“I would wake up in the morning and sometimes I could not get out of bed,” Helen Panetti said. “I would start moving, but it was painful. I would have to hold onto the kitchen counter. Sad, disconnected, old beyond my years.”

“It was 2014,” Helen said. “I was making chili at the stove, and I have a rug behind me. I step backwards and tripped on that rug and fell on the kitchen floor. Real pain really started to kick in with my hip.”

“There was kind of a progression of this hip problem,” Helen said. “The pain in my hip was residual. It would go to different parts. It would go down my IT band to my knee. It would affect my balance. There were times I couldn't get up. My whole hip would be like in paralysis. In the lowest moments, I felt like there was a cloud of something over me. I just thought, ‘I know there's more. Lord, if it is your will, I ask you to heal my body. I want to be able to play with my grandkids.’”

“I was dealing with this for ten years,” Helen said. Going to the doctor, I was bone on bone. He said, ‘There's no solution other than a total hip replacement.’ I felt the Lord say to me, ‘Will you trust me? Will you relinquish this so I can be a testimony to your family who has had repeated surgeries, repeated orthopedic problems?’ And I thought, ‘Lord, they need you. They need you in a real practical way.’”

March 15, 2024 – “I had woken up that morning kind of stiff,” Helen said. “I went over and started watching The 700 Club and Ashley Key came on and started praying.”

"I believe there's a woman watching, and you've got something going on with your right hip,” Ashely prayed. “It's almost like the muscles in your hip area are completely deteriorated. There are talks for you getting a complete hip replacement, you're actually very fearful of that, and I just believe God is restoring those muscles. He's restoring strength to that hip. So much so that you will not have to get a hip replacement. Just praise God right now, just receive this healing from your heavenly Father who sees you and who loves you in Jesus’ name." 

“I put up my hand and I said, ‘Father-in-Heaven, if that's me, I'll take it,’” Helen said with tears in her eyes. “I rejoiced. I stood up, I said, ‘I will leap for joy.’ I was jumping, and leaping and praising God, and I was grateful. It was personal. It was confirmation. God said it, I believe it, that settles it. I can totally trust Him and walk through that door. I had the faith to believe that. I felt joyful.”

“It's been a testimony to my doctors,” Helen said. “They don't know what to say. ‘You shouldn't be able to walk.’ And I go, ‘All I know is this, I've got a really big God, and He must have something for me to do.’”

“I do believe that God is The Healer,” Helen said. “I believe He has given me a gift in healing, and having it spoken through Ashley that morning was just a solid confirmation of details that were undeniable. The joy I feel in what God has done, I have a hard time not spilling over. I am so joyful that it has resonated like ripples in a pond to my family. Faith we talk about now. It's become real. I tell the grandkids.”

“I believe in the power of prayer like nothing I've ever believed in,” Helen said. “I believe God will always take you through if you worship and you praise Him in the middle of it. If you will go to Him completely surrendered, not asking for what you want, but what He wants.”

Corum served 5 years in the army as a combat medic.  His wife mackinsy is quick to praise him for his dedication to serve.

“He has a very big heart.  And when it comes to his patriotism.  I’m always so proud to be his wife.

Corum speaks just as highly of MacKinsey for taking care of their toddler Hunter and newborn baby Mason.

I admire her. She’s strong and I’m strong, but we’re stronger together.

Their strength was tested when, just before the holidays, Corum was denied re-enlistment due to troop downsizing.  So, instead of enjoying a season of peace and joy they were now facing financial turmoil.

Corum says, “I worry a lot.  It’s my job to take care of my family. I feel like I’m not doing my job. And that hits me pretty hard.

Corum and Mackinzy decided to use their final army transfer from Fort Campbell, Kentucky to go back home to Wisconsin. There, Corum could find a new job. But the couple was already behind on bills and rent and couldn’t afford a deposit on a new place in Wisconsin.

Mackinzy admits, “It’s very scary going into the holidays not knowing where we’re going to be.  We decided that we’re not going to buy gifts for each other this year.  I try to go to thrift shops when I can and with the little extra money that we have, which is not much.  Our boys need clothes and, we always need more groceries than we can buy.”

The couple relied on their faith in god that things would work out. They continued to pray every day.

Corum says, we both feel so much better after we’ve prayed, after we feel like the Lord has listened to us and God’s going to handle it.   I want her to feel peace of mind and I want us both to feel peace of mind within the marriage and with God.

The Kennetts got a huge dose of Christmas cheer when their small group leader Brian Flannery with Reboot Ministry, invited them over to tell them that Cbn’s Helping the Home Front was paying off the back rent due, paying an additional two months rent to get them through the holidays, and paying the rental deposit on a new home in Wisconsin.    

Corum replied, “Wow, Relief!  I don’t know what to say.”

Brian continues, “Also, we are going to sit down today.  And all the back bills you have, we are going to take care of those too.”

Mackinsy says, “God is good all the time.  Thank you.”
Brian goes on, “But there is more.  We want to make sure that you give those boys the Christmas they deserve.  So, here are $2000 in gift cards.  And as soon as we are done we are going shopping.”

Corum says, “I can’t even process that we are going to be ok.”

The Kennetts sat down with Brian and mapped out a plan to pay all of their delinquent bills.  Then, they were off on a shopping spree to buy what the family needed, including presents for under the tree.

Mackinzy concludes, “We couldn’t be more grateful for the blessings that you are giving us. And knowing that we’re going to give our boys a wonderful Christmas this year with everything going on, it’s such a relief!”

COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

In 2022, as the world was just starting to recover from the pandemic, Matthew West wrote a song he titled Come Home for Christmas, to lift spirits at his favorite time of year.  “I sat down and wrote a Christmas song one evening at my Story House studio, which brought back memories of my favorite Christmas songs on the radio and those snowy drives to my grandmother’s house in Iowa each year,” he recalls.  In addition, he held an event in his hometown of Franklin, TN, inviting fans of his music to come for a weekend of celebrating Christmas as he loves to do -- with a tree lighting in the town square, a worship service, and, of course, lots of music.  “’Come Home for Christmas’ was born as a song and a yearly event to invite people to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.”  The third annual gathering will take place this year. 

Matthew has now expressed his thoughts about what Christmas means in a new book.  He hopes that it turns readers’ focus from the busyness of the holiday to the gift that Jesus is to us.  “Maybe you have made some decisions in your life that have separated you from a close relationship with God.  I’m confident He wants to bring Christmas to your heart this season with boundless healing and redemption.  Don’t let the holiday season come and go without the story of Jesus’ birth transforming your life.”

COME HOME TO HEALING

Matthew is keenly aware that the Christmas season isn’t a joyful time for many people.  “The Christmas season brings a flood of nostalgia and emotion and has a way of churning up stuff that has been hidden in the attics of our lives for the past year – just like those broken ornaments and lights.  The celebrations and festivities of Christmas exist alongside the reality of brokenness.  With the countdown toward Christmas set in motion, things like depression, chronic illness, job loss, or strained relationships become more evident.  While there are wonderful things about Christmas, the great reality is that broken hearts, broken bodies, broken humanity, and broken creation are the true ‘reason for the season."

The solution, he points out, is not to put on a false holiday smile and pretend that everything’s fine.  He directs us to the only One who can heal all wounds.  “It is a time to be honest with God about the brokenness in a family, a time to face up to addiction, a time to address the need for healing in our relationships, in our communities, and in our world.  Christmas is when we turn our attention to the truth that the Son of Man didn’t come to earth for us to choose to hide in our brokenness but to acknowledge it and place it in the hands of the Healer.”

COME HOME TO COMPASSION

Exercising the compassion of Christ draws us closer to Him, and is a great way to make the holiday season more meaningful, Matthew believes.  “The New Testament understanding of the word compassion is best described as a gut-level intense emotion that moves people to relieve the suffering of others – to act.  Maybe the very people who need you most this Christmas are the ones to whom you can say, ‘I’ve been there, too.’

I can tell you about my friend, Sean, who lost his wife and now leads a grief recovery group for those who have lost their spouses.  Or Jason, who is a recovered drug addict and now volunteers as a counselor at a faith-based rehab center.  Joe is a veteran who came home from war with PTSD and now helps other vets deal with the lasting effects of their time in combat.  And there is Jan, who nearly lost her marriage and now counsels young couples on how to maintain a strong relationship.” 

Matthew also offers the example of two favorite Christmas movie characters, who display hearts of compassion:  George Bailey, of the perennial favorite, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Ebenezer Scrooge, of the Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol.  “George Bailey finds out that it is his compassion as a businessman that makes him essential to so many families in the small town of Bedford Falls,” he explains.  As to ol’ Ebenezer Scrooge, the miserly man transformed into a compassionate, warm-hearted person, Matthew discovered an interesting fact about the character’s creator, Charles Dickens.  “When Dickens was only twelve years old, he was forced to work ten-hour days in a rat-infested shoe polish factory because his father, mother, five brothers, and sisters (aged two to eleven) were put in prison over a family debt.  It was compassion formed in real-life experiences that led to this famous Christmas story, and I can’t help but wonder if that is why it had such a big impact on people.”      

COME HOME TO THE MANGER

Matthew sums up his hope for his book: “You know, underneath all the decorations, fancy presents, laughter, and stress of these holiday gatherings, there is the truth of that scene around the manger.  The longing of your heart for hope this Christmas is pointing you back to the most important moment in the history of the world.  And that beautiful gift born in Bethlehem is alive today and calling you to come home for Christmas … to come home to Him … to come home for good.”

 If you want more info about Matthew West and his works, click the LINK! 

CREDITS

Author, Come Home for Christmas , W Publishing Group, 2024 / Latest single, “Unashamed,”  October, 2024 / Thirteen studio albums; latest, Don’t Stop Praying, fall, 2024 / Five-time Grammy nominee / 30 No. 1 songs / Six-time ASCAP Christian Music Songwriter of the Year / Prime Time EMMY nominee, Original Music and Lyrics for feature film The Heart of Christmas / Author of eight books / Songwriting credits include songs by Rascal Flatts, Casting Crowns, Scotty McCreery, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Danny Gokey, Mandisa / Married to Emily; two teen daughters, Lulu and Delaney

10-year-old Avika had questions about the religion she was being taught at home. As a Muslim, she was taught to pray five times a day and read the Quran. She says, “In Islam we were told that Allah is God. I remember my parents always encouraged me to attend the Quran reading after school, but I didn’t understand it.”

Not far from her home, in a remote village in Indonesia, is an after-school program supported by CBN’s Orphan’s Promise. She says, “I joined the after-school program when I was in first grade. A friend invited me.”

It was there Avika received help with homework and learned about the God of the Bible through CBN’s Superbook, but it wasn’t until she watched the story of the First Christmas that she finally made a decision that would change her life. “I realized I was a sinner that day, I repented, and asked Jesus to forgive me and be my Lord and Savior. I felt so happy after I prayed because I knew that Jesus was in my heart and He forgave my sins,” shares Avika.

Now she prays that her family will come to know Jesus too. “I love to share about the Bible and Superbook with my family. They love to hear the stories.” Avika is thankful for all the people who have supported the afterschool program and Superbook.

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