A Healthy Life by Jenna Vick Silliman

My size 20 jeans from 2003 "before".
I lost 75 lbs. in 1 year eating raw.
Wearing size 4 now "after" 9 years.

One of the things I am most thankful for is a healthy life. I am slim, energetic, and have no health issues. At age 54 this is unusual! In the year 2003 the Lord helped me to successfully lose 75 pounds and continues to help me keep it off. Here’s the short version of my story.

In the year 2003, at age 45, I weighed 222 pounds. (I now weigh 147 and wear size 4.) That summer a friend took a picture of me, wearing size 20 with a big belly, double chin, and a puffy face. I knew that it wasn’t me—I felt like a prisoner inside of an obese body. I was miserable. I had tried every diet I knew about and had lost and gained hundreds of pounds since my teenage years. However, I didn’t know how to maintain after losing excess weight and I would always gain it back.

In addition to being obese, I had headaches, neck, back, and knee pain, arthritis, and I was constantly sick and tired. After I saw that photograph of me, I desperately cried out to God for help. “GOD, I AM SICK AND TIRED OF BEING SICK AND TIRED AND FED UP WITH BEING FAT! PLEASE HELP ME!”

A friend shared a story of a woman who lost excess weight and regained her health by eating an all raw vegetarian diet. I had tried eating 80% raw vegetarian—but it amazed me she ate this way 100%. The author wrote that the raw fiber, raw fats, live enzymes, perfect pH, high water content, and high oxygen content of raw produce are all satisfying to the appetite and that cooked food (especially cooked carbs) trigger overeating.

I read about twenty books and dozens of websites and people eating this way all said the same thing—they felt great and lost excess weight. I read I could eat all I wanted of fruits and vegetables as long as they were raw. The normal weight loss to expect was 20 pounds the first month, ten pounds the second month, and about five pounds per month thereafter till reaching the ideal weight range—then weight loss naturally stops. I knew this was my answer. I said, “Thank You, God!”

I talked to my husband and he said, “I think you should do it. I will fully support you, but the boys (four sons) and I are going to eat normally.” I agreed. (They continue to eat differently than me, but thankfully they all like fruit and eating salads, so there is a lot of good healthy raw produce in their diets.)

Just like predicted, in one year I lost 75 pounds and all my health problems went away and I became a new woman. That was about nine years ago and I am still rejoicing and enjoying being slim and energetic and healthy! Here’s what I normally eat in a day.

For breakfast I enjoy two or three pieces of fruit and a whole avocado —whatever fresh fruit I want—till I’m full. Before lunch I grind up a tablespoon of golden flax seed mixed with chia seed that I have in a jar on my kitchen counter. I grind it in a little electric coffee grinder that I bought at Wal-mart for about $15 that I only use for this purpose. I either stir this into water and drink it, or sprinkle it on my salad.

I enjoy my main meal in the middle of the day. I use about a fourth of a cup of extra virgin olive oil with fresh squeezed orange for my salad dressing. I eat sort of a “Waldorf” style salad every day with the following ingredients: orange, apple, grapes, grated carrot, celery, red bell pepper, raspberries, berries of other types if available, sprouts, other veggies, and 8 ounces (10 cups or so) of dark green leafy lettuces or “spring mix” with spinach, romaine, green and red leaf lettuces. I also have a couple of hard boiled eggs from my friend’s free-range-naturally-fed-happy chickens. For dinner I have a couple more pieces of delicious, fresh fruit (whatever I want) and a banana. (I am very active in the evening, dancing and flagging a lot, so I eat my evening meal after I get home.)

See my YouTube entitled “Raw Vegetarian—How I Eat” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk_c9-PDdvM for more info.

I also enjoy a handful of raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds (or other nuts and seeds) each day. Nuts and seeds can be ground with the flax and chia seeds and sprinkled on my salad, or I will enjoy chewing them. (I limit nuts and seeds to about a tablespoon to ¼ cup a day at the most because I don’t feel well if I eat more.) Best source for truly raw and fresh nuts and seeds is: www.sproutpeople.org and lots of nutritional information is free on this website.

Once in a while I enjoy fish—I especially enjoy some baked wild Alaskan salmon with a double order of steamed vegetables (with no butter or salt). This is what I will order if my husband and I go out to eat to celebrate an occasion. At times I splurge and eat something else, but then I’m sorry because I don’t feel well. People ask how I have such will power. My answer is from Philippians 4:13 Amplified: “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me. He infuses me with supernatural willpower!”

My sweet treats are fruit. For example, right now persimmons are in season. Yum! I also enjoy cherries when they in season, nectarines, plums, black berries, figs, mangos, etc.—delicious and nutritious fresh fruit made by God especially for us!

I went through healing events or natural detoxing when I started eating this way. Our miraculous bodies layer the toxins in the fat stores, so as we lose weight and the fat is burned off, the toxins are released into the bloodstream and we don’t feel too well. I just rested, took hot baths, and drank plenty of water and these times of feeling weak and tired and flu-like passed. After a bout of detoxing I would feel really great and lose weight, so it was worth it. The detoxing went in ever decreasing cycles—heavier bouts at first, then lighter and lighter. Sometimes I detox for an hour or two and get through it and feel great. I use no medicine, no pills, no potions, and no powders. I use no stimulating substances like coffee, chocolate, or soda and I use no pain-killers of any kind. My beverage of choice is WATER—that’s all I drink.

I do not eat like the average American, but I’m not sick and overweight like the average American either! Most Americans die of heart disease or cancer. I would like to die surfing in Hawaii when I am 107. Hahaha!

Eating this way has plenty of the macro nutrients—protein, carbs and fats, and plenty of the vitamins and minerals we need, for example: sodium (natural salt of the type our body uses) and B12 etc. There is no need to add a thing! It makes sense too. In the beginning God put us in a garden and basically said, “Here is your food and it is very good!”

In case you are wondering, I am not eating anything different for Thanksgiving dinner. I will eat my normal fare and for a treat enjoy some ripe, juicy persimmons and give thanks. “Thank You God for delicious raw produce and for a healthy life!”

Voices by Linda Maynard

On Kingdom Bloggers we are each looking at a parable that has meaning to us.

I would like to discuss one that relates to a loved one and a little boy fighting for his very life.

Luke 18:1-8
Jesus was telling them a parable about their need to pray continuously and not to be discouraged. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people.  In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him, asking, ‘Give me justice in this case against my adversary.’ For a while he refused but finally said to himself, I don’t fear God or respect people, but I will give this widow justice because she keeps bothering me. Otherwise, there will be no end to her coming here and embarrassing me.” The Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. Won’t God provide justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? Will He be slow to help them? I tell you, He will give them justice quickly. But when the Human One comes, will He find faithfulness on earth?”

My loved one has suffered from Schizophrenia for most of his life. I have agonized over his illness. It has affected not only him, but those who love him.

He is a brilliant. He can fix just about anything. He is artistic. He was a bricklayer. Bricklaying, in and of itself, is an art.

He has been unable to hold down a job for years.

I have struggled, questioning, is his illness from a neurological malformation or is there demonic activity? Today, I hold the opinion that it is a combination .Having done some research; there are opinions, that a developing child in the womb could be exposed to a virus. The other portion, the demonic influence, is something I cannot ignore. . They say that the eyes are the window to the soul. Through his eyes, I saw what I could describe to you as an evil presence. I do not believe he is demon possessed, but I do believe that he is demon harassed.

He once told me while bathing; he positions himself, so that his ears are underwater. He does this, trying to silence the voices he hears. We can look at his reasoning as faulty, but he is a tormented soul. My heart grieved. You’d have to be hardhearted not to grieve as well.

More recently, a dear friend of mine had a terrible tragedy happen to her 4 year old grandson, Robby.

He had an accident, with a log falling on him, trapping him. He reportedly wasn’t breathing for 25 minutes and was in cardiac arrest ,before being brought to the hospital. He has been diagnosed with severe brain damage. BUT, his family is exploring all possibilities of further treatment, and whether, by medical means or an intervention by God, we join his family, believing for total restoration of his brain.  

How does it relate to the parable? 

I believe that the Lord, years ago, “told” me that He was going to heal my loved one. Robby’s family believes for the same.

Perhaps you are saying “ Whoa! Wait a minute!” This woman is talking about demons and hearing God and promises of a healing for these two lives.” I understand that reaction, as I too have discounted such activities, in the past.

Now, these are realities to me. I respect your opinion to discount my beliefs. But the possibility and the hope that is within me, is as real as anything I can think of.

This parable gives me the gumption to continue to be persistent in praying for their restoration… one to full sanity and the other, having a brain restored physically. It is a hope that keeps me continually seeking.

  Oh yes, I falter and sometimes think I have made this entire miracle thing up. But then, a righteous anger rises up in me, saying, “ Enough! Of suffering!”

That is when I can go back to being persistent. Strength and faith arise, even though the evidence of a miracle has not presented itself yet.


Listen to Matthew 7:7 and 7:8


Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

The original language tells us to ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking.

That’s where the strength to be persistent comes in.

We continue to pray, because we know the Lord has the answer and IS the answer.

God is not deaf, yet we are commanded to pray without ceasing.

Would you join me, in the prayer for these two precious souls?

Let our voices deafen the voices that torment my loved one and the one that mockingly says that Robby cannot be healed.

Longsuffering? Can I Take a Pass on This Fruit of the Spirit?

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law
Galatians 5:22-23

If we read the Scripture text, the fruits of the Spirit are produced by the Spirit. Will it take effort from me? Yes…a yielding to the will of God. But, can I conjure up any of the fruits of the Spirit? No…no matter how much I push and try to control or produce anything myself, it ain’t gonna happen. Fruit happens by the Holy Spirit and is of the Holy Spirit.

I cringe when I hear people say, “Whatever you do, don’t pray for patience because the Lord is going to give you troubles” That makes God sound so vindictive. I don’t like that. Sounds like He is just waiting for that prayer, so He can “show us” a thing or two. Doesn’t sound like a Loving Father, does it?

Some versions of the Bible refer to the fruit that we are discussing this week, as longsuffering. In others, it is called patience and another says it is willingness to stick with a thing. And I might add, it is sticking with a person or sticking with circumstances beyond our control.

Longsuffering? I had to look deep within my soul and say “Lord, is that fruit in me?”

I didn’t get an immediate answer, but some people quickly came to mind.

I thought of Joni Eareckson Tada, as well as her husband Ken. She is a well known Christian author, speaker, artist and head of a Ministry called “Joni and Friends.”

Joni had a diving accident, as a teen, which left her paralyzed. She has experienced some deep valleys having to do with acceptance of her paralysis and all that it entails. To say the least, it can’t be easy to depend on others for your total personal care. She has weathered additional physical complications along the way as well.

Does she want to get out of her wheelchair? Of course she does. So far, that miracle hasn’t happened for her.

She has been judged as not having enough faith to be healed. How arrogant we can be. I just imagine the Lord’s heart breaks over that attitude towards her.

A while ago, she was going to enter a church service. She was “accosted” by an overly zealous young man, who felt it was his mission to challenge her. He was sure that she had to have some block to getting healed. He suspected that it was unforgiveness. She reports that she could not think of anyone she has not forgiven, at that point. She gladly accepted his prayer and said, she thought, when he left, that he was more disappointed than she was.

She believes in the possibility of healing and never refuses prayers in that vein.

When you read about her journey, you encounter a gut level honest woman. It never was easy for her to accept her fate and is not always easy even today. She is a woman of faith who asks honest questions of God and has learned to trust Him when easy answers don’t come.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer and gratefully responded to the treatments. As I read of this latest development, I was so struck by the love and devotion that her husband Ken has for her. He has been with her for years and I am sure that, as he holds such a strong place of support and comfort, he can become discouraged and exhausted too. He needs our prayers too.

I thought of another couple who is long suffering. It is a close relative of mine, along with his wife and their children.

For as long as I can remember, he has suffered from Schizophrenia. It is a cruel malady. There is such an evil and destructive component to it. It is tragic and tortorous.


He  has suffered tremendously, as has his family. I remember, one time, he told me that he put his ears under water, when he bathes, in an effort to still the “voices”. Recently, I received a call from him as he cried, because of a very tense situation in his life. He blurted out something that was hurtful to another person. He regretted it. My heart broke for him. His whole life, he has felt like a failure. It was almost as if he had no clue how to act.

 For his wife and their children, there has been a history of chaos and tragedy. Any hope that has come seems to be dashed again and again.

In sickness and in health” and “in good times and in bad” have been vows she has kept. Sometimes, I have wondered if I could do the same, with the circumstances she has lived under. I thank God that she has a strong faith in God. She expresses that she would never have survived without the Lord.

She prays for his deliverance. He prays as well, that he would become well.

I will not stop praying for Joni’s healing. I will not stop praying for my relative’s healing.

There are so many questions in my mind in both these circumstances. Sometimes, there is not an easy and pat answer. I don’t like that, not one bit. I want to know. I want to fix it. I want to take away pain.

These two families have shown me what it is to suffer… LONG.
They hang on to the Lord for dear life, knowing He is all that they have. He is their only Hope.

My soul is in deep anguish. How long, LORD, how long?

 Psalm 6:3

Linda Maynard

JOY UNBELIEVABLE...JOY UNDENIABLE

I might mess up your Theology when you read this but I am “one of those” who received and experienced the laughter, that came along with the Toronto Blessing. It happened not once, but many times. As I write this, I wish I could have the same thing happen. But like other gifts given to me, I don’t regulate when they come, how they come and what is inside the package..

When I say that I received it…it is the truth. I felt like it was a gift, given to me by the Lord. I realize that there were those, who were in my company, who didn’t experience what I was feeling, sometimes judged me. I know there are many still that think this phenomenon was not of God. I don’t want to be rude or haughty but I say “oh well”. I tend to think many of us have had encounters with the Lord, that others would have a hard time believing.

So, you may be among the ones who look at me askance or you may be one who tells me that you wish you could laugh like that and ask questions of what it all felt like.

Like I said, I could not make it happen, by an act of my will. But I do know it was wonderful…it was healing…it was refreshing.

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine” Proverbs 17:22 KJV

I dare say that we have all experienced belly laughter seeing a very funny movie or laughing at the irony of a joke. Isn’t it the greatest thing when we can just forget about our worries and our pain for a time? Well that is how this laughter felt to me. One thing I can say is that just about everything seemed funny.

I’ve suffered from depression, much of my life. When the laughter came, it was like a bubbling of aliveness, from deep within.,It rose up and filled my heart and my mind and my body and my soul with gladness. Gladness to be alive…gladness to just be who I am…and most of all gladness to belong to Jesus…to be loved by Him…to be accepted by my Abba (my Father God). Everything about me and around me seemed effortless. Striving was absent and in its place was a sense of everything was going to be allright.

So, it hasn’t been a sustained experience because “life happens”. Nevertheless, it was real and left an indelible mark on my soul. Surprisingly through it, I learned too, that the Lord has the best sense of humor. I didn’t always know that and sometimes I still forget that but the Word tells us that He laughs at the plans of our enemies.

“Passion laughs at the terrors of hell”…Song of Songs 8:6 The Message

So dear readers, I sincerely wish you joy. It may not come in the package that it came for me. But I ask the Lord that it would be as undeniable, as it was for me. I pray it will fill you and heal you and refresh you too. The simple fact remains, that Jesus came is enough to fill us with great joy.  It is sometimes unexplainable to others…but for us, we know it is reality. We just know.

Jesus…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross Hebrews 12:2 b KJV

Think of it…we are that JOY!

 

 

Weekly Advent Bible Reading Plan:

Monday, December 5, 2011: John 16:16-24
Tuesday, December 6, 2011: Ezra 3:11-13
Wednesday, December 7, 2011: Psalm 126
Thursday, December 8, 2011: Hebrews 12:1-3
Friday, December 9, 2011: Philippians 4:1-9

Time for Greater Works

Christ is Risen.  He is risen indeed. 

Perhaps you greeted someone with this ancient greeting of our faith this weekend.  These are powerful words.  These are meaningful words.  They are words that declare the most important fact of our faith.  Christ rose from the dead.

I am never at a loss for thoughts.  I have a very fertile mind.  There are so many ways I could express my thoughts and feelings two days after Easter 2011.  I had a strange Easter.  It has been years since the family actually gathered to celebrate the day.  Some of us celebrated the holiness of Easter at the Easter Vigil at Saint Ann’s RC Church.  You can read a bit of my thoughts about that night here.

On Resurrection Sunday we celebrated the gift of family.  It was a beautiful day.

But Easter is over for this year.  Like David my thoughts are turning to the days following.  While we express jubilance at the Resurrection, I wonder about those first disciples.  They all had questions.  Not just Thomas who expressed his doubts.  They all wondered what was next.  They were hiding behind locked doors. 

During the days after Jesus resurrection he appeared to many.  He eased Thomas’ doubts.  He offered restoration to Peter.  He told His disciples to go and make disciples.  He told them to baptize the new disciples in the name of the Father, and name of the Son, and the name of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). 

Jesus had told His disciples that they would do greater works (John 14:12).  I’ve pondered that greater works many times.  I know the discussion in Christianity over works and grace.  While I can’t earn my salvation, I am called to do greater works and to make disciples.   

I’m heading to the upper room with David.  I’ve baptized a few people in my life.  I want to baptize more disciples.  I want to do the greater works that Jesus told us we would do.  I want a fresh Pentecost.

I’ve been praying for some people who have deep need.  I am sobered by the needs of my friends.  As I go to the upper room with my own plea for more of God, I also go for them.  I pray for them.  As I pray I am reminded of Paul’s words about the Spirit of the resurrection: 

If the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's! (Romans 8:11 The Message)

Jesus Takes Your Questions

Jesus was questioned about fasting, what to do with the woman taken in adultery, how to be born again, taxes and divorce. It seemed his disciples only had to have thought that was a question and Jesus would answer it. (Mark 2:8)

This week your faithful Kingdom Bloggers are going to write about a question they have asked Jesus.

The Lord has answered many questions for me over the decades. I am comfortable with salvation, Heaven, and with who's going and who's staying. Spiritual gifts and answered prayers are common place for this Christian. I know that God is preparing a move for us, but I don't know how He is going to accomplish it, but I am certain He will carry it out just as He has spoken.

I have kids of various ages. Like most parents I am concerned about the choices they make, yet I know He is in control. Another prophetic word that I received in 2000 is fulfilling itself for the older two as I type this. I am secure in knowing that He loves them, and they know where He is. I am excited about where they are going in life regardless of the path they take.

It is interesting as I was thinking about the topic, I didn't have any pressing questions - well except this one.

Jesus, what must I do to see more people healed? I see some healing, and yet, compared to the meeting that You did where every one was healed, I am seeing only a small percentage of folks that ask for healing prayer, get healed. What must I do?

I know the Bible says desire the gifts. Let me say "Oh God I want this one!" The Bible says to have faith, and I have seen enough healing that I know it happens; it happened again at church yesterday. Glory! And of course, if you want to see folks healed, you have to pray sick people; I do. Jesus, what must I do to see more people healed?

I don't know about you, but we are commanded to heal the sick (Matthew 10:8), and I want to!

Here is video from Mobile, AL. Delia Knox who was 22+ years in a wheelchair from an accident had no feeling in her legs. Here she is walking after all that time. God healed her. HERE is the original video shot when she was still in a wheel chair, check it out about 4:51!



How about you, do you want to be used by God to heal the sick?

Run for your life, they are chasing you!

My first thought when I knew what we were going to write about this week was oh good, something "easy." Then I thought again. I'm a walking encyclopedia of old hymns and gospel songs. Thinking about Jesus and me triggered a song. The chorus goes like this:

Now it is Jesus and me for each tomorrow,
For every heartache and every sorrow;
I know that I can depend upon my new found friend,
And so to the end it's Jesus and me.

That led to a medley of songs including What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Seems we always think of Jesus being with us through some dark time. Sometimes it takes a long time to find him in the dark.

Being a preacher, I thought about a sermon I recently preached on Psalm 23. It's hard to preach on those passages we know the best. Everyone thinks they know all about it. I got a little long winded on the front end of the sermon so I didn't get to say as much about the last verse, the one about goodness and mercy. I wanted to really drive home that the correct understanding of the Hebrew is that it isn't that they follow you, it is that they chase after you. What an image, goodness and mercy chasing you!

Goodness and mercy, that sounds like Jesus. Sounds like it isn't just that we follow Jesus. He chases after us. In other words, He never abandons us. Regardless of what's happening in life, goodness and mercy are still chasing us.

I have lots of stories about Jesus showing up. I've told about Jesus showing up by miraculously sending someone to my door to provide food for us. I have a lot of stories like that one. The one that came to mind for today is long. I can't tell it in its entirety here.

You can read more details about the beginning of it here. I am like countless other people who have suffered under the hands of a pedophile. We read a lot about it now. When I was a child, it was kept secret.

For most of my life, I was unaware of the effects this had on my life. Like with any devastation that needs healing, first you have to have a diagnosis. As God miraculously began the healing process I got to the place where I wanted to know just where Jesus was when I was 8 years old.

I've never been much of a blame God type of person. However, I wondered. Where was Jesus? Countless people through the ages have asked the same question. Just where is this Jesus when everything falls apart, when death comes, when people misuse you, etc. The reasons we might ask where Jesus is are as many as the people who have ever walked the face of the earth.

I had heard that some women I knew, who like me, had been abused had asked the same question. They said they had an answer. They said they wouldn't tell it because each person had to hear an answer for themselves. Nonetheless, they also said that after they had their answer they told each other. They had heard the same thing.

I asked the question. I asked Jesus, where were you when I was 8? I waited for my answer. I finally got one. Jesus said He was there. He said I was standing in that doorway with you. I was weeping for you. I was interceding for your life and the healing I am now bringing to you. I was there. I saw it.

I know this raises all sorts of theological questions. We could go on forever asking why didn't He stop it. I don't know that answer. I do know that Jesus was there. I know He was there feeling the deepness of my pain. I also found out it was the same answer He gave those other women too. Jesus is always there. Goodness and mercy chased after me from that day forward. Eventually healing would come as I stopped long enough to let them overtake me.

Shortly after that, while receiving communion I thought about Jesus taking away the sins of the world. I though about my own sin, but that day I also thought about the sin of my abuser. His sin, not mine, had left deep wounds and scars. Jesus died for the wounds and scars that my abusers sins had left on me. Jesus died for your sins but also for the effects of someone else's sin on your life. That's pretty awesome.

I wanted to tell you about Jesus exploding in my life on some majestic hillside. I really wanted to tell you some happy story. But this is a happy story. Life is very hard. Life sucks much of the time. Injustice flourishes. Knowing that Jesus is always there, that His goodness and mercy are chasing after us is wonderful news. It is good news. It is the gospel.

Forget the Oil - Try Ben-Gay

I think I'm the only born and bred Pentecostal in this group. I don't remember when I realized that some people who believed in Jesus and believed in the Bible didn't believe that Jesus still heals today. I grew up with Oral Roberts on television. Even occasionally saw A.A. Allen on television. Both prayed for the sick and were quite theatrical about it. Like the Reader’s Digest, an abundance of magazines from people like Brother Oral, Allen or Morris Ceruello came to my home every month. Once I learned to read, I knew God healed people who were sick.

I don’t know if I thought I was sick. It probably was just childishness. Alone in front of the black and white with a big round picture tube, when Oral would say “put your hand on the television set as a point of contact,” I would. I also was “saved” every time a Billy Graham said on TV, “I’m going to ask you to get up out of your seat.” I had a habit of routinely feeling guilty and desiring to “get saved” at every opportunity. I might even be able to get some award for “being saved” more than any other person. I knew the word “backslidden” as well as I did “saved.” Just in case, I was baptized by immersion TWICE.

The supernatural is not new to me. When I was a child, my mother led a number of children’s ministries. My favorite was “Released Time.” Every Wednesday, I was dismissed from school one hour early in order to go to church for “religious instruction.” The Catholic children went for CCD. Most of the Protestant churches had something. My mother led ours.

That was both good and bad. It was good because I thought I had status as the daughter of the leader. Bad because I had to be on my best behavior all the time in order to be a “good example.” I also had to memorize whatever chapter of the Bible she had chosen LONG before everyone else. The best part was being excused from school.

One Wednesday afternoon, a call came to the church office. In those days most pastors weren’t in the office often. The church didn’t have a full time secretary. The only believers that could be reached were Elsie and the children. It was a mother of a girl my age, a friend. Her daughter was in the hospital with meningitis. Frantic, she called for prayer. Unable to find the pastor, she thought of Elsie and the kids. She told my mother, “I knew you were there with the children and would pray.” My mother led us all in prayer for her and miraculously she was healed. Wow! This stuff wasn't just theatrical stuff for television. It works even when children prayed in a basement of a church on a Wednesday afternoon.

Several years later, just before my 13^th birthday I got sick, very sick. I remember having excruciating pain in my right knee. I had always been prone to “growing pains.” My mother would put stinky Ben-Gay on my ankles and legs. Then she would wrap them with flannel secured with a safety pin so I could sleep.

That first night as I literally writhed in pain she knelt by my bed and prayed. Of course, I had Ben-Gay and flannel but this was different. I had a fever as well. I don’t know what went through her mind at the time. I do know that her first response after the practical was to pray.

The next day the old Norwegian surgeon, Dr. Svensen, who treated everyone in the Norwegian community for everything came to the house with his black bag. I knew him because he’d be there before but never to see me. He called another doctor from our big black dial phone on the orange conversation table in our dining room. Later that day, this doctor also came to the house. He drew blood in my bedroom. He said they’d admit me to the Norwegian Lutheran Hospital as soon as they could.

It took a few days for a bed. Every day my mother prayed over my bed. I never got the bed in the new wing that looked like what I saw on Dr. Kildare. I had to go to the old wing. I was there for three weeks. I had Rheumatic Fever.

I was healed. No, I didn’t have the dramatic healing my friend had when the children prayed. Nevertheless, I had no lasting effects from the Rheumatic Fever. I had no heart defects typical of RF. My healing was just as supernatural as the instant healing of my friend.

Now I pray for people and seen a number of instant healings. Pain from migraines and pinched nerves, are gone with the last "amen." I’ve seen hot dogs multiply in a steamer to feed people. I’ve seen someone come to my door by Holy Spirit GPS.

Who said being a Christian was dull?

Adam Knew Eve and They Had . . .

Genesis 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain.

The word "knew" is the Hebrew YADA. In this instance it means sex.

Deuteronomy 9:24 You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.

In this verse it means that the Lord "knew" who the stiff-necked Israelites were. In both cases it implies intimacy, both a physical and emotional "knowing." It is this same intimacy that God desires to have with us, to fully know us and walk with us "in the cool of the day."

This week your Kingdom Bloggers are going to write about intimacy with Jesus. It is always interesting to see what tack each one of us takes to describe the topic as it applies to our own lives.

I have had many personal, warm and fuzzy moments with my Lord. It is hard to describe a time when I felt fully known, and also felt close to God. Many times I have set out to draw near to God, only to have another semi-religious experience. With all the years of study, and Christian practice, I can only say that my intimate moments are sovereign. I can't seem to force them, set them up, or get my self in the right posture to have something happen.

On the other hand, I can set my self up to receive from God - or at least increase the odds by doing the basics: prayer, study, worship and alone time. Intimacy, like any relationship, must be cultivated. For those that are married, especially the men, you know how you can't put relationships on auto-pilot for to long. Parents can't do it either. We need to invest real emotional and spiritual currency to be intimate with our kids and spouses.

I have experienced many miracles over the years, as well as been witness to thousands of accurate prophecies, and healings of every type. For me, witnessing these "gracelets" of God's power builds my faith, but it doesn't make me closer to God. What makes me closer to God is knowing Him, and hearing His voice.

Intimacy isn't always a spiritual high either - some days it a walk through the valley of death.

One of the most intimate times in my Christian journey, one where I felt a connected to God, and not only enjoyed His presence, but felt His comfort and peace in a supernatural, way was in 2001; a time most of the world wasn't thinking about what would happen in the US on 9/11. I know I was one of them. I was busy helping friends establish home-groups and churches where they lived. I had taken a year off after my divorce, but I was slowly getting things going again.

I was scheduled to be in Cincinnati area to meet with friends. It was an amazing time. I was praying about going out, and received a check in the mail for exactly, to the penny, what I need for the airline ticket—after a tithe.

One morning while I was working, about a month before I was to leave, I got a call from my mother. She had bad news to share; pancreatic cancer in the last stage. As with my father (MORE) only a few years before, I began to pray. I began to seek the Lord on how to pray, what to pray for and what I should do.

A few weeks later, I went to Cinci and borrowed my friend’s car in order to make the trek up to Ft. Wayne and visit my mother. We had a nice time, talked about real issues, and had a simple lunch together in her home. As I hugged her before I left, I knew that she, like my father wasn't going to make it. Oh, we had some time, but the cancer was going to kill her. No matter how I tried to summon faith for healing (how I wanted her to live and not die), and take captive the thought that I was going to lose her, I just knew it was going to be over.

On the drive back to Ohio, I just cried out, what should I do Lord? Peering out at the horizon; over miles of corn fields, I heard the still small voice say, "Call her everyday." And so I did. Each morning between 8:45 and 9:00 I called, usually on my way to work. I would end every call with, "I love you." and hang up as I walked down the hall to my office. In the beginning it was easy. She was still getting around, she was even working a little, going to concerts, and taking short trips. As time went on, she got sicker and sicker.

One morning I called and my step-father said that she was asleep. About an hour later, sick from the chemo, she called me to say that she was sorry that she missed our call that morning. She told Gene to make sure to wake her whenever I called. She never missed one after that.

I visited her four times during those final months. I would usually stay for four or five days. Each morning at 8:45, she would ask everyone to leave the room. "So how are you today, David?" she would say, knowing that I was in her house the whole time. At 9 o'clock, after I kissed her on the forehead and told her that I loved her, she'd have me open the door. I had no idea how important those calls were to her or me until my last visit.

It was a few days after 9/11, and there were no planes, so I drove with my brother and my two daughters to Ft. Wayne from Cape Cod; 17 hours each way. We arrived and mom was in her guestroom, the one with all but one of the stained glass windows I had made for her over the years. One morning, close to the end, my girls and I went into the room. I stood on one side of the bed, opposite the door, and the girls stood on the other. I asked her if I could pray for her, and she of course said yes. The girls and I laid hands on her. As we prayed the presence of the Lord grew and grew. Erin said, “Grandma is hot!” Zöe nodded her head in agreement. We kept praying and she began to glow. She was lit up like a lamp as the presence of God came into the room. Erin said, “Grandma is hot, really hot!” She almost shouted.

The Hospice nurse came into the room and fell to the floor near my mother’s feet. She couldn't stand in His presence. My brother and step-father felt the presence at the door to the room. The glory of the Lord was there in a powerful way. My mother’s frail body shone like a lamp. This went on for a few minutes and finally subsided.

After we were done praying, my mother called us close to her face. She said to me, “I am ready for glory.” We had a wonderful conversation where she told the girls that she so wished that she could have had more time with them.

We drove back to Massachusetts and two days later she died. She couldn't take my last phone call. But I told her that loved her and she made a quiet grunting sound. She died the next day.

I spoke to my brother and asked him what her last words were. "Tell David, that I love him and thanks for calling everyday."

It is in times like this, that intimacy is built on daily contact. Each day filling our love account, so when it comes time to make a withdrawal, there is more than enough to go around. During this time I was close to God, and close to my mother. I would pray each day for her comfort, knowing that my Father was taking perfect care of her. He surrounded me with family, a few friends and my eventual wife to be, Mary Anne - and most of all, He surrounded my with His perfect peace, His promise, and His love.

Some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of victory...

How can something so small cause so much trouble?

My post is very personal today. It's a victory post. A shout of appreciate to our loving God above. I have so much to be thankful for overall in my life, and my daily prayers most always start with that acknowledgment. I'm blessed with a wonderful family, loving friends, an awesome church, a great job and most importantly the peace that only a life in Christ can bring. A close personal relationship that gives me the opportunity to talk to the God above all. But this Sunday...well that date is very special to me, and today I'm especially thankful to my Lord.

It was 6 years ago this Sunday I heard the words that I wish no one ever had to hear...despite the awesome feeling of joy and relief the words bring when you do hear them. Words that bring feelings so turbulent, it often takes days, even weeks, to sink into your consciousness. It was February 7, 2004 when I heard the words coming from my doctor...you're cancer free.

My battle with hairy-cell leukemia was intense and short lived. I was lucky, and I'm grateful to God that my family didn't have to endure a long, drawn out battle watching me slowly go to my Creator. I was prepared if it did happen and knew spiritually and emotionally I could weather well, but how would everyone around me do? I had made my peace with all the thinks going on in my life at that time. I didn't know what the future held for me here in this life, but I had the security of knowing no matter what, even in the worst case scenario, God would be with me every step of the way.

People treat you different when they know you are sick. That's why I chose not to tell anyone about my cancer until I knew what I was up against, and by that time, the battle was (for the most part) over. I had other lingering problems, but none that were fatal in consequence like my battle against cancer. There's a psychological struggle that goes on well after the cancer is gone, but nothing like the isolation and helplessness that happens while you wage the fight to get better. No, I didn't suddenly feel like running a marathon on that February day six years ago, but the relief of knowing that I didn't have to tell my future wife, my daughter and the rest of my family that I might be dying soon...all I can say is praise God! Thank you Lord!

I went through some pretty tough times of a different nature in the following two years, but I know in my heart that God let me live for a reason. His reason. I prayed and gave my problems to God on a Sunday morning in December 2003 at an altar surrounded by people who had absolutely no idea what I was going through. My prayer that day was really quite simple...

Thank you Father for all you've done in my life. I ask forgiveness for my many shortcomings and where I have failed You. If it is Your will that I pass from this life soon, I vow to serve You with every breathe You give me until that day. If it is Your will to heal me and see me through other problems that are a result of my own creation, I also vow to serve You with every breathe You allow me until I'm called Home...

I know today the victory didn't come the following February or even a few years down the road when it was all well behind me...no...the victory came the moment I got up from my knees, free of all burdens because of a loving, caring God. My prayer today is that He will some day look at me with a smile and satisfaction that I honored my vow back then and served Him with my life. He loves me, He cares for me, He watches over me...just as he does you.

I will never truly be cancer free, but that's okay. I hope God let's me grow old with my beautiful, loving wife. I hope He lets me watch both my girls graduate college and some day marry (in that order girls!). I hope God lets me hold my grandchildren. But today, I just praise God and thank Him for the victory.

1 John 5:3-5 (NIV)

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Completely Overhauled - Victory in Jesus

In one of those seasons of life, the kind where you have pressed in, stayed faithful and expected a lot from God; where you have not seen things change in the natural, that's where I found a series of miracles. I don't simply mean the coincidental kind of miracles, but the kind that you are totally awed by God. This is the kind of stuff that you tell a stranger on the street because you can't contain it. Let me explain.

This week your Kingdom Bloggers are going to write about a personal victory. Every Christian needs to get a hold of Jesus and let him work in their lives to do the very things that they cannot do for themselves. Here is my story - a victory over addiction to cigarettes - along with an added touch or two from the Lord. The following was once posted on my personal blog Fire & Grace, and will eventually be in the pages of my book.

I was told by a pastor to stop reading books by Kenneth Hagin Sr; I didn't. Those books, bad theology or good, really built my faith. I was later told by another pastor and friend, to read books about revival. He lent them to me and as I returned them, he gave me more. In between books, I was on my own.

One day I went to the mailbox. I honestly don't remember now if it was something that I did everyday or just from time-to-time. Because the mailbox wasn't right in front of the house, we often stopped at it when we were returning from work or some other errand; pulling up and rolling down the window. This particular day there was an over-sized postcard from Marilyn Hickey Ministries. It said something about saving the family and I dismissed it; tossing it into the the abyss of coffee cups and empty cigarette packs on the floor of my pickup truck. I didn't give it a second thought.

I don't remember how much time had passed, but one day I hit the brakes hard and my Bible slid from the front seat onto the floor. When I picked it up, the "Save the Family Encounter" postcard was stuck to the Bible. My name and address was handwritten in the address block. Now, that's something that caught my attention. I was thinking about who might have personally sent this to me and how many thousand others? Who would have had my name?

As I was pondering those thoughts, I heard the Lord say, "you need to go."

Having the strong sense that I should go, deepened my interest. I read it in more detail. It was about 80 or 90 miles from my house, it was during the work week, and I had little kids that would need babysitting. And I wasn't going alone to some Family Encounter. I was discouraged before I drove the 50 yards back to my driveway.

The postcard kept haunting me. I had stuffed it in my Bible and took it out at church the next Sunday. I asked someone that I knew if she had ever heard of this Marilyn Hickey? Oh, she's got a TV show on at 6 am. She rolled her eyes and said, "she's no Baptist." There were a number of us undercover Charismatics there at that church. I think she was one of them. Actually that place more like a scene from the movie, The Brother From Another Planet.

Now I was more interested then ever. I knew I was supposed to go, I just didn't see how. Getting there was going to be a challenge I was sure. Finally, I just walked over to the head of the deacon's board and asked him, "can someone watch my kids on Thursday night from 5 PM until 10 PM, all day Friday from 9 AM until 10 PM and the same on Saturday?"

He replied with a gulp, "That's what we're here for." I will tell my wife. I am sure we can do the evenings at our house and I will round up someone for the daytime meetings.

Next the owner of the studio where I worked was at church that same morning. We had an agreement that we wouldn't talk business at church, but I am not too much for rules. Besides, I was on a roll. "Bill," I said, "I am going to need next Friday and Saturday off." I saw that look come over him.

"For what?" He asked.

"I want to go to this Christian conference," and I pulled out the postcard to show him.

"I guess it will be alright as long as everything is done before you go." he said.

Next I had to ask my wife (not Mary Anne!). She had no idea what I was up to. I had learned a long time ago that there isn't really a way to approach people with things that they are not going to like. So, I simply pulled out the postcard and said, "What do you think about us going to this?"

"It will cost too much." she said.

"It's free," I quietly replied.

"You can't take time off from work." She said escalating her tone.

"Bill already said it was OK. I just asked him" I said.

"We don't have anyone to watch the girls." she fired back.

The deacons are going to pool their resources and do it," I said.

"Why can't we just go to church here?" she said, trying to change the subject.

"Because God said we should go," I said.

"Yeah right." She firmly replied.

"Everything is all set, I would like to go," I said.

"I guess we could go to one meeting." - a softening tone.

It's a conference, we should go to all the meetings," I said.

"I'll let you know." she snapped, and turned to walk away.

"Whatever," I said, nearly defeated.

The next Thursday I dropped the kids off and we headed for the first meeting. We enjoyed wonderful worship and some good word-of-faith teaching; enough for us to commit to the next days meetings. During the morning meeting someone felt led to buy us the workbook for $50, which we received with joy. We met people that felt impressed to share the miracle that God was about to do. Honestly I didn't have a clue. I just knew I was supposed to be there.

The last meeting on Saturday was called the Miracle Service. If nothing else happened, we were full from simply being there. The worship team was playing Are God Is an Awesome God. My knees were shaking in the presence of God. I had never experienced such awe, such power or felt such a reverence for God like this. King Jesus was in the house!

Marilyn started the meeting by asking if there was anyone that had been delivered from alcoholism or other addictions. I stood up. I was sober 14 or 15 years at that time. Then we sat. She said, "if you need to break the addiction to cigarettes, then stand up and claim your miracle." She walked between those standing and proclaimed victory over them. When she walked by me I heard a voice, which wasn't hers. It said, "You'll never have to smoke again." It was audible to me, but no one around me acknowledged hearing it. I have since come to know the internal audible voice of God. I had been smoking 2 to 3 packs of Marlboros a day for 20 years, and I have never had a cigarette since. Not one! I actually quit smoking in a house with another smoker.

Next she asked anyone with eye problems to stand up. I had worn glasses since I was in second grade, having a fairly typical astigmatism and some farsightedness. I stood up and she talked about faith for a minute or so. Then she said if you are healed keep standing. Feeling nothing, I sat down. She handed a Bible to an elderly man a few rows away and said, "Can you read it?"

He replied "No, things are actually worse." She pulled the thick glasses from his face, "How is that she asked?" He began to read John 3:16. People clapped as she went around getting testimonies. I bowed my head and closed my eyes and said, "God, I want that." I took off my glasses that night and have never had a problem with an astigmatism since!

I was on a roll. The next call was for ears that needed to be healed. I had played electric guitar on "10" for many years, and it had taken it's toll. I had persistent ringing and some other nerve damage that made it almost impossible to hear in a room where there was any sort of noise. I stood there and she said very little. She began to ask people to stay standing that were healed. She began to whisper and I heard it! It wasn't until the next morning when I heard the kids bare feet sticking to the hardwood floors that I realized how much hearing had been restored!

The meeting ended with anyone that had been healed standing. "Look around you," Marilyn said. "This is Jesus at work!" Then she preached the gospel for just a few minutes. "If you want Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, stand up." The room was full of new converts!

Our God is an awesome God!

Sharing Faith Isn't Just for the Lost

I don't know about you, but since I first believed, I have NOT always had powerhouse faith. Actually, I might not ever have had powerhouse faith. Some days, the faith of a mustard seed has easily escaped me and I felt like Stewart Little. Other days, I feel like I could tell the mountain to jump in the sea, and it would.

We often hear about the tiny faith, faith like a mustard seed. If we have any faith, that is enough. (Luke 17) That is not actually true. In context, Jesus is talking about faith in forgiveness. IE: salvation. In verse 5 the apostles ask Him to increase their faith. He did - Jesus went to the cross.

As there are different needs, there are different types or levels of faith - even a gift of faith (1 Cor 12). When it comes to healing, Jesus asked those without faith for healing not to come in the room where Jairus's daughter lay dead (v40). (Mark 5:35-43) They actually laughed at Him - well, until he raised her from the dead.

Today, your Kingdom Bloggers have a host of needs. One is very sick with the flu; possibly H1N1 with two children in the house. Another has a loved one that has survived a cancer scare PTL, while another is in the midst of schedule changes at work and a blizzard. The other is just recovering from sickness. I don't mention this because we need any specific response - but because we are human, we are the body of Christ, and because faith and prayer changes things. Today I am covering my brother with a quick blog, and praying for the others - we'd love for you to join in.

Some days sharing our faith is not for the lost, but to encourage each other - to stir each up for the good works God has set before us (Eph 2:10), and to believe God for that unseen blessing, be it health, finances, relationships, doors to open or anything else.

HERE is a story of how God increased my faith.

I'd love it if you'd post an answered prayer, a miracle God did for you, or a testimony of His faithfulness, so that we can encourage each other.

And while your at it, would you send these guys an email or Facebook message to encourage them? Tony TonyCToday@gmail.com and pray for healing, Dave DaveTevet@gmail.com - tell him how much you appreciate him. And you can log onto Joyce's blog and leave her a comment, she'd love to hear from you too - it's a lonely walk out there in SD.