Sweet Child of My Heart

I don't know when you will come join our family.
I don't know where you are right now.
I don't know what you look like or how old you'll be when we get you.
I don't know where the money will come from to finalize your adoption.

I know that the same God that put you in my heart will bring you to us.
I know that wherever you are the God that knit you together is watching over you.
I know that I'll think you're the cutest little girl on the planet.
I know that the One who calls us is faithful and will provide us with the money we need to bring you home.
I know that I have loved you since God put you in my heart, and I can't wait to meet you!

What Really Matters

"When this life is over and you stand before the Creator to give an account for how you lived, what will you say? That you worked hard, had a beautiful home, and took your family on some wonderful vacations? Or that you readily and obediently served Him, striving to become like Jesus in all you said and did? After death, all our accomplishments will be laid out before the Lord to be judged. At that point, it won't make any difference how much praise you received, how far you advanced in your job, or how much money you accumulated. The only thing that will matter is what God thinks about how you've used the abilities, gifts, and opportunities He gave you." (Charles Stanley)

My heart's desire is to walk worthy of the calling that God has put on my heart, to be completely used up by Him for His work. When I stand before God one day, I want to hear him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Yard Sale: Success!

What a day! In case you're ever wondering, having a massive, multifamily yard sale is HARD work! But, it was a HUGE success; we made over $1k for the adoption!! Much thanks to all of our church family and friends that donated their stuff and prayed for a successful sale!

A very special thank you to the Cooks, our TN family--not only did they house all of the stuff that was donated, they spent hours with me sorting, pricing, and selling. I can't wait for the baby to meet our TN family. I know she'll love them as much as we do :).

Jeremy and I truly our blessed to have so many people praying and supporting us as we travel this journey, and for that I'm truly thankful!!

"It is not so much our friends' help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they will help us."

Tshirt Store Link

I am still working on putting a widget, gadget thing on the blog that will take you directly to our Adoption Bug store. I am not very good at this kind of thing, and Jeremy isn't here to do it for me. So, in the meantime, highlight the website and copy/paste into the search bar. That will take you to our store.

www.adoptionbug.com/jeremyandsarahwarren

Tshirts for Sale!!

Check out our online store at www.adoptionbug.com/jeremyandsarahwarren

Each shirt sold represents money for the baby, so make sure to purchase tons of tshirts while you're there!! And remember, we appreciate your support and prayers!

Saturday is the Yard Sale

Our April yard sale didn't turn out so well, thanks to the weather. So, we are going to have another yard sale this Saturday, May 26th from 7am-2pm at Chip and Hope Cook's house (8650 Cainsville Pike Lascassas TN).

We need your help:
1. Pray for a successful yard sale. We are at another point where there are adoption fees that need to be paid, and this money will help with that.
2. Make plans to stop by and shop, shop, shop!
3. Spread the word!

A True Miracle

Have you witnessed any miracles lately? I have, and it was a beautiful thing!
There are thousands of children in TN that are available for adoption, but many of them will not be adopted since they usually are older, part of sibling groups, come from less than ideal backgrounds, etc. So, when one of these children get adopted it is something that goes against statistics and logical thought; it truly is a miracle!
One of my students that I've had for the past two years was one of these kids waiting to be adopted, but now she's no longer a waiting child since Friday she moved to be with her forever family!
I am thankful for this family who is answering God's call.
I am thankful that God allowed me to witness such a beautiful miracle up close.
Most of all, I am thankful that we serve a God who hears our cries and answers us when we call.

"Sing to God, sing praise to his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds—
his name is the Lord—
and rejoice before him.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families,
he leads forth the prisoners with singing."

Choosing Faith

For years Jeremy and I would talk about adopting only after we had saved $30,000-$40,000 required. We knew that we were supposed to adopt, but we weren't sure how we were supposed to pay for it. We were looking at it from a human perspective saying, "how can we save up that amount of money?" Basically, we were telling God that we would do what he had asked us to do after we figured out a way to accomplish it. Then, God showed us this for what it was, a lack of faith in him to accomplish what he's called us to. So, last August we found ourselves in Stephanie's office at Heaven Sent although we did not have all the money that we needed, nor did we know how we were going to get it. What we did know was that God would provide. God has provided for everything so far. We have been able to pay for our home study, fingerprinting, and other things that have come up along the way.
Now we have a completed, approved home study, and we're ready to move to the next step. We are ready to apply to the placing agency and fill out the registration pack, which will be sent to Russia and used to match us with a baby. These next steps mean another chunk of money. At this point, we could do one of two things. We could sit and wring our hands and worry about where the money will come from, or we could step out on faith trusting God to provide. This is where the rubber meets the road; this is an opportunity to live out the faith that we profess. We choose faith.

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Martin Luther King, Jr.

@iheartorphans

Social media isn't really my thing, but when Jeremy had the idea of using twitter to keep people up to date about the adoption, I thought "hmm...that's a good idea." I'm not sure he still thinks it's a good idea since now he's having to teach me how to use it...he's starting to take that tone....you know the one where he's trying to stay patient even though my questions are getting on his nerves...what can I say, except bless his heart :0).

May It Be So

Today was baby dedication at church, and as I sat there and watched I couldn't help but wonder if we would have our baby to dedicate next year. I can just picture us standing up there with this little black-haired angel that is looking at everyone with her dark, almond shaped eyes as we commit to raising her to love God. I absolutely can not wait for this moment!

"I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer." Psalm 17:6