NEWS ITEM #1 - FALSE RUMOR CLAIMS GARRISON KEILLER WANTS LAW TO BAN
BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIANS FROM VOTING
Note by Steve Shultz: Rumors are not to be part of the Christian life. I
like to check out when an outrageous claim is made rather than propagate a false
story. I often go to a Christian's rather famous site:
www.truthorfiction.com. Here is what
Rich Buhler of Truth or Fiction writes. I recommend you subscribe to his list:
Rich Buhler:
"Author and PBS radio personality, Garrison Keiller, wants a constitutional ban
that prohibits some of the people in the red states from voting in the next
election -- Fiction!
"This story arose from a satirical speech that the humorist gave in
Chicago...but someone edited his remarks and sent out an email treating his
suggestion as serious. After the election, Keiller joked that born-again
Christians should not vote on earth since their "citizenship is in heaven."
Keiller who is a Democrat said he'd be the chairman of a campaign to pass a
constitutional amendment to that end. He was referring to polls that said that
President George Bush's win was propelled by voters who were driven to the polls
because of values-based issues. Keiller's speech was humorous and his statements
were met with laughter."
For more details, go to:
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/k/keillor.htm
Or go to SEARCH at the top of any page at TruthOrFiction.com and use KEILLOR as
the search term.
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NEWS ITEM #2 - ISRAEL HIT BY WORST LOCUST PLAGUE SINCE 1950s
JERUSALEM, 11-21-04
In a news story reminiscent of Joel, Chapter 2, Israel is being hit by the
single worst plague of LOCUST since the 1950s, according to historical accounts.
In the Bible, locusts were the eighth of 10 plagues that God inflicted on the
ancient Egyptians before Pharaoh their leader let the Israelites go. Locusts
ventured across the Negev desert as far north as the Dead Sea where farmers
worried that larger numbers of insects said to be heading their way might eat
through their crops. "They have landed to sleep for the night...tomorrow we are
expecting greater numbers," explained farmer, Shalom Shoshana, who feared for his
tomato and pepper crops. "It's frightening."
For more information, go to:
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?id=2004112112460002352783&dt
=20041121124600&w=RTR&coview=
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A NOTE FROM
STEVE SHULTZ:
November 22, 2004
 Just
a few days ago (we didn't get this ready in time), it was a time to look more closely
at JUSTICE. Justice had another name that day...it was called, National _______
Day. Keep reading. Now I'm just stringing you along so you'll keep reading.
Michael and Shari Lienau might sound familiar. A few weeks ago we put out an alert
that Michael would be on Fox News, as he was one of the few survivors rescued from
Mount St. Helens after the blast in 1981. God spoke to Michael then, audibly, when
he thought he was going to die. Too much time had gone by for a rescue. But never
having heard God before, he heard God at this time when he almost died at Mount
St. Helens...and yet, he was frightened...
"...I heard an audible voice say, 'Michael, look up to your left!'" Michael writes.
"It scared me, because no one was near. Minutes later I saw the blades of a rescue
helicopter rise over the hill exactly where the voice had told me to look. We were
saved." -- Michael Lienau
Having been rescued, Michael turned his life back over to Christ. His video on the
Mount St. Helens disaster would later become a best-seller, (See that below
also.)
Michael further says,
 "Regarding
Mount St. Helens, perhaps if you get a chance to watch the video I made concerning
this event...you will get a better idea of what I went through. It has scripture
throughout it and the story on how I heard the voice of the Lord, and has been the
Featured documentary on National Geographic Television for 9 years which is unheard
of in television licensing. And on Discovery International and PBS, it is
shown daily, all day long, to visitors at the main State and Forest Service-run
visitor centers at Mount St. Helens. It is the best-selling video ever produced
on Mount St. Helens (over 300,000), and is sold to public schools, as well."
But this word below is about Justice. The story about how God got a hold of Michael
through a "near-death" event, is just God's way of telling you how HE speaks, why
He speaks, and in this case, for what purpose Michael was spared in 1981...all because
of what you are about to read below...But, don't stop reading now. It's just getting
interesting!
-- Steve Shultz
THE ELIJAH LIST
www.elijahlist.com
PROPHETIC.TV
www.prophetic.TV
"CRY OUT FOR
FATHERLESSNESS -- A CALL TO BOTH RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE"
by Michael and Shari Lienau
CRY OUT FOR THE FATHERLESS...
November 20th, 2004
Five years ago the Lord began to speak to us about "welcoming children" and we became
pregnant with our fourth child. The Lord told us to name her "Esther Hope" as a
declaration of what he intends to do with the generation of children he is preparing
for access to Himself.
So why am I sending this to you on November 20, National
Adoption Day...and what does that have to do with why God spared my life?
Three years ago, the Lord invited us to welcome five orphaned Native American children
into our family. More than just rescuing children in need, He spoke of his plan
to change nations with armies of orphans -- and is giving us the privilege of sowing
into the precious native people who have had so much taken from them.
In the last year we've sensed an urgency from the Holy Spirit to begin "crying out
for the fatherless." We are learning that others all over the world are hearing
this too. There are many powerful works on behalf of orphans in many places, but
the foster care system in our own nation is in crisis.
My husband and I recently attended an "Adoption Summit" in Washington D.C. hosted
by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Tommy Thompson. As part of
President Bush's faith-based initiatives, our government is calling on "people of
faith" to come to the aid of the 130,000 children in the United States who are available
for adoption today. The foster care system recognizes that it needs the church to
care for these orphans. It's also acknowledging that the most successful placements
for these children has been Christian homes.
The enemy also has a plan for the fatherless. In a recent conversation with missionaries
in Afghanistan, we learned that nine of the 14 terrorist bombers were orphans adopted
by Muslim families and "sacrificed" into the terrorist training schools, or orphans
recruited from the refugee camps to fill their ranks. As the definition of marriage
and family is being threatened in our nation, many same-sex couples are rushing
to adopt our country's orphans.
Can we, as the church, stand by to let these little ones be lost? Will we not be
judged as a nation if we abandon and sacrifice the fatherless children in our midst?
RAISING UP NATION-CHANGERS
God has been speaking of His justice. A large percentage of foster children needing
permanent homes in the U.S. are African American boys. As we repent for the legacy
of slavery, the violent ripping of children from their homes and families, could
this be our nation's opportunity to do justice to the sins of our forefathers?
This could be a historic opportunity for the true church to display the heart of
the Father by embracing these fatherless. And who is better positioned to care for
these little ones than those believers who already understand God's wonderful design
for family, who have healthy, God-honoring marriages, understand Jesus' command
to welcome children, and recognize the opportunity we have to raise up nation-changers?
ALL GOD'S CHILDREN
(The following testimony was originally published in Above
Rubies Magazine)
"Sons are a heritage from the
Lord, children are a reward from Him." Psalm 127:3
Five years ago, when the Lord began to speak to us about "welcoming children," my
husband Michael and I were content with our three children and a busy life in documentary
production. Traveling, parenting, and schooling Jacob (8), Anna (5), and Janey (2)
seemed to stretch me to my limits. The common confession of my mouth was "I am totally
overwhelmed." But the Lord began to whisper that He had more "blessing" in mind
for us if we would trust His word and not our own strength, resources, or understanding.
So, we yielded this area of limiting our family size, and a year later Esther Hope
was added to our family.
It was during the season of late night feedings, feeling so grateful for the privilege
of nurturing another child, I asked the Lord to show me what I could pray for --
what was on His heart. It was then my heart began to ache for all the precious children
with no mother to hold them in the middle of the night. As I shared this burden
with my little ones, we prayed together, "Lord, please send mothers and fathers
to love the orphans." We didn't know it then, but the soil of our hearts was being
prepared for something we would never have dreamed of.
ENLARGING THE PLACE OF OUR
TENT
"And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, 'Oh that
you would bless me indeed and enlarge the place of my tent...'" 1 Chronicles
4:10
A year later, we were invited to share a documentary we produced on racial reconciliation,
Healing America's Wounds with John Dawson, on an Indian reservation in
a neighboring state. We'd been praying the Jabez prayer, asking God to increase
our circle of influence for Him. As a family, we've had the privilege of friendship
with many Native American people and have learned of the historic wounds that often
stand as a barrier to the gospel. We were excited to go, but found with no hotels
in the area, the only place that could accommodate our family was a guest room in
a nearby Christian foster care community.
While there, we encountered five children -- siblings -- ages one, three, four,
six, and seven, soon to be available for adoption. Without parents to care for them,
these precious brothers and sisters were waiting for a "forever family," but most
likely would be separated from one another in order to find permanent homes.
Could we possibly take them in as our own? Was the Lord inviting us to be His arms
and embrace these orphans? The idea of adding
 five
more to our existing family of six was mind-boggling, but the Lord had been changing our hearts, and in the last few years
our whole attitude toward family and parenting had shifted. We had begun to believe
His Word that says children are a blessing - not a burden, and that we have been
given an extraordinary privilege to train up "nation-changers" for Him.
In the months that followed, excitement, fear, and doubts swirled around us. What
about the needs of the four children we already had? Could we really parent nine
children effectively? Could we afford them? How would we all fit in our 3-bedroom
house? Could we still travel? Would we be able to continue to home school and otherwise
"train" our children as the Lord instructs?**
"Religion that our God accepts as pure and faultless is
this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." James 1:27
As we prayed and searched the Word, we found over 40 scriptures
revealing God's heart for "the fatherless." We sensed the Lord saying, "Welcome
these children. Make room in your hearts for them and I will make room in your house,
your family, your work, your life." In one family prayer time, our oldest son Jacob
prayed, "Lord, please let it be your will for us to help these children. How could
it not be your will?"
THE ADVENTURE BEGINS!
We made another family trip to visit the children. When we took them on a short
outing, it was chaos! Michael and I were completely discouraged in our efforts at
crowd control of all nine of them. But as we drove them back to their foster home,
we began to sing worship songs together and our hearts connected. Their beautiful
brown eyes sparkled with delight and we sensed the presence and the pleasure of
our Father. We had the encouragement we needed to proceed with the adoption.
Back home, a lot needed to happen to make this dream really work. There was all
the training and licensing for the foster/adopt program. Our house must be modified.
Our church rallied with encouragement, prayers, and help. Lumber and labor were
donated. A construction/missions team and friends transformed our garage into two
more bedrooms and a bathroom. We were able to purchase a 15-passenger van. We were
finally ready.
 On
Thanksgiving night, exactly
nine months after first meeting the five children, they
were presented a video we had made showing them around
our home and telling them we wanted to be their new family. Although they knew us
from the visits, they were never told we were considering adopting them. Their response
to their caseworker was, "When can we go?"
With tears of joy and surrender to a new season in our
family's life and destiny, we made the journey to pick up our newest children. When
we arrived the next afternoon we were greeted with "Mommy! Daddy!" and big hugs.
Prayer had paved the way. Their response was so positive, their caseworker said
we could take them home without spending the three standard transition days together.
The adventure begins!
"HOKA HEY" - IT'S A GOOD DAY TO DIE!
"Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and
whoever loses his life will preserve it." Luke 17:33
Today, at 20 months into our adventure, we're probably still
in the honeymoon stage with our new children. While exhausted most days with challenges
of sibling relations, laundry, meals, and schooling, we sense an amazing grace over
our family. We are having so much FUN experiencing daily miracles of love in our
home as we learn to walk in repentance and serve one another. "Hoka Hey" in the
language of the Lakota Sioux Indian means, "It's a good day to die!" This was the
cry of the warriors as they dressed for battle, and has become a family motto as
we seek to lay down our lives for each other.
The challenges are also real and keep us on our knees. All five of our adopted children
were exposed to alcohol in the womb, known as FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) or FAE
(Fetal Alcohol Effect). In essence, this is organic brain damage and can have varying
manifestations, from learning delays to an inability to connect behavior to consequences.
This was a huge concern before adopting, and some days causes frustration and discouragement. But we've sensed the Lord asking us to trust Him in
this area; that we're to pray for them, fill them with God's word, and not give
in to fear. There is also some things about their past that we don't know about.
We've been anxious over what our new children have been exposed to that might affect
our original children. Here again is the beauty of being at home. As a mother, I
can monitor my children closely and rely on the Holy Spirit to alert me to what
I need to tune in to.
Our original children have struggled at times with sharing their Mom and Dad, but
as time goes on it has become "the new normal." I have learned to trust the Lord
to show me which child needs their "love tank" filled, and He is so faithful to
give me creative ways to spend time with each of them when they need mommy time.
We all believe God has called and, therefore, prepared each of us for this path;
so, even when it's hard, the children have learned that they can trust their heavenly
Father.
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with
the Spirit." Galatians 5:25
"I AM OVERWHELMED WITH BLESSINGS!"
The process to adopt "waiting children" in our state is through the Foster-Adopt
Program, where the children you are considering adopting are placed in your home
as foster children for a number of months before adoption is finalized. In preparation,
we were required to attend 22 hours of foster care training. I have heard of believers
experiencing persecution by anti-Christian social workers,
but our experience has been that if we pave the way with prayer and walk in humility
and the joy of the Lord, the doors have opened and hopefully Jesus has been glorified.
Our experience with social workers has been positive. Our children's caseworker
was a Christian. She has sent us cards, photos, and thank-you letters telling us
what an encouragement our family and this adoption have been to their whole staff.
Foster care and adoption workers serve in a negative environment filled with sad
stories of unwanted children. Our family's adoption counselor, assigned to do our
home study and post-placement visits, was not a believer. She spent hours in our
home and, on two occasions, told us tearfully that she couldn't believe "how well
our family worked" and questioned, "How did we do it?" Guess whom we got to give
credit to?
"Oh what manner of love the Father has given unto us
that we should be called the children of God." 1 John 3:1
For us, this is a journey of deepening dependence on the
Lord. It is a wonderful place to be stretched beyond my own strength and to know
only the Holy Spirit has the wisdom I need for the challenges of child training,
discipling, and the multiple decisions and needs I/we face every day. We are not
a perfect family, but we have made ourselves available,
and now I regularly confess: "Children are a blessing -- and I am overwhelmed
with blessings!"
Is nine enough? We don't know...Who would want to say "no"
to more of the Lord's blessing?!
"Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of
God belongs to such as these." Mark 10:14
The Lienau Family is Michael & Shari, Jacob (13), Anna (10),
Bibianna (10), Joseph (8), Janey (7), Tatianna (6), Corina (5), Esther (3) and Joshua
(3).
by Michael and Shari Lienau
www.globalnetproductions.com
Contact the Lienaus at shari@globalnetproductions.com
 Photo
at Left: Michael and Shari's studio down on the farm.
**At the time of this writing, the Lienau family
is on week two of a nine-week, cross-country motor home journey to discover history
and document repentance of the transatlantic slave trade with the Lifeline Expedition.
http://www.lifelineexpedition.co.uk
RESOURCES
~~~~
Family
ABOVE RUBIES -- Strengthening Families Across The World
www.aboverubies.org
Family Foundations
www.familyfi.org
No Greater Joy
www.nogreaterjoy.net
~~~~
Adoption Ministries:
New Beginnings Adoption and Pregnancy (YWAM)
http://adoptionministry.net/
Kingdom Kids
http://www.kkadoption.com/
Adoption Advocates International
http://www.adoptionadvocates.org/
~~~~
Miscellaneous
US Government Website
AdoptUSKids.org
www.davethomasfoundationforadoption.org
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