Leilani Haywood

This time last year, I stood on a stage in front of over 25,000  teenagers and Millenials and God downloaded a burden to reach them. I immediately enlisted the over-50’s group at World Revival Church, where we prayed for the young adults for a few months. We were also encouraged to mentor and reach out

“Fear not,” is the first thing that God speaks in the Bible when He is about to do something new. The phrase is used 80 times and the first time “fear not” appeared is in this Scripture: “After this the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram. I am your

Last Sunday I watched a young woman get ordained to go into the ministry at church. Mary Seidler received a call to serve several churches in Poland and she answered that call after faithfully serving for 14 years at my church. I remember when Mary came to Kansas City from California with her guitar, wearing

“I always hated your guts,” a woman laughingly told me after church one night. “It wasn’t anything you did, I just couldn’t stand who you are.” She said this with a smile, and I was stunned. I hardly knew this women and had no idea that she hated me. To this day I’ve wondered why

Every Veteran’s Day, I think of a young man who was a reservist in the Air Force who returned from Iraq. That trip marked him with a determination to serve his country, but he struggled with the scenes that his boss couldn’t even handle. His life spiraled downward and no one knew what to do.

One time a friend who was visiting a church I use to attend in Florida went to a party on a boat. She was appalled that the people who went to church were drinking beer. She was a recovering alcoholic who struggled in this area and was so turned off that she didn’t come back.

Asia Bibi has been sentenced to be hanged by the Pakistani courts. Bibi was accused by her friends of insulting the prophet Mohammed. She’s a Christian in a Muslim-dominated nation and denies making the accusation. The death sentence has raised outrage internationally from Pope Benedict XVI who called for her case to be dismissed as

One work day for my husband, Jerome, turned into a day of destiny. “I see the river of God coming to you, and you need to jump into it,” the man said across the aisle. “There’s a major change coming, and you will not be in the same place spiritually, physically and financially.” How many guys get a

Human trafficking, a friend’s battle with a chronic disease, and her personal struggles while walking with God inspired Dove-nominated singer/songwriter Laura Hackett’s new project, “Love Will Have Its Day,” which was produced by Grammy award-winning Brown Bannister with Ben Shive (Brandon Heath, Bebo Norman, JJ Heller, Andrew Peterson). The album is being released Oct. 21 in digital

“Life and death are in the tongue,” Proverbs 18:21 Life and death come from our words. Yet I hear so much crazy talk from Christians. Here are some  crazy, spiritually deranged statements I’ve heard Christians say to other Christians: “You must have sin in your life, because you have cancer.” “You must not have anything

A Tennessee teen got into trouble at her school recently for saying “bless you” after her teacher sneezed. The phrase was on the list of things not to say according to 17-year-old Kendra Turner. Turner told The Tennessean, after she said “bless you,” the teacher stood up and asked who had spoken. “She asked why

God spoke to Lillian Klepp about starting an orphanage in war-torn Sudan when she was in her 50s. Her husband, Dennis, had chronic health issues. Yet Lillian and Dennis answered the call. She recently chronicled her story in a newly-released book, Adventures Under the Mango Tree, a fast-paced read about the dangers of starting a ministry

I didn’t grow up in a Christian home and knew nothing about parenting. My husband, Jerome, also didn’t grow up in a Christian home although his grandmother was a devout, godly woman. We became parents in our 30s and although we loved kids, we were clueless about parenting. Today, we have three kids: 12-year-old D’Andra,