Testimony Day 2 - Breathing in and out

This picture holds lots of memories for me.  It was actually the first time that Ken and I had gone away on a vacation, without the kids. Doug was in High School and Gwen was in College.  Not such a big deal to travel without them.  We were celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary with a trip to Florida in May, 1999.  We had an amazing vacation. 

Now for the back story about this vacation.  I had been bothered by severe asthma for about the 10 years leading up to this vacation.  I had terrible trouble with sinus infections, allergies, and "restrictive asthma".  My daily routine included four different inhaled medications and frequent nebulizers treatments.  Prior to this vacation I visited my cardio pulmonary doctor.  I was concerned about the plane travel as well as making it through this vacation without needing to visit a hospital.  After some testing, he prescribed a long course of steroids, an antibiotic, and added another inhaler to my daily medicines.  He also penned these words in my chart....."SEVERE CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE".  Thanks in part to this doctor, we had a great vacation without any medical crisis.    When I returned home, I continued to struggle with my breathing.  I remember thinking that this was not going away. And with the diagnosis of COPD, I wasn't exactly sure what the future would hold.  Now during the previous 5 years I had many prayers said for my breathing.  I had gone forward for healing many, many times.  Sometimes I would feel better for a day or two.  Sometimes I would breath easier during that service, but it would end when I left the church.  That is until October of 1999. 

During a special event at my church, I was experiencing severe problems breathing. I decided that I needed to leave.  However, the Elders and Pastor stopped me before I hit the door, and they all gathered around me and began to pray.  I am not sure exactly what words were being said, but I became very aware of the presence of the Trinity in a way that I had never experienced before.  I knew that God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit were present at the moment.  All that I felt was an amazing washing of the most incredible love I have ever felt.  At the end of this prayer time, I was breathing easy and returned to the church for the remainder of the service. 

The next morning when I woke up, I thought "Wow, I don't feel short of breath!"  I grabbed my peak flow meter and saw a number I had never seen before - 650!  My average peak flow was around 200 - on a good day!  I thought, maybe something amazing had happened during that prayer time the night before.  I took all my medicine that morning, but forgot to use my inhalers during the day.  When I arrived at church for the service that evening, I had the realization that I had been completely healed!  I never used my inhalers again and stopped all of my medications.  When I visited my primary doctor the next month, she called my lung function "normal" and declared "THIS IS A MIRACLE!"  I have never had another inhaler or breath treatment in the 15 years since that amazing prayer time. 

Sometimes I forget to be thankful for breath.  Today, I am so grateful for the chance to share this story again.  What a great reminder for me!  The message of this testimony today is that miracles happen every day!  There are healings occurring when you least expect it.  And most of these healings don't happen through some "faith healer" like you might see on television. (Although healings and miracles can and do happen there!)  There are amazing miracles in answer to prayers prayed in living rooms, cars, over the phone, even on the internet. Jesus is the maker of those miracles.   It is all about Him!  So I encourage you to be expectant!  A miracle or a healing may be just around the corner for you.

Jesus, thank you for the amazing healing work that you performed in my life on that October day.  Thank you for breath and life!  Holy Spirit, thank you for the reminder that miracles and healings happen today.  Jesus, help us to all expect restoration and health and healing from you.  Thank you God for your great love.  What an amazing wonderful Father you are.  Amen

The wise man built his house on the rock....

Today Ken and I actually made a decision about our living room furniture.  This has been a long time coming.  We do not usually spend money on things like furniture.  As a matter of fact, most of our furniture has been "hand me downs" from Ken's parents.  The dining set that we are currently using in our dining room was a hand me down from Ken's parents.  And the couch that is currently in our living room was from 2009 when Ken's dad relocated to Florida after the death of Ken's mom.  Today we were actually trying to figure out how old this couch was.  We found a sticker on the back - it was custom made in 1987.  So there you have it - 26 years old! 

 

 

Here is a very early picture of that couch - with Ken and his sister Sue and Gina.  I think this is from the late 80's but I am not sure of the date.  At any rate - its a long, LONG time ago.  But, there you have it.  The couch.  Today we made the decision to have this couch reupholstered.  I am sure not many people would do that today.  But we have been looking for a new couch for a very long time.  If you just want a simple sofa, it is difficult to find!  We were not being very picky, but most that we saw were not made very well and were still very expensive.  And the "bones" of this sofa are really good.  When I made a couple of phone calls to find out about reupholstery, one gentlemen told me that if the sofa could be lifted from one corner with one hand, it was most likely not worth a re-do.  So I tried the experiment.  Nope - I couldn't lift it with one hand.  So today we decided on a floral print that has a beige background instead of the pure white on the original fabric.  I am very happy with the choice.  The cost is about the same as we were finding to purchase a sofa of fairly good quality, and much less than the better quality new one.  So, in about a month, I will have a NEW "OLD" sofa in my living room.  Hooray!

 

And this afternoon, I was thinking about this.  Isn't it true that the foundation is the most important thing?  No matter what you are talking about, if the basic structure is good you can usually make something out of it - even if it seems like a total mess!  In our case the fabric is stained and the quilting is pulling out.  The cushions have been flattened and seem to sag a little bit.  But it is all fixable.   I am so glad that this is true for us and the situations we face.  Even if things look like a total mess and there doesn't seem to be any way to make things right, if the foundation is good, anything is possible. 

 

I am thankful that my life is built on the foundation of Jesus and He is my rock.  I am so glad that I have my feet firmly planted on the ROCK.  I love the parable that Jesus told of the wise man and the foolish man.  The wise man built his house on the rock and the foolish man built his house on the sand.  When the storms came, the house on the sand was destroyed.  But the house on the rock stood firm.  I know that in the situation that I am facing today, although we seem to be in a big storm, the foundation is good.  We just need a really good "upholstery job"!  

 

Thank you Jesus for reminding me that when you are the foundation of something, there is always restoration possible!  You are a great and mighty God that cares so much for us that you speak into the smallest details of our life.  Thank you once again, for reminding me that nothing is impossible with you.  Yahweh, I know that there are many people out there with problems and situations and issues that seem overwhelming.  And I know that you are the answer to those things.  Holy Spirit please speak clearly to us all and show us what things are built on sand, that we just need to let go of when the storms hit.  And then Jesus, speak clearly to us about your restoration plans for these difficult issues that have you as the foundation.   Thank you for being there is in the midst of the storms.   Amen 

Moving on.....

My daughter Gwen and her family are moving this weekend to a new home.  The process started for them in February and it is now the end of June.  Even though this is really quick (on the current real estate timeline), it has felt rather long and drawn out.   I have lived in the same house for over 35 years.   So I can't say that I am an expert on moving.   The most important part of this move has been the fact that God has been in it all.  At every turn, the process has been surrounded by prayer.  I am so thankful for all the friends who have prayed and just listened as this process has gone on.  And the blessing is, that although they are leaving a house that was well loved, they are moving into a wonderful much bigger home. 

Yesterday, Gwen shared something she discovered in her college days, that has stuck in my mind!  "Home is where ever your stuff is and your people are!"   Isn't that great????    It's about what is really important to you - your things and your family.   And when you come right down to it, even the things are not that important.  Its all about the people.  When Yahweh is leading you and directing you, things seem to fall into place.   I am so thankful that Gwen and Tim spent a lot of time letting Yahweh put things together for them.  And what a blessing it is that they spent some time today, as a family, praying in their new home.  A great way to move on.

Which brings me to another nugget from HUB!  Yahweh is in the business of restoring all things! That redemptive work of restoration comes with shaking and sometimes even "crisis" for us.BUT when Yahweh is in it, it will work for our good.   So that means that we will MOVE from CRISIS to PROCESS.  That process is the way that the Holy Spirit works in us.  Because of that working in our spirit, a SHIFT will happen inside of us.  That SHIFT will move us to BREAKTHROUGH!  

So.....  CRISIS moves us to PROCESS moves us to SHIFTING moves us to BREAKTHROUGH!

Yep!  I want to be moving on to breakthrough in my life!  Just understanding this business of restoration makes it so much easier when you are caught in the the crisis or process part of it.  We are moving on!   We will not be stuck in that crisis or even in the process!  There is an end in sight. Psalm 23:4  reminds us that even in the dark, scary times we are walking through the valley. We are not stuck there.  There is movement going on.

Thank you Yahweh for speaking to me through my children and grandchildren.  And thank you for reminding me that you are not done with me yet.  You are moving me onward  to those breakthroughs.  Hallelujah!