DREAM COME TRUE GIVEAWAY

http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2011/04/dream-come-true-giveaway.html

VANYA

See this beautiful little boy?  He has a dream.  A dream that his mama and papa will find him and make him theirs forever.  Can you imagine being 8 years old and having that dream?  Wondering every single day if it will be your turn today.

Anthony and Adeye from nogreaterjoymom.com are holding the DREAM COME TRUE GIVEAWAY.  It is incredible with over 100 items.  The body of Christ has once again come together for one of Jesus' least of these by donating the items for the giveaway, by praying for Vanya to find his family, by placing Vanya's story on their blogs and facebook pages...when two or more are gathered together in prayer, MOUNTAINS MOVE, MIRACLES HAPPEN, PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED!! 

And, all it takes to enter this incredible giveaway is any size donation, no minimum, no maximum. 

There are six days left.  Six days to raise the funds needed to pay for Vanya's adoption fees.

Could you be Vanay's family?

Read his story here http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2011/04/dream-come-true-giveaway.html.

Rejoicing,

~s

GOD MOVED A MOUNTAIN!!

Evan is Coming HOME!!! - Praise HIS Name!!

http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/2011/04/evan-is-coming-home-praise-his-name.html
[From Pastor Linny}


Sweet baby girl Evan is coming home!!

Isn't she beautiful?

Shouts of praise to Almighty God echo around the world....

the exact same Judge who just two weeks ago said,

Kirill could NOT come home because he is "not socially adaptable" due to his "medical condition" {having Down Syndrome} and that he is better off in an institution than in a home with a family, granted Evan's mommy and daddy permission to bring her home!!

PRAYER AND FASTING WORK!!

They work!!

If you prayed {and fasted} then YOU are part of this miracle!!

How cool is that?

I just absolutely love to witness God moving the mountains when we come together and pray for another little peep to come home.  I've seen thousands of dollars raised in a matter of hours when a group of believers have joined together in prayer and fasting to raise the needed funds to bring one of His precious ones home to their forever family, I've seen the chains holding children captive as orphans being  broken because people have prayed and fasted for God to work a miracle.  When the family of God unite and pray together and storm the gates of heaven begging for God's mercy, GOD LISTENS, GOD HEARS THE CRIES OF HIS CHILDREN.  And now, I anticipate Kirill's homecoming in the near future.  Cause I serve an awesome God who loves and cares deeply for the orphans of this world and I know people all over the world are praying for Kirill and his family. 

I serve a mighty God.

Rejoicing,

~s

Will You Join Us In Praying Kirill Home?

"I believe God gave me this dream to let me know that no matter what happens with Kirill, I am simply called to run the race. I'm not guaranteed any kind of earthly rewards. My prize is Jesus and being with him in Heaven. My race is to run to HIM. So I will keep putting one foot in front of the other despite the pain. I will keep my eyes focused on the prize and run the path that Jesus has paved for me. Because the race is won and victory is in HIM. "   [from Kirill's mommy]

[From Pastor Linny at aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com]

On the other side of the world {in Russia} there is a little boy....

His name is Kirill.

Kirill was found by his mommy and daddy on an adoption list. They worked feverishly to get all his paperwork in so they could bring him home. And during that time of working to bring Kirill home they found that Kirill is the first child from his region in Russia EVER to be adopted with Down Syndrome.


A birth mother keeping her child with DS is unheard of in this area of the world. Adoptions of children with DS just don't happen in this region, these children are literally hidden away from society in orphananges and mental institutions. As it turns out Kirill would be a pioneer. If Kirill's adoption was approved, it would pave the way for other children with special needs to be adopted from this region as well.


And so just two weeks ago, Kirill's mom and dad were there in Russia headed to court to fulfill the necessary steps to bring Kirill home...

and they were loving on Kirill....


and after enduring five agonizing hours of difficult questioning before the judge...with strong statements on their behalf from two doctors, two social workers and the Minister of Children's Services fighting on their and Kirill's behalf...and prepared for the court's stamp of approval,


the Judge gave her ruling:

"Your application to adopt is rejected"

The Judges reasoning:


Kirill is "not socially adaptable" due to his "medical condition" and he is better off in an institution than in a home with a family. The Judge did state several times that Greg and Tesney were a good family, that they met all the criteria to adopt a child, but that she would not approve our adoption because Kirill has Down Syndrome. She told them that they could adopt another child, because legally our application had no problems according to Russian adoption law. She said she would approve their adoption for a 'typical' child, but not this child.

The ONLY reason?

Because Kirill has Down Syndrome.

{Home study approved and Immigration approved for a child with Special Needs}

BUT

and so here's where we come in...

I just can not believe for ONE second that Kirill is supposed to stay in an institution in Russia for the duration of his life.

NOT A CHANCE.

Almighty God's heart is for the orphan and it is attentive to their cry.


Almighty God's heart longs for every child to be in a forever family.

"He sets the lonely in families" Psalm 68:6

Soooooo


If God's heart is for the orphan and He longs for every child to be in a forever family...then God wants to and will move to bring Kirill home.


But some things do not happen without prayer and fasting....


So I wrote to Tesney and asked if I could call for a fast on Kirill's behalf...


Her response:


Linny,

Yes! We would LOVE this...Wednesday is better for us; and it coincides with our appeal being filed at the Supreme Court. It should be filed on Tuesday of this coming week, so the Supreme Court will hopefully begin the review shortly thereafter.............and we are humbled and honored....


THANK YOU!


Would you be willing to join with us in a day of  prayer and fasting?  {possibly a meal, two meals, all day}


When:

Wednesday, March 30, 2011


Will you do battle on your knees for Kirill?

For the other families who are in the process of adopting treasures with DS from this same region....

one even going to court on Thursday for a daughter with DS...


Will you please pray {and fast}with me?


Please spread the word to every one you know {Bible studies, small groups, bloggy friends, relatives, your children} a world wide fast this Wednesday to set Kirill free!!

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act." Prov. 24:12

Joining in prayer and fasting for Kirill,
~s

ADOPTION FROM A HUSBAND'S POINT OF VIEW

Wow, this is a very powerful post from Erica's husband that really spoke to my heart.  They are currently in Ethiopia with their new daughter finishing up their adoption journey.

http://thisshubinclan.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-husband-on-adoption.html

When we first started talking about adoption four or five years ago I was completely against it. I was against having more kid’s period. The main reason for it; selfishness. I didn’t want another child to be



responsible for, to educate, to train, to nurture. That would mean more food I would have to buy, more clothes that will need to be purchased, vacations will now be more expensive, and the list just goes on and on. It came down to pure selfishness and greed.






While I was walking my job site one day, I was thinking about when Jesus confronted Peter after He was raised from the dead. Jesus asked, “Do you love me?” Peter said, “Yes!” “Then feed my sheep” Jesus replied. I started thinking that if Jesus asked me that how would I respond? What does it mean to feed my sheep? Combine that with the conversations Erica and I had been having about adoption; I was convicted. I was living in disobedience; I was hardening my heart to Gods call. In multiple places God commands us to take care of orphans and widows. Was I doing that? No, in fact I was doing the exact opposite. I was caring more about selfish desires then what God wanted. At that moment I repented and asked God to forgive me of those sins. It was then that I wrote an email to Erica telling her it was time to start the adoption process. Ten months later we were walking down the airport terminal in Phoenix as I carried a 3 year old boy in my arms. My son.






As I reflected on the process while Silas was running around the terminal in one of the many airports we had layovers in, one of the things I remember most vividly is the feeling that I almost missed this. I would have missed the blessing of being a dad again. I would have missed being a father to this little boy simply because I would rather be able to buy that bigger TV or go to Disney five times a year.






Through this journey God showed me what His love is, Greater love


has no one than this that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13. That is surrendering all that you have to Him, which will include my idol of self. On the surface I gave the appearance of Holiness, not realizing I was lying to myself and everybody else around me.






God now has us on another journey, this one of faith. The first one was to break our hearts toward the plight of the orphan and convict us of our idol of self, this one has been a journey of faith. Total dependence. God is growing our faith in His power like only God can. God has faithfully provided all the funds for a second adoption.






On the eve of my departure to pick up our fifth child, this time a little girl, I reflect back on the past year and how God has strengthened my faith. My love for Him has grown deeper and wider, it is a mystery to me how God chooses to sanctify us, but I wouldn’t change it for the world and its possessions. Plus I get to be a father to another little child. That is what


adoption is about, God doesn’t need us to adopt these kids. It is the height of all arrogance to think we are doing this because God can’t. God doesn’t call us to adopt just to help the children but it is to sanctify us. Do you really think you are the best parent in the world? I know I screw up all the time in raising my kids already. Yet the same way God has adopted us, we are now reflecting what God did for us on a physical level. He is redeeming us and at the same time he gets to use us to be the tool to redeem our children. We now get to love on, nurture, and raise these children the same way God does us. It doesn’t matter if it’s a biological or adopted child, God gave you both.






For all you dads that might be on the fence in regard to adoption, I would encourage you to search your heart, truly do


some deep searching in why you are saying no. I would bet that 9 out 10 times it will have to do with sin. Mine was selfishness and greed; I don’t know what yours is but I do know that God commands us to do something. And I don’t think when God commanded that he


was thinking just send money and that’s good enough. Let God use you. Step out in faith. Tear down your idol, whatever it might be. Stop living in fear and do violence on that idol.


Resting In Jesus,
~s

Commanded To Help

COMMANDED TO HELP

YES WE ARE
EACH AND EVERY ONE  OF US



Yes, we are.  All of us.   The Word of God commands us to care for the orphans and widows.  Time and again throughout the bible it commands us to care of the orphans and widows.  That can look different for each of us.  Some of us adopt, others become foster parents, still others are mighty prayer warriors that pray little ones home to their forever families, and others help financially. 

WHERE DO YOU FIT IN?

One thing for sure is we can all pray for these little ones who so desperately need mamas and papas to love them.  Who need forever families, who need to hear how much God loves them.

[by nogreaterjoymom.com]
The enemy HATES adoption! Every family enters into an intense spiritual battle when they try to adopt a child. The enemy WILL throw his fiery darts their way. He will try everything possible to get the adoption to fail. It is a fact!







Adoption is not just about bringing a child into the loving arms of parents--it's about snatching a child out of darkness and bringing them into HIS glorious light.

But it's a battle from Day One.

Last week one precious family traveled to a land far away to adopt their sweet little boy. They went to court. After five hours of being questioned by the judge, the answer was NO! They were denied. They were told that they could not adopt sweet K. "Sure--go ahead and adopt a 'healthy' child. But children with Down syndrome are better off in an institution."







So sad.

The little lovie was denied the RIGHT to have a family.

http://www.oureyesopened.blogspot.com/

This little guy is being denied a family, a family who has flown clear across the world to bring their son home and have been denied by the judge simply because he has down syndrome.  They are appealing.  Please people, pray for the judge's heart to be changed.  Otherwise, Baby K will live the rest of his Life in an insane asylum.

The Higbie's are working hard to bring their precious Lera home - They need to be fully funded by the end of March to be able to adopt their daughter.  savinglera.blogspot.com. 

Isn't she the cutest little thing?  Can you help her come home to her forever family?

The Silva family are working hard to bring their little Noah home - silvamoose.com. He is in Eastern Europe. They are trying to get to him as soon as possible and still need a lot of the money. Noah is in an orphanage which is known to not take good care of its children. They have a fabulous giveaway happening--an awesome Nikon camera (with case and lenses) up for grabs. Please prayerfully consider helping them. I know they would be so thankful.

Isn't he the sweetest little guy?  Can you imagine, he's living in an orphanage and if he isn't adopted will be sent to an insane asylum.  He needs his mommy and daddy.  He needs to come home to his forever family.

Jon and Angie have been matched with a baby who has many special needs and will be born soon in the U.S. They are currently giving away an iPad and a whole lot of other awesome prizes. Please consider helping them out. They need to come up with $10,000 in a huge hurry to make this adoption possible. Sadly, not many people have contributed to their adoption yet. Please can we change that? ourlivesworksinprogress.blogspot.com





There are so many ways to to help the orphan.  You can stop by these families blogs, leave them a comment, give them a shout out on  your blog or face book, donate to their adoptions.  You would be surprised how a child's life can be saved by donating just a few dollars.  It all adds up.  And it is so desperately needed to bring these little lives home to their loving families, to medical care they desperately need, to have the opportunity to hear about Jesus. 

We can all pray them home.  That doesn't cost us anything, just time on our knees storming the gates of heaven for these precious lives.  And most importantly...

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD.

NOTHING!!



Searching my heart,
~s

Penni

The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel. 

Proverbs 12:10

Penni

We found this girl standing in the middle of carnage highway [that's what our vet calls it] on our drive home from our hunting property.  Out in the middle of no where, no houses or farms anywhere in sight.  She was just standing right in the middle of the road.  Around these parts, there are tons of loose dogs running around.  Often, we see dead ones along the sides of the roads.  It is just the nature of the beast where we reside.  Country, farms, woods, not too many people in our area fence in their dogs.

God spoke to my heart and I yelled at the Chief, "Slow down, don't hit that dog.  STOP!   We can't leave her in the middle of the road, she'll get killed." 


So my sweet husband pulled over to the side of the highway, and this pup came running right to us.  Squirming, happy, friendly, and licking.  After a few minutes of loving her up, petting her, scratching her belly we looked at each other and my guy says, "Now what? We just can't leave her here."   He opened up the truck door and she jumped right in.

We have two dogs already on our farm.  Koot, our big tub of love Newfoundland and The Bandit, a hunting dog mix the Chief picked up at our local W#lmart parking lot.  We really didn't need or want another dog.  I had been doing research on hunting dogs, something for the real far off future when we did add another dog to our family.  But not something we planned to do anytime soon.

But God.  He had other plans.  He's good like that. 

When you least expect it.  When you have well laid out plans.

 But God had other plans for this redhead four legged bundle. 

We talked on the drive home about what to do with her.  Maybe we would be able to find her a home.   She seemed like a real sweet heart.  We  weren't sure how our animals would react.  Does she get along with horses, or would she chase and terrorize them?  What about our two cats?  Would they be safe?  Koot loves everybody, and he's the alpha, and he is HUGE, so there were no concerns there.  But The Bandit, she's the princess, would she tolerate sharing her place with another female?

The introductions to the rest of our clan went well.  Miss Penni blended right into the family.   She barked once, at the horses, a huge, deep hound dog bark.  [Did I mention I had been researching different breeds of hound dogs?] The following day we dropped her off at our vet while we did the American Cancer Society 5k in town.  When we returned to pick her up, we found out she was not micro chipped, weighed 40 lbs, was approximately 6 months old, some type of mix breed, and full of worms.  Her necked was also rubbed raw and the vet said she was probably chained up and broke loose.  Yesterday, she was spayed and is now officially a member of our family and Freedom Hollow Farm.  We laugh about the "free" dog we found!  After two trips to the vet, she was far from FREE! 

My new hiking buddy, Penni

 Koot, he's my battle buddy.  The Chief bought him for me as a pup right before he deployed to I*raq.  He's one of the best dogs I have ever had the privilege of loving and owning.  Oh, how I love this big bucket of love.   I call him Kootie~Pie.   He doesn't have a mean bone in his body.  Unfortunately, due to very bad breeding/confirmation Koot won't be with us much longer.  Right now we are keeping him comfortable, happy and giving him all the love we can.

Me and The Bandit, my race buddy.  She did the 5k with us.  We've got another one coming up soon that allows dogs.  Penni will be joining us and starting her racing career. 

Rejoicing in His 4-legged blessings,

~s

One Year Bible

I am so enjoying my One Year Bible.  I am falling more and more in love with it each day.  The more I delve into it, the more I understand, the more I can actually envision what I am reading.  That is such a blessing for me and an answer to prayer.  It doesn't feel like a chore to read my bible daily anymore.  I am finding it very enjoyable, like a great novel I don't want to put down!!

My victory and honor come from God Alone,

He is my refuge, a rock where

no enemy can reach me.

O my people, trust in him at all times.

Pour out your heart to him.

For God is our refuge.

Psalm 62:7-8

Resting in pages of my bible,

~s