The other parents in the hospital waiting room were glued to an episode of The Jerry Springer Show blasting from the TV. But I had no interest. All I could think about was my 14-year-old son, David, who was in the middle of open-heart surgery. In fact, a nurse had informed me that, at that very moment, he was undergoing the riskiest part of the procedure. “Luise!” a voice suddenly boomed. I looked to my left, then my right. Who was calling me? Most people didn’t even know my maiden name, Luise. Maybe it was the nurse again. She said
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October 30, 2012. high tide. Calm offshore winds. Clean six-foot waves. A beautiful morning to surf. I stood on the north jetty at the entrance to Humboldt Bay and gazed out at the ocean. Shore birds flew in formation, almost shimmering in the sunlight. I loved being out here in nature, in touch with something greater than myself. There were maybe 20 guys already in the water at Bunkers, where waves break on a sandbar just north of the jetty. I watched them for a while, gauging the temperament of the ocean before zooming in on the perfect
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Night driving made me nervous. I usually left it to my husband. Just before my sister’s anniversary party, though, Bob was called away by one of his parishioners. A pastor’s emergency. I couldn’t miss the party, so I took our 18-month-old granddaughter, whom we were babysitting, and went without him. I’ll just make sure to leave while it’s still light out, I thought. But I lost track of time showing the baby off to everyone. Before I knew it, it was nine o’clock. I said goodbye, buckled my sleepy granddaughter into her car seat and took off. Willeo Road is notorious here for
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Many years have passed, but I’ll never forget that day in 1976, when I pulled two ivory envelopes from my mailbox. One, the phone bill. The other, a letter from my old friend Buz, who was due to visit me and my husband Clint the following week. Bad news first, I thought, walking into the house. I tore the phone bill open. The amount made me cringe. $138.37–about $600 in today’s dollars. Back then, we simply couldn’t afford that. Read More: Miracle in the Mailbox – Guideposts
The ivory face of the gold watch stared up at me from my dresser. A vintage Omega Seamaster, the bracelet scratched and crystal scuffed with age. My grandparents had given it to Dad back in the sixties, before he joined the Navy. I’d never seen him without it on his wrist, until the day the mainspring seized up and it stopped ticking. He never got around to repairing it. I wished he could see me wearing it tomorrow on my wedding day. But like the watch, he’d run out of time. Buttoning up my shirt sleeves for the
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In the movie The Wizard of Oz, a twister comes and picks up Dorothy’s Kansas farmhouse, transporting her somewhere over the rainbow. She lands safe and unharmed; the wicked witch wasn’t so lucky. As we’ve seen time and time again, however, this fantasy ignores the truth about the devastating impact of tornadoes. They leave a trail of wanton destruction wherever they go. Homes and towns are reduced to rubble, lives are lost. The Ashworth family of Bertram, Texas, seemed to be the latest casualty of one of these terrifying forces of nature. Last week, their small town, 45
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I turned the corner onto our street and braced myself. I had to talk rebuilding plans with our contractor, but just the thought of seeing that empty lot–where my family’s house had burned to the ground seven months earlier–made me feel sick. That night still haunted me. Waking up to the blaring of smoke alarms. Bolting out of bed with my husband, Keith, and grabbing our two young daughters from their rooms. Huddling outside in our pajamas, shivering, before seeking refuge with a neighbor. We lost everything but the clothes on our backs and a jumble of items
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“Move it, lady!” an angry man shouted from his pickup truck, swerving to narrowly avoid a collision with my car. “You’re gonna get someone killed!” yelled another driver, racing by. I jiggled my keys in the ignition again. Come on old girl, you can start, I thought. Just give me enough to get to the shoulder. The engine revved, then seized and died. Kaput. Why did my little sedan have to break down here? In the middle lane of rush hour traffic on Durango Drive, a busy road in Las Vegas. There was a gas station at the intersection up ahead, but I
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11/01/23 “Sometimes a small act of generosity can reap unexpected benefits.” Admin It all started with a Cronut–the doughnut-crossed-with-a-croissant delicacy that’s taken New York by storm. Ever since it debuted last year at the Dominique Ansel Bakery, I’ve wanted one. But quantities are limited. You have to get to the bakery very early in the morning, and even then, the line wraps around the block. Two months ago, though, my sister’s boyfriend, Jeff, managed to get his hands on a few. He offered to give me a precious Cronut, but I’d have to walk to his office, 20 minutes away to pick
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Wayne George knows he had a close call, but says his survival had nothing to do with luck. On Tuesday, George and his wife had spent the afternoon watching their granddaughter’s swim meet. Afterwards, he dropped off his wife at their home and he went out to run a quick errand. He made it to Jefferson Road, less than a mile from his home, “I see a tree falling, a huge tree falling off to my right and it’s in a wooded area. I realize I can’t avoid it,” explains George. Read More: Man thankful to be
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11/01/23 An interview with Christian evangelist Ray Comfort has been posted online by CBN News in which he describes how the demons possessing a young woman “screamed like you wouldn’t believe.” It happened as he was destroying a “trinket” that the woman had, which he perceived as tied to the occult. The interview: Watch: Top evangelist: ‘The demons in her screamed like you wouldn’t believe’
https://renner.org Is there a certain type of wrong thinking that you can’t seem to shake? Is it linked to a bad habit or hang-up that you subconsciously seem to gravitate toward? It may be that you are dealing with a mental stronghold. In this dynamic five-part series, Rick meticulously dissects what a stronghold is and expounds on seven spiritual weapons you’ve been given to demolish them. You’ll also discover the difference between logical and illogical strongholds; what it means to cast down imaginations and bring every thought into captivity; and how to help others break free from strongholds that are
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Little Rebekah brings Jesus home to meet her mother and grandfather–a simple act that will forever change all their lives.
“They’ll hire some young college grad,” Dave told me. “Not an old guy like me.” I’d never seen my husband so discouraged. He’d been doing great work as a field applicator for a farming co-op for 10 years, but when a higher position opened up, the company said they were looking to make an outside hire. After a few weeks of searching they finally let him take a skill test to be considered. Dave felt sure he’d passed, but didn’t think it would change their minds. “If it’s meant to be, God will open the door,” I told
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Darrell Ellwood wasn’t just any firefighter. He served with my department for 11 years and the City of Windsor for another 18, and had a reputation for being “the man with the plan,” always looking out for his brothers. He was the provincial firefighters association’s best advocate as a member of the provincial labor department’s firefighter health and safety committee. He was a husband, and a father to three children. He was also one of my best friends. His death at age 50 from multiple myeloma, a cancer, shocked me. How could someone with such a profound influence be
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A few weeks ago, three children in Moreno Valley, California, released a trio of colorful, helium-filled Mylar balloons into the sky. Attached to each was a handwritten, heartbreaking letter. “Hi Mom, I miss you,” one letter read. “I hope you come and visit me soon because I have questions to ask, like why you had to leave…” Each of the letters carried a small expression of the children’s grief. Their mother, 42-year-old Renee Finney, had recently lost a two-year battle with cancer. She’d passed away five days before Mother’s Day. The children, ages 16, 18 and 25,
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Hurricane Gloria was wreaking havoc on our neighborhood. Looking out my kitchen window, I could see the force of the violent winds rattling the windows of the ranch houses in our development and hurling branches and other debris down the street. Just moments before, a massive tree had fallen from our neighbor’s property into our backyard. What other damage had been done? Had the cover on our pool torn away? Had the metal shed with all my gardening supplies been bowled over? I was anxious to get outside and see for myself. Read Moree: Mysterious Ways: The Howl
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I stepped out onto the cornfield, my tennis shoes sinking into the waterlogged ground. I tried to block out the overpowering smell of fish. But I couldn’t block out the scene of destruction that greeted my husband, Darren, and me. How could this happen? I wondered. In the distance, I saw a row of cabins, half-submerged in the receding floodwaters of the Missouri River, but I couldn’t make out our own–whatever was left of it. Read More: Swept Away – Guideposts
“Gary! We need you here right now!” The dispatcher’s voice on the phone jarred me awake. Rain and wind rattled the windows something fierce. My bedroom seemed darker than normal. I searched for the clock on my nightstand, but couldn’t find it. The heck with it. I had to get to work. They wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t an emergency. “I’m on my way,” I said, swinging my legs out of bed. “Be there in ten.” I found my closet, grabbed a pair of work jeans, a shirt and my tool belt. I pushed my arm through a
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I walk leisurely up the steep, narrow, rugged path high above a roaring river. I’ve been here before. I feel sure of it. The stately evergreen trees and the water are familiar. J, my 60-pound Border collie, lopes along beside me, my trusted companion. I stop to take a picture of the river, looking down over a sheer rock face. The water is a brilliant turquoise blue, except for the white of the rapids, crashing violently over jagged rocks. J goes on ahead of me. I’m not worried. She’s well trained. Smart and obedient. I hear a scampering
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As a big-city tough guy with an attitude and a history of bad decisions, Jordy Rembrandt discovers “fitting in” takes on a whole new meaning when he’s sent to a small-town high school his senior year. He tries the usual ways to find acceptance, but it isn’t until he confronts life’s biggest questions that he begins to discover true acceptance.
No one knows when the Stuart family started drifting apart, but it is clear that their American dream is quickly becoming a nightmare. When 21-year-old Greg returns home from his island hideaway, the conflicts become more apparent and painful. A modern-day retelling of the parable of the prodigal son, this movie reminds us that nothing can satisfy apart from Jesus Christ.
https://renner.org Rick Renner has unlocked the mystery surrounding the “sons of God” and the “giants” that appeared in the earth before the Flood during the days of Noah. Rick says, “This is THE series I’ve wanted to teach for decades. With the research we conducted at the real Noah’s Ark, along with amazing historical records, I believe this long-awaited series will answer a multitude of questions for people who have wondered about the strange events that occurred before the Flood and what Jesus said about them being repeated at the end of the age.
10/06/23 Mom, what are pronouns?” my 12-year-old daughter asked after accompanying me on a speaking engagement at a theologically conservative church. She had been invited to join some other students for their midweek service when a substitute youth leader asked her for her preferred pronouns. Let that sink in. A Bible-believing, Jesus-loving church was simply one volunteer youth leader away from potentially indoctrinating their students with radical gender theory. This is why as Christian parents we must be vigilant to train and protect our kids in a culture that has lost its moral compass. But this is
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André Rieu, Kimmy and Mirusia performing “Pie Jesu” live in Maastricht. Original Lyrics: Pie Jesu Domine, Dona eis requiem. (×2) Pie Jesu Domine, Dona eis requiem sempiternam. Pious Lord Jesu, Give them rest. Pious Lord Jesu, Give them everlasting rest.
A true story, God’s Outlaw is about international politics, church intrigue, cold-blooded betrayal, and false justice ending in a criminal’s death. But it’s also about victorious faith and spiritual triumph over some of the greatest political and religious forces known in the 16th century. A simple God-seeking man, William Tyndale somehow became one of the most wanted men in England and all of Europe. Pursued by King Henry VIII, Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More, and the Pope’s personal legate Cardinal Wolsey, Tyndale darted across Europe to avoid capture — always pushing to complete the task that obsessed him.