Since Shawn and I pastor a church here, the people that attend weekly become "mine"... we have two boys, "My Boys", that have been in India for a year now. They're from Bangladesh, and they fled last year from extreme persecution. They are Christian converts and have been abandoned by their families. They were attending a church and their pastor was murdered... they fled to India and were given safe asylum by the UN for one year. They applied for an extension and were denied... which most likely means the UN may not feel as though there's a threat for them to return...which is reassuring.

Many of the people in their lives here have been telling them to stay here illegally... these people feel that it's their safest bet. These boys have a real conviction to return to their home after being denied asylum again. They don't want to be here illegally and would like to return to get the proper passports and visa's to be able to return to India legally.

I stand behind these boys and their decision. The Bible states that God will go before us and make the way clear/path straight. It also says that the Lord is with us and we have nothing to fear. It also says that God has a plan and a purpose for our lives.. and I believe that God has GREAT plans for these boys. I believe that they will be safe under God's care and the HE will make their path straight for them...

I am thankful that God brought them to our church for the last year and we were able to impart whatever wisdom we had into them... I pray that they are encouraged, strengthened and ready for the road ahead of them.

Please pray for them as well. They have a job to do in Bangladesh and I believe that God will use them MIGHTILY for His purposes. I also believe that God will honor their courage and use them to show many the Love HE has for ALL of his creation in ALL the world.

I'm excited to hear what the future will be for these boys... and I pray favor on them wherever they go and I claim that God will give them the land wherever they put their feet.

I'll miss them...but am blessed to have been a part of their lives for this season. What an encouragement they are for all of us.

My son Leroy is almost 3 and we've been saying forever that he is a drumming prodigy. He's been able to sit at the drumkit on his own since he was 6 months old. He's not typical little kid who just sits there and tries to make as much noise as possible. He has always watched, and then tried to mimic what he's seen.

My daughter, Mcartney, is seven and a half. She has ALWAYS loved to sing and dance. She walks around the house, in her own world, singing her own songs that she's made up. A few weeks ago, she was hanging out with her Nana Rachel, and when I went to pick her up, she brought out the guitar and showed me the song she 'made up'. She didn't make any chords on the guitar, she just strummed that one "chord" that plays when you're just strumming... but the song she had written was amazing!

I've been saying how talented my kids are for quite some time now, and I've done nothing about it. I was feeling very convicted last week at my non-action. I believe that it's MY responsibility to help develop the gifts in my kids... ESPECIALLY when I can so clearly see them!

So... with less talk and more action, I called the best drummer I know. Enoch David. I'm not sure I've ever heard a better drummer - he's the kind of drummer that actually plays the SONG not just the rhythm. It also helps that my kids call him 'Uncle" and he loves my kids almost as much as I do.

Last Thursday, Leroy started his drum lessons. We thought he should only have a ten to fifteen minute lesson each week... he is only 2 after all. And Mcartney wanted to learn drums and guitar. Leroy picked up what he learned right away. Enoch taught him a rhythm to play while counting to 4 twice. Leroy got it. Mcartney started on her theory... the basics. She also really enjoyed the lesson.

I feel so blessed to have someone like Enoch available to my kids to teach them. He is incredibly patient and extremely loving. My kids respond so well to him. He also plays on our church worship team, so to them, he's somewhat of a rock star. =)

I'm so proud of my kids... but I have to say I'm also proud of myself for finally getting off my butt and doing what needed to be done! Even if my kids are just superstars in my eyes... they still deserve to learn how to be those superstars technically and not just 'pretend' in our living room.

Our kids are a gift to us... and it's up to us to be responsible for them and to help them develop the gifts that God has blessed them with!