WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

As most of you know, last weekend we hosted our conference for adoptive and foster parents here in Atlanta, Hope at Home 2012. I am going to share some photos with you from the weekend, but I'd like to take a moment just to share with you how Hope at Home started. About three years ago we had an event at our church, Northlands, where an amazing man who is a pastor in Ukraine and a key leader in the Ukraine Without Orphans movement, spoke. The audience was primarily adoptive parents, and afterwards some of us made ourselves available to pray with these dear parents for the issues they were facing with their adopted children. It was such a joy for us, and the Lord showed up as we prayed, releasing hope and fresh wisdom for each situation, and the parents went away feeling so encouraged. As we prayed I had such a strong sense that God was calling us as a local church to be more intentional about this ministry and that the need for adoptive and foster parents to be encouraged and strengthened was huge. 

After sharing this with Susan Hillis, who had also been feeling the need for an event where adoptive and foster parents could come and be refreshed and encouraged in the Lord for the calling of this unique and often intense parenting role, we soon met with the elders of our church and it became clear that God was opening the door for us reach out to this group of people in our community. Many of us at Northlands had either adopted or were adopted or had walked closely alongside adoptive families and we felt our hearts were full to overflowing with a desire to share with other parents what we had so freely been receiving from our wonderful God for ourselves. Our focus seemed clear from God-- we were not promoting adoption, although most of us have a passion for it; nor were we focusing on ministry to orphans. We felt a clear call from God to focus on the intense and powerful love that Father God has for adoptive and foster mothers and fathers, for His heart is as passionate about you dear one as it is for orphans and for the children adopted from hard places. We believe that God has such good plans for our families and that He is an ever present help as we love our children through all the stages of their lives. 

So last weekend we had the BEST time as we

welcomed each father and mother:

and enjoyed worship:

and heard from speakers:

 had a great time of fellowship, food and live jazz at our 

H@H After Party:

 enjoyed hearing interviews with adoptive parents: 

learned from amazing breakout speakers on 12 different topics close to our hearts:

and soaked in the ministry of the spoken word and song:

One of the things I loved about this weekend was that it took so many people to make it happen and to me that is a clear and very real display of Father God's love for us parents. He is extravagant in His love for us and that just fills me with Hope for my Home. For if God is for us, who can be against us my friends?! He is BIGGER and is an Ever Present Help for us in our times of need. 

Blessed be His Name!!

Have you stopped by our Facebook page? Like us on Facebook (click HERE) to keep up with other Hope at Home events, get links to helpful resources, receive daily encouragement for your parenting journey, and enjoy a growing community of people who "get it."

WHY I CRIED ON MY BIRTHDAY

From Susan Hillis:
I cried on my birthday, just two days ago, as I realized that we are still experiencing that deep joy that comes with adopting. I have decided that completing an adoption takes a lifetime. As the Hillis family, we are, each one, in the lifelong process of adopting each other, learning and relearning the awe of unconditional love and open arms. Here is the story of what made me cry.

Hope at Home 2012

It is so exciting when my birthday is on a Saturday, because I get the day off to enjoy my day in a way that makes me the most happy.  Now for some people, since having your birthday on a Saturday only happens once every 7 years, it would seem like a sacrifice to spend that particular Saturday at a conference in order to pass along love to big group of people you don't know.  But for me, it was delightful.  Simply delightful.  To have that day of my life mapped onto the heartbeat of God for His people was such a huge privelege.  I was carrying around the secret blessing of the Holy Spirit in my heart, one He had whispered many years earlier when I was in Russia.  On that particular birthday I was preaching in a Russian church on Sunday, and they gave me a Russian leather bible with this verse writtten in beautiful cyrrilic Russian in the frontispiece..."Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing your labor in the Lord is never in vain." That means when the Lord is allowing me to so directly serve Him, whether in the setting of my church, my home, or my work, that service ALWAYS has eternal purpose...because it is NEVER in vain!  This same truth describes you, dear friend, in all your service, even and especially when the Lord is the only one who sees it.

Why I Cried

So when my dear friend Beth asked me, "So Susan, how can we help celebrate your birthday on Saturday at Hope at Home conference?" I answered, "Just don't make me eat dinner with all those people - I am excited about having the whole day with them, but I want the evening with just my family."  She giggled in that Beth-Templeton-kind-of-way, and assured me I would be off duty for the evening.  

What I didn't know is that my hero-of-a-husband, Brian, had decided to leave the conference early and go home to cook a nice birthday dinner for the entire family, whom he had invited home for dinner....8 of our 10 kids were able to come home!  So I drove up to our house around 6:00 PM to be met with a drive way full of cars....Alex had driven from Charlotte; Trevor, from UGA; Masha and Ksusha, along with 2 of my beautiful granddaughters, from Alpharetta; Anya and Jerry, from Villa Rica, and Katya and Vasya; and shortly after I arrived, Lana and Dane from Peachtree City. 

The end of dinner led to the beginning of our tradition....every birthday we all go around the table and say something we like about the person whose birthday is being honored.  So as we start around the table, Ksusha, our sweet and gifted 18 year old who has a beautiful little 3 month old daughter, says, 
"Mommy, I like about you that you are strong in God....it is so important because when we are struggling and we are not strong in God, you can help lift us up to see we can be strong in Him, too."  
I could feel a lump in my throat as I gave her a tight squeeze.  Then Lana, who struggled so much growing up and who has just come off of two years on the street, says, 
"Mommy, I love you because when some of the kids make bad choices, you do not change in your love for us. Your love stays the same no matter what. You just keep loving us and keep praying for us. Mommy, I appreciate that about you." 

And her eyes begin to fill with tears as she looks deeply into mine.  We both understand what she is not saying aloud but what she is saying in her heart.  That the 'us' is really 'me.'  She is saying, "that is about me and about how you kept telling me when I was the on the street that I had to call you every day because you are my mommy who loves me, and when I would call you would tell me you are my mommy who loves me."  
My eyes just can't help copying hers....and soon she is sitting there trembling as the trickle of tears becomes a stream.  Then soon I am trembling and crying with her and have to just go hug her and tell her, 
"I adore you, Lana Grace, you are a gift and a treasure to me and I will always love you."  
I think a lot of us around the table were crying.  But they were tears of deep joy.  Tears of seeing that a prodigal coming back to living like a daughter looks like.  We were all so happy to be together.  And each of our kids continued, saying the most encouraging words about how much they like me and love me.  It was one of my best birthdays ever.

As I lay in bed treasuring up the memories of the day, I kept seeing the same scene over and over from earlier in the day. Trevor and I were on the front porch as Lana pulled up in the cul-de-sac.  His whole face brightens and he screams out, 
"Lana G!!!  You are the REASON I came home from college, Lana G!  YOU are the ONE I came to see!"
And Trevor rushes towards her down our long drive way, as she is rushing up towards him,  and they give each other the biggest, tightest squeeze.  I could only see Rembrandt's famous 'Return of hte Prodigal' in that moment.  It was just a modern day Luke 15.  And it was MY prodigal. But in my picture, there was no older brother standing and judging...there were just a bunch of brothers and sisters, and a father and mother, embracing.  All of us had learned to love like that father.  
With open arms.  
Having a party. 
Because all prodigals will, with time, understand and be drawn back to the Father's loving arms.  
And we get to become those arms.  
For each other.  
As our family learns to live the lifelong process of adopting.  
Wait for it, pray for it, believe it, hold on tight to those arms of Your Father and His love will infuse yours.

Did you know Hope at Home is on facebook and twitter (@hope_at_home_)? Join us for daily encouragement, resources and event information.

HOPE AT HOME 2012-- SAVE THE DATE!

Save the Date!!!

for

Hope at Home 2012

October 5-6

Atlanta, GA

We are absolutely overflowing with excitement as we plan to see you all here in Atlanta for our annual conference for Adoptive and Foster Parents, and those who love these families.

Hope at Home 2012 will be a time of refreshing, growing, and connecting for fathers and mothers-- a time full of worship, teaching, prayer ministry, and the love of Father God.

---------Take a moment and watch the video above on your right----------

We have some wonderful things planned already for you! A special lunch for single mothers, and one for pastors and church leaders. And we're working on a post meeting event Friday night with live music and the best gourmet coffee and dessert. Since we'll have already made plans to have our children taken care of, we figured we might as well have some fun!

We are prayerfully dedicated to help you encounter the Father's heart for your family-- for yourself and for each one of your children (those in your home now and those waiting to come home)

as you partner with God to transform orphans into Sons and Daughters. 

Find us on Facebook and stay tuned to this blog in order to get more details about registration.

And tell your friends! 

And the Lord shall guide you continually and satisfy you in drought and in dry places and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters fail not.

    And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of [buildings that have laid waste for] many generations; and you shall be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

Isaiah 58:11-12

TESTIMONIES OF GOD'S GOODNESS

A JOY to Serve!
It was pure joy for us this weekend-- to be able to meet so many adoptive and foster parents sent to us as gifts from His hand. From the moment people walked in the door of Northlands Church they could sense the embrace of HOPE and the particular love of the Father for them. Many thanks to all who took the time and effort to arrange child care and change schedules (no simple feat!) in order to attend Hope at Home 2011!


We believe that the best fathers and mothers are those who have learned to be a son or daughter of our amazing, gracious, kind and powerful Heavenly Father. Hope at Home 2011 was a time for many to experience anew the transformational touch of their Father, always full of HOPE for every situation we parents face.  


Some TESTIMONIES of God's Goodness:



"Just wanted to thank you all for a wonderful weekend. This was the first time my husband joined me at an adoption conf. so we were truly blessed. Thanks for your time, energy and love for others."

"God has just poured out His love and refreshing on us here! I feel like we have just been embraced and cared for by everyone from this church! We NEEDED this!"

"I have never had support in my 10 year journey. Just hearing and knowing there are others that care was amazing and filled a huge void."

"This weekend was a good reminder that our ONLY hope lies in Him…not in a solid ministry….not in other people….in Him."

"It was so encouraging and refreshing!  Thank you for all your hard work and thank you to your church for being so welcoming and supportive of adoptive parents.  The talks were all excellent, the music was worshipful, the food was good and every little detail down to the printed materials and gifts were so thoughtfully done."

"Thank you for a fabulous refreshing, reviving, envisioning weekend. I can't wait until next year's Hope at Home!!! May the Lord reward you 100 fold for all you invested for His Kingdom!"

"I wanted to write you to tell you how much I enjoyed the Hope at Home conference this weekend.  Adoption conferences can be burdensome….the need is so very great….it can be overwhelming.   But Hope at Home was full of refreshment.  I left encouraged and eager to dig into God's Word to further explore stories or nuggets of truth introduced over the weekend.  To me, that says it all.  To me, that says it all.  If this conference inspires parents to dig deeper into God's Word, you have accomplished much.  Hebrews 6:19 says, "We have this hope as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure."  I think of this verse often and I picture myself tethered to my anchor, Jesus.  The shorter the rope, the less I get thrashed about by the winds and waves of this world.  Being in His Word, keeps me on a shorter rope….it is so very important.  I don't think anyone could walk away from this weekend without desiring to know Jesus more and to dig deep in His Word.  Thank you for all of the time and energy that went into pulling this weekend together.  It was really fantastic."

"We had a wonderful time and left feeling rested! Thank you so much for all your hard work. It was a wonderful event and I cannot wait until next year. The Lord spoke to me over the weekend and gave me new hope for this season of our life. I am so thankful I was able to be still and listen. You all made us feel loved and welcome and to be honest that is what I needed most!"

"There is none like our God Who rides through the heavens to your help." Deuteronomy 33:26

We'd like to thank Laura Means for the wonderful photography! And thank you to Greg Haswell and the Elders at Northlands Church , along with all of the Grace Teams, for serving God's tender love in myriad ways for each Hope at Home 2011 attendee throughout the conference.

We can't wait until next year. We are already dreaming about Hope at Home 2012- Mark your calendars for Sept 21-22, 2012!

In the meantime, LIKE US ON FACEBOOK, for updates and on-going encouragement from Hope at Home.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION

Register now to  in enjoy the benefit of our Early Bird Registration for HOPE AT HOME 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. You have three more weeks to enjoy this price break of $100 per couple and $60 per individual. Early Bird Registration ends September 9th.


We have some experienced and faith-filled speakers committed to share the HOPE that we have in our amazing God as we partner with Him to raise our children. We will be refreshed and equipped as we encounter the Father's heart for our adoptive and foster families.


Stay tuned as we will be posting breakout session options for attendees soon. You will not want to miss some of these topics! Here a few you can look forward to.

• Answering the Tough Questions
• Creating a Culture of Honor in Your Home: Sibling Relationships in the Adoptive/Foster Family
• Establishing Peace in Your Home: Dealing with Anger, in You and in Your Child
• Fathering Your Adopted/Foster Child
• Strengthening Yourself in the Lord
• Partnering with God to Transform Orphans into Sons and Daughters
• Parenting Your Adopted Child as A Single Mother
• Marriage: Finding Intimacy Amidst Competing Demands

Would you help us get the word out by posting on Facebook and Twitter?

HOPE AT HOME 2011 CONFERENCE, SEPTEMBER 23-24

Register Now for Hope at Home 2011 Conference! Click HERE.


A Word from Susan Hillis:

Susan with her son Alex, at the 
Created for Care Retreat

When we begin to respond to the Lord's call to our family to adoption, we found ourselves in unchartered territory in spite of a dozen years of parenting experience. As the Lord began to pour out His adoption call for older kids to many parents in our church, it only seemed natural that a special Sunday School class be dedicated to bi-cultural kids and American kids who were their siblings and friends! So I ended up teaching such a class of 30 kids grades 1-8 for several years. The real ministry of this class was in the informal conversations of the moms and dads, accompanied by prayer and practical help, each Sunday as they would come to pick up their kids. "Have you had any challenges with discipline? What about disobedience or anger? What about how to help them with school? And what about how to make faith and the Lord be real to them?" etc! It was those in the hall chats and prayers that often led to the greatest peace in our home, and in the homes of many of those kids who were in the class. I feel excited just thinking about HOPE AT HOME 2011 CONFERENCE at our church, Northlands, in September. This excitement comes because I think it will condense and pass along the Lord's wisdom gleaned from well over a decade of those "in the hall" conversations and prayers, along with deeper connections to the Lord and deeper connections to other parents with the same call.


A Word from Beth Templeton:

One of the things I love about being a parent, and about talking about parenting, is that it is the most fertile ground I know of to work out the truth of the Gospel. It is the real "rubber meets the road" stuff of life, don't you think? The Lord tells us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread"-- talk about daily! Rarely a day goes by where Stephen and I don't realize that we need of direct access to God's power and His life-giving words to us or to our children. For me there is little more exciting and challenging in this life than the realities of working out my faith in the life of our family. If the Good News doesn't "work" in our homes, if it is reserved for Sunday School and the occasional outreach or mission trip, then we are missing something-- big time. What a joy and honor it has been to see God's transformational power in the lives of our children right before our eyes! And, as He is healing our adopted children, we are all finding ourselves being transformed as well.
It has been this desire to partner with the Father to see orphans be transformed into Sons and Daughters right in our homes that has opened our ears to hear God tell us that we need to host a conference at our church, Northlands, here in Atlanta, Georgia. So, ever since this last fall when we spoke with our church elders, we have been planning this event-- and we have been praying for you.


A Time of Refreshing:
Dr. Susan Hillis and I, along with others whose hearts are full with the desire to serve adoptive and foster parents, are so excited to have the opportunity to meet you and to come alongside you during HOPE AT HOME 2011 here in Atlanta, Georgia, September 23-24.

We see HOPE AT HOME 2011 as a time of refreshing for both husbands and wives as we encounter the Father's Heart for adoptive families. We are looking to God to fill our hearts with His Hope. 


We invite you to come and be transformed through the Lord's refreshment as we:

1.  Learn to find daily hope through our relationship with God.
2.  Encounter practical approaches to parenting according to our child's identity and purpose in God.
3.  Connect with others through ministry and prayer.

Some of the TOPICS we are preparing for the conference are:

• Responding to Your Child's Tough Questions
• Nurturing Your Marriage Amidst Competing Demands
• Establishing Peace in Your Home: Addressing Anger in You and Your Child
• Fathering Your Adopted Child
• Hope and Help for the Single Adoptive Mother
• Creating Unity Among Siblings in Your Adoptive Family
• Transforming Orphans into Sons and Daughters
• Loving Your Adopted Child Through Every Stage of Their Lives
• The Beauty of Transracial Adoption
• Special Needs and HIV

We are very interested in your thoughts on these things and would love to hear your ideas in how we can best minister to you as you love your children. We encourage you to leave a comment below with your thoughts! Also, we have a team of people committed to praying for you, so if there is something specific you would like us to be joining with you prayer for even before the conference, please email us at hopeathome@northlandschurch.com.


May your HOMES BE FILLED WITH HOPE this day as you love each of your precious children, bringing them into the wholeness and healing that is a part of their inheritance as a part of your family!


Beth Templeton and Susan Hillis 
for the HOPE AT HOME Team




HERE

A FEW THINGS

We are honored to have our blog featured at We Are Grafted In this week. I encourage you to check it out. I have really enjoyed reading the articles there and felt that the heart behind this blog is very similar to ours. Enjoy it!

While I'm at it, let me tell you that a few weeks ago Promise 686, a wonderful ministry here in Atlanta that assists families who have a heart for caring for the orphan by providing financial assistance, community support, and education, featured Rachel's Story from our blog in their "God Stories" section. If you haven't read that one yet, it is a beautifully written post about how adoption affected the life of a biological child. 

And Orphan Care Resources, another excellent international ministry whose vision is to equip believers to care for orphans, also featured our Hope At Home 2011 Conference, as well as our blog. I really encourage you to visit this site. They have gathered so many resources to help those whose heart is set on loving the orphan and those who have been called to adopt. Excellent resource!


Would you help us prepare for our Conference September 23-24th here in Atlanta by Registering Now?
If you are coming in from out of town and need a hotel, the TownePlace Suites by Marriott is giving us a discount. Just call them at their local number, 770-447-8446, and tell them you are going to a conference at Northlands Church (they are located right next door).  We have 35 rooms reserved, so make your reservations soon.


May your Homes be filled with the Hope that we have in God, anchored and sure.

SIGN UP FOR HOPE AT HOME 2011 CONFERENCE

We want to give you an update on our preparations for Hope at Home 2011 conference coming up, September 23-24 here in Atlanta.

Some of the breakout topics we have planned are:

-Responding to Your Adopted Child's Tough Questions

-Nurturing Your Marriage Amidst Competing Demands

-Establishing Peace in Your Home: Addressing Anger in You and Your Child

-Fathering Your Adopted Child

-Creating Unity Among Siblings

-Transforming the Orphans into Sons and Daughters

-Teaching Your Child to Hear and Respond to God

We hope that you will be able to join us September 23-24. You can register online now at hopeathome2011.org, as well as read more about the details of the conference. If you are planning to come, it would be very helpful to us if you would register soon so that we can plan to serve you as best as we can!

It is our hearts' desire to love and serve you well, so please let us know if there is anything we can do to help. Our Hope at Home team will be meeting in a few days to pray-- you can be assured we will pray for you. It is a joy to serve our God in this way and we are so excited to see what He has in store for all of our families. 

If you know of other parents who might like to know about Hope at Home, be sure to share the blog and website with them. 

Stay tuned here at our blog -- in the next few months we will have other adoptive parents and experts writing about hearing God's voice, marriage, multiracial adoptions, infant adoptions, and fathering. So, keep in touch!

With thanksgiving and love, and Great Hope,

Beth Templeton and Susan Hillis

for the Hope at Home team.