Lucky Few: Finding God's Best in the Most Unlikely Places - Softcover

Heather Avis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0310345464 ISBN 13: 9780310345466

Publisher: Zondervan Trade, 2017

Synopsis

When life looks radically different than the plan we have for ourselves, it's the lucky few that recognize God's plan is best. That's what adoptive mom Heather Avis learned, and that's the invitation of this book. As the mother of three adopted children - two with Down syndrome - Heather Avis has learned that it's truly the lucky few who get to live a life like hers, who actually recognize that God's plans are best, even when they seem so radically different from the plans we have for ourselves. When Heather started her journey into parenthood she never thought it would look like this, never planned to have three adopted children, and certainly never imagined that two of them would have Down syndrome. But like most things God does, once she stepped into the craziness and confusion that comes with the unknown and the unplanned, she realized that they were indeed among the lucky few. Discover in this book what 70,000+ followers of Heather's hit Instagram account @macymakesmyday already know: the power of faith and family can help us stay strong in the toughest times. This book will also be especially touching to those with adopted family members or children with Down syndrome in their lives.

About this title

Review:

A page turner. A hope giver. A life changer. Lucky are those who read these pages---their hearts will explode with the joy that we all truly get to be the luckiest of all.---Ann Voskamp, author of the New York Times bestsellers The Broken Way and One Thousand Gifts

I absolutely love this book. I love Heather Avis dearly, and her warmth and passion and fierce love come through on every page. This is a story about adoption, about family, about special needs . . . and really, more than anything, it's a story about faith. I'm so incredibly inspired by the way Heather listens to God's voice, and as I put down this book, I prayed for more of that kind of faith in my own life.--Shauna Niequist, author of Savor and Present Over Perfect

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the task before you, you will find a companion in this book. This book details the incredible adventure of the Avis family as they face some of life's greatest challenges and turn them into beautiful opportunities. It gives each of us hope in our own journey full of insurmountable odds.--Donald Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Like Jazz and Scary Close

Heather is a modern-day superwoman goddess warrior with a heart that is brave and true. She doesn't pretend parenting is easy or that she hasn't faced darkness and been broken many times over. But she is honest. She chooses to risk every time. She chooses love every time, and even in the face of great struggle, she has said yes and jumped. Heather's face showed up for me the moment I was crumbling. I was scared for our daughter, and her words breathed hope right into my trembling soul. This book will make your heart and arms open wide. It may cause your family to grow in numbers or move you to hold close the babies you have---plus ugly cry. It may cause all these things. This book is a testament to the power of a mother's love.--Lisa Gungor, songwriter, musician, and other half of musical collective "Gungor"

With profound honesty, Heather Avis describes the bold journey she and Josh took into the world of Down syndrome and adoption---a journey where "joy and sorrow are so perfectly interwoven." The Lucky Few is a story filled with metaphors of hope: beauty shaped from the shards of broken dreams, stars of light bursting through darkness, fragile heartbeats filling the lonely silence. But beneath the hopeful metaphors are the hard, daily choices to trust God with life-threatening surgeries, with unexpected birth families, with overwhelming feelings of inadequacy, with moments when bravery feels remarkably like "wanting to puke." I intended to scan this book quickly, but couldn't. I had to read slowly, in part because the story was so utterly captivating, but equally because God was using Heather's words to challenge me to be braver, to be more willing to step into the unknown, to be more prayerful and trusting. Thank you, Heather (and amazing husband, Josh!) for living and sharing The Lucky Few.--Lynne Hybels, advocate for global engagement, Willow Creek Community Church, and author of Nice Girls Don't Change the World

Heather Avis is an inspiration as a mom and as a woman. If I didn't know her personally, I would wonder if the grace pouring through her words was authentic. But she is the real deal, and her story of love makes me want to be a better mother and a better person.--Laura Tremaine, writer and podcaster

The Lucky Few is a beautiful and compelling story about the transformation of fear into hope. As you read about the Avis's journey, you'll be inspired to imitate their courageous surrender to the life-changing invitation of Jesus.--Mike Erre, host of the VOXPodcast and team leader at VOX Christian Community

Heather Avis's words and story exemplify one of the hardest but most beautiful truths in motherhood---that you cannot predict the path on which it will lead you, but if you show up wholeheartedly, willing to be stretched by love, the greatest joy you've ever known is guaranteed to light the way. I'm inspired to stir up more areas of "comfortable noes" in my life and see, as Heather has beautifully shown us, how life expands into more grace and joy with a simple yes.--Kelle Hampton, author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Bloom

When I first met Heather Avis, I was drawn to her family's story because we share a love for foster care and adoption. But The Lucky Few is about so much more. Heather shows us what it means to seek after the heart of God, and she inspires us to do the same. You'll want to buy this book for everyone you know.--Andy Stanley, communicator, author, and pastor

What started as a social hashtag has turned into a movement for the way we look at our lives. In The Lucky Few, Heather Avis shares a story that is honest, raw, hopeful, and deeply inspiring. May we all see the world---and its people---through this beautiful lens.--Rachel Hollis, author and lifestyle expert (TheChicSite.com)

About the Author:

Heather is the author of The Lucky Few and a popular speaker, podcaster, and Instagrammer. She is a wife to her loving and supportive husband, Josh, and mother to Macyn, Truly, and August. They live in Southern California.

About this edition

• Publisher: Zondervan Trade
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0310345464
• ISBN 13: 9780310345466
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224