Before I became sick, my life was completely normal. Everything changed when I began feeling a slight irritation in my throat. It seemed like nothing serious, but within 48 hours my body weakened: full-body aches, exhaustion, and a lack of strength I couldn’t ignore. When the Covid diagnosis came, I was in shock—especially because my wife was pregnant at the time. My first thought was to protect her and our baby. I wanted to distance myself so I wouldn’t expose them, not realizing how severe things would become. I tried to stay positive, but my lungs weren’t responding. My oxygen levels dropped quickly, and my vital signs were declining. When the doctors told me they needed to intubate me, fear overwhelmed me. Until then, I had tried to remain calm and trust God, but as they administered the anesthesia, I felt a deep terror. I truly didn’t know if I would ever wake up again. But even while unconscious, I experienced something unexpected: a profound peace. I can only describe it as the presence of God. I felt held and cared for. Somehow, I could sense the prayers of my family and friends—as if they surrounded me. That’s when I understood that God was with me. For my family, those days were heartbreaking. My chances of survival were extremely low. Their only refuge was to seek God daily—to pray, to trust and to find comfort in His presence. That faith was their strength during the darkest hours. Waking up was a miracle. But recovery became another battle. I had to learn to breathe again, to… Read More
How Everyday People Live Out Their Christian Faith
Illustrating how men and women display their love for Jesus in their day-to-day lives.
Little things that may have an eternal impact. Might these stories motivate you to use your talents?
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I’m only 17, but my grandpa used to tell me something that stuck harder than most lessons in school. He’d tap the side of his mower, look me dead in the eyes, and say, “Son, this is what Jesus would do.” He meant helping widows - especially the ones in our neighborhood who didn’t have anyone left to look after them. When he passed away last year, I didn’t know how to handle the grief. Grandpa was the kind of man whose kindness filled the whole room, I felt lost without him. One afternoon, while sitting in the garage, I saw his old mower pushed against the wall. It still had grass stuck underneath it from the last yard we did together. I heard his voice clear as day. So that summer, I decided to honor him. Every week, I picked a widow in our neighborhood and showed up with the mower: no charge, no announcement, no sermon, just work boots, sweat and love. Most of them tried to pay me. I always shook my head and said exactly what Grandpa said:“This is what Jesus would do.” There was one widow, Mrs. Talley, who cried the first time I cut her lawn. She told me her husband used to take so much pride in their yard, but after he passed, she just couldn’t keep up anymore. She said seeing it cared for made her feel like she wasn’t forgotten. I think that’s the whole point. People don’t need grand displays of faith. They need to know someone remembers them. Every time I fire up that old mower, I feel Grandpa beside me. And I feel God… Read More
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You could say Ducks on a Mission began ten years ago with a single turkey. I saw a Facebook post; someone needed help with Thanksgiving, and I thought, “Sure, I can buy a turkey.” It was an easy, quick way to meet a tangible need in the name of Jesus. It was love in action, just like in 1 John 3:18. What I didn’t know then was that God would take that one “yes” and multiply it. The next year, God showed me that more families were struggling to fill their tables for the holidays. I owned a small cell phone repair shop near a grocery store, and I decided to use that little bit of influence for good. I offered a $10 discount for donations of canned goods. In year three, I wanted to decorate my kayak for a race, so I asked people for rubber ducks and for every 75 ducks, I sponsored a child to receive a bike and attend a program to learn how to ride it. They were Ducks on a Mission. I would later learn the name for this kind of ministry: servant evangelism—meeting practical needs in the name of Jesus so people can experience His love up close. It’s the way Jesus cared for people throughout the Gospels: feeding, healing, helping, and then speaking to the deeper, spiritual needs of the heart. Over the last decade, I’ve seen God grow Ducks on a Mission, but He’s also grown me. This ministry has stretched my faith, revealed my strengths, and taught me God loves to work through… Read More
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I don’t think anyone ever teaches you how to pray when your faith feels thin. I always pictured strong, confident Christians lifting their hands and declaring Scripture. Not someone like me, standing on a worn-out porch with bills piled on the kitchen table and a fear so heavy it made my chest tighten. But that’s exactly where I found myself one afternoon: job lost, fridge nearly empty, and my kids quietly watching me like they were trying to figure out whether they should worry too. I stepped outside so they wouldn’t see me cry. I sat on the porch steps, closed my eyes, and whispered the only prayer I could get out: “Lord, I don’t know what to do. Please help me.” It wasn’t eloquent. It wasn’t long. It didn’t feel powerful, but it was honest. Not even ten minutes later, I heard footsteps coming up the driveway. It was my elderly neighbor, a woman I’d spoken to maybe twice since moving in. She was holding two grocery bags so full I thought the handles would snap. “God put you on my heart today,” she said simply. “I hope you don’t mind.” I just stared at her, stunned because the exact things we needed were in those bags. Bread, fruit, peanut butter, and chicken. Even a pack of toilet paper I’d been rationing without telling the kids. I tried to hold myself together, but the tears gave me away. She gave me a gentle hug and said, “You’re not alone, sweetheart. God sees you.” After she left, I sat back down on those same porch steps, but this time the weight on my chest … Read More
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My family had acquired the American dream. A large house in a golf community in North Carolina. All the toys, a motorcycle, a golf cart, and great vehicles. We had good jobs, and our kids were thriving. Then, on January 17, 2017, my husband, Gary, and I both lost our jobs within an hour of each other. That’s when we knew God was up to something. We felt a tug and knew He was asking us to become “pastors” for missionaries in Haiti, although there was one minor issue: We had never set foot in Haiti. In the spring of that year, we both cried as the airplane wheels landed in Haiti for our first visit. We knew we were in the right place. Yet, God would soon reveal that His timing was different than ours. We came home and waited for our house to sell. It would be two years before that would happen. In the meantime, all doors to Haiti closed firmly. The U.S. government informed us that if we went, we would be on our own due to the deterioration of Haiti’s fragile government and increasing hostage situations. Our home sold a few weeks before the Covid shutdown in 2020. We knew God had asked us to move, but we weren’t sure where to go. One evening, Gary sat me down and said, “I think maybe God wants us to leave North Carolina”. We ended up buying a house sight unseen in Anniston, Alabama. Several months later, our daughters moved closer and suggested I open a coffee shop. I still felt called… Read More
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I never expected my life to change so quickly. One week after giving birth to my daughter, Lily, everything shifted. When the stroke began, my first thoughts weren’t about myself—they were about my two older kids. I knew they would be confused and scared, and all I could do was pray that they wouldn’t worry about me. God answered that prayer quickly. My family stepped in and surrounded them with comfort, play, and reassurance. I wasn’t afraid for myself. I just wanted my children to be okay. The hardest moment came when I was transferred to the inpatient rehabilitation facility. That was when the reality finally settled in. I remember thinking, “This is real; now I have to figure out how to live with whatever comes next.” It was also the first time since the stroke that I was truly alone. Family and friends visited during the day, but at night, it was just me and the quiet. I gave myself a short time to grieve the life I had before—the certainty, the plans—and then I knew it was time to move forward. If God had allowed me to still be here, then He had a purpose for it. Through it all, I felt God’s presence so clearly. I had a deep peace even in the scariest moments. I knew God was with me, and that even if I was paralyzed, He would carry me through. I saw His love in every person who stepped in to help—those who sat with me in the hospital, watched my kids, brought food, prayed, encouraged,… Read More






