And so it begins...

We have BIG news....we are officially beginning the adoption process!! We have sent in our initial application to Lifeline, which is the agency we have decided to adopt through. (Side note: They are an amazing christian agency that is completely gospel centered and I would highly recommend them for anyone thinking of adopting or doing foster care or just looking for a great cause to support!) We have a long journey ahead of us but we are so excited to begin! We are planning to adopt a baby boy anywhere between 0-2 years old from Ethiopia. I plan to update the blog in the near future with more details on our decision to adopt, why we chose Ethiopia, and specific information on Ethiopia. We also plan to sell t-shirts on our blog and maybe do a few other fundraisers to help with the cost.

We are so blessed to have dear friends who are in the final stages of adopting their sweet little boy, Jeremiah, from Ethiopia and other friends who are beginning the process at the same time as us! God is so good! It is crazy how he works everything out. 

Dan and I firmly believe that Christians are called to care for the orphans. I don't mean to say that every Christian is to adopt, but we can all commit to some form of orphan care. Whether it be praying for the fatherless, supporting others who are adopting, doing foster care, adopting, or taking part in other orphan ministries. We have no doubt that adoption is something God wants for us and we are thrilled! We by no means think it will be an easy road and we know our family will be forever changed. However, we also know that we serve a great God and we are trusting Him to be by our side through it all! Here are two scriptures that we cling to: 

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.     James 1:27

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.       Romans 8:14-16