Amy Michelle Ford

Born in our hearts

This week changed me a little. My heart is forever impacted by a true act of selfless love. The kind that you can't stop thinking about and even crying about. It's big. 

There is a girl in Embrace Grace that oozes grace and love. She is a sweet 17 year old with blonde hair, huge smile and absolutely beautiful. When I first met her she had braces and not shy. She had decided on doing adoption. With being so young, in school, she felt confident that God was leading her to go this route. 

Over the course of the pregnancy, she always talked about how much she loved the baby girl growing inside of her - always eager to talk about being pregnant or the baby. She always had hope for her baby's future. She even made a beautiful scrapbook and journaled throughout the pregnancy with baby photos of her and dad as well as sono photos, pregnancy pics and sweet notes, all to give to the adopted family that she had been praying to meet soon. She got signed with an agency and then met some families and found "the one." She fell in love with a family instantly - a sweet, Christian family that couldn't have kids of their own so they decided to adopt. They had prayed for years for God to give them a baby and now they were so close now having met our EG girl. 

This past Thursday, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with beautiful dark hair and a little heart-shaped face. She was overwhelmed with love to actually finally meet her baby that had been growing inside of her. She got to spend 48 hours with the baby at the hospital before papers were to be signed. She spent every moment during the day loving and caring for the baby and then let the adoptive family have the nights. They got a hospital room right next to birth moms and stayed the night bonding and caring for the baby as well. This baby got SO much love in just 2 short days! Exactly 48 hours later, it was time for the papers to be signed. We all met at our church to have some time for birth parents and adopted parents to sign all the paperwork. After that was done we met in one of the admin rooms with close family and friends of both families. A pastor shared from his heart (in between lots of tears) of how brave and courageous he thought the birth mom was as well as how amazing the adopted family was (he was related to them). The friends and family of the adopted family all shared how much love and care this baby would be getting and that they couldn't wait to add her to their family. The friends of the birth mom and dad just shared how touched by their courage and bravery and how effected they were by their selfless act of love. The entire room was crying, touched by all the words spoken. The birth mom was holding the baby the whole time, crying, and looking into the eyes of her baby. Seriously ... amazing. 

The pastor and families dedicated the baby girl to God and prayed an amazing prayer. And then there was the hand-off - from one mom to another. They hugged and cried. 

I've been checking on the birth mom - she said overall she was doing good. Just has moments of crying for no reason and sometimes she can't stop. Not because she has regrets, she just misses her and wants to hold her again. She has an open adoption and will see the baby again in a few months. I think it will all get easier with time. 

I feel so honored to walk this season of life with a young girl ... to hold her hand and cheer her on. I have been the one completely changed and touched. 

The few times we have been able to witness this step of faith, I think about how Moses's mom must have felt when the King ordered for all the babies to be killed. She was so scared and wanted to save her baby. She looked for the perfect basket, the size of her baby and that would hold the weight and float. She kissed her baby one last time, placed her baby in a basket, prayed that God would keep her baby safe - from alligators or the enemy, and then gave that push to send him down the river. Can you imagine the courage and bravery that took? I would have been hysterical!! This act of courage and trust in God ended up changing the world. Moses ended up leading all His people to freedom.  God used him BIG .... and it all goes back to one woman who made the hard choice to give  up her baby. 

It just puts life back into perspective. All the small, petty stuff we get upset about ... it is just silly. God called us to care for the orphans and the widows. This birth mom's story will bring so much hope to young girls finding themselves in an unplanned pregnancy. 

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." {James 1:27}

Praise

I haven't blogged in a while - just a lot of really fun, cool stuff happening. I love serving a God that is SO cool! 

 

OK so big news in the Ford household ... we're having another baby! Due in November and we found out today that it's a baby boy. Jess and girls are so happy and of course, daddy is ecstatic. This one will be going into kindergarten when Jess goes into college, Ryan says it will make him less sad when Jess goes off to college. :-)

We're talking about names. I've always liked Jett for a boy name. And Ryan's late grandmother was apparently a great basketball player when she was in school and her nickname was "Jet" and even when she became a grandmother, her name was "granny jet" - that's what everyone called her. I never had the privilege of meeting her because she passed away before Ryan and I were married but it would be kind of cool to carry that on - plus it's just a cool name. The only negative is that Jett and Jess are really similar ... might get confusing. 

Our other option, which really I'm thinking is what I'm leaning towards, I LOVE JUDAH - for several reasons. First of all, it means PRAISE. I think that's so awesome. A lot of people do not know this but Ryan used to be a worship leader and even write worship music. He can play guitar and piano and he is awesome. I would love for this baby to get some of those musical genes and be my little rock star. Second of all, I love the story about how Judah was born in the Bible. Jacob fell in love with Rachel and he worked for 7 years so he could marry her. After 7 years, he talked to Rachels dad and he decided to give Jacob Rachel's sister Leah instead. Jacob was upset because that is not who he loved so Rachel's dad said he had to work another 7 years to get Rachel. So Jacob worked another 7 years and finally got Rachel so he was then married to Leah and Rachel - sisters. Leah was always so jealous of Rachel because Jacob always loved her more. Rachel could not have any kids so Leah thought, well I'll just give Jacob kids and then he'll love me more. She had #1, #2 and #3 and named them all super sad names. Her plan wasn't working and he still loved Rachel more. She got pregnant with #4 and decided, she was not going to be unhappy and live the way she has been anymore - she was just going to praise God even when it was hard - so she named #4 - JUDAH (PRAISE). 

Although I can't relate to the feeling of not being loved, I've definitely had ups and downs in my life but my God has stayed constant. I just feel like I'm at a point in my life of so much gratitude and just in awe by this amazing God I serve. I just want to praise him - me and my family, including my little rock star. 

So we shall see - oh and I love the middle name Brave. It's just gonna happen because it's awesome. Judah Brave. 

PS I've been busy writing a book - I'm so excited about it. Loving LIFE! LIVING IT! 

Words of Life featured in Destiny in Bloom

Check out my article here on Destiny in Bloom today!! 

 

http://destinyinbloom.com/words-of-life/

Embrace Grace baby shower - help us make a difference <3

 

Hello everyone! 

 

It's time again to put together the Spring Semester Baby shower for the single and pregnant girls of Embrace Grace. 

 

This semester we have 19 girls in our class. 

 

* all between 16-23 years old (most around 18 or 19)

* 8 are still in high school

* 18 year old pregnant with twin girls

* some are "dating" their baby daddies

* the rest are totally alone

* 17 are keeping their babies

* 2 are making the courageous decision to sacrifice their body for 9 months to save their baby's life and bless another family that have fervently prayed for their miracle baby

 

But they all have 1 thing in common ... HOPE.  They have been hand-picked by God for such a time as this, to turn their life around. In the words of one of our sweet alumni, "God gave me this baby to save my life." 

 

We have a special event to bless a girl with items that they need for their baby at a big group baby shower and we have it scheduled for Sunday, March 20th at 2:00 pm at Paradise Cove at Lake Grapevine. We are in need of groups to "adopt a girl" and buy designated items that they need and bring wrapped to the baby shower. It will be a time of celebration for the life they are carrying and that they chose to save in spite of their circumstances and it being unplanned. 

 

We are in need of groups or individuals to help purchase gifts for the shower :-)

 

If your group is small, we can give you a partial list and split with another small group. If your group is large, you can have an entire list (or if your group is HUGE, we can give you 2!). Or if you are an individual and not part of a group and still would like to help, we can give you some options to purchase for a girl. 

 

Also for the girls choosing adoption, we give them individual "Celebrations of Life" parties and we shower them with items to give them a fresh start after they have their baby and bless another family. One of the girls is due in May and another is due in July so they will be later in the summer but let us know if you would like to help with that as well. 

 

Feel free to email back with any questions or you can call me at 817-501-7856 - just pray and if the Lord leads you go support these girls, just let us know! 

 

We are excited about what God is doing already in these girls - we have had 1 salvation already! 

 

Thank you for all you do, and please keep all these courageous mommas in your prayers. 

 

Love, Amy Ford

 

PS - PLEASE "SHARE" this NOTE!!! And keep it going until our lists are covered!!! 

 

 

 

What Dream Has HE placed inside of you?

What dream has HE placed inside of you?

 

God has placed HIS dream inside of you. He is a dream giver.

You know the kind of dream I’m talking about, the one that came to you out of the blue, but you just can’t get it out of your head. Maybe you’ve tried to push the thought away because of fears or excuses, but it continues to captivate your thoughts. You can’t deny that it sparks an excitement in your heart to imagine that dream actually becoming a reality!

 

So what IS keeping your dream from becoming a reality?

 

• Does His dream for you seem really big, or maybe even impossible? (that IS the way He rolls, ya know)

Now to him WHO IS ABLE to do FAR more abundantly than ALL we ask or think, according to the power at work WITHIN us.

Eph. 3:20

 

• Is your idea non-traditional or never been done before?

Most traditions are boring and boring is SO last year! (and the year before and the year before and the year before, etc) God likes to keep it fresh.

Behold, I am doing a NEW thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I WILL make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

 

• Did you share with someone what God has been stirring in your heart and the other person said something that discouraged you?

First of all, how rude. Second, of course Satan will try to send someone that gets your dreams a little clouded up by critics. He knows how God rolls too and wants to stop it before you even take the first step. Team Jesus wins every time so stay focused on His promises for you.  Third, God said that His people are peculiar and He likes it – we have been set apart from the world.

But ye are a CHOSEN generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a PECULIAR people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9

 

•  Do you disqualify yourself because of  your past, your finances, feeling not qualified, failure, procrastinate for later or just “too busy”? Hey I can come up with a lot more than that for myself but who’s counting because the key phrase is “do you disqualify yourself” ... so who DOES qualify us? I’m pretty certain that the last I checked, God got me where I am today and HE is who qualified me. He isn’t going to plant an amazing dream inside you and then say “oh sorry, I forgot that you’re a little busy right now, I’ll try again later.” Wake up! You gotta look beyond yourself and YOUR ability because with God, ALL things are possible.

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

 

So by now you might be thinking “who is this chick and how does she know?” Well #1 because the Bible tells me so and #2 I’m smack-dab in the middle of walking out a dream God placed in my heart almost 3 years ago at a Pink Impact conference. During worship, out of the blue, He put a spark inside of me that stuck. I got all excited when I thought about it but would immediately roll through all those questions listed above and begin to talk myself out of it. But God kept doing things to confirm the dream and the first was he brought me a friend, accountability sister, another PINK girl, Salina Duffy that God planted the very same desires into her heart the same day as He did mine.

 

So what now?  We knew we couldn’t just wait for everything to fall into alignment  before we started and have the plan laid out like a beautiful blue print with everything perfect. It required faith and trust. And it required us to make a move.

 

We took a step, He was there and answered. We took another step, He was there and showed off. We took another step, He overwhelmed us with His awesome power. I could write a book about this exciting 3 year ride we’ve been on (and who knows, I’m not gonna limit God). So for the sake of space, here are the cliff notes:

March 2008: Dream planted in our hearts to help the “mommies and the babies” – to offer support to the young, single and pregnant.

April 2008: Met with Gateway pastors and was approved to begin a life group the following fall.

May 2008: Narrowed down our life group name to “the” one – Embrace Grace.

June 2008: Researched throughout for “single and pregnant” curriculum to no avail. Salina then googled “Embrace Grace” and a little book popped up by Liz Curtis Higgs called Embrace Grace (yep God’s awesome) - SO absolutely perfect for our teaching.

August 2008: Part of our dream was to be able to bless the girls with baby items needed through a baby shower but we didn’t know where these donations would come from. A Pink girl came up to us and offered her life group to bless us through “Groups Give” and other groups followed … all needs were met.

September 2008: 1^st semester of Embrace Grace began with 3 young and scared girls that had nowhere else to turn. Some had not even decided if they were keeping the baby. Through the class, they took their eyes off their present circumstances and turned their eyes to Him – that’s when they had a sparkle back in their eye, financial situations changed, relationships were restored. It’s when their life changed.

December 2008: Ended semester with a Princess Day – they were pampered by a hair team, make up team, and massage team. We crowned them and told them whose they were – their Heavenly Daddy’s. We took communion and burned all of our wounds and sins in a fire – letting go of their past and looking ahead into this new season. We ended the night with a 4-course meal including filet mignon on fine china laid out on a table fit for a King and His princess. 

 

Fast forward to December 2010:

-34 girls have gone through the Embrace Grace program

-32 girls chose to keep their babies and 2 girls chose to bless the lives of families that have fervently prayed for a miracle baby by making the courageous and selfless choice of adoption.

-Salvations occurred during each semester

-Countless miracles that me and Salina have front row seats to that happen to the girls, as well as within ourselves

-75% of these girls are actively involved in Embrace Grace, even after their session ends, eager to be sharing their own story, helping the new single and pregnant girls that make it into our class

-Churches in the local area heard about Embrace Grace and either promoted or made large donations of gifts to girls and organized fundraisers within their own church to help

-Women locally and some even in other states, calling, praying and working with their own churches to lead an Embrace Grace class themselves

-In process of Embrace Grace becoming a 501c3 org to help as many girls locally as possible and also helping churches nationally with lesson plans and program planning

 

This has been the most fulfilling and life-changing experience of my entire life. All that has happened so far is not because Salina and I, it’s ALL Him. All we did was took that first step, then listened and waited for the next move, then the next. He just needs us to hear, believe and obey. I love the quote, “He doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called” because neither I nor Salina was in any way equipped … but every step of the way He equipped us as we needed. We’ve never been short on gifts for the shower. We’ve never not had enough volunteers to make all these events happen, We’ve never been short on money to not fulfill all the ideas God had. He never left us hanging – He always had our backs.

 

We’re not here on earth to satisfy our earthly needs and coast through life like a robot. Flimsy earthly wishes leave you feeling empty and hollow inside, never quenching the constant hunger for more in life that only God-given dreams can do. We’re here to LIVE. We’re here to fulfill the dreams and destinies God placed in our hearts that day, and the only way we can fully LIVE that John 10:10 abundant life, is to obey regardless of  your present circumstances. And man, it is SO worth it. I have never in my life felt so passionate about a cause and filled with so much purpose and joy.

 

So back to my question, what has HE placed inside you? What is the first step that you need to take in order to fulfill His dream? God is stirring something inside of you and it’s time to move.  Whether it’s global missions, advocate for a cause your passionate about, starting a ministry, starting a life group, serving or volunteering, or homeschooling, or something that has never been done before, don’t limit God. He is not a God that is contained in a box. He is big and He is creative. What dream gets you all giddy inside when you think about it? Take a step, He’ll be with you and never fail you.

 

“…for He who is in you is greater than He that is in the world.”

1 John 4:4 

 

Embrace Grace

 We had an awesome semester - 14 girls. 

Ages 15-29. 

13 kept their baby. 

1 blessed another family with her baby. 

2 salvations. 

1 rededication. 

14 had an encounter with Jesus and finished the semester changed. 

5 leaders in awe of how God's love changes the most hard circumstances. We have front row seats to the coolest things. Thankful this work God gave to us - to love on his strong mommas. 

 

{ford family christmas newsletter}

:: 2010 ::

This year FLEW by. Seriously I can't believe I'm already writing out 2010 newsletter! I want time to just stop for like a month so I can catch my breath! It has been a really GOOD year and a really crazy year too. God has been preparing us for something great - we're excited to see what God has for us. We are so thankful for all the amazing people that He has placed in our lives that encourage and pray for us regularly. We have felt it this year! God has brought us so many new friends that we feel like we have known forever. We love our church, Gateway. We still stay really involved with all the fun ministries/activities, leading Embrace Grace and all of the kids camps/activities the kids do and serving at Pink Impact. 

 The kids still love their school {Oakridge}. It’s our 4th year and they have made so many friends. It seems like they have friend plans every weekend.  Jess is in 6th grade making all A's and Mackenzie is in 3rd grade and making A's and B's. Landry is going to a new school that is right by Ryan's office called Mildred Haupt Preschool - it is a part of the Arlington Heights United Methodist school. Landry loves it and likes having a backpack and lunch box and being crafty and having fun :-) She is in Pre-K but since she is the baby I think we'll make her do Pre-K one more time. 

 As for the ever-looming question of if we should move or not, we decided to stay where we are and settle in. With our church in NRH/Southlake, kids school in Arlington and Ryan's office in Fort Worth, we decided to just stay put. No matter where would move, it would require driving so why not stay put.  So we've been settling in and decorating more. It's been SO fun. I just wish I was a billionaire because it's expensive to decorate!! 

 

 {update on ford’s} 

 

landry rose: My little baby girl is 4 years old now. It seems like she jumped from a baby to a little girl this year. She still has the strong-will and is tiny and mighty but with a sweet and tender heart under that feisty nature. She keeps up with her big brother and sister and doesn't even realize how she is little. I don't want her to grow up! 

mackenzie ryan: Kenzie is in 3rd grade this year and is a social butterfly. She always talks about her friends at school and who said what on the playground. She LOVES people. She is a free spirit and is always in a good mood. She is happy and content. She is on the swim team and having fun with that as well as tried soccer for the first time and surprised herself how much she enjoyed it. She is trying basketball next. She also has been playing the violin through lessons at Oakridge. Her favorite hobby is drawing - especially her favorite animal, horses. 

jess michael: Jess just turned 12 and I actually cried a little. He wears mens shoes and clothes now. taller than me  … but he is still my baby boy. Jess is so smart, and we really {really} have no idea where he gets it from. He has dedicated himself to his favorite sport this past year - baseball. Lots of private coaching, regular teams and select teams and has improved alot this year. He gets a break with baseball to do basketball this season. Jess eats, sleeps, breathes sports. Right when he wakes up he turns on ESPN to see highlights and scores of the games that he missed due to bedtime. We're ok with it since he does good on his grades. Sports is his passion - (I'm just glad it's not the girls yet). 

miscarriage: We had a wild hair and decided to try for a baby for 1 month (and make that 1 week because we got nervous haha). we got pregnant of course being "fertile myrtle" here, but we lost the baby at 8 weeks pregnancy in June. We still go back and forth about trying again but I would say today as I'm writing this, we're leaning towards not but it really depends on the day. it's hard to start all over when your youngest will be 5 this year ... but then we always thought another little boy would be sweet. so one of these days we'll figure it out. who knows, maybe we'll adopt someday <3

baxter: Our 1 and only dog we've ever had as a family ran away in March. It was SO sad and mackenzie STILL makes lost dog posters and is looking for him. We're hoping Ryan will buy us a new one this year :-)

ryan: Ryan has been busy working but he loves it. He has enjoyed his insurance agency relocation in the cultural district of Ft. Worth. Fun restaurants, shopping and atmosphere. His other business, Keystone Merchant Services (credit card processing) has had a great year as well as his Farmers agency. Ryan made some new year resolutions that stuck this past year, he lost 60 pounds and still going! He changed up his eating patterns and dedicated himself to working out, even if it is 11:00 at night. He looks SO good. 

me: I am SO excited about this past year. I have been working with Ryan helping out where needed with Farmers & Central Risk. He fires me every other day but it just keeps me on my toes lol! As most of you know, I co-lead a group called Embrace Grace – a support group for single pregnant women. We just finished our 5th semester with a total of {34} girls that have gone through the program so far  and their lives have been changed because they turned their broken hearts to God. I am so blessed to be a small part of God’s big plan for this group. Our plan for this next year is to take EG as a 501c3 non-profit org. We want to be able to help all we can with the single and pregnant girls in the community, but also to be able to help churches across the nation start Embrace Grace and help. The girls have been so impacted by the group that most want to come back to volunteer and help the new girls coming in. 32 babies now have moms that have more freedom and understand better what grace really means and 2 babies have been given to a wonderful family that have prayed for years for their miracle baby. I am finishing out prior commitments to other things I'm involved in but this year planning to devote all my focus to my family and Embrace Grace. The Lord has even been stirring a book in my heart to write. Every day is an adventure – a Zoe life. {John 10:10}

So in 1 word or phrase, this is what each of us learned in 2010: 

Ryan - Patience. 

Amy - Discipline in my Passion. 

Jess - Practice. 

Mackenzie - Forgive. 

Landry - I'm Hungry. 

Don’t waste another breath without knowing Jesus.  You can keep up with us the same way you always have – phone, office, email, facebook or my blog!  Have a blessed 2011!

 

amy ford                                                                   ryan ford

817.501.7856                                                      817.437.2982

aford@ryanfordinsurance.com                  ryan@ryanfordinsurance.com

www.amyford.com                                          www.ryanfordinsurance.com

817.285.7000 (office)                                      1.877.702.5189 (fax)

 

{dream big • give big • love big • live big}

 

Holiday 2010 Photo Shoot

One of my most creative and oldest of friends shot some awesome pics of our family out at White Rock Lake and they turned out SO awesome!!! Our kids are getting BIG! Check out www.ButterflySparks.com - Vanessa Warren is so so Good! 

 

Vanessa asked Jess and Mackenzie to write down on chalkboard what they wanted to be when the grew up ... I thought for sure Jess was going to put coach or baseball or something like that - was so wrong but I'm so proud! 

Little Mackenzie LOVES animals!! 

Everyone should have an Amy!

And I am lucky enough to have TWO!

via pinkchocolate.typepad.com

My friend Angel started her new blog!! check it out! She will have insight on decor, partying and what God is doing in her life. She posted her first blog and she talks a little about me too :-) Bookmark it and keep up with her - she is a lot of fun and totally inspiring! 

NEWS:

Embrace Grace is going non-profit! We're raising money for all the legal/accounting/filing fees but God is already doing His awesome thing because groups and friends are coming out of the woodwork to help! With donations that come in, we want to be able to help the girls on a bigger scale ... even go into the high schools. Also, we want to implement programs that other churches can start Embrace Grace programs across the nation. There are girls everywhere that need help and we want to raise awareness and talk to churches about how they can help girls in their own communities. It's still just a fresh spark of an idea that God keeps building on and building on. We will still continue to be under the covering and guidance of Gateway. We'll even have 1 or 2 pastors on the board. God has confirmed to move forward with this in more ways than 1 so we are taking a step of faith and going for it. 

 

We're excited to see what God has in store for his princesses. He loves these ladies so much - we do not want these little mommas to have to walk this road out alone and honor them for choosing LIFE. 

 

Please be praying for Embrace Grace and we'll keep you posted!