Story Behind

81 years later, two WWII veterans meet and discover they survived the same POW camp.   AND   Three Virginia first graders saved their teacher after she started choking on a piece of food.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godtube.com/blog/former-pows-meet-years-later.html   https://www.godtube.com/blog/first-graders-save-teache...

A new dad makes his son's birth just in the nick of time after an appendix removal surgery.   AND   Zach Zarembinski and Isabelle Richard were teens, each suffering from traumatic injuries, when they met at a Minnesota hospital after waking from their comas.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godtube.com/blog/dad-makes-sons-birth-aft...

A family in The Woodlands, Texas, was on a Thanksgiving outing when a 12-year-old girl fell into a sand hole.   AND   A baby girl was born in a Missouri Buc-ee’s parking lot after her parents couldn’t make it to the hospital in time.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godtube.com/blog/dad-saves-daughter-in-sand-hole.html...

A birthday fishing trip got turned upside down, literally, in Clearwater, Florida, on Nov. 25. After 20 hours on the water, the family was found at sea.   AND   Sometimes… through a graduation photo delivered to the wrong mailbox because the Lord clearly has a sense of humor.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godtube.com/blog...

A 9-year-old Minnesota girl gives out free compliments just to make her neighbor’s day.   AND   A school bus driver’s split-second decision saves a 4-year-old from Lake Owasso.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godtube.com/blog/girl-gives-our-free-compliments.html   https://www.godtube.com/blog/school-bus-driver-sav...

In their deepest grief, a family looks to God for hope after losing their six-year-old son, Abel Torres-Aquino.   AND   When doctors said he had zero percent chance of survival, 15-year-old Riley Shoemaker proved that God still writes stories no human doctor can predict.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godtube.com/blog/hope-after-...

Two teens, Jack Borowski and Brodie Perry, came across a young woman who simply could not make it down the mountain on her own.   AND   An Elementary school in New Jersey loves their deaf therapy dog so much that the whole school threw him a birthday party.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godtube.com/blog/carrying-injured-hiker-to...

Lyle and Eleanor Gittens met over 80 years ago and are now considered the oldest living married couple.   AND   A baby born at 24 weeks is finally coming home after spending the first 18 months of her life in the hospital.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godtube.com/blog/couple-married-83-years.html https://www.godtube.com/blog/ba...

What happens when two seniors fall in love at the Y? Why, they get married in the pool, of course.   AND   For Maria Carlin, a 36-year-old mother from Long Island, that moment came on a July morning when she placed her four-year-old son, Jack, into his car seat and began racing him to the hospital.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www....

A woman gets a glimpse of the past when she finds a love letter from WWI in her attic.   AND   A Hawaii lifeguard, still recovering 11 days after a shark attack, describes the moment it struck.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godtube.com/blog/love-letter-from-wwi.html   https://www.godtube.com/blog/lifeguard-bit-by-shark.html...

When George Lynn was a mere toddler, doctors gave him a diagnosis that could have written the story of his life before he ever had a chance to hold the pen.   AND   You might think a WWII vet would be resting at home or making frequent visits to the doctor, but one special New York WWII veteran works at Lowe's 3 days a week.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, vis...

A Secret Santa had a very special surprise for a certain Mrs. Claus in Eastern Idaho. First-grade teacher Sherri Empey, a widow of Santa, received a gift that blew her away.   AND   A Texas woman finds her wedding ring after she thought it was lost in a fire. This miracle is what we like to call a God wink.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! htt...

 A special family donated a very special spruce to be the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree this year. But for Judy Russ, it’s as much a gift for her and her family as it is for America.   AND   She wasn’t supposed to live past 4; now, at 20, this woman, who was born without a brain, is a living miracle.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit G...

On December 13th, the actor and entertainer will be turning 100 years old. And he has lived quite the life in those years.    AND   Grab a tissue and watch how, from a DNA match, a woman meets her biological father for the first time.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godtube.com/blog/dick-van-dyke-turns-100.html   https:/...

A 12-pound pup was two families’ hero after their Long Beach, NY, homes suddenly went up in flames while they were asleep on Nov. 9, 2025.   AND   The rain came down hard that Sunday in Boca Raton, Florida, one of those sudden storms that turns parking lots into rivers and streets into swirling tides.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! htt...

The sea thundered below the cliffs of Fort Funston, wild and fierce against the rocks and there, clinging to a narrow ledge halfway down, was a trembling 40-pound dog.   AND   The sun had barely set over the small town of Heflin, Alabama, when mischief and laughter began to roll, quite literally, through the streets.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUp...

18-year-old Will Burrell of Long Island, New York, is quite the teenager who gives back. He opened a business that gives back to the military.   AND   A Pennsylvania volunteer firefighter is putting on her gear again, two years after an incident that took the life of her boyfriend and left her in critical condition.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpd...

A girl’s volleyball team in Texas raises money to buy their custodian a car, and it reminds us of the power that is bound up in the little hearts of children.   AND   When Kent Briggs, a local lawn care professional, noticed a neighbor’s yard growing long, he didn’t ask questions or wait for thanks; he simply showed up.   To see videos and photos referenced in this...

A mother notices something isn’t right with her daughter’s school bus and saves the lives of 22 children.   AND   After decades of searching, a woman with cancer finds her birth mom right when she needed her most.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godtube.com/blog/mother-notices-fire-on-the-school-bus.html   https:/...

A Special Bonus Episode From Bought + Beloved: How often do we take our own blessings for granted? And how much more often do we neglect to steward what we've been given to make a life-changing and Gospel impact for those in need? Kirby Kelly is partnering with Samaritan's Purse this holiday season and had the pleasure of interviewing Kristy Graham to discuss how their ministry is changing the wor...

There’s something about Betty Kellenberger that makes you sit a little taller and whisper to yourself, “Lord, let me have that kind of grit and grace.”   AND   One man and a Los Angeles dog rescue organization had a very clever idea to find his lost dog using his dirty socks...And it worked.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! h...

Sunlight was spilling through the canopy at Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka, California, when an unexpected guest wandered in, paws padding softly across the boardwalk.   AND   When a tragic death hit Kim and Curtis Wormsbaker’s lives, they thought that’s all it was until they learned their son's organs saved lives—102, in fact.   To see videos and photos referenced in...

Jackie Bennett is a former teacher and coach who taught at Page High School in Franklin, Tennessee. The beloved educator was also diagnosed with kidney failure and needed a kidney transplant.   AND   She’s 101, still working six days a week–and says she wouldn’t have it any other way.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://...

A 10-year-old Florida Girl Scout saves her father’s life using her first aid training because sometimes heroes wear ponytails and sashes instead of capes.   AND   An Atlantic City police officer saved a dog by jumping into frigid water last month.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godtube.com/blog/girl-scout-saves-dad-with-tra...

Family and friends celebrate the life of a woman who loved so deeply. Some people collect things—stamps, teacups, trinkets. But Gayle Noble collected hearts.   AND   A two-year-old found by a volunteer and a K9 after she wandered off was missing for hours until an angel with fur stepped in.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.go...