Random thoughts

Today I'm just kinda floundering around. The fall has always been such a hectic time for us. First, as Mark calls it, it is Birthday season in the Reinhardt household. Beginning with Corrie in September, Mark and Em in October, November has our anniversary and Abby's birthday and then Caleb caps it in December. Then there is our travel schedule. Ain't gonna lie---the traveling is getting a bit hard on this 50 yr old body. It all culminates Thanksgiving week with our last conference, anniversary, abby's birthday and Thanksgiving. Exhausting to say the least.

So today, I'm catching up on blogs and emails and xanga posts, trying to convince myself that I really do need to do schooling with Abby today. I love absolutely love looking at pictures of my kids. I know I'm prejudice but I think they are pretty gorgeous and as I look at them, they come alive and I feel their energy and exuberance for life. It is the best remedy for bringing me out of a funk or just brightening the day.

And it seems that increasingly more of the day is filled with thoughts of Liberia. We will have visitors this week. Girls my Hannah fell in love with in Liberia. They are coming to our home...as many as 5 of them this weekend. I'm so excited.

And then I've pondered on this scripture this week. It may quickly become my favorite verses. Isaiah 58....

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness ^[a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

I'll leave you now with those thoughts!! Have a blessed day.

Celebrate Orphans Awareness Month!!!!

Here are a few statistics to chew on while you are munching your breakfast cereal today…..

There are 143 million orphans worldwide

35,000 children under the age of 5 die everyday due to starvation

500,000 children in the foster care system of America

118,000 of these children are available for adoption

16 Million children were orphaned in 2003

400,000 churches in America

127,000 American adoptions last year (that’s 1 child per 3 churches) and only 25,000 of those children went into Christian homes

1/3 of Americans have considered adoption, yet less than 2% actually adopt

There is a psychological theory called doctrine of limited tears that occurs when we contemplate and try to comprehend suffering. There is only a certain level of suffering that we can actually emotionally process. You can only cry and take on the burden of so much suffering. Beyond that we slip into this condition that actually numbs our ability to feel. It has been explained this way. If we were to attempt to carry all the emotions that all the suffering in the world produced, we could actually become physically and mentally crushed by the weight. So, in order to protect us, our brain goes into this mode of emotional nova cane. Learning this, I pictured Christ in Gethsemane and how he sweated drops of blood and how on the cross, water flowed with his blood. He was literally physically crushed by our suffering. Awesome picture isn’t it?

In the last year we have become increasingly aware of the suffering of orphans worldwide. And it is overwhelming. For every story we hear, we know there are thousands unheard. Just looking at the statistics above, it is easy to become overwhelmed as you realize that you or I cannot help 143 million children. But I can help one or two and hope that by changing their lives, I change their future and make an impact on every person that they touch.

You can help too. November is orphans awareness month. I would encourage you to find an orphanage that you could help financially, either through your church or through your own personal effort. Consider sponsoring a child, but please make it a lifetime commitment, not just a month or two until your conscience is soothed. Check out if there is a home in your area that helps foster children. You would be amazed at how a donation of toothpaste or a movie would be a blessing to some children in your very own neighborhood. Also, consider financially supporting a crisis pregnancy center. Your help and support could one day provide a loving home with a long awaited child. Or you can even consider adoption.

As we examined what we can do to help orphans, we decided to pursue adopting. In 2008 we hope to bring Freeman Alexander and Hadassah ReJoyce into our home to join our family. Adoption expenses, especially for a sibling group, are rather large and we’ve accepted that. Today, if you would like to help 2 orphans and know that you have had an impact on their future, please consider making a donation of $1 to our adoption fund by donating via the paypal button (www.shepherdessrhino.blogspot.com) Without violating your conscience, we give you permission to pass this email along to any of your friends if you so desire.

In closing, I would like to say thank you for taking the time to consider what I’ve written. You can make a difference, you can touch a life. In paraphrased form, here is one of my favorite verses (Isaiah 58:6-8).

“Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the homeless with shelter—when you see the naked to clothe him and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear and your righteousness will go before you and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer: you will cry for help and he will say: Here am I.”

Is there such a thing as a perfect day?

Well maybe not while we're in the flesh, but today....well today was pretty good.

Since we started Rhino, we've missed 8 years of Murray State homecomings. Now this may not mean much to most folks, but every fall this was a major outing for our kids...the parade, the band, the game, Dunker the mascot and Racer 1 circling the track when our team scored. Not to forget M&M peanut wars and roasted in the shell peanuts.

Today was to be different. Today we were home and we got up early and dressed for hopefully crisp fall weather and headed into town for the parade. Not passing up a chance to buy some Krispy Kreme donuts at an intersection, we munched on donuts, chased candy, clapped and cheered the floats and had a completely wonderful time, even though Caleb and Christi weren't able to join us. Oh yes and let's not forget the ever-so-graceful-sl0-mo-deposit-of-me on the sidewalk when Rags (our miniature aussie) decided she needed to protect and defend me from the other 4-legged parade participants.

We came home to an email from Donna at Acres of Hope. I didn't think we would get an orphan's report because we're so early in our process. But there it was along with pictures. I haven't felt much emotion in this journey, but this time it was different. Perhaps it was a combination of things.... One of which a friend posted regarding some lost referrals,

"...it is such a privilege to be a witness to the lives of these children, even if we never meet them. These are orphans, alone, uncared for, forgotten, and yet He has allowed us to be a witness to their lives even if only for a short time. We have given them a sense of belonging, a reason for existing, validated their lives here on earth. And we, in turn, are touched and changed even if only by looking at their pictures and praying for them."

But what brought me to tears was hearing their responses to being told they were being adopted (we didn't even know they had been told yet)

"Learning that he had an adoptive family encouraged Freeman that his dream of having a new family will come true." "She used to ask if adoptive parents had been found for she and her brother. Of course she was thrilled when she found out a family was "sending" for them!"

There was something about realizing that we had been used in bringing a bit of hope to these two children that broke my heart. There are two children who have been given a sense of belonging, a reason for existing, (who feel) validated (in) their lives here on earth. And we're the ones that have been allowed to participate. I say this in the most humble way I can.

After adequate oohhing and aahhing we went back into town for tent city and the game. It was a gorgeous day and we actually got to see a few people that we haven't seen in years. Caleb and Christi joined us for the game and it was simply joyous. We laughed and cheered and clapped Racer 1 on around the track. The band was entertaining as always. We hoped to see "Air Dunker" actually tump over and Hannah won 9 rounds of M&M peanut wars with a red M&M. Even though MSU lost, the game was well fought and decently played, the weather teasingly fall and a spectacular sunset followed us home where we grilled yummy steaks for everybody.

The day was delightful and as we prayed with Abby at bedtime, we thanked God for being allowed this moment in time with our family. Rich, deep, full and fun. I cherish each and every one we are given. They go so fast.

And to end the evening....more pictures of Joyce and Freeman. I'll post those later.

ok...here's a few photos...and comments

FREEMAN AND FRIEND SAMUEL

Freeman is friendly and social, but is closest to his sister, and small group of friends. Though he knows everyone quite well at the orphanage, Freeman is almost always found playing off with a couple his closest friends.



Freeman loves being outside, but is not really into sports. He's active, and likes playing games and being on the playground, but sometimes just wants to sit and cheer his friends on as they play. Unlike a lot of boys, Freeman does not struggle with being too wild or rambunctious. He has a wonderful way of being energetic at the appropriate times. Inside he likes playing with toy cars and balls.

Freeman has a great disposition and is almost always smiling. He's not really outgoing, but he's not shy, and he plays well with other children. Freeman is also very affectionate and loves holding hands and being hugged.

She's very close to her little brother and excited about being adopted.

Joyce is doing well in school and knows her numbers and letters well. She's very good with her penmanship and takes her lessons seriously. Joyce especially enjoys arts and crafts and is very creative.

Joyce is a social girl who is almost always seen playing with other kids. She's close to Freeman, and interacts a lot with him, but the majority of the time she is playing with her girlfriends.

Joyce loves all sorts of activities, indoors and outdoors. She does well in structured activities, but makes up her own games to play when there's nothing else going on. Outdoors Joyce loves the playground and playing house. Her favorite place to be is in the sand building houses and pretend cooking.

Outgoing, energetic, and full of life, Joyce is the type of person who lights up a room and is the life of the party.

Some kind of sticky...

It is a great joy to watch my dear husband try and enjoy new hobbies. He never really had hobbies as a child, in fact for the most part, never even knew that hobbies were available to him. He watched other boys join little league or boy scouts, but never knew it was a choice for him. The last few years he has been branching out....testing the waters per se on a few things. One has been beekeeping. I bought him bees for his birthday two years ago and we had 3 hives delivered a year ago spring. Our first harvest was pretty pitiful and the honey really didn't taste good.

Well, it is that time of year again and Mark has been trying to carve out a day on his calendar to rob the hives before we hit the road again. Today was that day. And if the harvest last year was poor, the harvest this year was rich, real rich in fact. He took about 13 frames out of the 3 hives (leaving almost that many there) and into my kitchen. Now let me interrupt by saying, I really enjoy supporting my husband in his interests and helping where I need to, but today was quite the experience. Mark had told me that our master beekeeper didn't want to extract small amounts of frames and that we needed to do it by hand. So how do you extract honey by hand? First you put on a pair of nylon gloves (the non-powdered kind) and you get several pairs of knee highs (absolutely clean ones, like new from Wal-mart) and you begin chunking up the bits of honeycomb and putting them in the knee highs and then squeezing the honey out. This leaves a chunk of beeswax in the knee high that you dump into a bowl (this will be boiled out later to separate the beeswax from the impurities) and start the process all over again. For almost 6 hours I stood squeezing honey, in fact 3 of us stood for 6 hours squeezing honey filled kneehighs --and when you squeeze honey, well, somehow, everything gets covered in honey...everything. The kitchen floor was mopped 4 TIMES after this adventure. There is honey on phones, appliance handles, chairs, even my purse (which was in the hallway). I feel sticky just walking into the kitchen. Last year, we barely got a quart and a half of honey. This year I have almost 7 gallons of honey on my kitchen table. Every bowl and pan I owned had honey in it at some point today. And is it good!! mmmmm good. But it just might rank in my top 5 grueling experiences of obtaining something. So I told Mark how supportive I was of him and this little hobby and even willing to add to it, but this was the last time I was doing this to my kitchen. Whether it comes as a birthday, anniversary, Christmas or combination gift, I was buying him an extractor this year.

What tops the cake? We just got an email from our master beekeeper congratulating us on our harvest with this line in it..." You are welcome to bring any number of frames to our place and use the extracting unit. I have a special set-up for small amounts, so it is no bother at all to run small crops through the unit. It would take about 30 minutes to extract and strain the number of frames you had...and the kitchen floor would not be sticky. " I think I'll just go to bed now and see if I can keep from sticking to the sheets.

On another note, we got new photos the other day, but I just haven't had a chance to post them. Here's two of them...


FREEMAN: GALATIANS 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ has set us free. Let us not be entangled again to the yoke of bondage.


JOYCE: PSALM 32:11 Be glad in the Lord and Rejoice.

And here we are...

... waiting on this sibling set. There's nothing profound I have to offer. We're waiting to see where God takes this road. I know He will be faithful to His name. And until further notice their names are Freeman and Joyce.

So how did we get from there to here???

Abby was 1 year old when we experienced some major financial happenings. The computer store that Mark had managed for 16 years was sold. There was sufficient hand-writing on the wall to indicate change and 3 months later, that is exactly what happened. Mark came home one day at lunch and that began an incredible journey. Initially he and our son started their own computer business and we decided to begin recording conferences "part-time". Rhino Technologies was born and eventually took over our lives!! Eight years later we travel 35 weekends a year and over 50,000 miles to record speakers at conferences and duplicate them for the attendees. If you've attended a state homeschool conference almost anywhere east of the Mississippi, there's a chance we've crossed paths.

Last November Hannah and Caleb traveled to Liberia with Children Concerned. They spent 2 weeks in some orphanages there. They were perhaps in the most despicable conditions known to man. They brought back desperate stories of needy hurting children. Here's just a couple pictures from then.


These are the faces of Liberia (along with the underscore again). These are the faces that our Hannah carries in her heart. Faces and stories. Stories of orphans without hope, without a future. Faces and stories that pierced our hearts without even being there. We took the step towards yet another journey.

Reinhardt children part 4

And this is Abby (though I don't know why I can't get rid of this underscore). She's 8 and will be 9 in November. Abby is a Child of Faith. She is totally girl and loves to dance, not just ballet but in worship. I'm a relaxed homeschooler, so Abby just "formally" started school this fall. She is amazing. She loves reading and has some of the wisest outlooks on life.

Reinhardt Children part 3

Hannah is our 21 year old. She is a Child of Hope and has had a missionary spirit since she was a young child. The Lord has given her a heart for the needy and language has never been a barrier. She visited orphanages in Liberia in November of 06 and thus began our journey towards adoption. She has a great desire to return but the doors have not opened yet. She loves to sing and play the fiddle, so our home does not lack for music (especially when the others pick up their instruments and join in).







And here is Emilie, our 17 yr old, in a tree in Australia where she spent the summer clearing an airstrip for a missionary with Teen Missions International. Give Emilie a paintball gun, a horse, a mandolin or a chance to spar in karate and she is one happy girl. In fact, the reason this picture is so great is because she is where she loves to be, in a tree. She also volunteers with a horse therapy clinic. Her personality as crazy-tom-boyish as she is, is calm and steady and perfect with horses and handicapped children. She is our child of Joy.

Reinhardt children part 2

Introducing Corrie and husband Nick (or Joey--depending on how you first came to know him!). Corrie is total effervescence (can you tell by the photo?). She has a passion for worldview apologetics and served for 3 years with Worldview Academy. She is in the process of building her own photography business and teaches a bit of piano on the side to a couple of kids in church. She loves theatre and would be greatly involved except for the fact that she is now married (to a great guy I might point out) and is expecting our first grandbaby on leap year of all things!! Corrie is our Gift and if you ever met her you would understand why.

The Reinhardt story continued with children!

Mark was living in Madison, Wisconsin when we got married in '79. In February of '80 we moved to Murray, KY where he took a job as news director at the local college. I started work on a MBA (remember I was pretty sold on feminist lifestyle) and Mark eventually finished two masters in communication, but not before Caleb was born in December of 1981 and Corrie in September 1983 and leaving the university to manage a new computer store. God began His intervention in our life as He revealed the various deceptions that we had bought along the way. Along came Hannah in July of 1986 a miscarriage in '87 and then Emilie was born in October of '89. We thought we were done then reasoning we had a 'large' family by comparison.

When Caleb was three, my sister sent me some books she had read about homeschooling. That caused another re-evaluation of what we were doing, so we began the homeschooling journey. For those of you with children under the age of 20, these were interesting times. Whereas homeschooling was 'legal', you still didn't take your children outside during school hours and eventually I found other ladies an hour away that also homeschooled and we would get together monthly just to encourage one another. We didn't know what we were doing, but we were committed to it. Eventually these ladies formed an official 'support group' and Mark and I became involved to the point of regional leaders and conference organizers as well as leading our local group which we were thrilled to have 10 families be members. It was an interesting time, laced with political and social battles. Homeschooling became very dear to our heart as it became a way of life and we just happened to learn along the way. I still love homeschooling today, though my views and attitudes have changed along the way. Perhaps another day, I'll share those with you.

After having Emilie we spent the next decade rearing our children, coaching their soccer teams, being 'swim/scout/piano' parents. There was a nagging feeling about the decision we had made to have my tubes tied years earlier. It wasn't that we wanted more children, but felt a conviction that we needed to surrender that area of our life to God's control. In 1996 at age 40 I underwent reversal surgery. Two years later, God blessed us with Abigail. Two more miscarriages followed and that pretty much brings us to the present.

I could write forever about our children. They are incredible kids and they stretch me in ways I never imagined. Our life is full and loud and anything but boring. They are my greatest joy and hardest path to walk. They are my best friends and can be my fiercest opponents. We are blessed to be able to share several meals a week as a family. And when they are gone, our home as Abby says it best, "...is very lonesome."

Caleb has played soccer in college and traveled to Portugal and Germany with Ambassadors in Sports. This last fall he traveled to Liberia with his sister Hannah and visited the orphanage in Dixville called ACFI.
He trains in karate and will pull together a team for paintball when given the chance. He's currently the computer technician for our local public schools and is seriously involved in a relationship with a delightful young lady by the name of Christi. God spoke to me when he was in the womb that Caleb was a Child of Promise.

We are the Reinhardts...

...or as many people refer to us, The Rhinos. Our business (an audio recording/production company) is Rhino Technologies and we travel...alot and it is just easier for people to recognize us as The Rhinos.

Mark and I met at the School of the Ozarks in Branson, MO. He was employed by the school and I was a graduating senior. He left SofO two weeks after we met (moved to Madison, WI) and we continued a long (might I re-iterate looooonnnngggg) distance relationship and were married the following year. I was a pretty determined feminist running from God. He was a compliant new believer. It made for an interesting combination. Just a few months after we were married and decidedly hating living in the north, we made the move to Murray, KY. This is where we and our children call home. We love the south and southern cooking, the slower way of life (when you are surrounded by cows and tobacco it doesn't get much slower), our family and church home (though not in that order).

God decidedly intervened in our lives and began redeeming who we were and our lives have never been the same. We went from never wanting children to having 5 (one of which is a reversal baby). From pre-registering our 1 year old for 3 year old preschool to homeschooling for almost 2 and 1/2 decades now. It has been a journey of God rewriting our history and our future. We praise Him everyday for redeeming our lives, not just in the cross of Jesus Christ, but redeeming every aspect of our lives, walking out our salvation, living His grace and mercy in every arena that we live and breathe, watching Him work in our lives and in the lives of our children. We indeed serve a glorious God.

I'll close this post with a couple pics of our kids as Abby is wanting to watch a movie with me.

(L-R) We have Corrie (she took the picture in Fall of 05). She's currently 23, married and pregnant with our FIRST grandbaby!! Abby is 8 and is our reversal baby. She is a combination of all of the kids' personalities. Caleb, currently is 25 and is seeing/dating/courting a lovely young women in our church. He was hired this year as the computer technician for our local public schools (the very school to which we sent our homeschool letter of intent for years). Hannah is our 21 year old. She is a lovely violin/fiddle-ist and is responsible for introducing us to the children of Liberia when she visited an orphanage fall of 06. She longs for Liberia and the children she met as she has a missionary heart and spirit (rather strong willed and independent too). And then there is Emilie. Em just returned from 2 months in Australia working on an airstrip for a missionary there. She plays a wicked mandolin, loves karate and horses and is definitely a source of much joy in our family.


Another attempt at a family photo happened this last Christmas (06), so there's a couple of faces added to the pic. L-R on the back we have Hannah, Emilie, Caleb, Nick (Corrie's husband--what a great son-in-law). Front row is Abby, Olivia (Nick's daughter--she's 6) and Corrie. You have no idea how many of these poses were taken before we got one that was acceptable. We have alot of clowns in our family and trying to get them to all sit still, smile and not second guess the shutter is tantamount to herding marbles uphill.

Getting Started

Let me introduce you to Freeman and Joyce Dahn. We are still in the discussion stages of what their American names will be, but it will include their given African names. Joyce is 6 and Freeman is 4. This is our story...