Tag Archives: Stacy Hawkins Adams

Be Encouraged & Endure

Be Encouraged & Endure
Over the past two weeks several friends that I hold dear have lost loved ones to the coronavirus. My heart goes out to Helena, Robert, Pam, Gwen and Teresa. And also to other friends whose relatives are fighting to recover or to live.

While I pray for them and the millions who are suffering in some way due to this virus, I also pray for those of us whose impact has thus far been limited to having to shelter in place and sacrifice our norm. For let’s be real: This right here isn’t normal.

There’s the surrealness of it all. In may ways, it feels like we’re living out a sci-fi movie.

There’s the surrender required during it all. This is when the best place to be is at the center of the storm, wrapped in the Almighty’s embrace, due to what we can’t control.

And certainly, there’s the shifting of it all. Those of us who survive will come out of this indefinite period of disruption changed, no matter what.

If we’re intentional, perhaps this era will leave us wiser, more gracious, more authentically ourselves and more focused, connected and settled – ready to live our purpose or lean into discovering the next phase of our life’s unique calling. And many will be like my friends – forever touched by the losses this difficult season has wrought, fighting to forge ahead.

Wherever you land on this spectrum, be gentle with yourself, yet determined not to let this time of shutdown be a blur.

This doesn’t mean you must write that book, build a new business or “boss up” in some other way, although if you’re up to it, you can. What this season does offer is a chance to do the deep work to polish the gem your life already is.

Be courageous and love more deeply – yourself first, so you can truly love your neighbor.Look within and be real about the state of your soul. If you’re good, remain steady and firm and pour out from that full well. If you’re shaky, use this time to brutally self-examine, forgive yourself and others, and do whatever else it takes to transform into a person you’re proud of and gracious toward. We all have room to grow.

Challenge yourself to avoid self-numbing to the point of missing the lessons you’re meant to learn or the blessing you’re meant to be to others.
Be okay with everything not being okay. And even so, still find a way to live, love and laugh your way through as much of this as you can.

That’s what the doctor’s and nurses on the front lines are doing with the dances and songs they’re flooding social media with, between their calls to loved ones of dying patients.That’s what so-called “ordinary” people around this nation and globe are doing as they find time to help a neighbor or stranger, or celebrate someone’s birthday while social distancing or make an extra phone call to say hello, or share a meal or buy someone’s groceries. That’s what every essential worker is doing every time he or she leaves home to do a job that could be putting him or her at risk; and every teleworker who is pouring into others online, via email and on calls, keeping systems in place and processes moving forward.

I heard on the news (which I watch sparingly) today that social distancing and sheltering in place is slowly but surely making an impact. Certainly, we’re not out of harm’s way. There are more waves of valley moments seemingly ahead. But what this proves is that the one thing we CAN control during this time is our choices.

Choose to continue being a ripple in the proverbial ocean. Your sacrifices and prayers, virtual hugs and words of encouragement, dollars and donations, and other acts of kindness, are making a difference.
For those who are grieving, we grieve with you.For those who have something to celebrate (birthdays, anniversaries, new babies, end of cancer treatments) we celebrate with you.For those who are struggling, we see you and are helping however we can. If you feel unseen or unheard, don’t go it alone. Reach out to a friend or relative or even a stranger; for right now, we’re all family.

For those who took time to read all of this, please receive my virtual hug and smile. Know that I am praying for you, and for our world.

Also hug yourself and think about things that make you smile. Cry if you must; curse if that helps. Then, rise up and resolve to push through. Let your faith edge out the fear, and conquer the battle for your mind and your sense of hope.

Embrace this sober wisdom that my late mother shared with me in our last conversation in 2005: “Sometimes you have to lose to gain.”
We don’t know when, we don’t know how, but If we’ll endure through this night, morning will come, beauty will replace ashes, and hope and healthiness will reign through the land once again.

~ Stacy Hawkins Adams©

Author: Stacy Hawkins Adams
Through her fiction and nonfiction, author, journalist and writing coach Stacy Hawkins Adams inspires readers (and budding writers) to find meaning in their own stories, grow from life’s lessons and thrive. Like this post? Please leave a comment, then share it with others. Also visit Stacy at StacyHawkinsAdams.com to sign up for her newsletter, and friend/follow her on Instagram @StacyInspires, Twitter @StacyInspires and Facebook @StacyInspires. Learn more about her coaching services at AuthorInYou.com. View all posts by Stacy Hawkins Adams

AuthorStacy Hawkins Adams
Posted on9 Apr 2020

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When Rain Falls Books Galore Giveaway

Virtual Book Tour – March 5 – 30, 2012

It’s raining books!

From March 5-30, 2012, a winner will be chosen each week  to receive a gift pack from Tyora Moody.  There will be four (4) chances to win an autographed copy of When Rain Falls by Tyora Moody. The winner will also be eligible to win the following books during the week they are offered. The winner may choose the paperback or ebook version (except in the last week which is all ebooks).

Week 1  – March 5-9, 2012
What Kind of Fool by Rhonda McKnight
One Way or Another by Rhonda Bowen

Week 2  – March 12-16, 2012
A Good Excuse to Be Bad by Miranda Parker
Broken by Patricia Haley

Week 3  – March 19-23, 2012
Coming Home by Stacy Hawkins Adams
Stepping Into the Good Life by Tia McCollors

Week 4  – March 26-30, 2012 
Kayla’s Redemption by Wanda B.Campbell (ebook only)
The Playboy’s Redemption by Vanessa Miller (ebook only)
True Beauty by Shelia Lipsey (ebook only)

What do you need to do to win? 

Simply answer the following question in the comments area of this blog post and REMEMBER to include your email address.

Have you ever asked a similar question to what Candace has asked. “Why does God keep taking away the people I love?”  What was your why and what were your reasons for asking? 

If not, how can you encourage someone who has experienced loss without sounding cliche? Remember loss can come in various forms (death, divorce, broken relationship, unemployment, etc.)

 To qualify, please respond with a thoughtful answer.

DISCLAIMER: Drawings void where prohibited; open only to U.S. residents; the odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. See full disclaimer at http://tywebbinvirtualevents.com/contest-rules/

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Who Speaks To Your Heart? by Stacy Hawkins Adams Blog Tour

Who Speaks To Your Heart? Blog Tour

Devotional Excerpt taken from Ch. 15
of Who Speaks To Your Heart?

 Hi, this is Stacy Hawkins Adams, author of Who Speaks To Your Heart?

Have you ever felt invisible or as if you weren’t valued?

At some point in your life, whether once or a hundred times, you’ve likely felt dismissed or nonexistent. Others may have unintentionally ignored you or purposely excluded you.

However the slight occurred, feeling invisible – in a professional setting, at a social event or even in a relationship – may have punctured your soul, or at the very least, left you wanting to really disappear. Feeling like you don’t matter opens you up for doubts about your worthiness – whether you’re smart enough, pretty enough, thin enough, educated enough or simply good enough to deserve acknowledgement.

But God declares in Jeremiah 23:23-24 that he is always near, and none of us is invisible to him. He reminds us that when we feel the most disregarded and isolated, we should instead be encouraged, because he values those that are considered the “least of these” by others. In Matthew 10:30 he says he knows every hair on our head, and Psalm 56:8 reminds us that he’s collecting every tear we shed in a bottle. 

If we believe the truth of these promises, then the times during which we question our significance– or allow someone else to do so – should be exactly what they are: minor slights we must sometimes endure. This is easier said than done, because the childhood cliché is incorrect: words can and do hurt, as well as the absence of them when you need to hear them most. But learning how to turn to God when we’re confronted with this issue is critical to learning to listen better and to hearing him speak.

When you feel like you’ve been overlooked, disregarded, not taken seriously or misunderstood, talk to God about it. Study scriptures that remind you that you are God’s choice pearl and that your every thought and move matter to him.

© Stacy Hawkins Adams.  Excerpted from Who Speaks To Your Heart? Do not reprint or publish this excerpt without full attribution to the author or without express permission from the author or publisher, Zondervan.

 

About the Book

With insight, inspiration, and practical ideas in her new book—Who Speaks to Your Heart?—, author Stacy Hawkins Adams shows you and all women—regardless of the labels placed on you—that your best and most important title is the one given by God … chosen vessel.

“I wrestled with whether a God that I couldn’t see or touch would be willing to single me out from the millions of other people who wanted love, attention and help.”

To women all over the country, from all walks of life, this uncomfortable uncertainty is all too familiar. Now—for inspiration, for affirmation, for a divine connection—you have a new place to turn … to this authentic look at what it takes to pursue God with abandon, by acclaimed author Stacy Hawkins Adams.

Offering insight, inspiration, and practical ideas on how to connect more often and more deeply with God, Adams helps give you and women the world over the courage to go deeper and grow deeper in God’s word to hear Him more clearly. Women young and old will be empowered and renewed by Adams’ reminder that—regardless of the labels placed on you by society, your family, your friends, and even yourself—your best and most important title is the one given by God … chosen vessel.

About the Author

Stacy Hawkins Adams is a nationally-published, award-winning author and speaker. Her contemporary women’s fiction novels are filled with social themes and spiritual quests that take readers on journeys into their own souls.

She holds a degree in journalism and served as a newspaper reporter for more than a decade before turning her full attention to penning books, speaking professionally and writing freelance articles.

Stacy lives in a suburb of Richmond, Virginia with her husband and two young children. Visit Stacy online at stacyhawkinsadams.com.

Book Review by Linda Fegins

 Who Speaks to Your Heart by Stacy Hawkins Adams is filled with delightful  rich   and powerful nuggets  of inspiration, wit, wisdom and the practical use of the Word to empower women, really anyone ,to seek to know God intimately. Want to receive guidance and answers about your choices, purpose and destiny? Who Speaks to Your Heart gently shares with you the necessary steps to recognize God’s voice   to obtain His wisdom.  In Jeremiah 33:3 the Word states “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things thou knowest not”. Hawkins provides loving practical and challenging strategies and tips as to how not only to pray to God, but to “LISTEN” with our hearts the messages He will truly whisper once you diligently   seek Him and learn to listen when He speaks to you. Many forget that an important aspect of prayer and study is to listen.

I read a couple of chapters twice, such as “Letting Go of the Life You Imagined”, not because the reading was difficult, but I needed to soak in the chapter to garner what the Lord was speaking to me through the wonderful chapters. Adams shares her personal journey of faith with interesting stories such as her need to have a hearing device and reluctance to face the fact, experiences with her daughter and much more as a model for how God can speak to you.  Women will be encouraged and empowered to grow deeper in the Word to listen to what God is speaking to their heart, in a “non-preachy” manner.

View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at http://bit.ly/WhoSpeaksToYourHeart.

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