My Overthinking

Philly Area mom, Life forever changed by adoption

What I’m doing {Visiting Orphans}

There are times when God’s hand is moving in such a tangible way that you know that turning another direction from the one you’re witnessing unfold in front of you would be disobedient.

That’s where I am, where we are.

We love China. For several months, we’ve been building our support team so we can serve students in China formally. And, God has been providing and equipping and moving. We love adoption and adoptive families and have walked steps directed by Him to grow The Sparrow Fund so that we can pour into them and mobilize them to understand what more about what it means love their kids well.

And, things are falling together in front of us, in spite of us really.

The Sparrow Fund is now partnering with Visiting Orphans to do something special that we’ve only dreamed about doing—taking a team of people this March into a Chinese orphanage to serve the children who wait and the staff who care for them.

It’s not about us. It’s not about a feel-good trip so that we can check off our proverbial James 1:27 box in our conscience. It’s about mobilizing people to change the world through going, being, loving. I know that I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples. And, you can too. Let me know if you want to be a part of this.

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Build the Nest

I’m such a numbers girl. Give me percentages, and I start tracking. These particular numbers stuck with me. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services reported that 30% of all Americans reported having seriously considered adopting at some point in their lives. Yet, only 2% actually adopt. That means that of those who say they’ve seriously considered adopting, 14 out of 15 don’t ever do it.

Why not? It’s daunting—the financial cost, the impact this child will have on your family, the overwhelming number of unknowns. It’s no easy thing. We get that.

As we walked that road ourselves and alongside other families, we saw a need. That 2% of families who were taking that leap of faith to bring a child into their family through adoption—they needed more support. So, we took the leap of faith ourselves to do whatever we could to do just that.

Build the Nest for The Sparrow FundTwo years ago, we started The Sparrow Fund to give grants to families specifically for the purpose of family support through programs around the country that provide preadoption support and counsel, on-call support for families while they travel across the world to meet their children and bring them home, and support once they are home to help both the parents, new son or daughter, and family as a whole become a family.

Recognizing more need, we added programs to encourage and support families from those waiting to meet their children to those who have been home for years. We’ve helped families learn about the unique needs of children who have been adopted in the classroom and how to use correction as a vehicle of connection with their children in a way that is sensitive to them and their histories. And, this past February, we put on a weekend retreat for couples (Together Called) to be reminded of their calling as parents and refreshed to continue serving their children. When registration opened nearly 5 months before the event, it sold out in 16 hours. The need is undeniable.

We’re not interested in growing the number of families adopting; that’s not our focus. Rather, our focus is on pouring into that 2% who are adopting; we want to love and serve them and do whatever we can to make the daunting a little less daunting. And, maybe, just maybe, as the daunting becomes less daunting and the support available becomes more readily available, we’ll see more of those families who have seriously considered adopting say, “maybe we can do this afterall.”

Today starts an important month around here. A whole bunch of folks are coming alongside of us, saying, “Yes, we support adoptive families and the work of The Sparrow Fund to pour into them. And, we want to help.” This May, in our third annual fundraiser, about 50 businesses have made a commitment to help us build the nest so that we can help others as they build their nests. In addition to event sponsors who have donated set amounts to get that nest going, these business partners have made the commitment to give 10% of their total sales throughout the month of May to The Sparrow Fund so that we can do what we do. Isn’t that incredible?

That’s where you come in. We need you to start clicking and start shopping—check these places out.  Shopping purposefully is pretty fun—and makes shopping totally justifiable, by the way. Let’s work together to make that 10% something crazy big.

{p.s. you may want to subscribe to blog posts via email because I’m going to be hosting some awesome giveaways from a handful of these places this month just to make the month even more fun.}

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Jewelry Design

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Sponsors for Building the Nest

To get the nest started…

Sparrow Sponsors

Trades of Hope

Trades of Hope empowers women to create sustainable businesses worldwide. Their desire is for women worldwide to realize their potential as world changers, business owners, dream creators, and heroes of their own stories. A perfect supporter to build the nest for The Sparrow Fund.

Norman L. Graham, Inc.

Norman L. Graham, Inc. is a premier builder of custom homes and additions in South Central Pennsylvania. From design to construction, every Norman L. Graham project is built with care and careful attention to detail. What better partner to build the nest than a company who is all about nest building.

Other Sponsors

If you would like your store or business to be a part of this May fundraising event, please contact Kelly at The Sparrow Fund to be added to this post and future posts as part of this effort.

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He called us together

It seems like it was so much longer ago that we sat down together over lunch and shared our vision for Together Called 2013. So much has happened in hearts over the last several days that the clock itself seems to have been anointed by Him.

As we quieted our hearts after a busy season of preparation, God brought us to a Scripture just Friday morning.
Acts 20:18-28 reads:“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

Paul’s words to the Ephesian elders spoke to us that morning as we prepared to receive 61 couples. The resort was quiet except for the buzz and laughter of the 8 of us over lunch. God unified us a team, together called, readied our hearts just as we knew He was readying the hearts of the 122 men and women, together called, on their way there.

It all was His work–every dollar brought in to offset costs, every t-shirt given away, every cupcake and biscotti and book and mug given away. It was His work–every prayer interceding for every single couple coming, every hour spent in preparation for a main session message or a smaller breakout, every decision for every song in the worship set. And, as He welcomed us into His work, the work He simply swept us up into along the way, we put a stake in the ground together as He had called us to. We made a commitment to not shrink from declaring anything that would be loving and serving and blessing and directing to the truth of the grace of our Father. Nate and Sara had a platform to teach publicly. And, Carl and Kim had a platform to bless publicly. But, we all committed to not shrink “from house to house” as well, praying that every conversation, every exchange of words and glances that weekend would be glorifying to Him and make us fade away and make Jesus more.

We’re tired tonight, physically exhausted. Yet, our spirits feel like they have just picked up more momentum. The experience of the Body truly working together using the gifts He gave us to use for His purposes–it’s a beautiful symphony written by the most talented composer of all time.

What a joy to hear testimonies of transformation last night and throughout the day today through notes and personal conversations and emails and online posts. We are full–not because of anything we did or will do but because we have seen the work of His hand up close. You can’t see Him up that close and not be changed. We were led by the master composer and got to play first string even though we’re out of tune and missing strings. And, the music was beautiful.

 

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Together Called to 12 Hours of Prayer

Three days from now, Mark and I will be arriving at the Inn at Leola Village to greet Sara and Nate Hagerty as they arrive from a long day of travel from across the U. S. to Lancaster County, PA. After lots of emails and a few Skype calls over the last year, it will be great to actually meet them as we prepare for the 61 couples who will be arriving the next day for Together Called.

These 61 couples have made a big commitment–they’ve worked out the finances and the childcare (both of which can be super challenging)–to be able to join us. They come from 14 different states and all different backgrounds–about a third have adopted or are adopting domestically while the rest have adopted or are adopting from all over the world, about a fourth are waiting to adopt while the rest have already brought a child into their family via adoption, a few have not yet become parents while others have up to 8 children. Perhaps most significant, these couples are all over the spectrum in their faith–and we’re so glad that each one has set aside whatever fears or anxiety they have about a “Christian couples retreat” and will be there to be treated, served, and fed truth.

We need a covering of prayer over our time, over the couples, their families, and every element of the weekend. We know so many are praying for us. But, we wanted to set something up a bit more formally as an offering to God.

For 12 hours, from 6am-6pm on Wednesday, we will have people praying in 1/2 hour increments. We’re giving them a guide, and they’re taking those things in that guide right to the throne. And, we’re going to make sure each one of those 61 couples are prayed for by name. We’re going to offer each of those couples to Him, knowing He’s going to do big things this coming weekend. big. big. things.

What a joy to get a front row seat.

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