Tuesday, October 16, 2012

WE ARE MOVING!

Well, not literally...we like our home.

However, we have moved our blog.

You can find us here:


Hope to see you there!









Monday, October 15, 2012

Eighteen from Him!


I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
Isaiah 43:5-7

This message, found in the center of the Bible, has been a true blessing to us through the years. It was an Old Testament promise to Israel that they would once again live in the Promised Land. Today that same promise holds for the Christians whom the Lord will call his own. Yet, it is also a poignant set of verses which speaks strongly to adoptive parents. And it is the beginning of several of our children's story...for we are parents to children from the east, west, north, and south, who are now called by Christ's name and bring him glory!

Come to find out, God was not done bringing children into our hearts and home.

For years we had been praying for a word from the Lord as to whether He wanted us to add more children to our family through adoption. We are still quite young (well...at least that holds true for my wife!) and through experience have learned much about parenting children, regardless of how or where they were come from.

Not to mention, we know Adoption Truth #14:
Never say never to adoption again. As time goes on and you learn to parent the adopted child, there are many more hurting children who need and want parents.

The impression from the Lord to our prayer was yes, but wait. So year after year, we continued to wait and trust that the Lord would make it clear in his timing. 

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it
shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because
it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Habakkuk 2:3

Katherine had a desire in her heart to know if we were to adopt again. It was a growing burden for her. On November 16, 2010, she and I went out to dinner. While discussing our life, children, and future over a 'Bloomin Onion', she hit me with the question. She asked if I would be OK with adopting more children. I immediately responded, 
If God drops children in our lap, I am not opposed to it.”


Much to her surprise and mine, on Wednesday, March 9, 2011 the Lord 'dropped four children in our lap'. On September 14, 2012, the Philippines gave us permission to adopt them. Now we wait for more paperwork to be done with the understanding that in 2-3 months from now we will be able to travel to bring them home. 

You can follow their story through our 'Journey to Cebu' blog posts at:
http://ontheirjourney.blogspot.com/





Saturday, October 6, 2012

Books and More Books


Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2:3-6


In the early years, we were drowning under issues which ensued after we adopted. We sought counsel from many venues, primarily the Bible and through prayer. Over time the Lord began to lead us to what the adoptive world would call 'unconventional books'. However, through the information in these books our family began to heal and see more clearly though 'through a glass, darkly'.

Attachment issues and/or RAD are not new issues (consider: Cain, Ishmael, Esau, Absalom and Judas), but with the influx of adopted children, we are seeing a pronounced rise of publicity regarding these behaviors. The truth also remains, many families beyond number deal with these very same issues everyday with birth-children who were never abused, neglected, or abandoned. Though this brought us extreme comfort (it is not just an adoption issue), it did have us begin looking at our 'problems' from a new angle.

Thus this book list was formed as the Lord lead us to more and more information 'shedding light' on our cry for help in dealing with our children. May you be blessed by this list as well. Over time we will be 'highlighting' different books in a review, but for now here they are in list form.

Happy Reading!



Book Resources

Adoption Stories

The Family Nobody Wanted
                By Helen Doss

Twelve-Part Harmony: A Heartwarming Story of Adoption
                By Pat and Jill Williams
               
You’ve Got to Be Kidding!: Real-life Parenting from a Mom and Dad of Nineteen
                By Pat and Ruth Williams (sequel to Twelve-Part Harmony)

Adoption as a Ministry, Adoption as a Blessing
                By Michelle Gardner

After the Dream Comes True: Post-Adoption Support for Christian Families
                By Michelle Gardner


Christian Adoptive Parenting

Shepherding a Child’s Heart
                By Tedd Tripp

Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens
                By Paul David Tripp

Instructing a Child’s Heart
                By Tedd & Margy Tripp

What the Bible says about Child Training
                By Richard Fugate

Hints on Child Training
                By H. Clay Trumbull

Raising Godly Tomatoes
                By L. Elizabeth Krueger
  
The Heart of Anger
                By Lou Priolo

Fool-Proofing Your Life
                By Jan Silvious

Family Practice: God’s Prescription for a Healthy Home
                By R.C. Sproul Jr., Elizabeth Elliot, and others

Bringing the Gospel to Covenant Children
                By Joel R. Beeke

Parenting the Wild Child: Hope and Help for Desperate Parents
                By Miles McPherson

Don’t Make Me Count to Three!
                By Ginger Plowman

Equipped to Love: Idolatry-Free relationships
                By Norm Wakefield

Parenting Isn’t For Cowards
                By Dr. James Dobson

The Duties of Parents
                By Jacobus Koelman

The Duties of Parents: Raising Children with Christ
                By J.C. Ryle

Christian Living in the Home
                By Jay E. Adams

The Way They Learn
                By Cynthia Ulrich Tobias

Different Children Different Needs
                By Charles F. Boyd

How Children Raise Parents
                By Dr. Dan Allender

The Five Love Languages of Children
                By Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell

Raising a Modern-Day Knight
                By Robert Lewis

The Exemplary Husband
                By Stuart Scott

The Excellent Wife
                By Martha Peace

Strengthening Your Marriage
                By Wayne A. Mack

Love and Respect
By Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

Family Shepherds: Calling and Equipping Men to Lead Their Homes
                By Voddie Baucham Jr.

Thoughts on Family Worship
                By James Alexander

When You Rise Up: A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling
                By R.C. Sproul Jr.


Clinical Books

Adopting the Hurt Child: Hope for Families with Special-Needs Kids
                By Gregory Keck, Phd. And Regina Kupecky, LSW

Parenting the Hurt Child
                By Gregory Keck, Phd. And Regina Kupecky, LSW

The Invisible Hand: Do All Things Really Work for Good
                By Dr. R.C. Sproul

 The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict
                By Ken Sande

War on Words
                By Paul Tripp

The Biblical View of Self-Esteem, Self-love, and Self-Image
                By Jay E. Adams

How To Help People Change: Four-Step Biblical Process
                By Jay E. Adams

The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind
                By Daniel Siegel

Inside the Brain: Revolutionary Discoveries of How the Mind Works
                By Ronald Kotulak

The Brain That Changes Itself
                By Norman Doidge
  
The Wounded Heart: Hope for Adult Victims of Childhood S’xual Abuse
                By Dr. Dan B. Allender

Ghosts from the Nursey: Tracing the Roots of Violence
                By Robin Karr-Morse and Meredith S. Wiley

On Combat
                By Lt. Col. Dave Grossman with Loren Christensen

The Boy Who was Raised as a Dog
                By Dr. Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz


Adoption Books

This Means War: Equipping Families for Adoption or Foster Care
               By Cheryl Ellicott

Adopting for Good: A Guide for People Considering Adoption   
                By Jorie Kincaid

Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches
                By Russell D. Moore
  
Adoption Nation: How the Adoption Revolution is Transforming Our Families—and America
                By Adam Pertman


Devotionals

My Utmost For His Highest
                 By Oswald Chambers

Morning and Evening
                 By C.H. Spurgeon

Daily Strength for Daily Needs
                 By Mary W. Tileston




2012, Robert and Katherine Sanford, Adoption Heart Ministries

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Which 'Institution' Is Best?

[While attending the Lifesong for Orphans Benefit in 2008, we were asked by an orphan advocate from the east-coast to share our thoughts  regarding group home verses foster care for children entering 'the system'. This is the response. It is still relevant today.]





Dear Sir, 

You posed the question...which is more beneficial for children in America taken from their homes by Social Services, to be placed in a group home or a foster care home prior to returning to birth-family or adoption or their 18th birthday?

This is a very interesting question of which we have given quite a bit of thought to over the last seven years. What precipitated our internal query into the subject is the interesting fact that we adopted four girls through our local foster care system, four children through a Russian orphanage and three children who had been in the Philippine's orphanage and foster care/group home system as well as having three children by birth. By God's sovereign design all eleven of our adopted children (regardless of country origin) had at least one, if not more, of their 'new siblings' sharing similar stories and ages of when they first came into 'State care' as well as similar ages of when we adopted them. How these children adjusted, embraced or rejected our family, having the 'control factor' of three birth-children as well as having many friends who have adopted, gave rise to the question...Which 'Public Institution' (orphanage, foster care, or group home) is best to help a child adjust to being placed in a permanent family by adoption or to enter the world on the 18th birthday?

The curious thing is, our foreign-born children (ranging in ages from 8-12 years old) coming from an orphanage and group home setting did better adjusting to the ebb and flow of joining an adoptive family (at least at first). The 11 yr. old who came from a foster home in the USA had a much harder time of adjusting. There are many factors that could and do attribute to this difference but the one that is most pertinent to this conversation is the reality that the girls loyalty was to their birth-family though parental rights had been terminated and they could not have contact until their 18th birthday. They had not come to terms with this in the truest sense or in the depths of their heart. So when they were approached regarding adoption they were all for it as  the next step in ‘housing’; not because they wanted to have fellowship, bond with, or learn from these new parents. It is with these experiences in mind that we share the following thoughts.

There are true advantages to placing older children/young adults (10 yrs old to 18) in a group home or orphanage  The often traumatic but necessary event of 'taking children from their birth-family' creates emotions and reactions that could be better processed if the child were with other children of 'like situation'. The process of placing this older child/young adult in a family setting to be repeatedly moved or jostled from visits with birth-family to assimilating into foster-family puts a toll on all involved. Often in these moves between foster families there are changes in school of which they are the 'only ones' in foster care. So not only do they have to deal with the emotions of leaving birth-family (even if it is bad, it is all they knew!) they have the emotions of 'joining' another family culture (hopefully of a higher moral character then the one they came from) and peer culture adding new stress on top of the stress of uncertainty. The group home setting adds stability to an unstable situation. The child is mainly forced to adjust to a few rules to make life pleasant for all occupants. In a foster home situation the child not only must obey the family rules but typically is expected to join in the family activities and adapt to their 'way of doing things'. Now for some children this is a welcome change and a dream come true. But for many teenagers this is just fodder for more rebellion and wayward behavior meaning removal to a new foster home. Also, if the State decides to try birth-parent and child reunion and it does not work, the child never returns to the former foster care home; but maybe they could return to the same group home (unfamiliar with group home policy). This would cut down on adjustments while in 'the system'.

Younger children are no less subject to the emotions and trauma of being displaced from their birth-families. However, due to the fact that they are not as peer driven and still need nurturing, they are better suited to be placed in foster care families where their individual needs can be met and directed towards healthy responses. This not only applies to their physical needs but as well as their emotional, mental, and spiritual needs. Babies (0-3 yo) are in particular need of individualized care which only foster care can provide. Studies have shown the benefits of rocking, holding especially during bottle feeding, eye contact, engaged conversation, etc. goes miles towards healthy development (Inside The Brain by Ronald Kotulak). This cannot be properly or adequately done in a group home or orphanage setting. 

A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. Proverbs 18:2

Even these two assessments, based on having adopted several children of varying ages and backgrounds, is flawed from the beginning. The reality is, we live in a fallen world where sin is the driving force of man's nature; if he has not been 'born again' of the Holy Spirit. So the act of putting children in a group home, orphanage, or foster home is compounded by the adults and the children they are trying to help. It is difficult enough to deal with a child who lies, steals, and cheats when you have adopted them. It is a whole other game when they are 'Wards of the State' and they are seen as victims of abuse instead of potential abusers themselves. They should be seen as 'little sinners' capable of the most hideous crimes against God and man if left to their own vices; thereby possible abusers of the very people who are trying to help them. The other danger in this mix is, if two or more 'sinful' children living together are like-mind (sexual, stealing, lying, drugs/alcohol/smoking) they will seek to act out their desires/passions together. Even the most well-trained, well-educated doctors are stumped when it comes to this 'acting out'. (See The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog by Dr. Bruce Perry) What discipline can you exact to drive the message home that this behavior or attitude is unacceptable in the 'home' or in society for that matter? And if the 'parents', be it foster or group home/orphanage, are always changing, then so are the conditions for acceptable behavior vs. punishable behavior. Yikes! So much to process in theory as well as practicality.

Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. Psalm 127

As Christians, the first thing that must be addressed regarding this entire issue biblically is the question: What is the Lord's desire regarding orphans/fatherless?! Historically, it is documented that first century Christians took it upon themselves to care for the abandoned children and to appoint church leaders to oversee their care and placement in a Christian family to be taught the things of Christ. (The Atheism of the Early Church, R.J. Rushdoony and The Rise of Christianity,W.H.C. Frend) This tradition can be seen today in part with Crisis Pregnancy Centers, foster care systems, orphanages/children’s homes, and adoption agencies. Unfortunately, the Church to a very large extent has given up the responsibility to the State. (It is a travesty!) Yet the Lord has and is raising up individuals who still believe in James 1:27 through adoption agencies, foster care homes, and adoption. However, ground could also be recovered with group homes playing an integral part of God's plan if it is a place where children will be 'taught of the Lord'.
 
A father of the fatherless...God setteth the solitary in families. Psalms 68:5-6

We truly believe the ultimate goal of the Lord is for orphaned/abandoned children (whether by parent's death or termination of rights) to be in Christian families through adoption. This again is where group homes and foster care could play a very active role! Children coming into the 'system' have months, if not years, of waiting for parental-rights to be terminated, thereby making them available for adoption. In this interim period, the child can be in a situation where they are taught of the Lord through scriptures, counseled based on biblical principals (How To Help People Change, Jay E. Adams), and instructed in appropriate forms of behavior and attitude (The Heart of Anger, Lou Proilo) before entering a family permanently. This is also a time when the children can be 'screened' for their 'desire' to be placed in a family; not all children want to be adopted and not all children want to grow up without loving and supportive parents.

Hope this is of use to you.

In His Service,
Bob and Katherine Sanford






Thursday, September 20, 2012

While upon this sea of life 
    be it tumultuous or calm...

may your Truth
    be our compass

may your Word
    be our rudder

may your Wisdom
    be our helm

may your Spirit 
    be our sail

may your Son 
    be our North Star.




15MAR2010

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Surprised By Sin


For all have sinned…  Romans 2:23

It felt as if my whole body was on fire! My chest burned, my heart raced, my throat constricted raising the pitch of my voice. With clinched hands and tense muscles, I was beginning to shake. Adrenalin was coursing through my body producing a ‘fight’ response. What triggered this acute reaction? My 11 year old daughter! She was repeatedly denying her actions of disobedience though she had been caught in the very act. Lie upon lie ensued; spoken with a calm monotone voice and only after prompting her out of silence to my questions with threats of punishment.

What had happened to me has a very singular and short name, it was rage! I had never experienced this phenomenon in my entire 37 years at the time. Nor had I ever seen it exhibited by anyone else except in movies and that by the ‘bad guy’. Yet there it was in its full ugliness and control.

I wish I could say that first occurrence of rage was my last but then I would be lying; which is the very thing that initiated the response in my heart the first time! There is just nothing like asking a child a question, especially a reasonable question, to have them continually lie; skirting the initial question with randomly related, but slightly off subject, answers.

Everyday became a battle for survival, not for basic needs like food, clothes, and shelter, those were ever present, but for sanity! Every moment I was on point, watching for lies, manipulation, and deception. Fighting to keep my wits as children, who had spent 3, 8, and 11 years perfecting these sins, easily maneuvered around our family expectations and boundaries without remorse or sorrow.

It didn’t start out like that. It was an exciting day. The Lord had already blessed us with three wonderful birth-children and, just three weeks prior, a darling 2 ½ year old baby girl placed in our home for ‘foster to adopt’…three weeks of heavenly adoption bliss! So when the call came that three sisters needed an immediate ‘foster to adopt’ placement due to disruption, it seemed another perfect gift from God (after a family meeting with much prayer) to welcome these girls into our home and family.

They arrived by van. The youngest jumped out eager to give her new ‘twin’ sister a picture she had drawn. The middle child followed close behind with the oldest slow to climb out of the back seat of the vehicle and into the circle of this new family standing on the front yard of her new home. The girls enjoyed the tour of the house, the look of their new bedroom, and the pizza we had for dinner. They seemed to settle right into the workings of our family and the next two weeks were a pleasant time of discovery; them learning us and we learning much about them.

I am not sure how or what started it, but within a month, our home had become a battleground. We could have sent the girls away as we were still in the six-month waiting period, but we knew God wanted them to be our daughters. So the battles raged day in and day out. Then it happened. 

It was so simple. During family worship, Dad was reading aloud from Proverbs when the truth hit…he was reading about our daughters. Then the next bombshell hit, this behavior is not new, it was not adoption related or past abuse/neglect related, it was sin related! And not only was it our daughters’ sin but ours as well that was perpetuating all these behaviors!

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

It did not happen overnight and it did not happen without set-backs, but there we were, peace filling our home and children living in happy obedience (most of the time, they are still kids!).

How did it happen? We believed God. We peeled the layers of our child’s heart back, found the lie and replaced it with truth. We sought to live faithful lives as examples of the truth of scripture in front of and with our children (most of the time, we are still sinners!). And we trusted God that He would bless it (Psalm 128) which He has abundantly!

Now we are no longer surprised by sin, in ourselves or our children. Instead we understand, by God’s grace and through the Word, what is happening in all of our hearts. No surprise there, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

And thankfully, the Lord (who is never surprised by sin) gives us something to strive for complete with an assurance….let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 1 John 3:18-21


It is a beautiful thing. It is a humbling thing. It is our obligation as a command from the Lord to ‘teach it to our children’. We are very glad we do.

Psalm 128
Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.
For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be,
and it shall be well with thee.

Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house:
thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.
The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion:
and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.

Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.



For Him,
Katherine (with Bob)

Friday, April 13, 2012

Before there was blogging...

...there was journaling.

It was 14 years ago when the Lord so heavily burden my heart to adopt that every song, every sermon, every movie seemed to cry out, 'adopt a child'! My husband was not so burdened and had no problem sleeping at night with this decision. For months, I would randomly bring up to him this burden and dream of adopting which had been planted as a seed in my heart at the age of 12 but had now grown into a tree desiring to bear fruit. He would patiently (and not so patiently at times) listen to my plea, but the answer was usually the same...."We don't have the money."

Foster care to adopt had never been considered as an option, mostly because we knew nothing about it. But one day the Lord had me discover a full-page ad in the newspaper sharing the number of 'available children' for adoption and how to proceed. I was sold, it would cost nothing. My husband was less than impressed, but God was working in his heart. On July 4th, after another, "but why not?" from me on the front steps of our 'miracle home' (that is a story for another time), he turned, took me in his arms, looked me in the eyes and said, "I love you. I will not stand in the way of your dream. It is time for me to grow-up and this will help."

I wrote in my journal July 7, 1998:
"My heart is full because the first hurtle in my prayer to you for adoption has been crossed...(my husband's words written above were here)...To you all Glory and Praise. Lord, now I commend to you this process. Lead us, prepare us, and bless us with the children you want us to have. Give us strength in our marriage and ourselves to face this trial till the adoption is complete. We do this with your Kingdom in mind. For all will pass away except those souls who know and serve you. Father, my earnest prayer is that all our children become believers. May Bob and I accept the challenge to be faithful parents. Sold out to you, totally convicted and committed. Lord, please don't let them turn from you. Grab their hearts and that of their spouses and keep them focused on you. Teach us how to lead this brood. I pray for Joshua, Taylor (Garrison), and Melinda to turn to you and be dependent on you. For our children to come, I pray acceptance of us as their parents and family, and acceptance of you as their Lord and Savior. Jesus, suffer these little children to come unto you.  Use us as the vessel for your work in their lives. To you, Lord Jesus, all glory, honor, and praise. Amen."


Thus began our adoption journey which I have been journaling for 14 years. Over the next days and weeks, I will be 'blogging' many of these journal entries. May they be a blessing and an encouragement to all who read them!

Blessings,
Katherine