Blog
They Love Babies…
Posted by Steve Holt on March 29, 2010 at 2:08 pm
As we sat in the den last fall watching TV, Lynn, my wife, said, “You know, working for Christian Homes would be pretty nice. They love babies.”
We had not yet decided if I would take the job should it be offered, so we continued to weigh the pros and cons of up and moving to Abilene, Texas from our beloved hometown, Memphis.
I agreed that working for an agency that esteems babies would indeed be a joyful experience. But then I thought, doesn’t everyone love babies? It’s easy to love babies. Is it really such a big thing for someone to claim to love these little ones?
The job was offered; I accepted and moved to West Texas to begin a new chapter in life. And I must admit that my very favorable first impressions of Christian Homes & Family Services have proven true many times over. I have come to realize that not only does Christian Homes love babies; they also love birth mothers — not always as easy as a love affair with soft, cuddly babies.
These future moms come to us during perhaps the most difficult times in their lives. Pregnancy is no easy thing (so I’m told) even when planned. But many of our birth mothers had no intention of being pregnant. Some come from unpleasant circumstances, like fleeing an abusive relationship. Some have been booted from their homes by parents who can’t deal with the idea of their daughter pregnant and single. Still others bring with them the unfortunate results of poor decisions along the way—results like addiction, ill health, bruises, homelessness, legal issues and more. All of them looking for acceptance and safety and help.
Watching them grow and change as we, in turn, grow and change is the rewarding part of our relationships with these brave women. And it makes loving them easier.
The staff at Christian Homes loves its birth mothers in many ways. Our newly redecorated apartments provide comfortable, safe shelter while the prospective mom awaits the birth of her baby. We help arrange medical care. Our maternity workers provide rides to doctors’ appointments, the grocery store, jobs and church. We even spring for a movie, the zoo or other recreational events along the way. We help them find jobs or apply for school.
But best of all, the Christian Homes staff is just there — loving unconditionally, day in and day out. I’ve been impressed with how many of these special moms stay in touch with Christian Homes long after their baby was placed in their forever family…a result, I think, of the mutual joy these women—birth moms and staff—find in one another.
Yeah, sure Christian Homes love babies…but they also love the baby’s birth mommy. A lot!
Foster Care
Posted by Janet Mendenhall on March 22, 2010 at 9:16 am
Nurturing. Cultivating. Cherishing. Fostering. Powerful words for a powerful task.
A task that Christian Homes & Family Services is passionate about and hopes you will be too. A joy that Christian Homes delights in and hopes that you will, too. A blessing that Christian Homes has witnessed and hopes that you will, too.
Christian Homes is most commonly referred to simply as an adoption agency. But did you know that we are also a foster care agency? Did you know that there are three different types of foster care provided by loving couples through Christian Homes?
Transitional care is provided by couples willing to care short-term for our newborn babies until all the arrangements and legal issues are settled for the adoptive parents to take that little one home. These couples are standing in the gap, loving and watching and remembering in order to offer the smoothest transition when the time comes for their precious visitor to go home with Mom and Dad. The timing of the love and care these foster parents give is crucial.
We work with Child Protective Services to provide foster care for children and infants who are in need of temporary homes as the caseworkers attempt to resolve issues in the biological family that do not allow them to remain together at the moment. The long term goal for these placements is to be reunited with their biological family when things are better. Stability and love while they wait are indispensable. Like transitional care, this is temporary in nature, but the placement time can vary anywhere from days to two or more years.
One of our newer programs is the Foster – to – Adopt program. This also is a joint effort with Child Protective Services. These babies and children no longer have a permanent plan for reunification with their biological families. The parental rights may or may not have been terminated at this point. The goal of this long term commitment is to be fostered by this family only until rights are terminated and the process of adoption is completed joining this one-time foster family — forever.
God’s call to love and care for His children is clear — especially ones in need of parents, whether permanent or temporary. Can you stand in the gap? Can you be a forever family? Can you hold up the arms of those who do with encouragement, respite care, babysitting, tutoring? The task is before us, and it is powerful. But just as powerful are the joy and the blessings that await you.
Each of these opportunities to nurture and cultivate and cherish and yes, foster are available to you wherever you are. However, Christian Homes at this time can only work directly with you if you live in the general area of Tyler or Abilene, Texas.
Look for more information on becoming a foster parent with Christian Homes and how to contact us by clicking here.
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!
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.
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