Stories - The Christian Heart

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?

Loss Of Loved One Overcoming Obstacles
LEAVING A LIFE OF WITCHCRAFT

After his suicide, I was left to be a single mom. I was broken down and confused. Things only became worse after my daughter's funeral, just 18 short months later. The pain of life became too much to bear so I put my focus on creating my own fate through witchcraft. My obsession of the occult became consuming while I raised my two sons. I would’ve never seen going to jail and becoming a felon something of God's grace, but it truly saved my life, and now I know, my soul. I didn’t find God sitting in the pew of a church, but rather a jail cell at 6:00 am on a random Wednesday. My sentencing was for eight years in prison. I had no crystals, spells or candles to help me. However, a sweet lady prayed for me. I held onto that prayer and found hope in the concept of God, but still did not fully understand why I felt the way I did. When I was released and waiting on final sentencing, I went straight for my tarot cards. However, the moment I touched them, I knew that the life I had been living was behind me. I was immediately convicted by the Holy Spirit. I prayed instead. It’s been over a year since that happened. I never again touched the tarot cards, which were a daily ritual for me for many years. I pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison, but it was probated. I praised God right there in the court room. My mornings no longer look sad and hopeless, dying for answers of… Read More

November 20, 2024
Overcoming Obstacles Recovery
FINDING A TRUE FRIEND IN JESUS

On September 30, 2011, my life changed dramatically. When I was driving my kids home from school, I suddenly didn’t feel well and had to stop the car at the side of the road. My sons called 911 and I was taken to the hospital. All the hospital tests were negative, but this sickness persisted. It was very difficult for me as a single parent as I became unable to drive to work as a home health Physical Therapist. I was also unable to take the kids to school. A family friend tried helping to take the kids to school but with me not being able to drive, it became evident that something had to be done. It was decided that the children would go to Georgia in the middle of the school year while I went to California where my brother and mother were at the time. While in California, I started searching for answers through prayers. What I thought was going to be a week of sickness, turned out to be the start of a long journey of encountering Christ while He took care of me and my kid’s needs. I learned a lot about Jesus during this period. I learned to trust God. I learned the meaning of “Carry your cross and follow me if you want to be my disciple.” This, and much more, is the collateral beauty that came out of that dark experience. There were many times that I felt lonely as I stayed at home and others went to work. But the Lord gradually took away the roadblocks that surrounded… Read More

November 13, 2024
Children Loss Of Loved One Overcoming Obstacles
GOD IS STILL GOOD

Mariah would be the first to tell you that the life she’s living now is not one she ever imagined. She has a loving husband, a beautiful life, and a God who has been by her side. But everything changed on the soul-crushing day when her son, Reagan, passed away. For most of her life, Mariah rarely questioned God, but this was the moment that shook her faith to its core. On February 24th, 2023, just days before Reagan was supposed to enter this world, she went to the hospital after no longer feeling his movement and would soon come to learn that we would never hear his heartbeat again. Her world was shattered, and it took a long time to find the strength to even consider picking up the pieces. Now, as she approaches the two-year anniversary of her son’s passing, she faces each day one moment at a time. Mariah has wrestled with big questions about God, doubted His goodness, and questioned His faithfulness. Yet, as she slowly pieces her heart back together and learns to live with the pain of loss, she’s discovering more about God’s heart than she ever thought possible. Through the eyes of her daughter, Mariah sees that life can be filled with suffering, and yet God is still good. Both can be true at the same time. Right in the middle of these two conflicting realities, you’ll find her striving to rediscover the love that Jesus has for her. She’s using that love to be the best mom she can be and to hold others with the tenderness they… Read More

November 5, 2024
Adoption/Foster Care Children Homeless
MY JOURNEY OF HEALING

I apprehensively dressed for the day, carefully choosing all black to project the most intimidating image that I could. Black nails and lipstick, eyeliner, shirt and pants. It was the day my little sister and I were being taken from the orphanage where we’d been for the past three years to a private children’s home. As the child services vehicle wound its way through the mountains of Costa Rica, I fought dismay at the thought of living in the jungle. I remember praying as a child that God would save me from the cycles of witchcraft, parties, drugs, and violence that had filled my childhood, having no idea how that prayer was about to be answered. We pulled up to the gate, and I apprehensively stepped out of the truck and right into the arms of the home’s founder. Shock engulfed me. I had never been greeted with a warm welcome. Not in the prior home and never, ever by my own family. Over the next few months, I tried to keep my guard up, but this strange place made me curious. They talked about Jesus, hugged all the kids and even when we were disciplined, there was a difference. There was no intention to harm, only of loving correction. For the first time in my life, I felt seen. Since that day six years ago, my journey of healing has continued. I find it funny how I used to say I couldn’t stand to be around children. I look back now and realize that they reminded me of the suffering of my own… Read More

October 30, 2024
Overcoming Obstacles Recovery Unique Ministries
THE EXODUS HOUSE

I couldn’t keep living life the way that I was. I knew that there had to be another way, but it was so hard to see with addiction staring me down, day in and day out. As a child, I never would’ve thought my future held a crippling meth addiction. I also couldn’t have guessed that Jesus would be the one to save me, either. I found out in my teen years just how hard it is to stay strong with a hurting heart. My heartache did not subside for many years. My grandmother's passing led me down a darker road than I could’ve thought possible. Looking back now, I see that God had His hands on me throughout it all. Despite my confusion and misunderstandings, He was there throughout all the time. It took years of trying to do “better” and repeatedly failing before I finally desired that relationship with Jesus Christ for myself. Through the rehab stays and pain, I was left with nothing but an aching, empty heart. The only thing left in the line of my sight was the light of Jesus Christ. I sat my will to the side and dug into my Bible. Through scripture, I learned the truth of life and God. Matthew 16:25 pulled me through, and changed it all for me. I truly experienced a death of the old me, in every way possible. Waking up in the mornings and looking myself in the mirror is no longer painful to me. I now spend my days ministering to others, mentoring other men in a Christ-based recovery program called… Read More

October 23, 2024
Overcoming Obstacles Recovery
THE PRODIGAL

Drugs. Depression. Debauchery. Reckless living. A prodigal son to a T. That was my life before Jesus Christ. I was born into a Christian family; my father an immigrant from El Salvador and my mother a Midwest woman. They met in the Army, fell in love and married quickly. I have two younger twin brothers, and we grew up in a household abundant in love and compassion, but we didn’t have two pennies to rub together. We were so poor, at one point, my family bought grapes and beans that had fallen on the floor because it’s all that we could afford. I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn't in church. My family was always involved with whatever was happening in our church community. Yet somehow even with the consistency, I chose rebellion and the ways of the world. As a teenager, I joined a metal band, started smoking marijuana, drinking and living the party lifestyle. This quickly led to getting in trouble with the law and nearly landing 26 years in prison. Thank God for His mercy and a great lawyer. In my twenties, I decided to attend a Christian college and earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Business. Being in that environment gave me a Godly worldview and taught me how to treat people with respect and love, but I still wasn’t fully choosing God. Something I hid for years was that I was sexually abused as a child by someone outside of my immediate family, which kept me in a cycle of depression and drug abuse, relapsing frequently. I dealt with… Read More

October 16, 2024

Browse all categories

Adoption/Foster Care 37

Church Activities 59

Financial Help 18

Loss Of Loved One 38

Loving Your Neighbor 66

Mission Work 51

Overcoming Obstacles 106

Prison Ministry 11

Senior Citizens 22

Special Needs 46

Unique Ministries 160

Verbalizing the Gospel 73

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