Donna grew in a Christian home in South Carolina. She went to church beginning in nursery school. In high school and her early college year she devoted herself to Christian youth groups, and even served as a summer missionary teaching the Bible to young people from 50 churches.

In her later college years, Donna says her priorities began to shift. She entered a beauty contest with the motivation of winning a free trip to New York hoping to gain a foothold in a career modeling and acting. She stopped attending church and reading her Bible. She says, “My going prodigal was a series of left turns. It didn’t happen overnight. It was a series of subtle compromises.”

In 1987, her life would never be the same for Donna Rice when magazines and newspapers around the world published pictures of her sitting in Democratic Presidential Candidate Gary Hart’s lap.

When the scandal broke, Donna was on her way to achieving her dreams. She had become a pharmaceutical sales representative and television commercial spokeswoman. She resigned both jobs due to the negative publicity, and worried about paying the rent.

She refused offers to sell her story for a movie of the week, and even her own television series. Instead of going public, Donna sought out the friendship of Christian friends and family, and began to seek the Lord again.

Donna found hope in the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:28. She realized that good could result from her situation. In those difficult times, she learned to love her enemies. After praying all night for a particular journalist who berated her, Donna saw the same person slandering her on a national TV show the next morning.

Donna says, “ I realized that to die to self was all that really mattered. My identity was really in Christ. Even though I had made a big mistake with my lifestyle, God used the trials to conform me to His image.”

Over time, God rebuilt Donna’s life and is using her again. In the process of restoration, God is using her to help, protect, and reach other people. Donna married John Hughes in 1994, and today is the spokeswoman for Enough is Enough, an organization dedicated to protecting children from Internet pornography. Five years ago, she authored a book outlining ways parents can protect their children from obscenity online. Looking back on her life Donna Rice Hughes says, “ If none of this had happened, I may not have come back to the Lord. In spite of our failings, God does use all things for good.”

—Pentecostal Evangel, February 23, 2003, pg 23-25, From Scandal to Grace, John Kennedy, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Galatians 6:1.NIV “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.”

For more information on “Kids Online: Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace” go to http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/080075672X/fm082-20

Officials at The Fitzwilliam Museum in the University of Cambridge announced a museum visitor shattered three Ming dynasty Chinese vases when he tripped on his shoelace and stumbled down a stairway. The vases dating from the late 17th or early 18th century were given to the museum in 1948. They were the museum's prized possessions and sat on a window sill beside the staircase for over 40 years.

The director of the museum said it was an unfortunate and regrettable accident, but the museum was glad the visitor involved was not hurt in the fall. The museum did not identify the man who tripped on his loose shoelace, nor did they disclose the value of the broken vases. Asked about vases, Margaret Greeves, assistant director of the museum said, "They are in very, very small pieces, but we are determined to put them back together."

—Associated Press, Museum visitor trips, breaks Chinese vases, February 3, 2006. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Officials in Japan say they have discovered a new source of mineral wealth for the resource-poor country: sewage. A treatment facility in Nagano found 1,890 grams of gold per ton of ash in their incinerated sewage. That is a higher gold content than the Hishikari Mine in Japan, which is one of the world’s richest. The mine only produces between 20 and 40 grams of gold per ton of ore.

An official at the facility says the high percentage of gold is probably due to a large number of precision manufacturers in the vicinity, which use the metal in their processing. The Nagano plant has earned the equivalent of $55,000 selling the gold, and expects the total will be more than $155,000 by the close of their fiscal year. If gold prices continue to rise, the plant could become more profitable. An official said, “How much we actually get will depend on gold prices at the time.”

--Sewage yields more gold than top mines; http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090130/od_nm/us_gold_sewage_odd;_ylt=AojR.30eTXMFAKXtkAYOXqMSH9EA, January 30, 2009, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Our God is a God of redemption and restoration. He brings out the gold hidden in the ashes of our lives.

Isaiah 61:1-3 GW “The Spirit of the Almighty LORD is with me because the LORD has anointed me to deliver good news to humble people. He has sent me to heal those who are brokenhearted, to announce that captives will be set free and prisoners will be released. He has sent me to announce the year of the LORD'S good will and the day of our God's vengeance, to comfort all those who grieve. He has sent me to provide for all those who grieve in Zion, to give them crowns instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of tears of grief, and clothes of praise instead of a spirit of weakness. They will be called Oaks of Righteousness, the Plantings of the LORD, so that he might display his glory.”

Clarence Van Dyken remembers several things about 1959. Gas was twenty-five cents a gallon, and he earned $50 a week. That was also the year that he lost his wallet. As time passed, he never thought he would see it again, and life went on. Recently Van Dyken’s lost wallet was returned after the person who bought his old house found it while repairing flood damage to a bathroom wall. Aron Schut was working on the bathroom wall and started sweeping up the old insulation. Wrapped up inside was an old wallet. When Schut opened it, he found an ID and recognized the name. He contacted Van Dyken’s son and was able to return the wallet. When he got the wallet back, Van Dyken thumbed through a couple of old pictures, two one dollar bills, and a receipt for a $16 car repair. Van Dyken said the trip down memory lane was worth the two dollars he had misplaced. He added, ”I never thought I would see that beaut again.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Missing Wallet Returned 54 Years Later, By Dave Spencer, http://fox17online.com/2013/07/10/missing-wallet-returned-54-years-later/?hpt=us_bn9#axzz2YkJUywUe, Accessed, July 10, 2013.

Luke 15:8-9 (CEV) (8) Jesus told the people another story: What will a woman do if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them? Won't she light a lamp, sweep the floor, and look carefully until she finds it? (9) Then she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, "Let's celebrate! I've found the coin I lost."

After filing a police report, and calling the bicycle shop to get the serial number to help identify her bike, Kayla Smith told friends about her plight through social media. An hour later, a friend called to tell her they had found her bicycle on Craigslist. Smith arranged to meet the person selling the bike, and immediately recognized it from the unique stickers she had placed on it. When she asked to take the bike for a test ride, the seller agreed, and warned her not to ride off with it, but that is exactly what she did. She arranged to have a friend met her in another parking lot nearby. Later she called the person back and left a message apologizing for not coming back to pay him for her own bicycle. Police warn people against taking matters into their own hands, but had to admit that it worked out this one time.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Woman steals own bike back from thief, by David Strege, http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/excursions/post/woman-steals-own-bike-back-from-thief, Accessed August 27, 2013.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 (CEV) Don't be hateful to people, just because they are hateful to you. Rather, be good to each other and to everyone else.

Authorities say a Tennessee man whose car was stolen in 1974 will soon have his vehicle back. Joseph MacDonald was a college student and had gone to have dinner with some friends. When he returned, the car was gone, and he never thought he would see it again. Recently, border agents checking paperwork on the 1965 Volkswagen Beetle discovered that it had been reported stolen. The last owner, not knowing that it was stolen, sold it and the car was being shipped to Canada and then Finland to be restored. MacDonald still has the title for the car and says even though it has been repainted a different color, he is sure it is the same vehicle. MacDonald said, “I had always hoped to be reunited with that thing. I’ve actually told my youngest daughter about the car and she said, ’Boy I wish you still had it,’ and I said, ’I do too. I loved it.”’ MacDonald added, ”And I never dreamed in my wildest dreams that I might get it back.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Tennessee man's stolen VW Beetle recovered 40 years later, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/02/22/bug-mystery-police-dont-know-where-to-find-man-whose-car-was-stolen-in-74-found/; Accessed February 22, 2014.

Luke 15:6 (HCSB) and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’

Caroline Rezac and her husband John were on vacation in Glacier National Park when their camera fell out of John’s pocket and disappeared down a stream. Three years later, a Montana photographer, who works for a newspaper, found the camera and suspected that the owner might be from the Lincoln area because of the pictures on the memory card. He published some of the pictures in a newspaper, and Rezac saw them. She contacted the photographer and is excited that she will have the opportunity to get the pictures their family took returned.
—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Photos from lost camera headed to Nebraska woman,http://news.yahoo.com/photos-lost-camera-headed-nebraska-woman-191702482.html, Accessed 5/18/2015

Sometimes lost things find you. Other times, you must diligently search for things that are lost. In both cases, there is great rejoicing when the lost is found.

Luke 15:8-10 (HCSB) “Or what woman who has 10 silver coins,denarius if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? (9) When she finds it, she calls her women friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!’ (10) I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

A painting worth more than a million dollars is now back on display in Taiwan after a 12-year-old-boy tripped and punched a hole in the canvass as he fell. The painting entitled “Flowers” by Paolo Propora is part of an exhibit of artwork that painted by or influenced by Leonardo da Vinci. Organizer David Sun said the boy was listening to a guide and not looking where he was going. He tripped and smashed a hole in the painting by accident. He said no charges would be filed because the boy and his family had expressed sincere regret. Sun added, “We had an Italian appraiser on hand and immediately contacted the collector. We decided to repair the painting immediately on site and its back on display already.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Enough to make Mona Lisa smile: Taiwan boy falls through Italian masterpiece,
http://news.yahoo.com/enough-mona-lisa-smile-taiwan-boy-falls-italian-051631891.html, Accessed August 26, 2015.

Psalm 80:3 (HCSB) Restore us, God; look ?on us? with favor, and we will be saved.

For 20 years, people have been sticking their gum to the walls of an alley by Seattle’s Pike Place market. The market estimates that there are as many as one million pieces of gum on the wall. The “gum wall” as it is known, has become a popular landmark, and people have left pictures, cards and other mementos along with gum on the wall. Sometime, they shape the gum into hearts and messages as well. The market has hired a contractor who will use steam to melt the gum off because pressure washing could damage the historic building too much. One tourist said she thought the wall was “pretty gross,” but also “in a way, very impressive.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Seattle's 'gum wall' to be cleaned after 20 years,
http://news.yahoo.com/seattles-gum-wall-cleaned-20-years-210301890.html, Accessed November 5, 2015.

Psalm 51:10 (HCSB) “God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

A mission in Mississippi helps people who have seen better days by teaching them to work on motorcycles owned by people who have also fallen on hard times. The Mission at the Cross houses 25 men at a time. Daily activities include mentoring and other programs to build character and develop new skills. Rebuilding old motorcycles is one of the programs the mission offers to help residents rebuild their lives. Co-founder Richard Headrick said that what the men have in common is that they need help escaping their rough past. He added, “The devil tears these guys down” but “Jesus builds them back again.”—Jim L. Wilson & Jim Sandell

1 Peter 5:10 (HCSB)“Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little. “

A Florida woman said that her high school ring keeps coming back to her every time it gets lost. Shannon Forester lost her ring the first time after a car accident in 1979. Her father found it a few months later in a pawn shop and bought it back for her. The second time Forester lost her ring; it turned up in a house thirty miles away. A woman found the ring while cleaning her deceased father’s home. The woman said she heard that her father had found the ring and put it in a drawer because he didn’t know who it belonged to. She posted a picture on social media, and a friend of a friend told Forester about it. Forester said she was sure the ring was gone for good, but added, “I don’t go on Facebook, but somehow in a very circuitous route the ring has made its way back to me.”—Jim L. Wilson & Jim Sandell

1 Peter 5:10 (CSB) “The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while.”

Artists in Southern Florida have restored one of the most photographed tourist sites in the Florida Keys after it was damaged by Hurricane Irma. The red, yellow, black, and white marker is actually a 4-ton concrete moment marking the southernmost point in the Continental United States. It also says that Key West is 90 miles from Havana, Cuba. Though the marker lost a large piece of stucco and most of its paint, Key West was not seriously impacted by the hurricane. The region reopened to tourists less than three weeks after the storm, although some sections of the island chain are still rebuilding.—By Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

A British art dealer shared a video highlighting the restoration of a 200 year-old oil painting. As restorers removed 200 years of varnish, the original vibrant colors reemerged. The dealer, Philip Mould, described the process as a restoration expert carefully used a brush to remove the yellowing build up. He was amazed at the change as the area under the chin and portions of the woman’s dress were cleaned. He shared a photo of the uncleaned image of the mysterious women in red for comparison. Mould said, “All we know is she is 36 and it was painted 1618.” He added,”A remarkable Jacobean re-emergence after 200 years of yellowing varnish.” –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

2 Corinthians 13:9 (CSB) “We rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. We also pray that you become fully mature.”

Workers at a Tennessee recycling hub found a class ring from the local high school while materials and turned it over to officials hoping to return it to the owner. They found the ring was inscribed with the name Joel Fong, so they went through local records to locate the man and get in touch with him. They discovered that Fong now lived in Texas. He told them that he had lost the ring 15 years earlier while working at the local grocery store. When informed the ring was on the way back to him, Fong said, “There’s still good people out there. Somebody took time out of their day to do that and it’s just a blessing. Everybody needs to keep doing the same. Little things like that just gives people hope.” –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2020/06/10/Long-lost-class-ring-found-at-Tennessee-recycling-center/6901591818059/

A cat brought into a shelter in Las Vegas was reunited with his family after being missing for ten years. The cat, named Logan, disappeared from a friend’s home and Heather Whitener said they were shocked to receive a call this week from the Animal Foundation saying the animal had been found. The Foundation said the cat had been brought in as a stray and they were able to get contact information from his microchip. The Foundation said microchipping pets dramatically increase the chances of a reunion when animals go missing. After getting her cat back, Whitener told a local TV station, “He’s a very loving cat. As soon as I started scratching right here, his favorite spot, he’s like, OK.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

A visitor to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art helped find a missing piece of the “Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle” exhibition. While the woman was at the museum, she noticed that the artworks in the Lawrence exhibition looked like a painting she had seen in her neighbor’s apartment. She was intrigued to read that five of the panels examining early American history were missing from the collection. She spoke to her neighbors who told her that they had purchased the painting at a charity auction in 1960. When asked, the couple agreed to loan the painting to the museum, allowing Panel 16 to rejoin the rest of the series for the first time in decades. The owner said, “I felt I owed it both to the artist and the Met to allow them to show the painting.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

German police retrieved a $340,000 painting that was accidentally left behind by a businessman flying to Israel. Authorities said the man notified them after arriving in Tel Aviv when he discovered the painting by surrealist painter Yves Tanguy had been left in Dusseldorf. The man was so distraught that he asked his son to fly to Germany and help search for it. Authorities contacted a cleaning company and finally located the painting, which was packed in flat cardboard box, in the bottom of a wastepaper recycling bin. They were able to quickly restore it to the man who had misplaced it. —Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2020/12/11/Valuable-painting-left-behind-at-airport-found-in-the-paper-recycling/3431607705441

Danny Griffiths, who lives in Hobart, Tasmania said he hopes he will get his lost surfboard back after losing it in 2017. Griffiths said the board got away from him after riding a huge wave and being forced to jump off. Though he and his friends searched for several hours, they never found it. Griffiths learned about the fate of his board when tourists from northern Queensland mentioned to some local surfers that their sons found a surfboard floating in the water. They fished the board out of the water of the coast of Queensland’s Magnetic Island nearly 1,700 miles away. The board was encrusted with barnacles, and a local oceanographer speculated that based on currents in the area, the board traveled east from Tasmania, north through the Pacific Ocean past New Zealand and then curved back into Queensland. Griffiths has made arrangements to have the board returned to him because it appears to be in good condition. He said, “Every board I’ve had built, to try and copy it, has never been the same and never worked the same. If there’s no holes in it, hopefully it’s still surfable.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Officials at a British cathedral said a book that recently arrived in the mail may have been checked out from the facility’s library more than 300 years ago. Reverend Canon Keith Farrow, vice dean and canon missioner at Sheffield Cathedral said the book arrived in the mail along with a note explaining that a woman in Wales found the book among the belongings of her godmother after she passed away. Her godmother requested the book be returned to Sheffield. Reverend Farrow said the book is dated 1709 and has an inscription claiming that it belonged to the lending library at Sheffield Church. He joked that the overdue fee could buy a new roof for the cathedral, but he promised the family there would be no fine. He added, “So this little book, just over 300 years ago, left the library. Now it’s come back home so it’s a joy to have this little jewel back here in Sheffield Cathedral.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/07/09/britain-Sheffield-Cathedral-library-book-300-years-overdue/9381625857284