You can start your search for adoption agencies online. Public and private adoption agencies have websites. Use these as a jumping-off point to learn more about each agency and its adoption process. The process for private agencies may be a bit more involved than if you go through a state agency, and also may cost a little more money. In exchange, you may have more control over the adoption process or more guidance and assistance after the adoption is complete. State adoption services can be a good source of information about the legal and financial assistance available to adoptive parents. While there are plenty of American children looking for forever homes, you may also adopt a child of another race directly from their home country. Look for an agency headquartered in the United States if you want to explore international adoption. Agencies headquartered in another country could be a scam, and you may not have the ability to adequately research their background and reputation. Check adoption alert notifications on the State Department's website regularly. These will let you know if there are any problems with adoptions in specific countries. Once you have a list of three or four different potential adoption agencies, make appointments to visit each of them and talk to the people who work there. Then you can compare to choose the best agency for you. Get an understanding of costs up front, but don't base your decision solely on the amount of money it will cost to complete your adoption. You want to choose an agency where you feel comfortable and at home. Since you want to adopt a child of another race, find out if any of the agencies offer cultural or language support, or if they have classes or other resources available for transracial families. Most agencies have prospective adoptive parents attend an orientation session or an introductory class so you can learn more about the adoption process and the policies of that particular agency. Pre-service training is required in most states, whether you are using a public or private adoption agency. Focus on the presentation, and make note of any questions you have so you can ask agency staff later. While you certainly don't have to be wealthy to adopt a child, you will have to be able to demonstrate that you have the space to house the child and the financial means to support the child. Home and community environment are also important. Talk to your family and friends, and evaluate the multicultural resources available in your area. Make sure those close to you accept your decision to adopt a child of another race. You also want to make sure there are no legal restrictions that would prevent you from adopting a child. If you're thinking about adopting internationally, you want to look at the laws in the child's home country as well.

Summary: Research nearby adoption agencies. Expand your search abroad. Interview agency staff. Go to an orientation meeting. Assess your ability to care for a child.

Read through your chosen passage again, but this time, take notes on its content. You may wish to highlight, underline, or write short notes directly in on the page, but you should also keep a dedicated journal so that you can take more extensive notes. Highlighting ideas can redirect your attention to key elements during later readings, but actually writing notes on each verse will make it easier for you to think through it. Summarizing ideas and responding to them in this manner forces you to think fully on the words in front of you. Even though your space and heart should be quiet, don't be afraid to think out loud. Talking over the passage can help you process the information and work through its mysteries more effectively. You can think out loud in the form of a prayer, but you can also think out loud to help yourself work through complex ideas. The Bible is often referred to as the "living word" of God. As suggested by the term "living," the text is meant to be active, which also means that you can (and should) interact with it. Don't be afraid to vocalize your questions, praise God's promises, or respond honestly to the things you read. While this won't be feasible for meditation on multiple verses or full books, it's often a good idea to memorize the passage word-for-word when meditating over a short paragraph or single verse. Consider using the building block method of memorization. Repeat one word or short phrase roughly 6 to 12 times. Add new words or phrases onto the first, then repeat the entire thing again. Continue until you work through the full passage. Spend some time writing out the meaning of the passage in your own words. Go into as much detail as possible, drawing out as much meaning as you can find in the process. Paraphrase the passages you read by putting them into your own words, but remember to stay true to the meaning behind God's words as you do this. The idea isn't to alter or twist the truth, but to access it in more familiar terms. Think through the passage on which you're focusing. Try to pinpoint God's desires as expressed through those words, and attempt to align yourself with those desires so you can feel some degree of what God feels. By allowing yourself to feel emotion alongside God, you can make the passage you're reading seem more "real" to yourself, which should create a richer experience. Instead of merely looking like text on a page, God's words should seem notably more meaningfulas meaningful as they were always meant to be. Like secular meditation, meditating on God's Word can provide you with a renewed sense of calm, but the blessings of this meditative practice can extend even deeper than that. As you meditate, seek guidance, comfort, joy, reassurance, and wisdom that come from an enriched understanding of divine truth. As Psalm 1:1-3 (NIV) notes, "Blessed is the one [...] whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night." Meditating on God's Word will give you a greater understanding of what God wants from and for you, thereby providing you with guidance. Reading of God's promises and mighty deeds can give you comfort during times of trouble and an enhanced sense of joy. Improving your understanding of God's redemptive love should offer you reassurance. Lastly, by improving your understanding of God's Word through meditation, you can equip yourself with the wisdom you need to navigate through spiritual darkness. Once you understand the depth and meaning of the meditative passage, it's time to take action. Assess your own life and determine how you can apply your new understanding of God's Word to your behaviors and perspectives, then make the necessary changes immediately. Consider the words of James 2:17 (NIV), which states, "...faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." Actions are a sign of faith and understanding. Meditating on the Word of God is a practice designed to improve both faith and understanding, so action should be a natural result of effective meditation. That being said, don't assume that one 30-minute meditative session will make it easier to live by God's Word for the rest of your life. Meditation is a discipline, and as such, you will need to continually and intentionally work at it to reap its full benefits.
Summary: Take notes. Think out loud. Memorize the words. Rephrase the chosen passage. Evoke an emotional response. Actively seek the blessings of meditation. Apply the words to your own life.