Story Time

I have one of "those" stories to share with you. It's one that always happens to other people, but never to you. It is that incredible, covered with the fingerprints of God. Here we go...

Two Sundays ago I decided to get serious about our next giveaway here on the blog. I had been praying about how to organize what I envisioned and finally decided I had no choice, but to swallow my pride and ask for help. I got up early and while Marty and the kids were sleeping I began to browse Etsy and look for items I loved and would love to share with my friends. I found a ton of stuff by searching for things like, "adoption," "down syndrome," "Samuel," and "Joseph." I prayed while I searched and asked God to show me the "right" people to approach. I found 20 shop owners, who made items that I loved and wrote them a simple message, including a link to our blog. I asked if they'd be willing to help us out with a giveaway I wanted to host the last two weeks of September. Would you believe I had 8 positive responses in less than 24 hours? Lots of owners wanted to go way above and beyond what I had asked of them. Never heard from the other 12, which is fine, since I don't handle rejection well.

Here's where the story gets good (well better, it was already going really well).  One Mom, Dana, sent me this response, "Absolutely! Not sure how you "chose" me, but we have a six year old daughter named, Faith with down syndrome and are familiar with Reece's Rainbow. Just let me know what you need." 


Now, I know what you're thinking, "Big Deal." But, wait, I wanted to know how I'd found Dana, too. (I know, God found Dana, but how did He lead me to her?) So, I went and checked out her shop and realized I had found her, not by searching, "adoption" or "down syndrome" but by searching for "Joseph." Do you think this was a God appointment?


Dana asked me to call her and I was supposed to do that last week, but kept hesitating. I'm not a big fan of chatting with people I've never met. Today, I decided to follow-thru with my commitment to call her. I was greeted by a friendly, "This is Dana!" I introduced myself and we began to chat like old friends catching up after a long absence. She was such an encouragement to me and said a few times that she'd like me to choose an item every two weeks. Finally, I said, "Are you donating more than one item to us?" Dana responded, "Won't you be needing to do more than one giveaway to raise the money you need?" Yes, of course, but I was only asking for one item. Dana has offered to give us an item every couple of weeks from her store to giveaway here on our blog!


I cannot get over how God constantly surprises me on this journey. The generosity of strangers (and friends) is overwhelming at times and I did find myself weeping as I talked with Dana. That this precious lady would want to take the time to hand-make something every two weeks and allow us to give it away to help bring our boys home is humbling. Do you see God's hand in this story? Dana had been looking for a way to help the kids on Reece's Rainbow and our family was looking for help. God brought us together through prayer and "Joseph's" name. 


I want to encourage you to go ahead and have a peek at Dana's website, Pampered and Posh.  She makes some beautiful items, that I know you're going to love. We'll be going live with our next blog giveaway on Thursday and there will be lots of amazing items and chances to win. Let me know, what you love from Dana's store and maybe we'll use it for an upcoming giveaway!


I know this was a long post, but I hope this story encourages you like it encouraged me. It was just what I needed today. I'm so thankful God is in every little detail. I'm even more grateful that He takes the time to remind us how special we are to Him.


Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...Do Something!


Hidden in Christ,
Mandy