good Archives - Beauty In Christ

The Beauty, the Heartaches, and the Hidden Story of Adoption (Episode #124)

November 27, 2019 By beautyinchrist Leave a Comment

One of the most beautiful women I know. Her name is Julie, and she’s my friend who I wouldn’t have met if it hadn’t been for her journey from China to here. She’s here today to tell you and I about adoption, the blessings, the hard parts, and what God has done in her life through this whole story.

You see. Julie was adopted from China at a very young age, and the Lord brought her here to tell her story.

Julie has the most wonderful Instagram that has taught me so much that I never knew about the ins and outs, the good, the bad, the hard, the wonderful of adoption, of being an adoptee.

I’m going to start this with this verse.

Ephesians 1:5, “he predestined us^a] for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”

What happened in Julie’s life is something I call a ‘double adoption.’ She was born in China; she has a beautiful Chinese heritage, and she’s also been adopted into the family of Christ Jesus. Julie’s an incredible gift of God. She’s a gracious woman, a good listener, and I’m privileged that she was willing to come and share with us today.

I’ve made a bunch of misconceptions about adoptees until I met Julie, and that’s why I did this podcast. This is a podcast that touched my heart deeply in so many ways. It taught me that I’m TERRIBLE at listening, and I need to be better at being ‘quick to listen, slow to speak.’ It taught me that it’s so good to just walk alongside those who are hurting, seeking answers, wondering about identity.

In the podcast Julie shared:

– Her story of adoption and coming to the US

– What it’s like being a third culture kid

– Growing up as an adopted kid

– Finding Your Identity and worth in Christ Jesus

– The blessing of meeting other adoptees

– Julie’s trip back to her homeland and why that brought so much healing and closure

– Why adoptees shouldn’t ignore their heritage

– The unseen struggles of an adoptee (how to be a good friend to them)

– Why Julie would recommend other adoptees go back to their home/birth place if they want to .

I wish you could meet Julie. She’s one of the most fun, tender people you’ll ever meet. I’m so grateful she was willing to share how God carved and paved her path all the way to today and into eternity.

Julie’s Instagram: My Adopted Life

Adoption: have you had any adoption misconceptions? What did you learn from Julie’s story?

God is So Good (The End of A Good Wonderful, Long, Ugly, Hard Year) .

November 20, 2019 By beautyinchrist 2 Comments

It’s blurry, but it’s happy. It’s a reflection of the good, ugly, hard, heartbreaking, joyful year that God brought me through. It was a year with a significant amount of Upppssss and DOOOwwwnnsss. February 16th marked the worst night of my life, and it also marked a turning point for me.

Psalm 116:1-6, ”

I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.

²Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.

…

All Things for Good.

February 23, 2015 By beautyinchrist 5 Comments

I love snow. Snow is so fun to play in, to shovel, to throw on your friends. 🙂

I had a pretty good weekend. It was slightly traumatic, as my mom and I were out in our garage, and while my mommy was in the attic, she stepped on a spot that wasn’t a stud, and she FELL through.

Can you say ‘PANIC?’ I did panic, and I was praying as I ran out into the garage, because I heard it.

I ran out, and my mom had her eyes open. So I called 911 and almost lost it when the lady came on the phone. I told her the details, and thankfully we live within 3 miles of the fire station. They were there in 5 minutes, just as an EPIC snowstorm was beginning to downpour.

Well, I must tell you that right before, I had tweeted that I was going on a run. I’m thankful that I didn’t go on a run. There would have been times, a long time ago, when I would have stressed out about changed plans, but God gave me an overwhelming peace being reminded that a man plans his ways but God directs his steps.

My mom is okay, praise the Lord, with a slight concussion, and she is now home resting.

And I wanted to tie this all in to some encouragement for all of you.

‘GOD WORKS ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR GOOD!’

For those of you struggling with an eating disorder or looking back at the havoc eating issues might have played with your life, God didn’t do that for no reason. I look back at the 6 years of this idol swallowing my time and my emotions, and I know that God used it for my growth. God used it to give me a sensitivity to the insecurities of girls around me, girls who are hurting, girls who try to put on a front that everything is ok, when they are falling apart inside.

It’s often frustrating to me how much food still threatens to consume my time and my thoughts, but it’s an opportunity to just cry out to God and place my trust and my faith in Him, not my food or my body. The more I learn to trust in Him, the more peace I find in the love of Christ and His sovereign control.

Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a VERY present help in trouble.”

Dessert is NOT evil. Idolatry is.

January 20, 2015 By Emily Swanson 1 Comment

For a while, I got this idea in my head that dessert was bad, even in small quantities. To a fault, I tend to be extreme and not self-controlled or temperate in my sugar intake, so I swung through extreme to extreme over six years. I went on sugar fasts, and then I would stuff my face with dessert and cereal, hoping that would satisfy my craving for it. It didn’t, and I often used it to make myself feel super guilty.

The point is that food isn’t supposed to fill you. I can’t take refuge in a bowl of ice-cream or a bowl of salad for that matter. Psalm 18:2 says, “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. The LORD is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my stronghold in whom I take refuge, my shield, the glory of my salvation, and my high tower.”

The Lord fills us. He is our rock, the One on which we can depend. He gives us good gifts to remind us of His goodness and His delight in variety, but not to make idols out of them or to abuse them.

If I keep this in mind, I can eat that fro-yo with no guilt. I can eat that salad with appreciation and pop those veggies in with delight because God created it, and He called it ‘good.’

Then maybe when you’re done, you can make funny faces with your friends and thank God that there are friends to laugh with, cry with, and enjoy Him.

Featured Blog Posts