YOU are my sister!

Congratulations to the winner of the Thankful Blocks from Blessings Unlimited:

HEATHER KRIETE!

I should also take this time to thank Heather (credit Heather) for the design of our Run 2 Love 4 Love T-shirts.  She has been a huge help in putting on our race both years, along with some very other special friends.  Actually, Cassie Kriete & Melissa Gerdel are the two that pushed us to put on the race again and the three above ladies have to commit to putting it on with me each and every year. :)   I shared how successful the 2nd Annual race was HERE.  Besides the amazing ladies above I would like to give thanks to Andrew, Chris & Tayra, Gussie, Sally & Dennis, Sandy, Pam, Leslie, Dave Armstrong, Andy & Ashley Adrian, Bob & Christine

Me, Cass, & Miss sporting Heather's shirt design at the race this year.

I am just so grateful for sisters.  Not official blood relation sisters (although I have one and I love her to pieces).....but "In Christ" sisters.  Those that push you to be better, those that encourage you when you are throwing yourself a pity-party, those that mentor you along the way.  Some are little sisters, some are big sisters, others may be twins (Cassie).  Some our little "big" sisters, meaning they are younger than me, but their wisdom is far better than mine and I am challenged by them quite often (Missy & Christina).

So I have been so blessed to have so many sisters in my life and I want to give a shout out to some of them right now:  Christy, Heidi, Shanna, Melissa, Stephanie, Jen, Rachael, Sally, Evelyn, Dana, and Jessica (Along with the 4 above that I love!)

That is just the beginning of my list of In-Christ sisters that I have.  Especially where I am right now, I have tons of sisters that encourage me and hopefully I encourage them.  I am hoping and praying that this upcoming year will be a year of growth, risk taking, and truly helping our fellow sister because WE ALL NEED ENCOURAGEMENT!!!

Below is the blog I read that pushed me to write this "thank you" if you will.  I read it and got fired up about how we are suppose to treat each other, and let each other in our real lives and struggles, and be big sisters to little sisters AND for those of us who seem to be big sisters to admit we need big sisters too!!!  Please read it and be encouraged (although I do not believe you will get through the 2,002 responses on this particular blog post---talk about hitting a nerve on a needed subject area).  If nothing else you will either thank God for the different blessings you have and that your life is not as hard as it may appear OR you will be so grateful that you are not alone with the struggles you have. 

http://blog.lproof.org/2012/07/big-sisters-and-little-sisters.html

P.S.  I read Psalm 25.  It is good.  Real good.  I have accepted the challenge to memorize it.  I have only 5 verses down (needing bigger nudges to do this in a timely fashion).......Who is with me?

One year waiting & utterly blessed.......

Today marks one year on our wait list.  I know I sound like a broken record, but when we started this journey I never imagined us making it to this point.....but here we sit (or stand depending how you look at it).  The good news is our number has changed since last month.  We are now number.............................................................................

These shoes were the perfect pic for our new number.  Dirty shoes but not totally worn down shoes.  It may still be a long road until we see Chloe home, but we are going to keep on trecking, walking, running, {insert any of your own "moving forward" verbs here}.

Please pray for continued referrals, quick turn around for those between referral and court and between court and bringing child home. 

I just want to share how blessed we are because we are on this journey. God is teaching us a lot about His patience with us, His all encompassing love, His joy and excitement for when we come to be apart of His family, and so on and so on. May I not be blind to the other things God is trying to show us.

Of course one of the biggest lessons (which I like to believe I already knew---but it was 1000% confirmed this past year) is that we ARE so blessed.  Blessed to have the privelage to  even be on this journey, blessed to meet others that share the same passion and calling (James 1:27), blessed to have christian family and friends who are so supportive both emotionally and financially, blessed to have God's people who are literally helping to "bring Chloe home".  Blessed to see God work in so many different hearts and lives.  God is good all the time! And all the time God is good!

Once you figure out how blessed you are the only thing thing that can spill over is gratitude.  Gratitude for all that God has done.  Not the least of these being adopted and saved into His family.

OK, I am going to admit that I am going to be done with the monthly giveaways, I pray that doesn't mean friends will stop reading the blog.   I just don't know how long of a wait we will have and I can't keep putting my efforts into them.....But perhaps when we get our referral, I can have something fantastic to celebrate with!!!

So for our final giveaway we are giving away these Thankful Blocks from Blessings Unlimited.

How to win them:

1.  Visit my consultant Debbie's Blessings Unlimited page above and leave a comment about what item would you feel blessed to have.  (Seriously I have a Blessed necklace, a Phillipians 4:8 bracelet, 3 gorgeous ornaments that I use all year round, a nativity puzzle for the kids, and the One Thousand Gifts Family Gratitude Journal---I LOVE their stuff!)

2.  Follow Blessings Unlimited on twitter and leave a seperate comment that you did so (I linked to twitter from Debbie's page).

3.  Become a follower of our blog and leave a comment that you did so.

4.  Share our blog on facebook and leave a comment that you did so.

5.  Leave a comment about what you are most grateful for or how you have been blessed this past year.

*** The deadline will be 7/12/12.  I will draw a winner Friday morning.***

Blessings to you and thanks for listening to our sentiments!

THE WINNER IS...........(In more ways than one!)

I thoroughly LOVED reading each of your "looking back" moments.  Isn't it good to see that we are not alone in learning lessons from God?  I hope you read through them all.  Each friend has such a testimony.  Thank you to each friend who commented.  I wish I could give each of you one of the necklaces.  But alas, I can only give one.  That winner is...........

                                                               JEN CHASE

Well this would be a good time as any to ask all the rest of you to join Chris & I as we join Trevor & Jen THIS Wednesday night in prayer.  They have a birth mother interview on Thursday in Ethiopia at 7:30 AM, which is 11:30 Wednesday night here and we need to boldy pray that the interview goes smoothly and perhaps there very long wait to bring Bek home will come to a final celebration time on Thursday when they get clearance from our Embassy to GO PICK UP THEIR SON!!!  (Very appropriate for Jen to win this week, as "Faith in God's Timing" has been one of her major lessons in this journey as well)  They became a waiting family December 2010, recieved their referall November 2011 (after 10 1/2 month wait), and hopefully will be picking Bek up June 2012 (7 1/2 months after seeing his gorgeous face). See Bek and read all about their specific prayer requests HERE.


Also, there was actually a referral this past week which is a huge praise, b/c they had come to a complete stand still.  We are now #38, which may be what you thought we were already, but in early spring we had actually climbed the other (wrong) direction and I didn't have the heart to change my number.  So PRAY that more referrals could come THIS week!!  I would love some prayer warriors on Chloe's behalf.  We would love to see who she is!!!!

****Also a huge shout out to The Adopt Shoppe for donating the necklace.  Since then she has printed my adoption verse on one: The Lord will fight for you.  You need only to be still. Exodus 14:14.  So that is my choice and I am just going to go buy myself one.  :)  Hoping for a new number by our 1 year waitiversary in 3 weeks.

11 months & His timing.......(oh and a giveaway)

****This is just one of the newly Vintage Inspired Pendants a lucky blog followe can win.  Details below. ******

Today marks 11 months on the waiting list.  I never thought we would get to this point---besides those that have been/or had been waiting on siblings, most people in the last 2 years had not waited over 10 months with an average of a 6-7 month wait.  But none the less we sit here, I will not lie to you I have been tempted to jump ship and adopt within a different country or a different agency, but our love for Ethiopia has grown in the last year and half and we feel like we bathed the agency decision in prayer as well.  We are not quitting!  PTL there was a referral yesterday (first one in 3+ months).  It was for an older child (8 years) and went to a friend that has been waiting 10 months---so all that to say at this point our number has stayed the same---#38.  Then a friend who has been waiting a month longer than I, posted this yesterday and I felt like it was a good depiction of some of my current feelings. 

God is Working on Your Behalf By Samantha Reed

"Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him." Isaiah 64:4 (NIV)

An ultimatum from my boss left me no choice but to head into unemployment. I'll never forget the day she asked me to lead an initiative that went against God's Word.

Staying at my job would deny my faith. Leaving would challenge it. Fears clamored. If I quit, I'd be broke. I had no husband, no savings, no additional source of provision.

Day after day I pleaded with God to intervene, to change my boss's mind. But it didn't happen.

She made her decision, which solidified mine: I turned in my two weeks notice.

That was my first step into my journey of joblessness. My mind raced with fears: would I be able to pay rent, find a new job, hold onto hope? Day by day, my financial, spiritual and emotional accounts were depleted. I couldn't see beyond my raw emotions and dreary situation.

God nudged me to send my resume to a ministry. A place I knew rarely hired. Somewhere I didn't know if my gifts could even be used. I doubted they'd accept my application, and pushed aside the thought to apply.

If only I had lifted my eyes away from the despair, I might have realized God was working on my behalf, much like He did for Naomi in the book of Ruth.

You see, at the same time soil churned, seeds nestled underground, and crops waved in the wind, Naomi needed God to intervene. She lamented to her widowed daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth:

"Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— would you wait until they grew up?" (Ruth 1:12b-13a NIV)

Perceived destitution left her feeling desperate. Can you feel it in this widow's words?

Then Naomi told them, "'Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me?'" (vs. 11a)

It would take time for Naomi to look beyond her dire circumstances and see the divine intervention waiting on her. God had plans of redemption that involved Ruth, the very person Naomi tried to push away. Yet she was so engulfed by her emotions and circumstances, she couldn't fathom how God might provide.

"Call me not Naomi [pleasant]; call me Mara [bitter], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me." (vs. 20b AMP)

Perhaps your current situation is bitter and dismal. Maybe your journey has been long. You can't see how God is working things out. You don't have the energy to apply for one more job, so you turn down the lead a friend sends you. Your marriage is on the verge of collapse anyhow, so you opt to cancel your counseling appointment. Life in general is bleak, so you withdraw rather than join your sister for dinner.

If you are weary; if the road is too difficult; if you feel destitute financially, emotionally, spiritually; don't miss this—

"So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning." (vs. 22 NIV, emphasis added)

Naomi's journey was hard and long. Yet her first step began at the same time soil churned, seeds nestled underground, crops waved in the wind. And when she arrived at her place of redemption, the harvest was beginning; a harvest that was gleaned by Ruth, the very one she had pushed away.

It was in that field that Ruth caught Boaz's attention. Boaz, who was Naomi's kinsmen redeemer, unceremoniously provided above and beyond for both women for the rest of their lives.

Well before I turned in my two weeks notice, the Lord was tilling the heart of my would-be new employer to hire an assistant. He faithfully watered that seed as I was searching for a job. And a new position was created shortly after I applied.

Looking back now, I wish I had chosen to believe and looked expectantly for His faithfulness instead of torturing myself with worry and fear.

Though unseen, God is divinely intervening. If you are walking in what feels like a desperate and destitute place, might I encourage you? Look to the Lord instead of your circumstances today. He's working on your behalf.

Dear Lord, You are faithful. Please direct my thoughts and my steps. Take what doesn't belong—fear, doubt, unbelief—and replace them with hope, trust and joy as I focus on You instead of my circumstances. Thank You for working on my behalf. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

I cannot wait till I hear what my "looking back now" story will be.

THE GIVEAWAY:  You will win ONE vintage inspired necklace from The Adopt Shoppe.

(The custom name necklaces with children/grandchildren is NOT part of the giveaway.  I just wanted to share some of the awesome stuff Kate does over at The Adopt Shoppe.  She is also a fellow adoptive mom, so any support her way goes to bring home her child from Taiwan!)  WIN-WIN!

Up to 5 Entries: 
1) Do you have a "looking back now" moment?  Leave a comment about it.
2) Browse the Vintage Album HERE on facebook and leave a SEPARATE comment about which one you would choose should you win.
3) Like The Adopt Shoppe on Facebook and leave a SEPARATE message saying you did so.
4)  Become a follower of my blog and leave a SEPARATE message saying you did so.
5) Share my blog/giveaway on your own facebook wall and leave a SEPARATE comment saying you did so.

Isn't this just gorgeous????

GIVEAWAY WILL END FRIDAY NIGHT (JUNE 15TH).

Not part of the giveaway, just showing off some awesome stuff.


Keep Praying! 

      

Someone Else's Contest & A Very Good Update.....

No, nothing good like a referral  ( I could be discouraging in that department, but there is other good news to share---so I will be discouraging a different day (just keeping it real!).

What a blessed day we had!  It was our 2nd Annual Love 2 Run 4 Love and it was so good.  We had over 211 registered runners/walkers/kiddos and rasied $3005 for 4 orphans to join their forever family.  Being that we have just a tiny ways to go to being fully funded and our friends (such a PRAISE), The Douglas' who have THREE waiting kids already needing to come home (Read about them HERE) have a bit more to go----we are granting $2500 (3/4) to them and & raised $800 for Chloe----which brings us to 98% fully funded.....just $700 to be 100%.  Now, this can change if we have to wait too much longer, and repeat home studies, fingerprints, etc.  Let's hope that we won't have to do too many repeats.  :/  We truly hope & plan to make this an annual event, each year either benefiting a local family in the midst of the adoption process OR a non-profit (Sparrow Ministries, Lifesong, or ShowHope) that has helped several local families with grants etc.  We received a ShowHope grant and are so grateful!  Bear with me, as we make Love 2 Run 4 Love more "official". Also, please note that the Douglas' worked hard too---they helped make the fundraiser a huge success....so I guess it isn't a grant.  But we are "saying" they are like our first grant recipients should we become all official and such. 

One of our sponsors that helped make our race a success, isn't even a local buisness.  Worthy of the Prize is an online ministry/shop that supports adoption/sports ministries and benefits anybody in their walk with Christ.  They have been super encouraging to me on our journey.  So all that to say.....they are doing a giveaway and preparing an e-book and you can find out all about it at the link below.  Of course, blogging about it gives me more chances to win BEAUTIFUL art (that I am always trying to win on PitterPatterArt).....but it also means you have a chance too.  Don't be too alarmed if I am a bit jealous if you win.  (I will get over it soon). :)

http://worthyoftheprize.blogspot.com/2012/05/blog-celebration-giveaways-find-joy.html

OK---the splurge of the evening was that I bought a baby/toddler comforter tonight.....whether it will go in a crib or on a toddler bed---I do not know.  All I know is that we were wandering aimlessly in Walmart and I came across it (which I occassionally have been searching for the right "bedroom" decor for Chloe).  It has all the colors that are painted in Eden & her room and has flowers (her name means blossom), butterflies (which are painted on the wall and symbolizes new beginnings), and a tree (symbolizing our family tree).  I know you are thinking---SHE IS CRAZY and overthinking a baby blanket.  I might be.  But here is the kicker, embroidered in the comforter is the words "love", "home", "wish" and "dream".  How I wish and dream about our love being home with us.  So I bought it.  :)

Eden's newly painted room when pregnant with Tobe (over 4 years ago!).  I think Chloe's comforter will match perfectly.

                 

Chloe's comforter:  Would you join us in "wishing" her home?  i.e. PRAYING her home!