Tag: Calling

• More Than I Can Bear

  

  I had always wanted to be a mom. However, I didn’t know how hard, heartbreaking or rewarding the journey of becoming a mom would be. My husband, Casey, and I decided to start trying for our first child about two years into our marriage. Unfortunately, we struggled with infertility, and it took us three years…

  homegrownjournal

  October 19, 2022

  2022, October 2022, Storytellers

  Amber Ennis, Becoming a mom, Called to be parents, Calling, Casey Ennis, Cesarean Section, Church, Does God give you more than you can bear?, Emergency C-section, Fast and Pray, Fear of loss, Friends who grieve, Full term stillborn baby, God knows what it's like to lose a child, God makes good from bad, God's faithfulness, God's glory, God's goodness even during painful times, God's Love, Induction Birth, Infertility, John 3:16, Miscarriage, Missouri, NICU, Nixa, Peace in midst of pain, Pour my heart out to God, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications, Springfield, Umbilical Cord

• Calling, Commitment, and Cambodia

  

  LOOKING AT THE FIELDS Working alongside her father in the Kansas wheatfields was a daily chore for my wife, Carmen, during her childhood. When she was 13, riding in the family work truck and gazing at the crops, it seemed like another summer’s day as her mind shifted toward the upcoming months and the necessary…

  homegrownjournal

  September 7, 2022

  2022, Neighbors, September 2022

  Asia, Asian Food, Assemblies of God, At-risk Children, Attention on the next generation of missionaries, Bangkok, Becoming a missionary, Calling, Cambodia, Cambodia Bible Institute, Carmen Lovelace, College, Crops, Discouragement as a missionary, Divine Plan, Encounter, Evangel University, Faith, Geography Class, Harvest, Intercultural Studies program, Jesus, Josh Lovelace, Kansas, Leaning on the Lord through grief, Lord, Lord provides, Miscarriage, Missionaries, Next steps after graduation, Philippines, Phnom Penh, Plans, Reading about the lost, Send someone else, Serve according to the calling, Short-term trip, Siem Reap, Southwest Missouri, Springfield, Stories, Students, Taking the Gospel to unreached people groups, Thailand, Unreached People Groups, What does faith in Christ look like, What to talk about on first date, Wheatfields

• Mona Bates

  

  Victory Mission + MinistrySpringfield, Missouri I poked my head inside my father’s bedroom door. “Can I come in,”  I asked. He gestured for me to sit beside him. Retired for the evening, he was reclined on his bed, reading a book. I entered, sat down, and began.  words + photographs MONA BATES “Daddy, I know…

  homegrownjournal

  July 5, 2021

  2021, July 2021, Storytellers

  A Man's Value to Society, Calling, God, Homeless, Jesus, Mona Bates, Newell Dwight Hillis, Steve Bates, Victory Mission + Ministry

• Piper Wright

  

  Play matters. I would even go as far as saying play is crucial to my well-being. Play has been such an important aspect of every single stage of my life, and I am a better person because of it. As an elementary physical education teacher, mom of two little boys, and someone who refuses to…

  homegrownjournal

  June 1, 2021

  June 2021, Storytellers

  Calling, Emotionally Healthy, Exercise, Mentally Healthy, Mom, Physical Education, Physically Healthy, Piper Wright, Play, Students, Teacher

• Christina Ford

  

  If I could label this season for me, it would be titled “Reflection.” During this time, I’ve asked myself “How did I get here?” Not in a negative undertone, but really, “How did I get here?” words + photographs Christina Ford “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a question asked…

  homegrownjournal

  May 1, 2021

  2021, May 2021, Storytellers

  Calling, Christina Ford, Dana Ford, Dreams, Goals, Illinois State University, Jesus, Kickapoo High School, Missouri, Mom, Nonprofit, Pre-med, Rebound Foundation, Springfield, Success

• Regina Lyons

  

  The call came late, so I listened to the message the next morning. Three sisters, ages 9, 14, and 15, were currently staying in a group home. Finding a foster home willing to take an older sibling group was proving difficult. “This is it,” I thought. Then the “what ifs” came. words + photographs Regina…

  homegrownjournal

  May 1, 2021

  2021, May 2021, Storytellers

  Calling, Derek Lyons, Dreams, Foster Parent, Foster Youth, Garage Door Guy, Insecurities, Regina Lyons