| | | | | |

Adoption: What Can I Do to Help?

Last summer I had the joy of talking with Katie for her Happy Playces Podcast. We started out talking busy schedules, sports, and our faith. But moved onto adoption, parenting, grief, tough love, grace, and embracing the broken pieces of our lives as God puts it together in a brand new way.

Adoption : What Can I Do to Help | National Adoption Month #adoption

Adoption is of course near and dear to my heart. I write about it often here in this space. November is National Adoption Month. It’s a month to which I can’t help but bring attention because God has engraved on our hearts forever the plight of the orphan.  I thought it a fitting time to share the podcast. Katie pulled out pieces of the story that lead up to adoption, but also to the grief and surrendering after coming home. Adoption is beautiful. What God does in our hearts and lives through adoption is the miraculous. Getting there is far from easy, but then again …

The greatest depths of beauty rise from ashes, not from the comfort and convenience of ease.

The greatest depth of beauty rises from ashes, not from the comfort and convenience of ease #nationaladoptiomonth #hope #love #podcast Click To Tweet

Talking adoption,parenting,grief,tough love,grace,&embracing the broken pieces of our lives w/ @happyplayces Click To Tweet

This month would you make an intentional choice to pray specifically for not only the orphan, but for what role God is asking you to play in the cause of the orphan?

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.” -James 1:27

The Orphan Crisis – How Can I Help?

The Orphan Crisis: What Can I Do to Help | National Adoption Month #adoption #nationaladoptionmonth #orphancrisisPray or the Orphan
  • For families to rise up around these children.
  • That they experience Jesus and embrace His unfailing love.
  • No matter the depth of the rejection, betrayal, neglect, or abuse these children have suffered, they open their hearts to love and trust.
  • Their lives are transformed.
  • The dysfunction and brokenness of generations stops with them.
  • They defy the odds.
  • For healed minds, hearts, and souls.
Determine Your Role
  • Prayer.
  • Tangible day-to-day support of another family currently fostering or adopting.
  • Financial support through organizations coming around children and families.
  • Volunteering in a local foster program, church, or community. Something as simple as giving up a few hours of your month to provide childcare while parents attend a support group helps significantly! There are so many needs and an equal amount of volunteer options!
  • Mentoring a foster child.
  • Fostering.
  • Adopting.
Places to Get More Information and Ways to Make a Difference
Scriptures Referencing God’s Desire for us to Care for the Orphan
  • “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, “Give them up!” and to the south, “Do not hold them back.” Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth”  Isaiah 43:5-6
  •  “A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.  God sets the lonely in families.  (Psalms 68:5-6)
  •  “He defends the cause of the fatherless”  (Deuteronomy 10:18)
  •  “In you the fatherless find mercy.” (Hosea 14:4)
  •  “You are the helpers of the fatherless.” (Psalm 10:14)
  •  “It is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:14)
  •  “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.” (James 1:27)
  •  “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:18)
  •  “Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:5)
  •  “Remember those…who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” (Hebrews 13:3)
  •  “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us…let us not love with word or tongue, but with action and in truth.” (I John 3:16-18)
  •  “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” (Matthew 25:35)
  •  “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves…defend the rights of the needy.” (Proverbs 31:8,9)
Some of the Most Popular Links to Our Family Adoption Story
Want to know how YOU can help?Check out these adoption & orphan care resources #hope #nationaladoptionmonth Click To Tweet

Adoption : What Can I Do to Help | National Adoption Month #adoption

By the way, if you love podcasts (like I do!) stop by and visit Katie! Her joy is infectious and her insight filled with much wisdom! You can find her HERE on her blog or on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!



In the midst of every tragedy, God moves to create a good. A Bible verse I hold tight to is, “Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it. This was to keep many people alive, as he is doing now.” (Genesis 50:20 GW) . Adoption begins in the broken. Every adoption story bears grief. Yet in the midst of what the enemy means for harm, God steps in to make a good. A beautiful powerful good.

And He does it everywhere we look.

As you know, our world has recently been rocked by natural disaster after natural disaster. It seemed that as each disaster pummeled another part of our world and we saw image after image of destitution and pain, that “good” was no where to be found. Yet it was there and it began to surface. It was in the people uniting together to help. It was in the people who chose life and refused to give up. God showed up.

This week my blogging buddy and dear friend in real life, Marva Smith of Sun Sparkle Shine shares some of those stories. You see, Marva’s home island of Tortola was struck by Hurricane Irma and again by Maria. What was her place of safety and peace now was no more. Today, Marva grieves all she has lost yet places one foot in front of the other as she goes about the business of rebuilding life and holding onto joy with her family. She says she clings to her faith each moment and knows God is birthing good out of the rubble.

May you, no matter the storm you are facing in your life, cling to God’s Word and know somewhere … somehow … and in some way …

He will make good rise out of the depths of your rubble, too.
God will make good rise out of the depths of your rubble #adoption #nationaladoptionmonth Click To Tweet



My New Book!

Surrendered Hearts: An Adoption Story of Love, Loss, and Learning to Trust is our family’s adoption story. But it’s so much more. It’s how we’ve learned to surrender our will for God’s and how we’ve experienced miracles because of it. My prayer is that as each persona steps out into the unknown, they lean into the strength of Christ and discover something far beyond what they have ever imagined.

Did you know it's National Adoption Month? Surrendered Hearts: An Adoption Story of Love, Loss, and Learning to Trust just released! @RedemptionPress #nationaladoptionmonth #adoption Click To Tweet

Surrendered Hearts: An Adoption Story of Love, Loss, and Learning to Trust

Surrendered Hearts: An Adoption Story of Love, Loss, and Learning to Trust by Lori Schumaker #SurrenderedHeartsBook #adoption

Want more information? The Surrendered Hearts website is HERE! You’ll find the Book Video Trailer and other goodies like shareable images, tweets, and a set of FREE Bonus Resources for the adoptive parent or for anyone needing a little extra encouragement in life!
Surrendered Hearts - An Adoption Story of Love, Loss, and Learning to Trust is available NOW on @Amazon @BNBuzz @ChristianBook @RedemptionPress #SurrenderedHeartsBook #nationaladoptionmonth Click To Tweet

Want to go straight to Amazon? Then you can click HERE!

Free Printable Bonus Resources: Prayers, Verses, Scripture Cards, Resource Lists., and a beautiful original print. A huge packet of resources for the adoptive parent or for anyone needing encouragement in life! Created with Surrendered Hearts: An Adoption Story of Love, Loss, and Learning to Trust by Lori Schumaker #adoption #prntables #scripturecards #bibleverses

Get your absolutely FREE set of Bonus Resources for the adoptive parent or for anyone needing a little extra encouragement in life! #SurrenderedHeartsBook #adoption #NationalAdoptionMonth Click To Tweet

The Surrendered Heart Bracelet: Choose to Live Surrendered to the One who makes the Impossible Possible! #LiveSurrendered #SurrenderedHeartsBook #Godslove #adoption #bracelet

The Surrendered Hearts Bracelet

In conjunction with the book, I have partnered with Theresa of  Tees Cherished Finds to create a Surrendered Hearts Bracelet! The message to Live Surrendered means that you are choosing to lay down your fears and live surrendered to the One who makes the impossible possible.  When you choose to Live Surrendered, you are committing to following Jesus where He calls. You are choosing to let go of your way and take hold of His way.  And when you purchase a bracelet for just $15 (look in the right margin), just as when you purchase the book, a portion of the proceeds will go to Lori’s chosen adoption ministries. Just click on the image below. It will take you to the Surrendered Hearts page where you can find out more and make your purchase!

Check out the Surrendered Hearts Bracelet and make a statement to LIVE SURRENDERED! #SurrenderedHeartsBook #NationalAdoptionMonth Click To Tweet
Don’t Miss Out!

If you haven’t signed up yet to receive updates, you can do so right HERE (or fill out the form below).  Subscribing will get you my occasional updates. It also gets you full access to my resource-filled Library of Hope! It has a ton of stuff in it to help you meet life’s challenges head on with the best tool we have – the hope of Christ!


Similar Posts

I'd love for you to share your thoughts!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

24 Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing your heart for adoption — I have so much admiration for those who take this brave step. And gratitude too, because my youngest son’s best friend was adopted from Ethiopia!

    1. God uses adoption to touch all our hearts in powerful ways. I know He doesn’t call everyone to the act of foster or adoption. He calls us each to a unique walk with Him. Yet He does call us to care in some way and I have a feeling you have been an encourager and support to this young man! Blessings to you, Michele!

  2. Hi Lori!!! Thank you for sharing your heart!!! Adoption is near and dear to my heart as well. I adopted my oldest son through foster care, and it has forever changed my life. I love this quote:
    “Adoption is beautiful. What God does in our hearts and lives through adoption is the miraculous. Getting there is far from easy, but then again …
    The greatest depths of beauty rise from ashes, not from the comfort and convenience of ease.”
    That is SOOO good!
    This month National Adoption Month is the focus of my blog (emilymwood.com). I am sharing adoption stories from numerous families, along with personal posts about how people can get involved. I LOVE your infographic and I am adding it to my social media calendar for this month. At the end of this month, I am also going to do a “blog tour” sharing adoption posts from different blogs. If you don’t mind, can I add this post to the tour?

    1. What a beautiful month it will be on your blog! I am stopping by there as soon as I finish this comment. I will make sure to share your posts throughout the month, as well! I’d absolutely love it if you would add this post to the tour ♥ And I am praying God uses these words, posts, readers, hearts … all of it … to break the hearts of many for the cause of the orphan. Because once our hearts are broken, there is no turning away!

      Blessings and smiles,
      Lori

  3. Lori, the verses really touched me. Psalm 68:6, especially. How good of the Lord to care for us so deeply! Thank you for sharing your heart with us, Lori.

    1. Thank you, Leslie! I do so love Psalm 68:6, too. ♥ Thank you so much for joining me here to point to the Hope!

  4. Hey Lori! I love what you’ve shared here. My heart is so close to this topic. My husband and I just became licensed to do foster care. Through fostering, we hope to adopt. As I read through the list of scriptures you shared on adoption, my heart was truly touched. I forwarded an email copy to my husband so that he could be encouraged, too. Blessings to you, my friend!

    1. What wonderful news, Tiffiney! Please keep me up to date on all that God does! I’d love to be your cheerleader and prayer warrior!

  5. Lori, thanks for all these great reminders about how adoption is dear to God’s heart and needs to be something we care about to. You provide so many ways for us to get involved. My mom was adopted. And let us not forget we are all adopted into the family of God.

  6. Adoption is near and dear to my heart. Thank you so much for sharing about how to help!

    1. Ah, Laura, once God breaks our hearts for the fatherless, there is no going back! I remember a day I prayed for God to break my heart for what breaks His. I had no idea what I was getting into! lol!

  7. Thank you for sharing your adoption story. I love reading about it. I had no idea November was adoption month. You have prompted me to consider sharing my own journey of adoption. I was adopted at a 3 days old.

    1. Oh, how I would love to hear your adoption story, Maree! It is obvious God has worked in your life in powerful ways ♥

  8. Lori, thank you for sharing your heart, and for bringing awareness to the ministry of adoption/foster care. It is a good reminder for my family and I to be lifting up these little ones in prayer on a regular basis.

    You wrote, “he greatest depths of beauty rise from ashes, not from the comfort and convenience of ease”, and “in the midst of tragedy, God moves to create a good.”

    I couldn’t agree more! I talk about these same concepts in my own blog post, shared here today.

    Thank you again, for sharing your heart towards adoption with us. And for hosting this link-up! 🙂

    Blessings,
    Rachel

    1. Hi Rachel,
      I can’t wait to stop by and read your post! Thank you for joining me here to share the hope we have in Jesus!

  9. I love this list of Scriptures! Psalms 68:5-6 has been dear to my heart for a long time. Praise the Lord for His tender heart toward the helpless!
    I’m tweeting and sharing on Facebook.

    1. Thank you for sharing, Ruth! I pray God uses it to nudge the hearts of some who have never considered their role before or strike an idea in those who have wanted to help but didn’t know how. ♥

      1. By the way, Lori, I noticed on your list above that it was possible to mentor foster kids. I’m assuming that is something different from actually fostering? If so, where can I find info on that?

        1. Hi Ruth,
          I am not sure in all states but in Arizona one such program is through CASA. I’ll provide the link here. Also, find out what your larger adoption agencies in the state offer. We have a couple key ones that offer many different volunteer options. http://www.azcourts.gov/CASA

          Blessings to you!

  10. “Yet it was there and it began to surface. It was in the people uniting together to help. It was in the people who chose life and refused to give up. God showed up.” Yes! I love how God shows up through his people, time and time again. And may he continue to show up for the orphans. Thanks for all you do to shine light on ways we can each help, even if we don’t take an orphan into our own home.

    1. Amen, Lisa! May we follow Him more and be His conduit!

  11. Awesome quote about rising from the ashes! I agree! Thanks for hosting!