The Hurst Family!

Now that my first Family Warrior family is home with their sweet girl, I decided to prayerfully consider new families waiting for a warrior. 

After reading a few family's profiles, the Hurst Family simply stuck out to me and I knew that I needed to step up to stand with them during their adoption process. 

They're bringing home "Quinnlee"!

Look at this beautiful girl. 

MANY people have advocated for this sweet girl, including her mama and papa. 

They fervently prayed for Quinnlee before they made the decision to pursue her adoption. 

The Hurst family has loved this sweet girl for years and are currently fundraising to bring her home. 

The Hurst's oldest daughter has been praying for a baby sister and is excited to finally have a little sister of her very own. Quinnlee is already SO loved. 

Katie's heart has been drawn to the country where Quinnlee lives since she was a young girl.

I believe that the Lord put that desire within Katie for a purpose. . .I love that she's ALWAYS held fast to her love for a country and people other than her own. 

I've been praying for the Hurst family for about a week now, I was going to make a post as soon as I got the confirmation email that I was their family warrior. But I decided to wait, today I realized why I waited. 

I had prayed for the Hurst family this morning and asked the Lord to bless them and to give me the wisdom and insight I needed to be a blessing to their family. 

Today I was in a car traveling into the mountains of West Virginia, 

suddenly there was a dark rain cloud overhead. 

The sky opened up and the rain poured down on the road in front of us. 

But moments later, the sun peeked out behind that dark cloud. 

I immediately thought of the verse that has been a huge source of strength and encouragement for this family during their adoption process thus far. 

“And The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” 

(John 1:5)

Though there was darkness for a mere moment, light won. 

I couldn't help but think of the Hurst family, they are currently on a journey that can be very difficult at times. I'm sure there have been sleepless nights and mountains of paperwork. 

But. . . 

It says in Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." 

The Hurst family are in the midst of a journey that they were called to. 

They weren't only called to be "a light" to Quinnlee and their kiddos here in the states, 

they were called to be the "light of the world". 

Katie shouts for many waiting kiddos other than her own and that alone speaks volumes in my heart and mind. So now while she shouts and raises funds for her own adoption of  this sweet girl. 

I know that I'm called to shout with her and help her on her journey. 

I'm SO excited to get know this family and help them bring their girl home. 

For the next two weeks, they are working on getting a matching grant of $5,000! 

Katie is currently making bracelets to help get her girl home.

Donate here!

Upon your donation she can make you a custom bracelet with text of your choice! 

Katie is also selling Usborne books to help fund their adoption of Quinnlee. 

Order books here! 

You can read more about the Hurst's journey here . . . 

http://www.webearthelight.com/

White as snow.

We live in a society where it's commonplace to place blame on others. . . most times I don't even think it's intentional. We just know that it's much easier to not place blame on ourselves, we can still hold our heads high. We go on with our daily lives and choose not to think about how our actions affect those around us. The battles that we fight within we fight in secrecy and those aren't our fault either. It's very hard to see past our sin, to realize that we need to forgive. We create a mess and take residency in it.

I spent many years blaming my actions on people in my family, even on my closest friends. Then through many conversations and meaningful relationships, I realized that I didn’t' have to fight my battles alone. I realized that when I accepted Christ and asked him to forgive my sins. . .He accepted me. He accepted my bad days and my battles, He loves me so much. Christ did a work in my heart, it then became clear that the next thing I had to do was forgive those around me. I needed to stop placing blame on others for my decisions. It says in Isaiah 1:18, “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.” When we forgive those around us and confess our sins, we get cleaned up. Jesus takes us in His arms and scrubs layers of gunk off of us, He whispers in our ears that we're not alone. Through His forgiveness we are made new, we no longer have to live in our mess.

Where I reside we've had a lot of snow as of late. I told one of my friends that I was so tired of the inconvenience of snow and began to complain. She quickly told me that seeing fresh snow doesn't upset her, that she sees it as cleansing. Physical snow falling from the sky reminds my sweet friend that she's loved. That even though we hurt each other and in turn hurt Jesus. . .When we forgive and confess our sins we are given new life. Through forgiveness, we begin to see that the people around us deserve second chances as well. It says in Ephesians 4:32, “ be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. “. . . it doesn't say to be kind and forgive each other only when you feel like it. Always forgive, especially when it's difficult to do so. After you make the decision to forgive those around you, you will begin to feel love like never before. Your once messy life will take on a whole new meaning and your relationships will change for the better.

He loves Lanie and He loves me.

If you've read my blog at all the past couple months, you know that I've been raising money for a little girl living in Eastern Europe named "Lanie". . . during Reece's Rainbow's Angel Tree.
So many people showed love for this little munchkin, her 1k goal was met before the end of December.
I was amazed by the love that people showed for Lanie through monetary donations, prayers, and word of mouth. So if you're one of the people that helped Lanie this Christmas season, thank you. If you 're interested in donating and would like some bracelets, donate to the link that is the photo's caption and email me your receipt at loveforlanie (at) gmail.com

http://reecesrainbow.org/36282/lanie-l

During the first week or so of fundraising for Lanie I would say things like, "Good thing I'm not funding a whole adoption soon" . . . "Glad I don't have to do this for a living."  "This is hard!"
I had a quite a few bouts with frustration.
Then people happened, so many people united with me to help Lanie.
Jesus made it clear how big He is, how much He loves the orphan and little ol' me.
I knew it didn't end with Angel Tree.

So in the midst of advocating, something happened.
I started to feel a slight tug in the deepest part of my heart. . . to go to Eastern Europe.
After much prayer, I've decided that I will be going on an adventure to Eastern Europe early this summer.
To serve, to learn, and to become the best possible advocate I can be for these precious ones.
So after Angel Tree. . . my adventure begins.
In coming weeks/months I'll be posting more details about my trip. . . (cost, fundraisers, trip location, and what I'll be doing.)
But in the meantime, please keep me in your prayers.

Merry Christmas friends, I love every last one of you.

Learning something new.

Last month I started taking an introductory ASL (American Sign Language) course with a family friend.
I thought I'd enjoy it and knew I would benefit from it. I recently started taking steps to land a job working exclusively within the special needs community, so I thought learning some sign language would be a huge asset.
I didn't know I was about to fall in love. . .

Since I have started my class. . . I've watched numerous ASL lesson videos online, practiced and studied (almost) nightly, and I have read articles and books on Deaf culture. Basically, I've just been learning as much as I can with the resources that I've been given and the things I've found myself.

IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I HAVE ENJOYED SOMETHING THIS MUCH.

I just spent my most of my evening learning new signs and practicing some I've already known. I sent a video to a friend of mine, just showing off some of my new signs. My friend immediately commented on how genuinely happy I looked signing. Just hearing that made me smile, I know I have so much more to learn. . . Nevertheless I am so thankful that I've had  the opportunity to learn something so beautiful and interesting.


***Here are some sweet kiddos that are deaf or hard of hearing that need families. ***
These children will not reach their full potential in institutions, they would THRIVE in a family.
The first child on my list is "Lanie", she's the child I will be raising money for during Angel Tree. . . I love her so.

http://reecesrainbow.org/36282/lanie-l

http://reecesrainbow.org/50131/penelope

                                       

http://reecesrainbow.org/66356/syler

http://reecesrainbow.org/53317/richard

http://reecesrainbow.org/64568/antonio

                                         

http://reecesrainbow.org/1078/b657

                                        

http://reecesrainbow.org/1124/andruisl

                                           

You aren't alone&a kind of special announcement.

We're all imperfect.
We all fall on our faces.
Everyone hurts and hurts others at some point.
Our tempers flare, our tongues lie, our feet wander, and our hearts often harden.
But amongst all of the above there is hope, forgiveness, and grace.
You are not alone. Ever.

Lastly, I've been been really led to create a separate email for prayer requests. So if you need prayer or just need someone to listen. You can get ahold of me at: joybirdprays@gmail.com