“..you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.” Philippians 4:8 (The Message)
Every day we share stories of hope – joy – Love! Enjoy some GOOD NEWS each day with LifeSongs.
Friday, December 5, 2025
We’ve seen a lot of college coaching jobs shuffle around this year – big money, big changes and some big heartbreak (sorry Ole Miss). But the Illinois football program is building something worth more than $100 million (looking at you Lane Kiffin). Coach Bret Bielema wants his student athletes to feel a deep sense of loyalty to the team, so he turned to his best resource: the kids’ moms.
Coach Bielema hosts a Family Weekend at Spring Training and invites the families of his team to join in the fun – they even have a mothers’ practice where the willing moms get to take part in the drills while their sons watch. This Big 10 program counts on the support of the players’ mothers to recruit future stars and retain the most successful student athletes. Instead of a constant turn around in the transfer portal, this team is building a family.
It’s an important lesson coach Bielema wants his players to understand – in life and in football, if you make all your decisions based on money and not passion and community, you’ll find a pretty empty life. The system is working – the team is doing great – and the graduation rate has shot up too! Coach Bielema says the program was inspired by his own mother who he lost to breast cancer in 2022. Some things are just more important than football.
Thursday, December 4, 2025
Rideshares can be an affordable way to get where you are going – but you never want to have to flag an Uber just to get to the Emergency Room. Joey Romano was a senior in college at the University of Texas at Austin. He was out skateboarding one day when he had to swerve to avoid a car and ended up in a ditch with a broken wrist.
Joey decided to take an Uber to Urgent Care, but he was pretty anxious about what his college student health insurance was going to cover. When his Uber Driver Beni Lukumu arrived, he found Joey lying on the ground in obvious pain. He carefully helped Joey into the car. At the first stop, Urgent Care, the doctors said it was too severe to treat and so the duo headed for the ER.
Beni took good care of Joey, refusing to charge him for the emergency ride – and spent the next six hours hanging out with Joey in the Emergency Room because Joey’s family was nowhere near Austin. Beni understood what it felt like being all alone – he is from the Congo and hasn’t seen his family in a long time.
Beni would later find out Joey had recently lost his brother to leukemia and was already dealing with terrible grief, on top of a broken wrist. The pair became fast friends and get together regularly, seven years later!
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Wednesday, December 3, 2025
After more than 20 years and nearly 50 surgeries, Brent Chapman can see again — and all thanks to a tooth! Chapman is one of only a few patients in the world to undergo tooth-in-eye surgery, an ingenious procedure that restored Chapman’s vision using one of his own chompers.
Here’s how it works: Chapman’s canine tooth was extracted and reshaped into a rectangle. Doctors then sewed the tooth into Chapman’s cheek for long enough that connective tissue grew around it. The tissue helps the tooth stay in place over Chapman’s eye, where it holds a new lens through which he can see.
Chapman was at first skeptical that the “science fiction-y” procedure would work. But now he can see skylines and make eye contact for the first time since he was just 13. Trusting his tooth “opened a new door” for him.
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Men serving their prison sentences in Scotland are being offered a lifeline of connection. A new program aims to keep these incarcerated men active in their children’s lives, even as they wait for release. The program uses parenting classes, healthy play-time and shared meals to keep families united, even while they are separated by legal circumstances.
The hope is that healthier dads leads to healthier kids – physically and emotionally. The eight week program has been such a huge success that it is being adopted in dozens of other countries as well. It’s a hope-filled lifeline for these fathers who don’t get to spend much time with their sons and daughters.
Monday, December 1, 2025
What’s old can become new again at the Repair Cafe, a monthly pop-up project in London, where residents can bring in almost anything in need of a fix. Volunteers identify the problem in everything from vacuums to blouses to pieces of midcentury furniture with built-in record players and repair them all on the spot — and at no cost!
It’s generous work in service of the environment: Electronic waste is rising exponentially across the world and is expected to reach over 90 million US tons by 2030. Organizers created the Repair Cafe to encourage Londoners to repair rather than buy new. Repair Cafes are popping up all over the world – including the United States (two in New Orleans)!
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Friday, November 28, 2025
LEGO makes special MRI scanner Lego sets — which depict a miniature version of a patient undergoing an MRI procedure, with a table that actually moves — and its been used by 1m+ kids around the world.
The company’s research found that 96% of health care professionals reported that the model helps reduce children’s anxiety and 46% reported a lesser need for sedation if a child had played with the set. Lego doesn’t sell the kits on shelves, but has donated 10k+ to hospitals globally.
Thursday, November 27, 2025 – Happy Thanksgiving!
Trader Joe fans have a long list of products they cannot leave the store without. For some it is their iconic cookie butter, for others the organic apples or frozen garlic naan. You’d be hard pressed to find more devoted grocery store fans anywhere. And it is not just because of the TJ branded goods – it’s the heart behind the brand.
Trader Joe donates 100% of their unsold perishables and products every year. Last year they gave away 98 million pounds of food through the Neighborhood Shares Program! There are nearly 600 Trader Joe’s in the United States and they have partnered with over 2,000 food pantries and kitchens to make sure nothing goes to waste and food insecurity is eradicated wherever they open up a store.
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
During the Government shutdown, when SNAP benefits were postponed, a suburbanite father outside of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania decided to help his neighbors out by turning his front yard into a little food pantry! And that act of kindness would inspire a lot of people across the entire country!
AJ Owen is a dad to sons who are 7 and 9 years old. He knows the pressure of keeping food on the table – and knew many in his community needed help. He printed up a sign, his kids popped up the beach tent and the family put out tables filled with food for anyone to come get. An anonymous neighbor wanted to help and put an envelope filled with thousands of dollars to help buy food for others.
AJ’s reaction to the gift went viral and inspired many others to reach out and help too – including a linebacker who plays for the Steelers. This kind family shows that you may not be able to solve all the problems – but everyone can do something to help!
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Operation Christmas Child’s National Collection Week has come to an end. The drop-off sites have loaded up trucks full of gifts to be processed, packed and shipped around the world.
Churches in more than 100 nations hand out these Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts at festive outreach events where the Gospel is presented in a child-friendly way. Operation Christmas Child is intentional about partnering with churches that are a part of these communities, so that the Gospel and following discipleship is handled in native languages by friends and neighbors.
Each shoebox is bursting with items like a soccer ball, doll, or stuffed animal – and those gifts become a tangible expression of God’s love to the child, their family, and their community. Thank you for sharing God’s love with LifeSongs and Operation Christmas Child! And it is not too late to join in on this ministry: you can still pack a box online at SamaritansPurse.org.
Monday, November 24, 2025
Marika has long been a supporter of Operation Christmas Child – leading the charge in her church to pack shoeboxes and tell the world about Jesus. But about 15 years ago she faced a medical emergency that upended her life. A neurological disorder left her in pain, unable to do much of anything, let alone participate in Operation Christmas Child.
Her husband Michael was grieving his wife’s condition – he hated seeing her in pain but even more, hated that she was no longer doing the things that brought her so much joy. Despite being in tremendous pain, Marika and Michael decided that even if she couldn’t go out shopping – they could host a small shoebox gift packing party at their home. A few friends and neighbors came over and put together 130 gifts.
This became an annual tradition – and as Marika’s health began to improve, it became much, MUCH bigger! This year the group packed over 3,100 shoebox gifts! The team has grown – rented a storage unit for year round gift collections and a box truck for delivering the goods! Now Marika and Michael’s grandkids help pack and load up gifts – Marika says she “found joy sharing [her] joy with others.”
Friday, November 21, 2025
A decade ago Pastor Sixto invited Operation Christmas Child into his Chilean community hoping to reach more local children into God’s Kingdom. He had no idea the impact he would have. Ten years have passed and everyone now knows Pastor Sixto as Pastor of the Boxes!
The Vina del Mar region of Chile is ignited by the message of Jesus. Now leaders in the local churches are filled with grown kids who first heard about Jesus through Operation Christmas Child – like now 18 year old Johan – who has spent the last six years helping distribute Operation Christmas Child gifts, ever since their outreach changed his life forever.
Thursday, November 20, 2025
Some families in Cambodia knew only a life of picking through the garbage. They are called Waste Pickers – people in such poverty that they troll the streets, dumps and landfills looking for recyclable materials to sell to the government to get just enough to eat. It’s a dangerous place the police refuse to tread – filled with violence, drug abuse and other horrors.
Families that live near the trash heaps deal with toxic materials, disease and malnutrition. But more than one family there is filled with joy – because for years they have received clothes, medical care and Christmas presents through Operation Christmas Child.
Of the 25 provinces in Cambodia, Samaritan’s Purse has brought Christmas to 14 of them. And not just toys and a sermon – help, hope and care. And the gospel is transforming families. One girl first heard about Jesus at age 13 with her Operation Christmas Child gift. Now at 17 she is a community leader that proclaims Christ every day.
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Sharing the Gospel in someone’s native language is a precious gift. But that was pretty difficult in the case of Zahira. Zahira is a Cuban immigrant living in the Dominican Republic. And Zahira is deaf. She speaks a dialect of sign language to communicate.
When Zahira was 14 she was invited by a local church to an Operation Christmas Child party that has a special ministry designed for the deaf community. Through interpreters speaking in sign language, Zahira heard the story of Jesus in her heart language for the first time – and it changed everything.
She continued visiting this church with the deaf ministry and went through the discipleship bible study The Greatest Journey – which deepened her young faith. Her family noticed the change and since her mother and best friend have also chose to follow Jesus!
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Many homes were lost in a city wide fire in Southern Chile. One of those homes was where 12 year old Fernanda lived with her parents and younger brother. Everything they owned was just gone – burned to ashes.
They began to rebuild a new home but their needs were great. When Operation Christmas Child showed up, the thing Fernanda was most excited to receive was school supplies! Pencils and a notebook – something she would need to go back to school meant the world to Fernanda.
She said “People I didn’t know were giving me a present – they were giving me love!” The church handing out the shoebox gifts also lost much to the fire – including their church building. But now Fernanda’s family is under their temporary tent every Sunday.
Monday, November 17, 2025
Operation Christmas Child is a division of Samaritan’s Purse – an organization founded by the family of the late, great Billy Graham. Not only do they take Christmas presents and the Gospel around the world – they respond to humanitarian crises, even here in the United States.
When Hurricane Helene ripped through the Carolinas, it left disaster in its wake. Letis Avila immigrated to the United States from El Salvador. During Helene, she and her two children faced an uphill battle of once again rebuilding their lives. A neighbor let Samaritan’s Purse know about Letis’ needs and as soon as the waters receded, a team was at their doorstep.
Samaritan’s Purse provided a grocery store gift card that fed their family for weeks. They prayed with the family, helped around the house and left a New Testament for her youngest son. Letis recognized that Bible – it was the same book she had received in a shoebox gift from Operation Christmas Child when she was a little girl in El Salvador!
Friday, November 14, 2025
Some families in deep poverty live on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They work the dump fires of Koshe – literally a mountain of trash. They search for discarded clothes for their children – food for their families.
It was to these people that Operation Christmas Child brought care and gifts.
And why did these strangers bring their children clothes, medical care and toys? Because of Jesus. The Koshe people got so much more than resources – they received love and Jesus.
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Maykel was 11 years old when he received his Operation Christmas Child gift and began to study God’s word through an outreach in Panama City, Panama. Maykel loved Jesus and was hungry to learn all he could – but with stage 3 leukemia, the young boy was sent to the hospital with little hope for his parents. Maykel’s friend and mentor Bolivar Santos traveled to stay with the boy at the hospital, continuing The Greatest Journey with him, unsure if Maykel would survive.
Now Maykel is a strong young man of 27 years. He courageously teaches about Jesus in his community and shares how faith and prayer led to his healing, from the brink of death.
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Wildlife roams the Savannah of Northern Ghana – elephants and leopards – but for many years there was no one to carry the Gospel to the Kamara people. The mostly Muslim country has mosques dating back to the 1400s – the story of Jesus largely shut out. But when Christians came bearing Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts, the doors began to open.
The Kamara leaders allowed pastors from southern Ghana to bring in Christmas presents and share the Gospel for the first time just two years ago. They have been invited back each year and hundreds have chosen to follow Jesus. Now a Church has started in one of the towns!
Pray for the young Christians in Ghana who face lots of persecution from their neighbors, yet each day choose to show love instead of fear.
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Doors were closed to the Gospel in Ethiopia for decades. But this past year – there was an opportunity! Samaritan’s Purse was able to bring hundreds of gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to a local church in the capital city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
After almost 30 years of being cut-off from the rest of the Church, the love shared that day led to 400 children and many of their parents giving their life to Jesus!
In many parts of the world it is still extremely dangerous to be a bold follower of Christ – particularly in East Africa. Pray for these young believers and you can send them encouragement this Christmas with Operation Christmas Child!
Monday, November 10, 2025
A lot of college kids – probably most – take their well-earned Winter break to visit family, do laundry and enjoy some time off from the grind of writing research papers and doing lab work with a partner that isn’t carrying their weight in the class. But a group of college students from Wheaton College dropped the laundry off for mom and took a flight to Ecuador to serve with Operation Christmas Child.
The 20 Wheaton College students delivered shoe-box gifts and taught discipleship classes in partnership with local churches in the capital city of Quito. The young servants got to witness God at work as people gave their hearts to Jesus and shared their gifts with family and friends.
But Wheaton college has a long tradition of inspiring mission-hearted students. Some of their most famous alumni include Edward McCully and James Elliot who were famously killed for their faith in Ecuador in 1956. That legacy lives on as the Gospel spreads like wildfire.
Friday, November 7, 2025
We are so grateful for your faithful giving and for your continued prayers for this ministry, and for your partnership in impacting our community and world for Jesus. LifeSongs is listener-funded, and we’ve got to celebrate!
LIFESONGS IS FULLY FUNDED!!
Knowing there are so many in need right now, we’ve partnered with Bethel Colony South – a local nonprofit that provides shelter, food and spiritual guidance through recovery. A portion of what was raised for LifeSongs will also go to feed our community’s most vulnerable.
God bless you! Thank you so much for your prayers and your generosity! We are SO thankful for you. You’ve helped LifeSongs continue sharing the love of Jesus daily with our community, AND you’ve provided 150 Thanksgiving meals to families fighting to overcome addiction through Bethel Colony South.
We’re so excited to continue sharing hope with our world, together with YOU.
Thank you so much for giving. There’s always room at the LifeSongs table for you. You belong here!
Thursday, November 6, 2025
Thank you for COMING TO THE TABLE and fully funding LifeSongs! Your giving will provide Thanksgiving meals for families in the Bethel Colony South recovery program AND keep LifeSongs on the air for the next 6 months!
God bless each and everyone beautiful person who is holding up this ministry! We’re excited to serve Southeast Louisiana and the entire world with the message of hope in Jesus!
God is Good, All the Time!
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Your giving during our Fall Shareathon was a tremendous help. However, we came up a little short of the actual need. Over the next few days, we will be working to raise what’s left, which is about $20,000, make that $13,970.
Knowing there are so many in need right now, we are partnering with Bethel Colony South – a local nonprofit that provides shelter, food and spiritual guidance through recovery. A portion of what is raised for LifeSongs will go to feed our community’s most vulnerable. So your gift is doing double duty!
Please pray that we raise the remaining amount needed to continue sharing hope with our world. Your generosity means so much to us.
Thank you so much for giving, and for your prayers for God to meet the rest of our needs.
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
In Charlotte, NC, birthdays are getting a little sweeter, thanks to a baker who believes everyone deserves to be celebrated. For more than a decade, Manolo Betancur, owner of Manolo’s Bakery, has been quietly delivering free birthday cakes to people experiencing homelessness.
He doesn’t see it as charity. He calls it being a good neighbor.
Manolo grew up in Colombia and came to the US 25 years ago with little more than ambition and a whisk. After years of hard work, he built a thriving bakery—and then started wondering what happened when someone at a local shelter had a birthday. When he learned the answer (“nothing”), Manolo decided that wouldn’t stand. His bakery regularly contributes to more than 26 local nonprofits and while he frequently wins “Best Bakery” awards in Charlotte, his true passion is humanitarian missions and caring for the immigrant community.
Monday, November 3, 2025
Lea Kittelmann has been quilting for over 3 decades. She finds it soothing – and who doesn’t love a blanket as a gift? The Columbia, South Carolina grandmother was just awarded $500 for being a local hero.
The 86-year-old is legally blind, but makes quick work of each quilt that go from her skilled hands to children around the world! She’s sent dozens of quilts to India – recently 100 quilts to Guatemala – and she isn’t slowing down one bit!
Lea has also provided the comfort of a quilt for her local Ronald McDonald House as families face difficult medical situations – local children’s homes have her blankets waiting for kids in crisis. While she may not be able to wrap her arms around every person in a painful situation – her quilts are doing a pretty good job of it.
Friday, October 31, 2025
If you are going to go all out with your yard decorations for the holidays – might as well use the fun for some good! That was Jeff Robertson‘s thinking as he transforms his Holly Springs, NC yard into a Halloween wonderland.
It started out in 2020 during the pandemic with a few goofy plastic skeletons in funny poses – but has become a display that people travel across state lines to see. One family stopped by to gawk with their daughter, who was battling cancer. They were on their way to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for treatment and wanted to put a smile on her face.
That story sparked the idea for Jeff to turn his annual display into a fundraiser for St. Jude’s – and in just a few years his family has raised over $650,000 to help families in the fight for their life – all with some silly plastic skeletons holding up a QR code for folks to donate!
Thursday, October 30, 2025
Most courthouse weddings are short, official affairs. But Judge Adam Swartz at the North Dallas Government Center has one secret weapon for turning routine drab to fab: a $20 bubble gun.
When Judge Swartz was first elected in 2022, he wanted to make the unions he officiated feel less like a paperwork pit stop, and more like a real celebration. He tapped into his theater background, added music and his bubbles. Now, when he pronounces a couple married, the gavel lands just as the room fills with shimmer.
It’s not just for show: Swartz has presided over ~3,000 unions since joining the bench, sometimes doing five to eight in a single day—right alongside eviction cases and traffic disputes. He says the nuptials are the most meaningful part of his job.
He puts care into every ceremony, scrolling through couples’ photo albums on the courtroom’s big screen, welcoming guests, and even tearing up himself. His goal? To make courthouse ‘I dos’ feel less like paperwork, more like a movie moment.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
It started like a Rocky training montage. Kent Broussard retired from his career as an accountant and began training. He ran several times a week to build up his stamina. Kent enrolled at LSU for continued education. But Kent’s eye was on the prize – he wanted to become a member of his favorite marching band.
Kent Broussard started taking sousaphone lessons with LSU Music Department member Matt Thompson. That’s a tuba. A giant heavy piece of hardware. But this retiree was determined, knowing second best would never make the cut.
After putting in the hours, running, strength training, practicing his instrument – Kent Broussard became the oldest member of the LSU Tiger’s Band – making school history and national headlines! Kent tells reporters, “Your only failure is NOT TRYING!”
So when LSU takes on Alabama in a couple weeks, all eyes will be looking for the tuba player in the Tiger Band.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
In Cape Girardeau, Missouri – every child was able to begin the school year with all of the supplies they needed. The community came together to raise funds, purchase all the supplies and then the cheer squad at Cape Central Junior High spent a day stuffing 500 brand new backpacks with everything every kid would need.
This public school was seeing an increase in need – 500 families had requested help with the rising cost of sending their kids back to school. So everyone came together to make sure no child was left wanting.
And the cheer squad was honored for the chance to help, leading more than a cheer – but with servants’ hearts.
Monday, October 27, 2025
Daniel and Martin Hernandez are a dynamic duo. The brothers both work full time jobs – Daniel is a landscaper and Martin works in the chemical industry. They grew up working for their father doing lawn work and learned a lot about taking care of their community.
Now the brothers set aside one of their days off each weekend to serve. Sometimes that means mowing overgrown lawns for people who can’t afford a service and cannot physically do it themselves. Other times they pressure wash driveways or pick up debris.
The art of pressure washing and weed whacking has become a viral sensation as they share their techniques on YouTube – with nearly half a million subscribers following M & D Lawn Care!
Friday, October 24, 2025
Angelle Pilkerton is kind. She is compassionate. And she has every reason to be the opposite of that. The kindergarten teacher and single mom of three is facing Stage 4 cancer. Insurance has stopped covering her $1000 a week treatment. She was researching hospice options.
One day while shopping at Walmart, with just a few dollars left in her wallet, Angelle was approached by a guy named Jimmy Darts who asked for a dollar. She kindly offered what little she had.
But Jimmy was undercover – he’s actually a social media influencer who partnered with his followers to provide the struggling mom and teacher a life changing gift – having raised over $116,000 for Angelle and her family.
Thursday, October 23, 2025
Sometimes a cookie can change your life. Kelly Castro loves her son Carson, who was diagnosed with autism when he was very young. Kelly was overwhelmed by the challenges, but as a family, they did the work – built a community of support and learned all they could.
When Carson was just six, Kelly attended a retreat for parents who had children on the spectrum and learned a hard truth – that kids like Carson often have a hard time getting work as an adult. Kelly and her husband decided to be proactive, so they started a company based on their son’s love of baking cookies. Carson’s Cookie Dough was launched during the pandemic, with a focus on hiring adults with disabilities.
Their community loved the idea and helped raise funds to expand and grow the business. Now this family business is employing many young people all across the spectrum and amazed as God continues to bless them and grow Carson’s Cookie Dough.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Every year for her birthday, Krystyna Locke celebrates her birthday with renewed hope, facing her lifelong battle against non-Hodkin lymphoma. Right now she is cancer free! But the memory of the battle will always be with her.
Each new year is a gift – hard earned. And Krystyna uses her zest for life to help others also fighting cancer. She raises money to help pay the parking fees for patients and families who tend to wrack up quite a bill during their cancer battles.
She says it is a small way she can give back – and show her kids and grandkids how important it is to care for others – not just think about your own journey. The London hospital Krystyna is serving notes this about their favorite patient: “Facing a cancer diagnosis is an emotional journey and helping cover parking costs removes one worry for patients and their families. Krystyna’s kindness is a shining example of the difference one person can make in our community.”
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Curtis Dixon was facing some really hard times. His power and lights were shut off in his Detroit home. So he headed to the pawn shop to pawn his wedding ring, hoping the gold would get him enough to restore power. On his way he saw a blind man struggling to stand. He made his way over to help. The man asked Curtis for some money and he told him when he came out of the pawn shop he would give him a few dollars.
But this blind beggar was anything but. It was actually the social media influencer MDMotivator. He explained to Mr. Dixon that he was not blind or in need – but he was there to help. The TikToker paid to have Curtis’ lights turned back on. He also gave him $5000 to turn things around. Plus a new car. And then his followers raised $100,000 more for the struggling Detroit family!
Monday, October 20, 2025
Every morning in Boonah, Queensland – a converted VW minibus pulls up to local houses to collect eager dogs for their daily trip to the local Ironbark Dog Park. It’s a puppy paradise, but even better – Ironbark has made a point to create jobs for people with disabilities.
Staff members who are hearing impaired, or differently abled help run the dog park. Plus, who doesn’t want to work with puppies all day! Something this wonderful didn’t stay quiet for long – IronBark’s TikTok page is followed by millions of people worldwide.
Friday, October 17, 2025
This past January Jim and Mirjana started getting random phone calls asking for help with Napoleon Grills. Since Jim has and frequently uses a Napoleon Grill he cheerfully chatted with the callers and did his best to help them. The couple continued to get calls … all about Napoleon grills. Sometimes they would help folks find good deals at different retailers and troubleshoot their problem. They just kept answering their phone, because… well, they are polite.
Turns out their number was accidentally printed as a customer service line. Meanwhile this couple started making friends with the folks who kept calling for help with their grills. When Napoleon Grill was notified, they fixed the listing, but also gifted Jim and Mirjana a new $3000 grill and named them Honorary Customer Service Ambassadors.
Thursday, October 16, 2025
Most restaurant owners go into business because they want to feed people. That is a simple, beautiful calling – something Jesus frequently did in the Gospels! Chris Kolstad loves making pizza – and seeing the joy a good slice gives his customers. Over the Summer he noticed a growing number of unhoused individuals in his Columbia Heights, MN community. He even caught some desperate folks fishing for discarded food in his dumpsters.
This broke his heart. He put up a sign next to the dumpster: “Please do not eat out of our dumpster… if you are desperate for food, please come ask.” He even posted a phone number and wrote ““If you are too embarrassed to ask, find a way to call us and ask if there is a way to leave a small cheese pizza outside the back door or something. You don’t even have to see us.”
Word spread and the community came together – raising money to cover the cost. Other restaurants started doing the same thing. And they are all working with a Community Assistance program to help feed everyone in their community dealing with food insecurity.
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
When Colton Strapelberg was born, the world was practically silent. Little Colton had severe hearing loss. But recently his parents were able to travel to the Ear Institute in Queenswood, South Africa where the 18 month-old was fitted with custom hearing aids.
When the hearing aids were turned on, Colton was startled by all the noise, until he realized he was hearing his mom’s voice clearly for the first time – then it was pure joy!
Mom Yolandie burst into happy tears and laughter. Now the toddler loves to show off his new hearing, identifying each new sound and pointing it out to his parents. Everything from the tea kettle to his grandma’s cell phone ringing.
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Wondering why Billy Miles can’t stop smiling? A few seconds of Ring Camera footage singlehandedly restored his faith in the future. 11-year-old Zaireaa Robertson came up to Billy Miles’s front door and paused before saluting. She was canvasing her neighborhood for her father’s lawn care business, but noticed signs of a Veteran. Miles is an Army Ranger veteran of the 1st and 75th Ranger Battalions.
The Army Ranger veteran from Midland, Texas said the simple gesture of respect from his 11 year old neighbor reduced him to a puddle of sobs. Miles reached out to Zaireaa’s father to thank them both in person. It was a teary, hopeful meeting.
“There’s great in everybody,” Miles said. “And there’s a whole lot of great in that young lady right there.”
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