Patricia Javier Story

Patricia came from a poor family. In her adolescence, her parents separated. She and her siblings stayed with their mother. To help her mother provide for the family, Patricia joined beauty pageants to pursue a dream and for the prizes which helped to tide things over. Her break came when she joined the country's  most prestigious beauty pageant, Binibining Pilipinas or Miss Philippines.
Although she did not win the title, the Bb. Pilipinas pageant opened doors for her into the Philippine movies. As her star rose in show business, she quickly built a fortune she had dreamed of.  "From nothing we have built a beautiful home, I was able to travel to many places and met people I had never imagined of meeting in my life," she said in her testimony.
But she paid a high prize for her dream. Appearing mostly in flesh flicks, she allowed herself to be used by men who could give her the luxury in life or more movie breaks. In her testimony, she said that she was happy for a while until she found out that something was missing in her life. That drove her into drugs.
"I really used my body to get what I wanted in life. For a while I was happy but there came a time when I became insecure, I wanted ... (to live  a new life), to have a husband who respects me. I hated women who allowed themselves to became mistresses of married men, but then I found myself in the same situation. I tried drugs to escape from that reality. I admit I tried ecstasy," she confessed.
It was at this point that her mother talked to her thoroughly. "She told me 'everything that you have done for us boils down to nothing. You have given us a good life but you are ruining yourself'," she remembered her mother telling her. "I felt more depressed, I felt remorse for everything I had done, I realized  that I was sinning."
As it is often said God will work in mysterious ways if you would only seek His help and live a life in keeping with His counsels in the Scriptures. Patricia, who went to the United States for some show biz engagements, meet a Christian who invited her to join a church congregation. Despite her fears that she might lose her career that provided her fortune, she attended church meetings and services and found changes in her life.
"I just kept on attending and then I felt that God was working in me, I felt changes in my life. I forgot all my insecurities, what I had done in the past ... I did not think of the men in my life anymore, the material things. I felt like God was telling me that you will find happiness if you will follow me. I began to realize, so that's it when God is in your heart," she said.
It was then that she met her future husband, Dr. Robert Walcher. When she returned to Philippines after her show biz engagement, people who knew her were surprised at how she had changed. Shortly after, she married Dr. Walcher.
"My name, Genesis, means the beginning. I told myself 'this is the beginning of a new life'," she said toward the concluding part of her testimony. "I said 'God I am giving my life to you, I trust my life to your care'."

Source: http://salt-romblonwriter.blogspot.com/2011/12/true-story-of-filipino-beauty-queen.html

Working for the Lord

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:20-24, 45-58

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
- 1 Corinthians 15:58c

Marami tayong ginagawa araw-araw but it doesn't mean we can't work for other things, we can't work for God. Sabi pa nga sa isang verse, "In everything you do work at it with all your heart as if working for the Lord." So it's in everything we do. Hindi ibig sabihin hindi ka worker ng church ay di ka na nagwowork for God. "Your labor is not in vain". When we sacrifice our time for God, tiyak na di yun sayang. Minsan ganun tayo. Everyday sa working place and have to manage our time wisely. But when we hear God's whisper 'wag tayong aangal sa mga pinagagawa Niya sa atin. Konting oras lang naman yung hinihingi niya.

Let us give ourselves fully! God is always watching us. He is our great reward. Working for Him is not in vain.

Amalayer Girl now a preacher

Maraming binato sa kanyang masasakit na salita. But she found the truth. She found Jesus! Watch the testimony of a girl na naging "me against the world" sa madlang people. Two weeks hindi lumabas ng bahay and almost give up.

No one will define us. Only Jesus can give meaning to our lives. It's about forgiveness, about starting over again.

God Disciplines

Scripture: Hebrews 12: 1-11

Endure hardship as discipline, God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by His father.
- Hebrews 12:7

Are you experiencing hardships? Yes we do. Do you know why? We don't think so.

God is disciplining us like our biological father. God gives instances wherein He wants us to learn and develop something, to learn something new and efficient. Without discipline we can't maybe understand His will: discipline in studies, treating people, teaching the Word. He has His own strategy. When we are disciplined means we are loved, dearly loved by God. So, paghandaan ang sarili araw-araw because everyday God has something for us.

Mother of Baby Born Without Eyes Thanks God for Son Despite Naysayers

WOODBURY, Tenn. – The mother of a baby boy who was born without eyes is expressing her gratitude to God for her son’s life despite the negative comments she receives from those who claim that she should have aborted her child because of his condition.

Lacy Buchanan and her son Christian have been inspiring the masses worldwide for the past two years after she posted a video of her story on YouTube, which has since gone viral with hundreds of thousands of views.

“This is my plea to anyone considering abortion,” she wrote in the description for the film. “Rethink your decision, no matter the circumstances. I am so glad I chose life!”

The situation began in 2010 when Buchanan and her husband Chris learned that they were expecting. The excitement soon turned to dismay when they received a phone call that there was something wrong with the baby.

“Our little boy was diagnosed with a bilateral cleft palate and lip,” she told reporters. “We were crushed. How could this happen to us? Why did this happen to us?”

Although doctors were concerned that the Buchanan’s son might not make it to birth, they continued with the pregnancy and trusted God. They named him Christian.

In February 2011, Buchanan gave birth via C-section, and it was discovered that not only did Christian have a cleft palate and lip, but his eyes did not form properly, leaving him with spaces where his eyes should have been.

The couple took their son home a month later, but found many reactions from others to be disheartening.

“Any time we took Christian out in public, people would stare,” Buchanan remembered. “They would whisper behind my back, ‘Look at that baby!’ I even had one girl telling me I was a horrible person for not aborting Christian.”

She said that in sharing her story online, she has also received many unkind messages.

“I have literally had strangers see a single picture of Christian on Facebook and say ‘If i saw that kid walking down the street, I would murder him.’ They judge that Christian’s life isn’t worth living based on one single picture,” Buchanan writes on her website. “But most of you who know him know how awesome he is and how loved he is and how great his quality of life is.”

Christian is now three years old and has since had reconstructive surgery to correct his cleft palate, and will undergo other operations in the years to come. The Buchanans say that Christian is a normal child just like any other little boy; he just sees with the eyes of his heart instead of his physical eyes. Christian loves to laugh and play, and engages in conversation.

And although some have made rude remarks about the Buchanan’s son, others have expressed what an inspiration the family is to them—including the thousands who have learned of Christian’s story through YouTube.

“God’s really using Christian to touch other people’s lives,” Chris Buchanan told local television station WZ-TV last year. “Just with something as simple as a little video.”

“Those judgmental glances and whispers don’t really bother me anymore, because I know that Christian is beautiful, inside and out,” his wife states in the video, smiling. “I also know that I did the right thing by not aborting Christian. He is the love of my life and he is a miracle.”

Source: http://christiannews.net/2014/10/21/i-am-so-glad-i-chose-life-mother-of-baby-born-without-eyes-thanks-god-for-son-despite-naysayers/

Manny Pacquiao Testimony

Pacman finds inner peace and happiness

“Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” John 3:7-8

Manny “Pacman” Pacquaio is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world champion with six world titles on his belt, as well as the first lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), and is also a three-time The Ring and BWAA “Fighter of the Year”,  for the years 2006, 2008, and 2009.

Currently, Manny Pacquiao is the WBO welterweight champion (Super Champion). He is dubbed as the best pound for pound boxer in the world by most sporting news and boxing websites, including The Ring, BoxRec.com and Sporting Life. Aside from boxing, Pacquiao is also known for acting, music recording, and politics. In May 2010, Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines, representing the province of Sarangani.

Known for his Catholic roots by many, Pacquiao is usually seen making the sign of the cross while on his corner before his boxing matches–a ritual hand motion made by most Catholics before or after praying. But the world’s boxing champion seems to have encountered God’s Truth in the Bible that has drastically and radically changed his life for the glory of God! His official website does not only showcase his work as a boxer and a Philippine Congressman, but has now recently showcased the champ’s new found life in Christ. The website is just plastered with Bible verses and videos of him preaching about the importance of being born again and the value of truly reading the Bible–the Word of God.

Reaching the lost by lifting up christians in the sports limelight

The recent wave of athletes beings raised up by God in the sports world is too much of a coincidence if we sit down and consider each of them today. The world is so ripe for the harvest and time is running short as we see biblical prophecies being fulfilled rapidly before our very eyes today. The urgency of spreading the gospel message of Christ Jesus is real and God made sure to make some attention-grabbing moves in the world today.

Starting with Tim Tebow’s John 3:16 eye-black that triggered thousands, if not millions, of football fans to look up John 3:16 in Google; to Jeremy Lin’s rise to fame in the basketball arena as a very outspoken Christian who has made it no secret that he thanks God for everything in his life; we now see a radically changed, Bible-preaching world boxing champion, Manny Pacquiao.

The Bible Ambassador

Pacquiao boldly shared what he has learned through the Bible and enumerated 10 reasons why it is important for everyone to read the Holy Book and the Truth that "we have to be BORN AGAIN.".

“The old Manny Pacquiao is dead and the new one has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) These are the very words of the boxing champ himself found quoted and featured in the main page of his official website. He has recently held a Joint Recollection of the Clergy for the Diocesan of Kidapawan, Marbel, Digos and Cotabato in the Philippines at the Pacquiao Mansion 2 in General Santos City which was attended by Revs. Dinualdo D. Gutierrez, D.D. (Diocese of Marbel); Romulo Tolentino dela Cruz, D.D. (Diocese of Kidapawan) at  Guillermo V. Afable, D.D. ( Diocese of Digos, Davao del Sur) and more than  200 Catholic priests from different parts of Minadanao.

Pacquiao boldly shared what he has learned through the Bible and enumerated 10 reasons why it is important for everyone to read the Holy Book.

“The Bible encourages us to read God’s Word in order for us to KNOW THE TRUTH,” he boldly preached in front of the big crowd of Catholic religious leaders. The bishops and priests who attended the recollection were impressed at how well Pacquiao preached about the Bible and marveled at his memorizing Biblical verses that he has shared during his talk. The attendees were even more impressed when the world boxing champ acknowledged his sinfulness and depravity as a Catholic and how he thought to have been a saved soul which he was not. Pacquiao mentioned that it is a life which he has now turned his back on to face the new life he has as a born again Christian in Christ Jesus.

Bible studies in the Pacquiao Mansion

Bible studies are now regularly held at the Pacquiao Mansion in General Santos City, Philippines.

The whole Pacquiao and Jamora families, supporters and friends consistently join with World Boxing Champ and Sarangani lone district Rep. Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao in his daily Bible studies’ routine at the Pacquiao Mansion 1 in Barangay Lagao, this city.

Pacquiao’s Mansion 1 seemingly turns into a house of worship by the daily increase of the attendees who are all eager to hear the word of God.

Source: http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=9418

Angelu de Leon: Finally Home testimony

An inspiring story of actress Angelu de Leon. Watch it and be blessed!

FREEDOM

Scripture: Galatians 5:1-13

You my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
- Galatians 5:13

We are free. We live in a free country. We are blessed, isn't it? Kasi di lahat ng tao natatamasa ang kalayaan whether in speech, religion, love, etc. We are called to be free sabi ng Scripture. Ngunit di ibig sabihin free tayo ay magagawa na natin lahat. Yan ang nangyayari sa mundo ngayon. Wrong use of freedom! Some are living in sin, indulging with it. Akala ng iba yung freedom ay pansarili lang, they forget to do it for God. Inaabuso ng iba ang freedom and they justify their wrongs. They justify their sins at nagiging katanggap-tanggap na ito sa lahat.

God set us free. Pero may mga bagay na dapat ipinapanalangin at pinag-aaralan. Alamin natin if it pleases God. Di ibig sabihin free ay magagawa na lahat. Search our hearts pa rin because we are a living sacrifice.

DIRT POOR: Jericho Rosales

Jericho Rosales shares how he pulled himself out of the dump

Don’t be a slave to poverty. Jericho Rosales lived by this mantra all his life. A product of humble beginnings, the actor – one of his generation’s finest – is now keen to reward himself. It is not to make up for everything he missed out on during his impoverished childhood; his past, after all, ultimately served him well. Rather, it is the reward of time, of choice – in his career and private life.

When Echo won the title of “Mr Pogi” (Mr Handsome) inEat Bulaga, we heard about how he was a service crew for a popular local pizza parlor before he snagged his job (at that time) as a personal driver. We thought, good-looking, charming (Who can resist this guy’s twin dimples?) and it appears, self-reliant. But his story was nothing out of the ordinary – a large percentage of Filipinos his age is in the F&B service industry, either on a part-time or full-time basis.

Nobody knew the full story of his less-than-charmed life prior to show business until this writer sat down to discuss with him just how legitimate his “sob story” was. It seemed that not even his girlfriend then, actress Heart Evangelista, had fully grasped Echo’s lowly existence pre-showbiz.

HUNGRY YEARS

After his parents split up, his mother had to take charge of Echo and his younger sibling by herself. They would move wherever she found work. Unable to cope, she suffered from temporary stress-induced blindness.

As a kid, Echo learned that he must work for the things he wanted. It started out innocently enough – the childish assumption that at 11 years of age, it’s fine to sell fish in the market for 20 pesos a day so he could buy GI Joe toy dolls. In hindsight, he realised how desperate their situation was at the time.

“Once, we couldn’t afford to buy ulam (viand), so we just ate rice with salt, toyo (soy sauce), andcalamansi,” he related in an interview I was doing for a teen title then. Whenever his mom found herself jobless, they would resort to borrowing from the store or at worst, ignore their hunger.

But there was even worse to come. “Nung second year high school ako, naging caretaker kami ng pamilya ko ng isang bakanteng lote. Doon sa lote, may sira-sirang pader na nilagyan namin ng yerong bubong. Doon kami tumira. Tubig ulan ang panligo namin.” (In my second year of high school, my family became caretakers of a vacant lot. In that lot, there was a dilapidated wall. We attached a tin roof above it. That’s where we lived. We had to use rainwater for bathing.) That period, he said, was the lowest point of his life.

Throughout the course of the interview, Echo would glance repeatedly at Heart, as if to gauge her reaction. The latter was pitying, prompting him to admit that he had never divulged the extent of his miserable past to the actress.

At 17, he left home to work as a service crew in Greenwich, a popular local pizza joint. “Bumukod ako kasi kailangan kong tulungang kumita nanay at kapatid ko. Naglalaba na nun nanay ko. Binibisita ko sila tuwing suweldo ko.” (I left home because I needed to help my mom and younger sibling earn money. My mom at that time had started doing laundry for other people. I would visit them every pay day.)

When he became a personal driver, his employer’s client suggested that he join Eat Bulaga’s “Mr Pogi” competition. Initially, he refused as he and his friends used to mock and laugh about the contest. But in dire straits, he eventually relented and auditioned without telling his friends. He won and the rest, as they say, is history.

“When I got shows in ABS-CBN, I hung a Raiders car plate on my cabinet to drive me to work hard. In less than six months, I got to buy a car! That really inspired me, so I said I’m going to buy my mom a house. After a year, naibili ko nga siya ng bahay.” (I was able to buy her a house.)

DEVELOPING SUBSTANCE

When Echo was still with Heart, hecklers called him a TH (“Trying Hard”) and a wannabe coño (rich kid), when all the guy did was try to improve his conversational skills in English. He tried his hand in recording music; this, too, earned him further taunting. But these didn’t stop Echo from striving to better himself, not just personality-wise, but character-wise as well. (Yes, he’s still working on his music career.)

Echo recently manned up and regained his dignity as he strove to keep details of his most recently ended relationship (with Cesca Litton) private. Instead of his usual heartbroken cries on national TV, he refocuses attention on the thing that catapulted him to stardom – his thespic talent. Back on top anew (with TFC primetime hit Green Rose) after the dip his career took at the height of his romance with Heart, Echo channels his renewed faith in himself and his job on developing substance.

In an interview with a Filipino broadsheet, he said: “I choose my projects very well. I don’t want to waste the rest of my life doing something that is not worthwhile.”

Right now, he is keen to venture into producing and other aspects of film-making, which can prove fruitful, considering his record as an award-winning actor. “I want to make movies that will matter.”

As a reward for all his hard work in the last 11 years, Jericho Rosales is giving himself time, giving himself a choice on who and what to become, regardless of naysayers.

For now, he only has one goal: “To reach out to many people, to inspire and to touch people’s lives.”

His story, the tale of his rise from the dumps, is a classic example. “Don’t let poverty ruin your dream, rob you of happiness or get the best of you. You’ll get a chance to buy a ticket out of poverty, but it’ll takesipag (hard work), tiyaga (perseverance) and a good attitude. God is the God of Possibility. Simply believe in Him.”

By: IRENE CURTIS

Source: http://www.pinoystaronline.com/dirt%E2%80%88poor-jericho-rosales/

Accused

Scripture: Genesis 39:1-23

The Lord was with him (Joseph); he showed him kindness and granted favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
- Genesis 39:21

Joseph was a very good man. He was trusthworthy. Ngunit sa kabila ng kabutihan niya may mga tao talagang gustong gawan siya ng mali. Ganun din sa atin di ba? Ngunit di siya nagpatinag sa tukso sa asawa ni Potiphar. Pero gumawa pa rin ng kasamaan yung asawa ni Potiphar. Tuloy, pinaratangan si Joseph ng rape na di naman niya ginawa at ikinulong. But the Lord was with him. God showed him kindness and never leave him. Kahit nasa prison si Joseph, God's provision was there. Walang sinuman nanakit sa kanya dahil alam ni God na wala siyang kasalanan.

Naakusahan na ba kayo na di niyo ginawa? Ano yung pakiramdam? Ano ang ginawa niyo upang patunayan na mali ang ibinibintang sa yo? I hope this passage will remind us that kahit anong mangyari, bumaliktad man ang tingin ng ibang tao sa atin ay di tayo matitinag 'cause God is with us. Huwag din tayo padala sa tukso tulad ni Joseph.

It's the little things

To start my sad story, I have been dealing with severe depression and extreme anxiety for the better half of my short 24 year old life. Suicidal thoughts constantly running through my mind. Endless nights of crying over the turmoils life brings me. I am successful in my career, but always feel like I fail. I had the most important person in my life right next to me. Then watched as we fell apart. Through my heartbreak I've learned a hundred lessons about life and where we should be going. Family, friends and lovers were never really important until now. You have to lose everything sometimes just to see what life can bring you. As my depression continues to destroy me day by day, there is always one thing I will have. And that's my love for helping people. I believe in paying it forward and making things right. Some people don't understand what it's like to be an introvert with these feelings of love. And how to express it. The simple small things will always make me feel better. For example I changed an elderly woman's tire on the side of the freeway the other morning just out of reaction, and I cried the whole half hour drive home. Not because I was sad. But because of the pure joy I feel from helping people. if there is one thing to take from my story, is love your community. It just might save your life.

By Mike Fisher 

Read more at http://www.sunnyskyz.com/feel-good-story/1063/It-s-the-little-things#oJgs5SsqwYWLTSws.99

WHAT IF WE KNEW?

Scripture: ACTS 1:1-11

He said to them: "It is not for you to know for you the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
- Acts 1:7-8

What if we knew what will happen in the future? Maybe the world may not as miserable as it is. Things maybe in order, perfect. No suffering, delusion and war.Everything will take its place. But it can't be because we have a God. We have an authority and He is in control.

It is not for us to know everything because God want us na hanapin Siya at magtiwala sa kapangyarihan Niya. Paano na lang kung alam natin lahat? For sure we'll lean on our own understanding.

We will be God's witness throughout the world. The Holy Spirit will be our guide. Kaya mabuti at mainam pa rin yung hindi natin alam ang future dahil magtitiwala tayo sa Diyos. Mas may alam Siya sa ikakabuti natin.

OPRAH - The Story Behind Her Success

         

     Winfrey was named "Orpah" after the biblical character in the Book of Ruth on her birth certificate, but people mispronounced it regularly and Oprah stuck.

     Oprah was born on January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, USA from an unmarried young couple. Originally named as Orpah, the family and people around her often addressed her as Oprah, so she went on to use this particular name. She was nurtured by her paternal grandmother after her parents decided to have a separation. Living at her grandmother's farm in rural Mississippi, she learned to read and practiced recitations at the age of 3. Her serene life became miserable after she moved to her mother's home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1960.

     When she was 6, Oprah's grandmother became ill and she was sent to live with her mother in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There she lived with her mother and half-sister, Patricia, in a boardinghouse. Oprah's mother worked as a maid cleaning houses, but at times had to rely of welfare to support the family. She had little time at home with her children, but when she was able to be there, spent most of her time with Patricia.

    At 9 and living in Milwaukee, Oprah and her siblings were left with their cousin to watch them, who was 19 at the time. It was this cousin who sexually abused Oprah for the first time -- she was raped, and then taken out for ice cream and told to keep it a secret -- which she did. She was again abused by a family friend and an uncle a couple of years later -- ongoing abuse that she kept silent

     At 13, after suffering years of abuse, Winfrey ran away from home.At 14, Oprah discovered she was pregnant, though she hid this news from her parents until she was in her 7th month. The day she told her father the news of her pregnancy, she went into early labor and delivered her baby that day -- a boy, who died within 2 weeks of his birth. She later stated she felt betrayed by the family member who had sold the story to the National Enquirer in 1990.

     Her frustrated mother once again sent her to live with Vernon in Nashville, Tennessee, though this time she did not take her back. Vernon was strict, but encouraging, and made her education a priority. Winfrey became an honors student, was voted Most Popular Girl, and joined her high school speech team at East Nashville High School, placing second in the nation in dramatic interpretation. She won an oratory contest, which secured her a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, a historically black institution, where she studied communication. Her first job as a teenager was working at a local grocery store.

      At age 17, Winfrey won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant. She also attracted the attention of the local black radio station, WVOL, which hired her to do the news part-time. She worked there during her senior year of high school, and again while in her first two years of college.  

      Winfrey's career choice in media would not have surprised her grandmother, who once said that ever since Winfrey could talk, she was on stage. As a child, she played games interviewing her corncob doll and the crows on the fence of her family's property. Winfrey later acknowledged her grandmother's influence, saying it was Hattie Mae who had encouraged her to speak in public and "gave me a positive sense of myself". Working in local media, she was both the youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at Nashville's WLAC-TV. She moved to Baltimore's WJZ-TV in 1976 to co-anchor the six o'clock news. She was then recruited to join Richard Sher as co-host of WJZ's local talk show People Are Talking, which premiered on August 14, 1978. She also hosted the local version of Dialing for Dollars there. 

     In 2012, Winfrey decided to quit the show to focus on her own television network, OWN. As with any new venture, it will take time to hire the right team and create a winning product, but Winfrey is undaunted, saying, “I believe that one of life’s greatest risks is never daring to risk.” 

References: http://ow.ly/Ctj6j, http://ow.ly/CtiYH, http://ow.ly/Ctja3 

Facing Her Past

Raped when she was 17, rocker Tracy Dawn spent years running from her pain. But she finally found hope and healing in a loving savior.

by Chris Lutes

Tracy Dawn screamed and tried to fight off her attacker. But the guy was too strong, too determined.

At 17, during the summer of her senior year, she was raped.

Christian rock artist Tracy Dawn Klaiber—who goes by Tracy Dawn—can't exactly remember how they'd met. Maybe it was at a football game the previous fall. She's not sure. But she'd seen him here and there a few times. There seemed to be a mutual attraction. And it was cool that an "older guy"—21 years old, to be exact—was interested in her.

So one day in late summer, she drove over to his condo in a neighboring town. The plan was to take in a movie or maybe go out for a nice dinner. But the guy had different plans.

After the rape, she shook uncontrollably and her screams-turned-to-shrieks became unbearable to her rapist. He decided to leave her there, alone in his condo.

With her attacker gone, the girl's pain and fear spiraled into rage. She felt like she'd explode. Then she spied a collection of empty bottles. She grabbed one, smashed it. Then another. And another. She smashed every single bottle, leaving the apartment trashed with shards of shattered glass.

She got back in her car and started driving. She stopped somewhere, changed into the jogging outfit she kept in her trunk, and ran. She ran long and hard. She ran until sweat soaked her clothes and exhaustion drained her of any remaining energy. Yet as hard as she tried, she could not run away from the fact that she'd just been raped.

Tracy Dawn is now able to talk openly about the horrible attack. The singer/songwriter even wrote a song about it for her debut CD Poetic Aftermath (Atlantic), a rock album packed with gritty testimonials about the life-changing power of God. But when the rape took place, and for several years afterward, she kept her secret buried deep down inside.

"I was a virgin when I was raped," she explains. "I didn't know anything about sex. I really didn't understand what had happened. I just knew I was in pain. …

"I was afraid to talk to anybody about it. I thought I'd be blamed for what happened. I figured I was so stupid to trust him. I should have known better. I should have seen it coming."

So Tracy Dawn decided to pretend like the rape never took place. She now realizes she should have gone to the police. She should have told somebody. But she didn't. She simply tried to hide her pain by throwing herself into her role as head cheerleader and lead soloist of many high school choral productions.

But her performances at sporting events and music programs were simply that—performances. She couldn't perform away the bitterness and anger that festered inside. Her self-worth wasted away, as did her faith in God. While she'd grown up in a Christian home and made a profession of faith at age 5, she decided God had abandoned her. So why not abandon him?

"I'd gotten coldhearted," she says. "Not long after the rape, I said that's it. I don't care about any of this Christian or church stuff anymore. This is meaningless. I only kept going to church because my parentsmade me."

As she turned away from her faith, she turned toward friends who introduced her to alcohol and marijuana. She tried to drink and smoke away the pain that overwhelmed her.

Amid all of this pain, or maybe because of it, she dreamed big about her future. She fantasized about becoming a model and actress. But more than modeling and acting, she longed to fulfill her dream to become a professional singer and songwriter.

So after high school graduation, 18-year-old Tracy Dawn left home and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams. Sure, her dreams were far-fetched. What were the odds of a naive high school grad from smalltown Kansas—completely on her own with no training or experience—breaking into the entertainment world? Maybe this happens in made-for-TV movies. But not in reality.

But she was determined, hard working, focused. Obviously, she was motivated by more than career goals. If she kept busy enough, if she crammed enough things into her life, she'd bury a past nightmare.

"I just never let myself think about the rape," she says.

After a couple years of struggling to make ends meet, she started landing some jobs. There were commercials for Miller Lite, McDonald's, Coke and MCI. There was a modeling gig with Calvin Klein. And with a prominent part as a waitress in the Guns N' Roses video, "November Rain," she found herself on MTV. As for her music career, she'd become a member of a band and was playing some of the better L.A. clubs.

She'd also gotten into the L.A. drug and party scene.

"I'd go with groups of friends to illegal underground parties—raves," she says. "We'd take ecstasy, smoke marijuana, and drink all night long. … Balloons filled with nitrous oxide [laughing gas] were passed around. I became a big nitrous user.

"There were times I'd pass out at these parties. I'd wake up on the ground with someone slapping me in the face to wake me up."

Even with the heavy drug use, Tracy Dawn and her bandmates were looking for something more—a better high. As for Tracy Dawn, she was also looking for a better way to wipe out bad memories. That's when she and the rest of the band started studying sorcery books. Following the instructions in the books, they combined occult rituals with hallucinogenic drugs.

As the sorcery books promised, the spiritual world began to invade her dreams, where she experienced bizarre and frightening visions of satanic activity.

One dream scared her more than any other. "I saw a demon floating above my bed," she says. "I couldn't wake up and get away from the demon."

Then suddenly, while still dreaming, she remembered something her grandmother had told her many years ago.

"When I was real little," says Tracy Dawn, "Grandma told me that if I ever felt like the Devil was attacking me, I could say, 'In the name of Jesus, leave me!' I yelled it out in the dream, and the demon disappeared."

Then she remembers seeing someone she believes represented Jesus. It was then that an inexplicable calmness and peace came over her.

In the days following the dream, she had an insatiable desire to read the Bible. "I started reading Matthew and couldn't stop reading," she says. "My comfort was in reading the Bible. I knew it was the truth."

Soon she found a church and was growing in her Christian walk. She'd given up both sorcery and drug use. And while she still did commercials she felt were appropriate for a Christian, she gave up most modeling jobs. "Calvin Klein modeling was too compromising," she says frankly. "I didn't want to stand in front of people in my underwear anymore."

She even gave up music, feeling it had become too much of a god in her life. "I wanted my identity to be 'Tracy Dawn, child of God.' Not 'Tracy Dawn, singer/songwriter.'"

Then, with all of the "props" gone, she fell into a deep depression.

"I discovered all this pain still in my heart," she explains. "With the drugs and everything else gone, I had nothing left to distract me. I was depressed, and I had lots of suicidal thoughts."

A friend from church helped her find a Christian therapist. Before long, the therapist was helping Tracy Dawn face her past.

"My therapist helped me talk about the rape and other bad experiences," she says. "She helped me put into words feelings I'd buried so long. It was scary. I was afraid of how deep my memories would go and how much they would reveal. At times, I felt that if I allowed myself to feel grief and anguish, I would cry for the rest of my life.

"I had to trust that God really wouldn't give me more than I could handle. I had to lean on the Word of God and prayer."

After about four months of intensive therapy, she began feeling God's healing touch. The past, as horrible as it had been, was finally in the past. It was time to move forward.

Moving forward for Tracy Dawn meant finding her way back to music—something she felt God definitely wanted her to do. It wasn't long before she was writing rock tunes that reflected her faith journey—including these lines about the rape (from "Enter Savior"):

I was raped, I was abused
It left me robbed and confused
Spoke of it to no one—no
Proud of this seeming self-control
Since I didn't let my voice speak
Neither did my eyes weep
So my heart turned hard as glass
In my distress and brokenness
I cried out hoping someone might hear
Enter Savior, enter love
Intervention from above
Enter healer, catcher of my tears
Who whispers in my ear
"Now don't you fear—I'm here"

Enter Savior. Enter love. For Tracy Dawn, a relationship with a loving savior is the only way to find hope and healing. And, she will tell you, it's the only reason to sing about anything.

Taken from http://www.christianitytoday.com/iyf/truelifestories/ithappenedtome/2.18.html?start=1

FOUR FINGER PIANIST

                                           By Korea News Group (Originally in Korean)

Lee Hee-Ah, well known as a four-fingered pianist, was born with two fingers on each hand and short legs under the knees due to a congenital disorder. Then later at three she had to undergo amputation to remove the legs below the knees. The feet she uses to walk are very soft and easily hurt. Therefore she can’t walk very long. However, she inspires courage and hope in many people through her music despite her mental and physical disabilities.

Hee-Ah has played the piano since six. She explains the reason she started the piano as follows. “My fingers had no strength. So, my mother had me learn piano as therapy so that I could hold a pencil at school, and it led me to where I am now.”

Her piano teacher discouraged her from the instrument saying she was not gifted. It took her several months to even press any keys because her fingers lacked strength. To make it worse, she was not able to tune into the beat and melody due to her brain dysfunction, and the doctor said if she memorized a piece five minutes long or more, her brain would become more dysfunctional.

However, with perseverance Hee-Ah can now memorize and play a piece that lasts longer than seven minutes. In learning her favorite piece, Chopin’s impromptu Fantasia, she practiced so much that the score sheet was worn to tatters. It took no less than five years for her to play it.

“With ten fingers it would play rhythmically, but I had the most difficult time when melodies were not smoothly connected to each other because I have only two fingers.” “My favorite motto is ‘Always try my best’ and ‘Make ceaseless efforts.’”

When she first took part in a piano contest, the event organizer rejected her application in the beginning. Yet after her persistent request, she was able to participate in the competition and eventually won first prize. The jurors did not know she was physically disabled until the first prize winner was announced. Since then she started winning many awards in various competitions. Observing the results of her superhuman efforts, she would play the piano more than ten hours everyday resulting in blisters on her fingers.

A standout pianist, her story was covered by different media and also published in books causing a sensation. The school district office of Seoul included her book in the reading list for elementary schools. In 1997 Ms. Lee had her first solo recital and donated all earnings to a fund for the disabled. She now does concert tours overseas as well as nationally. Hee-Ah has gained international fame as a pianist. Her music touches many people wherever she performs, and stations such as ABC and CNN in America have aired her story as well.

Despite her disabilities Hee-Ah is optimistic and always smiling brightly. “I am an ordinary girl same as others close to my age. The only difference is that I have a physical disability, but that doesn’t mean I feel easily hopeless and give up what I want to do just because I don’t have legs and a few fingers. I believe that there will always be hope if I keep my dream and work hard to make it come true.”

Furthermore, she inspires people through her disability. When asked during a TV show interview, “Why do you think God gave ten fingers to others and only four to you?” she responded, “That’s for the disabled. Through the music of 4-fingers, God gave me a mission to let them know. I always thank God that Hes did this to make use of me in some way.”

Hee-Ah thanks God because she believes if she had ten normal fingers she would merely be one among many pianists. Conquering her mental and physical barriers, her music, along with an artistic impression, makes her audiences feel an indomitable spirit and beauty. Lee Hee-Ah’s music convinces us again that art is not a body or brain but the expression of a soul.

Taken from http://www.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/news/186/bp_32.htm

IM A CHRISTIAN ADDICTED TO PORN

by Shaun Groves

The remains of the campfire were cold. And the labels on the bottles of Bud were bleached white by days in the sun. Whoever had camped out in the woods near my house was long gone. My friend and I picked through the debris they'd left behind. An abandoned hip-hop CD. A few empty baggies and bottles. And a magazine.

The cover was weathered and unrecognizable. I poked it open with a stick, scared of what critters might be calling it home now. Its dewy, wet pages flopped open. I saw a woman. And I saw her naked breasts.

Since I was only 7, I ran. I mean, girls had cooties. They were gross. They were things we chased at recess, but didn't know what to do if we ever caught one. But I still remember that image. I was excited by it, but scared of it at the same time. I didn't understand it and I knew I shouldn't be seeing it.

And I knew I wanted more.

A few years later I got my chance. This time I didn't run away. I was 13. I was at my friend Tyler's* house. Tyler was my only friend with internet access. Almost every day, we played computer games for hours.

But one day we clicked on what we thought was a game to download, and our lives changed. It wasn't a game, but a video. At first, we laughed as we saw the blurry, slow-moving image of a woman. We laughed nervously as if to say, "That's so stupid. Turn it off." But we didn't turn it off. We watched it. Then I went home.

But Tyler went looking for more and showed me what he found. I didn't run away this time. I didn't want to keep looking. But I did. I was caught.

Eventually, looking at nudity online together grew uncomfortable and boring. So Tyler and I took our passion for porn solo. Tyler kept downloading anything he could find, progressing from topless women to sex photos to hardcore videos. Meanwhile, I bounced between feeling guilty and wanting to see more. Some days I was strong. Other days, I was like a lustful porn addict looking for a fix. I never purchased or downloaded porn, though. I was a church kid in a small town who could be recognized and ratted on. And I had no computer at home. Instead, I stole porn.

I searched my friends' houses in hopes their dad had a hidden stash of Playboys somewhere. When that didn't work, I stole porn magazines from convenience store shelves. Not many. Just three or four over a couple of years. But I savored them.

I imagined one page at a time coming to life. It's embarrassing to say, but these women made me feel loved. My eyes would feast on their skin and it made me feel like a man. For just one moment, I felt wanted. I felt pleasure.

I felt close to someone, and it never bothered me that she wasn't real. She was to me.

But those moments of fulfillment did pass. Always. The pleasure faded. And in its wake I fought pounding waves of regret and guilt. I felt a million miles from good, a billion light years from God. I'd often think back to how I saw that first picture of a naked woman. I had used a stick to keep it away from me. I felt like God had the stick in his hand now, poking at me from a distance, trying not to get any of me on him.

I knew this wasn't true. I knew I was a Christian. And I knew God saw me as perfect and loveable as he saw his very own Son. I knew all this. Grace. Love. Forgiveness.

But I didn't feel it. And I grew more and more depressed and frustrated with myself. I'd promise myself over and over that I wouldn't mess up again, only to repeat my mistakes.

Tyler wasn't any better. He eventually found it impossible to believe in a God who'd keep him from looking at porn. With God out of the picture, Tyler convinced himself porn was just about pleasure. And how could pleasure hurt anyone? Once he decided pornography wasn't evil, he embraced it. He subscribed toPlayboy and bought their videos.

Seeing what happened to Tyler was a wake-up call. I knew I was headed down the same path. So I got help. One day, I was hanging out with a close friend who was a strong believer. Out of nowhere, I told him everything. My voice shaking, I confessed that if I could look at pornography for free, knowing I wouldn't be found out or feel guilty, I would. I asked him for help. We prayed together.

And then—to my surprise—my friend told me he had the same problem. Turns out most of my friends did. We went to an older Christian in our church and asked him to meet with us every week and help us. This man had no great wisdom we lacked, no secret to fighting the drawing power of naked women. But what he did was listen, give us wise advice and pray. He became a caring mentor to all of us. The first thing he showed us was that we weren't the only ones with these problems. We weren't freaks. We weren't alone anymore.

As I met with my new accountability group, I saw my life had to change. And a lot of those changes and lessons still apply to my life today. Lesson one: run away. "Flee!" our mentor often said. "Alcoholics shouldn't live across the street from a liquor store." To me, that means I can't walk alone into the magazine section of a store. Or use a computer alone without internet filters.

I have to limit the opportunities for temptation. I have to put space between me and porn. I can't have some catalogs in my house. I don't let myself watch TV alone. Even with filters on my internet service, I don't go online if no one else is home. These restrictions annoy me sometimes. But they help me flee.

The second thing I learned was to ask myself the question: How can I increase my desire for God and smother my desire to lust? Someone once told me that there are two dogs in my heart's backyard. One dog always craves pleasure, sin and selfishness. The other dog craves justice, mercy, peace and obedience to God. When I wake up every day, I choose which dog gets fed. The one I feed grows until the other dog can't even be seen.

I need to feed the right dog. I do that by having honest relationships with Christian guys. I have one friend in particular I check in with daily. We talk honestly about sex and sin and the junk that tempts us. Together we figure out how to be better men. We gripe. We pray. We confess. We teach.

I also feed the right dog by reading the Bible and studying it with other people. And I don't just read it, but I write down what I've learned and what I'll do or think differently because of it. I spend time in silence asking God to speak to me. I pray, worship, serve other people.

On most days, the good dog outweighs the bad one. That mongrel is so scrawny now that I hardly notice him. But he surprises me every once in a while. Out of nowhere he'll bark at me, and I'll find myself pulled in the wrong direction. He's the loudest when I'm not careful about avoiding temptation. So I flee. I get up and leave.

And I pray: "God, help me do what's right today. And help Tyler, too. Save us both from pornography and make us closer to perfect. Make us love you more than ourselves and surround us with people who remind us that you love us even when we mess up. Surround us with friends and a church that feed the holy side of us and teach us how to starve the addicted side of us. Kill the bad dog. Feed the good one. Amen."

Taken From: http://www.christianitytoday.com/iyf/truelifestories/ithappenedtome/im-christian-addicted-to-porn.html?start=3

The world's youngest mother

Lina Medina (born September 27, 1933, in Ticrapo, Huancavelica Region, Peru) is the youngest confirmed mother in medical history, giving birth at the age of five years, seven months and 17 days. She presently lives in Lima, the capital of Peru.

Early development

Born in Ticrapo, Peru, to silversmith Tiburelo Medina and Victoria Losea, Medina was brought to a hospital by her parents at the age of five years due to increasing abdominal size. She was originally thought to have had a tumor, but her doctors determined she was in her seventh month of pregnancy. Dr. Gerardo Lozada took her to Lima, Peru, to have other specialists confirm that Medina was pregnant.

Contemporary newspaper accounts indicate that interest in the case developed on many fronts. The San Antonio Light newspaper reported in its July 16, 1939, edition—in anticipation of the girl's expected visit to U.S. university scientific facilities—that a national Peruvian obstetrician/midwife association had demanded that the girl be transported to a national maternity hospital; the paper quoted April 18 reports in the Peruvian paper La Crónica stating that a North American filmmaking concern sent a representative "with authority to offer the sum of $5000 to benefit the minor [in exchange for filming rights] ... we know that the offer was rejected." The same article, reprinted from a Chicago paper, noted that Lozada had made films of Medina for scientific documentation and had shown them around April 21 while addressing Peru's National Academy of Medicine; on a subsequent visit to visit Lina's remote hometown, some of the baggage carrying the films had been dropped into the river while crossing "a very primitive bridge": "Enough of his pictorial record remained, however, to intrigue the learned savants."

A month and a half after the original diagnosis, on May 14, 1939, Medina gave birth to a boy by a caesarean section necessitated by her small pelvis. The surgery was performed by Lozada and Dr. Busalleu, with Dr. Colareta providing anaesthesia. Her case was reported in detail by Dr. Edmundo Escomel in the medical journal La Presse Médicale, including the additional details that hermenarche had occurred at eight months of age, in contrast to a past report stating that she had been having regular periods since she was three years old (or 2½ according to a different article). The report also detailed that she had prominent breast development by the age of four. By age five, her figure displayed pelvic widening and advanced bone maturation. When doctors performed the caesarean to deliver her baby, they found she already had fully mature sexual organs from precocious puberty.

Son

Medina's son weighed 2.7 kg (6.0 lb; 0.43 st) at birth and was named Gerardo after her doctor. Gerardo was raised believing that Medina was his sister, but found out at the age of 10 that she was his mother. He grew up healthy but died in 1979 at the age of 40 of a bone marrow disease. 

Later life

Medina has never revealed the father of the child nor the circumstances of her impregnation. Escomel suggested she might not actually know herself by writing that Medina "couldn't give precise responses".

Although Lina's father was arrested on suspicion of child sexual abuse, he was later released due to lack of evidence, and the biological father who impregnated Lina was never identified. Additionally, there was no explanation of how a five-year-old girl could conceive a child.

In young adulthood, she worked as a secretary in the Lima clinic of Lozada, who gave her an education and helped put her son through high school. Medina later married Raúl Jurado, who fathered her second son in 1972. As of 2002, they lived in a poor district of Lima known as "Chicago Chico" ("Little Chicago"). She refused an interview with Reutersthat year, just as she had turned away many reporters in years past.

Documentation

There are two published photographs documenting the case. The first was taken around the beginning of April 1939, when Medina was seven and a half months into pregnancy. Taken from Medina's left side, it shows her standing naked in front of a neutral backdrop. This is the only published photograph of Lina taken during her pregnancy.

This photograph is of significant value because it documents her condition and the extent of her physiological development. The other photograph is of far greater clarity and was taken a year later in Lima when Gerardo was eleven months old.

Although the case was called a hoax by some, a number of doctors over the years have verified it based on biopsies, X rays of the fetal skeleton in utero, and photographs taken by the doctors caring for her. Extreme precocious puberty in children aged five or under has only been documented with Medina. Extreme precocious puberty is treated by suppressing fertility, which preserves growth potential and reduces the social consequences of full sexual development in childhood.

How did lina medina get pregnant

In 1933, Lina Medina was born in Ticrapo, Peru. At the age of five years, Lina was brought to hospital by her parents who complain of abdominal extreme growth. It was initially thought to have a tumor, but doctors later determined that the child was seven months pregnant. On May 14, 1939, Lina Medina gave birth to a baby boy. The child was delivered by caesarean section, as the pool of Lina was too small to do a natural childbirth. Her son was named Gerardo, and weighed 2.7 kg (6.0 lb). Lina Medina officially became the youngest confirmed mother in medical history, aged five, seven months and 21 days. The doctors who worked on Lina noted that it had an abnormal progress of growth, with breast development identified by the age of four. Within five years, Her body displayed pelvic widening and advanced bone maturation. However, doctors could not explain how the little 5 year old daughter got pregnant?

But how-did-lina-medina-get-pregnant ?

As might be expected, sexual abuse was immediately considered. The father of Lina was arrested on suspicion of rape and incest. He was released due to lack of evidence. Lina Medina never revealed who the real father of her child is, or the circumstances surrounding its impregnation.According to a 1955 article reviewing the case, “Some have pointed out, there were frequent festivities celebrated by the Indians in the Andean villages like the one where Lina was born. These often ended in orgies where rape n ‘ was not uncommon. But if this theory were accepted, there was still no explanation of how a five year old girl could conceive. It was not so far. ”

Gerardo was raised to believe that Lina was his sister, but he discovered at the age of 10 years, she was his mother. He led a normal life, but he died in 1979 at the age of 40, after being diagnosed with a disease of the bone marrow. Heavy thrust was made to test the DNA of Gerardo and compare it to the father of Lina. But nothing conclusive found.
Lina Medina is alive today, but refuses to give interviews. The case was called a hoax by some, but doctors have verified the pregnancy was real, based on biopsies and fetal skeletal radiographs. There are two published photographs documenting the birth. The most famous image was taken of Lina Medina, when she was seven months pregnant.

Sources: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Blair

http://2il.org/how-did-lina-medina-get-pregnant