I’m so excited to announce the winner of the Brave Hearted Chick Contest. What an honor for me to read all the nominations!  We have super extraordinary Chicks out there in Bloggy land!  There would be no way to pick a chick…they are all BHC to the max, so I wrote down every nomination and drew a name this morning.

It’s my special honor to crown the Brave Hearted Chick winner…. Heather Davis!!!!!!!!

Thank you Sara for your amazing nomination: “In addition to several women listed above, I’d like to nominate Heather Davis. She’s a mommy to six kids, two of whom are adopted. Her blog was full of wisdom from the beginning, but she unexpectedly lost her husband and has grown strong in the Lord and shared her journey at http://www.lazydranch8.blogspot.com. She has inspired me greatly!”  Sara Matheny -mathenymom.blogspot.com

Heather, your story has deeply touched my heart!  You exemplify 1 Corinthians 13:13…Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly.  And the best of the three is love.

We Simply Love you Heather Davis!!

Please go to Heather’s blog and follow her journey through the heartbreak of losing her husband of 20 years and the joys of mommyhood!

(Sara, please email me Heather’s address & email# to mail her super cool prize!)

This was one of my most challenging weeks as a mom of 3. It was a combo of so many things. I was stretched emotionally, exhausted physically, single-for-the-week (hubby out of town) and encouraged!! Yes, I was encouraged every day by reading Poppy Dips. God never promised us that life would be easy, but He promises to love us and fill us with His power to make it through the crazy stuff. It was the little things that counted… fun phone calls, friends helping out, kind nurses, gramma’s house, H helping me take a nap, hearing my baby say “mommy” and Crazy Love.

“God was pleased to make you His own. Pleased! He didn’t just feel sorry for you. He wasn’t obligated to you. He chose you because He delights in you. You were never meant to get through life by the skin of your teeth. You were meant to flourish in the love and acceptance of Almighty Jehovah.
When He sings over you, dance!”

Simply Love.

Congrats Lenka Steiger.… you are a brave hearted chick!!

“Ah, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, I am only a child. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do NOT BE AFRAID of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Jeremiah 1:6-10

“When Jeremiah voices his hesitation and FEAR, God-the God of the galaxies- reaches out and touches his mouth. It’s a gentle and affectionate gesture, something a loving parent would do. Through this illustration I realize that I don’t have to worry about not meeting HIS expectations. God will ensure my success in accordance with HIS PLAN, not mine.
This is the God we serve, the God who knew us before He made us. The God who promises to remain with us and rescue us. The God who loves us and longs for us to love Him back.”
(Crazy Love-Francis Chan)

If you are called to adopt, don’t wait in hesitation or fear any longer. If you are called to help an orphan, don’t wait in hesitation or fear any longer. Don’t allow fear to paralyze your direction, your God-ordained passions and visions. Some of the crazy fears that paralyze us from moving forward with adoption… finances, paperwork, waiting, loss, the unknown… We don’t have to worry about not meeting HIS expectations. Take comfort in Jeremiah’s story that God will gently reach out and touch you and help you and guide you and give you the strength and courage to fulfil HIS PLANS.

Simply Love.

I’d love to hear what you think about the book CRAZY LOVE. How has it inspired you through the adoption journey or What fears have kept you from moving forward with your adoption?