Sharing a Post from "LifeSong for Orphans"

The following is from "Lifesong for Orphans", an organization we continue to gain more and more respect for.  We are hoping to start an adoption fund for families at our church using their amazing ministry!

MEETING THE NEEDS // Adoption Funds

We see Adoption Funds as a "Win-Win-Win" solution: the local church is actively involved on behalf of orphans, the financial roadblock for families is removed, the orphan child is adopted into a permanent Christian family...all with minimal administrative burden for the church.

Using the adoption matching grant and interest-free loan processes already established by Lifesong, churches can easily navigate through the details of adoption funding....all with no cost to the church.

Learn more about Adoption Funds >> 

ALWAYS WITH YOU // Adoption Fund Story

Cameron and Sarah experienced the love of their church family through their adoption journey. His Kids Our Homes Adoption Fund, at North County Christ the King Church have blessed this family and others as children are brought into forever families. Listen in on their journey...

See how your church can benefit from establishing an Adoption Fund by visiting our website.

Part 2: May I Have An ENVELOPE Update

A friend suggested I have an update on our blog regarding what envelopes were unclaimed.  Great suggestion, and I thought I would also keep the give-away prizes updated here as well, so you don't have to scroll through the original "May I Have An Envelope" post.  :)

UNCLAIMED ENVELOPES: 
42, 46-47, 58, 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 71, 73, 76, 78, 79, 81, 82, 84-97, 102-119, 122-124, 126-139
If those remaining are higher than what you are able to donate, we can combine your donation with someone else's to fully "claim" an envelope.  We will still put each person's name in the drawing as if they were able to claim the envelope corresponding to their donation amount.


GRAND PRIZE (dependent on total # of envelopes claimed): 
Currently, the grand prize is $200!  Eighty envelopes have been claimed!
If 100 envelopes are claimed, the prize is $300 OR an iPad mini!!!

ADDITIONAL PRIZES (regardless of how many envelopes are claimed)

- Two tickets to Holiday World & Splashin' Safari!!!
- A painting done by one of the children living at Bethel with Oliver!!!!!
- $50 Walmart Gift Certificate!!
- FOUR Free Aqua Massages at Stallings Chiropractic Center (each=$25 value)!
- $25 Target Gift Certificate!
- $20 Weir's Photo Gift Certificate!
- TWO sets of 2 Movie Tickets to Malco Theatres!
- Chick-fil-A Cards valued at approximately $18!
- $15 Tumbleweed Gift Certificate!

- THREE Envelopes containing $25 worth of free Tumbleweed Kids Meals!

- Autographed Photo of Kentucky Afield’s Tim Farmer

- Autographed Photo of R. Lee Ermey, “Gunny” in the movie “Full Metal Jacket”
- Personalized Portrait Drawing by artist Mark Strutko of Atlanta, Georgia! (valued at over $50)
  He will draw a portrait from a digital photo for one lucky winner!!

Some of Mark's INCREDIBLE work! 

artistmarkstrutko@gmail.com

No Strings Attached

It's time.  You have a life-altering decision to make, and you are crying out for God to tell you which path is the right one.  Maybe you know the right path, but something in your human nature is preventing you from choosing it. 

If only God would push you, make you do the right thing. 

But how could you have a relationship with anyone if you were a puppet on a string?  Granted, you would do everything your master wanted you to do.  If your puppet master wanted you to go left, you would go left.  If they wanted you to jump, you would jump.  But there would be no reciprocation of feelings, no expressions of love, no real relationship.  I am intensely grateful that God did not design us this way.  Without a doubt, He could have.  But instead, He chose to give us free will and choices in life.  That means we make mistakes, sometimes big ones, but hopefully those experiences deepen our relationship with Him as we learn.  Hopefully, we strive to bounce back from our mistakes, living our lives serving and loving Him more fully than a puppet could possibly attempt.

We firmly believe that there are also times in our walk with Christ where He gives us two equally good choices.  Equally "right", if you will.  Both are morally correct, both can fulfill the commands and commission He has given us, and both will bring glory to God.  No one will be hurt by either action, or misguided in their own walk with Christ.  It may be, however, that He wants us to take the responsibility of choosing which path to take within the moral guidelines He has given us in His word, and further guidance from the Holy Spirit.  This is the place where Jon and I have found ourselves in the past few months. 

We have felt led from the beginning to adopt two children at the same time.  Deciding if we could emotionally, physically, and financially care for two more children is cause for profound examination, but that's merely the tip of the iceberg.  In addition, there is a GREAT deal of debate regarding whether or not it is in a child's best interest to be adopted at the same time as another unrelated child.  Two less in an orphanage undoubtedly seems to be in the best interest of both children, but it is intensely more complicated than that.  When a child has experienced the loss of their birthparents (even as infants) or suffered other abuse or trauma living in institutions, their physical and chemical development is affected.  A loving, nurturing home can be provided, but these children can still have behaviors and problems that are a result of that initial trauma and/or loss.  Even if a child is particularly resilient, there is still a transition period to be expected that can last weeks, or years.  My explanation is sorely inadequate in detailing the complexities involved, but as you can imagine, bringing home two children at once is not a decision to be taken lightly.  And we certainly have not taken it lightly.

We prayed and prayed for God to make His will known in this situation, we researched other families who have taken a similar path.  I have found myself begging Him to just tell us what to do!  It isn't that we do not want to carry responsibility for the decision, but there are potentially 5 little lives that could be affected, so we want to get it right.  Oh how a crystal ball would be beneficial!  :)  We came to the point where we could wait no longer.  There was a large questionnaire to be completed to ask our agency's approval, and of course, all the paperwork and process is affected if you are pursuing two adoptions simultaneously.  When we did not get the 100% clear answer we were asking of God, we knew He was imparting the decision to us.  One or two more children - either choice is morally correct, both fulfill His command to care for the fatherless, both bring glory to Him as He provides for these children.  Our conclusion:  we love children, we have room in our hearts and homes for more, and we were willing.  At face value, there appear to be many sacrifices that will have to be made on the part of every member of our family.  In the grand scheme of things, however, I'm sure we'll agree those "sacrifices" are not deserving of such a title. 

Faith is an interesting thing.  It's having confidence and trust in the Lord, without being able to see and without being able to hear the definitive answer for which we search.  Believing without seeing, no crystal ball in our possession, but knowing our help comes from the Lord, we have requested to bring home two children.  Our homestudy agency and immigration have authorized us for two; we are waiting on the final approval from our placement agency who works directly with China.  We shall see what's in store.  In the meantime, we are grateful to be children of God feeling the ebb and flow of our relationship with Him, no strings attached.

May I Have an ENVELOPE Please? PART 1

We are beginning a new fundraiser and are incredibly excited at the potential it has for bringing our boy home!  It’s easy to be involved and be part of making an AMAZING difference!  We began our adoption process needing to save and raise $28,600 of the over $41,000 in adoption expenses!  We have raised just over $10,000 thus far!  God is good!  If you are unable to participate, would you consider sharing it with someone?  Thank you for your consideration!


**WE ARE ASKING YOU TO TAKE AN ENVELOPE**

We have 150 numbered envelopes (#1-#150) that we're hoping will be claimed.

Here's what will happen when you say "YES" and claim an envelope:
1. You request a specific envelope number based on the amount you would like to donate.  (For example, if you request envelope #37, you'd be donating $37.)  You can also request a range, like numbers 10-20 or 50-60, and we will randomly pull one envelope from those available within that range.  We will either mail or bring you the envelope, and you place the coordinating dollar amount inside.
2. The checks will be made payable to our church, Macedonia Baptist.
*You can donate the money as an individual or get a group to join you – Sunday School class,
  friends, homeschool or community group, co-workers, etc!  Eleven people donating just ONE dollar
  can claim the #11 envelope!  Please note:  if you claim an envelope as a group, the person who
  submits your donation is responsible for dividing the prize should your name be pulled in the
  drawing.  :)
3.  For claiming an envelope and donating, we will enter your name into a give-away for various goodies, including the GRAND PRIZE of your choice – $300 or iPad mini!!
     - You will receive an additional entry for every $20 increment of your donation! 
     - You will receive an entry if you go to our facebook page and share our post regarding this
        fundraiser!!  (Jon AndChristella Hudson)

+For the give-away to take place, we need to have at least 100 of the envelopes claimed, so tell your friends!  The more who know, the more envelopes that will be claimed!  As long as 100 envelopes are returned, the give-away will take place on December 20th – Merry Christmas!

****FOR THE AMAZING PART...If all 150 envelopes are claimed, we'll raise over $11,000!!!****

 

We pray you’ll say “yes” and help the fatherless!  EVERY SINGLE envelope MATTERS! 
Thank you so much for considering this!

HERE IS THE CURRENT PRIZE LIST FOR OUR DEC. 20TH GIVE-AWAY:

http://afamilymadebylove.blogspot.com/2013/10/part-2-may-i-have-envelope-update.html

Tumbleweed Toss!

 

TUMBLEWEED Restaurant has been especially helpful in spreading the word about our fundraiser.  They printed flyers and advertised the event in the restaurant, broadcast the fundraiser on local radio, and even displayed our road signs to attract more attention!  Special thanks to Charlie Moss and the Owensboro management team for their dedication and excitement!  This delicious fundraiser fetched

$46!

 

Every bit counts, and our total saved and raised thus far is now over $10,000!  Our generous and kind friend, Gordon Wilkerson, offered to take our family to dinner at Tumbleweed for the fundraiser!  How thoughtful was that?!  Unfortunately, little Myley was not feeling well, so she and I stayed home.  We did have a wonderful Tumbleweed dinner delivered to us, however!  YUM!  In the pic below, the table to the left was also there supporting us - new friends, the Howard Family!

 

 THANK YOU SO MUCH for coming out and offering your support!!

 

McDonald's Mania!

 

While I know it is not my strong suit, I vow to keep this blog entry short! 

THANK YOU to all the wonderful people who came out to support the McDonald's fundraiser event, and to those of you who tried to make it but could not.  Many of you went through the drive-thru, so I know we did not see everyone, but we sincerely appreciate your support.  This is a prime example of many people doing something simple, that ends up helping exponentially!

 

McDonald's Grand Total:

$421!!  Sha-wow!

 

We have another fundraiser next Thursday, and just want to emphasize that we do not expect every person to be able to attend every single event.  I hope it's not a bother to receive an email or facebook invite, we just never know when an event might be a convenient opportunity for you to help.  :)

 

Babies in the Belly

Our home suddenly has an ignited interest in learning where babies come from.  Fun, fun, fun!  ;)  At ages 9, 4.5, and 3, we find ourselves in a bit of a jumbled stage regarding what knowledge is age-appropriate.  We do always seek to give our kiddos as much of the truth as we feel they can comprehend.  We also try to be very thoughtful in our responses, because our children came to us in different ways.  Freddy should never doubt how very much he was loved by his birthmother, or that he is right where he is supposed to be now, with his family.  In our discussions, I have carefully explained that Freddy did not grow in my belly, but that the woman who carried him made sure to find him a Mommy and Daddy who could care for him.  On Freddy's birthday, Myley had forgotten that fact.  She asked, "Did Freddy grow in your belly first, and then me?"  Before I could speak, Freddy replied, "No!  I grew in another woman's belly."  I sat in stunned silence for a moment.  I knew he had been listening to every conversation, but was not expecting him to retain that information and supply it at the applicable moment.  I finally answered with a response I had given in the days past - "That's right, Freddy.  And that woman loved you so much that she found a Mommy and a Daddy who could care for you."  Freddy matter-of-factly stated, "And I was a baby then."  I had to fight back the tears.

Sometimes you forget amidst the excitement of welcoming an adopted child that the entire process began with a loss.  With several losses in fact.  The birth family's loss, because contrary to popular belief, many birth families relinquish their rights with love in their hearts, making a decision they believe is in the absolute best interest of their child.  It's a very sacrificial love, to put someone else's needs entirely above your own.  That is certainly the case in the story of Freddy's birthmother.  There are parts of her story that we do not share with anyone, because when the time comes, Freddy needs to hear them from us and only us.  But his birthmother faced being ostracized and persecuted simply by carrying our son, and could have resorted to other means that might have made her life better and less complicated.  But she chose to think of him, the tiny baby growing inside of her.  She chose to sacrifice, giving him life and taking loss upon herself.

In Freddy's case, his foster family grieved his loss.  They cared for him over 7 months, and together were a family in every sense of the word.  They loved him as their own.  I'll never forget their youngest biological son and the tears that streamed from his beautiful brown eyes down his face on the day we were given custody.  Loss.

Then there is the child's loss.  Even as a baby, there is an innate sense of loss experienced.  It's a natural, God-given connection that is broken, and we do not believe for a second that a child does not "feel" the disconnect in some form or another.  We've talked with many adults who were adopted as children, and for many they may not comprehend it or even remember it, but it remains a part of their story.   

Then there is the adopting family's loss, for the time missed seeing their child grow.  Personally, I try not to think too much of those days.  The mind can wander too far into imagining the trauma and tragedies a child might have experienced while in an orphanage or without his/her family.  The milestones missed, the tender bonding that occurs with your newborn, the trust that is built in those important first years, all the days and nights of giving comfort and care, they are forever lost.

But, heartaches are often blessings in disguise.  Look at it this way - if Freddy had grown in my belly, he would not be the child he is.  He would have different personality traits, different genetics altogether, he would not have been a beautiful little Asian boy!  And we don't want him any other way.  He is exactly the child God meant for him to be, and he is in the exact family God intended for him, and that's why God made love grow in our hearts, not in our bellies!!