Dawn of Valor

Mikayla Dawn Chaparro
  • 4.7 (28)
  • CHRISTIANITY

After losing my son and surrendering everything we knew—selling our home along with almost everything we owned and leaving all that was familiar—I’m learning what it means to become a woman of valor. Dawn of Valor is my raw and unfolding journey of grief, faith, and surrender, and an invitation to witness the quiet, extraordinary work of God in a life fully laid down.

Episodes

  1. DEC 10

    008: The Weight of Glory and the Ache of Home | Recorded on My 33rd Birthday

    Recorded on December 10th, my 33rd birthday, after nearly two months of silence. This episode is anything but polished. It is not triumphant. Its just honest. I share what these last months have truly felt like beneath the surface: the homesickness, the continual pruning that does not pause, and the slow, unseen work of becoming a woman of valor in ways that look nothing like the epic transformation I once imagined. In this episode, I talk about: • What it has been like to live without any sense of home, stability, or familiarity  • The strange comfort I find in walking Target just to feel something familiar  • How the Lord seems to have removed even my natural sense of navigation as a living metaphor for how lost I truly am without Him  • The difference between pruning and discipline, and how both are signs of being heirs with Christ  • Why the Christian life feels so heavy: because glory itself is weighty  • How perhaps this life is strength training for what is to come  • Our recent Halloween and Thanksgiving We are studying the “upside down” wisdom of Luke in Sunday school: how the Kingdom of God runs opposite of the world. It is one thing to know this. It is another thing to actually live it.  I also read from: 2 Corinthians 1:8–10  John 15, the Vine, the pruning, the abiding And I close with a liturgy from Every Moment Holy for inconsolable homesickness. This is not a story of arrival. This is the in between endurance.  Of learning that self sacrifice is not weakness but power.  That becoming may look like disappearing.  And that God is preparing us for a glory that has weight. Thank you for walking with me through it. 💛 Support our family and this work:  https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt 🧵 Join the story in writing and become a paid subscriber:  https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/ 📷 Our photo and video team:  https://dawnphotoco.com/ 🌐 More about me:  www.mikayladawn.com 📬 Contact:  dawnofvalorpodcast@gmail.com 🎧 Subscribe on:  Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Substack

    1h 11m

  2. OCT 19

    007: When Faith Feels Frail (but God Stays the Same)

    In this short and unfiltered episode, I talk about being thankful that God never changes—even when I do. Lately, I’ve felt jaded and foggy. I finally submitted my book proposal, but my heart has felt weak. My faith feels small, and I miss the girl I used to be—confident, funny, fully alive—yet back then, I was spiritually dead. Now I’m alive, but some days I feel dead. Justice mentioned that he senses something shifting, like a storm is brewing in a good way. He doesn’t usually say things like that, and it made me wonder what the Lord might be preparing. I also share a lighthearted moment: entering Darylan Denner’s giveaway with Ring Concierge and watching my comment take off. It made me smile, thinking how full-circle it would be to meet them since they gave to our GoFundMe after Valor died. And then there’s this thought I couldn’t shake—how God is the original interior designer. He brought order from chaos and gave such careful instruction about His dwelling place in the tabernacle. Maybe that’s why I care so deeply about my home and surroundings. Maybe I don’t need new things. Maybe I just need to create beauty with what I already have. This one’s more of a brain dump before I left for York to visit a friend—but maybe that’s exactly what it needed to be. God’s truth holds steady, even when our emotions don’t. Links & Ways to Support: 🌿 Buy Me a Coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt 📝 Substack → https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com 🌐 Website → https://www.mikayladawn.com 📸 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/mikayladawnchaparro/

    53 min

  3. OCT 7

    006: Wrestling with Fear and Weakness: Business, Friendship, and the Lord’s Work

    Two weeks after my last recording, I sit down to share an update. It has been a mix of depression, anxiety about financial security, and wrestling with the unknown future. In this episode I talk about: The ways I have struggled with fear, sadness, and feeling fragile.How the church here has shown up for us, tangibly being the body of Christ.An update on the kids schooling option and why we decided to go with private educationThe unexpected gift of meeting new friends and being invited to dinner.Our big financial investment into our business and the weight of that step.Missing old friendships that felt like sisters, and longing for that depth again.The sanctifying work the Lord is doing in my heart through all of it.Links & Ways to Support: 🌿 Buy Me a Coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt 📝 Substack → https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/ 🌐 Website → https://www.mikayladawn.com 📸 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/mikayladawnchaparro/ If you want me to answer any specific questions, or touch on any subjects, please feel free to email directly at dawnofvalorpodcast@gmail.com

    1h 4m

  4. SEP 24

    005: Arrival to Pennsylvania: Charlie Kirk’s Death, Illness and Injury, and Hinds’ Feet on High Places

    Recorded 9/22. I walk through the last few weeks: closing on our house, the trip to Pennsylvania, and arriving while the world felt shaken. I share how I learned about Charlie Kirk’s assassination on the drive in, why I stepped back into silence, and how sickness and an emergency MRI left me physically crippled and emotionally raw. This episode is honest and quiet. I read from Hinds’ Feet on High Places and reflect on what it means to ask for valor and then be placed on a hill that makes growth painful. I end with a simple hope and anticipation for God to show up and make his strength known through my weakness that is so apparent right now. Links & Ways to Support:🌿 Buy Me a Coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt📝 Substack → https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/🌐 Website → https://www.mikayladawn.com📸 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/mikayladawnchaparro/

    1h 13m

  5. SEP 1

    004: Surrendering When It Costs Everything — The Day After Selling Everything We Own (5 Days Before the Move)

    Yesterday, we sold basically everything we own. The long-prepared “surrender sale” finally happened, and today I am sitting here exhausted, tender, and raw—recording this episode in real time. I share stories from the sale, including Reverie’s crib, a woman who bought Valor's rocker and the piano for $1000 out of pure generosity. I open up about the grief and lament that follows this kind of surrender. In the middle of it all, I return to a piece of writing I penned weeks ago: a Bible study on Genesis 22, the story of Abraham and Isaac. I originally wrote it as part of an application for The Daily Grace Co., but today I believe the Lord had me write it for my own heart too. This episode is both weary and hopeful: a reminder that God’s character is trustworthy, even when obedience costs everything. Links & Ways to Support:🌿 Buy Me a Coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt📝 Substack → https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/🌐 Website → https://www.mikayladawn.com📸 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/mikayladawnchaparro/

    1h 14m

  6. AUG 27

    003: Weary but Running: Leadville Lessons, Adoption Day, A Messy Unscripted Update (Twelve Days to the Move, Five to the Sale)

    In this week’s shorter and messy vulnerable episode I wanted to delete, I share what my husband’s recent trip to film the Leadville 100 in Colorado stirred in me about the Christian life.  This week held so much weight for our family. Emma turned sixteen—the same age I was when I had her—and on the very day I recorded this, Justice officially adopted her. A moment of redemption and joy right in the middle of a season where we’ve felt tired, stretched thin, and in the midst of spiritual warfare. Just like those runners at Leadville, I’ve seen the beauty of the Body of Christ come alongside us—through disciplers, pastors, and friends who’ve carried us when we felt weak. Our surrender sale is only days away, and our move is less than two weeks out.  Life feels messy and exhausting, but I wanted to share this word of encouragement in real time, even if it isn’t polished. Links & Ways to Support: 🌿 Buy Me a Coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt📝 Substack → https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/🌐 Website → https://www.mikayladawn.com📸 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/mikayladawnchaparro/

    37 min

  7. AUG 15

    002: I Met Our Home’s New Owner… and Other God-Stories (Three Weeks Out From the Move)

    In this week’s real-time “audio vlog,” I share the big and small moments marking our final weeks in Texas before uprooting our family and moving to Pennsylvania. It’s not pre-planned or polished — I jotted a few bullet points, but otherwise, consider it a coffee date with me… only I’m the one doing all the talking. In this episode, you’ll hear: How I got to meet the new owner of our home in person — and why it felt like such a personal kindness from the Lord.A wild, God-orchestrated story connecting us to our future landlord in Pennsylvania — a story so specific it could only be His doing.The childhood Bible I found while cleaning and packing from my 7th birthday, complete with a note from my dad — and how it reminded me that seeds we plant in our children’s lives matter, even if the harvest takes decades.The old Kia Telluride key I stumbled across — a symbol of one of the first quiet surrenders God asked of me before Valor’s death, and how He was already pruning and preparing me for bigger surrenders ahead.A short reflection on Acts, where Paul’s testimony didn’t convince the leaders… but the centurions and soldiers within earshot believed — a reminder that God may use us to reach people we never expected.My honest wrestle with the overwhelm, fear, sadness, and spiritual warfare that have surfaced as we walk in obedience.Church notes on Luke 9:23–27 about what it truly means to follow Jesus.- a scrappy version of what I learned from the sermon on Sunday.If you’re in a season of surrender, wondering what God is doing with the seeds you’ve sown or the losses you’ve endured, I pray this episode encourages you to trust the One who goes before you. Links & Ways to Support: 🌿 Buy Me a Coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt📝 Substack → https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/🌐 Website → https://www.mikayladawn.com📸 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/mikayladawnchaparro/

    1h 7m
  8. 001: Childloss, Pruning, & Surrender: The Backstory and The Precipice

    AUG 7

    001: Childloss, Pruning, & Surrender: The Backstory and The Precipice

    This is the episode that makes sense of everything to come. We just sold our home in Texas. We’re about to sell everything we own and move to Pennsylvania without a clue what we’re doing. But this? This is the story behind the story. Inside this foundational episode, I share:  — The loss of our son, Valor  — The journey through grief, pruning, and surrender  — The real-time steps of walking with God into unknown places  — The moments that have begun shaping me into a woman of valor This is raw. This is unfiltered. This is the honest beginning of what I pray becomes a lifeline for others standing on the edge of their own “what now?” 📖 Scripture: John 15 — The Vine. The pruning. The abiding. The fruit to come. 💛 Support this work: https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt 🧵 Join the story in writing/ become a paid sub: https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/ 📷 Our photo + video team: https://dawnphotoco.com/ 🌐 More about me: www.mikayladawn.com 📬 Contact: dawnofvalorpodcast@gmail.com 🎧 Subscribe on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Substack

    1h 37m
  • 8 Episodes

4.7
out of 5
28 Ratings

About

After losing my son and surrendering everything we knew—selling our home along with almost everything we owned and leaving all that was familiar—I’m learning what it means to become a woman of valor. Dawn of Valor is my raw and unfolding journey of grief, faith, and surrender, and an invitation to witness the quiet, extraordinary work of God in a life fully laid down.

Information

  • Creator
    Mikayla Dawn Chaparro
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Dawn of Valor
  • Show Website
    Dawn of Valor

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