So, as I was googling "Haiti" today trying to find some fundraiser ideas, I stumbled upon this blog. And, guess what? Not only is the writer of the blog adopting from Haiti. . .his children are coming from Children of the Promise, where our child is! How Awesome! I've been wanting to find a connection!! And, it should be no surprise that they are using the same adoption agency as we are!! This is so cool!
Please read his blog post for a much better description of Children of the Promise at the link below!
Adopting From Haiti: Children of the Promise: It's Not (Just) an Orphan...: A favorite movie in the Sleasman household right now is Night of the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian . One of our favorite scenes is whe...
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Our God is Greater!
Have you experienced the greatness of God lately? Thanks to a little church camp in a small town, I have! Through the testimony of God's children, I have seen a child of God walk away from an accident that doctors said was medically impossible to do (he even ran track less than 9 months after the accident), a former drug addict rescued from addiction and saved from suicide before his Senior year of high school, and a boy cry out to God because he knew that he couldn't "stop" his sin but that he needed Jesus!
Yes, our God is greater, He is healer, He is all powerful. . .what is there to worry about?
Yes, our God is greater, He is healer, He is all powerful. . .what is there to worry about?
Rom 8:31:
"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
No one!! We are His chosen people. Be strong and courageous! If the one true God is for us, who can possibly be against us!
Be blessed!
Friday, June 22, 2012
A Lesson Learned. . .The Hard Way
I hate to learn lessons this way, but this hard head of mine doesn't know many other ways!
We are in the process of adopting from Ha*ti! It's been an amazing journey so far and will be in the end as well.
The thing is when we "officially" dove in after 10 years of "listening" I felt that this would be more than just adopting a child from Ha*ti. I thought it would become more than just adopting, somehow, by advocating for adoption, helping others through the process, speaking at churches about caring for the orphans! Some sort of ministry as a result of it!
As soon as I spoke this allowed, the spiritual attacks came!
Nothing to stop the adoption, but just a lot of frustration along the way. . .making me want to throw the towel in.
This week was one of those! You see, we are in a rush because of some changes in Ha*ti. (To see the back story, please refer to www.thetarvinfamily.blogspot.com)
Everytime we went to do something, we learned about something we did not realize. Because we did not know about its importance, it caused a lot of stress and grief. Re-copying, extra document gathering. . .
Herein lies the lesson,
the day after I was ready to throw in the towel, I am listening to Moody radio.
Nancy Lee DeMoss is speaking, and she's talking about how she ended up staying at home to raise her kids rather than pursue her career that she wanted.
She never knew at that time that she would later have a platform to speak for women when she chose to stay home, but if she had not, she would not have had the experience for the "plan" God had later. A plan to speak on behalf of motherhood. And, she needed her experiences for that!
She added that Moses had to herd sheep for awhile before he could fulfill God's plan to "herd" the Israelites out of Egypt.
Now, that might not sound profound to you, but to me it was huge!
I don't know what his "big" plan is for us, but I do know that the more we learn and understand about the process of adoption, the better our ministry can become in the future.
We might have to go through some extra "bumps" in the road in order to better counsel someone later.
I know God's plans are bigger than my dream of our little Ha*tian boy. And, believe me, that is a big enough plan. . .and that plan is good enough for me.
But, I think He has in mind a number of orphans He wants to see cared for. . .that maybe we can't take in but we could help someone who wants to!
Can't wait to see what is to come!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Please Help. . .
I have grown to love "bloggy world". I have met a lot of inspiring people who remind me once again that there are people out there trying to live for Christ and to be His hands and feet!
One such sight is A Place Called Simplicity
A recent post saddened us as we have just started our adoption journey.
A tax credit, which helps many adoptive parents overcome the financial stumbling block, is in danger of being unavailable in 2013. Adoption can be up to $30,000. The tax credit was a big help to many!
PLEASE PRAY for our congress men and women to reconsider this.
Read the following and consider signing the petition! It's quick, easy, doesn't cost anything, and helps out in the cause of the fatherless (Isaiah 1:17)
In 2013 the tax credit will be a maximum of $6,000 for parents adopting children with special needs. There will be no adoption tax credit available for all other adoptive parents beginning in tax year 2013.
Could you ask your readers to sign the petition at
at http://www.change.org/petitions/make-adoption-costs-fully-refundable-in-the-2012-2013-tax-years
Additionally, there is a bill in Congress trying to get passed and if it goes through there will be a PERMANENT tax credit put in place.
There are some key politicians who need to receive letters/emails supporting the adoption tax credit. The following politicians are sponsors of this Adoption Bill, if you reside in one of these states it is extremely important that you send some type of communication to them:
Could you ask your readers to sign the petition at
at http://www.change.org/petitions/make-adoption-costs-fully-refundable-in-the-2012-2013-tax-years
Additionally, there is a bill in Congress trying to get passed and if it goes through there will be a PERMANENT tax credit put in place.
There are some key politicians who need to receive letters/emails supporting the adoption tax credit. The following politicians are sponsors of this Adoption Bill, if you reside in one of these states it is extremely important that you send some type of communication to them:
Robert Casey [D-PA]
Thad Cochran [R-MS]
Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]
Kay Hutchison [R-TX]
Tim Johnson [D-SD]
Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]
Pat Roberts [R-KS]
John Thune [R-SD]
Thad Cochran [R-MS]
Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]
Kay Hutchison [R-TX]
Tim Johnson [D-SD]
Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]
Pat Roberts [R-KS]
John Thune [R-SD]
In addition to these Finance Committee members:
Sen. Max Baucus [D-MT]
Sen. Orrin Hatch [R-UT]
Sen. Jeff Bingaman [D-NM]
Sen. Richard Burr [R-NC]
Sen. Maria Cantwell [D-WA]
Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]
Sen. Thomas Carper [D-DE]
Sen. Thomas Coburn [R-OK]
Sen. Kent Conrad [D-ND]
Sen. John Cornyn [R-TX]
Please consider signing this petition for the cause of the orphan. Signing the petition takes about a minute, at the most.
If you live in one of the states listed above, would you please call your representative and show your support? Every call does make a difference.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Pray Haiti Jewelry is Here!
Here it is!! Our jewelry for our Haiti Adoption!
Just go
here:
(To order the double necklace)
(To order the single necklace with the bead)
Our fundraising necklaces are called:
Pray Haiti Fundraiser
&
Isaiah 1:17 Haiti Fundraiser
I hope you love them as much as we do!! Please help us get the word out to anyone you think might love jewelry!!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
A new beginning
We have started something new in our household . . .the long anticipated adoption! Our journey begins in the states and will end in Haiti! Your prayers are much appreciated!
But as we wait, my journey in acknowledgement of His gifts, no matter how small, continues.
Today, I most thankful for. . .
34. The gift of my daughter, M's, face when she realizes that I'm watching her dance. A grin gets bigger, and her face says, "Look at me! Look at me! My mommy is watching!". Not sure how long this will last, but I will cherish it while it's here!
35. Christian people in the business of adoption. It makes the process so much sweeter.
36. Maybe I'm cheating, but I'm so grateful for sunshine days, clear blue skies, and spring in the air.
I've been listening to a fictional book and have been focused on the Old Testament tabernacle in study this year, and it's made me think about day to day more deeply. When God gave plans for the tabernacle, He said that it was a shadow of the heavenly tabernacle. So, now I've started dwelling on all the things He's put on this earth to remind us of Him or to teach us about the "process" of life. Spring, of course, signaling new beginnings. . .dead things come to life. Ugliness dissipates into Beauty! I think He's trying to give us hints by saying, "Look, you don't see it all. I do! I'm trying to give you glimmers through your foggy glasses!" He's a romantic and is constanting wooing us with his sunrises, gentle breezes, cool living creatures that bring color to our world! He chases us down and speaks in the stillness. What a foothold Satan has on us when there is never any stillness. . .when we don't leave our texts/calls unanswered, when we won't turn the TV off, when we don't leave the computer screen. . .all so we can Hear Him! It's a loud, noisy world. . .let's pray for some quiet today! Let Him woo us with His voice of love to us! For there is nothing on this earth that He doesn't do better. . .His music will be better, His colors more vibrant, His light lighter than anything we have seen, His food tastier than the finest meal, and His love more extravagent and romantic than any earthly relationship!! Can't wait for THE day!
But as we wait, my journey in acknowledgement of His gifts, no matter how small, continues.
Today, I most thankful for. . .
34. The gift of my daughter, M's, face when she realizes that I'm watching her dance. A grin gets bigger, and her face says, "Look at me! Look at me! My mommy is watching!". Not sure how long this will last, but I will cherish it while it's here!
35. Christian people in the business of adoption. It makes the process so much sweeter.
36. Maybe I'm cheating, but I'm so grateful for sunshine days, clear blue skies, and spring in the air.
I've been listening to a fictional book and have been focused on the Old Testament tabernacle in study this year, and it's made me think about day to day more deeply. When God gave plans for the tabernacle, He said that it was a shadow of the heavenly tabernacle. So, now I've started dwelling on all the things He's put on this earth to remind us of Him or to teach us about the "process" of life. Spring, of course, signaling new beginnings. . .dead things come to life. Ugliness dissipates into Beauty! I think He's trying to give us hints by saying, "Look, you don't see it all. I do! I'm trying to give you glimmers through your foggy glasses!" He's a romantic and is constanting wooing us with his sunrises, gentle breezes, cool living creatures that bring color to our world! He chases us down and speaks in the stillness. What a foothold Satan has on us when there is never any stillness. . .when we don't leave our texts/calls unanswered, when we won't turn the TV off, when we don't leave the computer screen. . .all so we can Hear Him! It's a loud, noisy world. . .let's pray for some quiet today! Let Him woo us with His voice of love to us! For there is nothing on this earth that He doesn't do better. . .His music will be better, His colors more vibrant, His light lighter than anything we have seen, His food tastier than the finest meal, and His love more extravagent and romantic than any earthly relationship!! Can't wait for THE day!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
A Season to Remember
Remembering the gift is SO easy during the Passover season. Although I've been away a few weeks, I have tried to remain grateful each day.
31. Thankful for the gift of God's consistency! I love His Word! I love that all things He planned were to point to His Son. . .that He even used small details to show his thoroughness. Just one of those examples is matzo bread used during the Passover meal. . .it's pierced and striped as Isaiah said that our Savior would be and was fulfilled in the New Testament. Simple bread pointing to Jesus, the bread sent from Heaven! Born in Bethlehem, or the House of Bread! Love it! God is so Good!
32. Gift of Christian adults in the lives of my children! There will be times (or many times) when they will not hear what we say, but they do hear the words of adults that they respect! Thank you Lord for that!
33. Sunny days with large, fluffy white clouds! Can't beat it!
31. Thankful for the gift of God's consistency! I love His Word! I love that all things He planned were to point to His Son. . .that He even used small details to show his thoroughness. Just one of those examples is matzo bread used during the Passover meal. . .it's pierced and striped as Isaiah said that our Savior would be and was fulfilled in the New Testament. Simple bread pointing to Jesus, the bread sent from Heaven! Born in Bethlehem, or the House of Bread! Love it! God is so Good!
32. Gift of Christian adults in the lives of my children! There will be times (or many times) when they will not hear what we say, but they do hear the words of adults that they respect! Thank you Lord for that!
33. Sunny days with large, fluffy white clouds! Can't beat it!
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