28
Dec
26
Dec
I’ve been thinking about change over the past couple of months. Thinking about things that are constant and make me feel comfortable and other things that make me feel like a tight muscle being painfully stretched. Our family has just returned from a couple of months on the mission field in Thailand. We experienced a lot of this stretching as we were away from home during the holidays. Traditions and constants, like those we practice especially during this season, are...
22
Dec
Jason & Sheri Hansen Family Child: Cayson 2 ½ years Church: Living Water Community Church, Orange City, IA Our first adoption journey began in the summer of 2012. After struggling with fertility, we were so excited to start the process of adoption of our first child. We knew the initial cost of adoption was going to be a huge leap of faith. However, we both desired to have a family and felt God calling us to do so by way of domestic adoption....
21
Dec
15
Dec
Hunter & Christina Baker Family Children: Benton 8; Philip 6; Bryan almost 4; Anna Michelle – due in July 2015 Church: First Baptist Church Dadeville, AL Seven years ago adoption was not in my vocabulary. I never grew up dreaming of adopting a child. I never knew anyone that adopted. Adoption never touched me in any way. I was officially an “adoption virgin.” Then one day adoption reached out and touched me for the first time. ...
08
Dec
Brandon & Rachael Auch Family Children: Seth 13; Hailey 11 Soon to be added to our family: Yerbol (who we are naming Samuel) Our adoption journey has taken many twists and turns since we began 3 years ago. Although it has a different ending than we anticipated, we still see God’s hand weaving our story intricately, and we know that although we see only a small part of the picture, the Lord has known from before the foundation of the earth who belongs in...
01
Dec
Mark & Kristin Artrip Family Children: Malachi 7; Canaan 5; Mercy 2; and our newest – Zion Church: Movement Church, Hilliard, OH When my wife Kristin and I met in high school we would talk and dream about someday getting married, starting a family, adopting, and planting a church. We were married in 2004, had Malachi (7) in 2008, Canaan (5) in 2009, planted Movement Church in 2012, adopted Mercy (2) in 2012 and felt God calling us to adopt again this last...
24
Nov
Ken & Cheryl Shomo Children: Cullen (7); Zoey (7 months) Church: Redemption Church, Virginia Beach, Virginia Zoey’s Story “Upon you [O Lord] I have leaned from before my birth. You are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.” Psalm 71:6 How can anyone lean on God before birth? How can God be first in line to hold a child…before the doctor, midwife, or even mom? I think I know. ...
17
Nov
Nathan and Melissa Scheele Church: Evangelical Free Church of Willmar, Wilmer MN Children: Chloe-8; Elsie-3 After we got married, we quickly learned that there was a very good chance that we would never have our own biological children. We cried out to God and through this difficult time, He first put the idea of adoption on our hearts. But, God blessed us with our first biological daughter (via infertility treatments) three years after we got married. ...
14
Nov
Each family comes to the cross roads where they try to decide if the family size they have is the Lord’s will or if adding to it is what He is asking of them. For me, it feels like we are at this cross road. We have 3 amazing children (5yr, 4yr, 6months), two of which are adopted. The world has me ask the question, what do we desire? How many children do we want? Though there is nothing wrong...
