Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Pre-Application Anticipation
We've officially turned in our pre-application to who we hope to be our adoption agency. I'm excited but a little nervous at the same time. I'm very curious to see what countries they recommend to us. We've been told that we are best suited for Africa so far but who knows. I'd love to work with Africa, South/Central America or Eastern Europe. So many kids out there need so much help. Now, the first of many waiting periods for our family. I'd really like to start the fundraising but knowing what countries to focus on would really help...
Monday, April 25, 2011
Is this money phenomenon happening to any other soon-to-be adoptive mamas?
Today, I found out that I lost not only my cell phone but that my guitar has also been possibly stolen along with an expensive case and detachable pick up, a tuner and my capo. I need my guitar because I play for two seperate praise and worship teams! This all happend no less than a week after, while laying face down on the floor, sobbing and praying about our adoption, my husband walked in and informed me that he's lost a $900 peice of Army equiptment that was unreplaceable unless purchaced at full price. Ugg! Why is all this happening when we are trying to save for an upcomming adoption???
I should've listened to my friend Kryste who warned me that, when saving up for an adoption, money will start disapearing. Things will break, get stollen and get lost. Satan knows we are trying to save and things will start happening. I don't know if I'm worried now that I'm on satan's radar about money or happy that God is using this time to confirm the whole adoption concept to me.
I will miss my guitar and phone but you know what: it's all replaceable. I guess this is all part of the process.
I should've listened to my friend Kryste who warned me that, when saving up for an adoption, money will start disapearing. Things will break, get stollen and get lost. Satan knows we are trying to save and things will start happening. I don't know if I'm worried now that I'm on satan's radar about money or happy that God is using this time to confirm the whole adoption concept to me.
I will miss my guitar and phone but you know what: it's all replaceable. I guess this is all part of the process.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Because He Said So!
James 1:27 says "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."
So what does that mean to us? It means we are gearing up to take a path that may not be a popular one. I can hear it now "But Lauren, you can't save them all!", "Don't you have enough kids?", "Can you guys really handle this financially?". Here's the thing: I don't have all the answers. What I do have is a heart for orphans and the oppressed and an overwhelming desire to do something about it. What I do have is a God that's done nothing less that prove to me time and time again that He will make a way. It's easy to stay comfortable but I've found that God does most of His most impressive work when we are out of our comfort zones and we have nothing else to rely on but Him. I'm ready to take that, terrifying, heart stopping leap of faith that even though this decision defies all reason and logic, I know it's the right thing for our family. Somewhere out there is our little one struggling to survive and just as if one of our biological children were out there, I plan to do what it takes to bring them home.
Most of you know that I've been talking about adoption for quite some time. I bring it up every once an a while but now I believe it's time to move. It's time to make those dreams of mine a reality.
Some of you may be asking at this point "How does Rich feel about all of this?". Well...he feels scared...just like I do. International adoptions are super expensive and home studies can be really invasive. We currently don't have a big enough house to be approved for anything and would have to wrestle with military housing to give us an exception to policy to move. We have some things in our past that could hinder us from even being able to adopt from certain countries. Rich is still in school and he's still struggling with getting into a couple of programs to further his career. Scared is an understatement for us! I remember hearing a quote from Joyce Meyer one time that "if God calls you to do something and you are afraid to do it, you do it afraid".
I sincerely hope that our family and friends support us during this process. In case you are curious, the current recommendation by the last adoption agency that I have been in talks with is that we are best suited for African adoption (Ethiopia, Uganda or Ghana) or Bulgarian adoption.
So what can you all do now to support us? PRAYER! We are in the very early stages of this process and a lot of decisions still need to be made. I will definitely keep you all posted.
So what does that mean to us? It means we are gearing up to take a path that may not be a popular one. I can hear it now "But Lauren, you can't save them all!", "Don't you have enough kids?", "Can you guys really handle this financially?". Here's the thing: I don't have all the answers. What I do have is a heart for orphans and the oppressed and an overwhelming desire to do something about it. What I do have is a God that's done nothing less that prove to me time and time again that He will make a way. It's easy to stay comfortable but I've found that God does most of His most impressive work when we are out of our comfort zones and we have nothing else to rely on but Him. I'm ready to take that, terrifying, heart stopping leap of faith that even though this decision defies all reason and logic, I know it's the right thing for our family. Somewhere out there is our little one struggling to survive and just as if one of our biological children were out there, I plan to do what it takes to bring them home.
Most of you know that I've been talking about adoption for quite some time. I bring it up every once an a while but now I believe it's time to move. It's time to make those dreams of mine a reality.
Some of you may be asking at this point "How does Rich feel about all of this?". Well...he feels scared...just like I do. International adoptions are super expensive and home studies can be really invasive. We currently don't have a big enough house to be approved for anything and would have to wrestle with military housing to give us an exception to policy to move. We have some things in our past that could hinder us from even being able to adopt from certain countries. Rich is still in school and he's still struggling with getting into a couple of programs to further his career. Scared is an understatement for us! I remember hearing a quote from Joyce Meyer one time that "if God calls you to do something and you are afraid to do it, you do it afraid".
I sincerely hope that our family and friends support us during this process. In case you are curious, the current recommendation by the last adoption agency that I have been in talks with is that we are best suited for African adoption (Ethiopia, Uganda or Ghana) or Bulgarian adoption.
So what can you all do now to support us? PRAYER! We are in the very early stages of this process and a lot of decisions still need to be made. I will definitely keep you all posted.
Under Construction!
So excited to be posting our very first blog. I've never done this before so I any tips on what would make this blog cool (links, music, pics, videos etc.) are welcome. Just give me instructions too because I'm not so great with computers.
This blog is dedicated to our adoption process in the hopes of sharing our journey with all of our friends and family or even strangers that are just interested in how international adoption worked for our family.
This blog is dedicated to our adoption process in the hopes of sharing our journey with all of our friends and family or even strangers that are just interested in how international adoption worked for our family.
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