For years I’ve felt the pull to attend a Good Friday church service. And this year, I got the chance. Actually WE got the chance, since I took Super Dad and LuLu with me. That was a bit risky, knowing what I do about LuLu’s special needs and how her unique combination of trauma, attachment disorder, sensory integration dysfunction, ADHD, ... more

Part 1

Change occurs when one of three things happen: 1. You hurt enough you have to. 2. You learn enough you want to. 3. You receive enough you’re able to.

Learn Enough That’s where the learning comes in. Somehow, someway traumatized children have to “learn” that it is safe to trust again, to try again. They have to be shown that relationships are so important, so valuable, so... more

I’m trying to keep up my Lenten commitment of daily devotional time or listening to Christian speakers. That has been easier than my commitment of daily exercise/walking; but both have been challenging.

This morning, however, the message I heard was one that relates to all of us, and to our children as well. The speaker was talking about change and growth. He started by explaining that everyone, because we’re living, is either growing or dying. And that true growth requires change. As he explored the topic of change he said something profound:

Change... more

This morning I awoke thinking about the Simon/Peter renaming. Peter was so unlike a rock when Jesus called him that, yet it was exactly who he became – the rock upon which the Christian church was built.

There is such power in what you are called to do and to become.

I confessed on a comment on Sandra’s blog this morning that I’m super shy! We’re talking 10 out of 10 on the Myers-Briggs introvert scale. I used to pay my sister money to go talk to the store... more

The room was eerily quiet during our Sunday School lesson yesterday. I admit it was not what I expected either in our study of the fruit of the spirit. We were wrapping up fruit # 1 – Love. The video series focused on our “fear of love” from the standpoint of rejection.

Now being the mom of a child who has healed significantly from attachment disorder, I’m all over this rejection business. I’m all over this fear of love thought process. The presenter (Beth Moore for those of you looking for an awesome... more

Blogger’s Note: This post is theological in nature. I knew no other way to convey what I learned today. And since this is my blog, I guess my theological perspective is what you’ll hear.

My Sunday School class is in the middle of a study on the fruit of the Spirit. I was thrilled with the prospect of studying Joy. Now there’s a fruit I need more of. Love, got it; Patience, growing nicely thank you; Self Control, a struggle, but winning more often than not. But JOY! Where is joy in the often-bleak life of... more

Ok, I’m stealing this idea from one of my friends who is parenting two particularly challenging girls. She points out that most of us look upon Lent as a time for giving up some physical pleasure…dessert, a daily meal, smoking. But that the real purpose of observing Lent is for soul-searching, repentance and reflection.

Today is Ash Wednesday – the official beginning of the 40-day observance. There are tons of Christian churches and denominations who don’t observe Lent with the rigor of other denominations. But observing Lent is an awesome way to... more

Reading emails about our friend’s daughter’s service dog through 4 Paws for Ability sparked the realization that through no effort of our own we have been sent a service dog, of sorts.

I blogged earlier this month about the tragic loss of our dog, Laser, and about my ambivalent feelings around this loss, since Laser was not meshing with LuLu’s many challenging traits. I also blogged about the coincidental chance we had at helping out one of Kay Kay’s friends by taking their dog since they... more

Ok, so I said this baby would be our last child. I was ready to give up our foster care license and move on to another phase in our lives. But how was I supposed to know that protective service was going to call tonight with one of those calls that you just can’t say “No” to. Had it been a stranger, just entering foster care for the first time, with unknown length of placement, I could have said, “No.” Really, I had my mind made up about it, ten children are definitely enough. But that isn’t what the call was about.

The call went something like this, “Hi Julia, remember the little toddler you had in your home for almost a year, that went back home eighteen months ago? Do you... more

My daily Bible study lesson was on Agape love today. No doubt that with my stressful day and my impatient attitude, this lesson’s timing was no accident. I’ve always been fascinated with the relationship between agape love and parenting special needs children. It has been through my experiences parenting LuLu that I have grown in a much deeper understanding of unconditional love.

We could debate forever whether humans are truly capable of unconditional love. I believe that we are, although never to the depth of God’s love. But it is not... more