DEEP WATERS

What makes a Momma? Is it biology? Carrying a child in your womb? Giving birth to a baby boy or girl? Well yes of course. Biology and shared genes definitely make a mom a mom. And having given birth to two precious babies myself, I am grateful that God chose us women to carry and nurture life. But there's so much more that makes a mom a mom.  Let's take a look at the many ways we women become mommas and mommas-at-heart... A mom is the woman who gave birth to her third biological child (just today) while raising her two really young sons alongside two foster babies that joined their family months ago. A mom is the woman who went back and forth to Haiti to fight to bring her daughters home. A mom is the white woman who traveled all the way to Sierra Leone, Africa to adopt her beautiful, brown twin girls. A mom is the black woman who traveled all the way to Moscow, Russia to adopt her beautiful brown baby boy. A mom is the woman who opened her home and heart to...

There's a movement rising up... A movement that will address a huge issue in the US.  An issue that affects over 400,000 children each year. 400,000 plus children and teens. That's more than the population of New Orleans.  The issue?  Foster care. For many years now, Christians around the world have dedicated one Sunday a year to address the issues of orphans around the world. This Sunday is Orphan Sunday - dedicated to the over 140 million orphans around the world. I've been blessed to participate in Orphan Sunday in my local church for many years now. I love speaking about this issue. I love calling the Church to rise up and "defend the cause of the fatherless". Well this year a new movement has begun.  It's a movement to call the Church to continue to rise up for orphans - the "orphans" in our cities, our communities, our own backyards. The local "orphan". We know them as foster children. I...

I LOVE the Olympic Games - both the winter and summer games. Every two years, I'm captivated by the national pride, physical strength, mental endurance and emotional resilience of the athletes from all over the world. Last night I sat captivated while watching the Olympics opening ceremony. Brasilians* are beautiful, spirited and warm people, and I fell in love with Brasil over a decade ago when my son Kalin and I served orphans and vulnerable children on a mission's trip there. Another love of mine - following the lives of former foster children. My heart is always moved to hear the stories of people - young and old - whose lives began with so much stacked against them. Inevitably, while hearing the "how did they get here?" stories shared during the Olympics trials, I've discovered some amazing Olympians whose lives have been touched by foster care and/or adoption in some way.  And you know I had to share...  Simone Biles ~ Gymnastics This 4-...

I was sitting in my minivan, having just picked up my son Christian from his football team workout, when I heard the news. The car in park, I noticed I had 4 texts. I assumed they were texts from a ministry I've recently joined. We've got a lot going on this month, and when a leader sends out a text, we typically start firing our responses back at her. I checked my phone. It was from a member of this ministry, but it read differently from previous texts... "Fyi - you may already know, I just got word that Dr Karyn Purvis passed away." I was shocked. I kinda had a moment... To the point where I had to tell the kiddos not to worry. I'd be okay. I'd just read some bad news, but everyone in our family was okay. (After losing my parents so close together, I've had to give my kiddos this kind of information when anything unusual comes up.) To say I was sad to hear Dr. Purvis had succumbed to her battle with cancer is a gross understatement. In t...

I've stayed away from controversial topics here recently. Sometimes when you're working through your own personal drama, you just don't have the mental and emotional energy to focus on anyone else's drama. So I've kept it pretty light and fun for the most part. But this week, I had to write about one particular news story. It just struck a nerve. Most of you have heard about the teen girl assaulted by a police deputy in her Columbia, South Carolina classroom . Most of you have seen footage of the attack. All of us have come to our respective conclusions. I've heard several over the last week. "The Columbia Sheriff was right to fire Deputy Ben Fields. This was police brutality at its worst." "The girl deserved the treatment she got. With her horrible attitude and defiance, she needed a beat-down." "The teacher is at fault here. Teachers should have better classroom management and control over their students." "T...

Two weeks ago, I attended CAFO2015, the Christian Alliance for Orphans' annual Summit. This was the third Summit I've attended, and as always, there are highlights I'd like to share. I have to start with the biggest highlight of all... After two years of trying to convince my sister Lori to attend Summit, she finally made it! It was awesome to have her there with me and even more awesome to hear her share on a panel discussing raising foster and adoptive children of a different ethnicity. Lori -- a mom to biological, adoptive and foster children -- did a fabulous job, and I was a proud little sister. I want to be like her when I grow up. Big Sis Lori and Me Another highlight for me was the privilege of leading CAFO's African American Church Initiative . This initiative began with a racially-diverse, energetic group of folks at CAFO2013. It has grown to include over forty people with the same passion -- igniting the African American church with the me...

I recently heard some great news from Alicen Bennett, an Arkansas Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) caseworker and DCFS liaison to The CALL *. This past January, 28 foster homes opened in Arkansas, meaning in that month alone 28 new families became available to take foster children into their care. A blessing, considering all the hoops that these families must go through -- background checks, medical exams, home studies and training classes. On the same day I heard that great news, however, I also heard some bad news. While 28 foster homes opened in January, 48 homes closed. Do you understand what that means? While 28 foster families have just opened their homes to foster children that desperately need those stable home environments, 48  foster families have closed their homes to those same children that desperately need them. Here's one more statistic: In 2012, 500 homes opened across the state of Arkansas. Sadly, in 2012, 480 homes close...

Next Sunday, many of us will be glued to our television screens for one spectacular event. Some will watch for the football. Others will remain captive for the hilarious commercials. Others still will hang out for the game just to witness Beyonce's half-time show.  (Bet she won't lip sync  this one...) Anyway, whatever we consider the main event next Sunday, most of us will be watching. As an adoptive mother  and adoption advocate , I'm always looking out for adoption stories  around me. Today, I thought I'd share stories I've discovered in next week's Super Bowl. Of course I must begin with my beloved Ravens... Michael Oher Michael Oher has a story that's been told before. If you've had the opportunity to watch Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side , you've heard Michael's story  already. One of twelve children, Michael grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. Due to his father's frequent incarcerations and his mother's...

Today is Orphan Sunday, and at Mosaic Church , we'll spend the entire morning highlighting the needs of orphans in our country and around the world. The statistics are staggering: there are more than 150 million orphans in the world. In the United States alone, 100,000 children are languishing in the foster care system, while waiting to be adopted. Many are older children. Some have physical or mental disabilities. Most have deep emotional scars. Few are in their situations because of their own fault. Almost all have been grossly neglected or abused by the adults in their lives -- the very people they have trusted to feed, clothe and care for them. This problem can seem so overwhelming, you might be asking, "What can I do?" There are several things YOU  can do for orphans around the world. 1. Pray for orphans in this country and around the world Psalm 68:5 calls God "a father to the fatherless." If He is their true Father -- and ours too -- we mu...

My life has been full of surprises. I'll share a few of them: I said I'd never marry a preacher. Well, I didn't marry a preacher, I married a corporate guy who, seven years later, became a preacher .  When my husband Anthony and I decided to adopt a newborn baby girl from the United States, the Lord chose a 2-year-old toddler  boy from Russia for our family instead. After relocating cross-country from Tennessee to Northern Virginia in hopes of planting a new church there, after only one year, the Lord clearly directed us to Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas . (Note: In case you haven't noticed, Arkansas borders Tennessee. Surely moving costs would have been a lot cheaper if we would have moved right to Arkansas from Tennessee.) As I share this list, I must admit, I wouldn't change not one of them. My life has been enriched by the surprises, the unexpected circumstances, and even the challenges of God flipping the script that I had joyfully wri...