Today I realized that it's been almost a year since my dear friend Shannon & her hubby Cory decided to announce their plans to adopt... and I still haven't blogged about it!!

For some reason God put it on my heart to do so today and I'd like to take a moment to share a little about their journey.

Shannon is an amazing woman... a mama of 3, a doula, a lover of music, a woman after Christ, & one of the best friends a gal could ever ask for. Funny thing about Shannon & I... we've never met. We connected on Twitter about 2 years ago & instantly clicked. We joke that we were separated at birth, but seriously it was kismet. 

It's odd being so close with someone you've never met in person. Sometimes I feel like I can trust her more than others who have been present in my life for years, even decades... but I digress. This post isn't about Shannon and me and our crazy kindred friendship.

It's about Shannon, Cory, Cian, Teagan, & Fionn...The Church Family. But more importantly it's about Finding Church, their beautiful little child of God who has yet to arrive from Ethiopia. 

As of this moment, they do not yet know who will be joining their family, but in all honesty I don't think it matters. God has blessed them with the gift of going through this process and has entrusted this beautiful child into their hands. And they have graciously accepted this gift and all of the joys and challenges that come along with it. I'm sure not knowing has been a challenge, but that's what faith is all about right? 

I never really knew how amazing (and time consuming) the adoption process was, but through Shannon I have come to learn more and more about what is involved. Man oh man, does it sound tedious! But I think I can speak for Shannon & anyone else who has adopted, that it is entirely worth it. It's a process that I, myself hope to partake in one day.

The thing I love most about their journey (other than the fact that they're following God so faithfully) is the creative ways they're going about raising money. Over the past year they have held a yard sale, they have collaborated with different businesses (including an awesome tattoo parlor that gifted some stunning designs to the cause), and now they're holding a giveaway. Rather than raising money the conventional way of simply asking for donations (which they accept by the way), they are giving people the opportunity to really get involved. How awesome would it be to look at your tattoo and know that you helped bring a child home?! It pulls at my heart strings just thinking about it.

God has been showing up in this process in some amazing ways and I am overjoyed to be able to watch how He is moving. I trust that God will continue to provide for them and will continue to show Himself in insurmountable ways. Shannon & Cory are more than half way to their fundraising goal and are still going strong in the creativity department! I mentioned a giveaway earlier... you'll definitely want to check that out!! You can also hear about the journey from Shannon & Cory themselves by following their blog at FindingChurch.net. This is also the place you can donate or enter the giveaway. In addition to financial support I know Shannon & Cory would appreciate a multitude of prayers as they continue on this journey.

Won't you be a part of the Finding Church journey??