cheristrange
Cheri Strange…Leading women to stretch beyond ordinary,
one reach at a time....

If you are like me, mediocrity is not your style. You want more than an ordinary Christian life. You want purpose. You want to be fruit-bearing in all you do. You want to exit this planet with Godly satisfaction that you have finished the race God set specifically before you.

If this is you, then we are going to need to stretch together beyond what's comfortable and reach past what's familiar. Don't worry, a life beyond ordinary is attainable (Deut. 30:11), but it will require us to be intentional in what we do; discerning in all we choose; and passionate in how we love. Join with me for a little stretching beyond ordinary...one reach at a time.

Cheri Strange, PhD

Christian Speaker & Author
Temple, Texas

Moving Toward God's Heart

Tuesday, 11 January 2011 15:00 Cheri Strange

       God first planted the seed for adopting an orphaned girl from China when I was 19yrs old. I had no idea how that seed would flourish and bloom in the years to come. I remember mentioning my seeded thought to my boyfriend. Even then, that path was the brier patch for Chad Strange.

       Twenty years later our hearts still yearn for the orphan. We adopted the first little girl from China in '06. While in China we met a family odopting an older child. As we heard her delightful cry of "Daddy" that week, we sat holding our baby knowing we would be back a second time. In '08 we returned to adopt Jolee, a nine year old with a slight heart defect. Even then, we knew we would be back a third time. Why? Because China has a policy that families can only have five children in the home under 18 yrs old in order to qualify to adopt. When most people say, "That's fine because five is too many;" my heart says, "then, if I have four, there is room for one more." Thus, our mental quest for Sophia emerged.

       It is 2011 and the wait for a healthy child is, frankly, not do-able for us at 40. We do have our hands full with the four we have and to take on a child that needs great medical attention or has insatiable needs from being in an orphanage situation for years is not something we have a peace about from the Lord. However, we continue to know we are supposed to adopt one more time, even if it is NOT from China. I cried my eyes out over this realization, but I know it is from the Lord.

       While I've been praying for a miracle for that perfect Chinese girl to show up in our path, God has been doing a new thing out of Africa. The rest of my family has been settled on this being the will of God for months. I'm a little slower. My prayer was this, "Lord, you know my heart is in China -- beause it's been there most of my life --- but I see yours is everywhere there is an orphan; for your heart breaks for the fatherless, regardless of continent. Move my heart to line up with where Your heart is for our family."  

     Wouldn't you know it? God is faithful. Ethiopia has a population of around 9 million people, with 4-5 million being orphans. The need is great. I can't change the lives of 4-5 million, but I can take one -- and be her mama, for this is my true act of worship before the Lord. The Lord is not asking me to change the world --- but to change the world for three little girls, sprinkled across the globe - for His glory.

       This is certainly not using the Easy button to family. My friends think we're nuts and probably in over our heads. Well, they may be right. But God is clear about His heart attitude. Just today, I read:

He is the helper of the fatherless (Ps. 10:14); and, 

He sustains the fatherless (Ps. 146:9).

Fortunately, He knows what He is doing, even when we don't, for He declares of Himself:

I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" (Jer. 32:26-27)

 

 

 

 

Cheri Strange Written on Tuesday, 11 January 2011 15:00 by Cheri Strange

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Living a Life that Outlasts my Prada

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The Difference Between Us and Them: Habits of World-Changing Christians We Need to Know

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Women with young children in the home have at least three things in common: snot on their favorite outfit doesn't phase them, they have learned to stand to eat, and personal hygiene has become a negotiable. Personal time completely disappears for years. It is no wonder many of us look upon those years with blurred vision, unsure exactly how we managed to get through it. But it doesn't have to be that way. In this session, Cheri will provide participants with practical ideas and suggestions for how to do more than just get through it, turning those years into blessing instead of a blur.

Ordinary Is as Ordinary Does: Extraordinary choices to transform your marriage.

Marriages between Believers should be more satisfying, more healthy, happier, and last longer than those from outside the church. However, marriages within the church experience similar pitfallsand devastating ends at the same rate as those outside the church. The good news is that much of what makes marriages satisfying, healthy, happy, and forever is within reach. Participants will learn current trends in marriage fall-out within the church, practical steps to take which help fortify marriages, and strategies that are proven to lead couples toward experiencing the satisfaction and joy God intended in marriage.

 

Just Stretch: The Life you Want is within Reach

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“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deut. 6:5
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