Bead Necklaces-Pics

Adoption update coming soon, but for now, I have 6 Bead Necklaces to sell. The sale of these necklaces I have on hand will help us purchase additional profile books about our family so we can start applying to agencies in about 2 weeks for birth families to view.
I know most of us our visual people, so I have taken pics of the necklaces I have on hand now. They are $20 and I can mail them anywhere.

These would make great gifts to keep on hand when you want to cheer up a friend, or to give to teachers at the start of the school year.
For those who do not know the story of the beautiful necklaces here it is:
These necklaces are made from recycled paper by Ugandan women as a way for them to provide for their families. The roll the beads by hand, dip them in varnish, and thread them onto the string. Prior to learning how to make these beads, most of the women “picked trash” or turned to prostitution to provide for their children.

The purchase of one of these necklaces helps in 3 ways. One for the Ugandan women and their families, two you will also feed a child in Uganda, and 3 you are helping us bring a child into our family through adoption. Very cool!






I have 2 red

A Hard Decision

So I have been pretty MIA in a lot of things lately and it’s time to share one of the reasons. Our family has lot of changes being talked about, being made, and waiting on the Lord to reveal, but one decision we have made just recently has to do with our adoption journey.

If you note our timeline for our journey to adopt from Ethiopia we started thinking in Feb of 2011, and officially signed on in May of 2011. We have been on the wait list for 9 months now, and that wait is still a very, very, long one. We were initially ok with the wait, but felt another path being pressed upon us. We tried to request a change in policy with our current agency about allowing concurrent adoptions, and that became a complicated path. There were times of hope that this could work and we could stay the course as we wait, but it simply didn’t work out.
The short of this all is that we are in the process of terminating our contract with AGCI and stopping our Ethiopian adoption, and then at the same time in the beginnings of starting a new adoption journey domestically. This is the short and simple of it.

To be honest I am not going to share all of the painful, hard details of the change here, but our decision was not made lightly or easily. It was hard and painful, but we know we are where God wants us to be.

A friend of mine who is adopting for the second time said something like this when their journey took a completely different turn…”Sometimes God leads us in one direction only to take us in another.” At the time I read this, this statement made sense but also hit me at a level I didn’t completely understand at the time, until now.

I do not doubt that we will indeed return to Africa to adopt again; in fact we plan on it, but right now God has us here on a journey that is unknown, and to be honest, a little scary.

There are some of you who will no doubt have questions, and I will gladly answer them. I invite you to leave a comment or send me an e-mail at carriestamm@gmail.com. There are just too many things to try and write out and explain on the blog.

Truly I want to end this very sad and hard post with pure joy. Joy in our next step, and request for prayer as we are completely laid bare before our maker and trusting him in this with everything we have. Thank you for your support and love; truly means so much.

As things progress more we will keep you updated on our domestic journey.

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

~ Philippians 4:6

Are you Comfortable???

Are you Comfortable?

I have been thinking about this a lot lately.

As sinful people we all tend to quickly judge, question other people’s actions, and think we know what is best for others. And as a sinful people when others come at us with concern that comes out as, here is what I think you need to do instead, we get awful defensive, don’t we? I know I do.

So let’s go back to the question… Are you Comfortable???

Most of us, though struck by tragedy at times, are pretty comfortable and secure in our lives, aren’t we?

We like that predictability, and we like to prepare and insure almost everything. You know, Just in case….

We have schedules, and plans for our future’s and our children’s futures. Our lives are figured out and barring no unexpected catastrophe, life is good and sweet and predictable. We’ve worked hard and we deserve what we have worked for. We have all experienced tough stuff, some more than others, and we deserve to just do what we want and make ourselves happy. Our plan will be to just cruise into heaven when the time comes at the ripe old age of whatever and God will say to us “Way to go, you collected all this stuff, and did all these things for you. Oh, and you went to church every Sunday to spend an hour with me and fellow Christians and did a few charitable things here and there. You provided a secure future for your family and rested well in your retirement years. Way to go Good and Faithful Servant...

EEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!(This is my brake noise) :)

Whoa…I am not so certain God would say this, are you? And actually, I really don’t think this is what I want to hear God say to me, his child whom he brought to this earth for a purpose. My only purpose really, which is to do HIS will.

Recently my husband and I have been making decisions, or are on the verge of making decisions that have brought some interesting responses and that make me step out of my comfort zone big time.

I have found that adoption is one of those things that God has willed for our family and one of those things I can’t control or predict one single bit. I have to rely COMPLETELY on God. COMPLETELY!

And here is something I realized. I LOVE IT! I love seeing him move in ways that only HE can do. I have seen him move hearts to pray, to give to families, to support them emotionally, to ask questions so they can understand, and so many more things.

I have seen unthinkable things in adoption that bring about God Moving Miracles and it brings me to tears all the time.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t look at my children and thank God for the gifts he has given and the stretching he has done. Because the journey does not end just when they come home, and I have to rely on him as I love them through the hard. I won’t expand on my children’s individual situations here, but they both started out their life with a huge loss and a lot of hard. Sometimes those things effect their behaviors, but I know it, and I just love them that much harder. They are beautifully and wonderfully made.

It absolutely excites me and scares me the desire God has placed in Kent and I’s hearts to bring more children home.

I love how God doesn’t look at our age, our bank account or future plans; he simply just lays his desire and plan on our hearts and asks us to let him carry it through.

That’s it.

No matter how hard it gets, and it is always hard, he carries us through and ministers to our hearts so we can love his children.

I am so in awe of HIS story for our lives. Every Day.

So the conclusion to all this is.. I think everyone should adopt so they can know what I mean.

Ok, not really, I just wanted to see if you were still reading.

I do believe we all need to make a conscience effort to step out of our boxes every day and lean on God to do it.

Instead of making yourself, schedules, and things your priority start the day out asking God to please help you see what he wants you to see for the day, and to do what he wants you to do in every moment of your day.

My family and I have committed to try and do this, and we will fail, we are sinful beings, but we will get back up and face what the Lord has for us.

We are making a lot of decisions and contemplating a lot of things that are soo outside the box, and uncomfortable and it is so exciting; truly!

I wake up every morning, go downstairs, open my Bible, and I just beg God to help me see him, and to be with me, because I NEED him Desperately.

So love, hate, or plain don’t care about what we do or say or ask, but if anything please ask God to move your heart and see the things he wants you to see and love.
Don’t judge, don’t make conclusions, but pray and truly seek him.

It’s amazing what God does to our hearts when we stop talking with our eyes, and just start loving his people even when what they do makes zero sense.

If we all did this I truly believe I would never have to ask others to open their eyes to the need of the lonely, the widow, and the orphans and then to act on it.
Over and over in God’s word it talks about loving each other. It’s hard a lot of times, but more and more I am just doing it. It’s amazing how much this ministers to me and those around me.

So I dare you..

Start loving others truly with everything you have and just see for yourself the beautiful working of our Father. It may hurt and stretch you farther than ever, but it will bring you that much closer to God and his will for you and that friends is EVERLASTING.

Hebrews 6:10

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work & the love you have shown him as you have helped his people & continue to help them.

And the Winner IS..........

OK, the winner!!!

Our friends, the lovely Ripke family won the $500 give a way!! Plus, Our Awesome friends are splitting the winnings between 3 families adopting, AND they are adding $25 of their own to make it an even split! Seriously, how cool is that??? Love it.

This just warms our hearts, and I have been so excited to see what the Lord was going to do with this money. Just Awesome!

I will IM the families they have designated, and Thanks again for all the support and prayers!

Ryan And Sarah, may God bless you abundantly more for what you have given to his children....

Jeremiah 29:11

Baby Steps

First, I again want to thank EVERYONE who shared, donated, offered words of support and love, and prayed during our give a way. We still have funds to raise and your continued prayers for this are much appreciated and never taken for granted. Will announce winner soon!

Baby steps are what my family and I are taking in this journey. We may look like we are just jumping before anything, but what we are doing is actually taking baby steps in GOD’S plan for us and the children he has impressed upon our hearts to be in our family.

You see only HE knows the bigger picture and how this will all turn out.

What he asks of us is to TRUST and to FOLLOW, and to KEEP our eyes on him.

Now I have a confession.

For a long time my eyes, and my heart have focused on the negative we have been receiving and the hurt in my heart that not everyone understands what and why we are doing what we are doing.

No longer will I be doing that. I dug deep into God’s word this weekend and what I have learned is that I am being concerned with Worldly ways and Worldly views, and God’s ways are always best even when it seems crazy or unlikely.

All I have to do is TRUST him and God Does the Rest!

I can’t change hearts, only GOD can.

What I can do is share how he has changed ours and continues to shape them for what he intends.

The Holy Spirit leads and if we allow it God will do great things within us and for others.

Over and over again I have watched adoptive families Give everything they have.

I have watched them pour everything into the children they have, and the adoptive journeys they are on.

I have watched them pray for, give of themselves and their resources, and share with other families when they have need of their own. I have watched them hurt and pray when others having difficult times on their adoption journeys and when they are home with their children. I have watched them rejoice with every little victory and when families are united with their little ones. All the while they are on their own journeys. They understand and they get it and that is why the adoption community grows and we all lean on each other. It is a beautiful thing God has done by connecting us all.

I have also watched God stretch and grow hearts of people that are not called to adopt, but are called to stand with others who are. They too, pray and share in our joy and heartaches.

Every single one of you touches my heart deeply and you are in my prayers. We couldn’t get through every trial, struggle, and moment on this journey without your support and love.

If there is one thing I have heard and read over and over by families adopting, it is they would love to sit down with all family and friends of families adopting and tell them to support them. Show them love and care even when you don’t understand.

They need it; we need it.

But, even when we don’t receive this we have GOD and truly he is all we need. He never leaves us and he has our back at all times.

...Because truly our baby steps are just part of HIS bigger picture.

So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

~ Deuteronomy 31:6

Give A Way Update

There is still a little time to enter if you want or missed out. We will be compling the list of entries later today and then annoucing the winner.

GOD HAS BLESSED US WITH $1,040.00!!!! Thank YOU doesn't quite seem enough, but Thank You.

We still have another $1,960.00 so please prayerfully consider donating.

Check Back later for the winner!

Thanks, and God Bless!

There is still time to donate....

We are at $1,000.00 out of $3,000.00... See below for details. God is Good!

And for all you local folk, when you go to Mancino's today part of the proceeds will go to the Rice Family's Adoption. You can read more about them here.