Monday Musings: Fostering Hope

Our family has been on a foster care journey for over two years, and it is incredibly rewarding and challenging at the same time. The end of last week and this weekend we had a couple of extra boys who were "all boy". We played with trucks, trains, cars, kicked the soccer ball, played chase, read truck books, and so much more.

How fun to be able to keep these boys together and give them a fun weekend with our family. We were able to share life together, I told them many bedtime stories, and hopefully we were able to foster a new kind of hope in these kids. My kids had a great time, and I love that they're learning to live beyond themselves and grow in new ways.

Today we get to learn more about the Love and Logic approach at my kids school. I'm looking forward to gaining new tools that we can use as we parent a variety of different children that come through our home.

How about you? What is your best piece of parenting advice?

Monday Musings: A Foster Care Success Story

A few weeks ago, our family had the privilege of having a sweet little foster girl in our home. She came from one parent, and had only one diaper and no extra clothes, and we quickly realized she had no boundaries in the home where she had been living in. She was wild and full of energy, and kept us on our toes, but each day we had her as she became used to our rules and boundaries, she became much easier to work with. We realized ever so strongly this calling that God has given us to help rescue these orphans in our society.

We soon found out that she would be going to live with her other parent. She was in the foster care system for just over 72 hours, and we had the opportunity to meet this amazing family where she was going. It was such an incredible experience, and we felt so honored to be a small part of her life.

Now it's your turn! What are the incredible experiences in your life? How have you been able to give back when you have been blessed.

Monday Musings: Caring for Those Around Us

We had a chance to go to Seattle this weekend, and although it was a whirlwind trip we had a chance to have some really great conversations with several different sets of people.

In one conversation, we talked a lot about what it looked like to be Jesus to people. In one situation, when the wife told her neighbor she could watch the neighbor's child with some pretty special needs every day, the neighbor responded saying "I don't know much about church, but I know that I love your God."

Wow! What an amazing statement! How often do you get to hear that from people around you? Are you reaching out to the widows and orphans, and caring for them through relationship over the long term?

Let me tell you, I had no desire to step out of our comfort zone and do this even two years ago, but God is bringing us on an incredible journey and helping us to understand more about people's needs around us, and how we can reach out to them over the long term in relationship.

We have been able to do this in small ways so far through our foster care respite weekends. I'm looking forward to what He's bring to us next.

How about you? In what ways to you care for those around you? How are you giving them hope?

Monday Musings: Kids in Need

We had another foster child for a short-term respite stay this weekend, and I am reminded of how precious children are to Jesus. He calls us to care for the fatherless, and these foster kids are in need of loving families to come alongside them with helpful boundaries.

I am in awe that we get to be part of serving kids in this way. What are you doing to help others that goes beyond yourself or your family?

Wednesday What's New: Loving on Kids in Need

Our family is on a journey this year in learning more about the joys and challenges of foster parenting. We had our first child this weekend, and it was a great experience to learn more about the process and for our family to experience it first hand for the first time.

This child was so sweet and innocent, and kept saying how much he missed his mom. Our kids were amazing and really stepped up to the plate to be helpful and loving, and said how much they appreciated doing foster care and being able to show God's love to this sweet little guy. And they were so sad when it was time for him to go. Our daughter kept asking me to call and find out when he could come play again.

Please join us through your prayers for us as we continue on this incredible journey that God has given us. To reach out to lost and hurting kids, and to be a family for them as long as they need it.