I recently had the opportunity to help tell the story of two of my friends named Jeremy and Nicole.

I won’t write their whole story here, because you can and should watch them tell it in the video below. But just to convince you to press play, I’ll get things started. To say Jeremy and Nicole have had a challenging few years would be an understatement. When their first son, Toby, was born, they discovered he had something called GRACILE syndrome. He struggled to survive, and sadly they lost him at two months of age.

They also discovered that, because GRACILE was a genetic disorder (an extremely rare one at that), each of the rest of their children would have a 25% chance of having GRACILE. In the video they share about their decision making process to try again, giving birth to a healthy child named Levi. Once more they decided to try, but their third son, Lucas, was also diagnosed with GRACILE syndrome. Despite knowing this 3 months into pregnancy, they chose to carry Lucas to term and give birth so they could meet him, if even for a short time.

It’s a tragic story, but one filled with God’s grace. How they can trust and love God through times like this is beyond me, but perhaps they can help you understand in this video:

It is a great reminder that no matter what you go through, God can grant you peace and offer you His presence. Jeremy put it this way,

“We started out the journey just wanting God to heal Toby. That was it pretty much, that’s who God was in that situation to us. He has to come in and heal. By the end of the journey, we felt like we could see God completely clearly, being right there with us, standing with us as Toby died. We came to know that God was there and that God is good, even in a situation like that.”

I was recently interviewed by Tammy Helfrich for her “Life Changers” series. Tammy is committed to helping others realize that their voice matters and to embrace their story. The Life Changers series is “about people like you and me, who decided to do something different. They decided to change their life, or the lives of others around them.”

In the interview, I share some of the lessons we’ve learned since moving overseas. You can read the full interview here: LifeChangers: No More Ordinary. Here is a little preview:

Tammy: What was the breaking point for you? What made you say “enough of ordinary”?

Evan: My wife and I had discussed moving overseas since before we married. In the beginning, I thought it was just a pipe dream. One night, however, she spoke about it with such vivid hope that something dawned on me. “Maybe this isn’t a ridiculous idea, maybe God has laid this on our hearts for a reason.” We prayed about it every night for two years, and the more we prayed about it, they more we wanted to do it.

There were two major breaking points for us. First, I never wanted to just talk about dreams and then never go after them.

I believe if you have a dream, you need to go after it. (Tweet that!) 

You might fail, but I think failure is much better than never trying. Secondly, we were tired of being so busy all the time. Both of us were working full time and in night school. We wanted to actually experience our newlywed years together, and we wanted to go on an adventure together. So we moved to the other side of the world!

To read the rest of the interview, where I discuss trusting wholly on God, stepping out of comfort zones, and the terrors of driving on the left side of the road, head on over here. While you’re at it, check out Tammy’s blog and say hey in her comments section!

Today, we’d like for you to meet our friend Jason Young. Jason is not only a successful entrepreneur, but an incredible husband and father.  I (Brian) have looked to Jason for wisdom and coaching over the last several years, and God has used him to breathe courage into me like few ever have. Enjoy!

#LF: What do you believe your purpose is?

I believe that my purpose is to equip influencers (leaders). This can take on different appearances, but at the end of the day I want to have equipped influencers. I look at purpose like a filter. If I have an idea or opportunity and it doesn’t make it through the filter, I know that it is not for me. Here are three examples of how I am living out my purpose right now:

(1) I am coaching a leader how to create remarkable experiences in their large church.

(2) I spoke to several thousand college students last week about how to increase their influence by deciding how they are influenced.

(3) I partnered with a popular and respectable publishing company in order to crowd source conference notes, and make them immediately available in a blog post format and all speaker sessions in a single free PDF download.

#LF: How are you working to impact your sphere of influence?

I have always worked through relationships. More specifically, I discover channels that people find important and work hard to add value there. Why this approach? If they already pay attention to those self-identified channels, why would I not begin where they already find value?

I often like to surprise and delight leaders in my sphere of influence. People are accustomed to the day-in and day-out routine of life. So, when a surprise meets them in the middle of their day, you would be amazed at how this can be a microburst of impact. I find many leaders today want to impact their space with notable moves and sensation-worthy attention. I find the opposite to be more my style and, to me, more deeply valued. Continue Reading…

Today we interview Christine Niles. She is a writer and corporate refugee with a heart for orphans, and a mother of two girls adopted from Ukraine at ages 12 and 14.  She is also the author of “The Secret No One Tells You: a manifesto for the discouraged.”  Christine blogs about adoption, parenting, and making a difference in the world at www.riverofthoughts.com.  Follow her on Twitter @croyseniles.

#LF: Why are you so passionate about adoption?

The “right” answer is because God calls us to be, but the honest answer is simply because we’ve learned through personal experience how amazing a “written off” kid can be and how God makes beauty out of pain. The idea of a child’s potential being lost because I wouldn’t step out from my comfortable little life and open up my home and my heart?  Unacceptable.

#LF: What made you move from thinking about adoption to actually living it and doing it?

A scared little 12-year-old girl named Masha. We were busy enjoying our “dual income no kids” life of freedom and fun when we heard about a hosting program that brought kids (some adoptable, some not) to the US to stay with families and experience a little hope and love. Over the three weeks that we hosted her, she blossomed from a timid, scared girl to a vivacious, fun-loving kid.  She taught us about love in a way we never could have imagined on our own. Continue Reading…

As you’ve read before, my wife Morgan and I recently moved to New Zealand. Consider this the full account of the miraculous work God did to get us here smoothly.

Prayer Proceeds Miracles

We dreamed of moving here for years. The more we talked about it, the more we wanted to go. Eventually, we decided we needed to do more than talk about it, so we began to pray. And we did. Every single day.

We prayed for two years. We prayed for wisdom, we prayed for provision, we prayed for doors to open, and we prayed that God would guide our hearts in the right direction.

The more we prayed, the more our hearts gravitated towards New Zealand. Doors started to open and connections came about in the most unlikely places imaginable. We made our decision and on July 3, we boarded a plane and started the 31 hour journey to our new home. Continue Reading…

A few months ago I was given a Kreativ Blogger Award Nomination because of this site. This is as close to winning an Oscar as I’ll ever get, so I am quite honored. Now, just to be clear…this isn’t something that’s voted on, this is one where EVERYONE is a winner!  It’s a great way to recognize and spread blogging love.

Here’s what nominees do:

• Thank the person who nominated you
• Share a list of seven things about yourself.
• Nominate seven favorite blogs/bloggers for recognition.