Sunday, November 12, 2017

Pierced! Part One: How Did I Get Here?

It’s been 10 days since I had my nose pierced.  I know some people were surprised that I would do it… hey, I even surprised myself!  I am 44, after all!  Am I having a mid-life crisis?  Have I left the faith?  Am I becoming worldly?  I think the answer is No to all of the above. 

Sean wanted this here... smh 😉
All my pictures are flipped, so the piercing is actually on my right, not my left.

While I am not a stranger to piercings (I have two in each ear and even once had a navel piercing), a nose piercing wasn’t something that I had “always wanted to do”.  In fact, years ago, I would have cast some negative judgment when I saw a woman with her nose pierced.  The Lord has forgiven me… I thank Him for growth.  Now, here I am with MY nose pierced.  Anyway, fast forward to what brought me to this place.

I had been seeing more women with nose piercings and my reasoning for wanting one was simply… drumroll please… that I thought they were pretty.  Probably, the fact that Sean had agreed to let me do it was what most surprised people.  The conversation went something like this:

Me:  Hey Hon, I think I want to get my nose pierced.  What do you think?
Sean:  I think, No.
Me:  I’m not talking about wearing anything big, just something small and subtle like {had to drop the names of some respected nose-pierced friends} wear.
Sean:  Okay, then go ahead.

See, that didn’t take long! 

Next, came about a week’s worth of prayer and research.  I read many articles and watched a number of Youtube videos, even the ones of people getting theirs pierced.  Yeah, that was enough to make me want to run the other way, but I soldiered on. 

I know some godly women who look lovely with their nose piercings.  Before taking the plunge, I consulted with two such lovely ladies, asking them questions about their experiences – how long have you had them, why did you get one, how do you care for it, what do you do when you have to blow your nose…. all the important stuff.  Thank you, A & D!  ~In Christ, Talya

Next:  Pierced!  Part Two:  So, Then What?

Pierced! Part Two: So, Then What?

I read reviews of all the local piercing establishments and settled on the place that had the highest ratings, Sadu Body Modifications.  One neat thing is that they ONLY do piercings, so they should really know what they’re doing. 

Looks like a place of horrors, really! 


Sean took me to get it done.  The building looked a little, uh, unique on the outside, but it was clean, though dimly lit, on the inside.  At that point, Sean was more enthusiastic than me, wanting me to get a larger, red or green jewel.  But, hey, I have to keep it in for at least the next 6 months without changing it, so I needed a more neutral color!  I settled on a small (still a little larger than I originally wanted) champagne-colored jewel.  The metal is titanium. 

I was the only customer there, so once the “master piercer” arrived and sterilized my jewelry, I was led into what looked like a small, very bright, doctor’s exam room.  My piercer, Dianna, was friendly and professional.  She put a dot on my nose to see if the placement was how I wanted it, then she had me lie on the exam table.  You know that paper stuff dentists clip around you as a sort of “bib” when you get a cleaning?  Dianna poked a hole in a piece of that “paper” and fit it over my nose so that my nose was exposed for her to see, but the rest of my face was covered.  I felt her manipulating my nose, then she told me I would feel a small pinch, then a harder one.  I don’t think she counted down or anything, but she did tell me to take a deep breath and let it out.

Next thing I knew, it felt like my right nostril was being squeezed with pliers by a very, very strong man for three seconds.  In reality, Dianna placed a clip on my nostril then stuck a needle though the holes in the clip and through my nostril.  She removed the clip, leaving the needle stuck there while she gathered the jewelry.  Surprisingly, the pain only lasted the three seconds it took her to get the needle through.  After she placed the jewelry, my nose was sore, but just barely.

Since then, I’ve been cleaning the piercing with saline twice per day and trying not to touch it or get it bumped or snagged by anything or anyone.  Apparently, it is easy for these piercings to become inflamed, often creating a little bump near the piercing site.  At this moment, my piercing is not sore at all, but I am to keep up the cleaning and hands-off regimen for the next 6 months.  I wish I knew all this stuff when I had my navel piercing.  Maybe I would have cared for it better and kept it longer. 


All my pictures are flipped, so the piercing is actually on my right, not my left.


I like my piercing.  At ten days in, I don’t regret getting it done.  I have received a positive response to the piercing from family and friends.  Perhaps, those who disapprove have chosen to remain silent or haven’t said anything yet – I respect that.  ~In Christ, Talya

Pierced! Part Three: You're a Christian, Right?

What about God’s Word?  While I do not believe there to be an express prohibition on all tattoos or body piercings, I consider it a matter of conscience to be taken prayerfully before the Lord.  One’s heart’s motive for doing anything is critically important.  We should do all things for the glory of the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:31). 

Further, I had to consider whether I was seeking to exalt my outer adornment as cautioned against in 1 Peter 3:3-4.  To that end, I purposely chose a small nose stud.  From a short distance, you can’t see it, and apparently, some people don’t even notice it when I am standing two feet away from them!  LOL!  This article, "What does the Bible say about nose rings/getting a nose ring?"was helpful.  

Do I see my piercing as a gateway into a mission field?  No more than anything else.  If the Lord chooses to use it, perhaps to strike up a conversation to share what He has done in my life, then I hope to be submitted and respond obediently.  In the same way, I don’t see long hair, short hair, or my two sets of ear piercings as serving a distinct purpose of evangelism. 

I hope this three-part series gave insight into my new nose piercing.  I am a newbie, but if you have any questions about the early days of a nose piercing, comment below or message me and I can share what I’ve experienced.  ~In Christ, Talya
All my pictures are flipped, so the piercing is actually on my right, not my left.

Saturday, October 7, 2017

On the Road Again: Aren't Five Children Enough?

©2017 ClipartPanda.com

If we are blessed to adopt again, this child or children will bring the number of children in our home to six or more.  Frankly, we do not have have a set number of children we feel we should have in our family.  We are allowing the Lord to determine that.  There is no guarantee that we will adopt successfully again, so the Lord could certainly close the door, telling us that our five earthly blessings (in addition to our four babies in heaven) are enough.  We are prayerful either way.

Psalm 127:3-5 says that "children are a heritage from the Lord" -- "a reward", "like arrows".  A man is blessed whose quiver is full of these "arrows".  I don't know about you, but we are grateful for any gift the Lord deems a reward, including children.

If we were still able to have children biologically, we would have desired and been open to any number of blessings directly from my womb as much as we are open to children through adoption.  We had decided that early on in our marriage.  So our desire to adopt another child is not a far stretch for us.  Honestly, it's a supernatural work of the Lord because I have never had dreams of a house full of children.  I didn't like babysitting.  I do not scramble to hold other people's babies.  I am by no means a "kid magnet".

So, the short answer to the question, "Aren't five children enough?", is that we have no idea -- it's whatever the Lord decides.  If we believe the Lord is prompting us to direct our support to other families' adoptions rather than our own, then that's what we'll do.  If we feel the Lord is telling us to direct our energies elsewhere we will do so.  If a birth mother does not choose us, then we cannot adopt through that means.  The Lord may have us wait a few more years, and welcome another older child into our home.  He may bless us with twins -- who knows?  We are trying to be open, ready, and willing for whatever He has in store for us.  ~In Christ, Talya




Thursday, September 14, 2017

On the Road Again: WHY? Just WHY?

©2017 ClipartPanda.com

No, I don't mean some fantastic road trip across country, seeing the sights... though that would be really fun.  As I posted on Facebook last week, we're on the road to adoption once again.  Yes, we are hoping to welcome a third...or fourth..or... child into our family via adoption.

You may have a few questions:  Aren't five children enough?  Aren't you and Sean, uh, getting up there in age?  Will it be another baby or an older child?  Don't you ever look forward to having an empty nest?  WHY?  Just WHY?

I'll start with the last question first then answer the others in upcoming posts.

We do this because we believe we are called to walk out God's command to care for the fatherless in this way (James 1:27).  So many scripture passages give testimony to God's love for the orphan (Psalm 68:5; Job 29:12; Psalm 10:14).  However, while not everyone is called to adopt, we are all called to care for the fatherless, and this is our way of doing that.  We desire to open our hearts and our home to a child who needs the love and security of a forever family.  We want to share the Gospel with a child, so that he or she will one day come to faith in Christ and share that faith with others, including his/her birth family.

SO MANY children are in need of Christian families to love and care for them.  SO MANY.  Seriously.  In this country alone, over 100,000 children in foster care are freed for adoption, awaiting their forever family (https://www.adoptuskids.org/meet-the-children/children-in-foster-care/about-the-children).  These children are free, meaning the birth parents' parental rights have already been terminated.  Some wait and wait and wait and eventually age out of foster care, left without the intimate support system of a family that many of us take for granted.

On the other hand, each year over 18,000 infants are found adoptive homes through private domestic infant adoption programs (https://www.adoptivefamilies.com/how-to-adopt/domestic-adoption-myths-and-truths/).  Even so, there is still a need for adoptive parents, specifically Black couples, who are willing to throw their hats in the ring.  Too often, Black birthmothers who seek Black parents for their child are unable to choose a Black family because the agency does not have any on their list of waiting families.  We hope to fill some of that void even if it's just in one agency.

Maybe the Lord is calling you to do the same.  Please prayerfully consider it.  The Lord uses us as His hands and feet in this broken world.  The children need you!  ~In Christ, Talya

COMING SOON:  Aren't Five Children Enough?





Saturday, December 17, 2016

10 Years Ago... Our Italian Adventure Began

View of Vicenza, Italy from Monte Berico

Today marks exactly 10 years since Arielle, Rachel, and I boarded the first airplane on our journey to join Sean in Vicenza, Italy.  It was the girls' first flight.  All of us were giddy with excitement.  I mean seriously... Italy?  Italian food... beautiful scenery... fertile soil to grow something, anything... learning Italian... jet-setting through Europe.  At least, those were the things I was thinking about.  The girls were most excited about the plane ride.  


At our gate at BWI, waiting to board our plane

Arielle, age 5, was my little trooper, pulling luggage while carrying her own backpack.  Rachel, though only 2, did me the greatest service she could have ever done -- she did not pee in her seats when she fell asleep during the flights.  I can't tell you how anxious I was about this.  I watched that child like a hawk when she went to sleep, like I would see some sign before the deed was done.  


On the plane and Rachel is asleep.  Yes, I watched her to make sure there were no accidents in the seat!  Until I fell asleep, of course.  :-)

We flew from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to O'Hare (Chicago) to Heathrow (London).  After a 6 hour layover, we flew our last leg to Vicenza.  

I must note that the only thing I remember from that last flight was the flight attendant beginning the seat belt demonstration.  The next thing I remember was the announcement to tell us we were approaching Vicenza.  The same flight attendant kindly watched me as I awoke in a sleepy haze, smiled, and remarked in her British accent, "You must be at the end of a long journey."  Little did she know that the journey was just beginning...


Sean and the girls on the playground behind our house the day after we arrived 

Overall, our stay in Italy was bittersweet for me.  It was mostly sweet in that we met some wonderful people, grew in the Lord, saw so many beautiful places, ate delicious food, and added our precious Josiah to our family.  The bitter part was not really Italy's fault... Italy just happened to be the backdrop of a life-altering health crisis.  We ended up leaving six months early, after two-and-a-half years.

I could post so many pictures of people and places and write chapters and chapters about our experiences, but I won't do that this time.  However, I will share photos of but a few of the wonderful people we met during our first six months in Italy:  


Erika (right) and her family had us over for Christmas dinner.  
They had  arrived in Italy only a few weeks earlier.

Ja'Net, me, April at Palladio Mall

Laura and Liam

The Davis Family when there were only three of them!

Sean and Terry in Genoa

Karol and I on our way to Venice

Pastor Drylie from Vicenza Baptist, the first church we attended

Here we are on our way to Venice and the Peggy Guggenheim Museum.

The Heck Family


It's hard to believe ten years have gone by already.  Sometimes it seems like yesterday that we were exploring downtown Vicenza.  Then at other times, it seems like it was a lifetime ago, a dream.  I am grateful to the Lord for sending us to Italy.  He taught us MANY, MANY (did I say, MANY?) lessons.  Our time there was truly once-in-a-lifetime.  In Christ, Talya


Monday, March 7, 2016

Why I Vote... or Don't Vote... the Way I Do

I did not vote in the last two presidential elections.  There, I said it.  I am not ashamed.  No need to blame me for the state of the country.  No need to attempt to convince me that I am obligated to vote because our ancestors fought for the right or I have a biblical responsibility.  I appreciate the right, am very conscious of it, and do not take voting lightly – that’s why I did not vote.

I want to make it clear that I am not “anti-voting” on its face.  I do not believe that anyone should haphazardly withdraw from the political process without any thought.  However, I am anti-irresponsible voting.  I am anti-uninformed voting.  I am anti-race-based voting.  I am anti-party-based voting.  As a Christian, I am anti-throw-Biblical-principles-to-the-wind voting.

I did not vote in the last two elections because I could not in good conscience vote for either candidate.  My criteria for choosing a candidate is very simple.   During any election season, I look to scripture, particularly Exodus 18, to guide my decision-making.  In chapter 18, Moses had been acting judge over all the people of Israel and was becoming overwhelmed by the magnitude of the job.  His father-in-law Jethro counseled his weary son-in-law to appoint other men to judge the smaller matters, thus lightening Moses’ workload.  Jethro advised Moses of the kind of men he should seek out for the job:  “Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.” (Exodus 18:21)

I look for a candidate who professes faith in Christ and whose life, voting record, and platform support that profession.  I look at his stances on issues that I believe reflect an understanding of the character of God.  I am less concerned with who will put the most money in my pocket than who will uphold biblical principles concerning such issues as the sanctity of life.  I also expect the candidate’s faith to be important to him and that it should be apparent -- not a hidden aspect of his life.  If his positions are not based on faith in Christ, no matter how closely they mirror what I may believe to be biblical, I cannot trust that he will not change his mind on an issue with the blowing of the wind.  There is no sure foundation for what he believes.

I look for a trustworthy candidate.  I can only see so much of a candidate’s  private life, but what I am able to see should be marked by integrity.  Perfection?  No.  General integrity?  Yes.  In his public life, I look for consistency in standing for Biblical principles.  I would also expect him to deal honestly in his personal and professional business.  If he cannot be trusted in his daily affairs, how can he be trusted to run our country?

Finally, is he capable of the job?  Has he shown leadership abilities or does he seem to buckle under pressure?  Does he have knowledge of the issues he will be required to confront, or has he surrounded himself with trusted advisors to help with the learning curve?  Is he a biological male and identifies as such… yes, that’s where I must go in my specificity.  I would not support a woman, especially one who is charged with caring for a husband and children, in a presidential election.  I will leave it at that or this post will be much, much longer.

If I look at the field of candidates and find these qualities missing, I do not vote.

I do not vote for the “lesser of two evils”, as I hope to never knowingly vote for an “evil” be they lesser or not.

I do not see my vote as a vote against another candidate.   By that I mean, I do not think, “Well, I don’t really support either candidate A or candidate B, but I will go ahead and vote for B because I am really voting against A.”  Umm, no, you are casting your vote in SUPPORT of candidate B.  Votes are not counted as votes AGAINST a candidate but as votes FOR a candidate.

I am a conscience voter, not a strategic voter.  If I vote for a candidate, it is because I can do so with a clear conscience, whether they have a snowball’s chance to win or not.  If I vote, I try to vote in way that I believe would please the Lord according to the knowledge that I have at the time.  I do not look at the statistics and try to figure out how my vote for a candidate who has little chance of winning the nomination will affect the chances that an opposing candidate will achieve the nomination.  I no longer have the brain power for such mental gymnastics, nor do I have a desire for such.  If the Lord were to ask me about my voting record, I don’t think he’ll ask me why I didn’t vote for the winning candidate.  I think He would ask me if I voted for a candidate who upheld His principles.

Will I vote this election cycle?  Possibly.  Because we are now settled in our new state, with no moves on the horizon, I am more inclined to consider voting in the primary, as well as the local elections.  Honestly, I never paid the primaries much attention, and by the time the general election would roll around, the two candidates were not suitable, so I would decline to vote.  This time I may indeed vote in the primary.  I have until March 15th to figure it out.  However, as I look at the present delegate count, I have a feeling I won’t be voting in the general election.

I think this election season has brought many people to the point where they are truly considering not voting.  I say pray for those who do vote, pray for the candidates, pray for our country,  and press on.  Let no one shame you or guilt you into going against your conscience.  Let no one imply that you are not fulfilling your civic or biblical duty.  I say, “Poppycock!”  Romans 13:1 tells us that God appoints who He wants in authority and isn’t thwarted by anyone’s vote or lack thereof – “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” 

As believers, we must rest in the comfort that God is sovereign over all, including who will be our next president.  We must take comfort that whatever He accomplishes through this election will be for His purpose.  Let us be obedient in walking righteously before God and before all men, choosing that which is pleasing to God.  In Christ, Talya