Matching Grant

Dear Family and Friends,

As many of you may have already heard we feel that God has called us on a new journey to provide a “forever” family to a child through the process of adoption.  We have started down this path of adoption and will be excited to bring Grace home very soon. We have felt led to pursue a daughter from the States and are now waiting for the specific child God has for us.

We were recently awarded a matching funds grant to help with the expenses of our adoption through Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc. a non-profit private operating foundation.  Hand in Hand will match any funds that are donated through our friends and family for the expenses of our adoption.  All funds received through our friends and family will be matched dollar for dollar by Hand in Hand up to $2000.   All donations are tax-deductible. If the grant is fully matched, they will pay $4000 toward our adoption!

Please find enclosed a grant award letter that will explain more about the matching grant program from Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc. You can find out more about Hand in Hand through their website at www.handinhandadopt.org. If you have further questions about the Hand in Hand matching grant program please feel free to give us a call at 334-450-9848 or email us at cristalkohring@gmail.com.  You may also contact Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc. with any questions you may have.  They can be reached at 913-248-5015 or by e-mail at handinhandadopt@gmail.com.

Please send all donations made payable to “Hand in Hand Christian Adoption” postmarked by January 31st to: (for tax purposes please include our name on the outside of the envelope only…do not put our name on the check itself)

Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc.

Wes and Cristal Kohring

18318 Mimosa Court

Gardner, KS  66030

  

Thank you for your prayerful consideration in helping Grace find a “forever” family.

Walking Hand in Hand,

Wes & Cristal Kohring

Christmas Shopping Fundraiser

Christmas in just around the corner - I can not believe it but the decorations are coming out and the shopping has begun.  

Want to bypass all the crowds of busy people or waiting in long lines? 

 

Why not do all your shopping online through AMAZON?  

 

It is a great way to get exactly what you want at great prices AND support our adoption!  A portion of the proceeds from any purchases made through the Amazon link in our sidebar will go directly to our adoption!

Shop till' you drop and help bring Grace home!

Yard Sale Results!

2 yard sales in one month might not have been the smartest thing for us to do, but the Lord provided in BIG ways through them!  We ended up making over $1400 between both of them and still had 2 truck loads to donate to Goodwill! 

 Thank you to everyone who donated items for our sale and the wonderful friends who sorted, organized, priced, and worked the sale with me.  I couldn't have done it without you! 

I believe the sweetest part of the whole sale was my boys desire to be a part of raising money for their sister, Grace.  Jonah was determined to have a cookie and lemonade stand for him and Micah to run and they were AWESOME!

Before the sale, Jonah said to me "Mom, all the money we make is ours right?"  Me: "yes Jonah it is all yours"

Jonah: "Ok good, we will then give it all to you to put in Grace's adoption fund!"

Love love love their love for a little girl that they have never met or seen that will someday be their sister!  

By the way, they ended up raising $33 selling very yummy cookies made by Judy Dobbs and Hannah Vest!

Again, thank you to all who donated or volunteered your time and help.

Paintings for GRACE

I am so excited to announce our next fundraiser - 

Holiday Canvas Paintings!  

Our sweet friend, Molly Spivey, is offering her time and abilities to help us raise money for Grace.

  She is amazing and her paintings are as well.

All Paintings are $25 and all proceeds go directly to our adoption fund.

This will make great holiday gifts for friends, family, or teachers!

Christmas Ornament Painting

Sizes range from 11x14 to 16x20 depending on number of ornaments needed

Fall Thanksgiving Painting

16x20 size canvas

If you are interested in ordering any paintings, you can leave a comment on this post, email, or message me on facebook with your information.

Thanks!!

Words of Life

Have you ever had one of those days or weeks where the enemy takes all his arrows out of his quiver and starts firing one after the other?  And before you can even recognize what is happening, you have suffered some injuries to your heart, some wounds to your mind?


Well I sure have and one day last week was definitely one of "those" days. I was sitting at my dining room table filling out multiple adoption agency applications when the enemy started firing. 


Proof of funds?  Net worth?  Financial Plan?


I could feel the stress mounting and the tears welling up in my eyes.  Satan knows my weaknesses - the spots where I am most vulnerable to his attacks.  MONEY!!


Then enters my Mighty Warrior, my Abba Father, my Shield!  Oh how I love how He fights for me, protects me, and bandages my wounds.


Listen to my truth and hold tight to my promises to you.  What I say I will do.  I am faithful.  I am a promise-keeper.   Trust Me!


And I respond with a Yes Lord, help me trust you.  Help me hold to your promises.  Then He began taking truths that He had planted in my heart over the past year and connecting them all together to show me the bigger picture.


Full obedience.  


"You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed." Ps. 119:4


So many times I try to get away with partial obedience, but that is really only complete disobedience.  God expects me to obey fully what He has called me to do.  Full obedience takes me out of my comfort zone most of the time and gets in the way of My plan for My life!
But I choose to fully obey my Master, my King because I love Him and fear Him.


Walk in expectancy.


Walk in a way that expects the Lord to act on His promises.  Too many times, like this night, I stand frozen in fear of the what-ifs or the mountain in front of me that seems impossible to move.  God says, "We live by faith and not by sight," walk in faith that I can move mountains.


At just the right time.


God's time is always the right time...He is never at the wrong time!  His time is the right time.  He steps in at just the right time, He delivers at just the right time, He speaks at just the right time, He rescues at just the right time, and He provides at just the right time!  Oh if I could only get that truth planted deep deep into my heart and mind, I would be stressed and worried a lot less!


Jehovah Jireh.


I have always known this name to mean "The Lord who Provides" and yes it definitely does mean exactly that but last year He began to reveal more about this name to me.  I came to realize that it also means "The Lord who Sees" which really confused me but after study and the Holy Spirit opening up my eyes I got it.  The Lord sees our needs before they are even known to us and therefore provides what we need.   He sees me!  He sees my needs and longs to provide for me!  


So when He kept saying this name over and over again here lately I knew He had more in this name for me.  I started my study again and praying that my eyes would be open to what He had in store for me.
Well there is more to His name - Jehovah Jireh.  


This name can also be translated "The Lord will be seen."  His provision for me is out of His great love for me but it is ultimately so that He can be seen and given the glory!  


Oh He continues to remind me that it is not about me, but all about Him!  We will be tried and tested, but in the hour of our great need God will see us.  Seeing our need, He will provide for us and He will be seen in the provision He makes.  


"Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." 
Ps. 115:1


Full obedience - Walk with expectancy - At just the right time - Jehovah Jireh


Lord thank you for speaking your truth into my life and opening my eyes to more of you!

Chick-Fil-A Fundraiser

Tonight was our Chick-Fil-A "Fun-raiser" (as Micah calls it) and we did have a ton of fun with all our friends that came out to eat yummy chicken and support our adoption!  We felt God's love through all of the smiling faces, hugs, and words of encouragement that received tonight.  Thank you all so much for taking time out of your busy night to join us for dinner!  Here are some of the sweet faces we saw tonight.

Catching Up

Well, alot has happened in our life since I last posted!  We have moved into our new home and absolutely love it!  It is a huge blessing and so perfect for our family now and as we grow.  The boys are doing awesome sleeping in the same room - they still think it is so cool. 

Micah turned 4 on August 30th!  He is so big now and THINKS he is so big (or at least as big as his brother).  He is one of the sweetest blessings in our life.  God has given him the best little smile that can melt your heart and make you laugh even when you are supossed to be serious as you discipline him :)  Yes...it happened already today!

Even more important than his precious smile, God has planted a love and compassion for others in his heart.  He is my super affectionate one - the one who can't get close enough to you and always wants to be touching.  When he was a little and even now when he hugs us, he loves to be cheek to cheek.  I remember Beth Moore teaching on being close to the Lord - face to face, cheek to cheek.  So everytime Micah pulls me so close to him that our cheeks literally touch, God sweetly reminds me of how close He is to me.

Adoption Update:

Tons of paperwork - check
Fingerprints - check
Homestudy Interviews - check
Boxes removed from Grace's room - not yet (still working)

God seems to be moving us along quite a bit faster than we had planned. 

God Story:  There is a piece of paperwork that has to be sent off to the state that has been taking 3-4 months to get back.  So as soon as we started our homestudy we sent that paperwork off knowing it would be the longest part of the process.  Well we then moved, set up our new home, and put our other homestudy paperwork aside since we had 3-4 months.  God had other plans for us - I got a call from our social worker last week and she informed us that the paperwork came back in 2 WEEKS!!! 

God's timing...I am always reminded of His perfect timing when I am in a waiting period - waiting on a new job, our house to sell, an answer to a long-standing prayer, etc...but this time is different.  God is moving faster than we had planned on this homestudy and I have wanted to say "Lord, wait up..you are moving too fast...we aren't even done with all of our paperwork!"  But of course He reminds me that His timing (slow or fast) is always perfect.  He knows exactly when Grace will be ready for us and us ready for her - He is in complete control and always going before us preparing the way.  I love Him and His ways!

Vacation:

Wes' dad, Mark, is turning 60 this year and we are celebrating with a family beach vacation.  We had an amazing day and I will post pictures/videos hopefully tomorrow.  A couple of hints...crab catching, dolphins, snorkeling, beautiful weather!  Love being at the ocean!