0 Operation Christmas Child

This year, one of my closest friends is heading up Operation Christmas Child at our church. The mission of Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Read below about how you can help a child during the Christmas season.

1. Tell us about OCC

Operation Christmas Child is one of the ministries of Samaritan's Purse. This ministry is all about sending a simple gift around the world to a child in need. Last year the United States collected 5.2 million shoe boxes filled with small toys, candies and hygiene items. These boxes are sent to over a hundred different countries where they are given to children along with a comic book about the gospel in their language. 

2. What stories have you heard about children that have received boxes?

I have heard so many stories that have shown me how present God is in this ministry. I know that when you decide to pack a box that God has already picked out who will receive it. Start praying for that sweet little child and as you walk through the store God will let you know what he or she needs. 

There are two stories that stick out the most to me. One is about someone who put a five pack of toothbrushes into a box.  People kept asking "Why are there five in here?" but they didn't take them out they just sent them along. When the box was given out, it turns out that there where five people in the child's family that received the box. God knew the need and put in on the persons heart who packed the box.

There was a little girl who told her mom she did not want to go to school, the reason was that her shoes were embarrassing. They were beat up, messy and put back together with wire. Her feet would get wet on the way to school and then be cold as she wore them all day. She tried to convince her mom to let her stay home that day. After her long walk to school she sees that the kids all have these boxes. She goes to get one herself and when she opens the box there is a brand new pair of shoes. Immediately, she asked who had given her this box and the gospel was shared with her. Today she lives in the US and packs boxes for Operation Christmas Child every year.

3. Why did you decide to get involved?

Our church is a Collection Center, which is where all the boxes from the Montgomery area come to be sent to the processing center.  There was an announcement in church at the end of July that there was a need for a coordinator. I immediately felt like it was something that God was telling me to look further into. 

4. Why is this organization so important to you?  Tell me how it has impacted your life.

 

Operation Christmas Child has become very important to me over the past few months. When I began working with this great ministry I knew it was amazing ministry for kids. I have now had the opportunity to hear and see some of the kids that it touches. Getting more people involved has really became a passion of mine when I heard these numbers: in the US we collected 5.2 million shoe boxes, Mexico City alone as 6.6 kids who would benefit from one of these shoe boxes. Even if every box from the US went to Mexico City we would still be short. That simple stat fires me up to get everyone I know to make a box. We are told in Matthew 28:19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."  I know it is not always easy to take off and go on a mission trip across the world. There are issues like taking off work, getting the money raised but here is a simple and easy way to directly impact one child a world away.

5. How can others get involved?

There are so many different ways to get involved! You can pack your own box and take it to a drop off location near you. Pack any standard size shoe box full of small toys, hygiene items and school supplies. For about $20 you can fill a box completely!! Check out http://www.samaritanspurse.org/OCC/ to find a drop-off location, ideas of what to pack, downloadable labels, and ways to track your box to see where it goes! National Collection Week is November 15-22 so get packing!!

You can also contact your locate Collection Center Coordinator to help with the packing and loading of the boxes from your area. This is a major need because each Collection Center pack thousands of shoe boxes to be shipped to the processing centers. 

Year round volunteers are needed to help with preparing and promoting National Collection Week. There are needs for people to help with Church Relations, Community Relations, Prayer, Promotion and Area Coordinators. These positions are a great way to take the next step in getting involved on the next level. No matter what your spiritual gift there is a way for you to become more involved with OCC. 

Your simple gift will change a child's life. That child will have a present to open at Christmas and because of that gift they will hear about the love of Jesus.

To donate a box to a child in need this Christmas, click here to get started.

Till next time, let your light shine!


Blessings, christen

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0 Monthly Memory Verse: November

Happy 1st of November Everyone!

I started to think about what verse I wanted to memorize this month and the word prayer kept coming into my heart.  Lately, our small group has been talking a lot about how powerful prayer truly is.  We have been saying that prayer is what brings us closer to God and it deepens our relationship with Him.  But, it is also a way for us to listen to what he is telling us to do.   Prayer is a necessity in our pursuit of living our lives like Christ.  So, this month I wanted 2 Corinthians 13:8-9 to be my memory verse.

For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.  We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection.

 

Now, I know we typically do two verses a month, but today I just wanted to focus on one.  I must admit that last month I got behind on my memorizing so right now I am choosing to just memorize this verse.  Have a great day!

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Trusting The Truth: October 2010

Many, when asked about different fears, rank the fear of public speaking right up there with the fear of death. Now that I have encountered both, I would agree that they both elicit about the same level of fear. So this morning I would like to teach on and have a conversation about fear; let’s just not call it public speaking.
Fear is the emotion that arises when we feel threatened by a physical or emotional or even spiritual danger, whether real or imaginary. Since we live in a dangerous world, fear is a universal and inevitable part of the human condition. Some people experience fear relatively rarely, and for others it is very common. Some primarily experience fear acutely, while others experience it primarily as chronic, low-grade anxiety. Some typically react to fear actively with a fight response, while others react passively, with flight. Some experience fear that is rooted in past traumatic events, others concerning present shocks, while still others primarily about future threats. But regardless of these differences, we all experience fear--and we must all grapple with how to understand and respond to it. We must learn to live victoriously over fear.
To begin this conversation on fear, let us start with a story from early in Jesus’ ministry. After a full day of healing and teaching on the Kingdom of God, and planting the seeds of faith in his growing crowd of followers, Jesus was ready to move on from where he was teaching. Although Matthew and Mark both tell this same story in their Gospels, let us pick up on the story in the Gospel of Luke: Chapter 8, verse 22:
“One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
In hearing this story, I want you think of the storms in your own life. During the midst of your own storm, where are you in the boat with Jesus. Are you with the disciples, scared, calling out for Jesus, lacking in faith? The disciples were veteran fishermen and had spent much time on the water, but they seem to have never experienced this kind of storm. Their boat was being swamped; as they bailed out two buckets of water ten more were pouring in. They were yelling to each other, “Quick! Quick!” It was a scene of chaos and they had begun to panic and were fearful of their own death. In Mark’s version of the story, Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” While the disciples were struggling for life and death, what did Jesus do? He was sound asleep on a cushion in the back. Can you believe he could sleep in the midst of the storm and the yelling disciples?
During your own storms, are you yelling for Jesus, in a panic, wondering why he has not woken up and saved you from your strife? In the midst of the storm there is great contrast between Jesus and his disciples. Jesus was calm and in control. The disciples were panicked and fearful. When they were scared to death, they remembered Jesus, woke him, and cried out to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” They surely did not remember the Psalm that says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” The disciples, instead, got upset and complained to Jesus.
Life is much like sailing at sea. When there is smooth sailing under a blue sky we think life would be that way always or wish to have it that way. But we often face the storms of life unexpectedly. The storms come without warning and cause troubles and fear in our lives. We feel left alone, struggling all by ourselves, and God seems far away. However, even in the storms, I have learned that our Lord is present.
I hope, in telling my own story, my own testimony, of God’s faithfulness and His presence in a hurricane in my life, that you will believe more deeply and will see that by throwing your weight onto the Lord during your trials, even when you think that He is sleeping, that he will be faithful and will take all things, even those that may be meant for ill, and will use them for good. As Paul says in Romans, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.” My hope is that through hearing my story that you will be able to cry in your trials with Job, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
My story begins at the end of last summer. At that time I was living for myself and had finally reached the point where I saw that the path I was on was one of death and that I desperately wanted a path that moved towards life, and life to the fullest. I sought out men in Raleigh who could help guide me and instruct me on how to find this life. I began to study the scriptures and learn about this man, Jesus. I began a relationship with my savior; with no idea how desperately I would need him.
This savior, who has power over nature, as seen in the story of the calming of the sea, existed before time began. Before the creation of the world, He knew me and knew that I would, one day, need Him. And last summer He started a good work in me that would come to pay dividends. When something happens in life, all you have is just what you have right then and nothing more. By the grace of God, I had begun to build a faith that would help me get through and survive my storm.
On January 2nd of this year I awoke at 4am, ate a light breakfast, and loaded up for a day of duck hunting. Little did I know that this day would turn quickly from a day of quiet anticipation into the bloody hell of a warlike nightmare.
Two cars were filled with dogs, gear and still-sleepy hunters: my brother-in-law Will Teague, my father, my uncle Lawrence Davis, Butler Bennett, Bo Bennett and his son Butler, my cousin Linwood Davis and me. We pulled away from our cottage at Bath and drove to a friend’s farm at Pamlico Point. Pamlico Point is an isolated peninsula jutting out into the Pamlico Sound between the Neuse and Pamlico rivers. It is not near anything, but it is one of the best places in North Carolina to hunt for ducks.
When we arrived at 5am we were met at the gate of the farm by two guides. Charlie, one of the guides, led us a mile or so down the dirt farm path to a barn where we unloaded our gear and dressed for a morning of duck hunting. It was windy and cold, about 20 degrees. Here at the barn we split up into groups to be taken to the blinds. My Uncle Lawrence and Butler were in a blind together, as were my dad and Linwood, Bo and Butler, Jr., and Will and I. The others were taken to their blinds while Will and I awaited our turn. Will and I were to be hunting from the farthest blind, the best place to hunt, because this was Will’s first experience hunting. As we waited the sky began to light up as the sun began to rise. Ducks were flying overhead and I anxiously awaited the beginning of the hunt.
Charlie, a rough, tough and quiet man finally arrived in his old Chevy pickup as the clouds took on a pink light as the sun foretold its coming. Will and I put our gear in the bed of the truck and hopped up on the tool box, resting our feet on the many bags of decoys. Shortly, we arrived at the number 7 blind, considered the best at the farm.
Upon arrival, as the sun was just cresting the horizon, we loaded all of our gear and jumped into the little johnboat that Charlie polled out to the blind. Since this was Will’s first experience hunting, he had all new gear: a blind bag that I had given him for Christmas as well as a whole new hunting outfit he had just purchased for this hunt. As we left the shore of the dike along-side the impoundment it was light. The wind was quickly pushing the marsh-grass into waves. Ducks were in all directions. This was going to be a fantastic hunt. One we would remember for many years.
As Charlie was pushing us out across the impoundment towards the blind the excitement was rushing through our veins. I couldn’t wait to get to the blind. This was a “once in a decade” event that we’d tell stories about for years.
Finally! We had reached the blind! Will and I unloaded the boat and Charlie pushed off to set out a spread of decoys. The blind faced east-south-east and the wind was coming out of the west. The strong wind made the 20 degree temperature settle into your bones. I stepped into the blind and set my shotgun in the far corner of the blind and turned to get my ammunition pouch from Will’s bag.
Charlie was completing the spread of decoys and I could not see him or the decoys because of the new camouflage grasses that had been tacked to the side of the blind. Therefore, to get an idea of which direction we would be hunting I stood on the seat of the eight foot by three foot blind. From that vantage point I could see all of God’s majestic glory. The sun dancing on the wind-swept marshes of Eastern North Carolina is medicine for my soul, and I was drinking it deeply.
The spread of decoys had been set and Charlie, having finished his job, was returning to the dike and to the warm cab of his truck. I was watching the horizon for any sign of movement. I was not watching Will as he “geared-up” for the hunt. I did not know his gun was loaded and when he asked about the safety on his gun I answered him but was too busy watching for birds to take the time to check. I did not take the time to instruct Will on any aspects of duck hunting.
Will picked up his shotgun and slid his finger over the trigger, thinking the safety is on. BANG! The shotgun fires and I look down. Will, in his surprise jumped back and the gun falls towards me. I see the fire come out of the barrel as the second shot goes off. I hear the percussion of the blast. I watch as thirty steel BB’s travel at 1300 feet per second into the meat of my left leg, just above the knee. I stare for what seems to be an eternity to make sure what I see happening is actually what is happening. I am blown out of the blind and fall eight feet to the wet marshy ground. I try to stand but my leg cannot bare weight. I fall again.
My body is overwhelmed with all of the terror of a shattered limb. I immediately go numb, physically, mentally and emotionally. My mind is so bombarded with a sea of pain and fear that it shuts down all but the most needed functions. I lay limp with my legs in the shallow water of the impoundment. My head and upper body are cushioned by marsh grass. Will jumps to action as I resign to stillness. I feel a puddle of what can only be my blood, my life, filling my waders.
The storm is just starting, and it is building fast. The boat, from our story in Luke, is being blown about and is taking on water quickly. Where is my savior? Is he sleeping comfortably nearby, not bothering to wake and come help?
Time has slowed to a crawl as the minutes of my life empty themselves from my crushed femoral artery. I am bleeding to death and I know it.
While Will comes around the corner of the blind he shouts to Charlie, our guide, to come back to the blind to help. Charlie finally arrives back at the blind and gives his pocket knife to Will. Will then cuts open my waders and my pants. Amazingly, Will is relatively calm at this point. Next, he takes my belt off and makes a tourniquet around my leg. It takes several minutes for my blood to stop flowing out. During the time Charlie was asking what he could do to help. Since there really was nothing he could do, Will asked him to pray. My remembrance of the simple prayer that Charlie offered was that as he prayed the sun crested the horizon and the whole area was bathed in light. As the light descended on us a peace that is beyond all understanding came over me. It was at this point that I knew I was in a situation that was beyond my control. I knew that if I were to close my eyes I would open them again and be in the arms of Jesus Christ. I truly believed that I was not going to get out of this duck impoundment alive. In my heart I thought that death is easy and peaceful; life is so much messier and so much harder.
It was at this point that I got out my phone to see if I had reception. Never before had I had cell service here, so I figured we would be out of luck again. However, when I checked my phone, I had full service, and although the phone was covered in blood I began to make phone calls. My first call, at 7:30am, was to 911. When they asked where I was, I had no answer for them. There was no way for me to explain to them where I was. After a few frustrating minutes on the line with them my phone cut off due to the soaking it had had. When I cut it back on, I tried my dad’s cell phone to let him know what was happening a few hundred yards away from him. It went directly to his voicemail. I called my mom, who, after hearing me call wolf too many times, was doubtful that the event I described to her was really happening. I asked her to call and request a helicopter, which she did. Over the course of the next hour and fifteen minutes I placed many calls, trying to find someone who could help me. The 911 operator said that she had sent an ambulance, but that they could not find me. Charlie, my guide, had radioed the other guide to go out to the main road to meet the ambulance, but in the rush of things, the other guides ran his truck off the path into a ditch. It seemed that the situation was going from bad to worse, and my life was slowly slipping away.
Finally, an ambulance showed up. Paramedics were rushed out to me in the same johnboat that had brought me out. When they arrived and had assessed the situation they knew they were going to have to move me immediately. Unfortunately, they had not brought a backboard or stretcher. The paramedics, the two guides, and Will each grabbed me and lifted me into the johnboat. With each movement lightning bolts of pain shot through my body. Once we reached the bank of the impoundment I was to be moved up to the ambulance in the same way I had been moved to the boat, but this time the bank was slick and I was dropped. Finally, I was in the ambulance and in safe hands. My dad rode with us to the nearby Coast Guard Station where I was transferred to a helicopter.
While I was being rolled to the helicopter, my upbringing kicked in and I called to my dad to get the names and addresses of everyone who had helped, so that I could send them a thank-you note. While flying over Eastern North Carolina on my way to Greenville I flirted with the flight cute nurse. Once in the operating room I joked with team that had gathered to save my life before the anesthesiologist put me under. I woke up two days later, without my left leg. The storm was breaking.
But where had God been through this hurricane? I had survived, but where was He? In the months following my accident different parts of the story would come out showing that He was there all along. Will had taken an emergency medicine class at Wake Forest because he needed two extra credit hours and it was the class that fit his schedule. His quick action, and the skills he had learned in this class, had saved my life. My surgeons would later tell me that once the gunshot entered my leg and shattered my artery I had from five to seven minutes before I would be dead. Will’s tourniquet and the tenacity with which he held it for over an hour is why I am standing before you today. Also, when Will needed something to tighten this tourniquet he said he just reached out and there was a short, smooth, sturdy piece of oak laying next to me. This is not something you would expect to find out in the middle of a marsh, but it had been placed there. Through the storm of that day the Lord had been present and watching over me.
I remained in the hospital for most of the month of January and had eight surgeries, the last one on my mom’s birthday. Hundreds of friends and loved ones came from all over to wish me well. It was this strong community of Christ that would keep my fears and depression away. In the months that would follow my faith would bring me strength to face the daily fears of living. I relearned how to walk and now can get around almost as well as I could before. I have had to cope with the falls, some of which have been quite spectacular, and with the daily pain of getting out of bed in the morning. I have gotten used to people staring and my favorite part of this has been the little children who have come up to me to ask what has happened. One little girl who came up to ask what had happened, after I told her I had lost my leg, replied, “well, I hope you find it!” The most amazing parts of this journey have been the immediate forgiveness and love that everyone has given to Will. We are now blood brothers and best friends. Only through faith in a loving God is all this possible.
So the storms of life will come. We are not exempt from them because we are Christians. We may actually face more storms because we are Christian. Jesus said that in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! He has overcome the world.
Let us quickly go back to the story of Jesus calming the sea. After Jesus had rebuked the winds and the waters they immediately died down and it was completely calm. At Jesus’ command, the raging storm stopped at once and the wind and the waves obeyed him as if nothing had happened. Call was restored and fear was replaced with amazement. The disciples were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” This shows that Jesus is not a mere man. He is God himself. He is the creator God who is above all things. Though he was in the boat in the midst of the storm, he was above the nature. He was in control. In the beginning he created all things by speaking, “Let there be light; let there be sky.” With the same authority, he sustains his creation and commands the nature. He is in control over everything.
In Jesus there is no chaos. Therefore he can bring calmness to the chaos; he can bring peace and rest to our troubled souls. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace for a reason. After the resurrection Jesus came to the fearful disciples, saying “Peace be with you!” If the disciples had known who Jesus was, they did not need to panic. Their lives were safe in him, as our lives are safe in him. Jesus used the storm to train his disciples to know who he was. Jesus uses the storms of our lives to plant faith in us so that we don’t need to panic, but we can live victorious life. It is not too late to cry out to Jesus. We often cry out when we reach the end of the rope. We struggle hard with our own strengths and despair. But whenever we pray, Jesus is willing to help us. The storm training is hard, but we can grow in a closer relationship with Jesus and we can experience the love of Jesus more deeply. Many times I have fallen flat on my face and have wanted to give up. Tears have come with angry and painful prayers but every time I have grit my teeth and gotten back up. This experience has added a depth to my faith that would not be there had I faced no storms. Christian life does not guarantee smooth sailing, but with a God who is in control over all things, we can face the storms of life and be victorious.
But this requires faith. When the storm had subsided Jesus did not comfort his disciples, or offer them sympathy. It is quite normal to show fear in such a stormy sea. Even a warning of a hurricane, down here at the beach, will send everyone scrambling. But Jesus, rather, rebuked them. He asked “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Jesus saw that the heart of the matter was a lack of faith. Fear is the opposite of faith; fear is a display of unbelief.
Then how can we overcome fear? How can you overcome the fear that comes from the daily storms of life? Fear can be overcome only by faith – faith in God. When we believe in the God who created, and is above, and in control of all things we can be free from fear. We can be bold enough to challenge the storms knowing that our security is in Jesus.



If you have a testimony you feel led to share, please contact christen@theuncontainabletruth.com

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0 Meet the Godwins

JW and KC Godwin are your typical little Southern family.  They got married, moved to a new city, bought a house, and have an adorable baby girl named Olivia.  When first meeting this couple, one will crack up at JW's love for Reba and will get helpful parenting tips from KC.  This family looks complete on the outside, but on the inside they have a deep desire to follow God's will for their lives.  Recently, JW and KC made a life-changing decision for their family.  They have answered God's calling on their hearts to adopt a child.  Read below about why they decided to do this and how their journey is going.  For more information about the Godwin family and their adoption process, visit their blog at ourzoegrace.blogspot.com.

So, you're adopting....why did you decide to adopt?

            Adoption is something that has been placed on our hearts for a long time. Ever since we started dating we both mentioned how we had a passion for helping children and how we planned on adopting one day. After Olivia was born we thought that the urge and pull we were feeling towards adoption would, not go away completely, but at least settle down some. Well it did the exact opposite. God started moving in our lives SO MUCH stronger. We both felt moved and called by God to do this. So we finally decided one day that we just had to let go and do it. So we did. And we are SO glad we did. It has been the most amazing journey of our lives.

What made you choose Ethiopia?

            We have been asked that question so many times we have to laugh now every time it's asked. We always get put in the situation where we are talking about the adoption, how much God has moved in our lives and then when that question gets asked - all of the excitement leaves. "Why did we choose Ethiopia?" We have no idea. That's it. That's the answer that everyone seems to lose the interest over. I know it may seem a little weird but really we don't know. We both felt called first to doing an international adoption, then to Africa. Then I guess Ethiopia chose us.

Tell us about the adoption process...tips, things you have learned, steps/time frame that it takes.

            God always tests us and gives us things that we think we can't handle and puts us in situations to help us learn. Man oh man did he do that when he put us on the path of adoption. Neither of us have the longest patience in the world and when it comes to adoptions - nothing moves quickly. It is a slow process with a ton of paperwork. But looking back over these past few months I think it has been a good thing that it has taken and is taking so long. It has given us time to evaluate ourselves and really focus on what God has in store for us. What his plans are for us. What this adoption will do for him.

            You start off by applying with an agency. They then do a few reference checks and as long as everyone says good things about you, and you pay the application fee and you meet the requirements (ie age, years of marriage, age of youngest child, etc.) you are accepted into the program. Yep. That's it. It's that simple.

            After that step then it becomes more detailed and tedious. You have to go through a "home study" and if your agency, like ours, is out of the state you live in then you have to find someone in state to do it and coordinate with your agency. During the home study you are asked a number of questions about your lifestyle, your marriage, your parenting skills, your childhood, your parents, etc. They spend about two months getting to know everything that they can about you. You and your spouse will do interviews together and separate.

            You will fill out a ton of paperwork, get your fingers prints done and sent off to the FBI and the ABI, in Alabama, or where ever you may live. In that same time you are working on your financial statement. Most agencies like for there to be an excess of $100.00 per individual in the household, including the new addition, by the time all expenses are paid. So it can be a very stressful time if you are trying to make it all work. When you start canceling gym memberships, cutting back on satellite packages and other "extra's" that everyone enjoys, you realize about that thing called sacrifice. But then you realize what you are gaining out of this and how it would be worth living in the dark for 10 years if that would help you get your baby home.

            After all of that is complete and you have been working and waiting for about three or four months you start your dossier paperwork. Now this is where it becomes country specific. Friends of our that are adopting from Uganda didn't have to do a "dossier" it was called something else and required different things. But as far as Ethiopia goes, you have to have everything as an original and notarized. You need three copies total, two can be photo copies - one is for the courts in Ethiopia and that is all of the originals, then one goes to your agency, which can be a copy and then you keep one.

            You turn that in once it's done and then you wait. I honestly can't say what happens next because we are stuck at that point right now. We are waiting for our referral. It could happen as soon as three weeks or as long as nine months, we just don't know. This is another one of those trying times when you just have to hand it over to God and let him take control.

What advice do you have for other couples that are interested in adopting?

            Pray about it and if you THINK you can do it - DO IT! Don't let worldly things slow you down from doing it. While it is an expensive adventure it is an amazing one and God will bless you for it. Trust me. Turn it all over to God. He may have gotten you to pick out a car, but you need to let him drive it. Trust in him and stay focused. It can be very discouraging and you may think things aren't moving fast enough or that you wouldn't make a difference, but that just isn't true. There is one baby out there tonight who is destined to be your baby - he or she may not be born yet, or may already be in an orphanage somewhere, but God knows who they are and all they are waiting on is for you to take the steps to bring them home. Take the leap of faith - it is well worth it!

What struggles have you had along the process?

            The main struggle we have had was us trying to figure out a way that we were going to tell everyone about the adoption. We felt that when we told someone what we were doing, we needed to follow it up with an explanation. It took us a few weeks to realize that we didn't owe an explanation to anyone and that everyone was more open, encouraging and excited about it than we thought they may have been.

            The second struggle has been one of the biggest ones that almost every adopting family faces - money. It is an expensive thing to do and not many people have an extra 20 or 30 thousand dollars they can use, but God opens doors during the process. If you let go and have faith in God, everything will work out like he has planned.

Are you concerned how accepting your community will be of you having a black child?

            We were at first. It is only a natural thing. We are the blonde haired, blue eyed family in deep south Alabama. Anyone who has been born and raised here realizes, even though many don't talk about it, people aren't always accepting of those circumstances and families. So naturally we thought about how people were going to react about us having a black child - but we then stopped and focused again and realized that it didn't care what others thought. We realize that it is going to be at times difficult to explain things to our girls and others, but we know that God will let us know what to say and when.

How has God used this experience to grow your faith?

            We have grown in our marriage and our faith together since this has started. We have grown so much closer and have learned how to not only rely on each other for things, but instead how to work together and stay focused on the main goal - bringing Zoe Grace home.

            It has also been an excellent way for us both to be able to open up and talk about our relationship and walk with God.

Do you have any fears about raising an adopted child?

            The fear of not knowing much, if any, family history is a fear that naturally runs through your mind, but it isn't something that would ever make us stop the process.

            We also wonder what our biological children will say and one day when they are old enough to realize how our family is made up, what they might think of that it and how they feel about it.

How can others help you during this adoption process?

            Well, the time to fundraise has come and the biggest challenge for us is not opening our hearts and home to another child, but it is in finding the finances to make this happen. We estimate our total costs for adoption fees, document preparation, home study, airfare, travel, attorney fees, etc. to be close to $27,000 - and that's certainly money we don't have just lying around, but we know God is faithful and is leading us to trust Him. By God's grace we've been able to pay the initial fees by practically draining most of our savings and by some private donations.

            Honestly, it's a little difficult, mainly because of our pride, to make our needs known to everyone around us, but we also know it's very Biblical to do so. We appreciate your friendship very much and would like you to pray and consider helping us in our adoption. There are three ways you can help:

1.) Prayer - Please pray God will tenderly care for Zoe Grace in Ethiopia until we are able to bring her home, that God would prepare Olivia for the upcoming changes to our family, and that God will give us wisdom, discernment, and insight as we raise Olivia and Zoe to know Jesus Christ.

2.) Financial Support - Will you please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us pay the remaining $10,000 in adoption expenses, to bring Zoe home?

Lifesong has graciously set up a fundraising account for us to raise funds to help pay the "ransom" to bring Zoe home. If you would like to be a part of God bringing Zoe to Himself through our family, you can send your tax-deductible gift starting today October 1st! Lifesong is a trusted organization administering the funds on Zoe's behalf, and will pay the adoption expenses out of fund received. They truly are amazing people and a God send!

Steps to do this:

-Please make checks payable to: "Lifesong"

-You should write "Godwin/#1549" in the memo section.

-You can then mail your check to:

       Lifesong for Orphans

       Att: Godwin/#1549

       Post Office Box 40

       Gridley, Illinois 61744

3.) BUY A T-SHIRT – 

We have been selected as the family of the quarter by a wonderful website called Dolka Pots. It was started to help families raise money for adoptions. There are two families chosen each quarter and whatever is bought on the website, you have an option to decide which family you would like to receive the credit and then that family gets a certain percentage of the proceeds from the sales during their quarter. They are also selling and making our t-shirts and we get 50% of all proceeds from our t-shirt sales and that will go 100% directly to travel expenses. So I hope you will take a moment and at least look at our shirt and around on their website. If there is anything that you would like to buy, make sure you chose “Godwin family” when you go to check out. We would really appreciate it.  

http://www.dolkapots.com/ – our shirts are on the page we are the “Godwin’s.”

I don’t think we could ever say thank you enough to everyone and how supportive you have all been. Thank you for investing in the Kingdom through prayer and finances - it will be an investment with an eternal return! (Matt 6:20). We'll give you an update with a picture of Zoe as soon as we receive it and any other details as we receive them. Please pray this entire process will glorify God and fulfill His purposes! Check out and follow our blog at - http://ourzoegrace.blogspot.com

JW, KC and Olivia

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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2 Monthly Memory Verse: October

Happy Fall Y'all!

Below are the two verses that we are going to memorize this month.  Enjoy!

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ 

Ephesians 3:16-18

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything 

James 1:2-4

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Trusting the Truth: September

We want to thank our friend Jessica Seagraves for being the first to share her testimony with the world on The Uncontainable Truth.  You can follow Jessica over at A Whatley World.


Trusting the Truth

My whole life I have struggled with fears and insecurities. In the last year I have finally grabbed hold of what was causing this to haunt me. My parents got divorced when I was 2 ½ months old. Between the ages of 3 and 4, I was sexually abused by my father. Even just writing those words feels strange. Father is the correct word, because this man was never my Dad. For years, after school when most kids were just playing outside I was going to counseling multiple days a week. I didn’t even details about my body parts, how was I to understand why that had happened to me.

Fast forward years down the road and my Father had re-married and had another daughter. My older brother Taylor was starting to ask questions about our Father and wanting to see him. My mom didn’t want to keep us from anything so although she had full custody she agreed to supervised visitation with Taylor. He came back from that trip raving about his “new sister.” I was of course beyond jealous. That was MY big brother and I wanted to meet this “new sister.” That was when our Father came back into our lives. After that, our Father spent years popping in and out of our lives. Sometimes he would call on birthdays, sometimes he wouldn’t. He would make promises he never could keep. Inconsistency is the best word to describe him.

Once I was the appropriate age to enter into relationships I started to realize things weren’t right. I was severely insecure. I was always scared of being left alone. I felt very ashamed of what had happened to me and felt that if I told anyone they would think I was “gross”, “untouchable”, or worse.

In December of 2008 I met the man I will call my husband in about a month. I was full of fear when I realized I would have to explain to him what happened to me and why my relationship with my Father was so tumultuous. How do you tell this man that you think you want to be with forever that you have this “incident” in your past? I wasn’t even sure what to call it at that point. I was scared he would think I wasn’t worth it. I didn’t think he would want to become part of a family that had that lurking in their family history. He came from a very secure family where his parents are still married. How could I compare?

It is amazing how God works all those little things out. First, when I told him I don’t think you could have seen a more patient and kind man. He just held me, never made a strange face and never thought twice about it. Telling him started making me feel less insecure about what had happened.

Then, January of 2010 I went on a Youth Winter Retreat. The focus of the retreat was about figuring out your “calling.” At that retreat I prayed and I felt God pulling on my heart to do something about what had happened to me. If I just sat here and wallowed in my sadness and self-pity about how much it sucked that I went through that, then the bad guy wins. God is bigger than that. Yes, this horrible thing happened to me when I was young, but God has a plan and his plan is to make some good come out of my pain. Once I felt that calling I spoke with Janeese Spencer, a minister and counselor at our church and she said that God will give me opportunities to tell this story, but first I had to just tell someone so that people even knew.

A few weeks later I told my story to my small group at church and told them that I felt the Lord calling me to share this story because I knew I could touch people’s lives because of it. God started moving. About two months later our church was having a night to share Small Group Testimonies and I was approached to share my story. So I shared my story in front of a very large crowd of my friends and strangers. About two weeks later, I found a job opening with the Family Sunshine Center to be a Prevention Educator. The Family Sunshine Center was where I went to counseling after my abuse. A large number of the people who heard me share my story knew people that worked at the Family Sunshine Center and called in to give their recommendation for me. You tell me God doesn’t move? Without a doubt I have felt God move more in the past two years of my life than ever before. I am now working at the Sunshine Center as a Prevention Educator to help break that cycle of family and domestic violence. Let me break this down for you, I felt God pull on my heart in January, I told my small group in February, I shared my testimony in April, I found the job opening in May, I interviewed for the job in June, and my first day was July 12th. That is how God moves.

God is still working on me and helping me to let go of my fears and insecurities. My father will never be a Dad. Instead, I have better than that. I have a Heavenly Father that will always be there and will always be a Dad and wants the best for me and shows me that daily. I am about to marry the man that my own Heavenly Father hand picked for me that encourages me to be the Godly woman God called me to be.  


If you have a testimony you feel led to share, please contact christen@theuncontainabletruth.com

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0 Romans Road

Good Morning Friends,

I hope everyone is having a nice morning so far.  Does anybody have some fun plans for this weekend?  We have grandparents coming into town to get some lovin' from the girls.  Just wanted to let y'all know that this post is a new type of post for me, and I am excited to share it.  I am participating in a Group Writing Project hosted by Faithful Bloggers and the topic is called Romans Road. Once everyone submits their post, the host is going to compile them all into an online book that we can share with all of you.  We were able to pick from a variety of versus in Romans and I chose Romans 8:38-39.  Enjoy!

In this life, we will all face different forces to be reckoned with.  Those forces take shape in a variety of forms such as daily trials, disease, and death.  When we are in these circumstances we ask why God is allowing these things to happen to us.  We can't wrap our heads around why bad things happen to good people.  Often, instead of drawing closer to God we drift farther away because we are angry, sad, and confused about our present suffering. In Romans 8:38-39 the apostle Paul states, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Paul is telling us that suffering does not separate believers from Christ but it actually is meant for us to draw closer to His love.

Recently, I experienced first hand the power of God's love. My husband and I were expecting identical twin girls and were absolutely thrilled.  As we happily attended baby showers, bought new clothes, and decorated the nursery we were filled each day with bliss.  Every doctor appointment showed that the girls were growing and were developing on schedule.  Around 27 weeks, I woke up with a sharp pain in my stomach.  As the morning continued, the pain became more persistent so my husband rushed me to the hospital.  Within minutes we discovered that I was fully dilated and I would have to undergo an emergency C-section.  Throughout the surgery I was so scared and fearful for my babies.  The girls were born weighing two pounds and were rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).  Later that day, we learned that both girls had to rely on a ventilator for their breathing and they were in a very critical state.  Our physician told us that we faced a long road ahead of us that would be filled with many ups and downs. As time continued, the girls battled several infections that made me fear for their lives. Watching my little girls fight death, I felt hopeless and became very fearful for their lives. Over the course of our 81 days in the NICU, Satan used my fear of them dying to manipulate my mind.

In Romans 8:38, one of the first items that Paul states is that death shall not be able to separate us from the love of God.  Instead of distancing ourselves from God's love when we are suffering, we should desperately cling to Him.  When He is holding us in His arms, the power of the Holy Spirit gives us strength to fight death or any other trial that we are presently facing.  This verse states that 'nor height, nor depth' shall separate us from the love of God.  This shows that it is impossible for us to get beyond God's loving reach.  His arms will always hold us tightly if we choose Him instead of asking why we are suffering.  Bad things happen to good people so those believers in Christ can use their experience to glorify the name of God.  When we turn to Christ in our darkest hours, the veil is removed from our eyes and we witness his uncontainable love for us. Psalm 18:22 beautifully says, "But the LORD watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love.  He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.  We put our hope in the LORD.  He is our help and our shield.  In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.  Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone."

Friends, seek refuge in Christ during your times of suffering.  His love for us is greater than anything else in this world because He gave us the ultimate sacrifice of Christ Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.  God is love and we were created by Him to love Him.  When we give ourselves to Christ, we know that His love will get us through anything that we face in this life.

Prayer: God, please take away my fear of death.  Please hold me in your arms so I can feel your love.  I pray for the Holy Spirit to come inside of me and give me strength to fight this battle.  Thank you for sacrificing your son for my sins.  Thank you for being my help and my shield.  I am putting my hope in you alone.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Scripture Memory Verse: August

 Memorizing scripture has always been a goal of mine.  Having verses on the tip of my tongue can help me in all situations of my daily life such as driving my car, talking to a friend, or even calming me down when frustrations occur.  I have tried lots of different methods, but my newest method that I think will work best is having an accountability partner to trade verses with each month.  So, I called on one of my dear friends and asked her if she would like to exchange a verse with me each month and we would try to memorize both verses before the month ends.  We figured memorizing two verses would be an attainable goal and we felt like we would actually accomplish this goal because we were being held accountable.  Below, I have the two verses that we chose (I picked the first verse and she did the second).  We would love to invite you to memorize these scriptures with us or you can pick your own - whatever works best for you!  I would encourage you to do this with a friend because it makes you stay on your toes and not push this to the back of your to-do list.  Write these verses down on note cards and place them all around your house (one friend of mine even puts it on her phone!!) so you are constantly looking at them throughout your day.
Happy memorizing!!!!!!

"All of us have had the veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord"

2 Corinthians 3:18

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" 

- Revelations 21:4

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