Many of us have been profoundly impacted and forever changed by the children we love and serve. Whether we are parents, caregivers or involved in global orphan care, God has blessed us richly by allowing us the privilege of sharing and extending His love and compassion. In this sense, we uniquely understand that our children have led us ever closer to Him, and we will never be the same.

As we continue in this Advent season and approach the celebration of Christmas, our prayer is that we will discover (and re-discover) the true joy of this season. May our own journeys serve to point us toward the One who came to earth as a child to bring redemption and everlasting hope.

We hope you enjoy this final Tapestry Newsletter of 2009 – and we wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas as follow Christ into 2010.

-- The Tapestry Team

by Matt Donovan and Jason Kovacs

What do you do when your wife asks, “would you ever want to adopt?” There’s no playbook answer. It’s not like “how do I look?” or “which paint color do you like?” In some ways, it’s not even the same as “do you want kids?” A lot of us know the answer to that before we even get married. For a lot of very real reasons, adoption doesn’t look attractive to men right off the bat. Never the less – your wife wants to and you feel like you should take her seriously. You’re not alone. A lot of guys find themselves in the passenger seat on the road to adoption, feeling anxious, guilty, and totally out of control.

Read the entire article from AdoptiveDads.org . . .

by Denise Kendrick

In many ways Russ* was a typical 7 year old. He loved to wear baseball hats and swim. He could count to 10 in Spanish and cheated when we played Candy Land. It was not surprise then that the first time he had ever heard the words “foster care” was when he and his baby brother, Joshua, arrived at our home.

Russ walked in at 11:30 p.m. carrying his little duffle bag and his brother’s diaper bag. He was only weeks from his 8th birthday, but confidently shook our hands when introduced by his bleary-eyed caseworker.

The caseworker looked confused as to where to set the chubby baby buckled in an ancient infant carrier, and seemed relieved when I offered to take him. My husband ushered Russ into our bedroom to show him the pack-n-play I had set up for Joshua, then took him upstairs to show him where he would be staying. The CPS worker unloaded the crumpled Happy Meal boxes in his hands onto our counter and pulled out a manilla folder. He wearily explained that he would not be the ongoing worker. He had simply been asked to “make the delivery.” From upstairs I heard a shout “Bunk beds?!!? No [expletive] way!!” The caseworker seemed not to notice the outburst of profanity and continued shuffling through the placement papers. I, on the other hand, made a “note to self”: explain “nice words” and “not nice words.”

The caseworker showed me where to sign while summarizing how these children came into care. As the days went on Russ would often share random details of life with his parents, which helped us fill in the gaps of their story.

Read the entire story . . .

by Matt Donovan

A few weeks ago I took my wife to see The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock. If you haven’t heard of the film, it’s based on the true story of Michael Oher -- an offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens who was adopted as a high school student by the Tuohy family. The film touches on a host of issues; from morality to racism to athletics to foster care and everything in between.

I was a little hesitant to see the film -- worried it would forsake the telling of a good story in order to cater to a certain agenda. It did no such thing. The characters were well-rounded and believable, the plot was predictable but still engaging, and the themes wove together to form a rather elegant tale. In fact, two themes really stuck with me as we left the theater: compassion and leadership.

Read the entire review . . .

For most people the Tapestry Adoption Assistance Fund is a little known aspect of Tapestry, but God has used the fund to make a tremendous difference in the lives of many children and families.  Thus far, the Tapestry Adoption Fund has been a part of helping 14 children join their forever family.  Read the Whitmire's story about their adoption of Aimee from India to catch a small glimpse of how God is using this fund to change lives.

As we look forward to 2010 we could use your help.  A donor has stepped forward with a $5,000 matching gift to the Tapestry Adoption Fund.  For every $1 donated between now and January 15, this donor will match it up to a total of $5,000.  This amount alone would allow the Tapestry Adoption Fund to help at least three more children.

Please pray and consider giving a tax-deductible contribution to the Tapestry Adoption Fund, and allowing us to bless and change lives of many more children -- both now and for eternity. 

Click here for details about how to give to the Tapestry Adoption Fund.