Not Finished......

I have struggled with the most unique "feelings of loss" as we've had to put our foster/adoption plans on hold, over the past 4-5 months.  For those that know me-I am PASSIONATE about the orphans-especially those in our community.  The statistics that I hear for our County are heartbreaking.  Over 44 children entered "the system" in December of 2012 and of those, about 50%  were under the age of 3. And then a big percentage of those kids were also sibling groups who were being separated, due to lack of foster families with space for sibling groups.

So, I have prayed and asked God to continue opening doors for me to minister to local foster families and kids. And He's answering those pleas.  Not in ways I ever pictured, but then again, I am the human with the human tendencies to place the All Amazing God I worship, in a human made "box" with boundaries and limitations  when, my HUMAN MIND is smart enough to KNOW BETTER ;) .

It serves as a beautiful reminder that our call to love and care for the widows and orphans of the world involves MORE than just the individuals who are willing to foster and adopt.  It takes an army people.  A village to raise a child.....yep, that's fo' sho!

How can you serve?
Make/provide meals for foster families.
Buy a gift card to Publix, Target, WalMart and give to a foster family. (or contact me for connections)
Get involved in Bridge A Life -a foster/adoption ministry at Bayside Community Church-you don't need to be a member at BCC to be involved.  They have "Stew Crew" and "Hammer Time" just to name a few ministries within that ministry.
BAL's 2nd Annual Walk (taken from their FB page):
Mark you calendars now, and plan to show your support for foster children in our community during the 2nd Annual Foster Care Awareness Walk at GT Bray Park in Bradenton, FL on Saturday morning, May 18!!! Share this on FB, twitter, etc., and tell your friends and family. Stay tuned as the date approaches.

Also, if you are interested in helping with the planning, coordination and execution of the event, shoot us a message! We want to hear from you! If you have contacts/connections for sponsors, raffle prizes, speakers/advocates, ministry partners and/or community partners, we want to talk to you. Let's make this year's walk an amazing voice for hurting children in our community!

"Like" Bridge A Life on FB!

Bumps, in Life's Journeys....

Our road to fostering and adoption encountered a hiccup-or a bump--this past fall.  We were ONE phone call away--ONE HOME STUDY away from getting our license when we found out we were expecting our thirst biological child.  I would TOTALLLLY take a foster child and handle a newborn, if the state laws didn't require that child to have their own living space, etc. BUT, b/c of that, we do not have the physical space in our home to do the fostering thing, right now.  I look forward with GREAT.ANTICIPATION to the day of being able to pick up where we left off, with Florida Baptist Children's Home.  Our training/classes are good for 5 years--so we have plenty of time to adjust to this "bump" and become a NEW family of five.

We rejoice. We give God thanks.  I am reminded every day, as I look at my growing mid-section, of the doctors words 13 years ago "I cannot guarantee you'll ever be able to conceive children Jess, but let's hope for the best and do what we can to get you a family, when the time is right."  God's ways are NOT always our ways. ;o)  Grateful.  And well, still---a little overwhelmed!

I am 19 weeks today-here's a pix at 16.5 weeks: