Today we welcome CAN member and author Ginny Dent Brant as she shares the story behind her inspirational book detailing her healing journey. Hearing the words, “You have cancer,” was a shock to this health nut. When I saw my real life MRI flashed up on a screen, it looked like a tornado had invaded my body. Bewildered with disbelief, I asked to meet with a chaplain. The first words from my mouth, “How could a health nut like me end up with an aggressive and deadly cancer like this?” “Ginny, consider it a gift from God,” encouraged Pastor Sewell….
Tag: hope
This is our archive pageBuilding Relationships in the Crazy COVID Crisis
Building Relationships in the Crazy COVID Crisis by Susan G Mathis Communication is the lifeblood of any relationship; it will affect every aspect of your relationships. Good personal communication is the act of revealing yourself—your past experiences, present feelings, and future dreams. It’s sharing your fears, needs, and desires carefully and honestly. Communicating well is also about setting boundaries, confronting problems, admitting when you’re wrong, rejecting fearmongering and negativity, and extending grace to each other. But in this crazy COVID season, it feels so isolating, so anti-relationship, and so self-withdrawing. In short, it’s scary. It’s confusing. It’s lonely. It makes…
You Never Know Who’s Listening
You Never Know Who’s Listening by Susan G Mathis In August, I had the blessing of being part of the book talk and signing at the Cornwall Brothers Museum in the Thousand Islands, NY. With COVID, I wasn’t sure if anyone would come, but I was shocked that fifty people filled the room and many more were turned away because of the number restrictions in place. I sold sixty books that day. While that was great, I was surprised by grace not once but three times! Three women asked me to sign their books, and while they did, each one…
Hope Springs Eternal…So They Say
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:1-5). Who reading this today has been…
The Hands of Jesus
What a wonderful God we have—he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. 2 Corinthians 1:3–4 (TLB) People need hope more than advice. What a freedom to know that it is never necessary to have our life all in order before helping another. God does not expect us to be experts but He does call us to come alongside each other. All human beings have two things in common. We all experience pain and we all need a…
Feeling Defeated? It’s Time for a “Resurrection”
Are you having a bad day? A bad decade? If you’re struggling to find peace, if you feel a certain emptiness, or you’ve misplaced your faith, there is hope. In the midst of your mess, take heart and remember anew that the power of the resurrection is available in your life today. Recently, Christians around the world celebrated Easter. We remember each year the true story of Jesus Christ dying on a Cross and rising from the dead—alive and victorious! He said He would and He did! Christ defeated death so we could live forgiven and free, empowered by the…
A Chat with Author Lynda Young
Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California! Today I have the joy of interviewing Lynda Young, who has turned her heart for hurting families into the You Are Not Alone series of books for families with children with cancer, with congenital heart defects, and on the autism spectrum. Since April is Autism Awareness Month, this is the perfect time for Lynda to share with us! Lynda, please tell us about your book, Hope for Families of Children on the Autistic Spectrum. “I feel so alone and no one understands,” say many parents of autistic children. This book provides the soft landing…
Guard Our Minds, Lord
If I am lost in a city, I like to go to a map so I can see the “big picture.” The same thing is true of discerning God’s will. Having an overall general understanding of God’s book, character, actions and words helps us to understand God and to understand how He works. In 7 Simple Skills for Every Woman: Success in Keeping It All Together, I suggest one of these ideas to layer God’s Word into your life: Read the Bible through in a year. The One-Year Bible or one of Tyndale’s One Year Bible Devotionals, like Devotions for Women…
Guard Our Emotions, Lord!
Several years ago, I was experiencing a season of hardships. The emotional pressure in my life had escalated – facing deadline upon deadline, bad medical news, grief over my father’s death, plus the daily stress of church leadership and family responsibilities. I sat in my doctor’s office in tears. All I wanted to do was escape, and drive to the beach to spend time with God. Only by talking to God, and having Him talk to me through the Word would salve this pain. I knew that I would be okay if I could just get to the beach and…
Guard Our Hearts, Lord!
One woman who had sat in a Bible-teaching church Sunday after Sunday for over 10 years told me something one day that took my breath away. She had been having an affair with her best friend’s husband! Those in her world had counseled her, confronted her in love, shown her care and compassion – everything possible to help her see the trauma she was causing two families – then one day she eloped with this man! When she arrived back in town, I saw her at one of our children’s sporting events. She was so excited. She was flitting from…