New Issue Sneak Peek: God Will Restore!

by Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith @DrDaltonSmith in Leading Hearts magazine

Over the past month, I’ve witnessed devastation come into the lives of many around me. Tornados stormed through the south leaving a wake of pain and loss. Fire completely consumed the possession of a local family, leaving them clinging to the memories of the past and uncertain about the future. Flood waters swept through, carrying away hope in its path. 

What these situations have in common is a feeling of having portions of your life consumed by circumstances beyond your control. They leave you looking back at all those years invested in building and planning with a longing to get back what has been taken from you. I empathize with those walking through this pain because I have experienced it. The circumstances may not be the same, but the feeling of emptiness, grief, and hopelessness are understood. 

I have stared at areas of my life languishing from the attack of the “creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust” (Joel 2:25, NASB) and wondered how God could ever restore these years. How can He give back what appears to be forever lost?

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EPA Award Winning Article: Sioni Rodriguez—The Freedom of Forgiveness

by Emily Walton in Leading Hearts Magazine 

Congrats Emily for receiving 4th Place from the Evangelical Press Association for Student Writer of the Year


“FORGIVENESS IS A GIFT, AND YOU CAN GIVE IT TO YOURSELF AND GIVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE,” Sioni says. Sold three times and a survivor of unspeakable horrors, Sioni Rodriguez is a champion of the healing power that God and forgiveness can bring.

Raised in Costa Rica with her younger brother, Sioni’s early years were torturous.

“I was confused and afraid, living in poverty. I was

abused and violated,” Sioni says. “Our mother seemed to hate us so much.”

Her parents were alcoholics who physically, mentally and verbally abused them daily. When she was five she began getting raped nightly by her mother’s lover. “I would sit in my bed [at night], dreading his arrival,” Sioni says.

Sioni was sold for the first time when she was nine. Her mother took her to a brothel in the city and left her there. She accepted Jesus into her heart that day.

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MEREDITH KENDALL: Through It All He is Faithful!

by Emily Walton in Leading Hearts Magazine

MEREDITH KENDALL HAS GONE THROUGH COUNTLESS STRUGGLES IN HER LIFE, from an alcoholic and abusive stepfather to having an affair. Today, Meredith uses her testimony to bring hope and healing to others.

Meredith never really knew God. Growing up in an abusive home, her family rarely went to church. In 1985, she became a teenage mother, married the baby’s father and moved to the Bible belt.

Her husband came from an extremely religious family, but neither of them had a relationship with God.

“We went to church, but it was really just something that you did on a Sunday,” says Meredith.

A few years into their marriage she had an affair. They were advised to talk about it and then never bring it up again.

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Page Geske: Milepost 95 from Wreckage to Redemption

by Heather Riggleman@HeatherRig in Leading Hearts Magazine

SHE NEVER SAW IT COMING — THE MOMENT HER HONDA PILOT WOULD SKIN A GUARDRAIL BEFORE FLIPPING SEVERAL TIMES AND LANDING IN A DITCH. At that time Page Geske didn’t realize that over the next year of her life, she would encounter the goodness and faithfulness of God … as He literally moved her from wreckage to redemption.

In July of 2007, with less than three hours to go, on Highway 15, near Blackfoot, Idaho, Page and her daughter, Andrea, were driving home from Montana where Page’s husband had taken a job. The family chose to keep their roots planted in Idaho for the sake of the kids with frequent visits to see Matt.

“Andrea had turned 16 and I thought it would be a good chance for her to gain some experience driving. So we pulled over and switched seats. I should’ve known better; she didn’t get a chance to adjust everything in the car for her to drive comfortably.”

The moment Andrea reached down to adjust the settings of her seat, she lost control of the car, crashing at 65 miles per hour near milepost 95 of Highway 15.

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