As the hard months turned into years, Heather remembers lying in bed admitting she was tired of feeling fragile. Her next thought was very clear; that like labor pains, she needed to lean into her pain because something new would be birthed. She was reminded that even as her heart and flesh fail, God’s purposes were bigger.
Read MoreMike and Laurie Heath already had two children when their son, Kevin was born. Their son, Jason, was about six, and their daughter, Bethany, was about four. They thought they knew what to expect. However, a short time after Kevin’s birth, they got unexpected news.
Read MoreMike would typically get up, have his morning coffee, and have a devotional time with his Bible. When Kevin got up early, he would get a cup of hot chocolate, grab his beloved Bible, and sit reading near Mike. The Heaths knew that Kevin was mimicking Mike’s behavior just like any child would, but deep in their hearts, they wondered if more was going on. They prayed that Kevin would know, understand, and accept the gospel. They also prayed that when he did, God would allow them to know about it.
Read MoreSlavery still exists today.
Human trafficking is a global slavery that starts by means of abuse, coercion, grooming, false promises, exploiting the vulnerable, and forcing them into a life of slavery usually through forced sex work or forced, unpaid labor. Those in the foster care system, minority populations, LGBTQ youth, refugees, and their children, homeless youth, and runaways are at the highest risk of being trafficked. Those who have suffered physical, emotional, sexual, and spiritual abuse are also at the highest risk of being trafficked. These populations are all people, all a part of this world just like you and I, yet they remain unseen and unheard in day-to-day life.
Read MoreMegan has chosen a profession that requires her to take up residence in the Valley of Tears. Joseph Tenney, worship pastor at Church at the Cross, spoke a few weeks ago on people who are called to live lives of suffering, never experiencing deliverance from the Valley. For the first time in her life, something in her head and heart connected, she realized that her home was in that Valley−and it was good. “I’ve been a nurse for seven years and [Joseph’s sermon] helped me to finally see the whole reason God has put me in the place He has. It’s okay to be frustrated and to voice that, but it’s unrealistic of me to ever ask for God to take all of this away, because that’s not going to happen in my environment. When He comes back we will not have to face death anymore. Babies will not die. Nobody will have to die. All those tears we have cried will be dried up, and it will be no more.”...
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