What Could You Do?!?!?!

We are fourteen days away from Thanksgiving and forty-four days from Christmas and the agenda books have already been looked at for both holidays. With every holiday comes the juggling act of trying to be able to make it to every family function so we can see and spend time with everyone. Sometimes this juggling act can become very frustrating especially when we have to decide one side of the family over the other. There are 20,000 to 30,000 people that would LOVE to have this problem. They would love to have to pick one side of the family over the other because that would mean they had family to pick from. You see there are 20,000 to 30,000 young people who age out of the foster care system so they have NO one to spend holidays with. They have NO one to call when they are sick or have a question they need answered. They have NO one to attend their high school graduation. NO one to visit, write, or call them if they go to college. NO one to attend their college graduation. NO one to talk to about the guy/girl they just met and know is the right one. NO one to walk them down the aisle or stand beside them on their wedding day.
When things get rough for us we ask God for help so how can we sit by and go about our own lives while we are failing to do what God has asked us to do? We expect him to help us but we are not willing to follow his command and help him. "Religion that God or Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." James 1:27. If Christians will not take the step to reduce the number of orphans no one will. It is time for churches to get involved. As of September 30, 2009 there were 423,773 children in foster care. Over 250,000 enter foster care every year. There are 114,556 children waiting to be adopted in the United States. In North Carolina there are 9,399 children in foster care and close to 3,000 waiting for a forever family. This information came from the keynote speaker of the 7% Conference, Felicia Mason-Edwards. Felicia is known nationally for her successful efforts in Texas in bringing the church and state agencies together to care for our neglected and abused children.
Maybe you can't become an adoptive or foster parent for a child in need but there is something you can do. God has blessed us all with gifts, you could use those gifts to help a child. Here are just some of the ways Felicia Mason-Edwards said churches got involved while she was in Texas: Began a quilting ministry to make quilts to give to children that are placed in foster care.
Adopt a caseworker and prayer for them and their cases everyday.
Participate in Blue Sunday- usually the last Sunday of April churches spend 5 minutes praying for abused and neglected children and their abusers.
Take Child Abuse Awareness training to learn about the needs of children in Child Protective Services and how your church can help.
Create a children and youth clothing closet (Rainbow Room)-contribute clothing and personal items to the Rainbow Room, volunteer to find donations, work sorting the donations, donate space for a Rainbow room.
Become a Guardian ad litem so you can advocate for a child's best interest in the court system.
Tutoring program-be tutors, have a tutoring program within your church open to the community
Free hair cuts/styling
Foster/adoptive parent support group-provide meeting space and refreshments
Food Pantry-create one within the congregation or find volunteers for existing food pantry programs
After-School Child Care-for chldren and families in Child Protective Services or for adoptive parents
Special occasion celebrations/toy drives/school supply drives, etc-Christmas, Thanksgiving, Birthdays, creat toy drives or donate to existing ones
Independent Living Supplies-for youth aging out of the foster care system. Items could include towels, pots and pans, etc
Teen Pregnancy Prevention and Teen Parent Support Services
Respite Providers-people who provide temporary, short term care for children in foster care so foster parents can have a temporary relief from caring for children
Child and Youth Summer Camps
Transportation Resources-rides to appointments
Help provide financial support for foster/adoptive parents
Adopt foster care and adoption as a mission/ministry
Inform congregation and others of the need for foster/adoptive parents
Become a mentor for a troubled, at risk child or for a child that does not have a positive male/female example in his/her life
Become an out reach for DSS when they have needs such as car seats for transportation, etc
You Are Special Bags for children to get the day they enter into foster care

It is so easy for churches to get involved. It just takes one person to get the ball going...be that one for your church. I promise you won't regret that you helped make a child's life a little better.

One Less

Read the following lyrics to Matthew West's New song One Less

There's a child
Been abandoned out on the street
Now she's waiting for someone to be her miracle

There's a wife
Somewhere halfway around the world
Begging God for a little girl she can call her own

Well, worlds collide
And colors fade
And a man and wife
Brought their little girl home today

And there's one less
One less
One less broken heart in the world tonight
Yeah, there's one less
One less
There's one less broken heart in the world tonight

We are called
To the widows and the orphans
But it's easy to ignore their silent cries
Oh, but every single time
Somebody reaches into the darkness
Makes a choice to help the helpless
They let mercy save a life

And there's one less
One less
One less broken heart in the world tonight
Yeah, there's one less
One less
Yeah, there's one less broken heart in the world tonight

Well the truth is we are all the orphans
But love has left the 99 just to find the one

So let worlds collide
Colors fade
Let your life
Be the miracle today

One less
One less
One less broken heart in the world tonight
Tonight I know there's one less
One less
One less broken heart in the world tonight

One less child without a home
One less birthday gone forgotten
One more soul rising from the bottom

One less night alone
One less child without a home
One less birthday gone forgotten
One more soul rising from the bottom

One less
One less
One less broken heart in the world tonight

The following was taken from Matthew West's Blog about his song "One Less".

The Story Behind: One Less

September 28, 2010 - Comments (14)

Greg,
Humboldt, TN

My wife and I started an adoption of a little girl named Lily in August of 2007. We were able to finally bring her home in November of 2009! I am the senior pastor of a church in TN and the adoption became a process embraced by our whole family of faith. As a part of the adoption my wife moved into an apartment there in that country so we could foster our now 8 year old daughter. We spent 7 months apart from one another. It was the most difficult test we have faced as a couple. The pain that marked those seven months was quickly replaced when we finally made it home. The joy we shared when we arrived here reminded me of what it must be like when one of God’s children finally make it home. We left Guatemala with no fan fare and a few tears. We arrived at our home with church members lining the street with banners, cheering, and sharing great relief.

Matthew’s commentary on: One Less

“Defend the cause of the orphans…” Isaiah 1:17

I was inspired by the hundreds of stories from people who were so passionate about adoption. What a gift for a family to open up their arms and welcome in a child with no home! Every adoption story is truly the proof that God is involved in the details, even the smallest details. I wrote the first verse to show how at the same time, in two different parts of the world, God is hearing the cries of two hearts, and little do they know they are about to be joined together by a God who can orchestrate the impossible.

There are so many orphans in the world today, that the mission of giving them all a home to the human eye seems more like a mission impossible. But, as I read one story after another about a child finding a home, I found myself saying, “That’s one less, one less, one less broken heart in the world tonight.”

You may not be in a position to adopt an orphan in your life right now, but there are many ways to carry out the command of the bible to care for the orphans. Personally, I have a friend who is in the process of adopting a little girl from Russia and he and his family are in need of financial support to do so. Many friends and neighbors are helping support this family’s effort financially so this little girl can have a home. Ask God to show you how to care for the orphans. Every time you help, that’s one less…

Can you imagine living in a world where: you have never watched or heard of a popular children's TV show, you have never had a book read to you, you have never been tucked in at night, you have never heard the words "I love you", you have never had a birthday party, you don't know what, where, when, or how you will eat again, you spend all day sitting in a box with holes in the bottom, you have never been held, you don't have anyone to call "mommy" or "daddy", you have never had a bed, you have never dreamed about your future because you don't know if you will have a future, etc? For the 143,000,000 orphans in YOUR world this is their everyday life. If you are a christian God has called you to defend and care for orphans. This may be adopting a child of your own or providing money so someone else can adopt. This may be becoming a foster parent. It could be becoming a mentor for a child that has never had a positive role model in their life. This could be starting an adoption, foster care, or mentor program at your church. The Treasures Ministry at Osborne Baptist Church will be having the 7% Conference on Saturday, November 6th. If just 7% of Christians would adopt there would be NO orphans.

This conference is free and for everybody:

Churches interested in starting a ministry in orphan care, mentoring, foster care, or adoption

Adoptive parents wanting information or resources on attachment and child trauma

Foster parents continuing education

Individuals interested in information about orphan care, mentoring, foster care, or adoption

For more information click on the link the below.

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=1vT89VZOIISjXrAA9FEfUoSJTKqdkf1QJS8rC2bH4uiu-MvX2RlCrcQYgZ6GM&hl=en

The Life God Has Given Me: What a life it is!!!

The Life God Has Given Me: What a life it is!!!: "I wake up every morning feeling so blessed to be living the life God has given me. I am blessed to be born again, adopted by God's love, me..."

What a life it is!!!

I wake up every morning feeling so blessed to be living the life God has given me. I am blessed to be born again, adopted by God's love, mercy, and grace, healthy, loved, protected, and provided for. I am blessed to be married to a wonderful Christian man who is funny (most of the time), loves Carolina, children, and most importantly God. I am blessed to be able to go to work and make a difference in the life of 20+ children and to be taught something from them everyday. I really feel blessed to be used by God to make a difference in one certain child's life. God has trusted my husband and me to be foster parents. This has been an emotional, interesting, fun, and exciting ride. We did not get married thinking this was going to happen. In fact when we first started talking about adopting we said we would not do foster care because we did not think we would be able to handle having to give a child back. God had other plans in store for us. He directed us not only to a church that has a huge heart for adoption but also to a Connection Group that is filled with couples who are adoptive parents, foster parents, or becoming foster parents. One of these parents spoke at an adoption class I was taking and said something that has forever changed our lives. She said that when they thought they were going to have to give back one of their girls they prayed about it and came to peace with the idea that if God wanted to place a child in their heart long enough to know that someone would forever be praying for them then they would be okay with having to give their foster child back. That is all we needed to hear. We know foster care is the path God has sent us on and we are trusting him with this. Yes it has been filled with many tears but there are many many more smiles, hugs, laughs, and the sweetest of all "I love yous." I would not trade in any of my tears and heartache for one of those hugs or "I love you." Praying and looking forward to the new adventures God is going to be sending to us.