Connections

Arden Bevere is the youngest son of John and Lisa Bevere and the cofounder of Sons & Daughters, a movement committed to raise up a generation of uncompromising followers of Christ who will transform our world.

He has a passion to see his generation go further than any that came before it, fully alive in this God-adventure.

Shoaib Ebadi grew up as a Muslim in Afghanistan but his lingering question about creation always lingered in the back of his mind. 

Early Life

"I was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan in a typical and traditional Muslim family. I have four sisters and two brothers. My parents and grandparents, 11 of us lived in one house," says Ebadi who is now the President and Executive Director of Square One World Media in Winnipeg, Man.

When Ebadi was in grade 4, his country experienced a coup d'état. 

Singer-songwriter and author Ellie Holcomb released her first devotional book: Fighting Words - 100 Days of Speaking Truth into the Darkness today.

Named after one of her hit songs, "Fighting Words," Holcomb has penned a journaling devotional book filled with encouraging, honest reflections and questions to help you process scripture. Fighting Words is a place where you can wrestle, respond to, and take hold of precious truths in God's Word to help you push back the lies that so often consume, distract, and destroy us.

As a child, Deidre Haight both watched the abuse her mother suffered and suffered abuse herself.

She is the daughter of Katarina MacLeod, a survivor of sexual & physical abuse, drug addiction, forcible confinement, and 15 years of commercial sexual exploitation.

Katarina became pregnant with Deidre when she was just 14 years old and delivered her when she was just 15. 

Katarina MacLeod says if it weren't for God and her eldest daughter, Deidre, life would be so much different.

Growing up, MacLeod experienced physical and sexual abuse, along with plenty of other trauma. This led her down a very dark path.

Judy Richichi grew up in a family with eight children and an abusive father.

Eventually, constant marital fights and the father’s aggressiveness led to divorce, leaving the children to figure out how to survive on their own, with only a mother suffering from schizophrenia left to look out for them. 

Judy says they were unable to pay for the medication needed to keep her mother well, and with the trauma her mother had experienced, she snapped.

Do you feel as a parent that you always need to have things together? Or that it's not okay to share weaknesses in front of your children? 

Author of The Impossible Kid, Lucille Williams says, that allowing our children to see parental weakness may be difficult, but it is necessary to reveal to our kids that we are human and approachable. 

She says that by showing our true emotions, we are empowering our children.  

"They're learning what it is to mess up, fall, get back up, apologize and move forward," says Williams.

October is autism awareness month in Canada.

It is estimated that 1 in 66 children and youth has been diagnosed with autism in Canada, yet Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition that remains misunderstood by many people. Teresa Hedley wants to change that.

"Awareness is like handing out catcher's mitts," Hedley explains. "It helps us to know what to do and how to receive and understand a person with autism."

Sheila Walsh is the author of more than 30 books that have sold nearly six million copies. A household name in faith circles, most would be surprised to learn about
Sheila’s battle with clinical depression—one that landed her in a psychiatric hospital alone and continues in many ways to this day.

At just seven years old, Bella Thomson has experienced more in her short life than many of us will ever experience in our entire lifetime.

Bella Thomson was born with three rare conditions and has spent over 800 days in hospital and has had over 21 surgeries.