about ann

Ann passed away on March 1, 2014. A few words about our dear friend:

Ann Kiemel began her ministry as an ordinary girl who was determined to reach her neighborhood for Jesus. She penned her first book, I’m Out to Change My World, while still in her twenties. Millions of readers were moved by her simple faith and her desire to share Jesus in everyday, divine appointments. Despite the lack of any formal publicity, her first book became a bestseller through word-of-mouth.
Ann went on to Author several best-selling books, speaking in coliseums across the country and appearing as a guest speaker on Christian television programs such as the 700 Club, PTL, TBN, and Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power. Ann has been featured numerous times on Dr. Dobson’s Focus on the Family radio broadcasts, most recently as an expert on single parenting.

Although Ann shared the stage with some of the most well-known and influential Authors and Speakers in the world, she is remembered most by her humble presentation. Quietly seated on a stool in the middle of a large platform, she would begin…“Hi, I’m Ann. I am one simple woman in the world. I have never shaken hands with the President. I cry. Sometimes I am insecure. I am only one, but I have come tonight to tell you I am one… and Jesus and I and love are out to change the world.” Thousands of attentive fans sat on the edge of their seats, hanging onto her every word, laughing and crying together as Ann declared her love for a personal Lord…One who walked with her and talked with her on lonely days. She ran marathons, singing simple little songs to fellow runners with one overwhelming hope in mind – to win others to Jesus by building bridges to them. Her rare vulnerability and genuine faith in brighter tomorrows inspired others to dream big and believe that with God, they too, could make a difference in their world.

Some people consider Ann Kiemel to be one of the most authentic voices in the Christian community. Others refer to her as a best-selling Author of seventeen books, many of which have been passed on as inspirational classics over the past three decades. Bottom line: Ann was a gifted Author and Speaker who had a pure heart and a vision for what an extraordinary God can do in the lives of ordinary people.

After many years as a successful Speaker and Author, God answered Ann’s yearning for a husband at the age of thirty-five. Several years and many miscarriages later, Ann became the mother of four adopted sons, revolutionizing the way that many viewed open adoption. Soon thereafter, Ann realized that she had become addicted to pain medication. She entered a thirty-day secular rehab program and discovered that her addiction ran even deeper - she had become addicted to the praise and approval of others. She recounts the loneliness, pain, and ultimate deliverance in her seventeenth book, Seduced by Success – No Longer Addicted to Praise, Pills and Performance.

After offering her inadequacies to the Lord and praying for wholeness, Ann had found her way back to her first love. The heart of her ministry had changed, and Jesus was now the star. Her husband, Will Anderson, would battle cancer for eighteen months, and Ann would become a single mother of four priceless treasures. She held a deep conviction that she, alone, needed to be fully present with her children. With this is mind, she quietly walked away from the stage.

In the fall of 2008, Ann’s youngest last son left home. At the same time, a renewed interest in Ann’s ministry began to develop. Hundreds of thousands of loyal readers began searching for her, longing to hear how God had been working in her life, wanting her message to be heard by the next generation. In response to the interest of her fans, a simple blog was created. People from all over the world began chiming in, supporting one of their favorite best-selling Authors from the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Many of her books are available for purchase on Amazon.com and other places.

Ann was the mother of four boys and lived on the West coast in close proximity to her children and her twin sister, Jan.

26 comments:

  1. Anne, God is so good. He brought you to mind this month as I have had my happily - ever - afters become very different than I thought they would be...I searched for you on-line to see if you were allowing Him to use you in my life as you did in my first Christ-days in the late 70s and early 80s. Thank you for your blog and empathy you will share...

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    1. thank you so much for these words.
      very touching. encouraging. very. very.

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  2. Anne...my name is Jason. You spoke in Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada. I was pre-school (perhaps three or four years old). I do not remember what you said but something about your presence stimulated a conversation with my mom. I knelt by my bed and asked Jesus into my heart. My experience of growing theologically and my own development in my relationship with Jesus has been immense. I'm in my forties and in the ministry. Thank you for being one of the ways through which God's grace touched my life. God bless you...

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    1. wow!! what a story. very touching.
      may God's powerful arm be around you
      as you call others to the glorious, hard Race!

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  3. Whenever asked the name of my favorite, most influential author, I have written Ann Kiemel :) I have lost count how many times I have read and reread your books. My favorite is "I'm Out to Change the World". I started reading it again yesterday and had the great idea of looking you up on line. Thank you for being there! I had dreams of motherhood just like you. God blessed me with two precious birth children. At present, neither are in love with Jesus. I read your mother's day blog and agree with you that I must have failed. But praise God that the story is not finished! Please agree with me that both will come back to calling Jesus as Lord. I have always loved you as a person although I only met you once. I am so sorry that you have suffered in this life. I know how this feels too. Love, your friend- Joanne

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    1. oh, i do agree with you, joanne.
      for your sons. for all of mine.
      a mother's greatest weapon is prayer.
      love,ann

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  4. I wrote you a letter several years ago after hearing you on Focus on the Family. Your presence (which includes Jesus) made a big impression on me then as it apparently did to many others. God showed me a ministry in 1975 (though I didn't grasp the fullness of the calling until 1997). Saving lives through presence and awareness of others (loving my neighbor) drives me. You may describe it in different words but the same calling seems to be driving you.

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    1. mike...you were up early when you wrote
      this. smile. your words mean more to me
      than you know. yes, we are warriors together.
      trying, with Jesus, to change the world.
      bless you today in your calling!

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  5. Dear Ann, It was on my 20th birthday, May 21, 1972 that friends invited me to a Nazarene church. There I heard God speak to me for the very first time through you. I accepted the Lord that day. Now I am entering my 30th year of devoted ministry. God has given you such an amazing gift. And to think after all these years of searching, I have found you. Be encouraged. God has and will continue to use you to change and save thousands and thousands and thousands of lives.

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    1. may 21, 1972. the day you found Jesus.
      and i got to be there to join in the celebration!
      what a beautiful story at the end of a long day.
      i am moved beyond words.

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  8. The pure and youthful optimism of our faith is often seasoned by the reality of how sideways life can go despite our prayers and best attempts to steer it otherwise. Ann, I appreciate, respect and can very much relate to your journey, sister. Thank you for the testimony of your life, which highlights the encouraging truth that God is bigger than our disillusionment.

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    1. dan..i can see i'm months old in responding to you.
      please forgive me. i read all comments, but only now
      saw your comment. it really, really meant alot to me.
      beautifully spoken.

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  9. Ann, I was just getting out of bed when "your" Focus on the Family aired a few days ago. Your story was absolutely amazing! I'm not even sixteen yet, but something about your story clicked with me; so amny of my friends tell me about siblings who are expecting children. My friend came to me last week and told me her sister had suffered a miscarriage, and was taking it horribly. I comforted my friend the best i could and sent her home with Bible verse for her sister. The next day, I heard your "speech" on the radio...i emailed a link to my friend, in hopes that her sister would listen to it and become happy again. Thank you so much for being strong. You really aare a support to everyone, even those who don't have your struggles :) praise God for the four sons He's blessed you with! The LORD is with you at all times, don't fear, Ann. Keep doing what you have been doing, and live it all for Jesus, girl! Love you so much! God bless!

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    1. scarlet...sorry to be SO slow in responding. just saw this.
      not even 16...writing me at 7 a.m....and such beautiful words.
      oh, you are special, scarlet. Jesus has His hand on you.
      you and Jesus and love are changing your world. you are a star.
      i love you. believe in you. please never get tired reminding the
      world that Jesus lives..and loves.

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  10. Was listening to Focus on the Family online... was excited to find you were aired recently and I listened remembering how I used to read your books when I was a teen. I loved those books and enjoyed listening to your story today. I still aim to change my world one life at a time (foster parenting and adopting special needs children.) God is good. Thanks for sharing your life.

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    1. thank you, angela. for foster parenting and adopting
      special needs children. i'm sure you ARE changing the world.
      i will always run beside you. believe with you. love,ann

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  11. A woman whose military husband was recently killed overseas came up to me after Freedom today and said, "I heard this message yesterday and all I could do was think of you... so I bought it. Will you listen to it? I pray for you ALL the time." I was so shocked. Her husband was killed and her world was shattered... and she prays for ME all the time? The message she gave me was your testimony about your infertility. We are going through the same thing. I'm so honored that God ministers through His people. And my only response was and is tears. Thank You.

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    1. oh, natalie...this is really a moving story.
      really. really. my only response is tears, too.
      don't give up. a miracle is coming your way.
      God is never early and never late. i believe for you.

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    2. Natalie ... my husband and I have a friend who is a Christian doctor who is involved in an organization that helps couples adopt babies. What is unique about this organization is that the adoptive mom gets to actually carry, in her womb, the adopted baby. Read about it here at this link: http://www.embryoadoption.org/ Should you be unable to carry your own children, here is another avenue to consider. Praying that the Lord will give you the desires of your heart. A mom ...

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  12. Anne, I heard you speak as a young girl in Oregon. I was with my mother. I remember your peace, your countenance and your glowing love for Jesus. Now I'm 52 and my life has been hard. Not at all what I expected. My husband and I are at a time when it feels as if God has gone underground. We are not sure where we are going any more. Our faith is still intact, but God is not who or what we thought. I've thought of you often and last night was a particularly difficult night and as I was praying this morning with my heavy heart, your name popped into my head again and I looked you up! And I found you! And your life has been hard too. I look forward to reading your blog. I write as well, to help me process. www.noendinsightexceptheaven.blogspot.com
    Thank you Anne. God Bless April Brenneman

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  13. oh, aprilann....your story is all of ours
    if we live long enough. times when we can't hear
    God. feel Him. feel abandoned. but i promise you
    that the sunrise always comes, in time. Jesus NEVER
    fails. i'm running beside you. i believe for you.
    never give up. i love you!!! ann

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  14. Hi Ann, I'm Brenda.
    When I was in jr. high I read your book "I'm Out To Change My World" over and over again. You inspired me. I even started to write in all lower case letters which got me in trouble with my English teacher at school. :) But i wanted to be just like you. To share Jesus with everyone I met and change my world. From the age of 12-16 I delivered newspapers from door-to-door after school. One of my neighbors was going through a particularly hard time - I could hear the yelling in the home as I dropped the paper in front of her door. I didn't know how to help her, so I baked her cookies and left them at her door with a note. I don't remember what that note said, but years later she told my mother that my act of kindness had saved her. She had received Jesus into her life. I'm sure you hear story after story like this, but your books and your life have gone way beyond what you can imagine.
    I am now a pastor's wife / missionary / real estate agent in the little country of Estonia. We have lived here for 21 years. To be honest, I haven't thought of you since I was a little girl, but I just happened across your facebook page, and from there, your website.
    Thank you, Ann, for being obedient. Thank you for being strong. We'll meet in heaven some day and I'll come and introduce myself with a big hug.
    Brenda

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  15. Hi Anne,
    I pray you are recovering quickly from your surgery!
    I'm writing to thank you for sharing your story, I heard your testimony on Focus on the family, radio - twice!
    Once while trying to start a family over 3 years ago and once in June 2013.
    Your story had me in tears on both occasions (my husband too as he listen with me the 2nd time)
    Your trust in God is inspirational, as is the peace that so obviously surrounds you as you trust Him, it passes understanding BUT it is so real!
    After struggling to trust Him and a journey through the darkest valley God has blessed me with two children, Miss 3 and Master 18 months. Not of my blood, nor of my womb but from the Father's amazing hand, who gives us more than what we could hope for or imagine. Still walking the trust journey as these little miracles are mine through an informal arrangement, for as long as God says they need me - He is good all the time and He does work it all out for our good as we surrender to Him and let Him weave beauty from our hearts ashes.
    With His love and peace
    Amy

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  16. Ann,

    I was a new believer when I stumbled across your books over 20 years ago in the library of a Youth With A Mission base. I was brought to tears the first time (and nearly every time after) that I read them. I had never heard anyone speak so simply and profoundly about Jesus. I must confess that I kept every one of them. Your love for people and "matter of fact" boldness in presenting the gospel inspired me and in many ways shaped the last 20 years of my ministry. Many times I have read directly from your books during my sermons. Whether it be "You just can't stop love" or the story of taking the kid fishing in the ditch or letting the rambunctious kids come to your office on campus, the message is always the same: love people unconditionally and introduce them to the same Jesus who loves you in the midst of your mess.

    This afternoon, completely out of the blue, I wondered, "What ever happened to Ann Kiemel?" When I found your blog I was both heartbroken and comforted at the same time. You see, Ann, now I am working for a Christian alcohol and drug treatment program called Road to Freedom. We even have a special track for those addicted to pain meds. I'm so sorry to hear that you have been caught up in this bondage, but I am so glad that you are safe, seeking Jesus and getting help. I was just reading this last night, and I believe it is the Lord's encouragement to you today, "Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Cor 12:8-10

    Know that you will be in my prayers, and if there is anything that I can do to help please don't hesitate to reach out. I understand your struggle. You are not alone. And there is no shame in this part of your journey. It is just another opportunity for His strength to be made perfect in your weakness. You continue to be an encouragement to many as you walk with Jesus through it all.

    Blessings,
    John Poitevent
    johnpoitevent@gmail.com
    www.RoadtoFreedomTTC.com

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