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Adoption & Race: What Makes a Mom a Mom?

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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
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Adoption & Race - Why I Am Completely Exhausted

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Hey everybody! Remember me? I haven't been here in over a year. And I won't waste your time with all the reasons why. I will say the underlying reasons are: 1. I am really busy with family and ministry work 2. As much as I love writing, I have spent almost a year and a half telling myself that I'm too busy to get it done (See reason #1) And the thing is this... A quick survey of the current state of my home would reveal a kitchen sink full of dirty dishes, baskets of laundry to put in dresser drawers and floors needing to be cleaned and vacuumed. (I did manage to thoroughly clean my bathroom this weekend, so all hope is not lost...) Anyway, since I don't see life getting any less busy, I've decided to apply my butt to the seat* and commence writing here again. But enough about my blog reunion and on to why I'm here... For about a year now I have had a book idea, and since I haven't begun writing yet, today it remains just that - an idea
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TODAY on MLK Jr. Day

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TODAY is MLK Day. The day we honor and remember a great man in our nation's history. A man who lived, fought and died for the freedom of African Americans and all people. TODAY I celebrate this man, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And to celebrate Dr. King and his legacy I'd like to share a few more things that have happened TODAY. TODAY I sat on a pew in one of Franklin, Tennessee's historic African American churches and listened to some amazing gospel music and powerful testimonials. TODAY I stood up in that pew and applauded the spoken word shared and raised my hands to some soul-stirring songs like God is  and Every Praise . TODAY I marched with my husband, my children and a large group of people through the streets of Franklin. A mixed group full of black folks, white folks, Latino folks and native American folks. TODAY we dreamed of unity and justice. The same dreams of Dr. King. And I also made a really fun discovery... TODAY I found a school assign
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This Christmas: Sharing a Little HOPE for the Holidays

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I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But... This holiday season, it seems I just keep hearing about one sad situation after another. Here's a sampling of a few: A teen girl struggling with life-altering anxiety and depression A young mom of two beginning chemotherapy after undergoing a double mastectomy A mom of two adopted kids out of work and facing the threat of homelessness And the very worst of all... The mama whose mental illness and hopelessness led her to take her own life - just weeks before Christmas. The holidays can be a wonderful time filled with faith, family and fun.  The holidays can also be a difficult time, a time when problems magnify, at least in our own minds.   What makes matters worst is that it's also a time we assume we should be happy and joyful. After all, Christmas is a time that we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. We sing... Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King! We sing beautiful
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Toxic Charity: The Gamechanging Way to Engage Charity & Community Service

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While my heart has been stirred towards community impact and development in recent years, I just read a book that spoke to my heart in a powerful way. Toxic Charity by Robert Lupton is a gamechanger for real. I don't have time to share every single point of this book, and you certainly don't have time to read every single point either, but I just have to share a few highlights. First of all, this book is for anyone who has the desire to effect change in his or her local community. It's for anyone who wants to see people living in poverty empowered, children being taught in substandard schools enfranchised and disintegrated families restored. This is the change I want to see in my local community, in all 50 states of America, and all over the world. This is the change you want to see too, I'm sure. However, there is an enemy that's been working against this kind of family and community empowerment that you might not know about . At the heart of this enem
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STEP: The Inspiring Story of Grit, Advocacy & Community Impact

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Last weekend my family and I watched STEP , a powerful documentary featuring a group of high school seniors from a public charter school for girls in Baltimore City. Directed by Amanda Lipitz, Step follows the real life story of the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women's step team and the graduating seniors from the team. The poignant portrayal led to an award at the Sundance Film Festival, and after watching it, I concur. Disclaimer: Of course I'm a little partial to this story since Baltimore (pronounced Bal-de-more by natives - LOL) is my hometown. However, anyone with a heart for young people, for education and for witnessing others receive a "hand-up" in life would be inspired by this story. Now before I list the reasons YOU should find this movie and watch it too**, I'll answer a question some of you might have right now... What is a step team anyway??? I'm so glad you asked! A step team is similar to a dance or jump rope team. Popu
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This Is Us: TRUTH about adoption and foster care

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So... there's no denying one thing about me. I am a huge advocate for vulnerable children. This advocacy has led me to work for schools that serve lower income children, nonprofit ministries and today as coordinator for my church's adoption and foster care ministry. It's led me to lead workshops and panels and write many, many blog posts about adoption and foster care. It's also led me to become an adoptive momma. Okay so... I'm kind of a fanatic about this issue. So you can imagine my surprise and joy last year, when I viewed the first episode of one of my favorite shows and was immediately pulled into an amazing adoption story. For me the storyline of Randall, the adopted son of the leading characters in This Is Us , has brought the issue of adoption to prime time - finally. For a girl that grew up on the '80s sitcom  Different Strokes , that featured two black boys adopted by a wealthy white guy, I think a story like Randall's is overdu
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