Inspirational Videos

There was a lot happening during the 1994 Winter Olympics, but everyone watching remembers the stunning performance of “The Swan” by Ukraine’s young skater, Oksana Baiul! It was mesmerizing then, and it remains so today!

Held in Lillehammer, Norway, the 1994 Winter Olympics were tainted for American figure skating participants and fans. The conflict and scandal between American competitors, Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, 24 and 23 years old at the time, had been in all the headlines and all over the television news—definitely a sad chapter for U.S.A. figure skating. For Ukraine, though, they had a rising star with 16-year-old Oksana!

Watch as she glides inaudibly across the ice with the grace of an angel. Even after a jump, she lands on the ice as lightly as if a feather has fallen from her white costume. Each movement is supremely delicate and dainty without reliance on a favorite pop song or a flashy piece of fashion. It is just pure artistry and talent that makes the performance so lovely!

It’s not just lovely. It’s gold-medal-worthy. However, this isn’t the performance that won Oksana Baiul the gold medal; it’s the one that she skated after the awards ceremony during the 1994 Olympics Exhibition.  

Notice how Oksana uses her arms in such an expressive way. Even though they aren’t decorated or covered like wings, her fluent movements make it seem like she could take flight. Oksana started out her athletic endeavors with ballet, which is certainly demonstrated in her skating. Ultimately, she chose figure skating over ballet, and what a great choice that was!

Oksana Baiul’s routine to “The Swan,” one of 14 movements in Carnival of the Animals, by Camille Saint-Saëns, must be among the most beautiful figure skating routines ever performed. Oksana was the first Olympic Gold Medalist in any sport from independent Ukraine!    

Ukraine had won their independence only a few years before Oksana’s Olympic win. Since that time, Ukraine has earned 148 Olympic medals. That’s quite an accomplishment. How many other “wins” has Ukraine had in the last 30 years? How many more are ahead for them? 

Hopefully, the leaders and the people of Ukraine have many more victories waiting—in sports and so much more.   

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,” John 17:20

One Verdi-singing opera star got a big surprise when a tenor in the audience chimed in during her solo opera recital! And, as unlikely as that is, Cuban-American soprano Lisette Oropesa handled the interruption like a pro! 

The internationally acclaimed songstress didn’t demonstrate a bit of frustration or confusion. In fact, she seemed delighted to have someone step up to play the part of Alfredo opposite her Violetta. 

Watch this video as she realizes that she’s gained a singing partner for Verdi’s romantic, but tragic piece!

The gentleman in the corner of your screen explains what’s going on, which is a big help for those that aren’t necessarily accustomed to opera. He introduces the beauty on stage, who happens to be performing her fourth encore for the evening. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, she’s appearing at the Verdi Festival in Parma, Italy.

At about 10 seconds, Lisette stops singing and turns toward a few notes coming from the right. This appears to be in character. However, the quick turn of her attention back toward front as she hears a man’s voice is totally unscripted! Enter opera student and Tenor, Liu Jianwei.

Liu is a big fan of Lisette’s, and he’d studied the opera previously, so he jumped up and jumped in! Liu definitely “seized the day,” but he recognizes that it was a risky move. “Please don’t interrupt singers when they are singing on stage. It’s impolite behavior. Don’t imitate me and I will never do this again in the future,” stated Liu.     

Lisette is super classy, smiling, scanning the crowd to locate the not-even-remotely timid tenor, blowing kisses, and singing a word of thanks—that’s done in Italian, obviously! Liu finishes his part, and Lisette picks it back up as if nothing unusual has happened.

After the performance, Liu found Lisette and apologized, but Lisette must not have been bothered. She posed for pictures with Liu and gave him her autograph. What a wonderful display of humility and grace!

By the way, the guy in the corner is actually a performer as well. That’s Babatunde Akinboboye, and he’s a singer of two seemingly opposite types of music. Combining opera and hip hop, Babatunde has created a new genre known as Hip Hopera. When Babatunde posted the video on his social media channels, about a million viewers had the opportunity to see Liu’s skills. 

So, while Liu’s behavior was daring and probably, by his own admission, not in great form, it looks like it paid off for him at least this once!

“So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.” Acts 14:3

In Grand Fork, British Columbia, a very heroic and kind man is on a canoe trying to rescue a deer who is tragically stuck in the ice-cold water. He has tied a rope around the deer and is paddling the sweet animal to safety. 

As he rows, he looks behind him continually to check on the deer. Once he gets closer to shore, the man gets out of his boat and walks to the deer. He begins to grab the deer and push her toward the shore while standing knee-deep in the river. 

The deer appears paralyzed by the cold and possibly fear. People onlooking cheer the deer on as the man deals gently with the animal who is in danger. 

He pushes the deer but she is stiff, so he lifts her with all of his strength. They are worried about the deer getting hypothermia and making plans to warm her.  

This causes me to think about how we too are paralyzed by fear and sin in our own lives. We feel as trapped as this deer in frigid waters with no escape. 

The truth is that in our sin, we do not have an escape that we can flee from our sin. We need a Savior, we need rescue. Jesus came to rescue us from the pit of hell and eternal darkness. 

When we feel stuck in our Christian walks, we can remember with confidence that we have already been saved from eternal death. We have been made alive in Christ. We do not have to fear the difficulties in this life. We can have the fullness of hope in Him.

"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,” Colossians 1:13

At the start of the video, Betty Maxwell comes on the scene holding a tiara from when she won the Miss America pageant. We see a clip of Betty as Miss Georgia winning the crown. 

Betty shows her sash that she humorously got dirty from spray tans. Betty says that she sang opera as her talent and she has been singing since the age of three. Her biggest dream is to be the voice of a Disney princess. 

She shares her voice impersonations of Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Roz from Monster’s Inc, and Ariel from the Little Mermaid. 

Betty says that she will be singing, “A Moment Like This” by Kelly Clarkson. As she gets focused, you can tell that this song has meaning to her. She sings with confidence and has a rich voice. Betty sings with joy and she is very into the performance. She has a beautiful vibrato. She has a sweetness to her voice.

Betty is asked if she sings country and she responds that she does. Betty begins to sing, “Jesus take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood. 

When she starts to sing in the country, she shines. The judges smile and tell her she does not sing like a pageant girl but like a singer. Betty says that she sings everything and they encourage her to have a style. 

She tells the judges that she wants them to help her find that. She is encouraged that she could be a country singer and be big. The judges approve of her and put the crown on her head for fun. 

Betty says that she is surprised and excited to be on this journey. Watching Betty’s dream come true is so exciting. We all have dreams that God places in our hearts. Ultimately we can remember that they are for His glory.

"Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!” 1 Chronicles 16:24

In a recent video that was shared online, firefighters can be seen coming to the rescue of a sweet dog that became stuck in a 15-foot hole.

The firefighters are from Paxton, Florida and are part of the South Walton Fire District. The SWFD posted about the rescue on their Facebook page.

"Once the space was deemed safe to enter, firefighters placed a ladder into the hole and attached our rescuer to a safety line," the post read.

"The firefighter descended the ladder and made contact with the dog, who was very friendly, then used webbing to build the dog a safety harness," the post continued. "The rescuer ascended the ladder with the dog in tow and the SWFD crew assisted in getting the pair through the small opening."

In the video, you can hear the firefighters comforting the dog by saying "Come on, girl. Come on, sweetheart!" as they pull her out of the hole. And thanks to the firefighters’ actions, the sweet dog was rescued without any injuries.

"We are very grateful to have been a part of this happy ending and appreciate the professional and quick work of all responding agencies," wrote the SWFD.

After the successful rescue, the Walton County Animal Control came to the scene to tend to the dog. And the Walton County Works also showed up to fill the hole so no other animals or humans could fall into it.

We hope that you enjoyed seeing this animal rescue, and thank goodness for those firefighters and they wonderful way they serve their community!

Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Powerhouse vocalist Kelly Clarkson pays tribute to Dolly Parton at the Academy of Country Music Awards with an incredible performance of ‘I Will Always Love You.’ 

This hit song was originally written and recorded by Dolly Parton back in 1973.

The beautiful song found new life in 1992 when Whitney Houston recorded her own cover that skyrocketed to the top of the Billboard charts.

From the heartfelt lyrics to the contagious melody, ‘I Will Always Love You’ is a classic by all standards.

“I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you've dreamed of
And I'm wishing you joy and happiness
But above all this, I wish you love”

For decades, Dolly Parton has been a staple in the music industry. She made a name for herself as a positive personality that never holds back. She’s given us iconic hits such as ‘Jolene’ and ‘I Will Always Love You.’

Today, Kelly Clarkson is honoring the legendary vocalist with a special performance of ‘I Will Always Love You’ at the 2022 ACM Awards. And you are sure to have chills after you hear this stunning rendition. 

“And I will always love you
I will always love you
You
My darling, you”

The response to the performance was overwhelmingly positive. One viewer wrote, “She kept the sweetness of Dolly's version, while including the power of Whitney's version, and all while making this performance distinctly Kelly. Just stunning.”

Now, we’re all asking the same question. Where is Kelly’s recording of this song?

Colossians 3:14 “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

Bible study – Christian lifestyle

In the midst of war and hardship, some people still find the joy to sing. In this video, a Ukrainian girl sings “Let it Go” in her bunker.

In this moving clip, families are gathered in bomb shelters in Kyiv, Ukraine. A mother encourages her daughter as little Amelia begins to sing “Let it Go.” 

As people are visiting and other children are playing, Amelia captures their hearts. Everyone silences and listens to her encouraging and innocent voice. 

Many are videoing on their phones. It is an emotional sight to view toddlers to the elderly all gathered in a safe place hiding away from the destruction above. The precious girl smiles as she sings. As she finishes her song, many people cheer her on saying, “Bravo! Bravo!” She appears shy about her performance but proud. 

When we watch this clip, we think about how God tells us to have child-like faith. The way that this young girl does not appear worried, but is choosing joy in adversity is a great reminder for us. This is a real person in a real life-threatening situation. 

She is deciding to use her talent to spread hope to all of those around her. We may not be in bunkers, but we can find great hope and rest in the fact that the Lord is with us in our hardships too. 

He is holding us and we can still have faith in Him to care for us. We can rest and find joy in Him. We can rejoice through singing. 

"’Truly I tell you,’ he said, ‘unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’" Matthew 18:3

By Hally Wells

Y’all, if 22-year-old Cole Hallman singing with his sister during his American Idol audition doesn’t get you all in your “feels,” nothin’ will! This young man is a beautiful soul!   

The 8-minute video takes you through three primary phases of Cole’s audition process, and it will leave you hoping he lasts for many weeks to come!

We meet 22-year-old Cole, his mother, Nicolle, and his sister, Katie, before his audition. Cole is from New Jersey, and he is a recent college graduate. He gives a shout-out to the 4th-grade class in which he’s just completed his student teaching. Cole deserves a shout-out for choosing a career in education; elementary schools need more men in the field.

They meet Ryan Seacrest and Cole shares that Miss Katie is not only his biggest fan, but his biggest critic as well. Katie, who has a chromosomal deletion experiences developmental delays and behavioral issues, but she is all smiles next to her brother.

Cole confesses that he’s nervous and feels a little insecure. He recognizes that he got a late start on his musical endeavors, having only taken up the guitar about five years ago. And, he wonders if he fits in with some of the competitors who seem more experienced and comfortable. 

Katie loves to sing with Cole, so the two share a song to settle his nerves. Their favorite is “You Can’t Always Get What You What” by The Rolling Stones. Then, he’s off to appear before the judges.

Katie Perry opens up the conversation with Cole, but it is Lionel Richie that assures Cole that his feelings of inadequacy aren’t unique. The former Commodore says that they’ve all experienced the dreaded imposter syndrome. 

When Cole starts singin’ and pickin’, the song of choice is “Lodi” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Cole’s embracing old tunes! Another reason to like this contestant! While Luke Bryan is hard to read during the performance, looking quite serious, he speaks first and tells Cole that he is an “authentic voice.” Katie uses the words “raw” and “passionate” to describe Cole’s performance, and all three judges are ready to make a decision.

However, before doing so, they bring Cole’s family in to share the moment. Katie gives her brother a big hug, and Mom tells him that they were able to hear him and that he sounded great. But, her proudest moment is yet to come. 

Judge Katie invites Cole and his sister to sing for them, and they do their favorite duet. Luke Bryan wears the same semi-surly expression, but, within seconds, it is clear that he and his fellow judges are enjoying this performance even better than Cole’s first one.

Mom looks on from the side, and we can all imagine what utter joy and pride she must have as she watches her very talented son demonstrate such a kind, humble, and giving spirit. He’s sharing this very pivotal moment in his life with his sister; he’s sharing the celebration with her! And, indeed, it is a celebration, because the panel votes unanimously to send Cole to Hollywood!

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,” Philippians 2:3

if you stay fit you will stay healthy and the world will become a better place to live in

Sister Valerie speaks on mental health issues, and tells her personal testimony

Interview with Brother Rodney about his spiritual journey

The Pastor Kevin and Minister Terrell speak to Elder Mincey about his life and his faith.

by Abe Kosh

Parents know there are a million things to worry about with children, but you may want to add another to your list after watching this momma share how a strand of hair on her baby’s toe sent him to the ER! 

Sprains, bruises, scrapes, rashes—those are just a few of the physical ailments that often befall every single kid before they learn to walk! Those are the ones everyone knows about. Here’s one you might not have heard of. It’s called Hair Tourniquet Syndrome, and it can be very dangerous!

Watch as one little guy’s parents share their experience with this bizarre, and fortunately unlikely, situation. 

Meet Missouri family Tony and Sara Ward, and their adorable son, Logan. Tony and Sara express how concerned they were when 5-month-old Logan’s toe became very red and swollen. The video shows how angry and sore it was when they made the decision to rush Logan to his pediatrician. 

Though they had observed a “line” around Baby Logan’s toe, they had no idea what was causing it to become so inflamed. The pediatrician identified the problem as Hair Tourniquet Syndrome, which is a condition whereby a tiny hair or thread gets wrapped around a body part and cuts off circulation in the area. If not treated soon enough, the tissue can die. Most often, HTS happens to fingers or toes. 

The family’s pediatrician spent forty minutes doctoring Logan’s toe. Using a magnifying glass, tweezers, and even a scalpel, the doctor worked to remove a segment of hair from Logan’s toe. However, by the next morning, Logan’s toe had gotten worse.   

Sara and Tony took Logan to the emergency room, and he was then admitted to the hospital. Even though his toe was in bad shape, Logan looks sweet and happy in his cute blue pajamas. 

Sara describes how they progressed through the day applying hair removal creams and numbing ointments in order to probe the toe sufficiently and release the entire hair wrapped around Logan’s little piggy. Eventually, it worked! 

Once freed from that horrible strand of hair, Logan’s precious middle toe healed beautifully. Mom and Dad raise their little guy up to show everyone just how pretty Logan’s toe is again.

It certainly is a blessing to have medical facilities, doctors and nurses, proper tools, and pharmaceutical products that help loving parents care for their sweet kids! And, it’s a blessing when families like The Wards share their stories to help others down the line! 

“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Sometimes families come together in unique ways. In this video, a 12-year-old asks the groom to be her dad in a tear-jerking moment during the wedding ceremony.

In an emotional moment, a young woman in a bridesmaid dress hands her soon-to-be dad a piece of paper about adoption. She says that she has waited 2,555 days for this moment and asks, “Frank, will you be my dad?” 

Many tears follow. Frank gives her a huge hug and says, “I love you.” Ariana, the girl, says that it had been that many days that she felt like he was her dad. You can see them slow dancing in a father-daughter dance. Ariana had given Frank the gift of an adoption request to make him her official father. 

This video reminds us of the great love that family can be for people. Whether we have had positive experiences like this or negative ones, God the Father has invited us into His family. He has given us “adoption papers” through the sacrifice of Jesus. We are dearly loved and brought into the family of God not by anything we could have done, but by His gracious invitation. 

I love how this video shows the loyalty and faithfulness of Frank to this girl. His impact on her life for 7 years led to her asking him to officially adopt her as his own. This kind of relentless love draws us to the Lord. 

He never stops pursuing us to be His children and when we accept His gift of salvation, we are forever in his family and our names are in his book.

"God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." Ephesians 1:5

In this theatrical sketch, an important lesson is shown. A daughter’s simple gift teaches her dad a valuable lesson about love.

The video starts with a girl in a dining room attempting to wrap a gift with heart-wrapping paper. She cannot seem to figure out how to do it and crumples up a paper throwing it to the side. Her father walks in on his cell phone shaking his head in disapproval. 

He suddenly sits and accuses his daughter of wasting the wrapping paper and saying that it costs money to buy that. He sadly tells her that she should know better. He asks her to help him clean up the mess.

Then we see the dad later on the couch sipping coffee and looking at his phone. The little girl comes up with a wrapped gift and says excitedly that the gift is for him. The father apologizes for getting upset about the wrapping paper. 

She tells him that it is ok and to open the gift. To the father’s surprise, there is nothing in the box. He reprimands his daughter that there should be something inside. The sweet girl says that it is not empty because she blew kisses into the box. Her dad then gives her a big hug and is grateful. 

This clip shows us the importance and value of giving children the time to express themselves. It reminds us of the joy that a parent has in the love shown by a child. This father is not grateful and is often distracted by his phone instead of present and listening. 

He is the opposite of our great God who cares for our needs at every moment and never rejects our love towards Him. How can we show our love for God today? It will be received with gladness.

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." Deuteronomy 6:5

It can make all the difference when you have someone who believes in you. In this video, an 18-year-old babysitter went viral for her golden voice, now she’s auditioning for American Idol.

Nicki is a mom influencer who begins the video humorously saying, “mom check.” She shows a bunch of people in a room and says they are living their dreams. It is her babysitter Delaney’s turn to audition. 

Ryan interviews the two and Delaney shares that she was secretly filmed by the mother of the kids she was babysitting. The video went viral and Delaney did not realize how she sounded. Nicki, the mom encouraged her along the way and asked if she could post the video and Delaney said ok. 

The video ended up having 18 million views. Nicki says that American Idol contacted them and she told Delaney that this was her chance. 

Delaney walks in with a young man on guitar and sings Opportunity by Sia. As she sings angelically, the judges each smile. She sings about the gift of this moment. After she finishes, Delaney adorably grins at Nicki and the judges applaud. 

They tell her it was amazing, that she has youthfulness but they want to help her rough up the edges to help in the competition. They said, “Way to lose your babysitter.” Nicki replies, “It’s alright, we’ll share her with the world.” As they tell her that her life is going to change and that she is accepted, she and Nicki embrace and cry tears of joy. 

Because of this mom, this young woman is living out her dream. We each need that kind of empowerment too. When we have Christ, we know that He champions us in our gifts and callings to honor Him and worship Him through our own stories. 

We can be encouraged by this relationship knowing that we too are being cheered for every day by our God to run this race.

"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14

Check out this stunning and beautiful voice as an eleven-year-old shocks the judges with a Jennifer Hudson audition. That’s right folks, this mere half-pint blows the judges away during her audition for Britain’s Got Talent. When she was asked what she had prepared for the judges, they said it was an excellent choice, although Simon wasn’t too sure she could hit the high notes and wished her good luck.  

You want all my love and my devotion                                                      
You want my love and soul right on the line                                              
I've had no doubt, that I could love you, forever.                                      
The only trouble is, you really don't have the time

The singer, Arisxandra Libantino not only hit the high notes with ease, she blew the judges away. Her singing voice was angelic and full of soul. And she definitely made the popular song her own as she sang every word of this love song as if she was living in the moment. As her melodic voice faded with the music, she received a standing ovation from the audience. And Simon was clearly shocked because Arisxandra didn’t need luck. She had pure, raw talent and he gave her a standing ovation on top of two thumbs up!

When Simon was asked about what he thought of Arisxandra’s performance, he paused before he replied, “O.M.G.” and teased, “That wasn’t really you singing was it?” Arisxandra giggled before she said, “Yes, yet it was!” 

“Well then. You’re superhuman,” Simon replied. No Simon, she’s not superhuman. She’s super gifted with incredible talent from our amazing creator God!

The judges went on to thank this sweet little girl for sharing her gift with the world and to remember them when she is a big superstar one day. We couldn’t agree more. God has big plans for Arisxandra and we can’t wait to see how she will shine bright when she grows up! 

We hope you enjoyed watching this audition for Britain’s Got Talent and that it brought a smile to your face and reminds you of how God has given each one of us special gifts and talents that reflect how uniquely he has created each and every one of us. 

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12:6-8

If there ever was a great act of love and protection, then this is it. In this video, a dad rushes to save an unconscious cowboy before a bull charges into them. 

It is just another day at a rodeo in this clip. There is an 18-year-old boy named Cody Hooks who is taking on the bull-like usual. As the bull takes off, you can see the boy begins to lose his grip falling to the ground and going unconscious, he is unable to move or get up to run out of the gate. 

Two others come to try and distract the bull from him, however, the attempts can only hold the bull back for so long. Suddenly, Cody’s own father jumps into the rodeo right as the bull is about to charge at his helpless son. The bull comes and rams them, but the father takes the blow for his son to protect him from worse injury or even death. 

Cody shares in the interview that his dad saved him from terrible head injuries that the bull could have caused. The father is being officially given the title of “Father of the Year.” The father says, “I would do anything to save my children, no matter what it is.” 

There is no way that we can watch this and not think about the love of God the Father for us. God in heaven came down to earth to defeat death and bring us back to Himself. Jesus went to great lengths of sacrifice to Himself on our behalf. 

This great love of God is for the entire world. Anyone who believes in Him can receive this beautiful sacrifice of love from the Father and be protected from eternal death. Jesus gives us life and hope just like this father gives his son a second chance.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16