A Home For The Holidays with Michael Franti

3 reasons to watch:

1. Michael Franti is a sweet musician, seen him live and he throws a great party.
2. He was an African American adopted into a white family in the '60s. That wasn't the norm then and his parents were part of a group that paved the way for acceptance of mulitcultural families.
3. The kids in this video are adorable and it makes me want to bring them all home (which I guess was the point)

Meant to Be - Steven Curtis Chapman

3 reasons to watch:

1. I love Steven Curtis because he is a proud adoptive daddy!
2. He and his wife run an organization that provides amazing orphan care and adoption aid.
3. His songs have really powerful lyrics when you take a minute a listen.

So as I listened to this song I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. I just kept thinking about how their were some beautiful Ethiopian babies out there "meant to be" in our family. I love the goodness of the Father, how He orchestrates everything in His infinite wisdom. And my mamas heart can hardly wait to be blessed with my beauties in a few years. I'm so grateful for this calling!

Adoption Is Greater Than The Universe - John Piper

Pro-Life or Anti-Abortion

Lately a lot of thoughts have been swirling around my head about the Christian Community. All over North America we as Christians are quick to speak out against abortion. We are anti-abortion. As we should be, the Bible tells us to value life and God creates that life therefore it is good and not ours to take away. Except I feel like a lot of Christians stop there. They are anti-abortion, but isn’t there another side of the picture.

Being pro-life, now a lot of you who are reading this just thought to yourselves, of course I'm pro-life, isn’t that the same thing as being anti-abortion? Well I personally don’t think so. I’ve been asking myself some hard questions lately. We spend so much time hating abortion, hating those that love it, and hating those that have abortions (sorry sidenote: those mothers are grieving and need Christian love more than anything after an abortion and we need to be wrapping our arms around them not throwing condemnation onto them!) So ask yourselves these questions:

Would I be willing to adopt so that a birth mother can choose life?

Would you still be willing to adopt if that child was not Caucasian?

Would you still be willing to adopt if that child was given HIV from its mother?

If adoption ended tomorrow would there be enough Christian parents to fill the gap for those mothers?

Are we giving our time and money to help crisis pregnancy centers so that these mothers get the support needed when they choose life?

If we are so prolife why are there living children in orphanages all over the world barely surviving in inhumane conditions?

If we are so prolife why do we not even consider fostering and adopting?

If our friend was pregnant and considering abortion would we offer to parent her child?

Why do we allow foster children to enter abusive homes, when there are tons of Christian homes with extra room?

Why do we discourage the parents that do choose to adopt, when as a faith body we should be raising them up for listening to the call of the Father?

Why do we look upon the birth mothers that do choose life with such judgment? Thinking that she got herself into it, so she deserves having to give her child up? How is that prolife, putting down the person who choose to give her child a life she could never provide?

Why does Hollywood answer the call to adopt, and most Christians only consider adoption when they can’t have children of their own?

We as Christians live the most perfect example of adoption. The father adopted us as His own. He chose us before creation to be His children. (Ephesians 1:5) He is a Father to the Fatherless, yet we are His hands and feet, so therefore we are called to go and be a Father to the Fatherless. We are commanded to help the orphan and the widow (James 1:27) so what are you doing to help them?

So let’s choose to not just say we are pro-life but actually live as though we value life. Celebrate those who choose to give their child life through adoption and stand in the gap to make adoption possible. Pray about your role in Gods family. Pray about adoption or fostering. Pray about coming alongside a birth mother during her grief. Pray about counselling a mother who is deciding whether to choose life or abortion. Stand in the gap for families who have answered the call to adopt, financially or prayerfully. Consider giving some time of money to a pregnancy crisis centre. These are all practical ways to live out our lives being pro-life instead of anti-abortion.

Eric Ludy - Depraved Indifference