From Barely Surviving to Thriving

CBN partner, Helen Boylen, retired over 10 years ago, and to this day, is still going strong. She explains, “Have car, will travel. As long as I can move, I'll go, you know, wherever God calls me. I just want to walk with the Lord.”

Helen’s been walking closely with God since her husband abandoned her, leaving her a single mom. “I had no, no education, no means of income,” she recollects. “So, that's when I surrendered my life to God. I got on my knees, and I said, ‘God, I give you my checkbook. I give you my car, I give you my three boys, I give you my house.’ And God took care of me. He was my husband. And if I had a situation, I'd just say, ‘God, where are you?’”

She found a good church, got a job, and started watching The 700 Club. She recalls, “Pat Robertson was on with all these miracle stories of people being prayed over and anointed with oil. When I was down and out, I would call The 700 Club, and they would pray with me on the phone for food or when I needed a new car. They were there for me physically and spiritually. I probably survived through the prayer support from The 700 Club. On the phone, they just helped me make Godly choices. God answered my prayers.”

When she heard Pat teach on giving, she immediately began tithing to her church and giving love offerings to CBN.

Helen shares, “There’s that scripture, ‘Give and it will be given back to you, pressed down, shaken together, running over,’ and then I started experiencing it. People would leave meat and food on my porch. And it's kind of fun to walk with the Lord and see how He moves. And my son, Jim, signed a basketball scholarship to the University of Maine, and he got a four-year full ride."

Today Jim is an NBA coach and a CBN partner. Helen introduced him to giving and to CBN when he was just a teen. “He saw the fruits in my life,” she explains, “and he started giving a love offering and tithing whenever he got a paycheck.”

Through the years, Helen’s always had what she needs. Now, she loves praying for other’s needs, while continuing to give to CBN. She exclaims, “I know where my money's going, and I know that people are being helped and when they have a hurricane or a tornado goes through, they're right there on the spot, giving out food and removing the debris from the front yard so the people can get their life back to order.”

She especially appreciates CBN’s heart for the Holy Land. “I like The 700 Club because they go on site, they go in the home, they go to Israel,” she says. “And when I see them give meals to the Holocaust victims, that's the epitome of God's ministry.”

Helen encourages everyone who wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves to surrender to God and give to CBN, like she does. “I know it’s on good seed on good soil,” she says. “Why wouldn't you give to 700 Club, when it works, it's successful. It builds up your faith, and when you put to practice what The 700 Club teaches, you'll have miracles. Do not rely on your own understanding, in all your ways, acknowledge the Lord and He will direct your path and meet your needs.” Helen concludes, “You can't out, out give the Lord.”