CHOOSE HEALING seeks to bring men and women to a place of healing over the guilt and shame they feel from a choice they regret from their past. While the world talks about a woman's right to choose, we want everyone to know of the choice God offers us - the choice to embrace forgiveness. Healing is a choice. After our first event we felt the Lord leading us to expand to include those who lost children, not through their own choice, but due to other circumstances. .We ask for your prayers for this next event and our hearts desire to follow as the Lord leads.
Keith Branson
I am a part of “Choose Healing” because there are many people; women and men, who carry pain, guilt, or shame of abortion. I am committed to helping others get relief from their past. I have been there; I am the father of five, but two of them were aborted. I know the numbness in the moment of decision, the shock of being told after it was done, and the pain of the aftermath.
I have experienced what many men have in the post-abortion days and years that follow: denial, irritability, negativity, regret, remorse, guilt, loss, anger, criticism, escape into drugs, alcohol and even ministry activities to try to manage painful feelings of sadness. I attempted to deeply repress feelings of loss and pain. To face them created a sense of weakness and vulnerability. Sound familiar about anyone you know? I will be the first to acknowledge there are many joys and blessings in my life story. Yet the results of covered up, unaddressed losses have brought tremendous challenges. I speak, coach, and lead retreats, conferences and workshops on a variety of topics including conflict management, marriage and family, aging, care-giving and post-abortion recovery. keithbranson.com |
Rona Branson
Since my teen years I have cared deeply about the abortion issue in our country. However like many, I have had a difficult time knowing the best way to stand up for this issue. I wish abortion were not so readily available and I wish there were a more balanced approach to educating people about abortion. But where I have felt the strongest call to action is to come along side people who are either facing the choice of abortion or are trying to live with the choice they made -- either life after an abortion or giving birth to a child in less than ideal circumstances.
I have grieved with many women who have regretted their choice to abort. And I know that many men are hurting too. Though I have not experienced that pain personally, I can help carry others' burdens and hopefully guide them to embrace God's grace and forgiveness for their choices and circumstances. I believe God wants to heal people from the hurt and emptiness that the epidemic of abortion has caused in our country. This event and ones like it are helping people go from pain and shame to freedom and confidence in Christ. If I have anything to offer in service to help people find that freedom, I want to give it. Rona is an educator and education consultant by day and an encourager, coach and teacher when ministry opportunities arise. ronabranson.com |
Ron Gleaves
My name is Ron Gleaves and I am part of Choose Healing because I have experienced both the pain of choosing abortion and the forgiveness that only Jesus Christ can give. My hope is that the Choose Healing conference will bring both men and women closer to understanding what this healing can mean to them.
I have been a pastor for twenty years and am currently serving at Northside Baptist Church. Along with this I teach 9th grade Bible at Zion Christian Academy. I am married to Sheila Gleaves and we have three children. |
Doug Griffin
I’m a part of "Choose Healing" because I want other guys to know that there is no unforgivable sin. I made a choice in my past to end the life of what would have been my first born.
While I know that God has forgiven me for that sin – I want to make sure and shout that forgiveness from the roof tops so that enemy does not a foothold in the lives of other men, and women, who have similar choices. During the day I provide for my family through my job as morning radio host on 94FM The Fish – “Doug & Jaci, your family friendly morning show”. |
Sheryl Griffin
I am involved in Choose Healing because I understand the guilt and shame that is associated with the choice of abortion. My story involves not one abortion, but three. It has taken me a long time to embrace forgiveness; forgiving myself and others involved in the decision(s), and embracing the true forgiveness that God offers. I share my story in hope of helping others to break loose of the bondage of guilt and shame associated with the choice of abortion.
Sheryl Griffin is an Author, Encourager, Wife, and Mom. In 2007, Sheryl was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and panic/anxiety. This diagnosis came as a result from a series of severe panic attacks. Along with her desire to get to the root of her issues, she began to understand the power that guilt, shame, and fear had on her life. Some of the topics in Sheryl’s life include; alcoholic parents, abortion, an abusive first marriage, and divorce. Sheryl is a speaker who offers encouragement and hope to her audience. She speaks with passion and confidence gained from her journey in search of HOPE! One day at a time, One moment at a time, There is always hope! SherylGriffin.com |
Victoria Koloff
Victoria Koloff is a leader in post abortion recovery counseling. Her expertise comes from first hand experience. Twenty five years ago, Victoria was a divorced, single mother of two daughters when she found out she was pregnant by her then boyfriend and made the decision to have an abortion in the sixth week of her pregnancy. Six months later, she chose abortion for the second time.
These decisions forever changed the course of Victoria’s life. She became an over-protective mother to her two surviving children, found herself in abusive relationships, all the while as her self-worth deteriorated. For years, Victoria was convinced she didn’t deserve true happiness because of her decision to take the lives of her unborn children. She decided to become a volunteer at her local crisis pregnancy center, convinced if she could help others from making that same fateful decision, she could stop feeling the guilt and shame from her own decision to have an abortion. After volunteering for six months, Victoria confessed this past to the center director. She then realizxed she was known as "post abortive", a man or woman who has an abortion in their past. At the urging of the center director, Victoria participated in post-abortion recovery. That decision changed her life in ways she never imagined. She found healing, forgiveness and a new beginning through the post abortion counseling. She is now the Executive Director of two pregnancy centers, a FOXSports Radio Host, Author, Public Speaker and Post Abortion Counselor. She has spoken around the world to thousands of men, women and teenagers. Victoria is single, a mother to four daughters and a grandmother to one. She resides in the Nashville, TN area. |