Making Sense of Your Life

My friends are probably all tired of me telling them about these great podcasts I listen too, as are you, because I believe I've mentioned them a few times.  But as you can tell, they inspire me!  It's like having church in my car every week!  I look forward to my hour trips in the car so I can soak up as much wisdom as I can from these God-fearing men and women who share about Christ's love for them...and fully understanding what that means.

A friend texted me to listen to a podcast by Francis Chan, called "Making Sense of Your Life."  After the initial ego-crush, and confusion as to what she was trying to tell me...I uploaded it from http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/special/media_player.html.

So here's what I gathered from this, and how it pertains to where I am in life right now.

     With this adoption, there have been up's and down's.  Good and bad.  Positive and negative.  Encouragement and questioning.  This questioning piece has been getting harder and harder for me to swallow.  I haven't been able to really pinpoint why I can't seem to let go of people's negativity or hurtful comments or questioning to what we are doing.  Maybe just because it plain hurts...

But this is what I now know.  If we are living life according to the Bible, according to the words that are written in Scriptures and preached around the world....my life won't make sense to most people.  

How do we plan to financially take care of this child if we can't afford to adopt him now?  We will continue to work hard at the jobs God has blessed us with, and we won't worry, because God "will provide according to His glorious riches." (Phil. 4:19)


Why are you fundraising to bring home a child?  Because we have been called to "take care of the least of these"...and for us, that was stepping forward in faith to act upon this child's behalf.  Not everyone is called to do that.  Some are called to advocate for these children (which is another perk of fundraising), some are called to donate out of their financial blessings, some are called to provide medical care for the orphans...we are called to bring Blake into our home and the only way we can is with your help.


You are going to be so overwhelmed and tired with raising 2 children so close in age and one with special needs?  I'm sure I will.  As is any mom.  But again,  I have no fear, God is with me.  The creator of the Universe LOVES me.  AND He says to ask anything of Him, and to be anxious for nothing, but in everything be thankful.  

Why don't you adopt a child from the US?  I guess because we were called to this little boy.  If we had been called to a child in the US, we would have moved forward on it, just as we have with this International adoption.  God's love has no boundaries.  God's call to "defend the cause of the orphans" is not limited to this land-lock of space.  For God so loved the WORLD....

I am not going to try to defend all our reasons to adopt with logistics, etc.  My prayer is that the Holy Spirit moves in your heart in whatever way and that you respond in humble humility.  Only then can you begin to understand and make sense of my life in Christ. Praying for you!
http://storage.cloversites.com/cornerstonecommunitychurch1/documents/Section%20Two%20-%20Person%20of%20the%20Holy%20Spirit%20-%20Lesson%20One.docx.pdf

What started as a trip to the store.

Okay, so I am always nervous sending Jerad to the grocery store with a list because he always comes back with a few extra items.

Oreo cookies.

Ice cream.

French bread.

Candy.

Juice.

All things NOT on the list.  Anyway, this particular day he and Leah ran the errands to get out of the house, while I stayed with Autum.  Well, after a while I thought "they sure have been gone a long time..."

Oh well, I was enjoying the peace and quiet, so was quick to diffuse that thought.

Upon arrival home...Jerad quickly hurried to Autum and Blake's room with some bags and then returned to put the groceries away.  I waited until he went outside later and quickly went to explore.  Here is what I was greeted with...

 

 

It made me smile.

My husband is a man of few words, so since our initial decision to adopt, I've heard very little as far as his level of excitement to getting to see Blake soon.  Which for me, is the norm, I don't assume anything.

Upon seeing these little purchases, my heart leaped for joy.

He is getting excited.

Giving Back

Today I received the chance to pay forward the efforts you all have made in regards to our adoption.

This was the day of our 4th Annual Triple Threat Youth Triathlon in town.  I have directed this event with the help of the Hillsboro Recreation Commission and Tabor College volunteers.  Thank you Cross Country Team for all your help!  We had 35 kids swim 100 meters, bike 4 miles, and run 1 mile as part of the event.  Keep in mind, these kids are ages 6 to 14 years old. This year we decided to donate all proceeds from this day toward our Hillsboro Playground Committee Fund.  There are a group of people in town who have taken it upon themselves to raise money to improve and add to the kid's playground equipment at Memorial Park.  (trust me it needed some attention)  Well, because of my interest in keeping families active, I thought this event would be a perfect contributor to this effort.

Like I said before, I am so excited to present them with a check in the next few days, to help raise their fundraising thermometer up a bit.  It's only a small contribution, but it is something.  And that is the mindset I've had in our fundraising efforts for Blake...every little bit counts!

So thank you to all the participant's, parents, volunteers, the Hillsboro Recreation, the local businesses who helped sponsor the event, my mom, sister and her boyfriend, the Playground Committee, and all those who made this event possible for the kids in this area and surrounding states!

Here are a few pics to share from today:

 

Fundraising Opportunities

First off, I'd like to give a 'shout-out' to Representative Bob Brookens and Senator Jerry Moran.  I was encouraged to contact our representatives to make inquiries about our paperwork at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.  Sometimes having your 'higher-up's' make calls can help move the process along.  Well, the day I contacted both of these men, I received phone calls back asking how they could help!  I was so blessed by this speedy response.  I was planning to hear back in a week or so.  No, both men jumped into action on our behalf and are doing what they can to help us out.  Can I just say I'm so thankful for men like these who are representing us on a larger scale, yet not forgetting about us on the smaller scale!  Thank you! 

So, since our paperwork is 'resting' at the National Benefits Center in Lee's Summit, Missouri.  We have been working endlessly on upcoming fundraising opportunities.  Here's what we have lined up so far:

Now--Still taking comments on the Channel 3 news story--so if you haven't commented do so now, if you have let others know (CLICK HERE)

Sept. 2nd-- Garage Sale in Cherokee, OK (Thank you Terri for all your work!)  at the Baker Bldg.

Sept. 13th--Raffle Ticket Sales at the Hillsboro High School Volleyball Game (at home) for the TV -Go here to read more about this.

Sept. 11-Sept. 19th--Change Jars will be located at local businesses


 We would love to see you out and about at any of these events.  We are so grateful for the donations made to the garage sale, USD 410 for allowing us to sell raffle tickets, for the businesses allowing us to place cans at their stores, for the donation of the TV, for the people commenting on our blog to get to 1000, and for all the support and encouragement we have received on this journey so far. 

We are getting closer, thanks to God's mercy and grace.