​​  I first connected with Joanna May Chee when I was finishing up Re:Birth. She had shared her supernatural birth testimonies on her website, mumskidsjesus.com and she was kind enough to let me share them in Re:Birth as well!

     Within our first few messages, it was clear that Joanna had an contagious love of Jesus and was passionate about encouraging women. Most recently, she's poured her love into a beautiful book called Forever Loved: Eve's Story.  I was thrilled to be able to preview it before it's release.

     The one word I would use to describe it is "stunning." Joanna captures readers hearts with her personal story and encountering the Father's love, and then whisks them away to Eden. I had planned to read the book over a rainy weekend, but instead I finished it in one sitting (which is a miracle in itself with three kids running about!)! As soon as I was finished, I wanted to jump back in and read it again.

    Joanna creatively retells the story of Adam and Eve through the voice of Eve in a way that shares the infinite love of the Creator! I could feel God's love wash over me as I read and we ALL need more of that every single day! ​

     I would highly recommend this book to all of our wonderful Re:Birth friends- it's a perfect encouragement for women at every stage in their journey! 

​This is a BIG week around here. I'm never ready for book launches, they sneak up on me while I'm still working on the nitty-gritty parts of publishing. Nonetheless, there is so much to be excited about! 

      Re:Birth has been out for a little bit over a year now, and I'll admit, nothing has gone as planned! The doors that I've knocked on never opened and my family found ourselves embarking on a turbulent and unplanned adventure. Re:Birth sat on my bookshelf with a mixture of hope and frustration. 

     Last October, I received an email from a journalist turned pastor in Malawi that had picked up our press release on christiannewswire.com, he asked for books and brochures to deliver to expecting women in Malawi. Part of our marketing plan has incorporated giving books back since day one (every three purchases provides a copy of Re:Birth to a women in need), so I was thrilled to have a new area to focus on. We sent a box of copies, and they never made it! So we went with plan B, and sent brochures with scripture and encouragement for moms-to-be in Malawi.

     We loved seeing the fruit of this mission, but I still really wanted to do more to help these lovely women, I just wasn't sure how! I quickly began to realize that while the idea of supernatural births and pain-free deliveries was refreshing to these moms-to-be,  they were more concerned with life or death complications during birth than pain. 

     This was a startling realization that we seldom face in America, but Malawi has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. I began researching and trying to understand just why this is. Edward Mikwamba began setting up interviews with doctors, teachers, nurses, and missionaries so that I could learn more about the factors impacting maternal mortality, and we compiled the information we found into Birth in Blantyre. Edward did a wonderful job providing photographs which help readers get a glimpse of life in Malawi and I'm so grateful for all of the help we've received on this project. It has blessed and encouraged me tremendously, and I'm looking forward to the launch on the 1st so that we can return the blessings to Malawi! 

     Every book will provide a box of latex gloves to hospitals in need.
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  I hope that you'll consider sharing about this book-  these days, sharing really does mean caring because it helps us spread the word without paid advertising, which is crucial to this project! ​

Hi friends! 

I've loved the letter's we've been receiving in the "Dear Brave Mom" contest, they are so sweet! I know that this finished book will be a huge blessing to Shannon and her family and the additional families that will use it to fund raise for medical bills in the future through Esther's House Publishing.

In case you haven't submitted letters- the deadline is the 15th! 

AND

In case you're looking for a fun and heartfelt gift for mom on Valentine's Day, we created this template to download and print out! Don't forget to send us a copy of the letter or tag us in a post! 

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with God's love!
​Alex