Jacob-The Recovering Orphan
When we read the story of Jacob, it’s easy to get stuck on the surface—the deception, the ambition, … All of our content is free
To The One Being Silenced
You’ve probably noticed this by now: some people don’t want you to heal. Not because they hate you, … All of our content is free
To the One Struggling with Forgiveness
Forgiveness can feel impossible, especially when the wounds come from those who were meant to protec… All of our content is free to access! Simply
To The One Being Silenced
You’ve probably noticed this by now: some people don’t want you to heal. Not because they hate you, … All of our content is free
Anthropology and the Loss of Communal Holding
Anthropologists have noted that orphanhood often becomes a societal mirror—it reveals not only perso… All of our content is free to access! Simply create a
Standing in Two Worlds
I am a social worker. I am a minister of the gospel. These two identities are not hats I… All of our content is free
The Seven D’s of Rupture
While orphanhood forms over time, it almost always begins with rupture. Scripture and trauma science… All of our content is free to access! Simply create
Hearing Words in the Silence
How Recovering Orphans Turn Hyper-Awareness and Intuition into Empathy and Healing As a recovering o… All of our content is free to access! Simply create
Comprehensive Bullshit
Why America Needs Comprehensive Foster Care Reform Now There’s a certain comic tragedy in how our s… All of our content is free to access!
Rising Tide: The Orphan Crisis Behind Our Social Collapse
I’m increasingly persuaded that many of the crises plaguing our society—from addiction to incarcerat… All of our content is free to access! Simply create a
Hearts Laden with the Loss of Others
How Empathy and Unprocessed Grief Shape the Lives of Recovering Orphans Recovering orphans carry hea… All of our content is free to access! Simply create
The Weight of Inheritance
How Moral Debts Become Emotional Burdens for the Next Generation Some inherit wealth, land, or a leg… All of our content is free to access!
Youth Without Hope: Why Hopelessness Is Dangerous
There is nothing more dangerous than a young person without hope. Not anger, not defiance, not even … All of our content is free to
Remembering the Forgotten
The work of justice is not fixing the broken; it’s remembering the forgotten — in ourselves, in each… All of our content is free to
The Ones We Step Over
There are people we step over every day. Not always with our feet, but with our attention. They sta… All of our content is free
Mind Numbing: How Entertainment Feeds the Orphan Spirit
For the orphan heart, entertainment can feel like relief—but it’s often a counterfeit comfort. The more we amuse ourselves, the less we feel, and the further we drift from the healing we desperately need.
When the Fabric Snaps Back
How Our Moral Choices Unravel the Lives of the Young You cannot twist the fabric of reality without … All of our content is free
When Poverty Steals Childhood
How Growing Up Poor Changes the Way Children See Themselves and the World Poverty washes away the c… All of our content is free to
Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life
They used to say, “You are what you eat.” And that makes sense—junk in, junk out. But the deeper tru… All of our content is
Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be
To discard the damaged and broken – the unwanted and the no-longer-useful – that is the way of the w… All of our content is
BE STUPID
Why the smartest breakthroughs often start with letting go of what you know. Have you ever been stu… All of our content is free to
When Children Come First: A recovering orphan’s plea
“I will always advocate for the needs of children over the wants of adults.” That’s not just a… All of our content is free to
When Nothing Feels Right: A Reflection for the Recovering Orphan
Growing up as an orphan—or feeling like one—means you become painfully aware of one thing early on: … All of our content is free to
A World with a View
The farthest upstream you can go in the river of social problems—the river that produces vulnerable … All of our content is free to access!
Our Ill-Conceived Retreat
Ideas can be fallen just as we are fallen. They can be sinful just as we too are sinful. But ideas, … All of our
11 Life Verbs
Educator, theologian, and philosopher George Walter Fiske (1852–1917) teaches that there are eleven … All of our content is free to access! Simply create a
The 7 C’s of Child Resilience
Have you ever wondered why some children not only survive but even flourish after experiencing terri… All of our content is free to access! Simply
The Power of Education in the Shadow of Poverty
I believe poor people often have poor ways—not because they’re inherently flawed, but because povert… All of our content is free to access! Simply create
The Social Problem River
I want you to imagine you are a lifeguard. But I want you to imagine much more than that. Imagine yo… All of our content
Four Origins of Hurt
Nearly every hardship a vulnerable child endures can be traced to one of four origins: a private adu… All of our content is free to
So Many Are Waiting
So many children are waiting. Waiting for the day they feel good. Waiting for the day they feel saf… All of our content is free
Like a Real Father
I find it heartbreaking that so many children today must use a variety of qualifying adjectives to d… All of our content is free to
Deprived Soils
They learned early how to read silence,
how to measure danger in the flicker of an eye,
how to become small enough to survive
but wide enough to absorb the ache of a house that never felt like home.
It’s Okay
It’s difficult to honor a love that was never given, or to celebrate a figure who failed to live up to the ideal of motherhood.
Orphans – A Crisis of Justice and Morals: A Four-Part Series – Part Four – Justice and Morality, Co-partners in Righteousness.
Behavior Matters Because People Matter. In a just society, every member matters, and in a moral soc… All of our content is free to access!
Orphans – A Crisis of Justice and Morals: A Four-Part Series – Part Three: Jesus as the Defender of Biblical Justice and Morality
Here’s the main lesson I hope to convey in this series: the concepts of justice as a moral issue and… All of our content is
Orphans – A Crisis of Justice and Morals: A Four-Part Series – Part Two: The Ever Present Tension
Here’s the main lesson I hope to convey in this series: the concepts of justice as a moral issue and… All of our content is
Orphans – A Crisis of Justice and Morals Part One of a Four Part Series: Justice is Rooted in the Character of God
Here’s the main lesson I hope to convey in this four-part series: the concepts of justice as a moral… All of our content is free
Rip Off the Damn Labels
When it comes to children, we must rip off the damn labels. There are no “rich kids” or “poor kids”—… All of our content is
I Had No Other Choice
“I had to, I had to, I had no other choice.” That’s what 15-year-old Kip Kinkel told detectives. The… All of our content is free
The Universal Ethic
Orphan care can be viewed as a universal ethic, transcending cultural, religious, and societal bound… All of our content is free to access! Simply create
War on Poverty Is Hell
It’s hard to believe that more than six decades have passed since President Lyndon Johnson declared … All of our content is free to access!
The Durkheim Constant
About a decade ago, I spent the last remaining minutes of the year in front of the television with m… All of our content is
How Orphanhood Learns to Speak
The transmission of orphanhood does not occur only through behavior or environment. It also travels … All of our content is free to access! Simply
The Chief Executive Orphan
His foster family called him Robbie, his relatives knew him as Bobby, and legally, he was Robert. He endured a childhood marked by deep generational poverty, abuse, and neglect. As an adult, he dedicated his career to understanding and transforming these experiences for other children. His journey has given him a compassionate and comprehensive, 360-degree perspective on orphan work—what the system refers to as child welfare.
