A Much Needed Update on 'Bread for Life Ministries'

A much needed update on

Bread for Life Ministries

is in order, wouldn't you say?

I agree.

Here's a snapshot on what's been going on the past 5 months:

After we finished 2012 strong with a running total

of $20,000 raised for the precious little faces of Uganda,

we realized we needed to get some things in order.

The Lord had placed it on our heart to turn this

sweet-little-orphan-loving-ministry into a non-profit.

As you may know, every non-profit needs an active-working 'Board'

in order to be approved by the Government.

Being already surrounded by an amazing group of

orphan-loving friends it become very clear who the Lord

was putting in place for this ministry.

I am so excited to say, Bread for Life Ministries

has established an exceptional 12 member Board

who LOVES-LOVES-LOVES Jesus,

the fatherless and pumpkin bread.

It's a perfect mix! 

So, over the past few months we have been very busy!

We've had many prayer meetings,

Board meetings and worked very hard

to get all our ducks in a row.

We did all the hoop-la of filling out the applications,

Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Conflict of Interest,

Financial Data, and establishing our EIN.

Does this all sound fun? 

Needless to say, we are now just waiting for final approval

for our 501 (C) (3).

Please join me in prayer that this will come quickly!!!

Another top priority for the ministry is getting

into a commercial kitchen to bake all this yummy bread.

In order to do that, there is another list of hoop-la-hoops

to jump through. 

Certification through the Department of Health,

Food and Handing testing and exams, Insurance,

Approval by the State, Certification through the County...

hoops and obstacle courses all day long. 

After all is said and done...

I take my final exam for the Department of Health:

Food and Handing Safety course on June 5th

After I pass: we will be ready to GO!

BAKE

BAKE

and

MORE BAKING!

It will be so wonderful to be back in a BIG kitchen.

Lot's of flour, eggs and pumpkin....

I can smell the bread now!

Not to mention: setting up accounts with all my vendors,

special ordering for my packing materials,

printed material, labels, stickers, twisty ties...

all the little details that make a delicious loaf of bread

change the lives of many little bodies half way across the world.

It's a BIG DEAL!

All the details I take very serious.

Oh!!!!!!

And not to mention... our new website!!!

Woo-Hoo!

I hope to have it launched by early-mid June!

The address is:

www.bread4lifeministries.org 

Isn't that awesome?

So, In a nutshell, that is where we are.

A little bit of a waiting-game right now but trusting

this will all be completed and official soon

so we can get back to business. We have a job to do!

LOVE.THOSE.CHILDREN.

Im in AWE of the Lord!

His sweetness to bless this ministry with everything

it needs to reach the thousands,

encourage the Body of Christ and spread awareness. 

That's what Bread for Life Ministries is all about.

Helping, Feeding and Loving orphans; one loaf at a time!

"Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed,

for he shares his bread with the poor."

Proverbs 22:9

"The Memo" Blog Post

Did you get the memo?

A blog post that rocked my world and changed me forever!

You have to ask yourself, did you get the memo? 

Thank you Linny (from A Place Called Simplicity)

for writing this and being so faithful.

You have blessed many people. 

Click Here

"We Didn't Get the Memo"

The Meeting - Time to 'DIG'

"Let the one who is wise heed these things
and ponder the loving deeds of the LORD."

Psalm 107:43 

We recently held a meeting at our house to discuss “Bread FOR Life.”

We had five (A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.) husband & wife teams over for some

homemade chili and cornbread, fellowship and PRAYER.

A total of 12 adult and 3 children in my teeny-tiny little house.

Snugly, comfy and sweet!

We had no formal agenda, nor did we have anything written down to talk about.

Probably not the ‘smartest’ idea when you hold a meeting however,

we knew the Spirit would lead and I wasn’t worried about a thing!

We just knew we wanted to pray, talk and pray some more.

(The Lord has done such an amazing work in these folks

that it was easy to trust the Lord to speak powerfully through them).

I felt that I really needed to meet a group of mature Christian people

and seek wisdom in a multitude of spirit-filled councilors.

There has been such a stirring in my heart over this ministry

and I have been prompted to seek out prayer and bring together a ‘meeting of the minds’.

A time to sit around and talk about things

and see what the bigger picture is with BFL and what is the ultimate goal.

BFL was birthed in my heart out of the love for the orphan and a desperate desire

to raise awareness and money so that their basic needs could be met.

That was the prayer boiling over in my heart.

Out of that, ‘Bread FOR Life’ started and has truly made a huge impact on people’s lives.

(including my own)

As we sat talking, my pastor asked me a very profound question

that I think got everyone thinking.

He asked me,

“What is the big picture here? What would you like to see happen as an end result?

If you could have 'utopia' for this ministry, what would that look like?”

I basically said,

“Well the obvious would be to put a plate of food in front of these children and they could eat.

But then my heart asks, what about tomorrow? Where do they sleep? Do they have water?

Are they safe?... the questions go on.”

I then stated,

“You know, it’s funny, I wrote a blog post about this exact question.

It said this, ‘I want to move to Africa. Adopt a village.

Drill a well (water is LIFE). Build a church and a school.

Teach farming. Grow food and love LOVE; L.O.V.E. the people.’

I guess that would be 'utopia' for this ministry.”
(I wrote about the here: "Faces In Another Land")

I believe with everything in me that at that moment, things changed.

The Lord started to impart vision to us.

ALL OF US.

We started talking.  Things started to become very real to us.

There was an overwhelming sense of excitement in the room

that can only come from the Power of the Holy Spirit.

Do you know what I mean?

Have you ever experienced something like that?

When 12 people can come together in AGREEMENT and start bouncing off idea’s and then start seeing things very VERY clearly, and you know someONE else is running this meeting.

All we needed to do,

was come together and pray.

Ask the Lord to guide and direct our meeting.

We don’t need an agenda.

In fact, my agenda would have directed this meeting to who knows where.

What I am here to tell you today is that my God is on the move.

He is getting ready to MOVE BIG TIME!

As people shared idea’s and tears flowed (mostly mine. It’s just what I do.)

and hearts were being touch, the Lord was blessing us with a VISION.

A vision for His Kingdom, His children, His Church and His Glory.

What a Glorious place to be!

All I have to say, is when I go to Uganda in June,

I know I will be wrecked.

I will be broken.

I will be battered.

I will be undone.

And that is exactly where I want to be.

Because THEN I will be willing to do

WHATEVER. IT. IS. HE. HAS. FOR. US. TO. DO.

And by the way, these 10 people will be more-wrecked.

They will be more-broken.

They will be more-battered.

They will be more-undone.

Nobody will ever be the same again.

Church, are you ready for us?

Things are shaken… hold on!

It's time to DIG!!

In EXACTLY 3 months,

‘Bread FOR Life’ has raise a total of

$5,700!

I’ve always said:

“If we are willing, HE IS ABLE!”

I believe it more today than ever!

“He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs;

there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle.

They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest;

he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish.”

Psalm 107:35-38

Really? No! Really?

I just went to bed and can not sleep.
As my head hit the pillow, my eyes opened and my brain spun.
Could this really be?

Chris and I have been praying SO MUCH lately for vision. For a word. For wisdom.
We both are convinced completely that we want to spend the rest of our lives serving the orphan but have no idea what that would look like. Right? I mean, who knows.

God knows.

tonight I think a sliver of that vision was reviled.

Could it really be? Am I dreaming or what!

Lord, are you calling us to GO?

Oh. My. Goodness.
I know we serve a huge God. I know we serve a mighty God but really? GO?


Chris and I have been praying.

We are going away next week to the EXPECT conference. Yes, we are EXPECTing the Lord to speak and I think He may already be whispering. I believe the Lord could be moving on our hearts.

Sweet orphans, wither we bring you home to America, or we bring you home to "our home" in Africa, I DO KNOW WE ARE COMING FOR YOU.

oh.my.goodness.

Not much more to say now. I'm pretty much speechless at the mighty work of our Lord.

God is huge and HE IS MOVING.

BIG TIME!

Vision. We need you.

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay,

to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us."

2 Corinthians 4:7

If anyone is reading this,
Can you please pray for us.
We need vision.

My heart is just besides myself.
As I do my daily duties and carry on with
'Life as we know it', there is a constant dripping in the back of my mind.

The Orphan. The Child. The Boy. The Girl.
Hungry. Crying. Cold. Afraid. Lost. Scared. Confused. Blind. Deaf. Sick.

My hearts bleeds inside.

It all sounds so grim.
IT IS.
For so many precious little lives.

But my life keeps going on. It just seems wrong.

We need vision.

I will never be the same.
I can not go on in life thinking it's about me anymore.

Jesus, we need you.
Jesus, I need you.
Jesus.
I know you care.
These are Your children
And You love them.

Would you please use me?
Would you please use us?

I know I'm not a perfect parent.
I am SO far from even being a good parent.
I am a selfish, wretched sinner that needs your touch daily.
But I trust you for your grace. Daily.

All this to say, dear reading friend,
Would you please pray for us.

We need a vision from heaven.

So many things we need to KNOW!

Not OUR will, Lord, but YOURS!

"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ,,, So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison"

2 Corinthians 7:16-17

So Excited

I am so stinkin excited, I can not even put it into words but I will try!

Here it is:

I know the Lord has something BIG for us!

He is cleaning shop in our hearts and it is soooo awesome!

There. I said it.

That is all I wanted to share!

I am so excited.

"If we are willing, He is able!"

A Good Word

"And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure,

and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore"

1 Kings 4:29

I now realize that “writing a blog” is not as easy as I thought it would be.

Especially about something that is so

precious, personal and sensitive to my heart.

I understand that in order for my blog to make sense and hopefully bless others, =
I need to be

transparent and vulnerable.

Not an easy thing to do for someone who is not good at grammar and
petrified of writing

In fact, it completely freaks me out.

But I know I need to do it.

Things for Chris and I have been made very clear to us.

It is very evident that we need to

pray pray and pray some more

in order to be on the same page through this whole process together.

It is very easy for me to move ahead of my husband

because I become so emotionally entangled

in the thought of loving the orphan

that I forget that I need to wait and follow my husband’s lead.

My heart is more emotionally invested at this time than my husbands.
(In other words, I am weeping at everything and thoughts are all consuming of the orphan)

Nothing is wrong with that.

In fact, I have read, that is normal.

Again, it's the mother in me just wanting to be that mother to the motherless.

However, a friend shared with my husband that this adoption

is not going to be about the “adoption”. (hah?)

It is going to be about our marriage.

Oh the truth that rang in my heart.

It’s going to be about what the Lord does in our lives through this process.

That if Chris and I are not together on every step; spiritually and emotionally,

it could be disaster for our lives.

Wow.

Hard words but very true.

This is Huge.

This is Big.

I am thankful for this friend. I am thankful for the wisdom in which was spoken.

Chris and I are so committed to understanding God’s call on our lives.

I know that the Lord has put this passion in my heart, that can not be denied.

I am truly humbled at the goodness of Christ.

I know the Lord has made this very clear to my husband that Biblically

we are called to care for the orphan.

So with that together...

I am excited to see where the Lord will lead us.

We are in earnest prayer.

Waiting on the Lord for His goodness, His timing, His Grace and His Will….

not ours.

God you are SO good!

You are SO faithful!

If we are willing, He is able!

God, would You use us for your Kingdom?

Prepare our hearts to seek Your Kingdom, not ours.

Strengthen us to do Your Work.

Humble us to serve not ourselves.

Bring Glory to Your name through our obedience to your Word!

“For whoever would save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

Matthew 16:25

Just praying...

"may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ" Ephesians 3:18

So we are pretty slow going right now with filling out paper work. My husband is a school teacher and the end of the year is taking a toll on him. (Just a few more days tho)
Perhaps, the Lord's perfect plan for us.
We are being forced to spend more and more time in prayer,
fasting and seeking His will for our lives.

I KNOW adoption is not a 'choice' anymore for us.
I believe that we have been called to this life.
I believe that the Lord has amazing plans with us,
if we are willing.
My favorite quote lately is, "If we are willing, He is able."
That's all it takes.
Willing hearts.
Willing minds.
Willing spirits to pursue that which is not of ourselves
but only in us because He has placed it there.

As I live my life these last few weeks,
not really speaking to many people about what is happening in our hearts,
it's almost as though I am living in a dream land.
I observe SO much with these new eyes that I have not before.
I am saddened at my own selfishness of heart.
I am saddened at the deception of my own desires.
What seemed 'so important' to me before,
means absolutely nothing to me now.

The life that I once lived, is gone.

I have been undone with the thought of loving orphans for the rest of my life.

I want nothing more.

I do not need a big house,

I do not want a fancy car,

I do not care if I have the cutest stylish clothes.

My heart is so raw before the Lord

and I would not want to be anywhere else than where I am today.

Waiting on Him.
Waiting to see what He has in store for us.

When we start to fill out this paper work,

it will be beyond amazing to watch the Lord work this all out.

I know He will give us joy unspeakable and faith immeasurable to pursue these children

unto His glory,
for His kingdom,
forever and ever.

These are HIS children and I am committed to loving them just as Christ loved me.

Wholeheartedly and unselfishly.

(Only because of Jesus can I say that. I am really a very selfish person.)

As I write this, I think of my children and how their hearts are speaking of orphans already.

Like Hannah today on the way to school says,

"I want to save all my money in my piggy-bank so we can bring home the orphans.”

Oh, how my heart just weeps inside.

I'm trying to explain things to my children and I just wonder how much they really

understand of what I am saying
I have a feeling Hannah may understand more than I think.

I tell her, "You know that some children do not have a Mommy or a Papa,

some children have never been told they are loved,

they have never slept in a warm bed,

they have never been fed on a regular basis,

they suck on rocks and eat dirt because of malnutrition,

they are not hugged,

they are not cared for,

they are not clothed,

they are not held,

they simply are not!"

I want to pursue adoption because I believe it's God's heart,
but also because I want my children to see first hand the Glory of Christ
in the face of the fatherless.

I absolutely refuse, if I have anything to do with it, to raise my children thinking that what is important is: iPhone, iPad, TV, video games, clothes, or a ‘who has what’ mentality.

I refuse!

(Oh God help me to seek your Kingdom only and that my children will follow.)

I believe it's a "whole other world" of experiencing Christ's love that we are not aware of because we are caught up in the way of the world. I believe there is something very very special set aside for the individuals and families that take up the cross in this way.

I am so excited to experience this.

So, as these last few days of school come to an end, I pray we can get some paperwork flowing. Friday we went and had our passports done. (Step number one) I believe we will be doing our fingerprinting in the next two weeks and after that, we will start climbing this mountain of paperwork.

All unto the Lord.

At times it seems overwhelming but we must just take one day at a time.

Trusting Jesus for everything.

Looking to Him for provision, finances, strength, wisdom, courage,

understanding, knowledge and grace.

All those yummy things!

But let me remind you again this one thing:

We have an ALL-knowing, ALL- powerful, mountain moving, ocean separating,

turning water into wine, healer of all diseases, King of Kings and Lord of Lords

Father on our side! Oh Glory!

And with that, I am so excited!

"When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all you do."

Deuteronomy 24:19