When my husband and I found out I was pregnant, we were so excited that our prayers had been answered. It wasn’t until our 20-week anatomy scan that we found out our baby boy had a kidney disease. We discovered he had a multicystic dysplastic kidney, meaning he only had one functioning kidney. This required us to have ultrasounds every month to measure the growth of his right kidney and make sure his left kidney was still functioning. This was a difficult process for both my husband and me. All we could do was lean on God and trust in His… Read More
Overcoming Obstacles
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As a young girl, I experienced an unfortunate childhood. Abuse was common inside our home as well as depression. I witnessed that a young girl can't trust anyone, even the people who are the closest. Sexual and physical abuse seeped its way into my life, and I had no one to protect me. Because of many dreadful incidents, my mind was deeply affected. I began to see in a perspective of lust, emptiness and fear. I was young with a tainted reality, an unfortunate teenage girl who sought sin. My life kept spiraling down. I was changing more and more, but… Read More
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It’s amazing how we can plan out everything in our lives to the smallest of details. But so often, everything we planned can evaporate in just one day or a single moment. Our wedding day was scheduled for October, but Uncle Sam had a different plan. On July 31st, Duane was drafted into the military and was deployed to Vietnam. We were reeling and wondering, now what? We got in our car and drove from Minnesota to Milbank, South Dakota where we found someone to open the courthouse since it was a Saturday and it was closed. We were able to get… 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
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I fought a long battle with skin cancer which has left me with significant scars on my face after several difficult surgeries. I was first diagnosed in the middle of the pandemic and right before Christmas. I had just left my doctor’s office and went to my church to drop off some Christmas gifts. As I entered the door, I unexpectedly broke down and started to cry, telling my friends who worked there I was just diagnosed with cancer. Immediately, they stopped what they were doing and began to pray over me. In that moment, I could feel God’s healing energy transferred… Read More
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The story of Job resonates with me. He was put through some very difficult and gut-wrenching trials. But Job’s faith saw him through those times. I feel like I’m in a somewhat similar situation right now. I’m going through an excruciating cancer battle which has me wondering how long I may have on earth. And a number of family members are going through very hard struggles. I have three children. My oldest daughter has Huntington’s Disease which affects her nervous system; I’m seeing her life being taken away from her, and watching my granddaughter lose her mom. I promised my daughter that I would… Read More