Happy Wednesday, everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to share a flyer that I created for some friends who wanted to share info about our adoption journey with their church family. Please feel free to share it in any way you wish. We are so thankful for the many family and friends who are joining us on this journey!
Please click here to view/print the flyer.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
God is SO Good
Wow. SO much has happened since my last post. I'm pretty sure I've written a post in my head every single day, but I don't guess that did anyone much good, huh? So......I'm going to do my best to go back and recount what's been going on these past couple of weeks. For starters, we had our in-home visit from our home study worker on Friday, August 3rd, and it went great! Our worker is beyond amazing, and we are so blessed to be working with her. At the conclusion of that visit, we asked her when we'd be seeing her again, and she said we wouldn't see her again until they were home! What?! We were thinking that we still had one more visit. This was great news! However, it did mean that we would need to have payment ready a little sooner than expected. She told us that she should have everything written up and ready to go 2-3 weeks from that date. So, we're thinking it should be ready within the next few days. :) Thanks to everyone's support through Taylor's Adoption Store, Created & Blessed and Adoption Bug t-shirt sales, and the yard sale we had this past Saturday, we are very close to having the amount we need for our home study. After the home study is paid for, we will next mail the application and application fee in to our prospective agency, and then we'll work towards funding our fingerprinting. (If you haven't seen our new fundraisers, you can check them out here. Taylor's Store is still up and running as well. :) Keep checking back to see if new items have been posted.)
I need to tell you--last week was pretty amazing! Lots of great things going on with our friends who are adopting. (Backstory: we have several friends from church who have adopted/are adopting as well. Three of those couples are adopting from the DR Congo. One couple is adopting from China. And, others are adopting domestically.) Last week was filled with great news. One family saw God do something totally unexpected and watched as He began to move mountains. Another got news that their daughter finally passed court! And, yesterday, yet another family saw the court make a good decision to move in the right direction. And, today...........Well, days like today are the ones that really keep us all moving. It was one of those days where the presence of God and His faithfulness were absolutely undeniable. On Sunday, our friends Stuart and Jenny boarded a plane headed to the DR Congo. And, today, they held two of their children for the very first time. God is good. SO good. Won't you let Him show you just how good He is?
I need to tell you--last week was pretty amazing! Lots of great things going on with our friends who are adopting. (Backstory: we have several friends from church who have adopted/are adopting as well. Three of those couples are adopting from the DR Congo. One couple is adopting from China. And, others are adopting domestically.) Last week was filled with great news. One family saw God do something totally unexpected and watched as He began to move mountains. Another got news that their daughter finally passed court! And, yesterday, yet another family saw the court make a good decision to move in the right direction. And, today...........Well, days like today are the ones that really keep us all moving. It was one of those days where the presence of God and His faithfulness were absolutely undeniable. On Sunday, our friends Stuart and Jenny boarded a plane headed to the DR Congo. And, today, they held two of their children for the very first time. God is good. SO good. Won't you let Him show you just how good He is?
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Blessed
I have so much to say that I don't even know where to begin. So, I'm just going to keep this brief for now. What an amazing week! I am so overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support we have received. We are truly blessed to have such amazing friends and family. Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow, as we are scheduled for our second home study meeting. :)
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Fundraising
A HUGE thanks to everyone who has supported Taylor in her fundraising efforts thus far! She has been thrilled by the response, and it has been such a blessing for us to watch. If you click on the "Shop" tab, you'll notice that nearly all of the items she posted a couple of days ago are now marked as "SOLD"! But, for those of you interested in ordering paintings or bracelets, stay tuned.......She is hard at work creating more and can't wait to share them with you. :)
Some of you have asked how much money we need to raise. The answer: A LOT. But, we know God is faithful to provide for His purposes. For now, we don't want to overwhelm anyone (including ourselves) with huge numbers. So, we are setting one small goal at a time. (Though we know God is able to do far more than we can ask or imagine.) Our first goal is to raise $3,000. This amount should cover our home study, application fee with our prospective agency, and fingerprinting.
When will we need this amount? At the time of our final home study. Our home study consists of three appointments. Our first meeting was on July 6th. Our second is scheduled for next Friday, August 3rd. At that time, we will schedule our third and final appointment. So.....we will likely need to raise this amount within the next month.
Per request, we now have a "Donate" button located down the right side of our home page where donations can be made through PayPal.
Thanks once again for everyone's prayers, encouragement, and support. We are truly humbled and blessed.
With love,
Deanna
Some of you have asked how much money we need to raise. The answer: A LOT. But, we know God is faithful to provide for His purposes. For now, we don't want to overwhelm anyone (including ourselves) with huge numbers. So, we are setting one small goal at a time. (Though we know God is able to do far more than we can ask or imagine.) Our first goal is to raise $3,000. This amount should cover our home study, application fee with our prospective agency, and fingerprinting.
When will we need this amount? At the time of our final home study. Our home study consists of three appointments. Our first meeting was on July 6th. Our second is scheduled for next Friday, August 3rd. At that time, we will schedule our third and final appointment. So.....we will likely need to raise this amount within the next month.
Per request, we now have a "Donate" button located down the right side of our home page where donations can be made through PayPal.
Thanks once again for everyone's prayers, encouragement, and support. We are truly humbled and blessed.
With love,
Deanna
Friday, July 27, 2012
Children of God
I first saw this video by Third Day about a year ago, and I continue to love it more and more each time I watch it.........
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
Saturday, July 21, 2012
A New Journey Begins
In light of our prayers, God is answering. And, He is speaking loud and clear..........
James 1:27
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.
Hosea 14:3
.....In you the fatherless find compassion.
Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
Matthew 18:5
And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
So.......it is with great joy that we announce the beginning of our journey to grow our family through adoption!
James 1:27
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.
Hosea 14:3
.....In you the fatherless find compassion.
Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
Matthew 18:5
And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Psalm 68:5-6
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families.....
So.......it is with great joy that we announce the beginning of our journey to grow our family through adoption!
The Victory is His
As I look back on my life, I am overwhelmed as I see God's love, grace, and mercy flowing all through it. Many times I failed. Still his mercy remained. And, now all I want to do is bring Him praise. Over the last few years, God has transformed our hearts in new ways and opened our eyes to many things once unseen. A milestone in our journey was certainly in October of 2006, when Shaun and I went on our first international mission trip to South Asia. That trip entirely changed my view of the world and reminded me of my purpose for being here--to bring Him glory and that alone. I recall a very specific moment when I felt God whisper to me, "THIS is why I created you." And, perhaps for the very first time I knew I was exactly where I was intended to be, doing exactly what I was intended to do.
Fast forward to our return trip to the States. I was home. But, I wasn't. And, I knew that I would never feel home again until I reached heaven. But, then that left me with the question, "What do I do until then?" Our hearts had become so strongly tied to the peoples of South Asia, we at first thought maybe He wanted us to serve there long term. Though an overwhelming thought, we knew God was asking us to be willing, willing to do whatever He wanted us to do and to go wherever He wanted us to go. So we walked toward that door. And, then, He closed it. "Now what?" we thought. He soon revealed that His plan is the same, wherever we are. He began to put people and opportunities in front of us, and we took one step at a time. We aren't always sure what He has for our future. But, we just keep taking one more step, then another, then another. Those steps have led us to return to South Asia. Shaun has gone to Haiti and Central Asia. And, I have traveled to Japan and West Africa. Whether here or there, our God is the same God.
While here, we look to see where He is working, and then we join Him. Umm.....As much as I want that to be the truth, it's not. Sometimes we join Him, but sometimes we don't. And, that's why we ask Him to continue to change our hearts. A few months back, I listened to a David Platt podcast where he made the statement, "We need God to deliver us from natural affections to supernatural affections." And, that has become my prayer. "Lord, change the desires of my heart. Make them yours." Our natural affections turn us toward ourselves--possessions, position, power, pride, control. You can complete that list. However, supernatural affections--HIS affections, turn our hearts toward others--the poor, the hurting, the lonely. The enslaved, the tormented, the tortured. The orphan and the widow. And, so now I am haunted by images straight from the heart of God. These images are heartbreaking. But, then I see God in them. And, I see Him making all things beautiful. And, as difficult as this journey may be, I want to take it. Because I know that at the end of it all, God is there. And, the victory is His.
Fast forward to our return trip to the States. I was home. But, I wasn't. And, I knew that I would never feel home again until I reached heaven. But, then that left me with the question, "What do I do until then?" Our hearts had become so strongly tied to the peoples of South Asia, we at first thought maybe He wanted us to serve there long term. Though an overwhelming thought, we knew God was asking us to be willing, willing to do whatever He wanted us to do and to go wherever He wanted us to go. So we walked toward that door. And, then, He closed it. "Now what?" we thought. He soon revealed that His plan is the same, wherever we are. He began to put people and opportunities in front of us, and we took one step at a time. We aren't always sure what He has for our future. But, we just keep taking one more step, then another, then another. Those steps have led us to return to South Asia. Shaun has gone to Haiti and Central Asia. And, I have traveled to Japan and West Africa. Whether here or there, our God is the same God.
While here, we look to see where He is working, and then we join Him. Umm.....As much as I want that to be the truth, it's not. Sometimes we join Him, but sometimes we don't. And, that's why we ask Him to continue to change our hearts. A few months back, I listened to a David Platt podcast where he made the statement, "We need God to deliver us from natural affections to supernatural affections." And, that has become my prayer. "Lord, change the desires of my heart. Make them yours." Our natural affections turn us toward ourselves--possessions, position, power, pride, control. You can complete that list. However, supernatural affections--HIS affections, turn our hearts toward others--the poor, the hurting, the lonely. The enslaved, the tormented, the tortured. The orphan and the widow. And, so now I am haunted by images straight from the heart of God. These images are heartbreaking. But, then I see God in them. And, I see Him making all things beautiful. And, as difficult as this journey may be, I want to take it. Because I know that at the end of it all, God is there. And, the victory is His.
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