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.