What I’ve been occupied with lately…

Sometimes life makes you slow down. Sometimes life makes you speed up. This has been a slow down season for me. Which is really interesting considering we’re smack dab in the middle of Lent. Lent is when you are supposed to reflect and count the cost. I’ve been away from church work and leading worship for 4 weeks. And I haven’t missed it too much. There is no void or empty feeling nagging at me. Maybe I’m not created for religion? Maybe I’m created for relationship?

On March 1, 2010 we met our second son, Masamo, in Ethiopia. We spent a week there getting to know him and enjoying the hospitality of the Ethiopian culture. Now I’m taking some more time doing the important work of bonding with our new kid. You can read about our trip and learn more at http://MeetTheFaulkners.com.

“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.” ~James 1:27

“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.” ~Deuteronomy 10:18

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“Hello” music video

This is a music video I made for the last song on my EP called “Hello.” The song is about the day we met Deacon. I used video and photos from that day to help tell the story. Deacon was home the moment he was placed in our arms. And everything did change from that moment on. You can get this song and the others at http://claytonfaulkner.com

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My new recording – “Family” EP

I’ve been busy lately working on a new recording. Since we adopted Deacon back in May 2007, I’ve been quietly reflecting on the whole journey. The whole process left a huge impact on me. This recording is my expression of what our adoption means to me.

I’m calling it the “Family” EP. There are 5 songs – all written by me. “Goodbye” is written from the perspective of Deacon’s birth parents. I tried to put myself in their shoes and write a song about it, and this is what came out. “Help Me Seek Your Face” is a song about surrendering what you think you want and letting yourself be carried off by what God has in store. “Music” is my attempt at capturing the story of how Deacon was found in front of a music school in Ethiopia. “Orphan” is a rocking version of Micah 6:8. “Hello” is a song about the day we met Deacon.

All the songs are available for download at http://claytonfaulkner.com.

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10 Ways to Pastor Adoptive Parents

Obviously this subject is very near to my heart. I must say that our current church and former church are both wonderful at caring for adoptive families. Bravo!

God calls Himself a “father to the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5) and emphasizes throughout Scripture his special care for orphans. In fact, the very heart of the gospel is God’s passion to not only redeem sinners but to adopt them as his very sons and daughters (Ephesians 1:4-5).

Many adoptive parents and those pursuing adoption feel alone in their churches because it seems like no one understands. By communicating that adoption is fundamentally connected to the gospel and the nature of God you will challenge the view that adoption is a “plan B” if a couple cannot have children biologically.

Read the rest of the post by Jason Kovacs here.

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