Trusting God with Decisions, Feeling Peace
I never intended to adopt a second dog. The rescue we currently had was a dream: loyal, obedient, protective, and the best addition to a home I could have hoped for. He was a runner – sprinting from the house at any given chance – but Bo was loved, and loved us fiercely in return. […]
A Place of Safety and Belonging
Amy Cate Smith returned home from her freshman year at Auburn 10 years ago and started a small group with 20 girls and their moms. She surrounded herself with girls she used to babysit – and friends of theirs, providing them a place where they felt safe to be who they were without judgment, a […]
Learning Boundaries, Following His Path
I’m a giver and a people-pleaser, and if asked to attend a meeting, take on another task, or join a group, I’m quick to say yes. Until recently, when I said no to a meeting on a Saturday at noon. My daughter was home from college, and we had barely seen each other that particular […]
Clothing Women Through Faith and New Futures
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, […]
The Community of Hope: Building Trust, Beginning Relationships through Christ
Lou Ann Raughton meets people where they are in their life.To let them know there are others who care. That there is hope. And she works to encourage them through this outreach. She has done this since 2007 with The Community of Hope in Montgomery. As its director, and with volunteers, she reaches others through […]
The Importance of Connection
I can count on maybe three fingers the number of times I’ve been without immediate family at Christmas. This year will be the third. My father will be in Florida, and my daughter is traveling abroad with a group from her college. It is such an easy opportunity to tell others you’ll be fine when […]
The Road to Healing: Broken Hearts
The road in Autaugaville is long, winding, and filled with hope. It is a road to renewal, healing, and mending of broken hearts. It is quiet. Just off County Road 165, a place was created to move men from the “milk to the meat” of God’s Word… to make them committed disciples of Jesus Christ. […]
Remembering God is There Beginning & End
Can you remember a time, or several, when you’ve wondered how you could possibly get through a trial in your life? How you’d get through every step you’d have to take to possibly come out on the other side? And do so victoriously – however, that looks for you. And during this time, during a […]
Life on Wheels: Serving Women, Saving Babies, Sharing Jesus
The mission of Life On Wheels’ is threefold: they use the power of ultrasound to serve women, save babies, and share Jesus. The mobile unit that provides free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, and which serves women throughout the River Region and Birmingham, works to make women feel safe, supported, and loved, offering a three-step process […]
31:25 Keeping Scripture In Our Hearts
I have tattoos. None that I regret. All that have meaning to me. One symbolizes inner beauty. Another represents losing my mother to breast cancer. Another is an Italian word that symbolizes a 40-plus-year friendship with my best friend. I have a semi-colon, the symbol for suicide awareness. The word Grace. The word Hope. A […]