Stories - Page 51 of 83 - 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?

Labor Other
HELPING WITH EATING DISORDERS

To experience healing is to experience the loving kindness of Christ. As a recent graduate student of Marriage and Family Therapy, I’ve been able to witness how the healing of one person can, in turn, be a healing for others. With God, nothing is impossible, as says Luke 1:37. So far in my work, I’ve had the opportunity to provide individual, group, couples, and family therapy in an intensive outpatient setting where I specialized in the treatment of eating disorders. A person’s battle with this disease is intense, yet sometimes unnoticed or misunderstood. However difficult it may be to admit that we or someone we love is struggling, the reality is that when one person suffers, it is not only their burden to carry. It affects those they love, too. Although the process of recovery is both rewarding and challenging, being able to witness the healing power of God is truly a privilege. This is exactly the type of situation for God to use the right people at the right time to help a person grow towards recovery---physically, mentally, and spiritually. An authentic conversation, listening ear, and compassion reach far beyond we can see at first when we are supporting someone in a therapy setting. Sometimes, one doesn’t know the impact of a few sessions until much later, when a client reports back. It gives me joy to know of a client’s progress toward healing! It is a blessing that God would have me be involved in any part of their journey, and especially to hear of their subsequent recovery. To be able to reach… Read More

April 9, 2019
Loss Of Loved One Mentoring Recovery Unique Ministries
WE DO CARE

On February 14, 2010, I woke up at 5:00 in the morning. Jon didn't make it home that night because he had died in a car accident. I was 34 and he was 38. We had a 3-year-old son and I was three months pregnant. My life took a complete turn. I felt no one could relate to me and my situation. If I went to a widow's support group, the women were typically in their 70s. I had a 3-year-old son and a baby to raise, and they'd all been married 40 years with grown children. I know it's still sad, but it's very different. I always wished there was a support group for me, but there wasn't. Eventually, I began meeting with four young widows at casual restaurants where we would laugh, cry, talk and vent; and say, "yeah, I know what you're going through" and actually know. With John dying on Valentine's Day, I also started Gifts of Love. These are care packages given to widows and their children. The packages would include something to provide comfort or joy to let the recipients know that people loved them. I always liked helping people, and found my best healing came from helping others. Once this was started, God kept putting young widows in my path. I wouldn't have been able to run from it if I tried! After seeing this make a difference, I decided to create a non-profit called We Do Care, and three years ago, we held our first support group in my church. It empowers widows with coping skills, and gives them a way to just put one foot in front of the other. We meet once a… Read More

April 5, 2019
Loving Your Neighbor Unique Ministries Verbalizing the Gospel
OUR INNER CITY OUTREACH

Inner city ministry was something that I wasn’t searching for; in a sense, it found me. It started when my wife and I moved in with my brother. It was a temporary move, so we could find a place to live. My brother lived in a rough part of town. Most of the buildings were unkempt and crime was a daily occurrence. It took a little time to get used to it; waking up in the night to gunfire was not a comforting situation. One of the main reasons my brother chose to live in this rough location was to join an outreach ministry. This was something I admired and was curious about as well. The vision to love your neighbor and love your community attracted me. It wasn’t long before my wife and I fell in love with the people of the neighborhood. We began to feel God calling us to pour into the hurting people that surrounded us. What opened my eyes is the understanding that you can love and care for someone, but only God can truly change that person. I discovered depending on my fellow believer was vital to living in a challenging area. It’s a common occurrence that one of us would awaken in the middle of the night to pray. Then we’d be informed the next morning there was an attempted break-in to one of our friends’ apartments. The whole experience is eye-opening. My wife and I decided to stay in the inner city with the outreach group. The heart… Read More

March 29, 2019
Labor Senior Citizens Unique Ministries
HELPING WITH TAXES

I was playing Contract Bridge after I had retired in early 2005, and one of the players was an AARP volunteer who helped people submit their federal tax returns for free at the local senior center. I had always done my own tax returns and had a good idea of what was involved in reporting one's taxes, so when she asked if I might be interested in helping, I said yes. After attending training classes and passing a series of tax tests, I started volunteering in 2006 using a pen and calculator to figure out the returns; now we use computers. We help all ages from February through mid-March and you don't even have to be a member of AARP to come to us. I was an engineer during my career; in retirement, I missed working with technical issues. Income tax law is a very complicated thing. It provides challenges in interpreting the law, and every year we need to be re-certified to cover new tax laws and refresh our memories on existing laws. But beyond that, it's the sincere appreciation and thanks from our clients that gives me the most satisfaction. It's fun meeting new people and helping them accomplish something they find very confusing. Every day, we have someone saying, "You people do such a great job, thanks." I would guess about 80% of our clients came to us the year before. It's like seeing a friend once a year in many cases. Our growth in clients, I believe, is a friend telling a friend that we do tax returns and it's free. My Christian faith and upbringing has taught me to help others. Volunteering to… Read More

March 22, 2019
Labor Recovery Unique Ministries
HELPING THEM OVERCOME ADDICTION

There are an overwhelming number of women who have had their children, lives, and freedom taken from them due to drug addictions. Many have professed a Christian faith but still face suicidal thoughts and a deficit of hope. After facing my own addiction with alcoholism and restoring my life in Christ, I knew He was prompting me to help these women reach a place of stability. I began my response to His call by sponsoring young women through AA, and then went on to receive training for Christian counseling. In 2018, I began volunteering to counsel young women regularly at a rehabilitation center. I currently provide Christian counseling to three to five women a week. Most of these women have been to prison and have a lot of work to do to rebuild their lives. In our weekly sessions, we help them identify the root cause of their addiction. This journey often involves a lot of shame, rejection, and other humbling emotions. We remind them what they mean to Jesus and that they are significant. We help them learn what healthy relationships and friendships should look like. Most importantly, we pray and facilitate the restoration of their hope in life through Jesus Christ. We work to help them restore their faith and progress toward facing a life free from the chains of addictions. I have been humbled and honored to see many of their lives changed. Watching these women week after week as their mind, body, and faith are restored is breath-taking. It is not always a happy ending, but most women… Read More

March 12, 2019
Children Food Unique Ministries
ENCOURAGING NOTES FOR YOUR KIDS

I've been writing notes on a napkin and putting them in my kids' lunchboxes for years. Some are funny, some are serious. But to me, it's just a way to tell them I love them and to make them smile, think, laugh or blush at the school lunch table. One day, I took a picture of a napkin I thought was clever, and posted it on my Instagram account to share with my buddies. I had no thought of it going viral, but it did. Apparently, it reminded people of things their family used to do to make their day brighter. So I continued to post my napkins each morning and they continued to get very heartwarming reactions. The number of followers kept growing. I came up with a name for them: Napkinisms. Someone at the Chick-fil-A Foundation heard about these napkins. Since they provide free lunches every week to needy kids in the inner city of Atlanta, they asked if I could create a napkin to be placed in each free lunch. A few years later, our local Children's Hospital asked if I could provide one each day for every kid staying in the hospital. So that's what I'm doing. I’m not trying to change the world through Napkinisms. I just hope I can change someone’s day, and let kids know somebody thinks they’re special. I know how significant that can be. If I've been gifted by God with certain talents, then it's my responsibility to use these gifts. And I believe God has directed me to pursue this.… Read More

March 5, 2019

Browse all categories

Adoption/Foster Care 38

Church Activities 60

Financial Help 18

Loss Of Loved One 39

Loving Your Neighbor 67

Mission Work 52

Overcoming Obstacles 118

Prison Ministry 12

Senior Citizens 22

Special Needs 47

Unique Ministries 169

Verbalizing the Gospel 77

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