(R) Adam Davidson

A few days ago, Cam and I stopped at Costco for groceries and after school snacks. Oh, the hairnets, plastic gloves, and little communion-size servings — how they please me. I used to feel midwestern guilty about the amount of baby pancakes, beef jerky, gogurts, and teriyaki chicken servings I’d eat in one shopping trip, but then it hit me: I end up buying half of the things they let me try. I’m pretty sure Costco is doing ok, even with my lack of quantity control.

Cam and I found our deals on palettes and walk in refrigerated rooms the size of our house. We gallivanted the aisles and picked out CamSnacks™ as well as household staples. We feasted like kings and Prime Ministers. The best moment was when Cam said “Daddy, this is the best day EVER!”

It doesn’t take too much when you’re six. It’s best to be fully present and enjoy the moment with him. Everything was going so well UNTIL Cam tried these little orange freeze dried yogurt nuggets. The lady said “try one — they melt in your mouth!” which reminded me of M&M’s. I took two little chef hat bowls, one for me, and one for Cam. Remembering his strong desire to someday go to space, I said “Cam, this yogurt is freeze-dried, just like astronauts eat.”

Saying this gave him the courage to try it. Saying this was a mistake.

He took a bite and started to cry. It did not melt in his mouth. It melted on the floor because he spit it out. I said “Cam, it can’t be that bad…” but it was. The difference between his experience and mine is that, as an adult, I didn’t have the social freedom to spit it out like he did.

Through tears, he said “I don’t wanna go to space anymore.” A lady at another sample station offered him a piece of paper towel (good thing they were sampling paper towel that day).

And then the day took a 180 degree turn. Cam said “this is the WORST DAY EVER!”

We got out to the parking lot and saw one of our neighbors. Cam offered a warning: “Don’t eat the astronaut food.”

Yep — it’ll ruin your day.

It’s not automatic. History has examples of God allowing us to take our own path, which always leads to self destruction. We get so twisted in our mind that the bad stuff seems good and the good stuff seems no fun — just like in Genesis 3 (go ahead, take the fruit…)
That being said, I want to stay close to Jesus. We do this by 1) thanking God for His goodness and grace and 2) glorifying God with our lives. These are intentional decisions and practices we must do daily, thus keeping us on track and staying close to Jesus.

A woman (Mary of Bethany?) anointed Jesus with the expensive stuff. This enrages the crowd who goes after her for such waste. Then… Jesus speaks up.
Consider this as you go about your day, seeing it as an act of glorifying Jesus with all you’ve got.

I felt a tinge of conviction as I read about God blessing Daniel and his friends with wisdom and insight. The same in Ephesians 1:17 and Luke 24:27. God always has a purpose for His blessing. Today is a good day to ask the Spirit to show you the motive behind the ask. Yes, we should ask, and yes, God blesses — but rarely is it for our comfort. It’s always His love, purpose, and glory that motivates God.

Congratulations – by the will of God, you’re alive today! That’s the first miracle. Another miracle? You have a God who wants to direct your path. So… check with the Lord, make a plan, do the plan, and keep checking with the Lord.
Whatever happens, ultimately, will be under the Lordship of Jesus. So — in freedom, peace, and joy — carry on, dear brothers and sisters.

It’s really a question of why we exist in the first place. Are we money-making machines designed for temporary success? If so, our planning will be arrogant and self-serving, ignoring the good that God has called us to.
Do we make plans? Surely — but always under the Lordship of Christ.

Mist. A mere handbreadth. Temporary.

Tell us about those times where you suddenly realize how short life is below.

“What is your life?” asks James.

It’s good to remember that it won’t always be this way — so we’d better make the most of it.

[RadCast] Adoption (Ephesians 1:3-6)
Pardon me for a moment as I indulge my role as the father of five. God teaches me through each of my kids. Today I’m reeling in the blessing of adopting Carter and taking count of all our kids.
Of course, the lesson is obvious: God’s love is strong enough to break through suffering and, in a massive plan b, restore things to a new reality. God chooses us in adoption, just as I choose Carter.

It’s trendy to abandon the church because of hypocrisy. Seems like a bold, courageous move. Meanwhile our faith gets deconstructed and loneliness creeps in, but at least we’re not wit those judgmental *(#@(*$U^@%.

Listen, I get it. But maybe you’ve confused the church with the Kingdom of God. The KOG is perfect, a healing rule and reign under the Lordship of Christ. The church, on the other hand, is a dumpster fire where the beautiful KOG interfaces the disaster of humanity. A renovation project begins and leaves us with people who seem to be half-saints at best. Works in progress. Sometimes people get hurt.

Simon the Sorcerer is a great example of how Christians can still be up to no good. This is why churches need to be up front with the grace and truth of Jesus, even telling seemingly good people to knock it off. Then they get mad and leave… meanwhile the world is on fire.

We have so much work to do.

Friends, Thursday August 3 2023 will be a big day in our little family. It’s the day that we make Carter’s adoption official.

Carter is Shawn’s son. Shawn suddenly died just a few days before Christmas 2020. Needless to say, it was a devastation that few of us can begin to comprehend.

When Brittany and I met at that Starbucks, not knowing that God was about to ambush us with a plan of redemption, we talked about this very day in great detail. Carter’s biological mom, an active addict was out of the picture but still legally entitled to be a custodial parent to a young man who had tragically lost his father. True to her form ,Brittany jumped into action that very afternoon, officially as a stepmom but functionally as a mother, to get emergency custody and make sure that he was safe and secure, even as their world was falling apart.

That day at Starbucks, Brittany said “I have to stay in Ottawa county, otherwise I could lose Carter.” His adoption was one of the first conversations we had, she and I, over lattes and those brown napkins, and I was left overwhelmed by how much she loved him as her own, even though the courts would see it differently. Biology always wins, even if the result would be catastrophic for the child. I had to deal with the same issues with my biological kids. The parallels of our stories could not be ignored and, if anything, drew us together.

Now, nearly three years later — after terminating parental rights, jumping through legal hoops left and right, meeting arbitrary deadlines and becoming the cornerstone of our attorney’s practice (at least it felt that way), we can finally move forward with Carter’s legal adoption.

What surprised me is that Carter asked me to adopt him, too. Shawn is his dad and always will be, but here I am, ready to be whatever Carter needs. What he needs — what he wants — is a dad. And that’s me. I write this with tears in my eyes.

Brittany and I will become the legal parents of a kid who has gone through too much in his short life. We get to love him, care for him, raise him, and prepare him for manhood. It’s already been like that, but there’s nothing like having paperwork to make it official.

When Shawn passed, Carter looked at Britt and said “please don’t make me go back to my mom.” You didn’t, baby, and we can finally say that we made it, by God’s grace, to this momentous occasion. I’m so proud of my wife. She fights for kids that aren’t genetically hers, yet are hers through and through. That we get to be on this journey together is nothing short of miraculous, and I give all credit and glory to God for redeeming an unthinkably terrible situation as only He can.

Carter, I’m not your dad, but I’m your dad. I’ve got your back, son. I love you.

I choose you. You’re mine.

Friends, if you’d like to join us at Thursday’s court date (10am EST), here’s the link. We’d be so honored by your presence & couldn’t have gotten this far without your love, prayer, and support.

This is an invite to a Zoom meeting.  All parties should do one of the following to join the meeting at the time of the call for Judge Engle:

– Polycom and other H323 Systems – Dial 162.255.37.11##7772670396

– Windows, Android, and Apple Devices – https://miscao.zoom.us/j/7772670396

– Phone Call (No Video) – Call 646 876 9923 and enter Meeting ID 777 267 0396 

– SIP Systems – Dial 7772670396@zoomcrc.com

It’s a boy!