@mitchellsolarek @sydneysolarek wow! Way to go Sydney!
@nataliegrant

I love Mercy Ministries & Nancy Alcorn

I love Mercy Ministries. I love Nancy Alcorn. I love who they are, what they’re about and Who they represent. If you are not familiar with Mercy Ministries, let me introduce you. Just a little over 25 years ago, Nancy Alcorn opened the doors of their first mercy home in Louisiana. They now have locations in Louisiana, Tennessee, Missouri and around the world. They offer hope and healing to desperate young women who are seeking freedom from life-controlling problems such as: eating disorders, depression, self-harm, physical and sexual abuse, and unplanned pregnancy. Their Bible-based program is free-of-charge and Mercy Ministries has now served over 2000 girls.

As many of you know, I am a former bulimic. My heart is especially drawn to the work of Mercy Ministries because of their desire to help girls who struggle with little to know self-esteem. Their educated and qualified staff does this through helping the girls see themselves through the eyes of Christ. I come in contact with girls every weekend at the Revolve Tour who are cutters or have an eating disorder. I have also met several girls who have come through the program at Mercy Ministries and their lives have been changed. I have seen the light in their eyes as they tell me about the freedom they are now experiencing.

I thank God for Nancy Alcorn. She has made great sacrifices, choosing to remain single and forego having a family in order to be married to this ministry. But because of this, she has had a part in seeing God transform thousands of lives. It couldn’t have been easy, but I am grateful for Nancy Alcorn. And I am so grateful for the work of Mercy Ministries.

If you are a young woman in need of help, or if you would like to learn how you can support this awesome work, please visit www.mercyministries.org. Check it out.

Love,
Natalie

November 6, 2008  •  102 Comments  •  Posted in Blog, Love Revolution, Music, News, Travel
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  • http://brittnicole.com britt

    nat, you are truly amazing.

  • http://jacqui-l.blogspot.com/ Jacqui

    Thanks Natalie, for just being you. I’ve heard you mention Mercy Ministries before, and everytime I go into Gloria Jeans coffee shop and I see their donation box, I think of you and I put money in :)
    Thankfully I managed to overcome whatever I went through without needing that kind of help, but I realise many people need more and what organisations like this one do, can make a wonderful difference. I hope you know that you make a difference too. Reading your book changed the way I think about a lot of things- despite being a Christian I really had no idea that God could be the answer to my problems. Ok, I’m done being all sentimental now LOL.

  • Dave

    It’s amazing to see how God has used Nancy Alcorn to help all of these girls in the program at Mercy Ministries. Reading about Nancy Alcorn not being married really made me think about what it says in 1 Corinthians 7:38-40. It makes a lot of sense!

  • emmy

    i think you might be the most amazing person in the world…thank you for your music and this blog too…there are times i think i won’t make it and you are so encoraging!!

  • http://www.roxannekristina.blogspot.com roxanne kristina

    Thanks N, for introducing us to them. We are following. Love your heart! It’s raining in the Pacific Northwest today. But the leaves are still on the trees so it is pretty. Hope all is well in TN!

    Blessings,
    R

  • Rebekah

    Natalie, I have heard you talk about Mercy Ministries and so I went to their website and later met a graduate of theirs whose life really was changed and no longer struggles with anorexia… I just think it is the greatest and I hope that one day I can do something as amazing as Nancy Alcorn has done. Thanks for highlighting such a great example of a Christian woman who is rocking the world with her faith and courage!! ROCK ON, NANCY and NATALIE!

  • Cassie

    Thats amazing. And thank you for introducing us to them. I have come across so much my friends have been cutters and some have had an eating disorder and sadly i think they still do. But they wont get help so i cant really do anything. I have excperience this through my best friend now who used to cut herself and it was hard for her and me. but she has pulled through and that is why she is still my best friend she knows now that if she has a problem she can come to me or my favorite person my band teacher and we can help her through it. I was lucky enough to have people… no wait heros who have saved me from doing this. When i was in 9th grade i came so close to not being here anymore but i had people who got me help and that is when i went through counsiling for a year and a half. People in this world are amazing and i thank god every day for putting these people in my life. Without them i swear i would not be here today =]They saved my life by leading me to the lord. Thank you for giving my the opportunity to share this… i love this ministry=] Its phenominal just like you

    And you are also a gigantic blessing in my life…. Where do you think i heard those words that made me know how it feels to be held=] Thank you… You along with god and other people helped heal my wounds and that is why you will always and forever have a place in my heart… God bless you and your family… Have fun in philly =]

    -Cassie

  • Ali

    I wholeheartedly agree with you when you say you’re thankful for the work done through Nancy Alcorn and Mercy Ministries. God is using and blessing this ministry of His abundantly, and seeing Him change others’ lives through this one minsitry is such a blessing. I’m so glad Nancy Alcorn heeded to His call when He chose her to lead it. Thanks for the post. :)

  • Debra Farris

    I thank God for people like Nancy Alcorn. I hope and pray that God sends more people into the harvest in these last days to help the younger generation with their struggles. May that be the prayers of all christians.
    Be blesse Nancy and Natalie.

    Debra

  • Becca Hadzor

    Dear Natalie,

    Thank you for being so committed to being a voice of hope and positive change. And thank you for supporting such a wonderful place like Mercy Ministries and continuing to accurately reveal the heart of Nancy Alcorn. I’ve been a volunteer for Mercy for just over 2 years and have seen nothing but positive, Christ-centered change in women and young girls that are hurting and desire a true life transformation. I’m so grateful for God’s grace and his abundant love. Where would each of us be without it?

    Thanks for your ministry and God bless!
    Becca

  • http://MercyMinistries Malory

    Natalie I never knew you were a former bulimic. I freakin love your music. Your songs got me through alot while I was in a secular treatment program. I cry everytime I hear “In better hands.” Knowing God has set me in a safe place overwhelms my heart with joy and also feeling his love is so amazing. I heard of Mercy Ministries one day in church and wrote it down. After that I did some research on and it have just fell in love with what Nancy and everyone is doing. I really would like to work there one day, it’s close to my heart. I have alot of friends across the United States who are in addictions. These girls come to me for advice and over and over I have referred them to Mercy. The fact is you can not get over anything by yourself and your own will power, God is the answer and I believe Mercy Ministries really reflects this.

  • Jodi

    Natalie~

    I am a graduate from Mercy and I had the honor of hearing you speak at the 25th Anniversary Celebration! You are such an inspiration and I was touched by what you had to share!! I am forever grateful for Nancy Alcorn and Mercy Ministries… I am finally learning how to live and not merely survive!! Thank you, Natalie being a role model… and for all your love and support of Mercy and Nancy!

  • http://www.doorofhope4teens.com Door of Hope 4 Teens

    Nancy Alcorn is truly a blessing to many many teens and young adults. I thank the Lord that Mercy Ministries continues to lift up the name of Jesus ….as these young women are discovering how much their Heavenly Father loves them.

    Blessings to all of you,
    Debra

  • Karen

    Nancy Alcorn has been a blessing to so many young women with Mercy Ministries. She has answered her true calling and my prayers are with her and you for all of your good works. God Bless Mercy Ministries and everyone involved.

  • Lindsay

    Natalie, your testimony helped me overcome so much in the past few years. I am eternally grateful to God for putting some a great hero in my life- you helped me beat my own pattern of disordered eating.

    BTW, I hope you have an awesome time in Philly Revolve tonight! I wish I was there :(

  • Melissa

    I am SO incredibly grateful to God for Nancy Alcorn and Mercy Ministries! My life, joy and freedom were given back to me during my stay at Mercy and it’s been so amazing to see what the Lord continues to do through Nancy.

  • Heather

    It is so encouraging that you support Mercy Ministries. If it were not for Mercy Ministries and God’s amazing grace I would be dead today. I am a graduate of the program. God rescued me from the hands of death. I was extremely ill from an eating disorder, severly depression, anxious, hopeless and a cutter. I had been sexually abused growing up and carried a heavy load of shame and guilt. No matter how many times I was hospitalized or seen pychologists, dieticians and psychitrists, I just got worse. I believe God does use these people too, but it was God who wanted to set me free! And who the Son sets free is Free in Deed! I am happy and healthy now. Mercy Ministries is free and you are treated like God’s princesses not the label the world puts on you. I encourage anyone who needs help to check them out. God loves you so much! Thank you Natalie for sharing your gift of music and your heart for mercy with everyone. And thank you Nancy Alcorn, for following the voice of God and loving us girls:)
    Heather

  • Jamie B

    Natalie***

    I graduated from Mercy Ministries in Nashville TN, and you came to hang out with us a couple times.. Youre so honest and real. Your transformation in Christ is so visible, and is so encouraging to me and other Mercy girls. Your testimony made such an impact on my life. You helped me so much with overcoming an eating disorder and overcoming not feeling like i was good enough. WHen I heard you speak for the first time, God spoke through you to every girl in the room. And I know he is still doing a work in you, and with all of us. I thank God for you and your testimony…. Thank you for being so real and God led.

    -Jamie Bell

  • http://kphil1.blogspot.com Kerri

    God has consistently put Mercy Ministries on my heart. I hope to intern there next year and carry out there beautiful mission. Thank you so much for giving, them and Nancy Alcorn the recognition they deserve. May god Bless all his children with a light like Mercy Ministries shines. =)

  • http://myspace.com/jaydee3509 justice

    natalie. your music is great…
    miss nancy alcorn {with the help of God} saved my life… mercy ministries is an AWESOME place for women to get their life back!!! WHOOOOOOO!!!

  • Annie

    I’m a Mercy Ministries grad and couldn’t agree more with this post! Nancy Alcorn, along with the rest of the staff at Mercy (who receive far too little recognition for their hard work!) have opened themselves up to become willing vessels that God uses to transform lives and bring beauty from ashes. I was sexually abused, grew up in a dysfunctional home, and eventually went on to battle an eating disorder, self-harm, substance abuse with alcohol, promiscuity and severe depression for ten years. I would not, and really should not, be alive today but for the grace of God and Mercy Ministries. Thank you, Natalie, for your support of this ministry… it is daily changing lives and God is using it moment by moment to break the chains that bind so many of today’s young women. Were it not for Mercy, I would not be walking in the freedom I know today.

  • MooshNY

    natalie, i had no idea you used to be bulimic… i was recently introduced to your music (although i’ve been a christian for many, many, MANY years), and it has been a tremendous blessing to me; especially “safe” and “our hope endures.”

    anyway, i went through the mercy ministries program, and it was AMAZING! God is so awesome, and although i still struggle, and i’m going back into another program in january, i will not forget what i learned from nancy alcorn and the staff at the home i was in.

    i learned the most important thing i’ve ever learned while at mercy ministries… i learned to love myself.

  • Natasha

    I am a graduate from Mercy Ministries and am so incredibly grateful for Nancy Alcorn and her vision for this ministry. God used this ministry to save my life and I daily praise God for my 6 life transforming months that I had there.

  • http://www.alltheinternet.com nina bedgood (Davis)

    I love Mercy Ministeries it was the best thing that could have happened to me, with out them my daughter woud not have had a chance in life.i placed her up for adoption in 1988 she is now 20 to loving parents.Hoping someday to reuinite with her by the grace of God.Amber has beeen talking wiht me from Nashville and it has realy been helping me get by these days. there hasnt been a day that went and goes byt that i dont think about her and wonder how she is doing and what she looks like.God Bless alll of the MERCY STAFF for reaching out to the girls .

  • http://www.alltheinternet.com nina bedgood (Davis)

    Lord Jesus, tonight
    Hear these words that I pray
    Take care of my children
    This I must say
    Guide them through
    Each step of life
    Joys and laughter
    Heartache and strife
    Teach them well
    And hold them close
    Carry them through
    When they need you the most
    And when I go
    To heaven above
    Surround them always
    With your everlasting love

  • Renee

    I couldn’t agree more – Mercy Ministries literally saved my life. I am forever grateful for the support of Nancy Alcorn and her vision to see young women freed from the struggles that bind them. I had the privilege of hearing you speak at the 25th Anniversary Celebration this year and your words encouraged me. Through the biblical program of Mercy, along with the love, grace, and encouragement of the staff, God transformed my life and made me new.

    Thank you, Natalie, for supporting Mercy Ministries and the work of Nancy Alcorn. May God bless you abundantly.

  • Nicki

    Natalie,

    I am a graduate from Mercy Ministries and I couldn’t agree with your blog more. It is amazing what Mercy and Nancy Alcorn has done for me. I went to Mercy struggling with past sexual abuse issues and bulimia and cutting. I now am doing wonderful. I love my life and am now have a son that God has blessed me with. I owe a lot to Nancy Alcorn and Mercy Ministries. I would not be here if it were not for them. Thanks for spreading the word about Mercy.

  • Carla

    Hi Natalie,
    I love the fact that you are honest. I am a former resident of Mercy Ministries as well. I had a baby at seventeen and chose to keep her. She is now eighteen years old. Mercy Ministries did change my life and introduced me to a God that loved me unconditionally. I’d never experienced that kind of a relationship before. Nancy Alcorn has dedicated her life to God’s work and reached so many girls. Keep up the good work and stay strong.

  • http://www.happeningswiththeneals.blogspot.com Lisa Neal

    Natalie, it’s awesome that you support Nancy and Mercy Ministries. I am a graduate (I graduated in 1995) of the program. It totally changed and transformed my life. I went from being a person who didn’t care about life and wanted to die to a person who now loves God and life. I am now married with a 6 month old son. God has blessed my life so much. I am so thankful to Nancy and Mercy Ministries because the life I’m living today is all because of the help I received there. Mercy Ministries is an awesome program and I urge any young woman who needs help to check them out. Their lives will never be the same again if they choose Mercy. I praise God for all the work that is going on at Mercy. Lives are being changed and saved at Mercy Ministries. Thanks for your support, Natalie, of a program that is changing lives.

  • Kacy Aycock

    Thank you for sharing your heart for Mercy Ministries. I am a graduate of Mercy Ministries and so gratfull to the ministry. It truly does make a difference.

  • http://myspace.com/meant4more Donna Leigh

    You are so right Natalie. The work of Mercy Ministries and Nancy Alcorn is priceless and so desperately needed in these generations now and the ones to come. I myself am a Mercy Ministries graduate of 2006. I have been walking out my freedom with so much hope and strength for the younger generations that come alongside me. It is such an empowering ministry. I would not be here today if it was not for Nancy Alcorn’s life-changing decision to build the dream that God had shown her. I have spoken at conferences in my home church, I have discipled young women from my church and the community, and all these things that God has allowed me to do would never have been possible if Nancy had never opened the doors of Mercy Ministries. I am a life that has and will continue to speak countless words to young women about change, about love and hope, and about having the peace of Christ when all the world is a whirlwind. There is peace in the midst of the storm. That peace, for me, was and is Mercy Ministries. For those of you reading, if you’ve never heard of Mercy MInistries you need to check it out. This is a huge movement to “restore the years the locusts have stolen” in the lives of so many hurting and desperate young women and to position them for greater purposes than this world has yet to see. Mighty things are happening in this ministry and you need to get on board with what God is doing for this generation and the ones to come. Praise be to God. His mercies are new every morning.

  • Shannan

    I am sooo glad to see the exposure Nancy Alcorn and Mercy Ministries are receiving. I am a graduate from Mercy and I say with all sincerity that neither my son or myself would be alive today if it wasn’t for Nancy. I found myself confiding in a former resident that I had scheduled an abortion and my own death for the next day – that next day Nancy called me and had me on a plane within a week. My son is 7 and I have learned how to live. Thanks to the Lord’s mercy and Nancy who is willing to hear from the Lord and love young women who have lost all hope.

  • Brittany Marie

    Natalie!
    I love your music! Many of your songs have inspired me on a daily basis, especially “I will not be moved” the other day I heard it on our local christian radio station, K-Love and I knew I had to go buy the CD! You are an amazing woman! Keep doing what you do!
    God Bless!
    Romans 12:2

  • Brittany Marie

    Natalie,
    I love you and your music! You are truly an inspritation to girls who are in pain and need the Lord. Thank you for what you do!
    God Bless
    Romans 12:2

  • http://www.myspace.com/andsowedance Kristin

    I love mercy ministries and Nancy Alcorn, too! I graduated Mercy 5 years ago, and through my time there God has forever changed my life. He is my love, my life, my world…and my freedom! I love and appreciate your realness, Natalie, and I absolutely love hearing you talk and also your music. You are a beautiful, precious woman!

  • Rebecca

    My daughter is a graduate of Mercy Ministries. I love Mercy! I got on line to see when you would be in our area and accidentally found this blog. I wanted to purchase tickets for her Christmas Gift. Thank you for supporting Mercy Ministries. They would not be able to help these young women without the support of wonderful individuals like you! It is so amazing that they get to live at these incredible homes FREE of charge! What a gift! What a blessing from God for those of us who are desperate to help our children.

  • http://None Gerry

    I am a old graduate from Mercy Ministries. I have to say, that I am truly blessed to have had the experience of knowing Nancy Alcorn and watching Mercy grow. Her faithfullness to God’s calling is amazing. I am inspired.
    The person I was when I entered the doors of Mercy are so unlike the me I am today, that I struggle at times to remember what I felt like back then. I see it on the faces of young girls everyday as I work at a public high school. I wish that there were enough Mercy facilities around for every girl that has that empty, hurt and longing look to have the opportunities I did. God Bless you Gerry

  • Arianne

    Natalie,

    Thank you for partnering with Mercy Ministries and getting the word out about it. This ministry is a treasure and more people need to know about it, not just in America but in the rest of the world as well. As a graduate, I can attest and say that at Mercy Ministries, I found hope, healing, and freedom- all of which i’m still experiencing today! I don’t think I would be here today if it wasn’t for Nancy Alcorn and her obedience to God. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for Mercy. Mercy restored my dreams back from where I thought that they would never happen. God is faithful and i’m currently doing one of my dreams which is going to college to major in graphic design. I’m hoping within the next few years, i’ll be able to do a graphic design internship at Mercy and/or be one of their graphic designers. I am forever grateful to Nancy Alcorn and the work that she has done for this ministry.

  • Amanda

    Mercy Ministries is definitely active in transforming the lives of young women. Having interned there, I got to see personally, just how much these girls were being transformed. Mrs. Nancy Alcorn had a vision and she ran with it, and now she has an amazing harvest to show for it.

  • Kathryn

    Sweet THanks so much for talking about mercy.
    Kat

  • Michelle M

    Natalie, Thank you so much for getting the word out about Mercy Ministries. I am a 2003 graduate of the Lousiana home, and am still walking in TOTAL FREEDOM today. There is no way that I would be alive today had it not been for Mercy Ministries. I am so grateful for Nancy Alcorn’s dedication to Mercy and to all of the girls past, present, and future who walked/will walk through the doors of one of the Mercy homes broken, and who will walk out of the home totally transformed by the unconditional love of Jesus Christ.

  • Tom T

    There is not another story in the world that can match Nancy’s and Mercy Ministries. For every person that has gone through the program another story has begun. I am in total amazement of Nancy’s faith. She has allowed God to use her talents in the most needed way. God’s love flows through her and this ministry. Thank you Nancy for our daughter’s life and a wonderful Grandson (who is a Senior) this year. I know God has much more in the next 25 year.
    God Bless

  • Sarah V.

    Well I am soon approaching my secound year anniversary of graduating Mercy Ministries in Tenn. Although I did not go there origanially for an unplanned pregnancy that is what ended up being revealed to me while in the St. Louis home and that is when I first got to experience Nancy’s real love for any girl because she went out of her way to transfer me to the Tenn. home so that I could still get the help I needed and even more now that i was facing a pregnancy. I can honestly say without Mercy Ministries and Nancy Alcorn I would not be the mother I am now to my daughter. They also connected me with so many people as I was going into this parenting job alone and with no support at home so they made sure I had everything I could need for my child before she even arrived. If you are a girl out there reading this and you need help please don’t be afraid to check out Mercy. They are like no other place as all they do is Love the girls and let God do the real work. While I was there I came up with a saying that when you go to Mercy you are broken when you go in, but whole when you come out, sad going in joyful coming out and fearful going in but peace filled coming out. Thank you Mercy and Nancy for your help and thank you Natalie for putting this on your site as I know some girls or even there families may see this where as they would never go to Mercys site.

  • Cailee

    Natalie,
    I graduated from Mercy Ministries in Feb. of this year. Mercy absolutely changed my life. If it wasn’t for Nancy and all of the staff I wouldn’t be alive today. Nancy and all of the staff members are my heros. They let God use them as a light for the young girls that are living in darkness. Nancy and all of the staff hoped for me when I had no hope and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. For that I will always be grateful. I am a completly different person than I used to be!! I absolutely love Mercy Ministries and everything they stand for.
    I had the privelege of seeing you at the 25th and it was amazing. Thank you so much for supporting Mercy. If it wasn’t for people like you, that give and support Nancy wouldn’t be able to do what she does.Because of your giving you have a huge part in the changed lives. YOu are amazing and one of my favorite singers. I love you!!

  • http://www.angelfire.com/wi/katey Katey Ratz

    I am soooo thankful for Nancy and the staff at Mercy. I was there at Nashville in 2000. Crisis pregnancy, bulimic and a cutter. If it weren’t for the Nancy and the help at Mercy I would probably be dead and so would my birth daughter Haley. It is an awesome ministry!! Great one to support financially and through prayer. Been in treatment many times before Mercy. Mercy was by far the best! Love ya Nancy (and Mercy staff)!! God bless!!

  • rachael

    It is beautiful the way God works through us. Mercy Ministries is God given. Thank you to Nancy for listening to God, and following his plan.

  • Katie

    My life is forever changed as a result of Mercy Ministries. I graduated 5 years ago, and I have experienced more life than I ever dreamed possible. Life is so worth fighting for! I am forever grateful to Nancy Alcorn, the Mercy staff, and Mercy’s supporters! Thank you, Natalie, for being vulnerable and for supporting the mission of Mercy!
    God bless!!

  • Patty Prihoda

    Dear Natalie,

    Thank you so much for publicly recognizing Nancy Alcorn and Mercy Ministries. Nancy’s loving heart for thousands of girls, shown each year through Mercy homes throughout the world, is not honored as it should be. I am a 2007 Mercy Graduate and was truly and permanently freed from emotional and psycological issues while staying at the Nashville home. Again, Natalie, thank you for using your voice to speak up for Nancy and Mercy, helping girls all over the world to find freedom and complete healing in Jesus Christ alone.

    Under His Wings,
    Patty

  • Alicia K

    WOW you are AMAZING i fell in love with your story and your music when i was a resident at mercy last year. I have the oopurtunity to meet you at a benifit for human trafficing. You are an INSPIRATION to not only me but all women. YOu have been such a lift in spirits when i am having a hard time. Your story, is so much like mine and when I see how God has transformed YOU I regain hope and thank God for his Amazing Grace. THANK you for letting the world know about the program that has changed so many lives! Blessing to you ALWAYS!!!

  • Autumn

    Wow these stories are amazing. I am also a Mercy graduate from the Louisiana home 2005. My life has changed so much since I went through those doors. Thank you Natalie and Nancy so much for a second chance.

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