By Elizabeth Pennington. When Jesus walked on earth, God’s chosen people had been suffering affliction and oppression for centuries. Under the trauma of first Assyrian and Babylonian, then Greek, and finally Roman rule, the Jews lived in uncertainty and instability, waiting for the promised Rescuer to enter their world and …
Giving Your Loaves and Fish
By Elizabeth Pennington. As a mother of many (both biologically and through adoption), I know what it’s like to be stretched. Over the years, I have sat through conferences, hearing the long list of things that I need to add to my motherhood to-do list: Spend time alone with each child each day. Be consistent with family …
3 Ways to Center Our Hope for Orphan Care on Christ
By Tony Richmond, associate pastor for family ministry at First Baptist Church of Keller, Texas “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27 In orphan ministry, as in any ministry, we can sometimes …
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Beyond “Let Me Know”
“Please let me know if there’s anything I can do”. This is a statement that I’m frequently guilty of using in my daily language, as a pastor’s wife and as a social worker at an adoption agency. It so quickly rolls off my tongue when talking to a grieving member of our congregation, and it’s a simple closing of an email to a …
Practical Ways Our Community Has Loved Us and Our Foster Kids
We are excited to share this post from Belinda Hogstrom, a foster mother who blogs at Psalm113:9Mama. Over the past 22 years, Belinda and her husband Matt have fostered more than 70 children ranging from infants to teenagers, including many medically fragile children. My friend’s kitchen. Over the years it has been used to …
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How This Church Started An Adoption Ministry
We are grateful for the opportunity to share this post from Taralyn Amen. Taralyn and Darrel Amen have been married 20 years and have five precious children, two of whom God brought to their family through adoption. They are covenant members of The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, where Darrel serves as an Elder. They have …
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We’re Not Alone on the Journey
We are excited to share this post from Cheryl Bentsen, a wife and an adoptive mother to two beautiful children. She and her husband Jason started gathering adoptive and foster families in their home just over a year ago. Since then, God has used them to encourage dozens of families to find fellowship and encouragement along the …
Welcoming Families in the Messiness
By Robin Pennington. Too many of us know what it is to pick up our child from their Sunday School class and be met by the lead teacher. You know it’s bad when the lead teacher comes to greet you! And you might know that sinking feeling when you hear what your child was up to while you were away for an hour. If we had a …