Something to think about-

http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/08/education-in-color/

Parenting the Hurt Child

This is the title of one of the books that we purchased this weekend at The Greater Houston Adoption and Orphan Care Conference. The conference was informative, encouraging, motivating and convicting.
I am always intrigued by the people that the Lord has us cross paths with. Josh and Amy Bottomly, who co-authored the memoir, From Ashes to Africa, spoke in the same room as us the hour before. Josh did a wonderful job reminding me of the powerful ability that one person has to "bring order to chaos". Josh and Amy have partnered with The Red Letter Campaign(I also met Sam and his wife, Wendi, who started this campaign with a goal of raising $50 K and to date have raised $750 K) and Children's Hope Chest "to form an online community that sponsors three orphanges in Addis Ababa." What an encouragement, motivation and kick in the butt to "do something"...anything but nothing. I have honestly not thought too much about over seas adoption. I think that I am too lazy. It embarrasses me to say that, however, that is what I see when I look in the mirror. To adopt overseas can be a lengthy, expensive, pain-staking endeavor. I am praying that I would be able to have a hand in bringing change to some of these impoverished areas, for these impoverished people.

"...fourty two thousand children were adopted from foster care alone in 1999. There were sixteen thousand adopted from countries oversees. Almost all of these children have suffered trauma, be it movement from home to home, by parent or orphanage care, or abuse. Some of these children have fragile genetics. Many others were bathed in alcohol and drugs before birth.. Some were left on porches, and more than a few were recovered from trash containers or rescued from homes in which most rooms appeared to be a trash container." (pg.9) "Whether a child's mother left him in China due to socio-political reasons- or if he was dumped in a U.S. high school bathroom because his mother was terrified to tell anyone about her pregnancy- the end result is the same: the infant was abandoned by the woman who gave him life." (pg.15)
I remember reading excerpts like those pre-adoption and thinking, "Man, these people are really reaching. The kid didn't even have solid memories- there is no way that all of these "issues" can be pinned on abandonment & loss." Today, I think differently.
Things are not the way they are suppose to be.
When a new mom jumps at every whimper of her pink, fragile, baby- God smiles. "Children are a blessing from the Lord."
When a father boast to his neighbor about his son's accomplishments - God applauds."This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."
When a mom or dad works all day, and sometimes all night, to take care of the child that has been entrusted to them - God blesses. "I have been young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread."
The sad truth is that this is not the reality for thousands of infants, babies & children. What a scary time to be born into the world.
Foster care, adoption & orphan care can create a messy "life". I have to be honest, I do not think that every one should adopt. I do not believe that every one should foster. I do not believe that every one should move overseas to live at the orphanage. I think that there are some people that can handle fostering better than orphan care- and their are others that are up for the task of adoption.
However, I do believe that all three of these are our responsibility. In some way- we must help the family that fosters. In some way- we must care for the traumatized children and minister to the shell shocked families who are raising them. In some way- we must walk along side those who have moved to Ethiopia to care for the 10 year old orphan and her 4 younger siblings.
God, help us.

Blog in Motion

i am going to try and post before the weekend! what a crazy life...field trips, presentations for 1st grade classes, presentations for high school students....stop the train and let me get off. i have something i'm working on- hopefully i can complete it!

New Life

I have had an interesting couple of days. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I signed up- and as far as that goes, I'm still not sure what to think. Yesterday and today I got to speak to a couple of health classes at the high school. I was working on my Master's in Public Health when my life was re-directed. I have always wanted to have my hand in this field because most of the voices there tend to be a little more liberal than mine. I think it's good to have balance. After volunteering at Thomas Street for over a period of about five years, and engaging in dialogue with people whose views on life are as opposite of mine as one can conceive, the flame was fanned to greater heights. I do believe that being involved in the foster care system & CASA is another way to make a difference. But the past couple of days have been what I was preparing for.
Worldview is something that most high school students never think about. It is like air to them. They rely on it without thinking about it. They trust it- even though they can't explain it. And they defend it -however illogical it may be. It is necessary that the kid thoughtfully consider why and how she draws her conclusions, agrees to her presuppositions and makes her life-altering decisions. Before I became a parent I spent most of my time with kids their age. After high school, while I was still in college, I worked with teenagers. I am still amazed that parents let me take their children on trips, over-night excursions and teach them in a structured setting-about life, the Bible, other people & our relationships with them, for about 4 uninterrupted hours a week. I am glad that their are adults who truly care about "making a difference" in the lives of youth. For the most part they need all of the good advice that they can get. That being said, I think that teenagers have the capacity to think deeply, reason logically and love deeply. However, we live in a society that demands little of them, labels their disrespect as individuality and "dumbs down" any potential "life altering" conversations that we might actually engage in with them.
The opportunity that I had was to speak to them concerning worldview, abuse & pornography. The discussion, I felt, was very honest, revealing and interesting. EVERY girl, All of them, said that one day they wanted the person that they marry to be "hard working". That was interesting to me because they wrote their "List of Top 5" privately. I would love to see some type of "generational trend" research concerning this. (I made a list when I was in high school of what I wanted in a husband and that never crossed my mind. I think I said something like: 1. he has to be blonde 2. he has to be a cowboy. 3. he has to be casual....nevermind.) I know that I said college graduate. NONE of them said that. When speaking to a lady in my church who is 80 on Sunday, she said that she used that exact phrase (hard-working) when she was growing up to describe what she desired. "Why?" I asked. She said, "Because my dad was so sorry." Anyway, I digress. Only two of the girls out of 22 said that they were not allowed to date because "their parent were over-protective." All of the girls said that their parents needed to meet the person that they were going out with, however, none of them said that their parents actually asked the "potential" date any questions. They just wanted to know who he was before their daughter got in the car with him.

So glad He bought this...

Greg ordered this book and we started reading it tonight. I love it. It is no secret that I am a fan of Dr. Voddie Baucham. This book is for everyone. Very motivating.

And They All lived Happily Ever After...

Ellie had a GREAT 7th birthday. ABG Family Fun Zone did a splendid job!!! I highly recommend them. After all was said and done, Ellie was pumped to have a wad of money. We walked around the SUPERPLEX for an hour and a half...until she settled on something that will change our lives forever. A SNOWCONE MAKER.

Daddy's Girl