A Unique Job Application

April 24, 2006
I met with a lady from our church/Bible study, who has been an amazing business professional in our community for decades. A few weeks ago, I had heard that she was seeking an assistant, and so I asked her if I could apply for the job. She immediately shouted, "Oh, Praise the Lord!" and gave me a huge hug! Apparently, I am an answer to her prayers. Now, that is the most unique job application process I have ever been through... and the "interview" was even better.

This morning I tried on different outfits, and blow-dried my hair, trying to find the perfect "job interview" outfit. But once I arrived at the office, it was the most comfortable "interview" I've ever had. I'm pretty sure that she looked right past what I was wearing. She laid her heart out on the table, and spoke to me as a friend. She honestly shared with me about her struggles in her prayer life, of her dreams for the future and her family.

As she spoke about the duties the position would entail, I was excited to see how God had placed identical ideas in both of our minds. At that point, I knew that I could offer her competent help in her office, and was ready to sign on board. But as she continued to share her goals, I was even more convinced. She revealed that she is actually pursuing a plan for us (yes, us!) to work from our homes. We live several blocks away from each other, but are each commuting an hour a day to our individual jobs. It might be a slow transition to transfer everything from the office, but it is definitely an answer to so many prayers, as I dream about the future.

She has a very open time-table, and basically let me suggest when I wanted to start work, and offered the exact salary I had in mind. She came up with the idea of gradually transitioning to her office, beginning in June, by doing a couple days of training in her office each week, and working part-time at my current job. (In an effort to benefit everyone.) I spoke with my current boss this morning about this gradual transition. He will present the idea to the board in a couple weeks. Please keep this board meeting in your prayers; that God's desires will prevail.

Thank you to everyone who has kept this job situation in your prayers. My employment is so intertwined with our adoption, as we seek to prepare our lives and home to bring our child home. We will be meeting with the caseworker, Roxanne, on Sunday afternoon. I plan to share with her about my employment plans, and see what she suggests we do regarding our adoption. (Please keep this in your prayers, also!) There will most likely be some paperwork to update, as we give her this information.

Revisiting the Steps of Faith

April 23, 2006
After almost a year, our church family returned to Hebrews 11 today for our studies. Almost a year ago, we read this "Hall of Faith" chapter, and began our own steps of faith toward adoption. (See the post here: Called to the Impossible.) During our class after the morning service, our teacher instructed us to have a "frank discussion" about faith, and to share our own journeys of faith. As we shared about our past year's journey, and the preparations & sacrifices we are making, a few people had tears in their eyes as they began to see "the whole picture." However, there are still some people who don't understand the underlying foundation to our adoption journey: that the BEST journey with God is a journey of faith... it's not necessarily the route that seems to be the easiest or to make the most sense. And true faith means stepping out, not knowing where your foot will land.

A Special Gift

April 22, 2006
This weekend, some friends gave us more items for our yard sale. While we were helping them move things from storage, they gave us a sweet surprise: a baby bassinet! (Once we get our film developed, we'll post pictures.) This adorable bassinet has been handed down through generations of their family, and was recently restored to current safety standards. As Phyllis tenderly unwrapped the bassinet after pulling it from storage, she was close to tears as she shared about her daughters and granddaughters that have used the bassinet. Each member of her family has contributed something to that bassinet (her mother's sewing, her son-in-law's woodworking, etc.) What a special treasure! It will fit perfectly in our little bedroom, if we want to have it there for awhile. We are so blessed to be honored with this gift.

Roxanne

April 18, 2006
Since our caseworker, Betty, has been on medical leave, the other caseworker in the office has been overseeing our file. Her name is Roxanne. She let us know today that a few birthmoms have looked over our profile books lately (but no one has chosen us, yet.) It's so nice to know that our books are being circulated, and not just sitting on a shelf!

Please be praying for the moms that look at our books. We pray that God will touch their lives with a special blessing with the words we've written to them. (Our letters in the books were written to anyone who reads them; not just a mom who will choose us.)

It really seems to be a blessing that God has placed our file with Roxanne. She seems really sweet. She said that she has read through all of our files, books, etc., so we haven't been ignored! She suggested we meet with her sometime when we're in town, just so she can get to know us bettter. We've tentatively scheduled a meeting with her on Sunday, April 30th. (Yes, she's even willing to meet with us outside of office hours!) Please keep this meeting in your prayers. Roxanne also said that she will be meeting with the other caseworkers in the region on May 4th, and she should be able to get more information then.

Friends have been faithfully donating items for our yard sale! We're planning on holding the sale in June. If anyone wants to volunteer to help out, we would love to see you.

Support Your Local Pregnancy Center!

April 3, 2006
Our church encourages supporting ministries in our local area, as well as tithing to our own church.

As Christians, we believe it is vital to support pregnancy centers in their work to minister to pregnant moms/dads, and their unborn babies. As a future adoptive family, we also believe this support is an important step in helping empower pregnant moms with choices other than abortion, and to minister to their spiritual and physical needs (whether or not they place their baby for adoption). As members of our community, we believe it is important to help develop healthy families.

Our local pregnancy center has wonderful programs to incorporate all these aspects of ministry, called "Steps for Moms & Dads." It is an educational incentive program to equip these "at risk" parents to have healthy families, and prevent abortions. They provide Biblical counseling, and parenting classes for the moms & dads. They have incentives called "baby bucks," which the parents earn by attending classes. They can use the "baby bucks" to "purchase" donated items at the pregnancy center for their baby, such as baby clothes, maternity items, etc. The pregnancy center also offers abstinence education programs for their clients, and for local schools.

On my lunch break today, I dropped off a bag of donation items for the pregnancy center's "baby bucks" incentive program. It was such a joy!

So, do your part, and support your local pregnancy center today! Many Christian pregnancy centers are part of the national Care Net network. (You can read more about their ministries by clicking on the link.) Or, you can find a center in your area by clicking here.)

Trash to Treasure?

April 1, 2006
We have decided to start planning for a garage sale this summer as a way to help raise money for the adoption. So, this weekend, some friends brought over loads of stuff! We've crammed it all into our house in various nooks & crannies while we wait for summer to arrive.

Our dining room is now "accessorized" with desks, bags of clothes/other items, and an egg-crate mattress! We were able to fit a dresser, table, and TV in the outside shed, along with other bags & boxes of things. In the nursery, a computer is pushed in a corner under the baby swing, next to the crib. (It looks like we're expecting some techno baby!)

They also gave us their wooden rocking chair (over 20 years-old) for us to use with the baby, if we want. We'll need to see if we can re-attach the arms to make it more sturdy, but it was so sweet of them to bless us with this family treasure!