As I was studying this morning it reminded me
of something my 5 year old grandson did the other day that everyone
thought was amusing, but it taught me something important and I wanted
to share it with you. First what happened with Elijah:
My daughter and her family were visiting an
uncle at the hospital who had had a heart attack. Gracie who is 2 was
climbing on an empty bed playing on it and started to fall off head
first unseen by her parents. Elijah who was nearby, reached out and
grabbed her leg and held on to her without saying a word. Gracie wasn't
yelling because she knew Elijah had her and she was safe, but then her
parents saw what was happening and her Daddy ran and grabbed hold of
her. At that moment, still without saying a word, Elijah let go of
Gracie and just continued to try and pay attention to the person they
were visiting. My daughter was so shocked that he had done that, she
asked him why he let go and why he didn't say something. He said, "I knew Daddy had her".
What really struck me was his absolute total
trust that his daddy had Gracie and that she was OK and Gracie's
absolute trust that she was OK because Elijah and then Daddy had her.
Elijah did what he felt he had to do, he grabbed Gracie to keep her from
getting hurt. It didn't occur to him to worry that someone wouldn't
come and help him and that he wouldn't be able to hold on to her very
long. He "knew" his daddy would be there and would help. There was no fear, no doubt, nothing. Just trust.
Gracie didn't get scared because almost the same instant that she began
to fall, she felt her brothers hand close on her leg and hold on so she
wouldn't get hurt. It didn't occur to her to cry because she knew she
was safe. It didn't occur to her to wonder how long Elijah could hold
on, or what she should do or what would happen to her if he let go,
because she "knew" he wouldn't let go till she was safe. So there was
no worry or fear, just trust.
As I pondered that, I thought of what a
wonderful illustration of how we should be with our Lord. Many times we
reach a point in our lives where we just can't take anymore and we cry
out to Him for help. It can be because we can't take any more physical pain or it could be emotional pain or any number of things. I've reached that place several times this past month which is probably why the Lord pointed this out to me.
The more I've thought about it, the more I've realized that each time that I've cried out to the Lord saying "I just can't take anymore",
He already had hold of me. I may have felt like I was dangling off a
high cliff, but He had hold of my leg already, I just wasn't paying
attention. He had to calm me down first before I recognized that I was
safe in His arms and everything was OK.
I hadn't
realized how my cries for help were showing a lack of faith until the
Lord showed me this. I realize anew now that I need never fear or feel
alone or feel that He isn't aware of my situation. I also realize that
when I got to that point it should have been a red flag showing me
that I was relying on myself instead of relying on Him.
I want to grow up to be like my
grandchildren. I want to trust my Lord so much that I don't ever have
to scream or call out for help, because I'll already know that He's
there and I'm safe in His arms.
Matthew 8:24–26, Without
warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept
over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him,
saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
Matthew 14:29–31, “Come,”
he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and
came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and,
beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached
out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
John 14:1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
Testimonies, Friends and Fellowship
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Monday, March 3, 2014
When/how I was saved
When/how I was saved
I'm not sure how, but somehow when I was just a toddler, I knew Jesus. My parents were atheists, so my knowledge of Him didn't come from them. My mother hated God and everything to do with Him because of bad experiences in the Catholic Church when she was a child. God was never discussed in our home, but somehow I knew Him, and I knew He was God, although I'm not sure if I actually knew those words yet. When I was about 4, I discovered that there were shows on TV about God in the morning when I woke up. So I would get up before my parents and turn those on and listen to them. When mama would wake up, she'd get angry and change the channel to cartoons and tell me she didn't want me watching that garbage. I don't think I understood much of it, though, all I knew was that I loved Jesus and that He loved me.
When I was only 12, I did talk my mom into getting me a bible and I read it constantly. But no one explained the gospel to me. No one taught me what everything meant. I tried very hard to find out on my own. Even though I was 12, I decided that I'd start going to Sunday School. I didn't want to start with the 6th grade though, as I assumed I wasn't ready for that since I didn't know the basics. I went to the 1st grade classroom for awhile, then the 2nd, etc. till I felt I had learned all they had to offer. Then I went to my own grade. But I still didn't know the gospel! Oh yeah, I knew the bible stories now, and that's a start anyway, but I didn't know the most important things of all! I was told that because I had prayed and wanted Jesus to be my Lord, that I was saved, so I assumed I was but no one really explained what it meant to be saved.
When I was 17 a friend from school invited me to a youth group where they were showing something by Hal Lindsey. That was where I learned about the rapture and I was so very excited about that! I couldn't wait for Jesus to come back! Yet I still wasn't sure what being saved was all about. I assumed it meant simply that I wanted to be saved and that I had made a promise to God to be good from then on. I didn't know anything about any part God was supposed to play in my salvation.
I struggled for years, all my teen years and the first few adult years, to "be good" so that I would go to heaven. I adored Jesus! But I couldn't live up to His standards. I finally gave up. I knew it was just impossible. So I told Him how sorry I was, and that I loved Him, and that I understood that I'd have to go to hell, but that was OK, cause I knew I deserved hell. I did presume to ask Him if I might just see His face one time before He sent me there though, and if maybe I could give Him a hug.
I lived most of the rest of my adult life with that thought. I still went to church every Sunday, I still read my bible, I still prayed. But I did it all with the knowledge that I'd never go to heaven. I only hoped that maybe my children might make it somehow. And I still loved Jesus with all my heart.
It wasn't until approximately 12 years ago, that the Lord in His great mercy, spoke to me and showed me the Truth. My life at that time was a total wreck. I desperately needed help and I wanted answers. I knew enough to know that the only real truth could be found only in the Bible, so that was where I turned, to the Bible and prayer. I pleaded with the Lord to help me, to show me what to do, and to show me why I couldn't be good enough for Him. The reason I asked Him why I couldn't be good enough for Him was because I wanted to know where I had gone wrong, and how other people did it.
I kept thinking about Peter and the other disciples and how they changed so much and lived victoriously after Jesus was resurrected. I felt like there had to be something I was missing because if they could change like that, then I should be able to as well-and yet I couldn't. What was the reason? What changed them?
I wanted to try one more time, but at the same time, I wasn't real sure the Lord would allow me to. I had gotten baptized when I was 12 and figured that every sin I committed after that moment was on my slate and I would have to pay for it in hell. I didn't think the Lord would let me get baptized again, but I had a faint hope that He might, since I was only a child then.... so I prayed and I read.
I immersed myself in my bible, and I started reading other Christian books as well including "Satan is alive and well on planet earth" by Hal Lindsey. While reading that book, Hal explained the gospel in it, and the light went on, and I understood!!!! My soul rejoiced and I cried and prayed and cried some more as I realized that I was saved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That He loved me too! That I didn't have to be "good enough" for Him!!!! That He took me as I was!!!! Oh the glory of that moment!!! Time stood still and when it started again my whole world and my whole life was changed. Instantly.
(and yes, I'm crying my eyes out right now just remembering this)
Later, much later, I asked the Lord, why it had taken me so long to learn the Truth. What I was really asking was "why didn't you tell me before!" The Lord showed me this verse:
Jeremiah 29:12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
That last line just jumped right out at me and practically glowed!
Yes, I had sought Him before, many times, but never with my "whole" heart. All those other times, there were many other things that my heart felt were just as important...school, getting good grades, friends, raising my kids, day to day life, my job, money, fixing whatever current crisis my life was in at that time, etc. It wasn't until I literally laid it ALL down and made finding the Lord my top priority and my only priority that I found Him. If you read back to where I said I started searching and reading my Bible again, you'll see that this time, I wasn't running to God so that He would fix the crisis I was in or help me get a raise or anything else. Yes, my life was a total wreck, but I had finally come to understand that it was a wreck because I didn't have Him in my life. I knew that He was what I needed, more then health, more then money, more then making my kids obey me, more then anything.
Ever since that moment, my life has been filled with joy. Oh yes, there have been many times that I had problems and that I had to deal with grief and heartache, as well as all the normal day to day problems everyone has, as well as chronic pain. It wasn't an easy road to get my life turned around and put onto the right track, and I don't mean to imply that it was.
Beneath it all however was a joy that has never left me. Joy that one day I will see my Savior face to face and that I will get to spend Eternity praising Him! That joy is my strength even now and I know it always will be no matter what comes. People may fail me, loved ones may hurt me, problems will come, but Jesus will never leave me and that joy is there, deep in my soul.
Another thing changed in me at that moment when I was saved. I was immediately at peace with God. I had fought Him for so long that it actually felt strange at first, although welcome as well. It felt kind of like the world had been lifted off my shoulders, and I hadn't even realized I was carrying the world on my shoulders until it was gone. That peace has also stayed with me and never leaves. I didn't understand what that was either at first--I just enjoyed it. Now I know that peace is Jesus, because Jesus is our peace and He is the Prince of peace and He alone can give us His peace which passes all understanding. I think that's why it's so hard to describe, because it is beyond understanding and beyond words. It's not even really a feeling, it's just a reality that's there....
I'm not sure how, but somehow when I was just a toddler, I knew Jesus. My parents were atheists, so my knowledge of Him didn't come from them. My mother hated God and everything to do with Him because of bad experiences in the Catholic Church when she was a child. God was never discussed in our home, but somehow I knew Him, and I knew He was God, although I'm not sure if I actually knew those words yet. When I was about 4, I discovered that there were shows on TV about God in the morning when I woke up. So I would get up before my parents and turn those on and listen to them. When mama would wake up, she'd get angry and change the channel to cartoons and tell me she didn't want me watching that garbage. I don't think I understood much of it, though, all I knew was that I loved Jesus and that He loved me.
When I was only 12, I did talk my mom into getting me a bible and I read it constantly. But no one explained the gospel to me. No one taught me what everything meant. I tried very hard to find out on my own. Even though I was 12, I decided that I'd start going to Sunday School. I didn't want to start with the 6th grade though, as I assumed I wasn't ready for that since I didn't know the basics. I went to the 1st grade classroom for awhile, then the 2nd, etc. till I felt I had learned all they had to offer. Then I went to my own grade. But I still didn't know the gospel! Oh yeah, I knew the bible stories now, and that's a start anyway, but I didn't know the most important things of all! I was told that because I had prayed and wanted Jesus to be my Lord, that I was saved, so I assumed I was but no one really explained what it meant to be saved.
When I was 17 a friend from school invited me to a youth group where they were showing something by Hal Lindsey. That was where I learned about the rapture and I was so very excited about that! I couldn't wait for Jesus to come back! Yet I still wasn't sure what being saved was all about. I assumed it meant simply that I wanted to be saved and that I had made a promise to God to be good from then on. I didn't know anything about any part God was supposed to play in my salvation.
I struggled for years, all my teen years and the first few adult years, to "be good" so that I would go to heaven. I adored Jesus! But I couldn't live up to His standards. I finally gave up. I knew it was just impossible. So I told Him how sorry I was, and that I loved Him, and that I understood that I'd have to go to hell, but that was OK, cause I knew I deserved hell. I did presume to ask Him if I might just see His face one time before He sent me there though, and if maybe I could give Him a hug.
I lived most of the rest of my adult life with that thought. I still went to church every Sunday, I still read my bible, I still prayed. But I did it all with the knowledge that I'd never go to heaven. I only hoped that maybe my children might make it somehow. And I still loved Jesus with all my heart.
It wasn't until approximately 12 years ago, that the Lord in His great mercy, spoke to me and showed me the Truth. My life at that time was a total wreck. I desperately needed help and I wanted answers. I knew enough to know that the only real truth could be found only in the Bible, so that was where I turned, to the Bible and prayer. I pleaded with the Lord to help me, to show me what to do, and to show me why I couldn't be good enough for Him. The reason I asked Him why I couldn't be good enough for Him was because I wanted to know where I had gone wrong, and how other people did it.
I kept thinking about Peter and the other disciples and how they changed so much and lived victoriously after Jesus was resurrected. I felt like there had to be something I was missing because if they could change like that, then I should be able to as well-and yet I couldn't. What was the reason? What changed them?
I wanted to try one more time, but at the same time, I wasn't real sure the Lord would allow me to. I had gotten baptized when I was 12 and figured that every sin I committed after that moment was on my slate and I would have to pay for it in hell. I didn't think the Lord would let me get baptized again, but I had a faint hope that He might, since I was only a child then.... so I prayed and I read.
I immersed myself in my bible, and I started reading other Christian books as well including "Satan is alive and well on planet earth" by Hal Lindsey. While reading that book, Hal explained the gospel in it, and the light went on, and I understood!!!! My soul rejoiced and I cried and prayed and cried some more as I realized that I was saved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That He loved me too! That I didn't have to be "good enough" for Him!!!! That He took me as I was!!!! Oh the glory of that moment!!! Time stood still and when it started again my whole world and my whole life was changed. Instantly.
(and yes, I'm crying my eyes out right now just remembering this)
Later, much later, I asked the Lord, why it had taken me so long to learn the Truth. What I was really asking was "why didn't you tell me before!" The Lord showed me this verse:
Jeremiah 29:12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
That last line just jumped right out at me and practically glowed!
Yes, I had sought Him before, many times, but never with my "whole" heart. All those other times, there were many other things that my heart felt were just as important...school, getting good grades, friends, raising my kids, day to day life, my job, money, fixing whatever current crisis my life was in at that time, etc. It wasn't until I literally laid it ALL down and made finding the Lord my top priority and my only priority that I found Him. If you read back to where I said I started searching and reading my Bible again, you'll see that this time, I wasn't running to God so that He would fix the crisis I was in or help me get a raise or anything else. Yes, my life was a total wreck, but I had finally come to understand that it was a wreck because I didn't have Him in my life. I knew that He was what I needed, more then health, more then money, more then making my kids obey me, more then anything.
Ever since that moment, my life has been filled with joy. Oh yes, there have been many times that I had problems and that I had to deal with grief and heartache, as well as all the normal day to day problems everyone has, as well as chronic pain. It wasn't an easy road to get my life turned around and put onto the right track, and I don't mean to imply that it was.
Beneath it all however was a joy that has never left me. Joy that one day I will see my Savior face to face and that I will get to spend Eternity praising Him! That joy is my strength even now and I know it always will be no matter what comes. People may fail me, loved ones may hurt me, problems will come, but Jesus will never leave me and that joy is there, deep in my soul.
Another thing changed in me at that moment when I was saved. I was immediately at peace with God. I had fought Him for so long that it actually felt strange at first, although welcome as well. It felt kind of like the world had been lifted off my shoulders, and I hadn't even realized I was carrying the world on my shoulders until it was gone. That peace has also stayed with me and never leaves. I didn't understand what that was either at first--I just enjoyed it. Now I know that peace is Jesus, because Jesus is our peace and He is the Prince of peace and He alone can give us His peace which passes all understanding. I think that's why it's so hard to describe, because it is beyond understanding and beyond words. It's not even really a feeling, it's just a reality that's there....
Another miracle of life!
I have another one from when one of my children was being born.:
When I went into labor with my 4th baby, he was presenting as a footling breach--in other words coming out feet first lol; and I began hemorrhaging badly. I knew I was dying because I heard the doctor ask my husband who he should try to save if he could-me or the baby. I was still in the labor room at that time and just as the doctor asked my husband that, I heard another doctor telling him to get out of the way that he was taking over my case. My doctor was on vacation so I had gotten the doctor on call when I went into hard labor.
He wheeled me into a surgical suite and had the nurses running to set everything up that he needed. Christopher was born about an hour later. Obviously I didn't die and neither did my son Christopher., but it was a close call.
Now to explain what God had to do with this. My doc had gone on vacation so he wasn't there for me. The doctor that took over was a specialist for exactly the kind of delivery I was having. He was in our state and at that hospital just for that week to teach the other doctors how to handle the kind of case I was presenting. Not only that, but the only reason he happened to come into the labor and delivery area that night was to say goodbye as he was on his way to the airport to leave for home! When he came in, he heard all the commotion and heard what the young doc was asking my husband and immediately took over realizing this was his exact specialty!
When my doc got back from vacation the next day he brought me flowers and told me that I was very very lucky that he hadn't been there the night before. I thought that was pretty odd so I asked him what he meant. He then told me about the doctor who had helped me saying he was the very best in the world at handling cases like mine. He said he'd just finished being briefed by that doctor about me and knew if he hadn't been on vacation there was no doubt in his mind that I would have died.
Talk about divine intervention! Thank you Lord!
When I went into labor with my 4th baby, he was presenting as a footling breach--in other words coming out feet first lol; and I began hemorrhaging badly. I knew I was dying because I heard the doctor ask my husband who he should try to save if he could-me or the baby. I was still in the labor room at that time and just as the doctor asked my husband that, I heard another doctor telling him to get out of the way that he was taking over my case. My doctor was on vacation so I had gotten the doctor on call when I went into hard labor.
He wheeled me into a surgical suite and had the nurses running to set everything up that he needed. Christopher was born about an hour later. Obviously I didn't die and neither did my son Christopher., but it was a close call.
Now to explain what God had to do with this. My doc had gone on vacation so he wasn't there for me. The doctor that took over was a specialist for exactly the kind of delivery I was having. He was in our state and at that hospital just for that week to teach the other doctors how to handle the kind of case I was presenting. Not only that, but the only reason he happened to come into the labor and delivery area that night was to say goodbye as he was on his way to the airport to leave for home! When he came in, he heard all the commotion and heard what the young doc was asking my husband and immediately took over realizing this was his exact specialty!
When my doc got back from vacation the next day he brought me flowers and told me that I was very very lucky that he hadn't been there the night before. I thought that was pretty odd so I asked him what he meant. He then told me about the doctor who had helped me saying he was the very best in the world at handling cases like mine. He said he'd just finished being briefed by that doctor about me and knew if he hadn't been on vacation there was no doubt in his mind that I would have died.
Talk about divine intervention! Thank you Lord!
The miracle of life!
She was born 3 months early and was barely 2 pounds and quickly lost down to a little over one pound. She was born around 2pm and the docs didn't expect her to live more then an hour or two at the most. I KNEW she would. My mother who had died 6 years earlier had had a dream of her before she died. My mom told me that the Lord had shown her her grandchildren because she wouldn't live to see them. (I was pregnant with my second child then- Michael and she died a week after he was born.) She told me she saw 3 children, a toddler and a tiny baby girl. Then she saw the same five children together again only much older. She said that people would think the baby wasn't going to live but that I mustn't worry because she would live and be just fine.
At the time of her birth though I didn't remember my mom telling me that. But I still knew she would live. I had to literally fight and threaten the doctors just to get them to let me see her. They finally did and she was so tiny...just a miracle to see her even! Later that night, about midnight, they woke me up saying she was going to die so I went to see her. They said she needed a blood transfusion by she wasn't my blood type and my husband was long gone-he'd abandoned us for another woman. They were just going to let her die because they said that she wouldn't live long enough for them to order the blood and get it up to the NICU in time even if they had the blood in stock. They also said that even if they got a perfect match, that unless the donor was her father it was unlikely that it would work because her little body would reject it.
I threw a very loud fit so they went ahead and ordered it. I kissed my baby good night and went back to bed. The next morning her nurse told me about a miracle that had occurred while I slept. They had ordered the blood but the hospital didn't have that type and neither did the other area hospitals. Just as they were about to give up a man walked into the lab off the street. (Remember, by now it was about 1am in the morning!) And no the man wasn't drunk! When they asked how they could help him, he said he didn't need help but had come to donate the blood they needed for the baby. He was the right blood type!!! He gave the nurse his name and all that info and gave the blood. After they'd processed the blood and sent it up, they then attempted to find out how the man had known they needed the blood. They had assumed he came from one of the other area hospitals, so they called them all back. No, none of them had ever heard of him and didn't recognize his description and the address he gave didn't exist LOL. So they had no idea who he was, how he knew, or where he came from!
They gave Jenn the transfusion and her body didn't reject it at all! They were totally amazed! When her nurse told me all of that, I cried and smiled at the same time and told her that I was sure I knew where the man came from and how he knew. He was an angel sent by God to save my daughter's life! Here's a picture of my baby today, with her family!
Have you experienced God's arranging things just right for you?
The world usually calls it "luck" or "serendipity",
but we know better.I thought it would be fun and enlightening to share
stories of how He's done that at different times for each of us.
So I'll share one of the earliest memories I have of this happening:
I remember my first time really seeing it. It was when my mom was dying and she still lived on her own at home. I really wanted her to come live with me but she was stubborn. So while I fretted about how in the world I was going to take care of her, because she really couldn't be left alone at all and needed someone with her 24/7, God went ahead and arranged it LOL. First a couple of old friends of hers who lived several hours away came to visit and stayed with her a week. The day they left, I picked up my dad and took him to her house to stay with her. He arrived at her house on hour after the friends had left! He stayed for two weeks and when he left, another friend of hers came up for a week to stay with her and they also arrived within an hour of when my dad left! Finally an Uncle and Aunt came and stayed for the last week and by then we'd all convinced her to come and stay with me so when they left we brought her and her hospital bed to my house. She died within that week. But I never would have thought of calling those people and neither had my mom. They all called her and none of them had any particular dates in mind either, they simply showed up when they could but God arranged it so she was never alone! Since then I've seen Him do things like that over and over. He's so very good to us!
I can look back now and see many times the Lord has arranged things just perfectly for me, and how He's been ready for me at other times, "just in case". Like with my husband. . It's amazing to me how a man from NH who pretty much has always lived right here, managed to travel to each of the states I lived in as a young adult. We could very well have met in any of them, but we didn't. I think the reason we didn't was because neither of us was ready yet. We were both stubbornly following our own ways instead of His. But, He was ready for us, "just in case" lol Then he moved me all the way across the US to NH where I would meet him when we were both finally ready to be vessels for Him as well as for each other.
So how have you experienced God's arranging things just right for you?
So I'll share one of the earliest memories I have of this happening:
I remember my first time really seeing it. It was when my mom was dying and she still lived on her own at home. I really wanted her to come live with me but she was stubborn. So while I fretted about how in the world I was going to take care of her, because she really couldn't be left alone at all and needed someone with her 24/7, God went ahead and arranged it LOL. First a couple of old friends of hers who lived several hours away came to visit and stayed with her a week. The day they left, I picked up my dad and took him to her house to stay with her. He arrived at her house on hour after the friends had left! He stayed for two weeks and when he left, another friend of hers came up for a week to stay with her and they also arrived within an hour of when my dad left! Finally an Uncle and Aunt came and stayed for the last week and by then we'd all convinced her to come and stay with me so when they left we brought her and her hospital bed to my house. She died within that week. But I never would have thought of calling those people and neither had my mom. They all called her and none of them had any particular dates in mind either, they simply showed up when they could but God arranged it so she was never alone! Since then I've seen Him do things like that over and over. He's so very good to us!
I can look back now and see many times the Lord has arranged things just perfectly for me, and how He's been ready for me at other times, "just in case". Like with my husband. . It's amazing to me how a man from NH who pretty much has always lived right here, managed to travel to each of the states I lived in as a young adult. We could very well have met in any of them, but we didn't. I think the reason we didn't was because neither of us was ready yet. We were both stubbornly following our own ways instead of His. But, He was ready for us, "just in case" lol Then he moved me all the way across the US to NH where I would meet him when we were both finally ready to be vessels for Him as well as for each other.
So how have you experienced God's arranging things just right for you?
Miracles of Protection
I remember when Bruce and I got married, I
think he always thought it was amusing when I'd mention that the Lord
told me to do something or get something or whatever. I didn't say it
very often, just once in awhile, but I think that he thought it was all
in my head at first LOL. But the longer we were together and the more
he saw the Lord answer my prayers and saw that every single time I said
that the Lord said something, it was always 100% correct. What really
changed his opinion was one day on the way home from work, the Lord
impressed me strongly that I needed to pray hard for Bruce's protection
from Satan and evil. Now that NEVER happens! I do not believe that
Satan is waiting behind every bush to attack us. But it was so very
strong, and it was His voice, so I stopped (I was walking) and prayed
and kept praying till I felt it lift. I didn't really entirely stop
praying even then. I just kept at it whenever I had a second. I had a
class to go to that night and Bruce dropped me off and went to get some
coffee at a 7-11 store. He'd noticed me praying and I'd told him what
the Lord had said and told him to be careful. I wasn't at all worried
though as I felt it was in the Lord's hands and I'd done as I was told.
Well he started to pull in the store and in his words, "something
stopped him". He couldn't see anything as that part was in shadows, but
there was a man with a stroller standing nearby with another guy,
talking. He was just about to continue forward, when all of a sudden
the man screamed out something and he saw a flash of movement in front
of his truck toward the pavement. It was the little one...maybe 2 years
old.... the father hadn't been paying attention and the baby had
climbed out of the stroller and was in the parking lot! Bruce would
have hit her if the Lord or His angels hadn't stopped him! Needless to
say, Bruce broke out in a cold sweat remembering my words to him. He
got to the baby before the father did and handed her safely to him,
thanking the Lord! He never doubted me again! And a few years later, I
enjoyed watching as he learned to discern the Lord's voice for
himself. Now that was really cool!
Miracels of Provison
I had a group of folks meeting at my house on
Saturdays for a bible study I was leading -this was back in the late
90's. The Lord had used me a few months earlier to bring a man to
salvation that was basically a criminal. Well, after he got saved,
although he hadn't done anything wrong since, he got caught for what
he'd done before and sent to prison for a year. I didn't want him to
lose what he'd learned and wanted him to stay in the word, but the
stupid prison had all kinds of rules about sending stuff, even bibles,
to prisoners. Plus, as usual, I was dead broke. This was before I knew
Bruce even and was trying to raise my kids on minimum wage. Everyone
at the bible study was in the same shape I was, we all worked at the
same place after all LOL. So I did the only thing I could do, I asked
the Lord to provide either the money to buy the bible I wanted to send
him, or the bible itself. That was on a Friday night when I went to
bed.
The next day as the group slowly gathered, each one handed me money shortly after they came in the door. Now, I had not told anyone about what I wanted to do, nor had I, or would I ever ask anyone for money, for that or for the bible study -we'd always agreed on that! So I was very dumbfounded when each person took me aside privately to hand me money. Each and every one of them told me the same thing, not knowing that everyone else in the room had done and said the exact same thing! They all told me that though they didn't understand it, and it hadn't ever happened to them before, they felt very, very strongly from the time they woke up that they had to give me X amount of money! I had also scrapped up a few dollars of course, but only a few. So when the last person had done this, I just couldn't contain myself. I didn't know for "sure", but I had a strong hunch that I now had enough money to buy and mail that bible to the guy, so I told them all what had just happened and what I had prayed the night before. We sat together and counted out all the money and I called our christian book store. I think every single one of us was holding our breath waiting while the lady went to check on the price of the bible I wanted. When she came back, we had more then enough! But why did we have "extra"??? I knew God didn't give "extra" for no reason....was I doing something wrong? Then they started laughing and said, "Cindy, you still have to mail it!" Sure enough, we went and got the bible, wrapped it up and took it to the post office and the money it cost was exactly what we had, right down to the very penny!
So he got his bible and was able to use the year in prison feeding on God's Word and growing in his faith! He did well too and would write and ask me all kinds of questions about what he was reading. So I'd write long letters back explaining it all, so I know that the Lord really worked on His heart and he continued to grow. I've lost touch with him since, as he lives in another state, but hear once in awhile, usually Christmas and know he still loves the Lord and is close to Him.
I'd forgotten all about that! How cool!
The next day as the group slowly gathered, each one handed me money shortly after they came in the door. Now, I had not told anyone about what I wanted to do, nor had I, or would I ever ask anyone for money, for that or for the bible study -we'd always agreed on that! So I was very dumbfounded when each person took me aside privately to hand me money. Each and every one of them told me the same thing, not knowing that everyone else in the room had done and said the exact same thing! They all told me that though they didn't understand it, and it hadn't ever happened to them before, they felt very, very strongly from the time they woke up that they had to give me X amount of money! I had also scrapped up a few dollars of course, but only a few. So when the last person had done this, I just couldn't contain myself. I didn't know for "sure", but I had a strong hunch that I now had enough money to buy and mail that bible to the guy, so I told them all what had just happened and what I had prayed the night before. We sat together and counted out all the money and I called our christian book store. I think every single one of us was holding our breath waiting while the lady went to check on the price of the bible I wanted. When she came back, we had more then enough! But why did we have "extra"??? I knew God didn't give "extra" for no reason....was I doing something wrong? Then they started laughing and said, "Cindy, you still have to mail it!" Sure enough, we went and got the bible, wrapped it up and took it to the post office and the money it cost was exactly what we had, right down to the very penny!
So he got his bible and was able to use the year in prison feeding on God's Word and growing in his faith! He did well too and would write and ask me all kinds of questions about what he was reading. So I'd write long letters back explaining it all, so I know that the Lord really worked on His heart and he continued to grow. I've lost touch with him since, as he lives in another state, but hear once in awhile, usually Christmas and know he still loves the Lord and is close to Him.
I'd forgotten all about that! How cool!
Miracles through Trials
There are some miracles that are actually
harder to see then others. Those are the miracles that come from
tragedies, or in other "surprise packages". I'm hoping that some folks
will share some of those kind of miracles with us too.
I'll share one of mine like that, although just about everyone here already knows it. I was in a car accident which hurt my back, and then a little over a month later, a patient I was caring for had a temper tantrum and through me to the floor backward. (I'd been bending over, slightly twisted, to try and help him, when he did that) It totally did in my back. I was finished and that's what the doctors told me. I'd never work again. I cried because I loved my work! I felt like the Lord had let me down...after all, didn't I pray for His protection every day when I woke up? Where was it???? My life was ruined...it was over! (or so I thought in my little temper tantrum) Looking back, I'm so ashamed of myself, but you know, the Lord didn't once get angry with me? Instead, He comforted me, told me it was OK to cry and to get it all out, because Yes, "my life" was all over.
I was like, "huh???" He explained then that my life wasn't going to be mine anymore, but instead would be entirely His. Well,
I knew enough even then to know that's how it already should have been,
and I'd really thought I'd been doing His will before... He assured me
though that I had been, but that some areas I hadn't given over, now
were going to become His.
I had to have surgery and was in a brace afterward and not allowed to even sit up except to go to the bathroom (with help) and just short times to eat. So all I could do all day was lay on my back on the couch. My husband programmed our CD player with 60 praise and worship CD's for me and gave me the remote. Next to me on the coffee table was my beloved Bible and Strongs Concordance, but for about a month or two I wasn't allowed to lift the concordance as it was too heavy. I might be down and out, but I knew that even like this there was plenty I could still do. I could worship the Lord, pray, and study His Word. So that's what I did every day from 6am when my husband left for work and the kids left for school, until just after 3 when they began coming home. That lasted for a couple of months until I was able to sit up as long as I wanted to. (I was in the brace for a year). Once I was able to sit up, I got to my computer where I had a bible library with many commentaries to aid my study as well, and continued in my routine. I grew very close to the Lord during that time and grew a lot in my faith. I came to know that He hadn't let me down at all, but instead had given me a miracle.
It was a hidden miracle, because no one would think to ask for it or to look for it the way it came about. And yet, I can't think of any other way He could have made it happen. If I hadn't been totally incapacitated, or if I'd been able to go back to work I'd have been up and "doing things". Even if it was just "cleaning the house"! Instead, I was forced to spend all my time in His Word and in His presence. You simply can't help but grow when you're there!
There were yet more trials, for with my recuperation from surgery, came pain, pain that wouldn't go away and that would prevent me from ever going back to work. And praise God, pain that would keep me relying on Him for the strength to get through each day! Another miracle came from that, for I learned the truth of what Paul meant when He said he would delight in his weakness for when he was weak, then God was his strength! That is a lesson that has been fine tuned over the last 12 years. To this very day I thank the Lord for the accident and the pain, not because I like it - I hate it! - but because I know that the Lord used those things to work for my good and bring me to the place He wanted me to be spiritually, which is far more important then anything else in this world. I'm sadly, a very stubborn person and the Lord had to break me before He could use me. When I did fully submit to Him though, He then gave me this board and ministry which He then grew me up into, for I wasn't anywhere near ready to deal with it when He first gave it to me lol But He knew I had a lot to learn and in order to learn it, I needed to be around others, and so this is where He brought me, and taught me and where He commanded me to grow where I'd been planted.
And so, for the miracle of my spiritual growth in Him, with His help, I praise Him!
I'll share one of mine like that, although just about everyone here already knows it. I was in a car accident which hurt my back, and then a little over a month later, a patient I was caring for had a temper tantrum and through me to the floor backward. (I'd been bending over, slightly twisted, to try and help him, when he did that) It totally did in my back. I was finished and that's what the doctors told me. I'd never work again. I cried because I loved my work! I felt like the Lord had let me down...after all, didn't I pray for His protection every day when I woke up? Where was it???? My life was ruined...it was over! (or so I thought in my little temper tantrum) Looking back, I'm so ashamed of myself, but you know, the Lord didn't once get angry with me? Instead, He comforted me, told me it was OK to cry and to get it all out, because Yes, "my life" was all over.
I was like, "huh???" He explained then that my life wasn't going to be mine anymore, but instead would be entirely His. Well,
I knew enough even then to know that's how it already should have been,
and I'd really thought I'd been doing His will before... He assured me
though that I had been, but that some areas I hadn't given over, now
were going to become His. I had to have surgery and was in a brace afterward and not allowed to even sit up except to go to the bathroom (with help) and just short times to eat. So all I could do all day was lay on my back on the couch. My husband programmed our CD player with 60 praise and worship CD's for me and gave me the remote. Next to me on the coffee table was my beloved Bible and Strongs Concordance, but for about a month or two I wasn't allowed to lift the concordance as it was too heavy. I might be down and out, but I knew that even like this there was plenty I could still do. I could worship the Lord, pray, and study His Word. So that's what I did every day from 6am when my husband left for work and the kids left for school, until just after 3 when they began coming home. That lasted for a couple of months until I was able to sit up as long as I wanted to. (I was in the brace for a year). Once I was able to sit up, I got to my computer where I had a bible library with many commentaries to aid my study as well, and continued in my routine. I grew very close to the Lord during that time and grew a lot in my faith. I came to know that He hadn't let me down at all, but instead had given me a miracle.
It was a hidden miracle, because no one would think to ask for it or to look for it the way it came about. And yet, I can't think of any other way He could have made it happen. If I hadn't been totally incapacitated, or if I'd been able to go back to work I'd have been up and "doing things". Even if it was just "cleaning the house"! Instead, I was forced to spend all my time in His Word and in His presence. You simply can't help but grow when you're there!
There were yet more trials, for with my recuperation from surgery, came pain, pain that wouldn't go away and that would prevent me from ever going back to work. And praise God, pain that would keep me relying on Him for the strength to get through each day! Another miracle came from that, for I learned the truth of what Paul meant when He said he would delight in his weakness for when he was weak, then God was his strength! That is a lesson that has been fine tuned over the last 12 years. To this very day I thank the Lord for the accident and the pain, not because I like it - I hate it! - but because I know that the Lord used those things to work for my good and bring me to the place He wanted me to be spiritually, which is far more important then anything else in this world. I'm sadly, a very stubborn person and the Lord had to break me before He could use me. When I did fully submit to Him though, He then gave me this board and ministry which He then grew me up into, for I wasn't anywhere near ready to deal with it when He first gave it to me lol But He knew I had a lot to learn and in order to learn it, I needed to be around others, and so this is where He brought me, and taught me and where He commanded me to grow where I'd been planted.
And so, for the miracle of my spiritual growth in Him, with His help, I praise Him!
Some Angel Miracles
Since we're talking about angels, I'll tell a
few of my angel encounters and try to keep them short lol Some of you
have probably read the full accounts of these so forgive me for the
editing I've had to do to shorten them.
I was in bed and feeling very depressed. I was only 18 but loved the Lord with all my heart. I felt that I had to obey my parents and also felt they wanted me to do something that was a sin. I prayed and cried and couldn't sleep. The next thing I knew there was this huge incredible angel sitting on my bed next to me. So close I could have touched him. I didn't though. I was awestruck and the most incredible peace descended on me...truly the peace that passes understanding and I went to sleep smiling. It was weird though, cause although a part of me was awestruck at seeing this angel, I "knew" that he wasn't important, that only the One who sent him was. It was an "inner knowing' that went without words...I really can't describe it. He left no doubt that he was there not for himself, but for the One who sent him!
It was winter and I had to go pick my daughter up from work that night. The roads were very bad and I had to go up and down several hills. I kept sliding over to the wrong side of the road and I was terrified! I wound up doing a 360 in the middle of the road and also threw my hands up in the air and cried out to God to save me. I too felt someone take hold of the wheel and watched it turn...my hands weren't touching it! The angel got my car over to the right side of the road, down the hill and pointing the right way, and then gently brought the car to a complete stop! I was bugged eyed by this time and just praising God!!!! I then continued safely to go get my daughter. I found out too that my car was the last one down the hill before the police closed the road!
I worked in health care for many years before I was disabled. One of my patients was elderly and very senile. No one could get her to take her meds. So before I went into see her the first time, I prayed and asked the Lord to help me get her to take them. Then I went into her room. The was rocking away and just smiling sweetly. I introduced myself and she told me that she knew I was there to try and make her take those meds. I told her that I would really appreciate it if she would and she pointed to a corner of her room (which was empty) and said "do you see them". "Who?" I asked. "The three angels there! she replied! They came and told me that I have to do what you say cause you care about me." I thanked God for helping me as she quietly and serenely took her meds. Never did have a problem with her!
When my 5th child, Jennifer, was born, she was 3 months premature, weighed just about 2 pounds and they first told me she wouldn't live. She did of course lol and that's another story all by itself!
She needed a blood transfusion right away due to being filled with infection. Plus, they said that most likely the only blood that would work would be her dad's because of how small she was, that she would most likely reject anyone else's. (the other kids and I didn't have her blood type) Well I had no idea where her "dad" was. My husband had abandoned us months ago and about the only thing I knew was that he wasn't in the state.
Then they told me that they weren't going to give her one because they said it would take so long to get the blood and prepare it etc, that by the time they got it to the NICU (newborn intensive care unit) she'd be dead anyway. The chances of her body not rejecting donor blood were minute too, they told me. So all things considered, they just didn't think it was worth the effort.
I had a fit and insisted that they get on the stick and order one immediately!!! When they finally did, it turned out that they didn't have her type of blood! It was right around midnight of the day she was born by now.
About 5 minutes after that, the charge nurse in the NICU got a call from the lab. A man that no one knew, walked in off the street and went to the lab. He told them he wanted to donate blood and he just happened to have the same type blood as Jennifer! (can anyone say "angel"?) So they got it from him, processed it or whatever they do with it and brought it upstairs and did the transfusion.
Her little body, not only didn't reject the blood, but she "lived" and she thrived! And all because some stranger walked into a hospital after midnight to donate blood...that just happened to be her type.
Now if that wasn't an Angel, then I don't know what an Angel is!There are pictures of her and her husband and her children in my photo albums in my profile. I'm pretty sure there's some of her from when she was born too.
Sorry, I couldn't shorten that one any more...That's enough for now anyway
You know, we're all used to hearing of angels coming to "take us home", and they obviously do, but we tend to forget something else that's very important. Our Lord told us that He would never leave us, and He means exactly what He says. He doesn't leave us when we're dying and then show up again after we're dead. He's right there with us all the time, never leaving our side. But He's kind enough to sometimes allow us to see His angels first, before we pass over, to prepare us for actually seeing Him. Many of the people I've been with when they died saw angels first, but some of them saw the Lord first too.
I was in bed and feeling very depressed. I was only 18 but loved the Lord with all my heart. I felt that I had to obey my parents and also felt they wanted me to do something that was a sin. I prayed and cried and couldn't sleep. The next thing I knew there was this huge incredible angel sitting on my bed next to me. So close I could have touched him. I didn't though. I was awestruck and the most incredible peace descended on me...truly the peace that passes understanding and I went to sleep smiling. It was weird though, cause although a part of me was awestruck at seeing this angel, I "knew" that he wasn't important, that only the One who sent him was. It was an "inner knowing' that went without words...I really can't describe it. He left no doubt that he was there not for himself, but for the One who sent him!
It was winter and I had to go pick my daughter up from work that night. The roads were very bad and I had to go up and down several hills. I kept sliding over to the wrong side of the road and I was terrified! I wound up doing a 360 in the middle of the road and also threw my hands up in the air and cried out to God to save me. I too felt someone take hold of the wheel and watched it turn...my hands weren't touching it! The angel got my car over to the right side of the road, down the hill and pointing the right way, and then gently brought the car to a complete stop! I was bugged eyed by this time and just praising God!!!! I then continued safely to go get my daughter. I found out too that my car was the last one down the hill before the police closed the road!
I worked in health care for many years before I was disabled. One of my patients was elderly and very senile. No one could get her to take her meds. So before I went into see her the first time, I prayed and asked the Lord to help me get her to take them. Then I went into her room. The was rocking away and just smiling sweetly. I introduced myself and she told me that she knew I was there to try and make her take those meds. I told her that I would really appreciate it if she would and she pointed to a corner of her room (which was empty) and said "do you see them". "Who?" I asked. "The three angels there! she replied! They came and told me that I have to do what you say cause you care about me." I thanked God for helping me as she quietly and serenely took her meds. Never did have a problem with her!
When my 5th child, Jennifer, was born, she was 3 months premature, weighed just about 2 pounds and they first told me she wouldn't live. She did of course lol and that's another story all by itself!
She needed a blood transfusion right away due to being filled with infection. Plus, they said that most likely the only blood that would work would be her dad's because of how small she was, that she would most likely reject anyone else's. (the other kids and I didn't have her blood type) Well I had no idea where her "dad" was. My husband had abandoned us months ago and about the only thing I knew was that he wasn't in the state.
Then they told me that they weren't going to give her one because they said it would take so long to get the blood and prepare it etc, that by the time they got it to the NICU (newborn intensive care unit) she'd be dead anyway. The chances of her body not rejecting donor blood were minute too, they told me. So all things considered, they just didn't think it was worth the effort.
I had a fit and insisted that they get on the stick and order one immediately!!! When they finally did, it turned out that they didn't have her type of blood! It was right around midnight of the day she was born by now.
About 5 minutes after that, the charge nurse in the NICU got a call from the lab. A man that no one knew, walked in off the street and went to the lab. He told them he wanted to donate blood and he just happened to have the same type blood as Jennifer! (can anyone say "angel"?) So they got it from him, processed it or whatever they do with it and brought it upstairs and did the transfusion.
Her little body, not only didn't reject the blood, but she "lived" and she thrived! And all because some stranger walked into a hospital after midnight to donate blood...that just happened to be her type.
Now if that wasn't an Angel, then I don't know what an Angel is!There are pictures of her and her husband and her children in my photo albums in my profile. I'm pretty sure there's some of her from when she was born too.
Sorry, I couldn't shorten that one any more...That's enough for now anyway
You know, we're all used to hearing of angels coming to "take us home", and they obviously do, but we tend to forget something else that's very important. Our Lord told us that He would never leave us, and He means exactly what He says. He doesn't leave us when we're dying and then show up again after we're dead. He's right there with us all the time, never leaving our side. But He's kind enough to sometimes allow us to see His angels first, before we pass over, to prepare us for actually seeing Him. Many of the people I've been with when they died saw angels first, but some of them saw the Lord first too.
More Miracles
OK, Here's one of my weirder miracles LOL
Once, a long time ago I was very upset because I hadn't known about something important so I could pray about it, and by the time I found out about it, it was all over. I was talking to the Lord as I was so upset and He showed me something that just totally floored me, and made me realize that I don't have to worry when that happens. Since He isn't bound by time it doesn't matter if we don't pray "in time" for something because He can take our prayers regardless of "when" we pray them and apply them to the appropriate time and place. Isn't that cool????? I was so excited when He showed me that! Now, I don't think He'd do that if we used that knowledge to purposely put off praying for something that we did know about, but when we just space things out honestly, or for some other reason just honestly aren't aware of it, then I'm positive He will do that. He's such an awesome God!!!
I was just blown away by it when the Lord showed it to me and later He confirmed it in a way it couldn't be denied. I don't usually tell people about it though cause it really is literally unbelievable LOL I was on my way to work one morning and I was late by at least 5 minutes and that's assuming I would speed. Normally it would take a good 10 more minutes to get to work from where I was at the moment I prayed. It was 7:07am and I asked the Lord to somehow get me to work on time as it was really important for that day. I didn't speed though as that's against the law and so a sin too. When I pulled into the driveway it was 7am. No... I didn't look at the clock wrong lol it was digital. Now you know why I don't tell people about that one LOL
I don't mind sharing most of the miracles the Lord has done, but some, like that one, were so obviously miraculous that they're pretty hard to believe...even for me lol and I was there!
There's one miracle that the Lord gave me, that He used to show me how a miracle He does for one person can affect many other people as well. It was one of those miracles that others often see as being supposedly coincidences. It was something I'd prayed for though, knowing the Lord would answer, so I knew it wasn't coincidence. But, since it wasn't "supernatural" it didn't seem to me at the time like something others would affect other people at all.
Going back in time to just after I was saved, our house was being foreclosed. I'd looked and looked and hadn't been able to find anything that I could afford to live in, so of course I asked the Lord to provide a home for me and my children that I could afford by March 1st, the date we were supposed to move out on. On Feb 27th I still hadn't found anything, but we were all packed up and ready to go and had been for several days already.
My friends were literally freaking out asking me what in the world was I going to do if I didn't find something, especially since I had 5 children. They were really frightened for me, offering to let us stay with them until I could find something. I just kept telling them that it was going to be OK, that the Lord would provide in time.
The afternoon of the next day, Feb 28th, and the very last day I had before eviction, I found out about an apartment that had just been vacated. It was perfect in that it was the cheapest place in the entire town (or neighboring towns!) and the ONLY place I could have afforded, although it wasn't well known. I went to the owner and told him I wanted it. He said I had to give him the rent and deposit before I could sign the lease and he had someone else who wanted it scheduled to be there in 15 minutes to see it! I ran to the bank (only 2 mins away), got the money and brought it back to him. I was signing the lease when the other couple came to the door! He said it (obviously) wasn't ready to move into since the previous occupants had just moved out, but I told him that I didn't care about that and would clean it myself. He agreed and I spent that afternoon after work cleaning it. The next morning was our deadline day, March 1st and that's when we moved into the apartment!
My friends were just totally awestruck and shocked. They kept saying, "you told us God would do it, but I didn't believe you and thought you were just trying to be positive, but He really did and you never doubted it for a minute!" I discovered later that it was this miracle that brought my friends back to Christ and they rededicated their lives to Him because of what He'd done for me. I know they tell people about this miracle all the time too, so there's no telling who else has been affected by it that I'm unaware of.
An update to that is that we lived in that apartment for 8 years and I longed for my own house again. The eighth year we were there, I asked the Lord (again) for a nicer home of our own. We found a mobile home we fell in love with at the end of October and moved into in December of that same year. What really blew my mind though was what I found out about just before we moved in here. I'd known our landlord was trying to sell the place, and discovered that he had sold it and that the new owners were going to be more then tripling the rent in January! There was no way we could have afforded that and the Lord knew that. The monthly cost on house we bought came out to be about the same amount a month that we'd been paying for the apartment before! In the past year I've checked our town and all the surrounding towns to see if there was anyplace we could live that was even cheaper then where we are now, and there's nothing less then what we have. The only place that came close is the apartments that my daughter Jennifer lives in now and that was almost tied with us. God is just so amazing! He got us out of that apartment at just the perfect time, even though we didn't know we were in any danger. If we hadn't moved when we did though, there's no way we could have paid the rent the new landlord demanded and we wouldn't have had anyplace to go. God most certainly is in control!
Once, a long time ago I was very upset because I hadn't known about something important so I could pray about it, and by the time I found out about it, it was all over. I was talking to the Lord as I was so upset and He showed me something that just totally floored me, and made me realize that I don't have to worry when that happens. Since He isn't bound by time it doesn't matter if we don't pray "in time" for something because He can take our prayers regardless of "when" we pray them and apply them to the appropriate time and place. Isn't that cool????? I was so excited when He showed me that! Now, I don't think He'd do that if we used that knowledge to purposely put off praying for something that we did know about, but when we just space things out honestly, or for some other reason just honestly aren't aware of it, then I'm positive He will do that. He's such an awesome God!!!
I was just blown away by it when the Lord showed it to me and later He confirmed it in a way it couldn't be denied. I don't usually tell people about it though cause it really is literally unbelievable LOL I was on my way to work one morning and I was late by at least 5 minutes and that's assuming I would speed. Normally it would take a good 10 more minutes to get to work from where I was at the moment I prayed. It was 7:07am and I asked the Lord to somehow get me to work on time as it was really important for that day. I didn't speed though as that's against the law and so a sin too. When I pulled into the driveway it was 7am. No... I didn't look at the clock wrong lol it was digital. Now you know why I don't tell people about that one LOL
I don't mind sharing most of the miracles the Lord has done, but some, like that one, were so obviously miraculous that they're pretty hard to believe...even for me lol and I was there!
There's one miracle that the Lord gave me, that He used to show me how a miracle He does for one person can affect many other people as well. It was one of those miracles that others often see as being supposedly coincidences. It was something I'd prayed for though, knowing the Lord would answer, so I knew it wasn't coincidence. But, since it wasn't "supernatural" it didn't seem to me at the time like something others would affect other people at all.
Going back in time to just after I was saved, our house was being foreclosed. I'd looked and looked and hadn't been able to find anything that I could afford to live in, so of course I asked the Lord to provide a home for me and my children that I could afford by March 1st, the date we were supposed to move out on. On Feb 27th I still hadn't found anything, but we were all packed up and ready to go and had been for several days already.
My friends were literally freaking out asking me what in the world was I going to do if I didn't find something, especially since I had 5 children. They were really frightened for me, offering to let us stay with them until I could find something. I just kept telling them that it was going to be OK, that the Lord would provide in time.
The afternoon of the next day, Feb 28th, and the very last day I had before eviction, I found out about an apartment that had just been vacated. It was perfect in that it was the cheapest place in the entire town (or neighboring towns!) and the ONLY place I could have afforded, although it wasn't well known. I went to the owner and told him I wanted it. He said I had to give him the rent and deposit before I could sign the lease and he had someone else who wanted it scheduled to be there in 15 minutes to see it! I ran to the bank (only 2 mins away), got the money and brought it back to him. I was signing the lease when the other couple came to the door! He said it (obviously) wasn't ready to move into since the previous occupants had just moved out, but I told him that I didn't care about that and would clean it myself. He agreed and I spent that afternoon after work cleaning it. The next morning was our deadline day, March 1st and that's when we moved into the apartment!
My friends were just totally awestruck and shocked. They kept saying, "you told us God would do it, but I didn't believe you and thought you were just trying to be positive, but He really did and you never doubted it for a minute!" I discovered later that it was this miracle that brought my friends back to Christ and they rededicated their lives to Him because of what He'd done for me. I know they tell people about this miracle all the time too, so there's no telling who else has been affected by it that I'm unaware of.
An update to that is that we lived in that apartment for 8 years and I longed for my own house again. The eighth year we were there, I asked the Lord (again) for a nicer home of our own. We found a mobile home we fell in love with at the end of October and moved into in December of that same year. What really blew my mind though was what I found out about just before we moved in here. I'd known our landlord was trying to sell the place, and discovered that he had sold it and that the new owners were going to be more then tripling the rent in January! There was no way we could have afforded that and the Lord knew that. The monthly cost on house we bought came out to be about the same amount a month that we'd been paying for the apartment before! In the past year I've checked our town and all the surrounding towns to see if there was anyplace we could live that was even cheaper then where we are now, and there's nothing less then what we have. The only place that came close is the apartments that my daughter Jennifer lives in now and that was almost tied with us. God is just so amazing! He got us out of that apartment at just the perfect time, even though we didn't know we were in any danger. If we hadn't moved when we did though, there's no way we could have paid the rent the new landlord demanded and we wouldn't have had anyplace to go. God most certainly is in control!
Have you experienced or seen a major miracle?
The Lord has granted me so many outright
miracles in my life that it just amazes me. Then of course there's His
"regular" miracles that we see all the time, such as the miracle of a
new infant when they're born, or the miracles in nature, etc. But the
miracles I'm talking about here are the kind that can't be explained by
any natural means; the kind where God has stepped in and intervened in
your life or someone elses life in an obviously supernatural way. To
me, it seems like the better I know Him the more often He does that. I
thought it would be really encouraging for us if we shared some of those
miracles with each other here. I know we're all going through hard
times, and it helps strengthen us to carry on, when we remember what God
has done for us in the past.
There is one miracle I don't think I've told before that happened to me when I was just a baby a few months old. Of course I don't remember it, but my mother told me about it several times. That in itself is a miracle since she spent her life angry at God and denying His existence for the most part. She told me that I had gotten sick and the doctor had done xrays and found a mass or tumor in my abdomen. Surgery was scheduled for the next day to remove it. I don't recall what she said the mass was...I think they didn't know for sure yet. I can only imagine now how she must have felt...her only child, just a few months old, with what she said was a very large mass in my abdomen and having to have surgery. This was back in 1956 so surgery was still considered very dangerous. I'm sure she was just terrified and in fact, she told me she was. Scared enough that she broke down and got on her knees and prayed to the God she hated for me. She said she laid her hand on my tummy and prayed all night for me kneeling next to me as I slept. The next day they did another xray before surgery at my mother's insistence and much to her total amazement and the doctors too, the mass was completely gone. She said that if the doctors didn't have the xray from the day before right there next to it, they wouldn't have believed it had ever been there! According to my mother, I also no longer had any of the symptoms I'd had from it before. So of course I was pronounced healthy and sent home with my mother. Why that didn't convince her of God's love for her, I don't know. But it was certainly a miracle as far as the doctors and my parents were concerned, and back then doctors weren't afraid to admit when they saw a miracle happen.
I deleted the part about my mother that she also used to tell me that she was sure that the reason she was born and her whole purpose in life was simply to have me and raise me.
I could never really figure out why my mom hated God so much. A lot of times when she talked about it at all, which wasn't often, it seemed like her anger was mainly at the RCC and not really God at all. Then after the RCC, her anger seemed to be directed at the bible. I know she felt no one could really understand it. When she gave in and bought me my first bible when I was 11, it was a "children's bible." I devoured every page in it, since it was all I had, but really wanted a real bible and continued asking for one. She finally became exasperated with me and told me that she'd buy one for me when I could understand the children's one. I told her I already did and of course she didn't believe me. She flipped through it and picked out stories and asked me to explain them to her then and I did. To me, the meaning of the stories and what happened in them were just as obvious as any Dr Seuss book
When
she first started asking me questions, she was kind of antagonistic,
but when she saw that I really did understand what I was reading, she
became more curious then antagonistic. After that though, she only
asked me about a few more. I got my real bible shortly after that
though and began devouring it the same way.
A few months later she asked me if I really understood what was in the Bible, and again I told her that I really did, because I really thought I did. She asked me to explain several things to her and I did, but her last question, I felt I understood it, but I had a very hard time explaining it to her and I felt like I had failed. She asked me to explain what or who the Holy Ghost was. She never indicated that I hadn't explained it well enough or anything like that, but I felt that I hadn't.
Growing up, she encouraged me to sin in many ways because she disagreed that those things were sins. I never preached at her though, never condemned her or anything like that. I felt it was my job to simply answer questions when she asked them and try to live the way God said to. But I'd get into trouble when she'd tell me to do something that God said not to and had a lot of problems trying to work out for myself what I was supposed to do in cases like that since God said we're supposed to honor and obey our parents. By the time I was 16, I knew my bible like the back of my hand and had memorized a great deal of it. But my understanding wasn't right about sin. I didn't understand that Jesus had covered all my sins at that time. Mainly because I was teaching myself and had no one to help me.
But, I've gotta give her credit for one thing. She never tried to stop me from going to church, although she told me I'd have to get my own ride as she wanted to sleep in on Sundays. That wasn't hard to do though. And whenever I was being honored in some way at church, she always came to watch, but those were the only times she'd come. She never tried to get me to stop reading my bible or Christian books or anything like that. And she never put me down for any of it. Oh, she'd try and get me interested in "other things" but she never directly forbade me from going to church or studying my bible etc. The only time she in any way did something like that was when I wanted to go to Moody Bible college. She had told me she'd pay for my college education since I was a straight A student, but when I told her where I wanted to go, she said there was no way she'd ever spend a penny to send me there. I knew she desperately wanted me to go to college though, so I rebelled by simply saying, "fine, then I won't go to any college at all" and I didn't. I think she thought she'd get me to go after a year or so, and who knows, maybe she'd have even given in and let me go to Moody; but I'll never know because within a year she was quite sick with cancer and died another year later.
I've always believed she went to Hell, but several years ago now, the Lord told me not to be so certain, which really surprised me. He told me that I didn't know what had happened in my mothers heart or what she'd been thinking even the hours before she died, and that time was no problem for Him, because He could spend what for us was just a few minutes, and make it last for hours or months if need be for Him and her. I thought at first it was just wishful thinking on my part, but I'm sure now, it was the Lord who told me that. It may be wishful thinking that just maybe she'll be waiting for me in heaven, and I refuse to hold onto that wish very tightly. Instead I hold it loosely, knowing that if there was any possible way for the Lord to save her, that He would have done so, and she will be there; but that if she isn't there, it's not His fault and I wouldn't blame Him for a second if she's not. I felt very guilty for a long time, thinking that she was in hell because I hadn't done my job well enough. But the Lord let me know that simply wasn't true. That He never sends just one person, and a child at that, to tell someone about His Son, and that He really doesn't need anyone to tell others the Truth because He's perfectly capable of telling them Himself if need be. So, if she is in Hell, it's only because of her own choosing and is no fault of mine.
But, I've gotta say, if she is in heaven, that would be one fantastic miracle and I would rejoice and praise Him forever for it!
There is one miracle I don't think I've told before that happened to me when I was just a baby a few months old. Of course I don't remember it, but my mother told me about it several times. That in itself is a miracle since she spent her life angry at God and denying His existence for the most part. She told me that I had gotten sick and the doctor had done xrays and found a mass or tumor in my abdomen. Surgery was scheduled for the next day to remove it. I don't recall what she said the mass was...I think they didn't know for sure yet. I can only imagine now how she must have felt...her only child, just a few months old, with what she said was a very large mass in my abdomen and having to have surgery. This was back in 1956 so surgery was still considered very dangerous. I'm sure she was just terrified and in fact, she told me she was. Scared enough that she broke down and got on her knees and prayed to the God she hated for me. She said she laid her hand on my tummy and prayed all night for me kneeling next to me as I slept. The next day they did another xray before surgery at my mother's insistence and much to her total amazement and the doctors too, the mass was completely gone. She said that if the doctors didn't have the xray from the day before right there next to it, they wouldn't have believed it had ever been there! According to my mother, I also no longer had any of the symptoms I'd had from it before. So of course I was pronounced healthy and sent home with my mother. Why that didn't convince her of God's love for her, I don't know. But it was certainly a miracle as far as the doctors and my parents were concerned, and back then doctors weren't afraid to admit when they saw a miracle happen.
I deleted the part about my mother that she also used to tell me that she was sure that the reason she was born and her whole purpose in life was simply to have me and raise me.
I could never really figure out why my mom hated God so much. A lot of times when she talked about it at all, which wasn't often, it seemed like her anger was mainly at the RCC and not really God at all. Then after the RCC, her anger seemed to be directed at the bible. I know she felt no one could really understand it. When she gave in and bought me my first bible when I was 11, it was a "children's bible." I devoured every page in it, since it was all I had, but really wanted a real bible and continued asking for one. She finally became exasperated with me and told me that she'd buy one for me when I could understand the children's one. I told her I already did and of course she didn't believe me. She flipped through it and picked out stories and asked me to explain them to her then and I did. To me, the meaning of the stories and what happened in them were just as obvious as any Dr Seuss book
When
she first started asking me questions, she was kind of antagonistic,
but when she saw that I really did understand what I was reading, she
became more curious then antagonistic. After that though, she only
asked me about a few more. I got my real bible shortly after that
though and began devouring it the same way.A few months later she asked me if I really understood what was in the Bible, and again I told her that I really did, because I really thought I did. She asked me to explain several things to her and I did, but her last question, I felt I understood it, but I had a very hard time explaining it to her and I felt like I had failed. She asked me to explain what or who the Holy Ghost was. She never indicated that I hadn't explained it well enough or anything like that, but I felt that I hadn't.
Growing up, she encouraged me to sin in many ways because she disagreed that those things were sins. I never preached at her though, never condemned her or anything like that. I felt it was my job to simply answer questions when she asked them and try to live the way God said to. But I'd get into trouble when she'd tell me to do something that God said not to and had a lot of problems trying to work out for myself what I was supposed to do in cases like that since God said we're supposed to honor and obey our parents. By the time I was 16, I knew my bible like the back of my hand and had memorized a great deal of it. But my understanding wasn't right about sin. I didn't understand that Jesus had covered all my sins at that time. Mainly because I was teaching myself and had no one to help me.
But, I've gotta give her credit for one thing. She never tried to stop me from going to church, although she told me I'd have to get my own ride as she wanted to sleep in on Sundays. That wasn't hard to do though. And whenever I was being honored in some way at church, she always came to watch, but those were the only times she'd come. She never tried to get me to stop reading my bible or Christian books or anything like that. And she never put me down for any of it. Oh, she'd try and get me interested in "other things" but she never directly forbade me from going to church or studying my bible etc. The only time she in any way did something like that was when I wanted to go to Moody Bible college. She had told me she'd pay for my college education since I was a straight A student, but when I told her where I wanted to go, she said there was no way she'd ever spend a penny to send me there. I knew she desperately wanted me to go to college though, so I rebelled by simply saying, "fine, then I won't go to any college at all" and I didn't. I think she thought she'd get me to go after a year or so, and who knows, maybe she'd have even given in and let me go to Moody; but I'll never know because within a year she was quite sick with cancer and died another year later.
I've always believed she went to Hell, but several years ago now, the Lord told me not to be so certain, which really surprised me. He told me that I didn't know what had happened in my mothers heart or what she'd been thinking even the hours before she died, and that time was no problem for Him, because He could spend what for us was just a few minutes, and make it last for hours or months if need be for Him and her. I thought at first it was just wishful thinking on my part, but I'm sure now, it was the Lord who told me that. It may be wishful thinking that just maybe she'll be waiting for me in heaven, and I refuse to hold onto that wish very tightly. Instead I hold it loosely, knowing that if there was any possible way for the Lord to save her, that He would have done so, and she will be there; but that if she isn't there, it's not His fault and I wouldn't blame Him for a second if she's not. I felt very guilty for a long time, thinking that she was in hell because I hadn't done my job well enough. But the Lord let me know that simply wasn't true. That He never sends just one person, and a child at that, to tell someone about His Son, and that He really doesn't need anyone to tell others the Truth because He's perfectly capable of telling them Himself if need be. So, if she is in Hell, it's only because of her own choosing and is no fault of mine.
But, I've gotta say, if she is in heaven, that would be one fantastic miracle and I would rejoice and praise Him forever for it!
On Eagles Wings
On Eagles Wings
By Cynthia LaFreniere
January 2001
Back in October I had an incredible experience which I would like to share with you. I've been trying to figure out the best way to do that, and finally came to the conclusion that the only way to do it was to tell it just like it happened. On the morning of October 12th, I was driving to work.
As usual, I was praying and listening to praise and worship music. We live out in the country, so most of the roads are quiet with little traffic and woods on both sides. Getting closer to work, I felt prompted to pray for myself, as I was due to have a procedure done on my back in a few days. The procedure involved inserting two wires, and wrapping them around two of my disks. Then the wires are heated up and left there until they had melted my disks. Afterwords I would be in a brace for 6 months. I wasn't looking forward to it at all. The whole idea scared me, and I'm not into pain! It was only after a lot of prayer that I had decided to go ahead and have the procedure done. I really felt it was what the Lord wanted me to do, so I was determined to obey. So I began to pray, asking the Lord to divinely guide the doctor, the staff and everyone who would be involved in the procedure, and to use it to bring about a total healing of my back.
No sooner had I gotten those words out of my mouth, than I saw a large bird lift up off the ground on the left side of the road. The bird flew toward my car and landed with wings outstretched, on the hood in front of the windshield.
It was a huge and magnificent eagle! I couldn't believe it! All I could say was "Oh Wow Lord!" It was as if time stood still. What was in reality probably a second, seemed to last for several minutes. The Eagle was so close, I could make out the tiniest details of his feathers.
This seemed to last for several minutes, although I know it couldn't have. The eagle was obviously blocking my view of the road but for some reason that never occurred to me. Nor did it occur to me to be scared.
The instant the eagle landed on the hood a verse from the Bible exploded into my mind It was Isaiah 40: 31. "Those who put their hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint." Seeing the eagle and the verse coming into my mind both happened simultaneously. (Although I had heard this verse before, it was not one I had committed to memory) All I could do was repeat, "Wow Lord!" and cry as my heart swelled with love and thankfulness, that God would care enough about me to send me such a mind-boggling sign. Then the eagle lifted and flew off to the right.
I spent the rest of the ride to work praising the Lord! By the end of the workday however, doubts were entering my mind. I couldn't possibly have seen what I saw; but I did! It couldn't have really been an eagle, it must have been some other kind of bird--one found in abundance in our area.
I decided to look up birds on the Internet when I got home. After all, I'd had a very close up view of the bird so I'd definitely be able to identify a picture of it! I figured the easiest way to do it, would be to rule out eagles right off the bat, so I looked them up and found some close up pictures of them. Much to my continued amazement, I discovered that it really had been an eagle!
I of course I thanked the Lord all over again- and asked Him to forgive me for my doubts! The following week I went in to have the procedure done. When I was out from under the anesthesia, the doctor told me that everything had gone very well. He said it was really strange though because when he went to wrap the wires around my disks, it was like someone was inside of me guiding the wires for him! He said nothing like that had ever happened to him before! Since the procedure, I have healed very quickly, not even needing the narcotic pain relievers after the first two weeks! The doctor continues to be amazed at my recovery, saying they have never had anyone do so well. God has indeed renewed my strength, and my hope continues to be in Him. It is my prayer that the Lord will use this testimony to bring you hope and encouragement. May God Bless you always. Sincerely. Cindy
October 2001
Since writing this in January, I have had some major setbacks in my recovery. The Lord has continued to assure me of His love and that He will heal me. He just hasn't said when, and I realize it might not be until I get to heaven. Whenever I begin to feel depressed or upset about the continuing pain, I remember the eagle, and think now that perhaps this is why the Lord sent me such an amazing sign. In His wisdom, He knew I would need something like that to keep my faith and spirits up. What a good God we have! He is such a good and loving Father! I also confess that I have become much closer to Him throughout this experience. I don't think that would have happened if I had been healed immediately. I admit that I have been a stubborn and very active person, so all good intentions aside, I truly don't think I would have taken the time to study the Word, pray and worship any where near as much as I have, if I had been able to go back to work and lead a normal life right away. I have come to trust and believe my heavenly Father and know that He will do what He has said, and that He knows what is best for me. Therefore, I thank and praise Him for all He has taught me and shown me during this time, and look forward expectantly every day for the good gifts He gives me.
Now I too can relate and say Amen to these verses:
Daniel 3:17 "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18. "But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.''
1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ
My faith does not "require the Lord to heal me. I will worship, praise and trust Him regardless of that! He IS Good, all the time!!!!!
March 2002
After my initial quick recovery, my back began to get worse. Even more disks became herniated and began degenerating, causing me a great deal of pain. At first I kept asking the Lord to keep His promise and heal me as He said He would. Finally I heard His reply. He never said He would heal me physically—just that He would be with me and turn all things for my good. He had also given me the last part of this verse when I first hurt my back: Daniel 12:13 "; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.'' So I knew I was supposed to “rest” and not worry about working or money etc. (Talk about a hard lesson to learn!) The Lord reminded me of all I had learned since being injured; of the great deal of time I now spent reading His word and in prayer; of all the deep emotional wounds He had been healing in me during this time. I knew that none of this would have happened if I was healthy and able to work. I would have been too busy. I feel the Lord sent that eagle to be a reminder to me of His constant love, so I would have something tangible to hold onto as time went on, and I wasn’t “healed” from the physical problems.
December 2008:
I learned many years ago that when the Lord said He would heal me that he wasn't just referring to my physical body, although that is what I took it to mean at first. Instead the Lord has healed my spirit and soul, my heart and my emotions. He has built me up in Himself and given me more then I could have ever asked for through a much closer relationship with Him. I wouldn't trade that for a healed body, no matter how much money someone offered me! The eagle He sent me however has always been something that I could hold on to when I was in pain, to remember without a doubt that the Lord is indeed with me, that He loves me, and that all things will be worked together by Him for my good. Thank You Lord!
May 2012
Isaiah 40: 31. "Those who put their hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint."
Before my hope was in being healed, in what I wanted, not what He wanted and not just Him. He wanted me to put my hope in Him...for all things, not just having the pain stop. And because of that pain, I've learned to trust Him and that the things we see in this life as "bad" aren't always really "bad" at all. Instead, they can actually be good. Through the daily pain, I've come to know and trust my Lord completely and I get closer to Him every day. I have to rely on Him, because there is no human that can help me and I certainly cannot help myself. Reading back over this, I've seen even more clearly how much He's taught me over these years and how far I've come from where I was. I can't begin to thank Him enough for all the changes He's made in me and all the ways He's healed me both emotionally and spiritually. No, there's been no physical healing--in fact my physical problems continue to get worse; but because of them and because I've learned to rely on Him, I can now comfort others who live with pain. He's given me wonderful resources to help as I study His Word with Him every day and I had to laugh when I looked up what the commentaries said about the verse He'd given me:
There is a general principle here that patient, praying believers are blessed by God with strength in their trials (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:8–10 — Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.). The MacArthur study Bible
The word “renew” means “to exchange,” as taking off old clothes and putting on new. We exchange our weakness for His power (2 Cor. 12:1–10). As we wait before Him, God enables us to soar when there is a crisis, to run when the challenges are many, and to walk faithfully in the day-by-day demands of life. It is much harder to walk in the ordinary pressures of life than to fly like the eagle in a time of crisis. Be comforted. An Old Testament study.
All I can say to that is, Amen and thank You Lord!
By Cynthia LaFreniere
January 2001
Back in October I had an incredible experience which I would like to share with you. I've been trying to figure out the best way to do that, and finally came to the conclusion that the only way to do it was to tell it just like it happened. On the morning of October 12th, I was driving to work.
As usual, I was praying and listening to praise and worship music. We live out in the country, so most of the roads are quiet with little traffic and woods on both sides. Getting closer to work, I felt prompted to pray for myself, as I was due to have a procedure done on my back in a few days. The procedure involved inserting two wires, and wrapping them around two of my disks. Then the wires are heated up and left there until they had melted my disks. Afterwords I would be in a brace for 6 months. I wasn't looking forward to it at all. The whole idea scared me, and I'm not into pain! It was only after a lot of prayer that I had decided to go ahead and have the procedure done. I really felt it was what the Lord wanted me to do, so I was determined to obey. So I began to pray, asking the Lord to divinely guide the doctor, the staff and everyone who would be involved in the procedure, and to use it to bring about a total healing of my back.
No sooner had I gotten those words out of my mouth, than I saw a large bird lift up off the ground on the left side of the road. The bird flew toward my car and landed with wings outstretched, on the hood in front of the windshield.
It was a huge and magnificent eagle! I couldn't believe it! All I could say was "Oh Wow Lord!" It was as if time stood still. What was in reality probably a second, seemed to last for several minutes. The Eagle was so close, I could make out the tiniest details of his feathers.
This seemed to last for several minutes, although I know it couldn't have. The eagle was obviously blocking my view of the road but for some reason that never occurred to me. Nor did it occur to me to be scared.
The instant the eagle landed on the hood a verse from the Bible exploded into my mind It was Isaiah 40: 31. "Those who put their hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint." Seeing the eagle and the verse coming into my mind both happened simultaneously. (Although I had heard this verse before, it was not one I had committed to memory) All I could do was repeat, "Wow Lord!" and cry as my heart swelled with love and thankfulness, that God would care enough about me to send me such a mind-boggling sign. Then the eagle lifted and flew off to the right.
I spent the rest of the ride to work praising the Lord! By the end of the workday however, doubts were entering my mind. I couldn't possibly have seen what I saw; but I did! It couldn't have really been an eagle, it must have been some other kind of bird--one found in abundance in our area.
I decided to look up birds on the Internet when I got home. After all, I'd had a very close up view of the bird so I'd definitely be able to identify a picture of it! I figured the easiest way to do it, would be to rule out eagles right off the bat, so I looked them up and found some close up pictures of them. Much to my continued amazement, I discovered that it really had been an eagle!
I of course I thanked the Lord all over again- and asked Him to forgive me for my doubts! The following week I went in to have the procedure done. When I was out from under the anesthesia, the doctor told me that everything had gone very well. He said it was really strange though because when he went to wrap the wires around my disks, it was like someone was inside of me guiding the wires for him! He said nothing like that had ever happened to him before! Since the procedure, I have healed very quickly, not even needing the narcotic pain relievers after the first two weeks! The doctor continues to be amazed at my recovery, saying they have never had anyone do so well. God has indeed renewed my strength, and my hope continues to be in Him. It is my prayer that the Lord will use this testimony to bring you hope and encouragement. May God Bless you always. Sincerely. Cindy
October 2001Since writing this in January, I have had some major setbacks in my recovery. The Lord has continued to assure me of His love and that He will heal me. He just hasn't said when, and I realize it might not be until I get to heaven. Whenever I begin to feel depressed or upset about the continuing pain, I remember the eagle, and think now that perhaps this is why the Lord sent me such an amazing sign. In His wisdom, He knew I would need something like that to keep my faith and spirits up. What a good God we have! He is such a good and loving Father! I also confess that I have become much closer to Him throughout this experience. I don't think that would have happened if I had been healed immediately. I admit that I have been a stubborn and very active person, so all good intentions aside, I truly don't think I would have taken the time to study the Word, pray and worship any where near as much as I have, if I had been able to go back to work and lead a normal life right away. I have come to trust and believe my heavenly Father and know that He will do what He has said, and that He knows what is best for me. Therefore, I thank and praise Him for all He has taught me and shown me during this time, and look forward expectantly every day for the good gifts He gives me.
Now I too can relate and say Amen to these verses:
Daniel 3:17 "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18. "But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.''
1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ
My faith does not "require the Lord to heal me. I will worship, praise and trust Him regardless of that! He IS Good, all the time!!!!!
March 2002After my initial quick recovery, my back began to get worse. Even more disks became herniated and began degenerating, causing me a great deal of pain. At first I kept asking the Lord to keep His promise and heal me as He said He would. Finally I heard His reply. He never said He would heal me physically—just that He would be with me and turn all things for my good. He had also given me the last part of this verse when I first hurt my back: Daniel 12:13 "; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.'' So I knew I was supposed to “rest” and not worry about working or money etc. (Talk about a hard lesson to learn!) The Lord reminded me of all I had learned since being injured; of the great deal of time I now spent reading His word and in prayer; of all the deep emotional wounds He had been healing in me during this time. I knew that none of this would have happened if I was healthy and able to work. I would have been too busy. I feel the Lord sent that eagle to be a reminder to me of His constant love, so I would have something tangible to hold onto as time went on, and I wasn’t “healed” from the physical problems.
December 2008: I learned many years ago that when the Lord said He would heal me that he wasn't just referring to my physical body, although that is what I took it to mean at first. Instead the Lord has healed my spirit and soul, my heart and my emotions. He has built me up in Himself and given me more then I could have ever asked for through a much closer relationship with Him. I wouldn't trade that for a healed body, no matter how much money someone offered me! The eagle He sent me however has always been something that I could hold on to when I was in pain, to remember without a doubt that the Lord is indeed with me, that He loves me, and that all things will be worked together by Him for my good. Thank You Lord!
May 2012Isaiah 40: 31. "Those who put their hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint."
Before my hope was in being healed, in what I wanted, not what He wanted and not just Him. He wanted me to put my hope in Him...for all things, not just having the pain stop. And because of that pain, I've learned to trust Him and that the things we see in this life as "bad" aren't always really "bad" at all. Instead, they can actually be good. Through the daily pain, I've come to know and trust my Lord completely and I get closer to Him every day. I have to rely on Him, because there is no human that can help me and I certainly cannot help myself. Reading back over this, I've seen even more clearly how much He's taught me over these years and how far I've come from where I was. I can't begin to thank Him enough for all the changes He's made in me and all the ways He's healed me both emotionally and spiritually. No, there's been no physical healing--in fact my physical problems continue to get worse; but because of them and because I've learned to rely on Him, I can now comfort others who live with pain. He's given me wonderful resources to help as I study His Word with Him every day and I had to laugh when I looked up what the commentaries said about the verse He'd given me:
There is a general principle here that patient, praying believers are blessed by God with strength in their trials (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:8–10 — Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.). The MacArthur study Bible
The word “renew” means “to exchange,” as taking off old clothes and putting on new. We exchange our weakness for His power (2 Cor. 12:1–10). As we wait before Him, God enables us to soar when there is a crisis, to run when the challenges are many, and to walk faithfully in the day-by-day demands of life. It is much harder to walk in the ordinary pressures of life than to fly like the eagle in a time of crisis. Be comforted. An Old Testament study.
All I can say to that is, Amen and thank You Lord!
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Oh how I love Jesus!
My parents were atheists, so the only knowledge I had of Jesus and
the Gospel came from church. Although I was only 12, I did talk my mom
into getting me a bible and I read it constantly. But no one explained
the gospel to me. No one taught me what everything meant. I tried very
hard to find out on my own. Even though I was 12, I decided that I'd
start going to Sunday School. I didn't want to start with the 6th grade
though, as I assumed I wasn't ready for that since I didn't know the
basics. I went to the 1st grade classroom for awhile, then the 2nd, etc.
till I felt I had learned all they had to offer. Then I went to my own
grade. But I still didn't know the gospel! Oh yeah, I knew the bible
stories now, and that's a start anyway, but I didn't know the most
important things of all!
I struggled for years, all my teen years and the first few adult years, to "be good" so that I would go to heaven. I adored Jesus! But I couldn't live up to His standards. I finally gave up. I knew it was just impossible. So I told Him how sorry I was, and that I loved Him, and that I understood that I'd have to go to hell, but that was OK, cause I knew I deserved hell. I did presume to ask Him if I might just see His face one time before He sent me there though, and if maybe I could give Him a hug.
I lived most of the rest of my adult life with that thought. I still went to church every Sunday, I still read my bible, I still prayed. But I did it all with the knowledge that I'd never go to heaven. I only hoped that maybe my children might make it somehow. And I still loved Jesus with all my heart.
It wasn't until approximately 12 years ago, that the Lord in His great mercy, spoke to me and showed me the Truth. My life at that time was a total wreck. I desperately needed help and I wanted answers. I knew enough to know that the only real truth could be found only in the Bible, so that was where I turned, to the Bible and prayer. I pleaded with the Lord to help me, to show me what to do, and to show me why I couldn't be good enough for Him. The reason I asked Him why I couldn't be good enough for Him was because I wanted to know where I had gone wrong, and how other people did it. I wanted to try one more time, but at the same time, I wasn't real sure the Lord would allow me to. I had gotten baptized when I was 12 and figured that every sin I committed after that moment was on my slate and I would have to pay for it in hell. I didn't think the Lord would let me get baptized again, but I had a faint hope that He might, since I was only a child then.... so I prayed and I read.
I immersed myself in my bible, and I started reading other Christian books as well. I honestly can't remember which book I was reading, although I think it was "Satan is alive and well on planet earth" by Hal Lindsey. I know that whichever book I was reading it was one of Hal's. Anyway, he explained the gospel in it, and the light went on, and I understood!!!! My soul rejoiced and I cried and prayed and cried some more as I realized that I was saved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That He loved me too! That I didn't have to be "good enough" for Him!!!! That He took me as I was!!!! Oh the glory of that moment!!! Time stood still and when it started again my whole world and my whole life was changed. Instantly.
(and yes, I'm crying my eyes out right now just remembering this)
Later, much later, lol, I asked the Lord, why it had taken me so long to learn the Truth. What I was really asking was "why didn't you tell me before!" The Lord showed me this verse:
Jeremiah 29:12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
That last line just jumped right out at me and practically glowed!
Yes, I had sought Him before, many times, but never with my "whole" heart. All those other times, there were many other things that my heart felt were just as important...school, getting good grades, friends, raising my kids, day to day life, my job, money, fixing whatever current crisis my life was in at that time, etc. It wasn't until I literally laid it ALL down and made finding the Lord my top priority and my only priority that I found Him. If you read back to where I said I started searching and reading my Bible again, you'll see that this time, I wasn't running to God so that He would fix the crisis I was in or help me get a raise or anything else. Yes, my life was a total wreck, but I had finally come to understand that it was a wreck because I didn't have Him in my lfe. I knew that He was what I needed, more then health, more then money, more then making my kids respect me, more then anything.
Ever since that moment, my life has been filled with joy. Oh yes, there have been many times that I had problems and that I had to deal with grief and heartache, as well as all the normal day to day problems everyone has. It wasn't an easy road to get my life turned around and put onto the right track, and I don't mean to imply that it was. Beneath it all however was a joy that has never left me. Joy that one day I will see my Savior face to face and that I will get to spend Eternity praising Him! That joy is my strength even now and I know it always will be no matter what comes. People may fail me, loved ones may hurt me, problems will come, but Jesus will never leave me and that joy is there, deep in my soul.
I struggled for years, all my teen years and the first few adult years, to "be good" so that I would go to heaven. I adored Jesus! But I couldn't live up to His standards. I finally gave up. I knew it was just impossible. So I told Him how sorry I was, and that I loved Him, and that I understood that I'd have to go to hell, but that was OK, cause I knew I deserved hell. I did presume to ask Him if I might just see His face one time before He sent me there though, and if maybe I could give Him a hug.
I lived most of the rest of my adult life with that thought. I still went to church every Sunday, I still read my bible, I still prayed. But I did it all with the knowledge that I'd never go to heaven. I only hoped that maybe my children might make it somehow. And I still loved Jesus with all my heart.
It wasn't until approximately 12 years ago, that the Lord in His great mercy, spoke to me and showed me the Truth. My life at that time was a total wreck. I desperately needed help and I wanted answers. I knew enough to know that the only real truth could be found only in the Bible, so that was where I turned, to the Bible and prayer. I pleaded with the Lord to help me, to show me what to do, and to show me why I couldn't be good enough for Him. The reason I asked Him why I couldn't be good enough for Him was because I wanted to know where I had gone wrong, and how other people did it. I wanted to try one more time, but at the same time, I wasn't real sure the Lord would allow me to. I had gotten baptized when I was 12 and figured that every sin I committed after that moment was on my slate and I would have to pay for it in hell. I didn't think the Lord would let me get baptized again, but I had a faint hope that He might, since I was only a child then.... so I prayed and I read.
I immersed myself in my bible, and I started reading other Christian books as well. I honestly can't remember which book I was reading, although I think it was "Satan is alive and well on planet earth" by Hal Lindsey. I know that whichever book I was reading it was one of Hal's. Anyway, he explained the gospel in it, and the light went on, and I understood!!!! My soul rejoiced and I cried and prayed and cried some more as I realized that I was saved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That He loved me too! That I didn't have to be "good enough" for Him!!!! That He took me as I was!!!! Oh the glory of that moment!!! Time stood still and when it started again my whole world and my whole life was changed. Instantly.
(and yes, I'm crying my eyes out right now just remembering this)
Later, much later, lol, I asked the Lord, why it had taken me so long to learn the Truth. What I was really asking was "why didn't you tell me before!" The Lord showed me this verse:
Jeremiah 29:12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
That last line just jumped right out at me and practically glowed!
Yes, I had sought Him before, many times, but never with my "whole" heart. All those other times, there were many other things that my heart felt were just as important...school, getting good grades, friends, raising my kids, day to day life, my job, money, fixing whatever current crisis my life was in at that time, etc. It wasn't until I literally laid it ALL down and made finding the Lord my top priority and my only priority that I found Him. If you read back to where I said I started searching and reading my Bible again, you'll see that this time, I wasn't running to God so that He would fix the crisis I was in or help me get a raise or anything else. Yes, my life was a total wreck, but I had finally come to understand that it was a wreck because I didn't have Him in my lfe. I knew that He was what I needed, more then health, more then money, more then making my kids respect me, more then anything.
Ever since that moment, my life has been filled with joy. Oh yes, there have been many times that I had problems and that I had to deal with grief and heartache, as well as all the normal day to day problems everyone has. It wasn't an easy road to get my life turned around and put onto the right track, and I don't mean to imply that it was. Beneath it all however was a joy that has never left me. Joy that one day I will see my Savior face to face and that I will get to spend Eternity praising Him! That joy is my strength even now and I know it always will be no matter what comes. People may fail me, loved ones may hurt me, problems will come, but Jesus will never leave me and that joy is there, deep in my soul.
Broken Dreams
Dear Friend,
There's so much I wish I could share with you. I'm sure we've both had to deal with a lot of pain and heartache in our lives. What I want you to know is that there is also a lot of joy. Has life just punched you out one to many times that you didn't know where to turn or what to do? In my struggles --about 11 years ago, I finally turned back to my Bible to look for some answers. I started praying and asking God to teach me how to pray and how to live and how to do His will. Years passed and I made many more big mistakes as I tried to deal with what life handed me.
At the same time however, I realized that God was answering my prayers and I was learning. I began to learn that most of the garbage I was going through was due to my own mistakes and sins of both the past and the present. One of the first things I did was to get rid of all the New Age stuff and books I had accumulated, as I'd learned from the Bible how terrible that stuff is in God's sight. I began asking Him to forgive me for all my sins. I really had no excuse. I'd known the Bible before. It just hadn't seemed "personal" before. It had seemed more like a history book, not one that was written for and about me. I had always felt that there was no way I could live up to God's expectations. I'd try and then get so frustrated and depressed because I just couldn't do it.
I didn't understand then that God didn't expect me too. I felt a lot like Humpty Dumpty. Both my whole life and me were in a lot of broken pieces and no one could ever put them back together again. Then one day I finally discovered the truth that Jesus had died to cover all my sins-past. Present and future, not just some of them! I discovered that He could and would restore all that I had lost over the years. He could put the pieces back together again! I was thrilled! I felt 'clean' for the first time ever! I had a clean slate and could now start over, and even the mistakes and sins I committed from now on would be covered!
Then God showed me how He would actually give me His power to do His will! Now it wasn't me trying to do things on my own-it was God living in me doing His will! It was awesome. I discovered that God was every bit as powerful now as He was in "Bible Times".
He still worked miracles on a regular basis, and still changed the lives of His people for the better! He still talks to people, even everyday kind of people like me! I began to learn more of just how great, good, deep and compassionate, His love is for His children. I began to understand that He loves to give His children good gifts and blessings, but because He is a Righteous and Just God, he cannot bless us when we are disobedient to Him. So the more obedient we became, the more He blessed us.
I learned that once you have asked Jesus to come into your heart and be your personal Lord and King, and to forgive your sins, He forgives them all, and begins to bless our lives. He does however expect us to turn from our sins and do our best to live in a way that is honoring to Him. Then He even helps us do it! He died an agonizing death on a cross, just so He could forgive your sins. (and mine) He knew all about you, even then. He thought of you, and gave His life, so you wouldn't have to.
You may think that going to church can't help you, and you're right. Church, in and of itself, can't help anyone. Jesus can. Jesus changes lives. Jesus brings hope where there is none, and God can make a way where there is no way. I know that as an absolute fact. He did it for me. A church building is just where people who know Jesus, get together to worship Him, learn more about Him and His Will and plan for them. It's where people who love the Lord can meet together to give moral, spiritual, physical, and material support to each other. It's where people who love the Lord can get together with the rest of their family-because in Christ we are truly family to each other and love each other as such. Some churches reflect that love better than others. We have been blessed to be part of a church that is filled with people honestly trying to reflect the love of Christ in every aspect of their lives.
I've learned that there is a big difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Him personally. Before, my life was a constant struggle to prove that I deserved to be loved. Now I live as someone who can celebrate the truth of my belovedness every day. The first time I felt the Lord's love for me personally, I was so overwhelmed! It was awesome! Slowly I came to realize that I could trust Him, that He wasn't going to abandon me. I learned to trust His word and know it for the Truth. The Bible became a long collection of love letters that the Lord had written just for me. He showed me in His Word that He forgives all my sins, heals all my diseases, redeems my life from the pit, (and I was in a deep one!) and crowns me with love and compassion. He satisfies my desires with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagles. (that's in Psalm 103:3-5) He daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves! (Psalm 68: 19-20) He says that He will contend with those who contend with me and that He will save my children. (Isaiah 49:25) He promises to help and strengthen us.
I went from a knowledge that God could do all these things (and much more) to an awestruck understanding that He will do them and He wants to do them for us! One of my favorite promises from Him is in Jeremiah 29: 11. He says, "1 know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." I am just so grateful to Him for all He's done for me, and all He continues to do, I could praise Him forever! That's why I wanted to share Him with you. What He's done for me, He'll do for you. You just have to ask Him to be Your Savior.
(this was originally written back in 2001)
There's so much I wish I could share with you. I'm sure we've both had to deal with a lot of pain and heartache in our lives. What I want you to know is that there is also a lot of joy. Has life just punched you out one to many times that you didn't know where to turn or what to do? In my struggles --about 11 years ago, I finally turned back to my Bible to look for some answers. I started praying and asking God to teach me how to pray and how to live and how to do His will. Years passed and I made many more big mistakes as I tried to deal with what life handed me.
At the same time however, I realized that God was answering my prayers and I was learning. I began to learn that most of the garbage I was going through was due to my own mistakes and sins of both the past and the present. One of the first things I did was to get rid of all the New Age stuff and books I had accumulated, as I'd learned from the Bible how terrible that stuff is in God's sight. I began asking Him to forgive me for all my sins. I really had no excuse. I'd known the Bible before. It just hadn't seemed "personal" before. It had seemed more like a history book, not one that was written for and about me. I had always felt that there was no way I could live up to God's expectations. I'd try and then get so frustrated and depressed because I just couldn't do it.
I didn't understand then that God didn't expect me too. I felt a lot like Humpty Dumpty. Both my whole life and me were in a lot of broken pieces and no one could ever put them back together again. Then one day I finally discovered the truth that Jesus had died to cover all my sins-past. Present and future, not just some of them! I discovered that He could and would restore all that I had lost over the years. He could put the pieces back together again! I was thrilled! I felt 'clean' for the first time ever! I had a clean slate and could now start over, and even the mistakes and sins I committed from now on would be covered!
Then God showed me how He would actually give me His power to do His will! Now it wasn't me trying to do things on my own-it was God living in me doing His will! It was awesome. I discovered that God was every bit as powerful now as He was in "Bible Times".
He still worked miracles on a regular basis, and still changed the lives of His people for the better! He still talks to people, even everyday kind of people like me! I began to learn more of just how great, good, deep and compassionate, His love is for His children. I began to understand that He loves to give His children good gifts and blessings, but because He is a Righteous and Just God, he cannot bless us when we are disobedient to Him. So the more obedient we became, the more He blessed us.
I learned that once you have asked Jesus to come into your heart and be your personal Lord and King, and to forgive your sins, He forgives them all, and begins to bless our lives. He does however expect us to turn from our sins and do our best to live in a way that is honoring to Him. Then He even helps us do it! He died an agonizing death on a cross, just so He could forgive your sins. (and mine) He knew all about you, even then. He thought of you, and gave His life, so you wouldn't have to.
You may think that going to church can't help you, and you're right. Church, in and of itself, can't help anyone. Jesus can. Jesus changes lives. Jesus brings hope where there is none, and God can make a way where there is no way. I know that as an absolute fact. He did it for me. A church building is just where people who know Jesus, get together to worship Him, learn more about Him and His Will and plan for them. It's where people who love the Lord can meet together to give moral, spiritual, physical, and material support to each other. It's where people who love the Lord can get together with the rest of their family-because in Christ we are truly family to each other and love each other as such. Some churches reflect that love better than others. We have been blessed to be part of a church that is filled with people honestly trying to reflect the love of Christ in every aspect of their lives.
I've learned that there is a big difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Him personally. Before, my life was a constant struggle to prove that I deserved to be loved. Now I live as someone who can celebrate the truth of my belovedness every day. The first time I felt the Lord's love for me personally, I was so overwhelmed! It was awesome! Slowly I came to realize that I could trust Him, that He wasn't going to abandon me. I learned to trust His word and know it for the Truth. The Bible became a long collection of love letters that the Lord had written just for me. He showed me in His Word that He forgives all my sins, heals all my diseases, redeems my life from the pit, (and I was in a deep one!) and crowns me with love and compassion. He satisfies my desires with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagles. (that's in Psalm 103:3-5) He daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves! (Psalm 68: 19-20) He says that He will contend with those who contend with me and that He will save my children. (Isaiah 49:25) He promises to help and strengthen us.
I went from a knowledge that God could do all these things (and much more) to an awestruck understanding that He will do them and He wants to do them for us! One of my favorite promises from Him is in Jeremiah 29: 11. He says, "1 know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." I am just so grateful to Him for all He's done for me, and all He continues to do, I could praise Him forever! That's why I wanted to share Him with you. What He's done for me, He'll do for you. You just have to ask Him to be Your Savior.
(this was originally written back in 2001)
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