A mother of 3, Courtney can be found blogging at Homemaker Hero, where she shares stories and tips as a modern homemaker drawing on the  vintage instruction passed down through generations. 

“Our children are not ours because they share our genes. They are ours because we have had the audacity to envision them. That, at the end of the day… or long sleepless night, is how love really works.” - Anonymous

It is estimated there are between 143 million and 210 million orphans worldwide. To give you an idea of the enormity of the numbers, the current populaton of the United States is just a little over 300 million. The current population of Russia is 141 million.

Ever since I started dreaming of having children, I have had a huge place in my heart to adopt an orphan. Adoptive families come from all walks of life. Some can’t have children of their own. Some can but would rather adopt. Some have had children by birth but still choose to adopt. Every adoptive family’s story is different. We’re somewhere in the middle of those I’ve mentioned. We’ve had 3 beautiful girls by birth but can no longer have any. Still… our reasons for wanting to adopt go way beyond medical reasons. It’s a huge part of our heart to bring at least one orphan home to us someday. Our story is a lot like the Chapman family’s story. That’s why I adore their organization so much!

If you’re familiar with Christian musicians, you may recognize the name Steven Curtis Chapman. Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman founded Shaohannah’s Hope as a result of their experience adopting three girls from China and seeing the desperate need of orphans around the world. For the Chapmans, caring for orphans is an opportunity to experience God and truly know Him. Though their family is now eight strong and has gone back to diapers and toilet training, they have also been blessed and transformed in ways they had never hoped or imagined. As Steven explains it, “Adoption has kinda become the heartbeat of our family and of our life and of our marriage. It’s our family’s story. I’ve gone now to a whole new place in my experience of what it really means to love and to be loved.”

Recognizing that adoption is a perfect picture of what God has done for each of us in making us His children through Christ, Shaohannah’s Hope has been established to care for orphans by engaging the church and helping Christian families reduce the financial barriers to adoption. U.S. agency and private adoptions can range from $5,000 to $40,000 or more depending on a variety of factors including services provided, travel expenses, birthmother expenses, requirements in the state, and other factors. International adoptions can range from $7,000 to $30,000.

Shaohannah’s Hope exists to enable children living without the love and hope of an earthly family to be adopted into “covenant homes.” These families can provide not only the love and support needed for this life, but also provide a child with the knowledge of God’s plan for his or her eternal life with a forever family called The Body of Christ.They are dedicated to helping prospective adoptive parents overcome the financial barriers associated with adoption. They accomplish this by awarding financial grants to qualified families already in the process of adopting. The size of the grant awarded is determined by several factors, the most important being need.

Your secure, online contribution will make a difference, and it’s never been more needed than today. To see all of the ways you can support this organization, please click here. Unfortunantly the minimum is a $5 donation, and this is the One Dollar Give (you are, of course, welcome to donate $5 or more to this great organization).

On that note, I would like to introduce you to another great adoption organization as well. The Gift of Adoption Fund is a similar organization offering grants to adoptive families in order to help them bring their children home. Please consider donating $1 today. Together, we can change the destiny of children around the world and help give thousands of orphans a home.

To donate $1 to the Gift of Adoption Fund to help unite children and their forever families, click here. Please use “One Dollar Give” in the dedication portion of the donation form. After you’ve donated, come back and vote in the poll so that we can count donations!

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(Yes, the poll offers you the choice between “Yes.” and “Yes.” because I didn’t think we really needed to count the “No” answers, and the poll required two choices! Hey, it’s not a perfect system, but it’ll work!)