The desire to be an apostle of hope came at a time when my friend Ellen suffered with terminal cancer and needed a spark from heaven. I wrote prayerful letters to God asking for Ellen's healing. Those letters were placed in a binder and kept close by Ellen's bedside for her to read. Ellen told me the letters in that binder gave her hope at a time in her life when things seemed hopeless. Ellen said, "Do you think you can write for others?" When I looked into Ellen's eyes, I knew that it was God himself asking me, so I told Ellen I would if God wanted me to. Expressing what is in my heart verbally or in writing is something I always struggled with, but through the grace of God, I have been blessed to share my story as well as stories and teachings from Christian writers who inspire me to be a voice of hope. Every day I pray for an open heart and an open spirit, and I am truly humbled that in the words of writer Joyce Rupp, "God is emptying me out so I can hold more of him."