Blogs

Adoption blog

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Greetings one and all…what a beautiful morning 🙂

[Please excuse my chipperness (my new word for the day)…I am enjoying my morning coffee]

I wanted to let you know of a project my wife and I are working on.  We have started an adoption blog called Adopted as an Heir.  I wanted to have a central place for adoption related content instead of it getting lost in the shuffle with everything I write about here.

Our goal for this new blog is:
(1) To share what we have learned along our adoption journey.
(2) To share resources we have found helpful.
(3) To share how we have grown closer together.
(4) To share how we have grown closer to God.
(5) To educate
(6) To encourage
(7) And…whatever else God reveals to us in our journey.  The door is wide open.

I have written a few posts here already about our adoption journey (If you go to the “My Adoption Story” page above you can quickly find those posts). I (along with my wife) will be writing adoption related content on our new blog but you may still find adoption related posts here from time to time.

So feel free to stop by our new sight and share it with others.  We are still learning and growing and we are by no means experts.  My wife and I are just a couple of God’s children stumbling along in this process and seeing God’s blessings along the way.

I hope you enjoy 🙂

The pastor -|—

Resources – My adoption story

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Just in case I haven’t communicated this yet:
The adoption process can be overwhelming.

Surprise, surprise, I know.  But it is only overwhelming if you attempt to do this alone.

As our adoption process moves along I am finding myself exploring a number of resources: websites and blogs.  I am also talking with others who have adopted.  Those conversations have proved to be extremely valuable and I will continue to seek people out.  Just yesterday I was speaking with a good friend/colleague/mentor about our adoption process.  He had gone through the adoption process a while back.  I was sharing some feelings I was (and was not) experiencing and listened to this wise man share what he went through.  I found a sense of peace come over me as I realized that I wasn’t abnormal; that my feelings were not necessarily wrong.  It was like God had ordained this conversation for that particular moment.  After I hung up the phone I prayed and thanked God for His faithfulness.

Wow…God is amazing.

The websites and blogs I have come across have also proved to be valuable.  I recently came across a blog from a family in our area who is adopting ~ for the third time.  I am thinking I will be in touch with them eventually.  Recently, my wife and I were given a website that contained a number of adoption fundraising ideas.  Some of them were so simple and brilliant.  Ideas, support, prayers, etc are out there…you just need to look and access them.

So as I come across some of these sites I am going to be adding them to my new blog roll on the right hand side of the screen called “Adoption”.  My hope is that people who stumble across my blog will find comfort, as I have, in knowing that they are not alone.  And…if you are reading this and are in the adoption process, please feel free to share your resources here.

God is so amazing.  I praise Him for those “little” moments when He reminds me of His presence.  I am thankful for the people He has brought in our lives.  And I hope that some day soon I can be a resource to someone going through this process; that God can use me to give someone what He has given me.

Praise be to God!

The pastor -|—

New links to check out

/ The Pastor

I have added some new links to my left side bar that I want to call your attention to.  With so many over there it is easy for news ones to get missed.  So here they are:

(1) Pretty Good Lutherans:  Susan is an award winning journalist and Christian writer.  I was introduced to her through Twitter and have thoroughly enjoyed following her tweets.  Check out this quote from her site:
“Susan Hogan believes 21st century evangelism demands a new model for congregations to remain relevant. Jesus demonstrated a grassroots approach based on storytelling. He listened and observed people wherever he traveled. He told stories that related to their lives. He didn’t seek the advice of public relations experts; he told the truth with compassion and love.”
I am looking forward to reading more from her.

(2) Enter the Bible is a link I just added to my favorites websites.  This is a Bible study resource from Luther Seminary.  When you sign up for a FREE account you get access to commentaries, study plans, notes, etc.  I have found this helpful in sermon prep and personal Bible study.  It’s worth a look.

(3) Greg Boyd (Christus Victor Ministries): Greg Boyd is a very insightful and passionate author, speaker and pastor.  He is the author of the books:  Myth of  a Christian Nation and Letters from a Skeptic (among many others). You may not always agree with him but he will make you think.  The following is a quote in the “About” section of his site:
“Christus Victor Ministries (CVM) facilitates Greg Boyd’s ministry outside of Woodland Hills Church, where he is Senior Pastor. Greg believes that challenging both believers and non-believers to think critically will lead them to a well-grounded and coherent faith. Through books, sermons, speaking engagements, debates and this website, Greg continues to encourage people to embrace a vision of God and the Kingdom that is intellectually compelling and spiritually fulfilling.”

Stop by and check these out.

Let me know what you think about them.

And…if you have some other sites worth checking out, let me know that too.

Take care and God bless!

-edh-