When I look back on my life, I can see God's hands along every step, even when I experienced a rare brain tumor. Life was going along wonderfully. My wife, son and I had just adopted our 12 year old son from Colombia. I was doing well in my real estate job and even training for a marathon. One morning, I went out for a run and became extremely dizzy. If not for a park bench, I may have collapsed. I found my way home and thought it was just a chemical imbalance. But my wife convinced me to go… Read More
Overcoming Obstacles
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When she was six years old, my daughter, Erin, was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease: FSGS. Her disease causes her immune system to attack her kidneys, and slowly, they fail. She is nine now, and we remain hopeful and have faith that God is able to sustain her. But, it isn't always easy. When Erin was first diagnosed during one of her early hospital stays, a sweet child life therapist saw her struggling and feeling down. She asked Erin what she would do if she could do anything in the hospital that day. Erin told her she would like to… Read More
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My mother had three sonograms before I was born and none of them indicated any problems. But I was born without arms and legs. That obviously made life extremely challenging. I had tremendous parents but I was bullied throughout the early years of school. I became depressed and even had suicidal thoughts. My life changed when I was 15. I read how Jesus said the blind man was born that way so the works of God would be revealed through him. If God had a plan for that man, I certainly believed He had one for me. I totally surrendered… Read More
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When I was 8 months old, I was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a disease where cancerous tumors form in your eyes. Doctors removed my left eye, but saved my right one through chemotherapy and radiation. My one eye let me see the beauty in this world, including my parents and twin sister. Over the next twelve years, the cancer came back eight times, and we beat it each time. But when I was 12, it returned with a vengeance and the treatment failed. The only option was to remove my right eye. My parents asked what I'd like to see in… Read More
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It’s important for us as Christians to follow God’s whispers and to put our faith in Him no matter what obstacles we encounter. While attending my first Passion Conference in Atlanta as a high school senior, I learned about the End It Movement, which focuses on human trafficking. It was at this conference that God gave me a passion for educating others about the issue of modern day slavery. So, when I was a freshman in college, God laid it on my heart to lead a human trafficking awareness event at my school. Believing God wouldn't put something on my heart if He… Read More
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Mothers remember anniversaries of the important events in our children’s lives. While I have experienced many good and bad moments with my sons, Matthew and Jacob, two days will forever be etched in my memory. On August 10, 2014, I received that call that mothers dread. I was at home working when my husband, Barry, called to tell me Jacob was in an ATV wreck two hours away from our home in Cartersville, Georgia. I remember rushing out of work, telling my co-workers he had been hurt. Once we drove there, we found Jacob talking and yelling. But 15 minutes after… Read More