The Unfolding

We all long to be loved and accepted. When people shower us with attention, it can be intoxicating. But when they repeatedly reject us, the wounds can be deep and long-lasting. The rejection Blake Mattocks experienced as a teenager forged a deep and festering anger that led him to a very dark place.

For missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham, a night of celebration turned into a nightmare. On May 27, 2001, they were kidnapped from a resort in the Philippines by the Abu Sayyaf. They were held hostage for more than a year, forced to march through the jungle with little food, no clean water, and witnessing atrocities along the way. It was a year that would test their faith beyond anything they h...

Empty- that was how Daniel Goulet described his life. He tried to fill the void with drinking, drugs, and pornography, but nothing worked. As he spiraled into addiction and despair, he began thinking of suicide. That's when he had a supernatural encounter that offered a way out.

Daniel Massieh was a young man in Egypt when he had a supernatural encounter with Jesus. His first question was "Lord why didn't I know you sooner? Why didn't someone tell me about you?" He had a passion to share the love of Jesus with everyone he met. But telling people about Jesus came with a cost - rejection, persecution, and prison.

How do you trust God as you watch your child suffer and your prayers seem to go unanswered? That was the unwelcome journey of Kelly Denham's life. Kelly's son T.J. experienced a brain injury when a mistake was made during heart surgery. For years, T.J. suffered and Kelly struggled to help, cope, and hang onto her faith.

What if you grew up believing you were unlovable? Going from foster home to foster home, Joe Buchanan believed there must be something wrong with him. It would take a supernatural act of love to change his life.

When Christmas doesn't go the way we hope, it can be disappointing. But sometimes when things don't go according to plan, it turns out to make some of our most precious memories. In this special episode, we share the stories of three people who had a different kind of Christmas.

All throughout the story of Jesus' birth, there are encounters with angels. In fact, the scriptures, both Old and New Testament, are full of these stories. But many of us are perplexed by these spiritual beings. Hebrews 13:2 says, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Do people still encounter angels today?

The trauma and abuse Stephanie Cockrell experienced as a child left her with a deep-seeded, all-consuming anger. She moved through life ready to fight anyone that crossed her path. But at the same time, she was desperately looking for hope and love. She wanted to believe that somehow all of those traumatic experiences could be redeemed and that she could be free from the prison of anger, and maybe...

You can't read the Christmas story without bumping into angels. Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds all encountered them. Do people still encounter angels today? That's the question we asked, and the stories we share will fill you with wonder and hope.

Sometimes God gives us the choice to sacrifice something, and then trust that He is going to provide. Micah Tyler is a singer and songwriter whose career started when he and his wife decided to give up safety and security and trust God to meet their family's needs. That experience taught them a deep confidence in God's faithfulness that has sustained them through literal and figurative storms.

Justi Hudson desperately wanted to adopt a baby. When a birth mom chose Justi and her husband, they believed their prayers had finally been answered. But the process of adoption can be both exhilarating and heart breaking. It would stretch her faith farther than she had ever trusted God before.

Dan Wheeler had it all. As a host on QVC, he had a successful career, money, and a dream home to share with his wife Beth. He was a driven man who rarely had time to sit and enjoy life. But when Beth was diagnosed with stage IV cancer, his priorities were turned upside down, but ultimately right side up.

Jordan St. Cyr had always believed the way to your dreams was through grit and hard work. He knew God had called him to be a songwriter, so he was determined to make it happen. But what if the way to your dreams isn't through determination, but through surrender? Jordan is the co-writer of the song, "Fires," – a song that has become their family's anthem as they walk through pain and suffering.

Lauren Banik had grown up with broken relationships, particularly with the men in her life. Without even realizing it, she was searching for something that would make her feel loved, honored, and respected. God showed up in the middle of dysfunction, to bring hope and healing. This episode contains mature content. It may be difficult to hear, especially for those who have experienced sexual abuse.

Growing up in Saudi Arabia, Sameed Osman studied Islam and trained to be a defender of the faith. The only thing that matched his passion for Islam, was his distaste for Christians. He relished the idea of humiliating believers and destroying their faith. In his own words, he was the last person on the planet who would follow Jesus.

Every day we are bombarded with messages about what we need in order to be happy. Dick and Lou Hohulin pursued none of that. They moved to a remote village in the Philippines and labored for years to share the hope of Jesus before they ever saw a single convert to Christianity. Instead of chasing success, they have given their lives to partner with God, and they have lived an incredible adventure....

Kim Cash Tate was a woman driven by her goals. After her parents' divorce, she grew up focusing on getting a good job and making a whole lot of money. She was inclined to cling to success and the security she believed would come from it. She was well on her way to achieving those goals when God interrupted her plan and showed her what she really needed.

In the blink of an eye, life can change. A lightning strike lasts only a fraction of a second, but that was long enough to change John Reimer's life. The chance of being struck by lightning this year is something like one in 500,000. To be the victim of such a rare and catastrophic event would cause many people to live in fear. How could such an unusual accident leave someone feeling fearless and...

Brant Hansen's early years seemed perfectly designed to create a skeptic. Growing up in church, he was exposed to some hard things. He learned that what is presented from a platform is not always genuine. How does an analytical, question-asking skeptic come to a place where he is willing to cash everything in to follow Jesus?

It's easy to trust the hand of God when your life is going well. It's another thing to trust Him when everything is shaken to the core. When Tammy Trent's husband died unexpectedly, she was forced to choose – Was she going to run toward God, or away? Whether your grief is fresh or decades old, Tammy's story and what she's learned on the journey with grief will encourage you.

What happens when a detour in life turns into a permanent, unwelcome journey? When Laura Story's husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor, they prayed for healing and a return to their hopes and dreams. But God's vision for their life was a different plan, including finding unexpected joy in surrender.

From a very early age, Steven Curtis Chapman felt compelled to fix what was broken- to keep the peace, avoid conflict and make people happy. So what do you do when your family's heartache is so deep, it can't be fixed this side of heaven?

When Sabrina Scott was diagnosed with lupus as a teenager, she wondered what she had done to deserve it. God was allowing it and she believed she had no say, no control, and no hope that God would change it. She couldn't imagine that one day both her body and her faith would be transformed.

If you or someone you love has struggled with anxiety or depression, you know how crippling that can be. For Kati Pessin, depression was something she first grappled with as a middle schooler and it's been a part of her life since. The struggle has taken her to the lowest moments of her life, but it's also been a place where God has revealed her need for him and his love for her in a very powerful...