‘It All Started with Moody!’

When Janet Willerson’s two children were in elementary school in the 1980s, she made long commutes to and from their Christian school each school day. Moody Radio was her constant companion.

“I always listened to the WMBW drive time in the morning,” Janet says. “They had a local crew here in Chattanooga (Tennessee), and it was great! I would tell everybody, if you have a school that’s a long distance away, you have a lot of free time with your children. My kids loved listening. As I drove, they listened, and we talked. It was a great time.”

Janet kept listening even after her commute ended. “I listened all the way back home, and I would turn it on when I got home and did work around the house,” she says. “Later I started cleaning houses, and I listened while I cleaned. I listened to Chuck Swindoll and John MacArthur and many, many others.”

The Sugar Creek Gang and Keys for Kids with Uncle Charlie were favorites for her children, along with continued story reading programs that featured long-time Moody Radio announcer Miron Canaday. One particular reading of Miron’s remains a favorite of the Willerson family to this day: The Vinegar Boy. A fictional account of a young boy who encounters Christ when he is assigned the job of bringing “drugged” vinegar to His crucifixion, the story made a lasting impact on Janet and her children.

“The Vinegar Boy really touched our hearts. My kids could relate to it because it was about a little boy,” Janet says. Her family has an old audio recording of the story, and she says, “I listened to it this past Easter again. We made it a habit years ago, and I'll be doing that again with my grandchildren.”

Her personal parenting coach

Along with the in-depth Bible teaching that she heard every day, Moody Radio served as a sort of “parenting adviser” to Janet for years. “I would listen to James Dobson (Focus on the Family). That's where I got my child-rearing classes because I needed them. I was a very young mother, and I didn't have a good example in my home. I set out to never let my children have a life like I had, and God took care of that through Moody.

“My grandfather was really good to me, but I wanted [a good home] so much for my children. I did read a lot of self-help books for raising children, but they discouraged me more than they helped me. I set out to never let my children have a life like I had, and God took care of that through Moody.”

When her children were older, Janet pursued her teaching degree from the University of West Georgia and became an elementary teacher in the Walker County school district. “I taught for 15 years after that, and I loved it, but I had to quit because of my health. My back was giving out,” she says.

Spiritual lifeline

For Janet, Moody Radio played an important part in not only her own spiritual development and connection to God's Word but in helping her become a wife and mother who trusted in the Lord’s grace and provision for her family. And she knows exactly what she would say to someone who has never listened to Moody Radio.

“It’s there for you if you have a need in your life, like I did. [It’s there for you] if you're hungry. I was hungry! As God is my witness, I was hungry for a way to live that was good.

“I read about Paul when he told the man in the prison that God would take care of him and his family. I latched on to that because He did take care of me and my family. It all started with Moody.”

Now adults with kids of their own, Janet says her children have told her, “Without a doubt, these programs were the most memorable of their childhood. Uncle Charlie was a favorite for them. They said they would often tell their own children a story or give a lesson to them that they learned from a program.”

Janet says Moody Radio’s accessibility anywhere makes it a great choice for everyone. “I would advise anyone who has a radio or any other device to listen to it. I listened on my computer while I sewed. . . . That's how I did it. Just turn it on and play it in the background. It'll catch you. It will! I cannot tell you the times that He met a need right when I needed it most through one of those messages.”

After so many years of leaning on Moody Radio, Janet has recently become a new Moody Radio giving partner. “I made my first donation a day or two ago,” she says. “I needed to be reminded of the worth this ministry has had for me. God bless Moody Radio!”