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Earlier this month I found myself at a P.F. Chang’s in Indianapolis, enjoying a quiet meal to myself. At the end of the meal, my fortune cookie came, which I promptly opened in the hope that it would reveal some glorious morsel of insight that would make the mysteries of life disappear. Call me an optimist.   Instead, what I received was a challenge that can be taken one of many ways. Nestled inside the crisp cookie was the following:   Getting together with...

It is often hard to find words to describe the experience of adoption. The following resonated with me.  One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a long time. ~ Unknown For many, like me, adoption involves moving from the shore.  The vulnerability of a homestudy, the worry of finances, fears of the unknowns,...

I’d dare say that anyone who has adopted kids has a heart for adoption.  I for one can be running in twelve different directions, but if you want to talk to me about your interest in adoption, it will probably stop me in my tracks! It’s a wonderful, God-inspired, God-created thing. Last April, we brought home our 3 children from Ethiopia: Svanna Feruz (8), Gabriel Asmelash (5) and Summer Firewoyni (3). It’s a different thing, adopting older kids.  We’d adopted Jaden...

When we began our first adoption, we said we were only open to a healthy referral  – there was no option in our minds for special needs children.  This time, wIth our second  adoption, both Joe and I felt that God might be laying it on our hearts to look into special needs children.  We began by looking at children with only very minor needs – those that weren’t outwardly apparent.  But, as God often works on us, He began to show us scriptures such...

Tonight I have an urge to veer off in a different direction on the Katelyn’s Fund blog, and I hope there are no objections to my detour.  I tend to over-explain most of the moves I make in life, and this is no exception.  This post comes with some trepidation because I fear isolating parents and families who cannot relate.  Instead of living in a spirit of fear, though, I’m looking at this as...

I must admit: I told a lie…to my pastor nonetheless. Maybe I could rephrase it as I convinced an individual to accept a reality that was not going to happen during the duration that they expected. It was July 28, 2004. I was sitting at my desk at work when the phone rang. I was slightly surprised that it was our social worker on the other end. She was asking how our trip to Las Vegas had gone. You see, my...

When people meet my dad, they generally notice his hands, particularly the girth of his fingers. They may also notice the freckles the dot the back of his hands, or the area that is devoid of freckles from the fire, or the heavy thick caluses that he wears like badges of honor. My eyes see the story that goes with those hands. I see the way that they hold my mother’s hands just perfectly. I see hand’s that, despite their physical...

 This past week my brother and I were in a custom motorcycle shop in Long Beach, California, surrounded by the sights and sounds of various people and machines producing mechanical works of art. As I looked around the facility at the workers and employees working on crafting these mechanical marvels, I noticed that most, if not all, of the workers had tattoos peaking out from underneath their clothing. While I doubt that I would ever get a tattoo (more than a...