When the ATTACKS come (and they will) - MY ONLY ADVICE is to stay on your knees, get some sleep, and stay focused on the BIG PICTURE ...

Feeling a little under attack right now and I know I am not alone ... STAY in the middle of the LORD's presence and you can weather the storm with all the peace that comes w/ HIM  ...

blessings

Getting super excited about Katie's trip home in October to promote her book ... It is days like today when we are spreading the word about her book and talking to lots of people about her that I REALLY MISS HER - her loud laugh, her curled up at my table, her yellow car in my driveway, her beside me on the treadmill at the Y, or me hanging at her house in Uganda just having dinner w/ her and the girls ... My kids talk about her all the time as if she will be here any minute ... They dream about their trips to Uganda and will even make up sweet stories about when they will meet all of Katie's daughters ... It is so cute how they love them and her ...

We are so excited that 147 Million Orphans will be selling her book and will be able to give back 50% of the profits to Amazima ...

PRE-ORDER KISSES FROM KATIE  (written by Katie Davis) today at 147 Million Orphans and 50% of the profits of the sale of the book will go back to Amazima !!!  I can't even share in words how my sweet friend Katie Davis has change the lives in my home ... Jeremiah talks about her girls daily ... They are his buddies and he adores them all ... Emily and Elijah are begging to go visit Katie in Uganda and meet her family ... She is part of US  and we are so proud of her ... Spending time w/ her this past JUNE was the highlight of my summer ... I get refreshed and refueled when I am with her ...

THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ !!! and the perfect gift ... Help us spread the word and share this link w/ all your friends ... THANKS !!!

I have stolen the title of this post from FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, but I thought it was fitting to our new season of life.

Clear EYES ... I want to stay focused on what God has put right in front of me and that is my 6 amazing children ... They are all on different roads right now and I want to make sure that I help guide them as they grow ... Jeremiah is a teenager and I am quickly realizing our time left w/ him is short ... I love spending time w/ just him each night ... We talk about so much and it is my opportunity to just speak into his life the things God wants him to know (so that has cut out computer time and working at night) ... Maggie and Emily are on the verge of being little girls w/ a whole new world opening up the them and it is going to be so fun to watch ... and there is so much more, but it is CLEAR that my eyes need not be shadowed by work for 147, friends needing things, or all the other things that just love to crawl on our plate and keep our vision blurred ...

Full HEARTS ... I can't tell you how full my HEART is !!!  I am seeing children come home that 147 helped fundraise, Katie's book is coming out, 147 is making a difference in the lives of children in so many places, my precious MAGGIE started kindergarten (what a milestone), we are getting closer to having Joseph fully diagnosed and the help he needs, and so much more ...

CAN'T LOSE ... As long as we try to stay centered in God's will and the purpose HE has for us then we can't lose ... Whether the road is crazy bumpy w/ a ton of pot holes or smooth sailing - A JOURNEY WITH HIM IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT ONE ...

I am challenging myself to measure my days in accordance w/ HIS desire for me and not my need to please others, SAY YES to everything, HELP everyone that asks, and place expectations on myself that IF I DON'T HELP THEM then maybe they won't adopt or they won't donate or they won't buy a shirt or they won't like me ... It is freeing to just bow down and wait for HIM to release me to my day ...

There is much KINGDOM work to be done and it is a good thing there are so many believers out there because we can all share in the blessings of doing HIS WORK ...

enjoy a few pictures from our first days of school ...

Suzanne and I are THRILLED that 147 Million Orphans will be selling Katie Davis' new book KISSES FROM KATIE that will be released in October ... Stay Tuned for more information on how to pre-order from our site ... THE GREAT THING ABOUT ORDERING FROM US is that 50% of the profits will be given back to AMAZIMA Minisitries ... Please help us spread the great news and direct people to our site for the book ...

I HAVE SO MUCH TO SHARE ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF SCHOOL FOR THE OATSVALL TEAM, but you will have to wait till next week ... I got a little emotional today at Maggie's orientation ... The thought of her going to kindergarten is such a MILESTONE ... So many prayers answered !!!

Daisy is beside herself that we will be going to her orientation tomorrow and she will be wearing her FRA uniform !!!

I am feeling like the new routine will be good for us all and yet I know that I must set some boundaries this school year w/ my phone and computer time from 3pm-9pm ... I am just going to be unavailable to ALL, but my family ... I will have 3 children needing constant supervision on homework, Joseph is in need of more focused time w/ me, and I don't want to miss my ALONE time on the couch at night w/ Jeremiah (he is growing so fast) ... Scott and I will be SAYING NO to more things and YES to at home ... It feels like a new season and I am SOOOO excited about it !!!

This is one of those days when if I could I would move to an island w/ my family !!!  We would grow our own food, forget about school and just read really cool books that we like, have no time frame for anything, see NO else, leave the doors unlocked at the house, dance around all day to really loud music, have quiet time by the water w/ the LORD, forget about MAKE-UP, play kick-ball in the sand, and only vacation in 3rd world countries ...

ANYBODY W/ ME ???

There are so many ways to love on children in orphanages ... We can look at the whole picture and see where God is calling us to fill in the puzzle pieces ...

I went to Uganda open and willing to see what God has for my family in our next season ... Always ready to answer the call no matter how hard it is ... Open to going in the direction that God wants and not the direction I want (believe me I HAVE A DIRECTION I WANT) ...

Two things I haven't posted about till now (waiting on God's timing as he refines me) is about Brian (from Redeemer House) and Ekisa Ministry ... I have felt God tugging at my heart for older boys for over a year now along w/ Jeremiah and Elijah praying for a brother and when I saw Brian's sweet face on the wall at Redeemer House my heart just smiled ... I met many boys at Redeemer house, but God was obviously directing me to Brian ... When I returned home I contacted the director (precious, precious, precious Kathy) and asked about Brian ... She told me that he was un-adoptable and his mother was doing her best to get back on her feet.  She talked about how Brian was thriving at Redeemer house and was happy w/ his friends and his school ... It took less than a second for God to impress upon my heart to help Brian's mother ... To show her we care and to give Brian some peace knowing that someone wanted to help his mother ... Kathy sent me the kindest message saying how 4 other families had inquired about Brian and once they found out he was un-adoptable they just never emailed back ... Loving on a child who is in an orphanage has many different sides ... Will Brian ever be reunited with his mother ??? I don't know, but I do know that he will have some hope in knowing that she is being cared for and loved on by others ... It will give him security to focus on becoming a strong young man and in return perhaps he will have a desire to help others ... I think of Brian often during my week and hope that on my next trip to Uganda that I can meet him and his mother ... WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO HELP ... There is no more perfect way to see Jesus and to know HIM better than to love on HIS hurting people ... Why do we close our eyes and hearts and go about our EVERYDAY normal routine ... Why aren't we trying to seek out DAILY a way to do KINGDOM WORK and be an extension of HIM ... Why don't we CRAVE the blessings that come from loving those that JESUS LOVES SO DEEPLY ...

I want it to be a part of my everyday - praying for those that are hurting, lost, and lonely ... Finding ways to serve others ... Challenging my family and my friends to see OUTSIDE the box ... Teaching my children how to DESIRE JESUS above all else !!!

I would also like to introduce you to EKISA ... There is just no easy way to describe what all Emily & Emily (the directors of Ekisa) are doing ... Emily W. is a dear friend and used to work at Amani (where Joseph / Daisy were before coming home) ... She loved on my kids before I ever knew them ... She has a heart for special needs children and dreamed of opening an orphanage / home for those angels and her dream became reality LAST YEAR ... She didn't just talk about it, but decided to follow God to a very deep place of LOVE ... When I say I had to put my visit there out of my mind for a while that is just the truth ... The children we met there had such a large range of SN from CP, to severely burned, to extreme hydrocephalus, downs syndrome, autism, and more ... I was overwhelmed w/ the all the NEEDS they were meeting each day w/ the most amazing loving hearts I had ever seen ... There house was set up to care for them in the way each needed ... The volunteers so peacefully fed them, bathed them, talked to them, and just were so excited to share their stories ... They are doing some of the hardest work I have ever seen done to CARE and LOVE on these children ... I can only guess that Emily / Emily and the volunteers know something about meeting Jesus each day that I can not comprehend ... To see those sweet children when you wake each day must be both heartbreaking and joyous !!!  Whether they were discarded, abandoned, or brought to Ekisa by parents who CAN'T care for their child it is a reality that is simply something we DON'T like to think about here in America ... I tried desperately to put it out of my mind because I felt so helpless and overwhelmed ... So today I am telling you because my eyes were opened AGAIN and I see yet ANOTHER side to Jesus ... I want you to also see what I saw at Ekisa ... I love sharing ministries with you and I know 147 will do something in the year to come for Ekisa ... We will find a way to lightened their burden financially, we will pray for them, and we will encourage others to go and volunteer there ... It is a place of Jesus ... I can only imagine if HE were walking around today that Ekisa would be a place he would visit often ... Thanks Emily and Emily for loving the way you do !!!

Our sweet sweet friend Jan won a photography session w/ Katy Southern Photography at a fundraiser for yep you guess it AN EVENT TO HELP ORPHANS ... You see Katy wanted to use her gifts to help orphans and Jan wanted to bless us with portraits for when Joseph and Daisy came home, so 1 year after J/D came home and the day before Maggie's surgery we had the BIG DAY ...

Thought you would enjoy a few pictures of the FAMILY all cleaned up ... hee hee ... Colleen is working on a new header for my blog and I can't wait to see that ...

We have a lot of changes coming this year ... For the first time in 13 years I will have all 6 of my children in school at some point during the day ... Excited to have some time to myself and spend some time w/ the LORD refreshing my soul ... Someone ask me how I was doing the other day and I said, "I am in the deep end of the ocean drowning, but I have a good attitude about it." ... that is my best description right now ... Keeping Maggie from jumping, running, and begging to swim is no easy task along w/ the doctors and assessments for Joseph is still filling up my day ... Not to mention Daisy is the strongest willed child I have ever met (her tears no longer effect me, but her smiles give me HOPE ... lol), Emily is finding her way as she grows up and the energy that is exerted from Jeremiah and Elijah daily KEEP ME ON MY TOES ... We are a full force, full emotion, and full of FUN family ... I wouldn't have it any other way, but OH THE ENERGY IT TAKES ...

VISIT 147 Million Orphans and see how we are celebrating our two year anniversary !!! We have a project near and dear to our hearts and there will be so much more in the coming year ... We want to change lives, change conditions that children are living in, and mostly we want to show Jesus to them !!! They know we are here and we need to show them that we SEE them and CARE !!! We have projects coming in Uganda, Guatemala, China, and Honduras - Please keep checking back in on us as Suzanne and I HELP YOU HELP 147 MILLION ORPHANS !!!

VISIT us today on our facebook and WIN FREE GEAR !!! http://www.facebook.com/147millionorphans

This is a great chance for you to introduce us to your friends and help us share our mission and hearts for children around the world ... PROVIDING FOOD, WATER, AND MEDICINE !!!

GWEN