UPDATED:::
Congratulations to the following 4 winners of a Wild Olive Tee! Winners, we will be getting in touch with you soon.
31) Kim, 82) Teish, 126) Sarah Stinnett, 174) Jessica
“Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.
Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!)
He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.” Ephesians 1:4-6
It wasn’t a particularly comfortable chair. Wicker, I think, with a thin padding. Like a worn, loose stuffed animal, I sat in that wicker chair and explained how I wanted to adopt a child one day. I wanted to take care of a little one, a neglected one who just needed to be loved. I wanted to hold them and nurture them, and give them security and warmth. I spoke with passion about my desire to adopt.
She said I wanted to adopt myself.
She told me that I was the little girl, sad and wanting for warmth, some affection, and nurture, and that my deep desire to adopt came from a deep lack of feeling adopted, taken in, loved myself. It was a revelation. And it only made me more steadfast to want to birth a child from the heart.
Oh, but adoption is so hard, right? Horror stories abound. “Bad” kids, tough experiences, life upheaval…this is adoption. The kids are just so “messed” up.
I was pretty messed up. I would do things that other little girls don’t do, and as I got older, I became “that” teenager. But you know, down beyond the mess was a just a little girl who wanted to be loved…really loved. And deep down, that’s what we all want; it’s what we all need. Imagine if you were that little girl that was tossed aside, neglected, last on the priority list. Can you feel that for a moment? No bedtime songs, no kisses and hugs, no hot meals on a cold day. Take it further and add some shame, perhaps from abuse, perhaps from not being good enough to be loved. How desperately you want to be loved! Your heart aches for tenderness and belonging. But no one comes, because you do weird things, and you act out, and you don’t know how to be good because good didn’t get you to far in your short life.
It’s obvious: you aren’t good enough to be loved.
Oh what a lie from the enemy! And what a lie we have believed that a child must be put-together, seamless enough, in order to be adopted so that we would not be disrupted from our comfortable, already too-tired lives. What a sad, sad view of the Father’s love for us.
You see my friend, you and I, we’re just a mess…we’re uncivilized and we do bad things (at the very least, we think them). We’re selfish, and we hurt people. But we try to be good, and we try to be kind; we’re all just trying to make it through and do the best we can. It’s not enough though, we’re still not good enough in the eyes of seamless. So a wild love swoops in and bleeds for us so that we can be adopted as children of God! The Father’s heart is adoption; taking a broken heart and making it new.
We have the opportunity to be like our Father when we choose love.
Love adopts the ruffian and loves them besides themselves.
But let’s be honest, sometimes we don’t know where to start, and sometimes, the thought of adopting can be overwhelming. While my hope is that you will consider birthing a heart child, I also want to show you a way that you can be a part of the Father’s heart in regard to adoption.
Wild Olive Tees actively supports two organizations that help orphans: An Orphan’s Wish in China and Sixty Feet in Uganda. 10% of profits of Wild Olive Tees sales go to these organizations.
Even cooler Wild Olive adoption tees have been created as a means to help families fundraise for their impending adoption. Wild Olive’s goal is to partner with adoptive families to help them gain support from friends and family to offset the cost of their adoption, and in turn, help bring children home to their forever families!
So what can you do?
How about purchasing a few Christmas gifts from Wild Olive Tees this year? Their tees are super cute and comfortable; I speak from experience:
Me (with my brother) sporting a Wild Olive tee!
I wear my Wild Olive tee all the time. Seriously, the most comfortable, soft tee ever. What gal wouldn’t love one for Christmas?
Our (in)courage contributors share my crush on these tees. Wild Olive made us a special “Kind Words” tee with the verse from the Bloom (in)courage book club on it. How cool is that?
So, for me and on behalf of all the orphans who will benefit by your cuteness, will you sport a tee with me? Will you get one for a friend or family member for Christmas? You can go ahead and do that here.
And from the bottom of my heart, thank you. You are my hero.
By Sarah Mae, future heart child birther and writer at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee.
GIVEAWAY! We’re delighted to be giving away 4 Wild Olive Tees today!
Just leave us a comment sharing your favorite Wild Olive shirt before Thursday 12/8 at midnight EST- take a peek & get your verse on over here. And we’ll pick and announce winners by Friday 12/9.
FREE SHIPPING! on all Wild Olive purchases through Saturday 12/10 – just use code james127
…
Photo credit: Top two Wild Olive photos: Jessica Paige of One Willow
ABOUT SARAH MAE
Sarah Mae has a past that would be her present if it weren’t for Jesus; His wild saving grace and gentle leading keep her in awe. She is the wife of Jesse (her rock and super handy-man dude) and...
 on http://www.incourage.me){kind=link}
{ 197 comments… read them below or add one }
The Fear Not shirt. My husband and I are starting a small group on overcoming fear and it just fits so well!
Love Unfailing is my favorite… today.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE!! the unfailing love Tee!! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!
“By grace” is my favorite!!
I LOVE The ROOTED one. I have a thing for trees. :)
How lovely! I like the Redeemed one best.
Transform your mind. I kinda like that chicks funky hair. Love the verse and colors.
So loved. Beautiful!
I love the new God With Us tee!! Great design for Christmas and also as a year round reminder =0)
I like the Faith shirt and that color shown is beautiful! Thanks!
Oh I love their T-shirts!! I really like the one that says “rooted” ith the tree on the front… they are all so beautiful!!
I love Kind Words and Transform Your Mind.
Love the transform your mind shirt/hoodie/long sleeve shirt! Thank you so much for the opportunity! Merry Christmas!
Oh I love these! I’m torn between Redeemed and So Loved. Thank you for the chance to win!
I LOVE the new Christmas one “God with us”….but “Redeemed” is also a favorite!!
I love pretty much every single one of them…I am no good at making decisions…So.Pretty….
I like the God with Us and Follower ones. God has been impressing on me the power in just knowing He is with us and I love the look along with the verse of the follower one.
I like Beloved and Sing Praise. So pretty!
Thanks for the giveaway! I love the Beloved T-shirt.
I love the Rooted tee. I love the strength of trees and their roots and that is how I want to be..rooted in Christ!
Love the Rooted shirt because of how it reminds of who I am and Who I serve.
such wonderful stuff :: i was being a bit selfish and looked at the women’s shirts before the kids. i love the “because” and the “peace”. would be thrilled to win.
thanks,
shana
Great story! :) We just birthed a heart child…He was placed with us 2 weeks ago, and what a blessing he has been already!! He’s a five year old boy who has so much joy- it truly is unbelievable considering ALL he’s been through. Is it hard?? It’s uncomfortable… It’s learning a new routine with 4 kids instead of 3. It’s a whole new realm of Dr appts since he has a lung disease… But Jesus Christ has given me all the tools necessary to love HIS child for him. That being said… I love the “redeemed” shirt….although really they are ALL beautiful!!
I love the Redeemed shirt. How great would it be for everyone to know I have been redeemed
My favorite is the “Rooted” tee. :)
Love the Redeemed shirt! Beautiful!! Also love the Beauty from Ashes… Good stuff!!
my dad, in heaven now for 5 yrs(at age 92) was never adopted. the orphanage he grew up in disclipined with a ruler across the hand. because he never received unconditional love, he never knew how to give it; so i was left searching…until i experienced Love and Grace by my Heavenly Father. so the grace t shirt would be a lovely reminder.
Rooted and kind words are my favorites
My favorite tee is the By Grace one.
REDEEMED…love it! So cute!
I LOVE the Faith t-shirt with Hebrews 11:1 on the back. It my daughter’s and my favorite verse. I even used an illustration she did of the verse in a blog post I did on keeping the faith! The color of the tee is awesome too.
These are super cute! I love a few of them: peace, transform and rooted. Of course, I can’t take my eyes off of testify, either.
Very nice product!
By Grace or Because they are my faves!!
thank you for this giveaway!
I had never heard of these! THANKS for the introduction! I LOVE the long sleeve transform your mind!
I love the “By Grace” shirt.
I love the “by grace” tee!
The shirts are ALL gorgeous, but my fave is ‘So Loved’ … =)
kathy k
I love the Redeemed one!
Kind Words and Shine are two of my favorites~
By Grace is a fav!
they are all beautiful. i do love the rooted tshirt though
I like the “So Loved” The Kind Words the girls in the pictures are sporting are beautiful, too. Would love to be able to wear that when I am able to go back to work as a teacher, too, but didn’t see that on the site.
I love teh incourage tee!
I love the Rooted T – what a great company, thanks for sharing!
I’m torn between two: By Grace and Transform Your Mind.
I love them all really!
This post is a breath of confirmation. I’ve been toiling with how to give better gifts this year. Gifts that won’t tarnish with wear. Gifts that will stand the test of time.
The grey “redeemed” shirt is my favorite–that is the word I’ve been learning to claim over myself this year.
Love the Transform your mind, by Grace ~ love them all the colours are perfect for each one
I really like the “By Grace” and also the “Redeemed”. Great shirts to share the truth and be reminded of it yourself.
I really like the Beauty from ashes shirt.
I like the red “God with Us” shirt
I LOVE the Rooted shirt!!!
Do I really have to choose one favorite? :) I love “Because”, “Redeemed” and “Beauty From Ashes” … but then again, I LOVE all of these beautiful expressions of God’s love!
Love the Transform Your Mind hoodie. It’s never too late to add to the Christmas wish list!
so cute…redeemed is probably my favorite.
I like “Because” the best. :)
I love the “beloved” tee!
I like them all!!! I’m really drawn to the Beloved the best.
My favorite is the By Grace t-shirt, and I also really liked the in courage t-shirt you have pictures of above, but I didn’t see them on the site. Are those the give away t-shirts, or can we purchase them as well. I think all the designs are very beautiful!
So many…rooted and unfailing love!
This is love… Is a favorite. So is rooted and the incourage shirt.
I’m crazy about these! They’re great!
I love the SO LOVED black tee. It would make a great gift for my besties!
It is so hard to pick just one! But my favorite is the kid’s tee that says “Beloved”. I’d love that for my daughter whom we adopted from foster care 2 years ago and who still struggles with seeing her place as a beloved member of our family.
I love the Love Unfailing tee!
i love the rooted shirt
I love Wild Olive tees! I already have 3 and have bought one for my sister. If I won one, I would probably order a second one for her for her birthday. My favorite is Beauty from Ashes–although I love the new Christmas one too!
I love the By Grace one. Beautiful!
I like by Grace for me and the Beloved and Chosen and So Loved ones for kids. :)
I’ve long loved the “beloved” tee…
I like the “Transform your Mind” logo. It’s so pretty and eye-catching.
When I saw this giveaway my heart leapt. I have never seen this company before but as a new adoptive mother to a daughter with special needs. And a hopefully soon adoptive mother to another daughter with special needs. I couldn’t wait to see what they had to offer. Choosing was hard but then I saw the LOVE OTHERS tee in the adoption section. ADORE it! Almost cried when I saw it. It would be my choice in a heartbeat.
I love TRANSFORM YOUR MIND!!! Romans 12:2 is my life verse, so this one is quite fitting for me!! :)
I like “kind words” :)
Transform your mind! Love that one.
I’m inot the “faith” one for me — and the “shine” for my little one :)
I love the Redeemed shirt – long or short sleeve! I love that verse from Isaiah :-)
Wow, these are beautiful and such a testimony. I really like the long-sleeved “Redeemed” t-shirt!
LOVE the “chosen” tees, the “by grace” tees, and the new one “God with us”!!!!!!!
Love the “Love Unfailing and the Peace” tees.
Love all of them but favorite would be “Rooted” t-shirt!
I think my favorite is the “by grace” women’s shirt.
“By grace” is my favorite tee..Praise God for His mercy and grace..Merry Christmas…and blessings all
I kept coming back to the “By Grace” t-shirt.
I love Wild Olive tees. My favorite is Transformed, but I already have it. :) I think I like the Beauty From Ashes one next.
I would love to give my granddaughter the “Beloved” tee.
love the Love Unfailing tee. Would be great for my wife!
The “beloved” tee and the “redeemed” shirt.
Beloved Burnout. My best friend introduced me to going beyond the “good Christian girl” to the beloved daughter. She loves the color purple for its royalty. When I saw the tee, I knew it was for her.
I LOVE the long sleeve tee – with the Peace and dove –
:)
xoTiffany
I love the by grace t-shirt!
My favorite Wild Olive shirt is the black Transform Your Mind long sleeve tee! :)
My favorite is the Beauty from Ashes shirt! I love that verse because it shows who we are in Christ: beautiful and victorious!
Oh I love their shirts and stare at them all the time trying to decide on what ones…today I’m loving the Beauty for Ashes, Rooted, and Transform Your Mind! So cute!
What great shirts and messages. My favorite is Free Indeed.
Wow, what wonderful T-shirts! My favorite is the Redeemed shirt.
So many lovely ones, but I like Beauty from Ashes best. That verse is dear to my heart, and so are butterflies like the one included in the design. Thanks, (in)courage, for all the December giveaways!
There is NO WAY I could pickl just one. But I will be buying (more than!) one for gifts! What a great idea.
I love the “Love Others” t-shirt! You have wonderful shirts!
Such Beautiful Ecouragement, Beauty from Ashes.. Thank you!
The “Shine” yellow shirt is so pretty! (I’m definitely a small size) Love the bright sunshiney yellow! :)
My favorite is the “Peace” long-sleeved shirt in blue! (Small size) — Very tranquil with the dove of peace!
The blue Beauty from Ashes small size is lovely and very encouraging – thanks for the giveaway!
I really like the beloved burnout tee!
I really like the “beauty from ashes” shirt, it means so much to me, the message. Thanks so much for the chance to win it. I love their site and their shirts.
Transform your mind–yes, because we all need transformation to think and view and love differently. And there is always someone looking and watching who may need that nudge to be transformed. That is stewardship–fashionable stewardship! Cool Yule. Thanks! Sara
I really, really, reeeeeeeally LOVE the red God is With Us Christmas shirt!!!!
These are beautiful! I liked the unfailing Love one.
Transform Your Mind and Shine!
I love the TRANSFORM YOUR MIND tee. But, the new Christmas tee is beautiful! I often buy tees to support adoptions.
I love the “because” tee best!
I love the Transform Your Mind tee.. the verse is so meaningful to me, and the shirt is so cute as well :)
The “Love Others” shirt resonated deeply with me. I feel God has done so much for me that I’m called to give my life to others… The Isaiah 1:17 verse is what I try to make every day about–I work for nonprofits to help share God’s love with those who are lost, forgotten, and hurting. I often quote the Micah 6:8 call to “do justice, love mercy, & walk humbly with your God,” another message about loving our neighbors.
A close second was “Beauty from Ashes,” because I know God reached down to me in my brokenness and gave me reason to rejoice & celebrate. I still think of myself as a humble sapling, but aspire to be an oak in His kingdom!
Wow, I feel like those words came straight from my heart. It wasn’t until I chose to embrace the love of God that I realIzed I had been looking for validation in all of the wrong places. My favorite is the Peace t-shirt. Beautiful shirt with a powerful message.
By grace is my favorite, love it!
I like the long-sleeved Transform Your Mind and the short sleeved So Loved.
I love the Transform Your Mind long sleeve shirt.
Beloved has been my favorite t-shirt since I first visited the site. Love them all though!
I love BY GRACE! and my black Love Others!
they are sooo comfortable!
ohhh and sing praises! :)
Bought 4and “Rooted” shirts last year for Christmas … one for my daughter, two for dear friends, one for me. The material is perfectly soft, the message perfectly powerful. I wear it so often I have nearly worn it out. Still my fave, though!
I LOVE the Beloved Burnout fitted tee!
My favorite is the purple Beloved t-shirt. i think my daughter would love this one too!
I love the Redeemed shirt
Love my Shine t – shirt!!
I love them all! Fear Not, Beloved, Redeemed, so Loved!
Oh, I love Wild Olive. I have bought from them before, but never for myself. I would love the “By Grace” Tee. So beautiful and such an awesome company!
Redeemed is my fav. today that is….they’re all so great!
I would have to say that transform your mind is my favorite:) But I LOVE them all!!!
Unfolding or Redeemed are my favorites!
Redeemed!
Love “Transform your mind”!!
LOVE the one you have on– i’ve never seen that one– :) i have lots of WO shirts– my favs right now are So Loved and the new disciple one:)
I love Redeemed and By Grace, but in the summer Shine is my favorite. Love them all!
My favorite is Transform Your Mind.
I love the Kind words tee you have pictured so often. :) Thank you!
Sarah Mae, thank you for your lovely, thought-provoking post! And the lovely shirts that encourage new views. Also, the opportunity to win a gorgeous tee! Very hard to choose just one, but right now I’d have to go with GOD WITH US! That concept, that truth, a great gift.
Blessings, friends!
LOVIN the (in)courage shirt!!
i love these shirts~ I would have to choose either the Rooted one, or By Grace! beautiful!
I love both the So Loved and Rooted =)
I have two favorites ;) “By Grace” and “Redeemed”.
I have loved Wild Olive Tees for some time. Haven’t bought anything though because I thought it was a little pricey – however – since they support a charity, I can see why! :) With free shipping though, it might entice me now!
So many to pick from!! And they’re all beautiful!! I would have to pick the Rooted one as my favorite, but I also like Beloved and Free Indeed! haha!
The “Transform Your World” is my favorite. It is a great concept, knowing God will give me power to do my little part in world transformation, starting with one individual.
shine, beautiful colors for a young teen. thanks
Fear Not and the (In)Courage Tees are my favorite.
I love the “so loved” tee for myself, and also for my daughter or the purple “beloved” tee for my girl too!
I love the new Christmas t-shirt.
I like so many of them, but I think my favorite is the ‘because’ one. Love it!
Transform Your Mind!
The “Beloved Burnout” is my favorite
I loved the “Shine” and “Beauty from Ashes” t-shirts.
I like the “Love Unfailing” one!
I love the “God with us” shirt!
I like the “Beauty from Ashes” fitted tee.
I like the Beloved burnout, So Loved, and Redeemed the best!
Redeemed Long Sleeve shirt.
Great post!!
I love Redeemed. Knowing that Jesus came to buy me back gives me chills. What a Savior!
Beauty from Ashes is my favorite.
I like the Transform Your Mind one :)
Redeemed!! I spent 32 years hiding my sins behind the “perfectly put-together happy Christian girl facade.” Last year I gave my life to Christ and traded my sins for His grace and righteousness. He is my Redeemer, my Hero and my King
My favorite t-shirt is the Redeemed. I love the chosen verse…Isaiah 44:22.
Love the God With Us shirt…in fact am ordering one today! :o)
I love them all… Love to get some for my girls for Christmas.
It’s hard to pick just one favorite, but I’m living by Hebrews 11:1 in a big way right now, so Faith is my current choice.
I like the shine shirt.
Transform Your Mind…..because i have worked so hard to do so. sometimes it is SO hard, other times, it is sonatural. <3
Wild Olive is awesome! My favorite shirt is “by grace.”
Hard to choose between Beauty from Ashes and So Loved. Like Shine too:)
My favorite is the Beloved Burnout fitted tee!
Too hard to pick! Love them all…
So hard to pick… Loving the one that was made for (in)courage – Kind Words, but from the site – I can’t choose between: Transform your Mind and Beauty for Ashes.
Can we purchase a Kind Words T? I didn’t see the option on the site.
Thx, HL
I love the girls Chosen tee! Hard to pick… so many beautiful ones!
Beloved and Redeemed are my favorites but they are all beautiful!!
Oh, I have so many favorites! So Loved, God With Us, By Grace, Sing Praises. Thanks for sharing this Wild Olive Tees company/website. I never knew about it before!
My most favorite is the “By Grace” tee.
I love the By Grace tee shirts! All are wonderful but this one caught my eye. :)
I love the Beloved shirt! It’s one of my mom’s favorite verses
My favorite is the ‘Transform Your Mind’ shirt. Love the flowers.
The Follower shirt is my favorite. Thank you for this lovely giveaway! :)
I love all of them! I really do!
I think “Shine” is one of my favorites. The yellow is fun.
SO cute!! Redeemed and God With Us — but currently NEEDING “Fear Not”!! :-) All of them are awesome!
Shine….Matthew 5:16 has always been our “special family verse” from the time our daughters were wee little ones. Many years ago, our family wanted to share the gift of light with others so one sunday morning during worship our family got up front, lite a large candle, our daughters then ages 4 & 6, said the verse. We sang the verse one at a time & then all together as a family. What a blessing it was for us & others!
Also, right before we sang in church, we found many different verses in the bible pertaining to the word LIGHT and wrap up scrolls of verses w/a candle in the bag as gifts for others going thru difficult times and each day for the entire month they would untie a scroll with a verse….gift of LIGHT!
“By Grace” is so cute!
“beloved,” which has been my message this year. These are so great!
Really like Shine & By Grace
I love the Faith shirt. So cute and such a wonderful message!
My favorite is the God with Us long-sleeve Tee.
I have to say Grace is my favorite. All is Grace……thanks for a great giveaway!
Those are amazing! I really like the hot pink one that says Beloved. I need to be able to live in that…
The “God with Us” Shirt is great! They are all wonderful. of course.
I love the hot pink and orange tshirt!!!
I love the “so loved” and the “love others” tees. As the mother of 2 adopted children that I have always felt God planned to be mine, I love what they are doing for adoption. It is a crazy, scary, exciting and life changing journey that no one truly understands unless they have been there.
Redeemed t-shirt…my fave!
I love all of the Wild Olive T-Shirts.. :) I just ordered one yesterday! (I didn’t see the free shipping code until today though) :) But I would say my favorite is the Beloved one! :)
How do we get a (in)courage Kind Words T-Shirt?
I LOVE the kind words shirt & I also love the Redeemed one! :)
I love the beloved shirt!
I’d never heard of Wild Olive before, but these are beautiful! I think “Rooted” is probably my favorite, but I also think “By Grace” is beautiful, too. Both verses speak to the foundation of our faith, I think.
i would love the fear not shirt for my son. such an important truth for his new mind.
What a great site! I am longing to adopt children in the future; it’s the only reason I keep my job.
Love all of them. Redeemed is my favorite.
Thank you for sharing this site with us, I just ordered a shirt and cannot wait to get it!
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