His plan

Checking the mail these days has gotten very exciting.  Quite often the mail brings us a little bit closer to bringing home our sweet little ones.  Some days this means receiving paperwork.  Others it means receiving more practical items like car seats.  Today it meant receiving a letter from Show Hope.
Show Hope is a Christian based organization committed to caring for orphans.  They do this in a variety of ways including Adoption Aid, Care Centers, Pre & Post Adoption Support, and Student Initiatives.  They help provide hope in situations that can seem hopeless.  (You can learn more at www.showhope.org )
Today, they helped do just that for us.  We received a letter saying that we have been awarded a grant for $5000.  It is incredible to us how God is writing our story, and our children's story!  Each step of the way He is present.  Each financial mountain, He moves at just the right time.
When we started this process, many thought we were crazy.  We couldn't afford an international adoption.  (That is still true.  By all normal standards we can not afford an international adoption).  However, we knew that this was what God was calling us to do.  So we jumped.  I don't think either of us had any idea of what that would actually look like or how we would get there.
Here we are almost 3 years later.  (Timing is everything...the twins are almost 3)  We are adopting from a different country than we originally planned.  We are adopting twins...certainly didn't plan on that.  Our age group is different than expected.  Our adoption is approximately 75% funded.  I say this to say one thing...God's plans are greater than our plans.
What is He calling you to do today? Is He asking you to trust Him?  To step out in faith to something that seems completely crazy?
Do it!
He knows what is best.  He goes before you.  He prepares a way for you.  Whether He is asking you to do something big like adoption, or small like invite a friend to church trust Him.  He's got this.

Dream Job

A friend of mine posted on facebook recently, "What is your dream job?"  I've had a wide variety of jobs in the last decade or so.  Some I absolutely loved, others not so much.  Each one has had its ups and downs.  I absolutely love what I am doing now.  Serving is amazing!  I love the family run company I work for.  I feel like I am an important piece of the puzzle and I am valued.  All that being said, I still couldn't call it my dream job.  I mean dream jobs are big and fancy or different and quirky...they are things you rarely get to do in the real world, right?
And then it hit me!  My dream job is the one things I feel like I've always wanted to do. It is as if God has designed me uniquely for it.  My dream job is to be a mom.  As we prepare to bring our twins home, I dove in head-first to all things parenting.  Babywearing, cloth diapering, educational opportunities, etc.  You name it, I've researched it.  I want to do everything I can to be prepared.
You see I have waited a long time to be given this amazing opportunity.  Even as a young girl and as a teenager I dreamed of being a wife and mother.  With each day, it gets closer.  God is giving me two little ones to raise up in this world until the day He asks for them back.  What calling could be more meaningful that to shape them and mold them?
I don't have this whole adoption thing figured out.  There are still some big paperwork hurdles and big financial hurdles we have to get over.  But I know He's walking the journey with us.  I don't have this whole parenting thing figured out (hence all the research ;) ) There are hurdles ahead that I will probably trip over in the dark before I ever see them.  But I know He will walk that journey with us as well.
How cool is it, that God has uniquely designed me and is now granting the desire of my heart.