A Closer Look at the Vine

 

Ezekial 17:8  It was planted in good soil by many waters, To bring forth branches, bear fruit, [And] become a majestic vine."

I have to say, I come from a family of “green thumbs.”   You know those people who can plant absolutely anything and it grows beautifully?  Well, that’s my family.  They grow flourishing vegetable gardens, grape vineyards, apple orchards, and colorful, flowing flower gardens that would put the photos in gardening magazines to shame.  And then, well…there’s me.  I have what you would call a “brown thumb.”  Anything I plant usually wilts and dies within days.  I have even managed to kill a cactus, which the experts say is nearly impossible. 

My “green thumb” dad was out to visit me recently.  While looking at my pathetic vine that was mostly brown and leafless, he said something very encouraging, “I think we can save this one.  Just a little Miracle Grow and some water and I think it will come back.”  Now I was amused because I haven’t been able to keep anything alive my entire life.  But I took his advice and gave it a good shot of Miracle grow and lots of water. 

 

This week, I glanced at my vine and to my surprise, I saw a new vine growth coming up the side of my pillar.  I got up closer to the vine and something caught my eye.  I saw these three pronged “hands” that were strategically placed every few inches up the vine.  When I grabbed on to the vine to pull it, these tough little “hands” were holding it firmly on my pillar.  “Ha,” I thought, “Lord, you really are amazing to have designed this vine so perfectly.”  As I stared at this miracle branch that I thought would never have grown under my tender care, the Lord caused me to hear His voice.  It was just His still, small voice in my heart.  He said, “Your life isn’t your own, Stacy.  You aren’t in control of it.   If you took a closer look, you would see my Hand in your life at all times.  I uphold you and guide you with My Hand as you allow Me.”  Isaiah 41:10  Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. 

This special moment with the Lord in my little “garden” really changed my outlook for the week.  I started watching for His righteous Hand in my life as the week went by.   

I had worked Friday and Saturday this weekend.  On Sunday morning, I called to the hospital to see if they needed me.  I was happy when they said they didn’t.  But I knew I had a mission to get my hours in to renew my license in April.  So I called the other hospital to see if I could work there.   I said to the Lord, “I’d love to stay home and if it’s your will, let it be.  But if not, use me today and open doors for me.  Prepare the hearts of those you want me to share with.”  And of course, the other hospital was thrilled that I wanted to work and off to work I went.   

One of my patients was a woman who came in for a suicide attempt.  I started praying for her as I got report on her.  When I got into her room, I could see she was down and sad.  She had no eye contact with me and she was miserable.  Then I asked her, “What’s troubling you, Sarah?”  She immediately turned and looked at me and her heart spilled out like lava from an erupting volcano.  Sarah shared with me that her brother had just gone to prison for life, her boyfriend was cheating on her, her family was all messed up and she was really struggling because no one loved her and she was all alone.  And worse yet, she thought God must be mad at her because she tried to kill herself.  “On the contrary,” I said.  He is compassionate towards you and loves you more than you can imagine.  Not only that, He is calling you by name and wants to be your Lord and your Savior.  If you give your life to Him, everything will change for you.”  She cried in her misery unsure if she should surrender all to Him.  My heart melted like wax for her knowing how hard it is to break away from dysfunction.  I had known the kind of pain and loneliness she was feeling.   But those days had long past as the Lord has restored my heart completely.    

At the end of my shift, Sarah said to me, “I have been thinking about what you said.  I see your happiness and joy and I want to be happy too.  I decided tonight I am going to pray and invite Jesus into my life.”  God had touched her heart and I knew His great love had changed her.

I shared the gospel with this beautiful woman that God so dearly loved.  I prayed with her as she accepted forgiveness and her new life in Jesus Christ. 

As the tears streamed down her cheeks, I thought how wonderful the Hands of my Savior really are.  These beautiful Hands took the nails for me and for Sarah.  And when I took a closer look, I saw His Mighty Hand guiding me and holding me up, and giving me the strength and courage tell people Jesus is their answer.  There really is something special about these Hands.   

My prayer for you is that you take a closer look at your life.  May you see clearly those Hands guiding you and holding you up.  I pray we all come to know that we have been purchased at a price and our lives are not our own.  Nothing happens by chance.  He truly is in control and upholds us and guides us at all times with His mighty Right Hand.  And these Hands that took the nails…make no mistake about it…These are special Hands. 

**All names have been changed to protect identity. 

 

PS  My daughter excitedly came in the house tonight to show me the first flower I ever kept alive in my life!  A picture of God's grace...

 

 

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever."

 

Who do You Say I Am?

Matthew 16:15  He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?

Years ago, there was a famous plastic surgeon, Dr. Maxwell Maltz.  He spent his life changing “ugly” faces into “beautiful” ones.  He went on to write a best-selling book on the amazing personality changes that took place after these life-changing surgeries. 

Years after writing this best-selling book, Dr. Maltz learned the real truth.  That although these people’s faces changed, their hearts did not.  He would change their appearance so much that they would not even be recognized by their own families.  But he witnessed patient after patient complaining and insisting that their appearance had not changed at all.  You see, these people still looked in the mirror and saw the same “ugly” face they paid thousands to change.  Although their facial appearances changed drastically, the same distorted image they had of themselves continued to appear in the mirror. 

 

 

I sat quietly in the bible study as the Lord ministered to my heart.  I thought of this doctor’s experience and recognized the insanity of it all.  After all, that doctor had completely changed these people’s faces, but they just didn’t see it.  And then it became personal to me.  Was I one of these?  You see, I had gone my entire childhood feeling like a fat ugly duckling with crook teeth and a crooked smile.  I had inherited my jutting jawline and crowded teeth from my mom’s side of the family.  It bothered me so much and made me so insecure, that in 2000 I had my jaw broke during surgery to rearrange by jaw and make my teeth straight.  It really did change my appearance.  But to my amazement, even to this day, though many people don’t recognize me, I still see myself as that fat ugly duckling with the crooked smile. 

The Lord truly opened my eyes during this study.  I had never realized that I still saw this distorted image of myself.  I had to ask myself one very important question just like Jesus asked Peter in Matthew 16:15  “But who do you say I am?”   How does Jesus see me?  What is His image of me?  When I asked this question the Lord answered me in a mighty way.

 The High and Lofty One says…

I am His Beloved.  (Colossians 3:12)

I am His Child.  (Romans 8:16)

I am a disciple of the King (John 8:31)

I am able to approach His throne.  (Hebrews 4:16)

I am accepted by the King (Ephesians 1:6)

I am a friend of the King.  (Proverbs 18:24)

I am royalty. (1Peter 2:9)

I am chosen by Him.  (2Th2:13)

I am complete in Him.  (Col 2:10)

I am hidden in Him.  (Psalm 32:7)

I am His workmanship.  (Ephesians 2:10)

I am established in Him.  (Romans 1:11)

I am anointed by Him. (2Cr 1:21)

I am buried with Him.  (Romans 6:4)

I am baptized in Him. (Romans 6:4)

I have been risen with Him.  (Col 2:12)

I am a new creation in Him.  (2Cr 5:17)

I am made alive by Him.  (Ephesians 2:5)

I am adopted by Him.  (Romans 8:15)

I am never going to be separated from Him.  (Romans 8:39)

I am sanctified by Him. (1Th 5:23)

I am justified by Him. (Acts 13:39)

I am designed by Him.  (Jer. 1:50

And the list goes on and on.     So when I look in the mirror and see that old reflection of the ugly duckling from long ago, I praise God that Jesus shines His light of truth on my distorted image.  It’s Jesus who identifies who I am.  My perceived image is not the same as His.  Everything I do, say and my total existence is hinged on who Jesus says I am…in Him.  And that, my friends, is all that matters.  Because God’s word says I am not who I was and I will never be the same again.  And from this day forward, I praise God for the woman I see in the mirror because my identity is hidden in what Jesus did for me on the cross and He is my true reflection! 

He Really is Something Special!

Are they serious?  Do they really pay for me for this?  Some days I just can’t believe I get paid to be a nurse.  I have these awesome opportunities to be invited into people’s lives for a short period of time getting a glimpse of their heart, their families, and oftentimes the pain of life’s unmet expectations. 

So you can imagine what a treat it was when I met, Cecilia, an 87 year old woman.  As I got her medications ready to give to her, she shared she had just celebrated her 14^th wedding anniversary and her husband was healing at a nursing home with a fractured bone just like her.  She must have seen me counting in my head as she said 14 years of marriage.  Before I could ask her the story, a river of words flowed from her mouth.  “We’ve known each other since we were four years old,” she said.  My eyes lit up because she now had my undivided attention.  I said, “Oh this is going to be good.”  She went on, “When we graduated high school, he asked me to marry him.  But I said, ‘no.’” She explained that he went on to go into the service and when he returned, he asked to marry her again.  This time, she said yes.  “But there was a problem,” she said.  He wanted her to go and live with his mom.  She laughed when she told me.  I smiled trying to imagine living with my mother in law (whom I love dearly).  “So I said no again,” she said.  “And I moved to Hollywood!”  Now this story was getting better and better as she spoke.  “Then, we both got married to other people…”  Years passed by, and both of their spouses passed away.  “It was a sad time for both of us.  But then he found me, sent me a card, and the rest is history.”  She giggled like a woman in love as she remembered her love story.  I knew she wanted to tell me.  I could see she enjoyed it.  I loved every minute of it, too.  She shared her wedding details.  Both of their mothers were in the same nursing home.  They really wanted them to be at the wedding but they were unable to travel.  “So they said we could have it at the convalescent center.  We had a full house!  All the people that were in the convalescent home showed up and all of our friends came too!” 

Wow, what a beautiful story, I thought.  Then she looked at me and tears welled up in her eyes, “Yes, he really is something special.”  It stopped me in my tracks.  I saw the love she had for this man she had known since she was four years old.  After all these years, she still loved him and he was still special to her. 

Days went by and I still smiled when I thought of what Cecilia shared with me.  Just a couple days later, I was feeling down in the dumps.  Have you ever felt like that?  I just felt sad, stressed, depressed and all I wanted to do was stay home from work.  I was praying that they didn’t need me at work so I could just stay home and feel sorry for myself.  God had other plans, of course.  So I got up and went to work.  When I was in the car with my husband, I shared with him how I was feeling.  He said, “You know, you can ask Jesus to fill you with joy and He will.  You just have to ask.”  I had no idea how this would change the course of my day.  On my way into work, I said a short prayer to the Lord and asked for His joy.  Immediately He answered and I found myself praising God all day at work.  I even found myself thanking God for my awesome husband.  I said, “Yes, Lord, he really is something special.”  I smiled as I walked around in the joy of the Lord.  My prayer for that day was that I would not focus on myself, but I would focus on God’s call on my life and that I would be about His business and all that He wanted me to accomplish in His name. 

I took care of a woman that day that had gotten into trouble with the law.  She tried jumping off of a fence and she fell and broke her leg and her arm.  When this happened, she said she was crying out to God because she couldn’t get up and the law enforcement was dragging her in the dirt.  My heart went out to her.  Then she said, “I get frustrated sometimes because I realize I can’t accomplish what I want in my life by myself.  I should be able to do this by myself without God, right?”  Mark 10:21  Jesus looked at him and loved him.  I love this scripture.  Jesus sees his need and He loves him.  This is what I felt for her.  I loved her.  I shared with her that God is not looking for people who can do it by themselves.  He is looking for those who are completely humble and know they can’t do anything outside of Him.  It’s then and only then that He sets us free and saves us.  She said quietly at her bed, “I’d like that.”  So she sat up in her bed and I prayed with her as she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. 

What a remarkable Jesus we have.  As I walked away from this divine appointment, I saw the Lord do a total 180.  What I beautiful end to a day I wasn’t even wanting to start!  I went from being depressed and sad to being used by God in the way that He has called me to be used. And this woman went from being dead to being ALIVE FOREVERMORE!  He did it all and I see that my Jesus really is something special! 

**All names have been changed to protect identity

He Removes Her Halo

Hebrews 10:23  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

I have not ceased to praise the Lord for the last several weeks.  Who can begin to comprehend the depths of this great God we serve?  I don’t understand it…I don’t deserve it…but He continues to show Himself faithful over and over, without fail. 

I began my journey as a Christian with the Lord bringing me my first Christian friend, Anna.  That was in 2002.  We grew up in the Lord together and it was like having a close sister. Our relationship was sort of like Jonathan and David.  We loved each other like real sisters and it was a pleasure to grow up in the Lord with her.  I thought the other day how much we had been through together.  Much of the time has been spent apart with me living in Arizona and her in another state.  She’s just such a dear friend and as I write this story, I wait in great expectation to watch the Lord move you to greater faith in His Word because He who promised is faithful to perform it.

I first posted a blog about my friend, Anna, in June of this year.  It was a story of faith that was sparked inside of me after Anna told me to believe God to heal.  I was a new Christian and never really heard of healings and sure didn’t think they happened anymore if they ever did.  But through her encouragement, I dared to believe the Word and God moved mountains on this woman’s behalf.  If you haven’t read this, I want to encourage you to read one of the most remarkable miracles I have ever experienced  http://thewordofmytestimony.blogspot.com/2010/06/do-you-believe-god-healsdare-to-believe.html. 

About a year after this great miracle, my dear friend took a fall from her horse.  At first they thought it was a sprain and put a walking cast on her foot and waited for it to heal.  Month after month, she continued to have so many problems with her foot.  She was casted and off of work so long that she ended up losing her job.  Finally, she went for a second opinion and there they performed a CT scan of her foot.  The doctor informed Anna that several bones in her foot had been crushed and she had been walking on them for so long that he didn’t have any guarantees he could help her and it was a possibility that he wouldn’t be able to save her foot.  At the very least he would have to perform surgery on her foot.   He had given her instructions to come back after he looked over the records and they would plan surgery.

Anna called me to let me know that not only did she lose her job because she wasn’t able to return to her work, but that she had a broken foot and now at the very least they would perform surgery with the possibility she would never be able to use her foot again. 

When she shared this with me over the phone, I remembered what she told me about God healing people.  It’s funny how we have faith for other people to be healed, but it is so much harder when we are asking God in faith to receive healing for ourselves.  But I knew, if the Lord had healed a sick lady with cancer, why wouldn’t He also heal her?  So I shared with Anna that she didn’t have to believe this doctor’s report.  After all, God had spoken to the children of Israel about taking their land.  Numbers 14:31-32  But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out.  God had given them a promise, but they believed a bad report and God punished them because of it.  We had a choice to believe a bad report or believe that God was greater than that report and He ultimately could heal her foot. 

Isaiah 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord.  According to the Word, we reasoned together and believed that God didn’t want her to lose her foot.  So I said in faith, “forget the surgery.  This is what we are going to do.  I am going to pray for you over the phone and God is going to heal you, ok?”  Anna replied, “Ok.”  This agreement from Anna wasn’t like a weary “Ok.”  I knew when she said it, she believed and that was enough faith for the Lord to move.  So I prayed.  Now, I don’t even remember what I prayed, but I knew we both believed He would heal her and we waited for the supernatural.  There was no special prayer or special order that we had said the prayer.  I wasn’t even there to lay hands on her according to the Word of God.  It was just simply believing the Word.  As I prayed for her, she started to feel a funny feeling in her cast.  Then it started becoming really uncomfortable until finally she started feeling the bones move inside her cast.  It was almost as if she could hear them moving.  She was perplexed by what was happening.  Then suddenly, the bones tightened in her cast and  there was a huge pop in her foot.  Immediately, she knew she had been healed.  She said, “God just healed me.”  Now I don’t know why I was stunned, but I was.  I mean, we believed for healing, but it’s just so incredible when we see and hear God healing us!  I was so astonished by this experience and by the power of Jesus, I couldn’t even sleep that night. 

For the next week, she only spoke of healing.  She arrived to her surgeon who had every plan to do surgery on her foot and was still holding tight to her bad report that was tucked away safely in her medical records.  Before scheduling surgery, they performed another CT scan.  You could have heard a pin drop when the doctor came in to talk with Anna.  Flustered and feeling like he had made a huge medical error of misdiagnosis, he showed her that there was no longer any break in the foot.  After apologizing several times for making a huge medical error, Anna let him know that he had made no errors.  “No, you don’t understand.  I did have a break, but I prayed and believed God and He healed me,” Anna explained.  After Anna explained what Jesus had done for her, the doctor let her know that he didn’t believe in that kind of thing but she could call it whatever she wanted to call it.  All he knew was a couple weeks before she had several crushed bones in her foot, and now she had a perfectly normal foot.  Praise God.  If we just believe, He will move mountains for us and bones! 

Several years have gone by since that amazing healing of Anna’s foot.  I moved to Arizona and life just gets busy.  But I would always think about all of the great experiences we had together and how much the Lord taught us about the power of just believing in faith.  So you can imagine how deeply saddened I was by the email I received from her last month telling me she had gotten into a head-on car collision that almost killed her and left her with a broken neck.  I could literally feel the anguish she felt by her situation as I read through the email.  I felt the hopelessness in her heart when she asked, “Why does God allow these things happen to me?”  

I immediately called her to find out what had happened and to encourage her.  She explained that she had been hit head-on and had been in a halo for the past 6 weeks.  If you have ever seen anyone with a large, 12 pound, metal halo drilled into their skull that you need to wear 24/7, you can just imagine how uncomfortable that would be.  After six weeks, she could hardly stand it but she was going to have to wear it for another 7 weeks.  Over the past seven weeks, she had needed to have someone with her 24 hours a day to help her at all times.  It was an extremely difficult situation for her. 

My heart went out to her.  I knew she was extremely hopeless.  But I said, “Wait a minute.  Remember what the Lord has done?  Remember your foot?  Remember what God has done in your marriage?  Remember?”  We reminisced about what the Lord had done and I said, “Now, we are going to use that same faith and God is going to heal you again.”  

That evening while I was praying and reading the Word, the Lord spoke something so deep in my heart.  It was in the book of Job when Job’s friends wrongly accused him of being unrighteous and God was going to bring judgment on his friends.  But God told Job’s friends if they gave an offering to Job, that he would offer it to the Lord on their behalf and Job would pray for them.  Then his friends did as God commanded.   And there it was, one little scripture tucked away in the book of Job.  I saw it and it literally jumped off the page and into my heart.  Job 42:10  And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends.  There it was.  Now Job had lost his wife, his kids, his livelihood, his health, his wealth…he lost everything.  But it was AFTER he prayed for his friends (and took the attention off of his own problems), God restored all that he had lost.   I immediately called Anna back the next day and told her this is what the Lord had spoken to my heart.  I said, “Now here is what we are going to do.  For the next three weeks, until you return for your appointment, we are not going to pray about ourselves and our problems, but we are only going to pray for other people.  I am going to stand with you in agreement and we are about to watch the Lord perform another miracle.”  Anna agreed and in her voice, I knew she had received this from the Lord and I knew without a doubt, He would be faithful to heal her. 

For the next couple of weeks, we continued doing this.  One evening, I called her and she was out on a walk.  I said, “What?  You are walking?”  The first time I talked to her, she could hardly get around and had someone with her night and day to help her.  Now she was on a walk?  She confidently told me, I know in my body that the Lord has healed me.  I know the day it happened.  She shared, “You know, this time it was just between me and Jesus.  I know people were praying for me and people could have laid hands on me, but this time it was just a matter of believing Him.  Was I going to believe Him or was I not going to believe him?” It was so profound.  In fact, I got off the phone with her the first time we talked and was disappointed that I had not even though to pray for her.  But it wasn’t about me praying for her or laying hands on her.  You see, she received her healing as soon as she believed the Word.  It was as simple as that. 

Anna continued to share how she had started to ask the Lord to give her memory of the accident.  Floods of memories were coming back and she realized that the Lord protected her the whole time.  She said she remembers saying to herself, “Oh no.” That was right before the car hit her.  She said as the car hit her, she saw a huge shield come up in front of her like a huge hand.  She knows it was the Lord protecting her.  As the days went on, the Lord continued to bring back floods of memories of how He had intervened in her life.  The Lord brought back a memory when she was 18 years old.  She was walking from a beach up to some stores by herself.  She said some men stopped in a car and asked her for a ride.  She said no, but as soon as she said no, they pulled up alongside her and opened the car door really fast and started getting out.  As soon as they did that, they almost slammed into another car and had to drive off quickly.  She didn’t think anything about it then, but the Lord showed her that He had protected her from being abducted.  Then he brought to mind another time when she was babysitting.  A friend of another friend came over when she was babysitting and tried to attack her.  She must have blacked out and when she woke up, the bathroom was full of blood everywhere.  The guy who attacked her was all bloody like he had gotten beat up.  But there wasn’t a scratch or drop of blood on her.  The Lord showed her again, He had protected her.  Again he showed her when she was driving one cold winter, and she started to slip on the ice.  Another car was coming toward her to hit her and she saw herself go through the other car like a shadow.  It was like mist and she was on the other side.  Not a dent in her car and not a scratch on her.  She was supernaturally brought to safety and other people who witnessed it saw it happen just as she said.  Again, He brought her through without a scratch.  She said, “When I questioned God why He allowed my broken neck, He showed me these things.  And Now I realize, this accident and what I have gone through is for a bigger purpose.”   It was so amazing to see what the Lord had done in her heart since I had talked to her last.  He had sent so many people to encourage her heart and the Lord was doing a wonderful work. 

A week later was the big day.  She was going to the doctor to see her results.  That evening, I prayed for her and I told the Lord I believed He had healed her and I was looking forward to a good report.  There was a little wavering in my heart the next morning when I received a text message from her.  It read, “The CT scan doesn’t look good.  I am going on 100% faith right now.”  Immediately Hebrews came to mind, but I couldn’t remember where the scripture was.  I prayed, “ord, bring to remembrance this scripture.  All at once, it came to me and I typed it in my phone as fast as I could get it to her.  Hebrews 10:23  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  Immediately, she took this Word from the Lord, went into the bathroom, got down on her knees with her 12 pound halo on her head and said, “Lord, I don’t care what it looks like.  I believe you healed me and I am thanking you for it.” 

Anna walked out of the bathroom and into the doctor’s office.  Her doctor held the report in her hand saying everything looks great and we are removing your halo.  Jesus healed my friend again.  He remained faithful to heal her body completely and she had this halo removed four weeks early because she dared to believe the Word.  What an amazing testimony of the love, faithfulness, and the power of Jesus Christ.  His Word is true and it will always produce the fruit when faith is applied. 

Through this most agonizing experience, Anna has seen God’s purpose in it all.  She has been able to witness to her brother and his wife and to many other hurting people who need Jesus.  She also believed the Lord to provide for her family financially through this situation.  She said daily checks continue to come in the mail for her medical bills and her family’s needs.  One day she told the Lord that she needed money to pay a bill.  She said, “I believed Him.  I just waited and it came.”  There was a knock on the door and a woman she had never seen before was at the door.  She introduced herself and explained that she was from the church down the street and every year they take a collection for a family and she handed her a check for $2000.  

I want to encourage you to take your requests to the Lord.  Come to Him with confidence.  This Word is above all, because God has magnified His Word above His Name.  Psalm 138:2  For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.  His Word is true and if applied with faith, it will produce 100% every time.  Let us rejoice in our King who is mighty to save, heal, and restore.  He is worthy to be praised and glorified 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.   

All Eyes Are On You, Lord

IKing 1:20 "And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel [are] on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

It’s been almost five years since that horrible day when our van was T-boned by a speeding car.  He was just a young kid speeding through a residential area flying through stop signs.  I still remember it like it were yesterday.  I was five months pregnant with my daughter and I had my 8 year old twins and my 1 year old daughter in the van with me.  I will never forget looking through the shattered back windows to see my son, Charlie, slumped to the side not responding.  This is forever etched in my mind.  This horrific accident and the head injury he received from smashing his head and breaking the window, set in motion years of neurological problems and set backs for Charlie. 

Now we consider ourselves to be reasonable people.  So after years of paying insurance, I guess we expected the insurance company to also be reasonable.  But an amazing phenomenon happens when you come to collect those years of paid premiums.  Your own insurance company becomes your enemy!  We didn’t ask for it, but it definitely happened.   It happened almost at once.  One day we were those good paying customers, and the next day we were considered exaggerators, liars, difficult people, and the list goes on. 

We, in fact, tried everything to negotiate with the insurance company for a fair settlement for Charlie’s injuries.  We took the Word of God to heart when it says in Luke 12:58 "When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer and the officer throw you into prison.  The last thing we wanted to do was drag it out.  We tried and tried, but the insurance company just would not cooperate. 

There is an old song from the 1970s that used to be one of my favorite songs as a child.  It’s called “The Coward of the County” by Kenney Rogers.  I loved this song because the words were so awesome.  Throughout the whole song, the man is keeping his promise to his dad who has gone to prison.  He had made a promise not to be an outlaw like his dad and his dad tells him, it’s okay to turn the other cheek and not fight back.  But at the end of the song, he sings:

I promised you, Dad, not to do the things you done.
I walk away from trouble when I can.
Now please don't think I'm weak, I didn't turn the other cheek,
and Papa, I sure hope you understand:
Sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man.
Ev'ryone considered him the coward of the county.

Sometimes you have to fight for what you believe.  We felt, as Charlie’s advocates and his parents, we had to fight for him.  So we did.  We hired an attorney and the fight started.  It has been over five years and we are still fighting for him.  It has been difficult and discouraging as we have had our character come into question as parents and Charlie’s character and integrity has been called into question as well.  It has been a journey to say the least. 

We have finally come to the end of the journey and we are scheduled for arbitration. Charlie’s attorney, Dave, has always fought for him.  He has always gone the extra mile.  He has been relentless.  So I was a little taken back when I talked to him last.  He had gotten off the phone with our insurance company’s attorney who wants to meet for mediation before arbitration.  Basically, this is their attempt to try to low ball us without going to arbitration where it is likely they will have to pay the policy limits.  Our insurance company’s attorney started dropping what I feel were seeds of doubt in Dave’s head.  The other attorney suggested that maybe Charlie’s head had never really even broken that window out of the van at all.  After all, that’s just what we said happened.  It’s not like anybody saw it.     

Dave had a meeting set up with Charlie’s neurologist on the following Friday.  He let the other attorney know he wouldn’t make any decisions about negotiations until he met with the neurologist.  Dave and I talked for a while and he shared, “This is the end.  We aren’t going anywhere else for an opinion.  Dr. T. is the best in the state and all eyes are on him and his opinion.”  He went on to warn me that a lot of times, even if the physician knows the symptoms are related to the trauma, they won’t be willing to testify.  Testifying takes time, it’s grueling, and quite frankly when these physicians are running large volume practices they just don’t have the time for it. 

When I put the phone receiver down after talking to Dave, I told my husband that I sensed  there was a loss of momentum in Charlie's fight.  I shared with my husband, “We need to be on our knees praying.  We can’t stop now.  We have to finish this fight.”  I knew in my heart that it didn’t depend on Dr. T. or even Dave for that matter.  The Lord knew the truth and He would bring about His plan and outcome with or without their cooperation because ultimately He was our attorney.  1John 2:1 …And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.   

The morning of the meeting between Dave and Charlie’s neurologist, Dr. T., I rose early and came before the Lord.  I let the Lord know that although Dave’s eyes are on Dr. T. for answers, my eyes were on Him.  I wasn’t going to trust in man’s testimony, but the Lord’s.  I read the Word and spent time Him.  There was a portion of my reading for the day that I didn’t have time to read, but I sensed from the Lord that I should read it.  It was in the Ezra Chapter 1.

Ezra 1:1  Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing..” 

This was as far as I got.  My eyes rose up off the pages of scripture and the Lord caused me to understand.  The Lord spoke to my heart promising that He was in perfect control of the meeting between Dave and Dr. T. that morning and He was indeed going to stir up Dr. T.’s heart to say the things he needed to say and not only that, but Dr. T. would be willing to put them in writing. 

I ran up the stairs where my husband was getting ready for work.  I said, “John, the Lord just spoke to us.  He is taking care of this.”

Two days past after the meeting and I still hadn’t heard from Dave.  When I finally got in touch with him, he said, “The meeting went even better than expected.  I wasn’t expecting it to go so well.  Dr. T. has agreed that all of Charlie’s symptoms are directly related to the accident and he was willing to put them in writing.”   Not only was he willing to put the facts in writing, but he allowed Dave to organize them and write them out and Dr.T.r agreed to sign the document!

Just thinking on what the Lord has done has brought me humbly to my knees.  He never fails us.  He never leaves us.  He always fights for us.  It has spoken volumes to me.  God is indeed in control of every situation and every word that is spoken.  I am blessed and thankful to be under the authority of such a loving, powerful Father! 

Keep it Simple

A have a dear friend who recently met with me to talk about some business ventures I am embarking on.  She was so kind to share how she got started in her business and the philosophy she has followed through the years.   Rhonda shared, “Doing what you love doesn’t have to be complicated.  Just keep it simple.”  I am forever thankful for her advice.  I have taken her advice in starting my new business.  But more than that, I have taken her great advice when I think about doing what I really, really love…sharing the love of Jesus.   

There have been so many opportunities to share about Jesus that I have let slide by because I tried to make it complicated.  I thought I needed to have all of the scriptures memorized in case I would get asked a hard question.  I thought I needed a background in theology or biblical training in order to be able to answer the great mysteries of the bible.   I thought I needed all of these things.  But the reality was I didn’t need a bible college degree.  I just needed to take my friend’s advice.  I just needed to keep it simple.  Today I realized,  I am just a simple woman who is completely loved by an incredible God.   

So this week, I just kept it simple.   

I cared for a woman at the hospital who had such a beautiful name.  I had never heard of it before.  As I got her comfortable in bed, I asked what her name meant.  She answered, “It means LONELY.”  I said, “Awww, you don’t have to be lonely, Jesus loves you!”  She smiled from ear to ear and so did her family.  In fact, her health has declined so much recently, I’m sure she hasn’t smiled for weeks.  By just keeping it simple, I was able to share two very important biblical truths with her.  Deuteronomy 31:6  He will never leave you nor forsake you.  AND  Ephesians 2:4 But God who is rich in mercy, because of his great love, with which He loved us,   Simply put, she doesn’t need to be lonely because God loves her! 

The very next room I went to was a gentleman who just found out he had two cancerous masses in his brain.  As I gave him his medications, the man’s wife shared about his condition.  She said, “He has been the picture of health all of these years and now we are waiting to see what the next step is.”  As I handed him his pills, I said, “You are going on a journey, but you aren’t alone.  God is with you.”  I saw the hope rise up in their hearts as I expressed to them in a simple way that they would not have to go on this journey alone because God is faithful and He would not leave them.    Psalm 23:4  Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, For you are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.   

Right after this, a hospice representative came in and wanted to introduce herself and give us some literature about her company.  Boldness rose up in me and I said, “I don’t know if this is a conflict of interest or not, but I wanted to let you know, I am starting a private duty nursing business here in Tucson.”  Her eyes got huge and she asked if I would be willing to go to lunch with her.  She was a regional representative for Tucson and she had 250 contacts of people who she could connect me with.  We are meeting for lunch tomorrow to talk about her company and see if we could partner together.  I was thrilled because I had been asking the Lord just one simple thing, “Just open doors for me, Lord.”  So I felt compelled to tell her.  She smiled and said, “Maybe he is opening doors with me.”  It was just a simple comment, but for a moment, this woman shared in my faith.  The faith that says God opens my doors and closes them and He is in complete control of my life.  Revelation 3:7  What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.   

Some days my heart breaks for those I care for.  Some days I keep it so simple I don’t even use words.  I have no words to comfort  those who are hurting and sick.  I just simply ask God to show Himself through me.  When I go in to the patient’s room, all I have is a smile and it’s contagious!  Even the worst crabby,  angry, or depressed person can’t resist the joy of the Lord.   Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life; in your presence is the fullness of joy; at your right hand or pleasures forevermore.  This biblical truth was expressed so simply I didn’t even use words.   

So today I celebrate in my simplicity and I encourage you to take my friend’s great advice.  Keep it simple.  It takes all the pressure off knowing we don’t need to know all of the answers to the great mysteries of the bible.  We don’t need to know all of the scriptures.  We just need to keep it simple.  It’s just that simple!  Psalm 119:130  The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. 

But God...

When the storms of life come crashing in on me, it's easy to be plagued with fear and doubt. More times than I'd like to admit, I serve myself up a large portion of fear and doubt when I am facing a trial in my life...and then I serve it to myself for dessert! It's the natural man's response to fear when we are faced with the unknown in a difficult situation. But God... I am here to tell you, we have a God who has overcome the world. We do not have to be satisfied with the "fast food" of fear and doubt when we have the "gourmet" meal of the Word of God. It never changes. It never spoils. And according to the book of Jeremiah, the Word can be eaten and it's mighty tasty! Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.

But God...

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart fail; [But] God [is] the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

But God...

Psalm 49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me. Selah

But God...

Genesis 48:21 Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.

But God...  I really love this statement. The statement "But God" appears 613 times in scripture. I just recently taught a women's bible study and they talked about "But God" and how He is the finishing touch to a fearful thought or doubt. Jesus is our answer. We don't have to be satisfied with the "fast food" of fear and doubt when the "gourmet" meal of the Word of God and His rich promises last forever. Don't be satisfied with anything less!

I recently went back to work as a Registered Nurse. Five years ago, I decided to quit my job as a nurse to stay home and raise family for a few years. Many people told me it was professional suicide. I'd lose my nursing skills and nobody would hire me. But I knew a little secret..."But God" opens my doors and closes them and I am not subject to the world." It was my "But God" moment.

God indeed opened doors for me at the hospital I used to work at. I was hired almost immediately and I started working. I got a PRN position and could pick any hours I wanted to work and I could work 8 hour shifts or 12 hour shifts. It absolutely was perfect. Several weeks into my new dream job, the hospital started cancelling all of my shifts because of low census. My plans to work hours this summer to be able to renew my license was coming crashing down.

Immediately fear and doubt was presented to me on a hot steamy platter like a rich meal at a fancy restaurant. I started to worry. I started to doubt that God had gotten me the job in the first place. I started trying to figure it out on my own. I started thinking what other jobs I could apply for. But then it came to me...   "But God..."

I sat on my swing on my back patio and I called out to the Lord. I told Him I wasn't going to do anything on my own but I was going to wait on Him. I knew He would watch over me and I didn't need to worry about it. In fact, I told the Lord, "I refuse to worry about this. There is no need. I trust You." In my heart I had a peace that cannot be explained. One simple two word statement settled it, "But God..."   As I sat there, I asked the Lord to touch my heart in a special way and I knew He would answer me.

One of my favorite past times is going to Good Will and finding treasures. Sometimes they are old vintage items that are neat or just neat things I find for my own house. That day, I went to Goodwill. I asked the Lord two things. I asked that I would find a "treasure" at Goodwill and also that He would speak to my heart in a special way.

I had no idea how God would touch my heart. As I looked through the bins at Goodwill, I reached in to one of them and pulled out a tiny bible. When I opened it up, it was a bible from December 25, 1943 and in the back of the bible it had a handwritten journal of one soldier's battles in World War II. What a treasure I thought. As I held this little bible up, I realized it was alomost two generations old. And then, like a flood, the Lord spoke to my heart through the Book of Psalms. Psalm 12:7 You shall keep them, O LORD, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.  God has preserved His Word from generation to generation. I had nothing to fear. I had God's Word. I can't tell you how deep and how wide God's love was for me at that moment.


I am glad I chose God's "gourmet" meal of rich promises. Within 72 hours, the Lord had completely turned things around for me in a mighty way. A made a call to the woman who hired me (a sister in the Lord).  She then made some calls for me to other departments in the hospital. I was referred to one of our sister hospitals who is critically low in nurses and they are paying 1.8 times my salary! Not only do I have more hours to work than I could possibly work, they are paying me almost double time to do them! The Lord has opened more doors for me than I could have ever imagined. It was all Him and all glory goes to Him.

God has given us His Word and His promises are good...from generation to generation. "But God..."  has become my new defense when fear and doubt come. I speak to the mountains in my life with "But God..." knowing that He has everything in His hands.  God will always take care of us. God will never fail us. We have His Word and it's "gourmet." So don't settle for the "fast food" of fear and doubt!

Prayer: The Secret Weapon

Matthew 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

The United States Military is one of the most decorated, powerful military forces in the world. America the Beautiful is armed and dangerous with a long list of weapons of mass destruction; the computer operated drone, satellite detection for bombings, secret mission submarines, Delta Force for counterterrorism, and last but not least, Navy Seal Team 6. These massive weapons and special teams are designed for the most elaborate covert operations of their kind to accomplish only one thing –to abolish the most powerful enemy.

I love my country and am blessed to have such a powerful military organization guarding me at all times. But, you see, I have found in my spiritual life to have a very powerful special weapon of my own – Prayer. I have oftentimes been on the receiving end of this most powerful weapon of prayer and have reaped eternal benefits on more occasions than I could count. The fruits of this powerful weapon have been evident in my life through and through and have on many occasions significantly changed the course of life. This massive harvest of fruit in my life from being on the receiving end of others praying for me has caused me to take this most significant opportunity to pray for others to the deepest of levels. Join with me in this most elaborate military operation with our greatest weapon of mass destruction of all – Prayer.

Why Do We Pray?

We pray because God hears us and responds by fighting our battles.

James 5:16 The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

When we pray, God hears us. And when He hears us, the Word of God says it avails much. God responds to whatever our battle is and He is ready to fight for us.

We don’t need an army of thousands of people or the Delta Force or Navy Seal 6, we just need the most effective weapon against the enemy…prayer. These people prayed and the Lord came to their rescue and He is still rescuing us today. If anything makes the enemy shudder, it’s the power and effectiveness of prayer to the One who answers.

God fights for us.

Joshua 23:10 One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you.

I know first-hand the power of prayer and how the Lord rescued me by winning the battle for my soul. In 2003, I was a guest speaker at a missions banquet in Wisconsin. I gave my testimony and shared several instances where God had answered my prayers. At the end of the evening, a shy red-haired woman came up to me and in a very small voice said, “God has answered my prayers about you.” I was struggling to make a connection with who this lady was. Looking a bit confused, I said, “Do I know you?” She shyly answered, “No, but I know your father. He used to tell me about you and all you were going through. Whenever I would drive past your father’s house, the Lord would put you on my heart and I would pray for your salvation.” I am certain I am saved today because of this woman’s prayers on my behalf. I am forever in debt to her for her faithfulness to pray.

We pray because we acknowledge our dependence on Christ.

Matthew 15: 5 I am the vine, you are the branches, He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

We pray to Him because He is our only source. We must completely depend on Him to plan our attacks and fight our battles. We will have our “battle success” only through remaining in Him.

Ephesians 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence in faith through Him

We can be bold when we ask God and we can expect Him to answer. We have access to the One who has all the resources to provide solutions and we can come to Him with confidence knowing that when He hears us, He answers.

I sat on a plane in 2004 ready to return home from a visit with a friend. It had turned out to be quite a disaster. My ex-husband had gotten remarried that weekend and I was on a huge pity party. He had moved on and remarried and I was still waiting for God. I was really broken that weekend. I sat there on the plane ready to return home and I poured my heart out to the Lord. I asked God if He would send me a woman to minister to me. Right after I prayed, I just knew with confidence that He heard me and I knew He would send her. I cried out to Him and said it was very seldom that I ask, but this time I needed someone to minister to me. I was sitting in the middle seat. I looked at the man on my left who had his headphones on and the woman to my right was reading a book and not at all interested in talking with me. In my heart, I said, “Lord, you are either going to change this woman’s heart next to me or you are sending someone else. I watched and waited for the woman to arrive. Person after person boarded the plane and sat down until the plane was almost full. The very last woman came through the door. She was an older woman in her 60s. She started coming toward me and said to the woman next me, “Excuse me, I think you are in my seat.” The woman to my right looked up from her book and said, “No, this is my seat.” The gray-haired lady pulled her ticket out of her purse and showed the woman next to me. It was indeed her seat. I knew as soon as she sat down it was the woman God had sent. This lovely woman ministered to me the whole way home. She shared her own faith in Christ, several scriptures to encourage me and loved on me the whole way home.

My God heard my prayer and not only did He hear it, but He responded. He sent her for me not only to minister to me, but to pray for me. We exchanged addresses before we parted ways. The next week, I was thinking how special that was that God heard me and responded to my plea. When I thought of this woman, I had this deep feeling in my heart that she was praying for me. Immediately after this thought, I went right to my mailbox and pulled out my mail. When I pulled my mail out, a letter dropped out on the ground. I knelt down to pick it up and it was a letter from the woman on the plane. It had just eight powerful words. It read: Stacy, I am praying for you. Love, Elaine. God hears prayer and He responds powerfully.

We pray because we are not ignorant of our enemy.

1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

We are in a battle. If you don’t realize you are in a battle, it means you’ve been taken captive. This battle is like no other. The most powerful of all military weapons of mass destruction pale in comparison to the weapons needed for this battle.

Join with me to arm yourself with the most powerful secret weapon available – Prayer. Make a commitment to step up your prayer. Get a prayer journal and pray specifically, fervently and consistently. We must completely depend on Him to plan the attack on the enemy and to completely annihilate him. He will respond powerfully to our prayer. This is a weapon available for our taking. Take hold of this secret weapon of mass destruction, our prayers, and stand back and watch the Lord fight our battles!