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!! :)

Love Is...

Love is...

Siblings working hard to bring home their new little sister!!! The kids had a ice water and snack sale at the end of our driveway today! What an amazing testimony to all that came by!

Love is... THIS for sure and for certain!

JoyAnna was excited, too! 

Come and have a cup of tea with us!!!

We are having a steeped tea party to raise money for our newest adoption! Here is all of the info! Please take a look! The party is open until Friday the 31st at 11:00 pm EST! Thank you soooooo much! 

It's wonderful loose leaf teas and many other awesome things! Look for the link for Winslow Gang. Or here is my direct party link: http://www.mysteepedteaparty.com/KT201032/shop/catalog.aspx?eventId=E18253&from=DIRECTLINK There are many specials going on right now!!! Thank you VERY much! Please take a peek and share this, too! The party goes until 11:00 pm EST on Friday the 31st!! heart emoticon heart emoticon heart emoticon https://www.facebook.com/groups/amazingadoptionwithsteepedtea/?__mref=message_bubble
Amazing International Adoption Fundraiser with Steeped Tea!
112 members

"And it's beautiful to witness..."

It's truly beautiful to witness the love and grace abounding here each and every day. 

It's hard to believe that nearly 12 months have gone by since Jerry and JoyAnna came into our family! One year ago this very day we were in Bulgaria for our pick up trip. Glenn, and I, Grace, and our nurse Sylvia. We were filled with anticipation and eagerly awaiting picking up our blessings!

Fast forward 10 months and we just had our one year post placement report. What a blessing that was, and truly a miracle, too! You see our agency changed leadership and so the new leadership is very different in their approach to large families and such. 

I'd like to give you a glimpse of our report. The conclusion reads like this:

"Mr. and Mrs. Winslow have the desire and ability to parent Jerry and JoyAnna. After meeting the Winslow family, it is evident that they are a very spiritual and close-knit family. They have a strong bond and believe in working together to create a happy, healthy, and efficient household. Jerry and JoyAnna appear to be very happy and content in their home and family. They have developed a tremendous bond with Mr. and Mrs. Winslow as well as their siblings AND IT IS BEAUTIFUL TO WITNESS. They are truly a family in every sense of the word."

We stand utterly and completely amazed at how God has orchestrated ALL of this down to the littlest detail! Did you catch that little but oh sooooooo powerful phrase....And it is beautiful to witness?

Yes, oh yes, we agree! We couldn't agree more! This is truly why we do this! This is what God Himself has called us to! This truly is our mission field and we couldn't be more humbled and honored to be serving our Lord in this way!

Thank you Lord for revealing yourself to us through this post placement report! We thank you! 

Thank you ALL, too, for your part you have played in getting us to this point! We could NOT have done it without you! There are soooooo many of you and so we are thankful that God knows who you ALL are!!

We TRULY thank God upon EVERY remembrance of you! Philipians 1:3. 

Now as we stay the course, and run the race God has put before us, we are very excited to welcome our newest little one! 

Thank you in advance for your love and caring!

The entire Winslow Gang:

Glenn, Mary, Madelyn, Grace, Edward, Elisha, Jonathan, Jeremiah, Nicole, JoyAnna, and Rosalinda. 

*and our precious Zoey, rejoicing in heaven! Our littlest angel!! 

Giving Thanks!

Glenn gave the most wonderful message on thankfulness at church yesterday. What a blessing it was! One of the best parts was when we went around and got to hear what everyone was thankful for within our church family! ! Such an amazing encouragement!

Today I was thanking the Lord for His guidance and prompting in our lives. I spent time thanking Him for His provision in our adoption going on right now. We were able to mail our I-800A application and $1,060.00 in total fees onFriday! Every dime of that was God's provision! 

Friends and family...we started this process as we have with ALL of our adoptions by stepping out in Faith and trusting Him! He who owns the cattle on 1,000 hills! NOTHING is too hard for Him! 

And so we build monuments along the way to remind us of all that He has done for us! 

Many have asked us, what's next?? What's next is a large fee to our agency of $2,600.00 which is due immediately following our I-800A approval. Then there is the fees for trip one which will be around $7,500.00 all totaled. Yes, sometimes it feels a bit overwhelming at times. It really does. Sometimes it feels like ransom. Yet we remain with our eyes on Him, the author and finisher of our faith! 

Thank you ALL soooooo much for your prayers and encouragement and support! Please continue to pray and share with others!!! You have our full permission!

There are 2 ways right now that you can give!

1. Our You Caring Page. This money gets deposited weekly right into our checking account! It's such a blessing. This is so that we can pay all of the expenses that occur BEFORE the first trip.
http://www.youcaring.com/…/the-winslows-are-stepping…/317996

2. Our Reece's Rainbow Family Support Page. This money is completely tax deductible and will fund our expenses starting with our first trip to meet our precious little girl! 

http://reecesrainbow.org/94114/sponsorwinslow-2

You can visit our blog to meet our family, too and catch up on what is happening! 

http://winslowsix.blogspot.com

While on our blog PLEASE write to us! We LOVE comments! Also, please check out our Amazon link for all of your shopping needs! You can help us with our adoption AND get your shopping done at the same time!!! 

Again, thank you! May God richly bless you for ALL you have done! We sure do LOVE you! heart emoticon heart emoticon

— feeling thankful.

10 years ago tonight!!!

Grace and Jonathan came home ten years ago tonight!!

Rejoice with us! What an amazing part of our family they are! We love you sooooooo much!!

Grace was 9 and Jon was 2! They are now 19 and 12!! God is sooooooo good!

Happy Anniversary you two!! 

God is "In it to Win it!" and so is JoyAnna! /Reece's Rainbow

We recently put our You Caring Page on Facebook to bring awareness to our adoption process and our financial need. That day we received 2 anonymous donations. The donation that was for $300.00 had a wonderful message attached to it. It said: " If it's God's will it's His bill. He's got this! Blessings to your family." 

This just blessed me BEYOND words! It really is the truth, and God has proven it to be true time and time again as we have followed His lead on our adoption journeys that He's taken us on!

The picture I chose for this blog post is a TRUE picture of a life redeemed! Redeemed from lying in a crib for 7 years. Rescued from 4 unnecessary and damaging surgeries to her body. 

Did you all know that in her country, they cut the tendons at each ankle so that she could NOT walk???

WELL...TAKE THAT ENEMY!!! Look at her now!!!! 

This photo was taken Tuesday of this week at her physical therapy session! She spent 20 minutes in the gait trainer and propelled herself forward a LOT!!! This is our precious JoyAnna Yanka Deneva Winslow! Here she is!!!! She is in it to win it! 

She is a LIVING, breathing testimony to the fact that she was fearfully and wonderfully made, and that DEATH has DIED and LOVE has won!!!!

And now as we get closer to meeting our newest little blessing, we are thanking the Lord for introducing us to her! Our little one that will be named Annabella! She is listed as Claire on Reece's rainbow, if you'd like to see a photo of her. She is precious! We also have our own Family Support Page listed with Reece's rainbow for her.

We sooooooo appreciate ALL of your love and support and encouragement! We could NOT do it without you!  Our next step is applying for our I-800A! We promise to keep you posted!