Join Gif, the giraffe, on his perilous and providential journey to find his forever home – to discover what it means to be loved as you are.

Join Gif, the giraffe, on his perilous and providential journey to find his forever home – to discover what it means to be loved as you are. Family comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Adoption through foster care is one wonderful path a family can walk to come together. Even the storms and steep mountains of life your child has faced are part of the larger, colorful portrait God is painting of their life. Though God may not have brought the challenges their way, He can always make use of them for your child's good. Gif the giraffe, pronounced Jif, was first painted on our nursery room wall as we prepared for our first adopted daughter. He gained his name almost three years later when she would say goodnight to the animals and she called him peanut butter. Like that creamy substance on the roof of your mouth, the name just stuck. In Loved As You Are we are invited into Gif's journey of adoption through foster care. For kiddos who experience these unimaginable challenges and hardships it can become hard to see God's love for them or His bigger picture, sometimes making them feel hopeless or unloveable. But as we travel through this journey we find that not only is God with us in the most difficult of times, but He redeems them to be a part of His beautiful portrait and our testimony.

A life lived from LIES to LOVE… Whether through teaching, writing, leading a team, facilitating group discussions, or being a husband and father, I try to approach life with ardent intensity, calling God's design and desire out of others. But it wasn't always that way. As an atheist for most of my life, I debated the existence of the very God I love today with that same passion and intensity. I searched for a solution to the unceasing, unquenchable desire for something greater than me. I explored multiple religions, belief systems, and cultures, only to be temporarily satisfied. Ultimately, I was left lacking true hope or understanding of who I was. I know now that God continued to pursue me, saving me from myself time and time again. In 2002, I experienced complete love and the true fulfillment of my longing for more. It wasn't found in things or through my efforts to reach an enlightened state. This deep satisfaction was achieved only when I surrendered myself, my desires, my will, and my pride to the world's Savior, Jesus Christ. Shortly after that moment, God revealed that He desired for me to share with the world that, although we may feel alone, unfulfilled, lacking, depressed, or abandoned, we are never too lost to be found. This is my heart and the heart of Now Found Ministries: that you would know and be known by your Creator, Savior, and Counselor, and that you would experience His undying love for you. Check out Steven's new book – What Lies Beneath! I'd love the opportunity to speak with your church or organization. Please review my speaking topics or let me know if I can prepare a unique teaching just for your event. You can contact me at: scohen@nowfoundpublishing.com.