Signs of Life : The Brownie Chronicles

It should be no secret to those of you who have followed this blog from the adoption days that I identify as a Christian.  It might be a secret how much I've struggled with that identity over the past 8 years. I've often felt shut down in my questioning of the Bible, of God, of the various denominations I've been in over my 44 years.  I thought the types of questions I was asking were evidence that my faith wasn't solid, that I should "always be prepared to give an answer" for why I believed what I did. I just finished the recently departed Rachel Held Evans' book Faith Unraveled , previously titled Evolving in Monkey Town .  I identified with her so much, as I know many other readers have for many years. She mentions often being told "God's ways are higher than our ways" when she asked difficult questions.  For me, I think of this verse, which has been used by Christians to dissuade other Christians for choosing to err on the side of ...

Travis had very few communication skills when we first met him .  The adults caring for him communicated with him by poking, prodding, and pointing.  He communicated back with smiles, crying, laughter, and head-banging.  That was about it.  Our first few days with him, he would drool, kick his legs, and even slam his head on the floor, wall, or crib.  When he was happy, he would smile, be silly, and sometimes laugh to the point it was excessive.  These behaviors reduced rapidly and massively within the first few days we had him.  I credit most of this to Ken and to ASL.  When Travis would cry to the point of drooling, Ken would wipe Travis' mouth and sign, "No, you don't need to drool.  Just tell us what you want."  I actually told Ken I felt like it wasn't fair to correct Travis, telling him "no, no" about drooling since he didn't understand anything yet.  Ken rightly pointed out that we'd be speaking English to him if he was heari...