In her seventh year as the host of "We've Got the Power" TV show in LaGrange, Ga., Diane Colson said God gave her a new vision.

"I never wanted to do TV in the first place," said Colson, who with her winsome smile and outgoing personality seems a natural. "It was a God thing... . It's time to broaden and time to get into Columbus."

After receiving what Colson took as a divine word to branch out, she hopped in her car one day a few months ago and drove from her home in Pine Mountain to WLTZ-TV 38. She had no appointment set up, yet everyone she needed to speak with was in the office that day, she said. A friend familiar with Channel 38 told her that seldom happens. What resulted was a live, 30-minute show called "You Make the Difference." The show airs 12:30-1 p.m. every Tuesday. This past week marked her sixth one.

As with her LaGrange show, Colson hosts a guest or guest who takes questions from her. Her first was the Rev. Sharon Billins of The Remnant Church. Billins provides "spiritual covering" for Colson and her various ministries.

"She corrects me when I'm wrong," said Colson, arranging her set this past Tuesday.

Colson and her husband, Jack, an executive for Bill Heard Chevrolet and Cadillac, are not members of a local church because -- at least for now with the new show -- she wants to visit many of them to get a feel for the local church scene. She has visited Billins' church many times, and North Highland Assembly of God, Solid Rock Assembly of God and more recently The Bridge Church.

The co-pastors of The Bridge, in fact, were her guests last Tuesday. The Revs. Vince Allen and Chris Mitchell, who've been friends for more than a decade, recently combined their two congregations. It is one of Columbus' few racially integrated churches. The new entity on Second Avenue was part of the live show Tuesday.

"It's a Christ-centered program," Colson said before the show started. "I adore having pastors. But I'm also looking for regular people whose lives have been radically changed by the power of Jesus Christ."

For now, she's steering clear of more topical features in which people can call in with questions. She said she learned this the hard way with two shows in LaGrange -- one that discussed homosexuality and another, the Masons. And those shows lasted an hour each. Thankfully, she said, Jack was on the set for both programs.

"It was a hoot. It got kind of hot. Jack has the personality to handle all that," she said.

Went through 'hell'

Colson was born in 1952 in Danville, Va., and moved with her family to Cusseta when she was 4 1/2. Her father, Rainey Roberts, died about two years ago, while her mother, Mildred, still lives in the house where Diane grew up. First Baptist Church of Cusseta was the family's long-time church. It was where young Diane dedicated herself to God at age 7. (Mildred has since joined Columbus' Wynnbrook Baptist.)

Diane married Walt Deppe when she was 15 and a high school sophomore. They eloped, then Diane returned home to finish school. He's two years older. They had two children: Ted and Scott. Diane and Walt divorced after 25 years when Diane was 40.

"I was totally broken. It was hell for about eight years, but I learned the reality of who God is," Colson said. "Until people get to those broken places, they usually have no idea of the reality of a living God.

"I'd never suggest divorce for anyone, unless he's beating you up or something."

She places at least half the blame of her broken marriage on her shoulders. Married to her current husband a year after her divorce, she referred a reporter to her testimony on her Web site, colsonministries.org. It first aired on an Atlanta Christian show called God Tube in 2005, and she also gave it at a women's retreat in May in Franklin, Ga. "My mom was there... . We were able to take the masks off. Even before the prayer time, a woman came up to me and said, 'Your story is my story.' It was so powerful."

In her testimony, Colson says part of her pain post-divorce came from feeling like a failure, especially in church circles. But then she found a more intimate God who helped her heal.

"He will heal you; I don't care what you are going through," she said on the Atlanta program.

By the way, Jack Colson has been in the limelight himself. A 1972 graduate of Baker High School, he was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records by selling 114 cars in a month (at Bill Heard). He is now a trainer and recruiter for the Columbus-based company.

In her professional life, Colson twice worked at this newspaper in the classified department; and then at her parents' former business, Columbus Business Machines. A singer, Diane has two albums to her name: "A Reflection of the Rose" and "Treasures of a Different Kind." She has lived in Phenix City, Memphis, Newnan and now Pine Mountain.

Her weekly show in LaGrange will continue. It marks its seventh anniversary in February 2009. Additionally, she has plans to kick off a women's Bible study in Pine Mountain next month.

Colson's hope for this new show, she said, is for guests to share testimonies and stories of overcoming hardships.

She also has long-term goals of a citywide revival, for the show going national and writing a book.

Not enough irons in the fire? On Tuesday, while glancing around the cavernous room containing the various WLTZ sets, she said: "I would also love to do a cooking show."