All That I Am Today
(A ministry for THIS moment)
"Offering everything we are to the Lord."
most writing is by South Dakota author BJ Reese
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WELCOME TO ALL THAT i AM TODAY
TEACHING MINISTRY
Bonnie (BJ) Reese
Founder
Jan Suntken
Founding Partner
Kelly F. Miller
Ministry Partner
Amy K. Ellis Ministry Partner
"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace." ~ 1 Corinthians 14:33
When we launched this new feature, our intention was to share testimonies . . . stories of those moments in which someone's life was changed forever. In most cases, the person recognizes God within that story. Our hope --- our prayer --- was that our readers might be helped and inspired by the testimonies we share here . . . in The Witness Stand. What we didn't expect was that one of those readers would read one of those stories and see a way he might be able to help other readers.
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He represents an organization in Louisiana, which helps people navigate the maze of questions and concerns surrounding a diagnosis of Mesothelioma. After prayerful consideration, we feel led to share the information with you. If you, or someone you know, has questions related to Mesothelioma, you can get answers by contacting Louisiana Mesothelioma Advocates at:
louisianamesothelioma.org/mesothelioma/
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WELCOME TO . . . THE WITNESS STAND
In this new feature, we will showcase YOUR story. Your testimony. Your personal journey of faith . . . of what God has done in your life, and how He got ahold of your heart and drew you unto Himself. Or, maybe, you have a story of something wondrous He has done during a specific time in your life.
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If you have a testimony you'd like to share, click on the link above, to email it to us.
Every year she spends in South Dakota, BJ endures even more changes; more challenges. The most surprising part of the journey is how she sees it all . . .​
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THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME
(Conclusion, by BJ Reese)
August 1, 2021
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In December, 2007, my older brother, Jim, came to visit us for Christmas. By that time, he’d been living near Seattle, Washington, for 21 years. Rich and I had been through there on the truck a couple of times and had stopped to visit with Jim. This would be his first visit to our home in South Dakota . . . and my first Christmas with Jim since 1989.
Jim and Richard hit it off very well, and became fast friends. By the time Jim’s visit ended, in January 7, 2008, he had applied for a job driving for the same company Richard drove for. By January 27, he was back out here, going through orientation. He was on the road by January 30. In March of that same year, Jim moved his belongings here and joined our household.
When I graduated from college in 2009, we planned a party here at the house. Younger brother, Ed, and his family again came to visit – so they could join the celebration. Jim and Richard were both able to make it home that weekend, and we had a big party in our yard. It was glorious to be surrounded by family for such a special event. Son, Mike, and his family joined us, but sons Tony and Kevin were not able to come. Military duties had them both occupied somewhere else.
During Jim’s time here, he mended virtually all of his relationships with various family members. Our sister, Barb; Ed; me; and several others: he had made peace with everyone who had once been estranged from him. He also fell in love with a very special woman named Debbie. For the first time in all his 66 years, he was totally devoted to only one woman.
In April, 2011, our family faced yet another tragedy. Jim was dying of liver failure. All three of my boys managed to get here to see him, and were able to stay for his funeral. Ed and his family also came, and so did Debbie. The Lord had seen to it that we were all together when it was time to send our brother Home.
Shortly after returning home, Ed and his wife, Lee, made an unexpected decision – one that contradicted what he had told me in 1999. They were making plans to move to South Dakota. Those plans bore fruit in the late summer of 2012. Around the same time that Ed arrived, Tony’s Army duties ended and he joined the ranks of the civilian world.
He and his family moved back to South Dakota and ended up in a house only a mile from ours. This was a joyous surprise because he had always dreamed of settling in Kentucky. Jim’s death had caused him to rethink those plans. He told his wife he wanted to be closer to here, in case something happened and I needed them. Sadly, just weeks after their arrival, Tony’s marriage fell apart.
Not long after that, Kevin left the Marine Corps after serving eight years. He and his second wife lived in North Carolina with their three children. Michael lived in Gillette, Wyoming for several years and, when his marriage ended, he was awarded custody of his two children. He and his second wife, and the kids, also moved here to South Dakota. Many of us, who’ve been drawn here, were now living within a mile or two of one another.
I have watched with fascination since 1990, when a vague dream to move out West first began. Slowly and steadily over the years, the Lord had drawn almost all of our family here, also. Some of those who are not yet here, are planning to be.
My stepdaughter, Melanie, has finished raising her boys and now has an ‘empty nest’. Her plan is to move here after she sells her house. Although Ed’s family went back to Spokane, they hope to return here one day. His son, Chris, has also talked of making a home here some day. After Barb’s husband died, she often said she would move here if she were younger.
I have often wondered why God had chosen this place in which to gather our family. But, it has become vividly clear to us that that is exactly what He's been doing. One by one, He has gathered us here over the years. Even though some have come, lived here a while, and then left again, their time here was rewarding. Relationships have been repaired. Each loved one who has come here has been drawn closer to all the others. Despite all the hardships and heartaches we’ve been through, our family is closer than ever. In this special place, God has restored so very much – to all of us.
The changes and growth didn’t stop there, either. Each of the boys went through a divorce . . . but has found a powerful, new love, and has remarried. Their new wives are all wonderful additions to our family. Each one of them had children by their first marriages, so we have grown exponentially. Richard and I have found a church we absolutely love and have been attending regularly since 2005. Much to my sheer delight, all three of my boys have also found a church they love, and are attending it with their families.
I still have no idea why God chose this place, out of all the places He could have chosen. But I DO know this: every year here has shown us that I made EXACTLY the right choice when I followed Him here in 1999. Everything that has happened here has served to reaffirm that decision and prove that it was a good one. God has blessed our family in countless ways here. I am immensely grateful to Him.
There are also some other things I know for sure . . . Frank was meant to live long enough to help God to prepare me for this move. He was to make sure I knew to come here. As soon as that was accomplished, his job was finished and God called him Home. Mama needed to live long enough to see us make this move, and to know I would be alright here. As soon as that was done, God called her Home. This understanding has led me to a belief that may sound a bit self centered.
Looking back over all the years since 1999, this all seems so deliberate. I truly believe that God’s intention, all along, was to bring me here. And, eventually, to bring the rest of my family here. A lot of fences have been mended along the way. A lot of relationships have been healed. That, in itself, is a glorious gift --- a wondrous miracle. Whatever else God has planned, I will wait obediently and, maybe, a bit anxiously. The rest of this journey has been absolutely fascinating to watch. I look forward to learning what else God has in mind.
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To His Glory . . . BJ, Jan, Kelly, & Amy​
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WELCOME TO . . . THE WITNESS STAND
In this new feature, we will showcase YOUR story. Your testimony. Your personal journey of faith . . . of what God has done in your life, and how He got ahold of your heart and drew you unto Himself. Or, maybe, you have a story of something wondrous He has done during a specific time in your life.
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If you have a testimony you'd like to share, click on the link above, to email it to us.
As BJ begins to settle in to her new surroundings, she faces even more unexpected changes . . .​
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THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME
(Part 2)
(original appearance: July 1, 2021)
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I spent the summer preparing for our move, and making plans. Rather than try and manage a rental truck alone, I chose to hire a professional moving company. On August 1, we flew my mom to Spokane. She would stay with my sister until our move was completed. The movers came and loaded our possessions into the truck, except for those items we would take with us in the car. The items in the moving truck would be placed in storage until I found a place to live.
The morning of August 6, we were finally ready. My youngest son, Kevin, and I had the car loaded and had cleaned the house. We spent some time saying good-bye to the old farm house, walking through it one room at a time. Then, we walked down to the creek that wound through the seven acres of property that the house sat on. When we had finished our good-byes, we climbed into my old Ford station wagon and backed out of the driveway. We were finally on our way to South Dakota.
We arrived here the night of August 11, and spent a few days taking care of business. We also took some time to visit some of the local tourist attractions. By early September, we had set up bank accounts and address changes, and had found a place to live. Kevin was registered for school, which was only four blocks from the house. On September 10, we had Mama flown here, and life began in the little rental house we had found. It seemed to take no time at all for me to start to feel settled here. I felt like I was home.
However, I soon found that my challenges were not over. On November 20, Mama became ill and had to be hospitalized. When the immediate crisis had passed, they transferred her to a nursing home so she could regain her strength before returning home. Apparently, she was never meant to rejoin us in our little rental house. She passed away peacefully the morning of December 23. I ended the year 1999 reflecting on all the changes.
Kevin’s two older brothers, Tony and Michael, were both adults and had chosen to stay in Pennsylvania. They had lives of their own to pursue. Here we were, just over four months after our arrival in South Dakota, and everything seemed different. A family of six people had spent eight years planning this move. In the end, only two of us would actually begin that life. Whatever God’s plan was, it must be a doozy! I guess I’d find out, sooner or later.
Despite my grief over all the loss we’d endured, I was never once sorry for coming here. From the day we’d arrived, I felt at home. It was as though this place had opened its arms and welcomed us. Still, it was just the two of us. All of our friends were back east, in Pennsylvania. Kevin’s brothers were still there. My sister and brothers were all out in Washington state. No matter how at home we felt here, we were in a new place where we knew no one.
My brothers were both puzzled. They couldn’t understand why, after 26 years on the East Coast, I hadn’t come all the way home to Washington when I finally came west. I didn’t really have an answer for them . . . I didn’t know, either. I only knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. My sister’s attitude was different. She was happy for me, and glad I had settled some place where I felt so comfortable.
During a brief visit in 1999, my younger brother, Ed, had expressed his bewilderment. “Well, I’m glad you’re happy here, Sis! There’s no way in hell I would ever move here!”
My older brother, Jim, seemed more annoyed than anything else. “I don’t understand why you didn’t come all the way home,” he’d said in one of our phone conversations. “If you were here, we could at least see each other more often.” While I respected their opinions, I didn’t share them.
In the summer of 2001, a new friend helped me secure the financing to purchase a home of my own. That was no easy feat, considering the bankruptcy. Even more surprising was the fact that it was a brand new house. The property I had chosen was prepared over the winter, and I moved in on May 1, 2002.
Later that month, my son Michael’s long-term relationship with his girlfriend ended. He decided that he wanted to get out of Pennsylvania once and for all. In June, I made the trip back east to get him. He moved in with Kevin and me until he could get on his feet here.
In August, my son Tony returned to the States after his National Guard unit completed a tour in Germany. After visiting with an old friend in Kentucky, he drove to South Dakota. His marriage had ended and he decided to make his home here, too. By the time I had been here only three years, God had woven my family back together. Of the family who had spent eight years planning this move, four of us were still alive. Now, all four of us were together again, and living here. God is SO good!
Three months after Tony arrived, I met a man named Richard. He was a long-haul truck driver, whom I had met through the online personals. We hit it off instantly, and he soon became a regular part of my life whenever he was in town. We became engaged in March, 2003.
That May, Kevin graduated from high school and left for the Marine Corps a month later. Tony married a woman named Skyler in July. Kevin married his long-time girlfriend, Amber, in January, 2004, and immediately shipped out to Okinawa, Japan. Richard and I committed our lives to each other in February, 2004. Michael married a woman named Sara in August, 2004. With all those weddings, our family was growing by leaps and bounds. In the span of just 14 months, we had grown from a family of four to one of eight. But God was not yet finished with our growth.
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Join us next week for the conclusion . . .
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To His Glory . . . BJ, Jan, Kelly, & Amy​
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WELCOME TO . . . THE WITNESS STAND
In this new feature, we will showcase YOUR story. Your testimony. Your personal journey of faith . . . of what God has done in your life, and how He got ahold of your heart and drew you unto Himself. Or, maybe, you have a story of something wondrous He has done during a specific time in your life.
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If you have a testimony you'd like to share, click on the link above, to email it to us.
Beginning with this week's post, BJ Reese shares the story of a series of lifechanging events . . . and a move that changed her outlook forever . . .
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THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME
(Part 1)
(original appearance: June 1, 2021)
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​I moved to South Dakota in 1999, but my journey here was not, by any means, a direct one. I was born in Spokane, Washington, and married a military man about a year after high school. He was stationed in Baltimore, Maryland. We lived there for 4 1/2 years, then transferred to Maine. When that marriage ended, three years later, I went home for a while. About a year after that, I married my best friend, who was also a military man. He was stationed in New York City.
While we were there, we moved my mother in with us and, eventually, bought an old farm house in northeast Pennsylvania. For 15 years, we made our home there - with Mama and our three youngest children. By 1990, East Coast life was beginning to bother us. We craved a slower, more connected way a life. Because of that, we began researching places out west to which we could relocate our family. Finally, in 1991, we decided to inquire about western South Dakota. We’d been there a couple of times on vacation, and we both liked it.
Unfortunately, our massive, 14-room farm house wasn’t easy to sell. There just isn’t much demand for something that large in a financially oppressed region. It would take eight more years for God to put all the pieces in position for our move to take place. Through all the waiting, our attraction to South Dakota never wavered. We were sure that’s where we were meant to go.
Financial difficulties seemed to hover over everything we did, making it virtually impossible for us to fund our move. All parts of our plan hinged on selling the old farm house; there was no other way to come up with the money we would need for such a major relocation. Still, we continued to feel drawn to South Dakota. We held fast to our goal, despite one stumbling block after another. Year after year, finances kept us from getting any closer to our dream. Still, the dream held. “Some day . . .” we told ourselves.
Then, in early 1999, our big break came. It came in a very unexpected way, but it did come. After consulting a financial advisor, we made the painful decision to file bankruptcy. A meeting with a lawyer led us to an even more painful decision. We would give up our efforts to try and sell the house. Instead, when the time came, we would sign a ‘Deed in lieu of foreclosure’ with the bank. When the bankruptcy was discharged, the house would become the bank’s property and we would have to move. Whether we would stay in Pennsylvania or go elsewhere was up to us, but we would have no choice but to move.
As hopeless and defeated as all of that sounds, there was a silver lining. That came as no surprise to me: I had long since come to expect them in many sad situations. This time was no different. For every debt we listed in the bankruptcy papers, we were told to stop making payments as soon as those papers were filed with the court. Continuing to make payments, the lawyer explained, constituted fraud. Since we were going to surrender the house, that meant we would also stop making house payments. The very ‘defeated, hopeless’ situation we were facing was actually going to provide us with the chance we had been waiting for. By not paying on all of those bills, we could save up that money to finance our move to South Dakota.
We filed for bankruptcy in February. Beginning in March, we stopped making all those payments every month. We began setting aside every penny we could, for funding our move. We figured it would take only a few months for us to have enough money saved to rent the moving trucks and pay travel expenses. A strange twist, indeed. But we saw it as the Lord showing us a way to achieve our dreams. We calculated, and figured, and gathered estimates on truck rentals. Gradually, the picture began to take shape. In late April, our calculations were finally completed.
Our best estimates showed that, by early August, we would have enough money set aside to pay for our move. We would rent two moving trucks, and two tow dollies for our cars. We would pick up the trucks around August 1, and spend two days getting them loaded. We would also spend some time cleaning the house once it was empty. By August 6, we would be ready to say good-bye to Pennsylvania and head for South Dakota. We were thrilled! After eight years of dreaming and hoping, there was a plan . . . and we had an actual moving date!
Barely two weeks later, on May 10, tragedy struck. Frank collapsed from an apparent heart attack in the kitchen. Only an hour later, he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Despite the shock and devastation I felt, I knew one thing for sure: God intended for me to complete our plans and move to South Dakota. Nothing anyone said could convince me to change my mind.
When I did, briefly, become confused by people’s warnings, I turned to God. I asked Him to place the answer in my heart, because I couldn’t trust myself to accurately respond to human comments at that time. If I was still supposed to move, I asked him to teach me what to say to people. As had happened many times in my life, God faithfully answered my prayer and provided for my needs. From that day on, I knew just what to say to any naysayers I encountered.
I also had a much better understanding of what God was trying to tell me. For whatever reason, He still intended for me to make this move. I couldn’t begin to fathom why Frank wasn’t supposed to go with me, but that was okay. I knew what God wanted, and I would follow Him. I knew I could trust Him. Besides, I was curious to see what He had in mind. Why had we, as a family, gone through so much, only to have me make this move without my best friend by my side?
Tune in next week for part 2 of this journey . . .
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To His Glory . . . BJ, Jan, Kelly, & Amy​
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WELCOME TO . . . THE WITNESS STAND
In this new feature, we will showcase YOUR story. Your testimony. Your personal journey of faith . . . of what God has done in your life, and how He got ahold of your heart and drew you unto Himself. Or, maybe, you have a story of something wondrous He has done during a specific time in your life.
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If you have a testimony you'd like to share, click on the link above, to email it to us.
In this week's testimony Michael Reese tells us about some of the ways he recognized God's Hand working in his life when he and his wife bought their home . . . (NOTE: the name is not a trick or error: Michael is my son. ~ BJ)​
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Michael Reese, posted 8/21/2025
Life’s interesting, as you enter the world fresh out of high school you truly have no idea what you’re getting into. You fight to stay alive, try to make ends meet, float check writing and bad payday loans to whether the storm you know is coming, your just hoping to get one more day before it hits.
As you grow, and life unfolds your plans quickly make no sense at all, then life really throws you a curve and wife and kids come along. You do everything you can to be keep them healthy and your first shot falls apart, you fight through divorce courts for your kids best interest instead of your own. Without realizing it your entire life perspective just shifted on a more level!!
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You spend the next couple years as a single father fighting for them, doing everything and trying new things with no idea what you’re doing.
You meet an incredible women that radically changes your heart, without doing anything except for accepting you for you. Now you’re growing together married raising kids, both your own, and getting to know and help her kids as well. Together as a family feeling whole your moving forward, still fighting to make ends meet, still doing everything you can not to let the world around you swallow you hole like you e watched it do to too many people you knew. Over the years your family stresses about “where do we go from here?” “What are we doing” “I can’t live like this forever” “something has to change”
You’re connected with a church, learning the word, practicing it when you can, helping wherever you can. All the while the only answer your able to give each other is “it won’t be like this forever” admittedly knowing you can’t see any way through what you have or beyond what you can just barely afford.
As you grow in the church and work on growing your faith, your family, and who you all are something changes without you ever realizing it, God starts moving in ways in your life you never dreamed. You go from “it’s good enough, because we’ll never afford anything else” to “look what Gods helped us do” expanding our horizons, helping us become successful in all ways our family, our work, our walk, our social atmospheres by putting quality friends and family in our lives. Who we are today is MASSIVELY DIFFERENT then who we were when we met, we have grown, met new family and friends who have helped us out along our way. 5 years ago today we signed on a house we bought together, writing a check for $0.86 for closing costs (not a typo) because of people who took time to value who we were and what we were looking for.
We have grown in more ways than we can count, we have been helped by more people than we can possibly call or return the favor, we have been blessed in so many ways I can’t even begin to explain. Today as this reminder came across, all I can say to anyone and everyone is “Thank You” and I truly hope God blessed you as you and Him have blessed us.
(was a comment posted about the following memory, from 8/21/20)
Well it’s official, after a month and a half of paperwork, driving around and looking. Me and my beautiful wife Patti Reese are official home owners!!! We want to thank our friends Chris Quail with Remax and Aaron Underwood with Unify Mortgage for all your help along the way. You made this process fun and a lot easier than we thought it would be!!
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We are having a “moving sale” tomorrow at our current house come on by and help us relocate some of the stuff!!
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To His Glory . . . BJ, Jan, Kelly, & Amy​
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WELCOME TO . . . THE WITNESS STAND
In this new feature, we will showcase YOUR story. Your testimony. Your personal journey of faith . . . of what God has done in your life, and how He got ahold of your heart and drew you unto Himself. Or, maybe, you have a story of something wondrous He has done during a specific time in your life.
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If you have a testimony you'd like to share, click on the link above, to email it to us.
This week, Gwen Collins share the story of how God worked a medical miracle in her life . . .
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My Story
I am blessed! God worked a miracle through me! I was dying at a Colorado hospital. The doctors couldn’t diagnose me. Boarding a medical flight, I was transported to the Mayo Clinic, where God saved me! Let me tell you my story.
It started with flu-like symptoms: Feeling terrible, very weak, had night sweats, couldn’t eat, lost 45 pounds,
Too weak to lift a fork, severe anemia was rampant, iron blood levels fell below 7 g/dL (normal is 12-15 g/dL). Multiple blood transfusions were administered and iron was given by IV. My arms turned black from the incessant needle poking. The doctors gave me on multiple occasions a cocktail of medicine, which gave me nightmares. They did multiple tests, including a brain biopsy. The surgeon hit the mark, but touched my brain, which caused a stroke, resulting in numbness to my left side. I couldn’t walk, my mouth was drooping, oxygen was given at three to four liters per minute, and my feet and legs were swelling greatly. My temperature would roller coaster from mid 80s°F to 103°F. Time was a blur during the disease, all sense of time and space was lost. The simple task of thinking required intense concentration. The doctors at the Colorado hospital could not determine a diagnosis. Meanwhile, I was getting weaker all the time.
Through the grace of God and my husband’s diligent work, I was med-flighted to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Upon arriving at St. Marys, we felt a sense of peace. God’s presence is evident there. It was comforting to see a picture of Jesus or a cross in every hospital room.
Within two days, the doctors at Mayo took 750 ml of fluid off my lungs, which resulted in no longer needing oxygen. I had several blood transfusions and plasma transfusions while at St Marys. Several units of iron for my anemia were applied. I was incontinent. Then within five days of arriving at Mayo, the doctors at Mayo diagnosed me with Primary CNS Lymphoma,(diffuse large B cell) a rare and aggressive white blood cell cancer. The tumor was deep within my brain, and inoperable. They started chemotherapy and physical therapy. I felt Jesus with me. He prevented me from having any pain and told me that I was going to be all right. I was in hospitals at Mayo Clinic continuously from March to late May. Then, in and out of the hospital through August.
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I was treated with MRT chemotherapy for six months and then a stem cell transplant.
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God worked through the doctors and nurses at the Mayo Clinic. I am forever grateful to them. Being treated with respect and love is standard care for them. I am thankful for all the hospital visits from family and friends.
I was in the hospital continually from February through May, then off and on through August as I received chemotherapy. I don’t know God’s purpose for this illness, but He filled my heart with such tremendous love and joy. I hope the light of Jesus shone through me during this time.
In God’s graciousness, He turned my thin, straight hair into thick, dark curls!
I have passed my 5 year mark, so no longer need follow up appointments.
God is good!
In His Name,
Gwen Collins
Psalm 30:2 "O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me."​​​​​​​​
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To His Glory . . . BJ, Jan, Kelly, & Amy​
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WELCOME TO . . . THE WITNESS STAND
In this new feature, we will showcase YOUR story. Your testimony. Your personal journey of faith . . . of what God has done in your life, and how He got ahold of your heart and drew you unto Himself. Or, maybe, you have a story of something wondrous He has done during a specific time in your life.
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If you have a testimony you'd like to share, click on the link above, to email it to us.
This week's testimony comes to us from an old family friend, who lives in Pennsylvania. As a boy, Corey played baseball with my youngest son, Kevin. They were in Little League together and, later, in a Teen League together. Kevin pitched; Corey was his catcher. Corey's family was a real blessing to us in the weeks after Kevin's father died unexpectedly.
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When I saw Corey's post about his baptism, I was thrilled to know that we would be reunited one day in God's Kingdom. I couldn't figure out how to get the actual video copied into this space, so I have added the link to that video. Hear Corey's story, in his own words . . .
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Told by Corey Bishop, August 24, 2025
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https://www.facebook.com/corey.bishop.988/videos/1124966992959988
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​​​​​​​To His Glory . . .​
To His Glory . . . BJ, Jan, Kelly, & Amy​
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WELCOME TO . . . THE WITNESS STAND
In this new feature, we will showcase YOUR story. Your testimony. Your personal journey of faith . . . of what God has done in your life, and how He got ahold of your heart and drew you unto Himself. Or, maybe, you have a story of something wondrous He has done during a specific time in your life.
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If you have a testimony you'd like to share, click on the link above, to email it to us.
Our very first Testimony was posted in December, 2024, by my next-to youngest son, Michael Reese. Here, in his own words, is the story of the event that God used to draw Michael to himself.
Told by Michael P. Reese, December 23, 2024
15 years ago today, our lives changed forever. On this day the kids, myself and their mother were headed down from Billings, MT, to Rapid City, SD, for the 1st family style Christmas in years. Along the way disaster struck, the car accident rolled our car 4 full times. I was ejected through the sunroof, landing some 150+ feet away on the interstate at speed. The kids rode all 4 rolls inside the car, and their mother was ejected after the 2nd roll. The car looked much like a pop-can after you step on it, in humanities view there is no way anyone walks away from that. — feeling blessed.
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As my brother got a chance to look at the car later, he said there was 2 bubbles in the back where the kids were that were completely untouched, everything around them was smashed, torn, destroyed, the kids walked away without so much as a bruise from the seat belt, their mother had emergency surgery on the side of the road and then life flighted back to Billings, where she stayed in the ICU for about a month and half. I went to the Sheridan hospital to get checked out, after landing on the interstate that far and fast from the vehicle, I took some 15 staples to close my head (no fracture to the skull at all) and ended with 2 crushed vertebrae, and a few bruises, 2 weeks later I got full release to go back to work.
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With all that said, and much more unsaid, it was apparent that someone bigger than myself had their hand in it, my country size chip on my shoulder melted, my pride (to a point) went away, I gave my life over to Christ there in the hospital. Granted, it took me a while to get my feet under me in my new walk, with more battles than I can mention, but God saw me through all that and more. He gave me a new life, a new direction, a truly amazing wife and some pretty amazing kids.
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Today, I can stand firmly on my feet proclaiming that what I have is because of HIS victory, HIS strength, HIS path, I am but a humble passenger along for the ride, I get the honor of sharing HIS story with those around me. I am SOO thankful for everything HE has done for me, and my family, and pray that everyone gets to experience HIS presence in their life, may God Bless all of your walks today, and all days.
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To His Glory . . .​
To His Glory . . . BJ, Jan, Kelly, & Amy
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ALL THAT i AM TODAY
~ MINISTRY MOMENTS ~
Read All Our Ministry Moments Articles:
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Exciting Changes Freedom God Is Moving! Happy Father's Day How Old Am I?
In these articles, we share lessons our Ministry Team has learned. Lessons which have come to live more vividly as we do this work. We also use this column to let you know what's happening with this ministry as we move forward from here.
This is the page that started it all! The first page God asked me to design for this web site. Its name refers to the treasure-trove of valuable life lessons I have learned, through observing other people.
Through the years, life has taught me SO many lessons. Some, I learned growing up. Others, I've learned during the 50+ years I've been out of my mother's house. Here, I share those lessons with you, in the fervent hope that they will help you find YOUR way through the maze of life.
My mind is filled with vivid memories . . . family stories that have imprinted themselves in my heart. Gathered together, they weave the intricate tapestry of who we are as a family. On this page, I share those stories with you. Some of them are funny; some are heartwarming. All bring a joyful smile to my face as I remember them.
This page doesn't contain stories, or even articles I've written --- not in the traditional sense. Instead, these are excerpts from actual conversations I've had with God, as I've sought a relationship with Him. Things I've discussed with Him throughout my journey of faith. In the hope of helping you become comfortable being honest with God, I share them with you here.
Meet BJ, Jan, Kelly, and Amy and learn how God brought us together for this extraordinary journey.
Read the story of how this site made the transformation from vague idea to God's amazing reality.
More about the topics we teach, plus our
Purpose, Mission, and Vision Statements.
Books written by co-founder BJ Reese. Prices and summaries on each. 20% of all book sales go to help support this ministry.
All but one of these T-shirts has been designed by us and printed locally. Tiles were created by co-founder Jan Suntken. 20% of all sales go to help support this ministry.
A MESSAGE FROM ALL OF US AT ATIAT:
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Besides the list of pages mentioned above, we have archived EVERY article we've ever posted on this web site. To access those pages, go to the "Archives" button at the top of any of our pages. A drop-down menu will reveal a list of "Archive" pages, categorized by the year(s) the articles appeared.
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Thank you all for your continued support and perseverance as we answer God's call on our lives and continue to travel these exciting waters. We thank you for joining us, and we look forward to sharing with you the discovery of where this journey of words will take us next. Rest assured that, where ever this road leads us, we are relying on the LORD's guidance as we go.
BJ wants to assure you that wherever the wonderful world of words takes us next, she is listening for the Lord's guidance in writing them. We cannot do this without Him! We lift up these pages, as always . . .
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To His Glory . . . BJ
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