Category: faith

Can You Help a Foster Child?

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My husband and I recently hosted an event in our home with the State Department of Children and Families. We invited couples who had expressed an interest in adopting or fostering, as well as couples experienced with the system who could offer their advice and perspective.

We were happy to do this. And while we viewed the event as important, we did not expect it to make front-page news.  But it did.

Why?

For one, it was the first event of its kind in Connecticut. I can honestly say, I had no idea no one had ever offered to open their home to bring awareness to the need for foster families and the needs of foster children. It seemed like the natural thing to do.

I initially made contact with DCF to inquire about hosting foster children for Thanksgiving. Through this contact, my awareness of the need grew.

Unfortunately, for many of us, fostering is something other people do–for no other reason than it just hasn’t broken through as the norm. It hasn’t been demystified.

As a result, foster children and families tend to be a marginalized population that rarely gets the notice or attention they need.

But that’s precisely why Scripture advises us to help orphans in their distress like these foster children (James 1:17).

A reporter stopped by our small event to inquire as to why we would do such a thing. He asked the questions that many in the community might ask: “Why do we care?” and “What is a foster child?” and “Where are they now?”

Here’s The Lowdown

We care because God tells us to care. We were orphans once too. God adopted us into His family through the death and resurrection of His very own Son, Jesus. When we accept Jesus, we are reconciled with our Creator for eternity.

Foster children are either neglected or abused by their biological parents and must be removed for their welfare, most often at a moment’s notice. These precious children can range in age from days old to teenagers. Many are hoping to find forever families who will adopt them and provide care and love they just did not receive from their own mothers and fathers.

Foster families provide temporary homes for these at-risk children. Our state, as well as yours, needs many more families who will provide safe, stable and loving abodes for these most vulnerable kids. The need is so dire, some children move from foster home to foster home, feeling the sting of rejection and instability each time.

How You Can Help

As a result of our experience, we want to encourage others to host in-home awareness events. You can do so by contacting the government department that runs the foster care program in your state. Feel free to reference this article.

In addition, Fruits of Faith has begun a ministry called “Operation Love Pack.” We seek to provide each foster child entering the foster system with a rolling suitcase in which they can put their belongings. Most children are removed from the only home they have ever known without time to prepare. Many enter their temporary home with only a plastic garbage bag in which to transport their things.

We can help care for these precious children in their distress by giving them a respectable suitcase to pack their most important items. In so doing, we let them know God cares about them; God loves them, and is sending His agents to provide for their needs.

Please read more about what we provide in each Love Pack: http://fruitsoffaithministries.com/operation-love-packs/

Also, if you are moved to contribute, please consider giving to our Go Fund Me campaign: http://www.gofundme.com/operation-love-pack/

I Am Not A Man

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img_5312-jpgWell, I am not a man.

This fact has been well noted as I approach the birth of my fifth child. As a woman, I am blessed with the privilege to steward the life of another eternal being. Having experienced the pain that can accompany an unrealized pregnancy, I acknowledge that this blessing is not something to be taken for granted.

There’s a wave of perception, however, invading the conscience of society that threatens to undermine our female distinction.

Perhaps the messaging has struck you as well? That by embracing pregnancy and motherhood, you are relegating women to the lesser gender. At its extreme, the movement views motherhood as a form of bondage and oppression; a curse to be avoided and destroyed.

As a child of God, I’m glad He doesn’t feel the same way. According to God, even though I am female, I have been equally created in His image. So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).  And as a matter of salvation, “there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

Yet, we women may look at a man and think, I want what he has.

It’s no coincidence that Satan used this same trick on us in the Garden of Eden. Human nature is to want what we can’t have or what others want, distracting us from appreciating what’s already ours to enjoy.

Lest we forget, bearing children was not the consequence for Eve giving into temptation. The privilege has always been the woman’s to serve as the vessel through which God would proliferate the human race. The consequence, rather, was to bear children in pain. The role remains no less an honor.

Thankfully, God is fair. We women weren’t the only ones to feel the effects of the Fall. Sin also adversely affected man’s God-given role. Instead of eating freely from the earth, he now had to toil in pain to sustain life from the ground.

And so, I choose to view motherhood as a gift bestowed on the chosen gender.

Unfortunately, perception is reality.  And it seems the enemy’s propaganda has worked to distort the perceived worth of the woman, relegating her strength to a weakness.

Don’t get me wrong; I don’t believe women should ever stop advocating for equal rights. My fear is that in our pursuit for equal rights, we may lose sight of the power inherent in our ability to bear the future generations. Our true power is in embracing who we are.

Thus, I no longer believe the lies; that reaching our potential means assuming the role of the man; that our XX chromosome imposes an undue burden rather than an undeniable privilege; that motherhood is a role to be marginalized rather than celebrated; that freedom is disposing of a life as a matter of convenience rather than experiencing the indescribable honor of stewarding a life to his or her God-given purpose.

As I embark upon the road to motherhood once again, I thank God for this most honored privilege. I advocate for society to support the women who choose to embrace motherhood and pregnancy. I encourage men to lift up and cherish our most sacred role.

And I pray that all women will proclaim with pride, I am not a man. I am a woman.

Blessed Are the Meek

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img_0146Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

But what is meek? I’ve heard it so many times. “I don’t want to be a doormat.” But what does that look like for the Christian? Can you be meek without being a “doormat?”

For most, it means being “nice to a point.” And the breaking point? It depends on the person. It’s all relative by human standards.

For the person who has endured the testing of his or her faith, that point may be little further down the line. But for most of us, we have a long way to go in training our flesh not to “break” too early.

Take Moses, for example. Early in his walk of faith, an Egyptian tested his patience by beating an Israelite without cause. Moses responded with brute strength. He killed the Egyptian. The condemnation Moses experienced from his extreme response to the injustice caused him to run and hide in the wilderness.

But God wasn’t done with him. Despite his failure, Moses grew in faith and wisdom. He learned that God could really use him if he chose to go God’s way rather than be lured by the reactions of his flesh. And by learning restraint to the point of obedience, God used him to do supernaturally powerful things.

He came to realize that self-control requires even more strength than exerting physical force or demanding his way in a situation. Restraining feelings to obey God takes a lot of humility and faith.

God calls this meekness.

Being meek is not weak, it is choosing restraint so that God can do His work in a situation. It means staying the course of obedience no matter what we feel like doing.

We are never a doormat if we choose to respond the way Scripture tells us to respond. We have the strength of the Lord Almighty on our side.

Being meek is a good thing. It’s a characteristic that God can use for His glory. We can choose today to embrace the blessings of meekness.

Parents: A New Christmas Tradition

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I thought about putting together a Christmas Gift-Giving Guide for the Christian Parent. But this storyshutterstock_521383825, adapted from Dr Jerry Pipes and Victor Lee’s book Family to Family: Leaving a Lasting Legacy, touched my heart in a way that no list of gadgets could.

Are you ready ready to live the true meaning of Christmas with your family rather than barely surviving another chaotic season of activities that leave everyone drained?

Perhaps you would consider making this part of your family’s Christmas gift-giving tradition.

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Faith and Hope

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“Make a wish!”How often have we advised our children and others to do this as they blow out the candles on their birthday cake, or as they toss pennies into the fountain, or as they gaze upon a star. I don’t know about you, but I really thought hard as a child to choose the thing I wanted most to come true. I didn’t want to waste this special privilege on just a whim.

Yet, did we really expect our wishes to come true?

Perhaps. And maybe they did materialize in one form or another. But were they guarantees? Unfortunately, no. And most of us could testify to the disappointment of many of those wishes left unfulfilled.

So, what keeps us going back every year and making another wish? I can tell you: hope. We are slow to give up hope. Hope is the carrot that keeps us going. But hope based on wishes is empty. Empty wishes have nothing to back them up, to provide the guarantee or the surety that they will come true. Such futility will ultimately end in our disappointment.

And isn’t that the issue with life? Disappointment? After so many, we become jaded. We stop trusting. We definitely stop wishing. Experience has taught us, don’t waste your breath. The hope is gone.

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen.”

Here’s the good news: the hope that Jesus offers is a guarantee. The mission is already accomplished. Victory is already ours. We experience this now in part through faith, and we will experience this hope fully in eternity.

The substance of all our hopes and dreams is set forth in this description of Heaven: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

The substance of the guarantee we all truly hope for is reconciliation God. We all long for a relationship with our heavenly Father. Faith satisfies this need now; the hope of such satisfaction keeps us going. We cannot see this faith, but there’s evidence of it in the fulfillment we experience through the living hope, Jesus Christ, abiding in our hearts.

Next time you’re tempted to make a wish, say a prayer instead thanking God for giving us the living hope of His Son, which is guaranateed to satisfy the longing of our human hearts.

Belief

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img_8985What are the blessings of believing? Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” James 1:6 corroborates this by stating “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

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Trust

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What’s keeping you from living the abundant life Jesus promises? Most often, it’s failure to trust the One offering such a profound gift. We love God, but like the elephant in the room, we don’t want to admit that we cling to something else for our security.

Trust is the action that evidences our belief. First sign we trust God is letting go of what we are currently holding on to that is preventing us from receiving His promises.

And you might not realize what you’re holding onto. Here’s some examples: money, power, prestige, popularity, tradition, possessions, worldly reputation, bitterness, regret, martyrdom, shame, condemnation, and guilt.

The Bible says the things of this world are like a vapor; vanity. Like a mirage, they will disappear as soon as we try to grasp them. In that way, worldly pursuits provide us no lasting support or comfort (Ecclesiastes 1:2). And Jesus acknowledges that the weight of this world is heavy, but He wants to take that weight and exchange it for a lighter load (Matthew 11:28-29). Let Him.

Only when we let go of what we cling to in lieu of God will we have our hands free to receive all that God has planned for us. Take that step of faith today.