Growing In Our Hearts: Garage Sale Success

     Wow! God is so good. We wrapped up our adoption fundraising garage sale today, and it was an amazing success. After weeks of daily rain, we had a beautiful sunny day. Many people donated items for us to sell, including some delicious baked goods. Then, some showed up at 6:30 this morning to help set up and finish pricing. Those who set up left after things got running smoothly, and then others showed up with MORE items to sell and hung around to monitor the crowds. The support we have felt throughout the preparation and completion of our garage sale is absolutely incredible. Our church family, friends, and family have become so lovingly entwined in our journey. They have prayed, worked, stressed, and cheered with us every step of the way. God's love has been made real to us through each and every one of you. There are not words to express the depth of gratitude that we feel for all of the hours you have spent praying and helping us raise money so far. Though I sometimes feel unsure when I look at the mountain we still have yet to climb, it is days like today that make the journey seem more exciting than stressful. When you partner with us in faith, God shows up in big ways. I can't wait to see what He will do next. So, how much did we make today? Well, after having high hopes that our garage sale would produce $500-$600, God far exceeded our expectations with a total of $1,009. God is SO good. We are now less than $100 away from having our homestudy completely paid for...just in time for our homestudy to start in September. So, for everyone who prayed, donated, sweat, baked, sorted, priced, and sacrificed precious sleep on a Saturday...THANK YOU SO MUCH!
     I had an added blessing today, even before we knew how God was coming through in such a big way. I love it when God shows me how much He loves me in small ways in the middle of all my chaos. This was one of those moments. A woman walked up to me in the middle of a discussion that I was having with a customer who was trying to rip me off. She asked if she could interrupt me for a moment. I turned to her and she pulled me into a hug and said, "God bless you". She told me that this garage sale was such a blessing to see. She was adopted when she three days old and told me that it is such a gift. This brought a smile to my face. Did I mention that God is good?
     As we celebrate the blessing that was today, we still have a long way to go. I am trying to just bask in the warmth of God's love that is so present in this moment, but I do want to let everyone know about the raffle that started today and will continue until September 17th. We are raffling off a brand new Wii and iPad. You can purchase raffle tickets on the right side of this bog page. You can purchase one ticket for $10 or three for $25. Also, keep your eye out for future blog posts. If you repost them, you could win additional prizes - even if you haven't purchased any raffle tickets! This next month will be exciting for us as we start our home study, and hopefully we can make it exciting for you as we give away some prizes.
     For those of you who are praying for us, please pray that we find a place to live very soon. Our lease on our townhouse is up on the 31st of this month and we have not found a place to move yet. A home is kind of an important part of a homestudy. I am hoping that God has just the right place in mind for our growing family and is just making me wait until the last minute in a continuous attempt to grow my faith. In the midst of all my stress, I know that God is still good.