May is National Foster Care Awareness Month. Among the countless things to be aware of and opportunities to get involved, here’s ten things to consider as you work to bring your awareness to bear through action. 1. The data: 400,000+ children in foster care. 100,000+ children waiting for their forever families. And this pandemic isn't helping anything. 2. We’re not merely talking about numbers and data and stats - but instead real kids, real moms and dads, real humans just like you and me. 3. The fact that data rarely changes hearts and that we are predisposed to find reasons why the data is not our problem.
Sometimes my kids' artwork is really bad. It's nothing but scribbles on a page, their misspelled names, mismatched colors or an abysmal failure to stay within any semblance of a line. But I love it all, every time, no matter what. Not because it is artistically brilliant but because it is deeply thoughtful.
We mean well, don't we? But sometimes our attempts to say something spiritual actually come out unbiblical, or at a minimum, not very helpful. Here's the 5 I hear the most...
The story of creation, fall and redemption is the most compelling human story. It’s a storyline woven throughout the fabric of all of life, from nature to art to film to relationships. The rhythm of scripture itself flows along the creation, fall and redemption current, orchestrating a captivating telling of the course of human history...
Christmas is the story of a good Father going to extravagant lengths to adopt those who were once separated from Him. It is the celebration of God seeing the plight of His people and responding with the greatest gift of love this world has ever known - Jesus.
We recently sat with friends over dinner who shared with us that God was calling them to adopt. They said they always had a sense this would be in store for them, but were hesitant on timing - life had become comfortable for them again with good jobs, two children and an overall healthy rhythm for their family. However, while the benefits of comfort had settled in they began to question to what end. Where would a comfortable life ultimately lead them?
Last summer I spent a week in beautiful Southern California along the Pacific Coast Highway corridor between Laguna Beach and San Diego. This iconic highway boasts miles of impressive, breath-taking views of the vibrantly blue ocean back-dropped by mountainous landscapes and pristine beaches. Coupled with cloudless skies, the continuous glow of the sun and temperatures that wrapped around you like a warm blanket on a cold night, SoCal certainly is a majestic place – a wonderfully refreshing retreat from my normal.
When it comes to effectively integrating the Gospel into life and culture, the Apostle Paul urges us to not be taken "captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ" (Colossians 2:8).
Jesus came into this world immaculately, lived extraordinarily, died excruciatingly, rose victoriously and ascended gloriously back into Heaven, promising to one day return and take us home. All for the explicit purpose of rescuing sinners and reconciling them back to God.
Throughout Scripture the marriage relationship is used as a picture of God's relationship with His people. The bride and groom imagery highlights not only the covenantal love of God for His people but also their position within that relationship as the beneficiaries of His redemptive pursuit.
In 1973, John Darley and Daniel Batson, two Princeton University psychologists, conducted a social experiment inspired by the biblical story of The Good Samaritan. This New Testament story is a familiar one - a lone traveler has been beaten and left for dead by robbers on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho.
Several months ago a newborn baby girl entered our lives and changed us forever. She was born the victim of heinous abuse, the defenseless recipient of an agregious crime. On what would have normally been just another Wednesday night, we now sat at the kitchen table signing papers with child protective services...
Here's a few things I've learned of myself, of Jesus, of the Gospel and of the call to care for the oppressed, marginalized and orphaned children in this world. It's a scratch on the surface of the depths of what there is to know, but I'm grateful that in His mercy God grows us as He sends us - and He sustains us along the way as we pursue His mission.
