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700 Club

Karen Kingsbury: An Author with the Zeal for Dishing out Hope

SOMEONE LIKE YOU 

Based on the popular novel, Someone Like You, is a beautiful, redemptive love story for our times. The storyline goes like this: Young architect Dawson Gage fell in love with London Quinn in high school, even though she told him not to. Ten years later, the two are still best friends when tragedy strikes. Now, the grieving Dawson is compelled to do one final act of love for London. He launches an impossible search for her secret twin sister, twins separated during their parents’ in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure. 

States away, Andi Allen has no idea she was adopted as an embryo. The news rocks her world and sends her into a spiral that culminates in her leaving home to meet her biological parents. But what will happen when Andi walks through the door of the parents she never knew? All while she’s missing the parents who lied to her? 

With one set of parents grieving the loss of a daughter, and the other set grieving the truth they never told, only Dawson can show Andi everything she missed about her twin sister. But neither of them imagined the attraction they’d feel for each other. Now can Dawson help Andi make her way back home, even though he has fallen desperately in love with her?

This movie differs from most today, Karen says, in that it deals with realistic struggles in life, like loss, betrayal, and heartbreak, but offers what is only found by knowing and trusting God. “It was important to me to have realistic themes that people can relate to, so they can walk away having hope, knowing they will be okay with God.”   
     
KAREN KINGSBURY PRODCTIONS 

“God puts a movie on my heart with all my books, and I write that. I think that’s why they do so well,” she says of her books, which total more than 25 million in print. Having had many of her books developed into films or a TV series, Karen says she likes the final products, but longed to have more say in how her stories were produced. In June of 2022, she and her husband, Don, used their own resources to launch Karen Kingsbury Productions. “It was the only way to have an opinion about costumes, direction, cast, message, location etc. I’m so thankful for the others (productions), but I sensed God saying, ‘I want you to do this.’”  

For Someone Like You, their production company worked with experienced producers to hire other veteran filmmakers for the army of people it takes to produce and post-produce a feature-length film. Karen and Don’s family added their talents as well, with their son, Tyler, co-writing the screenplay and directing the movie, their son, Austin, playing one of the characters, their daughter, Kelsey, helping to manage the set, and Karen’s sister, Trish, serving as line producer. Don pitched in as the film’s dog wrangler.  

EMBRYO ADOPTION 

At a speaking event many years ago, Karen met a woman who’d had triplets through IVF, and later, three more babies from that procedure after freezing the embryos. “It blew my mind,” Karen says. “I had no idea there was such a thing as the cryopreservation of eggs -- for decades sometimes.” Her research has shown that there are one million embryos “on ice” in the world, also referred to as frozen embryos or snowflake babies. “What if I had given away an embryo?” she wondered. Pondering that question led to a movie in her heart and mind, she says, which eventually became the book, Someone Like You. Long before the book, it led to the founding of Karen and Don’s One Chance Foundation, which awards grants for many kinds of adoptions, including embryos. Karen named the foundation after a quote from her father, Ted Kingsbury: “Life is not a dress rehearsal. We only get one chance to write the story of our lives – make it a bestseller!”

WHAT’S NEXT?

The production company has three stories in the offing for their next project. “We’ll see how this one does,” Karen says, noting that the others all have different budgetary needs. She excitedly adds that this March 28th, a TV series based on her Baxter Family book series will air on Prime. Roma Downey and Ted McGinley star in the series, as well as two actors from Someone Like You, Jake Allyn, and Brandon Hirsch. 

To find out where Someone Like You is playing, please visit: SomeoneLikeYou.movie. For more information about Karen Kingsbury, please visit her website: KarenKingsbury.com.
 
 
 

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700 Club

Giving Back to Those Who Faithfully Served

Between active duty and reserves, Corpsman Jon proudly served 21 years in the Coast Guard. While a reservist, he was called up to active duty multiple times. Through the decades, his wife, Jenny, understood that their lives could change overnight.

Jon says, “I just appreciated that she always was there for me and understanding that, you know, we might have to drop what we're doing and just so I can go wherever they needed me to.”

When Jon retired, the couple was excited about Jon’s new job as a physical therapist assistant. It allowed Jenny to stay at home with their son Gavin, who has down’s syndrome. However they didn’t expect an extra $600 a month from John’s paycheck for the new medical insurance plan—then Gavin needed surgery. The medical co-pay amounts were shocking.  

Jenny admits, “I'm concerned. It's been hard on us ‘cuz I don't know which way things are going to go. I may have to rob Peter to pay Paul.”

Doctor’s said Gavin’s prognosis was excellent. Although thankful not to face future surgeries, they still had high medical bills. Their bank agreed to defer their mortgage payment for three months and they used the money to pay the bills. But when Jon’s employer cut back his hours, the couple had no way to pay the back mortgage. With foreclosure in their future, Jon and Jenny began praying for a solution.

Jon says, “You need to give all your faith in God that He's going to provide a way.”

Jenny continues, “He's going to take care of our needs.”

Their prayers were answered when their church, Calvary Baptist, asked Helping the Home Front for assistance. Pastor, Tommy Miles, invited the couple over to tell them CBN was paying four months of their medical insurance premiums and their back mortgage due.

Jenny says, “You have no idea what this means to us. Thank you.”

Jon continues, “We weren't expecting anything like that.”

Jenny adds, “That’s huge!”  

Thanks to you, Jon and Jenny caught up on their mortgage payments. Today, Jon’s been given more work hours and the couple found a new insurance plan for hundreds less per month which they could easily afford. Now their finances are back on track.

Jenny concludes, “I'm so thankful for the CBN partners. Thank you so much for making a difference in people's lives. It's truly a blessing.”

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700 Club

Cancerous Tumor Miraculously Dissolves from Man’s Face

“When you're going to the doctor and you hear nothing encouraging, that's when your faith, it's going to have to stand,” says Jerilyn Baker. In November 2020, her husband David started having constant nose bleeds. Doctors removed a polyp from his sinus cavity, but soon after things got worse. Jerilyn remembers, “When his face began to swell I thought he's got an infection. And I told him, 'We need to contact the doctor quickly.'”

The results of a CT scan shocked the family. David's brother in-law, Chuck Denny was there. “They told him he had stage four nasal cavity melanoma,” says Chuck. “They said surgery wasn't an option. Cause of the facial disfigurement would be too massive.” Jerilyn felt hopeless, “They told us that, that there was really nothing that they could do. Chemo wasn't for that type that he had.”

Chuck states, “I'd never seen anybody heal of cancer. Every time I heard the word cancer, it was a death sentence. And I feel like unless God moved, I feel like David wouldn't, you know, he wasn't gonna make it.”

“You know my first thought was in my teaching is that we need to move into a fast and seek God and see God heal,” says Jerilyn. David's face rapidly swelled to the point where he couldn't eat or see out of his right eye. 

Pastor, Marl Gilbert remembers the many prayers from multiple church locations and beyond. “Both church families was praying for David and there was a multitude of other people. It wasn't just our churches. David used to be a pastor himself. So there's a lot of people that he knows. It was praying for him in different areas of the country, just believing God for the turnaround in his life.”

“Several times a day we would pray together,” says Jerilyn. “And there was times that you felt like you were just lost for words. You felt like that you were only repeating yourself because you were worn out. You were worn down from this sickness.”

“His condition just kept getting worse,” says Chuck. “But the prayers at that point, we didn't see much.”

“This was swelling inside of his mouth, as fast as it was on the outside,” says Jerilyn. “And he couldn't hardly eat. It was just terrible. And we knew that we were facing a horrible storm in life.”

On Easter morning, Dr. Tom Renfro and his wife, Sid, were visiting their church for a special prayer service. Remembering her husband’s own miraculous healing from cancer, Sid was moved with compassion to pray for David.

Sid remembers, “When I prayed for David, I don't touch people's head. I, I normally just touch their shoulders, but I did touch his face because I, I wanted to be very specific and very direct.”

Jerilyn watched, “I remember standing there and I thought that's going to come off in her hand because you could feel such a presence of God's spirit.”

Sid continues, “I prayed the prayer that my dad had prayed. 'By this time tomorrow, this side of your face will look like this side of your face because that prayer had worked for my dad.”

The day after Easter, something amazing happened. “He said, 'There's a change in my face. Do you see it?' I said, 'I've already seen it,'” says Jerilyn.

David smiles and says, “I looked at my wife and I said, 'I see a change in my face.' She said, 'I do too. But I was afraid to say anything.' So, we decided to go eat with our family again. And we said, 'Well let's just see what they have to say.' And they all seen me and they said it, 'That thing's shrinking.' And it was just a matter of days. It was gone.”

David's tumor vanished and doctors later confirmed that he is now cancer free. The Bakers are forever thankful to God for answering their prayers. “There's many people that has got a diagnosis like David and I feel like they saw death,” says Jerilyn. “Maybe they prepared for death, but I'd say don't give up. I'd say take His word into your spirit and I'd say believe it with everything you've got because that's what we done.”

“What I witnessed with David up close and personal with him, I mean, it just boosted my faith,” says Chuck. “I mean I know God can do anything big, little, it don't matter. He can, he can move in anything.”

Sid smiles, “I felt jubilant when I saw the picture and the tumor was gone and he had a normal face.”

“When I see David now, I think about the benevolence of God, the mercy of God, that God in this state of David's life in his older years, that God has proven His faithfulness to him,” says Pastor Mark.

“Well, I'm thankful that you know what happened that God healed me,” says David. “I'm thankful for that. I've never doubted what God was capable of doing. I've always believed that He's the healer, that He can heal cancer, He can heal heart attacks, He can kill anything that's affected me and He can take care of it if we'll just believe Him and walk in His word and not let doubt and unbelief in 'cause that stops the hand of God. I’m very thankful.”

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700 Club

Finding Purpose in the Art of Filmmaking

Choosing a political science major was a pretty easy decision for Lawrence, or “Law” Watford.
“I love politics. I love talking about politics,” says Law. There was just one problem. “There’s not really a career for a political scientist. You don’t graduate and be like ‘Yes, I’m a political scientist’ you know,” says Law. “What else could I do? I guess I can teach social studies.”

Then, in his senior year at Hampton University, he got his answer. “I saw The Matrix and I was so enamored. The creativity behind it, the philosophical nature of the questions it was asking, spiritual questions it was asking,” says Law. “That fascinated me, and I was like, ‘I want to do that.’”

After considering a number of film schools, Law chose Regent University - the only Christian University in the country offering a Master’s in Film. In his first days there he knew he was on the right track as a whole new world opened up to him.

“Then once we picked up the camera, I was like ‘Wow!’ These little Sony cameras at the time, and I remember the smell, I remember the sound, I remember what it’s like when you turn the camera on, I was like, ‘This is awesome,’” says Law. “And it’s just—the mind just started turning ideas, ideas, ideas.”

“There was a sense of freeness. So, at any given time if I had something that I was burning to do, I can get a camera and do it,” says Law. “They definitely provided that kind of environment.”

And for a young man deeply rooted in his faith, Regent allowed him to explore more than just an exciting career.

“I enjoyed the challenge of integrating my faith with the art,” says Law. “Like you know when you find something, it’s like, ‘Wow!’ Like that feels refreshing because it was something you were missing you didn’t know you were missing, you know. That’s what I discovered.”

After graduating in 2004, Law moved back to his hometown, New York City. He jumped right into the industry, landing freelance gigs on major film and television productions such as Law and order, Revolutionary Road, and Mission Impossible 3. He says his time at Regent prepared him both professionally and spiritually to be a witness to God’s love in such a challenging, secular industry.

“How do we create stories and-and-and-share—not just the Gospel, but something deeper, the thing that’s beyond the words,” says Law.

Then, after some twelve years in the industry, now married and a father of three, Law again questioned what the future held.

“I was on the verge of—I don’t know if I would have ever really given up, but I felt like ‘Okay, God is this it?’” says Law. “Like ‘Am I just destined to try to beat the bushes for freelance work? Because nothing was working out. I’d done a film two years prior to that called The Savior & The Samaritan. I thought it was a brilliant sort of discussion—nobody saw it,” laughs Law. “Nobody seemed to care.”

About that time, Law heard from an old friend who asked him to direct a short film, called Flipped—a story dealing with social justice and racial reconciliation—issues close to Law’s heart.

“He wanted to address the feeling of the day in the life of a Black teenager, but in a way that inverted the scenario so that the White teen is a minority in a Black environment and to create and tell the same story—take that—take the viewer on that same journey and to see, does it feel different like when you see those events play out,” says Law.

Flipped premiered in 2019 and has even screened at the iconic Chinese Theatre in L.A. Law has gone on to write, produce, and direct other films highlighting social justice issues, hoping his stories and characters offer audiences new perspectives.

“How do they resolve their differences; how do they dissolve the walls that are-are in between them?” says Law.” “And I think with regards to our faith, like that’s what the faith is about. It’s about reaching beyond ourselves, you know, and reaching out to humanity as a whole with this message of love, compassion, grace, mercy, and forgiveness.”

In 2021, he was named one of Essence magazine’s “7 Independent Black Filmmakers to Watch.” As he communicates through the language of film, Law continues to find his greatest source of inspiration in Jesus Christ.

“That’s the one consistent thing, I think, that’s held since Regent. I always felt that God wants me to communicate His heart, His nature,” says Law. “The overall message of Christ was really simple; love your brother, love one another, take on the burdens of one another,” says Law. “That’s still the goal, to communicate the heart of Christ, the nature of Christ, and dissolve the things that separate us.”
 

CBN’s impact around the world

USA

Daily prayers for people across the country

CBN’s prayer team prayed with over 1.2 million callers in 2022 alone, while also praying with people through email, social media channels, live chat on the website, and written correspondence.

Latin America

Highlighting testimonies of God’s faithfulness

Vida Dura or “Hard Life” stories are sourced throughout Latin America and produced in Spanish to reach a region with testimonies of people who hit rock bottom and turn to God for change. CBN has a prayer center in Latin America to support people through prayer and faith resources.

Turkey

Serving in the wake of natural disasters

CBN's Operation Blessing was on the ground quickly in the wake of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey, providing much-needed food, relief supplies, and medical aid. After large-scale natural disasters, Operation Blessing strives to be the first to arrive, and the last to leave, tending to the needs long after the news cameras leave.

Ukraine and Poland

For 30 years, CBN has been serving the people of Ukraine

Through CBN’s Orphan’s Promise and Operation Blessing, we were able to quickly provide valuable resources soon after the conflict began, and we continue to support Ukrainian refugees.

International

Projected 135 million* watched a CBN program in 2022

CBN partners are reaching children around the world with the Gospel of Jesus through Superbook, a Bible-based animation series. In 2022 alone, children in 139 countries watched at least one episode of Superbook.

Bible Reading for the Day

Read or listen to today's Old and New Testament Bible readings. Each day is portioned to give the entire Bible to you in a year. Start anytime. Scroll forward or backward if you miss any days or want to get ahead.

Read Now 

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