I have to say I probably didn’t win mother of the year award after 2 hours of picture taking, but what a blessing my family is, even in the stress of picture taking. I constantly think that God is working on my patience and I wish that I learned more quickly. I am so thankful for God’s “kindness, tolerance and patience,” as “God’s kindness leads you toward repentance” (Romans 2:4). I strive to be be the type of parent that mirrors God’s love towards my children.
We have started the process of telling everyone about our adoption. What better way to spread the word than pictures, right? Saturday we embarked on the process of pictures with 3 children, 7 years and under. Oh me! The goal was to have everyone looking at the camera and possibly smiling. I guess you can look at the pictures and see if our goal was accomplished.
I have to say I probably didn’t win mother of the year award after 2 hours of picture taking, but what a blessing my family is, even in the stress of picture taking. I constantly think that God is working on my patience and I wish that I learned more quickly. I am so thankful for God’s “kindness, tolerance and patience,” as “God’s kindness leads you toward repentance” (Romans 2:4). I strive to be be the type of parent that mirrors God’s love towards my children.
1 Comment
I have finally caved...after months of nagging Daniel about his blog, I have finally joined alongside him! Really, it is for a great purpose, to announce the addition of our 4th child. We were officially accepted through our adoption agency to begin the adoption process as of March 12, 2013. Our daughter Elizabeth has been so faithful from the start of this process, as she always prays “for our adopted little girl from China” at each meal time. I pray that I can have such glorious child-like faith. We are planning on adopting a little girl from China and cannot wait for God to lead us through this process.
From the beginning of our marriage I always imagined 4 children. We were shocked to discover we were having twins with our last pregnancy and the grand total would make 4 children! However, the second twin was a vanishing twin and the outcome was one child, our youngest Benjamin. Benjamin is a miracle. We were told that he did not have a stomach via ultrasound and that when he was born he would have to have immediate surgery. God led me to James 5:14-15. “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.” Daniel and I asked the leaders of our church to hold a healing service for our son while I was still pregnant. The next day we went to have an ultrasound and God had healed our son!!! It was a miracle and with this we promised God that we would not have any more biological children. God told me in a dream to name our youngest son Benjamin so that I would always remember my promise. I struggled with only having a family of 5, because I had always pictured a family of 6. Perfect number for riding roller coasters, no one is ever left out and everyone has a buddy. God placed the idea of adoption in my mind and one day I casually brought it to Daniel’s attention. Almost thinking I was in for a battle I suggested the idea. To my surprise Daniel thought adoption sounded like a great idea and thus God has led us to this point. Thank you for wanting to follow our story, we can’t wait to see where it goes. God tells us as Christians we're adopted into Christ (Ephesians 1:5). Jesus said He's not leaving us as orphans (John 14:18). There are 147 million orphans in the world. God tells us to look after orphans and widows (James 1:27).
Sherri and I plan to adopt internationally. A little girl from China - the most populated country on earth. Americans adopt more children than every other country in the world combined. Adoption has been in the news lately. Russia recently banned Americans from international adoptions. "In 2011, about 1,000 Russian children were adopted by Americans, more than any other foreign country, but still a tiny number given that nearly 120,000 children in Russia are eligible for adoption." According to David Satter of the Hudson Institute, "Russia has more orphans per capita than any nation in the world. Of the estimated 650,000 orphans, an estimated 95 percent are 'social orphans' who have been abandoned by their parents or taken away from them." One of the most important decisions about adoption is which agency to use. If you're not careful, you will spend thousands of dollars, and wait, and wait and wait...or worse - lose all your money. When checking out accreditation - make sure they're Hague accredited (international) and COA (domestic). Remember, if God has placed a certain country on your heart, find an organization that adopts from that country. Here are 3 (or 4) recommended adoption agencies: Lifeline Children's Services - this is an evangelical adoption agency - they require the people using them to be followers of Christ. Sherri and I are using Lifeline. We attended an information meeting in July in Columbus and were very impressed. We learned Lifeline is the fastest growing adoption agency in the United States. Bethany Christian Services - this is the largest Christian adoption agency in the United States. The Georgia Baptist Children's Home recommends this agency. Holt International Children's Services - this is one of America's oldest international adoption agencies. They also have an India program, a country Lifeline and Bethany don't offer. America World Adoption - I said three agencies, but this one has a Kazakhstani and Russian program, plus I have some church planting friends using this agency to adopt from India. Resources: Together for Adoption Saddleback Church Orphan Care Kisses from Katie (book) Adopted for Life (book) Orphan Justice (book) Lifesong (fundraising) |
A resource for Christian ministry, leadership & life issues! Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|