BIG news :)

No, I'm not pregnant.

I always feel like I need to clarify because anytime someone says they have big news it seems like they are preggers. Jess is. Does that count?

I have been chomping at the bit to share some really exciting news with you all and everything is falling into place amazingly well. Jess and I are so happy to let you all in on what has been going on behind the scenes at Bloom.

We LOVE this book club, and we so believe in what it will continue to do, and we are OVERJOYED to announce that it is not only going to continue, but do so in a way that will make it even better.

For the past year and a half, we have been involved with DaySpring's (In)Courage, and I cannot tell you what this group of ladies mean to both of us. When they approached me initially about being one of their contributers I was totally overwhelmed and told Jess I didn't think I could manage it, but she said, "Ang, I think you should make time. These girls are really special, and I think you'll kick yourself if you don't."

She was (as usual) 100% right, and if you could see the way my inbox fills on a weekly basis with the prayers, love, and support of this community of women, you would believe me. Not only do we respect every single lady involved in (in)courage, we believe in the mission and the hearts of everyone involved in creating this place of refuge. I finally got to meet a bunch of them at Relevant, and I can't tell you all the joy it gave me to connect with the real deal and to know they were exactly what I had hoped.

So, when they approached us about combining Bloom as the book club arm of (in)courage, we were ecstatic. For the past several months we have been hammering out details (and by "we" I mean Jess. I just nodded a lot and decided she was even smarter than I thought), and we are thrilled to announce that we have officially merged with (in)courage.

What does all this mean for you? Well, there's good news and more good news.

Unless you are sick of me and Jess, in which case there is good news and not-so-good-news.

While Bloom will now be featured on the (in)courage site, not much will change from a practical standpoint - you will just now find Bloom on incourage.me instead of here.

It was really important to us that the integrity of Bloom was maintained, as well as the mission of being able to provide books to those who can't afford them. I am so happy to tell you that not only have they embraced this model, but they have made it more efficient and generous than this little 2-woman team would have been able to.

As far as the videos and such, it will still be our smiling faces you see, but you will have a MUCH larger community and many more opportunities to connect with one another, which is such an important component to the ministry of (in)courage.

We would love to answer any questions you might have, but in the meantime please make sure to hop over here and sign up for the new and improved Bloom (in)courage book club.

In addition, the Bloom blogfrog community is going to now be a part of the (in)courage blogfrog community (for simplicity sake). We hope that you will join it, knowing that you will be well-loved and much prayed-for in this new haven.

I can't thank (in)courage enough for not only embracing what we had begun, but loving our "baby" like it was their own, and watching it blossom (pun fully intended) has been such an amazing answer to prayer.  With work, parenting, writing, and on and on, Jess and I felt so bad when there were delays with posts/videos etc, and this will allow us to do what we love to do and have the support we need to do it well. It's the new and improved Bloom....aaahhhh...

Next Monday, January 17, we will announce the title of the next book selection. We have never been so excited about a book. It is going to be life-changing (it has already greatly impacted our lives). We have already shot ALL the videos and you are in for a treat.

Feel free to hop over to (in)courage today to see the introduction video we made for the site. Jess and I cracked ourselves up - and you will likely laugh at with us too.

We will see you soon, and we can't wait to share our next book journey with you sweet friends.

All our love,
Ang and Jess