I’m so excited to begin my new job at Show Hope! Yesterday was my first official day as the Director of Student Initiatives. My job is to get students (Junior High through College) involved in orphan care. How incredible is that? The sky is the limit on what this can mean, and I love that…I can’t wait to fully dive in! I want to be a part of leading students in putting their faith in action. I firmly believe that students are capable of far more than most adults typically give them credit for. I like to remind people to “never underestimate a teenager!” Soon, we’ll be sharing story after story of what God is doing to care for orphans around the world through the influence of students!

The Show Hope staff is amazing! I am thrilled to partner with such high-caliber people! To celebrate my first day in the office, Nick, Melissa, McKensey and I ate at Which-Wich for lunch. On the side, Nick and I began playing an ongoing game of “likes & dislikes” to start getting to know each other a bit better. I already found out he really likes burgers…and I told him about my deep love of bass fishing!

For the most part, my first day was all about settling in. I love having a new office to make my own. I’m going to be hanging a giant white board in my office so that the brainstorming may begin full throttle. I also asked my beautiful wife Lindsey to help me decorate my office…she’s a genius at that stuff!

I thank God for the work He is doing, and for the opportunity for me to be a part of it!

The Mid Atlantic Orphan Summit is coming up on November 5-6 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Our friend, Brad Davidson, is championing the event, and we wanted to share this opportunity with you! The Mid Atlantic Orphan Summit aims to help you and your church gain a deeper understanding of God’s heart for the fatherless, connect with ministry and organizational leaders, and gain practical tools to serve through adoption, foster care and international orphan care. Featured speakers include Tom Davis, Russell Moore and Peter Greer.

Learn more and register at:  http://midatlanticorphansummit.com/

SCC, MBC and Skip

This past Wednesday, Mary Beth, Steven Curtis, Jim Houser (Steven and Mary Beth’s very capable manager) and I (Charley Redmond) had the privilege to go to Ingram distribution located in the Middle Tennessee area for a Choosing to See book signing. Mary Beth was invited by Skip Prichard, the President & CEO of Ingram. Skip is a big fan of Steven’s, and really loved Mary Beth’s book. Steven sang and Mary Beth spoke to 50 or more of the Ingram employees and signed books for them all.

Ingram is the largest book distributor in the world, so there’s a good chance that many of you have purchased a book in the past that has been printed, warehoused and distributed to your favorite retailer by this amazing company. Ingram distributes books into all sorts of retailers all over America including many of your favorite Christian retailers.

This quick trip to Ingram was perfectly timed, coming just on the heels of the announcement that Choosing to See entered the New York Times Bestseller List at #16 on the Nonfiction list! We are thrilled with this news, as the royalties from Mary Beth’s book come to Show Hope and help us to care for orphans around the world.

It was a great privilege for Show Hope to present the Empowered to Connect conference here in our own backyard of Nashville, TN this past weekend at Covenant Presbyterian Church. The conference featured Dr. Karyn Purvis, a renowned child-development researcher, speaker and author of The Connected Child, along with Michael & Amy Monroe, who are adoption ministry leaders from Irving Bible Church in Dallas.

We were delighted to have about four hundred families, professionals, and church ministry advocates in attendance, representing 20 states. In addition, more than 150 child welfare professionals or adoptive families received Continuing Education Credits or Adoptive and Foster Parent Training Certificates for their participation in the event!

On Saturday, special guest Regie Hamm, who is a singer/songwriter and adoptive dad of two, joined us to share his joys and struggles in the adoption journey. He also sang the hit song he wrote, “The Time of My Life,” made famous by American Idol‘s David Cook.

Rob and Rachel Meyersohn are currently in the adoption process and had this to say about the conference:

“As a couple starting out in the adoption journey, we found the conference was insightful, educational, and encouraging. We felt we were given many basic tools and resources to be successful in bringing our future child into our family. We also saw that we were not alone on this journey, but had many fellow believers taking the same steps and asking the same questions as us. We were very blessed by our experience, and look forward to hearing more from Show Hope and Empowered to Connect.”

Thank you to all who participated and to all who volunteered their time to make it happen! We are especially grateful to Covenant Presbyterian Church of Nashville for donating the use of their fellowship hall and facilities for our event.

It is our hope and prayer that all who came left the conference blessed, equipped and encouraged to care for these precious children for whom we all advocate. Free resources are available for families, professionals and church ministries at empoweredtoconnect.org and child.tcu.edu.

Over the past few years, I have had the wonderful privilege of getting to know the staff of Let It Shine Gymnastics, Inc. You may be wondering why exactly I have become so familiar with a gymnastics facility. No . . . I haven’t been training for the Olympics . . . but I just so happened to have married the son of the man who owns Let It Shine Gymnastics. If you know me, then you know that it is a bit comical that I married into a family of talented gymnasts, purely for the reason that I am perhaps the world’s most uncoordinated person. Tanner grew up doing flips, and I grew up with casts on my ankles and elbows from running backwards or simply jumping on a trampoline. So, I guess we are living proof that opposites do, in fact, attract.

I have been welcomed into the Let It Shine family will open arms and am so very thankful for the ministry that they have here in middle Tennessee. Let It Shine is dedicated to teaching children excellent gymnastics in a positive, encouraging, Christ-centered atmosphere! In addition to all the amazing gymnastics that takes place in their facility, they are also dedicated to raising awareness about important causes. And so, my father-in-law and the rest of the Let It Shine family have gladly welcomed the presence of Show Hope at the gym! How cool is this??  They have offered us space in their Pro Shop to sell some of our new Show Hope apparel!! We have hats, necklaces, scarves, tote bags, adult tees, youth tees and toddler tees now available for purchase there. If you live in the middle Tennessee area and are looking for some Show Hope product, then swing by the gym (1892 General George Patton Drive, Franklin, TN) and pick up your favorite tee or tote!

Again, we at Show Hope are so grateful to the entire team at Let It Shine for this amazing opportunity and for their commitment to raise awareness about the global orphan crisis. Many kids and families come into this gym, and it is our hope that they will leave the gym more educated about the millions of children around our world currently growing up without anyone to be there for them, without anyone to take them to a gym to play.

Show Hope is the title sponsor for the upcoming “A Night with the Chapmans” tour. Steven Curtis Chapman and his family embark on a new journey together this fall as they venture out on a 34-city tour.

“We’ve prayed for months that each evening of this tour be an opportunity to ponder important things, and to celebrate the hope we have in Jesus, the great hope I’m so thankful continues to carry us all,” comments Chapman.

Mary Beth Chapman, Show Hope’s president, will join SCC for the first time ever on the tour. She will share her journey as reflected in her book, Choosing To See, co-written with Ellen Vaughn. MBC will open up about how she has wrestled with God even as she has allowed him to write her story–both during times of happiness and those of tragedy. The band Caleb, featuring Caleb and Will Franklin Chapman, will also be participating in this special family tour!

The tour kicks off next week on September 10 in Lancaster, PA and runs through November 21 in Joppa (Baltimore), MD.We look forward to seeing grant families and meeting Show Hope sponsors on the road this fall! For tickets, visit stevencurtischapman.com.

9/10 – Lancaster, PA – American Music Theatre
9/11 – New York, NY – Nokia Theatre
9/12 – Poughkeepsie, NY – Faith Assembly of God
9/16 – Westerville, OH – Grace Brethren Church
9/17 – Cincinnati, OH – Landmark Baptist Temple
9/18 – Willoughby Hills, OH – Willoughby Hills Friend Church
9/23 – Chattanooga, TN – Abba’s House
9/30 – Little Rock, AR – Church at Rock Creek
10/1 – Murray, KY – Lovett Auditorium
10/2 – Ft. Wayne, IN – First Assembly of God
10/3 – Springfield, MO – Remington’s
10/5 – Louisville, KY – Southeast Christian Church
10/7 – Houston, TX – Houston’s First Baptist Church
10/14 – Durham, NC – King’s Park International Church
10/15 – Savannah, GA – Savannah Civic Center
10/16 – Thomasville, GA – Thomasville Municipal Auditorium
10/17 – Ft. Myers, FL – McGregor Baptist Church
10/21 – Holland, MI – Central Wesleyan Church
10/22 – Merrillville, IN – Star Plaza Theatre
10/23 – Elgin, IL – Harvest Bible Chapel
10/24 – Davenport, IA – Adler Theatre
10/28 – Myrtle Beach, SC – Beach Church
10/29 – Jacksonville, FL – First Baptist of Jacksonville
10/30 – Ft. Pierce, FL – Westside Baptist Church
11/11 – Knoxville, TN – Knoxville Civic Auditorium
11/12 – Simpsonville, SC – Brookwood Church
11/13 – Aiken, SC – Millbrook Mountain Baptist Church
11/14 – Birmingham, AL – Shades Mountain Baptist Church
11/18 – Troy, OH – Hobart Arena
11/19 – Cicero, NY – Believer’s Chapel
11/20 – Joppa, MD – Mountain Christian Church
11/21 – Joppa, MD – Mountain Christian Church

We are thrilled to announce Show Hope’s partnership with VeggieTales to show hope to orphans this holiday season. Show Hope is highlighted in the bonus features of the upcoming Christmas DVD, It’s a Meaningful Life. The DVD will be released on October 5, and pre-orders begin this Wednesday, September 1.

We hope that families will watch the Show Hope video in the bonus features and consider joining this movement to care for orphans by participating in Change for Orphans, making a donation to Show Hope, or becoming Show Hope sponsors.

The It’s a Meaningful Life DVD also includes a new song from Steven Curtis Chapman, titled “Meant to Be.” The music video released on Friday, and features several photos and video clips from Show Hope grant recipient families whose children have come home! Consider how your family can help care for orphans in distress this Christmas by watching VeggieTales and becoming involved with Show Hope.

This week, Monday, August 30th through Friday, September 3rd, Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman will be guests on FamilyLife Today. Hundreds of stations will broadcast this intimate and powerful interview. They will be sharing throughout the week on their personal journey through life and adoption, Mary Beth Chapman’s new book, Choosing to SEE, and how God has been at work in their life. Don’t miss it!

Show Hope has also linked arms with Hope for Orphans, a ministry of FamilyLife, and Focus on the Family for the 2010 Cry of the Orphan campaign. Together we are creating a special, one-hour program called Answer the Cry in support of Orphan Sunday. The program features Francis and Lisa Chan, Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman, Mark Shultz, and more! This November 7th is Orphan Sunday, which is an excellent opportunity for you to engage your family, community, friends, or church to care for orphans. Learn more at www.showhope.org/orphansunday. Stay tuned for more information on this special opportunity. This program will be webcast for you to use at your event or church on Orphan Sunday! Learn more at www.cryoftheorphan.org

Today we celebrated the birthday of Show Hope’s social media guru, Melissa Wheatley! Melissa keeps this blog (as well as any number of other things at Show Hope) going strong. As is our office tradition at Show Hope, our birthday celebrations culminate in a fabulous dessert! Today, much to everyone’s delight, Melissa chose to go to Nati*creme, here in Franklin, for her birthday treat!

Naticakes (now expanded to also include Nati*creme) recently worked to raise funds to build a playground for the children at Maria’s Big House of Hope in China. The mission of Naticakes/Nati*creme is to support the Natalie Wynn Carter Foundation through the proceeds of the business. The Natalie Wynn Carter Foundation’s focus is two-fold: 1) to enrich the lives of children through providing spaces for them to play, as well as, 2) to come alongside other organizations that do great work in the lives of children. Having Melissa’s birthday there seemed particularly fitting since 23 years ago today, our sweet friend and co-worker was born in South Korea. Only four short months after her birth, she traveled home to her forever family here in the U.S.

Through my work at Show Hope, I am often reminded how God continues to work on behalf of the more than 140 million waiting children around the world, and encouraged by how so many are joining hands in this movement to care for orphans. Whether you are adding to your family through adoption, becoming a foster parent, setting aside a portion of your business’s profits for orphan care, becoming a Show Hope sponsor, or any number of other ways people are becoming a part of this work, God has given us a unique opportunity to see his kingdom break through in the lives of these children. You can be a part. Join us today…

It’s hard to believe the kids are already back in school and that summer will soon be coming to an end, but this means that the Empowered to Connect Conference, scheduled for September 10-11 here in Nashville, TN, is quickly approaching! Show Hope is excited to be hosting this conference, and we are thrilled with the response thus far. At this time, we have registrations representing 19 states, with adoptive families and orphan advocates coming in from as far away as the states of Washington and Massachusetts, with many more in between.

It is truly a privilege for Show Hope to host this event. Since its founding, Show Hope has provided grants to more than 2500 families who have adopted children from 45 countries around the world, including the United States. It is a joy to receive the testimonies and pictures of these precious children, knowing that God provided the means for us to be a small part in their homecoming. Yet, when a child comes home, the family’s journey is really just beginning.

The presentation by Dr. Karyn Purvis, and ministry leaders Michael and Amy Monroe, includes invaluable tools and resources to adoptive or foster families, professionals and church ministry leaders alike. I am particularly excited about the breakout sessions for church ministries. The body of Christ is a critical piece of the support structure for adoptive and foster families, throughout the adoption process and beyond. Families need a safe place to come and be “real.” They need a place to share their joys and setbacks; a place to be loved, encouraged, equipped, and empowered.

If you have an adoption and orphan care ministry in your church or are praying about starting one, do consider attending this conference! Click here to read a letter from Michael and Amy Monroe encouraging church ministries to be a part of this special event.