too.

What would your usual excuse be?

Too tired...

Too busy...

Too overwhelmed...

Too inexperienced...

(It costs) Too much money...

Too old...

Too young...

So often we put limitations on what we can do. So often we are actually putting our limitations on what we think GOD can do.

"I could do this...if I wasn't too ____."

The words that fill in that blank can be endless.

Let me try to blow all of your "too's" out of the water for a little bit.

I'm coming back to one of my favorite topics. I have said on my blog before that I am adopted. I belonged to my parents from the minute I was born - and came home from the hospital to them just a few days later. I was never an orphan for one minute. But there are SO. MANY. orphans in our world. Not only that but there are SO. MANY. children with special needs, like Down Syndrome, who need "forever families" just as much, if not more so, than other children.

In our country, if a child is born with Down Syndrome, they are given the best care possible, raised in families who love on them and take care of them, and often when they are older, can even sometimes live on their own and have their own jobs.

In other countries it is not like this. Babies with Down Syndrome are placed in a crib in an orphanage. And left there. No one picks them up. No one hugs them or covers their sweet cheeks with kisses. No one loves on them. No one cares. They are hidden away from the world. At the age of four, they are sent to mental institutions. For life. Which often doesn't last a whole year once they are in the institution.

Think of the crazy children running around you today. The one that spilled the milk at dinner tonight. :) Think of your grandchildren. Now picture them living their life in a cold metal crib, no smile on their face because no one ever took the time to smile at them. No life in those energetic legs because no one cared to take them out of that crib and teach them to crawl...walk...or run. All just because they have been created a little differently.

But they have been created just the same. By the same God Who created the children in your life. And He loves them just the same. And I have to think that it saddens His heart so much to see His beautiful children being uncared for like that.

I know you are jumping ahead to what you think I am going to say. Are the "too's" already there in your mind?

"Yes, how sad that is. Someone needs to adopt those poor sweet children and give them a chance at life! I would love to... but..."

And that's where all those "too's" come flooding in.

The cost is too much.

It would be too hard to have a special needs child.

I am too old.

(I just have to interject at this one... Remember how old Sarah was? 90. So just knock that one off the list right there!)

I am too young.

Can God not provide all your needs?

"Oh, of course He can!"

The next thought that follows is...

"But would He?? If I was crazy enough to step out in faith and follow His calling to care for orphans...would He show up just where I need Him?"

Meet Lydia.

Lydia is 11 years old and a homeschooler out in the Nashville area. Lydia's parents have five children -2 are adopted and the youngest two have Down Syndrome. They are two of the cutest children ever! :)

As a family, they were rasing money for Reece's Rainbow, a ministry for international children with Down Syndrome. There are pictures of so many children who need a home on their site. Lydia fell in love with one of them. Her name is Darya and you can find her picture here about half way down the page.

Lydia started thinking that it would be too cool if her family could adopt Darya and bring her home to be loved on instead of being in that old crib all the time. So she asked her mom...last Tuesday. The deal is that if God provides the money needed for the adoption by Thanksgiving...2 days from now! then they will absolutely adopt Darya.

What's the catch? In Lydia's mind...nothing. In our grown-up minds with all those "too's" running around? The cost.

$20,000.

In 8 days.

Too much?

Lydia says remember the verse about faith the size of the mustard seed moving mountains? She has that faith. She believes without a doubt that God will provide every single penny of that $20,000 that will bring Darya from life and death in a cold crib to life being loved to the fullest with her family.

The first day she raised $800!

As of tonight, they hit the $10,000 mark!!

Too?

Whatever!

Our God is Too Big. He cares Too Much. He loves Lydia and her sweet, steady faith. And He loves Darya. Every ounce of her.

There is $10,000 to go and about 24 more hours to raise it. $10,000 in one week sounds like a lot...but $10,000 in one day?? I don't doubt it after reading her family's blog. Not one bit. I'm just excited to see how He will accomplish this goal!

Will you help? I'm not asking you to adopt a child. (Although if God puts that on your heart, I will joyfully pray you through the process!) I'm simply asking you to help save Darya's little life - and give Lydia a faith that will move even more mountains! If you can't give financially, will you tell someone who can? Or pray? I will give you the links you need to shower His love on this little sister in Christ. Imagine how strong her faith will be after this! It would be hard to doubt God if you could look back and say "He provided $20,000 in 9 days one time for me!"

Here is the link to Lydia's mom's blog and specifically the blog post that Lydia wrote that began the whole project:

http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/2009/11/hi-blogger-worldits-lydia.html

READ IT!! And go and read some of the posts between last Tuesday and today. If you don't have tears in your eyes and a smile on your face...well...just go read it! :)

At the very top (below the family picture - so cute!), there is a "Darya Project Donation" button where you can donate through paypal.

OR...

You can go to this site if you have a little girl...or know someone who has a little girl. This is a mom who makes the cutest little dresses called Poppy Dips. She and her family have adopted before and are going through their third adoption from Ethiopia. She is taking a little detour in their fund raising and between now and Thanksgiving (I know, it's close!) is donating all the proceeds from whatever dresses she sells to Lydia and Darya! She has the absolute cutest fabric choices and you would know your money is going to something so special! She even makes American Girl Doll sized dresses - they would make a great Christmas present! :)

Here's the blog part of her site where she tells about Lydia:

http://itspoppydipblog.blogspot.com/

Here's the home page to her site and her dresses:

http://itspoppydip.blogspot.com/

I just bought one for my middle child in this fabric:

TOO cute!! ;)

There is a news station that is going to interview Lydia on Thanksgiving to see how much money she has raised. I'm sure the results will be on their blog...and I will put an update on here as well.

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

1 Timothy 4:12