My walk with God has not always been so sure. I was saved when I was thirteen in a little country church here in Ashe County. Since then, I have kept God busy. Looking back, I can see His hand always protecting me even when I stepped out on my own and didn’t listen.
Read MoreMost of my friends know that my husband and I met and married in a whirlwind. We got engaged two months after we met, then were married four months after that. When I look back, I feel I should apologize to my family for giving them heart- attacks. I’m sure there were plenty of rumors about whether I was pregnant or insane or something. What many people don’t know, however, is what an instrument of healing he was for me. I feel led to share this incredibly personal story, not to shock you, but to share how good God is.
Read MoreGod has helped us with this business, and we are learning every day. God has amazed me. After trying for some time to run the business myself, I finally realized that I had to have God’s help. When I got to that point, it was amazing how much easier the business became.
Read MoreMy walk with God has not always been so sure. I was saved when I was thirteen in a little country church here in Ashe County. Since then, I have kept God busy. Looking back, I can see His hand always protecting me even when I stepped out on my own and didn’t listen.
Read MoreIt was at Cape Blanco State Park on the Pacific Ocean coast of southwestern Oregon where I was reading a Bible my mom had given me before we departed for our West Coast honeymoon. I’m in a meadow on a beautiful cliff overlooking the ocean when these words from John 5:15 caught my attention: “I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Read MoreAt 20, I put forth a solid effort to change. I was in love with a girl, and she thought she was pregnant. I swore off drugs and decided to make something of myself. I signed up for EMT school and was determined to become a firefighter. Soon after starting school, we found out the pregnancy was a false alarm, and that relationship ended. I found myself in a strange new place. I was no longer around drug users but career-oriented people, and my desire to be highly thought of was again driving me.
Read More“For a number of years I felt a calling, and it was almost like somebody was walking behind me tapping me on the shoulder saying ‘there are other things you can be doing in addition to your work with your family and your work with your practice.’ I frequently would almost look over my shoulder to see who was tapping me on my shoulder. It took me a while to realize that who was tapping me on the shoulder was the Lord, saying that ‘there are other things out there that you could do to serve,” Herring said.
Read MoreI had really struggled in all my pregnancies with very deep depression and anxiety. With my first child, I didn’t know anything about that. You hear a lot about postpartum with women. But then it really struck me in my pregnancies.
Read More“It was there that God truly healed me of my addiction. I think when you struggle with an addiction, it’s always a selfish thing. It’s ‘me, me, me.’ And we live in a self-serving world. Everything is about ourselves and putting ourselves first. And with an addiction, I would wake up thinking of myself first thing, and I would go to bed thinking of myself as the last thing,” she said. “It was there in serving — I was working in an orphanage — I didn’t have time, I was too busy — I didn’t have time to think of myself. And it’s like God truly healed me of that. Because we know that Jesus Christ came to serve, not to be served.”
Read MoreI cannot remember a time in my life when I didn’t believe in and know Jesus. I have loved Him my whole life. But I remember a major moment when God won me over. I was determined to do this whole God thing the “right way.” I kept focusing on not messing up and following the rules. I held such high expectations that I put on myself. About ten years ago, my ‘religion’ walls came crashing down.
Read MoreMy earliest memories in life are of not being wanted. Before I was born, my grandma wanted my mom to drink turpentine, thinking that would cause her to abort spontaneously. I never met my dad until I was 27 years old. As you can imagine, I felt pretty insignificant growing up.
Read MoreIt happened February 5, 2004. My parents had a flower shop and on that day my mom and I were delivering flowers to a church in Grassy Creek for a viewing. The forecast called for bad weather so we were anxious to deliver the flowers and get back home.
On the way back, as we came through the curves at Shatley Springs, I turned on my wipers which made a smear of ice on my windshield. I was only doing about 35 mph, but I said to my mother, “Mom, we’re in trouble.” Just then the van began sliding.
Read MoreOne of my brothers said, “If you ever had a doubt about heaven, she just put it to rest. There is no doubt in my mind about heaven, now.” Some people might think it is morbid to talk about my mother’s passing being such a peaceful event, but I don’t know how else to describe it. Just knowing that she got to take a look into heaven where, maybe, she saw my dad waiting for her, has given me peace about knowing where they are.
Read MoreI never really felt like I had a place to call home. My dad was an officer in the Air Force, so we moved around a lot. I was born in Hawaii and lived in Washington, D.C., Norway, Germany, and Alabama—all by the fifth grade. That was when my dad retired and we moved to Charlotte.
I loved adventure and loved moving but this was different. I had always lived within the safety and security of a military base. The idea of living outside the fences was scary. In Charlotte, I always felt like the new kid, the outsider. My junior high years were the first years of forced busing in Charlotte, which produced riots and fighting.
Read MoreLike the Prodigal Son in the Bible, I knew there was something better in life for me, and that’s what brought me back to God. I finally came to a point of realizing that this is not my life. It belongs to God. I rededicated my life at church and God cleaned me up just like 1 John 1:9 says. Six months later I announced my call to preach. That was on February 15, 2005. I now pastor the Phoenix Baptist Church in Lansing. I’m still human. I still make mistakes. But God can still use me.
Read MorePain shot through my chest and shoulder. I thought I was having a heart attack, so I drove myself to the hospital. The doctors there fussed at me for that. But after thorough testing, they couldn’t find any heart problems that would cause chest or shoulder pain. However, they did find an aortic aneurysm in my stomach—a dangerous, life-threatening condition, if allowed to grow untreated. I may never know what caused the pain in my chest and shoulder that day, but I am thankful to God that I had it. If I didn’t, the aortic embolism might never have been found. Ironically, it was a similar situation that allowed the doctors to find my wife’s cancer.
Read MoreGrowing up my mom took me to church every Sunday and Wednesday but my dad very rarely came with us. My mom explained that my dad “didn’t believe in Jesus the same way we did.” Since that was the only thing I knew, it seemed normal to me at the time.
My dad owned an X-rated drive-in movie theater. I guess that was strange enough, but then they sent me to a Christian school. Because of Dad’s reputation, the other families kept our family at arm’s length. On the surface things were fine, but parents didn’t want their kids coming to our house, and dads didn’t want their daughters dating me. I always felt like a second-class citizen.
Read MoreI thought I was gone – dead. I was headed home on the evening of January 5, 2008, when my boyfriend, who was driving my car, lost control and began to fishtail. We crashed and I was thrown 30 feet from the vehicle. I felt my neck break. That’s when I thought I was dead. I remember not being able to feel my body. I remained conscious for a few moments before blacking out.
Read MoreSpecial Forces used to be known as the “quiet professionals.” Back when I got started, it was hard to recruit for SF because no one knew about it. Our main job was to train armies in other countries. A lot of people think of Rambo when they think of Special Forces, but that hardly describes me.
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