Walking and Sinking

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Peter. In the church we sometimes like to use his character to edify our situation. "At least I didn't put my foot in my mouth like that...or I can't believe he cut a guy's ear off...." Yeah, Peter was tops at blowing it. His comments when Jesus is transfigured, his sword move, the call to be totally washed, and the list goes on. Peter...speaks up. acts out. misses the point. The great thing about Peter is that he was chosen by Jesus. A quote from Matt Chandler that I have enjoyed lately, "The future is not something God knows about; it's a place that He is." So in considering the pick of Peter, they knew what they were getting. He had future Peter covered and still could love the liability Peter.. That is great news for people like me. I am so far from being there.

The highlight of Peter for me is getting out of the boat. What a crazy bold move to ask Jesus if he could walk to Him. You think after all the other things (keep still and quiet), but for those of us who can't sit still, we Tigger hop at the idea. I find my faith being much like Peter. It is bold and causes me to move toward Jesus with an awesome passion. It is also a faith that leads me to situations I can make a mess of. You see in chasing God's heart for adoption I am sometimes walking on the water and sometimes I am sinking. I trust... I move on the waves like Kelly Slater... I lose my focus...I sink like a guy that wronged the mafia. How easy it is to doubt and get our eyes on the wrong things!

Please continue to pray for us. Life can be distracting from God's purposes for us. We are chasing after Jesus buy sometimes that means to places we have never been. When you find yourself on unfamiliar ground reach for Him. He beckoned you here. He's got you.

Follow our Facebook group. Snyder Adoption Shoe Drive.

We also have a fundraising site at AdoptTogether.

Going For Broke

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Adoption. It always unearths the topic of cost. While the cost of adoption is a staggering thing to consider, not considering adoption puts us at an even greater danger. If folks refuse to Go For Broke for the sake of kids, then I believe the people of God are quietly shouting a new set of priorities (ones that toss dirt on the Call of the Gospel!). When I say Go For Broke, I am talking about depleting our resources for the sake of a life (Yeah I know Dave Ramsey and the likes would frown on a savings balance with a zero that fat....).
Over the past couple of months Amy and I have had the chance to engage in serious conversation with a handful of couples considering adoption. We love doing this. God has opened the door for us to be practical and honest about what adoption entails. So lets continue to be straightforward in the overarching question of cost. "Why does it cost so much?"
Here is a break down of our last adoption.
So when things are all said and done... $35,000 is a bit of a norm. You can analyze, poke, and prod at these categories. To be truthful, when God overwhelms your heart to chase after lost sheep, you spend very little time considering the steepness of the mountain. You spend your time looking to the summit and listening to beckoning call of Christ saying, "Come follow me." I am not talking about being careless or a bad steward, but on the back end of the journey, never once has a true follower of Christ thought, "Boy I love my child, but I am mad I had to pay $7,000 to their birth mother...." It all fades and becomes inconsequential.... Going For Broke brings us oh-so-close to The Father.

We are in the middle of watching God gather finances for our third adoption. Our life right now looks like writing grants, sharing our story to those who want to donate, and collecting shoes as our current fundraiser through Funds2orgs.
Kids we get to shower with the Love of Christ. Both worth more than all the money in circulation.

We Are Back

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God has a way to keeping us moving. The movement allows us to come closer and closer to His heart. We believed we are called to adopt. We are not out to satisfy a longing for children. Yes, we love kids and want to fill our house, but more importantly we want to be about HIS THINGS. Recognizing the work that was done to adopt us into His family, we believe our response is to show the same love to those that need a loving family. 

For The Snyders, we say Yes. When God asks if we will move and stretch to follow His will. We are about saying Yes. 

This will be our 3rd adoption, and we have learned so much each process. Our lesson for this time seems so clear to me. DO NOT LIMIT ME. In the past, we have enjoyed watching God's hand more quietly behind the scenes to orchestrate our adoption funding. With the adoption of Avarie, we were led to use a home equity loan. With this adoption, God seems to be shouting ever louder to me. "Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it." -Psalms 81:10. We are excited to share the opportunity for others to join us. Will you jump on board and join us in what God is doing? 

You may not be called to adopt children. But you may be a prayer warrior. You might be praying over how to use some money. You may have connections to resources. We want to see Jesus be lifted high. Move closer to the heart of God. Join our journey to adopt.

Waiting...and Receiving

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We have been waiting for a referral in the Ethiopia program for a long time now... During that time God has led us to adopt domestically.

Watching God work to bring us a beautiful daughter has been amazing. It is funny how the waiting is so hard, and yet when His blessings come, we are blown away and humbled.

He says, "Here. Receive."

What a great God we serve.

Here she is with her big brother.


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