Stories - Page 26 of 82 - 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?

Children Mentoring Overcoming Obstacles
CATCHING FISH, CHANGING LIVES

Seeing children without a father in their life absolutely breaks my heart. I wanted to do something to help those kids in my area. So I started an organization that takes underprivileged kids on all-day fishing trips out in the Gulf. And we’ve now touched the lives of 2,500 kids during the past 11 years. It all started with my 8-year-old neighbor. I noticed he was an angry, frustrated kid. I didn’t know why until I found out he didn’t have a father in his life. So I asked his mom if I could take him fishing one Saturday. We went and he loved it. And we kept going a couple times each week. After a while, I noticed a huge change in him. He was happier, started treating his mom with respect and began doing better in school. I was amazed at the difference. So it became my life’s calling to help other kids that may not have a father in their lives. I started reaching out to foster homes and taking out groups of 20 kids fishing on a Saturday. We take them out on a boat for the day, feed them lunch, and just let them have a good time. We teach them how to fish, how to tie knots, and all about the different species. And since we are fishing, they learn patience, teamwork, how to relax, and not make hasty decisions. We mentor them and show them that someone cares. Most importantly, we pray with them about their needs. We share Christ with them. We tell them they may… Read More

March 9, 2022
Loving Your Neighbor Unique Ministries
RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

For the last five years, my 95-year-old mother and I have been helping people throughout our community by doing random acts of kindness. It’s our way of showing our love for Jesus. We make gift bags for widows, people who are home bound, or just simply living alone. Sometimes we help people in practical ways, like helping a new mom clean her home. We make survival bags filled with snacks, water, clean socks, toothbrushes and deodorant for people in the community or on the streets that have needs. My mother writes poems and letters and makes phone calls to the older folks in our community to encourage them and let them know they are not alone. One lady who was so blessed by my mom is even making a book of all the things she’s given her through the years. We’ll usually always help people who ask for any kind of assistance: getting gas, a hotel room or a meal to eat. If we see a first responder, law enforcement officer or trucker who looks like they could use a good meal, we will go ahead and buy it for them. Right now, I am also building a house for my 38-year-old daughter who has Down Syndrome so that she could be close by, but also have her independence. We love helping others because God says to love Him first and then to love your neighbor. There’s nothing better than giving a helping hand to others in whatever way you can. You never know the impact you can make through even small acts of kindness!… Read More

March 2, 2022
Loss Of Loved One Overcoming Obstacles Special Needs
JOHN-BOY’S PLACE

I lost my husband, John, after a relatively quick two-year battle with ALS. It is a devastating disease that destroys the patient's physical abilities due to muscle and nerve degeneration. It also attacks the health and mental wellness of both patient and family as the days begin to run together. John began losing his balance, and his falls resulted in several broken bones and chipped teeth. The balance issues continued to get worse and after months of testing, we received the dreaded diagnosis: John had ALS. It would lead to a very difficult death, since there is no cure. Upon hearing this news, we quickly took as many bucket-list trips as we could. But the quick progression of John's disease halted plans for more trips. In fact, for the last seven months of John’s life, he was confined to one large room in our house. Caring for an ALS patient puts the entire family’s life on hold. The disease not only affects the patient, it envelops the entire family. I could see John’s personality changing because he had to ask for help with every task, no matter how small--like turning channels with the remote, holding his "big Coke" or brushing his teeth. He became extremely frustrated and began feeling like a burden to his family. And as the caregiver, I would often be the subject of his frustration and let my emotions get the best of me. It’s excruciating to see the person you love deteriorate and become trapped in his own body. There is no winning or happy ending, and everyone knows… Read More

February 23, 2022
Financial Help Food Labor Unique Ministries
ROOTS FOR BOOTS

God led me to walk away from a 17- year career in education as both a classroom teacher and school principal in order to bring to fruition Roots for Boots, a grassroots organization that aims to meet the needs and challenges of military heroes and their families. God is the CEO of the non-profit. I’m the Chief Enthusiasm Officer. I have always had a passion for serving and helping others. When I reflect on my life, I can clearly see how God was preparing me for this opportunity as well as see His hands move through all we do with Roots for Boots. Where I may not have seen a way, He provided a way. No challenge was too big. The journey began when I was working on my Masters in Elementary Education. I had the opportunity to secure a teaching job in a small parochial school that my children attended. The college I was attending would not let me finish the elementary education program and, in order to receive the degree, I had to switch my program to Leadership in Teaching which consisted of educators pursuing a degree in administration. I had no interest in that, but finished the program in order to acquire the Masters. Fourteen years later, well into my teaching career, our principal of many years retired, and the candidate who stepped in to fill that position resigned after a year. I knew someone from within the school would have to fill that position, and I had a strong feeling that God was calling me. I had no desire to… Read More

February 16, 2022
Mission Work Verbalizing the Gospel
SERVING THE LORD IN UGANDA

I didn’t anticipate serving across the world would lead to my healing. But my God restores the broken by His abundant grace. When I first visited Africa in 2006, I was trying to put my life back together after a difficult 26-year marriage. I had emotional wounds due to physical abuse and my ex’s pornography addiction. But God began healing me in Northern Uganda as I served with a missionary friend. As a therapist, she helped those traumatized by the terrorist group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which has wreaked havoc for 35 years in four African countries. As a nurse, I provided medical help, but God blew my mind as I heard the people’s deep emotional needs. I unburied my pain and shared my story. God brought clarity to my experience as I saw its purpose---so I could share the hope and healing found in Jesus with others. After a decade of short-term trips, I moved to Uganda in 2016, leaving a 20-year nursing career and my three sons and their families. Today in northwest Uganda, I work among many refugees, displaced by terrorism, tribal conflict, civil wars, and ongoing drought. I serve alongside Africans to bring Jesus’ hope and healing using material from the Trauma Healing Institute (in association with the American Bible Society), the Freedom in Christ discipleship course, and an ongoing feeding program for refugees and villagers in desperate need. Bidibidi, the world’s second largest refugee settlement, accommodates 350,000 Congolese and Sudanese. It’s estimated 95% of those in northern Uganda have some form of PTSD due to abject poverty, conflict, and… Read More

February 9, 2022
Adoption/Foster Care Children Special Needs
ADOPTING 10 CHILDREN FROM CHINA

How we came about adopting 10 children from China, all with special needs, shows what can happen if you are open to listening to God’s calling for your life. It has made me realize that my life is not all about me but rather living out God’s will. And it has made me, and my entire family, a much more Christ-centered person. My husband, Rob, and I had never even thought about adoption. We already had a houseful of biological kids: two boys and two girls. But when our youngest was five, the Lord started laying it on our hearts in various, but separate messages, to get involved with adoption. Rob had a coworker who had adopted a child from China, and would come home telling me stories about their experiences. And when I was reading my Bible one day, I saw the passage in James about taking care of the orphans and widows. That jumped off the page at me since we weren’t doing anything along those lines. But I didn’t take it as us necessarily adopting a child; I thought we were supposed to help someone else that was going through the process. We had never talked about the two of us adopting, but one night, everything changed. A family from our son’s soccer team came over to our house, and they had adopted a child from China. We were fixated on that child and their wonderful experiences. Afterwards, Rob asked what I thought about us adopting, and I said I wouldn’t be against it. We committed to pray and fast… Read More

February 1, 2022

Browse all categories

Adoption/Foster Care 38

Church Activities 60

Financial Help 18

Loss Of Loved One 38

Loving Your Neighbor 66

Mission Work 52

Overcoming Obstacles 115

Prison Ministry 11

Senior Citizens 22

Special Needs 47

Unique Ministries 165

Verbalizing the Gospel 74

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