DEEP WATERS

I loved the movie 42 . This weekend my husband and I went to see the movie we'd been waiting to see -- the biographical sketch of famed MLB Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson , played by my fellow Howard University Alum Chadwick Boseman . On opening weekend, 42  made box office history , bringing in $27.3 million, more than any other baseball-themed movie in history. It warmed my heart to watch the start of Jackie's MLB career play out on the widescreen. I laughed. I cried. I got spitting mad. In the end, I celebrated the life of a man who lived with courage and determination . He could have given up a million times. I'm so glad he didn't. But what can we, living in the year 2013, learn from 42 ? I can think of a few things. 1. Never Underestimate the Influence of One Man or Woman History books are full of men and women who led powerful movements. In the Sixteenth Century, Martin Luther led the Protestant Reformation, seeking to make Christianity and th...

Some people eat good chocolate when they're stressed. Some run on the treadmill. Some take a long, warm bath. Me? I blog. As I sit here watching CNN coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing , wiping tears, and wondering how someone could do something some cruel, so hateful, I wonder what crisis we will watch next. And I wonder what kind of world our children will inherit . A world where fearful third-grade teachers come to school packing. A world where little children suffer post traumatic stress disorder after witnessing their classmates and teachers shot in school. A world where we worry more about mass shootings and bombings than we do possible car accidents or home invasions. Our world is broken . Our world is darkening . Our world needs hope . Today, as the world changes before my very eyes, I'm finding hope in a Savior that never changes. The Bible has this to say about Him: Jesus Christ is the same today and yesterday and forever. * I've d...

Kermit Gosnell. Have you heard this name? Maybe not. But you should have by now. According to witnesses in his grand jury murder trial, Gosnell ran an abortion clinic that went way beyond the call of duty. According to his grand jury report, "This case is about a doctor who killed babies and endangered women. What we mean is that he regularly and illegally delivered live, viable babies in the third trimester of pregnancy -- and then murdered these newborns by severing their spinal cords with scissors... This business was a filthy fraud in which he overdosed his patients with dangerous drugs, spread venereal disease among them with infected instruments, perforated their wombs and bowels -- and, on at least two occasions, caused their deaths." Horrifying testimony, but I'm not hearing much about it. Are you? Kirsten Powers, a  USA Today reporter, begins her story  of this trial with these words: "We've forgotten what belongs on Page One. Infant b...

Okay, so let me just say this: I have a love/hate relationship with reality television. I have wept over performances on The Voice and So You Think You Can Dance . The beauty I've seen in the fresh talent on shows like that has left me amazed and, at times, in tears. But as the Mama of four kiddos with so much to do and so little time, I just can't commit to reality tv. I just don't have the time to tune every week to see if the girl with the fiery voice or the guy who floats through the air like an Alvin Ailey dancer makes it through to the next level. I just don't have that kind of time... And then there's the reality television that eventually reveals the depths of every character's worst flaws -- a la Jersey Shore . You know, the kind that makes you say, "Wow, at least I'm not that much of a loser..." I personally despise that kind of reality tv. So, it was with much fear and trepidation that I watched the first episode of TLC...

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...

I've never claimed to predict the future, but I've got a good feeling about tomorrow. I think my Baltimore Ravens  are going to pull it off tomorrow. And I think Linebacker Ray Lewis  will get MVP of Superbowl XLVII. And even if he doesn't, he's MVP in my book. You know why? Because he's a man of God who loves donning t-shirts  with bible references like Psalm 91. And because of quotes like these: "Listen to what people say you can't do, and then GO DO IT." How many of us have heard people tell us what we can't do? Maybe they think we're too young or too old, or too short or too tall, or we belong to the wrong gender or race. Or maybe we're aspiring to do something we've never done before. Maybe the voices that tell us what we can't do are in our own heads. Sometimes we're actually our own worst critic. Whoever the critic may be, we've got to press on with whatever God's called us to do. We've got t...

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...