The Daniel Fast

Today we are writing about something that is happening in our lives that to us, is both unique and special.  No, its not about the adoption of our boys, although that certainly qualifies as unique and special to us.  This is a very unique experience in which Karen,  Julie, (our 22 yr old) Jeffrey (our 10 year old) and I have been participating for the last 10 days.  Its called a Daniel Fast.  Fasting is not new to us we have long used the practice of fasting to discern the times and seasons, as well as, provide valuable direction for living.   Its something Karen and I do when we need to calm our mind, emotions, body and spirit down when things in life are whirling too fast.  However, Fasting as a family and the Daniel Fast in particular is new to us.

 

Daniel, as you know, fasted all pleasurable foods and ate basically fruits and veggies or anything coming from a seed for 21 days.  The results were extremely powerful for Daniel and actually changed the course of a nation.  We weren't necessarily trying to change a nation, but we did feel some struggles needing a little extra to resolve.  So beginning April 19th, we began this journey. Eating only fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes and drinking water. Basically, fasting meats and sweets. What a journey it has been. 

 

We are now on Day 11 of our Daniel Fast.  It has been a huge blessing for us.  We feel better physically, mentally and spiritually.  There have been times when we wanted to take the easy way out and just order pizza, but Karen has diligently prepared foods each day that were consistent with our fast.  There is an excitement about what we're doing and more importantly, what God is doing in our lives that permeates our home.  We can sense that something special is happening and we look forward to completing the next 10 days strong, as our physical health is strengthened, our mental functions  made sharper, and our spirits being fine tuned to Heaven's frequency!  

Walk a Thon Fundraiser

It has been a while since we last posted.  We have been diligently fulfilling what seems to be an unending wave of paperwork.  We don't want to the belabor the point of paperwork, in fears that we might dissuade others who may be considering adoption, but keep in mind that many parts of our adoption are doubled because we are adopting 2 children.  Otherwise, we're making progress, having completed 10 hours of online parent training per Hague Treaty Agreement, gathered numerous documents and completed numerous forms.  

Yesterday was the Walk a Thon and it was wonderful!  Thank you Torie, who  organized, conducted  and raised money for us! It was wonderful to go to Wrightsville Beach and participate in the event.  It continues to blow our minds how God has brought so many others into this process to bless and encourage us.  We hope to have all of our home study  completed very soon.

Until next time...

Walk a Thon Fundraiser

We have been blessed to have a local high school senior choose us to participate in her senior project. She has been working on her project for quite some time. The project is on adoption and she is hosting a  Walk a Thon to raise funds for our adoption. We are honored and blessed to be a part of it and hope to get a big turn out for her as well. Here are the details:
Walk for Adoption! Torie's senior project.
Wrightsville Beach Loop
Saturday April 24th 9:00 AM
This is a beautiful walk on Wrightsville Beach, the weather will be perfect and this is a great time to get out and enjoy the area and the company. Come walk the loop with friends and help us bring our boys home! You can get sponsors ahead of time or bring donations on the day of the walk, or you can donate through paypal.

Adoption T-shirts

The New T-Shirt designs are available! Thanks to a dear friend who designed them for us! Check them out by clicking on our Cafepress shop at the right and then click on "Adoption Shirts" to see all the designs available. Not only will you have a nice shirt to wear with a great message that will help others understand adoption but you will be helping us bring our boys home as well. Thanks for looking!

Timelines and Fundraisers....

At some point, you know that the pace is going to pick up.  After spending 6-8 weeks feeling static and like we'd hit a wall, a recent email unclogged all the pipes in an instant.  In that email, we were informed that we are on a time line for getting our boys.  While we knew that special needs adoptions were a little different, we were unaware that our time line was coming up so soon.   Now, its a daunting task of raising money, not just for one adoption, but for two.  We have pulled out all the stops as we will be raising almost $40,000 in the next 8 weeks!  While this stretches our faith in ways that we've never done before, we know in our hearts that our path has been ordered and our Father will provide.  So we're rolling up our sleeves and focusing on the task at hand. 

 

If you've adopted, you probably know where we're at right now.  If you haven't, you probably wonder why we would put ourselves through it.  All we can say is, every time we see the boys pictures or view the video of them, we know they are to be part of our family.  All we know is, God never says the journey is "reasonable".  Being "reasonable" about things simply means you're running on your own resources and He's nowhere in the equation.  We know the journey is accompanied by something that goes far beyond your own personal comfort and pushes you into the vast domain of faith!  It is a faith that offers a strange combination of excitement, fear, love, loneliness, comfort, panic, peace, and joy all rolled up into one Divinely blessed experience!   Perhaps you could help us?  Would you consider helping us reach the goal of $40,000 raised by April 30th?  You can give by clicking the button to the right of the blog.

We are hitting the fundraisers hard also, first up is a chicken dinner through our church. If you are local to us why not help support the Adoption Ministry! Be a part of forever changing the life of a child. Express the gift of love shared from one heart to another. Plan to eat lunch with us on the 26th For more info call (910) 285-1977. Your support is greatly appreciated! BARBECUE CHICKEN **BAKED BEANS**POTATO SALAD**DESSERT $5 a plate.

Also, you can still support us by shopping through our Cafepress shop (link at right). And coming soon T-shirts! Adorable adoption shirts will be added to the Cafepress shop soon. Check them out and Help us bring our boys homes.

If you have adopted or raised money for adoption, Please share with us what worked for you. What fundraisers did you use? What was most successful? We would love to hear from you.

 

Until we write again...

 

Storms of various kinds.....

This weekend we got a snow storm in our area. That is very unusual for us. We got around 5-7 inches and enjoyed it for the day. Then it melted just as fast it came. Today starts a new week as we engage in "brain storming" sessions to raise the necessary funds for our adoption. We have been in a brief season of "distraction" that has seen many different situations screaming for our attention. Staying focused has been a challenge but we continue to proclaim the Lord's direction, goodness and provision. On Saturday evening, we celebrated the Chinese New Year in recognition of boys and their cultural heritage. It was a lot of fun, but incomplete as we ate lo mein, potstickers (dumplings) and stir fry, we couldn't help but wish our boys were with us. Somebody once said "Patience is a virtue"....I think its just flat overrated! Until we talk again...Russell & Karen

Our 100 Blessing Quilts

While we are waiting for the arrival of our two boys from China, we are working on a project that we REALLY need your help with. We are creating something called a "100 Blessings Quilt" for each boy.

To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or "100 Blessings Quilt." It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy, and blessings from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

We are asking you to please participate in this project. We love the idea of welcoming the boys into our home with a quilt that represents the blessings you are all sending their way.

Here is what we would like you to do:
1. Choose ANY 100% cotton fabric that you like. It can be from clothing or from a fabric store. It just needs to be a design and color that you like.

2. Cut two (2) or more 8 x 8" squares from the fabric.
Tip... if you have no idea how to work with fabric, ask for assistance at a fabric store and show them this letter. They will probably cut it for you!

3. Include your "blessing note". We will place all your blessings in a scrapbook that we will give to them someday.

Ideas for selecting fabric squares:
*Select a fabric that is meaningful to you.
*100% cotton fabric is best, as it washes and wears better.
*If there are several members in your family, please feel free to send more than 1 set of scraps. It would be so special to include blessings from all members of your family!! In China, these quilts were originally made from garments of family and friends, which would surround the child with luck/good wishes.

Ideas for blessing note:
We would like for you to prayerfully consider what you might say to these boys that would create a "word picture" for their lives. It may be something that you see for their future or it may be something that you wish for God to bestow upon their lives. What would you wish for a child to have in his life? Some ideas that come to mind are good health, perseverance, compassion, and sense of humor. Use that as a guide for your blessing note. Bible verses that have a special meaning to you are great also. Keep in mind that they will not see your note until they are older, of course.

It would be great to get the fabric and notes before the boys get here so the quilt can be completed by then.

Please take a few minutes from your busy schedules to help us create this very special keepsake for our boy. The miracle of this ‘pregnancy’ has been helped and nurtured by so many of you and this will be so incredibly meaningful for us as well as our new arrivals!

Thank you!

Russell and Karen Thomas

If you would like to participate in this with us, message me for where to send your fabric squares.