Dear Mr. President,
My family is truly blessed to live in America. We are blessed with freedom and choices. We are ever so grateful to have the ability to raise our children in safety and with opportunity. . Thankful to be able to live in a small town, the kind of town that strengthens and continues to strengthen the very fiber of our country.
Our family was built by choice. Choice after choice led us to the blessings of family we enjoy. A large part of that choice was adoption.
When children were not available in TN to adopt we adopted from other places. We incorporated into our home children who were part of large sibling groups, we did so to keep them together and to love them, to give them hope and roots. We adopted from our country because we knew there where children here, American children who deserved to have a family, deserved to have a mom and dad.
We feel that our country should take care of it’s children. We have food stamps and government assistance to meet (or at very least TRY to meet) the needs of our children. Many of us are blessed to be able to provide for our children without that assistance, that is a gift we are grateful for and none who are so blessed would ever begrudge a child in need.
Our country has a responsibility to protect our children, to meet their needs physically, emotionally and mentally. Our country likely fails many children, but it should not fail those it is AWARE of!
We adopted children, we had private insurance, and never had to even address the government aid through TNCare until we had mental health issues with 3 of our children who had serious losses. We have had to fight to receive help. We have had to give away a child because it was “the only way” to get him coverage. That is wrong on SO MANY LEVELS!! A mentally challenged child who losses TWO families.
In that case we were his family, and willing to buy his clothes, to visit, to do all we could do. But the state of TN does not always have the child’s best interest at heart, money is the “heart” that rules.
We are now, once again facing a child who needs help and once again are fighting for the services he needs.
This country OWES the children who have sustained abuse and neglect, even been affected by drug and alcohol from birth moms, we OWE them resources! When this country fails to meet those needs, it destroys opportunity for all the endless children who wait for adoptive homes. Someone could look at the situations with our boys and say, “You have some great kids who do well, but it’d be my luck to get the tough kid and being stuck with no help!” Those people choose to not adopt and the lack of care for those who need our country affect us all.
I realize the big picture I am painting. Years ago I realized we could find diagnosis’ for our boys, but that would do us no good, aside from being able to say a list of words, there is not sufficient HELP.
If nothing else, this country needs low level group homes that specialize in helping emotionally disturbed children be successful. If not, our country will care for most them most of their adult lives anyway through the prison system. If money is the issue, why cannot it not be understood that these children left unhelped will be much more expensive for tax payers as adults. Not to mention the acts that will occur in our communities that lead to such prison sentences.
How do you do it? How do you fix it? Provide care for our children. Provide it without the need for Lawyers to sue the state. Give the children a chance. Give families a chance to be successful. It is MEDICALLY NESSESSARY for children to grow up and be whole and successful adults. In our country of freedom, freedom one of our son fights for with the ARMY in Afghanistan, it seems like a hypocrisy. Freedom is for those who have the mind and ability to make it on their own. Freedom is for those who have families with money to pay for treatment and help. Freedom is NOT for ALL in the case of damaged children this country places in adoptive homes and then leaves to fend for themselves. That is not freedom at all, it’s a sentence, a conviction issued with no care or regard, simply the understanding that the “state”, “government” and our “country” are not longer obligated to help. Well, until someone is hurt.
It is such a shame that our country, with all its progressive ideas, is not pro-active in helping children. If our country believed in God I would say it’s a sin! At very least it is a huge injustice from a country who believes they fight for freedom.
Sincerely,
Amanda Smotherman
Wife of 24 years
Mom to 21 children, 19 children who will be productive tax-paying members of society, 2 who are lost..
SomeDaysTheDragonsWin
Overview of the
Names of God in Scripture
(1) Elohim: The plural form of EL, meaning “strong one.” It is used of false gods, but when used of the true God, it is a plural of majesty and intimates the trinity. It is especially used of God’s sovereignty, creative work, mighty work for Israel and in relation to His sovereignty (Isa. 54:5; Jer. 32:27; Gen. 1:1; Isa. 45:18; Deut. 5:23; 8:15; Ps. 68:7).
Compounds of El:
•El Shaddai:“God Almighty.” The derivation is uncertain. Some think it stresses God’s loving supply and comfort; others His power as the Almighty one standing on a mountain and who corrects and chastens (Gen. 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; Ex. 6:1; Ps. 91:1, 2).
•El Elyon: “The Most High God.” Stresses God’s strength, sovereignty, and supremacy (Gen. 14:19; Ps. 9:2; Dan. 7:18, 22, 25).
•El Olam: “The Everlasting God.” Emphasizes God’s unchangeableness and is connected with His inexhaustibleness (Gen. 16:13).
(2) Yahweh (YHWH): Comes from a verb which means “to exist, be.” This, plus its usage, shows that this name stresses God as the independent and self-existent God of revelation and redemption (Gen. 4:3; Ex. 6:3 (cf. 3:14); 3:12).
Compounds of Yahweh: Strictly speaking, these compounds are designations or titles which reveal additional facts about God’s character.
•Yahweh Jireh (Yireh): “The Lord will provide.” Stresses God’s provision for His people (Gen. 22:14).
•Yahweh Nissi:“The Lord is my Banner.” Stresses that God is our rallying point and our means of victory; the one who fights for His people (Ex. 17:15).
•Yahweh Shalom:“The Lord is Peace.” Points to the Lord as the means of our peace and rest (Jud. 6:24).
•Yahweh Sabbaoth:“The Lord of Hosts.” A military figure portraying the Lord as the commander of the armies of heaven (1 Sam. 1:3; 17:45).
•Yahweh Maccaddeshcem: “The Lord your Sanctifier.” Portrays the Lord as our means of sanctification or as the one who sets believers apart for His purposes (Ex. 31:13).
•Yahweh Ro’i: “The Lord my Shepherd.” Portrays the Lord as the Shepherd who cares for His people as a shepherd cares for the sheep of his pasture (Ps. 23:1).
•Yahweh Tsidkenu: “The Lord our Righteousness.” Portrays the Lord as the means of our righteousness (Jer. 23:6).
•Yahweh Shammah: “The Lord is there.” Portrays the Lord’s personal presence in the millennial kingdom (Ezek. 48:35).
•Yahweh Elohim Israel: “The Lord, the God of Israel.” Identifies Yahweh as the God of Israel in contrast to the false gods of the nations (Jud. 5:3.; Isa. 17:6).
(3) Adonai: Like Elohim, this too is a plural of majesty. The singular form means “master, owner.” Stresses man’s relationship to God as his master, authority, and provider (Gen. 18:2; 40:1; 1 Sam. 1:15; Ex. 21:1-6; Josh. 5:14).
(4) Theos: Greek word translated “God.” Primary name for God used in the New Testament. Its use teaches: (1) He is the only true God (Matt. 23:9; Rom. 3:30); (2) He is unique (1 Tim. 1:17; John 17:3; Rev. 15:4; 16:7); (3) He is transcendent (Acts 17:24; Heb. 3:4; Rev. 10:6); (4) He is the Savior (John 3:16; 1 Tim. 1:1; 2:3; 4:10). This name is used of Christ as God in John 1:1, 18; 20:28; 1 John 5:20; Tit. 2:13; Rom. 9:5; Heb. 1:8; 2 Pet. 1:1.
(5) Kurios: Greek word translated “Lord.” Stresses authority and supremacy. While it can mean sir (John 4:11), owner (Luke 19:33), master (Col. 3:22), or even refer to idols (1 Cor. 8:5) or husbands (1 Pet. 3:6), it is used mostly as the equivalent of Yahweh of the Old Testament. It too is used of Jesus Christ meaning (1) Rabbi or Sir (Matt. 8:6); (2) God or Deity (John 20:28; Acts 2:36; Rom. 10:9; Phil. 2:11).
(6) Despotes: Greek word translated “Master.” Carries the idea of ownership while kurios stressed supreme authority (Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24; Rev. 6:10; 2 Pet. 2:1; Jude 4).
(7) Father:A distinctive New Testament revelation is that through faith in Christ, God becomes our personal Father. Father is used of God in the Old Testament only 15 times while it is used of God 245 times in the New Testament. As a name of God, it stresses God’s loving care, provision, discipline, and the way we are to address God in prayer (Matt. 7:11; Jam. 1:17; Heb. 12:5-11; John 15:16; 16:23; Eph. 2:18; 3:15; 1 Thess. 3:11).
We are gone to Challenge Youth Conference this weekend in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The theme for the weekend is “Challenge to Choose”. The idea behind the weekend is to focus on our choices and how they can shape us in both good and bad ways. There is a big problem that often arises when it comes to making choices. We sit down, begin to weigh the options, and both directions look like good. The key is to look at the REAL direction that our decisions will lead us. The first path often looks very appealing but is filled with problems down the road while the other path looks more difficult but offers so much more in the long run. Proverbs 14:12 says, ”There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” With every choice you make, be sure that it’s not the path that “seems right” but the path that IS right.
