AnthonyFosterPhD

These following songs were written during the process of adoption. I felt compelled to NOT publish them during that time as we needed to protect our daughter who was then ward of the state, and to guard from peering eyes. I will be talking more about the process and the experience this side of the finalization, hopefully to encourage others who are on that journey, as well as those who might not have otherwise considered it. Soli Deo Gloria! James 1:27 New International Version (NIV) 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

This was previously found on this blog last year, but is appropriate here, I think... Now I know Abba’s tender arms An embrace for a fatherless child A nurturing place where I’m kept from harm With my father I’m reconciled Beloved children reconciled. Crying out Abba Father At the cross we lay our pain You turn our loss into gain We cry out for the souls of men Crying out for your presence again We need Your presence to live in Forgiveness is given Your power to use Your wisdom to choose We shall cry out Cast away all doubt Cast ourselves upon your grace Abba Father, Abba Father Let us see your face Fill our hearts and fill this place We need Your strength to endure Your love true and pure Your interceding prayers Your mercy and your care We are crying out Our prayer becomes a shout We cast ourselves on you alone Crying abba Father, Abba Father Abba Father make your glory known As we stand boldly before your throne

(This is a call to a generation to step up to the challenge of becoming agents of redemption in the lives of children who have been thrown on the garbage heap of our culture. There but for the grace of God go we all.) You were born in the fields of the fatherless Cut down at the root and left there alone. Jesus came as a friend to the fatherless Picked you up and brought you home. Life is hard in the fields of the fatherless For its wounds cause the spirit to groan Jesus comes as the friend to the fatherless He knows the plans he has for His own Now our friend, faithful friend of the fatherless Walks the ground where so many seeds were sown And the cut off the cast out the distressed Are gathered up to be never disowned So child come in from the fields of the fatherless Enter in to be nurtured and known You’ve been called and chosen for blessedness For in this new work, God’s glory is shown. June 24, 2011 Anthony Foster

(This thought is the basis of our journey- the very clear teaching that we as believers are chosen and grafted into the life of the True VIne. Adoption is at the core of who we are.) Romans 11:17-24 Grafted in to the root of an olive tree Though once barren, its roots run deep Chosen child, given a new identity A new name that you will keep. So the master gardener takes his time And discerns which plants to choose Our soil is rich and so he binds Your branch until we fuse By his cuts He exposes our secret place With our bark stripped back to reveal Our very core ready to embrace Your wound till our union can heal We are the stock, you are the scion We are the root that you will rely on And we will bear more beautiful fruit As your partake of the life of our root. And so like flames united thus Our flames burn bright and true The gardener will prune us Till our life runs through you. June 24, 2011 Anthony Foster

(I still tear up when I read what I wrote over 6 months ago, for it still rings even truer today.) I pray the Lord will give you grace To understand what’s taking place I pray that you will come to show The joys a child was meant to know. I pray that you will learn to trust These feeble, frail, children of dust I pray that faith will fill your mind And true security you’ll find. I pray that you will choose to live Up to the privilege God gives. I pray that we might bless your heart And you’ll know the peace that Christ imparts. I pray that if you need to grieve Release and comfort you’ll receive That God will grant you perfect rest And we will live to see you blessed. But most of all I pray we’ll be A healthy, happy family A place of refuge on this earth A home of hearts that know Christ’s worth. For favor and blessing, forgiveness and grace Love and acceptance and care Discipline and a sheltering place An inheritance for you to share This is my prayer, this is my prayer! Anthony Foste...

(It has always been our firm conviction that we would adopt out of abundance, not to fill a void. The paradox is that as true as that was, now that the branch is grafted and fused, there WOULD be a void without her. We have been changed by this process.) The joy of one flesh and bone Has been proven and prepared A Great Love overflows our home And we know it was meant to be shared. You are our chosen one, our chosen one So chosen child see what our Lord has done He has blessed our happy family By bringing you to us And like every blessing we have known You’ll become both a test and a trust. I pray we will not fail you I pray we will be strong To courageously sing over you Unconditional lovesongs You’ll be free to be imperfect And you’ll know you are beloved And our Lord will meet your very need When all we have is not enough. You are our chosen one, our chosen one So chosen child see what our Lord has done He has blessed our happy family By bringing you to us And like every blessing we...

(Theses posts can now be shared post-adoption) We were given a vision to pursue We’ve been searching now for so long. We’ve walked away time and time again When the prospects were all wrong For God knew your needs and God knew our hearts He planted the seeds that’s how true love starts Now He’s brought us together and we’ll never be the same He makes a forever family and Foster is our name. The Lord gave a sense that it was right- Sweet assurances of His plan; Encouragement in little lovenotes To remind us how this path began. We prayed He’d make it obvious When we sought you as our choice So when we give our hearts to you Your angels would rejoice. Forever family Forever Family So we become all we can be A Forever Family Forever family Forever Family Dad and Mom and you make three A Forever Family Abba Father connects us And calls us as His own In His goodness He protects us And we are never alone… Anthony Foster June 14, 2011

Yes, this is an indication of how life has changed in the Foster abode. Facebook has dwindled to nothingness as well. It's also a function of the past year where we were not allowed to share the common occurances in our own household because our daughter was a ward of the state and we had no leeway in the matter. It will take some intentionality to get back to communicating appropriately! That being said, Everything is fairly routine, as much as is possible with us. We didn't travel much for Christmas and that was a boon. We did make one trip to Owensboro to see friends who moved there recently (and pick up the University of Kentucky basketball tickets they provided.) It was ostensibly a trip for our daughter to reconnect with her former foster parents who will, we anticipate, continue to be friends of the family. The reunion went well at a local restaurant. It was especially good for our daughter to see her foster sis (the foster parents’ biological daughter) who is in colleg...