Parents.

"Looking back over my life, I realize that my parents were the two most influential people in my life. They shaped, molded, and equipped me to be the person I am today. Without them, there is really no telling where I would be. They have taught me the importance of my relationship with Christ, and it is through Him I have found peace and strength to face this life."  -A small excerpt from the end of my autobiography.

 As I summarized my life in the form of a small book, I really mulled it over and got down to the nitty-gritty of what made me-- me. By the time I was finished writing, I realized there were a handful of people in my life that really had the power to influence me, for the good or the bad. Thankfully, at the top of that list were my parents. 

The two of them showed me over and over what it means to be a Christian, how to deal with life, problems, good times, and bad times. They showed the power of love, commitment, and overcoming. They were my biggest inspiration, and my best friends. They were the people that made me feel safe and made our home a happy place to be--the place everyone always wanted to be. They encouraged me, guided me, taught me valuable lessons, and made me be all that I could be. They encouraged me to live for JESUS, to give him everything, and to trust HIM with my life.  And then, I realized-- at the end of this (crazy, emotional, hard, and amazing) adoption journey, I am going to be that person- a parent, a Mother--to my own child. I will be one of the two most important people in a little person's life. I am going to be their life teacher, their role model, the one that equips them for life. And THAT is not something I take lightly. I'm truly humbled by and thankful for the task God has called Spencer and me to do!

Do you know how many orphans there are in the world? 

If I told you 153 MILLION, would that number blow you away like it did me?

Did you know that's roughly equivalent to half of the population of the USA.

That is 153,000,000 tiny faces, personalities,and hearts, and SOULS, that have no one to care for them. They have no one to tuck them in at night, to shower them with hugs and kisses, to take them for ice cream when they make a good grade. No Mommies or Daddies to wash and bandage their boo-boo's, or to help them with homework, or to tell them about JESUS. One hundred and fifty-three million orphans. 

Did you also know that if just 7% of the Christians in the world adopted one child there would be NO ORPHANS left in the world?  

Did you ALSO know, that YOU could be part of that 7%. You can make a difference in the life of a child who has no one else to care for them, to love them, to teach them about Jesus? YOU can change the world by adopting, or at least your world, and the world of the child you will be giving a home to. And if you do, you won't regret it. You will just be blessed.  

I am so thankful that God has blessed Spencer and me with this wonderful gift of adoption and I can't WAIT to get our little one home forever!

xoxo, 

Steff

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Happy Adoption Month!