“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 Care
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 …
“Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!” Psalm 117
I loved watching my grandma layer together her quilts on the giant wooden frame that filled her entire living room. Grandma’s quilts had beautiful, hand-pieced tops and a durable quilt back. There were layers of batting sandwiched in between, all held together by the intricate pattern of her meticulous hand-stitching. Grandma’s quilts were beautiful, warm, …
No child is damaged goods, and none are second-class citizens. They are gems, priceless gems. And God has a purpose for each of them. Some children have been told they are useless, unwanted, and unworthy. Abused and neglected children are especially vulnerable. The numbers of abused and neglected children are staggering. In the United States …
In 2018, nearly 690,000 children spent time in U.S. foster care. Sadly, many of those children will find there are not enough foster families to accommodate them in their community. In some cases, children are being placed with families hours away from their homes, schools, and everything familiar to them. In other cases, they aren’t …
We had been waiting for the call for what seemed like an eternity. The call that my wife, Sue, had worked so hard for these past five years while pursuing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. It would determine if we would stay in Cincinnati or be required to pack up and move to a strange …
When I was asked as an adoptive mother and foster-care advocate to reflect this season on what it means to be thankful, I had to look up the meaning of thankful. According to Websters Dictionary, it states, conscious of benefit received, expressive of thanks, well pleased: GLAD. I have had to be intentional about what …
November is National Adoption Month and chances are that if you are reading this blog post, that you have a special place in your heart for kids who are in care. You may or may not realize that we can each play a vital part in enhancing the lives of children and youth in foster …
November is National Adoption Month. A time that has been dedicated to raise awareness and celebrate adoption. What started as a week of recognition has grown leaps and bounds. People have stepped out in faith, growing their families through the various facets of adoption. Adoption is not a new concept. Long ago, King David shared …
When my wife, Trisha, and I signed up to be foster parents 20 years ago, we were in our mid-twenties and had never parented before. As you would expect, there was a lot of paperwork to fill out. One particular form that is common in foster care and adoption lists conditions and experiences that may …
The Fall of each year serves as a reminder that the year is coming to an end, and we are headed into the busy holiday season. Thanksgiving and Christmas are times when families gather to share stories while making new memories. For my family, whether the elders pray or the children pray. Prayers are coveted …
Let’s be honest. WAITING IS HARD. Whether you are waiting to hear about a medical test results or waiting for a new child’s birth, waiting is hard. For instance, when my wife Sue and I followed God’s leading to apply to graduate school, our preparation time seemed endless. But the worst was the waiting. We …
How do you determine if someone is an expert in a given field? I’ve always thought that an expert has personal or professional experiential knowledge of a subject and has successfully navigated through it, grown beyond it, or found some way to grow from it. (“It” being whatever I happen to be researching at the …