Healing Hearts Housing

08/30/2026

Today was one of those days that I will carry in my heart for a very long time. ❤️

Two of our beautiful ladies at Healing Hearts, Linda and Jenn, were baptized today at East Chain Evangelical Free Church.

Watching these women stand before others, let some of those walls come down, and publicly declare their faith in Jesus Christ was incredibly moving. Baptism is so much more than a moment in the water. It is a declaration: I belong to Jesus. I am choosing Him. I am beginning again.

There are moments in this journey when the work feels heavy and we wonder if we are doing enough, if we are making a difference, or if we are truly walking where God has called us to walk.

And then God gives us a day like today.

Today felt like another beautiful reminder from Him: Keep going. You are exactly where I have called you to be.

Healing Hearts was never meant to simply be a roof over someone's head. Our prayer has always been that this would be a place where women could find hope, healing, purpose, community, and a new way of life. Today, watching Linda and Jenn make this public declaration of their faith, I was reminded again that God is doing things within these walls that are so much bigger than any of us.

I am beyond blessed to have witnessed this day, and beyond proud of these two women for having the courage to stand up and say, publicly and without shame, "I choose Jesus."

Linda and Jenn, may today be a day you never forget. May you always remember the way that water felt, the people standing beside you, and most importantly, the God who has been walking beside you every step of the way.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" — 2 Corinthians 5:17

What a day. What a blessing. What a beautiful reminder that God is still changing lives. ❤️

This is Linda

To God be the glory.

08/30/2026

Congratulations on your Baptism Jenn and Linda. We love you!!

08/30/2026

Today was one of those days that I will carry in my heart for a very long time. ❤️

Two of our beautiful ladies at Healing Hearts, Linda and Jenn, were baptized today at East Chain Evangelical Free Church.

Watching these women stand before others, let some of those walls come down, and publicly declare their faith in Jesus Christ was incredibly moving. Baptism is so much more than a moment in the water. It is a declaration: I belong to Jesus. I am choosing Him. I am beginning again.

There are moments in this journey when the work feels heavy and we wonder if we are doing enough, if we are making a difference, or if we are truly walking where God has called us to walk.

And then God gives us a day like today.

Today felt like another beautiful reminder from Him: Keep going. You are exactly where I have called you to be.

Healing Hearts was never meant to simply be a roof over someone's head. Our prayer has always been that this would be a place where women could find hope, healing, purpose, community, and a new way of life. Today, watching Linda and Jenn make this public declaration of their faith, I was reminded again that God is doing things within these walls that are so much bigger than any of us.

I am beyond blessed to have witnessed this day, and beyond proud of these two women for having the courage to stand up and say, publicly and without shame, "I choose Jesus."

Linda and Jenn, may today be a day you never forget. May you always remember the way that water felt, the people standing beside you, and most importantly, the God who has been walking beside you every step of the way.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" — 2 Corinthians 5:17

What a day. What a blessing. What a beautiful reminder that God is still changing lives. ❤️

This is Jenn.

To God be the glory.

08/22/2026

It’s the perfect time to refresh your denim collection while making a meaningful difference in our community.

Maurices in Fairmont is proud to partner with Healing Hearts Housing. Who is the recipient of our Jean donation this year.

Bring in your gently loved denim and help us provide comfort, confidence, and hope to local women. Every pair donated helps make a positive impact.

Thank you for supporting our community—we look forward to seeing you during our Re-Jean Event! 💙

08/21/2026

Acceptance Is Part of Recovery

One of the greatest lessons the 12 Steps teach us is acceptance.

Acceptance of our past.
Acceptance of the mistakes we have made.
Acceptance of the things we cannot go back and change.

Recovery does not require us to pretend those things never happened. It teaches us to look at them honestly, take responsibility where we need to, make amends where we can, learn from them, and then move forward.

But I believe acceptance has another side that is just as important: acceptance of others.

If we ask for grace for the person we used to be, we must be willing to extend some of that same grace to the people around us.

People in recovery are going to make mistakes. They are going to have bad days. They may disappoint us, say the wrong thing, make a poor decision, or stumble along the way. That does not mean we ignore harmful behavior or stop holding one another accountable. Acceptance and accountability can exist together.

But accountability does not have to come with judgment.

Before we look down on someone else's mistake, we should remember where we once stood. Most of us have had people forgive us, believe in us, give us another opportunity, or see something worthwhile in us when our actions made that difficult.

We cannot ask the world to stop defining us by our worst moments while defining someone else by theirs.

The 12 Steps teach us to take our own inventory, not everyone else's. They teach us humility, compassion, honesty, forgiveness, and a willingness to grow.

Acceptance doesn't mean saying, "What you did was okay."

Sometimes it simply means saying, "What you did was wrong, but I still see you as a human being who is capable of doing better."

We are all works in progress.

Our past can become wisdom.
Our mistakes can become lessons.
Our struggles can become compassion.

And perhaps one of the greatest signs of our own growth is when we can look at someone who is struggling, stumbling, or making mistakes and remember:

There was a time when that person was me.

"We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves." ❤️

08/20/2026

❤️ 40 WOMEN. 40 STORIES. 40 REASONS TO KEEP GOING. ❤️

Recently, Healing Hearts welcomed our 40th woman through our doors.

Forty.

For us, that number carries a special significance.

Throughout the Bible, 40 often represents a season of testing, preparation, transformation, and transition.

The Israelites wandered for 40 years before entering the Promised Land.
Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai.
Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness before beginning His ministry.
And after His crucifixion and Resurrection, Jesus remained on earth for 40 days, appearing to His disciples, teaching them and preparing them for what would come next before His Ascension.

And now, here we are at 40 women.

We don't pretend to know exactly what God has planned for Healing Hearts next. Maybe we are being prepared for something new. Maybe we are being called to grow, change, or serve in ways we haven't even imagined yet.

We truly don't know.

So for now, we will simply keep putting one foot in front of the other, trusting God, and moving forward.

What we do know is that we could never have reached this milestone without this incredible community.

Lately, we have been absolutely overwhelmed by the kindness surrounding us.

Great Plains Transportation Services and Scale Bank selected Healing Hearts as one of the organizations supported through their Jeans for Charity: Dress Casual for a Cause initiative.
Maurices is supporting us through their jean exchange.

The Title Team is collecting much needed donations for our women.

Churches, businesses, organizations, and so many individuals have stepped forward to help with transportation costs, basic needs, and countless other things that make it possible for these women to rebuild their lives.

Some gifts have been large. Some have been small. Some have been financial. Others have been a bag of supplies, a ride, a prayer, an encouraging word, or simply someone saying, "We believe in what you're doing."

Every single one matters.

And behind the number 40 are 40 individual women.

Forty daughters. Forty mothers, sisters, friends and loved ones. Forty women who walked through our doors carrying their own stories, struggles, hopes, fears and dreams for something better.

That is what this milestone really represents.
We don't know what the next chapter of Healing Hearts looks like yet. But perhaps that's exactly where faith comes in.
We will keep serving the woman standing in front of us today.

We will keep trusting that God will show us what comes next.

And we will keep moving forward.
To everyone who has supported, prayed for, donated to, encouraged or believed in Healing Hearts:

Thank you.

We are overwhelmed by your kindness, humbled by your generosity, and incredibly proud to be part of the Martin County community.

Here's to woman #40 — and to whatever God has planned next. ❤️

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

08/18/2026

Thank you The Title Team crew!!! 🥰
We are extremely grateful to you all!

💜 Help Us Support Healing Hearts Housing Women's Shelter! 💜

From September 1-18, we're collecting donations to help provide comfort, essentials, and hope to women and families in need. Every item donated makes a meaningful difference and helps create a safe, supportive environment for those rebuilding their lives.

Join us in making an impact. Together, we can show our community's strength, compassion, and generosity.

Thank you for helping us spread hope, healing, and support to those who need it most. 💜

08/13/2026

💙 THANK YOU, GREAT PLAINS TRANSPORTATION & SCALE BANK! 💙

Healing Hearts is incredibly honored and grateful to have been selected as one of the recipients of the Jeans for Charity – Dress Casual for a Cause initiative through Great Plains Transportation and Scale Bank.

Through this wonderful program, employees contribute donations to causes of their choice in exchange for the opportunity to dress casually during the month. Together, these employees raised an amazing $4,197 to support organizations and causes that are making a difference!

The funds raised were shared among:

❤️ Healing Hearts
❤️ University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital
❤️ CREST
❤️ Pheasants Forever
❤️ Martin Luther High School

We are so honored to be included among these deserving organizations.

What makes this gift especially meaningful is knowing that it came from the employees themselves. These are individuals who chose to reach into their own pockets and support causes that matter to them. That means more to us than we can adequately put into words.

To Great Plains Transportation, Scale Bank, and every single employee who participated and contributed, THANK YOU. Your generosity directly supports the work we do with women rebuilding their lives in recovery. It helps us provide peer support, transportation, basic needs, recovery resources, and a safe and supportive environment where women can heal, grow, and begin again.

Every gift entrusted to Healing Hearts becomes part of someone's recovery story. It also sends an incredibly important message to the women we serve: Your community believes in you. Your life matters. And recovery is possible.

We are beyond grateful to have been chosen as a recipient of this wonderful initiative and humbled by the continued generosity of businesses and individuals in our community.

From all of us at Healing Hearts Housing and Healing Hearts Recovery, and from the women whose lives your generosity touches:

Thank you, Great Plains Transportation. Thank you, Scale Bank. And thank you to every employee who made this possible. We are truly grateful. ❤️

08/13/2026

A Prayer for the Women of Healing Hearts ❤️
past, present and future.

Heavenly Father,

Today we lift up every woman who is fighting for her recovery, rebuilding her life, and learning to believe in herself again.

Lord, remind her that she is valued. Remind her that she is worthy of love, dignity, peace, and a future filled with hope. When she looks backward and sees mistakes, pain, addiction, broken relationships, or years she wishes she could change, help her remember that her past is not her identity and it does not have to become her future.

Give her strength for today.

When the road feels long, give her resilience to keep walking. When she feels discouraged, remind her how far she has already come. When temptation whispers that going backward would be easier, give her the courage to take just one more step forward.

Lord, give her hope when she cannot find it for herself.

Let her know that recovery is possible for everyone. No life is too damaged. No story is too complicated. No person has fallen too far to rise again. There is always another morning, another opportunity, another beginning.

Place Your angels around these women. Guard the doors they walk through, the roads they travel, and the choices they make. Protect them from people, places, and circumstances that would pull them away from the lives they are building. When they feel alone, let them somehow sense that they are surrounded by Your presence and by people who are praying for them and believing in them.

Give them courage to forgive themselves.

Give them wisdom to recognize what they cannot change and strength to change what they can.

Teach them that asking for help is not weakness. Teach them that starting over is not failure. Teach them that sometimes the bravest thing a person can do is simply wake up and try again.

Father, help each woman see herself as we hope she someday will: not as an addict, not as a collection of mistakes, and not as the worst thing she has ever done, but as a woman with tremendous value and purpose whose story is still being written.

For the woman celebrating another day of sobriety, we thank You.

For the woman struggling today, hold her especially close.

For the woman who doesn't believe she can do this yet, surround her with people who will believe for her until she can believe it herself.

And for every woman who walks through the doors of Healing Hearts, may she know this:

You matter.
You are valued.
You are loved.
You are worthy of recovery.
You are capable of change.
There is still hope.
And your story is not over.

May God walk beside you, may His angels watch over you, and may you always find the strength to take one more step forward.

Amen. ❤️

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

08/10/2026

New to AA?

A virtual newcomer packet.