Sep 17, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
Our son Clayton was in law school when our children, Stephen, Elizabeth and Peter, arrived from Ukraine. While in law school, he had been coaching a soccer team of middle-schoolers in Lexington, Virginia. When he saw Stephen’s skills in soccer, Clayton arranged for...
Sep 10, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace...
Sep 3, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of...
Aug 27, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” When you’re part of the family of God, there’s a new approach to your wardrobe. There’s a new approach to your hygiene. There’s a new approach to your diet, and there’s a new language. In Colossians 3 we read, “And be...
Aug 20, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And...
Aug 13, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
Robed in the Righteousness of Christ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.Ephesians 6:13 I was proud of my nephew David when he went overseas to...
Aug 6, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1 Our adopted Ukrainian children had to learn a new culture, a whole new way of life. On the way back from Ukraine, as they experienced...
Jul 30, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12 In 2002, God brought three of our children, Stephen, Elizabeth, and Peter, into our family through...
Jul 23, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
Jesus said, “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 The day our adopted children arrived at their new home in...
Jul 16, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
“…I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.”John 14:3 A story is told of a missionary who returned from Africa to the USA in the early nineteen hundreds after a lifetime career in missions. When he arrived in New York City, he...
Jul 9, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
“…I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.”John 14:3 In February 2002, with the Ukrainian government’s approval, Susan and I went to Ukraine to adopt our three youngest children. Based on what we were told, we expected to be in...
Jul 2, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
“…think of what you were when you were called…” I have learned things through adoption that I thought I had known most of my life. I had given assent to many spiritual truths, but God has brought it all home to me in a whole new way. Now I know that I didn’t really...
Jun 25, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
Naming is an exercise in dominion. If you go all the way back to Genesis, you will find that Adam was given dominion over all the animals, and the first thing he did as a manifestation of his authority was to name those animals. Whatever Adam called one of them, the...
Jun 11, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” Galatians 4:6 Before we had adopted three of our children, I had already titled one of my books on prayer, “Calling Him Daddy.” The title speaks of God’s desire for...
May 28, 2025 | Weekly Devotional
“in Him we were also chosen…in conformity with the purpose of His will…” Have you seen the movie “Dennis the Menace?” That was my youngest boy when he arrived from Ukraine: blond-haired, blue-eyed and full of energy. When I walked down the street...
