John and Tammi Spruill Recognized with Bright Lights Award

The Board of Directors of Nightlight Christian Adoptions established the “Bright Lights Award” which is given in recognition of a commitment to adoption which inspires others to adopt, advocates for adoption, or makes a great sacrifice in adoption. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

The board would like to recognize John and Tammi Spruill.

John and Tammi founded the “Save the Embryos” adoption grant for Snowflakes families in financial need. they have also donated generously toward embryo adoption awareness efforts. Thank you for your generosity and vision!

Rebekah Booth Honored with Bright Lights Award

The first quarter of 2023 recipient of the Bright Lights award is Rebekah Booth.

Rebekah felt called to cover the fees for a Christian couple in financial need adopting from Eastern Europe. Even though she did not know the family, she gave generously to them. We are deeply grateful for your generosity.

Levi and Katie Moore

The third quarter of 2022 recipients of the Bright Lights award are Levi and Katie Moore.

Levi and Katie have given generously to the Nightlight adoption grant fund, which helps “people who might not otherwise be able to adopt, adopt children who might not otherwise be adopted.”

Ann Herring Honored with Bright Lights Award

The first quarter of 2023 recipient of the Bright Lights award is Ann Herring.

Ann Herring made the largest single donation in Nightlight’s history. We are deeply grateful for your generosity.

Am I Pregnant ?

Am I Pregnant? 12 Pregnancy Signs and Symptoms to Look For

Have you been experiencing bodily changes? Do you think you may be pregnant? This can be a puzzling time as it is. To add to the confusion, many pregnancy signs and symptoms can have causes unlinked to pregnancy.

You should know that the early signs of pregnancy tend to differ from one woman to the next. Of course, your best bet is to take a pregnancy test as soon as possible. But paying attention to early symptoms of pregnancy is also important. With that in mind, consider these 12 early signs of pregnancy.

Pregnancy Symptoms Week 1

The American Pregnancy Association (APA) conducted a survey on the first signs of pregnancy. Of the women polled, 29% reported a missed period and 25% reported nausea as the first symptoms of pregnancy. We’ll consider these two first and then focus on 10 additional indicators.

Missed Period. A missed period is often the very first sign a woman has that she may be pregnant. Many women begin seeking answers because they know they’re late for their next period. If you’ve had a missed period of about one week, you might consider this a possible indicator of pregnancy. However, this symptom in itself may not be accurate if you’ve had irregular menstrual cycles.

Nausea/Vomiting. Nausea is quite common in the first trimester and may or may not be accompanied by vomiting. This is known as morning sickness, though it can be experienced later in the day as well. The severity can differ from person to person. It isn’t totally clear what the cause is for morning sickness, but it may be due to hormonal changes.

Other Pregnancy Signs and Symptoms

Tender/Swollen Breasts. In the APA survey cited above, about 17% of women surveyed reported this as the first sign of pregnancy. However, this can occur between four and six weeks into pregnancy. You may experience tingling, aching, and swelling/enlargement of the breast tissue. You may also notice darkening of the areas surrounding the nipples. Once your body adjusts to your new hormonal changes, these feelings should subside.
Light Spotting/Bleeding/Vaginal Discharge. This is known as implantation bleeding and occurs after the fertilized egg attaches to the uterine wall. Implantation bleeding could be mistaken for a menstrual period, but there are some distinct differences. Some of the key differences include a smaller amount, shorter time, lighter color, and absence of clotting.

Cramping and pain. The cramps women experience when pregnant may seem similar to those during PMS. But just as we mentioned above with implantation bleeding, implantation cramps are different. These cramps would be present even after you’ve missed your period. Other pregnancy signs and symptoms include leg cramping and soreness in the lower back.

Headaches are so common that this one can’t be relied upon alone. In this case, you may also be experiencing lightheadedness or dizziness. These symptoms would be due to hormonal changes in your body. You should consider them in conjunction with other pregnancy symptoms you’re experiencing.

Sensitivity to Smell. Though there may be little scientific consensus on this one, it remains a commonly reported symptom. Sensitivity to smell is something that many women report particularly in the early stages of pregnancy. It may also be one of the causes of nausea during this time.

Change of Appetite. Does the Caesar salad you normally love seem a little off-putting? Or does your craving for potato chips and spicy salsa seem out of character? Change of appetite is common as an early sign of pregnancy. Often, the foods you normally desire won’t sound good to you at all. This may also be due to hormonal changes and along with changes in your senses.

Frequent Urination. Having to hop up and run to the bathroom in the middle of the night? Unless you’re hydrating like crazy, that could also be one of the pregnancy signs and symptoms to watch for. Also due to hormonal changes, it’s possible to experience this even before missing your period.

Constipation and Bloating. Speaking of hydration, that’s not a bad idea considering this symptom can be very uncomfortable! If you’ve had fewer than three bowel movements in a given week, you may be dealing with pregnancy constipation. Hormonal changes can be the culprit behind bloating and constipation.

Mood Swings/Fatigue. Mood swings and fatigue are also attributable to hormonal changes. This is because your body is producing a hormone called progesterone. This hormone supports the pregnancy and is responsible for milk production in the breasts as well. As soon as one week after conception, you could experience fatigue due to your body working harder to pump additional blood to support this new life.

Heartburn, or indigestion may affect more women in the second and third trimesters. However, it’s generally considered to stem from your increase in progesterone levels, so don’t rule it out. Especially if it’s not something you normally experience.

Am I Pregnant? Find Out for Sure

If you’ve experienced any of these pregnancy signs and symptoms and want further information, give us a call. You shouldn’t have to go through this time in your life alone. We’re here to help.

Disclaimer: This website and blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Content from this website and blog is not intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. The information provided on this website is intended for general understanding only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.

Nightlight’s Reaction to a Reversal of Roe v. Wade

Since Nightlight Christian Adoptions pioneered the field of embryo adoptions in 1997, our agency has been thrust into the media and political spotlight for our strong pro-life position. We advocate for the personhood of embryos, and since 1959, we have helped over 3500 women in crisis pregnancy make the sacrificial choice of an adoption plan, with our domestic adoption program in ten states. As survivors of the abortion holocaust, a reversal of Roe is the answer to a prayer we have prayed our entire lives in which we have seen one third of our generation perish. This court case makes abortion a state issue, rather than federal issue, and therefore we expect that God-fearing states will see a decrease in abortion while the court ruling has little effect on other states. Pro-life advocates have always known that abortion will never be diminished by legislation or court rulings: it is a cultural issue. We are mindful of the generation which celebrates abortion while simultaneously lamenting the paucity of babies available for adoption.

Our current generation grew up with Roe, so the culture largely did not second-guess the morality of abortion. We hope that a reversal of Roe will cause a younger generation to be more mindful of the moral issue surrounding abortion and that this ruling will spark cultural change. Nowadays the majority of abortions are chemical (pills), rather than surgical. Therefore, even in states with heartbeat laws, it is unlikely that abortions will cease since clandestine abortion is so readily available. Some people assume that a reduction in abortion will lead to an increase in adoption, which is entirely possible as a cultural shift occurs where people have misgivings about abortion. However, there is also the option of parenting, and we expect a reduction in abortion will also lead to an increase in parenting. For many, this will be a blessing, but adoption should be on the table for people at risk of losing custody to the state, which is often the case when birth parents are considering placing for adoption, for reasons such as substance abuse issues.

Pro-life advocates are often heckled by protestors who object, “What is going to happen to all these babies who you are forcing to be born?” Everyone who works in the field of adoption (regardless of their view on abortion) knows that the number of hopeful adoptive parents far outweighs the number of babies who would be born, even if abortion were a thing of the past. In fact, God seems to have already done the math and devised a plan: about 1 in 6 couples face infertility issues, while 1 in 3 pregnancies result in abortion. The bottom line is, there are sufficient ready and waiting adoptive parents for the precious babies who will be saved, and Nightlight is prepared to give unbiased counsel to parents facing crisis pregnancy.

Daniel Nehrbass, President

Joe and Teri Beattie receive Bright Lights Award

The fifth recipient of the Bright Lights award is Joe and Teri Beattie

In the midst of Nightlight’s most difficult financial year ever, Joe and Teri gave sacrificially to ensure the agency finished 2021 “in the black.” Their generosity enabled us to continue funding the Renewed Hope program, which helps adoptive families from any agency find assistance in the midst of crisis.

11 Things My Church Can do to Support Adoption and Foster Care

For PDF of this info for your church, please download this flyer

The partnership between adoption agencies and churches is vital. What can your church do to join us in the gospel mandate to care for the orphan? Several things:

Financial support

Viewing us as an extension of your pro-life ministry, make a monthly or annual commitment from your mission or evangelism budget to fund our birth mother fund or adoption grant fund.

Volunteer

Volunteer for events (picnic, gala)
Provide respite for families to have a break (weekend, or even date night)

Referrals

Refer women in crisis pregnancy
Refer families to our foster and adoption programs

Groups

Creation of an adoptive/foster family support group

Publicity

Observance of Orphan Sunday (eg, first Sunday in Nov) where we have a table, show a video, have a family speak about their experience, preach about the biblical mandate for adoption
Host an adoption conference with all the local agencies to present and exhibit
Orphan host summer tour: get a group of families to host a child for a month, or have kids attend church and recognize their attendance to draw attention to the program)
Annual plea to congregation to get their embryos out of storage and donate them to Snowflakes, give them life!

Missions

Join us on a mission trip to an orphanage

Seven Ways to Find Your Biological Parents or Child

If it was a closed adoption, but you know which adoption agency facilitated the adoption, you can ask them to provide a redacted report (without identifying information) that fill in many of the clues and circumstances of the adoption. This can be provided to any consenting party to the adoption (birth parent, child, or adoptive parent).

Many states, such as California, have a Consent for Contact form that parties to the adoption (birth parents, child, adoptive parents) can fill out. If the adoption agency gets consent from the adult adoptee and the birth parent, for instance, then the agency is allowed to facilitate contact between them. https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Forms/English/AD904.pdf

One very successful way to find parties to an adoption is a DNA test such as Ancestry.com or 23andme.com. Make sure to add the “extended family” module to your order…not just the health or ancestry. We are hearing amazing stories of people all over the world finding their relatives who they didn’t even know about. It’s entirely possible the other parities to your adoption already registered on ancestry.com or www.23andme.com and are waiting to hear from you.

The most successful method people are using nowadays is social media (Facebook). Often parties the adoption have some knowledge of at least the first names and city where people live, or even their last names. We have heard stories of people all of the world finding each other through social media, when all other efforts failed.

There are “Adoption Angels” also known as “searchers” who investigate the parties to an adoption for free. Do an internet search for “adoption angel” or “search angel.” Check out www.adoptionsearch.com

Private investigators also can be very successful at finding parties to an adoption. They do charge a fee. Make sure to find someone who specializes in this area.

Try an adoption database. There are many online, such as http://www.adoptiondatabase.org/

Why Does Nightlight Require Families to Abstain from Pornography?

It is standard practice for adoption agencies to ask about pornography usage during the home study. In fact, these questions are part of the SAFE home study questionnaire, and also the Prepare-Enrich questionnaire. Why is pornography usage relevant to a home study? And why does Nightlight ask families to abstain from its usage, and to seek counseling if it has been a problem?

Though the research is abundant, the definitive study on pornography is the “Meese report” commissioned by the attorney General and delivered to congress in 1986. James Dobson, from Focus on the Family, was a key member of this commission. The pertinent pages are 321-324 (see below).

The findings are:

Pornography causes people to view women as inferior and as objects for men
Pornography is produced by criminal organizations
Pornography usage is associated with violent behavior
The actors in pornography are victims of sex trafficking (see p. 354)
Pornography causes men to misunderstand that “no” means “yes” since this is a common theme
The instance of pornography that is non-violent and non-degrading is a very small percentage of the material produced

https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2396&context=lnq

The home study process is an invitation to families to come to the healthiest place possible, as they prepare to take in an adopted child.