When Life Calls And Wants It's Ball Back

Fundraising. Is. Hard.

Bottom line. It is emotional, time consuming, and really not so fun. Sometimes it is hard to see the silver lining in it all and lose your vision of the goal. It is hard on a marriage, it is hard on friendships, it is hard on families. So is it even worth it? Um, YES!

I was feeling kinda gloom about our fundraising efforts (the fact that the whole Just Love Coffee fundraiser STUNK) and then my phone rang. A friend I am going to be visiting soon called and wanted to check in and make some arrangements for my travel and stay there. It was like she was God saying "calm down, all will be well, just trust in me, I got this." She may not know she was used like that. She may never know. But it was a prime example of how God can speak to us in modern day!

When I hung up the phone I realized worrying about how the money is going to come in is NOT fundraising at all. It's just worry. Fundraising (from a Christian standpoint) is trusting that God will provide and using the gifts he gave you to spread the word and bring in His blessings!

Maybe that's part of the trust, knowing he gave me a gift for creativity and using it. I think that's the line where people may think you're coo coo or a smart talented person. If you just blanket say "I trust that God will provide" and just sit there in your easy chair and wait, well I doubt God will bless that...  But instead I see the gifts He gave me and my husband as how He will (and has) provide. He gave us these gifts for such a time as this. You know I always think of Veggie Tales when I say that phrase, no joke. When I read it in the Bible I read it in my head as Pa Grape... Anways... In reality the story of Esther is a prime example of how God created someone to show that he will provide. He created Esther to have a unique beauty and character so that she would someday be queen and save her people. I think that when I am feeling blue about the process of adoption I need to look deep into myself and see what God has stashed secretly in me. What kind of talent or idea can I come up with to help with our goal?

So stay saavy my friends, just because one thing didn't work try try again! (not including actual scripture verses but including a clip from veggie tales? How old am I again??? LOL)

The Veggie Tales Esther clip I was talking about...

While I was writing this I am feeling like I need to rewrite a post about WHY we chose adoption... So I think I will end this here and start that one... 

Garage Sale 2.0

We are having another garage sale!!! We need to make some serious dents in our fee coming due October 16th. Our goal for this sale is $1,000. Trusting in God and knowing he has the money for us is our only option at this point. So again, we pick up the shovel and are digging our way through this mountain that is in our way. God is taking care of moving the big boulders for us.

Everytime I get discouraged I remember being in Jamaica in 2004. We were digging the foundation for a school building and there was this rock in my way. I say rock, I really mean huge glacier (I wish it was a glacier, it was HOT and DRY). I chipped away at that thing for three days straight. I broke one pick axe and just about speared my foot with it's replacement. The replacement was a axe head on a tree branch, yes a tree branch... Anyway, one day when I was convinced my section of foundation would never be clear I hit the magic spot and it just crumbled beneath my axe. God knew I needed something to hope for and he showed his power by turning my problem into dust. We have hope that he will turn this mountain into dust if we try hard enough to break it up. (Well figuratively, if he turned the money into dust we would have a problem...)

So continue to pray with us that this mountain looses some significant size in the next 20 days (how long we have before our due date). We have the faith that it will happen and need your support as well! All of you who have given us encouragement and support, we thank you from a depth of our hearts that we have never thanked anyone before! You all are a special blend of love and our child will be the most loved little boy in Ohio I am sure of it! (*tears streaming down my face as I type that because I know it's true!*)

If you want to donate the paypal link is at the top left of our page. If you are praying for us leave us a note of encouragement please! We could use all we can get! THANK YOU!!!

Hospital Survival Bag turned into Airplane Survival Bag

You know you've seen one given away at a baby shower... You know one of these. But I had a great idea pop in my head tonight! An airplane survival bag for new adoptive parents traveling to get their babies!!! Include things like trail mix, a diaper and single serve thing of wipes, a refillable water bottle, crystal light packets, gum, pictures of family (kids left at home, the baby they are traveling to get etc..), a couple of pacifiers, a book with crosswords or sudoku, and maybe a couple of kinds of candies. If you put it all in a small backpack with a changing pad too it could be their carry on too!!!

Things are EXPENSIVE at airports and most people are not going to think to pack some snacks or something to keep them busy on the LONG flight to get their child. It would be a really good thing to just prepare this for them. Have it all packed for them so that is one less thing they have to worry about!

I think it could be a really cool idea! You could cater it to the individual family too. Yup, if I know someone adopting they are totally getting one of these as a gift!!!

Meylah...

I encourage you all to go check out our Meylah store! It's more than just T-shirts (although there are some sweet ones)! Everyone who orders before September 29th will be entered in to a drawing for...... A free item from the store!!!! ANY ITEM! FREE! Can't beat that!! So do your thing and click on THIS LINK and find something you love!

Seriously, do it before the 29th! We still have a long ways to go before reaching our $9,000 goal and need your help, time is running out!!!!!! I will be posting some new products throughout the week so subscribe via email to the Meylah store for updates!!!

I am excited to give something away!!!!!!

Rejoice with those who rejoice

Most women who experience fertility problems know what I am talking about when I say pregnant women suck. It is hard to not feel anger towards them, even though it is not their fault you are where you are. I was reading my Bible today when I cam across this tidbit:

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." 

Romans 12:15

Mourning with those who mourn is an easy task, give them a shoulder to cry on, a tissue for their tears (or snot) and love them back to rejoicing. But the first part is tricky. That's right. Rejoice with those who rejoice. How am I supposed to rejoice with an unmarried woman who gets pregnant accidentally when I've been trying for years? How am I supposed to rejoice when the 16 year old down the street has twins? How am I supposed to rejoice when my friend who also experienced infertility finds out she's pregnant? Well, the only way I have found to get myself through this is to know that when I rejoice with these women now, I will be rejoicing with that much more vigor and that many more people when we are finally on our final trip to Ethiopia. Is it hard? Heck yes it is hard! I have found it getting easier but deep down there is still a squeamish feeling in my tummy when I see a young teen who is pregnant, or find out a friend of mine is. 

How do I get through the jealousy part? For me, I have been praying the minute I feel a jealous twinge that God help me through that rough patch. It is really hard to not be jealous when I see pictures of friends holding their newborns or visit them at the hospital. It's tempting to cut myself off from them completely. But not acting on that jealousy and just choosing to rejoice with them makes me a better person! 

So I encourage you to start rejoicing with these women! To love them and their precious gifts knowing someday somehow you will receive blessings ten times over because you obeyed and rejoiced!

Goosebumps take 1

I was fiddling around on the interwebs and stumbled across this blog here and felt the need to give, the story of this week's family there touched my heart. When it came down to putting in my donation amount I felt God tell me I needed to give more than just $1 if I expected more than just $1. So I did. One of my daycare families came to pick up today and she said "we want to do the Stay In Bed 5k" so I told them how much it would be and she said ok and then wrote a check. When she handed it to me it was for the $25 AND there was more, the EXACT amount I gave to a couple adopting through Give 1 Save 1. Needless to say I got goosebumps. But wait there's more! I had another family who also wanted to do the 5k. They also gave extra, it was ALSO the EXACT amount!!!

I had to sit down and when I told the second family all of what had happened that day they too were getting all goosebumpy. I was also at that point able to share how I trusted God to make a way and he not only made it, he doubled it. How powerful! Still on a spiritual mountain top at this point... Hoping I don't get kicked off of it too soon!!!

Temptation

Last night as we drove home from visiting a friend we went past one of those restaurants. You know, the kind you can smell before you can see? We've not been eating out unless it is in the budget and planned out (like birthday dinners, special night outs, etc.). But last night I almost caved. I was smelling that sweet aroma of steak and garlic all wrapped together and went into a haze, Howie had to snap me out of it. Then I got to thinking, all this sacrificing, all the unanswered pangs of my wants, will all be worth it when we hold our child for the first time. Then I will be longing for the smells of the Ethiopian Orphanage where he is instead of the smells of a steak house. Longing to go back and bring our baby home.

It is so hard to sacrifice in the financial world. There are all kinds of things I want now but cannot have. It's kind of like how all of the sinful stuff in life seems fun at the time but in the long run can lead to a horrible eternity. If we ignore all those temptations now to go out to eat, or get my hair done, or buy a cute outfit, we will be basking in our reward of a child to love much sooner and without regret. We will also become better stewards of all God has given us! What could be better? Obeying my God and getting the reward of a child to love. You can't beat that.

So again, I challenge you to partner with us! Stop frivolous spending and save some of that change to bring our orphan home!!!