is one of the many important reasons behind our new journey. We actually get email devotionals from a church at the coast. We've found them to be so timely and spot on to whatever we're dealing with that day. Amazing, really, that they seem like 'our church' and we've never visited them even. That is my Christmas Wish... to be able to worship with that church on Christmas. I can't even type that without tearing up... the idea that Little Poppet could be with other little poppets and learn about the first Christmas. Well, learn more about it. We have told her every year and read her the story of the baby Jesus.

The other day we had a very good thing happen that will help us in this journey. We're still, if I'm honest, walking a little bit on air LOL! It is such a 'God is holding our hands and doing this for us' kind of a thing! We know and have known all along that if this was going to come to be, it would be totally and completely God. There are still a few things that will be miracles if they happen and trust me, I'll be sharing them too, but we have such faith that it is going to happen... now, if we could just get the things that are our part done!

This Scripture is one we read last night to Little Poppet at her bedtime and when I read it, again, me with the tears LOL! I know it was written to the Israelites not us specifically, but we CAN take from this something so wonderful about our God. He loves us... He has chosen us... and not because we are great or deserving. We're not. The miracles He's done in our life are not anything we've earned. We haven't. Not in a million years would I think that we even could. But God loves us and He's chosen us. And He is helping us despite our own failures and inadequacies. Even Little Poppet, who to my mind, hung the moon and came directly from Heaven into our lives, even she, the most perfect angel who has captured my entire heart, even this precious child of mine doesn't come close to deserving the good gifts God gives us. Though, if I'm honest, she comes a lot closer than the Mr. or me so she's probably why He's bestowed such love on us! LOL

This is what we read...

Deuteronomy 7:6-11 (emphasis mine)

⁶ “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. ⁷ The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; ⁸ but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
⁹ “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; ¹⁰ and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. ¹¹ Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them.

God is the same God today as He was to the Israelites and though I'm not one of His chosen people, I AM His chosen... I am HIS child... He is just as faithful and kind to us as He was to them because that is who He is... He is not faithful to me because I am faithful to Him. I'm not. He is faithful to me because He is a faithful God. To be less would be to not be Him.

I have to say... verse 10 also stands out to me... for anyone wondering what is going to happen to those who hate God... "He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face." I think I shall definitely do my best to follow verse 11 LOL!

We are so thankful for all of your prayers on our behalf. We can feel your arms holding up ours! So, thank you so much for this! Please continue to keep us in your prayers if you can! Oh, and don't forget to pray for the Angel Tree! It is less than 48 hours away!!

Praise Jesus with me!

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:10:00 +0000

T his may seem a bit over the top, but it truly isn't.

Yesterday God performed a miracle for us. This shouldn't be a surprise, we have seen miracles daily for years now. But, again, not to get too comfortable or thinking we can just sit back and wait on God to just do everything for us.... because we know that each miracle is a blessing beyond measure. We know we've not done anything to deserve them... nor do we expect them. They are gifts, really.

So, what about yesterday? Well, we're one step closer on our journey and it was one of the steps that we could never have done on our own. Full stop. God made something happen for us that brings with it some pretty amazing things. It is possibly one of the most important things on our new path because it provides some of the other steps. I don't mean to sound so cryptic, but the Mr. has asked that I not just tell all on here. But trust me, it is something that just doesn't happen here in the UK and we are beyond blessed and amazed that God made a way where there simply was no other way.

So, please praise God with us! We're so thankful and are feeling like we're floating on air nearly! LOL Yes, there are still plenty of other steps to go but if this one hadn't happened, well, we don't know where we would have gone next. I fully believe and DID before this that even if this didn't happen, God can still make the entire thing work. But praise His Name, Jesus, we are one step closer today and are praising Him and invite you to praise Him with us!

Ray Mears and a Pillar of Fire...

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:10:00 +0000

I would be so thankful if you could please pray for Little Poppet. Thank you!

I also should probably mention that my reference to Paul singing praises in prison and then later asking you to praise God with us as we embark upon a new venture... well, the two aren't related. No, we're not going to prison! :) LOL We are pursuing a solution for Little Poppet's allergies, though, and we do covet your prayers for our being able to 'get there'. So, thank you!

The difficulties we've had have been such a learning experience. We've learned how to live on next to nothing, that surely is a lesson worth learning! We've learned a lot about ourselves... hmmm perhaps too much even LOL! We've learned so much about God's Word. Studying theology through my husband's studies has even been a blessing to me (in other words, he's the one studying theology but I'm his case studies and who he shares all he's learning so even I'm learning a LOT!), but most importantly, we've learned so much about God.

It is no little thing what He's done for us. I don't just mean the miracles of provision during this time, I mean the act of Salvation. He wouldn't have gone through all of what He did on the cross for us if it wasn't something worth having. I'm so thankful for this. But yes, we've learned just how much He cares about us, in all the details, not just the big ones. We've learned that things we thought were hardships (because they were hard!) turned out years later to have been an amazing way God protected or sustained us or even healed us!

Even things we felt were our mistakes, the things we'd not do today because we know better or things we'd surely want to be delivered from, God's redemption has amazed us. We aren't 'bad' people but we are like all people and that means we are sinful wretches. No getting around that one. But again, that act of Salvation redeems us and gets us adopted into God's family. Even attacks of the enemy and sins God uses for His purposes and for His glory. My life verse is exactly what I'm talking about here...

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:20

We still have so much to learn. We have seen our faith increase a thousand-fold and then watched how weak it still truly is when faced with a challenge for our little girl. We've been delivered from fear yet we cry and plead for our sweet girl when there is no evidence to suggest anything wrong. We look back along our path with a sense of accomplishment and thankfulness but then when we see how far the path in front of us extends we feel defeated. We pray in such authority over the enemy, claiming all of the Scriptures that tell us that we're in charge of him... yet when he tempts us we stumble and fall right over. Face plant.

But our LORD is not one to stand there and point at us when we've fallen and accuse us of needing Him more. We do that ... yes, lol we're very much in love but we surely are not always the nicest to one another during our most difficult times... so yeah, we've stood there pointing at the other in their fallen state making sure the other knows just how fallen they are... but this only shows us that we, the accuser, are just as fallen as the accused. Praise Jesus for all He's done to help us learn how to be edifiers and help-meets so we don't always have to resort to such silliness.

We do hope that you will keep us in your prayers. We are seeking God for this next chapter in our lives and I'll be honest, it is a bit radical... Not in the sense that we're going to go live in the woods off the land using nothing but our Ray Mears guide to camping... but radical in that we simply can not do it on our own. We are 100% dependant upon God to get us there... but when we are there, we will surely sing His praises because we know it will be all Him.

What a blessing that will be! I'm excited to live so far outside of myself that I can only see my precious Saviour! And what a wonderful thing to be able to share with our daughter. I feel like the Israelites following a cloud of smoke by day and fire by night. If I'm honest, I wish we had that distinct of a sign LOL, but praise God He's been teaching us to follow His hand even when we're blind.

Well, I've surely taken a lot of your time, I'm so thankful for my friends who take the time to read my silly scribbles and who pray for us. The sacrifice of prayer and praise is surely not going unnoticed or unappreciated. You are a blessing to us. Thank you...

I leave you with this... a song from my heart to His.

What, Lord, can I give up that would be equal to what You gave up for me?

I cling to the things of this world when I should be gathering for the day when I am home... when my search for You brings me to Your feet.

You are holy, worthy of my praises, not just ones from my lips but ones from my heart... the ones that I live every day. If only my life praised You more.

If only I could see my need for you as clearly as I see my child's need for me... but like a child running and playing carefree, I need you to gather me in Your arms to bring me safely home.

Remind me, Lord. Remind me of my nakedness. Remind me just how broken I am. Remind me of all You did for me to cover me and make me wholly Yours. Remind me that one day I'll be home and all that the world has to offer will be nothing but dust, shaken from my feet.

I Know What He Knew...

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000

O n the outside, what man judges, we're very poor.

Some may look upon us with pity. But I can honestly say that we are richer than most.

We've had daily miracles, we've all been fed, our little girl only organic food, despite our lack.

We've all had a roof over our head, despite having less than what we need each month.

We have clothing, not a lot, nothing overly fashionable, but we are dressed, again the littlest in beautiful clothes, though she could wear rags and her beauty would shine through making them appear amazing.

God has traded our worldly goods for His riches and for that I'm eternally thankful.

I praise Him for allowing us to be without the things that separate us from Him.

I honour Him because He has grown our faith to mountain peak proportions.

I thank Him for allowing us to need Him so fully, to know we had no way to do it on our own...

So that we knew we were being held ever so tightly in His hands... so close we could feel His heartbeat.

I am proud to say that I NEED Him... I am happy to admit that I am so very weak in my own might.

In that need He has held us,

in our weakness we were given His strength.

For that I'm more than thankful... and I'd never trade it for any of this world's riches and comforts.

Our worldly discomfort has brought us far more than anything we would have otherwise had.

I can promise that whatever hardship you will face, if you let Him, He will carry you when you are too weak to lift yourself.

Now, when we read in God's Word about Paul praising the LORD from a prison cell, I know what he knew...

that where God's grace is, so He is ...

and where He is, we are free.

Praise God with us as we venture on a new chapter in our lives...
and thank you, dear friends, for your prayers for us!

Deuteronomy 10:21

He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.

Psalm 118:1
[ Praise to God for His Everlasting Mercy ] Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Hebrews 13:15
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

A Little Something New for Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 23:18:00 +0000

A little something new for Christmas from Reece's Rainbow! (Feel free to copy paste this to post on your blog too!)

Our Christmas Angel Tree is just around the corner and this year we have a new addition to our Angel Tree.

For those who were with Reece's Rainbow for last year's Angel Tree may have known about one of our adoptive families who had a Christmas Stocking Stuffer idea. Well, Julia's idea was the platform for our new addition.

Angel Tree Dollars are a wonderful way for your children or family and friends to get involved and learn about Reece's Rainbow and the waiting children of our Angel Tree.

Here is how they work, you make a donation for any amount over $5 and then you immediately receive a printable Angel Tree Dollar which you can use for stocking stuffers, include in a Christmas card, give to friends or family or work colleagues, anyone!

Here is the 'deluxe' printable Angel Tree Dollar. There are 3 designs from which to choose.

The recipient then gets to choose which child your donation goes to! It is as easy as picking up an online email greeting!

CLICK HERE for more information and to get your

Angel Tree Dollars!

Like My Mother Does :: Guest Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:57:00 +0000

I have a wonderful guest blogger today! Kelly and Kyle Dirkes are adopting Charlotte (Maria on Reece's Rainbow). If you haven't seen Charlotte, she is such a cutie! Please be sure to visit their blog and see the videos another family in country took of their precious little Charlie! Also, I'm posting their button after her post, you can grab their button to put on your blog! Ok, here is her post! I know you will be blessed!

Like My Mother Does

I have two mothers.

One knows me intimately. She knows every inch and every scar. She cheers all the triumphs, no matter how big or small. She worries so well that she could turn it into a sport. She apologizes (while laughing) for the bad 80’s haircut she inflicted on my elementary-age self…and leaves the mushrooms out of the spaghetti sauce so I don’t have to pick them out while I’m eating.

My mother loves me because I’m the child of her heart.

The other knows me just as completely. She remembers what it felt like to carry me in her body. She hums the same song that she used to sing to put me to sleep and smiles. She looks at my picture and sees herself in my hazel eyes. She too, worries about her daughter…in ways that I will never fully be able to appreciate.

My mother loves me because I’m the child she grew under her heart.

Having two mothers is a gift and being loved so completely twice over is a blessing. I wouldn’t trade any part of me or my history. But at the same time, that history and its associated feelings can be frustratingly complex. There are no easy answers in the world of adoption. In some instances, there are more questions than available answers. Some of the answers provided carry with them heavy pangs of guilt for all parties involved. Even everyday language is loaded. A glance in the mirror can be too.

This is also the world into which I welcome my Charlotte.

I know that her questions and feelings will come, and they will probably come when I am least expecting them. She will catch a glimpse of her beautiful blue eyes in the bathroom mirror one morning while washing her face and wonder where they came from. She will wonder if she looks just like her mom or just like her dad or some combination of the two. She will question why her parents sent her to that baby house. As a teenager, she will probably even use the line that makes adoptive moms everywhere cringe—you’re not my mother! You can’t tell me what to do!

She will struggle with the questions and the assumptions and the language used by (mostly) well-meaning individuals. These are the people who want to know all the details…the hows…and the whys…her story. These are the people who tell her that she should be “grateful” that she has a family. These are the people who wonder about her “real” family and what is “wrong” with them.

Just like my mother did (and does), I will tell Charlotte that she is here because we loved her and we wanted her. I will tell her that she is no different than her peers—entitled to the same love and caring that a family provides. I will tell her that she is a lucky girl who has two distinct families that love her in two very unique ways.

Just like my mother did, I will tell Charlotte that it is okay to feel confused about it all. It is okay to wonder how her life would be different. I will tell her that it is okay to be angry sometimes. I will tell her that we expect no more from her because she is adopted than we would expect from any biological child. I will tell her that her story is hers to tell or not, and that I respect either decision.

Just like my mother did, I will tell Charlotte that neither of her mothers are perfect. I will tell her that adoption means a lifetime in this world of balance—the genes and the environment. I will tell her that her family is a beautifully complex mixture of love, circumstance, choice, and biology. I will tell her that, someday, we will find the answers to her questions if she wants to.

Just like my mother did (and does), I will tell her how glad I am that she is my daughter…the daughter of my heart.

My daughter and I have two mothers…and we are blessed, indeed.

Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart,
But in it.

Grab This!

Just the Hem ~ repost

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:57:00 +0000

T his was originally posted in February, reposting it for a friend...~

W hen life is beyond my control... did I ever have control anyway?

When I'm at the end of my tether...

When my weakness is now all I have left...

When I wish I could do more...

When I wish I could do anything at all...

When all seems impossible...

When bills are a mountain and income not even a bump...

When I realise a home is not just the building you hope to pay for...

When all seems impossible...

When orphans go hungry despite Your request we care for them...

When parents walk away too blind to see the blessing they've been told is a curse...

When life's value has been stolen...

When all seems impossible...

When I am on my face before You, God, because I see myself as I truly am...

When repentance and faith and redemption go beyond forgiveness...

When I can no longer be silent...

When all seems impossible...

When victory seems distant...

When my heart breaks and breaks and breaks...

So You can undo what I've done to it all these years...

When I wish they could hear me across oceans...

When I wish 'orphan' didn't also mean alone... unloved... dying...

When I wish my arms were strong enough to carry them...

When I just want to whisper to them that You love them and this world is not their home...

When I wish I could whisper that to them in my arms in my home...

When all seems impossible...

Help me to see...

Help me to never lose sight...

Help me always be at least a touch away...

from the hem of Your garment...

Let me never be more than a breath away from Your Name...

May I always be able to cry out for You to wash me with Your Sacrifice...

That You can look upon me...

and not see me as I truly am....

but who You have redeemed me to be...

to be called by Your Name...

Keep Your Words on my lips and their plight the pieces of my broken heart...

and never be more than a touch away from...

... just the hem

Small Potatoes... Little Poppet's Pick of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 11:05:00 +0000

L ittle Poppet has another 'Pick of the Day' for you! lol! Enjoy!

Baby Jake :: Little Poppet's Pick of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 11:23:00 +0000

N o. A new baby is NOT why I have been so remiss in blogging. Goodness, I'm surprised how long I go in between posts. The good news is that it means I'm busy and the busier I am, the more orphans are shedding that title (orphan) from their name... but still, I'm a bit behind on the blogging front.

My gorgeous Little Poppet is such a blessing. I shared with you about her new Elmo Live (there is a video of him on that old post) a few months back. Well, he had a bit of a mishap. Or two. The Mr. operated on him to fix his leg and neck but he was not able to get his mouth to open and close and he doesn't stand up straight anymore. He looks like his back went out. So, the quest for a new Elmo Live was on. The MIL did donate another £20 to the cause (she bought the first one) because she felt so badly for Little Poppet. But our initial search on ebay was fruitless and the ones from the US were $200! Sorry, but even with our conversion rate that is WAY above our budget of basically £20 for one LOL!

We suffered through a couple of weeks with broken Elmo until we finally found one, actually several, that were starting at £10. The first one we bid on ended at £31 and we did not win that one. We figured we'd have to pay something over the £20 but that was too much over, including the £6 p&p. But then, we DID find one that ended at £20 and we won it! So, one night whilst Little Poppet slept (which isn't much these days, she seems to think her bedtime is 1 or 2am this week) Elmo had a miracle. No, I did not tell her that Jesus healed her, though if I'm honest, the temptation was there LOL!

In the morning she awakened and grabbed him from the end of the bed (her toys sleep at the foot of the bed if they have big, heavy feet) and lay back down with him on her tummy like she does with him. I don't know if she noticed that his fur was suddenly all nice and new looking or that he was standing up straight. Oh, I should mention, she's been dressing him in shorts and tops of hers that are too small for her so he was wearing the same clothes as he had when she went to bed.

Well, she pushed his foot and saw his mouth moving... she literally gasped and froze lol! She didn't touch him for a minute but was imitating his mouth open and close. Then, she started pushing all this buttons and squeezing his nose and just giggled and giggled and giggled! It was the most precious thing. Well, he was carried around with her all the time anyway but the new Elmo on the block is surely being held tighter and she's laughing harder and it is the best use of £6 on our part I think for a long time!

So, today I'm sharing one of Little Poppets picks for a show. It is a fairly new one on CBeebies (BBC's children's channel) and usually we only have her watch the Makaton show or educational ones, but this one we've let her watch because she LOVES it. She literally laughs out loud to it and will end up in near hysterics. So, here is her pick of the day... Baby Jake. Enjoy...

Vote for Reece's Rainbow!

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:49:00 +0000

CLICK HERE Then once you click on Reece's Rainbow in the 'Most Innovative Use of Social Media' category, you need to SCROLL UP and click on SUBMIT and then you can either 'connect' with facebook or enter your email to submit your vote. They only allow one vote per person which is why you need to 'connect'. THANK YOU!

You can share on facebook, twitter, via email!

Because...

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:33:00 +0000

I t is OUR problem... I'm sharing a link to my friend through Reece's Rainbow, Adeye's blog. She is hosting a give-away to help fully fund one little girl's adoption. I was going to share it last night and it was so late I thought, I'll wait until today but in ONE DAY her give-away raised almost the entire amount they were hoping to raise, $22,000! WOW! God moves when He moves!

BUT if you would still like in on the give-away, which is FULL of gift items, though the reason people are donating really has precious little to do with the booty involved, it has to do with saving this little eleven year old's life.

You see, as you will when you click the link, she only weighs 10 pounds. Go help ransom a life, give what you can, you WILL get a gift in return, only some will get tangible gifts such as an ipad or so forth, but everyone will get the gift of knowing they were part of rescuing this precious little girl. We don't know how she's survived as long as she has...

GO HERE. Help Ransom her life.

The End of Down Syndrome...

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 01:55:00 +0000

T he year 2030, Denmark hopes, will be the last year any babies with Down's syndrome (Down syndrome in the US) are born.

As such is if progress continues at this rate, the last case to be born with the illness will be around the year 2030, according Danish news paper Berlingske.

I posted the following statement on facebook a week after the London riots. We live in London and these riots had many people gripped with fear each night as darkness fell. We watched the all night news coverage as long as we could stay awake to ensure they weren't near us or any other family members. Most nights we sat, aghast, at what we saw... the brazen attacks, absolutely no fear or respect for anyone. The statement below is what I saw that week and several people reposted it on their own facebook pages. Just maybe, someone in government will see it and will take pause and consider what they are doing when they seek to destroy all foetuses with Down's syndrome.

My Public Statement to ALL Governments that feel children with DS should be terminated as they cost too much money to raise. In all of the London and UK Riots last week, I have not seen a single person with DS rioting or looting, not even one. Those 'typical' children/people have surely cost our government and communities immeasurably more than any child or person with Down's syndrome.

It seems clear to me that the youths of today place very little value on life. It is evident that they neither value others' lives nor their own and are keen to throw it away in a heartbeat. As much as we are seeking the faces of those who did the rioting and looting last weekend, we need to also stop and take a look at our own blame.

We are not teaching kids the value of life. We are not teaching them to respect authority...anyone for that matter. We are letting reality TV be their compass. Even during the riots, people were there taking video of the riots as they were happening. These kids simply have no fear.

We need to deflate the argument governments use to further use government funding to research ways to terminate foetuses with DS rather than using that money to research ways to make their lives better. The likelihood of it one day being compulsory to terminate if you don't want to pay out of pocket for anything medically your child would have need if you don't is just steps away...

London Falling Down...

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:11:00 +0000

N o weapon that is formed against us shall prosper

and every tongue that arises against us in judgment I do condemn.

This is our heritage as a servant of the Lord and our righteousness is from You, O Lord of Hosts.

If there are those who have been speaking or praying against us, or seeking to harm us, or who have rejected us,

We forgive them.

Having forgiven them, we bless them in the Name of the Lord.

Now I declare, O Lord, that You and You alone are our God. Besides You there is no other;

a just God and a Saviour; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and we worship you!

We submit ourselves afresh to You today in unreserved obedience. Having submitted to You, Lord, we do as Your Word directs.

We resist the devil: all his pressures, his attacks, his deceptions and every instrument or agent he would seek to use against us.

We do not submit! we resist him, drive him from us and exclude him from us in the mighty Name of Jesus, the Name above all names.

Please pray for London...

NDSC Collage :: Make Us a Rainbow

noreply@blogger.com (Lu, Poppies Blooming) — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 01:08:00 +0000

The following is the post I posted on the Reece's Rainbow blog earlier today. I decided to also post it on my blog so I could share something about it.The video is of the pictures that I made of the children with DS who are HOME with their families having been found on Reece's Rainbow. Most of them were used for a banner that is being displayed at the NDSC Convention in San Antonio (5-7 August). The ones that weren't it was only because we simply couldn't fit them all in, but I used all of them for the video.

But the song I chose for the video is special to me. When Little Poppet was just 4 months old I used this same song for a video about her. The words of the song seem rather ironic now...

If you can watch the video, please do, the faces you will see is not even 1/5th of the number of children who are now HOME, being found on Reece's Rainbow. It is nothing short of amazing but there are still many more to go before we can rest! But to God be the glory for each of these precious children who are tonight being tucked in to bed by loving parents rather than languishing in institutions or orphanages. Anyway, here is the blog post:

"For those of you who were unable to join us at the NDSC Conference, which begins today through the 7th of August, this is a video of the faces that have made Reece's Rainbow.

If you are in the San Antonio area and able to go to the convention, please be sure to visit the RR Booth #35! There are some fun things being given away and most of these pictures are proudly displayed upon our new 6x8 foot banner of children who are HOME!

Without further ado, 'Make Us a Rainbow'..."

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