From Renee:
I love to hear and read other people’s stories about how God has changed their lives. My favorite books are either biographical or autobiographical in nature and I am also passionate about apologetics.
I support and raise awareness for organizations and ministries that are saving and changing people’s lives on a daily basis. This of course includes churches, as well as many other very worthy non-profit organizations.
Here, you will read the inspirational stories of those whose lives have been radically changed by God and directly affected by the ministry of others. I stand humbled and amazed how some of those lives have been changed through my ministry.
Please know that I am always aware that we are only conduits through which God flows to deliver His message of hope that we have through Jesus. When we are obedient, available and willing, God reaches down vertically, fills us with His Holy Spirit and reaches out horizontally through us to a lost and hurting world. It is such a rush to watch Him do His work through us. He loves us through each other. Surreal, humbling and exciting.
I believe that you will really enjoy reading these stories and I pray that God will speak to you through these messages of hope.
Love and prayers,
Renee
Angie’s Story
Hello Everyone!! My Name is Angie and I’m from Fairfield, PA. As a child, my grandfather was the biggest influence in my life when it came to church. There wasn’t a Sunday I’d miss as a child and adult. He became ill and passed away 8 years ago. I could never understand why the Lord would take him from me. All of us go through that feeling of loss; mine, I suppose went further, and I became angry with God and never returned to church after that.
My husband’s Pastor came by this past summer and asked if I would please come to church on this particular Sunday and handed me a flyer about Renee. I did attend Church that Sunday!! 
After hearing Renee’s testimony and her incredible songs that she’d written, it hit my heart and soul hard. I realized that even though Renee and I came from totally different backgrounds, we really weren’t that different. I saw myself in her, and being able to relate to what she was testifying at that moment, I knew I wasn’t alone. God knew I needed her in my life. That was my defining moment that brought great comfort to me.
On November 1st, 2009 I was baptized with my entire family there witnessing this beautiful moment! I know in my heart that if Renee could have, she would have been there. I just know it!
I’m blessed to have Renee in my life and to now call her my friend! I found what my purpose is in life, and that is to help Renee with her ministry – I’m fortunate that I get to work with Renee in helping her reach others through her testimony and music. I want to reach out and share Renee with the world, and that is exactly what I have begun to do. It’s sharing the Good News!
Not only did Renee’s ministry change my life, she’s been “Jesus to Me” which is another beautiful song she wrote. I think to myself…how do I ever thank someone who showed me, that even though I left God, God never left me. God was waiting patiently for me to come back to Him. Where I was in my life when all of this happened (meeting Renee) there is no doubt that God brought her to me and to what I can now call my church! I thank God for her everyday in my prayers.
There isn’t one song on Renee’s CDs that hasn’t touched or changed my life, in one way or another, in all different aspects of my life. Her songs are inspirational beyond belief. It fills my heart with joy and gives me a great sense of inner peace. If they aren’t in my car, I have them in the house just’a singin’ along!! LOL
It’s the cutest thing…my younger one now will say, “Mommy, are you listening to Renee-nay?” I guess that’s her little nickname for Renee now. She knows her music very well, and is only 5.
“Renee, my dear wonderful friend, keep doing what you are doing!! God gave you your voice to glorify Him and I pray you continue to touch the lives of people who need you like I did!! I really don’t know if it’s hard for you to grasp the fact that it was YOU who changed my world and brought Jesus back into my life.”
“God Bless you, Renee! I love you very much my friend! ”
Cindy’s Story
This is my story. I have spent nearly 35 years of my life hiding a very dark secret, hanging my head in shame, feeling alone and dirty and that I was of no value to anyone. I am a victim of childhood sexual abuse. I have just recently allowed myself to say those words and bring it to the surface. I had to acknowledge the pain and admit that it hurt me very badly. The amazing thing is…every time I say it now…it is just a little bit easier…I feel just a little more release each time…just a little more healing.
I was about 11 years old. I was violated by someone that I should have been able to trust to keep me safe, but the trust was shattered. Instead, he caused me great pain and shame. He stole my innocence. I could not tell anyone. It made me feel ugly, dirty and alone. I did not want anyone to know this ugly part of my life. I felt like if I told anyone, everyone would hate me. For many years, I have tried to stuff the ugliness of what happened to me, away. It has affected most of my relationships. I closed doors on friendships and family relationships, thinking this would help to block out the pain. But all that did is leave me a little more lonely…a little more empty.
I have spent all of these years trying to hide this nasty secret and it has affected many areas of my life. I have never been satisfied with anything about me. I have lived in fear, feeling like anything that I ever did, was never good enough. I now know these are lies from the enemy.
God is changing all of that for me. He has placed amazing people in my life to support me and help me to see that I need help. To help me see I did nothing wrong, this was not my fault, and that I was the victim. I have now started the healing process. The first thing was to admit that the abuse happened. The second big step was to get professional help. This is where I am right now. I have started counseling. I know that true forgiveness falls in there somewhere. I am in the beginning of the battle. I am told there will be good days and there will be bad. I am ready to embrace it all and see where God takes it, with open eyes and ears to learn along the way. It will not get better overnight, but it is now a work in progress. I believe that God will restore all that has been taken from me.
I am not to the point where I can share all of my story, but I know now that I must start the journey. I have been learning that silence is the most dangerous part of the abuse, for the victims. When we do not tell, the pain and the shame control us, which causes us to live in worry, doubt and fear. When we are living in the pain, we cannot be all that God intends for us to be. I must tell my story so that others that have suffered this pain will know that they are not alone. They will know that someone can understand their pain. Possibly, because of my story, others will make the choice to get help and know it is never too late.
With counseling, to help me sort through the parts of my life that I am unsure of, and the parts that I have blocked out, I now know I am going to survive. I have my faith, the love and support of my awesome friends and my family to help me through this journey.
I will be Victorious over this pain. “He gives beauty for ashes”…
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“For many victims, some of the most important experiences of life seem to be out of reach. Obstacles, such as fear and guilt, interfere with relationships, with self-image, with performance and achievement, with happiness.” Pain and Pretending by Rich Buhler
“Sexual Abuse scars virtually all facets of the victim’s life, since she is left with little or no self-esteem.”
”Shame is one of the most overwhelming emotions experienced by survivors of sexual abuse, an emotion that tells us we are not good enough, that there is something wrong with us and encourages us to hide the truth.”
Danita’s Story-“The Why”
You all know very well by now that I’m doing a Walk for Breast Cancer in October. (As an aside, I’ve often wondered why it’s so-named…. FOR, rather than AGAINST. Avon Walk AGAINST Breast Cancer… just me)
You know I’m doing it. You know I’m training for it. You know I’m raising money for it. But I’ve been thinking that maybe I should share a little more of my story. A little more of The Why.
I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of weeks now. Trying to gather my thoughts so that I can present them to you cohesively. Now, after all the pondering, I’m not sure that it is possible. So bear with me, please, while I share some of my heart with you.
My Mom is nearing the 6-year mark as a breast cancer survivor. WOW! Thanks to regular mammograms, her cancer was found very early. Much earlier than she would have ever detected a problem on her own. In the scope of what it could have been, her surgery was quite minor, followed by the formulaic path of radiation. And now, 6 years later, it seems almost like a blip on the radar of our lives. It’s always there, lingering at the edges of our rememberies (my word). But it’s not constant; it’s not crippling. Since Mom’s treatment, my sister and I have BOTH had “scares” that resulted in breast biopsies. Thankfully, they were both clear… more blips on the screen. But there is always that niggling thought… that “what if….”
My Mom’s story is the happy-ending story.
My Dad’s story was not.
Let me tell you about my dad. My dad’s name was Chuck Senzel. He was an avid outdoorsman. He loved life. He loved people. He was an entrepreneur. He was driven. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. At age 53. What followed was heartbreaking. Major, MAJOR surgery, which I learned later many people do not even survive the surgery itself. Then chemotherapy. And radiation. And the vibrant man that we’d always known withered away to such frailty. Skin and bones. Except for his belly, which was distended beyond belief. His home nurse, who we knew personally, taking me out one evening to explain what was happening, what to expect as the end came. And as she described the end, I saw what she was saying. That THIS was the end. The distention. The jaundice. The yellow, sunken eyes. His crew cut hair, the only vestige of someone I loved. The rest was foreign. Too painful to comprehend. The day that turned to evening that turned to night. When I knew. I knew it was too close. Not wanting to leave him, but needing to go so desperately, to distance myself. So I sat by him on his bed, rubbing my hand along his hand and arm. Crying. There are no words in those moments. He lifted his arm and patted my shoulder. So weak. So very weak. “Love you, Bambino.” His pet name for me….the last words I would ever hear my father say to me. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning, Dad. About the same time as today. I love you.” The last words I would ever say to my father. (oh my, this is much harder to write than I thought it would be….) For the next morning, just before 10:00, I got a call at work from the friend who was at the house to help mom. “You need to come, Danita. Now.” As I walked through the kitchen door just ten minutes later, my father breathed his last breath. You know the moment is coming. You cannot be prepared. You CANNOT be prepared. My dad was 54 years old when he died. That was fourteen years ago. And I remember the details of that day as if it were yesterday.
My sister-in-law’s story was not a happy-ending story, either.
Donna was diagnosed with colon cancer when she was in her early 30’s. Surgeries. Chemotherapy. Steroids. A desperate race to win against a horrible disease. Stage 3 when she was diagnosed. When the surgeon called to say he wanted to talk to her and that she could bring her family members, I knew what it meant. The cancer had metastasized to her liver. The result, another grueling surgery. Next it was the ovary and the small intestine. Another surgery. Removing bit by careful bit. Trying to keep a young, beautiful woman alive with as little trauma as possible. Donna’s laugh was contagious. Her eyes were bright and beautiful. Her attitude and her faith didn’t falter. One day she asked if I wanted to see her belly, the battlefield. A road map. That’s what it looked like. Scars covering a flat, smooth belly. Unjust, it seemed. Unimaginable, what she had been through. About a week before she died, Donna and I were sitting on the couch holding hands. Not really many words to say. Her eyes had started to hold the telltale look of death. Sunken, dark. “I’m scared,” she said. Her voice so weak that I almost missed it. What do you say? “I’m scared too,” and I snuggled a little closer to her on the couch and we just sat for a long time. When her life ended, Donna was younger than most of you who are reading this. She died just the week after her 35th birthday, almost three and a half years ago. The things I should have been talking and laughing about with my sister-in-law, I instead found myself discussing with the mortician. Fashion tips, clothes and hair. Discussing with the mortician because Donna’s mother was too grief-stricken to tend to those matters. Having him explain to me why her hair wasn’t going to be styled just like she always wore it because it was just too fragile from the chemo. Explaining the difficulty of covering the jaundice in her skin.
If you’re still reading, you may say, “But your walk is against BREAST cancer. They didn’t have breast cancer.” You’re right. They did not. But in my limited experience, I can say that in the end stages, it doesn’t matter where the cancer is. The look of cancer is the same at the end. And I hope to God that I never have to sit at someone’s side again and watch them go through what my two dear ones did. I would support any worthy cause against cancer. I chose this because it was what came my way. So please, if you have a “pet” cancer that you donate to fight, don’t. Don’t have a “pet.” Because at the end, when the treatments and surgeries have done their best, and if God doesn’t heal, cancer looks the same.
Right now on my Facebook friends list, there are at least 9 friends and family members who either have cancer now, or have come through it within the past few years. Their valiant fights, bravery and (for many of them) steadfast faith, astound me. As did the faith of my dad and Donna. Quite amazing.
Thanks for reading
Danita Senzel Angelotti
Deborah’s Story-“The Butterflies”—My Journey Thru Breast Cancer
Posted by Deborah Caroline Asher Thompson on June 13, 2010 at 10:00pm
What happens when you turn 50, your faced w/ the inevitable empty-nest syndrome, not sure what is happening to your marriage of 34yrs, and feeling so alone that you can’t hear God’s voice anymore? My name is Deborah Caroline Asher Thompson. In July ’07 I was devastated w/ a diagnosis of breast cancer. I was just learning how to care for myself after tending to everyone else’s needs for years… when I was blind-sighted w/ cancer. I remember banging on the car door w/ the side of my leg that fateful day as I cried out to God and asked Him over and over again, “WHY?, WHY ME?, WHAT HAVE I DONE….and WHERE ARE YOU GOD? WHY HAVE YOU ABANDONED ME?”
There is so much to my story that it is hard to compact everything into a blog and being in the last stages of building a new home limits my time to the computer. With that being said, I ask that all you chicks out there have patience as I share my journey in stages. I feel what has happened to me may be of help to others.
Hang in there and I will try to blog a little each day as I allow you to walk w/ me thru God’s AMAZING GRACE!
I had my share of life’s disappointments long before my diagnosis. I married at the young age of 16, therefore giving up my teenage years. I never went to a movie or even on a real date with a guy. The only prom I ever attended was w/ my husband as it was his graduation year when we married. I thought marriage was going to free me from the restraints of my father’s strict rules…Boy! Was I having an illusion! Much too young to understand the ramifications of marrying at such a young age. I remember one night not long after we married telling my husband that I thought I had made a mistake and didn’t know the first thing about real love. We were just kids! He began to weep and I knew then the seriousness of the commitment we had made. We struggled for years just trying to make ends meet.
I spent the first 9yrs. of our marriage coping with infertility, doctor’s appointments, surgeries, & fertility drugs. I never gave up…even when the doctor told me we were on our last try.
God saw fit to BLESS us w/ a son. The doctor said there would most likely be no more children…needless to say 3 1/2 yrs. later God saw fit to BLESS us w/ a daughter.
I was now 28yrs. old and busy trying to raise two babies. We had gone thru 2 lay-offs from my husband’s job and decided it was time to go back to school and get a college degree. Our kids were in a Christian School and the task of helping them and my husband, as well as myself w/ all the homework was overwhelming. By the time we both graduated w/ a business degree…YEAH!…several more years of our lives had faded into time.
During all of this my baby brother of 26yrs was tragically killed in an airplane crash. The devastation of his death brought our lives to a screeching halt. It was as though someone literally reached into each of my family’s hearts and ripped out a gaping hole. My children were growing up and it felt like I couldn’t get control of anything. It took a good 8 yrs. before I could really feel life again. By this time my marriage had taken a back seat to all of life’s stuff and even though we were both Christians…God was no longer the head of our household. My husband had his work and I was trying to be everything to our kids while struggling w/ so much grief, stress, emotional issues and my own relationship to the heavenly Father.
Along with other family members passing away, my father became ill and died. I think this is where I began to really wrestle where I was in my life and feeling I had missed out on life in general. I began to question God as to why I was having to struggle so…and why couldn’t I just be happy.
Sorry chicks, but it has been a long day…so you will just have to tune in next time for more of the journey……
Hey chicks…sorry it has taken so much time to get back to you, but our new home project seems to be consuming our every waking hour. I would like to pick-up where I left off, so here we go………
After burying my dad we found out my sister had cancer. So my family once again walked another difficult path. God had mercy and she is now 5 yrs. out and doing great.
My mom, BLESS her, has been the ROCK that our family has clung too! She has carried the weight of so much and yet, never wavered in her faith. Although, my husband and I were not where we needed to be in our walk w/ God we continued to attend church. We had pretty much stopped praying together and reading our Bible had become obsolete. It just seemed we didn’t have enough hours in a day to get everything done. Satan was using all of life’s stuff to pull us further and further apart. As time moved me into my forties I began to feel an emptiness that nothing seemed to satisfy. I was lonely…our kids had grown-up and were no longer living at home. The empty-nest syndrome had set in. I had pretty much given up my own personal-self, to raise my kids. I don’t know why we women do that. I didn’t know who I was anymore. I had not nourished myself, the way I had my family and now here I was approaching 49yrs of age and undefined. I had given up my career to stay at home to raise our children…this I have no regrets in doing…it was one of the best decisions I made. The thing I regret the most is not having found time for myself thru the years.
After much soul-searching I decided to go to real estate school and do something so-out-of my comfort zone. All the while God was still speaking to me…even in the loneliest hours. I remember just before my diagnosis of breast cancer going to a football game w/100,000 fans in attendance. I remember looking out over that vast sea of people and thinking…how could I be sitting among so many people and feel so alone…it’s that time again chicks and I must get some rest….Hang in there….my journey is about to unfold…until next time, God Bless!!!!! <
I’m back been a long day!!!!! May 25th
Moving forward to Dec. 2006… I had gone for my annual mammogram and we all know how un-nerving that can be. As I sat in the waiting room looking around at the other two women there…I couldn’t help but think of the statistics of breast cancer…1 out of 3!!! Here I was thinking, am I the 1 in this group of women who will get bad news today? I had no reason to be so concerned, but I was! Little did I know what was about to come down. After having to take extra films I was really starting to get uneasy. The nurse escorted me to a tiny little room w/ pamplets about cancer and a plastic image of a woman’s breast w/ removable pieces. I remember looking at this fake, dim candle that was plugged into the wall and thinking what a dreary room this was. I didn’t understand why they would make me wait in such a place. FEAR began to grip my insides as I sat there waiting for the doctor to come talk to me. When she entered the room, her manner was a kind of matter-of-fact attitude as she began to explain the images of my mammogram pictures. She pointed out these small white specks that looked somewhat like microscopic snowflakes. She said, “These were the changes they could see from my previous mammogram and these tiny dots were clusters of what she perceived to be calcifications that she wanted to keep a check on and I should come back in 6 mos…WHOOSHHHHHHH!…I had dodged a bullet, but I still didn’t like that word…CLUSTERING…I had always heard that word to be associated w/ cancer. I asked her if she was sure it was OK to wait 6 mos. and she assured me it was. Needless to say, I was never so grateful to get out of that place! All the way home I had a knot in the pit of my stomach over what had just happened. Something in my gut was telling me that I should not wait the 6mos., but get a 2nd opinion. So, I made up my mind that was exactly what I would do and I could put my fears to rest…
The day has been extremely tiring so I will have to pick up at a later time…again I ask for your patience as I tell you my story in segments…THANKS to all u chicks for your interest in my journey…have a good one girls!!!!!! <
I told myself everyday I would make the time to schedule an appt. to get that 2nd opinion, along with getting references from other women as to whom I should see. At the time I was under a great deal of stress from real estate school, studying for my state test, a fractured bone in my foot, and going almost wkly to various doctors who were trying to determine a problem w/ my neck. We thought I had a fishbone embedded somewhere in my throat so I ended up having throat surgery in Feb. of 07. Time was getting by and I just couldn’t make myself spend more time in another doctor’s office. So, even though I had this nagging feeling to get the 2nd opinion done I was just too overwhelmed w/ all that was going on in my life. It’s that same part of womanhood that cares for everyone else’s needs and neglects her own. Before I knew it the 6mos. had passed and I decided to make an appt. w/ the KCBC(Knoxville Comprehensive Breast Center). I called the previous breast center, had them to have my mammogram images ready and I would be by to pick them up. KCBC was a very busy place and hard to get an appt., but w/ advice from referrals I explained to the person in charge my situation. She did not hesitate to get me in quickly. Her urgency made me feel a little uneasy, but I tried to convince myself that it was just a precautionary measure…As the appt. day came around I was feeling better that I would now have that 2nd opinion that would put my mind to rest and I could go back to my normal annual check-ups. Little did I know….the world as I knew it was about to change FOREVER on that fateful day….
Hang on and I will allow you chicks to live on the inside of the mind of a woman on the day that changed EVERYTHING in her life…Please pray for me as I share something so up-close and personal!!!!!! <
Sorry ladies…we are in final 2 wks. before moving into new home…so my time is pretty much consumed…
I remember sitting in the waiting room of the KCBC and just wanting to get out of there w/ good news. It didn’t go down that way. After going thru mammogram testing…I was told I needed further tests…so they did an ultrasound which led to an MRI and a long waiting game. Once the tests were done I was told I needed a biopsy, which was set up for another day. I just wanted this to be over with so I could get on w/ my life. I was ready to start my career in real estate and had joined a real estate team that filled me w/ anticipation as to what seemed to be the very challenge I was looking for in my life. I had connected w/ a developer who offered me a promising future thru investing in a real estate venture that was the biggest thing I had ever had the opportunity to take a part in. I thought I had found my niche’ in life. My husband and I had some major financial decisions to make. We were excited, yet reserved because we had been debt-free for years. As the day approached for me to have the biopsy I was more than apprehensive to say the least. The waiting room was packed that day. Much the opposite of the waiting room six months previously. I was told they would bring my husband back shortly after the biopsy so he could be with me. In my heart and mind I was asking God to just make everything alright. I was ushered into a drab, cold room w/ a flat table that would turn out to be the surgical room. I was told to face the wall while they prepped me for the procedure. I remember lying there looking at the wall while they pulled and tugged on my breast to get it into the position to run a needle to the place of concern. I couldn’t understand why I had to be here…I just wanted to go home. The door opened and a voice behind me said, “I am Dr. Wonderlick and I will be doing your biopsy”…needless to say I felt even more uneasy that a doctor that I had never met, and couldn’t see was about to invade my body without so much of a thought as to what I was going thru. There was much mumbling and discussion about what was going on between doctor and nurse as I was being poked and prodded. I could feel the hot tears swelling up as the pain and the fear began to flow thru my body. Who are these people and why are they being so cruel and impersonal by having me ly w/ my face to a wall and allow someone I had never seen face to face do this to me? The procedure took longer than anticipated because of the difficulty of getting to the tissue they had to extract. Finally, the pain ended and the procedure was over. I heard the door open and close as I was told by the nurse that I needed to get dressed and she would take me to a room to wait for the doctor’s return. I mentioned that my husband had been waiting for quite awhile and she assured me she would go get him. Off and to another room to wait once again. As I was becoming restless and needing my husband…in walks this person whom I had never met face to face…and in the most calloused and thoughtless attitude…says, “I am Dr. Wonderlick, who just did your procedure…I have seen this many times before so….DON’T BE SHOCKED WHEN YOUR BIOPSY RESULTS COME BACK…DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?” It seemed as though the ground under my feet dissolved…I was no longer there…where was my husband…why did this person just steal my life from me w/out so much as a hand on my shoulder or some kind of compassion…my answer to her question was a quick…NO!…I had to get out of there…who did she think she was…telling me something so overwhelming by myself…they promised to go get my husband…he had been waiting for 5 hours. I do remember getting out of there as fast as I could…as I opened the door to the waiting room…I saw the look on his face…I knew then my life was never going to be the same…I couldn’t speak, all I wanted to do was get out of there! I climbed into my vehicle with the sensation of a hot well of tears that would from that day forward for the next 2 years be a continuous fountain flowing w/out end…day and night….
It’s late and this body is tiring…so I will return to journey w/ you chicks later…God is Good, hang in there…we will get to His MERCY!!!!!!!!!!
Hey chicks, I have found a few moments to share a little more of my journey….for those who have been and are on a journey of any type of cancer, you all know how tests, diagnosis, plans of treatment and all other aspects of this disease constantly get re-arranged. Cancer has a role of its own and even the best predictions can change in an instant. I remember banging my leg on the inside of the door of my vehicle that fateful day as I begged God to tell me…WHY?…I begged my husband to help me even though I knew he didn’t have the power to fix this one. He had always had an answer for the things in life that we had gone thru, but not this time! I could see and feel his helplessness as we both sat in our vehicle for what seemed an eternity. The tears flowed as we held each other and cried. My family tried desperately to get thru to us to find out how the biopsy had gone, but I couldn’t process what had just happened and I didn’t have the energy to talk to anyone. Needless to say, many hours passed before I could find the strength to let my husband call and talk to them. Fear had gripped the very essence of my being and I didn’t even want my husband to let go of me long enough to try & explain everything to my mother so she could relay the message to the rest of my family. We have two beautiful children that I had no idea what to say to them. How do you tell your children that all of our lives were going to be changed forever? Time has gotten away from me once again and I must get some rest…I promise to get back to all of my chick friends asap, so hold on to learn about the healing power of one of God’s most delicate creatures…the BUTTERFLIES!!!!!