OUR LATEST NEWS......

Here we are, with our latest kiddo, whom I will refer to this time as "Zack".  I call him this because he likes zombie stuff and requests a midnight "znack" every evening! He turned 13 the day after he came to us. We are his third placement in 6 weeks :-/ He's very guarded, but opens up at times, he's a fun kid, has self-esteem issues, hasn't experienced a lot of positive things in his life, but loves anything with a ball & being active! I should say we went back to fostering with much reluctance after a terrible ending and ordeal with "Sabrina". I didn't think I would be able to do this again but realized at this point I don't know that I could not do it. I'm hooked, it must be meant for us to foster!

 

 

The Lord is healing my past wounds, teaching me to live for "today" and trust Him completely, even when it's dark.  He loves His children & knows nothing will satisfy our souls except for His presence & leading in our lives. I am focusing on what He brought us on this journey for, it's not about us, it's about sharing the love of Jesus in a very practical way daily, and giving Him glory for everything we get to share in.

 

 

When we focus on all the problems to be solved in a day, all the issues we are facing & the uphill climb these kids & their families are confronted with we are meditating on worry, struggle, and believing Satan's lies that nothing will ever be any different. But guess what? Thanks to the Lord, He's risen, He's living, He's by our side to do this thing called life and He's an endless supply of hope, love, forgiveness, and purpose. His ways are not our ways, He's working all things together for His glory & the good of those who love Him & are called according to His purpose! Meditate on how Awesome our God is & to think He lives within the hearts of His children every day!

 

"I delight myself in You
Captivated by Your beauty
I'm overwhelmed, I'm overwhelmed by You

God, I run into Your arms
Unashamed because of mercy
I'm overwhelmed, I'm overwhelmed by You

I know the power of Your Cross
Forgiven and free forever You'll be my God
All that You've done is so overwhelming." - Big Daddy Weave



BACK TO WORK!!!

Well, after a long sabbatical this summer, we are back to being foster parents!  This time to a 5-yr old princess whom I shall choose to call "Sabrina".  She is the delight of our hearst, of course, and the holy terror of our lives, as to be expected with this age.  We've had little missy here for about 2 months now.  She came with some diagnoses, which didn't get sprung on me until the minute her CPS worker delivered her to our driveway, ODD and ADHD.  We've since weaned her off the ADHD meds, and we are continually working towards helping her ODD behavior become less and less.  Thank heavens for her counselor, she is a God send! 

This case is a lot different from last time, because at this age the kids wholeheartedly hate & love you, and aren't afraid of outright expressing that through their words!  They grieve MUCH more openly, which is a good thing emotionally I believe, rather than keeping it all inside.  Sabrina loves her mommy & daddy, and is supposed to transition back with dad once things are in place.  Hubby and I pray with her each evening in her bed for her family back home and for her heart to be close to theirs. 

We are working towards starting up a ministry here, along with another church, that is geared toward providing practical assistance to relative/kinship families with DCS.  We hope we can help these placements be more successful so that the children can remain as intact with their biological families as possible.  Pray for God's wisdom as this starts up, His provisions, and for those interested to have their hearts open to His leading.  This is truly where I feel the most called to serve, I just have to step out in faith and pray He will open that door if it be His will.

Ephesians 2:4-5 "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—"

CHANGE, CHANGES, MORE CHANGES!

LOTS of changes this year!

Well, since I've written on my blog last lots of changes have taken place.  Our 13-yr old "Charlie" left our home, but not how we expected.  Craziness ensued, and after 6-months with our little guy, he had to leave.  He did not (& is probably not going to) go back to his family.  He was transitioned out of our home to another foster home, a month before his court date that was supposed to end in reunification w/ his bio-family.  This didn't happen & the family he is with now will probably adopt.  I cried for 3 months when he left!  We knew it wasn't a good fit for anyone, yet we were all in love w/ one another all the same.  My biggest cry fest was when I found out he wasn't going back home.  Little guy wanted his family so badly, even if it was a hard place to live.  It's just in our nature to want to be with our folks!  Fostering isn't for the faint of heart...I had no idea how hard this would be emotionally.  And as the foster mom, you take nearly 100% of the anger, outbursts, emotional pulls toward closeness & then immediate fights against your actions of love, and you watch while a child's family is coming apart at the seams & there's absolutely nothing in your control to alleviate the pain.  Not an easy place to be to put it lightly. 

We toyed with the idea of starting fertility stuff this summer, ended up deciding we were not at peace with it, and feel 100% committed to helping children in crisis instead.  I continue to pray for acceptance and faith for our journey ahead.

My friend who'd lost her baby last year I posted about is now the happy new mother of twins!  Blessings for sure!  Her older daughter is such a proud big sister, helpful, too!

My mother has moved to be closer to us & is now living just a few miles down the road.  So happy to have her here where we can spend more time together, help each other out, and I don't worry about her living alone so far away.

We're also advocating to get a new program underway in our area, Safe Families for Children...a ministry to families in crises.  Host families take in children while their parents are getting their lives back together.  A helping hand BEFORE the true crisis so that the kids might never grace the doorsteps of a foster home!  Pray for success!

So, here we go again.  We're diving into foster care head first, putting our faith in God, and trying to look at the bright side of things.  We're here to foster hope, love, and faith to these precious children of our King & also to their families.  We can bow out of this calling, as Satan would have us to do, or we can focus on what we CAN do for these kids.  Be that safe place for them to lay their heads at night, make sure they are provided for while under our roof, advocate for their educational & emotional needs, expose them to healthy relationships & friendships, pray for their families & show them unconditional love, and help these kids learn to trust & love again, while their families are putting their lives back together.  I'm here to focus on what I CAN do not what I can't.  I cannot rebuild their lives, but I serve a MIGHTY GOD who calls the impossible possible...and praise Jesus, that will forever be true :-)

Trying to figure out where to go from here.  Charlie should be transitioning back to his bio-family within a few months.  I've realized my limitations w/ straight up foster care.  I don't want to be a temporary mom, I want to be a permanent one.  I just don't know if I'll get that chance.  We've decided to go through an agency to adopt a newborn.  If it's in God's plan, He will surely bless us in that way.  If not, I'm hoping I can learn to be satisfied w/ helping children by way of respite care & church.  Pray for us, my heart breaks as I write this.  I just want to feel the love that only comes from being a mother.

Well, I wasn't sure what it would be like to be a foster mom. As the case has been with me, my first experience in any form of "motherhood" period has embarked with our first foster child. He's a 13-yr old young man I appropriately deemed "little dude" within the first week he was here! Life has taken on some weird twists and turns since he arrived.

Some things I wasn't expecting:

1) to feel so attached so early, esp. to a teenager! Didn't expect the "mom" role to come so naturally!

2) to be willing to turn my whole world upside down for this complete stranger, and love every minute of it!

3) to feel like a prison warden keeping a kid from his bio-family. I knew these kids came from hard places, and no doubt wouldn't be comfortable living with us. However, I didn't realize just how homesick they would be.

4) to keep hoping things will slow down, and settle into routine, so I can get my life back together. I've realized it's never going to slow down, I must get my

life together in the midst of all this chaos!

5) that there would be SOOO.....many appts! Pediatric doctor appts (multiple!), dentist appts, eye doctor appts, teacher appts, school appts, you name it! Not to mention the myriad of appts that come with the counselors- DCS & Youth Villages. There's always something around the corner.

6) to want to invest in a child permanently, not just temporarily. Breaks your heart to not be able to see the person full circle so to speak. All we have is this

allotted time to make as big an impact as we can. It's just not enough time. Kids take time to mend.

7) To have your heart break when you hear their family not responding to their pleas for attention, love, security, affirmation. You want so badly to be that person to them

but you can't. Only their family members truly hold that place in their heart.

 

I end this post with a quote from a favorite Eagles song.  Sums up this time in our lives, it's chaotic, heartbreaking, you name it, but the Lord has us in this place for this time in our lives for a reason...of that I'm sure:

"We may lose and we may win
Though we will never be here again
So open up, I'm climbin' in
And take it easy"!

CHARLIE COMES TONIGHT!

TUESDAY OCT 30

I can't imagine what little "Charlie" is thinking right now.  He's been in a group home for 30 days and is moving in with us tonight.  The part that gets me with all the timing of everything is the holidays are right around the corner.  I'm praying for Charlie to get settled in here for the time being, and that he will be able to see his mom for visits come Christmas time.  However, it'll all be up to how everyone is doing and whether that will be a good thing or not.  I'd bet he will at least get day visits by then, though.  He is arriving the day before Halloween, so Wednesday night I think we're going to walk around at a local church's activities to give him something fun to do...if he wants to be out.  We may hit a corn maze this weekend so he doesn't feel like Halloween totally slipped him by!

At work, when they found out I was getting a 13-yr old boy this week their eyes got as big as saucers, lol!  One older lady I work with chuckled out loud before she caught herself, and everyone said, "Now, Linda, let's not scare the poor girl!".  I have no idea what lies ahead, but today will be overwhelming to say the least.  I just hope he eats good, that he can make it up & dressed for school in time, and that I'm still alive at the end of this week!  That is what I call success!  All the emotional stuff will likely come later. 

The Lord has great plans for Charlie, I can't wait to see how he grows over the next few months.  Growing pains aren't easy, however, please be in prayer for all three of us!

PLACEMENT!!!

Well, after many months of uncertainty, prayer, changing our minds, etc. we have decided to become strictly foster parents for now!  We have a need to "get our feet wet" before taking the plunge into permanent parenthood so to speak.  We gotta get a hold on how to discipline, learning to work as a team, how to divide up family chores, how to talk with kids (& hopefully get them to listen!), how to have fun with kids, how to get them to do their homework, how to discern their strengths & weaknesses & get them help where needed, how to emotionally engage them, how to incorporate them into our lives, how to teach them new things, learn how to cook for more than just two people...........OH, THE LIST GOES ON!

I have no doubt that we will stumble, fall, get back up again, stumble again, but I just hope & pray the Lord makes something out of it all for His glory!

Pray for "Charlie", our newest member of the Moody household...set to arrive this week!  He's 13 and he's had a rough road for sure.  He's learning to get rid of old behaviors & learning new ones, along with how to be comfortable in his own skin.  Charlie will be a part of our lives for at least 3 months, probably no more than 6-9 months, but these things are never cut and dry.  Pray for Charlie's mom & siblings to learn how to live a healthy home life. 

                                                      

"Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,"

Proverbs 1:5 ESV