As I opened our blog to write a new post this morning, I couldn't believe that it has been so many months since my last post. Time truly flies! We have been busy fundraising with yard sales, selling our excess stuff, family movie night, and last month had a craft fair. I hope I've thanked all those who have helped us these past few months, if I haven't then please know how grateful we are for all the support we have been given. You all are precious to us and we appreciate your sacrifices whether it be financial, your time to assist at different events or your time spent in prayer. We thank you for having a heart for the fatherless and joining us as we try to walk in obedience to what the Lord has placed on our hearts. Here is an update on where we are now:
We are still brainstorming future fundraisers to begin in the new year so I will post in January about fundraisers we have coming up. We plan on beginning our home-study this Spring. We wanted to reach one financial goal before beginning and we are very close...Praise the Lord!
To be honest with you all, we have definitely felt the powers of darkness since beginning this journey. A spiritual battle occurs daily in all of us as we try to walk a life with Christ, but battle the sin that is in this broken world. Although the war has been won, until the day Christ returns, sin is still here and Satan does all possible to break our relationship with the Almighty. You all know this, you feel it too, this sinful world has brought junk into your life as well. It comes through loss, relationship strife, financial burdens, sickness, you can fill in the blank. With that being said, let me thank you again for those of you have have "randomly" sent us words of encouragement and have been praying for us. I say "randomly" because I know that those sweet words were God led. The Holy Spirit knew I needed those words on those specific days and provided them to encourage me and lift my spirit when doubt was prevalent. The encouragement for me this morning came from Lamentations 3:22-26...
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."
Jeremiah was writing here his response to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. There was loss of life and horrible destruction. Thankfully our battles right now aren't a result of a physical war, but they are a result of a spiritual war. God has provided these sweet words to encourage anyone facing any battle for us to know we are not alone. He is here. He is Emmanuel. My personal prayer right now as we approach Christmas is to not lose grasp of this reality. We must hold fast to the truth that Jesus came, he became flesh, lived a perfect life, and died so we could live. He is faithful! As I rejoice in this truth, my heart also breaks because the Lord has broken mine and Ryan's hearts for a child we do not yet know. My momma heart is breaking because to me, there is room in our home for another and he isn't here yet. We don't know how old he is, what he looks like, but what we do know is that God does. He knows his name. He knows his face. He knows every little detail because He made him. Our baby boy miles and miles away, is loved by the One and only One who will ever love him more than his mommy and daddy do. And I pray the Lord provides our sweet boy with peace that someone is coming for him. We don't know when, and we know it could be years, but we pray peace over him on the days when he may not feel loved. Some of you may be reading this and be thinking, she is crazy that she thinks of a child as hers that she doesn't even know. You know it is pretty crazy, but that is how the Lord works. He places something on your heart and opens your heart and mind to something you never thought He would. In our case, it is a child. A child that I think of every morning as I kiss my baby girls and touch there sweet faces, as we enjoy a moment together playing, or make a memory baking goodies in the kitchen and definitely when we snuggle at bedtime. I think of a sweet faceless boy who doesn't have his mommy kissing his precious face and telling him how much he is loved. We don't know his story, what loss he has felt, what battles he has faced, but we know the Lord does. So for now...we wait. We wait and pray for the Lord to provide and we will fundraise and save because that is what we feel called to do. To be the hands and feet of Jesus in the hopes to share His love with this precious child, and to share Jesus through our testimony of this journey. So many conversations have already occurred and we've only just begun. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness. All of this is for His glory.
Thanks sweet friends. I pray you each have a very merry Christmas!
Jenni
Specific prayers as we continue this journey:
House selling - the past few months we have been praying about ways to save more to bring our boy home...we felt that selling our home and using the profit to pay off our remaining debt would open the ability to save more monthly that we were using to pay off debt to put toward adoption expenses. Although the housing market stinks, we are trusting God will provide a buyer so that we can pay off debt and save more monthly. Will you join us in praying our house sells quickly?
Future fundraisers - we will begin an envelope fundraiser toward the end of January where we will seek to fill 144 envelopes each labeled with an amount $1 - $144. We pray we will have 144 people partner with us to choose an amount from $1-$144.
Thank you for praying!
Monday, December 16, 2013
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Peace
Is it no mistake that flowers turn toward the light of the sun each morning? How should I be any different. I should wake every morning turing toward the Son.
I woke up this morning, and knew the Lord was calling me to His Word. I would like say that this happens every morning. That every morning at 5 AM I am bursting with the readiness to jump into God's Word, ready to start my day in His presence, and be on my knees in prayer for hours before my family rises from their slumber. Okay, maybe there are and I hope that there are mothers who start their day in this manner, but I unfortunately am not one. Yes many mornings, I rise up, get in the Word, spend some time on my knees, but some mornings, I will be honest with you, it is simply out of obedience, not out of pure eagerness. Some mornings I hit the snooze, some mornings I have a sleeping 13 month old snuggling with me because she woke up early and needed her mommy to go back to sleep, or sometimes a 3 1/2 year old wakes up prematurely and needs mommy to read books or watch her favorite cartoon with her. Life happens, flesh happens, but I'm here to say, what a joy it is to enter into His presence in the early quiet morning, to begin my day listening to His Word and His voice. I pray that I will get to the point where every morning begins with time in His presence and that IT IS out of pure joy and not a sense of my mere obeying His command to do so.
So with that said . . .
This morning I woke up and knew God was calling me to His Word. I needed to listen to His Holy Spirit guide me to reveal something to me. Peace (Shalom) coming from wisdom was the revelation that came to me today.
Proverbs 3: 9-10
"Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine." These two verses also follow "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths."
Reading through all of Proverbs 3, led me to many different passages in the Old and New Testament.
John 14:27
"Peace I give to you, I leave with you, Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
Notes coming from the ESV Study Bible . . .
- This Hebrew term for peace (shalom) has a much richer connotation than the English word does since it conveyed not merely the absence of conflict and turmoil, but also the notion of positive blessing, especially in terms of right relationship with God.
Haggai 2
Overview - The Lord's house (temple) is in ruins and the people are doing nothing about it.
"he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes" "sown much. harvested little" (vs. 6)
God has not blessed their crops because of their preference for personal comfort. (hmmmm . . . conviction, why yes I think so)
2: 18-19 - consider life since restoration began (they submit to him and change their ways): I (being God) will bless.
Numbers 6:24-26
"The Lord will bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."
Again - notes from ESV Study bible
- Bless - The Lord blesses by giving good harvests, peace, children, and his own presence
Shine - God's presence is like sunshine, a pledge of God's good favor
Countenance - treating his people with favor
Peace - not just the English meaning "lack of war" - it means total well-being (Wow! Okay so their are so many 'peace driven people' in our world today, but those crying for war to stop and peace to come, yes some of those may love Jesus, but I would say most have no clue what true peace is)
Psalm 29:10-11
"The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with strength."
- God sits enthroned in His temple as king forever (vs. 9). Worship is coming into His majestic presence. Flood - same term is used elsewhere only of Noah's flood - showing God's power --makes distinctions between the faithful and the unfaithful (unlike the storm) hence the prayer that God will give strength to His people and bless His people with peace.
Prov. 8:4-36
vs. 14 "I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight, I have strength."
- What wisdom offers to the simple is the same insight used by kings and rulers to govern nations justly.
vs. 18-21 -- Life and favor from the Lord
vs. 22-31 -- The same wisdom that makes this invitation is the wisdom that was present with God when he created the world (WOW) and established it as a coherent system. for Wisdom says "I was daily in delight" The wisdom that enters the lives of the faithful actually enables them to participate rationally at the heart of things.
Basically to sum up -- Trust in the Lord, let His commandments stand firm in our lives. Seek first His kingdom and purpose and His peace and blessing will arise. A peace and blessing so much greater than anything attained here on earth. However, it is apparent that the Lord brings blessings here on earth to those seek Him, but with this comes the fact that in the face of tribulation (which we are told suffering at some point will be a part of lives here), we will have a peace that only He can give through the wisdom that was with Him when he created everything. I don't know about you all, but that is something I desire daily.
"The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew." ~ Proverbs 3:19-20
Had to post this picture along with this verse because of the dew resting softly on my roses this morning. Scientists can say all they want, but the refreshing drops that appear on His creation in the morning simply remind me of God's goodness and favor.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Where and how long . . . next steps . . .
It is amazing how the Lord has already blessed us with support in our process and we are just beginning. Wanted to start this post by praising the Lord for His goodness in all things!
I don't think I have posted what country we are planning to adopt from. We have chosen Bulgaria. Ryan and I both have hearts for Eastern Europe and after looking at different agencies and the requirements that many different countries have, we felt called to Bulgaria. We are hoping to matched with a little boy who is younger than Zoey, possibly younger than Evie Jo, but we are firm that we want Zoey to stay our oldest child. The waiting time could actually be up to 5 years to bring our boy home. Would you partner in praying with us that we will be patient and remain at peace that the Lord knows who this sweet boy is and no matter how long it takes, He will bring him home in His perfect timing? Thank you dear friends!
Next Steps:
We are planning on having a yard sale to jumpstart our fundraising process! If you or if you know of anyone wanting to donate items no longer needed, we will take them off your hands! We will take any items you want to part with! We plan on having our yard sale on June 22nd.
In July we hope to have a family movie night in our backyard where we will enjoy a family friendly movie for all ages, and possibly some extra activities that I haven't decided on yet! :) This is still in the works, but hopefully we will get it put together before the busyness of the next school year begins.
Stay tuned!
I don't think I have posted what country we are planning to adopt from. We have chosen Bulgaria. Ryan and I both have hearts for Eastern Europe and after looking at different agencies and the requirements that many different countries have, we felt called to Bulgaria. We are hoping to matched with a little boy who is younger than Zoey, possibly younger than Evie Jo, but we are firm that we want Zoey to stay our oldest child. The waiting time could actually be up to 5 years to bring our boy home. Would you partner in praying with us that we will be patient and remain at peace that the Lord knows who this sweet boy is and no matter how long it takes, He will bring him home in His perfect timing? Thank you dear friends!
Next Steps:
We are planning on having a yard sale to jumpstart our fundraising process! If you or if you know of anyone wanting to donate items no longer needed, we will take them off your hands! We will take any items you want to part with! We plan on having our yard sale on June 22nd.
In July we hope to have a family movie night in our backyard where we will enjoy a family friendly movie for all ages, and possibly some extra activities that I haven't decided on yet! :) This is still in the works, but hopefully we will get it put together before the busyness of the next school year begins.
Stay tuned!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Simplifying and Saving
Since we decided for me to stay at home, we've had to make a lot of changes with our budget as I'm sure many of you have that have chosen or had to move to one income. As we enter into the adoption process, I have examined multiple ways to cut back to save us even more money. Thank you Pinterest! You make it so easy for us to find ideas! So this post is dedicated to documenting what changes we have made to our lifestyle for me to be at home with my babies and to bring baby #3 home! I hope you enjoy and maybe even become inspired! You may do a lot of these things already, and if you have other ideas along these lines, please feel free to post your ideas! I would love to hear how you changed your lifestyle to better your home environment and save some pennies!
1. Cut out convience foods- first of all the more convienent probably means the worse it is for you. This was probably the first way we cut down our budget. While I was teaching, convenient was name of the game because let's face it, if you have taught you know that life gets hectic at many different times of the year. And yes it means more work to make this change, but I think my hubs would agree, our food is much tastier and better for us!
2. Consignment, consignment, consignment - I buy most of our girls clothing from consignment and have found it very rewarding to take extra good care of their clothes in order to sale all clothing at consignment sales.
3. YaY for Yard Sales! This is also falls under the simplifying category. I get really sick of the excess that is so common these days so selling things we don't need or use is a great way to cut back on the junk. This was a new experience however, because I grew up in the boonies...not many yard sales happen 13 miles out of town. I find it a lot of fun to organize, put on, and to shop at others though!
4. No to Name brands! If you haven't discovered Aldi yet, please try it! You will fall in love! Don't be a name brand snob, your wallet will thank you!
5. Bye Bye Cable - okay this kind of hurts still because I LOVE HGTV. When Ryan still worked at the Fire Department, I missed him like crazy on shift nights, but I made the nights a little better after Zoey went to bed by watching House Hunters, and all the other fun shows that came on as well as the occasional sappy Hallmark Movie on the Hallmark Channel. This decision has made a huge difference in monthly bills though and Netflix is a great option to catch up some TV favs.
6. Car cut backs - we have traded a couple of times to get an older vehicle with more miles
7. DIY - So just today I made a new batch of homemade body wash and y'all . . . it smells sooo good! I will put the link on here for an awesome blog where I get a lot of DIY cleaning supplies, laundry recipes, and skin care products. It's amazing when you do the math how much you can save!
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com
8. Gardening - okay so we are hopefully going to be able to till our garden tomorrow. I'm hoping to channel some green thumbness from my dear Papaw because he has gardened for I'm sure his whole life and still does at the ripe age of 87. I will be calling him tomorrow for tips! This is our first attempt at our own garden, praying for a good harvest!
The list goes on ... I'm sure I'm forgetting things...we have made the obvious cut backs like not traveling as much as we would like, not going to the movies and waiting for movies to come out on RedBox, not eating out as much, not going and doing like we used too. We take advantage of free stuff! Whether it be a free family fun activity around town or thinking of thrifty ways to have a date night.
The bottom line is, we are happy, yes it has been tough some months, but God is faithful. He has gone before us, we trust in His guidance, and we know that putting our trust in Him will always bring peace and comfort that we can't buy, invest, or create on our own.
1. Cut out convience foods- first of all the more convienent probably means the worse it is for you. This was probably the first way we cut down our budget. While I was teaching, convenient was name of the game because let's face it, if you have taught you know that life gets hectic at many different times of the year. And yes it means more work to make this change, but I think my hubs would agree, our food is much tastier and better for us!
2. Consignment, consignment, consignment - I buy most of our girls clothing from consignment and have found it very rewarding to take extra good care of their clothes in order to sale all clothing at consignment sales.
3. YaY for Yard Sales! This is also falls under the simplifying category. I get really sick of the excess that is so common these days so selling things we don't need or use is a great way to cut back on the junk. This was a new experience however, because I grew up in the boonies...not many yard sales happen 13 miles out of town. I find it a lot of fun to organize, put on, and to shop at others though!
4. No to Name brands! If you haven't discovered Aldi yet, please try it! You will fall in love! Don't be a name brand snob, your wallet will thank you!
5. Bye Bye Cable - okay this kind of hurts still because I LOVE HGTV. When Ryan still worked at the Fire Department, I missed him like crazy on shift nights, but I made the nights a little better after Zoey went to bed by watching House Hunters, and all the other fun shows that came on as well as the occasional sappy Hallmark Movie on the Hallmark Channel. This decision has made a huge difference in monthly bills though and Netflix is a great option to catch up some TV favs.
6. Car cut backs - we have traded a couple of times to get an older vehicle with more miles
7. DIY - So just today I made a new batch of homemade body wash and y'all . . . it smells sooo good! I will put the link on here for an awesome blog where I get a lot of DIY cleaning supplies, laundry recipes, and skin care products. It's amazing when you do the math how much you can save!
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com
8. Gardening - okay so we are hopefully going to be able to till our garden tomorrow. I'm hoping to channel some green thumbness from my dear Papaw because he has gardened for I'm sure his whole life and still does at the ripe age of 87. I will be calling him tomorrow for tips! This is our first attempt at our own garden, praying for a good harvest!
The list goes on ... I'm sure I'm forgetting things...we have made the obvious cut backs like not traveling as much as we would like, not going to the movies and waiting for movies to come out on RedBox, not eating out as much, not going and doing like we used too. We take advantage of free stuff! Whether it be a free family fun activity around town or thinking of thrifty ways to have a date night.
The bottom line is, we are happy, yes it has been tough some months, but God is faithful. He has gone before us, we trust in His guidance, and we know that putting our trust in Him will always bring peace and comfort that we can't buy, invest, or create on our own.
Monday, April 29, 2013
The Why Behind our Decision
Startling Statistic: about 147 million orphans worldwide
James 1:27
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
"It's the mark of Christians to care the orphan because we're orphans. It's automatic--it's natural. And I'm not saying it all looks the same in every single one of our lives, but it's not possible to be a Christian, a child of God, and not have care for orphans." ~ David Platt
"The deepest and strongest foundation of adoption is located not in the act of humans adopting humans, but in God adopting humans. And this act is not part of His ordinary providence in the world; it is at the heart of the Gospel. Galatians 4:4-5 is as central a gospel statement as there is: 'But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.' " ~ John Piper
God's word is clear and the statements of these men of faith speak what is in Ryan's and my own heart--their words are definitely more eloquent than my own. I hope that these above/below statements will help you understand and answer any questions in your mind. I know that some of you may be asking yourself,"Why would a couple with two healthy children want to leave their children in the states and travel across the world to bring a child from a different country home?" or "You don't know what kind of issues this child may have, do you really want to make life harder for yourself or for your family?" Let me assure you... we know that this is going to be difficult, and yes this child may have learning disabilities, fear of being abandoned again, issues with connecting to our girls or us, etc, but don't you see...we, all of us, have an abundance of issues and God loves us anyway. He sent His son to die for us. Here are a few more statements that may shed some light on our decision making...
Piper speaking on the culture of adoption at his church,
"It means that our people are looking to their heavenly Father for their joy rather than rejecting the stress and cost of children in order to maximize their freedom and comforts. When people embrace the pain and joy of children rather than using abortion and birth control simply to keep children away, the worth of Christ shines more visibly...God's cost to adopt us was infinitely greater than any cost we will endure in adopting and raising children."
Okay now let me clarify! We are not saying anything against birth control here when quoting this statement :) We are stating that we will not let children, any child, orphan or unborn child, be looked at as a burden. Yes, we will have to raise a lot of money to fund all of the fees that come with adopting, but we know God is bigger than any $ amount and He is faithful. If it is His will we walk this road, He will see us through. And yes, we know that children are expensive, but friends let me be frank...we do NOT have to give our children everything this western world says they need. I pray everyday to be able to teach my children that all the junk will amount to nothing! Nothing! All that matters is that we obey the Lord and trust in Him and be His hands and feet. Now again, I'm not saying that nice things are wrong... if you know me at all, you know that I love shopping, I love crafting (which let's face it, Pinterest can be dangerous), I love going out to eat, etc, but again I say to you, we budget, we try and live within our means, and teach ourselves and our children everyday what is truly important.
"Now don't miss this: what we bring is not the hope of better in America...If that's the hope we bring, we have missed the whole point. If the point of orphan ministry is to bring children into nice homes with nice stuff and comfortable lives. We've missed the whole point ...We bring them hope of a Father on high who defends and protects and provides for them, and a Savior who pursues them and rescues them." ~ Platt
"It's all over the place; the law, the prophets, the psalms, God has chosen to care for the fatherless." ~ Platt
"We helpless in our sin, fatherless, slaves to sin, and God on high reaches down and instead of leaving us as sinners in rebellion, worthy of eternal damnation, he raises us up to be his children, in whom he delights, that's what happens on the cross." ~ Platt
Don't you see...
We are the rescued! Isn't it our responsibility to share how others can be rescued by our Father's hands?
Please pardon the length of this post, but I truly felt that these quotes helped to better explain why adoption is not just a resolution to infertility. It is a call to action on the parts of the believers whom God appoints this calling. But friends, we are ALL called to do something. And it is between you and Your Maker to decide what your part will be.
Thanks for reading,
Jenni
James 1:27
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
"It's the mark of Christians to care the orphan because we're orphans. It's automatic--it's natural. And I'm not saying it all looks the same in every single one of our lives, but it's not possible to be a Christian, a child of God, and not have care for orphans." ~ David Platt
"The deepest and strongest foundation of adoption is located not in the act of humans adopting humans, but in God adopting humans. And this act is not part of His ordinary providence in the world; it is at the heart of the Gospel. Galatians 4:4-5 is as central a gospel statement as there is: 'But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.' " ~ John Piper
God's word is clear and the statements of these men of faith speak what is in Ryan's and my own heart--their words are definitely more eloquent than my own. I hope that these above/below statements will help you understand and answer any questions in your mind. I know that some of you may be asking yourself,"Why would a couple with two healthy children want to leave their children in the states and travel across the world to bring a child from a different country home?" or "You don't know what kind of issues this child may have, do you really want to make life harder for yourself or for your family?" Let me assure you... we know that this is going to be difficult, and yes this child may have learning disabilities, fear of being abandoned again, issues with connecting to our girls or us, etc, but don't you see...we, all of us, have an abundance of issues and God loves us anyway. He sent His son to die for us. Here are a few more statements that may shed some light on our decision making...
Piper speaking on the culture of adoption at his church,
"It means that our people are looking to their heavenly Father for their joy rather than rejecting the stress and cost of children in order to maximize their freedom and comforts. When people embrace the pain and joy of children rather than using abortion and birth control simply to keep children away, the worth of Christ shines more visibly...God's cost to adopt us was infinitely greater than any cost we will endure in adopting and raising children."
Okay now let me clarify! We are not saying anything against birth control here when quoting this statement :) We are stating that we will not let children, any child, orphan or unborn child, be looked at as a burden. Yes, we will have to raise a lot of money to fund all of the fees that come with adopting, but we know God is bigger than any $ amount and He is faithful. If it is His will we walk this road, He will see us through. And yes, we know that children are expensive, but friends let me be frank...we do NOT have to give our children everything this western world says they need. I pray everyday to be able to teach my children that all the junk will amount to nothing! Nothing! All that matters is that we obey the Lord and trust in Him and be His hands and feet. Now again, I'm not saying that nice things are wrong... if you know me at all, you know that I love shopping, I love crafting (which let's face it, Pinterest can be dangerous), I love going out to eat, etc, but again I say to you, we budget, we try and live within our means, and teach ourselves and our children everyday what is truly important.
"Now don't miss this: what we bring is not the hope of better in America...If that's the hope we bring, we have missed the whole point. If the point of orphan ministry is to bring children into nice homes with nice stuff and comfortable lives. We've missed the whole point ...We bring them hope of a Father on high who defends and protects and provides for them, and a Savior who pursues them and rescues them." ~ Platt
"It's all over the place; the law, the prophets, the psalms, God has chosen to care for the fatherless." ~ Platt
"We helpless in our sin, fatherless, slaves to sin, and God on high reaches down and instead of leaving us as sinners in rebellion, worthy of eternal damnation, he raises us up to be his children, in whom he delights, that's what happens on the cross." ~ Platt
Don't you see...
We are the rescued! Isn't it our responsibility to share how others can be rescued by our Father's hands?
Please pardon the length of this post, but I truly felt that these quotes helped to better explain why adoption is not just a resolution to infertility. It is a call to action on the parts of the believers whom God appoints this calling. But friends, we are ALL called to do something. And it is between you and Your Maker to decide what your part will be.
Thanks for reading,
Jenni
Friday, April 26, 2013
Working on a Party of 5! The journey begins!
Where it all began:
Ryan and I are so thankful for the path the Lord has taken us on. From the moment we met, I think we both had the thought, "This is it!" It was pretty immediate after our first date that the Lord had provided the spouse that we had been longing for. Shortly after we were married we knew it was time to find a church we could join and serve. The Lord led us to Living Hope. Through that we joined a small group. We do life with these friends. They are like family to us. Most of us in the group have been together for over 4 years now. We've celebrated Zoey's birth with them, we mourned through 2 miscarriages with them, and rejoiced when the Lord blessed us with Evie Jo. In between the birth of our girls, our dear friends began the adoption process of their sweet boy from Africa. We've also had a cousin join Ryan's side of the family from Korea. Our church has also began an Orphancare ministry. Throughout all of these events, the Lord convicted our hearts to care for the fatherless. Now in the beginning is wasn't through adoption and not necessarily financially either. Most of you know that also during this time, I stopped teaching to stay at home full time. We prayed for both of these families. We tried to support our friends in our small group through as many fundraisers as possible. We were on a very tight budget, but we knew it was what the Lord convicted us to do. Now, however, he has stirred our hearts to something more, to begin the adoption process ourselves.
I hope you will continue reading the next few posts as I share mine and Ryan's heartfelt desire to bring a child home into a forever family. Thanks for reading friends!
Ryan and I are so thankful for the path the Lord has taken us on. From the moment we met, I think we both had the thought, "This is it!" It was pretty immediate after our first date that the Lord had provided the spouse that we had been longing for. Shortly after we were married we knew it was time to find a church we could join and serve. The Lord led us to Living Hope. Through that we joined a small group. We do life with these friends. They are like family to us. Most of us in the group have been together for over 4 years now. We've celebrated Zoey's birth with them, we mourned through 2 miscarriages with them, and rejoiced when the Lord blessed us with Evie Jo. In between the birth of our girls, our dear friends began the adoption process of their sweet boy from Africa. We've also had a cousin join Ryan's side of the family from Korea. Our church has also began an Orphancare ministry. Throughout all of these events, the Lord convicted our hearts to care for the fatherless. Now in the beginning is wasn't through adoption and not necessarily financially either. Most of you know that also during this time, I stopped teaching to stay at home full time. We prayed for both of these families. We tried to support our friends in our small group through as many fundraisers as possible. We were on a very tight budget, but we knew it was what the Lord convicted us to do. Now, however, he has stirred our hearts to something more, to begin the adoption process ourselves.
I hope you will continue reading the next few posts as I share mine and Ryan's heartfelt desire to bring a child home into a forever family. Thanks for reading friends!
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