Spread the Joy: Advent 2025: Day 12

I selected another more local charity today that even if you are not from North Carolina, you can still donate to. Or, maybe this charity would inspire you to pursue options more local to your state or county.

See, my wife's brother, my brother-in-law, was adopted. With that in mind, and the fact that I don't like to the number 12, here's my bride to talk about her family's experience and how you can get involved.

Take it away Jan...

Children's Home Society of NC has impacted my life and my family in many ways over many decades.  When I was 9, my family started fostering infants through CHS, with a total of 21 babies staying in our home over the next 3 1/2 years.  As a result of that experience, I grew up very comfortable taking care of newborns.  One of those babies was very sick from birth and died at only weeks old, giving me my first taste of grief.  While the foster care experience was incredibly impactful, even more so was the eventual adoption of my brother when I was 12, happily completing our family!  The CHS legacy doesn't end there, though.  When my sister became pregnant from an assault, she went through CHS to place her baby for adoption, allowing another family to be completed.  And eventually, I became a social worker, spending 12 years of my career working in foster care.  

So you've figured out by now that CHS handles foster care and adoptions.  But they are so much more!  From their website:  

Why We Exist

We specialize in education and prevention programs, family preservation, and adoption and foster care. Ultimately, everything we do is built on our foundational belief that strong families have the power to transform communities.

Since 1902, Children's Home Society of NC has been supporting children and families in a variety of ways.  Now, you have the chance to support them as well!  From attending special events to volunteering to fostering to donating, there are ways anyone can help.  I was even in a TV commercial for CHS when I was in elementary school!  Children, families, even pregnancy-what's more Christmas than that?  Please consider supporting CHS this year!

For today's Advent song present, I am kinda letting my brother-in-law select the song. As his favorite Christmas carol, it's Mary Did You Know?. Written by Christian musician and comedian (and man, is he funny!) Mark Lowry, there have been countless covers of the seasonal tune. So, there's quite a few versions to choose from. However, I've since learned that some Catholics do not like the line 'that child that you delivered will one day deliver you', as they feel that it negates Mary's sinless conception. It's such a controversial line that in 2007, a theologian out of Canada, rewrote the song to be more politically correct. 

Since I have a feeling that my brother-in-law likes the original version better, I am going with one of my favorite childhood singers, Kenny Rogers and his 1996 duet with Wynona Judd.

Enjoy...