In the last post I let you (formally) know that we (Liza and I) are adopting. I also announced our adoption site, homeforhaven.com.

This is another adoption-related post. Though, I promise that this blog is not going to be all about adoption since that is what Home for Haven is for.

Also, this post is uncomfortable for me to write because… well, I don’t know exactly why. Because I’m proud, maybe. Because talking about money is weird and asking for money is even weirder.

Anyway, I’m just going to get right to it.

Some friends have been kind enough to host a benefit on our behalf.

But really, it’s not benefitting us. It’s all for Haven.

And, if nothing else, knowing the people throwing it, it’s going to be fun, and we’d love for you to be there.

You can see the invitation above but here are the deets.

Who: Us, the Kinsleys (well, it’s for us but some friends are throwing/hosting it)

What: A Silent Auction Benefit (including dessert bar and photo booth)

When: March 12, 3:00-5:00pm

Where: Second Row Studio on 2nd Ave N in downtown B’ham

Why: To help us bring Haven home.

How: $10 admission (kids are free) plus a silent auction (there is going to be some good stuff).

I really don’t like the whole fundraising idea. But the reality is that adoption is expensive. We’ve made a lot of sacrifices and saved a lot of money so far. But there’s still a ways to go.

If you wouldn’t mind helping, we’d be eternally grateful.

Thanks.

My buddy, Sterling, is having surgery today. As you may recall, he’s had surgery before.

I’d like to ask you to join me in praying for him, his parents and family and his doctors.

In case you can’t read the picture above, here’s some things you can pray for:

1. No vision loss.

2. No loss of movement/weakness on left side.

3. Total removal of the tumor.

4. Seizures to cease.

5. Vital signs and total health.

I am extremely thankful for advances in modern medicine and science that makes this type of surgery possible.  I am also thankful for the team of medical professionals who are bringing all of their experience, training and expertise to bear on Sterling’s case.  However, I am most thankful that I serve the Great Physician who is able to heal our souls as well as our bodies.  I’m asking Him for the miraculous. After all, that’s what He’s best at.

Thanks for joining me.

You can stay up to date on Sterling at http://www.sterlingdavis.wordpress.com.

This is a pretty picture of pesto but not a picture of the actual pesto about which this post is written.

My friends Brandi and Shane are in the middle of adopting their daughters and bringing them home from Ukraine.  Adoption in general is pretty expensive.  International adoption in particular can really be a strain on a young family’s budget.  So, some people decided it would be cool to host a benefit in their honor.

Liza was part of the team organizing everything.  They had a meeting where, amongst various other topics, they discussed what food to serve as the dinner.  It was decided that there would be a pasta bar with different sauces.  Liza volunteered me (notice who volunteered who) to make a pesto sauce because, “Chris makes a really good pesto sauce.”

Now, I should clarify Liza’s ringing endorsement of my pesto-production-prowess.  There was this one time that we were having people over, and I decided to make lamb chops and a mint-basil pesto with which to garnish them.  That’s it.  However, in the mind of my ever-affirming wife, that means that I make a really good pesto sauce.

Anyway, despite the fact that I have never, EVER made a pesto sauce for past, I was more than willing to give it a try.  I scoured the internet for pesto recipes (which basically means I went to foodnetwork.com, searched “pesto,” clicked on “Giada De Laurentiis” and scanned the results for something I thought would be easy).  I found two I liked the sound of and decided to combine them into one mega-recipe.  I made a list of needed ingredients for Liza who was kind enough to volunteer to go to the grocery store for me, and that was that.

Yesterday, the day of the benefit, I sat out to make the sauce.  My combined recipe (planned out to be enough sauce for 40 people) called for five 10 ounce packages of frozen spinach.  These packages had been thawed but I needed to basically squeeze as much of the moisture from them as I could.  I grabbed one of the packages to begin and tore it open.  What stared back at me was not frozen spinach but frozen broccoli.  In fact, three of my five packages were frozen broccoli.

This was just a slight oversight on Liza’s part, but I panicked.  I didn’t know what to do.  So, I just pressed forward, throwing all kinds of things together in a food processor, adjusting ingredients as I made each batch and praying that it would turn out okay.

Evidently it did.  A number of people have said how much they liked it and some extremely kind and flattering souls have even requested the recipe.

I give all of you this backstory  to let you know that I don’t really have a recipe.  I started with two from Giada (I love you, Giada), but things only devolved from there.  However, I’m going to attempt to give you all the recipe here.  I would encourage you, though, to experiment with it yourself until you get what you like.

Primo Pesto

Recipe for 8 servings

Ingredients needed:

• 1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed almost dry
• 1 (4 oz.) can artichoke arts, drained
• ½ cup pine nuts
• ½ cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• ¾ cup fresh parsley, packed down
• ¼ cup fresh basil, packed down
• ½ cup chicken broth
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 4 cloves of garlic, roasted and peeled

1.  Toast the pine nuts and almonds in a single layer in a large skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes.  Stir occasionally throughout.

2.  In a food processor, combine pine nuts, almonds, parmesan cheese, garlic, artichoke hearts salt and pepper.  Pulse blend a few times.

3.  Add spinach, basil, parsley and lemon.  Blend on low a few moments.  Then add chicken broth and blend on high.

4.  Slowly pour in the olive oil while continuing to blend until smooth.

5.  Serve with pasta, chicken, bread, lamb, whatever.

I hope you enjoy it.

Bon Appetit!

I’ve written about Aaron Ivey before and how I not only greatly love and respect him as a person but also as an artist and activist.  I think his latest album is fantastic, and one of my favorite cuts is “Amos Story.”

Perhaps it’s that while Liza and I haven’t adopted yet, we share Aaron and Jamie‘s passion for adoption.  Maybe it’s because I’ve been able to watch their journey with Amos and Story from afar and have been continuously blessed to be reminded of the faithfulness of God they’ve experienced along the way.  It could be that our daughters share the same name (which I might have subconsciously stolen from him, though I really don’t think that’s what happened).  Whatever the reason, this song has touched me as one who’s an adopted heir of our Abba Father, as a parent, as a (hopefully and prayerfully) future adoptive parent, and as just a human being.

Today Amos is still in Haiti.  He’s relatively okay following all of the destruction his native country has experienced from the earthquake last week.  However, I can’t imagine how much more he wants now to be home with his Papa and Mama and brothers and sister.  I also can’t imagine how much Aaron and Jamie want him home.  You can find out more about Amos and Story as well as the rest of the Ivey’s over at Aaron’s site.  But at the very least, please pray for them and for Amos and that their family might finally be united together soon.

Today Aaron posted the music video for “Amos Story,” and I wanted to make sure I shared it with all of you.  Be sure to click over to his site and let him know how much you like it.

You see the graph up there?  It’s from Google Analytics and is for my blog’s traffic over the last month.  Now, I have high hopes of what this blog might be, dreams of it having hundreds of readers a day.  But that’s a lot of ego, if I’m honest.  Anyway, I’m used to looking at a graph like the one above and not seeing it climb above about 77 for any given day.  I’m also used to the peaks and valleys that come with not updating every single day.  But as you can see, about a week ago, my graph suddenly changed.

That’s when Sterling Davis had surgery on his brain to remove a tumor.  I wrote a little post about how we could all be praying for him.  Some of you thought it was good and helpful, and so you passed it along to a few other people.  Some of them felt the same way and passed it on to a few more.  Eventually, that one little post got a lot of hits.

Funny how I’ve always wanted my personal blog to grow and the only time it really has was when it was devoted completely to someone else.

That’s the best use of a blog that I can think of.

And the best response too.

So, anyway, Sterling did really well in his surgery.  The doctors were able to get about 85% of the tumor out, which was huge.  He went home after just a few days, which is even… well… huger.  Since then, Roger and Becca, Sterling’s parents, have just been waiting to hear from the pathologist as to whether the tumor was benign or malignant.  In other words, they were waiting to find out if it was cancerous or not.  Well, today they got their answer.

It’s benign.

See?  I told you prayer works.

However, please continue to pray for Sterling’s continued healing.  The prognosis is a lot better now, but the journey’s not over.  I’m humbled to see all of you walk along with him.

Thanks.

I never intended this to be a hub for people wanting to find out more about Sterling, but I’m humbled how it’s been used to help keep people informed about how Sterling’s doing and, more specifically, how we can all be praying for him.

I want to first thank everyone who has joined in prayer for Sterling, Roger and Becca, his parents, and Landry and Kinsley, his sisters.  There are literally countless thousands of people praying, and I believe it is showing.

Though I’m not the most informed, here’s a quick update:

The surgery yesterday was successful.  So, there’s answered prayer number one.  It took a little longer than expected but went well.  Dr. Wellons was in there for over nine hours and only took breaks to go to the bathroom. Sterling did great.  Roger and Becca were able to visit with him some last night.  He had a good bit of swelling, but was able to give a good thumbs-up.  The report this morning is that he continues to do well and has quickly build a reputation for being one of the most polite 4-year-olds the staff has ever encountered.  No surprise there.

There are still a lot of questions.  The report from the biopsy won’t be back for a few more days at the earliest.  Sterling’s in the pediatric intensive care unit where his progress will be monitored until he’s ready to be moved to a room where he’ll continue recovery for about a week before hopefully going home.  He will have another MRI this morning to determine how much of the tumor they will able to get.  The plan for what’s next largely depends on how his recovery goes, what the results are from today’s MRI and what the results of the biopsy turn out to be.

So, some continued prayer requests include:

1.  Sterling’s recovery – praying specifically for no complications as a result of the surgery, no need for physical or occupational therapy, and growing strength for him.

2.  MRI results – they’re not sure how much tumor they were able to get.  Even if they don’t feel they got all of it, I know that our God has the power to take away whatever is left.  That’s what I’m personally praying for.  At any rate, asking for good results.

3.  Biopsy results – praying that they’ll be back quickly.  I can’t imagine having to wait on them.  Also, praying specifically that the results come back that the tumor is benign.

4.  Rest for Roger and Becca – most of us can’t specifically relate to what they’re enduring nor fathom how exhausting it is.  Add on to that that Becca is about seven weeks from her due-date and there’s a lot going on for them.  Rest is much needed, rest and rejuvenation even beyond the amount of sleep they’re able to get.

5.  God’s glory – it’s weird to think of how God might be glorified through the struggles of our life.  However, it’s already happening, and it’s really the ultimate good that can come out of these types of situations.

Thank you all for being the Church and for your continued prayers for Sterling.

Blessings.

It’s about 3:45.  Tanya Smith in our office here at Student Life just sent out a bit of an update, and since a number of you have been checking in here today (totally humbling, by the way) I wanted to communicate it to all of you.  So, here it is.

Sterling went in for surgery about 8am this morning.  They’ve been able to get to the tumor and are doing some preliminary tests (for the surgeon – not for a long-term diagnosis) because the tumor was a little bit different color and consistency than he was expecting when they started.  This doesn’t necessarily indicate that something more is wrong – tumors come in all shapes, sizes and colors.  However, it is different than what the surgeon expected so he’s just trying to be cautious.  The tumor is also pressing a little bit on a blood vessel and it’s causing it to bleed a little bit.  They are keeping a close eye on that but they may need to give him some blood in a couple of hours.  Please be praying for that.  The doctors are hoping to avoid that if they can but will do whatever they need to for Sterling.  His vitals look good and so far, he’s doing well in surgery.

Please continue to pray.  Because they got started a little later than expected, the surgery may last a couple of hours longer than expected.  That obviously moves back everything like his waking up and Roger and Becca getting to see him.  The Davis’ are so grateful to be surrounded by so many that care about them and that are praying for Sterling.  Earlier on twitter Roger said “Can feel the prayers of thousands that have taken Sterling & our family to the throne room.”  I know your prayers for them mean a lot.  The Lord is sustaining them just as He is always faithful to do.

Because of what is a huge mountain of faith the Davis’ have been called to walk through, the Lord is already working to use that for good. Just a bit of testimony of how the Lord is using this so far:   A woman in Nashville – the mother of a friend of the Davis’ – has heard about what they are going through and has been following their updates on Sterling.  In honor of the 4 Davis children, she has decided to change the lives of 4 children by sponsoring them through Compassion.  Roger and Becca were so excited to hear this!

Please continue to pray for wisdom and discernment for the surgical team, strength for the family, protection for Sterling and for the Lord’s name to be known.

Thank you friends.  More updates will come as we get them.

I started playing soccer when I was four-years-old.  My team was called “The Gremlins,” and we were pretty good.  I absolutely loved playing soccer.  I wish I had stuck with it because it’s the one sport that I was ever any good at.

However, I don’t think I was as good then as this guy.

That’s Sterling, son of Roger and Becca Davis.  I got to go to his soccer game on Sunday afternoon, and I’ve got to tell you, boy’s got skills.  Like serious skills.  He can control the ball but isn’t afraid to let it get away from him for a moment.  He drives hard.  His footwork is good.  Plus, he genuinely enjoys playing.  It’s like he doesn’t know how good he is, and he doesn’t get frustrated with any of the other kids who, honestly, aren’t near as good.  I mean, he scored 7 goals alone.  If you know soccer, you know that’s pretty good.

Anyway, watching this game was a great privilege because of how excited Sterling was to be playing.  He didn’t get to play last week, because there were some medical questions being asked about him at the time, some that have since been answered.

You see, Sterling has a tumor in the middle of his brain.  It’s about the size of a ping-pong ball, and today a group of medical professionals are going in to get it.

So, today, in the midst of everything else I might have going on in my day, I’m going to be practicing “praying without ceasing,” perhaps like I never have before.  I’d like to invite you to join me.

Here’s a few things you can be praying for specifically:

1. A successful surgery. -  What’s the definition of “successful” here?  Well, according to Roger, one simply where Sterling comes out of it.  I know that sounds serious, but that’s because it is.
2. Getting the whole tumor. -  The doctor has told them that he expects to get about 85% of it with the chance to get the whole thing.  Evidently, there’s 15% that’s in a blind area, and the doctor isn’t willing to risk going into that blind area.  Totally understandable.  However, the way they’ll remove the tumor, evidently, is by “drilling” into it so that it collapses on itself.  Hopefully, the hidden 15% will collapse with the rest so that it can come on out.  Roger equated it to a gummy worm being stuck in your kid’s car seat.  You pull on it hoping the whole thing comes out, but there’s a chance the end breaks off.  So, pray for the whole worm.
3. Good recovery. – They say that kids bounce back a lot better than adults.  So, that’s good.  And Sterling’s a strong, active kid (as you can tell from how good he is at soccer).  So, I fully expect this one to be easy.  However, we definitely want the Lord’s hand fully in Sterling’s recovery.  They’re expecting a seven-day hospital stay followed by about three weeks at home.  However, he could be up and going after a couple of days.  There’s just a number of factors on which that depends.
4. A benign tumor. – This is just the beginning of a bit of a journey for Sterling, Roger, Becca and their family.  The prayer is that the journey isn’t made any more serious.
5. Strength for Sterling. – I can’t imagine having to process this for myself, much less being a four-almost-five-year-old.  It’s a lot to deal with for sure, but I know that with God, Sterling can get through it for sure.
6. Peace for Roger and Becca. – Probably the hardest thing for them to have right now.
7. Guidance and empowering for Dr. Wellons. – This is Sterling’s main doctor, at least the one that’s going to be holding the instruments in the O.R.  However, we’re seeking the help of the Great Physician.  I want Him to be the one working in and through all the doctors and nurses.

It’s obviously going to be a long day.  But you can keep up with updates I’m sure by following @jrogerdavis and @davisbecca on Twitter.

Prayer is effective.  I believe it, and I know it.  Thanks for joining me and all the many others lifting up Sterling today.

According to Google Analytics I had people from 27 different countries visit this site over the past month.  I don’t know if that’s a lot or not, but it is at least a lot for me.  So, I wanted to take a chance to greet all of you and let you know how glad I am you stopped by.  You’re always welcome here.  So…

U.S.A. – Hi.  Welcome.

South Africa – Dag. Welkom. OR Sawubona. Isibingelelo.

Belgium – Hallo. Feestelijk Inhalen.

Brazil – Olá. Boa Vinda.

Canada – Hello.  Welcome.  Eh.

United Kingdom – ‘Allo.  Welcome.

Philippines – Kumusta. Maligayang Pagdating.

Ukraine – привіт.  ласкаво просимо.

Indonesia – Salam. Selamat Datang.

India – हैलो.  स्वागत.

Russia – здравствуйте.  добро пожаловать.

Malawi – Moni.  Tikulandirani.

Albania – Përshëndetje.  Mirëseerdhët.

Pakistan – .سلام.  کا خیر مقدم

Chile – Hola. Bienvenido.

Qatar – أهل. مرحبا

Singapore – Halo.  Selamat Datang.

Puerto Rico – Hola. Bienvenido.

Australia – G’day.  Welcome.

Spain – Hola. Bienvenido.

Slovenia – Zdravo.  Dobrodošli.

Mexico – Hola. Bienvenido.

Austria – Guten Tag. Willkommen.

Malaysia – Halo.  Selamat Datang.

United Arab Emirates – أهل.  مرحبا.

Israel – שָׁלוֹם בָּרוּך הַבָּא

Sweden – Hej.  Välkommen.

Thanks for stopping by (though most of you bounced pretty quickly).

Y’all come back, now, ya’ hear?

I’ve got some updating to do to the old site here and might get to it this weekend (hopefully).  One of the (many) things I have to do is to add to my ever-increasing blogroll.  I’ve gone ahead and started, though, with today’s Friend Friday Feature.

As you’ll notice (if you’re a careful observer), I’ve added a new category to the blogroll.  “Family Ties.”  As you might guess, this will be a place to bring special attention to blogs that belong to members of my family.  The only two I’m reading (and am aware of) right now are Liza‘s and (my brother) Craig‘s.

Craig just entered into the blogosphere this week.  So, please, welcome him and make him feel at home.  If you’re one of those people who likes to bring cookies to the new neighbors, Craig likes chocolate chip.  You can find him over at “Freeing My Mind.”

Since Craig just started blogging there’s not a lot to read, but what is there is good.  He’s an excellent writer, and you’ll probably discover that we have similar voices when it comes to that kind of stuff.  Also, once you’re done with the blog, you can head on over to his ministry site and check out some of the articles he’s written.  He also has a podcast that’s relaunching soon, and I’m supposed to be a part of at least one of them.  I’ll definitely link to those when they’re up, but you can always check out his other ones too.

From time to time someone will ask me what Craig does, and I never really know how to adequately answer them.  He’s in ministry (Awake International) , for sure, and he ministers primarily in a sector of the Church that most visitors to this site probably don’t encounter very much.  I think Craig would say he’s a reformer, or at least those are his aspirations.  At any rate, he’s a teacher and preacher and prophet and budding writer and mentor to various people every year through his AwakeU program.  The churches and events where Craig is are often marked by a working of the Spirit that many of us don’t get to experience very often.  To be honest, Craig operates in a world that I don’t always understand but I need to and that challenges me consistently.

If nothing else I can say that I have personally witnessed no other greater work of God than what He’s done in Craig’s life.  Maybe one day I’ll write more about here, but for today, I’ll encourage you to get to know him and find out for yourself.