DEEP WATERS

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...

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...

Happy Siblings: Jada, Christian and Joelle When I share my heart on the topic of adoption, I usually don’t know where to begin. My compassionate heart for orphans – around the corner and around the world, as I say – was truly birthed out of my heart for God. When I view God’s heart in the scriptures, I see a loving, merciful God Who continually looks out for the underdog. The poor, the alien, the widow – and yes, the orphan – may oftentimes go overlooked by the world. But the poor, the alien, the widow and the orphan are much like Hagar, mistreated by her master Abraham’s wife, Sarai. In Genesis 16:7 we find Hagar alone in the desert, having fled her tormentor’s home. She is hungry. She is thirsty. She is completely alone in the world. Or so she thinks. While she withers under the desert sun, the angel of the Lord visits Hagar and speaks life to her. He tells her she is expecting Abraham’s son and that her descendents would one day be too numerous to ...