I didn’t feel like a mom. I had seen my baby for what felt like two seconds. When I saw her again, she had lines and tubes coming out everywhere, and I couldn’t even see her face under the CPAP mask. It would be nine days before I could hold her. I felt sick. With my stomach scarred from the cesarean, and my hands raw from “scrubbing in” to see her, I felt like my body had failed. My daughter was born at 28 weeks as a result of pre-eclampsia. We then spent 53 days in the NICU. She was my third pregnancy,… Read More
Overcoming Obstacles
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It's easy to get comfortable doing things we shouldn't. Well, I got comfortable going in and out of jail. I didn't sell drugs to make money. I sold to support my drug habit. Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, you name it. There just wasn't enough out there for me. For over 30 years, my lifestyle was my way or no way. Eventually, though, a parole officer almost caught me drinking at a halfway house. I was on high-control, so that would mean an automatic return to prison for me. Normally, I never got scared to go back into prison. Just a few days before that,… Read More
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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
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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