We could add up all of the reasons why a person shouldn't be a foster parent. But we could do that with just about anything on earth. What about the reasons you should?
All tagged foster care
A Love Letter to Single Foster + Adoptive Moms
You are my hero. You're a hero to me. You're a hero to the community or church or family around you, watching you. You're a hero to the children in your home, being loved by you. You're a living, breathing, real-life super hero.
I Just Don't Want To Hand Him Over Today...
This foster care life is a constant placing of your child in someone else’s hands. Literally and actually, in workers’ and judges’ and lawyers’ hands. Oh, I wish I were in control. I wish I could slam the door in the worker's face. I wish I could tell the judge, “So here’s what you gotta do.” I wish I could just change mom with a snap of the fingers. I wish, so deeply, I wish.
My Thankful Life: When God Doesn't Answer All Your Prayers
I'm thankful that every word I speak, every dish I scrub, every diaper I change, every spill I clean that’s done out of love for my Savior is divinely transformed from a mom’s chore into a daughter’s worship. I’m thankful the menial, outwardly-worthless moments of my day have purpose and have worth.
TEN WAYS YOU CAN HELP CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
May is Foster Care Awareness Month. From making a meal to babysitting to donating, praying to mentoring to becoming a foster parent, EVERYONE CAN DO SOMETHING. Here are 10 ways you can stand for children in foster care
Stop Using the "Broken System" as an Excuse
We mirror this Jesus when we leave our comfort to step into brokenness...The fact that the system and its people are broken is the very reason we engage it.
The Answers to All of Your Foster Parenting Questions
I don’t just struggle through the “how” questions, I struggle through the “why” questions, the “what if” ones. I don’t just question myself, I question God.
This Moment With Our Son - Lisa's Story #writeyourheartout
This moment that hit me hard, almost as if I had walked into a brick wall. And I thought to myself, “We are literally all he’s got.”
"This is Us" Isn't Just a TV Show
Seeing foster care and adoption on the screen like this is a gift to foster and adoptive families. But it’s not just a gift to those of us who are living it. It’s a gift to everyone else, too.
“Are You OK With This?”: Saying Good-bye to My Son
When his worker called to tell me that his family had been ruled out, she asked if I would be willing to adopt him. “Well, I love him...and I would love to be his mom forever...but I don’t think I’m supposed to be...and I think I know who is.”
My Foster Children Are Better Off With Me
You see, at least in every case I’ve experienced, I have a stronger “parental resume” than my foster children’s parents.
Write Your Heart Out: "The Lasts" By Melissa
And so the past few days were filled with “lasts”...
Tips For Supporting Reunification
A few months ago, I was contacted by the American Bar Association's Center For Children and the Law. I was asked to participate in a survey of five foster families from around the county. The goal? Create a list of tips for foster families to promote and support reunification. Here's the result!
My Foster Child’s Family Is My Enemy
And sometimes it’s hard. Like the family who slanders me on social media, who calls in an investigation on me, who continually puts the child at risk, who acts like court is a game to be won. Sometimes it’s very, very hard.
I call it like it is: You are my enemy.
I Come From the Right Side of the Tracks, So It's Not My Problem
For all of the stark differences of these towns, there is one reality that binds them together. Both towns need these child protection offices. Both towns have broken families, struggling parents, hurting children.
When I Missed Out On Being a Part of Something Big
It will teach you and your children about the power of every person’s seemingly insignificant, independently insufficient efforts. And it will envision you for doing your part in this too-huge-task of finding a home for every child.
This Time Last Year - The Littles Who Came & Went #instagramseries
When these kids leave our homes, they don’t leave our hearts. That while we may not be able to care for them or even walk up and say hello, we can always pray for them. I can love this little girl--and all the others who quickly came and went-- in that way forever.
“What to Expect” When You're...Picking Up a Foster Baby From the Hospital
Here's my "how to", a list of all the things I’ve learned while picking up foster babies from the hospital. Things I wish I would’ve known, things I did right, and (more often) things I did wrong.
I Need Answers. How Do You Do This Foster Care Thing?
Foster mom, how do you balance the impossible tension of loving a child like they’re your own, when they’re not? I thought about it. How do you do it? And then I realized: The love is in your heart. The what ifs and questions and worries are in your mind.
I Said No To Adopting My Foster Son, Because I’m Just a Foster Mom
I wish you could meet my precious boy. You would understand why I love him so. He is gorgeous and sweet and so easy to love. And I do love him. But when his social worker asked me to adopt him, I said no. The thought of saying good-bye to him breaks my heart, the idea of him not being in our family hurts deeply, but still, I said no.