Writer | Lauren Elizabeth Miller | Serving you through words

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Serving you through words & pointing you to Jesus.

Bloom Family Designs: A Creative Way to Get Involved in Adoption and Foster Care

Bloom Family Designs: A Creative Way to Get Involved in Adoption and Foster Care

Ever since I was young, adoption was something that grabbed my attention. I did not always know if I would personally be able to adopt a child or not, but I knew that caring for children in need of a family was necessary. Years later, when my husband and I started discussing adding children to our family, adoption for me was at the top of the list. We considered adopting a child before having children biologically. Then, to our surprise, we found out that we were expecting ou

How Do I Know If I'm Called to Adopt?

How Do I Know If I'm Called to Adopt?

How do I know if I’m called to adopt? This is a question I frequently get asked. We know that the Bible calls every single one of us to care for orphans. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” James 1:27 The Bible doesn’t say that all of us should adopt. It simply says that we need to take care of orphans. Orphan care can happen through child sponsorship, family preservation, foster care, grant

To My Daughter's Bio Mom the Night Before Kindergarten

To My Daughter's Bio Mom the Night Before Kindergarten

You’re always at the forefront of my mind. Especially on birthdays or anytime something exciting happens in Brielle’s life. Tomorrow she starts Kindergarten. She genuinely loves learning and playing with friends so she is going to LOVE school. Tonight though, I thought of you and cried as I remembered that you are missing her first day of Kindergarten. There will always be so many things I wish you were here for. I know it’s crazy to say because she wouldn’t be here with me i

Waiting Well: Fighting to Remember God's Faithfulness

Waiting Well: Fighting to Remember God's Faithfulness

It’s funny how quickly we forget. We forget the morning sickness after we have the baby. We forget the resume building after landing that dream job. We forget the exhausting house search once we’re all moved in. We forget the months and months and months of waiting after our child’s adoption is finalized. Forgetting can be a reward after a hard-fought wait, but lately, I’ve been trying to remember. I am craving remembrance and concrete memories because we’re waiting. Right no

Kara's Story: Unanswered Questions of an Adoptee

The Gift of Shattered Dreams

The Gift of Shattered Dreams

I had the opportunity to volunteer for Bloom Family Designs recently. Melissa, the founder, is so sweet and has a huge heart for adoption and foster care. She wanted to do something to support families so she began designing rooms at no cost to the family for adopted/foster kids to help welcome them HOME. We all can do something, right? When I left my house that morning, it was just like any other morning. As I drove away that afternoon after organizing a bedroom for two prec

The Power of a Simple Seed

The Power of a Simple Seed

Scott and I walked up to the front door with our newborn baby fast asleep in the car seat. I was a brand new mom in need of a babysitter for my impending return to the workforce. Char opened the door to her house and invited us in. We sat at her kitchen table and a love for kids radiated from her. I knew in an instant that’s where I wanted my daughter to spend her days while I was at work. I didn’t know it that day but a seed was being planted. Immediately after Char agreed t

A Life Update: We're Adopting Again

A Life Update: We're Adopting Again

People would ask me if we were ever going to adopt again. My response would always vary. “I don’t know. Maybe someday.” “No, probably not.” “I think maybe God has another way for us to carry out our call to care for orphans.” Last Spring, I felt peace about letting go of the idea that our family would adopt again. We had been open to adopting again but God didn’t seem to be moving us in that direction. Adopting from China had changed drastically over the past few years and th

When I Can't Answer Her Questions

When I Can't Answer Her Questions

If you ask Brielle where she’s from, she’ll excitedly shout… “Wuhan!” When you ask her where Wuhan is, she’ll even more excitedly shout… “China!” She even loves to tell people her Chinese name. I love this about her. I love that she loves China and knows that’s where she was born. I know it’s healthy for her to learn tidbits about her past naturally as she grows so that there isn’t a shocking adoption reveal in her lifetime. I also know that hard questions are coming. Questio

Fighting Fear with Friendship

Fighting Fear with Friendship

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 One of the best ways to fight through our fears is friendship. I strive to surround myself with other moms, Christian writers, and adoptive mommas because I need people who “get it.” Friendship is a gift and reminder that we aren’t alone, that our thoughts and fears ar

Living a Life of Impact

Living a Life of Impact

I walked up to the café counter at the newly renovated Lifeway store in Brentwood, TN and ordered a pumpkin-flavored latte. It was nearing the end of October and I had yet to drink anything with pumpkin in it. (Gasp, I know!) Brielle was with me while her siblings were at Bible Quizzing at our church. I had been dying to pick up a copy of Annie F. Downs’ new book Remember God. With my new book in hand, I placed my coffee order and Brielle began to count the tile on the wall i

When We Go Numb

When We Go Numb

At some point in our lifetime, we will want to pull the covers over our head and sleep away a portion of our life. We will long to block out the world while keeping any feelings at bay. When I begin to feel this way, I've noticed a pattern begin to happen. I stare at the words in my Bible re-reading the same sentence over and over hoping for something to sink in. I keep conversations at surface level. Not that I prefer that but I don’t have the mental capacity for deep conver

When God Wants You to Just Breathe

When God Wants You to Just Breathe

I currently have eight unfinished blog posts about adoption, faith, and motherhood in a file on my computer. (Let's not even discuss my unedited book.) Eight! I could share two or three of them with you right now, but there's something that makes me pause sometimes when I am writing and sharing my heart with you. I always want my writing to be helpful and point you towards Jesus. That can mean not sharing until it is helpful. Sometimes we can wrestle through it together, but

When Loss Makes You Want to Build a Bridge

I See You Adoptive Momma

I See You Adoptive Momma

I’ve experienced (whether good or bad) the looks, the questions, and the self-doubt that happens from going out in public as a family. It’s basically a day-in-the-life of an adoptive family. People are curious about your diverse family and how it all happened. You often find yourself viewed as a superhero that saves the world or a crazy person with too many kids. It’s never anywhere in-between. I’ve met so many adoptive mommas in the Nashville area, and I love the community t

My Spouse Doesn't Want to Adopt

My Spouse Doesn't Want to Adopt

I want to adopt, but my spouse doesn’t want to adopt. I’ve had this conversation in coffee shops, on couches, and via text with so many people over the years. I’ve seen the longing and tears in a friend’s eyes when her husband doesn’t feel the same calling. Husbands who become silent about it because their wife has said no for too long. Initially, my flesh wants to sit down with the hesitant spouse and shake them. Tell them all of the reasons why they should adopt. Maybe even

10 Things Adoption Taught Me

10 Things Adoption Taught Me

When Scott and I said ‘yes’ to adoption, we really had no idea the journey that it would take us on. I’m thankful that ignorance was bliss as we blindly felt our way through the process. Our agency, Holt International, was amazing, but it’s like being a first-time parent. You really don’t fully understand adoption until you’re in it. The process was filled with a million highs and a few lows. When it was all said and done, adoption brought us an amazing black-haired, brown-ey

The Day My Daughter Called Her Teacher Mom

The Day My Daughter Called Her Teacher Mom

I quickly walked up the steps at the church where our daughter, Brielle, attended her first day of preschool in the three-year-old classroom. I knew deep inside that she had a great day. I knew that she was going to love school. Brielle ran to me and hugged me the moment she saw me. Her teacher told me how she asked for a TON of snacks and had a really great day. Per the norm, everyone there instantly loved her. Her smile and laugh are contagious. She’s a fun kid. Right befor

Living our Lives Expectantly

Living our Lives Expectantly

Expectant. I am filled with excitement and anticipation as I stare down the final countdown to Christmas and New Years. I look forward to 2018 and the opportunity to serve you through words. I’m also ready to bid a firm “see ya later” to 2017. 2017 was hard. We walked through the hard “after the airport” days of adoption. (OK, I walked through the hard “after the airport” days. Everyone else was just fine, but that’s for another post.) We said goodbye to family and friends th

Simple Orphan Care

Simple Orphan Care

I had a completely different blog post ready for this week, but it just didn't feel right. It felt forced, and I felt like this week deserved better. It's National Adoption Month and this Sunday is Orphan Sunday (www.cafo.org). Seven years ago we felt the call to adopt on Orphan Sunday. How has it been seven years already? Since that day, I have been involved in the adoption community. This is the first November in many years that I'm not organizing a special event. If I'm be

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