The Christian Heart

One day, a young man approached our pastor, lonely and seeking connection. He wanted to start a young adult group and learn more about following Christ. A few days later, my pastor asked if I would lead it.

I hesitated at first. Between my job, managing our small homestead, singing in the choir every Sunday, and serving as the parish hall manager, my plate was already ...

Every morning felt like a race I was already losing.

At thirty-six, with a three-year-old tugging at my jeans and a baby on my hip, my days were a blur of spilled milk, endless laundry, and trying to make too little money stretch too far.

But the hardest part wasn’t the exhaustion. It was opening the mailbox.

One afternoon, I sat at the kitchen counter st...

My name is Leon Purley, aka “Leon the Jokester,” a blind comedian in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I grew up in Moreno Valley, California, home of money and pollution. I was raised in a Christian household by my mom.

One of my biggest hobbies as a kid was playing basketball and writing funny stories. My mother kept me with a pen and notepad at all times. She saw something special i...

I first found Max outside my workplace. He was injured, with deep burns that had damaged his nervous system. His eyes reflected fear and pain; yet somehow, he trusted me. I felt a mix of shock and sadness; I had never seen such vulnerability in such a small being.

The first days were the hardest. Cleaning his wounds and watching him suffer gave me a tangible understand...

A series of wrong choices and behaviors led me to criminal charges and prison time at a minimum-security work camp in my state. But rather than revisit all that in detail, I would rather share my story about what the Lord has done in my life since that hard season. Since I was released from prison, God has led and guided in ways I could have never even imagined!

When I...