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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Joy and God's Humor

I believe that our God has an amazing sense of humor. I believe that sometimes He sits on his throne only to fall out of it laughing so hard at us. For those out there that think that our God is a stiff, let me tell you something that I learned recently and I want you to ponder this as well. Isaac is the name that the Lord our God told Abraham and Sarah to name their child. The meaning of this name is Laughter itself. Oh and by the way, God told a couple that was in their early to mid NINETIES - that's right...90's - that they were going to be having the baby that they have been praying about having. Not only were they told this but Sarah even laughed about it. Ok, now that we have a SMALL understanding of God's sense of humor let's look at my children and some of the things that they have done to bring light to the world.

My daughter, such an amazing little girl, has been asked what she wants to be when she grows up. Her response for a while was not that she wanted to be a doctor or a wife or someone successful. Nope, she wanted to be a Christian! How funny is this to hear when she just fires it off like she has been thinking about it for years. And the innocence in how she prays. Some of her prayers have never made me laugh so hard - not being disrespectful but just what she says. Like tonight she was praying so seriously about how Keegan needs us and he needs us to come get him and I mean she is SERIOUSLY praying and then out of nowhere she says - God, Delilah is so pretty and is the best bunny! Ok, some might not think this is funny, but if you had seen her face...So serious about Keegan and then also about the bunny. My God thinks it's hilarious. He was laughing and enjoying the beautiful innocence that HE created in my little girl.

Let's go to my son - wow - have you ever gotten behind a car and had someone drive it and try to catch it. Now imagine its a NASCAR that you are chasing trying to catch - that's my son. He is all over the place - like take for instance, today he picked something up and tried to put it in his nose and he cut his nose - then he starts crying and everyone is freaking out - including myself - and then he gets back down after 2 seconds of crying and tries to go right back to what just cut his nose. He will run around the house just yelling at the top of his lungs. You know, as I think about it I think he is full of JOY. He sometimes will be listening to music with me and just start singing. Nope, you can't understand a word he is saying, but it doesn't matter to me or anyone around him because he NEVER stops smiling. I mean it - NEVER! He always is lit up with a smile...he could bring Joy to someone even when Joy seems unreachable. He is exactly what Joy is all about. Joy is defined as a feeling of great pleasure or happiness. John 15:11 says "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full." So that your happiness may be made full. Hmm, this is why I love watching my son grow. 

Now - Let me ask you all a question. If James 1:27 says - "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Then shouldn't we bring joy to these children. These orphans. Keegan is one of them. He has never experienced Joy but still has a smile his face in his pictures. How can this be. This is how. God has a sense of humor and wants His children to experience his joy - to experience His Great Pleasure and HAPPINESS!! It says this in the book of Galatians "But the fruit of the spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfullness." Fruits of the Holy Spirit. The things that God wants us to have in our life and experience. I am so happy that my God is so amazing and sometimes he can sit back on his throne and watch me, all while smiling at the mistakes that he knows are coming. The times that I may let him down, yet he knew I would and still forgives me. This is PURE JOY to me. 

Something that also shows his humor to me is the fact that I felt his calling to go on the mission trip to Africa, which I had to decline this year because my God had different plans. He wanted me to see some things that will help me in our fundraising process, but I know our hearts have been broken to go after Keegan and that is our "mission field" now. I want him to challenge me with people in Eastern Europe where my son is. I want to show them the true PURE JOY that they are missing. Pray for my family and if you feel a tug at your heart and want to know more or donate, visit our family blog at www.heygardners.blogspot.com. You can donate at this blog to help us bring our son home! Please follow me on this blog and our other blog as I will be sharing more of our stories and How you helped to bring our little one home! I pray that all of you will experience HIS JOY this week!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

God's Moving

Hey Everyone. I hope this post find you all doing well. I personally am doing outstanding. I have found so many things that I feel like God wants to do in my life but I have to take them one step at a time. I wanted to take this blog and update all those around me about what he is doing specifically in our family and my life. For starters, this year has been amazing. I have been able to get so many things lined up that I wanted to and really prayed about at the end of the year last year. One of the coolest things is I have this overwhelming want to adopt all the orphans in this world. Every last one of them. Special needs children specifically. Did you know that special needs kids get INSTITUTIONALIZED at like age 4 or 5 and they pretty much are given up on and die. I have seen pictures of children who are 9 years old and weigh 10 pounds! WHAT? Seriously ten pounds. Gods angels had their hands in that one because I believe she found a family - but should have died from malnutrition. I have my eyes opened to what goes on in other countries just because a child is "Special." And not only did I find that other countries treat these children like they don't belong, but our own country apparently does to, when a family sues for not finding out about there kid having Down Syndrome and wins this insane amount of money because had they known they would have taken that child's life through abortion. I pray that the child involved in this finds Jesus's arms as they spread across the cross for that child as the start of an embracing hug. That the child involved would know that even when the family didn't care - Jesus Did! Not only was I bothered by this story in our country but just around the corner from us I find out about a woman who had a baby and then took her child and dropped her off behind a church to die. Just left the baby there and took off. PEOPLE, where is your value for life. Where is your love for these children. We never know someone's story so it's not our place to judge. Then I see a story about a family who makes there child exercise for so long that she finally collapses and dies. REALLY? I just don't understand how you can look into your child's eyes and say I don't want you so I will just kill you or give you away. Abortion is killing plain and simple. The woman who dropped that child off was being hunted for attempted manslaughter - HMMM - i just don't understand the difference between that and her walking into an abortion clinic! Adoption is strong on my families heart right now and will be for the rest of our life. So many kids needs are not being met simply because they are SPECIAL - no quotation marks needed. They aren't special needs they have special gifts. God has given them something for us to mold and hold! Now that the tangent is over I have some happy news. I have also been praying that God would open a door for me to go on a missions trip this year. Man, i never understood what he would have planned for me this year. I feel he has called me to go on a mission with Dig Deep Give Well to AFRICA. REALLY? I haven't really been anywhere much less out of country. So there are a lot of things that I have to get straight. I have to get a passport, shots, items needed for the trip, and I have to raise 3500 for the trip alone not including money for my family to take care of them while I am gone. Now, am I asking for donations from you guys? Yes...but at the same time if you can't help in donations...pray and pray HARD. I will be going to Tanzania and I can't wait. The cool part in this is how it all came to be. I wasn't even thinking he was going to move this fast. I had a biology test a couple saturdays ago and my wife wanted to go to a consignment sale in Pensacola. I didn't think I was even going to get back in time to go, but I did - and it was a God thing. One of the ladies who runs the consignment sale has the ministry - Dig Deep Give Well - and I spent like five dollars at the sale. As we were leaving we actually got to talk to her for a minute - not expected - and she tells me that she has a position available possibly and she needs it to be someone who is good with teenagers! I love those teenage people - LOL. But I was so excited because this is where my heart is. Working with youth! I was overwhelmed and started crying - told her I was a weeper - LOL. We laughed and the rest is history. I hope that if you have any questions about this that you would PLEASE ask me - My favorite part is this. Remember me telling you my heart is with the orphans right now. We are going to be visiting orphans while we are there. Can't wait to show them the love of Christ. To share what he has done for me to these children. To just hug and hold a couple of them. We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus or did some of us forget? I haven't and I am ready to go. I want to not only be the hands and feet but the whole body! I have added a donation button to the top of this blog. If you feel that God has called you to help me get there - then please donate - if not - then please prayers are just as welcomed. I am SOOO excited and I hope you will be with me as I take these next few steps that God has placed in front of me. And as for my family, pray that God will move mountains in the means of allowing us to at least bring one child home through adoption before the end of the year! Be Blessed and remember Faith without works is DEAD!

Take a second and listen to JJ Hellers song in my playlist - It can bring a tear to your eye!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

His Love


Chorus:
(J.R.)
Oh
I just wanna be/I just wanna be
Closer to Your heart/You will find me there
Everything I am/It’s because of You
It’s because of You/And now, we sing
Tonight/I’m giving You all of me
Tonight/I let go of everything
Tonight/I’m giving You all of me
Tonight/Tonight/Tonight
I give You all of me

Verse 1:
(Flame)
Let’s pray
Dear Father in the name/Of Your holy Son
I desire like Jesus/Prayed for us to be one
I desire to give/I desire to serve
I desire to love/Others with more than my words
Bless me to be humble/Bless me to be meek
I want to be a joy/When people come around me
Give me a gentle spirit/Bless me to be content
Please keep me from my sin/Let me quickly repent
Please give me discipline/Give me self control
To know when to stop/And when to say no
Make me a bold witness/Please remove fear
Replace it with faith/Pour out Your spirit here
Fill me up Lord/Let me overflow
Let me overdose/Make me holy/Keep me close
I want to give it all/Until there’s none left
But I can’t beat You givin'/Look at Your Son’s death

Chorus:

Verse 2:
(Flame)
I can see You talking to high priest/Peter just denied You
For the second time/One more time he will deny You
One of the officers smacked You in the face/But he didn’t understand that You were actually grace
But the people would rather see the release of a thief/Than to know forgiveness and be with the Prince of Peace
And as they screamed for Pilate to crucify You/I hear my own voice because every day I deny You
But yet You still bore the cross on Your vertebrae/Walking to Golgatha
What a display of grace
I see Your weakened body beaten/Can’t keep me from crying
Your cross was very heavy/They gave it to Simon
Then You were crucified/They divided Your clothes
Like the Scriptures prophesied/You died and You rose
Two thousand years ago/Slaughtered on the tree
You gave all of You/I’m giving all of me

Chorus:

Verse 3:
(Flame)
This I pray Lord/To be like Abraham
Ready to give it all/My only son as the lamb
Ready to sacrifice/Everything if You ask
Because nothing is mine/Not this life that I have
Everything I own/Oh Lord is a gift
So who am I/To hold it with a firm grip
I give You my talent/I give You my time
I give You my eyes/I give You my mind



Now people take a second and read this prayer - put to words by Christian Rapper Flame - This is a prayer that you can actually say - you can become exactly this - The one verse that hits me hard is "And as they screamed for Pilate to crucify You/I hear my own voice because every day I deny You" - Wow - how many chances do we avoid or pass up in a day to tell someone about God about the Grace of Jesus - He describes the walk to Golgatha - but he doesnt go into description of it - Let me break it down for you - Imagine being beaten with two by fours full of nails and multiply that times ten - humiliated in front of all the people he LOVED - bleeding to death - spit upon, ripped apart, stones thrown at him, people screaming how much they hate him, stabbed while on the cross, PIERCED BY NAILS AND A CROWN OF THORNS - blood flowing everywhere from his beaten body - PEOPLE - this is not even close to the real description of what happened but i want you to try and visualize it - just try and see - I just can't understand what he felt - noone can - His father (God) having to stand there and watch his child being murdered - JUST SO YOU COULD HAVE GRACE - Just so YOU could have freedom - Just so YOU could truly know what love is! All the while he hung on the cross not embarrassed or destroyed but full of LOVE - He is dying and takes time to recognize US and how God should still forgive us -
LUKE 23:34 says -
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

WOW - he is dying on a cross, crucified as an innocent man, beaten, bruised, and yet still finding time to call out to God to forgive us! Wow if that isn't LOVE then I don't know what would count as LOVE! Hope everyone who reads will pray for those who need to hear this and understand that Jesus just wants a personal relationship with them. Wants them to love him so he can show them the awesome plans he has for their life! Be blessed everyone! Jesus Loves you and so do I!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Tim Tebow and what God is doing


The fact that Tebow had 316 yards passing and averaged 31.6 yards per pass in the game didn't escape notice on Sunday night. Tebow wore "John 3:16" on his eye black in the 2009 BCS Championship game and has since become identified with the famous Bible message. The coincidental stats caused millions of fans to perform Google searches on the Bible passage in the past 24 hours. Here's one more unbel...ievable stat: John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reports that the final quarter-hour television rating for the Broncos-Steelers game was, you guessed it, 31.6. (Yahoo sports)

All I have to say in this is WOW! Last night the number one trending topic on yahoo was John 3:16 - this morning its dropped to number 4 - This man is affecting people for Christ! ARE YOU? You don't have to be famous to do so - start with the people you know - the easy ones to talk to and make your moves from there! Think about this - Tebow has a selfless heart. Every interview its not about what he does or what play he made - it's about God first and foremost and then its about his TEAM. Surround yourself with a great team and GREATNESS can happen! It's so awesome to be a Christian and know that here is a man affecting so many people and them not even know it. How many people do you think that have criticized him have looked up John 3:16 - people this is one of the most important scriptures in the bible - "For GOD so loved the world that he GAVE his only begotten SON that whosoever believes in him should NOT perish but have eternal life" WOW - just that one scripture can be the defining moment in a persons life - ok - If you have trouble talking to people I understand - but take a moment and pray specifically for the people reading this or reading John 3:16 because of Tim Tebow or reading about God for the first real time or because of anyone out there who is making an effort to do what tim does everytime he steps on a football field! Take the time and pray right now - you can help God to move in so many ways - James 5:17 says "Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years." - this tells me that if we just pray - and continue to pray - and even after praying we pray even yet again - that God will move and we will see it in a magnificent way - please remember this - Take time to pray for Tim and yourself and that you would have courage to step out and tell people about Jesus - who loves you more than anyone or anything can ever love you - that he cares for you more than anyone cares for you - that he wants to see you prosper and be the man or woman that God has planned for you to be. Your prayers can change someones life around you. I have seen this in people I know - even like I said before if you can't talk to them - for whatever reason - about Jesus - that's ok - PRAY! Be blessed - Jesus loves you and so do I!