Remembering Those Fighting for Christian Liberty in China

Sometimes I hear people say, "I know that Christians used to have a lot of persecution in China, but all that is over now."  Tell that to the men and women featured in the following story.   Persecution of Christian leaders is a problem right now in China!   The only reason these individuals' stories are being told is that they have loved ones who have made it to the US to tell their stories.  Getting out of China isn't easy.  So, imagine how many others are suffering extreme persecution across China because they are brave enough to stand up for what they believe?

Who are the real Daniels of the Year?
@WORLD Magazine... Remembering those in the Den...

Add these families to your prayers!

Add to your reading list:  Brother Yun's  Heavenly Man.

Another very common misconception is that China no longer has many children available to adopt.  This is a major fallacy.  There are Chinese girls and Chinese boys of all ages eligible for adoption right now - literally thousands!  While the wait to adopt healthy, young babies has dramatically increased (mostly because Chinese citizens may now adopt), the time frame for adopting children who have an identified medical need is short.  Those with an identified need and those who are waiting because they are older can be adopted with one of shortest international adoption time frames -  10-18 months.  Many of these needs are ones that are readily medically handled in the USA or needs that most people would readily accept in their birth children without blinking an eye.  An adopted boy from China whom we know is missing one arm, but he is one of the brightest, most adorable young man I've ever met, and his family feels enormously blessed!

If you are considering adoption, consider China!   And be blessed!!!

For Dad's

When people meet my husband and learn that he is the dad of five daughters, ages 10 to 18, their eyes widen.  "How do you do it?!" they exclaim.

He shrugs and smiles.  "They're great girls and we have a lot of fun.  But there's a lot of drama."  He sometimes elaborates about all the other things there are lots of, too, much to his daughters' chagrin.

Despite the drama, he loves being Daddy to our five.  But how do dads manage to bring up girls in such a way that they bring more joy than worry?   How do dads raise daughters who are ready to follow their Heavenly Father in whatever he calls them to do?

Dr. Dobson has some basic advice in the above linked video.   The three T's.  Talk, Touch, and Time.

Dr. Dobson - Dad's Relating to Their Daughters, short video

I hope this spurs some dads forward in understanding how to relate to their girls.  I would add a few more, which may appear in the remainder of Dr. Dobson's book, Bringing up Girls, which I hope to read some day before mine are completely raised....

More T's ....  in honor of the dad who is raising my girls and the dad who raised me.  These are ordered randomly.....

Tickle --  Most girls like to be tickled.  The trick is to make sure you gear the level of tickling to the individual tolerance and delight of each child.  For the rough and tumble ones, include tackle with the tickle.

Tease --  Include lighthearted and good-natured teasing in your relationship with your daughter from an early age.  Make sure that this teasing is not about her or about boys, though.   The teasing can be super simple -- just sneak her fork when she's not looking and then put it back while she's up getting a new one from the drawer.  Make sure you are BOTH having fun.

Train -- find something she wants (or needs) to learn how to do and work with her on it.  Build together, garden together, learn a sport together, or even change the oil together.  If you know how to play guitar, teach them to play, too.

Try something new --  if you are stuck, try something completely different.  And keep trying new fun things until something clicks.  With five girls it is rare that the same thing works with all of them.   Things that have worked with our girls have ranged from Tickle Spider to "get-by" where girls have to crawl from one end of the room to the other without getting tackled by Daddy.  The more difficult the child, the more important it is to get creative and spend time in playful interaction!

Tell stories --  make up funny stories with big adventure.  Don't worry about how great they are, but include cliffhangers when possible to keep the stories going.

Take them on dates.  Or just take them with you when you go places.

Tell them about boys.  (You may want to run ideas past your wife first on this one.)

Tell them they are beautiful.  They can't hear it enough!!

Track with them.  Girls emotions get more complicated as they mature.  Be super sensitive and track with them.  If they are in tears, it is time to hug not lecture.

Tolerate their quirkiness ... and try to learn to appreciate it.

Tell them they are smart and wonderful.  Tell them you love them to the sun and back.  Tell them they are making good choices.  Tell them they are so important to you.  Tell them how proud you are of them.  Tell them over and over what they mean to you.  And try to make all of this telling a priority over telling them to do their chores and their homework.

Track them down --  sometimes they just need to be pursued.  If you've had a fight, don't let them cry alone in their rooms.   Go to them and find out what's wrong, and if you are to blame, apologize.  This is probably the most difficult part -- pursuing them and taking the time to make things right, but it is one huge thing that will keep your relationship strong between 13 and 18.

Ok, I didn't know there were so many T's.    Hope this helps someone reading!