It’s Thanksgiving Week!!! Oh my goodness, we are so blessed. I am SO thankful. God has given us such sweet people in our life since we moved to Wilmington!
It’s been awhile since I shared different ways you can get involved in our adoption and a few friends have been asking! As always, NO PRESSURE to do anything, but here’s the info if you want to know!
First, we have a profile at Adopttogether! Here is the link. If you are interested in giving a tax-deductible donation as this year comes to a close this is the place to go! Relocation and updating our homestudy brought new fees we did not expect. We would love for you to join us in helping bring our child or children home!
Second, my sweet new friend makes beautiful and unique custom handstamped jewelry. She offered to do a jewelry party and donated 40% of the profit to our adoption. Monday night some great friends showed up and found some unique Christmas gifts and presents for their friends, children, and moms! Several who could not make it are ordering online! She is going to keep the party open online until Sunday, November 26th! This gives you time to get in some Christmas shopping and give to a good cause at the same time. Her shop is called JellyFish Tide. If you are the the United States and order you can use the coupon code ELAYNE17 to get FREE SHIPPING and it also lets her know the item is purchased from my party. If you are ordering from outside of the United States. you can email her at Hello@jellyfishtide.com and she will take care of you!
Lastly, and most importantly PRAY! Please pray! Pray God brings us a referral. Pray God protects and provides for our future child/children until we are able to do that in a tangible way ourselves. Pray that God prepares their hearts for new people and a new place. Pray God begins to heal them from any pain, sadness or trauma they have already experienced. Pray God prepares Chloe and Violet for the change that will happen when we do receive a referral and start this process. It will be a big one for them. Pray for hearts of compassion and patience. Pray God prepares Kevy and I as we adjust our mindset, think about logistics, and we continue to prepare for children that may have experienced trauma and neglect. Pray Kev and I continue to build a solid foundation of love and security for Chloe and Violet so they don't struggle as much when our future child or children come home and they have to share our attention and time with new kiddos. Pray God moves soon!! I want God’s timing on this, I’m just praying it’s soon!
We’ve been talking about stewardship the past few weeks at church. The whole point is everything belongs to God and we are just stewards or managers of it. Usually, this is discussed in reference to money. This week was no different, but as usual, my mind wanders off on a rabbit trail and God smacks me in the face with a reminder. This time, I was reminded once again that our children, the children we have now and the children He will bring us, are God’s first then ours. Have you noticed He reminds me of this often? We are stewards of His children. We will be blessed with the opportunity to love, guide, and raise them, but they belong to Him FIRST. He blesses us with the chance to care for them, like He has our girls. Because He loves them, us and our girls so much, He will orchestrate this process the way He sees fit. Therefore, it all happens in God’s timing, not mine. For this I am grateful.
So, as we move through this week, I want to challenge you as I challenge myself. Look around you at the many gifts you have been given, whether it’s family, new friends, old friends, being healthy, mountains, gorgeous skies, a beautiful beach 15 minutes away, work, a house, clothes, or food. We are the richest country in the world and still your average American doesn’t see how much they have, they just see what they don’t have. I am guilty of this as well. So here’s my challenge...
Be Grateful.
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