The Rest of the Rope

03/19/2023

https://fb.watch/jmFuRecR2B/?mibextid=SDPelY

03/19/2023

One of the amazing ways that our ministry gets to serve vulnerable children, is by taking portraits of kids who need a family. Forever Family and Seven Homes do an incredible job matching kids and families. A couple weeks ago I got to hang out with Dominic and his sister. They were so much fun and too cute for words. Please watch and share this video and mostly be in prayer about these sweet babies.

https://fb.watch/jmg7r2-BKR/?mibextid=YCRy0i

02/24/2023

08/06/2022

Our ministry has an immediate need. Our family will be staying in the Greensboro area for a short time while we take care of 2 little girls. It is a unique situation and we believe that God has called us to step in. Although we are considering long term (which may eventually mean 2 more little people traveling with us) and getting back on the road with our ministry, there are still a lot of details that need to be worked out. And a lot of changes that could take place We don't want to think of permanent vehicles solutions for what could be a temporary arrangement. We have 9 people in our family right now and only have a 7 passenger vehicle. We need to be able to travel together locally, to church, appts and errands, but also further, to speaking engagements within a several hour radius of where we live. We need a 9 plus passenger vehicle. Maybe you or someone you know has a passenger van that isn't being used much. Maybe your church has a church van that would be available for up to 6 months. Maybe you know of a company that could rent one to us on a long term rental. We hear all the time "I am not in a position to take kids in myself. How can I help those who do take kids in? This would be an amazing way to use the resources and connections that God has given you, to serve vulnerable children.

08/06/2022

As I watched this moment taking place I was so touched at the way Ken loving looked on at these kids. You see, the kids in the chair are up for adoption. They were doing an interview for forever familiy. Ken has dedicated his whole life to caring for vulnerable children, their birth parents and the foster famlies that take care of them. We were lucky enough to cross paths with Ken and now he is more family than friend. My kids adore him. He has this look on his face when he looks at my kids too. Seven Homes, Inc.

07/04/2022

Update!

I’ve heard it said many times that God has a sense of humor; in fact, Im pretty sure I’ve said it myself. And while I have experienced God in ways that truly make me giggle, what I know to be true is Jeremiah 29:11, God knows the plans he has for us.

When our family left Greensboro in November we thought we had a plan. But God spent the next few months teaching us to trust Him and His plan. Parts of our ministry were strengthened and we felt called to add new elements to our ministry as well. Always focused on caring for vulnerable kids. We were able to do quite a bit of speaking, visiting foster agency’s, visiting churches with great foster care ministries, building relationships with foster kids and spending time with some of the most spiritually rich people. What a blessing our trip and our ministry became when we gave it all up to God and trusted Him for each day.

We rolled back into the Greensboro area a few days before Easter. It was exciting to be back at our home church for Easter, to get Sara’s appts taken care of and speak at some churches in the triad. Our plans included about 4 weeks in Greensboro and then on to South Carolina, Georgia and the northern Midwest. However, God had a different plan for our family and our ministry. A week or so after Easter a family from our church needed help. A couple young girls were in jeopardy of going into the foster care system. At first we said we could stay a couple extra weeks and try to help the family. But before we knew it we were faced with a choice, to temporarily commit to these girls and this family, while they began their path to healing (keeping the girls out of foster care) or we could get back in our rv and continue our ministry on the road. It was both a hard and easy decision for our family. After a lot of prayer we had an overwhelming peace about our decision. When we speak at churches we encourage believers to step out of their comfort zone, to do the hard work to take care of these children and trust God for the details. Believing this, we could not walk away from these girls, this family or our church. Our church committed to walk this out with us and what a great opportunity for our ministry. God is creating a beautiful love story and using our church (and other churches in our area) as a way to display His love for vulnerable children. In a short time, we can get back on the road and share what we have witnessed and what we have been a part of. We feel like God has been preparing us for this the past 6 months and we are so grateful for His faithfulness. Starting in August we will begin speaking locally again. If you know of a church or group that we can share our story with, please let us know. I would love to share with you all the amazing ways God has moved mountains and the generosity of those who have wrapped around these girls. But we will save that for the next time. Until then, please be praying for these sweet girls and those that love them.

05/06/2022

Yesterday Steve and I were walking downtown in My Airy (also known as Mayberry if you are an Andy Griffith fan). We went into a cute little store and started visiting with the owner. She was so sweet. If you are in my airy, please go tell her hi. Her name is Martha. We talked about our families, our jobs and our Jesus. We were discussing simple things that you can do to serve the foster/adoption/relative care community. Martha had a brilliant idea. Throw a child a birthday party. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Many of these kids have never felt special on their birthday. What an incredible way to make a child/teen feel loved. And it opens up an opportunity to talk to them about how special they are to Christ every day. It also serves the family. Most caregivers are overwhelmed and would love to make a birthday special but find it challenging to get that done along with everything else. Make sure you ask permission from the caregiver and find out the wants and needs of the child first. This may not be a blessing to some children. If you don’t know any families, call you local foster agency and tell them what you would like to do. Martha also suggested that you could throw a party for your child and ask your guests to bring a gift that you can give away to a children’s home or agency. What a sweet way to teach your own child about love and sacrifice. Thank you Martha for chatting with us yesterday. We were inspired by the way you love God, your family and your community.

05/05/2022

We have a whole day to ourselves. Although we can’t imagine our life without all our chaos, it is nice to have a day to care for ourselves and our marriage. Thank you to those who are loving on our kids today.

04/23/2022

April 23, 2018. We gathered before a judge in California. Dacodah, Julianna, Joseph and Jaycee received our last name. It was a day of overwhelming joy and heavy grief. A family must be broken for a new family to be formed. A brother could not be there with us. On our 1 year adoption anniversary we bought a candle. We eat a meal together and then gather around the candle and pray for our family, birth parents and siblings, foster parents and social workers. This year our candle is in storage. Last night Jaycee and I met a sweet lady in the campground who was walking her dogs. We went to her campsite and our whole family visited with her and her husband. The kids were telling her about the adoption anniversary and how our candle was in storage. She went into her trailer and came out with an LED candle for us to use. It was such a sweet gift and great reminder of Gods love for us. This morning Steve made us breakfast and after we ate we sat around our candle and prayed. God is so good!

02/21/2022

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CaOSVCUlucI/?utm_medium=copy_link