Please join us....read more for details

Dear Friends and Family,
Whether you have followed our adoption story so far, or whether this is your first visit to our blog, we thank you for taking the time to share this special journey with us. Our little boy who is with his foster family in Thailand turns 14 months old today! We know that God has an amazing and special purpose for his life, and that our Father planned long ago, before the foundation of the world, for him to be a part of our family. We have seen God provide in every way for our adoption so far--financially, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. And our little boy's health has improved with each medical report we have received. We rejoice in these blessings while at the same time realizing we have more bumps and curves in the road ahead.

At this moment, we find ourselves in great need once again. We know without doubt that God placed our feet on this road and told us to walk it in obedience. We have been blessed beyond measure by how He has taught us, led us, and given us more of Himself as we have walked this road. And we know that our God has great plans to complete this journey of bringining our little boy home so that we can begin the next great journey of watching him grow as we teach him of God's abundant and great love.

A few months ago, our pastor preached a series of sermons about fasting to grow spiritually. One of his sermons came from a favorite passage of mine in Isaiah 58. (Link to the whole chapter on Bible Gateway is below). Since that time, God has been dealing with me about "true fasting" as it is defined in this passage. Fasting is first about a commitment to give up specific things or activities for a specific time that distract you from a pure relationship and true communion with God. This can be obstaining from specific foods, a meal, all food, television, hobbies, or anything that hinders you from focusing fully upon God and His purposes for your life. However, fasting as defined in Isaiah 58 goes beyond giving up things--we learn that God calls us also to give away things to those in need in order to show His love.

So, here is what we are asking of you, only if you feel led by God to participate. This is truly something that God has laid on my heart, and we only want you to do it if He leads you to! We want an army of prayer warriors who are approaching the throne of grace and seeking God's face for our adoption. If you support our adoption, and want to see this precious child of God brought home, we ask that you join us in fasting and prayer for our family and our little boy in Thailand. We are asking that the fasting be an Isaiah 58 fast--in other words, a fast in which you give away your time, your resources, or whatever you have to a hurting person in need and you give up the type of speech and attitudes that separate us from God. The scripture passage mentions "to share your food with the hungry", "to provide the poor wanderer with shelter", "to clothe him (the naked)", "to do away with the pointing finger and malicious talk", "to loose the chains of injustice", and "to spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry", and these are just a few. We challenge you to read Isaiah 58, pray, and ask God if He is leading you to be a part of this. If so, we will begin our Isaiah 58 fast on Monday, May 25th and will continue it for as long as God leads us to do so. You can join us for one day, one week, or as long as God leads you to. All we ask is that as you fast, you read God's word for strength and lift our family, our little boy in Thailand, and all orphans around the world to our awesome Heavenly Father.

We know that our faithful Lord and Savior will provide for the remainder of our adoption and we ask for your specific prayers in the area of wisdom, patience, and trust for the timing of our approvals to travel and the imminent financial needs we have. We love you and hope you will contact us via email at jeffandcasey1@netzero.com or call us to let us know how God moves in your life and does great things for you as you fast, pray, and seek His face. We love you all and are so excited to watch God at work through this time!

Were it not for grace,
Casey on behalf of The Tatum family

Link to Isaiah 58:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2058;&version=31;