Merry Christmas from the Sloans

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6 Love, The Sloan Family

Only a Mountain

God asks us to have FAITH. I've been claiming this verse and clinging to the promise that nothing is impossible when we call upon Him:

"Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” - Matthew 17:20 

I catch myself singing this song around the house randomly. It's been an encouragement to me as we continue to follow God and trust HIM in what seems impossible. This is a fun song that's upbeat, and so full of truth that we can command the mountain to move - even when it seems so enormous in front of us. 




Big thanks to American Idol's Jason Castro for this awesome song that this mama is singing all day long!

Empowered to Connect

Michael and I headed to Empowered To Connect in Nashville during September.

We've always loved Dr. Karyn Purvis' book The Connected Child , but to get to go and hear hear and learn about WHY children from hard places struggle with attachment, bonding, food, sensory issues, and lots more was REALLY eye-opening. I love Karyn Purvis and I pretty much want to put her in my pocket!

Show Hope did a  FABULOUS job of putting on this event and the whole weekend was such a great time of learning for Michael and I. Another great thing was that we got to hang out with our friends Lori and Steve who are waiting on Korea's cutest little boy Davis! You can follow their journey to Davis here: The Mini Adventures of Lori and Steve ! Also, we got to meet our friends Julie and Steve for the first time - they came in from California for the conference. (Yeah, this thing is a BIG DEAL!)

Watch this video about what every adoptive parent should know.

Here's another great one - about food and why a child who has experienced malnutrition (prenataly or postnatally can really be an issue for a child from a hard place.





There are a LOT of fanstastic resources available for you at the Empowered to Connect Website. You can watch more videos and get lots more info - what an invaluable resource for adoptive and foster families! These resources were not available for families who adopted years ago and were walking this path without much connection or guidance. Everyday I thank God for the blessing of the Adoption Community and for the resources we have to parent our children from hard places WELL!

Check out the Empowered to Connect website for more resources: http://empoweredtoconnect.org/resources/

#$%@ People Say To Transracial Families - Adoption Funny

This is hilarious, because it is pathetically true. I want to say you'd be shocked at some of the things that have been said to us (and some in front of our kiddos), but this will paint you a little picture.





Let's think before we speak people. We don't mind talking about adoption - as a matter of fact, we LOVE IT, but please be sensitive that adoption is born from loss and some things are private and are not shared with the random lady in the grocery line.

Paula

Never Once Did We Ever Walk Alone

God is using this song to really speak some truth into my life. While our lives don't always make sense to us, or especially to the world around us. He has a calling on our lives and when He says GO, we can't say NO, so we step out of the boat and say YES to the ones He puts in front of us daily... knowing that HE is with us.





As we step out in obedience, Lord, we are asking you to be with us. You are Faithful, God. You are Faithful.

Lyrics to Matt Redman's Never Once

Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we've come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us


Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You've done
Knowing every victory
Is Your power in us


Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say


Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/matt_redman/never_once.html
Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful


Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Carried by Your constant grace
Held within Your perfect peace
Never once, no, we never walk alone


Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Every step we are breathing in Your grace
Evermore we'll be breathing out Your praise
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Lake Forest Ranch Labor Day Family Escape 2012

We had our annual Labor Day Family Camp at Lake Forest Ranch again this year. It's such a great time to unplug, get away with our family, focus on each other, and spend time worshipping with one another and other families. 

Here's a few pics from this year's trip. 

Haiti

Haiti has captured my heart. There are thousands of children in Haiti that are living in orphanages and need a mommy and daddy to come for them.

Back in April of this year (2012), God spoke to me through a sweet friend when she posted this picture of a sibling group in Haiti. Haiti has had a piece of my heart ever since. While I will never be the mama to these kiddos, God began working on that night as He began to write another chapter in our story.

These children are at an creché (an orphanage licensed for adoption) called Giving Hope Rescue Mission. Giving Hope is ran by Christian missionaries from America.

This story is still being written, and my prayer is that HIS Name is written all over the pages. Less of me, and more of You, Jesus!

~Paula

Sponsor a Child.... Change their life forever

Not called to adopt? Want to make a difference for ONE child in a physical, and tangible way?

Consider sponsoring a child on a monthly basis. 

‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ - Matthew 25:40

Here's a few of my favorite places you can sponsor a child. 

Holt International - http://www.holtinternational.org/cgi/sponsorship/index.cgi 

Show Hope - http://www.showhope.org/Donate/BecomeASponsor.aspx 

World Vision - http://www.worldvision.org

Room for Grace - http://www.roomforgraceintl.org

"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 

7 Reasons you should go to the Created for Care Conference in Atlanta

In March, I attended the Created for Care Conference in Atlanta and I thought I would blog about it and I kept putting it off and time slipped away from me. It's now almost August and it's almost time to REGISTER again for next year's conferences! Created for Care is a retreat for moms who share the heart and spirit for adoption.

Are you an adoptive or foster-care mama - or are you considering adoption - or do you have a heart and a burden for the orphan - or want to come alongside an adoptive family in your life? Do you feel a tug in your heart that you should be moved to action on behalf of the fatherless? If so, you need to GET TO THIS CONFERENCE!

With that, here is my 7 REASONS you should go to Created for Care in 2013! 

1. There is something insanely indescribable about being with 500 mamas who GET YOU. They share your same heartbeat. You don't have to explain why you chose adoption; nobody questions why your children don't look like you; nobody asks you about your reproductive system and the possibility of it's "brokenness". It's nice to be understood for three whole days.

2. God WILL meet you there. Very few times in my life, have I felt such a presence of the Spirit of the Lord from the moment I walked in the door, but Created for Care was one of those times. Andrea Young (adoptive mama and blogger over at Babe of My Heart) and her C4C Team covered the whole weekend in prayer. They invited The Lord to meet us there, and boy did He! From the discussions at dinner with the mama who said just what you needed to hear, to the timely and meaningful main group sessions, to the fun break-out topics, to the late nights in the hotel staying up and laughing with and praying with your adoptive mama friends. I know I wasn't the only mama God was speaking to, but He was speaking directly to my heart all weekend long! He sure did show up and was ALL OVER that weekend.

3. You will LEARN a TON! I know I don't know it all and I don't claim to, but I'll be honest - I went into the weekend thinking "we've got a pretty good grip on what's going on at the Sloan house" and "this will be a fun weekend away with my adoptive mama friends"- but WOW! I left the weekend with new thoughts on my adoptive children's pasts, their story, their pain and hurt, their birth families, their cultural identity, their losses, and their hearts. I left there with new strategies, new tools, and a new passion to not only bring home orphans to families, but to help those families WIN when they come home - starting with my own!

4. It's FUN! Hop in the car with 3 of your adoptive mama buddies, load the car up with twizzlers and pringles, load up the worship cds (but don't even turn the radio ON because you're having so much fun gabbing the whole way down to the ATL), and hit the road for Atlanta. Honestly, this was largely my motivation - I am a tired, homeschooling mama of 3 kiddos, so the weekend away to hang with women I love sounded like a much needed retreat - exactly what I needed. However, I had no idea exactly how fun it would be! I laughed so hard, my side literally hurt and my face hurt from smiling so much. We had a blast from the moment we stepped onto the property at the beautiful Lake Lanier resort!

5. You probably could stand to put on 5 pounds - or not, but you will anyway! Seriously, C4C wants to make sure your hearts and minds are fed and your tummy is too! WOW! The food just kept coming and coming! 3 meals a day are provided at the retreat and snacks, snacks, and more snacks. I did gain 5 pounds over the weekend at C4C and had to work extra hard to get it off when I came home! The food was fantastic and I really couldn't believe all that was provided with the low cost of the retreat! So don't worry - you won't be hungry - and as a mama who loves to eat, I know that's a big deal. :) The whole C4C retreat was Food for the Soul!

6. You'll connect with those mamas you've loved online for so long! There's no denying it, that the adoptive world is VERY connected. I met about 50 Korean-adoptive mamas face to face for the first time over the weekend! Yes, we already "knew" one another online and had walked the hard road of adoption together over the past several years, but to hug their necks and sit down and chat with them face to face is priceless. We also met some of those adoptive mamas we've always wanted to! I love Stephanie over at Ni Hao Y'all and she blessed my socks off in a couple of sessions and I was able to talk one on one with her at the Wild Olive Tees booth! I also was able to connect with Gwen Oatsvall - an adoptive mama from my hometown who started 147 Million Orphans! Gwen had me in stitches in the "I drive a bus" session - and I'm working on filling up that bus!

7. You'll leave there changed and moved to action! for many adoption is in one of those "one day" categories. For some, adopting again is in that "one day" category. It's HARD and I mean HARD to step out of that boat and take that step in faith to adopt - or to foster - or whatever God is calling you to - but you'll leave Created for Care with a CLEAR understanding that you are to do something on behalf of the orphan!

Registration for Created for Care opens August 15th at 12:01 am (EST) - it WILL sell out within hours, and yes, it's worth staying up and registering! Two retreats will be offered again - January and March! I know that I will never miss another one - it was such a blessing to my mama heart!

Visit the Created for Care website and get ready to have a life-changing weekend if you decide to attend!

Blessings,
Paula

Giving Hope Rescue Mission

Imagine a place where children are loved and cherished....

Where children are told about Jesus....

Where children have enough to eat and are treated with dignity until their forever mommy and daddy come....

Where kids are told, YOU are WORTH IT - worth the wait, worth the cost, worth the work, worth the effort, worth walking through the fire, worth going to the ends of the Earth. Because no child is a mistake. All children are from HIS hand. There are no unwanted children, only unfound families.


"Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--how well I know it." - Psalm 139:14