Here are a few of the things He has laid on my heart that I'm praying about:
1. Moving to East Lake/Gate City – As mentioned before, David challenged us to ask God if He wants to us move there. I prayed and I did feel a sense of calling, however, given that it was tax season and I was facilitating FPU I was unable to go to the info. meetings and felt somewhat "left out" on the opportunity. I know God can still call me to go there even though I did not take that initial step with the other 40 families but I still have not determined if that is what He wants me to do. But if He isn't calling me to do this then why is it still on my mind?
2. Becoming a "Charitable Giving Specialist" – Ok, I sort of made up that title, but I feel like financial planning is perceived as such a "worldly" profession and I really want to learn more about how I can encourage and assist wealthy people to give more, more effectively and to the "charity" of their choice. This is a specialization in that you really need to know about the law (particularly trusts and estate law), taxes, and financial planning. There are not many people that do this, or if they do they work for a particular charity and therefore their advice is biased to their charity. One of the reasons I really want to get my CPA is to give me more "credibility" for doing the tax planning side of this. I'm still waiting to hear from UAB whether or not I am accepted as a "degree-seeking" student and then will have to tackle the financial aid issue.
3. Kingdom Advisors - I guess, by default, God is calling me to take the lead in starting a Kingdom Advisors study group in our firm. This is out of my comfort zone. I don't like speaking in front of more than oh, say, 3 people and I definitely don't like praying out loud. This would require both! But my boss and I are in the process of learning more about Kingdom Advisors and how we can incorporate Kingdom Advisors into our firm and he would like to consider an internal study group. I was leaning towards attending another local group (because that would be the easier option, of course). God usually doesn't call us to do things we are comfortable with so I'm trying to let Him guide me on this.
Warning - Mom and Dad, you may want to sit down for this one-------
4. Just recently God has laid it on my heart to adopt one of the 147 million orphans – This is not something I am financially able to do right now because of my debt, but it is something I am starting to feel God call me to do in the semi-near future. I've already started some research even.
My view of single people adopting has shifted drastically. I thought it was a pretty selfish thing to do and went against God's call of "order" (marriage THEN baby) but now I see it as an opportunity to live out James 1:27 and give a child an opportunity to get out of the spiritual darkness (and possible death) that lies before them. In that context I think adoption is biblical and brings glory to God. If I simply wanted a baby I can think of a few cheaper ways of accomplishing that, but I would not adopt because I want a child, I would adopt because God has called me to care for those in need.
I am particularly thinking about adopting a 4 to 5 year old girl from Haiti, Guatemala (when they allow American adoptions again) or a country in Africa but I'm open to other countries. Not all countries allow you to adopt if you aren't married and I think Haiti is one of them.
This is all very farfetched because as I said I can't afford to do this with my debt hanging over me but it's something I am feeling called to do in the near future and if it is part of God's plan for me He will make the way possible. I am trying not to think about things like...how we will communicate if she doesn't speak English, what about health insurance, what school would she go to and after school care, how would that affect "dating," (shouldn't change it too much since I'm not dating as it is, ha!), am I crazy for voluntarily becoming a single mom?, etc, etc. But the fact is God does not call us to do "comfortable" things and live a comfortable life. He calls us to do radical things we don't think we can handle so that we rely on Him to do the unthinkable in our lives. When we are obedient, we become more intimate with Him and we become more like Him, which is what we want, isn't it?
There are adoption grants available and of course the adoption tax credit but it is still very expensive. But I have come up with a "campaign" to raise money to fund the adoption, "1 Less Orphan." Not all that original, I suppose, but I like it. I want to design a tee shirt (with the help of my talented sister, hint, hint) and come up with other ways to raise money and awareness (kindda like 147 million orphans shirts). I want to find out if I can set up a 501(c)3 trust fund/foundation to raise the money and all that good stuff (that's where mom and the Kassoufs come into play).
So there ya go, those are the big things I am praying about. Will you please pray, too?
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