Truly inspiring!

***This entire post has been hijacked from Heather's blog***



SBC Messengers Enthusiastically Support Moore's Resolution on Adoption


Jeff Robinson June 26, 2009


Messengers at the 2009 annual meeting of The Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a resolution proposed by Russell D. Moore promoting adoption and orphan care.


The resolution encouraged every Southern Baptist family to pray about whether God wants them to adopt or provide foster care for a child or children. It also called on Southern Baptist and other evangelical churches to devote a Sunday each year to emphasize "our adoption in Christ and our common burden for the orphans of the world."


Moore, who serves as senior vice president for academic administration and dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, knows well of which he proposed; Moore and his wife Maria adopted two of their sons from a Russian orphanage a few years ago.
Moore hopes the resolution will provoke deep thinking that leads to action among Southern Baptists regarding the Gospel significance of adoption and orphan care; all who are saved by God’s grace were once orphans who were adopted into the Kingdom of Christ.


The number of adoptions among evangelicals has steadily increased in recent years, yet the need is profound: in the United States alone, more than 500,000 children were in foster care system in 2005, the last year for which federal statistics were available. About 115,000 were waiting for adoption.


“Something is a foot among Christian families and churches of virtually every kind,” Moore said.



“God is calling the people of Christ to see the face of Jesus in the faces of orphans in North America and around the world. Southern Baptists have affirmed our belief in the authority of Scripture, and the Bible tells us pure religion is defined by care for the fatherless.


“We’ve been defined by our commitment to evangelism, and there is no greater field is 'white unto harvest’ right now as children in orphanages, group homes, and the foster care system, children who don’t know a parent’s love and who don’t know the name of Jesus. When Satan wars against children, we should be the ones who have compassion on them, even as Jesus did and does.


Moore authored a deeply personal and compellingly theological book on adoption that was published in May by Crossway books, “Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families &Churches.” In it, Moore argues that the church should view the adoption of orphans as a crucial part of its mission precisely because God has adopted helpless sinners to be His sons.


“The resolution by itself isn’t going to spark an orphan care movement among Southern Baptists,” he said.“Neither is my book, and neither are a thousand manifestoes. Only the Holy Spirit can do that as local churches start to embrace a vision for orphan care.


“The resolution though was meant to prompt some questions. If one messenger in the Convention hall is moved to simply pray, ‘Lord, how would you have me minister to orphans?’ then the resolution is a success, in my view. If one pastor is prompted to ponder how he could preach on adoption, or lead a foster care ministry among his folks, then the work is starting.


During the introduction of the resolution, Moore appeared on stage with Timothy and Benjamin, the sons he and his wife adopted seven years ago. More than 8,000 messengers met the resolution and its unanimous passage with lengthy, enthusiastic applause.


“I was overwhelmed with emotion on the platform to see my sons, two little ex-orphans, looking out on a sea of yellow ballots as thousands of Southern Baptists affirmed that we want to be the people who love fatherless children,” he said.


“I realized that, in an alternative story, my boys would still be in an orphanage, not knowing even the name of Christ Jesus. But here they are, at the Southern Baptist Convention, calling by their very presence the world’s largest Protestant denomination to recognize there are hundreds of thousands of children as helpless and alone as they once were.


“My prayer is that twenty years from now there are thousands of Southern Baptist pastors, missionaries, and church leaders who started their lives as orphans, now preaching the gospel of God their Father.”

We are the Body

But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way

**This is one of my favorite Casting Crowns songs**
__________________________________________

I had to share something that you wouldn't see if I didn't take pictures of it.

I wanted to thank you all for praying for and providing for these children that are without a family.

I had to share how you are being the body of Christ by loving on the littlest of His children.

Each child got at least 10 outfits, a bible, a DVD, toys, backpack, laundry basket, blankets, flip flops, books, and a wrapped present. That's just what I can remember!

The other great news is that 5 families have contacted me in the interest of adopting them. Does that give you chills?

What makes me even more excited is that it means that 5 couples have opened their hearts to adoption and that just thrills me to pieces. Our 10,000 kids in OK foster care might be dwindling as we strive to become more active as the body of Christ.

Thank you for the prayers. Please continue to keep these children in your heart as I am sure they still have a long road in front of them. Thank you to the families who gave so generously to these children!

What Are YOU doing?

This is not a post to call you out. But of course, we feel called to do something for orphans in Oklahoma. Not everyone is called to adopt, so today - you get the perspective of someone who is NOT going to adopt a child.....EVER. So - did that get your attention? I hope it did. Offended? Don't be.

You see I thought I was going to adopt. I thought I would adopt my firstborn. Her name was (IS) Grace. We were picked by her birthmom and we were scheduled to meet "R" (our birthmom) on July 25th, 2006 - that date is forever etched in my memory. But on July 6th, I found out I was pregnant. Many of you think I would have been elated - I was devastated. I had bonded to what I thought was going to be my baby.....but it wasn't to be. So I did actually have a baby, in February of 2007. But in my mind, the pregnancy was a miracle and there wasn't any way I would get pregnant again. So after my daughter was about ten months old, my husband and I started to look at an adoption agency again, and fill out the paperwork. Yep - I filled out paperwork to adopt my second child.....but in February of 2008 - I found out I was pregnant AGAIN. My husband and I only want two children, at one point, I thought I wanted three - but with two, I realize this is what our family is going to be.

So is that the end of my adoption story? No....I might not be an "adoptive mom", but we are all called to do something. So I took a good look at myself to see what I can do for the "adoption community". For starters - I am a lawyer. Ha! Not always highly looked upon - even in the adoption community. BUT - that is something that I can use to help the community. So - with my sister, I am working on changing legislation. But that is a SLOW process, so in the mean time, what else can I do? So - I do adoptions....for free. Not for everyone - don't all start calling. But for family, close friends, and some from our church family. I am currently working on two. My husband and I have decided that since we feel so strongly about adoption, that since we won't be adopting, we would like to "fund" someone else to adopt a child. Of course - with me not working full time or working for free, we won't be doing that any time soon, but we have a goal to pay for an adoption.
This is Molly adding this picture. This is of Becki, Blake and I, Cooper and Sadie on Sadie's Gotcha Day when we were in court. Such a wonderful gift for our finalization to be free!

Why in the world am I telling you this? (I am sure you are like - what is this? Does this lady just want a pat on the back?) No - although I like my back pats! I want you to open your mind up and see what YOU can do to help the adoptive community? To help orphans? What are your gifts, strengths? Want some ideas?

1. Take clothes by the local "children's shelter" in your area.

2. Take a handful of movie tickets for the teens at the local shelter.

3. Take by pizzas for a pizza dinner for the shelter.

4. Buy "white water" or "big splash" tickets for the kids at the shelter and drop them off.

5. Host a picnic, cook out, ice cream party for the shelter.

6. Become a foster parent. (OK that one is big - thought I would sneak it in there!)

7. Get involved in POA - write a PSA for us to play on local radio stations.

8. Go to meetings at the Capitol in OKC for the Adoption Task Force.

9. Go to your local adoption agency and make a donation.

10. Volunteer as a Child Advocate for CASA.

Many of you donated money for the birth mother retreat for Mother's Day. These were the baskets that were given to each birth mom who attended. They were beyond blessed. To see more go here to see the story.

The point is, at the end of the day....what are you doing with your time? Will it make a lasting impact on someone's life?

I want to end this with a personal story. I don't mention this a lot, but I am a prosecutor. For years, my sole job was to prosecute parents and terminate their parental rights to their children, for reasons of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, deprivation, lack of medical care, etc. It was/is a rewarding job. The last child I removed from her home, was a sweet baby girl. I had removed her two biological sisters years earlier. Her birthmom still had not corrected her "problem", so this tiny one was removed. She was placed with her sisters. After serving her parents, neither showed for Court - they knew where this was headed. I obviously had a good working relationship with the "foster parents" who choose to adopt this little girl (and her sisters). One day, as I was sitting in my office, the adoptive mom called me, she asked if I had time to talk. Of course - for her I did. She gently started telling me of the adoption pending, how they wanted me to attend and that they had chosen a name for the baby. She would be called....Becki. Is there a better reward than that?

My challenge....do something....anything, this week, and please e-mail us, send a pic, even just post a comment....Let us know how you can help.

MEETING CANCELLED

Thank you Dierdre for giving me heads up!

The Adoption Task Force meeting for Friday, June 19th has been cancelled.

3rd Friday

It's the 3rd Friday, not the 3rd Thursday, on which the Adoption Task Force meets. Same place as mentioned before. I changed it on the post, but wanted to make sure if anyone was planning on trying to attend that you would be EARLY if you came on Thursday!

So, please join me if you can. The 3rd Friday of every month from 1-3pm at the state capitol room 412 C.

Also, thanks to all of you that have emailed me about helping out with the kids. I am so excited and I know that this will bless them more than we will ever know. Please pray that they feel the love of Christ through all of this. Also, please keep praying for their forever family to find them and start the process of adopting them!

Caring for the fatherless

First, I want to thank you for all of you that have been following us and praying for the children that I mentioned a couple of posts back.

Sadly, I have not heard from anyone willing to open their home to these kids. Please continue to pray that God speaks clearly to the family He has already chosen for this sibling group.

I mentioned in the last post about Adopt(ed) and I have enjoyed reading through some of their posts. One thing that Charissa mentioned that I thought was such a wonderful point for domestic adoption was this...

"Just because we do not have orphanages in the United States does not mean we don't have orphans."

So many times we think that our system is better than so many other countries because we don't have orphanages. As Christians, we need to care for these children.

So, here is what I am asking. The teacher (Michelle) that brought this sibling group to my attention has given me more information. The children are girl (5), boy (7) and girl (9). They were taken from their foster home and put into a safe home and they lost everything they called their own. They don't have any of their clothes, none of their toys...nothing to call their own or remind them of what they once called home.

Michelle is wanting to know if anyone would be willing to help remind them of God's love and plan for their life. She is wanting to put together some goodies for them just to make them smile and remind them they are loved.

I would love to collect things if you want to help out. The youngest girl wears a 4T and loves to dress up and also play pirate. So cute! The boy wears a 6-7 and loves anything Spiderman and Batman. The oldest girl loves to draw and be creative and wears a size 7-8. I will take anything and even will take money and I will buy the items if that's easier for you.

I feel like this is the least that we can do to love on these children in such a difficult time for them. They are old enough to understand so much of what's going on and they feel the stress and anxiety of being moved out of their foster home.

My PO Box is 5692 Edmond OK 73083 (Molly Shockley). Please only send money through the PO box as it is a small box. If you are going to collect items, please comment and we can find a way that I can come and get them. Michelle (the oldest girl's teacher) is wanting to give them the goodies in about a week!

Thanks for helping in any way that you can!

Adopt(ed)

I recently found a blog that shares our passion for adoption and asked if I could share this post. Please read as this is very powerful. I am proud to say that these mama's are from Oklahoma too!

Here it is:

"Recently I was made aware of a situation where two siblings locally were removed from their home for child abuse. A group of over 3,000 people were presented with this situation and asked whether anyone in the room could take these children in. I was thankful to find out a couple stepped forward........ but saddened and a little perplexed to find out that only one couple, out of a group of over 3,000 christian people.....stepped forward.

I wish I could remember where I read this so I could quote it accurately as well as give them proper credit, but somewhere recently I read a statement that said something like this: "In a city where there are Christians, there should be no unwanted children."


Ouch.


Which makes me wonder why this is so. WHY, if there are 450,000 churches in the U.S.A., WHY are there 129,000 children in the U.S. waiting for families?


My pastor, Alex Himaya, did a sermon series explaining WHY God has such a heart for adoption. I encourage every believer to hear it (Click here to hear). Out of that sermon came an orphan ministry that John and I are so thankful to be a part of. I am working on a new blog,
adopt-ed.blogspot.com where I hope to share stories related to orphans and vulnerable children, connect adoptive families, highlight events, share some of the outreaches of our church adoption ministry, etc. I do hope you'll come visit it, set your google reader, and be a part of the Adopt(Ed) ministry at The Church at Battle Creek.

God is at work...

I don't even know where to start this post, but by saying that possibly this is why God wanted us to start an OK adoption blog.

That gives me chills to even think about.

I am hoping that each of you will pray over this situation and seriously consider if God is calling you to something here.

I got an email from a pastor at our church about siblings that are needing a family. Evidently, one of the siblings is in class with a teacher from my church. The teacher heard that they were put into a safe home and taken out of their foster home and were most likely going to be split up because they have no homes open to 3 siblings.

So, this is where we need some serious prayer over these 3, ages 5, 7, and 9. The 9 year old is a girl.

I asked if it was okay that we post about these 3 just praying that someone would know someone wanting to adopt. This pastor is going to try and get more information on the kids so please email me or comment if you are interested or know someone who is. I don't want to post a lot about them just to protect them, but will share as we know more to those open to adoption.

Here is my email: mollykshockley@hotmail.com

The best thing you can do at this point is join me in praying for these children that only have each other and are scared to death they are going to lose just that.

Visible

Okay, I am sure many are wondering where we are with our proposal.



What progress is being made with our current priority of Cooper's Law?



We are still trying to gain attention to this amendment. That's where we are...this takes a while.



I hadn't heard back about the adoption task force that we mentioned a while back, so I contacted two of those on the committee and heard back from Representative Jason Nelson.



I really just asked about how we could follow their progress and what their current focus was on.

And I thought his response was both exciting and would help us to be visible and present.



The committee meets the third Friday of every month from 1 to 3 PM in room 412C of the Capitol. This is an open meeting at this point! I am so excited about this and I am hoping this means that we could have some visibility for the committee.

So, I am going to do everything that I can to get childcare during this time. I am hoping there might be others in the area that could occasionally be present for this committee meeting. We just need to know what things they are talking about and we need to be there if they have questions about what we are proposing with our law!

Such exciting stuff! Please let me know if you are willing to help me out even if just once to be present at one of these meetings!