Blog
Call Her Blessed
Posted by Taylor Engel on March 18, 2010 at 8:32 am
We are excited about one of our favorite events happening this spring in two different locations and want to tell you a little more about them so that you can share in our excitement! Call Her Blessed is a luncheon honoring mothers and the special women in our lives and this is the second year that we’ll have one in Abilene and one in Tyler. The theme of the luncheons, Call Her Blessed, comes from the description of a Godly woman in Proverbs 31, “children arise and call her blessed.” Once again, we expect a high point in the luncheon programs to be the opportunity for each guest to write a note to a woman of her choice that Christian Homes will mail for delivery right before Mother’s Day.
For the fourth annual Call Her Blessed luncheon in Abilene, we will welcome Lysa TerKeurst, president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, at the Abilene Civic Center on April 21st. Lysa is a powerful and inspirational communicator and a unique combination of author, radio talk show host, and Bible teacher. She has been featured on Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, Good Morning America, Woman’s Day Magazine, “O” Magazine and on the Oprah Show. Lysa co-hosts Proverbs 31 Ministries national show which airs daily to over 1,200 stations. Click here to hear more about Lysa’s newest book Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl!
On May 4th, Sheila Walsh, author, speaker, and recording artist with the Women of Faith conference, will be the featured guest at the second annual Tyler Call Her Blessed luncheon held at Harvey Hall. Walsh’s newest book, Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God, was just released and Gigi, God’s Little Princess, Sheila’s line of books and videos for little girls, won the National Retailer’s Choice Award and is the most popular Christian brand for young girls in the US. Walsh co-hosted television’s The 700 Club and her own talk show, Heart to Heart with Sheila Walsh, on the Family Channel. To hear a message from Sheila Walsh about her new book click here.
For more information regarding these events please call 325-677-2205. We would love for you to join us for these celebrations honoring the special women in our lives!
An Empty Cradle
Posted by Cindy Miller on March 15, 2010 at 8:27 am
An empty cradle? What kind of gift?
It’s one that offers you the opportunity to grow as you dream and work to fill it!
Not that all biological children come about as a result of no dreaming, no heartache, no preparation, and no work…but acknowledging that dreaming, heartache, preparation and work are almost always prerequisites for adoption!
I can remember as a little girl dreaming of being a mother…knowing in my heart that’s what I wanted more than anything…picking out names…holding my dolls as if they were real because I had such a desire…such a tangible feeling…such a need…to be a mother!
And after years of infertility, after years of dreaming yet still unfulfilled as a mother…I remember making the decision to adopt…facing mounds of paperwork and requirements…then finally being told “You’re approved!”…which only then opens the door to the hard part of adopting…the WAITING!
You decide to do something constructive with the waiting time. You start reading and preparing. You watch how others handle their children and you decide to remember or forget that approach to parenting. You paint the nursery and put the crib up and select the nursery’s theme…but the crib is still empty. All of a sudden, it seems everybody at the mall has a baby…everybody at church has a baby…everybody has a baby…everybody…except you, even those who don’t take care of them have babies, those who neglect them have babies, those who wish they didn’t have them have babies…everybody…except you. Then you remember Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Your faith grows. God’s comfort comes to you again full force and you resume the task of preparing for that desire to be fulfilled. Your friend’s baby has colic…you read about colic and remedies and survival techniques for the parents. Because people know you’re approved to adopt, you find out there are people all around you connected to adoption in some way…you hear stories…stories of perfect children, products of adoption, and imperfect children, products of adoption…you wonder which yours will be. You study up on nature versus nurture. You remember Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it,”…and your faith grows, reminding and convincing you that God has provided you the perfect book on parenting, and not only did He leave you instructions, He also promised He will be with you through the “perfect” or the “imperfect” child. Your faith grows.
Because of your empty cradle, you have concentrated not just on preparing physically for your child but preparing spiritually for your child…you have learned to rely more fully on God for your peace and your contentment…you have learned to allow Him to carry your frustration and anxiety, a trait you definitely will need during your child-rearing years…and you have gained more of an understanding of His desire for you as His child as you have yearned for your own…
Then it happens…THE BABY…
And you realize there is not enough waiting time to fully prepare you for the joy of what you had dreamed of and worked toward. But now…your heart, your spirit, and your cradle are full!
In the news…
Posted by Taylor Engel on March 11, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Christian Homes Residential Maternity Caseworker, Alana Tollett and former birthmother, Julie made the news! To watch, click here: http://bigcountryhomepage.com/content/video/?cid=223262
Right Place…Right Time
Posted by Steve Holt on March 10, 2010 at 8:21 am
Judy* – Forty-something, unmarried, with an abusive boyfriend and no place to live. What’s a woman to do? She did what millions do everyday…she looked in the yellow pages.
Adrianna – The fifteen-year-old awoke one morning sick and hurting. Her parents rushed her to the hospital where she brought a precious 8-lb, 4-oz baby girl into the world. One day a carefree teen, the next day a mom.
Lana – Out of the blue, she heard the words every mom dreads from their teenage daughter, “I’m pregnant.” And the rational discussions stopped. The daughter didn’t want to talk about the future. A frustrated mom prayed for the right words to say.
Stories like these happen thousands of times a day around the world. Disappointment, heartache, fear, loneliness, hopelessness. These three true stories all happened within the past few months, and thank God, each story has a happy ending because Christian Homes was near. Here are the rest of their stories…
Judy called Christian Homes because the yellow pages ad promised a “safe comfortable apartment” where she could await her child’s birth. Because of the kindness of Christian Homes’ staff, Judy began to trust again and found a God who loves her deeply despite her history. After Judy placed her baby boy with a Christian forever family, she went back to school, graduated from FaithWorks, found a job and entered college.
Within hours after Adrianna’s mom called Christian Homes to say that their family could not adequately care for the baby girl she delivered, an adoptive family was identified. If that weren’t enough, the baby’s new forever family has welcomed Adrianna as their own, and now she gets to watch this child grow.
Lana’s prayers were answered when a representative from Christian Homes visited her church and passed out contact information. Now the mom has the resources she needs from adoption professionals to help her interact with her daughter. Stay tuned for the next chapter in this story.
Notice a thread here? Notice how God placed Christian Homes & Family Services in the path of people in distress? That’s our goal…to be where pregnant women who need an alternative to abortion or abandonment can find us. Where couples who want to adopt can find hope and a child. Where families who might want to provide a foster home can get the information they need to say yes! And where givers who want to support an eternal ministry can confidently place their resources in the hands of caring professionals.
You can be a part of the process. Become a fan of Christian Homes on Facebook and tell others. Add our website to your blog links. Refer women who need our services. Tell couples who might want to adopt or serve as foster parents about our agency. Let’s form a partnership of being at the right place at the right time.
*All names have been changed.
Wait
Posted by Janet Mendenhall on March 01, 2010 at 11:41 am
Whether it is for a check-out lane at Wal-Mart or a slow Internet connection, “wait” is a four-letter word. Good things might come to those who wait, but we have invested well in assuring ourselves we won’t have to test that adage.
We don’t wait for food to cook, for film to develop, and certainly not for a word to arrive from a friend or loved one. From instant pudding to instant messaging, we want it now. And consequently, when we must wait, we are not good at it.
We are not in bad company as impatient people. Abraham in his haste to receive God’s promise hurried to a handmaiden. Aaron, in the prolonged absence of the mountaintop-Moses, took matters into his own crafty hands. David whined for God to rush his wrath towards his pursuers. But in God’s time, His people celebrated His faithfulness.
Many of you are waiting. Waiting for a birth mother to choose you, waiting for God to answer your prayers, waiting for your baby.
I remember that waiting. I remember it was neither easy nor fun. I remember I was not very good at it. Through the power of prayer and the positive words of encouraging friends, we not only endured the wait, but also grew. You will, too. There is joy in the journey. You will find it, too.
Twelve years after the wait ended, one of my son’s favorite stories is what happened on the final day of our wait. We had reason to believe a baby had been born but for days had no word from our caseworker. Certain that our wait had been in vain and that something had gone wrong, I held the phone and, sitting on the garage floor out of earshot from the others in my house, listened as a godly friend prayed with me and reassured me as I cried. As I listened and wiped my eyes, Call Waiting alerted me to another call. “You have a son!” the voice happily announced. There was no wiping those tears. “A name?” she asked. “Samuel,” I said. Because God heard.
If God is calling you to wait, then wait. Good things do come. And one day someone will want to hear your waiting stories.
The Wonderful World of Blogging
Posted by Taylor Engel on February 22, 2010 at 11:48 am
Blogging. We see it as a gift to be able to share with you about the ministry of Christian Homes & Family Services through this blog. From the stories of precious babies, families and selfless women to the dailies of working at a place like Christian Homes, we plan to tell all! Or, at least tell more than what you see on a plain, old website. (Not that our website is either plain or old. It’s new and improved!) The plan is for there to be weekly posts by different people who are touched by this ministry in order to share more of this ministry with you. Have you been touched by Christian Homes? Would you like to share your story? Please do! Email Taylor at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). We are thankful to be able to be a part of this ministry…and thankful for you and the role you play as well! Please read along, share your stories and spread the word.
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