(RNS) — The husband of Christian writer Shannon Dingle died in a beach accident on the North Carolina shores last week.

Lee Dingle, 37, was playing with his children on Oak Island when a wave hit him so hard he crashed on the sand, apparently breaking his neck.

Dingle was the husband of Shannon Hope Dingle, a blogger and activist who has written about sexual abuse, the #Churchtoo movement and disability rights.

“My partner, my love, and my home died Friday, July 19, after a freak accident,” she posted to her blog Monday. I wasn’t supposed to be saying goodbye at 37. I don’t know how to be a grown up without him, but I’ll learn. I just wish I didn’t have to.”

The couple met in their late teens and went on to raise six children, four of whom were adopted, including a daughter, Zoe, who has cerebral palsy. Her adoption seven years ago from Taiwan was documented by the Archibald Project, which uses stories to educate people about orphaned and vulnerable children. 

“We are grieved and saddened to share the tragic passing of a beautiful man and father,” the Archibald Project posted to Facebook.  

The couple adopted three other children, siblings, from Uganda.

Lee Dingle was the president of Atlas Engineering in Raleigh, North Carolina, a company that assesses older or damaged buildings and designs repairs and upgrades. He earned an undergraduate…

Christian artist Lauren Daigle, who is enjoying crossover success after winning a Grammy and numerous Billboard awards this year, has set a new Billboard record with her hit album Look Up Child.

The album has spent 39 weeks in the top spot on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart, the most in the Nielsen Music era. Look Up Childupends the 38-week reign of Switchfoot for its The Beautiful Letdown in 2004-05. Daigle’s placement is the longest on the chart since the tally became a weekly survey, and adopted Nielsen Music data, in April 1995. In total, the album has been on the chart for 44 weeks.

Look Up Child has sold nearly a million copies after launching at No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard 200, boasting the largest week for a Christian music album since the latter list began ranking albums by equivalent album units in late 2014. The showing eclipsed secular powerhouses Ariana Grande, Drake, and Nicki Minaj. It debuted at No. 1 on Top Christian Albums on Sept. 22, 2018. 

Earlier this year, the record received critical acclaim when Daigle, 27, won a Grammy for best album, beating out Elevation Worship, Jesus Culture, Michael W. Smith and Zach Williams, Premier UK reports. The breakout single, You Say, which she wrote with Jason Ingram and Paul Mabury, also earned her the Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance. 

On…