God IS good!! (by Jason)

I know that a lot of you are probably singing in your head ‘God is Good, All the Time. All the time, God is Good’… Every time I hear ‘God is Good’ I can’t help but finish that line out. Well today God has been very good to our family. I want to start this post by giving a little look inside our lives to set the stage, and then I will get into today’s blessing.

As many of you know, we had our first ‘Orientation Call’ with the agency yesterday evening which went well. We discussed time frames, money deadlines, background checks, home studies, child referrals, visits to Ethiopia, the whole works. We also nailed down the date that the orientation paperwork, home-study, etc. is due which is September 29th. This means that we have approximately 80 days to do quite a lot of paperwork and get together a great deal of money (roughly about $9,000 between our agency’s orientation fees, home-study agency fee, federal background checks, etc.).

While all of this information is good to know, and while I am very used to deadlines from the line of work I am in (I am an Accountant – April 15th holds a special place in my heart), all of this information definitely puts some stress on me and Britney both. We have a plan of how we are going to raise the money, but we continually fall back on the realization that we will HAVE to have faith that God will provide as the numbers just don’t add up for us doing this adoption on our own.

We are planning to have a Yard Sale some time in September (probably early September) to raise money. A good number of people who have heard that we are having the sale have already given us some really great items to sell and we REALLY appreciate all that people are doing to lend us a hand. We have gotten a four wheeler, refrigerators, a washer dryer set, freezer, speakers, etc. from a number of people and we appreciate all that everyone is doing. Without a doubt we have some of the best friends and family on the planet! You guys rock.

Well, today I got a call after work from a friend; we will call my friend ‘Carl’. Well, Carl called and we made small talk for a few minutes. Normal guy stuff you know: the weather, trucks, work, the list goes on and on. Then he hit me with ‘So if someone was to want to help you guys out, just who would he make the check out too?’ A little speechless and not quite sure if he was serious or not, I explained that we have not worked anything out where someone could make donations through the Church etc. so any funds someone was to give would have to come through us personally (seems a little awkward to say the least). After explaining all of that he said ‘well if your free RIGHT NOW, you might should swing by my house and get this check, before I change my mind….’. I stopped what I was doing and managed to get to his house before he changed his mind. Let me just tell you, Carl and Carl-ette (his wife) are two of the most generous people I have ever met.

Turns out that God really laid on their hearts to lend us a hand. He explained that generally speaking, he doesn’t consider himself to be a very giving person and is anything but generous. But God really impressed upon he and his wife to give us some money to help with our process. I didn’t look at the check until after I had left his house, but those Crazy folks gave us $500 towards our adoption!!! I nearly ran off the road. The only request was that we use it towards our adoption and that they would get the first two Cannon adoption shirts when they came available. By the time I got home to tell Britney, I was pushing back tears (much like I am at this moment).

Anyone reading this that has ever felt led to do something risky for God, or has ever tried even for a minute to live on a little faith will know what a struggle it really is to try and REALLY rely on God to provide. Well ladies and gentlemen, I am here to tell you that God DOES provide. He makes good on his promises even when we do not. He is always faithful, always strong and steadfast in his love for each and every one of his chosen people. Today, through the generosity of a friend, I have felt the love of the Lord and have gotten that extra little nudge of encouragement that God wants this adoption to go through and that he is behind us 100%. I want to encourage each of you reading this to hold fast to God’s word, to Love Jesus with all of your hearts, to try and love each other as Christ loves us, and to hold on tightly to the calling that the Lord has put on your heart because as they say ‘God is Good, All the Time; and All the Time, God is Good.’