The Chick Inn found me after experiencing great loss and tragedy at twenty-three years old. I had just been wed and widowed within a few weeks of each other and so, I began a long journey through my grief. During that time I had moved into my home that housed a chicken coop that was fondly named The Chick Inn by those who built it. In the early months of my grief, the chickens would call to me in the early morning, begging me to get out of bed, inviting me into the world outside my sorrow. Many mornings near the coop called me to reflect on the simple beauty that did exist in a world I had begun to lose hope in. Whether it was the discovery of another morning's provision of chicken eggs, or a nest of baby cardinals beside my window, I found the promise that new life was coming and that I could allow hope to stir once more.

The mantra written in this book, "Get up. Make a choice. Chase the promise.", is a story from my memoir about my grief "Until Heaven Parts Us" in which that phrase ran through my head over and over years before I was ever wed or widowed, and the words came back 'round when I needed them the most.

I pray this simple story about a tiny farm can help you muster the courage on the mornings that you just don't want to get up, helps you reflect on your choices with the knowledge that his mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), and draws you and your family towards the promise that we are given a hope and a future in Jesus (Jeremiah 29:11).

I pray that this book ushers you into conversations with your children about starting your morning with hope. I pray it allows you to discuss the choice to follow Jesus each and every day, and guides you and your little ones to the abundant promises Jesus makes.