On a Mission, Part 2

You now know that I value a good mission statement… and lucky for me, my dear husband does too. Between the two of us, we’ve created a good number of mission statements over the years for organizations, ministries and business that we have been involved in.

So when we moved into our current house, Chad decided that we needed a vision for our family. And not only that, it needed to displayed in our new entryway so that people know what we are about. This stressed me out! A statement for our entire family? That we would publicly display? Talk about pressure! I don’t remember how long it took… but it was a drawn out process of thinking about it, praying about it and trying to simplify it. Then, once we knew we had it just right, we put the lettering up in our hallway.

 

Nothing like painting something on the walls to make it official! The simple statement truly sums up our family. We use it to teach our kids what we value most. We fall back on it when we’re overwhelmed and need to remember what truly matters. We use it raise our minds and spirits above the daily grind. And we use it to hold ourselves accountable to the way we want to live.

And, of course, we used it as a framework for deciding to adopt.

• Live Simply  We have felt God impress upon us the need to SIMPLIFY for years now. We were running CRAZY about 5 years ago. Simplifying our possessions and commitments (socially, financially, etc.) has been AWESOME. And it has allowed us to divert our money to ministries and now the adoption process.
• Be Grateful  Gratitude is the foundation of our decision to adopt. We are so blessed. SO BLESSED. And how humbling to know that nothing we have is ours – it is all from the Lord. So then, how can we not share all that we have with more children??
• Give Love  We love being parents and hope that Asher and Cora are 100% confident in our love. Can you imagine living without confidence that someone loves you?? That thought breaks my heart. We want our love to extend past the two biological children God has blessed us with.
• Pray Lots  Completely necessary in this process! Praying and hearing the Lord’s response has given us complete confidence to more forward.
• And the rest will fall into place…  We don’t know the ins and outs yet, but our world is about to be rocked! I am daily turning over my desire to control and perfect, trusting in the Lord’s perfection. The rest will work itself out!!

So… there is a reason why I am sharing all of this!! J

We are in the fundraising part of our adoption process. As I’ve already shared ("Uh, Isn't that Expense?") , the fees are overwhelming (especially since we requested a sibling set and will likely be paying fees for TWO). We have already made changes within our family/home to generate the first 1/3 of the fees. We have a plan in place to cover another 1/3 as we move forward... and we hope to raise support to fill in the gap of the final third.

We’ve struggled with this part of the process… not so much about the notion of needing support. Friends and family have supported us in various missions over the years, just as we have financially and prayerfully supported them. We totally believe in the concept of community and trust that God uses others to help us get to where He is leading us.

But we struggle with fundraisers in general. It seems silly to ask people to buy something that they probably don’t really want or need so that our cause gets a tiny percentage of what they spent. When my kids are asked to participate in fundraisers I usually opt out and just write the school/organization a check as a donation. That way my money is going straight to the cause and I’m not getting a bunch of junk I really don’t need.

So we have come up with two ways to raise support that are personal to us and hopefully beneficial to you, as well. You have been so receptive of the first – my monthly craft workshops. Thank you for participating and spreading the word to others!

Our second campaign is rooted in having a vision statement for our family… Should you choose to make a donation to our adoption fund (see below), your financial support will allow us to give children a family - an incalculable gift! So we want to do something valuable for your family as well... Send us YOUR family's vision or guiding scripture... and we'll make it all pretty for you to hang somewhere in YOUR house. :) 

If you feel connected to our mission and feel led to financially support this process, THANK YOU. You are blessing us (and our future kids) beyond measure!! (And if you do not feel led to financially support this, we ask that you do continue to pray for the financial side of our adoption. We know God has it covered! :) ) 

We have partnered with Lifesong to create an account for funds raised. Lifesong is a non-profit organization with the mission “to bring joy and purpose to orphans”. We created this account for a few reasons:

-          Lifesong will track the funds and pay out directly to the recipients of our fees. We won’t ever touch the money. 100% of donations will go directly to covering adoption costs. Lifesong does not deduct for administration fees. 

-          Donations are tax-deductible to you. 

Please make checks payable to “Lifesong for Orphans". In the memo, note BLALOCK #4230 to assure it goes to the correct account. Please mail to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40, Gridley, IL  61744.  Lifesong has been blessed with a partner that underwrites all U.S. administrative and fund-raising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means 100% of your donation will go directly to the adoption.  

Another option is to give online. Go to www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate. Select “Give to an Adoptive Family.” Complete the online form and fill in “Family Account Number” and “Family Name” Fields.  

In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to the named non-profit organization. This organization retains full discretion over its use, but intends to honor the donor’s suggested use. Individual donations of $250 or more and yearly donations totaling $250 or more will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Receipts for donations under $250 will gladly be sent upon request. Lifesong is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. 

THANK YOU! Your emotional, spiritual and financial support are so heartening to us!!