Carol Roper

Do You Know How to Gracefully Defend Your Faith? with Liz Cobo

by
Liz Cobo

Liz Cobo says that nothing has deepened her faith and changed her walk with Jesus like studying the Bible. Studying God’s Word literally changed her life. Things that were once important priorities aren’t anymore. Things that were once afterthoughts are now at the top of her list. 

Scripture is God’s self-revelation and is available to anyone willing to take the time and make the effort to read and study. Liz understands that now. God promises in his Word that he will give us greater understanding of His Word when we read it. 

Liz always believed in God, but didn’t always know Jesus and lived a lot of her life not knowing what the Bible says and doesn’t say.

Are You Harboring Bitterness Toward Your Messy Family? with Carol Roper

by
Carol Roper

I don’t know about you, but in my home the laundry room is considered one of the most important rooms. It’s command central. When my kids were still at home it was also a disaster on most days. Oh, it might be clean for a few brief hours, but then when everyone started slinging off boots and muddy clothes, you’d never know I’d darkened the door that day.

Many days the frustration of laundry, picking up clothes, blankets, cups and shoes (the list could go on infinitely) is overwhelming, especially with kids in the home. Before my children flew the nest, I’d get mad and start to spew at them, wanting to ask the question my mom used to ask us in jest (mostly), “What’d your last maid die of—overwork and underpay?” I always laughed at that question, but now I can appreciate the significance of it. That’s sure what it feels like sometimes.

Are You Weary? A Musical Duo’s Story of Hope Through Life’s Storms with Kenny and Claire Hilliard

by
Kenny and Claire Hilliard

Husband-and-wife music duo, Kenny and Claire Hilliard both grew up in the upstate of South Carolina before God took them the long way around to finally settle in Nashville, TN.  In 2015, during Kenny’s tenure as a senior pastor and worship leader in Asheville, North Carolina, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Shortly after successful surgery to remove the tumor, Kenny received a second diagnosis, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome—a degenerative genetic disease that left him temporarily impaired. The couple embraced a return to music during Kenny’s recovery, founding a music teaching studio and penning modern hymns for their home congregation. Kenny and Claire also share some of their travel experiences from being on the road six months of the year touring with their 3 kids in an RV across the country. This special couple is honest about the struggles they’ve endured and continue giving God glory via their music through it all.

Is It Really That Bad for Christians to Cuss? with Carol Roper

by
Carol Roper

When my kids were teens, I shared with both of them that I used to curse—a lot. You should have seen the expressions on their faces as their jaws dropped, and eyes grew wide with disbelief.  “Not you Mom! I don’t believe it!” I was pleased that I had to convince them otherwise, glad that I’d decided when they were both very little that my speech needed to change. That, and the Holy Spirit got ahold of me.

Underestimated: From a Single-Wide Trailer in West Virginia to Yale Law School with Mary Marantz

by
Mary Marantz

Mary Marantz knows how fear can hold us back. Even though she was able to leave the musty single-wide trailer of her childhood in West Virginia and make her way to Yale Law School, she always carried the fear that she would be found out. Even though she had worked hard and earned every grade and scholarship she received she thought others saw her as an imposter. So, she strove to be the best at everything she did, and she was. But the life of perfection has a way of draining the joy out of you.