I am finishing a series of books written by artist Thomas Kinkade, along with author Katherine Spencer. The books are set in a fictional town on the New England coast called Cape Light.

I’m not giving away any big secrets on the books, because the “secret” comes out very early in the first book, but adoption is a main theme in the series. A woman placed her child for adoption when she was a young woman after the death of her husband a few weeks before the baby is born. The child learns the identity of her mother and comes to Cape Light to find her.

These... more

Christian music singer, Steven Curtis Chapman's five-year-old daughter, adopted from China, was killed in a tragic accident late yesterday afternoon, at the Chapman home.

The girl was apparently run over in her own driveway, by a car driven by her older, teen-aged brother, according to news reports.

Five-year-old Maria Sue was one of the six Chapman children, and one of three adopted from China by the family.

The Chapman's experiences with international adoption led them to establish Shaohannah's Hope, named after their oldest adopted daughter,... more

A new Christian movie is playing in the theatres this week called “Prince Caspian.” “Prince Caspian” is one of an immensely popular series of books written by C.S. Lewis in the 1950s. The first book in the series is the “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” That book was made into a movie that was released in December of 2005. The popularity of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” at the box office and the Oscars prompted the creation of the movie sequel “Prince Caspian.” The movie is rated PG for epic battle action and violence. It is 140 minutes long... more

Do you ever watch videos on Youtube.com? This morning, an email from a friend directed me to a Youtube video of John Piper talking. He is discussing his opinion of adoption, which he feels is Biblically grounded, “Adoption is greater than the universe.” He explains himself thoroughly in about five minutes including quotes from the Bible to support his opinion. While I agree with his final directive, I am not in complete agreement with his interpretations. That’s all right though, because he is spreading... more

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Unless you don’t have teens or tweens, or if you live in a remote part of the Earth without access to news, you will, no doubt, have heard about the controversy plaguing super-teen Miley Cyrus and her squeaky clean image.

As with many popular superstars, Miley finds herself in a situation where pictures of questionable taste have surfaced, causing the teen great discomfort and embarrassment.

Miley is one of the few mega-watt stars that seems to have her head in the... more

Do your teenagers have a Christian radio station that they will actually listen to even when they are alone? Would they turn it on and listen to it if you didn’t make them. Would they switch to a different station if you left to go shopping? I guess if a radio station wanted to get teenagers to listen to their station they would probably have to play popular rock and rap songs, wouldn’t they. They might also need to offer concerts, contests, and prizes that would appeal to teenagers. I hadn’t thought about it much until last week when our Christian radio station... more

The movie “Get Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” will be opening on April 18, 2008 at theatres. Should you take your adopted children to see the movie? It is receiving a lot of publicity in Christian circles. Christians everywhere are being asked to go out and support the opening weekend of the movie by watching it themselves and taking friends. The official website even has several contests to encourage people to take friends to see the movie. We signed up for a contest that sends... more

As I mentioned yesterday, I read this book again as an adoptive parent of traumatized children looking for insight. I’d like to share an excerpt with you that reminded me of the emptiness that some of my adopted children experience. My children who were traumatized before their adoptions into our family. Believing that there is a higher authority can help our traumatized adopted children begin to heal. It is funny how a story can have a different meaning to us depending where we are in life at the time we hear or read the story. In chapter four, the shepherd is... more

Nancy Clark, MFT, has written a series of books in fairy tale form for children who have experience trauma, grief, and loss.

So far in the series are: A Tale of Anger and Fear; A Tale of Loss and Impossible Dreams; and A Tale of Lies and Love.

Each of the books comes with a parent guide written by Dr. B. Bryan Post. From all I have been able to gather, the books are being used with children as young as nine. My background may not be in therapy, but it is in child development, and I think the books are far too dark.

Yes, terrible and unspeakable things happen to children. Yes, not every parent who... more

I happened to be channel surfing tonight, and not one, but three different shows had adoption as the theme. One in particular caught my eye:

Darryl McDaniels of Run DMC fame, just received an Emmy last week for his VH1 “Rock Doc” Documentary, “My Adoption Journey.” If you do plan to watch the show, please be aware this post contains “spoilers” (plot information).

At the age of 35, Mr. McDaniels discovered he was adopted. The documentary shows the various stages he went through in... more