Let’s start at the beginning. After being raised in godly homes, my wife, Heidi, and I were married on June 22, 2002, at a beautiful ceremony in her small hometown in north-central Indiana. We knew each other for almost four years, and we endured a long-distance relationship for over a year before getting married and carrying out our commitment to each other in the presence of friends, family, and Jesus Christ. Like many newly-married couples, we had many dreams that we wanted to come to fruition regarding our lives together.

By Robert Martin
March 6, 2006

"He left you before he hit the floor. He's gone, and he's not coming back."

The doctor's words penetrated the soul, crushing the heart and hopes of a prayerful young mother of two. Jim, Patsy's husband, collapsed to the floor on March 4 and was subsequently rushed to the emergency room. The doctors soon discovered that Jim had suffered a severe brain-stem stroke, as well as multiple strokes in his left and right hemispheres. Of his eight lobes, only three were not affected. Jim was in a comatose state, and tests revealed that most brain activity had ceased. Further tests revealed the reason for the stroke. Jim had suffered a complicated type 2 aortic dissection; in laymen's terms, Jim's aorta had completely detached from his heart, with the blood flow pushing the aorta into the upper chest cavity, away from the heart. The doctors stressed that this alone was a death curse, regardless of the incapacitating strokes. As a matter of fact, 99% of those afflicted with a simple aortic dissection die within the first ten minutes, much less an extremely rare complicated type 2 dissection.

By Karen Myers
February 27, 2006

While looking in the mirror as I was getting ready for work one day this past September, 2005, I noticed the light reflecting off something in the corner of my right eye. Upon looking more closely, I saw something that looked like a gel substance. Having already had laser surgery for glaucoma, I was concerned. Therefore, I called to see if I could get an appointment to see the eye specialist that day. I did get an appointment, and the doctor said that the substance was a cyst. When I asked if it would go away, he said that it would not. However, he said, he would not do anything to remove it unless it started causing problems.

By Katy Collins
February 13, 2006

The first thing you notice when you step off the plane in India is the crush of people. Faces everywhere surround and press into your personal space, unidentifiable smells fill your nose, and the body heat is makes it hard to breathe.

Since I grew up watching TV, it was never an item of forbidden fruit to me.  My whole family got in church when I was about 13, but we still had a TV in our home despite the fact that owning one was never encouraged in our assembly, especially the oft-quoted “I shall set no wicked thing before mine eyes” (Psalm 101:3).  I always snickered, and still do, when I hear old-school preachers refer to television as “devil-vision” and “the one-eyed demon.”  Give me a break!

When I was pregnant, I had a condition called polyhydramnios. This occurs when you have excess amniotic fluid surrounding the baby. This can sometimes be an indication that something could be wrong with the baby.  In my case, after many ultrasounds, our daughter was diagnosed with hydronephrosis. This meant that her kidneys had fluid on them. When Lily was born she was rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for observation. She was later diagnosed with pneumonia and the doctors told us that one of her lungs wasn't inflated. Her breathing was very squeaky and rapid. They were going to put a tube in her lung to help her out, but as prayers went up from family and friends, God inflated Lily’s lung.

By Kris A. Newman
October 10, 2005

I was thinking recently how sometimes I wonder where God is in the middle of my struggles.  Why can't I feel Him?  I have known Him a long, long time.  I have walked with Him through many struggles, and I've always felt His presence, without fail, in the worst of my days.  Until lately.  It seems He's just not there.

I don’t know why I decided not to read the book. I mean the truth of the matter is that I read poorly written books all the time. I would like to consider myself an expert at finding books that are redundant, boring, over-technical, and even redundant. And I really had no reason to think that this author was any of these, but regardless I chose not to read his book. So why write about it? Well, it was the title.

By Katie Jackson
September 12, 2005

I’ve done it for as long as I can remember.  I think it all started when I tried correcting the grammar in my Dad’s National Geographic.  I never found one.

By Tres Swygert
August 22, 2005

A friend invited me to go with him and his friends to the North American Youth Congress in Ohio this year.  I was not sure if my job would let me, but my boss allowed me to go.  So off I went.