The following excerpt is what I shared with Pastor Jeff at Calvary Church who then shared it with my church family last Sunday. I didn't realize how powerful my testimony really was until I head someone else read it aloud...
"When my son was diagnosed with brain cancer at eight-months old my life was turned upside down. I had been raised as a Christian and attended church regularly as a child, but up until that point I was not what you would call a practicing Christian.
As the journey continued, my life got uglier and I couldn’t handle all the negativity until I turned towards Jesus again. Then things started to become clearer.
I had left my career as a journalist, but never stopped wanting to write, and change the world with my words. I started attending Calvary and my passion for writing and making a difference was reignited during the sermon series on following your dreams. Jeff said be a little crazy so I stepped out in faith and created Inspire Magazine to inspire hope, compassion, faith and good will in our community.
I believe God put me there, at that time, with the experience I had behind me, to make this a reality. I have always been passionate about writing and helping others, but sometimes as a journalist in traditional media (newspapers etc) I felt like I was hurting not helping people with some of the things I had to report on.
Inspire Magazine is my therapy, allows me to celebrate the positive in our community and hopefully be an inspiration to others. In less than a year, I turned my idea into a 16-page glossy full colour magazine featuring real life, authentic stories to help others take positive actions and become the best people they can be.