This is one of my all-time favorite stories. God is so awesome and He hears our prayers.
First, a little background… When I’m REALLY upset or depressed, I go through a fast food drive-through, get a chocolate shake and drive over to the cemetery, any cemetery, they’re all the same. (A little trick taught to me by my mom).
Read MoreMy name is Gary and I’m a recovering drug addict. My addiction to drugs started at age twelve in 1972 and my battle with drugs still rages inside me today.
My story will consist of 3 parts. First will be the introduction.
Read MoreI first experienced God’s presence in my life in 1973 when I received the body of Christ. I was askinny eight year old with hair that refused order and preferred hanging in unkempt strands. My FirstCommunion dress was delicately and lovingly made by my proud mother; it was simple yet pretty, but lacked the sequence and glamour that surrounded me. I was not a sequence and glamour girl. I would have preferred to arm wrestle, dress and all, “those” girls or better yet, their older brothers!
Read MoreLast year I met a long time patient from out of town and soon realized it would not be a typical meeting. I sensed something was unusually wrong when she soon said she had some shattering news to share.
Read MoreI believe that God has been sending me messages for many years. Unfortunately, I wasn’t wise enough to understand what He was trying to tell me. You see, I am a professional engineer who always thought about life in black and white … without any shades of gray. My career required me to focus all of my attention on things that were wrong and in need of a solution. I was supposed to have the answers to solve all problems, no matter what they were.
Read MoreAs many of my friends and family know, I have been blessed with many remarkably coincidental as well as physical “signs from heaven” in my lifetime. God has revealed himself to people throughout time. We learn from instances that happened years ago in Biblical times so why would we think God would not show His much needed presence in today’s world? This is my own personal miracle that has previously only been shared with family and several close friends. It has taken many years for me to reveal this for fear of what people would think but after years of prodding, I am finally going to do it. This is probably one my most profound experiences of them all…
Read MoreI have had many mystical experiences in my life and believe God wants them to be shared. As a lifelong Christian, but certainly one thatwould never outwardly express my common and ordinary faith, I am now compelled to share the most profound experience in my life. This Lenten season seems the appropriate time to share.
Read MoreGod healed my celiac disease!
For the past five years, I could not even eat a crumb of bread without setting off a long string of physical issues. Any gluten ingested would start to make my left arm go numb and then in the next day or two it would cause severe stomach pain, diarrhea, urinary tract infection, weakness in the limbs, eczema, itchy blisters on my hands, heart palpitations, insomnia and flu like symptoms that would last up to two weeks. Therefore to me, gluten = poison. For the last five years of my life, I have avoided it at all cost. That is until two months ago.
Read MoreWhen children of wealthy families who live in very affluent communities struggle unsuccessfully to meet the lofty demands and expectations of their parents, resulting failures can cause many to become seriously depressed and to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. Sadly, the resulting downward spiral—one that is difficult to escape—often leads to suicide. Thankfully God can help break that cycle by revealing the values that really matter. That’s exactly what happened on a trip to Africa with my eighteen-year-old son, Zachary.
Read MoreWhen I speak to groups of young people, I always try to positively impact their lives. I thought you might find it useful to hear some of the career advice I’ve given to many of the people I have taught or mentored. I’m going to suggest three tips that can give you a fast start as you enter the workplace.
Read MoreWhen we adopted our daughter Dena, a Korean orphan, at the age of five months in early 1979, we knew only a few basics about her background—that she was given up for adoption by her unwed mother and was living with a foster mother until she could make the long flight to the United States to join our family.
Read MoreEven before we realized we could not conceive, Sue and I had decided we would eventually adopt children; we wanted to extend our love to children most in need of such love and nurturing.
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We often read of near-death experiences and tend to discount them as illusions or hallucinations. That all changes when someone close to us—someone we trust and believe unequivocally—has such an experience. That’s exactly what happened to me at the deathbed of my own father, and it was an experience that changed my life.
Read MoreDuring my early years of marriage, I was obsessively driven to succeed in my career. And ironically what helped keep Sue and me together was her response to my nearly all-consuming work-related efforts; she was not only tolerant, but she was supportive of my work habits and time away from the family.
Read MoreThe power and magnitude of God is not an isolated thing, and it was on another continent that I was reminded of the undeniable truth of God’s hand in human creation. As I observed the incredible durability of the engine that sustains human life – the heart –my faith in God was profoundly reinforced.
Read MoreIn the mid-1990s, New York Life became aware of an opportunity at the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae). With more than $1 trillion in assets, it was the largest financial institution in the world, and we had the chance to offer life insurance to millions of consumers who had obtained mortgages through this agency.
Read MoreI had traveled much of the world, but I’d never explored my roots; the task seemed so overwhelmingly difficult that I never gave it a second thought. But in May 2009 when Sue and I decided to take a two-week tour of Eastern Europe, I was excited. We would focus on Poland, the original home of my maternal grandfather, Ignatius Matusiak. The appeal of Poland was fourfold: (1) we had never been there; (2) it was part of my ancestral background; (3) I had always wanted to visit Auschwitz; and (4) the trip was highly recommended by some dear friends who had visited the country several times.
Read MoreEven before our marriage, Sue and I shared a love of children and a strong desire to raise a family. We had both enjoyed very happy, traditional childhoods in two-parent families in the lower-middle-class suburbs of Detroit and were eager to provide similar experiences to our own children. Our love for children also led both of us to pursue teaching related careers during the first few years of our marriage.
Read MoreWhile president of New York Life, I had the honor of serving on the boards of trustees of several industry-related associations and organizations. During my service as chairman of The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, God gave me the gift of developing a friendship—better described as a love affair—with Margaret Bradshaw. It was one I could not have anticipated would change my life in such a dramatic way.
Read MoreBeginning in my adolescence, I suffered from classic migraine headaches. Doctors believe that migraine headaches are most commonly stress-related, though external stimuli, such as bright lights, often trigger them. In my case it seemed that most often my migraines were triggered by bright lights: the glare of the sun off of water or the glare of bright lamplight shining on a highly reflective surface, such as the pages of a magazine or a recently waxed and polished linoleum floor.
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