It’s been a long road for me to get to this place. In 2008, I was kidnapped and held hostage for five months. I was pregnant and scared. From the beginning, my ex had an ulterior motive to have a child with me. He took advantage of me, and the family said to marry him so as not to embarrass them. When I tried to leave, he stabbed me in the abdomen. I managed to escape when my daughter was three months old, but he followed us and nearly beat me to death. Because he was well-known in the community, there were… Read More
Labor
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My desire to help people began a couple years ago with writing five heartfelt letters of encouragement to soldiers, inmates, and others who needed hope in their lives. But the number of letters I've written has now grown to over four thousand. It reminds me of when Jesus took two loaves of bread and five little fish, and ended up feeding five thousand people. By sharing God’s love with others in these letters, I want them to see that God is good. Sharing God’s Word is food for the soul. During the Covid pandemic, the world was in such a dark place.… Read More
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We have been sharing the hope of Jesus in song since 1982. It has been far from easy, and we didn’t even know music would be a part of our journey. My husband Bob has the ability to push things forward as a visionary, and one day he said to me, “Learn how to paint so I can sell your pictures. I want to sell something I believe in.” After that, we sold artwork for years. Later, when tragedy struck, we had to overcome fires and felt threatened as our character weaknesses were being exposed. A lack of profit margin at wholesale… Read More
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God has a specific way He reveals His plan to us. I feel He teaches me in a way that is similar to the unfolding of an onion. Every time I learn more about Jesus’ love, it shifts who I am inside. Most profoundly, He grows me into a better representation of Him as He peels back the layers of my selfish ways. This is what He had in store for developing our RV Park into a place of ministry. In 2017 while traveling to be with my husband's father before his death, we spent a night at an RV Park… Read More
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My wife of 53 years passed away in November 2022. Not only did I grieve, but I also went into depression. On top of that, I have PTSD from serving in Vietnam. It was a tough time for me. I’m 76 and found myself just sitting around the house. I was sinking deeper into depression. I knew I had to do something about it. I reflected on what my mom drilled into me as a kid. I was raised going to church and the Christian doctrine of helping others was underscored to me time and again. She always told me loving and… Read More
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Have you ever had a “lightbulb” moment? For me, these moments literally have a golden glow about them in my memories. These are the moments I know are from God. These moments are where He lights the path and leads the way. The Olive Press, my business born out of a “lightbulb” moment, has its own kind of glow. This is the kind of glow you can feel as soon as you walk in the door, and it’s because of the people. This kind of glow is the kind that only comes from Jesus changing your life. And in His grace,… Read More