Steve and Renee’ started with CAC in August of 2012. A few weeks later their home study and profile were complete, and they were ready to apply to agencies.

They presented to a number of situations, and the “no’s” are never easy. We had many heart to heart conversations, remembering the faithfulness of God and praying for His plan to be made clear.

In March they were matched. I just read back over the joyful emails we exchanged at the time of their match, and my eyes are full of tears.

Their son arrived last week, a few weeks early, and they are full of joy!

For more information about our services please email for an information packet to tracie@christianadoptionconsultants.com

Oh my goodness, look at how delighted they are!

First moments with her new daughter.

In Momma’s words, “Our first kiss, smell, glance…The first moment I saw my baby girl.My WHOLE world!! We feel like we are still dreaming.”

And Momma looks upon this sight and says, “Daddy’s first moment with his new love of his life!! This was probably one of the magnificent moments of my life…seeing Sean with our tiny, little angel.”

I love beautiful love stories like this one.

Sean and Megan started working with me in on February 12th, perhaps it was an early Valentines Day gift!

In mid-April they were ready to send applications out to agencies and get this journey going. Little did they know how SHORT this journey would be!

Last week they were matched with a beautiful baby girl who had already been born. They scurried around taking care of paperwork and filing legal documents, and then spend Mother’s Day weekend driving to meet their daughter!

On Monday, she was in their arms!

For more information on our services please email us for an Adoption Information Packet at tracie@christianadoptionconsultants.com

It’s been a two year journey with this beautiful family. Two years of friendship growing. Two years of trust in Jesus growing.

Jobie and Stacie began their home study, started fundraising and walked the hard road of things just going so very slow. So very slow.

They were matched in November 2011. They sunk their hearts into praying for their birth mom, raising the remaining funds needed, and preparing to welcome a son.

This child’s birthmom chose to parent. It was sudden, abrupt, and bittersweet. It was hard, plain hard.

Last spring they updated their home study. They waited and continued to raise funds.

There were some disappointing no’s,”not this one, not yet. More waiting.

In November of 2012, they wrote to me and thought about taking a break. They didn’t.

In January of this year, their sweet grandson was born very early and their daughter needed them, their grandson needed them. They stood by with love and support.

At one point a few months before, I asked them to send their profile to this tiny agency in the deep south, not one that typically has many placements. I just had a feeling.

And in MARCH they were matched with this very same agency. Their son was born this past week, and they are loving and rejoicing!

Jobie and Stacia, I love you. I am honored to call you friends.

Happy Mother’s Day, dear Stacia. You carried this one. Yes, you did. You carried him close. You carried him faithfully. 

I don’t understand Your ways
Oh but I will give You my song
Give You all of my praise
You hold on to all my pain
With it You are pulling me closer
And pulling me into Your ways

Now around every corner
And up every mountain
I’m not looking for crowns
Or the water from fountains
I’m desperate in seeking, frantic believing
That the sight of Your face
Is all that I need
I will say to You

It’s gonna be worth it
It’s gonna be worth it
It’s gonna be worth it all
I believe this
It’s gonna be worth it
It’s gonna be worth it
It’s gonna be worth it all
I believe this

You’re gonna be worth it
You’re gonna be worth it
You’re gonna be worth it all
I believe this
You’re gonna be worth it
You’re gonna be worth it
You’re gonna be worth it all
I believe this
-Rita Springer

For more information on our services, please email me at tracie@christianadoptionconsultants.com

Mother’s Day finds some waiting. Waiting for dreams, arms and cribs to be filled. Waiting to know when your new bundle of joy will find you and what your new family will look like. Last year, I found my heart in this situation. My husband and I felt strongly that the Lord had called our family to adoption. We were willing and excited to see what God had planned for our journey. We said ‘Yes!’ to many situations and prayed fervently for many birth moms. Yet, we continued to hear ‘I am so sorry, but she has selected another family’ over and over again. Each ‘No’ was very difficult. We wondered what was wrong with us? What was wrong with our profile? Isn’t this what we were suppose to be pursuing?

We prayed. And with each situation that was not ours, we would say ‘God knows. ‘ He knows the exact child He has planned for us and He knows the exact time for us to be brought together. And after showing our profile 21 times, 2 babies that were ours and then ended up not working out and 10 months of waiting, we got our ‘Yes!’ She has brought us such joy and blessed us more than I ever could have imagined in all those hard days of waiting. God had her planned for our family from the beginning of time!

So to those of you spending this Mother’s Day waiting, I have a few words for you. Don’t give up! Our God is great and knows your heart. He knows your desires and will provide in His perfect timing. When you hear a ‘No”, choose to hear the Lord saying, ‘I have something else planned for you.’ (1 Chronicles 16:11) Don’t allow waiting to become an idol. Desiring to adopt is a good thing. Don’t allow the phone calls, emails and longing for a baby to overshadow the deep love of our Father. (1 John 5:20-21) Keep praying! Pray for the birth moms. Every time you show your profile, you are telling that birth mom that her baby is loved and wanted. Pray for the child and the families who will parent that child. Pray for the child that will join your family and the birth mom who will forever change your heart. Keep praying. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

So on this Mother’s Day of waiting, rejoice in the Father who sent His Son to redeem us into His family. He is our Father, who makes us sons and daughters of His very own. (Psalm 46:10)

Love,

Hayley

*And now look at this beautiful family, with yet another beautiful miracle. (Photo taken August 2012)

When I look at this picture of my daughter and I, I cry almost everytime. It reminds me that my sorrows have turned to dancing. My mourning has turned to joy. God has given me Mercy, and He makes no mistakes!

My husband and I were matched with a Birthmother in September, 2010, after many, many months of waiting, and believing God to bring us the child He had purposed for us through adoption. Our baby was to be due in January! To say God stretched us during that waiting time is a huge understatement! God ALWAYS makes us wait for a purpose and I believe its to draw us closer to Him. Through my husband’s leading, we began seeking hard after the Lord and asking Him to refine us! Refining is not fun, nor easy! There were many circumstances in this adoption that allowed for God to indeed refine. We had to be on our knees daily begging for the Lord to sustain us and carry us through! HE IS SO FAITHFUL, and He did not abandon us! He was true to His Word as it says in Jeremiah 29:12-13a “In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord.

January came! Our Birthmother went into labor and we prepared to go and get the baby we had so long waited for. But, God was not done refining! There were some difficult things going on regarding this adoption, we sought the Lord, and instead of leaving immediately as we had planned, God said, “Wait.” Within moments we went from joy to despair! My heart ached to hold that Baby and tell him how much he was loved and cherished! But even more than that, my husband and I desired to obey God, and so we waited. Because He is always faithful, He once again revived us through His Word. Psalm 62:5 says, “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him!” We wanted so desperately to fight to have that Baby in our arms, by the Lord told us to be still, wait, and rest in His plan! By the way, that is NOT easy, but the Lord gives rest when we choose to walk in HIS ways! When we got the call that the birthmother had changed her mind about her adoption plan, we knew that the WAIT was his protection.

On February 6th, almost a week to the day that we got the call about our Birthmother being in labor, we received another call. Our agency called to say they had a beautiful baby girl who was born and her Mother and Father could not keep her. The agency had been presented our profile and the Birthparents had chosen us for their daughter! If we wanted this little baby, she was ours!!!! Once again, we went before the Lord, begging Him for wisdom. You see, we felt like if we said “Yes” to this little girl, we were abandoning the first baby. Once again, God proved Himself faithful and revealed to us that this little Girl was to be ours, the one He had purposed for us since before the foundations of the earth!

A verse God gave us at the beginning of our adoption is Psalm 28:6 “Praise be to the Lord, for He has heard my cry for mercy.” The Lord heard our cry for a child, and He answered. This little girl we named Mercy, which means an act of divine favor or compassion! She is God’s Mercy to us, sent from His arms to ours. God makes NO mistakes! Our daughter, Mercy Annalyn, is the baby God has always purposed for us! He allowed for us to pray for and love another little baby for the time He ordained and then, He gave us Mercy according to his plan!

This is my first Mother’s Day and my heart is feeling so many things. I am overjoyed because of what God has done, but I pray I will never forget from where I came! I pray I will never forget year, after year, sitting in church on Mother’s Day Sunday weeping tears of despair. I will never forget God’s arms wrapped tightly around me, whispering, “For I know the plans have for you! They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope!” If you are reading this and you’ve suffered a failed adoption, my heart aches for you, but I want you to know that God holds every tear you’ve cried in His bottle! His plans, though sometimes hard, are far better than our own! I also believe that we wait so that the blessing will be that much greater! That is SO true in our lives with the blessing God gave us in Mercy! She is far greater than we ever could have imagined, and I believe its because we waited, believing God to bring us His very best in His very perfect timing! So, Mother’s-to-be, know that today your Abba is holding you and preparing for you far better than you can imagine! Keep waiting with great expectation of what He will do!

Psalm 40:1-3 “I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry! He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire! He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along! He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what HE has done and be amazed. They will out their trust in the Lord!”

Love,

Misty

How about that for JOY!

Happy Mother’s Day, Sylvia! You carried this little one well, my friend. For 9 months, you loved her, carried her and covered her with your prayers.

And here she is. Beautiful. Perfect. Destined. Loved.

A little over a year ago, Rick and Sylvia contacted me with questions about adoption. In her first email to me, Sylvia wrote,

“We honestly are open to whatever God has for us in this journey. It is already a jouney for us of surrender, so it’s not like we are coming into it with a bunch of requirements, we simply want to follow Jesus through this process. We have heard adoption is COSTLY, TIME CONSUMING, and I think I have even heard Randy Bohlender say it’s HARD. We have not figured out how all those things are going to work out for us, but we believe that the Lord provides where He leads. We know He is faithful. As for the baby we are anticipating, I know that we “know in part and we prophesy in part” so I am holding loosely to what God has shown me in my dreams and in my heart. At the same time, I have had dreams about an African American baby girl and so have several of my children.

I am thinking that you will probably understand our journey more than most and hopefully be able to help us figure out how best to walk this out with the Lord.  I’m not saying we are way different than the average couple hoping to adopt, but I sure feel like we are! Maybe it’s our age, or maybe it’s that we already have a bunch of kids, but I sure feel like we are unlikely candidates who are saying yes because Jesus has asked us and because He is so incredibly amazing.”

After the agency social worker asked that question, John and Cindy prayed, their children prayed. And they listened.

This is the kind of a family that would say yes. Yes to life. Yes to redemption. Yes to the road less traveled.

This is the family that STEPPED OUT OF THE BOAT  simply because their Master said yes, and they trusted His voice.

They wouldn’t call them selves heroes. They just said yes, because they asked, and He answered.

They said yes to holding and loving and praying and believing.

They said yes to speaking life, destiny, hope and a future.

If you’d like to spend some time getting to know more about this story and watching this precious life grow and thrive, please visit their blog HERE.

They started working with me in October, they put their YES out their often. But this YES is the one that mattered. The one that changed THIS LITTLE LIFE, forever.

I’m asking you to join me in surrounding this family with prayer as they spend the coming days ahead sacrificing life together because this one life is a treasure.

Pray for healing, strength, and encouragement.

Mike and Kristin started with CAC in January. They hustled through their home study, I got their profile finished, and were ready to be apply to agencies in February.

Within days, they were presented with a possible situation and MATCHED with a baby boy to be born in April, and a few weeks ago they welcomed this tiny bundle into their lives.

I’m so happy for this sweet couple and rejoicing as they begin their journey into parenthood together!

For more information about our services please email me to request an information packet at tracie@christianadoptionconsultants.com

Thank you so much for sharing, Hannah!

I have a hard time asking people for help. So when I was in Bible college, I quickly ruled out World Missions as an option for my life, mostly because of the fundraising.

God thinks it’s really funny when I say I won’t do stuff. So about 8 years into marriage, the Lord asked us to plant a church (which involves fundraising). And more recently, He asked us to adopt… More fundraising.

While asking for money still isn’t one of my favorite things, I have learned some concepts that helped me navigate the process. I’m going to debunk some common lies that adoptive parents could be tempted to believe.

Lie: People gave me money for the adoption, so they will judge me if I spend anything on myself.

In reality, raising money for adoption often goes on for a year or more. You cannot stop life. Sometimes you just need to go out for coffee with friends, even if you could brew a pot more cheaply at home. And your jeans with holes have to be replaced, no matter what.

I think this is especially important when you have small kids in the home. If you make life restrictive for them, just to save money, they will see adoption as more of a burden than a blessing. Do you buy a membership to the Zoo every year? If that’s important to your family, then keep purchasing it.

This isn’t saying you should spend flagrantly. There will be places you can find to cut back. But the last thing you want to do is bring a new life into a family that is stressed about money. You will be better adoptive parents when you live free from worry and fear of what others think.

People that give to you love you and won’t begrudge you life expenses. Or they don’t know you, so they have no idea that you replaced your vacuum cleaner. Either way, they aren’t asking you to live in poverty.

Lie: Because I’m raising money, I can’t be used to give to others.

It might seem wise to hoard every penny you get. Giving money (or resources) to others might not feel like an option when you’re in the throes of fundraising. However, being a giving person is actually the BEST thing you can do.

When we first began the adoption process, we met another family that was raising money for an international adoption. They told us how they still sought out ways to give to other adoptions. One of their methods was to split the proceeds of one of their fundraisers with another adopting family.

When you display this kind of generosity, it actually attracts people to give to you, because it’s much more joyous to help an unselfish person accomplish their dreams. It also positions your hearts in a place of humility that literally invites the Lord to pour out blessing.

Lie: Other people have hearts of stone, because they won’t give to my adoption.

When you believe passionately about something, it’s hard to understand why others can’t catch the vision. I think it is tempting to set expectations on those around you, because of how you perceive their financial situation or how much you think they love your family.

It can be easy to get bitter when they don’t “come through” and give the way you expected.

When these thoughts dominate, it often means your faith for finances is placed in the wrong source. People cannot be the focus of your trust. Jesus is the one who provides and He’s the one who speaks to hearts.

Believe that He will inspire the people who He’s called to partner with your adoption. If you thought someone would donate funds and they don’t, maybe it’s because Jesus isn’t calling them to give. Maybe there is someone else He wants to use.

I think the big picture for fundraising is this: Kill worry and fear; It’s not from Jesus. Rest in Him; He WILL provide.

Don’t miss out!

We will be offering 10% off all full service consulting packages and 20% off all consulting packages for those open to our Minority Adoption Program.

(This offer ends April 30th, does not apply to our DIY program, and may not be combined with any other discounts)

If you’ve been considering adoption, now would be a great time to get started!

If you’d like to learn more about Christian Adoption Consultants and the services we offer, email  me at tracie@christianadoptionconsultants.com to request an information packet!