Small Mercies

Thank God for the small mercies He gives us. Wether it be getting my car fixed for 1/3 of what I was originally told it would be, or finding out that the random person that helped us with information on picking out a homestudy agency months ago is actually the best friend of one of Bryan's high school friends. We knew when we decided to adopt that we would have to completely trust God to guide us, but I'm so thankful for the merciful sightings He shows us along the way that He indeed is in complete control and has ordained each step of this process. Of course, God's timing is perfect. He seems to give us these moments just when we're starting to feel down about something. If you have any doubts that God is completely sovereign, ask me about my week, His sovereignty reigned all over it.

-amory

The List

With all the awesome people donating time, money, and self over the last few months, Amory and I sat down to have a serious talk about what we were going to do to make our money stretch as much as it could. Here is the list we came up with from the discussion.

1. Lower the electric bill: By never turning on any lights we can save money on electricity. Of course, Amory will look like a clown after putting on makeup in the dark, and I will assuredly have more bruises on on my knees than an Italian soccer player, but if we can save a little money for the adoption fund, it is well worth it.

2. Lower the water bill: Our friends might need nose plugs, but if I can shut down the number of showers I have to take we can save money as well. When we do shower we will implement the 2-minute rule. Basically this rule states that no shower will take over two minutes. This means Amory will not be able to wash her hair or shave her legs, and I will not be allowed to fall asleep under the shower head any longer.

3. Cut the cable bill: We will no longer watch TV, which will save on the electric, and by getting rid of the cable we have we will save money on that expense as well. I might not be able to keep up with Alfred and Speakes' conversations about health care reform, immigration, and the sad state of the economy since I will not be able to watch the news, but it is for a good cause. By the way, will that be a problem for someone who is teaching journalism?

4. Half rations for all: I have volunteered the dogs to cut back on their (dfi) daily food intake. Mainly we are monitoring Nikki more closely. She has been in the habit of eating all of the cat's food when left alone. We have moved the cat bowl to the top of the dryer. This should effectively end the mid-day snacks of our little beagle mix. Amory and I are also cutting back. Mainly, we are replacing the big meals with smaller ones, which honestly might better for us anyway.

Alright, alright, I know. I am being a tad sarcastic here, but the main concepts are actually things we are doing. We are going to be better about keeping the lights off and taking shorter showers and getting rid of cable and watching the cost of the food we eat. We are not going to be going out to eat or things like that often, and we are not going to spend money unless it is an absolute necessity.

Today, I felt even more compelled to save every dime we could when one of our church friends handed us a check for more money than we could have ever expected. Thank you. You know who you are. When this process started I was really scared of how we were going to make it financially. Friday, when we made our first massive payment and turned in the contracts, that since of fear had almost evaporated. By trusting in God and seeing all of our friends and family put so much into this whole procees for us, we have vanquished any doubt that we are walking with God.

I know I have rambled on here for a while, but I guess my point was that we are going to be good stewards of the money that is donated and the time that is given by others. You guys don't know how many times I have been on the brink of tears at the amazing grace that God has bestowed upon us and how generous and caring our friends and family have been. I feel truly blessed to be able to go through this experience.

Bryan

Garage Sale

When I was sorting items late Friday night, I was not certain this was a good idea. When I was crawling out of bed at 5:30 in the morning , I was not certain this was a good idea. When I was carrying 50 pound weights and furniture out of the garage in the low light of the morning, I was not certain this was a good idea. But, when I saw a man walking up the drive with a flashlight in hand at least 30 minutes before we were supposed to start, I changed my mind.

By 7 a.m. we were out of the red and into the black. The rest of the day was a whirlwind as people flooded our garage sale. We sold furniture, and toys, and clothes, and sporting goods, and kitchenware, and cookies, and cupcakes, and even some chocolate bread. We handed out cards with information to our blog - so many in fact that we had to go print off more half way through the day. We made money, and most importantly, we had fun.

Of course, this day could not have happened without the help of numerous people. We had Shelley who might have worked harder than any of us, coming to our house on Friday to allow people to bring stuff before we got off work, making signs the night before, and selling, selling, selling all day long. We had Lisa who made cookies and cupcakes and the time fly. We had Marilyn bake chocolate bread, which she brought later than I care to remember. We had over 20 families give us all kinds of things to sell. We had people show up to buy those items who told us they were adopted or had adopted or supported adopting.

Needless to say we are so thankful for each and everyone of you. The grand total, which I have held out on to make you read the rest of my ramblings, was amazing. The total amount of profit, which includes subtracting the cost of the newspaper ad, the garage sale license, and the posterboard for signs, was just over $800. And, somehow I thought this was not going to be a good idea? As Amory keeps saying, sometimes you have to just step out on faith and let God show you how awesome he is. That is exactly what happened on Saturday.

Bryan

Thank you!

So, for those of you who don't know, we are having a garage sale on Saturday to try and raise some $ to pay for our adoption. This is definitely being a different experience for me. It is so humbling to see how much our family and friends want to help us, and how they are willing to sacrifice to help us. So, this is a quick post to say thank you to all of you who have donated items for the garage sale. You know who you are. Please pray for this event, that it would be used for the glory of God, and that it would be successful in providing some significant funds for our adoption. Thanks for all of the support!

Of Course

I saw this on someone else's blog and just had to put it on mine. The cutest baby of the year was announced by Babytalk Magazine and guess what.....he's an Ethiopian baby that was adopted earlier this year. SOOO cute!!
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/gma-babytalk-magazine-cover-contest-winner-rowan-spracklen/story?id=8792951

Random Thoughts

So, I'm studying Ephesians right now and a few days ago was looking at Paul's life and why he left Ephesus. I noticed something that really threw me for a bit. In Acts 21 Paul says that "I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me." I've always felt like if the Holy Spirit is warning us of something, we should probably not do that but this verse challenges that thought. I struggled with it for a while wondering why the Holy Spirit would warn Paul about something that the Holy Spirit had compelled Paul to do. Why would Paul go forward with something that the Holy Spirit is warning him of? Paul goes on to say "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me" WOW! So often we feel like we're doing something good by following God when the future is unknown. We're unsettled by the unknown, but can say that we trust in God that his plan for us is for our good, even if it's difficult for us to see how. But what if, like Paul, we know for a fact, because the Holy Spirit is telling us, that if we follow God's will for our lives, it will definently lead to serious hardships. Is it so easy to follow God then? Can we at that point trust that His will for us is still good? Can we say that our life is worth nothing compared to completing the task God has given us? I'm not naive, I know that the path God is leading us down is not going to be easy. I know that we will face struggles, prejudices. But, if God were to reveal to me what those struggles would be, would I still be so quick to follow? Think it over.



-amory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvRwo2oAmec

The roller coaster ride has begun

We have been formally accepted into the Ethiopian adoption program by our agency!!!! Our application was submitted on August 18th and approved on August 19th. We had our orientation call with our adoption coordinator on the 26th. This is going to be a long road. We reviewed all of the steps we have to go through for the adoption, and there are MANY, but I'm going to break it down and focus on step one. Turn in the contracts. We have 90 days from the date of application to turn in our signed and notarized contracts to AGCI along with our first payment. Now, for those of you who have been reading this blog, you know that this is what had me freaked out. I'm still concerned with how in the world we are going to be able to fund this, but the moment I clicked the send button on the application screen to submit our adoption application, I instantly felt some peace. I found a verse last week that has really helped.

Habakkuk 2:3 But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled! If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day.

I know that even though I don't see how right now, God says that His plan will surely take place. I rest and trust in that for now.

Thank you prayer warriors for the time spent praying for us. God is faithful. We have more peace than I thought we would with struggles listed here, and some that are not listed. Please continue to pray for us, that we would have wisdom and discernment as we go through this process. Please continue to pray for God to provide and for others to be sensitive to God's leading to help, either by prayer or other means.

-Amory

A Future Mother's note

So we have now found out a lot more about the adoption process. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit freaked out right now. I'm the kind of person (and I know you will all be SO suprised at this) who has to have everything planned out, and then have a plan to complete the plan. I'm beginning to see that my plans to plan are about to fly out the window. From what I've heard it'll probably stay that way for the next 20 years or so. So, for inquiring minds, this is what we have found out. We have completed the preapplication process and are approved to fill out the actual application. You know it's going to be a long road when you have to be approved to even fill out an application. We have to pick a homestudy agency (the people that will completely invade our privacy over the next few months) and then we'll be ready to turn in the application. Even just picking someone to do the homestudy is much more intensive than I thought it might be. After we turn in the application we have 90 days to turn in the contract, and then we start the homestudy process.
During our call with our adoption coordinator last week we covered costs. Now we've come to the root of what freaks me out. As you know, I'm a banker, I come by it honestly. Though, I'm sure my Dad thought the day would never come that I would freak over money when I had no concept of what it was in college and my complete lack of a clue was turning him gray. Our first payment is due with the contract. I've marked the last few years of my life by the lessons that God was teaching me. He spent a couple years on patience (which I just couldn't wait to stop learning about!) and then He moved on to rest in Him alone, followed quickly by His plans are unchanging , which was coupled with His plans are better than our own plans. Now it seems that God has moved on to He will provide for us and lean on Him all who are weary and heavy laden. That brings us to our prayer request. Please pray that God will provide the financial means for this adoption and the wisdom to make the right decisions along the way.
Thanks for all of your support. We've been amazed at how many people are being supportive of this.
-amory

About Us

Since I jumped into the blog process head first, we need to go back and give you some information about us. I teach English and Journalism, and I coach freshman basketball and pole vault at a local high school. I lead the basketball ministry for our church, which is not much more than a bunch of guys using the church's gym to attempt to make plays that they never could have made when they were in shape. I am also attending Seminary where I hope to keep my head above the water for as long as possible. Amory is an assistant manager for a local bank. She is involved in the women's ministry and other groups throughout the church. Both of us enjoy reading, though we cannot stand the books the other chooses. We watch movies often, but I think that is mainly my doing, and we love spending time with our friends and family. Yes, I am sucking up to all of you who were invited to join the blog. We have three dogs and one cat. We feel like we have been truly blessed, and we are excited to see what God has in store for us next.

By the way, today we got an email verifying that we will be getting into the adoption process with a webinar next week. It is funny how our hearts skip a beat every time any little thing happens with this process.

Following God

Amory and I spent the last year and a half trying to conceive a child. Over a year of that time was spent with an infertility specialist. Amory has always had a big heart for adoption while I was not so excited about the idea at first. As time went by over the last year my heart has completely changed. We believe that God has laid down a path for us that we want to follow. I can honestly say that I am quite possibly more excited about adoption than I was about having a biological child. We just know that God has a child for us to love and raise up in a Christian home, and we are truly excited about the possibilities for the future.

I guess this is as good a time as any to explain our desire to adopt from Ethiopia. It all started with our wonderful cousin Sara, who is absolutely the sweetest person you could ever meet. Sara, who is a registered nurse, felt led to go into missions a few years back. She ended up doing just that when she accepted an offer to work in Addis Ababa with patients dealing with HIV. We customarily got updates on how she was doing. Throughout this time our hearts grew for the children of Ethiopia. Interestingly, Sara was staying with a lady who headed up the care center for an adoption agency in the country. Over this past year, we have started frequently visiting the agency's web site and looking at blogs of families who are going through the process. We decided that certain doors were being closed, but with that new possibilies were opening up to us as well. With that we began the adoption process by filling out the pre-application for adoption last week. We decided that we wanted to create a blog for our family and friends, as well as ourselves. I hope that this blog can be a source of hope, a witness to the glory of God, and a working journal of the memories we are creating as we follow the road to Ethiopian Adoption that God has laid down before us.

Bryan