Ryan + Amanda + Sophia + Samuel = Bush
Kazoobie Kazoo did a show at River Fest. It was pretty sweet. Everyone got a Kazoo. He knew I could rock out on the Kazoo so Kazoobie called me on stage to have a Kazoo-off. I won. Just barely, but I got him on Fur Elise.
That’s him on the left. He’s trying to Kazaam me. But, I lay the smack down with a crazy E minor blues riff.
I’m a dad now. And questions about sheltering and protecting and maturity are things with which we now struggle. Should Sophia play with Barbies (no)? Can she watch The Simpsons (no)? Should she be able to listen to Johnny Cash (depends)?
Anyway, the Krusty Sage, over at “Letters from Kamp Krusty” pretty much nailed it. Here’s a sample. Follow the link to read the post in its entirety.
It’s your job to shelter, pops. And if you think the mindless entertainment/consumption lifestyle is somehow “the real world”, the Krusty Sage is going to get out of his big, awesome, wooden chair and hit you with it.
Interested? Read it here.
Want to do something amazing? Go here. You’re just a few clicks away from making Jesus smile. No, really. Helping lift kids out of poverty is probably in the top 5 of Jesus’ “What I Want My Followers To Do Today” list. Heck! Maybe top 3! Compassion International is the bridge between you and those kids. It’s a great organization. I know first hand. I’ve visited 2 Compassion projects in Lima, Peru multiple times. We sponsor a little girl in Lima and have seen with our own eyes the incredible impact $32 dollars a month has had on her and her family. Need more reasons? Here are a few:
- You will fall in love.
- You will change a child’s life forever.
- Tax deduction.
- The thrill of sacrifice.
- You’ll be obeying the two most important commands. (Mk. 12:29)
- You will make a new friend (I have a notebook full of letters our compassion kids have sent us).
- You will learn about a new culture.
- You will teach your kids (or roommate or whoever) to love God by loving people.
- One less kid will go to bed hungry tonite.
And if that’s not enough, maybe a picture of our beautiful girl in Lima will do the trick . . . Actually, I’m just a proud sponsor who wants to show off his kid.
Do you sponsor a kid?
This weekend the Promise House will join all the other Arkansas Baptist Children Homes at Shepherd of the Ozarks for the annual retreat.
Three years ago Amanda and I attended this retreat. I had been asked to lead worship for the houseparent part. Dave Hughey was the speaker. The second day I was asked to lead a few games for one of the homes. They couldn’t participate in the more strenuous activities. “Why can’t they?” I asked. “Because they are pregnant.” I was told.
So, here I went to play games with pregnant teenagers. They were, of course, girls from the Promise House. I had never heard of the Promise House at that point. Now, I live at the Promise House! How crazy is that. Just thinking about my awkwardness in leading those games three years ago and the fact that now I work here full-time makes me laugh. I’m pretty sure God got a kick out of that one. I can just imagine him being there as I led those games . . . “You just wait!”
I was minding my own business. Seriously. I wasn’t looking for trouble or commitment. I was just jogging around Baptist Hospital. I’m supposed to run a 10k with my dad this weekend in Fayetteville, so I was getting myself ready for it.
Unfortunately, trouble found me. As I was turning from Kanis to Emergency Dr. I saw it. There it was, hair matted, wide-eyed, and shivering. A kitten. “Oh crap!” I said out loud, “It’s a cat.” I didn’t stop. I just kept right on running.
“I don’t need to be messing with that.” I told myself. It’s too much trouble, too much commitment. Then, the other side. “But, shouldn’t I? It’s shivering for crying out loud!” I was thinking all this as I made the 1 mile loop around the hospital. I wondered if it was my duty as a follower of Christ to do something. Would Jesus help a homeless kitten? I wasn’t convinced. I don’t personally believe that animal rescue is what I’m called to. “It’s just a cat. And it probably has flees or leprosy.”
Then came the fatal blow. “What would Sophia think of me if I didn’t do anything?” I knew that right now she can’t understand it, but what if she could? “What would she think?” I wondered. I knew exactly what she would think. She would see me as a hard-hearted, merciless, puppy-kicking, kitten abandoning, jerk. “Ok.” I told myself, “If it’s still there when I go back around I’ll get it.”
It was. So, I wrapped it up in my shirt and high tailed it back to the Promise House. I gave it some milk and a bath. And I put it in a cardboard box. Except, it doesn’t like to be in the box. It wants to be where it can see me. If it can’t see me it meows really loudly and obnoxiously.
Amanda and Sophia are in Crossett until tomorrow. So, she doesn’t know yet. It’s just me and the kitten hanging out. Bonding.
We won’t be keeping the kitten. The Promise House doesn’t allow it. So, I’m in search of a good home. Here’s a picture of him/her (I can’t tell). Please email me if you want it (thefamilybush[at]yahoo.com). You can come and get it today if you’d like.
Not many kids get to have a full size tent set up in their living room as a playhouse. But, then again, not all kids live at the Promise House!
I’m on duty solo tonite. Amanda’s grandfather got really sick last night so Amanda and Sophia met the rest of her family in Louisiana. Thankfully, he is doing much better today.
So, I’m on duty solo. Which is cool. I can handle it. Never would I have ever thought in my whole life that my job would be cooking chili dogs for a houseful of pregnant teenagers. But it is. Pretty crazy huh?
The girls are watching a movie now. I’m using the time to get my wits about me for the trip. And get a few more posts in. There’s something therapeutic about writing all this stuff down for the whole world to see . . .
I just got word that Dave, Marty, and I will be hauling some school supply type stuff down to Ica to deliver to the missionaries. All the schools are gone so the kids are just wandering around . . . getting into trouble. So, it looks like they are going to start focusing on activities for kids.
Amanda and Sophia went to the Wonder Place with a group of moms and kids last week. This place is awesome! After seeing the pictures, I wanted to go there and play! Here’s the website.
You can see a few more photos of Sophia at the Wonder Place at our flickr.
Never a dull day at the PH!! We discovered that one of the girls was sneaking chips from the pantry. We knew who it was and wanted to give her a chance to fess up. She wouldn’t do it. So we had to apply the heat a bit . . . and she confessed!!
That was huge! It made me so happy!! That was all about learning about repentance and forgiveness. These girls don’t really know how to function that way. They’re learning. These girls are awesome and God is working in their lives. He’s breaking hearts . . . . little by little.
Life is good. It’s crazy! But, that’s what makes it good!!! Abundant Life at the Promise House. Amen.
About 7 years ago Compassion International came to Ouachita Baptist University where my wife (then girlfriend) and I were studying to share about their ministry and give students the chance to partner with them by sponsoring a little boy or girl. Amanda and I decided to sponsor a child together. There were four or five tables set up with hundreds of pictures of children. We picked a little girl from Peru.
Would you believe it, three years later, we moved to Lima, Peru to serve as missionaries just minutes from where she lived and the Compassion project! We were able to visit the her at the project and her home on a regular basis for about two years. We saw first hand what an incredible impact our 32$ a month had on her life and the lives of her family members.
We literally have been able to watch Betzabeth grow from a shy, scared little 4-year-old to an outgoing, healthy, loving young lady.
We definitely believe in this ministry. We’ve seen it’s fruits firsthand. If you’d like to know more about Compassion International visit www.ci.org.
Kiddos in Peru 
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