HopeHouse International®

A Ministry for Orphans

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We’re Not Alone

October 4, 2017 By Drew Turner

     

     In the first season of The Flash, Barry is remembering a conversation he had as a little boy about the dark. Barry asked his mom if she was ever afraid of the dark. Barry’s mom replied with a question. She asked, “If I turn this light off now, would you be scared?” Barry replied, “No.” Then Barry’s mom exclaimed, “That’s because I’m here with you. See you’re not afraid of the dark, Barry. You’re afraid of being alone in the dark. That goes away when you realize something…you’re never really alone.”

     We are often afraid of the “unknown.” Our unknowns could be:

  • Getting out of our comfort zones to meet new friends
  • Going back to school
  • Applying for a job
  • Sharing the Gospel

No matter what our unknowns are, we can definitely be sure of one thing that Jesus is, and will always be, with us. Jesus is omnipresent. That means He is present in all places. Jesus already knows what we have been, and will be, going through. Jesus knows what we are going through right now.

     I imagine Jesus wonders, “Are you scared of the unknowns that prevent you from all I created you to be?” Even though we might be scared, we can always know that He is with us as our lives tell the world of who He is and how great He is. 

     I want to invite you to listen and reflect on this song called, “I Am Not Alone” by Kari Jobe. 


All content is Copyright © 2018 HopeHouse International®. All Rights Reserved. No content on this site may be copied without the express written consent of HopeHouse International®.
 

Filed Under: Soul-Care™ Blog Tagged With: adoption, Drew Turner, HopeHouse International, orphan, Orphanage Mission Cruise, soul-care™, Ukraine

Disconnect to Connect

September 5, 2017 By Drew Turner

I did an experiment throughout the summer by deactivating all my social media accounts (except the HopeHouse International® accounts I manage). And to tell everyone the truth, I actually didn’t miss it one bit over the summer.

Things I have learned and experienced from deactivating my accounts:

1. I didn’t have my head in my electronics. I didn’t let social media control me. Instead, I controlled social media.

• There is a huge world outside of my phone and my electronics. I believe that everyone should try it. Look up because it is not until we put down our phones, switch off our computers and look in each other’s eyes, will we then be able to touch each other’s hearts.
• The few times that the world really comes together on social media is when there is a natural catastrophe.
• So many people text or do social media while at the breakfast, lunch and dinner table. It saddens me that when I go somewhere to eat there are people who constantly text or do social media and they don’t have a conversation with each other. I believe that family and friends are sacred and we shouldn’t take them for granted. There is no connection that we can make with any screen that compares to the moment we understand every human being has a soul. When we put down our technology, we talk about things that are important to each other…too important to text or say on any social media app/site we connect with and to each other. When we listen to someone, they will tell us things.

 2. I got closer to God.

• When I was on my electronic devices, it was keeping me from spending time with God.
• God doesn’t communicate through social media or technology. He communicates with us when we read His word that is God-Breathed.

3. I got closer with my family.

• Family is more important than any social media.
• We should enjoy every moment with our families.

It’s a very sad fact that we don’t connect to or with one another very much anymore. It’s very rare, unless you were in the era without phones, to see someone looking up and interacting with each other these days. It is like we can’t exist without technology. There was a time when the world didn’t have phones and all of these electronic devices and everybody was happy about that. Thanks to Steve Jobs (creator of the iPhone), Mark Zuckerberg (creator of Facebook), Jack Dorsey (creator of Twitter), Mike Krieger (creator of Instagram), and Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown (creators of snapchat), our generation completely destroyed all of the generations that didn’t have phones. We use emoticons rather than emotions. We have become an unfeeling generation of zombies because we cannot seem to disconnect from our devices, but we can change that by disconnecting from our devices.

I would like to challenge everyone, including myself, to replace at least one text a day with personal contact. We are losing the art of real communication since the invention of text messaging, Facebooking, Instagraming, Twittering, and other social media sites we engage with. Parents, if you want a real relationship with your kids, please ask them nicely to put their phones away when you share meals. Modeling this is key!

Social Media serves a definite purpose in business, marketing, awareness and as a means of keeping in touch with others. But it will never replace the infinite value of connecting on a personal level with those around us.

Who will join me in this Disconnect to Connect Challenge?


All content is Copyright © 2018 HopeHouse International®. All Rights Reserved. No content on this site may be copied without the express written consent of HopeHouse International®.
 

Filed Under: Soul-Care™ Blog Tagged With: Disconnect, Drew Turner, Family, Friends, HopeHouse International, Reconnect, soul-care™

About the Author

August 31, 2017 By Drew Turner

 

Hello. My name is Drew Turner.

I am a Christian, a college student and a Digital Media Major with a Business Minor. I was homeschooled from 7th grade through the 12th grade, and I had great friends and teachers. I love the outdoors. I love to play tennis, go boating, kayaking and jet skiing. I love to spend time with my family and friends. I love to walk on the golf course and collect golf balls when the golfers are done. I love to laugh.

I’ve been working for HopeHouse International® as their Social Media Coordinator since 2014. HopeHouse International® provides HOMES so that ORPHANS can be ADOPTED by Christian families and raised in their own country. Soul-Care™ Theurapeutic Curriculum is a counseling resource of HopeHouse International® that trains parents to help their adopted children/teens/young adults journey from emotional brokenness to wholeness. I am the author of two Soul-Care™ Journals, one for children and one for students. These Journals use intentional prompting questions on each page that go directly to the hearts of the Soul-Care™ matter.

I’ve been asked to write blogs for HopeHouse International®. These blogs will be about my experiences, things that I have learned along the way, and ways that God has been leading me. I hope my blogs will be fun to read and a source of encouragement to readers. At the end of my blogs, I will share scripture and a youtube song lyric video for further engagement.

I’m Drew Turner, and I approve this message.


All content is Copyright © 2018 HopeHouse International®. All Rights Reserved. No content on this site may be copied without the express written consent of HopeHouse International®.
 

Filed Under: Soul-Care™ Blog Tagged With: Adoptions, Drew Turner, HopeHouse International, orpahanages, orphans, soul-care™

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Our Mission

HopeHouse International® provides HOMES so that ORPHANS can be ADOPTED by Christian families and raised in their own country.

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