What is your story?

Here I go again.  I'm in church and this flood of revelation comes over me again. (singing the song below!)  I have another blog to write.  I have to tell you, that I am NOT a writer!!  (my family, especially my mother, will attest to this!)  So the fact that I keep feeling led to write I know is from God.  I guess someone out there needs to know what is on my heart.

A song I love and that is most convicting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5JdWHaTGnI&feature=related

There is no one higher, 
No one greater,
No one like our God.


There is none more able,
Christ our Savior
Great and Glorious.


So I'll stand 
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all
So I'll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours

Can you even begin to imagine what the world would look like if we all truly believed those words?  What I've been convicted of, is we are all supposed to have stories.  A story to glorify The One who gave it all for you.  I believe the story starts when you realize there is so much more to this life.

The week we decided to adopt our paster said something was exactly what we needed to hear to confirm the decision we had made.  We are all called to be radically devoted to Christ.  What most of us do is strive to live the American dream.  We live for life to become easier and more comfortable.  That is not what we were called for - we were not called to live the American dream, we were called to change the world . .  for Christ.  Most likely, if we were pretty comfortable we were not radically devoted.  

Through this journey, that I'm sure God is getting impatient with me for taking YEARS to realize, I have gone from being the selfish Christian thinking I was doing okay, to realizing I have fallen very short of what Christ expects of me.  Hate to admit it, but we had become very comfortable, again.  All 3 kids in school, I have a job that I work 2 days week - sweet!  We were set.  But had I truly impacted the world in a way that would have an eternal impact? This is the exact question that led us a few years ago to leave our very comfortable church. A very difficult decision.  We were sunday school teachers, worked in the nursery, took food, volunteered for VBS, etc.  All important things, don't get me wrong here, but for most of us, that is all we do.  We surround ourselves with what is comfortable and what is comfortable is being with people like us.   We were not radically devoted.

We, the whole family, spent yesterday serving in Nashville in an area that was devastated by the flood.  We served in a single mom's home who had no money to hire contractors so she was doing everything herself.  My girls vacuumed and mopped for hours.  Jay and I power washed and Carter jumped in on all activities.  I was so proud of my kids - we got no whining, no complaining, just dedication to what their job was.  I had reminded them when we woke up very early, that today was not about them and it was not about having fun, but rather today was a day we were giving back.

"Remember why we are out here."  Those were my words on the way.  We get the car to come home and they all were in great moods, saying how great they felt and that they really had a fun day.  I realized yesterday this is the culture our entire family needs to have consistently.  We give money (something the kids never see) much easier than we give our time.  

To whom much is given, much is expected.  I am constantly being convicted with that verse.  What I realized is if I don't start creating the culture of giving back with our time as well, will our kids ever find their story? 

I don't write all of this to bring light on what we are doing, but to inspire someone else and to glorify Christ.   It has taken me years to find my story.  What I now know is, my story is about orphans.  I have fallen in love and my heart breaks for those who need a family.  Your story might take you years, but I pray you realize you have one - an incredible one.  

So get out there.  Start creating a culture in your family that inspires every member.  I promise you will find God and He will lead you to be apart of His story. I know all of our stories will come together one day and glorify Him beyond our wildest imaginations!

There is no one higher, No one greater, No one like our God.

There is none more able, Christ our Savior Great and Glorious.

So I'll stand With arms high and heart abandoned In awe of the One who gave it all

So I'll stand My soul Lord to You surrendered

All I am is Yours

What are you waiting for?

Feeling very led tonight to share some deep thoughts again. This will make two blog posts by me (wow!) and both kinda personal, but when you're led, you're led! Right?!

This journey has been a roller coaster of excitement to total fear!  I have been pondering that today.  My thoughts might be random, but do have purpose, so stay with me!  The excitement is that same feeling when you're pregnant and anxiously waiting to see what your child will look like.  The fear is the same as when you are pregnant when you think, what in the world have we done! How will I ever do this?

My husband's mother died of ALS 8 years ago, the week our 2nd child was born.  She lived for 2 years following the diagnosis and required frequent care quickly and actually lived with us her final year.  That time period was the hardest thing I have ever done.  I knew we had to care for her, she was only 56 and a nursing home was not an option.  I can't even put into words what that 2 years was like.  We were very young and not prepared for that journey and we grew up very quickly.
I remember during that time my mom telling me God was preparing me for something big.  I might not know what it was and it could be years, but I would know at some moment that God used those 2 years to prepare me for a greater purpose.
Fast forward to February of this year, we tell my family we are going to adopt from Ethiopia.  A couple of days later I'm on the phone with my mom and she, being the good mom, says "I have to say this as your mother, but I hope you have thought this through, you do know how hard this is going to be?"  At that very moment and those words I knew this was it!   Her words from 10 years ago came flooding back.  I had faced hard things and came out better from going through them.  My husband and I had faced more things by the time we were 27 than most will in their lifetime.  We have really struggled to even connect with couples our own age (that is so hard to admit!) because in 2 years we had gone from being 25 to 55.  During that time period we felt so isolated.  It was a hard journey , BUT if we had not gone through that and really grown up (that's what we call it!) and let Jesus wake us up to our selfishness we would not be on this journey now.  I KNOW that in my soul, and all this came over me in a split second from that one question out of my mother's mouth!  This was it.  God had a big plan 10 years ago.  ALS never makes sense.  Prior to Jay's mom being diagnosed with ALS, I will tell you honestly, we were very selfish people.  We thought we knew what being a Christan was and played the part well.  Very active in our church and taking meals when we should.  But that journey woke us up!  Since then we have been on a spiritual journey that I have been glad to be on.  We ended up leaving a church that we had been apart of for 17 years.  That was very difficult but we knew was leading us else where.  At this moment on the phone, I'm realizing that God used something that was so heart wrenching and shook our lives up for decade now so we could get on the real path.  We still have a lot of growing to go, but I am so grateful to be in the middle of his will, his plan and I am so grateful to be used!

So, why I am telling you all this, because I know everyone of you reading this has fears.  I can't even type all the fears we have faced over the last decade.  God has used what ever life experiences you have had to prepare you for an awesome work.  I truly believe that.  I pray that as I feel led to share more of our story that you will be challenged to find your calling.  We have faced many fears.  It was not easy to take care of  his mother.  It was very scary to leave a church that we were very comfortable in.  It has been very scary to decide to adopt.  But we are stepping out on the water.  Peter was scared to, but Jesus was always there.  This journey I have been prepared for.   I might be scared and clueless, but prepared because I know this journey is God designed.

So, what are you waiting for?  God has plan and you are apart of it!  Step out on the water!
I think many of you need to go listen to this song and listen to what He is stirring within you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R3K0sqgfvM&feature=related

If you are in the middle of a rocking ocean, remember, Jesus is there with you!

Love you all!!
Candi

The answer to the question I get asked ALOT! WHY?

I know I am not a good blogger - obviously should work on that!  Honestly, been a little busy with a new job at VCH (which is awesome) and filling out all that paperwork!!  Good news - dossier is in, hopefully will be on the waiting list early next week.  So we should have more to update in the coming months.

I decided to go ahead and start typing the story to why we are doing this.  It is THE #1 question I get ALL the time.  The answer could be simple - there are orphans who need a home and a family and I have a great one! If it had been that simple we would have done this a long time ago.  God's timing is always perfect, but I am ashamed to tell you I was no where near understanding the orphan crisis in our world.  As a professing Christian, I should have known.  God made it clear in the Bible we are called to take care of the orphans.  I know that looks different for everyone, but obviously, some of us are or were ignoring our callings.  Here is the story where we started paying attention to ours.

First, I cannot remember a time I did not know in my heart I had children somewhere else in the world.  I have always known I would adopt.  I ignored and made excuses for a long time, but always knew.  (more on the excuses later)  I always wanted a big family and am very blessed with 3 healthy children.  They weren't easy to get here, but by the grace of God, they are here and well and I'm a mommy.  It was very clear after the birth of our 3rd I would never have any more biological children.  I had accepted that and was grateful to have 3 healthy ones.  The current chapter really starts 2 years ago.  I met a girl in Monkey's Tree House when I took my kids to play.  Her name was Kristi.  She and her family were starting the process of adoption from Ethiopia.  I happened to be with another adoptive mom that day and introduced them to each other.   We had a great chit chat that day and I moved on.  Fast forward a couple of years, my heart began stirring for adoption again last fall, 2009.  I would bring up with Jay and we both had a lot of excuses.  The money needed to bring them home being a big one.  Second being the fact we are already a family of 5.  Adding to this crew changes a lot.  The car you drive, your vacations, camps and activities we can afford for the children.  And then there's college!  Oh my!  How do you pay for all those kids to go to college?!  On and on we could go with that list.

Basketball season started this year and Jay and I were coaching Haley's team.  I keep seeing this girl that I know I know her but for the life of me cannot place her!  See her every Saturday and just let it go finally.  UNTIL one night in the Cool Springs Mall.  There she is again.  She walks in with her crew and sits at the table next to my family.  She is holding a beautiful baby girl from Ethiopia.  (side note - my family has NEVER eaten dinner at the mall and we have not eaten there since that night).  It all hits me again, that I know her, but cannot place her, but I know her whole family story.  I almost left the mall that night, when God stopped me and I walked back to her table and told her I know she must think I'm crazy but I know her story, but not your name!  She asks me mine, remembers me, because how many Candi's are there?!  Reminds me of our meeting in Monkey's Tree House and that starts the conversation! For those who know Kristi, you know her excitement and love for orphans is very contagious.  We end with her telling me to go home and watch Lucy Lane's Gotcha Day video on You tube.  (You should really watch that video by the way!)  Well, I'm in tears.  Praying a few days later I get hit up side the head by God.  I realize all those excuses in the last paragraph sound very shallow.  I SOUND SO SHALLOW!  Am I really going to stand in front of Jesus one day and tell him I did not follow this calling because I really wanted to take my kids on a Disney cruise and I would not have afforded that if I had adopted an orphan?  Also, there was that $20,000-$30,000 to bring home a child.   Well, there again, I was putting a price tag on what I thought God was capable of doing.  He had to remind me that He is much bigger than $30,000 and the blessings I would receive from my future children far out weigh any Disney vacation or camp I might send my child to.

Moving on to Jay, I tell him where I am.  He actually listens, watches the video. His words on the video, "now that's strong."  We agree to start looking into adoption.  Well, "looking into" turned into we are adopting pretty fast.  Once God and I had that serious one on one I knew I was ready.  Jay was not too far behind me now! I remember emailing Kristi telling her we were seriously looking into everything and we would be adopting form Asia!  She emailed me back, saying "don't count out Ethiopia, they will steal your heart."  I laughed it off, kinda!  My brother is a missionary in Asia and has been for many years.  I have been very fortunate to travel over several times and see some of southeast Asia.  So I really thought that is where our kids are located.  We research Asia and talk to a few agencies and the door is closed several times over in many countries and agencies for Asia.  During this time I'm praying and it becomes very clear to me we are to adopt siblings.  Well, now I'm petrified to tell Jay.  How do you go from not being ready to adopt, to finally saying yes let's adopt A CHILD and then your wife walks up to you and says, "Honey, I have something to tell you and I'm a little scared to. But I really believe there is more than one child for us, we are supposed to adopt siblings."  That's exactly what I did one night when he was sitting in the den.  He looked at me, smiled and said "I'm at the same point.  God's told me the same thing."  WOW!

Siblings are not common in Asia - another message. Skipping some minor details,  that lead us smack dab to Ethiopia!    I quickly knew it was Ethiopia.  I fell in love!  I know my children are there.  There's a song we sing in church a lot and one phrase is "break my heart for what breaks Yours."  That is exactly what God did to us.  Our hearts break for the 5 million orphans in this country and the 147 million world wide.  My heart personally has been spread wide open.  I feel this is only the beginning.  God has big plans and I feel so honored and humbled to be in the middle of His plan.  

So today I am so grateful God put a stranger, who has become a friend, to push us onto our path.  Thank you Kristi for following your calling to lead others to follow theirs.

God always uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary.  I hear a lot of praises for us and what we are doing. Hear me (read me!) clear - this has nothing to do with us personally.  This is about us following the calling of what God has on our lives.  Living in His will is where the blessings lie.  May you find your blessings.

Much love to all!
Candi

It's Candi this time!

Hello friends. I'm finally writing. We have been doing a lot of writing with this new journey we are on. Oh the paperwork - it kinda reminds me of labor in a way! I must say I do prefer being pregnant this way.

We have handed in all of the paperwork needed for the home study. Now we are trying to complete the dossier. At the same time trying to do some fundraising. We are having our ( I hope to be) HUGE yard sale on April 17th! Any donations are welcomed and deeply appreciated. And come shop! Many treasures to be found! We did find out this week that we will be required to travel twice to Ethiopia. While there are positives to this it does mean more cost for us. God is much bigger than any amount of money. And I believe with my whole heart he has lead us here and will be bring us home with our new babies in His time with the money being a way to praise Him for providing. I have signed on to be a consultant for Rodan and Fields to try and make some extra money. If you have not heard of this new company, or if you have, please check out my website or contact me and I would love to show you these wonderful skin care products. https://candigalbreath.myrandf.com/.

For those of you who work out and need an extra boost, also check out enlyten.com. Another very cool new product I was turned onto by my brother. Buying this helps with his work in Asia. (use HORN as the promo code when ordering and receive a discount)

My heart has been spread wide open with this journey. I know this is what I was called to do and really look forward to seeing where all God leads us with orphan ministry. I have always had a passion for children and just love them to pieces. I feel like my loves, gifts and talents are all coming together to truly make an eternal impact. It's an incredible and honoring place to be standing.

What a Week!

We just finished our first of many long weeks of paperwork, and I think this is just the beginning.  10 notarized forms, in duplicate...multiple trips to and from Catholic Charities social worker's office to pick up and deliver forms, checks, and more forms...then to the Metro Police Station for fingerprints for our FBI background check (we were both a little relieved that was our first and hopefully last trip to the downtown Police Station).  We've signed more things that I'm not sure anyone could truly read and comprehend what we have just gotten ourselves into!

Paperwork hysteria aside, we have this week signed the contract with AGCI, so the adoption process is now in full swing.  We have so much to do, and our goal is to get our Dossier completed and be on the waiting list for our new children within the next 60 days.  A tall and exhausting order, with many things out of our control standing in the way, but we pray everything will go smoothly.  With all of these moving parts, it's tough to keep organized, and I hope we are able to take some time and share with you in detail what you can expect step by step through this process.

In the meantime, we just had a non-stop typical Saturday, consisting of 4 basketball games, a soccer game, and 2 birthday parties, including Carter's 6 birthday party at Let it Shine which was so much fun.  We ran ragged all day and had a blast - we wouldn't have it any other way.  Needless to say, at 9:45 now, we are exhausted, and I'm the only one with eyes still open, though not for long.

We are taking a much needed break tomorrow morning, and the kids are excited about doing worship at home.  We are going to get everything for the adoption organized, and get the house under control...Candi is working some extra shifts and she's exhausted, and if "Momma ain't happy...." well, you know.

This week we will be getting our physicals finalized for our home study after we get all the tests back from the lab...we will be sending our fingerprints off to the FBI for our background checks (side note: it's taking 10 weeks to get an FBI background check right now!  Seriously!?!  The girl who took our fingerprints said they get theirs back in 24 hrs and we have to wait 10 weeks!  I'm just sayin'...)...we need to finish our autobiographies (now that will be fun) and fill out a few questionnaires for our home study...and hopefully have a call with our AGCI case worker so that we can begin the rest of the Dossier paperwork and start our adoption online education courses that are required.

So much to do...so little time...and yet we are encouraged by a girl at Vanderbilt who is adopting siblings from Ethiopia and has not even finished her paperwork to get on the waiting list, and they got a call that there are 2 boys in Ethiopia waiting on them when they complete their Dossier.  So what we were hoping was going to be a 10-12 month process, may take half that long.  So we must prepare for a very quick and possibly long process, as no two sets of circumstances are alike.

We covet your prayers and your comments of support.  We have talked to many of you, and as time permits, we look forward to talking to everyone.  We are excited for what God has laid on our hearts and we thank you for joining us.

Jay

Welcome to Our First Blog!

In the coming days, weeks, and months, please join us here as we keep our family, friends, and anyone who will listen informed of our journey of a lifetime...as we seek to adopt siblings from Ethiopia! In some ways, we are at the very beginning of the adoption process, and in other ways, God's hand has been guiding us toward this moment for some time. Stay tuned as we share with you the events and circumstances that have prepared our hearts for this moment, as well as keep you posted on the current and future details of our adoption process.

Timeline:

2/10/10 - Pre-application submitted to All God's Children International (AGCI) - our adoption agency based in Oregon

2/21/10 - Submitted online application to AGCI for approval to adopt siblings from Ethiopia

2/25/10 - Received phone call from Tiffany at AGCI that we are Accepted to Ethiopian adoption program

2/27/10 - Mailed letter to close friends and family notifying them of our big news!

Future Events:

3/2/10 - Our first appointment to begin our Home Study with Catholic Charities

3/3/10 - Orientation call with AGCI to review the entire process