Posts

Showing posts from July, 2012

Trusting Him every day.

Image
"God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful." 1 Thessalonians 5:24

2 Minutes

Our 2 minutes in front of the judge went something like this: Judge: Ms. D, I have in front of me a piece of paper that states that you are relinquishing your parental rights to H. Is that correct? Mama D: Yes, sir. Judge: Ms. D, do you understand that by giving up your parental rights you have no say in medical decisions, where she goes to school or anything else in the future? Mama D: Yes, sir. Judge: Ms. D, Did anyone threaten, coerce or bribe you to sign this document? Mama D: No, sir. Judge: Ms. D, do you believe that this decision is in the best interest of H? Mama D: Yes, sir. Judge: By order of the court on July 26, 2012, parental rights of H. D. are terminated. We are off record now. Ms. D, I can tell that this decision did not come easy to you. I wish you the best of luck in life. No doubt, the hardest moment of Mama D's life and one I will NEVER forget.

Rights relinquished.

Image
We had court today for our 19 month old foster daughter, Baby H. It was a long morning. There was a misunderstanding about the time, so we had to wait until all the cases were heard and luckily the judge said he would go ahead and hear ours.  The waiting area was filled with beautiful children.  The morning consisted of finalized adoptions, joyous reunifications with birth parents and birth parents weeping at the outcome of their hearing.  A few months ago Baby H's father's rights were terminated and today her mother relinquished her rights. I am not quite sure how to process this event and my emotions. To look into a mother's tear-filled eyes after she signed papers to terminate her parental rights is absolutely heartbreaking. I have so much respect for this woman who by no fault of her own cannot parent her daughter. How do you explain to her God's plan in all of this?  It was stated in our paperwork that I am the only friend she has. How is that possible? Thank yo

Don't Quit

Image
Seth and I have a lot of friends right now that are going through the process to become foster parents. It is such a blessing to have friends that would even consider going through this unknown journey to help a child without a family. It is a huge step of faith to take and currently, some of them are entering the doubting phase of the certification process. Is this the right time? Can we risk everything? Could we give them back if we had to? I wanted to write this blog to reassure them and anyone else in a similar situation that these feelings are completely normal. God is stretching your faith and you're going to have growing pains. Seth and I quit the fostering process twice. That's right, two different times. Praise God in heaven that He wouldn't let us give up though and we finished with a stronger faith and clearer calling than when we had begun. Dear friends, I know what you are going through right now. We were right there this time 1 year ago, so consider this

I can't imagine how Jesus must feel

As a parent to 6 children, 3 foster and 3 biological, I am trying to figure out how I can get more kids into my home. People think I'm crazy. I want more children because they deserve a stable and loving environment instead of an abusive, neglectful one or one in a shelter where their "mama" is a paid worker. How can our family be only 1 of 1000 in Oklahoma? We have 9300 children in foster care in Oklahoma right now. That number has gone up 1000 since January. Where are the rest of you when these babies are sleeping on cots in a conference room at the shelter because there are no more beds? I just can't imagine how Jesus must feel watching these innocent children sit there and wonder when their parents are coming to get them or when a family will choose them. So many "Christians" are more consumed with the size of their house, their T.V. or the newest iphone. I don't get it. You know that you can't take this stuff to heaven with you right? I hope so

Kingdom Work

I never knew the joy of Kingdom work until this year. I am so incredibly thankful that the Lord called us into foster care ministry and that we eventually obeyed after many arguments with Him about it. (He always won, fyi.) :) There truly is no greater joy than serving Jesus by loving these children and their parents. It has made me more compassionate, understanding and most importantly, more like Jesus. We had one of our birth moms over for breakfast this morning. I went and picked "Mama D" up because she can't afford transportation. She came out wearing a shirt with our church logo on it that we bought her a few months ago. She's worn it the past 4 or 5 times I've seen her. Mama D doesn't have any family here and her friends consist of the staff that works at the building she lives in. It was such a blessing to see the joy in her eyes this morning. She had gone to the thrift store beforehand and had bought a bag full of toys for all 6 kids. May God bless t

New house update...

Image
Well, we put the offer on our new house in February and after almost 4 months of Seth working full-time and trying to finish renovations, we are nearing the finish line. Once in there, Seth discovered that there were serious structural deficiencies. The whole house pretty much had to be gutted. Walls were knocked down, sheet rock was taken off of most of the house, plumbing and electrical had to be re-run. You name it, it was done, mostly by my extremely intelligent and talented husband. We have been so incredibly blessed by great friends and our new church family in Kingfisher who helped tremendously as well. I have a few pictures that I want to share and I can't wait until the whole house is done so I can show you how hard Seth has worked and how much God has blessed us! Below is before and after of the kids' rooms upstairs. We recently got new windows as well, so some of the rooms look even better now than when the pics were taken. :) Baby room - Before Baby ro