I have always been passionate about helping people and I knew that we had people in our own community that needed help. Especially during this pandemic and so many people losing their jobs. The state and local benefits offered…
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I wanted to find a special way to honor our veterans. I got a little tired of the media showing people disrespecting our flag, although I value their right to protest. Veterans put their life on the line to…
I was 19 weeks into my difficult pregnancy when I was told by our local hospital that I would miscarry and there wasn’t much they could do. I wanted to give our child every possible chance at life, so…
Staying at home during this pandemic is not easy. We all need to be finding some meaningful things to do with our time. Since we were coming up on Easter week, I decided to make our two grown sons…
When I retired from my job, I knew I wanted to serve the Lord with my gifts and volunteer at my church. I went to a meeting at my church. A leadership position needed to be filled. I was…
From the first time I walked through the door at The River, I had a feeling of hope. I didn’t know what to expect, but forming relationships and watching lives change right before my eyes was not what I…
I learned to sign at a very young age because I had a family member who used it to communicate. I learned from a video series alongside my siblings. Early on in college, I decided to change my major…
I spend a lot of time in my van. I am a busy homeschooling mom of three active kids, and a lot of our talks about God happen while on the road. It is important to me to have…
When our son, Isaac, was 17 months old, we were told words that no parent ever wants to hear: “your son has cancer”. I remember feeling numb. And I wanted to run screaming from that room and tell them…
One Saturday of every month, I host a prayer breakfast for adults in my home. One day, we noticed a diverse group of children walking up and down my street with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Idle…
As a university professor, I spend most of my time with adults. I love mentoring these future leaders. It’s very fulfilling work. But twice a month, I spend my lunch hour with an elementary school boy that I met…
I founded Sufficient Grace Ministries for Women in 2004, eight years after the loss of my twin daughters Faith and Grace and about six years after the loss of my son, Thomas. Faith and Grace were born still in…
Most people look forward to the day they retire. I suppose I was no different. At first, I wanted a typical sit-around-and-lounge retirement, but the fantasy of that wore off quickly. It didn’t take long before I was bored…
I remember a time when family not only meant that which you were born into, but also the people around us who we “do life” with. God is the greatest advocate for community, and I do not believe it…
I was a sixteen year old girl when I heard Matthew 25:36. “I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you cared for me, I was in prison and you visited me.” The verse about visiting…
I was set free in one conversation while drinking a milkshake. A few years earlier, my soul and body had been traumatized. From that day, I would cry and wonder how I could ever have a healthy marriage. Would…
Nine years ago, my friend, Justin, and I were feeling an extreme passion to serve God. Justin felt the need to bring awareness to the homelessness issue in our small town in North Carolina. While we prayed and dreamed,…
I have been a Neonatal ICU nurse since 2010. I am also on the bereavement committee, and part of my job includes dressing babies once they pass on to Heaven. God had been speaking to me about finding someone…
When people are going through a crisis, friends need to come alongside of them and lend their support. That is the mission of Neighbor Brigade, a nonprofit started by my childhood friend, Pam Manikas Washek. She was diagnosed with…
When I was in 6th grade, I failed my school state test, and self-doubt started invading my thoughts. As a 22-year-old, I felt overwhelmed, having to quickly transform into my mother’s care giver, all while trying to survive being…
We are called to something much greater than ourselves: to love God and to love others. I never thought my calling would be found intertwined in the hearts and lives of marginalized women in the sex industry. Jesus Said…
God truly uses our gifts no matter how insignificant a gift it may seem. For years, my sisters and I have worked together to decorate and put on events. We have done everything from wedding receptions to birthday parties…
I was a senior in high school when I became pregnant with my first son. Thanks to the love and support of my family, I was able to finish high school and go on to become a nurse. Eventually,…
We all face storms—some we see brewing months before they hit, and others blindside us when the massive waves strike. On Sunday, March 11, 2018, our storm made landfall as my husband, Chris, developed gall stone-induced pancreatitis and was…
Have you ever had a desire to help an organization but didn’t know what you could do? That was my situation when I became aware of the Angels Charge Ministry, a faith-based non-profit helping women coming out of prisons…
A year ago, I was extremely depressed. I was without a job and feeling totally worthless. It seemed I had lost everything that I loved. I was thinking seriously about suicide. But as I was driving home one day,…
As a teenager, I was in and out of homeless shelters. By the time I was 17, I was a single mom. But in looking back, I think God was preparing me to do some wonderful things to glorify…
On February 14, 2010, I woke up at 5:00 in the morning. Jon didn’t make it home that night because he had died in a car accident. I was 34 and he was 38. We had a 3-year-old son and I…
Inner city ministry was something that I wasn’t searching for; in a sense, it found me. It started when my wife and I moved in with my brother. It was a temporary move, so we could find a place…
I was playing Contract Bridge after I had retired in early 2005, and one of the players was an AARP volunteer who helped people submit their federal tax returns for free at the local senior center. I had always done my…