God uses a Village...

Our God is a God that does really big things. And adoption is definitely one of those really big things.  For a young couple doing ministry in rural Kentucky to fly halfway around the world to pick up a little girl and bring her home into her new family is a nearly unthinkable reality.  When God moves like that, it's amazing to watch His power on glorious display.  It's also humbling to realize how little your effort can accomplish without Him.

If you're reading this blog, you're already invested in some way in our adoption.  Most likely you're already praying for us and following the tiny first steps of our journey with the same joy and anticipation that we are feeling.  And, you probably realize that this is something that can't be done alone.  The wonderful thing about God is that He uses us in His incredible, huge, amazing plan.  That's why I'm writing this post...how can God use you?

God has called us to this and we're ready to obey Him.  But despite His incredible blessings in our lives, we don't have the $35,000 or so that is required to complete this process.  Rather than an obstacle to God's plans and purposes, that's actually an opportunity.  If we had the money, we could fool ourselves into thinking that we could handle this ourselves.  But, since we don't, we're reminded once again that we have to rely on Him; it's an opportunity to trust Him and ultimately, give Him the glory.

This is an opportunity for you, too.  We need your help, to give out of all that God has given to you to help make God's plan and purpose through this adoption a reality.  We prayerfully ask you to consider supporting this adoption financially.  There's no obligation of course...that's not the point.  Instead, we're asking that you allow yourself to be used by God to demonstrate His faithfulness in our lives.  This is a beautiful picture of why God calls His people into community together...so that He can use us to demonstrate His love to one another.

We have set up an online fundraising site that is a convenient way both to give and to track the progress of the Lord's faithfulness. That link can be found below, and there is also a link to the site on the right side of this page as well.

Help Bring Our Little Girl Home

We are also in the midst of setting up an account with our agency which will allow people to send tax deductible donations directly to our agency. As soon as we have that in place I will post that information.

Please also consider spreading the word by posting the links to the fundraising page on your facebook or blog. We cannot do this alone, but nothing is to big for our great God. Every prayer prayed, every amount given, great or small, helps us take one step closer to fulfilling the plan God has set out for us.

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

- Ephesians 3:16-21

Waiting Children? What does that mean?

In my last post I mentioned that we had been accepted into the India Waiting Children's program with America World. For those who may not completely understand what that means I would love to share briefly about what this decision will look like for our family.

Any child included in such a program (at least for the country of India) is a healthy child 7 + years old, sibling groups, or younger children with "special needs." The idea of special needs concerning international adoption can be very different than what we might typically consider special needs in the United States. Special needs encompasses a wide variety of issues from something as simple as a poorly placed birthmark, low birth weight to more severe needs that would require surgery like a cleft lip or palate, heart conditions, and club feet. Then there are permanent disabilities such as missing limbs, blood disorders, hearing and vision impairments...the list goes on and on.

So where exactly do we fall in all of this? Jon and I feel led very strongly to a child with some sort of special need. At this point in time we cannot say exactly what that will look like. We have already begun praying and asking the Lord to make his will clear. Along with prayer we have also started reading quite a bit of material to learn about the multitude of needs that are out there. We long to be obedient to the Lord no matter the call but right now we have no specifics. If you feel led please join us in praying for guidance in this area.

We had not originally planned to go this route, but God doesn't always work the way we think he will.  Choosing to adopt a child who is "different" may not make sense to some, but as a Christan it stirs my heart. Were we not broken before Christ came and healed us? Our helplessness may not have been visible on the outside but we were a mess, yet God chose to love us despite our brokenness and sin. Through his Spirit working in us, God has given his Church a heart for the world and for our family, that looks like this. James states that, "religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." This isn't about a physical deformity or a category of care, it's about living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We've Been Accepted!

Is this really happening?!? I mean, I had hoped this day would come but it still seems so surreal. Last Thursday we submitted our adoption application to America World along with our application fee, family photo, and letter of intent. Today we got the news...we have been accepted into the America World family as part of the India waiting children program!! I intend on writing more on how this finally came about but for now I just wanted to share this awesomely exciting news. God has heard our prayers and has opened the door to bring our daughter home! Praise Him for granting our family the chance to show those around us his amazing faithfulness as we begin this adoption journey!  Stay tuned for more news as we bring you along for the ride. Pray for us dear friends.We have so many mixed emotions knowing that now this is actually happening. We are thrilled, terrified, anxious, thankful, and that is in no way a comprehensive list. This is gonna be crazy. God make your glory known!

Picture Made By Elisabeth

Faith

My God,

I bless thee that thou hast given me the eye

       of faith,

   to see thee as Father,

   to know thee as a covenant God,

   to experience thy love planted in me;

For faith is the grace of union

   by which I spell out my entitlement to thee:

Faith casts my anchor upwards

   where I trust in thee

   and engage thee to be my Lord.

Be pleased to live and move within me,

   breathing in my prayers,

   inhabiting my praises,

   speaking in my words,

   moving in my actions,

   living in my life,

   causing me to grow in grace.

Thy bounteous goodness has helped me believe,

   but my faith is weak and wavering,

     its light dim,

     its steps tottering,

     its increase slow,

     its backslidings frequent;

It should scale the heavens, but lies grovelling

     in the dust.

Lord, fan this divine spark into glowing flame.

When faith sleeps, my heart becomes

   an unclean thing,

   the fount of every loathsome desire,

   the cage of unclean lusts

   all fluttering to escape,

     the noxious tree of deadly fruit,

     the open wayside of earthly tares.

Lord, awake faith to put forth its strength

   until all heaven fills my soul

   and all impurity is cast out.

(The Valley of Vision)

Bye Bye Debt

Today marks a huge day for us as a family. We have officially paid off every penny of our credit card debt!! Praise the Lord! Praise Him that He provided a job for me. Praise Him that He granted me the health to complete that job. Praise God that He burdened my husband to lead us to take care of this debt in the first place. In the end this entire journey is all about God's glory anyway and I don't want a day like today to go wasted. I'm just incredibly thankful for God's provision and I wanted to take a moment to rejoice in that!!

Reminders

This was the front cover of our bulletin at church today. When I caught a glimpse of it I almost started to cry...What is wrong with me?!? Good grief.

Well at the end of this month CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority) will be meeting to work on some issues concerning Indian adoptions. I have already prayed quiet a bit for this meeting and would like to ask anyone reading this to join in with me. Here are specific requests you can begin lifting up to the Lord. These requests came straight from AWAA.

- For the adoption meetings February 19—21^st. For CARA, agencies and RIPA’s (Recognized Indian Placement Agencies) to find solutions and processes to continue working together and for productive meetings and good relationship building

     - For the program to reopen quickly  

     - For more children to be registered for adoption.

 

     - For more RIPA’s to be able to complete adoptions, for more families open to children with medical needs or older children.

I am not expecting to hear any news concerning India until March but I guess there is always a chance. AWAA will be sending delegates over to India to take part in these meetings so I will hear first hand if there is any news on that front. Please join me in praying for God to move mightily in the country of India. There are 30 MILLION orphans in India and although bringing one home seems like a drop in the bucket I pray that our journey will spur others on to take on the Lord's heart for the fatherless.

Wondering in the wilderness has never felt so sweet

I haven't posted much since news of the India program's temporary closure. I went through quite a bit of wrestling as the Lord pruned and taught me more about himself and in turn showed areas of sin in my own life. This pruning, growing, waiting period of time has been painful and hard but there is a sweetness about it that I cannot deny.

In December only a few weeks after hearing of the closure the Lord used a Sunday school lesson to speak volumes into my life. It was a simple message concerning the fall of man in Genesis. Let me share a small portion of that lesson.

"The main reason people sin is because we don't trust God. We don't really believe that He is going to provide, which is why we go out looking for things ourselves...

We grab for things because he think God is going to hold out on us. With our fists clenched around the things of this world, we scream, 'How can I know? How can I truly trust that You are for me.'

God could look back at us in fury for doubting Him again. Who are we that we should demand God demonstrate anything? Yet we see Him answer this through the apostle Paul in Romans 8:32: 'He did not even spare his own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything?'

God's answer to our wandering hearts is found in Jesus. If He will not withhold His only Son to bring about our good, how much more can we be confident that He will give us all things that work together for our good?"

I remember crying as I read through that lesson as God so graciously showed me how I was doubting Him. I so often believed that I knew what was best. I was angry over this wait because deep down I knew that my timing was best. I was upset that things weren't going "according to plan." There was such a beatiful release that took place in the wee hours of that morning. There was a surrendering that needed to happen and since that night I have not struggled with anger and paralyzing doubt.

Now sure I have my days when things are tough and I struggle to remember the truth that God is good and that he is working everything out for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes. I am beginning to say that wholeheartedly realizing that even if God were to completely close the door on an adoption from India I can still trust his goodness and know that he will guide us to the next place. I am more willing to listen and obey than I was at the end of last year and I praise God for his work in my heart. So we continue to wait but I thank the Lord that he has made this time sweet. I am utterly grateful.