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?
  • Adoption/Foster Care Overcoming Obstacles Special Needs

    MY INJURY WILL NOT DEFINE ME

    I was a college football player. As a freshman, I was on the kickoff team. I sprinted downfield and saw the opening for a tackle, but I mistimed my jump by a split second. My head collided with the ball carrier’s legs. In an instant, I lost all feeling and movement from my neck down. At first, I thought it was stinger, but it turned out to be a spinal cord injury that left me a quadriplegic. I was told I would never be able to walk again and given just a 3% chance of ever regaining any movement in my arms or legs. In the hospital, I was scared. What will my life look like? Will I ever be happy again? As a kid raised in church, I kept thinking back to Jeremiah 29:11, that God has plans for me to prosper. And I thought “God, that’s quite a stretch. How can that possibly be with the condition I’m in. I’m paralyzed.” I found myself at a crossroads. I could reject God since I didn’t see how this could possibly come true, or I could rely on Him 100%. I remembered learning that faith is believing in something you cannot see or totally understand. So, I chose to go all in on God. I dove into that hope and fought that fear which was so present. I was in the hospital for several months. When I got home, I battled through the dark times and started to learn how to live as a quadriplegic. My close friends visited often and helped… Read More

    August 31, 2021
  • Children Church Activities Labor

    TEACHING THE PARABLES OF JESUS

    I never dreamed I’d go from delivering the U.S. mail to delivering boxes of miniature, wooden parables of Jesus to the doorstep of families at my church. I retired from the post office and began serving at my church. I work with children who learn about Jesus using a Montessori-style of learning. Everything is hands-on, and experiential. For example, through the use of a hand-painted, wooden Jesus figurine, a dozen sheep, and a green pasture with a fence, the Bible story of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is discovered by children through play manipulation of the materials. Many other parable stories, such as the mustard seed and the leaven, are in this same format. When Covid-19 hit, our church classrooms were shut down. Parents were calling me asking how to continue their child’s faith learning at home. I took it to prayer. The Holy Spirit inspired me to design a home-delivery program which included all the materials a child would work with in a classroom setting, but now I packaged them up in a box and delivered them on a rotational style basis to the families to use at home. I sanitized all of the pieces once they were returned and delivered the pre-packaged parables to the next family eagerly waiting for their box to arrive. Whole families were engaged in the lesson. Children who were familiar with the parable from earlier experience were teaching it to their parents. God brought significant faith transformations in parents and children through these efforts. Belief in God was deepened in many homes and… Read More

    August 24, 2021
  • Labor Loss Of Loved One Loving Your Neighbor

    PUTTING COMPETITION ASIDE

    Television news is an extremely competitive business, with stations trying to capture as many viewers as possible, each and every night. But sometimes even the biggest competitors in business can show a heart like Jesus to one another. On June 12, 2021, Christopher Sign, the news anchor for WBMA in Birmingham, Alabama died in an apparent suicide. It shocked the entire community and was especially traumatic on his co-workers. It was almost impossible for them to do their jobs, but the news had to go on. The day of his funeral was especially difficult since they all wanted to show their support to Christopher’s family. And that is where the other stations did something that is rarely seen in business. The news directors at the three other stations (WIAT, WVTM and WBRC) came up with a plan to do a lot of the work for them that day. They would cover all the news stories as well as share the video footage and notes so nearly everyone at Christopher’s station could attend his service. “We just wanted to give them a little bit of a break, so they could take their foot off the pedal and go to the funeral and not have to worry about work,” said Hunter Stone, assistant news director at WVTM. “It was the right thing to do. We’re competitors on a day-to-day basis, but we all go through the same things and when something this tragic happens to somebody, we want to lend a hand. We just wanted to do anything to help them get through it.” “We’re all… Read More

    August 17, 2021
  • Children Overcoming Obstacles Recovery

    GOD’S GOT THIS

    God has blessed me with a burning desire to help people, especially the bruised and broken-hearted who feel unworthy and unlovable. Maybe it’s because I used to be standing in their shoes. Although I was saved when I was young and grew up in a Christian home, college happened. In an attempt to study longer hours and drop a few pounds, I tried meth. Over the course of eight years, I found myself not only addicted, but pregnant too. Desperate, I tried to contact an abortion clinic but got no answer so I went to a counseling center that turned out to be a prolife organization. I knew it was God. As I went to crawl back to Him, I realized He had never left. Today, I serve the Lord with all my heart, not because I have to but because I want to. I know what it’s like to be on the edge of despair. I know the joy of being pulled out of the mirk and mire and want the same for others. My daughter is now 12 and next to God, she is the most important and precious thing in my life. A few years ago, we moved from Texas to Tennessee so I could take a job in the ministry working with young ladies with issues like unplanned pregnancies and addictions. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the job abruptly ended which was scary, being a single mom. But, God told me, “I’ve got this.” Looking back, I can see how He turned the curse into a blessing.… Read More

    August 10, 2021
  • Adoption/Foster Care Children Hospital Overcoming Obstacles

    CARRYING MY SISTER’S BABY

    A twin sister’s love is like no other. There may be no greater example than the bond between twins Sarah Sharp and Cathey Stoner. After all, how many ladies would offer to carry a baby for their sister who is unable to have more children due to a brutal battle with cancer and a hysterectomy? Sarah and her husband had a baby girl in 2018, but a few months later, she experienced something unusual: a prolonged period lasting over 30 days. Doctors were concerned and performed a D&C on Sarah, sending her tissue to be tested. The results showed she had choriocarcinoma, a rare and rapidly-growing form of cancer which develops in the uterus after a pregnancy or miscarriage from leftover placental cells. Doctors sprung into immediate action. Sarah began treatments consisting of five chemotherapy drugs that were so rough, she had to be hospitalized overnight. This continued for six months. “My Christian faith got me through those very dark times,” Sarah recalls. Cathey was right by her sister's side for most of that time. After a difficult battle, Sarah was pronounced cancer-free. But a year later, the cancer returned and doctors determined she needed a hysterectomy. The dream Sarah and her husband had of additional children had ended. Or so it seemed. After a lot of prayer with her husband, Cathey mentioned that she’d be willing to be a gestational surrogate for her twin sister. “If you want another baby, I will carry the baby for you.” Cathey felt called to do this. “God tells us to love people in any way we can. Here’s… Read More

    August 3, 2021
  • Adoption/Foster Care Children Overcoming Obstacles Special Needs

    COMPLETELY TRUSTING PSALM 139

    Morgan Cheek is a mother that has experienced the grief of losing her twin girls at ages 6 and 7 to a very rare neurological disease. The pain has been excruciating but through it all, she felt God’s amazing love and grace. Morgan and her husband, Hugh, found out she was pregnant with twins a little over a year into their marriage. Hugh had just started medical school so they were a little overwhelmed and wondered how they’d juggle his school with the demands of having two babies. So Hugh started memorizing Psalm 139 which underscores how God knows our future and is intimately concerned with every detail of our lives. Little did they know that He was about to take them out of their comfort zone into His pruning zone. When Bailey Grace and Ally Ruth were born, everything appeared normal for the first three or four months. But then, they started to notice some developmental delays. Doctors ran some tests and determined the girls may have an unknown genetic disorder. But subsequent tests during the next two years showed they had HECW2, a rare and often fatal disease that impacts only 50 people in the world. And Morgan and Hugh were the parents of two of them. Seizures were common, and the girls were never able to talk or walk, but they could sure communicate with their eyes and light up a room with their smiles. Morgan and Hugh knew they were in for a very difficult road but they wanted to be used by God in the midst of this… Read More

    July 27, 2021

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Adoption/Foster Care 38
Children 158
Church Activities 60
Financial Help 18
Food 41
Homeless 34
Hospital 44
Labor 167
Loss Of Loved One 38
Loving Your Neighbor 67
Mentoring 49
Mission Work 52
Other 12
Overcoming Obstacles 116
Prayer 57
Prison Ministry 12
Recovery 46
Senior Citizens 22
Special Needs 47
Unique Ministries 166
Verbalizing the Gospel 76
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