WOW... WOW... WOW.... I may have said this in previous post, but I can not express enough about how AWESOME our God is. If you have been following Gracie's journey from the beginning, I'm sure you have heard Johnny and I say over and over, that this adoption is God's doing.
When Johnny and I first contacted the Adoption Consultant, Christian Adoption Consultants, they gave us two pages of scripture reference to help us during our journey. I'm going to share with everyone four versus that have special meaning to us.
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.
Isaiah 43:5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will raise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
It has been a few weeks since my last post. During the time, God has continued to remind Johnny and I that HE is in control and he wants this adoption to take place.
For two weeks in April, Johnny and I took Mary Kay make-up catalog orders. We both took orders from co-workers, as well as church family. When our total was calculated, we had $858 in total sales. Our consultant, Vickie Spurling, was gracious enough to donate $257 to Gracie's adoption fund. This was amazing and very much appreciated. Vickie is a jewel to me and I'm very thankful that she was open to the fundraiser suggestion.
On Wednesday, May 2nd, Johnny and I were in the Catoosa Community insert of the Chattanooga Times. We knew the article would be there, we just did not know how big the article would be or the contents of it. AGAIN, God showed us that HE is in charge of this adoption. Katie Ward, with Chattanooga Times, did a wonderful job of capturing our story. When I read it that morning, I cried and cried. Little did Johnny and I know exactly how much awareness that article would give us.
On Saturday, May 5th, Johnny and I had our last fundraiser for Gracie's adoption. We had prayed and prepared tremendously for this pancake breakfast. We had tried to sell as many tickets ahead of time as possible. Many people would tell us that they were coming, but wanted to pay at the door. This was okay with us; however, we could not come up with a final head count. So going on faith, we prepared for 100 people, hoping for the best. We had all of our wonderful volunteers there at the church bright and early eager to serve hungry friends, family and supporters from the community. The first hour or so was very slow and discouraging; however, around 8:15 AM, people started coming in and we were very steady until around 10 AM. Johnny and I met so many people that neither of us knew. It was so touching to know that they came to support an adoption for people that they didn't even know. We met one lady that went to school with my father, Troy Dyer, Sr. She was telling me stories about when I was first adopted. We also met another couple that read about the breakfast in the paper and felt God telling them to come and support us. There were several people from not only our church, Boynton United Methodist, but also Boynton Baptist and Ringgold United Methodist. We had friends show up that drove as far away as Dalton, GA, as well as members from our own family. The support was so overwhelming at times, that we both had to step back and just say WOW, Thank You God. The breakfast success was miraculous. We raised a little over $900.00. Again, God is a wonderful God. Both Jeremiah 29:11 and Isaiah 30:18 keep repeating in my mind.
There are so many people that we owe so much gratitude to. Our journey could not have made it this far without the love, support, prayers and financial gifts from everyone at Boynton United Methodist Church, our family and close friends.
Gracie's due date has been pushed back until July 16th; however, an inducement date has been scheduled for July 9th. For many of you, you already know that July 9th is a very special day in our family, as it is Johnny's birthday. We know this date could change again, but for right now, we have our eyes and hearts set on July 9th.
Please continue to follow the journey of Morgan Grace Long. I will continue to update the blog with any updates that I receive regarding our precious baby girl. Before I end this post, I want to leave you with the below.
"Before you were conceived I wanted you
Before you were born I loved you
Before you were here an hour I would die for you
This is the miracle of Love." ~ Maureen Hawkins
Approximately 62 days till her arrival.
~ Love ~ Misty
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