Happy Birthday Ethan!

// November 26th, 2011 // 12 Comments » // Loux Family News

This month has been filled with lots of celebration! Our Ethan, Sasha, Silas and Sophia all had birthdays.  I’m going to be featuring each one of them in a blog post this week. So much has taken place in their lives and I’m so blessed to see all the wonderful and amazing changes!  They are each so unique and beautiful and I’m blessed beyond measure to be their mommy.

As many of you might remember, Derek and I,  adopted our son Ethan, who has Down Syndrome, from Eastern Europe almost 3 years ago. He just turned 8 years old on the 7th of  this month. Ethan is growing so big and strong. When we first met Ethan and adopted him, he was severely malnourished and very sick. He was the size of an infant at 5 years old and couldn’t sit or stand. He chewed on his hands and fists, grunting and groaning in pain.  When we arrived in the U.S. with Ethan, he was so ill that we had to get him immediate medical attention and had to feed him through an eye dropper for several weeks.

Through much physical therapy, Ethan learned to sit, stand and walk on his own. He is now almost able to run!  Now, Ethan uses a fork and spoon on his own and eats almost anything he’s given.  He knows how to sign several words and is able to communicate with us very well. Ethan has won the hearts of all who know him. He is so full of affection and love and is a bright ray of sunshine. When Ethan laughs and smiles, his whole face lights up and he warms your heart in an instant. What a gift Ethan is to our family! He’s brought so much joy to our hearts!

As you can see by the photos below, there’s been a massive change since we adopted our little guy! So thankful for all God has done to restore and heal our little “E-Bear.

Happy Birthday beautiful son! We love you little Buddy and are so glad Jesus placed you in our family!

Ethan's second week at home after we adopted him

Our Michaela feeding Ethan when he first began eating soft foods. Michaela had to hold his little head up while she fed him. He was still so very weak and sick.

Just 6 months after Ethan's adoption....he loved to lay on "Daddy's" leg, listening to him sing and play his guitar. He began falling in love with music and his new daddy. Derek got to be in Ethan's life as his daddy for almost 1 year, before he went to be with Jesus.

Our handsome boy getting ready to going to school!

Reading the Bible with "Daddy"

2 years after we adopted Ethan (last year)

Happy little darlin

Our miracle boy!

A Grateful Heart

// November 23rd, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Loux Family News

We are now less than 5 hours away before Thanksgiving Day officially begins!   Many of us are running around making sure we have all the ingredients needed for those favorite traditional dishes that we prepare each year.  The smell of homemade pies wafting through the air, the warmth of our homes as our fire places burn, our favorite socks and warm slippers hugging our cold and tired feet, favorite hot drink in hand…all those small things that bring such joy to our hearts are so wonderful.

As our family is getting ready to celebrate, we are also remembering our precious Derek.  This will be our 2nd Thanksgiving Day without him. There is an obvious hole that has been left behind by Derek’s death. We still feel our  loss so deeply, and yes, it’s HARD!  I’m sure it will always be hard to some degree.  Once again, my kids won’t have their daddy kissing them and dancing around the kitchen with them on Thanksgiving Day morning. I won’t be feeling that all familiar warm hug and those awesome kisses of his as he would sneak up behind me, picking at whatever food I was cooking in the kitchen.  His loss is hard…it still hurts..it really does.

So, this will be another day that our loss of Derek is felt deeply but it’s also another day where we will give thanks, much thanks for all Jesus has brought us through. I know He will continue working His healing in our hearts and He’ll keep giving us the continued strength and courage that we need to persevere and to keep looking to Him as our hope. I trust Him…I trust Him so much.

I love this portion of scripture because it’s such a great reminder of our Living hope!

1 Peter 1:3-9:  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (NRSV)

In the midst of all the tough stuff we are still having to walk through emotionally due to Derek’s death, our family is excited about celebrating Thanksgiving! We are blessed, so blessed that we know Jesus. When I think about all we have in Him, I can never talk about it without crying (really)! He is such a good God….such a loving Father and one who is always here for us in every way. Those aren’t just words but solid truth and I thank Him for that!

God wants us to thank Him even during the difficult times in our lives. It is a sacrifice for sure, to choose the right heart posture during times of  heartache, hardship and pain. He will be faithful to turn our troubles to triumphs as we lift  our praise to Him. In Hebrews 13:15 it says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise..the fruit of lips that confess his name. we should always thank and praise God for everything in our lives.

We all need to thank God for all the blessings he has given us instead of dwelling on all we feel is not going right. Discontent dries up the soul. I love what Elizabeth Elliott, who lost her husband on the mission field and faced multitudes of hardships, says about loving God’s will and being content. “To love God is to love His will. It is to wait quietly for life to be measured by one who knows us through and through. It is to be content with His timing and what He chooses for our lives. It is to follow in the steps of the Master, as did Paul, who was able to say that he had learned contentment no matter what the circumstances. He was in prison when he wrote that!  That was no easy lesson, but great gain, which is the sum of godliness plus contentment as it says in I Timothy 6:6.”

When we look at the example of Jesus,  we find that He followed the will of His Father to the very end. He obeyed without even a hint of complaint. In Philippians 2:5-8, Paul says that we should have the same attitude. Jesus made himself nothing and took on the very nature of a servant. He humbled Himself and became obedient to death. We also are to have this same attitude with a humble and thankful acceptance of God’s will for our lives.

“Jesus loved the will of His Father. He embraced the limitations, the necessities, the conditions, the very chains of His humanity as He walked and worked here on earth, fulfilling moment by moment His divine commission and the stern demands of His incarnation. Never was there a word or even a look of complaint.”  – Elizabeth Elliott

It’s so easy to complain about our circumstances. It’s during our difficult and painful times that we must be very careful to watch our tongue.  Instead of complaining, we need to think of ways that we can verbally offer God the sacrifice of thanksgiving.

I love what the well known minister/Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, had to say on the night he was robbed. His words? “I thank Thee first because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse they did not take my life; third, although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed and not I who robbed.” Wow, if we could all be that grateful when we suffer trials….

I want to fill my home with thanksgiving, because I truly do have so very much to celebrate because of God’s goodness!  For today, I will start with the 12 things I’ve listed below. There are hundreds more that I could list but I’ll start here.

This Thanksgiving…..

1. I’m thankful for the Cross, and the sacrifice Jesus made on my behalf. The most amazing gift ever!  I’m thankful for my Jesus..the one who keeps me grounded! He is my hope. He is my love, the one who helps me to wait on Him with an expectant heart, knowing He will be Jehovah Jireh in every way on our behalf.  What a great God he is, proving himself over and over again and loving so beautifully well. It’s so easy to love Him….

2. I’m thankful for Derek Loux, the man God gave me as my husband for almost 18 years, (before he went to be with Jesus). …for the beauty of his life and his love…for my children…each unique, beautiful and special in their own way. They are pressing into Jesus with a renewed expectancy of the good things to come. My young ones are growing stronger each day, full of the vibrant proof of God’s strength and healing power. It’s hard to believe how far all of our children have come. They are being healed and restored by the power of God.

3. I’m thankful for my mom who is such a burning and shining lamp to me and all who know her.  She is a beautiful example of the humility of Christ and is a wonderful help to me and my children.

4. I’m thankful for my mother-in-law and father-in-law, John and Mimi Loux. Mom and Dad Loux (Derek’s parents) are amazing!  They help my family as well as my sister-in-laws and brother-in-laws with all their children, providing respite for all of us at times when we desperately need help and a little rest.

5. I’m thankful for my extended family members in the Marshall Islands, Terry and Amy Sasser and my nieces and nephews there. I’m also thankful for all my family members here in the states,  John and Tracie Loux,  Alex and Heather Myers, my nieces and nephews here in the states, as well as Aunts, Uncles and cousins. We celebrate family in a big way!

6. I’m thankful for my two wonderful new son-in-laws, Shawn and Eric Crow, who love Jesus and my twins so well!

7.  I’m thankful for beautiful Claire Mcintire who is an AMAZING support and help to our family, as well as Bethany Hackman, Peter Kiiskila, Kristen Carlson, Vanessa Cisneros, Chelsea Eggers, Dan Petrilli, and Jonas Park who also help off and on with our children. We are blessed!

8. I’m thankful for Craig Dinsmore, Marci Lewellen, Sharon Karns and the rest of our staff at Orphan Justice Center who have helped keep OJC moving forward, as we continue to do all we can, to help rescue, adopt and restore children.

9. I’m thankful for our incredible leadership here at the International House of Prayer, who teach us daily, to love well and to live lives of humility before God. We are so blessed by their example!

10. I’m thankful for our beautiful friends around the world who have shown me and my family love through prayers and the most beautiful messages on Facebook, in emails and through cards and letters. Oh my goodness, you all couldn’t begin to know how much your messages have brightened my day and given hope to this widow’s heart. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

11. I’m thankful for our freedom here in America, to read our Bibles and to worship Jesus freely.  That’s something I will never take for granted.

12. I’m thankful  everyday  that even though our home is small, it’s filled with beautiful children that the Lord placed in my womb, and ones who’ve been rescued out of the most horrific situations,  through adoption.  God made that happen! It was a miracle for each of them.  There are millions around the world who have no home…who live on the street, who beg, steal and give themselves to strangers,  just to survive.  Our  family is so blessed  to have a home…. a safe home…. a home that’s warm and beautiful. It’s beautiful because it’s our home. We have food on our table and cozy beds with soft sheets and warm blankets to crawl under at night. We have more love than a house can hold. We are blessed!

Oh my Jesus, I love you, and I thank you for loving me first and for warming my heart to know and love you. You are my treasure and I adore you. My heart is overflowing with gratitude as I think of you and how very rich we are because we have YOU.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Even if you live in a country where you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, you still have much to thank Jesus for today!  You are loved and cherished by the One who fashioned you with His very hand.. WOW, that’s pretty awesome!

Hugs, blessings and thanks for all you mean to us!

Love,

Renee’ and tribe

The waiting room..

// November 17th, 2011 // 3 Comments » // Loux Family News

The living expression of God’s kindness

// November 10th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Loux Family News

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”

Mother Teresa

When was the last time you acted out of kindness to someone, even in the smallest way?  I’m sure most of you can remember when, but some of you might not. Life is so fast-paced for most of us and it’s easy to zone out and never  really see anyone around us, as we rush around in our daily activities.  I have to tell myself at times to slow down, to take in deep breaths  and to not be so hurried.  By slowing down a little, we are not only being kind to ourselves, more importantly, we are taking time to think of others.

I would really like to encourage you all to take time to think about this. Sometimes it’s the little things that you do for others that matter to them the most.  It could be the thing that someone needs to brighten their day. Look for little ways you can show random acts of  kindness to others daily, even if you don’t get a “thank you” or any other kind of positive response back. After all, it’s not about you, it’s about blessing someone else by “being the living expression of God’s kindness.”

Did you know that sometimes just by smiling at others, it can turn a person’s entire day around? The benefits of smiling aren’t limited to those who smile, but can have the same impact, if not greater, on those who see you smile.  A smile is one of the strongest, yet silent forms of communication and expression. A smile is something priceless and means different things for every one.   We spark to life, our day brightens, we feel special when someone smiles at us.  A smile can stop tears, ease one’s pain, shed light on sorrow and fill a person with excitement and a feeling of being special. The things a smile can do are truly limitless. Everyone’s smile can cause such different positive reactions in so many different people. The simple greatness of a smile is truly remarkable. It’s true… some of the best things in life are free, yet priceless.

- A SMILE
A smile costs nothing…but gives much.
It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give.
It takes but a moment… but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.
None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it and none is so poorer but that he can be made rich by it.
A smile creates happiness in the home… fosters good will in business and is the counter sign of friendship.
It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad and is natures best antidote for trouble.
Yet it can not be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen- for it is something that is of no value to anyone, until it is given away.
Some people are to tired to give you a smile.
Give them one of yours… as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.
*Author Unknown*

Open a door for someone/Give up your seat

Chivalry is nearly dead today. It’s rare to see anyone opening or holding a door open for another. People are just too busy rushing to get to their next location, or just plain not caring at all. The next time you walk through a door, why not hold it open for the person in front of, or behind you.  Keep an eye out for senior citizens, who may be a little more frail than you, and make an effort to help them even in the smallest of ways. It matters so much!

Whether you are on a bus, at an airport terminal, a doctor’s office or waiting to be seated at a restaurant, and you see someone else looking around for a seat, if you are healthy and able to stand, why not offer your seat to someone else?

Here are a few other small ways you can show kindness.

1. Send someone a handwritten note to say “hi” or “thank you,” or make a card and send it to a friend, just because…..
2. Instead of shunning a homeless person and turning away in disgust, thinking they don’t deserve the time of day, why not buy them lunch or a bottle of water and pull off to the side of the road and have a “normal” conversation with them….telling them how much Jesus loves them and how treasured they are by Him.
3. Help cut the lawn of a single mom, elderly person or a widow
4. Kids, help walk the dogs of your elderly neighbors
5. Give a compliment about your waiter waitress to his or her manager. This can completely and radically change their day. So many only take time to give complaints.
6. Send someone a gift anonymously.
7. Give a big tip to someone when they least expect it, even if they don’t deserve it..
8. Write notes of appreciation at least once a week.
9. Pick up some trash in the road instead of just walking around or over it
10. Compliment a work colleague for their excellence.
11. Recommend a competitor to a potential client.
12. Help an elderly neighbour carry our their trash.
13. Tell all your family members how much your appreciate them. Don’t take them for granted.
14. Bake cookies and take them to a friend or family members home. Buy a jug of milk to go with it.
15. SMILE A LOT!!

Think about how you can be the living expression of God’s kindness to someone today!  We as Christians are to be torch bearers in a dark world. We should shine so that others will see the love of Jesus through us. If we truly love Jesus, our lives will show forth much fruit. Let’s be the living expression of Christ’s love to all those we come in contact with. It will not only change their lives, it will work more of the character of Christ into our own lives, radically changing us into his image.

Matthew 5:13-16:

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? … You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid… Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were no people but now you are God’s people; once you had not received God’s mercy but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

There’s only one YOU!

// November 7th, 2011 // 3 Comments » // Loux Family News

Right after my husband was killed in a car accident on December 23, 2009, I stumbled upon a blog by Holley Gerth that lit up my life.  Her posts were so very life giving and helped me as I was walking through deep grief.   Recently, I was reading one of her posts and wanted to share it with you.

The world only gets one you!

You with your gifts.

You with your smile.

You with those things you do.

So take your place,

take your chances,

take this moment to know…

You’ve got something to offer.

Something good and right and true.

Something God-given,

Heart-of-Heaven created.

And the rest of us need it, need you.

Oh, you think it’s no big deal.

Anyone could be that way.

Anyone could do it.

Nope.

Not true.

There’s just one irreplaceable you.

By: Holley Gerth

As I read this, I began thinking about how true this is. Each one of you, God’s priceless creation, were fashioned by the very hand of God Himself, with a great purpose and a beautiful plan!  Just as God set apart from birth Isaiah (Isaiah 49:1), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5) and Paul (Galations 1:15) for a specific purpose, he also has a specific plan for your life.

Many people go through life feeling discouraged about themselves and thinking they don’t have a purpose. But that’s not true. Whoever you are—whatever your life experiences, talents, physical ability, or role—you have a purpose.  God created you. You are not an accident! God has a plan for you. You have a purpose in life!

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

The Bible says that God’s will is “good, pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:22). We should trust God in faith that He will accomplish His will in our lives. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5,6).

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in your will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phillippians 1:6).

Don’t compare yourself to others or give up because you don’t think you have what it takes. Be who God created you to be. You are special! Remember in all this world there is only one YOU!

Speak up…

// November 5th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Loux Family News

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. Proverbs 31:8-9

You are Mine!

// November 2nd, 2011 // No Comments » // Loux Family News

Isaiah 44:2  This is what the Lord says-he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

You are mine! I made you. I chose you. I called you.” Make a difference right where you are! Don’t wait for that “big” thing to come along before you give it your all. Be who God created you to be. No one else can take your place. No one else can answer the call that was specifically given to you. The Lord will be with you every step, giving you the wisdom, the strength and the guidance that you need. Nothing can stop what He has begun. Nothing can stop what He has decreed. Nothing can stop His Word. Nothing can remove you from His Hand. You are His treasure! His joy will be your strength! He loves to hear your voice and He loves it when you listen to His. Be blessed today, richly, by the knowledge of His incredibly beautiful love for you!

You can now order your copy of “The Strength of the King!”

// October 31st, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Loux Family News

We are so excited and pleased to announce that you can now order your copy of our first book, put out by Orphan Justice Center, called “The Strength of the King!” Two of our amazing staff members, Sharon Karns and Marci Lewellen worked tirelessly to get this very special project done! This book is amazing! If you have a heart for justice and want to know how you can have a part in helping orphans and widows, this is a must read! This book will give you a Biblical perspective on God’s heart for justice. It’s impacting and life changing!  Follow this link to order “The Strength of the King” and please let us know your thoughts on  the book http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-strength-of-the-king/18420708.

Front Cover

Back of book

A thankful heart…

// October 30th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Loux Family News

We are such a  quick fix society, the get it now, the hurry-up-and-do-it of marketing and the pressured pace of modern life. We don’t really want to wait for anything.

I remember standing in  line at a coffee shop a few months back listening to a customer literally yelling at the person who made his coffee. She “didn’t do it right,” she “took too long” and because of her “incompetence”  he was going to be late for work. I watched as her countenance fell, her cheeks turned red and her head hung down, as she softly said, “I’m sorry.”  She was beaten down by his words. He took a second sip of his coffee, shaking his head in disgust, violently tossing the cup into the trash, screaming expletives as he walked out the door. I stood in shock and told the frightened worker how sorry I was that she had been treated that way.  As I walked out the door with my cup of coffee in hand, I began thinking about how sad, unfulfilled and ungrateful so many people are. It really wasn’t about the coffee for this man who was so rude. He was obviously very ungrateful and unfulfilled in his own life  so it was just natural for him to spill out his rage onto this precious worker (and… I’m sure onto many others in his life as well).

I began thinking about the majority of the people in the world who don’t even have $3 or more to spend on a special coffee.  So many are scrounging for food in garbage dumps and living on the streets with nothing but the clothes on their backs. My heart sank at the reality of all of that, and as I was driving back home I began to cry. I was overcome with thankfulness for all I had. It was a “God moment” for sure.

As I sipped on my warm cup of coffee,  I kept thinking about all the ways God moved in such radical ways on mine and my family’s behalf. The children we brought in to our family through adoption have been totally changed.  They had known nothing but abandonment, fear and pain in the early years of their lives… and then in an instant,  Jesus literally handpicked them to be ours. He placed them in our family, gave them a new name, REEDEMED, and radically transformed their lives, physically, spiritually and emotionally. There are no words really to capture the thankfulness that is in my heart. God knows….

Even our biological children have been transformed, having greater compassion and incredibly tender hearts before God, right in the midst of the greatest grief they’ve ever walked through (the loss of their Daddy). I don’t take that for granted!  Only God could work that into their little hearts. We had so much love and life packed into the years we had with Derek. He loved us well and we were so enriched by the example of his life. He was a gift to us all. He was God’s gift to us all. We were and still are very rich in love and that is also God’s very precious gift to us. ”Look what God has done!” Those are words my children hear me say often!

It’s been quite a transition for me to be the head of our household now. I’ve had to learn to do many of the things that Derek used to do. At times I feel a little fearful and overwhelmed, but you know what?  I’ve learned to trust Jesus in greater ways than ever before.  He has become my Rock, the One I lean on when I feel weak and my soul is downcast.  I’ve learned to put my hope in Him more than ever.  He has been Jehovah Jireh in every area of our lives;  physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. He has never failed me or my family and I know He never will. His promises are true and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I can trust Him. For that I am so thankful!

As we approach the Christmas season, I’d like to challenge us all to remember how blessed each of us is.

Instead of thinking about all we wish we had, we should think upon all we do have,  in the gift of Jesus alone. The fact that we know Him and have been forever changed because of His sacrifice (for us) on the cross and because we have the hope of Heaven, we have been given a priceless and eternal gift.

Almost every day presents an opportunity to take for ourselves, or to give to another. I love this quote by Mother Teresa. “Small things done with great love will change the world!”  Those “small things” will also change us, conforming us into the image of Christ, as we walk with obedience and a thankful heart!

This Sunday is Orphan Sunday. I would like to ask each of you to remember the orphan as you begin your Christmas shopping. What can your family do without? A few less presents under the tree and stockings not quite filled to overflowing, could mean that you would be able to give financially to someone you know who is adopting. Or, you could also give to an organization that helps to sponsor orphans in need.  It could literally mean the difference between life and death for another to receive your gift. I don’t say this to cause you guilt or to condemn you. This is actually a mandate from God (to care for the orphan). I’m just asking you to consider the orphan and to do something on their behalf.

Reach out to someone and bless them,  with your only motive being to love them like Christ loves them. Take an even greater step and do it without telling anybody about it. Do it for God’s eyes only.  You will feel the pleasure of Christ…and there is nothing..nothing on earth that feels better than that!  It will also produce in you a very thankful heart! Be blessed by God’s love and all that you have. You are rich,  because you have Him!

Thank you to those of you who have been the hand and heart of Jesus to me and my children. I am forever grateful for each of you! I pray that God blesses you with an even greater understanding of His most amazing love for you!

Much love and appreciation for each of you precious ones!

Renee’ and tribe

When you’ve done it for the least of these, you’ve done it unto Me…

// October 29th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Loux Family News

Matthew 25:37-40

37…….Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’