Submitted Stories

I bought a beautiful, ornate cross made of wrought iron at Tuesday morning.  It is displayed in the planter on my front porch.  I live in the back house of a cul-de-sac and anyone who drives into the cul-de-sac can see it from the street.  I thought my husband might object because I am still praying for his salvation, but he even placed in a little differently in the planter to make it look even better. Praise the Lord!
- Kelly

I have a small rubber stamp of a cross. Now, every single time I write a check for anything, whether it's to pay for groceries at the supermarket, for my utility bills, or even when I tithe, the check has a cross stamped on the front of it. I also stamp the outside of the envelope, both front and back of anything I send in the mail. Actually, I very rarely carry cash anymore so I almost always just use my debit card to pay for everything. I am now making a point of writing a check anytime I can. I also have a cross window decal on the rear, passenger and driver sides of my car, and I have placed a cross on the outside of my front door.
- Fran Busch

I placed on cross of the wall next to the front door, which can be seen from the outside because the top of the door is glass. I also hung a cross from my rearview mirror.
- Stacy LaCharite

My husband died on January 15, 2008 after a long battle with melanoma cancer.  Thoughout the years of treatments, triumphs and setbacks, he was a grand example of faith.  After he died, the mortuarty had "keepsake" necklaces available, which are necklaces of different shapes that are hollow, and a small amount of the cremains are put inside of the necklace.  I chose a cross because to me it symbolized his faith and the fact the he is now with Jesus and our Heavenly Father.  I just got it back last week and have worn it around friends and business associates.  Several people have commented that the cross was more appropriate than a heart, or dolphin (which also were associated with my husband), because it represents my husband and the fact that he believed in salvation.  To me, it not only is a symbol of the fact that my husband is now in heaven, but it also symbolizes how God's love was a source of strength to my husband and me throughout the cancer ordeal.
- Patti Anderson

My husband and I own the Gymboree Play and Music programs in Valencia and Simi Valley.  We bought the Gymboree as a form of ministry to families that live in these areas.  Every day, I pray that the Gymboree will be a blessing to our families that come in as customers and that we can ultimately lead families to Christ and closer to each other, as it did for us as customers about five years ago. 

When you mentioned the cross project, we felt we really wanted to participate, but had to be creative as to where we put up the cross.  We came up with the idea to put a cross sticker in each cubby in our lobby that holds each mom and child's shoes and purse.  This way, they may or may not notice the cross, but the cross will ultimately be with them from the time they step onto our playfloor until they walk out the door. (Hopefully it will stay with them beyond that.)  We have about 20 shoe cubbies at each site, so we are putting up 40 crosses.  

We have four children of our own and starting with Gymboree as customers.  It brought us to Kevin and Kathie Pisano, who eventually led us closer to Christ and to Shepherd of the Hills Church.  It was through Gymboree that we were ultimately able to focus more on Christ and our family.  We pray every day that owning the Gymboree's will be a blessing to other families around us and we can hope bring others to Christ.  I pray over the mats everyday for the families that walk in, which was inspired by one of Pastor Dudley's sermons mentioning praying over all of the seats at Shepherd before the Sunday morning service.

Thank you for this awesome church and opportunity.  I can't wait for the Community Days!  It's going to be great! 
- Lisa Leone

Four stories: About six months ago my daughter made a ceramic cross in Sunday school at Shepherd.  I know putting up a cross may raise questions at the work place, so I decided this would be an excellent way to display the cross without any questions, since my office has tons of my daughters art work.  I placed it on my filing cabinet which can be seen from the waiting room and as you walk down the hallway also.

My oldest daughter goes to public school.  About four months ago, she brought her favorite book to school for the teacher to read in class.  The teacher could not read it; it was a Veggie Tales book, "Where is God when I'm scared."  So after that, once a week I send her to school with a cross sandwich.  I have a cross cookie cutter and we cut the bread in the shape of the cross. 

My mom sells Avon, and after I informed her of the sermon and Pastor Dudley’s desire to blanket the valley with crosses, she put one up on her Avon internet ordering site.

Lastly, I also informed the rest of my family.  My nephew’s mom made sure he wore his cross necklace on the Ellen Degeneres talk show, when he was a guest on her show.  (It will air Thurs 2/7/08 @ 4PM on channel 4.)
- Diane Lozano

I am a new Christian (six weeks).  My wife-to-be purchased my first cross. It was an important decision to me where to place it.  A few days had passed and a light was entering the front door of my home. The light was shining against the wall at my front enterance of my home. I got a bit of a chill and decided (with a little help from the light) that I would place the cross at the enterance of our home.
- Kevin Wakeland and Stacy LaCharte

I have a registry page at heifer.org, with a photo of the cross. My hope is that the cross will be presented on the internet and some needy familes will benefit.
- Ann

I work in an office with CPAs. The accountants leave the office daily to meet clients for lunch or go to the clients’ offices for accounting purposes.  In order to know where our staff is at all times, we have a daily Sign-Out Log that everyone must use.  It's a simple form that we fill in:  "Time Out/Where To/Return Time." Everyone looks at it even if they're not going anywhere; they just want to know who is in the office, who is out, and where they are for whatever reason.

I'm responsible for printing out this form daily, so at the bottom of the form. I usually write something on the bottom of the form maybe to acknowledge someone's birthday or an inspiring phrase such as "Thank God it's Friday," etc. After hearing Dudley's sermon last Saturday, I decided to print the "CROSS OF JESUS" and under it I printed the words “YOU ARE ALWAYS LOVED.”

- Lola

I have a dove and a fish tattoo reminding me of the everlasting permanence of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and I have a cross tattoo reminding me to take up my cross everyday. After Dudley's sermon, I added a beautiful 10-inch cross to the back windshield of my car, as well as a six-inch cross on the window of my room. I also have my myspace page raining down with crosses.

- Katie Morales

My story is not very complicated.  Although, I must say, when Pastor Dudley mentioned having a cross in our house, I suddently realized that I didn't have one.  Quite frankly, I never really thought about it, until that Sunday's sermon.
So, needless to say, along with many other church members after that Sunday, I was on the lookout for a nice cross, or something that would signify or represent who I believe Jesus is.  So after parusing the bookstore at Shepherd twice, I found one that I knew truly represented what I felt about Jesus. 
The cross I chose is inscribed with all the names of what Jesus represents, and what He is to me.  He is my Redeemer, Father, Savior, Prince of Peace, Almighty One, etc.
I had the cross sitting on my end table for about one week trying to decide the best place to display my commitment to what I believed Jesus is to me.  This wall, that wall, where did it look the best?  I finally decided to place it on the wall just above my themostat.  There I, and all those entering my home, would see it when I came in the front door.  When I sit on the sofa watching TV, or right across from where I sit each morning or evening to conduct my prayer ritual, it is in plain sight.
So, from where I sit or enter, or turn off the thermostat in summer or winter, I can see it and it is a constant reminder of what Jesus represents and His faithful promises to me.
Father, Redeemer, Prince of Peace, Advisor, Saviour, Almightly One, the I AM!!!!
MARANATHA 
- Susan Candelas

 The cross has always been precious to both of us. We have placed a 12-inch stone cross on the wall by our front door.  It can be seen standing by the front of our house while driving by.  We pray that it lets people know God is the head of our household.  We draw a cross on each card we send. The cross has a heart in the center.  We write a note next to it that says "Jesus Loves You and so do we!"  We both have a cross on our key chain and a little tag that reads "I Love Jesus" on it, right next to the store discount tag.  We try to hand it to the cashier first so they cannot miss the message. We always decorate our home with lights for the CHRISTmas season.  We always top it off with a large cross attached to our chimmey, with white lights on it.  Our Jewish neighbor always says she waits for the cross to be lit.  Our best idea was to purchase a small, seven-inch high cross, to put directly in front of our TV.  It covers just a small part of the picture.  We see it and feel His love.
- Peter and Sharon Jean Daly

I purchased a bracelet just before Christmas, but kept forgetting to put it on. It has several different beads that tell the story of Jesus. Each bead represents different parts of Jesus' life. When I heard about the Signature Project, it became very apparent that I should start to wear this bracelet. It's been amazing what has happened so far. On the first day, three different people admired my bracelet, and I told them that it was the story of Jesus and proceeded to tell them what each bead meant. They were all amazed and we began to talk about Jesus and how he has changed my life. It was amazing, but it didn't end there. My younger sister is a non-believer and when she saw my bracelet and asked about it, the Lord opened the door for me. I told her the story of Jesus then we proceeded to talk about Jesus and all of the amazing things he's done in my life. For her birthday I bought her a Bible. That night was the first time she opened it and she's been reading it every night since. She's even called me to ask me questions about what she's reading.  The Holy Spirit has helped me answer questions that I never knew I could. If it stopped there I would consider myself blessed, but it didn't. You see, I have a co-worker that is an anthiest. I keep telling him that Jesus loves him. Whenever he sees me reading my Bible, I ask him if I could show it to him. The answer was always “no.” Until the bracelet. We were outside on a break when he noticed it and I told him the story of Jesus. He smiled and walked away. He's asked me three more times to tell him the story of Jesus. I've told him my testimony and I know that the seed has been planted. Now when I tell him Jesus loves him, he smiles and says, "I know." I pray that the Lord will continue to work within him and give me the tools to bring him closer to the Lord. It all started with a bracelet. Something that seems so simple. The difference is, this bracelet tells the story of Jesus--the cross I wear everyday so that I may tell others the story of Jesus.
- Karen Henderson

Yesterday, I was playing Halo 3 on Xbox Live with one of my best friends, Tarek Fattal. We started to customize our Halo 3 Spartan officers that people who play Halo 3 online can see during the battles. One of the options was to place a cross on their shoulder armor. I immediately thought of my dad's message and thought it would be a perfect place where I could put up a cross. So now Tarek and I both have Halo 3 Spartan officers (which, by the way, we are both almost upgraded to majors) that have a crosses on their shoulder armor, which millions of people can see.

- Dallas Rutherford

I have a cross flag across my front gate, on the back window of my car, and tattooed on my back.
- Tracy Prats

I'm still thinking of creative ideas for placing a cross in the physical community.  But for starters, I have added the cross before my online handle wherever possible, and in a game I play online (howrse.com)—where there are over 500,000 players—I put the cross before my affix on my horses’ names and in the title of my Equestrian Center. I'm in a top 20 list of ratings, so my name and center are seen by thousands a day. 

- Jeannine Porter

I am currently designing a company logo that will incorporate a cross prominently on my website.  I had made that decision the night before Dudley's announcement.  Yet another direction of my life by God.
- Richard Lafferty

Ever since the Lord has come into my heart, I was convicted to let everyone know about Jesus. I have had his name and scripture put on my car in big bold letters on the back window. On the side windows, I have a person on their knees praising GOD and THE CROSS.  On the rear view mirror I have cross hanging, on my license plate I have “JESUS IS LORD,” and when I go home tonight I will be putting a cross on my door and also in my window. I Love the lord and he loves me. I am truly blessed. God bless you!
- Betty Murphy

I actually did this before Dudley announced the theme for 2008.  Inspired by the home-made crosses we received at a friend’s wedding, I left home-made crosses on the front porches of some of my neighbors on Christmas Eve after we returned home from the 11pm service. I thought it might be thought-provoking if, on Christmas morning, people woke up to a present from Jesus and a reminder of why we celebrate.
- Jan McGowan

So far I have put up a new cross in my room, and I put up an ornament cross that my niece painted on the opening of my cubical for everyone to see.  I am working on some more to put up.
- Christine Varian

I have been asked on different occasions in places such as work, restaurants, hospitals, etc., if I am Christian.  It is such a privilage to say "yes" and then ask "how do you know?" It's not really carrying a symbol that people admire, but our behavior and compassion for others that really makes the difference.
- Patricia  Bock

A week or so before I knew the theme of the year, I had already consecrated an area with a small wooden cross in my bedroom and started to pray there.  Also, a friend gave me a cross necklace for Christmas and I started to wear it, even though that might mean I get hassled at work.  So, Pastor Dudley's message was very confirming to me.
-Unknown

My husband, Martin, built three crosses on the northwest corner of Topanga and Nordoff in Chatsworth. He had to get the city of Los Angeles to issue a permit for these, which was unheard of, and they are lit at night, also unheard of in Los Angeles. 
- Mary Lubran

My company allows us to listen to music from our computer or ipods. My husband and I have bought teachings on marriage, and I brought these teachings into work and shared them with my co-workers. In my area, there are three women I work with. One is married, one is single, and the other has been in a realationship with her boyfriend for five years. These teachings have opened windows of opportunity to talk about Jesus. The single woman has been to Shepherd of the Hills and has pulled away from God. The married woman is Middle Eastern and has asked a few questions about the Bible and Jesus. I think she is interested, but follows her husband’s religion, as is customary in her culture. The younger one is Catholic and has also questioned me. I spoke to them a little about their questions. I planted the seed and I continue to offer the teachings for them to hear, praying that the Lord will move in them.

Also, I have used the pamphlets that are given before church. I use mine and my husbands. I collect a few and leave them on the lunch tables at work early in the morning.
- Ana

I just bought 10 cell phone straps with blue crosses.  As soon as I receive them, I will place one on my personal cell phone and one on my work cell phone.  The other eight will be given away to others who are willing to display them on their cell phones. 
– Anne Ormiston