Hope & Faith

A young man born with a physical disability is not allowing his impairment to slow down his development.

Many people have the nasty habit of looking at someone and making instant, snap judgments. This is especially true when it comes to those with disabilities. Solely based on either their physical or mental disabilities, people will try to gauge what someone can do before even getting to know them. 

But, as has been shown, time and again, people can surprise and achieve more than many thought possible. Once again, that is true for people with disabilities and, for one young man in particular. 

A short video on YouTube shows a blind toddler making his way down a set of stairs. As the narrator in the video points out, these are Vinny’s first steps down a flight of stairs. 

Vinny, as he heads down the steps, takes it slow and easy. He uses a special cane, which is designed specifically for blind toddlers. The cute little guy uses his right hand to hold onto and guide the cane. He uses his left hand to feel and touch the railing. 

Who would have ever thought that a blind child could maneuver a flight of stairs by themselves? But apparently, the device used by Vinny allows the child to walk around without the assistance of someone else. 

Vinny, even at his young age, displayed a lot more courage than most people on an average day. He refuses to let his physical disability keep him from learning how to do for himself and to act independently. 

As the child makes it all the way down the steps, he beats the cane hard against the floor, ensuring that there are no more steps in front of him. Vinny’s huge accomplishment is met with cheers.

What a beautiful moment of a child doing, likely, what most thought to be impossible for someone his age.

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Rachel Platten, the singer of “Fight Song,” spent time with a remarkable young man who found inspiration and encouragement from her hit track.

Life is a series of unexpected and often unexplained events. Devastating and tragic occurrences, which alter the trajectory of our lives do take place. Those catastrophic circumstances do not discriminate. They can and do happen to anyone at any time. 

Scout Lawlor and his family know this reality all too well. As the clip posted on YouTube mentions, the young man was involved in a near-fatal automobile crash. The crash left Scout with extensive injuries to his brain.

In the clip, the young man mentions what happened to his body because of the devastating injuries.

“My body forgot everything,” Scout said. “How to walk, how to talk, how to breathe.”

The young man, following the crash, was in for an uphill battle as he started his long road to recovery. As anyone knows who has ever encountered something similar, the road to recovery is filled with many tears and setbacks. 

It was during these instances of extreme frustration and disappointment that Scout’s mother encouraged her son to continue by singing Rachel’s “Fight Song.” 

Scout, in a surprise video call, confessed to the musician how he's been inspired by her song.

“I get it from the ‘Fight Song,’ Scout said. “Literally, it means so much to me.”

In the clip, Rachel responds by telling the young man he has been selected for a unique purpose. 

“You are incredible,” she said. “You know what? You are, you have a big mission in this life.”

Scout mentions that ever since he was involved in the tragic accident, he has reminded himself over and over about why his life was spared.

“Ever since the car accident, I’ve been, like, ‘Well, I clearly have something really big to do, to work up to in my life,’” Scout states.

Rachel, through tears, states her wholehearted agreement with Scout’s statement.

“Yes, you do.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “So then, go on comforting and building up one another, as you have been doing.”

On her wedding day, a bride made the unusual decision and had not one or two but 15 different men walk her down the aisle.

Weddings are momentous and often emotional occasions where two people exchange vows, promising to remain together through the good and the bad. While most of the attention remains focused on the couple getting hitched, weddings are about more than those two. 

A video posted on YouTube shows how weddings are also about the people who have played a role in our lives until that point. A bride had 15 different men – her brother, her in-laws, childhood coaches and others – walk her down the aisle on her big day.

As she reached the altar, the minister asked, “Who gives this woman to marry this man?” In a show of support and love, all the men answered, “We do.” 

These men stepped up and played a pivotal role in this young woman’s life. They all filled a void left by her biological father. 

As the narrator in the clip explains, the woman grew up with an abusive father. When she was only 16 years old, the woman helped put her father behind bars. 

The short clip states that the woman, who now works in law enforcement as a police officer, married the love of her life on July 15, 2023. The video ends by informing viewers that her husband is also a member of law enforcement. He is a sheriff’s deputy, according to the video.

Yes, weddings are about the love between the couple standing at the altar and saying, “I do.” But as the video shows, this young woman used her wedding day to thank the men who stepped up, loved and supported her throughout life.

What a beautiful and precious moment! It’s one that the bride and the many men who walked her down the aisle will never forget.

1 Corinthians 16:14 “Let all you do be done in love.”

A short and sweet clip catches the moment when a young girl with autism communicates a heartfelt and moving message to her mother for the first time.

Most parents would do anything and everything in their power for their children. They are motivated by unconditional love for their offspring and willing to go to any lengths for their son or daughter. Parents, without question, do enjoy hearing that that love is reciprocated from time to time.

A video posted on YouTube shows the precise moment when a young girl with autism tells her mother that she loves her.

The clip begins with the mother sitting on the ground in what appears to be a bedroom as she holds a book. With the children’s book in her hands, Mom seems to be trying to read to her daughter. However, it doesn’t look to be going according to plan.

The child, as they often do, is having trouble sitting still. One second, she’s sitting on the floor. The next, she’s staring at the camera, and in the next frame, she’s climbing around, halfway out of the camera’s view.

But despite the little girl’s abundance of energy, mom continues to communicate with her daughter. She tells the child, “Thank you” and then, “I love you.” It looks like the girl is doing everything but paying attention to her mother.

But then something remarkable happens!

Before the clip ends, the mother looks down at the book, reading silently. Then, out of nowhere, the child says, “I love you.” Mom cannot believe her ears.

She asks the little girl, “What did you say, Brianna? Did you say, ‘I love you, mom?’”

The clip ends with the little girl and the mother in a loving embrace. What a sweet and precious moment. The mother will cherish it for the rest of her life.

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Have you ever dreamed of being a bird soaring freely in the sky? Eagles are amongst the largest birds on the planet. They have amazing eyesight, lightning speed, and can detect prey up to 3.2 km away. As the national bird of some countries, they symbolize freedom, strength, courage, and immortality for generations. So if you ever dream of being a bird, aspire to become the largest eagle in the world!

A young child battling cancer received a touching, moving gift in the hospital that brought her a little happiness during her grueling fight.

Cancer is always a scary and frightening diagnosis. It can be absolutely life-shattering to both the patient and their family. It can be especially devastating and heart-wrenching when the person diagnosed with the horrible disease is a child. 

That’s why the moment when Alaia, a 1-year-old girl battling leukemia, was given a pink, remote control car is so incredibly heartwarming. Her reaction to the surprise is enough to cause even the most stoic and unemotional person to shed a tear.

According to the clip posted on YouTube, the pink car was from the group “Little Wishes.” The organization, according to its website, is committed to making “a big difference for seriously ill, hospitalized children facing difficult journeys.”

When Alaia was in the hospital receiving treatment, she would spend some time visiting other patients and hospital staff. Now, thanks to Little Wishes, Alaia can do her rounds in style.

Alaia’s mother in the clip recalls what had been the worst part of seeing her daughter fight cancer.

“It was hard knowing just knowing that I can’t do anything as her mom,” she said. “I can’t help her. All I can do is provide comfort, but I can’t take the pain away, you know? I can’t take her place. That’s, like, the hardest part.”

But the story does not end there! 

This adorable little girl and the proud owner of a pink, remote control car is now cancer-free following her fourth round of chemo.

Praise God!

“I was questioning when she was first diagnosed, like, ‘Why my baby and everything?’’ Alaia’s mother said. “But now, I, like, tell my fiancé and my whole family, there’s purpose to her battle. There’s purpose to this journey, and there’s purpose to her life.”

Ephesians 4:32 “And be kind to one another, full of pity, having forgiveness for one another, even as God in Christ had forgiveness for you.”

A young man who suffered a devastating injury that left him paralyzed is now preparing to run a 5K race.

Unfortunately, life is full of hardships and setbacks. Trials on the road of life will crop up often without the assistance of bad choices and poor decision-making. No matter what life may throw your way, it’s necessary to keep a positive, upbeat attitude and continue to move forward, as one young man has shown.

Chase Friedman, a TikTok influencer and a Los Angeles resident, was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for a New Year’s party in 2021. However, the morning following the party, Chase sustained a catastrophic injury.

“Then, like 7 a.m. the next morning, I got up just to pee,” Chase said. “Like, barely any sleep, and apparently, I tripped. I don’t remember it. I fell, my head hit the sink, and my head snapped back.”

Chase was paralyzed from the shoulders down.

Doctors performed spinal fusion surgery on his neck. The next steps were unknown, according to the doctors. They did, though, give Chase two big pieces of advice.

“The doctors came in after, and they said, ‘Look, we don’t know what’s going to happen,’” Chase said. ‘You might stay like this; you might regain some movement back. If that’s going to happen, you have to do two things: you have to work as hard as you can in rehab and you need to do everything you can to stay positive.”’

Despite everything he’d been through, Chase admits that he was happy nearly every day after for the next three months. He was "in the zone," he reports. 

He continued rehabbing from his injury and surgery for nearly a year. Then, Chase says, he started working out in the gym by himself.

Chase admits that “somehow, we fixed it” and now he’s running half a lap around a track without stopping.

What an amazing young man, who kept a positive, upbeat attitude, enjoys life and refused to quit.

1 Corinthians 9:24 “Do you not see that in a running competition, all take part, but only one gets the reward? So let your minds be fixed on the reward.”

NO MATTER HOW BAD MIGHT BE, GOD GOT IT

FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHY GODS LOVES YOU

Before the calendar even flipped to July, a group of about 50 Santas headed to Christ the Redeemer statue to plea for peace, bringing a little Christmas cheer with them!

One of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Christ the Redeemer was completed and inaugurated in 1931 and turned 75 in 2006. Located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Art Deco statue  stands 98 feet tall, has a width of 92 feet, weighs 635 tons, and is the reason two million visitors come to the city every year!   

Back in June, a crew of Kris Kringles from around the world gathered on the steps at the base of the statue, sang Christmas songs, and petitioned those there in person and online to work toward peace. The Santas were dressed in full costumes specific to their countries of origin or simply donned white beards and festive t-shirts. They traveled to the city for Brazil’s 4th Santa Clause National Encounter. They posed for pictures with tourists and probably took a few requests from kiddos during the event. 

In the spirit (pun intended) of much smaller figurines of Santa kneeling in front of Baby Jesus as He lies in the manger, the Santas appearance here demonstrates humility and reverence for the one who makes miracles happen throughout the year—rather than just during a particular holiday season.   

Inside Edition Digital’s reporter Stephanie Officer spoke with a French guest named Margo. Margo appreciates the Santas’ timeless message and the symbolism of sharing their message from Christ the Redeemer. What a treat it must have been for vacationers to have gotten to visit with Santa during their visit to the iconic statue.   

The Santas smile and wave, happy to be doing what they do, but in awe of Him who is more wondrous than any statue and brings more magic than they ever will. 

Nicely done, Santas! Now head back north and get back to business. Christmas is coming!

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” 1 Peter 1:3

Actor Dennis Quaid has overcome some personal struggles but now says he’s “grateful to still be here” and “grateful to be alive.”

Hollywood is not generally known as a place to be friendly to Christians and people of faith. Some in the industry have even mentioned that speaking openly about their faith and relationship with Jesus Christ has led to them losing out on work. But that’s not stopping Dennis Quaid from speaking about his journey from addiction to a relationship with God.

In a video posted on YouTube, Dennis mentions that he grew up in the Baptist church but eventually got involved in and addicted to drugs. At one point during his addiction, Dennis stated that he had what described as a “white-light experience.” 

Dennis then ventured on a spiritual journey. He read several religious books and texts, but there was one to which he returned: The Bible.

“I started reading the Bible again,” Dennis said. “But I also read the Bhagavad Gita. I read the Dhammapada. I read the Koran. And I went back, and I read the Bible again, for, like, the second or third time. And I was really struck by the red words of Jesus.”

Dennis said he started to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

In the clip, the star of “The Rookie” and “A Dog’s Journey” talked about his children and how much he enjoys being a father, even if he is “a dorky dad.” 

Dennis also mentioned his marriage and how it’s different from previous relationships.

“Laura’s the love of my life,” Dennis said. “We have a bond with one another that I never had with anybody else before. Yeah, God is in the relationship, for one thing, which I’ve never had a relationship like that before.”

Isaiah 40:28 “Have you no knowledge of it? Has it not come to your ears? There eternal God, the Lord, the Maker of the ends of the earth, is never feeble or tired; there is no searching out of his wisdom.”

Apostle Emmanual Maiyaki

Pastor Lee

One woman in rural Virginia, a quadriplegic, did not let her disability keep her from giving birth to and raising beautiful twin girls.

Life, unfortunately, is full of problems, issues and struggles. Everyone will face trying circumstances. They may be physical, mental, emotional, financial or spiritual. Whatever the case, those situations have a knack for finding everyone. However, some, it might seem, will be forced to endure more than their fair share. 

One woman, Dani Izzie, who suffered a devastating injury in 2009, leaving her paralyzed in all four limbs, has not let life’s struggles and hardships keep her from living life. 

When she was just 23 years old, Dani slipped on a bathroom floor, snapping her neck. 

“My hands are paralyzed,” Dani said. “So, my fingers, I can’t move them individually. And my triceps, specifically, are paralyzed in my arms. And then my core, my abdominals and my back muscles are paralyzed.”

Dani, as horrible and life-changing as her injury was, forced herself to continue and accepted life as a quadriplegic.

“I think the answer was really adapting to my life with a disability, and accepting that having a disability is not the end of the world,” Dani said.

Following her injury, Dani put herself back out there, meeting, falling in love with and marrying the love of her life, her husband Rudy. Soon after the two said “I do,” they learned they were going to be parents to twins!

Then in April 2020, Dani gave birth to two healthy baby girls! 

“To have my body do something right, it’s just very empowering,” she said. “It’s like, ‘Wow, I’m in a quote-unquote broken body but it’s not broken.”

It’s with that same wonderful attitude, grit, toughness, and tenacity, along with her husband Rudy, that Dani is raising her twins.

But despite what she’s endured, becoming a mother and raising two girls while running her own business, Dani does not want to be seen as an inspiration.”

“I think it’s wonderful that people feel inspired, and I’m inspired by other of my friends with disabilities, as well,” she said. “But I don’t want to go to the grocery store and have somebody come up to me and say, randomly, ‘You’re so inspiring.’ Why? Because I’m at the grocery store? I want to be seen as normal.”

James 1:12 “There is a blessing on the man who undergoes testing; because, if he has God’s approval, he will be given the crown of life, which the Lord has said he will give to those who have love for him.” 

Meditation

Beautiful words

Several people shed tears during an emotional moment as Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin gave an award to the men and women who helped save his life. 

Football is a violent sport filled with quick, massive world-class athletes slamming into and tackling one another on every play. Injuries are a common occurrence during a regular game of football. But what happened during a January Monday night game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals was anything but ordinary. It was frightening. 

Following the end of a play, Damar was seen collapsing to the ground. Emergency crews rushed onto the field, attending to the player. It was later revealed that he had suffered cardiac arrest. He spent several days in the hospital while his life hung in the balance. He has since been released and has been OK’d to resume playing football.

During ESPN’s most recent ESPYS award ceremony, Damar presented the medical professionals who rushed to his side – the Buffalo Bills training staff – with the Pat Tillman Award for Service.

As the clip posted on YouTube shows, Damar was already emotional as he approached the microphone, wiping tears from his eyes. The entire room responded by giving the young man a standing ovation. 

While speaking on behalf of the entire training staff, Nate Breske, thanked the good Lord for His assistance in keeping Damar alive.

“By the grace of God and divine intervention, we had the best outcome we could have prayed for or imagined,” he said. 

Near the end of his speech, Nate stated that while Damar’s situation was frightening, one good thing did come from it.

“Damar’s injury was able to bring our nation together for a moment and show the world the power of prayer,” he said.

Mark 11:24 “For this reason I say to you, ‘Whatever you make a request for in prayer, have faith that it has been given to you, and you will have it.”

Many members of the cute, furry and four-legged community came together to help make one man’s milestone birthday a day he and his family will never forget.

As people get older, birthdays are occasions most like less and less. In fact, those are days on the calendar a good majority of people would like to skip over altogether. However, everything is always better with dogs, even days that remind us that we’re getting older.

A clip posted on YouTube mentions that one family in California took an unusual route when celebrating their father’s 100th birthday. They threw the man a dog parade! And the four-legged community and their two-legged owners responded in a big, big way.

Nearly 200 dogs joined in the surprise dog parade for Dr. Robert Moore. The video points out that Robert was overjoyed by the surprise lineup of dogs, petting every dog that came by to wish him a happy birthday.

Not only did Robert greet every member of the four-legged community by petting them, but he also knew every breed of dog he encountered!

One of Robert’s daughters, Vickie Mallon, was overjoyed by the turnout.

“This is probably the biggest thing that’s happened in our family that’s given us the most joy,” she said.

But the surprises did not stop with the seemingly endless line of dogs ready to meet and greet Robert on his big day. The clip points out that attendees brought “gifts, flowers, balloons and posters.” 

So, who were these people that came out and helped bring a smile to Robert’s face? They were total and complete strangers.

“They were mostly strangers. They were,” Alison Moore, Robert’s daughter said. “And it just, it makes you feel wonderful about your community that people would come out and do that for your dad that you love so much.”

Ephesians 4:32 “And be kind to one another, full of pity, having forgiveness for one another, even as God in Christ had forgiveness for you.”

Meditation

Today we are praying for the community of Merrillan, Wisconsin