Provision~

So I just have to say, our God rocks! I mean it. Can I tell you how completely encouraging it is to us and what a boost it is to our faith to literally see God move mountains and answer prayers? Humbling. That's the word. Not only did He step down to earth to become one of us so that He could save us...He still bends His ear and hears our petitions and works them out in ways where we will receive good things and He will receive glory. I'm just in awe. I'm just so grateful.

We have been continuing to ask not only for Seth's health and day to day life in China to be filled with affection and good care, but also for the Lord's provision. I am so happy to report that He has been faithful many times over in the last few weeks. At the beginning of September, with Seth's beautiful face always a thought or two from my mind, I began to ask God to send me 25 One Girl sessions this fall.

Crazy. I know.

And I told Jase that I didn't have any idea how I'd pull it off even if He sent them to me. But that was my prayer. 25. We needed just over $7000 to really dig our heels into another adoption. When you add up the home study fees, initial agency fees, immigration approval, etc...it comes to a little more than that.

And can I just be honest?

We didn't have any of that y'all.

We had a little in the bank for normal monthly stuff. We aren't behind on any bills. We don't owe anyone other than our mortgage company. But there isn't extra either. Can I get an amen from anyone?

So you may recall where the Lord blessed our socks off by sending tangible provision from not one but TWO sources over the course of less than two hours. If you missed it, grab a cup of joe and read here. So that brought us down to only {only...lol} needing $4300 to secure the beginning of the process for Seth and to be able to seriously apply for grants. It was still a huge mountain. But again, I was asking for 25 {and I think my mom joined me in that prayer} and He began to open the flood gates of opportunity and provision. As of today, I have booked 19 sessions this fall from mid September till the beginning of November.

Ca-razy.

A friend of my parents, moved by the Orphan Sunday service at their church, handed my mom a $100 bill for us. Sooo, if you do the math, that brings our provision total in just about one little month to be $3900. Can anyone do that but our great God? NO! We see him clearly working to bring clients and therefore, provision to us. To be only $400 short of our initial need is overwhelming. To know that I've not nearly booked November yet is icing on the cake. It may not hold true in 2011, but last year, November was my single busiest month. We still are in need of the full 25 sessions when you consider tithes and incidentals like stupid birth certificates that cost nearly $100 between the two of us that we have perfectly good copies in our files but China requires they be less than six months old, and FBI fingerprints for the home study, etc. To book the full 25 would be amazing. Whatever may come though, we know that God is moving and working!

Sometimes, my mind works overtime and the enemy tells me that there is no way we can do this. That $7000 is still just a quarter of the $28-$30K we need. But when I consider, that the Lord has provided so much of our entire need in one short month...my faith is strengthened and my mind becomes calm.

I read a lot of China adoption forums and blogs these days. It's a sickness. I can't help it. But I saw a post a couple of weeks ago that gave me an idea. For those of you who don't know, your big huge packet of official paperwork {called the dossier} is sent to China {DTC}, and when it is received by China, you are given a date called the Log in Date {LID}. Many, many people have been waiting for their healthy children from China for years. Like upwards of five and six years. So sad. Many others, like us, are on the special needs {SN} road instead and the process is much quicker. But those who are waiting for their LID to come around for matching and referral of their children, sometimes will put beads or candy or buttons or something small in a container or jar with the exact number of LID's they are away from being matched. And each month, when the China authorities do the matching of new children, these families take out however many beads or buttons or whatever is in their jar to correspond with the number of LID's China processed. It serves as a visual reminder of how far they have come and how far they have yet to go.

Are you with me?

Of course, we are in a different situation. We aren't waiting to be matched. Seth is ours! But we still think that a visual is good. Right? So I decided to do a spinoff of what other families are using their container for.

We are counting down the provision. One red stone at a time.

In our jar, lay 300 of these. Each one represents $100. Seems daunting, doesn't it? But it's not too big for God. And so what we will do, is every time someone supports our adoption of Seth, they will be given that red stone{s} as a tangible reminder of our gratitude and the Lord's goodness in using them to accomplish His purposes. Each photography session will yield two red stones. So when the family receives their disc in the mail, they will also receive one of these little pouches as well as a prayer card with Seth's picture on the front and specific requests on the back. These pouches are ready to be tucked away and mailed to friends and family who have supported us this month. I'm sending one to WACAP too. I want Beth to know just how much it means to us that she would follow the leading she felt to ask for our grant. And to my parents' friend whom I barely know and who gave out of conviction and hope. And to photography clients who just needed family or senior pictures or whatever but were really being used for much greater things. These pouches are tangible and visible reminders to them and to us.

Kennedy thinks this idea is completely ridiculous. So I was a tiny bit nervous to share with Jase because I met such opposition from her! lol. But he thought it was a fantastic idea. Even got a little teary over it. Our jar is now sitting in our bedroom as a constant reminder of God's provision and His goodness. It's true, we have a long way to go. But we know Whom we have believed! And He is more than able! To God be the glory, great things He has done!

*initital 300 red stones*