Today, Please Look at Their Faces

My older sister once told me, "It's so easy to forget about orphans ... until you see their faces."

Today, I ask you to take a moment to stop and SEE. See their faces. Look into their eyes. Let their needs touch you. Their physical necessities may be cared for by the orphanages, however, each child carries a wounded and broken heart that is in desperate need of healing.



If, after watching this video, you feel that God is asking you to do something for His little children, please consider one of the following:

1) Sign up to host an orphan with New Horizons for Children (the largest hosting agency in America). This does not obligate you to adopt. It is merely a way to minister to an orphan for 5 - 6 weeks this summer. Time is running out for this summer, so you will need to act fast if this is something you wish to do. There are many children who have still not been chosen and many of them already have scholarships available. Click HERE to view New Horizon's website.

2) Read up on the orphan crisis and educate yourself on the real needs of orphans in our world by clicking either of the titles below:

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Infinitely More by Alex Krutov and Jackie Davis

3) Donate! This is probably the easiest way to help, but the most often overlooked. Come alongside someone who is in the process of hosting and donate towards their hosting fundraiser. You don't have to drain your bank accounts. Ten dollars given in faith will go a long way. (Remember the widow with her two mites?) If you don't know anyone who is currently planning on hosting, I have two suggestions:

a) My friend over at Good Old Days Farm Blog is working hard to bring her four littles back this summer.

b) And, in case you've missed all my other posts... we just HAPPEN to be fundraising for our two sweeties to come this summer as well. And, there just so HAPPENS to be a link to our YouCaring site in the upper right hand corner of this blog. If you HAPPEN to drop a small donation into it, we would literally float up to the ceiling with happiness. (To see the fundraising fun we have planned take a peek at our RANDOM SMILES PROJECT in our previous post.)

4) Pray!!! This is the single most important element to any ministry, and hosting is no exception. Pray for the children. Pray for the families who will be hosting them. Pray for God's will, His protection, and His guidance in the lives of these precious kids. Pray! Just pray!

From the bottom of this hosting/foster/adoptive mama's heart,

THANK YOU!

And Just Like That ... Everything Changes!

We didn't plan to host this summer. Nope! We sure didn't.

We made plans to visit California.

But ...

God doesn't fit into OUR plans. He writes His own.

And they are simply amazing!


Three years ago we hosted four kiddos from Eastern Europe. Those four added to our own four made for quite a houseful! When the kids returned to their orphanage, we moved forward with adoption plans. And that's when everything came to a screeching halt.

The two older girls did not want to be adopted. They wanted their freedom and independence NOT parents with rules and curfews. Over the next three years, I watched hosting season after hosting season come and go. Although "our" four were listed almost everytime, no one hosted them. My heart ached whenever I saw their sweet faces among the photo listings. "When can we come back?" the two younger kids would question me repeatedly as we conversed through the internet. "I don't know," was the only answer I could give and I hated it.

But, this year ...

THIS YEAR!!!

God has turned everything upside down to make everything right side up again. Those younger two kiddos, the ones who kept asking when they could come, WILL come. These two have suffered so much disappointment over the past three years that Latvia sent a special message along for us. "Please don't back out."

Once again I am reminded of how God hears the cry of a broken heart and tenderly answers in His perfect time.

Rejoice with us!

Pray with us!

I don't want to disappoint them again!!!

To help us fundraise, we are offering free shipping on my book "Marie: Woman of Beauty, Mother of Courage" if it is ordered off my website and a $1 discount for all Kindle editions from Amazon .

This book is the dramatic account of the miraculous escape of my grandmother and her two children from war-torn Estonia during World War II. Stepping right under the noses of the warring Nazis and Communists, my grandmother and her family slipped out of Estonia on the very night Estonia fell into Communist control. It is a story of courage, faith, and determination that will encourage you to live the life God has intended you to have and make you reevaluate the legacy you are leaving your children.

This book has already sold in five continents around the world with excellent reviews. It is perfect for younger readers (my kids loved it), but can hold the interest of adult readers as well. Readers are not disappointed! Order yours today and save! Sale ends this Thursday at midnight.

Here are some videos about my book:

https://youtu.be/8IUS1jnhi3Q

https://youtu.be/v41tO-FwR94

My daughter's promo:

https://youtu.be/j7H2ZoxQGOQ

Bedtime Stories

I grew up on Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Although hard, her life was busy and full of adventure. No one ever complained about being bored. Although these books are targeted for girls, there's enough adventure to pique a boy's interest as well!

A little while ago, a friend gave us some CDs from this series. Almost every night Alyssa and Nikki drift off to sleep listening to stories of Pa, Ma, Laura, Mary, Carrie, and their good, old bulldog Jack. In the morning, they update me on the Ingalls' most recent developments.

I highly recommend this series either in the book or CD form! The CDs include fiddle music performed by Paul Woodiel. Cherry Jones does a fantastic job of dramatizing the reading so that even Shawn and I sneak a listen every so often. These are stories your children will never forget and are well worth remembering!

The Blind Side

I'm not a football fan. I'm not a Sandra Bullock fan. I'm not even a Tim McGraw fan. But after watching this, I am a big Tuohy fan.

The Tuohy's were a rather ordinary Christian family until the day God asked them to do something very out of the ordinary. He asked them to care for one of His bigger kids who needed a family. (By bigger I mean 6-foot, 4-inches, and 310 pounds!)  When the Tuohy's opened their home and hearts to Michael Oher, they had no idea of the journey they were embarking upon. They did, however, know Who would be directing it. Placing their complete trust in their Heavenly Father, they started out on the road less traveled and graciously left a path for others to follow.

Cautions:
1) A couple scenes where cussing is used, some with a bit of violence. (He did grow up on the wrong side of the tracks.)
2) One very modest bedroom scene, but I still won't let my younger kids watch it.
3) Why couldn't they dress Sandra Bullock more modestly?!