Jesus is Christmas!!!

Two more days & we will set the day aside to gather with family & friends & celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!!! My daughter made the cupcakes today for Jesus' birthday & we've been busy cooking & baking & preparing gifts to share with those we love. As I type this blog I sit in front of a stained glass nativity scene my parents gave us & the beauty of it helps keep my heart focused on what really matters this Christmas season. Of course I love to watch Christmas movies(Mickey's Christmas Carol especially), bake cookies(frosted cut outs), shop for others, attend family gatherings, etc... but in the quiet moments when the world slows down & God reminds my heart that even if I didn't have any of those previous things I mentioned Christmas would still be Christmas. Jesus is Christmas & since I have a personal relationship with Him, I have Christmas!!!

I was reading in a book called, "Crazy Love," by Francis Chan today & there was a section where he wrote about a family that went around on Christmas morning sharing hot pancakes & coffee with the homeless in their community, and how their three children look forward to this every year. Another section he shared one of my favorite verses: Matthew 25:40 "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." It's beautiful how those two sections go hand in hand together. So this Christmas season as we enjoy precious time with our loved ones & fill our stomach's with yummy food, may we be sensitive to remember that there are others in our community that may be less fortunate than we are. May we be willing to share a smile, give a blanket, serve a meal or open our home to "one of the least of these." In doing so I believe we're ultimately sharing Christmas(JESUS) with them.

Empowered to Connect training classes starting SOON!

We will be teaching a training from Empowered to Connect, called the connect course, starting January 5th, 2017. We will meet on Thursday evenings from 6:30-8:30pm at Bethel Baptist Church in Savannah. This training is open to foster, adoptive & kinship families. The training is a nine week course based on the work of the late Dr. Karyn Purvis & Empowered to Connect. We will meet together 2 hours each week & you will have approximately 2 hours of homework as well to complete each week. Believe us the time spent in and out of class is well worth it. This training has been life changing in our home. It helps us to better understand & serve our children that come from hard places. It has also been beneficial with our biological children as well. There is a cost involved & materials need to be ordered soon so please contact us if you're interested in attending the training. We would love to see you there!

Orphan Sunday-November 13th, 2016

Sunday, November 13th is Orphan Sunday. We encourage you to get involved with Orphan Sunday with your local church in some way. There is free printable materials on orphansunday.org you can download & print off to share with others. There is also a video you can play during your service. Bringing awareness about orphan care is very near & dear to the heart of God. James 1:27 says  "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." If orphan care is important to God, it should be important to us. Please take time on Sunday, November 13th to share with your church & others about Orphan Sunday & pray for the orphans around the world, including the ones in your own neighborhood. Everyone can get involved in some way. What will you do to reach out to the "least of these?" Feel free to contact us with any questions or ideas you have to get involved in orphan care. Also please feel free to share with us what your church is doing for orphan Sunday this year. Together, we can make a difference!!!

    

The GRACE Factor

The Grace Factor... This has been something the Lord has been shaping & molding my heart on more & more the older I get & the more time I spend with Him. In a world with so many rules, grace often gets overlooked. There's rules in society, in our homes, in our schools, in our churches, etc... and a lot of those rules are important, even necessary to keep everyone safe. There's also a lot of rules that we like to make up to have control or authority over someone else in a way that is not helpful, or necessary. A power struggle. A battle that may not be worth fighting but we fight it anyways because we're more concerned with winning every battle than winning the war. I speak from experience, not judgment. But if we put our focus on always winning every battle & not the heart of that person, we've failed them. The perfect example of Someone who does the "Grace Factor" right is God! It amazes me how He can create the entire world in less than a week(7th day rested), including the sun, moon, stars, oceans, humans, etc.. but yet He is interested in what goes on in my everyday life. He relentlessly pursues my heart, even when I reject Him. He looks at winning the war in my heart, over beating me down over every little battle I mess up on. His example to me has opened a door of grace for me to be able to show that same love to my children & any children that come to live in our home. To be honest I haven't always done the best at this when some of their behavior's went against what I thought they should look like. I too, am a work in progress. But more & more God beckons on the door of my heart to show grace. Even though there are still some rules that need to stay in place & be enforced, grace should still always come out on top. Even if my child is being unruly. Even if someone frustrates me. Even if I know what they're doing is wrong. Grace still always needs to come out on top. That doesn't mean there is no discipline or admonishment, but it does mean that while disciplining or admonishing we're looking at the heart of that person & are more concerned with their heart, over us winning the battle.

"Grace, grace, God's grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;

Grace, grace, God's grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin!"

(lyrics from the hymn "Grace Greater than Our Sin," by Julia H. Johnston)

Check out our NEW support group flyer!!!

Check out our NEW support group flyer & feel free to share with others that this may benefit and/or with your local church.

Support Group!!! CHANGE OF DATE

Sorry for any inconvenience but we need to change the original date that was set for our support group to foster, adoptive & kinship families. Due to scheduling conflicts the new date is now Tuesday, November 15th from 6:30-8:30pm(same time) at Bethel Baptist Church(same location). We will hold the meetings on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, NOT the 3rd Thursday. Thank you for your cooperation & we apologize for any inconveniences this may cause you or your family. We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, November 15th.

Foster, Adoption, & Kinship Care Support Group For Ashland & Surrounding Counties

We're excited to share with you that we will be leading a support group for family's that foster, adopt or have adopted or who provide kinship care. The ministry in reaching the hearts of kiddos that come from hard places can be a tremendous blessing, but it can also break our hearts in ways we didn't think were even possible. Having the support of others who are like minded can be so encouraging for you on your journey. Having people come along side of you who really get what you're doing & don't look at you like you're crazy! We invite you to join us on the 3rd Thursdays of each month from 6:30-8:30pm starting November 17th. We will be meeting at our home church, Bethel Baptist, in Savannah, Ohio. You do not need to be a Christian to attend but please know up front our meetings will be faith based. Our hope & strength comes from the Lord & we want to extend that grace to others. At this time childcare will not be provided. This will allow you an evening once a month to get out & not worry how the children are doing in the next room. You can focus on you & what you need to serve these precious children God has placed in your life. Please feel free to respond to this post with any questions or concerns or email us at frame@bethelchapel.com. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday, November 17. Feel free to share this info with other families.

To Help or Hurt?

Our unique hands that God has given us can be used for helping or hurting. That was the topic of the conversation I had with a sweet little 6 year old today that needed some reminding. When I first heard about how she used her hands for hurting, I started thinking about how I needed to handle this situation so she knew it was not ok to hurt with her hands. At first I started thinking about what consequence I needed to give. Old ways like time outs, no dessert, no tv, earlier bedtime started to pop up in my head. But then grace came in. My heart knew that time outs are not beneficial for children that have come from hard places. Losing dessert would tie this back to food & this sweet little girl needed to know she would always have food with us. No tv didn't make sense because the action had nothing to do with tv. Also going to bed early would only make her feel like I didn't want her around. It would be different if I knew her little body was tired and needed some extra rest. I thought about what she used to do the wrong action. She used her hands. I wanted to get across to her little heart that our hands are for helping not hurting. I waited to talk to her about this until after we were home from school, homework was done & she had her snack. I knew this could turn emotional real quick & I didn't want to set her up to fail if I talked to her without her having a snack first. This was also a learning moment for the other kids that were around. We sat on the couch and talked. She needed to be reassured of my love for her even though she did something wrong. So thankful my Savior does the same thing for me & so graciously allowed me to share that love with this sweet little heart. After our talk she used her hands to help by writing an apology letter & drawing a picture for the child she hurt & then she used her hands to be a helper by helping to fold towels. She was excited to use her hands to help. After she was done I asked her what she liked better. To use her hands to hurt or to help? She said to help. We said a little saying together a couple times, "hands are made for helping, not hurting." I reassured her once again of my love for her & then she went to play. In the past my heart would have been quick to crush instead of quick to show grace. I am so thankful that God continues to mold & shape my heart to become more & more like His Son Jesus. He so graciously teaches our hearts & reassures us of His love for us over & over again.

Extending Grace & Forgiveness

This morning during my devotion time I was reading from the book Fervent, by Priscilla Shirer. The chapter I read today was titled, "Your Hurts... Turning bitterness into forgiveness." First off let me tell you this book has been a blessing in my life. The way God has gifted Priscilla to write & reach my heart is life changing. Her book is full of scripture too. I love that. I don't need to hear someone else's opinion but I need to be pointed to the One who has the answers. She does that so graciously in her book.

While reading & praying this morning I felt God prompting my heart to blog about a recent experience where I struggled with forgiveness. I was hoping it was just a thought but the longer I kept reading & praying I knew it wasn't just a thought but a command that I needed to be obedient too.

Recently someone I have known for years said something very hurtful about someone that is very dear to my heart. I will not mention names & please don't ask. I'll be honest I was very angry & in my flesh I wanted to give that person a piece of my mind. How dare they say such awful things about someone I love. Things I had known about that person came into question & I found myself stewing over what I wanted to say to them, or playing out scenarios in my head of speaking my mind to them.

That's where grace & forgiveness came in.  Believe me my flesh didn't want anything to do with that, but my Spirit knew God was prompting my heart to extend the same grace & forgiveness to this person as Christ has shown to me for my sins. Colossians 3:12-13 "As those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you."
 I also love this next part that is out of the book Fervent. "Listen, God knows how to deal with sin. Our sin, their sin. When you choose to forgive someone, you're not wiping their actions away as if the bad things didn't happen, giving people a free pass from the harm they've caused. You're just sparing yourself the burden of working two extra jobs-being judge and jury for how justice is meted out in this situation. Why not let someone relieve you of the pressure-Someone who actually knows what He's doing? And Someone who's just waiting right now to talk with you about it?"

Amen for truth!!! Amen for God's persistent leading in our lives to bring us back where we can be in close, intimate relationship with Him instead of worshipping from a distance. Forgiveness doesn't mean that it was ok for that person to hurt the person I love. Forgiveness is leaving my hurt, their hurt at the feet of Jesus & resting in His work that He already completed on the cross. Forgiveness is obedience to the One who paid it all for me so that I could be with Him. As I prayed this morning I asked the Lord to genuinely help me to forgive this person. Not just to forgive them because that's the right thing to do, but to genuinely forgive them as a heart that wants to become more & more like Jesus. Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

Is there someone in your life that God is asking you to extend grace & forgiveness to? Dear friend, it is not easy. But if we want to become more & more like Jesus and have that same grace & forgiveness extended to us it is necessary. I encourage you to leave it all at the feet of Jesus and when the evil one tries to throw it back up again in your face(and he will) cling to Jesus my friend. What He did on the cross is enough to not only cover your sin but anyone who sins against you.

Change of plans...

This summer has been a summer of homework, fun with family & friends & a change of plans. I originally had planned to return to the school that I worked at as an Educational Aide. I love my job & the staff & students I serve there. Then the change of plans came. My hubby & I both felt like God was calling my heart back home again. With four kiddos, two being seniors this year, and a desire to open our home up again to children that come from hard places, this made sense. Sense spiritually but not economically. In the past when we would take in kiddos from hard places & I worked outside the home it made it very difficult to do things well. We have also been going through training this past summer through Texas Christian University's child development program called Empowered to Connect, and just finished up 7 weeks of homework. We head out to Jersey this week to do more training with others who are like minded. We're very excited about this as we know that foster & adoption ministry is a calling that God has placed on our lives. Even when we need to take a break, He eventually draws our hearts back in. I love His grace on our lives!!! I have had mixed feelings about my change of plans. I know my time at the school was very important. I believe God used me to share His love with others there & I too was blessed by those I worked with & served there. That is why this decision was so hard. It was like I had 2 good choices, not one bad & one good. So I prayed about choosing the direction at this point in my life that I could bring the most glory to God. I wouldn't be surprised if my journey takes me back to the school at some point, but for now my journey is keeping me at home. I love that I will be available for our kiddos more, be able to take in kiddos that come from hard places & share the wonderful training we're receiving with other families to help encourage them on their journey. This journey was one of stepping out on faith. I believed in my heart God was drawing my heart home again but that He was going to have the decision be one of trusting Him & not having all the answers as I stepped out on faith. So here's to my new journey & being open to using whatever talents God has given me to bring glory to Him & further His kingdom. When it's all said & done that's what's most important in my life. Living it for HIM!!!

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say "I used everything you gave me." - Erma Bombeck

ALL children are a blessing from the Lord!!!

Snooze or Lose

Snooze or Lose

Using Time In Instead of Time Out

Homework in the summer? Whoever heard of such a thing?

Homework in the summer? Whoever heard of such a thing? Well this summer that is exactly what Nick & I are doing. We just started our third week of "homework" to be able to train & mentor other families in parenting children that come from hard places. The neat thing about this training is we're finding it is beneficial for all children & parents: biological, foster or adopted. This training comes from Empowered to Connect by Dr. Karyn Purvis and the staff at TCU institute of child development. You might have heard of her book, "The Connected Child." Along with information from Dr. Karyn Purvis' work we're also reading many other great books on fostering, adopting and parenting. As we go through our "homework" we're finding we would've loved to have had this information available to us years ago. We're very passionate about helping other families and look forward to what God has in store with using this material and our open hearts to reach more families for Him and encourage them as they parent. After this week we will have 5 more weeks of "homework" then we will travel to New Jersey for three days of training with the other families that are also doing "homework" this summer. Looking forward to meeting more people that have the same passion we do. Please keep us in your prayers as this requires quite a bit of time to complete. Please pray especially for my hubby as he works long days, then comes home to try to juggle time with us and do his "homework." We want to be faithful in what God has called us to do. Thank you!

God's grace is enough!

So thankful for summertime! For me that means home during the day instead of working at the school and more time with my loves. With currently four kiddos in the house ranging from 11-17 years old I am realizing more and more how quickly time does pass. This summer has been different with the older ones working more and I'm finding it hard to plan activities where we can all be at them together. During this new journey of life, God continues to amaze me on how sufficient His grace is. He has given me a perspective on this new journey to enjoy each moment even more with whoever is able to be there with me. Sometimes it's all four kids and sometimes it's just my youngest tagging along with momma for the day. When I use to think about these days coming I would feel sad or overwhelmed because of everyone not being together. God, however has open my heart to realize that His grace is enough. His grace is enough when all my loves are home and His grace is enough when one day all my loves are somewhere else. So thankful I do not walk this journey alone. Would love to hear from other families that have gone through this journey or are currently walking this journey and how God's grace is enough in your lives.

Men's Prayer Breakfast Tomorrow

Nick will be speaking tomorrow morning, May 14th at the Olivesburg United Methodist Church in Ashland, Ohio for their men's prayer breakfast. The breakfast starts at 7:30am. He will be sharing from his heart and God's Word about our foster and adoption ministry. I encourage you men to come out and support Nick and enjoy a delicious breakfast while fellowshipping with other men. 

Two kiddos I never met

I keep thinking about two kiddos that I've never met. That might sound weird but let me explain why. This past weekend I received a call about two children that needed a foster home. With the ages of the children I was unable to take them as a placement because of my job working at the school. At that time we had two weeks of school left and that is quite a lot of time to try to find a sitter for such short notice. Ever since then I keep thinking about them and wondering what home they went to, and how they are doing.  I know we can't say "yes" to every placement phone call we get, and that it's ok to say "no." However, it doesn't make it any easier knowing once again there are children without a home and loving parents to take care of them. Breaks my heart!!! It's also with mixed emotions I write that I look forward to who God has for our family to help next through foster care and/or adoption. I don't look forward to more children being abused, neglected, etc... However, since I know those things unfortunately happen, I look forward to possibly being the home that gets to take those precious children in and tell them how incredibly special they are and how much they are loved not only by us but by their Creator. Will you join us in praying for these precious children? Please pray that not only our hearts but others would be open to opening their homes and hearts up to being the hands and feet of Jesus to these dear souls. How can we expect this world to get better or these children to hear about Jesus if we don't tell them?

  

Our Story!!!

   

With May being National Foster Care Month I thought it would be a good time to share our family's story on how we became foster parents. Having a large family has always been on Nick and I's hearts for as long as I can remember. We have aunts, uncles, and friends that have fostered and adopted, so we have been around this ministry for quite some time. After we had our three biological children we felt the Lord impressing on our hearts more to foster. At first we called and had paperwork sent to us. I'll be honest we looked through the paperwork and put it aside for quite a while. We ended up moving as we were blessed to be able to build a house out in the country in 2007. During the time of moving into our new home the Lord was impressing on our hearts again about foster care. We had no excuse. He had blessed us with a new home that we had more space in, land for children to run and play and good health. We needed to just obey. Thankfully we did! During the time of obeying my husband lost his job, but guess what? The Lord still met our every need through His wonderful provisions and using others to bless our family. Surrendering to God's will for your life does not always mean it will be easier. A lot of times it may seem like it's the opposite. It does mean though you will not walk that journey alone that He has called you too. In January of 2008 we started our classes to officially become foster parents. We went through all the classes, home inspections, fire inspections, physicals, etc... and in September of 2008 we were licensed!!!!!!! It took several months before we received our first placement of children. I won't share every story but our first placement was two teenage girls. Man, did we learn a lot then! At that time we had not raised teenagers yet so our eyes were opened up to a whole new world.  Different placements through the years. Some little children, some teens and some in between. Some came through foster care and some came through respite care(providing short term foster care). Then our Kaitlin came. Kaitlin came as a 10 year old girl the summer before her 5th grade school year. Kaitlin also had a sister that came to live with us as well. Her sister stayed with us for around one year then moved on to get help to meet her needs. I remember Kaitlin with her long brown hair and buck teeth and quiet personality. It took her awhile to warm up to others but when she did she was a giggly, fun girl. You see she had been hurt one too many times in her life so trusting people did not come easy for her. Through time she was able to let her guard down and be a kid instead of a parent. After 2 1/2 years in foster care she officially became ours, although she was already ours in our hearts. Any of you who know Kaitlin now know how God has done a complete transformation in her life. During her time in foster care at youth group she prayed with one of our church helpers to ask Jesus into her heart. She wanted to live her life for Him! To God be the glory!!! She is now in high school and plays in the school band, runs track, is a part of NHS, our church's youth group, helps in our church's nursery, sings with the teens on 5th Sunday, does 4H and shows animals at the fair, and is part of our school's art club where she is one talented young lady. Kaitlin has chose to be a survivor and not a victim. We're beyond thankful that God chose us for her and her for us. We're excited to see what the Lord has in store for our family in the future and who else He may bring to our home through foster care and adoption. So why not? Why not get involved in opening your home up to a child in need? Are your excuses more important then surrendering to God's will? It won't be easy but man will it be worth it!!!

May is National Foster Care Month

May is National Foster Care Month. Being a foster parent myself I know first hand the many blessings that come with this title. Yes, as we all know there are many hard times as well but the joy of getting to bring love to a child's heart far outweighs the hard times. I encourage you to get involved with foster care in your local community in some way. A big way you can get involved is by supporting those who are already providing care and trying to show respect and understanding to them along their journey. Respite care is also a big need in foster care. You can call your local agency to find out more information on how you can provide short term care(respite) to children in foster care to help the children and their foster families. Our local agency in Ashland, Ohio can be contacted at 419-282-5000. Thank you to all the foster families that are currently serving children or have served in the past. Your heart and ministry does not go unnoticed. You're making a difference in not only the children that you bring into your home but also to others around you that see your heart. Thank you for doing your part to further the kingdom of God!!!

Be Relentless!

This morning while getting ready for work I read a post on facebook from a sight called, "Women Made for His Glory." The post was a great reminder of the work God is doing in us and that we need to continue to "be relentless" even when the enemy tries to throw distractions our way. The enemy does not want us to further God's kingdom, and others may not always understand or agree with the chooses you make in following God's call on your life. Rest assured none of that matters compared to you having a willing and obedient heart to "be relentless" to the calling God has put on your life. It won't always be easy, it won't always be pretty even, but it will be worth it! Great reminder for my heart this morning as we're opening our home again to love on kiddos that need us to "be relentless."

Post from Women Made for His Glory...

Satan will try to use any means possible to distract you from what God has called you to do because he knows how dangerous you are to the kingdom of darkness.

Be relentless in your efforts to throw aside every distraction and run the race that God has given you the grace to run!

Empowered to Connect!

A couple weekends ago my husband and I attended a live simulcast training called Empowered to Connect. Man, do I ever wish I had that training years ago going into helping hurt children or even with raising my biological children. Better late than never though:)

Opening our eyes up to what is going on behind the behaviors that we see in children. How to be better equip to help these children overcome their challenges. Learning to understand that what we perceive as willful disobedience may just be to them survival skills.

 I recommend that if you are a foster or adoptive parent, thinking about being one, have biological children or work with children to any degree to read,"The Connected Child", by Drs. Karyn Purvis and David Cross. Also with Wendy Sunshine. I am reading it now and it continues to confirm the information I learned at the training. Bringing hope and healing to our families!!!