Hear the story of just one of the many lives changed this year at His Hands Free Clinic. 

In John 10:10, Jesus says that He came so that we may have life, and have it abundantly. It is time that we start living from a place of authentic joy and purpose.

In January, the 6th Judicial District invited me to visit the centers to present about navigating the healthcare system…These men and women have once again taught me the valuable lesson that there is so much more than appears on the surface.

We can sometimes be in a season of life when we feel strong and capable… But even the strongest person cannot remain out front alone forever.

The public health emergency preventing people from loosing Medicaid coverage ends in spring 2023. While not everyone will lose coverage right away, Iowa is being open that they are heavily front-loading redeterminations.

There are a myriad of challenges and experiences our patients have faced that I never will. I will never know what it is like to be held at gunpoint in an attempt to get me to join a guerrilla army on my way to school in the morning.

November is a time of year where we often take time to be thankful for all the blessings in our lives. Now that the Christmas season is upon us, we can still practice gratitude. We should remember to be thankful all year long.

At the border our supplies were taken by border guards to gain access. Other families were turned away to find better resources to bribe the guards. We were relieved once we were across, but really the work was just beginning…

While the world may send pressure with the message, “Your burdens are too much. No one wants to hear about them. It is easy to believe the lie that we have to be strong all the time. I am here to tell you today that your burden is not too much for someone to want to hear.

If you wait and wait until you are ready to contribute in some great way, most of us would wait our entire lives without ever taking action. So put yourself out there. Make a small gesture of kindness, and do it with great love. See the impact a small thing can have. Then do another small thing. Then another.

The science boils down to this, the more trauma someone is exposed to, the more likely he or she will resort to these trauma responses, even when a trauma response isn’t warranted. Why does this matter? Researchers are now beginning to call trauma the next public health crisis.

If you are like me, you get impatient. Impatient when it takes yourself awhile to make changes and impatient with others who are taking “too long” to make progress. But what if the growth is in process?

We all need someone to lean on in difficult times. In a world where discord is common, may we make a small difference in the lives of those who open up to us by showing kindness, empathy and compassion. 

We typically think of poverty in terms of lack of material means… When enough people you encounter treat you as less than, eventually you internalize that and begin to believe you deserve and can only achieve less than.

We each get one life. It is up to us to decide how we are going to spend our time here on earth. Our world can use more people showing kindness and love and going out of their way to make a positive impact on the lives of those around them.

Life is going to have its ups and downs. There will be things and events outside of our control. Yet, there is hope. Hope helps us to make it through those downtimes and keep pressing ahead, knowing that things will get better again.

Chris knew that once she retired she wanted to get involved in missions, locally and around the world. Recently she was ready and willing to spend two weeks on the mission field in Cambodia; however, the Lord closed that door.

Individual taxpayers can claim an “above-the-line” deduction of up to $300 for cash donations made to charity during 2020. This means the deduction lowers both adjusted gross income and taxable income – translating into tax savings.

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