Growth...of our family...in our walk with Christ...in all things to worship HIM!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

God Sets the Lonely in Families


We feel tremendously privileged to be able to parent these silly treasures!!

And we are so very excited to be on this new journey to our boys!!
(oh how I wish I could share their photos)

I am speechless as I watch God's plan unfold before our eyes!!

We have wanted to grow our family...
We have fasted, we have prayed, we have cried out to HIM!!

And now our Heavenly Father is moving mountains!!!

We have filled out paperwork in record breaking time.  
We have submitted and/or requested 
all documents for our agency clearance and for our dossier.

Right now the only thing standing in our way to move forward is money.  
We have stepped out in faith by scheduling both 
our psychological update meeting (this Thursday the 23rd) and
our home study update visit (next Tuesday the 28th...My 40th birthday), 
without having the funds in hand. 
They are the last two things needed to be able to send our dossier and file with immigration!!

We truly believe that God has hand picked our sons to be in our family,
and therefore, we believe that HE will provide every step of the way!!

We have had folks ask how they can help us fund our adoption.  
We set up a paypal account "Bring Our Boys Home" that can be found on the right tool bar.
by clicking the DONATE button it will walk you through the steps to make a donation.  

In Psalm 68:6 has been so heavy on my heart over the past few days.  
For so long I took the verse to mean that 
God causes Families to have a lonely spot, a desire to welcome more family members.  

Today I decided to read it in in several different versions
it says,

"God Sets the lonely in Families..." (NLT)
"God settles the solitary in a home..." (ESV)
"God places the solitary in families and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell..." (AMP)
"God provides homes for those who are deserted..." (HCSB)
"Father of orphans, Champion of widows, is God in his holy house.  
God makes homes for the homeless..." (MSG)
"God settles those who have been deserted in their own homes..." (NET)
"God gives lonely people a family..." (NIRV)

It speaks directly to the orphan and widow friends!!
I love the versions that say...
God provides homes for those who are deserted
and
God settles those who have been deserted in their own homes

I love love that God has called us to be "their own home" for three more boys!!!!
They will know love and laughter
they will be allowed to be children
they will be treasured
They will be in their own family!!!

You may not be called to adopt...
but if God is tugging your heart,
would you help make a difference to these three?  





Saturday, January 11, 2014

Ready? Set...GO!!!!

Ready?
Set....
GO!!!!!!

The email that will change our lives forever!!

In my last post...weeks ago
I wrote about a sibling group of three boys 16, 11, and 9.
I wrote to try to find a family willing to open their hearts and be their forever family.

What I didn't write was how torn my heart was.  
I could not take my eyes off of their beautiful faces.
I prayed for them night and day.

Although we have been chomping at the bit to adopt again this year, 
we knew the Philippines was off limits because of the two year nurturance law between adoptions.

Even so, the boys messed me up!
I would leave their photo open on our computer hoping my husband would see it and declare that they were our boys and we had to find a way to bring them home.  
Each time, 
hubby walked the other way...
the computer screen would go black before he passed...
or her didn't enter the room at all.  

Finally after a week of praying and doing the computer/photo dance...
I asked him to look at a photo.  
He said, they are great looking boys Joy, but we cannot adopt them.
I said I know....but I cannot stop looking at them and thinking about them and praying about them!!
He gave me that knowing look of his, and went on with what he had been doing.  

Later that week, our agency put out another notice about the boys and how the oldest was becoming dangerously close to aging out.  Their forever family needs to start the process immediately!!  
I contacted our Philippines adoption coordinator and asked her to please let me know when a family came forward for them.  I shared that I wished I could be their mama...but since that was not possible...would she please please let me know when God answered my prayers and brought them a family!!  

Our agency response sent me screaming, crying, and dancing around the house.  
I may have terrified Aaron for a minute...but the girls knew it had to be adoption related to get this relatively calm mama to react in such a way:)

They asked, If the ICAB would give us an exception to the two year wait...would we adopt the boys?
I frantically called my husband
I was hyperventilating and simply did not have clear speech!!

You see, God had done the miraculous in opening a door!!  

We impatiently waited for the boys files to arrive for our review so we could request permission to adopt.  We waited through Christmas...made the request on December 26...then waited some more!!!

Yesterday, January 10th, I got a simple email from our agency coordinator (whom I love!!!)...

Ready?  Set...GO!!!


WHAT????  Could this really be happening????
Does this mean what I think it does???
Of course I sent out a frantic phone call just to hear those words over the phone.  

So bloggy friends...

WE ARE ADOPTING AGAIN!!!!!

I cannot begin to tell you how very excited we are to 
be growing our family again through adoption!!!

We are at the very beginning stages of gathering our documents for our dossier.  
The process often takes a year for a Filipino adoption.

My mother's heart is hoping/praying that somehow...some way...
our boys will make it home before our oldest leaves for a year in Africa.  

But I am trusting that 
the awesome...holy...faithful God that hand picked our boys for us
will bring all things together in HIS perfect timing and according to HIS perfect will!!!!