This weekend has been full of disappointments caused by yet another yucky virus entering our home, but the Lord has been challenging me to find blessings in the midst of negative circumstances. Tonight I was having an especially hard time finding anything positive about missing church twice in one day, meaning I missed out on fellowship with other believers, corporate worship, seeing friends, and especially tonight's missions month service--a presentation by Embrace, the orphan care ministry started exactly one year ago at Brookhaven.
But not soon after I starting thinking tonight was just a huge disappointment, the Lord filled my heart with reminders of where He has brought my family in this past year. One year ago tonight, I sat in the MFC after having spent several months seeking the Lord's direction for my family, specifically in how He wanted to use me as a new mom. I had spent several months pulling back from quite a few of my "good" activities in order to seek the Lord's "best" for this new stage of life.
Last year on this Sunday night the Lord began unveiling the first glimpses of His new best for my family. We sat and listened to the presentation on a brand-new ministry being started at Brookaven called Embrace: Arms Open Wide to Receive a Child. I remember vividly sitting there thinking, "Lord, you are asking us to jump on board with this, aren't you?" knowing He was clearly saying "yes" as part of the answer to my months of prayer. I contacted Mike and Lori McDivitt right away and expressed interest in our family's involvement with this new ministry. Little did I know that step was just the small beginning of what the Lord wanted to do in our family.
After meeting with Lori and others in the early stage of Embrace brainstorming, the Lord began stirring up a more intense desire to consider adoption. We had had adoption or foster care in the back of our minds for a few years, but we had nearly written it off as a "later" item on our list, not something to consider yet as parents of an infant.
But God had other thoughts. You see, He has always been the defender of the fatherless and is always working to set the lonely in families. The child in crisis is always on His mind, never saved for a later date but always of first and foremost importance. As we sought His direction for our family, His surprising answer to our seeking was "Defend one of my little ones. Be his/her advocate. Adopt him/her into your family as I adopted you into Mine." The Lord confirmed over a period of months that we needed to step out in faith, trust Him, and pursue adoption.
To date, the journey has been everything others promised it would be: thrilling, exciting, full of adventure, and full of spiritual battles sometimes resulting in discouragement, disillusionment, and doubt. We are learning over and over (and OVER) of the need to rest in the Lord, trust in His promises, and continue stepping out in faith to pursue the little one He wants to place in our family. We thank you again and again for joining with us in prayer through this journey: we can't emphasize enough the spiritual battle that takes place for a child's life, so your prayers are absolutely crucial.
May He continue to burden our hearts for His little ones in crisis around the world!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Sweet Reflections
February is one of our favorite months, not because of Valentines' Day (though an extra time to say "I Love You" is never bad), but because 7 years ago on February 18 we exchanged vows at Brookhaven Wesleyan Church, promising to love each other in sickness and health, wealth and poverty, and all the other things that we said but can't remember because we were so love-struck looking into each other's eyes. What we didn't know 7 years ago was how much deeper the Lord would grow our love for each other and for Him as we entered the realm of parenting, and even deeper still as we embarked on the journey of adoption together.
These past seven years of marriage have been full of rich blessings as we've sailed through both smooth and rough waters. Through periods of doubt, financial blessing, loss, new friendships, closed doors, and new pathways laid before us, the Lord has been so faithful to hold us up and guide us forward when we cling to Him. He has faithfully corrected our short sight when we lost view of His larger picture while staring at immediate problems instead. We can't wait to keep travelling the road of marriage as we hold tight to the Lord!
Along with our anniversary, February is "missions month" at Brookhaven each year, a time we have really grown to love! While our family has never felt a call to foreign missions, we are consistently challenged each year to pursue reaching into the lives of others as the Lord calls and orchestrates. Through the years we have been challenged during missions month in prayer, faith promise giving, and most recently, to pursue the call of adoption and orphan care ministry. This year is proving to be a powerful affirmation of the Lord's call on our lives to continue pursuing adoption and has reminded us that when we are powerless and weak, HE is mighty and strong! We can't wait for the rest of missions month.
As we continue on this adoption journey, we are anticipating great things! We were reminded of God's greatness today through the account of the feeding of the 5,000. Five loaves and 2 fishes were placed in the Lord's hands, and He divided it over and over and over until there were baskets left over after all the people were fed! What a great God we serve!
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20
These past seven years of marriage have been full of rich blessings as we've sailed through both smooth and rough waters. Through periods of doubt, financial blessing, loss, new friendships, closed doors, and new pathways laid before us, the Lord has been so faithful to hold us up and guide us forward when we cling to Him. He has faithfully corrected our short sight when we lost view of His larger picture while staring at immediate problems instead. We can't wait to keep travelling the road of marriage as we hold tight to the Lord!
Along with our anniversary, February is "missions month" at Brookhaven each year, a time we have really grown to love! While our family has never felt a call to foreign missions, we are consistently challenged each year to pursue reaching into the lives of others as the Lord calls and orchestrates. Through the years we have been challenged during missions month in prayer, faith promise giving, and most recently, to pursue the call of adoption and orphan care ministry. This year is proving to be a powerful affirmation of the Lord's call on our lives to continue pursuing adoption and has reminded us that when we are powerless and weak, HE is mighty and strong! We can't wait for the rest of missions month.
As we continue on this adoption journey, we are anticipating great things! We were reminded of God's greatness today through the account of the feeding of the 5,000. Five loaves and 2 fishes were placed in the Lord's hands, and He divided it over and over and over until there were baskets left over after all the people were fed! What a great God we serve!
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20
Monday, January 21, 2013
Home Study IN HAND!!!!
Many of you likely saw on Facebook a couple weeks back that our home study was very close to completion, minus one last document. Well, we are so so SOOO excited to announce that we now have a completed home study in hand!!! For those of you who are new to the adoption world (like us), this means we have completed hurdle #1 of our adoption journey!
We are so thrilled to have this piece complete and also thrilled to have entered the second trimester of our pregnancy, meaning we are all finally feeling a bit more energetic and ready to creatively raise funds! Stay tuned to our blog for some special ways you can help us raise the needed funding to complete our adoption. As always, you may donate now via our PayPal link on the right-hand side of our blog, or you may now make a tax-deductible donation to our adoption by visiting https://adopttogether.org/danielandmae/. We are thanking God for already providing nearly 25 percent!
Please continue praying with us for:
1) Energy and creativity in fundraising--it's no secret, there are large sums of money to be raised before we will be able to bring a child into our family. However, the Lord does not call us to anything without providing for that call, so we are confident He's got a plan to provide!
2) The expectant mother who will carry our child to term--we have no idea what God's timetable is for when our adoption will take place, but we are praying for the sweet woman who either has already or will soon make the brave decision to give life to her little one through the blessing of adoption.
3) Meaningful conversations with others regarding adoption and orphan care. We often have chances to share our call to adoption with friends, family, and acquaintances, so pray we will always be in tune with what the Lord would have us to share regarding His little ones needing families.
Thanks again for all your love, prayers, and support as we continue this journey! May the Lord bless you as you seek Him!
We are so thrilled to have this piece complete and also thrilled to have entered the second trimester of our pregnancy, meaning we are all finally feeling a bit more energetic and ready to creatively raise funds! Stay tuned to our blog for some special ways you can help us raise the needed funding to complete our adoption. As always, you may donate now via our PayPal link on the right-hand side of our blog, or you may now make a tax-deductible donation to our adoption by visiting https://adopttogether.org/danielandmae/. We are thanking God for already providing nearly 25 percent!
Please continue praying with us for:
1) Energy and creativity in fundraising--it's no secret, there are large sums of money to be raised before we will be able to bring a child into our family. However, the Lord does not call us to anything without providing for that call, so we are confident He's got a plan to provide!
2) The expectant mother who will carry our child to term--we have no idea what God's timetable is for when our adoption will take place, but we are praying for the sweet woman who either has already or will soon make the brave decision to give life to her little one through the blessing of adoption.
3) Meaningful conversations with others regarding adoption and orphan care. We often have chances to share our call to adoption with friends, family, and acquaintances, so pray we will always be in tune with what the Lord would have us to share regarding His little ones needing families.
Thanks again for all your love, prayers, and support as we continue this journey! May the Lord bless you as you seek Him!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Last-minute ways to impact a child's life this year!
As we wrap up 2012, I wanted to give you some tangible ways you can make a difference for four children waiting to be adopted by families in our local church congregation (Brookhaven Wesleyan). Obviously, once January 1 comes, you are still very much able to donate to any of these children's adoption expenses, but I thought I'd share one last chance for those of you who may yet be looking for that year-end giving opportunity. Here is a glimpse at each child/family and how you can make a tax-deductible contribution to each child:
Dale and Carrie Bradford: Planning to adopt Megan from Russia
Visit Dale and Carrie's blog here to read the Bradfords' story and to make a tax-deductible donation on the right-hand side to Megan's adoption through Reece's Rainbow, a down syndrome adoption ministry. Please pray, pray, PRAY for sweet Megan and for all children waiting for adoption in Russia as adoptions from the U.S. have just been put on hold by the government. So many children in need of families--please take a moment to pray specifically for Satan's power to be overthrown.
Trey and Bridgette Boswell: Planning to adopt Edna from Eastern Europe
Visit Bridgette's blog here to read the Boswells' story and to make a tax-deductible donation on the right-hand side to Edna's adoption, also through Reece's Rainbow. The Boswells are following the Lord's leading into adoption for a second time, as little Edna will join big brothers Trenner and Solomon. Please pray for the Boswells as they renew their home study, gather funding, and prepare for travel. Please pray for Edna's health needs as well as she awaits her family to care for her needs.
Ben and Melissa Cook: Planning to adopt from U.S.
We do not have a giving link for the Cooks, but wanted to remind you to continue praying for them and consider donating to their adoption as well. They are answering God's call to care for a little one in the United States in need of a family!
Daniel and Mae: Planning to adopt minority infant from U.S.
Remember to pray for us as well :-). 2012 has brought plenty of "setbacks" in our timeline, but we know God's timing is perfect! If you wish to make a tax-deductible gift to our adoption, please visit our AdoptTogether fund page here.
Please remember to pray for each family, and as the Lord leads, consider giving financially to help bring these children into safe, loving families. Thank you for your involvement in the lives of children in 2012! We pray 2013 will bring great things for these little ones.
Dale and Carrie Bradford: Planning to adopt Megan from Russia
Visit Dale and Carrie's blog here to read the Bradfords' story and to make a tax-deductible donation on the right-hand side to Megan's adoption through Reece's Rainbow, a down syndrome adoption ministry. Please pray, pray, PRAY for sweet Megan and for all children waiting for adoption in Russia as adoptions from the U.S. have just been put on hold by the government. So many children in need of families--please take a moment to pray specifically for Satan's power to be overthrown.
Trey and Bridgette Boswell: Planning to adopt Edna from Eastern Europe
Visit Bridgette's blog here to read the Boswells' story and to make a tax-deductible donation on the right-hand side to Edna's adoption, also through Reece's Rainbow. The Boswells are following the Lord's leading into adoption for a second time, as little Edna will join big brothers Trenner and Solomon. Please pray for the Boswells as they renew their home study, gather funding, and prepare for travel. Please pray for Edna's health needs as well as she awaits her family to care for her needs.
Ben and Melissa Cook: Planning to adopt from U.S.
We do not have a giving link for the Cooks, but wanted to remind you to continue praying for them and consider donating to their adoption as well. They are answering God's call to care for a little one in the United States in need of a family!
Daniel and Mae: Planning to adopt minority infant from U.S.
Remember to pray for us as well :-). 2012 has brought plenty of "setbacks" in our timeline, but we know God's timing is perfect! If you wish to make a tax-deductible gift to our adoption, please visit our AdoptTogether fund page here.
Please remember to pray for each family, and as the Lord leads, consider giving financially to help bring these children into safe, loving families. Thank you for your involvement in the lives of children in 2012! We pray 2013 will bring great things for these little ones.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Christmas Catch-up
Well, we haven't blogged since November 11, mainly because that was about the time morning sickness kicked in at full-gear. So here are a few quick updates and prayer needs as we move toward a new year:
Updates:
1. Our home study should be finished NEXT WEEK!!! We have had our final home visit, so all that's left is the writing part (our home study agency takes all the info they collected and writes up the study of our home). That will be such a relief to have that finally wrapped up!
2. We have been travelling...everywhere...and never want to get in the car again. Well, not really true, but our son is NOT a good traveler, so road trips are not on his list of fun things. He at least does not get car sick, and we survived a few hours of screaming from boredom in order to meet our new nephew Elijah. We leave again Monday to visit Daniel's parents in Louisiana for Christmas and should be home late December. We at least were able to borrow a DVD player this time, so perhaps that will make a difference.
3. Pregnancy...oh, that lovely word...morning sickness, exhaustion, and random cravings have been leaving their mark. On the positive side, we got to hear our baby's heartbeat this week--a sound that makes it all worth it :-). We are due in June so have about 7 months left.
Prayer needs:
1. For physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual stamina in the coming months. This pregnancy has taken a toll on our ability to focus on much more than daily activities for awhile, so we are burdened with the need to raise funds for our adoption without the energy to do so. Pray that the second trimester will bring increased energy so we can hit the fundraising trail.
2. For patience to trust the Lord's timing. In our minds we were going to crank out our home study by this past October and jump head first into fundraising. Obviously the Lord had other plans on timing with the added blessing of pregnancy, so we have to trust that His plans are perfect and our temporal of energy will not throw off His perfect timing for the adoption.
3. For continued financial provision moving forward with adoption and pregnancy. We have been blessed to be part of a Christian healthcare sharing ministry called Samaritan Ministries that will provide for nearly 100% of our maternity needs through other believers sharing in our medical costs (as we share in theirs monthly). We also learned that Samaritan will help members with adoption medical costs as well. Praise God with us for believers working together to meet financial needs, and continue to pray with us for the Lord's provision for our adoption fees. We have a long way to go to fully fund our adoption, but we know the Lord will provide for the call He's placed on our family.
4. For a healthy pregnancy for us AND the expectant mother of our adopted child. We recently realized it's quite possible our adopted child has recently or will soon be conceived! Please pray with us for the mother who chooses to give her child life through adoption, that the Lord will speak love and peace into her soul and allow her to find rest in Him as she carries her little one.
May the Lord bless each of you as you continue in His ways! Praise God for sending His only Son, Jesus, as a baby so long ago, so each of us could experience redemption and eternal life! What an incredible gift He's given us.
Merry Christmas to all!
Updates:
1. Our home study should be finished NEXT WEEK!!! We have had our final home visit, so all that's left is the writing part (our home study agency takes all the info they collected and writes up the study of our home). That will be such a relief to have that finally wrapped up!
2. We have been travelling...everywhere...and never want to get in the car again. Well, not really true, but our son is NOT a good traveler, so road trips are not on his list of fun things. He at least does not get car sick, and we survived a few hours of screaming from boredom in order to meet our new nephew Elijah. We leave again Monday to visit Daniel's parents in Louisiana for Christmas and should be home late December. We at least were able to borrow a DVD player this time, so perhaps that will make a difference.
3. Pregnancy...oh, that lovely word...morning sickness, exhaustion, and random cravings have been leaving their mark. On the positive side, we got to hear our baby's heartbeat this week--a sound that makes it all worth it :-). We are due in June so have about 7 months left.
Prayer needs:
1. For physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual stamina in the coming months. This pregnancy has taken a toll on our ability to focus on much more than daily activities for awhile, so we are burdened with the need to raise funds for our adoption without the energy to do so. Pray that the second trimester will bring increased energy so we can hit the fundraising trail.
2. For patience to trust the Lord's timing. In our minds we were going to crank out our home study by this past October and jump head first into fundraising. Obviously the Lord had other plans on timing with the added blessing of pregnancy, so we have to trust that His plans are perfect and our temporal of energy will not throw off His perfect timing for the adoption.
3. For continued financial provision moving forward with adoption and pregnancy. We have been blessed to be part of a Christian healthcare sharing ministry called Samaritan Ministries that will provide for nearly 100% of our maternity needs through other believers sharing in our medical costs (as we share in theirs monthly). We also learned that Samaritan will help members with adoption medical costs as well. Praise God with us for believers working together to meet financial needs, and continue to pray with us for the Lord's provision for our adoption fees. We have a long way to go to fully fund our adoption, but we know the Lord will provide for the call He's placed on our family.
4. For a healthy pregnancy for us AND the expectant mother of our adopted child. We recently realized it's quite possible our adopted child has recently or will soon be conceived! Please pray with us for the mother who chooses to give her child life through adoption, that the Lord will speak love and peace into her soul and allow her to find rest in Him as she carries her little one.
May the Lord bless each of you as you continue in His ways! Praise God for sending His only Son, Jesus, as a baby so long ago, so each of us could experience redemption and eternal life! What an incredible gift He's given us.
Merry Christmas to all!
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Expecting Times Two!
So, for those of you who haven't read
on Facebook or who we haven't had the pleasure of telling this news
to personally, our lives have been consumed by a new life event over
the past few weeks: pregnancy!! We are no longer expecting to
increase our family size by just one in the near future through
adoption but now two through pregnancy as well. (BabyCenter.com says
our “due date” should be June 23 :-).)
Many of you have asked where this
leaves our adoption journey. Well, we're glad you asked—it doesn't
“leave” our journey, as we are going to continue as planned with
our adoption. Yes, we know, there is a strong possibility we could
have two newborns in the house within just months of each other. We
also know traveling could pose some additional fun challenges. But we
know the Lord called us into this, and we're not stopping due to the
extra blessing of pregnancy :-).
We would love you to continue praying
with us through this adoption. As we mentioned previously, our last
month has been anything but uneventful, so adding morning sickness
into the mix has been a bit discouraging as we finally thought we'd
get moving quickly on our remaining home study and family profile
needs. Unfortunately we've instead had to slow down at everything in
life to keep up with the basics like eating, meaning our home study
is yet again being drawn out. Please pray that we can push through
the final few hoops to get this portion wrapped up soon.
Also, please begin praying with us as
we start applying for grants and coming up with creative fundraising
ideas. Both of us had originally planned to take on as much freelance
work as possible to help with funds, but Mae is now not going to have
as much expendable energy as originally planned. We aren't worried
about funds as we know the Lord will take care of the thing He has
called us to pursue, but we want to use our time and energy in the
ways that will best fulfill His plans for the financial aspect of
this adoption.
Thanks so much again to all of you for
your continued prayers and support! We are so SO blessed by each of
you as we continue in this exciting adventure the Lord is taking us
on!
Monday, October 29, 2012
Quick update on "life"
Since we've been fairly inactive in our blog, I thought I'd just post an update of all the crazy events that have happened this past month:
1. Our rental house ceiling collapsed, resulting in many nights of work for Daniel. Nasty insulation everywhere, our friend living there trying to finish up last-minute details to fly to Poland for two years as a missionary...it wasn't an "ideal" scenario. The devil tried pretty hard to discourage her in her call to missions and us in our pursuit of adoption...sorry, didn't work this time!
2. Our close friends Tim and Melody welcomed their second child, Laina Christine, into the world on October 16! She is gorgeous like her big sister Hannah (and her mommy, of course!). We were blessed to spend a couple days caring for Hannah while Tim and Melody enjoyed the first moments with Laina.
3. Other close friends had to fight a huge spiritual battle in the lives of their foster children as the kids were placed back with a family member this past Friday. We are all claiming the Lord's protection over these little ones as they have trusted Him as their Savior. We know He goes before them and knows them inside and out! They are never outside of His hands.
4. Our friend Becky (who's ceiling collapsed) hopped a plane TONIGHT for a two-year term in Poland, working in youth ministry. Becky has been such an encouragement to us in our adoption journey, as we watched her pursue God's call on her life whole-heartedly and found herself completely funded in less than a year. God enables those He calls!
5. We are still plugging away at the adoption! We are oh so very close to completing our home study!! Daniel just needs to finish reading the "required reading" book (in his free time, after this ceiling project is done!), and we should be on our way to FINISHED after our last visit. We can't wait to move into the next phase!
6. We will be an aunt/uncle by this time next month...just had to stick that in there! Yahoo for Nathan's first cousin!
So, you can see that a few things have been happening in our circles. We have been blessed to see how the Lord has been working in the lives of our friends and greatly encouraged and comforted knowing that He holds us up in the moments of despair and suffering as well.
1. Our rental house ceiling collapsed, resulting in many nights of work for Daniel. Nasty insulation everywhere, our friend living there trying to finish up last-minute details to fly to Poland for two years as a missionary...it wasn't an "ideal" scenario. The devil tried pretty hard to discourage her in her call to missions and us in our pursuit of adoption...sorry, didn't work this time!
2. Our close friends Tim and Melody welcomed their second child, Laina Christine, into the world on October 16! She is gorgeous like her big sister Hannah (and her mommy, of course!). We were blessed to spend a couple days caring for Hannah while Tim and Melody enjoyed the first moments with Laina.
3. Other close friends had to fight a huge spiritual battle in the lives of their foster children as the kids were placed back with a family member this past Friday. We are all claiming the Lord's protection over these little ones as they have trusted Him as their Savior. We know He goes before them and knows them inside and out! They are never outside of His hands.
4. Our friend Becky (who's ceiling collapsed) hopped a plane TONIGHT for a two-year term in Poland, working in youth ministry. Becky has been such an encouragement to us in our adoption journey, as we watched her pursue God's call on her life whole-heartedly and found herself completely funded in less than a year. God enables those He calls!
5. We are still plugging away at the adoption! We are oh so very close to completing our home study!! Daniel just needs to finish reading the "required reading" book (in his free time, after this ceiling project is done!), and we should be on our way to FINISHED after our last visit. We can't wait to move into the next phase!
6. We will be an aunt/uncle by this time next month...just had to stick that in there! Yahoo for Nathan's first cousin!
So, you can see that a few things have been happening in our circles. We have been blessed to see how the Lord has been working in the lives of our friends and greatly encouraged and comforted knowing that He holds us up in the moments of despair and suffering as well.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)