Foster Care Prayer Vigil

SAVE THE DATE:

April 24th at 6:30.

We will be honoring those that work with the "least of these" and praying for the kids in foster care.

 

STUCK DOCUMENTARY

The purpose of the film is to help the average person understand the issues and create a movement that will ultimately put pressure on U.S. officials to force a more supportive attitude toward International Adoption.

The film will premiere in sequence as we roll across the country on the tour bus, visiting 60 cities in 80 days. While the highlight of each city visit will be the premiere of the film, our goal is to make the visit to each city much more than a film premiere, but an all day event, with media appearances, speeches and discussions in multiple gatherings. The framework for the tour gives us the possibility to make STUCK a phenomenon. Photojournalist Jessica Rose is following the tour and documenting her impressions. Follow the STUCK Tour on Jessica’s blogfor an interesting perspective!

One objective while we are on the road is to gather over 1 million petition signatures asking congress/global leaders/President Obama to take specific actions to change the landscape of adoption. The petition will be hand carried to members of Congress in the Step Forward for Orphans March in Washington, D.C., which will coincide, with the last day of the bus tour, tentatively scheduled for May 17.

Your active involvement as a member of the tour team will support the most impactful and activity the adoption community has ever engaged in. Your efforts to support the tour will have a leveraged influence, driving an increase in adoption and changing the lives of countless kids for many years to come.

The documentary will be in our area on March 16th at AMC Stonebriar.  Click here to purchase tickets!

FFH and Lifesong Concert

Fall 2012 Schedule

Our first Journey meeting will be September 5th  in Room 3115. We will meet 6:15 to 7:15.    This night will be a time of fellowship and previewing the new Bible study.  Books will be for sale that night.   

 

First.......

 

BRAND NEW Bible study by Karyn Purvis....."The Connection: Where Hearts Meet"

This is an interactive (video/discussion)  small group study designed to helpyou and your child build a lasting, loving, connection. You will be encouraged and equipped with practical help based on Biblical truths and research-based interventions specifically developed for adoptive or foster care families.

 

This study will meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month. 

 

 

Second.....

 

Small group meetings will meet 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month.  This will be a time to gather with like minded folks and share, encourage one another and pray for specifice needs. There will be special speakers scheduled through out the year.

 

 

Third...

 

Chit, Chat and Chi will meet 2nd Tuesday of each month.  A time for fellowship and encouragment for adoptive/foster moms.  We will meet at Panera on Eldorado and 75 in Mckinney.   7:00

 

Created to Connect is starting back up!

We are looking forward to seeing old and new faces January 18th, as we start meeting for this awesome bible study again!  We will move to the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month going forward.
It is never to late to start coming!

Created To Connect is designed to help illuminate the biblical principles that serve as the foundation for the philosophy and interventions detailed in The Connected Child. 

The Connected Child, co-authored by Dr. Karyn Purvis, has already helped countless adoptive and foster parents. Now Empowered To Connect™ has created a companion study guide entitled Created To Connect — A Christian’s Guide to The Connected Child as well as other helpful resources that highlight the underlying biblical principles of The Connected Child and offer new insights for parents.

The next Empowered To Connect Conference (www.empoweredtoconnect.org) will be in Dallas on February 17-18, 2012, at Irving Bible Church.  This two-day conference features two days of insights and learning from Dr. Karyn Purvis, author of The Connected Child.  The conference is designed to help adoptive and foster parents, ministry leaders and professionals better understand how to connect with ‘children from hard places’ in order to help them heal and become all that God desires for them to be.

Registration for the Dallas ETC Conference is now open and the “early bird” registration price is still available! Simply visit www.etcconference.org for more details and to register online at the discounted “early bird” price. In addition, for a limited time registration is available for ½ off of the “early bird” price by using the discount code: FOCUS. This means that for a limited time people can register to attend this two day conference for only $17 per person and $25 per couple.

Please help us spread the word and encourage folks to register soon while the “early bird” pricing and ½ off discount are still available.

Special Chit Chat and Chai this coming Monday!

We will have a special Chit Chat & Chai this coming Monday (November 14th) at 7pm at Panera in McKinney!  What a tremendous blessing to have a guest speaker, Denise Kendrick, come and share her story!  The Kendrick's have been foster parents for the past 8 years caring for nearly 30 children in that time frame.  Now parents of 7 children ranging in age from 2-18 years old, they serve as full-time missionaries to see the church reclaim the care of orphans and waiting children through Embrace Orphan Ministry.  It's gonna be great!  

Orphan Sunday Update

Orphan Sunday was a BIG success!  What a powerful sermon by Pastor Richard!  And what a blessing to get to experience a moving video of our church members who have answered the call in so many different ways! In the evening, we gathered together again and were able to experience some powerful testimonies, gain information, and share our heart for the orphan.

Here are a few ways we saw the Lord move on this amazing day:

• Several sponsorships for orphans in Zambia, Bolivia, and Sierra Leone!
• People answered the call to donate to the adoption fund!
• People are stepping forward in faith to start the process of adoption!
• Several people have signed up to donate their time and resources to wrap around other families who are adopting or fostering!
• And the calls are still coming in!  If you have any questions about adoption, foster care, or orphan care (in general)...please call the church office or shoot us an email:  thejourneymckinney@gmail.com.

Thank you to everyone who responded to the prompting of their hearts!!!  And thank you to everyone who gave their time to make both experiences happen!  A special thanks goes to Mark and Melissa Baker - who have devoted themselves fully to The Journey and it's cause!!!

In case you missed them, you can click HERE for the video played in the morning of our church family.

And this is the video we showed Sunday night.

ORPHAN SUNDAY IS NOVEMBER 6TH!!!

SUNDAY MORNING:

Come learn how YOU can make a difference in the life of a child.  

Not everyone is called to adopt or be a foster parent, but every believer IS called to care for the orphan.

• Learn about becoming a Wrap Around Family and support those who are lead to foster and adopt!
• Learn about sponsorships for Orphans around the world!
• Hear Pastor Richard share his heart for the orphan!
• Experience The Heart Gallery!
• Hear what the Bible has to say about the orphan!

SUNDAY EVENING FROM 6:00-7:15PM:

Come to the theatre of FBC McKinney and be a part of an exciting and interactive evening!!!

• Hear interviews from a very special adoptive family.
• Hear the beautiful story of one young woman as she shares about her adoption at the age of 18!
• Hear Kent Jones, President of "To Every Nation" weave stories together and share God's heart for the orphan around the world and in your backyard.
• Hear and be moved with The Andrew Heath Band as they lead us through worship!

The Journey Meeting Updates

What's happening now???
 "Created to Connect"

• Authors Michael and Amy Monroe will be present to kick off our study!
• This companion study guide for The Connected Child was written by the Monroes with Karyn Purvis.
• The study guide is designed to help adoptive and foster parents better understand how to build strong and lasting connections with their children.
• Childcare available
• Meeting every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the Month!

November 6th:  Orphan Sunday

• 6:00pm in the theatre of FBC McKinney
• This event will connect believers worldwide in worship and prayer as we encourage one another on behalf of the fatherless.

As always...keep checking out the blog for more events in our area!  

Back to School: Strategies to help your child have a positive school experience

The school experience is an important aspect in the life of a child. And yet, school often presents unique and sometimes unexpected challenges for both children and parents in adoptive and foster families.

Join us on Saturday, September 17, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, at Irving Bible Church for an event focused on school-related issues from an adoptive and foster family perspective.

During the first half of this Tapestry large group event we will take a closer look at some of the school-related issues and challenges for adoptive and foster families, and discuss ways that parents can help their child have a positive school experience. During the second half of the event, we will hear from a diverse panel of educators (including a public school elementary teacher, a middle school teacher at a private school, a principal and a home school mom) as they share their insights and 'lessons learned' for helping adopted, foster and at-risk children achieve and have a positive school experience. This event is sure to be helpful and relevant to all adoptive and foster parents, regardless of the age of their child(ren).

Childcare is available through IBC’s KidZone for ages 0 through 5th grade with online registration at least 48 hours in advance of the event, but space is limited. To register for childcare click here and sign-in to your existing ibcLink account (or, if you don’t have one, follow the steps to create an account). You will register for the “Tapestry Meeting (9/17/11).” If you have any questions about childcare registration or how to use the ibcLink online registration system, contact Tammy Hutchinson (IBC KidZone Director) at thutchinson@irvingbible.org.

Christian Alliance for Orphans Information Update

Orphan Sunday Campaign on a Roll!  With the 2011 Orphan Sunday campaign just underway, myriad events are already brewing.   Across the U.S, plans are being laid for city-wide concerts and multi-church gatherings….church services and Sunday School classes…more.  Individual families making plans, too, including the Orphan’s Table meal, along with prayer and discussion.   Like never before, the vision is starting to spread around the world, too.  The new Russian Language Website recently launched for Ukraine and Russia.   Additional new-language sites are in the works, too.  And local campaigns are starting up from the Philippines to Romania to Kenya. Orphan Sunday is a chance for anyone to spread the vision of God’s love for the fatherless in a church, community or family!  Harness the many RESOURCES and easy-to-use EVENT IDEAS on the Orphan Sunday website, and then post your plans on the EVENT MAP! Upcoming Conferences  A number of excellent conferences across the country are scheduled for the months ahead, including: The Pure Religion Conference is August 12-13 in Raleigh, NC, emphasizing both the Gospel roots of a vision for adoption and orphan care, as well as practical guidance for both personal and church action.  Hope for Orphans Institute will be held September 16 & 17 at the Hope Center in Plano, Texas.  This conference will equip not only orphan ministry leaders but also families struggling with challenging adoptions. It will feature experts in equipping the church to deal directly with the pre- and post-adoption challenges of children with special needs and high risk profiles.  It will also include CEU’s for professionals. The Empowered to Connect will be September 23-24 in Nashville, TN.  This 2-day conference sponsored by Show Hope is for adoptive and foster parents, ministry leaders and professionals.  It is designed to help them better understand how to connect with children from hard places in order to help them heal and become all that God desires for them to be. Hope at Home will be held at Northlands Church in Norcross, GA on September 23-24.   It’s designed for adoptive parents, providing both spiritual encouragement and practical parenting help, along with local connections with other adoptive families.  The Together for Adoption Conference will take place in Phoenix, AZ on October 21-22.   This annual conference will include rich theological exploration, as well as practical instruction on a wide range of topics related to adoption, foster care and global orphan care. The Tapestry Conference will be held on Saturday, October 29th, at Irving Bible Church. With more than twenty breakout sessions to choose from, this year’s free Tapestry Conference promises to be the most informative yet.    Childcare is available. The "Wounded Children, Healing Homes" Conference at Salem Church of God will focus on the emotional and spiritual needs of adoptive and foster families, many who find themselves parenting children who have come from hard places.  It will be held Saturday, November 12, as the first of its kind for the Dayton, OH area.

Upcoming Webinar

Transracial Adoption: Becoming a Multicultural/Multiracial Family

REGISTRATION OPEN SOON

Date:  Wednesday, August 31, 2011              Time:  2:00 PM Eastern

Visit http://www.christianalliancefororphans.org/resources/webinars/ for more info!

New Study Coming this Fall!

http://empoweredtoconnect.org/guide/

Join us this fall as we launch "Created to Connect"- A Christian Guide to the Connected Child. Created To Connect is designed to help illuminate the biblical principles that serve as the foundation for the philosophy and interventions detailed in The Connected Child.

We will be meeting the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month to go through this fantastic study. We will start promptly at 6:15PM. Details on room location, etc. will follow.

The Connected Child, co-authored by Dr. Karyn Purvis, has already helped countless adoptive and foster parents. Now Empowered To Connect™ has created a companion study guide entitled Created To Connect — A Christian’s Guide to The Connected Child as well as other helpful resources that highlight the underlying biblical principles of The Connected Child and offer new insights for parents.

Chit Chat and Chai

Chit Chat and Chai has been cancelled for this month (tonight).  We are looking forward to seeing everyone next month!

Upcoming Events!

Chit Chat and Chai will meet at 7pm the 2nd Monday of every month at Panera in McKinney.  This group is for adoptive/foster Moms and Moms in the process of foster/adoption.

D.A.D.S (Dudes Adopting Daughters and Sons) will meet at 7pm the 4th Monday of every month at Fuzzy's Taco Shop in McKinney.  This group is for adoptive/foster Dads and Dads in the process of foster/adoption.

We will also have a Journey Picnic on June 26th and August 14th at Finch Park (301 W. Standifer McKinney, TX 75069).  We will get started at 4:30.  Pack up dinner for your family to eat and head on out!  This park has a great playground, lots of shade, and a splash pad, so bring the kiddos bathing suits and towels.  If you are an adoptive/foster family, are in the process, or just have a heart for orphans please come out!  This will be a great time of fun and fellowship!  

Join us in Praying for Children in Foster Care...

Right now, as we go about our Monday morning, children... maybe within a 5 minute walk from you... are waiting.  Waiting to be removed... waiting for hope... waiting for saftey... waiting for a home.

Over 500,000 children are in the US Foster Care System right now.  Over 120,000 of them await a home.  We are seeing God raise up HIS CHURCH to care for these children.  Each of us have a role to play.  Some of you are in deep into the trenches of battling for these children.  Some of you play an ever important role of support.  But ALL of us can come together and pray.

Join us this Wednesday night in the Theater of First Baptist McKinney at 6:15.  We will enjoy hearing Jason Weber.  He is a nationally recognized speaker who not only has professional experience in working with some of the most effective Foster Care Ministries in place today, but He also is the father of 5 children who were adopted from foster care.

After the speaker, we will have a time of corporate prayer.  You will receive a prayer guide to walk you through the most needed areas that exist in the foster care system.

Please join us as we spend an evening of prayer for children in foster care.
*Childcare provided through the FBC Children's Ministry.


Jim Daly Video from Focus on the Family on Vimeo.

No meeting tonight: 3/9/2011

Hey Friends,

Tonight we, along with our church, will be focusing on Ash Wednesday.  So, our meeting will be canceled for this week.  We will resume with the normal schedule in two weeks, as our support groups meet.

Have a wonderful week!

The Journey Leadership Team

Story #5: God is enough to walk with you through your biggest fears...

Our Adoption Journey

My husband and I knew early in our courting that adoption was part of Gods plan for our family. We began our adoption journey in China about 10 years ago. We gathered our paperwork and started our international adoption process. God had other plans! We ended up not going through with the China adoption because of an “extended wait time” and a job loss…

Even though China was not an option, the two things that we knew for sure was that we were: 1. Called to adopt

2. We were NOT adopting within the United States.

Before we started our adoption process, there were some specific custody battles involving adopted children being returned to their parents. These cases rang loudly for my husband and I. Our greatest fear of adopting domestically, was losing our child in a custody battle. This fear consumed us and made us more intent on adopting oversees.

Before I go any further, let me state that we believe God has every adoptive family going through a different avenue to bring their children home.  Whether adoption domestically or oversees. For our family though, the fear of losing our child was one of the main motivators for going oversees rather than seeking what God’s plan was for us.

In spite of our fears, God began to do some major heart changes in my husband, and myself. He allowed us to see the huge needs in our own city and the need for adoptive families. Our senses were heightened to the plight of our cities Foster kids through people we met, radio shows we “happened” to hear, and books we “accidently” read.  As we became more aware of local kids needing homes, God removed many of our fears. As we continued to prayerfully seek His will for our adoption, it became very clear that domestic adoption through the foster care system was what we were called to do. YIKES!!! This was definitely not “my” plan.

In the Spring of 2007, we started our classes to become a Texas Foster Care Family( FYI-in order to adopt through the state, you must first become a Certified Foster Parent. You don’t necessarily have to foster…we can explain more if you have questions). By the Autumn of 2007, we were a licensed foster family. We told the State of Texas (and God-hee hee) that we wanted 1 little girl under 2 ½ that was “Legally Free”( Legally Free meant that her birth parents had already lost legal rights to be her parents-we felt that this was the safest path for us). CPS and our adoption agency both told us that our chances were slim because our criteria was too specific. 

In spite of this, we received a referral call in August of 2008. There was a beautiful 2 year old little girl that was legally free. The adoption agency wanted to know if were interested, and we took about 2 minutes to pray about it, and enthusiastically waited for our Grace to come home. She came home a few weeks later. She had beautiful brown hair, round chubby cheeks, and the most beautiful brown eyes. Her 3 big brothers and parents were over the moon! We bonded over the next couple of months over tea parties, and trips to the park. There were many wonderful moments, and a few rough patches just like with any adoption, but our family was finally complete.

In December, about 4 ½ months after our daughter came home, we received a call from our CPS Social Worker. She told us about a court hearing that had been set for later that morning regarding Grace. We had been told during the process, that her former Foster family had been fighting to have Grace returned, but throughout the process had been told repeatedly “No worries”…the hearing is “just a formality”. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. Eight days before Christmas our lives were turned upside down.

The judge hearing the case decided to grant custody of our daughter back to her former Foster family. We received a call to inform us of the decision on December 18^th at noon, Grace was gone by 1:00pm. December 19^th. We were devastated to say the least. I wasn’t heartbroken, I truly felt like a piece of my heart had been amputated. It had been cut off, and was forever gone with my daughter.

Losing our child was the hardest blow our family had ever dealt with. I remember being so incredibly angry with God and grief stricken. It was the first time in my adult life that I could actually understand in a very small way how someone could decide to “bag their faith”. Thankfully, we serve a God who is merciful. In spite of my anger, He never stopped carrying me through my heartache. There are still tears, and my heart will always ache for my daughter, but I know that God will use this journey in my life, my husband’s life, and in the lives of our boys.

I do not share this story to scare anyone away from Foster care and adoption. In HUGE contrast, I want to encourage people to prayerfully consider Foster Care and state adoption through the CPS system. In spite of our family’s heartache, we want to share the message of HOPE that God brought to our family. He allowed our BIGGEST FEAR in life to be realized, and show me and my family that He is enough! He is enough when it comes to my needs. He is enough when it comes to my kids, and he is more than enough when it comes to my sorrow and my pain. God has given us hope in spite of our fears. He has shown us that hope in Him can and will carry us through the good times and the hardest times of our lives.

At this time, our family has fostered 4 children since we lost Grace. We have been uniquely blesses by each child. We have decided to make the decision to move forward again in the adoption process through CPS. We are pursuing the adoption of a little boy, but are open to God changing that plan!! We are excited to see what God has in store for us in the next phase of our “Adoption Journey”.

Mark and Melissa Baker

Story #4: Russian Miracle!

Our adoption story is a little unusual in that I wasn't one these Moms that ever thought about adopting a child until....in the summer of 2004 we recieved a "baby" announcement from some friends we had no idea were even pregnant.  Marc knew the couple from college and I guess you could say we were distant friends but always caught up with each others families with the Christmas card every year.  Our friends already had 2 boys but she had always wanted a third wanting to try for a girl.  They had a hard time conceiving the third time and turned to adoption to grow their family.  When I opened our friends announcement my whole world changed and in an instant the direction of how I wanted to grow our family changed to how God wanted to grow our family which I knew was through adoption.  We also had two beautiful boys and God placed on my heart the desire for a girl.  The little 12 month girl staring back at me in the announcement was name Kaylee and her piercing blue eyes captured my heart as I read how she was adopted from an orphanage in Russis.   Now I knew I wanted a third child but getting my husband on board was a different matter not to mention adopting a child in a country that was a 15 hour plane ride away in a country that's not exactly known for their warm hospitality.  My husband had never been out of the United States so this took some serious prayer on my part.  However, four years later almost to the date I had received little Kaylee's adoption announcement Marc and I were staring at the most beautiful 15 month old brown eye little girl from an orphanage in Muron, Russia that we were soon going to call our daughter.

Now there are a few, what I would call, miracles that happened within those 4 years leading up to Ellie's adoption.  There was our move from California to Texas in 2006 that allowed us to have the financial ability to pay for an adoption as well as the family support that allowed us to take four trips back and forth to Russia.  In the summer of 2008 I did unexpectedly get pregnant only to lose our baby to an ectopic pregnancy a couple of months later.  Now this is the moment that Marc did want another child because the two months I was pregnant he got very excited about adding to our family and we had already been visualing what that would look like.  So after our heartbreak of losing our 3rd child he was very much on board with adopting.  God knew all along.  Well that's the short story of our adoption journey but fast forward to November 2008 when we took our first of four trips to Russia.  Wow, what an amazing journey those next 2 months were.  Ellie had been in her orphanage for over nine months which is the time Russia requires before children our allowed to be adopted outside of their country.  Our first trip was meeting and agreeing to adopt Ellie as our own.  No one had to twist our arms for that one because we were completely smitten with her.  Our second trip was to go to a Russian court and stand before a judge explaining why we should be Ellie's parents.  The judge agreed we would be fit parents for Ellie and with the sound of her gavel we were the proud parents of Elisabeth (Ellie) Kate Fowler.  What a beautiful sound that was.  The third trip I went alone to get Ellie's passport and the fourth trip at the end of Jan. 2009 Marc and I took the long journey again to pick our beautiful daughter up and bring her home to her forever family.

It's been exactly two years since we brought our daughter home.  Now I wold love to say that once we brought Ellie home we all lived happily ever after....  Well anyone who has ever adopted a toddler in which you are taking them away from everything they have ever known will tell you it's not an easy road the first few months.  Ellie had a hard time attaching to us at first not to mention adjusting to the time change.  I don't think I slept for the first 3 months.  I'm sure we looked and smelled weird.  I mean after all Russia looked and smelled weird to me.  We most definitely sounded weird and she wasn't too fond of my second son Luke nor was he of her.  So that was a real joy trying to get my son who had been the baby of the family and quite the Mama's boy for 5 years to try and accept his new instant little sister who was taking his toys away not to mention his Mama.  Let's just say there was a lot of crying going on with me doing most of it those first few months.  Well I can honestly say we are all one big happy family with the "normal" sibling rivalry these days.

Everyone's adoption journey is their own special story and we are on this amazing journey forever with our daughter.  There will definitely be struggles as she grows which is why I am so thankful for our adoption group because they so "get me".  I can't imagine a better way for all of us as Christians to understand God's unconditional love for us than through adoption.  As God's children we have been adopted into His family and as Ellie gets older and starts to understand where she came from and how she became part of our family I hope and pray that will bring her comfort and peace.  Thanks so much for letting me share our adoption story.  It was and will always be an amazing journey! 


There are 700,000 orphans in Russia today.  Up to 80% of children in Russia who live in the more than 2,176 orphanges are so called "social orphans" who have been taken by the authorities away from their problematic families due to alcoholism and the general destructive tendencies in Russia society.  Please pray for the orphans in Russia.

God Bless,
The Fowler Family
Marc, Lisa, Jake, Luke and Ellie