The Unfolding

In many ways, Tina Zimmerman's life revolves around animals. She trains dogs for service, has had her animals in movies, and even used to train horses. It is her career and passion. She and her husband even found themselves in Uganda using this passion to help train animals for local farmers. In their downtime on these mission trips, they loved to go on Safari trips, always in hopes of seeing lions. After the tragic passing of her husband, she went back to experience their shared passion at the one-year mark of his passing. God wowed her with a display of animals that felt like a miraculous display curated for her, showing her that God sees her, and cares for her. 

Content warning: This episode includes discussion of pornography, suicide, and the adult film industry.  For as long as he could remember, Joshua Broome had wrestled with a feeling of emptiness. His quest for affirmation led him to excel in school, sports, modeling and acting. Every achievement was an attempt to fill the void. When a representative of the adult film industry offered a chance for fame and wealth, he took it. But after appearing in more than one thousand adult films and earning over a million dollars, he was profoundly depressed, filled with shame, and suicidal. Joshua’s journey from darkness to light began unexpectedly in a bank, where a simple act of kindness reminded him of his true identity. Today Joshua is a preacher, author and podcast host who dedicates his life to sharing the message of hope and love of Jesus. 

It felt like God's providence when the perfect studio opened up for Nicole Richards. But after 22 years of what felt like divine encounters and God's provision, there was a major shift and prompting from God to close up shop, quit makeup altogether, and trust God for the next chapter. Immediately after this, COVID lockdowns were worldwide and especially prominent where she lived in Canada. 

In 1 John 3:1 it says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” God is our Father.  Sometimes that can be challenging to comprehend.  It’s easier to grasp when you’ve had a good relationship with your earthly dad.  It can be more complicated if your relationship is unhealthy or strained. This week on The Unfolding we are sharing three stories of fathers, from Mark Schulz, Gina Copeland and Jeremy Rosado.  Each story gives a perspective of how God works healing in and through fathers, whether they are biological, adoptive, or those who simply choose to step into the role of dad.

Cathy White has worked with horses for 14 years and uses equine therapy to help kids. In this story, she shares how God brought her and her husband Bob together and called them to a ministry through horses and helping children to overcome difficult life circumstances.

Cait Taylor believes God can take even the hardest parts of our stories and make something good. Cait was born in England to a single mom.  From an early age she believed she was a mistake. For seven years she lived under the tyranny of an abusive stepfather. She focused all her energy on simply surviving. This led to an eating disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. By the time she was 17, she hit rock bottom. That’s when she was introduced to Jesus and the power of Romans 8:28. Today, Cait is the founder of 828 Women, a Christian ministry that encourages women with Biblical truth, and the 828 with Cait podcast.   

Destiny Thomas shares about the times God revealed Himself throughout her time of dealing with infertility. 

In this world, you will have trouble.  The question is, how will you respond?  The Bible says to count it all joy when you experience trials because it makes your faith strong.  Heidi Lee Anderson was 23 years old when she faced the first real trial of her life.  She was diagnosed with cancer.  The prognosis, the side effects, the dire warnings about her future all threatened to take away her hope.  She felt overwhelmed by fear.  How could she count it all joy?   Heidi is the author of “P.S. It’s Going to Be Good,” and the host of the Trade a Lie for a Truth podcast. 

Stephen and his wife, Anna, are missionaries to Mexico. As they embark on their 4th new mission to Mexico over 11 years, they've seen God show up in little ways, showing glimpses of the path of the journey that He has them on. Stephen shares in this episode some of the ways they've partnered with God in the everyday.  _____________________________________________________________________ After listening to this episode, if you feel led to help Stephen and Anna with the purchase of their Guadalajara home, you can give here: https://pushpay.com/g/thevineyardchurchmissions Select 'Guadalajara Home - Prices' if you choose to give towards the matching fund. 

A special episode for Memorial Day. We often hear the phrase, “Pray for our troops.” During his time in Afghanistan, Capt. Kyle Swanson saw prayer change things- the weather, the course of a grenade, and so much more. When Kyle says prayer changes things, it’s not a trite phrase. It’s his real-life experience and his story will inspire you to believe YOUR prayers can change things too.