I AM by Michele Cushatt

This is a reflective book. It is supposed to be a sixty-day journey to biblical self-discovery. The author begins her book with Acknowledgments and then an Introduction. Then she spreads out her material in sixty short chapters. Each chapter begins with a corresponding Bible verse. And each chapter ends with questions, meant for personal reflection and application. Each chapter starts with "I Am----" and ends with with a trait of the person God says we are in Christ. Michele Cushatt is a successful speaker and author. She shares how complicated the intersection of faith and real life are. She speaks for Women of Faith, Compassion International, Focus on the Family, and Hearts at Home.

I have gotten done reading this book. To me, it is 65% memoir and 35% prescriptive. Cushatt embeds so much of herself and her life experiences into this book that I don't feel I can relate to her. I CAN relate to the emotions that she shares she has dealt with. As a person who has dealt with infertility, I had a hard time reading about some of her adventures with her full houseful of children. And as a person who has wanted to adopt but didn't find it an option, it was tough to read of her own experiences as an adoptive mom. As Cushatt shares, she has had much success in life. And it took her bouts with cancer to make her see that that our success and/or failures don't define us. But reading this book from my filter, it seems to be geared to middle-class readers and higher. This irks me with Christian resources in general. What about those with disabilities, low incomes, minorities, and others who may not feel they can relate to, frankly, middle-class trials? (Disclaimer: Cancer is excluded. It strikes people of all classes!) This author does a great job of making God's grace and love real to the reader. She doesn't omit mention of His holiness, but it isn't her focus.

I recommend this book for Christian Women. This is her target audience. Cancer patients and survivors, especially, may find it meaningful. The author may consider writing a youth version of this book. And she could adapt it to speak to the issues and concerns teenagers and young adults face.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through in exchange for an honest review of this book. I wasn't required to give a favorable review of this book.

Imagine Another Option for Those Facing Crisis Pregnancies

You find yourself dealing with an unplanned or unplanned or crisis pregnancy.

You are not yet ready for the responsibilities of parenthood, often because of economic reasons. Maybe you do not have stable employment or permanent housing.

You hear the slogan, "Adoption, not abortion" and "Just place your baby in adoption; many parents would love your baby." But the thought of placing a baby you carry for nine months is like thinking about cutting off one of your body parts.

Abortion? You do not want to do that, either. Isn't that killing a baby? You probably do not want that on your conscience.

Daily, many, many girls, women, boyfriends and husbands find themselves dealing with pregnancies they do not feel prepared, at least at the time. Daily, up to 4000 of these pregnancies are terminated because the biological parents do not feel ready for parenthood at the time but cannot bear the thought of adoption.

Imagine that there was another option in crisis or unplanned pregnancies, one that would not be a perfect solution but that would open up another option for those in crisis pregnancies and serve as an incentive for many more of them to choose life for their babies.

Maybe many more lives would be saved and many more abortions would be prevented.

I'm talking about temporary foster care. I know that, right away, many pro-adoption people and adoptive parents may object that this would open the door to allow birth moms to place their babies in adoption with the possibility of reclaiming those babies years later. No, this is not a call to introduce such a loophole in adoption laws. The babes in temporary foster care would not be available for adoption so this scenario would not become an issue. I'm very much for adoption and that they remain safe and secure.

Some may argue that children need stability and that they should not have to live even in temporary foster care even as their biological parents are building their lives to be in the position to raise their own children. Those who identify themselves as prolife do not seem to realize that this option, imperfect as it is, would itself be a motive for many in crisis pregnancies to choose life for their babies as they know they would be able to regain their babies in a few years after finding employment and housing and/or education. Isn't temporary foster care a much more humane option for babies than abortion, even though temporary foster care is not perfect?

Those in the Parental Alienation movement may argue that this is a state issue and to keep Congress out of it. But we can say that of many issues that have become law of the land. There is a new petition that calls on Congress to make a law, effective in all 50 states, that would allow those facing crisis pregnancies the option of placing their babies in temporary foster care, with a four year limit to prevent abuse of this option and protect the children involved.

With the admitted imperfections of this option, it is far better than the option of ending an unborn child's life because your perceived lack of options. And can we really expect abortions to end as long as we do not offer those facing crisis pregnancies more options to choose life for their babies?

If you agree, please visit here to sign petition

Thank You!

The Wonder & How-to's of Adopting Children

Every child deserves to be loved.

Everybody knows the word “orphanage”. The so-called children’s home is the only place where abandoned children can receive some love and care from the other people.

Sometimes when family wants to take care about an orphan, they don’t really know how to treat themselves with such a child. And soon they can feel guilty that they do not take care of the new orphan relative in the same way compare to their own children. Or, it can be so, that in order to take care about the new child as best one can, they simply forget about their own children and it causes conflicts and offenses.

The adoption process is always hard and full of bumps in the road, especially in case of the international adoption. Sometimes parents are quite surprised when the child feels himself quite uncomfortable in their family. Give the child some time to realize that he can trust you and don’t rush the thing, because it’s a long process.

One of the chief factors of the parents is the awareness that this child is not a newborn and he has his own personality and character, that’s why it’s normal, when parents can’t immediately attach to their new child. Also add to that the disrupted sleep because of the new environment.

But what should you do if you don’t feel attached to the child? There’s one perfect phrase “Fake it till you make it”. You shouldn’t show the child that you don’t treat him as your own, because it can cause a depression. That’s why show the child that you like him be smiling, hugging and speaking to him in a positive way.

Give your new child his own place. The child needs to have his space, that’s why provide it for his toys, books, clothes, etc. That helps to develop organizational skills, responsibility and independence. Knock the door before entering; allow the child to decorate the room of his own. It’s very important to make the child feel that the new home is his own. Only then he’ll feel himself comfortable.

The other important issue for adoptive parents is accepting the existence of the real parents of the child and discussing it with the child. Such information should be shared with children according to their age and their level of understanding. The psychologists say that the full understanding of adoption begins from the age of seven.

If the child is of the different religion of the other nationality, you should respect it. Ask the child if he would like to celebrate certain holidays and learn about them. Sometimes children do not tell their new family about different national traditions and holidays, so before the adoption you should know everything about the traditions of your future child.

Some parents don’t agree with the specialists and think that much better not to tell children about the adoption, but the researches show that it’s not so. If the child lives with the feeling that he’s a native child and then he finds out that he was adopted, he can get depressed and even commit suicide. That’s why it’s really important to convey a positive image of the birth parents to the child. You should try to explain the child that parenting is a hard task and many people do not learn how to treat children well.

Sometimes the problems appear and you should know when to seek the professional help. Some adopted children may develop behavioral or emotional problems. Many of them were adopted from abusive homes and even drug dealer homes, that’s why it’s important to keep an eye on them and use the professional help in time. Stay in touch with your adoption agency, because the agency can refer you to the certain psychologist who will speak with members of your family and determine who need the treatment.

If you’re only going to adopt the child and you don’t really sure about your powers in taking care and education, you can visit different seminars and read articles devoted to this topic. Parenting is a hard work requiring responsibility, especially when it comes to adopted children. But they are only children and none of them deserves the lack of attention and love.

About the author: The author of this article is Melisa Marzett. She is an active person, interested in different spheres, but today she decided to cover such a topic because she’s a volunteer in an orphanage and she really cares about the problems of abandoned children. You can ask her any questions at Google+. Also, if you want to see the other Melisa’s works, use classy essay writer.