adoption has been on mine and caleb’s heart for a long time. before we got married we talked and prayed about how one day we would love to build our family through birth and adoption, if the Lord allowed. this past year we began to research our different options and different agencies.
we prayed that the Lord would continue to open doors and make it clear to us which path to follow. in may we went to an adoption information night for a local domestic agency. we both left and looked at each other and said, “this is it”. we’ve never felt the Lord say move as strongly as He did then.
we begin a six week course for adoptive families next week and when that ends we will have our home study in early fall. from there we wait. we wait and pray for our precious baby. we pray fervently for their birth mother and father. it could be months, it could be years. we, of course, hope it will be sooner rather than later.
this is a leap of faith for us. a big leap of faith. the day we sent in our first registration check, i said, “welp…there’s goes our adoption fund.” we keep being reminded of how much money we need to raise. we keep being reminded that we don’t have it. but then, we keep being reminded that our God is bigger than that. He is bigger than that big amount of money. we will never look back and say, wow i wish we weren’t broke as a joke. we will look back say that we were following what the Lord was calling us to do. that we were blessed to be able to provide a home and family for a child who was greatly in need of one. we will be praising the Lord for the blessing that this baby is and thanking Him for what they have taught us about love and about grace. we will be rejoicing that we were able to teach our child and our other children the gospel of Jesus Christ. in the light of eternity only what is done for Christ will last.
every time we ask ourselves what if? the Lord whispers I AM.
a sweet friend sent me an email on the day we sent our paperwork and check in. she told me to remember that i am not just created by God but called by Him. she had no idea we were starting the adoption process. it is a constant reminder to me that we have to trust Him in ways we hadn’t before. the Lord is already teaching us and growing us in ways that we never imagined.
also, we are asking for your support financially. we have a big amount of money floating over our heads. i know, roughly, how many people are reading my blog every day. i know how many people subscribe to/follow/and all that jazz what i write. i know that each one of you could donate a small amount of money to our adoption fund we would be a whole lot closer to our goal. i pray that if the Lord through me has blessed you just once that you would consider giving.
see that donate button over there? all donations will go 100% to our adoption fund.
in addition to that… have you been wanting to sponsor take heart or buy a wreath from sugar money? all sales from sponsorship and sugar money will go to bringing our baby home.
“give, and it will be given to you. good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. for with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” luke 6:38
we are so excited to take you along on this journey with us and, from the bottom of hearts, we thank you already for your prayers and your support!
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I am so excited for you guys!! I will definitely keep you in my prayers and be praying about what God might have my husband and I do to help you!
oh yes, we are with y'all every step of the way!
love you!
Philippians 4:19 ESV
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
What a great encouragement to hear your story! We are starting the adoption process too–maybe we can help each other out in some way. 🙂
Danielle!!!!
This is sososososososso exciting. God calls each and everyone of us to serve him differently and I am so happy for you guys you are adopting!! This is an amazing time in your life right now!! have you thought about an Adoption Auction? to raise money?
so glad you shared more of the story. i can't wait to see what God will do right before your eyes!! in church on Sunday, the thing the Lord kept speaking to my heart, over and over, was, "Is ANYTHING too hard for ME?" And in my mind's eye, HE had a giant smile on His face as He asked. Love you.
proud to call you my friend.
Well isn't that just the perfect reason to buy the wreath I've been eyeing for my girls' room! And I can't wait to tell them the story behind why I bought it, to help a child of God find their home. Can't wait to read more friend!
xoxo
Amazing! Congrats to you and your family! God will continue to bless you!
I think its awesome that you are doing this and I will be talking to my husband tonight about being able to give financially. When we decided we wanted to adopt we got this book: Adopt Without Debt- Creative Ways to Cover the Cost of Adoption by Julie Gumm. I really like it, it has alot of cool things in it if you wanted to check it out. Praying for you and your family!
I've been dying to hang one of your beautiful wreaths in my home but I haven't been able to justify the cost. This weekend we moved some furniture around and I thought, we need a wreath from Danielle there to fill that space. So… I'm buying one. And I'm thrilled y'all are adopting! I would love to adopt someday if that falls on my husbands heart.
again, SO exciting!!! We have so many friends who have had to raise those enormous amounts of money and you know what? God ALWAYS provided and a lot of those times it was a day or an hour before that next check was due. His timing but He will always provide because adoption is His heart.
"every time we ask ourselves what if? the Lord whispers I AM." beautifully put. (and reminds me of the song "I AM" by nichole nordeman. have you heard it??)
can't wait to follow your journey, friend. i'm inspired by your courage and your faith.
god provides…He always does.
you know we are living proof of this 🙂
so proud to call you friend.
Four of our ten kids are adopted and we've always been "broke"–but God has always come through. Praying for your family!
friend you are so amazing. while reading this post waves of peace kept washing over me. i know it's all going to come together perfectly. i will be donating soon.
xxO
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." matthew 7:7
This is wonderful news! So you are doing domestic adoption, right? I hope to do that one day, too. Looking forward to reading your updates throughout this journey and joining you in prayer! -Emily 🙂
I'm really looking forward to reading as you chronicle your journey. Every adoption story is so unique. We brought our daughter home on May 24th and have a beautiful relationship with her birth parents via a domestic adoption. God will provide.
Loved reading this! That sweet child will be lucky to have your family as their very own. You better get to crafting because I predict mucho sales on your pretties!
So excited for you and your family!! Prayers for you and your family during this time.
What an amazingly brave thing you guys are doing x
very exciting!!!
🙂
so exciting the Lord is speaking this to yall. HE will provide just what you need just when you need it!! 🙂 PTL! You are giving a precious gift to a child, whoever and whenever that may be. I am adopted and consider it one of the biggest blessings in my life!
:):):):):):)
Wow! That is SO awesome that you're following God's calling for your family. What a blessing to a child out there. I am so excited to help.
P.S. I LOVE that Bible verse. So promising!
Love, Leigh
eeeek!!!! i am SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so excited!
This is so exciting for you guys. I have several friends who have adopted and the journey is always inspiring.
I'm young and will not be looking to start a family for years. But I already know the Lord is calling me to adopt. Your family's story of your start of the adoption process inspires me. And I adore your family's strength through God. Congrats, I will pray for your family!
Glad you are sharing your big decision! As a person who was adopted I can honestly say it is a wonderful thing for a family to open their hearts to someone in need. Good luck with the process and hopefully you will make another announcement of your new addition soon! Looking forward to your journey!
So excited for your family!!!!
so life's been a little crazy and i'm behind on the commenting thing, but wanted to say i'm going to start praying! and i'm soooo excited for you. seriously, you have no idea. adoption is extremely close to our hearts and i can't wait to start walking down the adoption road. hearing others do it also warms my heart!
i really shouldn't be reading this at work since the tears are coming to my eyes!! adoption is near and dear to my families heart as well and my sister and her husband brought home her first adopted daughter from ethiopia almost 3 years ago. i will definitely be coming back to help out this amazing process. God bless!
so happy I found you through the call me blessed blog, I am your newest follower. I can't wait to follow you on this journey as my husband and I have talked about adoption as well since we don't know if my body will be able to carry a child for 9 months (I have a really bad back problem, Spondylolisthesis). Best of luck! God is sooo good!