Thursday, January 17, 2013

SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR BLOG FOLLOWERS


Exciting news!!! From now on instead of a written blog, I will be doing a weekly podcast called “Mercy Talk,” which you can download and listen to at your convenience. You will also have the opportunity to request free books from time to time through offerings on our podcasts. Hope you will choose to switch over to the audio version and join us each week! Each show is only a half hour, and you will have the opportunity to not only hear from me, but also hear from some of the young women whose lives have been transformed at Mercy. I am so excited about these podcasts and have been having a ton of fun recording them in our in-house studio at our corporate office. I would love for you to share any feedback, suggestions for new shows, or any comments you may have by emailing us at mercytalk@mercyministries.com.

I hope 2013 proves to be our best year yet!

Nancy

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas!!!

Jude wanted to take a minute to wish you all a very, Merry Christmas!


Hope you have a very blessed Christmas.

Love to all,

Nancy

Friday, December 7, 2012

A Verry Merry Mercy!

I am on the run (currently sitting in the Sacramento airport about to board my flight) but wanted share a couple pictures with you that I just received back from our photographer. These pictures are from the Merry Mercy Christmas Benefit we had last Thursday night in Nashville. It was such a fun evening and I loved getting to connect with so many of the people who have supported us financially and prayerfully over the years. I hope you enjoy the pictures below and if you'd like to hear more about the event you can read about it here!

Me with the Freshwater family. Their daughter, Heather (pictured center),
graduated from the program last year.

Me and the wonderful Merry Mercy committee.
Without them this event would have never been possible!


Laine Craft, me, and Dave and Sharon Ramsey

Me, Rob and Lou Taylor, and International supermodel and Mercy supporter
Niki Taylor, who served as our honorary chair

Me with my dear friends Bernadette and Phil Keaggy. Phil served as the entertainment
for the evening and even sung a song he recorded with one of our Mercy graduates.

Me with our Executive Director of Development
Heather Robinson, who organized the event, and Board Member Lynn Morrow

Me with graduate Camilla Dechent and her husband Paul, who spoke at the event.


Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

This year as you celebrate Thanksgiving with your friends and family, I hope you will focus on the things you have to be thankful for, as well as the problems you have already faced and overcome. No matter what you may be facing today, just like our Mercy girls, there is nothing that you cannot overcome through the power of Christ who gives you strength.


Here are just a FEW things that I am thankful for…

1. The free gift of salvation.
2. Jude, the world’s greatest dog! :)
3. My family and friends.
4. Transformed lives of thousands of girls who have gone through Mercy Ministries.
5. Our Mercy supporters who help make transformed lives possible.

What are you thankful for today?

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Fun Times in Missouri!

Hey Guys,

Nancy’s Assistant, Reid here. While Nancy is spending time with our residents in Sacramento, I thought it’d be fun to share with you one of the many perks of working in Nancy’s office… I have the privilege of traveling with Nancy to new places and meeting new people. This past Friday, Nancy and I had the opportunity to go to CapeFirst in Cape Girardeau, MO led by Pastors Gary and Rose Brothers. They are such wonderful people and are really making a difference in their community. It never gets old seeing and experiencing firsthand what God is doing in different churches throughout the nation. I love getting to meet and connect with like-minded people who are working to accomplish the same goal – spreading the Gospel and sharing about true freedom in Christ!

Pastors Gary and Rose invited Nancy to come and share the message of freedom to more than 1000 women last Friday night. When it comes to the message of freedom, no one does it better than Nancy Alcorn. Her 30 years of experience working with girls struggling with life-controlling issues has given her greater insight than anyone I know, and I learn something new every time I hear Nancy speak. Friday night was no exception to that! Nancy shared true transformation can only come from Christ. We had a such a great time hanging out with all the women there, and it was so cool for me to see so many women respond to the altar call and give their lives to Christ. I thought you might enjoy seeing a couple of pictures from our time there…

Nancy and Pastor Rose
Nancy Speaking

I look forward to my next trip with Nancy coming up next week! I can’t wait to see all that God is doing in Kalamazoo, MI!

Friday, October 26, 2012

Special Guests in Nashville!

On Thursday morning the Nashville staff and residents had a very special treat… a visit from our dear friends Steve and Charlotte Gambill! Steve and Charlotte are the pastors of Abundant Life Church in Bradford and were instrumental in bringing Mercy Ministries to the UK. They have been close, personal friends of mine for years, and I love that they always make a point to stop by Mercy when they are in the Nashville area. Steve and Charlotte spent the entire morning teaching in our Nashville home and I heard it was awesome!!! Unfortunately I wasn’t able to be there, as I was actually visiting our Mercy home in Vancouver, Canada, but I received text messages from both Steve and Charlotte, as well as some of our Mercy staff members, letting me know how much fun everyone had and how great the teaching was. Our residents loved it too and got so much out of it!

I thought you might like to hear what some of the residents had to say and see some pictures from their visit:

 “Wow, I learned so much from Charlotte’s message alone. The thing that really caught me is that you are only supposed to change one thing at a time. I feel like as though God is clearly telling me to give up my eating disorder. I keep on telling myself that I will work on it later. But I need to do it now. I know sometimes my counselor or the nutrition manager will want me to do this or that and I ignore it. But I am over with that. I am ready to work on and change this area of my life. I want to work on it even if it is hard and I don’t think it will work. I also got a lot out of Steve’s message. But it was the praise and worship at the end that affected me the most. I just started crying. It was awesome!” – Tiffany, Current Mercy Resident

 “I greatly benefited from what I heard this morning. Having the major components of change laid out in a simplified way will assist me in knowing how to approach God and myself in this process. It came as a relief to me to know I don’t need to change everything all at once. With the concept of one thing at a time in mind, I asked God what He wanted me to focus on right now. He brought up several areas that have been a long-time struggle for me. Fear was a common root in these struggles. I realized this fear was inhibiting me from being able to reach out completely and to utilize the help that is offered to me here at Mercy Ministries. I know that with the life of God in me, I have what I need to overcome this.” – Taylor, Current Mercy Resident

“Well now… where do I even start? This was absolutely amazing! God really blessed me by speaking through Steve and Charlotte. Charlotte’s analogy of changing was absolutely amazing. It made so much sense. They really did a great job and Steve confirmed a lot of things God has been telling me! The idea of grace is something I’ve struggled with and God reminds me of daily. The fact that God’s grace is not only for me, but for every person He has created is just crazy! I am so blessed to have been transformed and am still growing every day. I loved today’s guests so, so, so much!” – Courtney, Current Mercy Residen

Steve Gambill and Jude

Charlotte and Steve Gambill with the Mercy Residents

Charlotte Teaching the Residents

Friday, October 12, 2012

Special Invitation…

Well things around here do not cease to slow down, and the same is true for this weekend. I have a very full day on Sunday speaking and wanted to invite anyone who lives in the Nashville or Memphis area to come out! On Sunday morning, I will be speaking at Christ Church in Nashville during the 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM CST services. I will then be traveling to Memphis to speak at Life Church’s “Chick Nite” that evening at 6:30 PM CST. Although it’s going to be a busy day, I’m very much looking forward to seeing all that God is going to do in the hearts and lives of those in attendance. Would so love to see you there if possible! :)