Rescue those being led away to death; Hold back those staggering toward slaughter.

Proverbs 24:11

This scripture passage may seem over the top to some, but to an adoptive family, it seems right on target. This is how I feel when asked why we rush and fundraise and tell our story and save and give every penny we can to our adoption and the adoptions of other families. We are not calling ourselves "saviors" or "saints" by any means. Far from it. We are simply putting things in proper perspective for those who do not understand our urgency and passion.

We are trying so hard to do God's will. We are presenting our family as His servants - we wish to serve Him by doing whatever it takes to adopt a special needs child from the Ukraine. Please continue to pray for us. We appreciate your prayers so much. If you wish, prayerfully consider making a donation to our adoption. We would love to have you join our family in making a difference in the life of one of God's forgotten children.

http://www.allarepreciousinhissight.blogspot.com/

If you have a family, I would like to suggest you visit the blog above for a mixture of reality and Christian example.

Before we began this adoption journey last year, I was quite far away from my Lord. I mean, we are still searching for a "home church" where we may worship. We are not shining examples of steadfast Christianity - I was raised Catholic and my husband was raised a mixture of Baptist and Church of Christ. We both come from troubled backgrounds - whatever the heck that is! We are a "blended" family with children from my previous marriage. The list could go on and on I promise you.

BUT - If there is one thing that I can say about this adoption journey (and I can say several), it is that my Lord called me. He summoned me. And He summoned my husband as well. We had no choice but to follow. It is that simple. It did not matter what our Christian "status" was or where we were in life because He led us down the appropriate paths to find our way to Him. When I find a family like the Pattersons above, I feel like I have been electrocuted with His spirit! Even though I am suffering and praying for them, I am so glad that God placed them right in my path! This family is what it is all about my friends.

My heart has been so burdened by their story. Their beautiful adopted daughter from Serbia (Chrissie) has only been home for a short time. Now her parents must find the strength and courage and FAITH to allow her come home with them one day or go home to be with her Heavenly Father. The ultimate sacrifice - our children are not ours. We have the privilege and honor of carrying them in our wombs, flying to foreign lands to rescue them, raising them in our homes, and loving them unconditionally. But in the end, we are all God's children. We cannot control life or death. This is what the Patterson family has taught me.

I will continue to pray for Chrissie's heart, lungs and body in general. I will also pray for the Patterson family during this difficult time. They are a testament to parents' love for their children.

Lord, Make Me Uncomfortable

The following excerpt is from a Lifeline Children's Services newsletter. It is worth reading:

"As I think of "comfort" I think of the 143 million orphans in our world - whether in US foster care, in orphanages overseas, on the streets, or squatting in abandoned buildings. To save, rescue, and reach orphans God does not call us to be comfortable, but to go through the lack of some comfort. To save, rescue, and reach orphans many times means entering into hostile lands or parts of our world that know nothing but poverty, it many times means leaving behind the modern "comfort" of home, and many times if called to adopt it means risking the "comfort" of your family and spending the "comfort" of your vacation time to spend weeks in another land.

Rejoice today beloved that Jesus was willing to risk all "comfort" for our sake... Oh beloved, will you allow God to use you to impact the life of a child?"

http://www.lifelineadoption.org/

What "comfort" are we willing to sacrifice for the life of an orphan? What is the life of a child worth? My friends, our family is praying for the strength and courage to sacrifice our comforts. We hope that God allows us to endure discomfort so that we may offer one of His precious little children a loving home with us. Please pray for our family as well.

Just A Great Quote

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."-Mother Teresa

Doesn't get much better or more real than this, does it? As we try to prepare for our home visit, I am reminded of the reasons why we began this journey in the first place. Yes, we are out of our comfort zone. Yes, we are crazy. (Ha Ha - not dangerous though!) Yes, we are sacrificing material things to adopt. Yes, we are frightened of the unknown. Yes, we are relying on God to provide the funds and are working on fundraisers to help.

Yes, it is all worth it. We are called to serve Him. He has called us to serve the orphans of the world. This is our small way to make a difference. We have a lot of love to give a child. We are giving it to our 5 biological children also. We will always have room in our hearts and home for God's precious children.

Thank you for supporting us.

Birthday and Easter Wish

Thank you to Grandma! She has been the best support person during this adoption journey! Thanks to a generous Birthday Wish donation via Facebook, we are closer to paying for our entire home study! We are trying to get ready for the visit coming up in 2 weeks now! Cleaning, straightening, building, mending, etc.....

I was reminded again this weekend how special my family is - my husband, beautiful girls (older and younger) and my in-laws! The girls loved their Easter egg hunt with their adopted "Maw Maw" and their visit with Aunt Melanie in Birmingham!

My prayer for our family and each one of you is to come out of our "comfort zones." This is what Jesus did for all of us - He even died on the cross for us! Blessings to all!

Moving Along

Our first appointment with our social worker for our home study went great! We took the whole family to Birmingham and made a day of it! The kids visited with their Grandma and Aunt Melanie and we answered questions and discussed the home study process. We have now scheduled our home tour/visit for April 16 - please mark this date on your calendars to lift prayers up to the Lord! We need all the support we can get! We are so excited about this! We cannot wait to see the child that God has chosen for us to add to our family. Our children are so important to us.

For any family or friends out there: If you receive a reference letter, please pray over it and support us with your answers. We appreciate all of your help and love and prayers right now!

Happy Easter everyone!