What is a T.P.R.? It is a Termination of Parental Rights. It is what happens when a parent is unfit to care for a child and it becomes apparent their parental rights must cease so the child can find a new home. This allows the child to be adopted. If we believe parents who abandon their children are criminal, what does it say that our churches abandon newborn babes in Christ? They are often neglected to fend for themselves, to find their own spiritual food, and raise themselves. This is an eternal crime!...
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I am a father of four. The three still with us make me question if Jesus was wrong. He said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mt. 18:3) HE MUST HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOUR YEARS OLD OR YOUNGER! The three I live with are the most legalistic Pharisees I have ever known!! Was Jesus wrong?! He loves her. She is the woman of his dreams. They had been dating for a while and he felt it was time to pop the big question. He planned that special moment. He got everything in place, the restaurant, the romantic walk afterward along the river front; and in the very spot he planned with the perfect setting, he got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife. She said,.... If people even connect Christmas with Christ, it is often focused on the baby. The baby gives us the warm and fuzzies. We imagine a cute and most of all, clean mother and child. Perhaps we should sing more Justin Bieber, "Baby, baby, baby, Oh!" No! We should never sing more Bieber! But what if baby Jesus is not the actual focus of Scripture, not even in the birth narratives? Like the picture here, do we often apply our own cultural values to the biblical story instead of seeing the cultural values already at play in the biblical narrative. Art often shows this tendency throughout the centuries. But what if the birth narratives have a greater purpose than a baby? One of the struggles in adoption is connecting to your new children. As I have written before, the adoption process is easy compared to the living-together process. How do we connect? How do we build a healthy relationship? Honestly, many times our adopted children have felt like "neighborhood kids" who don't go home. The reason is that we don't have the history of experiences to have a strong relationship. Interestingly, I found insight recently where I least expected it... It is awesome to say that our son, Michael, asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior this weekend! Like with Savanna, he is adopted again, this time into God's forever family! He told me on his own that he wanted to ask God into his life. When I asked him why he wanted this, he responded, "I remember all those stories of miracles Jesus did and how it helped people. But it also changed people's lives." I asked him what that meant for him. He responded, "Maybe it will change my life too." I asked him what it meant for God to be in his life. He responded, "I have to ask Him to be on the throne of my heart." .... This past week, our daughter Savanna was adopted again! Our kids went to WinShape Camp put on by Chic-fil-a. They had a blast and learned a lot about Christ and themselves. The theme this year was "Heart Castle" and they learned that their hearts are the throne room of their castle. The big question was, "Who is sitting on the throne of your heart?" It was challenging to all three. They had to ask themselves if Christ was seated on their throne or if they were hogging the seat. Much to our joy, Savanna received Christ and trusted Him to forgive her sins. She admits that she is still struggling with letting Christ always sit on the throne of her heart, but we reassured her that is something we all struggle with. Adoption bring challenges that are unique. There is much to work through for both the children and the parents. There is much conflict and counseling is a must for families that adopt. We have found that the best kind of counseling for our family is, well, family counseling. One-on-one has been very ineffective with our twins. Our counselor was creative, and most importantly, shared a very similar worldview and faith to our own. She was great with the kids and us. I am having to write "was" because due to a situation in her life, our counselor had to change jobs and could no longer see us. But, she left us with some great directions... Christmas has become the big holiday among Christians. Reflective of the culture at large, we build up to it with advent wreaths, special "hanging of the greens" services, cantatas, etc. Unfortunately, Easter in many evangelical churches is ignored until Palm Sunday and sometimes until Easter Sunday arrives. Easter is the "Superbowl" of the Christian calendar yet we treat it as footnote. So, here are a few ideas of ways to make Easter a bigger deal in your home. As I say at the end, there are many ways to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. The biggest problem among evangelical Christians is that we are not celebrating at all. We are missing the party! Here are some ideas... This week, we lost the presence of another warrior child. Samuel had Leigh's Syndrome, a mitochondrial disease. The amazing family Samuel was born into faced a situation that was not unlike ours. Our experiences were not exactly the same, but they were in the same neighborhood. Speaking of neighborhoods, this week many may be seeing green porch lights on in recognition of Mitochondrial Awareness Week. It is a way to shine some light on the struggle this disease brings to families all over the globe. |
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February 2018
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