Hannah’s and Connor’s Stories
Hear the stories of two children, Hannah Sullivan and Connor Deal, who both lost their lives to illness. Their parents, Brad and Jill Sullivan and Ron and Nan Deal, share the stories of their precious children and the hope they have in the Lord of seeing them again.
Show Notes
About the Host
About the Guest
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Dave and Ann Wilson
Dave and Ann Wilson are hosts of FamilyLife Today®, FamilyLife’s nationally-syndicated radio program. Dave and Ann have been married for more than 38 years and have spent the last 33 teaching and mentoring couples and parents across the country. They have been featured speakers at FamilyLife’s Weekend to Remember® marriage getaway since 1993 and have also hosted their own marriage conferences across the country. Cofounders of Kensington Church—a national, multicampus church that hosts more than 14,000 visitors every weekend—the Wilsons are the creative force behind DVD teaching series Rock Your Marriage and The Survival Guide To Parenting, as well as authors of the recently released book Vertical Marriage (Zondervan, 2019). Dave is a graduate of the International School of Theology, where he received a Master of Divinity degree. A Ball State University Hall of Fame quarterback, Dave served the Detroit Lions as chaplain for 33 years. Ann attended the University of Kentucky. She has been active alongside Dave in ministry as a speaker, writer, small-group leader, and mentor to countless wives of professional athletes. The Wilsons live in the Detroit area. They have three grown sons, CJ, Austin, and Cody, three daughters-in-law, and a growing number of grandchildren.
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Brad and Jill Sullivan
Brad and Jill’s daughter, Hannah, went to Heaven on February 26, 2009, at the age of 17. She battled her brain cancer for one year with grace and without fear, accepting it as “her storm” … her opportunity to bring glory to God. Brad is a school superintendent and Jill is a speech pathologist. They enjoy hiking, kayaking, and spending time with their daughter Bethany.
Nan Deal
Nan Deal is the co-founder of Connor's Song, a non-profit organization that she and her husband founded in honor of their son Connor Lee Deal who died at the age of 12 in 2009. In cooperation with the Touch A Life Foundation, Connor's Song run Connor Creative Art Center in Ghana, West Africa, a facility that provides hope and healing through art therapy for almost 100 trafficked children rescued from the fishing industry in Ghana. Nan, a school teacher, and her husband, Ron, live in Little Rock,...more
Ron Deal
Ron L. Deal is one of the most widely read and viewed experts on blended families in the country. He is Director of FamilyLife Blended® for FamilyLife®, founder of Smart Stepfamilies™, and the author and Consulting Editor of the Smart Stepfamily Series of books including the bestselling Building Love Together in Blended Families: The 5 Love Languages® and Becoming Stepfamily Smart (with Dr. Gary Chapman), The Smart Stepfamily: 7 Steps to a Healthy Family, and ...more
Hear the stories of two children, Hannah Sullivan and Connor Deal, who both lost their lives to illness. Their parents, Brad and Jill Sullivan and Ron and Nan Deal, share the stories of their precious children and the hope they have in the Lord of seeing them again.
Hannah’s and Connor’s Stories
Bob: Sorrow, and loss, and grief are a part of life on earth; and yet, as the Bible reminds us as Christians, we do not grieve as those who have no hope. We still grieve, but our hearts are comforted by the fact that we have a hope in Christ.
Ron and Nan Deal, Brad and Jill Sullivan have shared with us today their experience as parents who have walked through the unbearable loss of a child. I’m thinking back to an interview that Dave and Ann Wilson did a month ago with Levi and Jennie Lusko about the loss of a child. In fact, they’ve written on that in a book called Through the Eyes of a Lion: Facing Impossible Pain, Finding Incredible Power. We have that book available in our FamilyLife Today Resource Center; you can go to FamilyLifeToday.com to order a copy, or you can call 1-800-FL-TODAY. Again, the website is FamilyLifeToday.com; look for Levi Lusko’s book, Through the Eyes of a Lion. Or call to order at 1-800-358-6329; that’s 1-800-“F” as in family, “L” as in life, and then the word, “TODAY.”
By the way, if you’d like more information about the retreats that the Sullivans host for grieving parents, you can go to our website, FamilyLifeToday.com. We have a link to the Sullivans’ website, and all of the information is available for you there.
I know some of you have been thinking, since you heard us talking about it this week, about the possibility of a 40-day media fast. You’re thinking: “I don’t know if I can do that,” “I don’t know if I want to do that,” “I don’t know if I think that’s a good idea for me.” Well, if you are still on the fence, we’d love to send you a copy of Wendy Speake’s book, The 40-Day Social Media Fast. You can hear her story, and she’ll walk you through the process. We’re making the book available this week to anyone who can help support the ongoing ministry of FamilyLife Today.
Every time you donate, here’s what you’re actually giving to: you’re giving to changed lives; changed marriages; families and legacies that are being strengthened and established as people listen to this daily program, this podcast—they’re coming to our website, FamilyLifeToday.com; they’re using our resources, attending our events—and you make that happen when you support FamilyLife Today.
Make a donation today online at FamilyLifeToday.com, or call to donate at 1-800-358-6329; 1-800-FL-TODAY. When you do, ask for your copy of Wendy Speake’s book, The 40-Day Social Media Fast. We’ll send it to you with our thanks for your partnership with us in strengthening and establishing marriages and families all around the world.
We hope you can be with us, again, tomorrow when we’re going to hear more from Brad and Jill Sullivan about how God prompted them to comfort other grieving parents with the comfort they have received from Him. They’ll share about the retreats that they’re doing for couples tomorrow. I hope you can tune in for that.
On behalf of our hosts, Dave and Ann Wilson, I’m Bob Lepine. Join us, again, tomorrow for another edition of FamilyLife Today.
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