In the spirit of transparency, I don’t feel like writing this week at all. I’m late again because we were out of town for Labor Day and Tuesday was one of those days that just sucks the life out of you. This weekend we went to Cloudcroft, my favorite place in the world, with a few of our friends and their kids. We did some kid wrangling, knife throwing, steak eating, and watched Alabama roll over FSU (Roll Tide!). It was a great time but honestly I came back more tired than when we left. Tuesday started out with a truck run that was just a little bit off. Our breakfast biscuits didn’t heat up right and I was just a little discombobulated from lack of sleep. After that I rushed to get ready for our board meeting. As I pulled up to the meeting location, I just felt completely spent. I didn’t know how I was going to go in there and be a good leader. I went to the Lord and told Him I couldn’t handle all this and that I needed Him to intervene and He most definitely did.

We had a great meeting and I was reminded that God has brought wonderful people alongside us who are now calling The Field’s Edge “our project”. Thank goodness they’re all a lot smarter than me and have different areas of expertise. I know that I am not alone because I have the Lord but it is so refreshing to spend time with people who have my back and believe in what I’m endeavoring to do. We are continuing to seek additional board members to come alongside us and I would be happy to receive nominations from those of you who may know someone with the heart and skill set to help drive the organization forward. We are intentionally seeking a very diverse group of men and women so we can serve Midland in the best possible way.

The Midland Parade of Homes is coming up next month and I am pleased to say that Kahler Homes of Midland has started construction on our model tiny house! After the board meeting I went to pick up the trailer for the house and took it over to the construction site. The tiny house will be available to walk through during the parade on October 14-15 and October 19-22. I can’t promise that I will be out there all day for all 6 days because the due date for our baby boy is October 12, but I want as many people as possible to walk inside and catch our vision. The goal for the house is to show that the heart of our organization is to give our best first and seek to incorporate the restoration of dignity into every detail of what we do. This tiny house is going to be BEAUTIFUL and I think it is going to capture a lot of attention for The Field’s Edge. It has been such a blessing to work with Kahler Homes because they totally understand our vision and they may be even more excited than we are. Hopefully in next week’s blog I will have a sneak peek of the construction for you.

In the midst of all of this we are furiously trying to prepare for the birth of our second child, Titus O’Daniel Echols. The park home that we are going to live in was supposed to be ready by mid-September but it was pushed back to the end of the month, and Titus is measuring ahead and might be making an appearance earlier than his October 12th due date. We are praying that the house gets here before he does and we have enough time to get a little bit settled. We are very much looking forward to holding our boy and being in a more permanent house. By the way, we will be selling our RV if anyone is interested.

Later this week I am meeting with someone regarding land for our village. I have high hopes that we may be near to finding a location to begin cultivating home for our homeless brothers and sisters. There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle and regulatory hurdles to overcome with any piece of property we find, but God is bigger than any of that. Please continue to pray for the right land at the right time.

Day to day, things get overwhelming, but the solution to anxiety is always right in front of us.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

— 1 Peter 5:6-7

Prayer Requests:

· Continued prayer for our unborn niece and her family. Her due date is approaching and we are praying for miraculous healing and for God to be greatly glorified. For her parents we are praying for peace that surpasses all understanding.

· Land

· Pray for Briana as we get closer to Titus’s due date.

· Truma starts Montessori school this week.

· Wisdom in tough decisions.

Keep on Keepin' On