"He who opens a school door, closes a prison."

This powerful quote was written by Victor Hugo, famous French poet, playwright, novelist and human rights campaigner. In our generation he is most known for these two works, Les Misérables' and ‘Notre Dame de Paris’, known in English as the ‘Hunchback of Nortre Dame’ (most recently made in to a Disney movie.)

The quote is so inspiring because I believe teachers are at the forefront of our children’s future. Teachers help shape what role our children will play in the world. They provide the right amount of encouragement and direction; they impart values such as perseverance, hard work, creativity, determination, faith, compassion, gratitude and respect. They watch over our children, provide a voice for the voiceless, they help new Mom’s and Dad’s navigate parenthood with their knowledge of early education, they help those with special needs and in some cases they ...

Romans 12:2

We all go though seasons in our life that pushes us to grow. There is no bigger growth than the one when you decided to follow Christ.

I was raised in a Catholic family and knew of God, went to church and Sunday school, but I never truly knew what it meant to have an intimate relationship with Him, His son and the Holy Spirit.

My transformation began four years ago when I decided to check out a little, non-denominational church in Edmonds. The sermon that day was about The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-28). A light went on! I knew God gave us our talents and abilities, but the part I was missing was that we are supposed to use them to glorify Him. We shouldn’t hide these talents or bury them in the sand. That’s when the idea of working at SPIRIT 105.3 was ...

I could say I’d like to fit in my old jeans this year or I want to look better in a swimsuit this summer, but it’s this picture of my family that is the true motivation.

A couple of years ago my health was at an all time low. I had gained 30 pounds from my two pregnancies and found out I had two degenerated disks in my lower back. It was a very dark time in my life. I wasn’t able to keep my house together, play with my daughters, go to the gym or do any sort of exercise. My relationship with my husband was suffering because he was doing EVERYTHING.  I wasn’t sleeping well and frankly I was a complete mess.  For the first time ever I realized what losing your health does to your life, it erodes it slowly. I asked God for his help and ...

The only way to combat what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary is to LOVE.

There is so much we learn from the Bible: How to grow closer to Christ, bring joy into our lives, peace into our hearts, contemplate how God wants to use us for good...the teachings are endless. We will always be learning, growing and in transformation. There is one simple theme to many of these teachings: LOVE thy neighbor.

I attend a regular Bible group and we are studying the book of John (AKA the Apostle of LOVE). The word "love" seems to be popping up more and more the last couple of months in my readings, teachings, and sermons. Then again, last week when 26 souls were taken in Connecticut, I turned to my pastor that day for guidance. I asked him, "How Pastor Chris" How do we go about our lives after something like this? ...

When things are going well in our lives it’s easy to be thankful for all we have.  We are joyful because of an abundant life, with a good job and a healthy family.  But there are many who are struggling this time of year. Some of us will have an empty seat at our Thanksgiving table because of the loss of a loved one or deployment; others are in a dark place because of a lost job, a sick child or failing marriage. When life hits us hard how can we exercise joy and gratefulness? My pastor reminded me this past Sunday that, “God gives us joy even in the darkest times.”   

So this Thanksgiving, no matter what stage of life you are in: choose joy, choose faithfulness and choose to live in God’s good grace.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Ana Kelly

“Rejoice in the Lord always.“
Philippians 4:4