Hi, we are the Smiths. My name is Nico, and my husband's name is Ron. We actually went to school together, and we were actually high school sweethearts. Despite his having gone through a bad marriage, along with a relationship that wasn't meant to be - the two of us ended up together, vowing to be together forever. No matter what, we are always there for one another.

My husband and I got married in June of last year, and we used to pray together every day. During this particular time, WIBI was the station we listened to on the radio, and it helped to strengthen us. How we got away from that, I don't know. Because we hadn't really been listening to Christian music like before, things had been rough go for us.

We are both disabled; Ron is totally blind, and I am legally blid - and also have cerebral palsy. The disabilities we have make it tough for us to be as independent as we wish we could be. However, we work together to get things accomplished that we need to in order to get through the day.

Thanks to a good friend of ours, we began listening to WCIC yesterday. While listening, we've been recording some of the songs that we don't have in our collection - songs that we're wanting to build our music library with. We work together when it comes to accomplishing this, just like when we participate in Special Olympics. We love one another, and I don't know what we'd do without each other around.

This morning my husband and I tried to get in on the grocery gift card drawing during Shareathon. We missed it. My husband told me call and give anyway--it's not about free groceries, it's about being a blessing to the station that has been a blessing to us. My husband is buiding a videography business and is working at it full-time. We could only afford a $25.00 donation and asked for prayer for our business. Later, we got a call from a customer who hired us TODAY and is making a payment of $250. God multiplied our donation! Thank you for all you do, and please continue to pray for UpLift Productions. God Bless you, Donald and Stacey Wiggins

I had a huge falling out with my daughters. My wife and I were on the verge of divorce. We resumed going back to church. The lesson a few weeks after was on fasting to get closer with God. The next week I fasted through breakfast and lunch for a week and really took those times to read scripture and get closer to a God that I had really gotten away from for a long time. As I would pray out in the parking lot at work each day for lunch, I could feel the connection with my God growing stronger. I was totally absorbed with god helping me and my family members to reunite and for my daughters to forgive me. I would literally beg God for forgiveness and ask for a breakthrough after months of feeling total separation from the ones I love the most in my life.

 

Then, on Saturday after a week of praying and fasting and on my knees begging, I heard the words from my daughter. Dad, I forgive you! Just like that. I couldn't believe my ears. That is how God works. You have to put all of your trust in Him, and He will come through.

In January, my husband passed away quite suddenly. Since then, I have had to make some difficult and challenging decisions. The song phrase, "God of angel armies is always by my side," keeps running through my head, so tonight on the way home from church, that was the song WCIC was playing. It is so like my God to give me the one song I needed to hear to get me through this difficult time and remind me that I am not alone, He has always gone behind me, and He will continue to lead me during the coming months. Thank you for you ministry to me.

I am a pastor of a church in Bloomington and one of the Campus Ministers to the students at Illinois State University. This past Monday in my church, we suffered a significant and shocking loss as an 8-year-old girl from our parish died unexpectedly. The day before, she began with a simple fever and cough as many children of her age would get. However, by lunch time she became quite lethargic and began breathing heavier than usual. Her parents immediately rushed her to Broeman Hospital in Normal, and when they got there, they found out that she become infected with a super influenza bug that had caused one lung to stop working altogether. The doctors insisted that she be transferred to Peoria to OSF Children's Hospital because she would get better care there. However, due to the high winds they could not fly her from Bloomington to Peoria but had to wait for a transport ambulance to drive her there. After waiting for almost 2 hours, the transport ambulance finally came, and her parents followed behind in their own vehicle to OSF Children's Hospital.

As they were driving there, they were reminded of one of their daughter's favorite activities, listening to WCIC on the radio. They did not turn on the radio until they were about 15 miles from the hospital. When they turned on the radio to WCIC, as the parents told me on Wednesday, the perfect trio of songs played back to back to back. The first song was, "I Could Only Imagine" by Mercy Me--that beautiful song about what Heaven will be like. Then the second song was, "Glory, Glory Alleluia He Reigns" by Newsboys, which was the little girl's favorite song of all time. And third came, "I Will Praise You In This Storm" by Casting Crowns which the parents felt was a gift from God to them directly for what was about to happen in Peoria a few short hours later. The Casting Crowns song finished as they were pulling into the parking lot at OSF Hospital.

When they got inside and the doctors performed their tests, it was revealed that one lung completely had stopped working from the influenza bug and the other one was working only 33%. The doctors then and there knew that she was not going to make it, and sure enough at 8:00 a.m. on Monday morning, February 11, little Caity went home to be with Father God and Jesus for all eternity. In just a few hours from now will be her visitation, and tomorrow will be her funeral service.

And while we are all saddened and shocked, her family and I, as their pastor, thank God for all the blessings he has granted them throughout this ordeal, including the presence of WCIC. Thanks to your radio station, the family received comfort throughout this horrific ordeal, and today at the funeral home, all of her favorite songs that she used to listen to on WCIC--from Newsboys to Toby Mac to Matthew West to Mercy Me to Jamie Grace, among others--will be played in the funeral home for all to hear at the visitation, and I have included some of the lyrics to these songs in my sermon for tomorrow's funeral service as well. So as a pastor, I thank you, WCIC, for all you do to share God's message, and on the behalf of the family as well, thank you. May God bless all of you and your listeners as well. God is truly with us, if only the world knew, how different would it be.

In Christ,

Peter Bloomington, Illinois

Every time my husband and I would hit a tragic moment in our marriage, the next morning when he or I would turn on the radio, WCIC was playing "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real!

Sitting in the pews or chairs at church when you're young is so uncomfortable. You have to be quiet, sing a bunch of weird songs, and listen to some guy talk about things you don't understand, all while fighting a stomach that's growling like you haven't eaten in years. But as you get older, that seat becomes uncomfortable for a different reason. I grew up in the faith, went to church every Sunday and youth group on Sunday nights; I even attended the CIY and ICTC conventions. I felt like I had "God moments" where I was moved, but I guess nothing really ever took hold. I grew up with awful self-esteem issues. I started wearing make-up when I was 13 and haven't been seen without it since. (I'm now 21.) I never got involved in drugs or drinking in school, but I did allow myself to go down a path just as dangerous. For someone with low self-esteem but an incredibly vivacious personality, though seemingly contradictory, I was able to get lots of attention; but for all the wrong reasons. I let myself be used time and time again by guys that I knew wanted nothing more than a 20 minute good time. As I grew older, my esteem became less and less until I honestly didn't care what it took to find approval and acceptance. Magazines and movie stars were my idols, and I wanted to become like them. On the surface, you would never even know that beneath all that make-up was a young girl dying for acceptance. "Fake it 'til ya make it" was my motto but the "make it" part never came. I eventually attended a Christian university where the charade continued. Pretending to have it all together while struggling with addictions and self-hate that ate me alive day in and day out. I was dating a man at the time, and throughout our relationship, I let him boss me around, yell at me, and make me feel like he was all I ever needed. I allowed myself to do things for him that I am not proud of, and in the end it was all for not. He was my forever, but an earthly promise without God doesn't last, nor did that relationship. My almost 2-year relationship fell apart, I began losing "friends" on campus due to my bitter attitude and ridiculous rumors that began going around about me. It all became too much, and I actually dropped out. After losing what seemed like everything--friends, school, my fiance, and what I thought was my future--I let it all take over me. I fell into a pit of self hate so deep that it clouded my vision, and I no longer cared about the things I still had; a loving family, a place to live, shelter, and a God who had been standing there with me THE WHOLE TIME. Lately, I've been allowing this depressive state to take hold of me, and I've used it as an excuse to be a bitter, vulgar, and cold person. I thought I had fallen too far....

There is a new song out, "Who You Are", by Unspoken. I know this song has probably spoken to a lot of people, but each story is personal like mine. 'You can NEVER fall too hard so fast so far that you can't get back when you're lost.' I've been lost for years, and though I don't think I can change overnight, I do believe that this song has emphasized the point that I need to at least try. Not try to earn the love of Christ, but instead to allow my pride to fall and his arms to hold me. No matter what I've done, what anybody has done, he still stands there waiting for us to simply turn around and allow him to love us just the same.

At the foot of the cross.... Kati

My sister and I have a long history of arguing and saying hurtful things to the other. Our father was abusive, and we really didn't learn how to interact with self or others. We had another such fight last month, both of us saying 'unforgivable' things, and I was torn up inside. I was angry and depressed because I felt like I was letting my mother down, and I know that I was affecting my children with my overall attitude. One morning, as I was taking my daughter to school, I heard the song, "Losing", which I had already liked, but as I listened to the words, I looked over at my daughter and I said, "Listen to the words of this song. It is saying 'Father, give me grace to forgive them cause I feel like the one losing'. This is God telling me that no matter what has been said or done, I need to forgive". This fight was eating me up inside and totally affecting my life. I called my sister when I knew she wasn't home and left a long message telling her how sorry I was and that I loved her and I wanted to move on with living. I knew if I called her when she was home, she would be on the immediate defensive when I called, and another verbal altercation could occur. Everything worked out, and I have been working on letting God lead me in all aspects of my life. I even searched for and found a new church home. This church is awesome. I just started there last week but I know that I have found the place that God will work strongest in me!! I have definitely been at peace, and each time I hear the song, "Losing", I smile and thank God!!!! Thank you WCIC for sharing the beautiful and inspiring music and stories.

My wife, Tara, and I are musicians who play contemporay Christian music. A couple of months back, there were some things going on in our lives that were causing me to have "faithquakes". It wasn't one major thing; it was a lot of small things all balled up. I must admit, she stayed strong in the Lord, while I faltered. She tried reaching me, and I was not in a listening mood. One day, she sent me a simple text message, "Listen to 'Praise You In This Storm'," by Casting Crowns. I took her advice and took it one step further; I learned to play and sing it. It really brought to home the fact that God is with us through every aspect of our lives--the good and the bad. He is always there; sometimes we just refuse tor acknowledge it. Music has the power to reach people that sometimes simple words can't. God Bless You.

I have listened to WCIC for a long time, and my prayer life has always been present but perhaps not as strong as it should have or could have been. Two years ago, my son began dating a young lady. I was not real thrilled (chalked it up to being a mom and not liking that I was not the center of my son's heart anymore). However, as I watched, I noticed she was very clingy, and did not speak to my husband or I when she was over. I did not say anything to my son, but I noticed that my son had gotten angry, aggressive, and just had to spend every minute with this person. This young lady also made him show her his text messages, and demanded to be able to have access to his Facebook page.

Then at this time, there was a young teen at the school my son attended who had taken his own life. The school had counselors at the school. My son had an outburst (crying, and anxious), and the teacher sent him to the counselors. They called me to tell me that they had just done an evaluation on my son and they felt that he needed immediate help for severe depression. I was in denial and was sure that whatever my son was experiencing was going away. This was the beginning of a horrific journey that I could not have traveled without God nudging me through songs on WCIC. I talked to my son that day on the phone with the school counselor; he assured me he was fine. To a mom in denial, that was all I needed to hear.

Later that day, the school called me to say that my son was in the office for what appeared to be an anxiety attack and I needed to come get him. He told me that a teacher had confiscated a notebook that he wrote private stuff in and read it to the class and began to make fun of him. The notebook was filled with poems about suicide. I immediately got him into see a counselor; we met him twice a week for about a month.

One evening, my son was on the phone with this young lady, and I heard him crying--really sobbing--in the basement. I went down to see what was wrong, and he was lying on the floor in the fetal position, crying, and begging the person on the other end to stop. I got him off the phone, and he was very angry with me because I took the phone. The young lady on the phone was screaming very horrible things at him, telling him to kill himself, the world would not miss him, and she was leaving him because he was a loser. I also noticed he had cuts on his arms and legs. He had been cutting himself, I knew he needed professional help, and I knew he needed to go to Methodist Behavioral unit. He begged me to let him go to school the next day and then he would go to the hospital. When we got to the hospital, I found out that this young lady had told my son that he should kill himself and she wanted to be there to watch him. He was devastated to have someone he felt so strongly for say these things to him and that he must really be a horrible person. They admitted him; that was the hardest day of my life as a mom.

On the way home, I had no idea what to do to help him. I just wanted my son back in my arms, and I wanted to make it all go away. I was listening to WCIC on the way home, and I heard the song "Praise you in this Storm". I just began to cry and I realized I could not do this on my own. I focused on our son and asked God to help us through this!

A friend of mine gave me a copy of the prayer Footprints in the Sand. I prayed, listened to the uplifting music on WCIC, and visited our son twice a day, listening to WCIC there and back. I found so much peace in the songs that were on the radio, and there is always a message that I know God is sending to me. It took him a long time to get over this girl and realize that he had been a victim of verbal and emotional abuse and that he put this person over his family.

Today, he has severe anxiety and a low self esteem, but what he and I have gained is a stronger faith, a greater and much closer relationship, and a love for Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Mercy Me, and Steven Curtis Chapman songs. I could not have gotten through this without God showing me that he was always there for us and he wanted us to reach out to him for help. This message would not have gotten through to me if I did not listen to WCIC. I am very thankful for this station. More importantly, I am thankful for the return of our son and his handsome smile! God saved him, and he is truly a wonderful blessing to us!

In the spring of 2010, a very dear friend of mine died suddenly. His loss was the straw that broke me; I was on my knees. I started going back to church, crying almost every Sunday. The Lord was often speaking to me through my pastor's sermons. Then a friend suggested I listen to WCIC. From the first song I heard, my life was changed. Back then, when I was filled with grief. I would turn on the radio, and so many of the songs would speak to me. During my darkest times, the music always seemed to send a comforting message. Then, one day while driving, I turned on the radio and heard Chris Tomlin's "Amazing Grace." I started crying; it was a very cathartic cry-- I had to pull off the road. At that moment, I knew two things: the first was that God had helped me to get on the road to healing, and the second thing was that I wanted to get baptized at my church and dedicate my life to Jesus. In February of 2011, I was baptized by immersion by my pastor along with my 10 year-old daughter. Today, I still listen to WCIC daily. The music still touches me deeply and teaches me things, and my children like listening and singing, too. I love listening to the Traceys and Scott & Catherine and Katie Post. Thanks for being such a wonderful part of my life.

After our son was born, we had 91.5 WCIC playing in his room almost constantly; it seemed to help soothe him. It also was really an encouragement to me when I would spend hours awake at night with Andrew and for all those midnight feedings! It seemed that every night, either Downhere's "Rest" or Lincoln Brewster's "Today is the Day" were playing--they were just what I needed to hear! I knew with God's help, he would give me rest and help me through those late nights, that I needed to rejoice in each day, and that each one was a gift from God.

I started to tune into WCIC regularly about halfway through last school year, my junior year of college. I re-dedicated my life to Christ when I was a freshman. I've gone through a lot since then with pressures that come with the college environment, but listening to WCIC every time I've gotten in my car to go to church, grocery shopping, or to my internship has made all the difference in my life. Not only have the songs inspired me, but I really believe God met me right where I was through the music at just the right times. WCIC also has restored my faith in God being active in the work He is doing through others' testimonies and through the stories of how people have been active sharing the gospel/Jesus's love in the community. My faith has remained strong even when the world was trying to break my heart! Thank you so much for all that you do, WCIC! I am confident that God will continue to use the radio station for his glory.

I just wanted to share a little "God Moment" with you. Back in December, my dad got suddenly sick. What started as a small illness spiraled out of control, and we spent the next three weeks in the ICU with him. We had some good days in that time, but many were spent watching him suffer. During those three weeks, we had so many moments where we could feel God was reaching out to us. In those moments, I was frustrated, although I knew God was with us. It was so hard to see Dad getting worse when all we were praying for was for him to get better. Looking back, I can see all the things that God was doing in order for us to get though this terrible time. But, at the time, it seemed as though He wasn't listening; He wasn't doing what I wanted! However, very late one night, I was met in the hallway by my dad's old family practice doctor who heard that Dad was sick and came to see him every day, twice a day. When I looked at him, I knew that things were bad; I knew that Dad was getting sicker by the moment. We sat together in a small room while he gently explained to me what was happening. I knew when I looked into his eyes that we were nearing the end of our journey. He suggested getting the family together for a meeting to talk about withdrawing care. I know that God placed him there for a reason; I know that he was there to help me walk through this journey, to provide me with the support that I needed to be able to speak those words, "We would like to do a compassionate withdraw of care."

My heart was breaking. We had just lost our mom three years earlier. But I knew that the statement this doctor told me was so true: "There are worse things than death." I didn't get it when he told me that just a week earlier, but now, standing over my dad who was on so many meds and tubes and machines, I got it. I knew what he meant. God needed me to walk though the last few weeks to be able to come to terms with the fact that we needed to let him go! He was ready to fly; he was fighting so hard to stay with us, but he was tired and weak!

So, together, we decided to withdraw care. It was terribly hard to say that! We knew in our hearts we needed to do it, but it was so hard to say it-- to make that call! My dad hung on for 9 hours after we took him off the vent. We sat by his bedside and talked to him, held his hand, and cried together!

WCIC has been there for me through so many hard days. Sometimes I struggle with the decision we made. Sometimes Satan gets in my thoughts and makes me think we did the wrong thing. One day, I was heading to his grave site for the first time since his funeral, and I was crying and feeling overwhelmed with emotions when the song "Ready to Fly" came on. It was what I needed to hear at the moment when I was doubting every decision we made. He was 'ready to fly, ready to soar, ready to leave his world behind!' I needed to hear each of those words! It was that push I needed to be able to get though the feelings that I was feeling!

Thank you for always playing just the right songs at just the right time!

I listen to WCIC via the Internet from Germany almost every week. It reminds me of the fact that I'm not alone, that He is with me, and that I'm not alone with my faith. It strengthens me, and it fills my life with Jesus!

I'm an 18-year-old girl form western Germany, and I never grew up with God. My parents reared me with Christian morals, and when I was small, we sometimes went to church on Christmas. But I could never fully grasp and understand the endless love of God. I felt alone.

When I grew older, I started wondering what I wanted my life to be like. I decided that I was more conservative than my classmates. I did not want to spend my life partying and having one boyfriend after the other.

My parents didn't really understand this. They supported me with everything I did, but they'd also have been okay with something else.

But I choose God. I wanted to live a life with His grace and love. I want to marry someone who sees this the same way, I want to raise my children with this faith, and I want to be surrounded by people who share my faith.

In the spring of 2012, I visted friends in Chillicothe, IL, and they finally supported my faith and took me with them to church. The family was always listening to WCIC, and I loved it so much that the first thing I did when I was home in Germany again was search for a way to keep listening to it! I feel so much better since I let God be part of my life! He has changed me!
I now try to go to church every Sunday, and I finally feel that this is the place where I belong!