Foundations

Last Saturday I witnessed an inspiring event at Scottsdale Bible Church. Hundreds of families came together to learn about adopting waiting kids from foster care.

Right now, there are more than 350 kids in the Arizona foster care system waiting for adoptive families and thousands more in need of safe and loving temporary foster homes. The stories shared about these orphans waiting for “forever families” were heart-wrenching, yet filled with hope and promise.

Several times we heard the phrase, “No child is ‘unadoptable.’ We just haven’t found the right family yet.”

One speaker asked the crowd, “How many of you are adopted?” A smattering of hands went up. Then, he read Paul’s words in Ephesians 1:3-10 emphasizing verse 5, “In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, …”

Again, he asked, “How many of you are adopted?” We all raised our hands.

Another speaker shared passionately about the need, boldly asking the crowd, “Do you have what it takes? Is God calling you?” After a brief moment of silence, a voice from the crowd spontaneously shouted the words, “I am!” and the whole place exploded in applause.

Last Saturday, 144 families started the process by getting their fingerprints done (see picture).

As we saw the line for fingerprints grow and stretch out the door, a mom of 9 (as she puts it “4 bio and 5 adopted”) leaned toward me with tears in her eyes and whispered, “Wow, what a blessing … this is so huge.”

If you want to know more about what you can do to support adoptive families or about becoming an adoptive family, check out Christian Family Care at www.connectonenow.org/adoption.

Did you hear!? Dr. Tel Tackett, creator of The Truth Project®, is coming to Phoenix on Saturday, October 29 to introduce new material and help answer the question, “What’s next?” for those seeking to influence and transform our culture with God’s truth.

The Faith in Action Tour is designed to help you:

DISCOVER your God-given calling,
ENGAGE with local organizations that are meeting needs, and
TRANSFORM our community for Jesus Christ.

Be inspired and get equipped to make a difference right where you live.

Saturday, October 29
9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Bethany Bible Church, Phoenix, AZ

In the few days since announcing the event we have rocketed past 100 registrations!

Reserve your spot today!

Did you happen to catch this story on CBS 5 Phoenix? A local 8-year-old girl got a “disturbing” shock after checking out a book from her elementary school library on the recommendation of a few classmates.

 “A fourth grader at Quail Run Elementary School checked out a book this week, that’s raising more than just eyebrows among parents and administrators.

Eight-year-old Faith was reading “Lovingly Alice,” from the popular “Alice” series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, after a couple of her classmates recommended it.

Faith says it first covered menstruation, but “when it got to the more older and grown up stuff, I was like, ‘Whoa, that’s just a little disturbing,’ so I told my mom.”

Her mother, Hilary, was shocked at what her daughter was reading. She brought the book to the attention of the school principal, and read him graphic passages from the book, which includes a very specific discussion about sexual intercourse.”

Perhaps what is most troublesome about this story is the fact that this was an elementary school library – not a public library – and not in some far away state, but right here in our own backyard.

At CAP it’s our goal to pass legislation to promote parents’ right to direct the upbringing and education of their children, but stories like this one remind us that this is an ongoing battle.

Here are some simple things that we as parents can do to better protect our kids from these situations: 

• Know your rights as a parent! In 2010, CAP worked with legislators to pass the Parents’ Bill of Rights. This year, we worked to pass a bill to extend these rights to parents of children in charter schools.
• Talk with your kids. This seems like a basic principle, but the only way this book was discovered was by a mom talking with her daughter about school. There is so much that goes on during a school day that may not be covered in parent-teacher conferences or show up in class curriculum.
• If you have questions, resource CAP. We’re here to help. It was because a concerned parent stepped forward that we were involved in extending the Parents’ Bill of Rights to charter schools.