Foster Mom Stories FF - What's This Series About?

Hey you,

I considered starting a new blog all about the joys and lessons associated with fostering. The first experience was hard. I was sick for most of it with Mono and Hepatitis (long story, Drs overdosed me on Benadryl when I had an allergic reaction to a medication) and anyone who has raised children knows that taking on two toddlers as our first placement was absolutely crazy.

Anyways, instead of starting a new blog I decided that this would fit in perfectly with my religion blog. This blog is all about my faith and what I study about the belief systems and worldviews of others. Not every post will talk about God but there is no doubt that I would have made it through parenting without daily turning to God for help, studying the Word and God as a perfect parent, as well as trusting that God knew what He was doing even when I didn't see the significance. Sooo, here goes a new series all about my Foster Mom Stories.

So, What's Next?

We are not sure what our next placement will be. We are in the process of praying about what direction to go. Details like how many and their ages are still up in the air. Adoption vs foster care is another topic we are praying over. Regardless, we plan to take on another adventure in the realm of kids and I'm sure you will enjoy following the adventure as much as we enjoy having it. My prayer is that I will learn more about God and grow stronger and gain wisdom through it all.

This Blog Series will be my journal about my experiences as a foster parent. I will share our journey and what I am learning along the way. Though I plan to talk about the struggles and challenges, there is so much that needs to be kept private and I intend to maintain privacy for the sake of our littles and their families, as well as our personal sanity. Know that it is tough and there will be times I only share the positive to keep myself in check. Also, I do not always share as life is happening.

In this series, you can expect to read about the grace and mercy of God, as well as redemption and hope. I suppose the opposite of these things would include the sinful nature inherent in children and parents alike. I will also share what I learn about parenting children who have been through more than most of us see.

I hope that you will have a new understanding of foster parents and foster children from following this series.

You can also follow the hashtag with the same name over on Instagram to see more of my stories and corresponding artwork as well.

Thank you for starting this journey with us!
Love,
Felicia Follum

I Don't Like You...And Neither Does My God

Critical Thought Tuesday


“You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”

~ Anne Lamott 

Any Thoughts???

Haiti Journal Entry 1 or He is Risen Indeed

Disclaimer: Well this post is a bit of rambling (I'm not even sure if there is a complete thought, but I know there are at least two partial thoughts)…If you follow, great. If not check back later because I might try to tidy it up a bit (but for now I need to get back to studying...)

Wow, I am not even sure how to explain the power of Jesus’ resurrection other than amazing. Sometimes it hits me like a great big brick wall of love and grace and other times I seem to shrug it off (I think because I don’t fully comprehend it).

The process of trying to get my passport has been a nightmare. I wont go too deeply into the problems that I have been having but every time I have gone into the courthouse so far they seem to find a new reason why I cant just hand in the paperwork.  It is also frustrating because I cant help but wonder what the experience would be if I was a white male (I know people don't like to admit that racism still exists but it does especially in situations like this).  Anyways, I followed the directions online perfectly but the people at the courthouse keep telling me that this and that wont work but will not give me reasons why or how to fix them.  The most recent time they told me that they can’t accept my drivers license because it is out of state and the time before that they said that the photo paper my image was printed on wont work (The Copy Center used the paper that their (Passport people's) website had posted and the office couldn't tell me what paper to use).

Jim is convinced that the devil is trying to thwart the process and tell me that “God doesn’t want me to go.” It sure seems like God is telling me that I am not supposed to go for some reason, but I do agree with Jim that God rarely tells people not to serve. 

Today at Easter breakfast with some people from my church, I was really encouraged, and finally think that I have the information about how to fix the details of the problem. The church service was great too. Talk about the resurrection power of God when it comes to changing things around (The sermon went much deeper than a missions trip in content and make-you-think-ness). I am pretty confident that I am supposed to go and things are looking like they will work out.

Thanks you God for you son and all that he/you did throuhgh his birth, life, death and resurrection. Amen!

I think that the sermon from today (4/24) should be up soon. It was wonderful.

UPDATE: Body Piercing

See the old poster
See the poster series Grace is A Bit Queer

Slam NUBA

I attended The Good Mule Conference last weekend. One of the sessions included a workshop with the group Slam NUBA. The group was incredibly inspiring. We discussed writing from the heart and using art as a form of activism. My favorite poem was by Suzie Q and was about black beauty. I am having a hard time finding it (it is in this book but not online anywhere) but here is some of her other poetry. The first in this video was one that she performed for us.

Suzie Q
The second poem does include some swearing.

One of my favorite quotes from Suzie Q was that her “goal is not to make you hare [her] beliefs but to make you understand, to see, just for a moment.” This is so beautiful because that is what activism, and art, are all about. You want to educate people about an issue but your end goal is not always to agree but rather to both come out as better, more well rounded, and socially aware individuals.  If a piece leads to dialog, that is often more intriguing and beneficial than a conversion of ones beliefs.

In response to her second poem, I think I will be posting about God not being on sides (hmm I will either take the “God doesn’t pick a country” argument or the “what race is God topic?” Maybe I will write a post on both theories).

Bobby LeFebre and Ayinde Russell were the other two poets in the conference. I love how Bobby uses Spanish. It is so beautiful.  I remember when I asked my Spanish prfessor where a rule (I think about a stem change) came from and his response was "por que es mas bonita, es no fea como Ingles ."

Both of these guys had poems for their wives which inspiring as well.

The three of these performing artists were so full of soul and wisdom.

Bobbly LeFebre

I didn’t get to see either of these poem live.
Click here if the video doesn't play.

The passion and humor is great!

Ayindie Russell

We didn’t hear this one either…

We saw at least part of this. I don’t remember the “We rise together part” but do remember him singing “we are not alone.” Either way, I love it when people break out in song.

Click here if the video doesn't play.



I am curious to know where NUBA comes from. Does anyone know? or are you going to make me do all the work? :)

Variety is The Spice of Life...or in This Case, The Source of Life

I sometimes get frustrated when I think of churches being huge buildings with constant remodeling and purchasing of unnecessary equipment. I was recently back home and my husband and I joined my parents at the church that I went to in high school. The church is gorgeous and huge.

As I was giving my husband a tour of the building, he was shocked at the size of the building and it made me think. Was this church I grew up in one of these maga-churches? My husband soon brought up the point that South Canyon Lutheran Church (SCLC) was able to provide so many services to the community that other churches don’t have a means to offer and I re-realized (the last time was in reference to various church beliefs toward music) that there is a need for all types of churches.

SCLC is able to provide weekly meals to the community, monthly meals for high school students (the high school is a couple hundred yards away), adopt over 50 families for Christmas and Easter, provide monthly meals for families in need, quilt hundreds of quilts to donate, pay for seminary students and work with many great organizations in the community.

SCLC is a wonderful church and communities need all kinds of churches. The church my husband and I attend (Emmaus Road Community Church)  meets in an old civic center with breaking folding chairs and little to no heat, but this church caters to the needs of a young community in a college town. There is a church in Spearfish, South Dakota that has a lot of doctors and set up a free clinic once a week and the church my husband grew up in regularly donates to missionaries.

The Real Solution

A while back I wrote a post commenting on the topic of Global Healthcare and how I think that the ideal solution would be people (especially the church) taking care of others, so that the government doesn't need to.  I have a minor lack of trust in the American population and in response do not think that people helping people to the point of there not being a need for government assistance is an unrealistic and naive ideal.

I would like to show you a video of some people who, I am ecstatic to say, are proving me wrong.

A video of the Good Shepherd Clinic in Spearfish, SD.

Christmas Prayer

God, I would like to pray for those that don’t know you and don’t know about Jesus. 

I pray that they could find you in this holiday season.

I especially pray for those who don’t have a family, friends or a home. 

I pray that they would feel safe and warm.

Please help people leave their selfishness behind, if even for a day.

I pray for Chino and Daniella as well as Crazy Horse (maybe I will share these stories).

Please keep those on the streets safe. 

I pray for the Rapid City Mission and similar organizations.

Please help the Soup Kitchen find volunteers for this holiday season.

Help those of us who have much to share with others who have less.

I pray for people living with and dying from disease.

I pray for my pastors (Todd, JeriAnn, Brad, Diane, Layne, Jennifer and their families).

I also lift up the prayers of others in this holiday season.

(Please add a comment for a prayer that you have…)

AMEN!

GRACE

Grace is Queer

This poster is hard for me because I chose to use topics that I am against and raise fairly strong emotional responses.  For example my biological father was murdered by a member of the KKK and in high school my dad's (adoptive/ real) car was bombed in our driveway.  The poster is telling the viewer that "we are called to forgive everyone," even the people that have done this things to me. 

I know that the call to action for this poster is not nearly as as easy to do as it is to say.  I know that forgiveness is a difficult everyday decision that we can actively make.

God, please help us to forgive 

those who sin against us.  

Lead us not into temptation 

but deliver us from evil...

Amen!

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Don't Blame the Dark for Being Dark

I am not saying that people shouldn't or wont be held responsible for their actions.  There are consequences; however, we should not be blaming the victim.  

This is a call to Christians to reach out to others and show the gospel of love instead of preaching and expecting people to understand.

Check out more posters at Grace is a Bit Queer.

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What if?

I have a couple classes where people bash Christians on a daily basis.  It gets annoying because most of these people don't know much about Christianity.  It is also frustrating because our society no longer sees the many great projects that Christians do.  They associate Christian with bigot and ignorant, not graceful and loving.  

What if things were different? 

Check out my website to see some ways that we can make things differenet.

Grace is a Bit Queer

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The Righteous don’t need a Savior

Grace is Queer

The healthy don't need a doctor

More about this poster.

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Body Piercing

I went back into some of my writings from high school and found this quote on a scratch piece of paper from my creative writing class. It depicts the most amazing act of grace that anyone can imagine. Jesus' death was the ultimate example of grace.  Even though we were still sinners Jesus died for us.  We didn't need to change for Jesus (and God) to love us.  If we can understand this, we can better understand grace and how to share grace with others.

Another part of understanding grace is that we it can be easy for people to take grace too far. Grace is not salvation. Grace is also not Christianity, but rather an aspect of Christianity. We still need to remember the truth that Jesus is the "truth the way and the life." Grace does not mean that we are on the way to the father. It does explain how a perfect man would be willing to look past all of the garbage in our lives to see the beauty in all people.

See my website featuring this poster and more.

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Grace is A Bit Queer

The idea for this poster came from my life drawing class.  During a critique the class discussed how the model looks like Jesus.  It was interesting because the model was a friend who happened to be gay.

The text in this poster is jumbled and confusing to represent the contrast between grace and our culture.  Our culture tells us that we should get what we deserve.  If we do good in school we should get good grades, good grades will get us a good job and a good job will get us lots of money.  We earn what we get and nothing is free.

Grace, however, offers a different message.  It is free and we can not earn it.  It is different from most every aspect of our culture.

Grace is queer.

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One Reason Grace is Amazing

Grace is not restricted to one culture or language...

Amazing Grace in Cheroke



Flatfoot 56 - Celtic Punk Band - he talks for a bit (about Grace). The song starts at 1:30.
More importantly I was in that mosh pit in 05 (same place).

This video better illustrates my point (that grace transcends to non Christian audiences) but the sound is not as good.  Flatfoot plays at a lot of pubs...




Lin Yu Chun Sings Amazing Grace - WOW this kid is good

Soweto Gospel Chior


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I Believe that Grace can Save Lives

How can this one Biblical principal of grace save lives?

A person often chooses suicide because they believe that there is no other choice, there is no hope, they are worthless, no one would miss them, they have nothing to live for or a combination of these beliefs.

Suicide is often a brash decision.  In most cases all it takes to prevent a suicide is one conversation and a tiny ounce of hope.  This is one reason why suicide hot lines are so beneficial.

One example of grace is taking the weird kid in your class out for coffee or sitting by him at lunch.  This would show them that someone cares.

If you decided to talk to this "weird" kid during lunch and get to know him, you could show him that that you do care.  By asking questions about him you can show that you think he is valuable (not worthless).

At the end of this conversation asking your new friend if you can sit by him tomorrow at lunch will give him something to hope for the next day.  They now have a reason to live one more day. 

By showing someone the alternatives side to suicide (and suicidal ideation) you can help save their life.

Let's learn more about GRACE and how to use it everyday to save lives or at the very least, make new friends...

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Grace = seeing my own flaws

Sample Poster from my site.

I have recently been working on a project for a class (the next few posts will address my project). The project is in response to looking at the problems within and among GLBTQ communities’ and the Christians communities. I think that many of the problems that strain these relationships result from a lack of two features: grace and dialog. I am choosing to focus on the issue of grace for this project. The project is composed of a website that displays some posters that I have created about the topic of grace.
Grace is such an important topic in our society and Christian community. We should all be working to better understand what Jesus did for us as well as striving to show the grace of God to others.

I was having a conversation with a friend/mentor (Anthony Johnson or AJ) about grace. He explained that when he is having a hard time showing someone grace, he asks God to show him his own flaws. After seeing his imperfections he will often remember a verse such as “we are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God.”

(Romans 3:23 or Isaiah 53:6)

If you don’t read anything else from this page, I would like you to take the idea that a gracious attitude toward someone can be as simple as looking at your own flaws first.
 

hey God, please show me my flaws and 

help me to see that we all fall short of your glory and therefore 

we ALL need your grace.

AMEN

Violence Against the GLBTQ Community

The Crazy People In Kansas - They are NOT an accurate representation of Jesus.

Black Liberation Theology and the Gay Community

Edit: 

Though Black lib theology definitely played a role in my life and bringing me to where I am today I absolutely do not agree that Black Lib theology is Christian or representative of the Gospel of Christ. It is another example of "Jesus + Religion" in that it preaches a social justice gospel. 

We do not worship Justice but rather a just God. Though both are important my Christian identity must come before my Black identity.

I'm thankful to worship a patient God and for a pastor who is so scripturally rooted but also who, though white was ordained under Pastor Pew. Pastor Pew Studied James Cone in depth and was ordained under Tony Evans, the first Black man allowed into DTS.

Original post 2010. Edit 2024 🖤🖤🖤

This NPR interview helps the listener to understand more about Black Liberation Theology by interviewing James Cone, the main theologian. Cone was writing largely in the 60s. He striked a respectable balance between all that was going on. There is a little Malcolm, MLK Jr. and a little panther (but not too much).

The interview begins by defining Black Liberation Theology. This theology sees God as concerned with the poor and the weak in society. The thology comes from the black community so it is called Black Theology, however, it is not just for blacks. It represents concern for every one who is poor, weak and oppressed. It sees justice for the poor and weak and believes that we were not meant to be slaves or to be exploited. Cone believes that God takes the side with the poor and the weak

The interview discusses the origins of the theology. This denomination of Christianity was inspired by MLK Jr. and Malcolm X. Malcolm contributed the black identity aspect of the religion and King represented the Christian aspect. Cone simplifies this by explaining that king taught us to love our enemies, but Malcolm taught us to love ourselves first.

Leaving the argument of whether being gay is a sin or not behind, it seems that Black Liberation Theology would relate to the gay community the same way it does to the back or any other oppressed people group. There are many similarities between the black struggle and the gay struggle and I realize that , the GBLTQ community hasn’t experienced the same struggles that the black community has, I still believe that God is their God and he wants them to be a part of the same body of Christ (Rom 12).


Versus or stories that Cone references
Exodus out of Egypt – deliverance from bondage is a central theme
The prophets (Jeremiah, Amos, Isaiah, Hosea Malachi) – all spoke for the poor/weak
ex. Let Justice roll down like water and righteous like an ever-flowing stream (Amos)

Verses Against Segregation
In Christ there is not male or female, no slave or free we are all one in Christ Jesus (Paul in 1 Corinthians). 
Out of one blood God has created all people (Acts 17)

Cone Quotes
“The Gospel is not about what happens when you die.” James Cone
“We are God’s children and not someone else’s maid…or janitor.”

My Suggested Readings
Strength to Love – MLK Jr Sermons, I am currently reading this - Maybe I will post on some of the sermons some day.  If you have never read theology or black theology this is a good start for both.  Simple, true, intelligent and bold.
Black Theology and Black Power – Cone, I read this one about 4 years ago. This book influenced many of my social justice beliefs.  That is a whole different topic.

A different Approach

**This reading is the story of a pastor, Jim Pace, at Virginia Tech. Pace decided that it was time to start taking a different approach when it comes to the issue of homosexuality. Pace was sick of the misconceptions, judgments, and ignorance that others often direct at Christians. Pace worked with a group of the leaders to come up with an idea that could help bridge the gap between the GBLTQ community and the Christian church.

The story shows the pastor beginning to understand more of the problems that the GBLTQ community faces. He learns from individuals as well as God. He gains wisdom on the topic and how to address the topic without giving up on his own beliefs.

The story begins with a lot of hate toward the Christian community and misunderstanding from both sides; the story ends with a pledge where both sides agree to stand up for one another when people are being ignorant. This makes it seem like there is hope for Christians and the gay community to get along and defend each other, even if they don’t agree.

One frustration the Christian community faces is the choice of “either denying civil rights or condoning clear sin.” This is a frustrating position to face. It is even worse when the groups are accusing you of being bigoted, ignorant, unintelligent, irrational and hateful. In my opinion, this story is a good example of how the two groups can get past their own prejudices and see people for who they really are.

I didn’t expect the stories on the Exodus website to be as positive as they are.  Most of what I have heard is from the GBLTQ community and extremely negative.  I have not looked at the whole site but many of the stories that I have read are from loving people who are just trying to do what they believe is right.  This specific story was honest and uplifting. Both groups involved ended up better than they were before. They are now better and more informed individuals and they have gained support from unexpected individuals.

**If the direct link doesn't work go to ExodusInternational.org and find "Read some real-life stories"
under "Youth."  Select "Pastors and Counselors," then select "A Differnet Approach."

Pace, Jim. “A Different Approach.” 2005. Exodus International. Nov. 1, 2010. [www.exodusinternational.org]