Wednesday, February 22, 2017

#Blessings

Prayer: Supply All My Needs - Psalm 23:5 - Jehovah Jireh, God who Provides! The Lord is my shepherd, how can I ever want! You shall supply all my needs, according to Your bountiful and limitless riches...:


Today I have been thinking how blessed Mike and I are. 2 years ago we got engaged and started to prepare for the amazing journey called Marriage. We got married, and 6 months later we bought a house in Pendleton. Not someplace either of us thought we would moved to, but we loved the house. Because of where we moved to, we have some amazing neighbors, that have helped us out in those moments of trying to figure out what it means to be homeowners.

A few months after moving in, we decided that we were officially going to announce our plans to adopt. We knew that we were called to adopt, we just didn't know when it would happen.

Six months after moving, we decided to visit the church where a friend had referred us to. We never would have thought that the first church we had visited after moving would be the one that God had planned for us to be at, but it was. We are now both members of Clemson UMC, and God constantly keeps showing us that He had His plans for us to be there.

In the past 2 years, it is amazing how much has changed, and how God keeps blessing us (even in the uncertainty over the years). And through it all, we continue to reach for the goal that God has called us to: Adoption. We know it will happen, we just don't know the exact moment of when our children will be with us, but we know it is coming.

So as you go about your day, I pray that you realize how blessed you are. It may just be small blessings, but they all add up to amazing big blessings.

Cana
#FindingOurCrayons

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

The Art of Being Not Okay

Image result for okay


There is a special art to being "Okay" or "Fine" when asked by another person.  

And where this thought comes from is the women's retreat I went on this weekend.  I have a great tendency to tell people "I'm fine" or "I'm okay", when really I'm stressed, angry, upset, or just plain tired.  But I've kind of grown into the idea that I have to do this.  Call it a defense mechanism, but for me, it is my armor against the world (which does include my family and friends sometimes).  And I know that I'm not alone.  There are millions of women that live with this "Fine" armor, telling everyone they are okay, when are actually the exact opposite on the inside.

I went to a women's retreat this past weekend, where we talked about this one session.  And it got to me.  I've been thinking about it a lot.  Is this something that I want to teach my children?  Do I want them to feel that they have to put on this act of perfection, when all they need to do is be present as they are?

And for the first time in a while, I'm breathing in a new idea.  It is totally okay not to be fine 100% of the time. And I need to start being honest with my family, my friends, and my tribe.  Today, I challenge you to do the same.

So how are you doing?

Cana
#FindingOurCrayons

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Today's Post is Sponsored By the Word Yet.




So our pastor at church for New Years service gave a wonderful message about the Power of Yet (actually, I think her actual sermon said it was the Magic of Yet... Same thing for the purposes of this post :-P).  She said, no matter where you are, no matter what you have or haven't done, you can use the word yet to give you the hope you need to get there.

And when you think about that, that is a really small but powerful word.  "Yet" can go so many places.  It can be used in the place of "but", or can be placed as the final word of a sentence before a period.  It is almost as awesome as a comma or semi colon.  It means you aren't finished; There is more to come.  

Let me repeat that:  "Yet" means it isn't finished, that there is MORE to come!  How inspiring, how hope-inducing is that? 

So I started saying it.  And I started using it when I was asked about the adoption.  It was a way to say, I know that we aren't where I want to be RIGHT NOW, YET we are getting there in the time frame it needs to be.  We don't have all the money for the adoption yet

And it feels good to say it like that.  It reminded me that we will get the money.  It may take FOREVER (or at least feel like it).  I may stress, and then stress Mike out, yet we will get there together.  And it will be worth it.  

In whatever place you find yourself in, remember the power of yet.  Find hope in the things yet to come, and start working on those things that you can. 

Cana
#FindingOurCrayons

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Age Is Just A Number

Calvin And Hobbes Quotes : theBERRY:



So a couple of weeks ago, I read this article, What’s the Point of Adopting a 17-year-old Kid?  And it brought up something I never had thought of.

The whole point of the article is that just because a child is about to become an adult (i.e. turn 18), that doesn't mean that they don't need a parent still.  Looking back at my own history, I don't know what I would have done without my mom & dad to help me out as I was learning what it meant to be an adult.  I can only imagine what it would be like for teens that haven't had the most stable life.
It was so thought provoking, I sent it to Mike.  And on the way home, we talked about it.  We want to have a family, we want to help children, and we know what it means it would take to adopt an older child: It means going through DSS and doing a lot of hard work and potentially expensive renovations to qualify for adopting an older child.

BUT, we are considering what we need to do to help give a child, an older child, a chance to have someone to lean on once they turn 18.

With that being said, say a prayer as we continue to save/earn/raise the money and consider the ways we will grow our family.

Cana
#FindingOurCrayons