A gift opens the way!!.....

I'm pleading with God to do what only He can do!

The count down is on! These are the final hours to give a tax deductible donation to help bring AnnaBella home! We sure do thank God for you! Look to the right of the blog. 

You can give a tax deductible donation in 2 ways:

#1. ---(most important!!)  Our Life song matching grant! This is a way to double your money! That's right! The money will be matched! Check it out: HERE Click on donate to an adopting family and then put in our account number which is 5534, and put in our name:  Winslow.  Right now we need $1,100.00 to meet our grant of $3,500.00. That's only 11 people to give 100.00!!! This will give us $7,000.00 which is what is due for our agency fees! What a blessing that would be!! 

2.  Our Reece's rainbow account.  This is money that will be used in traveling and in country. We'd love for that to read $4,000.00 before we take our first trip! That would be such an encouragement to us! You can check that out HERE

You can give to our You Caring Page HERE. This goes directly into our checking account and can be used for anything we need! This is NOT tax deductible! 

Thank you so much! We truly could NOT do this without you ALL!!! 

"A gift opens the way
and ushers the giver into the presence of the great." Proverbs 18:16

This is the heart of Jesus!

Have you ever found yourself longing to make a difference in the life of a child? 

 
Christians have a clear command to care for orphans, and there are many ways to get involved—praying, giving, mobilizing your church or adopting. Whichever you decide, you can walk down this incredibly rewarding path. Our hope is that you begin to see the face of Christ in these children in one way or another! 

We have been blessed with a really great gift! We have a matching grant with Lifesong for Orphans. That's right----matching!!! Lifesong will give us $3,500.00 once we raise $3,500.00! And you know what?? We are almost there! We only have $1,300.00 to go! We are just about 2/3 there! That's only 13 people giving $100.00, or 26 people giving 50.00, or 52 people giving $25.00!!

The end of the year is approaching, and ALL of these donations are fully tax deductible!!  The donation just needs to be post marked by December 31st!!!

Would you be willing to make a difference and help us to meet our grant?

That would be awesome! Thank you so very much! 

You could give in one of two ways....

1.  You could donate through paypal online. You can find the link HERE. Select “Give to an Adoptive Family.” Complete the online form and fill in “Family Account Number” which is 5534 and “Family Name” fields which is Winslow. Note PayPal charges an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee.

2.  You could mail them a check, post marked by December 31st!! 

Checks should be payable to “Lifesong for Orphans. In the memo, note “family name” and “family account number” (Winslow / #5534) to assure it goes to the correct account. Please mail to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40, Gridley, IL 61744. Lifesong has been blessed with a partner that underwrites all U.S. administrative and fundraising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means 100% of your donation will go directly to the adoption. 

Truly, helping the orphan and helping us to rescue our precious  AnnaBella (listed as Claire on Reece's Rainbow) is  the heart of Jesus! He says so in His word!!!

We sure do love you! 

Philippians 1:3--"We thank our God upon every remembrance of you!"

 

1 day and 13 hours left to give!

Just a quick reminder that on the 5/5/5 Reece's rainbow, the link is HERE....there is just one day and 13 hours left to give to the 5 families and one of them is us!!! 

Please take a moment and consider giving to help these 5 families rescue their precious children! 

It's tax deductible and would be an amazing blessing! Please give and share!! 

Thank you!!

It truly is a way of storing up your treasures in heaven...where moth and rust will NOT destroy! And truly a wonderful Christmas gift in honor of our Lord and Savior! :) :) :) 

"Joyfully" blessed today!

Just had to share this video with you! Our precious JoyAnna has been home for 15 months now! Here is a side by side photo of her. On the left in the orphanage and on the right from last week!

This little gal has been through soooooo much! Unnecesary surgeries, tied to a crib, infrequent human interaction. 

The difference is astounding!

This video is from this morning:

Are you interested in helping us to make this kind of difference in the life of another little girl?? Check out the side of the blog. There are MANY ways to help!!! 

Thank you! To God be the Glory! 

I Got Mail!!!

Yesterday was a very hard day on many levels. VERY hard. Some days are just like that. That's the reality of my life here. 

But you know what?? God knows ALL of that, and His Grace is sufficient for me, and His power is made perfect in my weakness! 

And so I brought my weary body to my bed last night finally around 11:30 and found this card on my pillow. 

It's from my 16 year old daughter Elisha. We rescued Elisha from foster care when she was 10. She and her twin brother. She is an amazing young woman! She has an incredible gift of encouragement. You can ask so many people about that! She has over 35 penpals! Let me share with you what this card says:  On the front it says:  Praying for you, and then it says:  Sometimes it's hard to understand why God allows us to go through certain situations...

On the inside it says:  Dear Mom, I was just wanting you to know I'm praying for you. I was also just realizing how MANY things you do each and every day to keep this place running smoothly. So many things you do that go unnoticed, or unrealized. You are an amazing Mom. I honestly coudn't and wouldn't ask for another one! You've done so much to invest in my life. And not just my life...All of us! And you don't just teach me daily chores and things! You also instill in me Biblical character and qualities that'll last forever!! I'm so thankful for you and all that you've done to invest in me! I love you so much Mom! May the Lord richly bless you as you seek to serve, honor, and glorify Him! 

Little is Much when God is in it! I love you! Elisha Winslow

printed on the inside of the card is:  but please remember that no matter what, God is there with you through it all and that others who care are keeping you in their prayers!

Bible verse:  "Call unto Me, and I will answer thee and shew thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not!" Jeremiah 33:3

Of course I cried buckets, got down on my knees and thanked my God for giving us Elisha, and then went upstairs and woke her up to hug her and thank her! 

What a blessing! 

These Are The Heroes!

These are the heroes...

Just ordinary people....

Lying down their lives 

like angels in disguise.

They're weak but ALWAYS willing...

They dare to do the hard things...

And in the dark and desperate places

NO ONE else goes....

You'll find the heroes. 

These photos represent the real heroes! Let's love them, and support them! 

Want to know more? Want to help?

Help the Horton Family as they rescue their Victoria on in a few short weeks! 

They have a GREAT need! They need about $7,000.00 more to be fully funded! Their support page needs to read $25,000.00!

We can do this! I know we can! Let's be the hands and feet of Jesus and truly help this orphan in her distress! Please also pray without ceasing!

Thank you Lowman Family! Our new prayer warriors!

Rainbow Family Warrior for the Winslow Family

See this big ole family....they are our dear friends in
Real Life.

Doing life with this gang is always part of OUR
 adventure....
their daughter Grace teaches piano to our kiddos,
 some of their
daughters run Bright Lights that our daughter
Kiara is a part of,
camping trips, Alert Cadet trios together,
retreats, and even home
 school days together.  But.....
the coolest thing about their family
and ours is our LOVE for Jesus
and the Orphan!

Our journey began around those last two 
things and we have walked
 along side their family through 
all of their adoptions....
it has been fun to see them
 grow in size as well as experienc

What does that mean?

Our job is to support them in prayer...
.we are working 
on a prayer team right now to lift up their 
needs as they come in.

They have stepped up to bring 

home this little sweetheart

 and make her a part of their family.

We thought it would be fun to step up 
for them to be 
their Reece's Rainbow
 Family Warriors....

What does that mean?

Our job is to support them 
in prayer....we are working 
on a prayer team right now to 
lift up their needs as they come in.

We also put their financial needs out there....
did you see their blog?  
They have a matching grant 
right now from LifeSong...
.it needs some boosting folks!  
There is a deadline on that..
.what a GREAT 
way to double your money ...
more bang for your buck!

We are also working on a fund raiser.
...look for that soon.  

Check out their blog at .
winslowsix.blogspot.com

So....check back often for
the latest and greatest on this
 new endeavor at our home ....
so excited for the
Winslow Gang and their new sweetheart..
..oh, and
I thought I would add this
 photo from our camping trip
together this summer at Moosehillock in NH.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO??

Got this note today from my friend Elizabeth in Texas: 

This evening I got a phone call that changed my life. My sweet, precious Heavenleigh is dancing with Jesus. My heart is shattered, but she is whole and so very loved.

Last night, I posted a question about her on a baby wearing Facebook page, and since, my blog has had over 15,000 views. People saw my baby. People saw the darkness. 

She is a world changer and I am so very thankful for her.

I love you, baby girl.

Dear friends....she was in the same orphanage as our Zoey and our JoyAnna. Please read what another adoptive friend has said...it's the truth:

Heavenleigh died.

Unless you are part of a very small group of people, this probably doesn’t mean anything to you.

Heavenleigh died never knowing the love of a Mom or Dad. She died alone, without the comfort of a family, or a circle around her of friends and loved ones. No one ever got to tell her that someone, somewhere loved her so much that they were coming to take her home, forever.

The saddest part might be that there was a family desperately working to get to her in time, but that the process and the finances got in the way. Elizabeth Sherley and her family did everything in their power to bring her home in time, and are heartbroken at her loss. 

But I don't let this affect me. I’m too good at shutting things out to let it. I just do the same thing as everyone else – focus on the rest of my life: my family, my work, my hobbies. Because I know that if I think too much about all the children in need it will make me upset, and there’s no way to do anything about it anyway, because there are just too many of them. Besides, I’m too young to adopt, I can’t afford it, I don’t know anything about kids and I definitely don’t have time to take care of a kid.

At least, those were my excuses, but then I’ll also be the first person to tell you that I am a selfish, egotistical, arrogant jerk. I have a temper, I have a drinking problem and I have serious issues with authority. But none of those things disqualify me in God’s eyes from doing what he has called us all to do.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 NIV

Please, please don’t think that I am trying to hold myself up as an example of someone who is getting it “right.” The point that I’m trying to make is that if someone as screwed up as me could try get half of the first part of this verse right, then just about anyone could do even better than me.

To backtrack a little: there are too many. Way too many. Some estimates are that there are 130 million or more orphans in the world right now. So go ahead and insert your own Mother Theresa or Gandhi quote here, because we’ve all heard them. But it’s as simple as this: if it were your child, or your nephew or grandchild, wouldn’t you want someone to help them? Wouldn’t you give everything you had to keep them healthy, safe and feeling loved?

Heavenleigh didn’t die from medical complications, a disease or a chronic condition – she died from starvation and neglect, in an orphanage. She was 5 years old and weighed 10 pounds. 

Orphanages are not acceptable homes for children. They’re not a safe place for them to wait for years and years. They should be a temporary place for a couple of kids to be cared for and loved while their families book their flights to come get them. 

5 years old. 10 pounds. 

This needs to end. 

Get involved: Adopt. If you can’t adopt, Foster. If you can’t Foster, Sponsor. If you can’t Sponsor, Volunteer. If you can’t Volunteer, Donate. If you can’t donate, Educate.

This is a picture of my daughter Nicole when she first came to our home. She was 5 years old! She was 50 lbs! NOT 10 pounds! 

Dear, dear, friends...this is real...this is true...WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?? YOU NOW KNOW THE TRUTH AND YOU CAN NOT HIDE FROM IT ANY LONGER!!! WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?????? This is National Adoption Month!!! 

DO SOMETHING!! DO IT NOW!!!! 

This precious family...

We got this gift given to us at our little church today from a dear family who has loved us so much and been so very generous to us. And guess what?? It has put us more than half way to our goal for rescuing AnnaBella! Yes, you read that right!! Half way to our goal of $29,500.00!! 

Thank you dear family for "giving generously to us with a joyful heart and we are trusting that the Lord God will bless you in ALL your work and in everything you put your hand to!" Deuteronomy 15:10

Blessed Abundantly beyond measure this day!

A picture truly is worth 1,000 words! Today we got the sweetest delivery by the sweetest ever delivery girl. She had emailed me a few months ago and said..."Mrs. Winslow, I'm having a theater camp this week and on the last day I'd like to have a bake sale and take donations and I'd like to give the proceeds to your adoption!"  "Would that be okay?"...."Oh yes, sweet Alicia!  That would be awesome!", and so I gave her all of our info and pictures of AnnaBella and our new business cards and thanked the Lord for her.

A couple of weeks ago, she told me that she had the money and she'd like to drop it off. We finally made arrangements for her to do this today! This was the baggie of money that she gave us! And that is the total!! $472.43!!!! This precious girl with such a heart for the orphan gave us this HUGE gift today! God please, please bless her richly for what she has done! This isn't her or her sister's first donation to our adoptions! They LOVE to give and have often given their own change and hard earned money to us before! They are living out James 1:27!!! Thank you!!! We LOVE you! 

The Bible verse on my calendar today says:  "I will praise the Lord no matter what happens! I will constantly speak of His glories and grace." Psalm 34:1

Choose Joy!

Joy is a choice every day. 

JOY defined – the inner attitude of rejoicing in one’s salvation regardless of outward circumstances. One of the fruits of a right relationship with God.  

Be the sunshine …

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14 – 16)

The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father. (Matthew 13:43)

Go forth and share your joy! 

You've Done It Again Lord!! You've Done it Again!

 Why do I doubt? Why do I worry? I know that God will provide! In HIS perfect timing! And He did just that today! Today...the deadline of our agency fee. God is rarely early but He's NEVER late! Oh we of little faith. We wondered, we were worried...and God did it! Thank you Lord! You've truly done it again! Truly you have!

And I did just that! I pleaded with God this morning. I got down on my knees and pleaded with Him in my "War Room" I told Him what we needed. And I got out of His way. He did it! It was when I got out of His way! 

My faithful and powerful God has come through! He cares for us and He cares for the orphans! He cares for and LOVES our AnnaBella! 

We are praising you Jesus tonight here at Grace Abounding Farm! More than enough money has come in to meet our agency fee! AND.....ALL of our dossier documents have been submitted!! EVERY single one! Submitted and en route for our agency!! Praising God!!! 

You just HAVE to see this!

For all of my friends that aren't on Facebook! I HAD to share this with you! It's just exudes JOY!!! 

Sweetest thing EVER!!
Jerry "reading" his kid's Bible to JoyAnna: "JoyAnna, this is Jesus. You need to know him. He's super special. He died on the cross for you, JoyAnna! Do you hear me??? I'll say it again...He died on the cross for you! And for me, too! He's our savior! Isn't that GREAT JoyAnna, isn't it?"

To me: "Mom, I'm telling JoyAnna all about Jesus and what He did for her!"

Me: (with teary eyes!)..."Oh Jerry, that's wonderful! Thank you for sharing that with her!"

Now my friends, that is what it's all about!! To GOD be the glory!

Home one year. Knew NO English coming here last year and  sharing the gospel! !! It truly doesn't get ANY better than this! 

God you are ALL sufficient!

We have stepped out in faith. We have a payment due to our agency of $2,600.00. It's due on Monday, October 12th. $1,300.00 has come in so far to Our You Caring Account!  to go toward it. We know that you know this God! You know every detail! God we know you own the cattle on more than 1,000 hills. God we know that you have raised up the people that you would have to give this money. We know this God. God we know that you are rarely early, but you are NEVER late. And so we are trusting in YOU, God, the author and finisher of our faith. We are trusting that your people will step up and that you will use them to provide this for us. We thank you God. We love you God! We know you want us to rescue Miss AnnaBella Grace !!! We are anxiously awaiting YOUR provision.  Thank you Lord! Thank you! We sure do LOVE you!

Thank you Grampa Dave!

We thank our God when we remember you dear Grampa! Thank you for celebrating our adoption!

Received this card in the mail today. In it was a $1,000.00 check to Lifesong to kick off our matching grant!! We are blessed! We love you Grampa! 

You can make a tax deductible donation too----by going to the Lifesong for Orphans website and clicking on the link to give to an adoptive family. Then you can put in our name: Winslow Family and our family number: 5534. Thank you ALL sooooooo much! 

A MATCHING GRANT!!!!!$3,500.00!!!!

We have been studying the All Sufficiency of our God! We have been trusting God's word: "My God shall supply ALL of my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Phil 4:19 And..."My heavenly Father knows that I need all these things." Matthew 6:32

We are praising God this day! We just received word that we have received a matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans for $3,500.00! Wow! That means that this amount will be matched to total $7,000.00!!!! toward our adoption expenses! 

That's just 100 people giving $35.00!! Isn't that awesome!!! So how can you give?? You can go HERE and fill in our information. It would be under the family name of Glenn and Mary Winslow. Our Lifesong family account number is:  5534. Please indicate that! All donations are tax deductible! You can also mail a check to: 

Please make checks payable to Lifesong for Orphans.
In the memo please note your gift preference with Family Account Number and Family Name.
(ie: Preference 1234 Smith)
Please mail checks to:
Lifesong for Orphans PO Box 40
Gridley, IL 61744
Lifesong has been blessed with partners who underwrite all US administrative and fund-raising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). 100% of your donation will go directly to the need...helping orphans. 

Our goal date for fund raising is December 1st! Please, please, please take a moment and pray and see how God would use you in this mighty way! Here is a note from Lifesong:

Glenn and Mary have sensed God’s call to care for the fatherless and have joyfully stepped out in faith and obedience to adopt a child from Bulgaria. As you may already know, adoption can cost $25,000- $35,000 and this financial burden prevents many godly families from adopting. Lifesong in partnership with Chosen and Dearly Loved believes God has called this family to adoption and has committed an Adoption Matching Grant of $3500 to help bring this child home.
Funds donated to Lifesong for Orphans will be given to help cover adoption expenses. Lifesong is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your gift is tax deductible. 100% of all funds raised will go directly to cover adoption costs--nothing will be taken out for Lifesong for Orphans administrative costs.
Will you invest financially in the life of this child? It will be an investment with eternal return. God bless you for laying your treasures up in Heaven. 

Thank you ALL in advance! We sure do thank our God upon EVERY remembrance of you! :) :) Thank you for helping us to rescue AnnaBella! We'd LOVE to email you a photo of her! 

One or the Other!

We can confess one thing or the other. We can talk about the problems we are going through (which is what we usually tend to do), or we can choose to confess that God is with us. 

God gives us a WONDERFUL promise in Isaiah 43:2: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall NOT overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall NOT be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you." 

God promises that when we go through these deep waters that He will be with us. When we are enduring the fiery trial, He says, "You will NOT be burned." That means we need to change our confession to "Father, I thank You that You are with me in this trial. You are bigger than this problem and I trust You!"

This truly describes our day yesterday! Truly. It was hard, and yet God showed Himself so faithful throughout the entire day! Thank you God! I'm so sorry that I doubted you! Thank you!

1. Does the place you’re called to labor
   Seem so small and little known?
   It is great if God is in it,
   And He’ll not forget His own.

Let us all strive to remember this very thing!

Little is much when God is in it!

This has become one of my favorite hymns. Written in 1924, it truly describes the Christian life in a nutshell! Oh Lord how I strive to live these words for you! 

Today after church a young man (a member of a fellow adopting family currently awaiting travel dates to China for 2 boys)  handed me some money and said...this is for you guys. It was $15.00 for our adoption. It's a true picture of this song in action! Thank you Lord!

1. In the harvest field now ripened
   There’s a work for all to do;
   Hark! the voice of God is calling,
   To the harvest calling you.
   • Refrain:
     Little is much when God is in it!
     Labor not for wealth or fame;
     There’s a crown, and you can win it,
     If you go in Jesus’ name.
2. In the mad rush of the broad way,
   In the hurry and the strife,
   Tell of Jesus’ love and mercy,
   Give to them the Word of Life.
3. Does the place you’re called to labor
   Seem so small and little known?
   It is great if God is in it,
   And He’ll not forget His own.
4. Are you laid aside from service,
   Body worn from toil and care?
   You can still be in the battle,
   In the sacred place of prayer.
5. When the conflict here is ended
   And our race on earth is run,
   He will say, if we are faithful,
   “Welcome home, My child—well done!”

We thank our God upon EVERY remembrance of you! Phil 1:3

And that is EXACTLY what we are doing this day! Thank you so much to the generous folks that gave to our You Caring Page. What an amazing blessing it is to us to have such encouragement! We now only need $1,630.00 to meet our next goal! In one day we received $370.00!! Yay! Did you know that to meet our goal we need only 20 people to give $81.50 each?? There are so many people that would like to help in one way or another with the orphan crisis in our world. Many times I've donated to other's adoptions when there was a need. It's such a GREAT way to help! Right now we are asking for donations to our You Caring Page because this money goes directly into our checking account so that we have immediate access to it. This is important at this stage. 

Many of you have asked if you could see a photo of our precious little girl that we are bringing home! You can see a photo of her HERE!! We will name her AnnaBella Grace. She is 5 years old and isn't she just precious?? A picture truly is worth 1,000 words and we just can NOT wait to bring her home! It's so hard, because I LOVE photos and we are not able to post photos of her until she is officially ours in their court system. It's soooooooo hard! So for now, I can show you that one! I do have precious up to date photos that I look at daily! 

Many of you have also asked what things are looking like for our time frame to take our first trip to meet her. I think it's probably going to be this Fall sometime. We just received I-800 A approval from our government and so now a BIG pile of papers about us are being compiled, and once we make our next payment, those papers will be appostilled and sent to Bulgaria for review and our first trip will be set up for us!

Just another reminder of what a difference that love and prayers make in the lives of a child:

Jerry and JoyAnna home one year on August 6th, 2015!!! Amazing! 

We stand amazed at God's provision. Someone had once said to us:  If it's in God's will, He'll foot the bill! And it's sooooooo true!

Thank you! We sure do love you! 

We saw Jesus this day! /Reece's rainbow

Got this wonderful email from a dear friend the day after the wedding! Her words are true and precious! 

Just can't stop thinking about the day. The wedding day.  I keep thinking about Glenn savoring that long hug of Maddie at the altar. It was a beautiful picture of how she is treasured by her wonderful parents. And as awkward as that all was at rehearsal, he perfectly handed her over to Mitchell without any awkwardness. I sensed God's presence in that moment.  I sense that we can't really comprehend the impact this day and this marriage is having in the Kingdom of God. I am so overwhelmed by the Lord's blessing resting upon everyone who attended today. I believe God began healing in people's relationships with Him today. I believe the Holy Spirit began working on brokenhearted marriages today. I believe He brought conviction to sinners through Mitch & Maddie's testimony today. I believe He brought hope to young people who are wondering about their own futures. I believe healing and restoration is forging ahead in your family  into a whole new level. I believe many saw Jesus this weekend. God is leading through the Valley and He will lead all the way to the mountain top.  I believe there is Power in the name of Jesus and I proclaim it!!!!! I am stirred by His presence here with me as I write these words. Fall is one of my favorite seasons! I love it. But at the end of August every year I grieve over the loss of Summer. Its happening to me right now. That's exactly where we are right now with our children. We are grieving over the season that is over. But very soon we will be wrapped up in a new, beautiful, glorious season that will wow us with all of its beauty and splendor! I love you 

Thank you Jesus! 

Jesus Hears the Orphan!

Praising God this day that Jesus truly does hear the orphan! Thank you Jesus! Listen and rejoice!

'Orphan' by John Waller - A Beautiful Music Video about Adoption from billsammons on GodTube.

What an amazing difference a year makes! Take a peek!

I thought you might like to take a walk down memory lane with me and my family. One year ago we brought home our two precious Bulgarian children. To God be the glory! GREAT things he hath done!  Here are side by sides every month over the last year. The photos on the left are on August 6th, 2014 when we landed in Manchester, NH. The photos on the right are each month on the 6th. It's incredible! It's a miracle! Praising God!!! These pictures are TRULY worth more than 1,000 words! 

Just HAD to put these photos of JoyAnna, too! Truly, she has had a most amazing transformation!! Don't you think?? From a scared little girl to a beautiful young lady! The Lord has truly replaced what the locusts had eaten in this little gal!! :)