At the age of ten, I did not know a thing about the Lord
and all of his glory. The year of my fifth grad I had gotten the worst
news ever, my mother had cancer. I remember when my brother asked the
question that made my heart jump, he asked "Mom, can you die from
this?" In her answer she replied that it could kill her, but God
will be with her every step of the way.
My mother ended up passing away only months after. I was so scared to
be a girl without a motherly figure around. I told my father that I wanted
to attend a church whenever we got settled into our new house that we
had moved into, just after my mothers death. He agreed, but it was so
hard adjusting, that all we had time to do was worry.
My father started to date, and soon after I had a step-mother. She attended
the First Church of God, in which now I attend. I started to attend there
once in a while, whenever I had time. Now, I can't miss a chance to be
in the house o
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On Good Friday, 1994, just before midnight, my telephone
rang. On the line was my brother, he told me that my 16 year old nephew,
Dustin, had just died in a car wreck. Instantly my heart felt like it
was in my stomach. My brother told me that there wasn’t any need for
me to come down that night and I told him I would see him in the morning.
I then told my wife and can remember crying in her arms.
The next morning, as I drove the 22 miles to my hometown,
it just felt like a dream. I just kept thinking of my sister and how
she must be handling this tragedy. As I walked into the house, I hugged
my sister and told her how very sorry I was. As the day went on, I just
watched her and her husband and kept thinking of my children, Ryan,
who is one and a half months older than Dustin, and my daughter Tara.
I couldn’t imagine losing either of them and how would I handle such
a situation; they mean so much to me. My brother and I went
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Katherine was having a bad day and luckily a good friend and accountability
partner of hers, Mary, noticed and wanted to talk about it.
They were talking about her feeling of loneliness. Katherine just really
didn't feel special to anyone, but she knew that God was special through
her to many people everyday. She knew God loved her, but she just desired
to know that someone on earth loved her for who she is.
Then a man came into the room in which they were speaking. He threw
some trash away and left. The two women continued their conversation and
the man returned to throw more trash away.
Katherine noticed the man this time. He was about 6'4", with crystal
blue eyes, and golden curls on his head. She remarked that she really
liked his hair. The man laughed and then he told Katherine of how much
he used to hate his hair-how he permed it straight once, and by 24 hours
it was curly again...Katherine laughed with him because she also st
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I had always felt like a misfit in school. My friends,
although good and true friends, were not in the crowd of popular kids
in school. Besides, I was sure I was funny looking. I just didn't fit
the mold.
Parading constantly before my eyes was "the fun group"
- the popular kids - always laughing and whispering, never sad or depressed,
skipping their way through school, the best of friends. Teachers loved
them, boys loved them, the whole school loved them. I worshipped them
and wanted to be just like them. I dreamed of the day that they would
accept me.
My dream came true when I turned fourteen and I tried
out for the cheerleading squad. To my surprise, I was chosen. Almost
instantly, I was thrust into the "in crowd."
I felt like a butterfly coming out of a cocoon. I changed
my hair and the way I dressed. Everyone thought the change in me was
fantastic - new clothes, a new group
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I had a safe trip. The angels carried me safely into Father Abraham's
bosom. Oh, the thrill I felt when I met the one that died for me!
And no matter what you've heard, there's just no words to describe the
glories that surround him. I'm satisfied here; every need's been supplied.
Just wait till you see my new home.
I'm satisfied because there's no sin here, no murders, no divorce, no
abortions, and no need to ever have locks on the doors. Perfect peace
reigns here. I'm satisfied because there's no sickness. Why, I've never
felt better in my life! I have a brand new body just like Jesus.
And oh, I wish you could hear the singing. David played his harp today,
and a great crowd gathered by the river of life and sang a new song. Of
course, the angels couldn't sing that song, but they sure were listening.
It's really wonderful here, because there are no strangers. Everyone knows
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Recently, one of my best friends, whom I’ve shared just
about everything with since the first day of kindergarten, spent the
weekend with me. Since I moved to a new town several years ago, we’ve
both always looked forward to the few times a year when we can see each
other.
Over the weekend, we spent hours and hours, staying up
late into the night, talking about the people she was hanging around
with. She started telling me stories about her new boyfriend, about
how he experimented with drugs and was into other self-destructive behavior.
I was blown away! She told me how she had been lying to her parents
about where she was going and even sneaking out to see this guy because
they didn’t want her around him. No matter how hard I tried to tell
her that she deserved better, she didn’t believe me. Her self-respect
seemed to have disappeared.
I tried to convince her that she was ruining her future
and he
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