Going to Grandma’s house was always a time of great anticipation, joy and expectation. We’d been taught how to say yes ma’am and no ma’am, and the same for all the elders. No matter how they addressed you, our response to them was met with words of respect. Visits were almost always planned and never …
Foster Care
Have you noticed how quickly people tune out when wide-spread needs or overwhelming statistics are mentioned? Our capacity to care has dramatically diminished because we’re constantly bombarded by needs too large for us to meet. We hear there are 400,000+ kids in the foster system. Or how 50% of foster families burn out after the …
“I’ve only come to do Your will.” These may be words that we have uttered many times, but really, what does this mean for each individual? For me, it means trying to understand God’s purpose for my life and how my work – professionally with the child welfare system, and personally. Trying to see if …
Foster and adoptive families, ministries, and organizations should know the value of a team better than anyone. We have all benefited from excellent training that shed light on what we saw in our homes. Some of us have traveled internationally with a group with whom we now have a lifetime bond. We have been in …
During this time of sheltering in, I pulled out the book, The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren. I had initially read the book in 2002. Isn’t that who we are, people called to live a life of purpose? Do you know your purpose? He writes on page 148, “Humility is not thinking more of …
A young mom who recently left her abusive boyfriend is ready to start again but has no beds and limited furniture to begin her new life with her children. Whose responsibility is it to help her keep her kids home with her? A woman and her husband adopted special needs children from foster care and …
We hugged her more times than I can count. We told her we loved her even more, and then we finally pulled ourselves together and got into our car, leaving behind the child with who we spent countless precious hours with for the past 18 years. My wife, Sue, and I were driving away from …
As Christmas approaches, I have been thinking about the gifts God has given me this year. As with you, I received some gifts that I wouldn’t have asked for and didn’t want to open. However, it is a comfort that I don’t have to understand everything in my life because the God of wisdom understands …
A few nights ago, my mother-in-law stopped by to drop something off. As a fellow Christmas enthusiast, she was quite excited that we had a YouTube video of a fireplace playing on our television. I began to share how I discovered it, which brought me to the story of one Christmas in college. A Christmas …
By modern standards, Mary, the mother of Jesus, did not have the easiest set of circumstances. By Biblical standards, her unexpected news must have left her family overwhelmed, heartbroken, and hurt. Could she have been termed an at-risk teen? She was probably 14-years-old when she realized she was pregnant. Now anyone who has ever been …
