2000 cum laude graduate of Mary Baldwin College
Awarded Outstanding Adult Student award
Conference speaker
Bible teacher
Appeared on radio and television shows, including Good Morning America, The Hour of Power, Focus on the Family and Moody Broadcasting
Daughter of Ruth and Billy Graham
Mother and Grandmother
Donor Relations Coordinator for Samaritan's Purse for five years
Major Gifts Officer at Mary Baldwin College for one year
guest bio
Ruth Graham: So You Want to Adopt
CBN.com
– FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS
Ruth Graham, daughter of famous televangelist Billy Graham, has faced some hard times and tough situations throughout her life, including her husband's infidelities, her divorces, her teenage daughter's two unplanned pregnancies, her other daughter's bulimia and her son's battle with drugs. Now, she's drawing on those experiences to help others cope with adversity.
As the third child of Billy Graham, it comes as no surprise that she now has started her own ministry Ruth Graham and Friends. What may be surprising is that she's talking about real-issues that some people may be reluctant to share.
Ruth Graham and Friends follows the theme: "Get Growing." It follows the concept that "Growth Happens in the Most Difficult Places" and its speakers are sharing that message in Christian conferences. Through this organization, Ruth brings light to the fact that we are all people who are "doing life" and trying to understand it. Ruth Graham and Friends seeks to equip the church to deal with the "messy" parts of life like pornography, abuse, depression, abortion, sexual infidelity, anger, shame, divorce, loneliness, etc. It wants to provide a safe place for people to deal with the issues that keep them from growing spiritually. Ruth Graham and Friends hope to show that our God is one of mercy, love, and grace both in the good times and the bad. They delve into the big issues and explore and understand them in honest and Biblical ways. Their conferences are designed to be a "safe place" to find hope in your struggles as well as to discover tools to help those with whom you come in contact.
RUTH GRAHAM AND FRIENDS
Ruth Graham and Friends came about during a time when Ruth was speaking at a number of women's conferences. She became friends with most of the current speakers during that time. They all shared a desire to really help equip the church to deal with difficult areas that seemed to be prevalent in the church as well as in secular society. The vision is to equip the people in the local church with the facilities they can rely on in their community and follow up through Living Free Bible Studies. They also deal heavily with the element of forgiveness. Ruth Graham and Friends have had nine conferences, and have upcoming events already scheduled for 2010.
FEAR NOT TOMORROW
In addition to using her life experiences as examples for "Get Real" conferences, Ruth Graham is using them as an author as well." She penned Fear Not Tomorrow, God is Already There because she has an intimate knowledge of how to deal with life's difficulties and disappointments through personal experiences. "Fear not, God is already there" were words that were burned into Ruth's heart from a framed print she received in the mail from her mother Ruth Bell Graham, at a time when she was anxious about one of her children who was struggling. Ruth says that fear takes the air out of life. When we live with fear, we lose our capacity for fun and spontaneity.
"Often, when we experience fear, we have allowed our circumstances to overwhelm or alter our perspective," Ruth said. "I have discovered that defeating fear in my life begins with shifting my focus.
"I take my eyes off the circumstances, off the source of my fear, and put my focus on God. Instead of mulling over the 'what ifs' in my future, instead of looking ahead with anxiety, trepidation, dread or even horror, I make the choice to look at God, to consider His character, and to trust that the One who loves me is 'already there.'"
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