Adoption Prayer Bracelets – A Wonderful Reminder to Pray for Adoption

The Adoption Prayer Bracelet was inspired and designed by Christian adoptive mother Mardie Caldwell. Enduring seven pregnancy losses, adoption was the answer to her prayer of becoming a mother.

Each and every adoption prayer bracelet is lovingly handmade and created with prayer and patience in the United States. Each bracelet includes a 1″ custom heart shaped pewter adoption prayer charm stating “My Adoption Prayer” on one side… and “Pray Without Ceasing, 1 Thes 5:17″ on the other. All proceeds go to benefit Lifetime Adoption Foundation, a nonprofit charity focused solely on the needs in adoption.

With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, we are excited to share a special on Adoption Prayer Bracelets just in time for the holiday. Get Free Priority Shipping with coupon code HEART! To view bracelet color choices and order, visit www.AdoptionPrayerBracelet.com.

 
 

God’s Answers to Our Prayers May Not be What We Expected to Hear!

Adoption GraceGod’s delays are not God’s denials.
-Robert H. Schuller.

Have you been praying long and hard for God to bless you with a baby? Every month as you watch your pregnancy test turn up negative, do you suspect God’s ability to answer your prayer? Or, after months and years of waiting, do you now think God has denied you of a chance to become a parent?

I love the words of Pastor Schuller: God’s delays are not God’s denials. Sometimes we expect God to do an instant miracle and relieve us of our burden. We hear stories of how other women prayed and the next month they conceived twins! It can be emotionally and spiritually taxing to keep waiting on God when nothing seems to be happening and you aren’t even sure He hears you. Well, let me tell you a little story about the Chinese bamboo tree: The Chinese plant the seed and they water and fertilize it. The first year nothing happens. But the Chinese continue to water and fertilize it until the fifth year, even though it shows no sign of life or growth. At some point in the fifth year, the first shoots come out of the earth. Within the span of six weeks, the Chinese bamboo tree grows to a height of 90 feet! Now, if I asked you how long it took the Chinese bamboo tree to grow, what will be your response – five years or six weeks? Well, five years, of course! The Chinese patiently watered and fertilized the plant for years before their efforts were rewarded.

We all have our ‘Chinese bamboo tree’ experiences in life. Infertility is one of them. We wait and pray, hoping for a miracle, but nothing seems to be happening. As God’s children, we have security in the fact that God is for us and not against us. He knows our secret longings and innermost desires and He wants to meet them. But, He will do so in His own timing and we should watch and pray in perseverance. Although it may seem that God is delaying your miracle, you must realize that God is neither early nor late…He’s just on time!

Wait on the Lord, wait cheerfully,
And He will thy youth renew;
Wait on the Lord obediently,
Whatever He bids thee do.
Wait on the Lord, for whom hast thou
On earth or in heaven but He?
Over thy soul a watch He keeps,
Whatever thy path may be.
-Robert J. Morgan, Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes,

 
 

Waiting for God’s Timing – Will We Live a Life of Fear or Faith?

Christian prayer for adoptionHow long, Yahweh, shall I cry
and you will not hear? (Habakkuk 1:1)

This was Habakkuk’s cry of anguish at the growing wickedness in his beloved land of Judah. There was a great internal and external trouble in the land and the wicked were going unpunished. Habakkuk wanted answers from God and He cried out in distress and frustration. While the book of Habakkuk is one of the shortest in the Bible, it overflows with lessons on God’s plan and purpose for His people. It is heartening to know that God answers Habakkuk’s questions and goes on to reveal His divine plans for His children.

While Habakkuk’s reasons for frustration may be starkly different from yours, there is a lot of similarity in his doubting God’s plan and timing. If you have been trying to become a parent for a long time and you are still waiting for God to bless you with a baby, you may be struggling with feelings of fear, frustration, hopelessness, and anxiety. Maybe you have reached that point where you are ready to throw in the towel and give up. But hold on! God has a special plan and purpose for your life and your future.

There is an important lesson we can learn from the Book of Habakkuk: it is okay to question God! Habakkuk questioned God more than once because of his fear and frustration. But, the key lesson is he was honest with his feelings towards God. Maybe you are wondering ‘Why is God silent?’, ‘Has He allowed this barrenness to come upon me?’, ‘How can a God who is good sit back and watch me go through the pain of infertility without coming to my assistance?’, ‘Is God truly who He claims to be? Is He really ready to come to my help?’. Many Christian couples waiting to become a parent struggle with these questions. It is important to realize how we handle these thoughts of doubts and insecurities. Do we run to the throne or to the phone? Are we honest about our emotions and facing them or fleeing from them?

God is willing to answer your questions, just as He answered Habakkuk’s. When you are dealing with thoughts of doubt, you have two choices: to live in fear or to live in faith. The beautiful verses at the end of the Book of Habakkuk show how he chose to live in faith! I encourage you to read them and hold them close to your heart as you wait for God to reveal His plans and timing for your parenthood.

Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.

 
 

Staying In Agreement With Your Spouse – God Brings You Together as You Draw Close to Him

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” -Mt 7:7-8

Prayer is the lifeline of a believer when he or she is pulled by the currents of trials and tribulations. When prayer becomes as natural as the air we breathe, it opens up opportunities for God to answer our prayers. Mind you, His answers may not be the ones we specifically seek, but there is always the promise of an answer.

If you are a couple dealing with infertility, these may be times of frustration, anger, and hopelessness. According to medical terms, a couple is infertile after at least a year of unprotected sex. For most couples, once this dreaded deadline passes, it is the beginning of innumerable medical tests and painful poking and prodding. When they eventually learn that they have remote chances of conceiving naturally, it takes them on an emotional and spiritual rollercoaster ride. The stress of whether to go in for fertility treatments, adoption, or simply wait on God for a miracle can be too much to bear, even for a Christian couple.

Couples struggling with infertility go through a whole range of emotions. But, the ones that weigh in the most are feelings of being abandoned by God and a sense of incompleteness. If you relate to this problem, then I want you to know that God has not abandoned you. Being ‘childless’ does not make you any less in the eyes of your Maker.

If you and your spouse cannot come to an agreement on the path to take (adoption or assisted conception), it may do you a world of good to surrender your future to God’s perfect will. As we see in Mathew 7: 7-8, continuous prayer leads to receiving, finding, and opening of doors of opportunities. The Bible declares that when two or more of God’s children come together in His name, He is in their midst. Spend time everyday in prayer as a couple. Welcome God into your marriage, ask Him to strengthen you as a couple during this difficult time, seek His wisdom and will concerning your options, and knock on the doors of Heaven until it opens up its blessings for you and your spouse.

The Word of God declares children to be a material and spiritual blessing: they are to take care of us in our old age and are our heritage. God will never deny you this blessing. It is His desire that every one of His child bears fruit, physically and spiritually. As a Christian couple, I urge you to believe that God has a definite plan for your parenthood and that He is in control, even though your life seems to be in turmoil. Let prayer unite you in all the areas where you are not in agreement with your spouse, so that you can make godly decisions for your future.

 
 

When Bad Things Happen, Run to the Throne!

“Times of trouble have often been times of triumph to a believer. Suffering seasons have generally been sifting seasons in which the Christian has lost his chaff, and the hypocrite his courage.”
-William Secker

The Bible says that trials and tribulations shape our character and personalities, helping us grow as mature Christians. What are the trials you have faced? Are your husband and children unsaved? Are you struggling to have a baby? Do you have constant health problems? Have you lost a loved one? Whatever be the difficulty, be confident that God will use it to become a blessing to you.

Did you know that your trials have many spiritual and mental benefits? Take a look at these: Your problems can drive you to prayer and also help improve the prayer life of others (Isaiah 38:1–2, James 5:13–15), develop our inner person (James 1:2–4, Romans 5:1–5), help you to empathize with those who go through the same problem (2 Corinthians 1:3), and above all, give you a wonderful opportunity to witness to others and glorify God’s name! (2 Corinthians 12:9–10, John 11:4)

Whenever you feel crushed by the weight of your problems, remember these two verses: Genesis 42:36 and Romans 8:28. In the former, Jacob cries out that “all these things are against me”. In Romans, Paul declares confidently that “all these things are working together for good to those who love the Lord”. At the end of the day, you must choose between these two attitudes. Are you going to allow your problems to crush you or are you going to rise up and overcome them for God’s glory? Romans 8:37 declares that we are more than conquerors through Christ. So, choose to beat life’s difficulties instead of letting it beat you up.

 
 

God Is Ready To Do More Than You Dare Ask!

“The man or woman who is wholly and joyously surrendered to Christ can’t make a wrong choice—any choice will be the right one.”
-A. W. Tozer

Infertility can have a crushing impact on your life. It can bring everything to a grinding halt and leave us wondering which way to turn. Many times, couples who have been told that a natural conception is impossible, try to rush into assisted reproduction treatments or adoption. When you rush into something like adoption, you risk treating the child you adopt as a substitute for the child you never had biologically. You need to take time to deal with your feelings of frustration and depression, coming to terms with your infertility. If you choose to go the assisted reproduction way, you need to understand that no doctor can guarantee you a 100% success rate.

One way to deal with infertility and the uncertainty over your future is to surrender yourself to God’s will. Imagine a pyramid with God on top and you and your spouse at the two ends of the base. When you both move up towards God in faith, it will not only bring you closer to Him but also bring you closer to each other. The Bible says that God finds us more valuable than the birds of the sky. If He can guide the birds in their migrations, surely He wants to guide you to make the right decision concerning your future as a parent.

Oswald Sanders gives us a beautiful lesson on how to know the will of God – he says he first gathers all the information and facts needed to arrive at a decision and lifts them up to God, praying over them in His presence. He then waits on the Holy Spirit to move his mind in the direction of God’s will! He goes on to believe that God guides him by presenting reasons to his mind to act in a certain way.

If you are struggling to understand God’s will for your future as a parent, I urge you to spend time in prayer seeking His guidance. Be confident that He wants the best for you and is willing to do more than you dare to ask or dream! (Ephesians 3:20)