It started out as a rash, a small one on my side, like a patch of poison ivy. I had been cleaning out a wooded area for several days messing with vines and brush and debris, so catching poison ivy wasn’t unusual even if it was mid-February. A day or two later, my head started to ache. Overnight the feeling changed from a dull ache to the constant tightening of a vice on both temples, accompanied by a 10-pound hammer smashing over and over onto my anvil-like forehead. I was miserable! I had experienced migraines as a child. They must have returned. Another day passed, and I was begging my doctor for the strongest migraine medication available. That didn’t help any more than the poison ivy cream was helping.
Two days later, I wound up in the hospital with a case of shingles (which I had never heard of before) and spinal meningitis - the viral variety not the bacterial type - not so great for me, but not bad for the people around me. After a few days of intravenous antiviral medication and some seriously strong pain medicine, the hospital staff sent me home; there was nothing else to be done. I wasn’t contagious. I wasn’t dying. The virus would run its course. No problem…for them.
The problem for me was the pain. I had never experienced such constant excruciating pain before: all through my head, in my neck, and running down my spine. Light hurt. Sound hurt. Sitting hurt. Laying down hurt. Standing hurt. For all intents and purposes, I was completely incapacitated. For weeks I laid in bed, so sick I could scarcely move. Keep in mind that while trying to care for my needs, my wonderful wife Jessica was also taking care of a three-year-old Makayla, two-year-old Nicholas, and infant Rebekah, as well as Brian and Destiny every other week.
I had been administered to in the hospital, but again I called for the elders, and then again, and then again. Five weeks went by from the time that I had come home, and still the headaches and neck aches persisted. I still couldn’t stand up without the pain creating wave after wave of nausea. While I should have been ramping up for the busiest time of a landscaper’s year, I was laying in bed with a pillow over my head.
I started visiting my chiropractor thinking that if he could just adjust my neck and stretch out the vertebrae, perhaps the headaches would resolve themselves. Adjustments just made me sick though, as did the acupuncture he tried (I’ve never liked needles, but now I have a distinct distaste for them, especially when they are dangling from my face and forehead). Another administration came and went without a healing, without relief. Desperation and depression were setting in.
Sure that a good massage and neck popping would be the ticket this time, I again visited my chiropractor, also an elder in the restoration. I walked into the clinic without an appointment, and a man I had never met before, nor since, stepped over to me, introduced himself, and announced that I needed an administration. I thanked him for his concern, and countered that I needed my vertebrae separated.
“No,” he said, “you need an administration.” I told him I had been administered to at least six times in as many weeks and really wanted a heating pad on my neck and head, followed by a nice adjustment. He was quite gracious and asked if I was looking for a healing. I told him I would settle for just a little relief, but yes, a healing would be nice. We compromised: an administration first followed by a chiropractic adjustment—no acupuncture.
I did not believe I would be healed, and I was not, but the moment the elders put their hands on my head something happened. Then he started to speak.
He told me first that the Lord was with me, that the Lord knew of my struggles and was carrying me. He said that the Lord wanted me to know that the sin that I battled with was forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ. At that moment, a weight that I didn’t know I had been carrying lifted from my shoulders. I hadn’t realized how heavy the burden of my sin was. Jesus Christ took that burden from me right then and there at that moment.
Surely all of us have seen the movie, or the play, or the musical about Scrooge. At one point old Jacob Marley swoops through the air weighted down with what looks like several hundred pounds of chains around his shoulders and neck. It was the heavy weight of chains just like Jacob Marley’s that I shed, or rather that Christ took from me that day. I wept openly in my new freedom.
Five days later I sat in church, still very much in pain. I couldn’t keep from squeezing repeatedly at my neck trying to release the tension or relieve the pain or something, anything! After the service, as I walked across the back of the sanctuary hurting frustrated and down, my dear friend Susan pulled me aside, placed the palm of her right hand on the exact spot from which most of the pain seemed to be radiating, just at the base of my skull, and she prayed. She asked the Lord to release me from my pain so that I might attend to my family and my business. He did! It was a simple prayer: a supplication, a request; it was not an administration. I walked out of the church pain-free. My neck felt tight for several more weeks. My head felt oddly heavy, but the pain was gone.
I have never since felt physical pain quite that horrific, nor have I felt as free as when Christ lifted the weight of my sins from me at the Chiropractor’s office. I don’t completely understand the sequence of events, or why God chose to move the way He did, at the times He did, but there was no doubt then, nor is there now that it was in His time, in His way, that He acted, that He forgave, that He healed.
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
~ John 8:36
Monday, December 19, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Your Heavenly Father will Provide - Liz Scully
Years ago while we lived in Appleton City, I had a dream where God told me we were always to have a large house with lots of rooms and plenty of food on hand for those that would come through. We were blessed with that not only in Appleton City, but also Warsaw. I always felt we would house and feed those making their way to Zion.
Then we moved to Blue Springs and were in a much smaller home for several years. We took several kids in for a variety of reasons. We then moved to our home in Grain Valley, here we have had many people live with us over the past eight years.
As I was doing lawn work and talking to God, it came to me that we were still in a large home because we need to house and feed those coming through, not just moving to Zion, but also moving to a different places in their lives.
I’m thankful that God always gives us what we need and hope that we will always be His willing servants.
And your heavenly Father will provide for you, whatsoever things ye need for food, what you shall eat; and for rainment, what ye shall wear or put on.
~Matt. 6:27
Then we moved to Blue Springs and were in a much smaller home for several years. We took several kids in for a variety of reasons. We then moved to our home in Grain Valley, here we have had many people live with us over the past eight years.
As I was doing lawn work and talking to God, it came to me that we were still in a large home because we need to house and feed those coming through, not just moving to Zion, but also moving to a different places in their lives.
I’m thankful that God always gives us what we need and hope that we will always be His willing servants.
And your heavenly Father will provide for you, whatsoever things ye need for food, what you shall eat; and for rainment, what ye shall wear or put on.
~Matt. 6:27
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Saved From an Evil Spirit - Ron Brooks
Although it has been many years since Christmas 1952, I shall never forget the night an evil spirit came to claim my body. The experience left me with undeniable evidence regarding the truthfulness of Ephesians 6:12. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." It also left me with an undeniable testimony of God’s love, and that Jesus lives and watches over me.
I was in my freshman year at Graceland College, which is now Graceland University.
My parents had traveled from Long Beach, California to pick me up, and then go on to Monet, Missouri to celebrate Christmas with my grandparents and a few other family members. It was a family reunion of those who had gathered to the small rural home of my grandparents.
On Sunday morning we attended church services at the local RLDS congregation. After church, the pastor asked if I would agree to preach during the evening service. At the time I held the office of Deacon and did not have much experience in the preaching ministry. However I readily agreed, trusting that the Lord would support and direct my efforts. He did.
Today I do not remember the words that were spoken, nor even the sermon topic. But I do remember being able to speak under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and felt joy in being so blessed.
That night, after enjoying an evening of family fellowship, we retired to our several beds. Although small, my grandparents home provided several bedrooms both upstairs and down. The bedroom I shared with my grandparents was at the top of a flight of stairs. My grandfather and grandmother slept in a bed on one side of the room, while I slept in a bed on the opposite side. A yard light shining through a window between the two beds dimly illuminated the room. The stairway ended at the foot of the beds.
Around two in the morning I was awakened by the sound of a train whistle several miles away in the distance. Although not very loud, the mournful sound aroused me.
I woke to an intense coldness in the room. It was unlike any coldness I had ever before experienced. It was not like the cold of winter that freezes from the outside, it was a cold that penetrated to the core. This was not a physical sensation due to winter weather. This was the manifestation of a demonic presence. I have since become aware that this intense coldness accompanies a spirit that does not have the light, or warmth of Jesus.
In addition to the cold I became aware of an intense blackness near the stairway. As I watched, this blackness began to flow toward me. It came closer and closer and began to settle over and around me. I felt as though I was being cast into outer space. The intense blackness is hard to describe, but it is similar to what one experiences when the lights are turned off in a cave.
I fought back mentally. The blackness retreated - but returned. I mentally willed it away again, but it kept returning, stronger each time. I called to my grandmother, waking her up. She immediately exclaimed about the coldness. I told her what was happening, and she got up out of bed. A light hung from the ceiling and was turned on by pulling on a string. Grandmother pulled the string, but there was nothing there, only the intense coldness remained. I don’t know why, but grandmother pulled on the string again turning off the light. Then she got into bed with me. The blackness then began attacking both of us.
I realized that there was nothing we could do to protect ourselves from this evil spirit. I told grandmother that we should pray for deliverance. We began to pray to Jesus for protection.
As we were engaged in earnest prayer a beautiful light appeared above, near the ceiling. Words fail to describe the beauty of that light. To the best I can describe, it appeared like gossamer angel hair often seen on Christmas trees, but it had an internal luminosity that was at once soft, yet vibrant. The light brought a feeling of deliverance and calm reassurance. Fear gave way to the knowledge that we were being protected and delivered from evil by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
As we watched, the light came down and completely encircled the darkness, lifting it up through the ceiling. As the light approached the ceiling it parted, then closed allowing the light, with the darkness, to pass through. A feeling of joy, peace, love, and protection remained.
After Christmas I returned to Graceland. I was living in the home of Bishop Earl Higdon in Lamoni, Iowa. Several male students occupied bedrooms on the second floor of the home. The first night back at Graceland I again experienced that intense coldness upon entering my room. I had told my roommate about my experience with the dark spirit. When he felt the cold oppressive presence in the room he picked up his things and moved across the hall. In addition to the cold I perceived a darkness in one area of the room. But also present in the room was my beautiful cloud of light.
I reasoned that if the darkness had followed me all the way from southern Missouri to southern Iowa there was no place I could go to escape. But as long as I had my white light to protect me there was no reason to fear. Each night as I went to bed the blackness appeared in one corner and the light in the other, and each night I would pray to God for protection, and then lie down to go to sleep secure in the confidence that Jesus was watching over me. After about a week the dark cloud left and did not return.
No, I shall never forget the night that an evil spirit came to posses me. But I also will always have the knowledge that Jesus loves and protects me.
Ronald W. Brooks
Grain Valley, Missouri
August 6, 2011
I was in my freshman year at Graceland College, which is now Graceland University.
My parents had traveled from Long Beach, California to pick me up, and then go on to Monet, Missouri to celebrate Christmas with my grandparents and a few other family members. It was a family reunion of those who had gathered to the small rural home of my grandparents.
On Sunday morning we attended church services at the local RLDS congregation. After church, the pastor asked if I would agree to preach during the evening service. At the time I held the office of Deacon and did not have much experience in the preaching ministry. However I readily agreed, trusting that the Lord would support and direct my efforts. He did.
Today I do not remember the words that were spoken, nor even the sermon topic. But I do remember being able to speak under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and felt joy in being so blessed.
That night, after enjoying an evening of family fellowship, we retired to our several beds. Although small, my grandparents home provided several bedrooms both upstairs and down. The bedroom I shared with my grandparents was at the top of a flight of stairs. My grandfather and grandmother slept in a bed on one side of the room, while I slept in a bed on the opposite side. A yard light shining through a window between the two beds dimly illuminated the room. The stairway ended at the foot of the beds.
Around two in the morning I was awakened by the sound of a train whistle several miles away in the distance. Although not very loud, the mournful sound aroused me.
I woke to an intense coldness in the room. It was unlike any coldness I had ever before experienced. It was not like the cold of winter that freezes from the outside, it was a cold that penetrated to the core. This was not a physical sensation due to winter weather. This was the manifestation of a demonic presence. I have since become aware that this intense coldness accompanies a spirit that does not have the light, or warmth of Jesus.
In addition to the cold I became aware of an intense blackness near the stairway. As I watched, this blackness began to flow toward me. It came closer and closer and began to settle over and around me. I felt as though I was being cast into outer space. The intense blackness is hard to describe, but it is similar to what one experiences when the lights are turned off in a cave.
I fought back mentally. The blackness retreated - but returned. I mentally willed it away again, but it kept returning, stronger each time. I called to my grandmother, waking her up. She immediately exclaimed about the coldness. I told her what was happening, and she got up out of bed. A light hung from the ceiling and was turned on by pulling on a string. Grandmother pulled the string, but there was nothing there, only the intense coldness remained. I don’t know why, but grandmother pulled on the string again turning off the light. Then she got into bed with me. The blackness then began attacking both of us.
I realized that there was nothing we could do to protect ourselves from this evil spirit. I told grandmother that we should pray for deliverance. We began to pray to Jesus for protection.
As we were engaged in earnest prayer a beautiful light appeared above, near the ceiling. Words fail to describe the beauty of that light. To the best I can describe, it appeared like gossamer angel hair often seen on Christmas trees, but it had an internal luminosity that was at once soft, yet vibrant. The light brought a feeling of deliverance and calm reassurance. Fear gave way to the knowledge that we were being protected and delivered from evil by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
As we watched, the light came down and completely encircled the darkness, lifting it up through the ceiling. As the light approached the ceiling it parted, then closed allowing the light, with the darkness, to pass through. A feeling of joy, peace, love, and protection remained.
After Christmas I returned to Graceland. I was living in the home of Bishop Earl Higdon in Lamoni, Iowa. Several male students occupied bedrooms on the second floor of the home. The first night back at Graceland I again experienced that intense coldness upon entering my room. I had told my roommate about my experience with the dark spirit. When he felt the cold oppressive presence in the room he picked up his things and moved across the hall. In addition to the cold I perceived a darkness in one area of the room. But also present in the room was my beautiful cloud of light.
I reasoned that if the darkness had followed me all the way from southern Missouri to southern Iowa there was no place I could go to escape. But as long as I had my white light to protect me there was no reason to fear. Each night as I went to bed the blackness appeared in one corner and the light in the other, and each night I would pray to God for protection, and then lie down to go to sleep secure in the confidence that Jesus was watching over me. After about a week the dark cloud left and did not return.
No, I shall never forget the night that an evil spirit came to posses me. But I also will always have the knowledge that Jesus loves and protects me.
Ronald W. Brooks
Grain Valley, Missouri
August 6, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Building a House with God - Sallie Presler
Aaron and I had bought an old two-story, 2600 square foot house that had been vacant for a couple of years and started renovating it. It was in sorry condition. In many years of neglect, the yard had become a mess. We hired someone to help us design what would look nice, then we started in. We landscaped. Expensive!
Then we started inside. The kitchen was original, I think. We gutted it and got a new kitchen. Then we pulled up the carpets and refinished the oak floors and just went room by room and redid the whole house, plumbing, electrical, everything.
Through the course of this Dane was born. We had been there almost five years, had almost finished the whole house, when God woke me up one morning and told me to sell the house. Wow, no God, please, it has taken us almost five years to get the house the way we want it. But, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was He speaking to me. I woke up Aaron and told him. He said the same thing about taking five years and all most done, etc. Then he said, "We only have two or three small things to do, let's finish and put it on the market." We did.
We started praying about where God would have us move. I was in real-estate at the time and immediately started looking. We looked in Independence, Lees Summit, Blue Springs, really everywhere. We started making offers.
The second family through our home bought it. We negotiated that we would be able to stay in the house for a month after it closed. We were feverishly looking. And making offers, good offers, not low-dollar. But each one, for one reason or another, never came close to being signed.
My dad wanted us to move to the lake by them, but Aaron and I were city people and didn't want to live that far out of town. But, dad kept insisting that we come look at a lot down the street from him. So one Sunday we drove out and after lunch went to look at the lot. It was not at all what we wanted. Then he insisted that we go talk with Mrs. Wren (her family owned the lake). We called her, she was so sweet and asked us to come over.
Oh my! We drove up into her drive. She had a three-story New England Colonial. We had just sold our two-story New England Colonial. We talked about her house and the house we had just sold. Hers had the same floor plan, just bigger. We really hit it off well. She brought out huge maps of the lake and put them out on her twelve-foot dinning room table. She showed us a couple of lots that she would sell us. Aaron and I knew nothing of the lake except right where Mom and Dad lived. Mrs. Wren had one lot just four doors down from them. I knew right where it was. It was solid forest, you could not even step off the road. She said that at our expense we would have to make sure there was enough square footage to meet city codes and that there was enough fall to attach on to the sewer. But, she would sell it to us for $3,000. What a deal. I knew a surveyor and a plumber. And it had plenty of square footage and just enough fall.
We began frantically looking for a floor plan. I worked with several builders and had huge piles of house plan books. We looked through them many times trying to find one that we liked. None of them seemed right. Then one morning, I had awakened and was sitting in bed praying. As I finished, I reached down to the floor and picked up one of the books that we had been through many times. I flopped it open, there was the perfect floor plan! I called Aaron and told him that I had found a floor plan. He didn't ask anything about it, just said, "Call and order the plans."
We moved just the necessities into a very small two-bedroom apartment and everything else into storage. We started building almost immediately. I had never contracted a house before, but God knew how. He went before us each step of the way.
Val brought out his big 944 and a skid loader. He taught me how to run both of them and the two of us cleared the lot and dug the basement.
The framers said they would knock off money if we would keep the house cleaned out, so each evening Dane (just turned two) and I would go clean and sweep out the mess the builders had made that day. Dane would pick up all the nails and I would pick up the wood scraps. Then we would sweep. We had a good time doing it. We got him a little hammer and taught him to hammer the nails into Styrofoam.
When the finish carpenter said that he needed the fireplace insert, I got in the car and headed to the fireplace store in Lee's Summit. I pulled into the parking lot, sat there and prayed, "Please show me, Lord. I don't know anything about fireplaces." I walked through the store and came around to the door. I had not heard God speak, so I asked him again. Then I started walking again. As I walked, one seemed to stand out. I asked the price. It was just what we had specked for it. I paid for it had it delivered.
A year after we moved in, my dad came running down the street. He asked what kind of fireplace we had, I told him. "Wow," he said, "How did you know what kind to get? I have just been reading and that was the most perfect fireplace you could have gotten for your home." Hey! God is so good.
On a Friday, the framers said that they only had a half day left, so they would finish up on Monday. That Friday Aaron came home to say that Jeff had just quit at the office. That sent Aaron into a spin. Jeff was his partner and they had three hired. We talked and prayed all weekend. Sunday evening we decided that Monday morning he would give everyone there two months notice, at the end of two months we would move the office to our basement, cutting all overhead and just work from there. So, Monday morning when the framers came to finished, I told them that now we were going to frame out the basement. It would have costs considerable more to have called them back after they had packed up all their tools, not to mention the sheetrockers and everyone else. Perfect timing, God.
I had wanted wood floors, but after pricing them (way out of our budget), had budgeted for carpet and linoleum. As we were nearing that part of the building phase, an old friend called and said that he had started installing wood floors and would like to give me a bid on our home. I laughed and told him that it was way too much. He insisted on coming over and did give us a bid. It was for what I had budgeted for carpet for both floors. Wow again. So we decided we could put in wood floors on the main floor, and live on plywood upstairs for a couple of years until we could save enough to put carpet upstairs. It took more like five years before we could afford flooring upstairs, but, by then I had figured out that I was allergic to duct mites and the worst thing for that is carpeting. What a blessing that we didn't have carpet throughout the house. Our only carpeting is in Dane's room and the guest room. Again, God is so good.
It took me a few months to figure out why God had had us sell the house in town and move. God knew that our house payment in town was $768 a month, our taxes and insurance were high. God knew that Jeff would quit, leaving Aaron holding the lease on the building, all the debt they had incurred setting up business and the continual overhead with the rent and salaries. When we moved the office to the basement of our new home, our house payment was $350 a month with much less in insurance and taxes, no office rent, salaries or overhead. We did have $10,000 in debt to pay, but that was do-able living with such low overhead. Way to go God!
I know there were soooo many more testimonies about the move, but I don't recall them at this moment. I should have written them down at that time.
God is so good. He was there each step of the way. And he will be there for you.
Then we started inside. The kitchen was original, I think. We gutted it and got a new kitchen. Then we pulled up the carpets and refinished the oak floors and just went room by room and redid the whole house, plumbing, electrical, everything.
Through the course of this Dane was born. We had been there almost five years, had almost finished the whole house, when God woke me up one morning and told me to sell the house. Wow, no God, please, it has taken us almost five years to get the house the way we want it. But, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was He speaking to me. I woke up Aaron and told him. He said the same thing about taking five years and all most done, etc. Then he said, "We only have two or three small things to do, let's finish and put it on the market." We did.
We started praying about where God would have us move. I was in real-estate at the time and immediately started looking. We looked in Independence, Lees Summit, Blue Springs, really everywhere. We started making offers.
The second family through our home bought it. We negotiated that we would be able to stay in the house for a month after it closed. We were feverishly looking. And making offers, good offers, not low-dollar. But each one, for one reason or another, never came close to being signed.
My dad wanted us to move to the lake by them, but Aaron and I were city people and didn't want to live that far out of town. But, dad kept insisting that we come look at a lot down the street from him. So one Sunday we drove out and after lunch went to look at the lot. It was not at all what we wanted. Then he insisted that we go talk with Mrs. Wren (her family owned the lake). We called her, she was so sweet and asked us to come over.
Oh my! We drove up into her drive. She had a three-story New England Colonial. We had just sold our two-story New England Colonial. We talked about her house and the house we had just sold. Hers had the same floor plan, just bigger. We really hit it off well. She brought out huge maps of the lake and put them out on her twelve-foot dinning room table. She showed us a couple of lots that she would sell us. Aaron and I knew nothing of the lake except right where Mom and Dad lived. Mrs. Wren had one lot just four doors down from them. I knew right where it was. It was solid forest, you could not even step off the road. She said that at our expense we would have to make sure there was enough square footage to meet city codes and that there was enough fall to attach on to the sewer. But, she would sell it to us for $3,000. What a deal. I knew a surveyor and a plumber. And it had plenty of square footage and just enough fall.
We began frantically looking for a floor plan. I worked with several builders and had huge piles of house plan books. We looked through them many times trying to find one that we liked. None of them seemed right. Then one morning, I had awakened and was sitting in bed praying. As I finished, I reached down to the floor and picked up one of the books that we had been through many times. I flopped it open, there was the perfect floor plan! I called Aaron and told him that I had found a floor plan. He didn't ask anything about it, just said, "Call and order the plans."
We moved just the necessities into a very small two-bedroom apartment and everything else into storage. We started building almost immediately. I had never contracted a house before, but God knew how. He went before us each step of the way.
Val brought out his big 944 and a skid loader. He taught me how to run both of them and the two of us cleared the lot and dug the basement.
The framers said they would knock off money if we would keep the house cleaned out, so each evening Dane (just turned two) and I would go clean and sweep out the mess the builders had made that day. Dane would pick up all the nails and I would pick up the wood scraps. Then we would sweep. We had a good time doing it. We got him a little hammer and taught him to hammer the nails into Styrofoam.
When the finish carpenter said that he needed the fireplace insert, I got in the car and headed to the fireplace store in Lee's Summit. I pulled into the parking lot, sat there and prayed, "Please show me, Lord. I don't know anything about fireplaces." I walked through the store and came around to the door. I had not heard God speak, so I asked him again. Then I started walking again. As I walked, one seemed to stand out. I asked the price. It was just what we had specked for it. I paid for it had it delivered.
A year after we moved in, my dad came running down the street. He asked what kind of fireplace we had, I told him. "Wow," he said, "How did you know what kind to get? I have just been reading and that was the most perfect fireplace you could have gotten for your home." Hey! God is so good.
On a Friday, the framers said that they only had a half day left, so they would finish up on Monday. That Friday Aaron came home to say that Jeff had just quit at the office. That sent Aaron into a spin. Jeff was his partner and they had three hired. We talked and prayed all weekend. Sunday evening we decided that Monday morning he would give everyone there two months notice, at the end of two months we would move the office to our basement, cutting all overhead and just work from there. So, Monday morning when the framers came to finished, I told them that now we were going to frame out the basement. It would have costs considerable more to have called them back after they had packed up all their tools, not to mention the sheetrockers and everyone else. Perfect timing, God.
I had wanted wood floors, but after pricing them (way out of our budget), had budgeted for carpet and linoleum. As we were nearing that part of the building phase, an old friend called and said that he had started installing wood floors and would like to give me a bid on our home. I laughed and told him that it was way too much. He insisted on coming over and did give us a bid. It was for what I had budgeted for carpet for both floors. Wow again. So we decided we could put in wood floors on the main floor, and live on plywood upstairs for a couple of years until we could save enough to put carpet upstairs. It took more like five years before we could afford flooring upstairs, but, by then I had figured out that I was allergic to duct mites and the worst thing for that is carpeting. What a blessing that we didn't have carpet throughout the house. Our only carpeting is in Dane's room and the guest room. Again, God is so good.
It took me a few months to figure out why God had had us sell the house in town and move. God knew that our house payment in town was $768 a month, our taxes and insurance were high. God knew that Jeff would quit, leaving Aaron holding the lease on the building, all the debt they had incurred setting up business and the continual overhead with the rent and salaries. When we moved the office to the basement of our new home, our house payment was $350 a month with much less in insurance and taxes, no office rent, salaries or overhead. We did have $10,000 in debt to pay, but that was do-able living with such low overhead. Way to go God!
I know there were soooo many more testimonies about the move, but I don't recall them at this moment. I should have written them down at that time.
God is so good. He was there each step of the way. And he will be there for you.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
A Brief Meeting - Adriane Howe
This is from a dream I had in July of 2010. I believe with all my heart that God allowed this vision to occur. There is no doubt in this testimony, God is so good, and he blesses us in so many ways. This is just one of my blessings God has granted me; I hope that it will be a blessing for those who read it as well.
As I went to sleep that night my heart was so troubled, in fact my heart and soul had been troubled since a conversation had occurred between Shane’s sister Abbey and I back in May. Feelings were, and still are, very raw after Shane’s death. Many unanswered questions and speculations, accusations and anger lingered. I had always been close to Abbey and was very distraught over the conversation we had. I stated my side and left it at that because I loved her and didn’t want to cause her any more pain. But I was troubled over the whole thing.
On this night in July I went to bed very troubled and fell asleep quickly, which rarely happens for me. In my dream a man, a large man with dark features came to me and said that Shane was waiting for me, that he had something very important to tell me but we had to go quickly. The next thing I know we are standing in a trolley car style diner. Of course I thought to myself, "HELLO Shane is dead why would he be meeting me in this diner?" The large man told me not to ask questions because they didn’t matter, what matters was that Shane would be there waiting for me. I sat at a table near the kitchen while the man disappeared into the kitchen.
I looked around to observe where I was, a normal enough diner for being late at night, people eating, laughing and joking. Seemed to be a place many came after a night out on the town and a few too many drinks. I felt a little out of place. I wouldn’t say scared, but on guard.
Then when I looked back to my table he was there. Shane was sitting right in front of me with a smile so big, so loving, almost as if he was shining with happiness. He was wearing an army green t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes. He looked amazing, like every sorrow I had once seen in his eyes was gone. I was immediately moved to tears. I asked Shane if it was ok if I hugged him, Shane looked over and the man that brought me nodded. I wrapped my arms around him so hard I felt I’d break my own arms off. I cried, Shane just laughed and told me it was ok, he was ok.
I told him how sorry I was how everything ended and that I never thought it would end like that. He said he knew and he said he was sorry for putting me through all of that. He said he had learned so much since making it to heaven. That heaven wasn’t all white robes and golden gates that in fact it was pretty normal, just pure and beautiful and nothing but love. A place where souls could learn the truth and be forgiven for the mistakes they made in life. He said the colors were so amazing and beautiful, not like the colors we are use to.
I asked him if he could forgive me for marrying so soon after he died, he laughed and said, “Well, he’s a good man, but did that really work out how you had planned?” I laughed too because nothing seems to ever work out exactly how you think. He also said something to me concerning a part of my future. (I feel lead not discuss this part so I won’t be sharing that portion of my testimony at this time.)
He told me how proud he was that I was raising Braden with the truth. and he told me Braden would be ok. He said that he sees Braden all the time and he watches us when he has the time, because he works in heaven. Everyone has a job to do. I told him that I was really upset about his sister that I feared she was drifting into the black that had once taken him away from me and there was nothing I could do to bring her back. He looked at me with such peace and reassurance and told me not to let that trouble me any longer, that Abbey would be fine, it would take awhile, but in the end she would be fine. She would see the truth.
Then, in true Shane fashion, he asked me if I wanted to see him do a trick. Of course I laughed and said yes. He picked up a mountain dew pop bottle and balanced it on the tip of his finger and then walked it two tables down and back. To me this seemed like nothing and I just laughed at him for being silly. That’s when I realized that nobody else in the diner could actually see Shane except me so the bottle had “floated” back and forth. All the drunken party goers thought that was a cool trick and kept asking the waitress how she did it. She just smiled and said that strange stuff like that happened all the time at the diner.
Shane hugged me again and said it was time for him to go. He told me that all things happen for a reason and we never really know until we get to heaven why they happen the way they do, he had no regrets. He kissed the top of my head told me he loved me and was gone.
I immediately woke covered in sweat with tears streaming down my face and my troubled heart felt more at peace than it ever had. I thank God for allowing me to speak with Shane for that brief moment; it has made such a difference in my life.
*A few weeks after this dream my mom had mentioned to Susan (Mauck) my dream, Susan called me and asked me to tell her my experience. When I was done relaying the dream Susan took a deep breath and through tears she told me that the Holy Spirit had confirmed my testimony was a vision and that she felt that the large man in my dream was one of the Three Nephites guiding and protecting me. I was overwhelmed to hear her say this, and quickly in my head questioned why I of all people would be so fortunate to be blessed with the honor of being in the presence of one of the Three Nephites. I have found a simple answer, it was God’s will and even though I do not always understand or feel worthy of such blessings, I am grateful that God granted me such an amazing blessing.
**Shane was right about Abbey as well. In November 2010 Abbey emailed me a short and to the point email. She said she was going to a group counseling session for survivors of suicide and felt like she needed to tell me. She came and spent Christmas at my house with my family and sat down with me that night and we shared many things. I was able to comfort her at that moment in a way that only God could have managed to arrange. She is in contact with me all the time now. Her spirit has changed and I no longer see or sense the darkness that once threatened to pull her away. God is so gracious and he truly does have a hand in every part of our lives, both the darkest times and the most joyous times.
As I went to sleep that night my heart was so troubled, in fact my heart and soul had been troubled since a conversation had occurred between Shane’s sister Abbey and I back in May. Feelings were, and still are, very raw after Shane’s death. Many unanswered questions and speculations, accusations and anger lingered. I had always been close to Abbey and was very distraught over the conversation we had. I stated my side and left it at that because I loved her and didn’t want to cause her any more pain. But I was troubled over the whole thing.
On this night in July I went to bed very troubled and fell asleep quickly, which rarely happens for me. In my dream a man, a large man with dark features came to me and said that Shane was waiting for me, that he had something very important to tell me but we had to go quickly. The next thing I know we are standing in a trolley car style diner. Of course I thought to myself, "HELLO Shane is dead why would he be meeting me in this diner?" The large man told me not to ask questions because they didn’t matter, what matters was that Shane would be there waiting for me. I sat at a table near the kitchen while the man disappeared into the kitchen.
I looked around to observe where I was, a normal enough diner for being late at night, people eating, laughing and joking. Seemed to be a place many came after a night out on the town and a few too many drinks. I felt a little out of place. I wouldn’t say scared, but on guard.
Then when I looked back to my table he was there. Shane was sitting right in front of me with a smile so big, so loving, almost as if he was shining with happiness. He was wearing an army green t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes. He looked amazing, like every sorrow I had once seen in his eyes was gone. I was immediately moved to tears. I asked Shane if it was ok if I hugged him, Shane looked over and the man that brought me nodded. I wrapped my arms around him so hard I felt I’d break my own arms off. I cried, Shane just laughed and told me it was ok, he was ok.
I told him how sorry I was how everything ended and that I never thought it would end like that. He said he knew and he said he was sorry for putting me through all of that. He said he had learned so much since making it to heaven. That heaven wasn’t all white robes and golden gates that in fact it was pretty normal, just pure and beautiful and nothing but love. A place where souls could learn the truth and be forgiven for the mistakes they made in life. He said the colors were so amazing and beautiful, not like the colors we are use to.
I asked him if he could forgive me for marrying so soon after he died, he laughed and said, “Well, he’s a good man, but did that really work out how you had planned?” I laughed too because nothing seems to ever work out exactly how you think. He also said something to me concerning a part of my future. (I feel lead not discuss this part so I won’t be sharing that portion of my testimony at this time.)
He told me how proud he was that I was raising Braden with the truth. and he told me Braden would be ok. He said that he sees Braden all the time and he watches us when he has the time, because he works in heaven. Everyone has a job to do. I told him that I was really upset about his sister that I feared she was drifting into the black that had once taken him away from me and there was nothing I could do to bring her back. He looked at me with such peace and reassurance and told me not to let that trouble me any longer, that Abbey would be fine, it would take awhile, but in the end she would be fine. She would see the truth.
Then, in true Shane fashion, he asked me if I wanted to see him do a trick. Of course I laughed and said yes. He picked up a mountain dew pop bottle and balanced it on the tip of his finger and then walked it two tables down and back. To me this seemed like nothing and I just laughed at him for being silly. That’s when I realized that nobody else in the diner could actually see Shane except me so the bottle had “floated” back and forth. All the drunken party goers thought that was a cool trick and kept asking the waitress how she did it. She just smiled and said that strange stuff like that happened all the time at the diner.
Shane hugged me again and said it was time for him to go. He told me that all things happen for a reason and we never really know until we get to heaven why they happen the way they do, he had no regrets. He kissed the top of my head told me he loved me and was gone.
I immediately woke covered in sweat with tears streaming down my face and my troubled heart felt more at peace than it ever had. I thank God for allowing me to speak with Shane for that brief moment; it has made such a difference in my life.
*A few weeks after this dream my mom had mentioned to Susan (Mauck) my dream, Susan called me and asked me to tell her my experience. When I was done relaying the dream Susan took a deep breath and through tears she told me that the Holy Spirit had confirmed my testimony was a vision and that she felt that the large man in my dream was one of the Three Nephites guiding and protecting me. I was overwhelmed to hear her say this, and quickly in my head questioned why I of all people would be so fortunate to be blessed with the honor of being in the presence of one of the Three Nephites. I have found a simple answer, it was God’s will and even though I do not always understand or feel worthy of such blessings, I am grateful that God granted me such an amazing blessing.
**Shane was right about Abbey as well. In November 2010 Abbey emailed me a short and to the point email. She said she was going to a group counseling session for survivors of suicide and felt like she needed to tell me. She came and spent Christmas at my house with my family and sat down with me that night and we shared many things. I was able to comfort her at that moment in a way that only God could have managed to arrange. She is in contact with me all the time now. Her spirit has changed and I no longer see or sense the darkness that once threatened to pull her away. God is so gracious and he truly does have a hand in every part of our lives, both the darkest times and the most joyous times.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
I'm Coming to Take You Home - by Beulah Marshall
Many years ago, I was pregnant and insisting the baby was dead. The droctors did nothing about it. After months of this I told Joe that I was naming our baby 'Jody'.
"That's good." he said. "Jody works for either boy or girl."
"This is a girl," I said. And the tests came back and I was right.
Years later, I still grieved for her loss and now Joe was dying of cancer. When I came into the room, tears were streaming down his face.
"Are you in pain?" I asked.
"I heard her voice," he said. "She said, 'Hi Daddy, I'm Jody and I'm coming to take you home.'"
From that time til death, he waited for her coming and told everyone about his experience.
"That's good." he said. "Jody works for either boy or girl."
"This is a girl," I said. And the tests came back and I was right.
Years later, I still grieved for her loss and now Joe was dying of cancer. When I came into the room, tears were streaming down his face.
"Are you in pain?" I asked.
"I heard her voice," he said. "She said, 'Hi Daddy, I'm Jody and I'm coming to take you home.'"
From that time til death, he waited for her coming and told everyone about his experience.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
God's Protection - by David Argotsinger
“I foresaw the Lord always before my face; for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved; Therefore, did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope; Because thou wilt not leave my soul in prison, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.”
These words were attributed to King David by Peter in Acts, chapter 2 verses 25-28. He said these words concerning Christ. My life hasn’t even approached the magnitude of King David’s life. I’m not even king in my own home. Not that I should be. But when David says, “Thou hast made known to me the ways of life”, I marvel at how similar his life is to any one of us with respect to our relationship to God.
My God is a God of miracles. Daily examples occur if we would only open our eyes to them. My life has been full. The miracles have been a constant thread throughout my life, most of which have gone unnoticed or unappreciated. One event that did get noticed and appreciated occurred a few years ago while I was still working for Unilever in the Wishbone Salad Dressing Department.
It was a pleasant day in April 2000. School was winding down for the year and my wife had just graduated from University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg and was doing some substitute teaching at Blue Springs South High School. I had taken it upon myself to do an audit of the mixing of a certain variety of salad dressing. (We would conduct periodic audits in the mixroom looking for ways to improve the process.) Unfortunately, on this occasion, all the mixing was taking place in the middle of the night, to be packaged the following morning.
I was in the plant by midnight and the audit was completed by the beginning of the first shift. Since I was on an improvement committee scheduled to meet that morning, I stayed around for it. It was one of the few meetings I actually stayed awake for before or since.
Following the meeting, I headed for home. I had no indications that I was going to have any trouble. I felt alert, but was anxious to get home. I remember approaching Robert’s Nursery on 40 Highway, but the next thing I remember I was bouncing around in my Red Dodge Dakota. Apparently, I had fallen asleep. The truck had gone straight ahead while the highway had curved sharply to the left.
I woke up just in time to try to regain control of my truck, but there was absolutely no controlling it. I tried pulling it back to the road to no avail. I hit a concrete culvert ripping off the left rear wheel and at the same time narrowly missing a grove of trees. Another 20 yards, the truck left rear hit a tree turning the truck sideways. Its momentum caused it to rip through a wooden fence, rolling over and landing gracefully on its wheels (or what was left of them) a few feet from a young family’s swing set.
About 20 minutes later, my wife received a call from the Blue Springs Police Department telling her that her husband was in an accident and that he was alright. She went to the high school office and someone said, ”It must be a day for accidents, because the PE teacher’s neighbor called and said there was a pickup in their back yard and their fence was down.
Throughout all this the airbags did not deploy, but my rescuers were unable to get me out without using the Jaws of Life to rip off the driver’s side door. By the time all that was over, there wasn’t a square inch of that truck that didn’t have some sort of damage to it. I had a little pain in my side that made it difficult to move and a small cut on my hand from all the broken glass, but I was otherwise unhurt. The most discomfort was being strapped to a hard, straight board and being bounced around all the way to the hospital in Independence.
Shortly afterward, I discovered I had a mild condition of hypothyroidism which I believe contributed to my dropping off to sleep without any warning. God has intervened in my life more times than I can count and more times than I have realized at the time. While the truck was leaving the road and bumping into things and rolling over, I felt assured that I was going to be alright and that God would take care of me this time.
Throughout scripture, miracles were associated with preaching the Kingdom of God to those who would listen. Each one of us can learn from our daily experiences and can learn more of what God has in store for us when Zion becomes a reality. In the beginning paragraph, I quoted from Acts which, in turn, was a quote from Psalm 16. David begins this psalm by saying, “Preserve me, O God; for in thee do I put my trust.” He concludes this Psalm by saying, “Thou wilt show me the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” To all those who read this, may you trust in the Lord and experience firsthand the joys and pleasures that God has in store for you both in this life and the next.
These words were attributed to King David by Peter in Acts, chapter 2 verses 25-28. He said these words concerning Christ. My life hasn’t even approached the magnitude of King David’s life. I’m not even king in my own home. Not that I should be. But when David says, “Thou hast made known to me the ways of life”, I marvel at how similar his life is to any one of us with respect to our relationship to God.
My God is a God of miracles. Daily examples occur if we would only open our eyes to them. My life has been full. The miracles have been a constant thread throughout my life, most of which have gone unnoticed or unappreciated. One event that did get noticed and appreciated occurred a few years ago while I was still working for Unilever in the Wishbone Salad Dressing Department.
It was a pleasant day in April 2000. School was winding down for the year and my wife had just graduated from University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg and was doing some substitute teaching at Blue Springs South High School. I had taken it upon myself to do an audit of the mixing of a certain variety of salad dressing. (We would conduct periodic audits in the mixroom looking for ways to improve the process.) Unfortunately, on this occasion, all the mixing was taking place in the middle of the night, to be packaged the following morning.
I was in the plant by midnight and the audit was completed by the beginning of the first shift. Since I was on an improvement committee scheduled to meet that morning, I stayed around for it. It was one of the few meetings I actually stayed awake for before or since.
Following the meeting, I headed for home. I had no indications that I was going to have any trouble. I felt alert, but was anxious to get home. I remember approaching Robert’s Nursery on 40 Highway, but the next thing I remember I was bouncing around in my Red Dodge Dakota. Apparently, I had fallen asleep. The truck had gone straight ahead while the highway had curved sharply to the left.
I woke up just in time to try to regain control of my truck, but there was absolutely no controlling it. I tried pulling it back to the road to no avail. I hit a concrete culvert ripping off the left rear wheel and at the same time narrowly missing a grove of trees. Another 20 yards, the truck left rear hit a tree turning the truck sideways. Its momentum caused it to rip through a wooden fence, rolling over and landing gracefully on its wheels (or what was left of them) a few feet from a young family’s swing set.
About 20 minutes later, my wife received a call from the Blue Springs Police Department telling her that her husband was in an accident and that he was alright. She went to the high school office and someone said, ”It must be a day for accidents, because the PE teacher’s neighbor called and said there was a pickup in their back yard and their fence was down.
Throughout all this the airbags did not deploy, but my rescuers were unable to get me out without using the Jaws of Life to rip off the driver’s side door. By the time all that was over, there wasn’t a square inch of that truck that didn’t have some sort of damage to it. I had a little pain in my side that made it difficult to move and a small cut on my hand from all the broken glass, but I was otherwise unhurt. The most discomfort was being strapped to a hard, straight board and being bounced around all the way to the hospital in Independence.
Shortly afterward, I discovered I had a mild condition of hypothyroidism which I believe contributed to my dropping off to sleep without any warning. God has intervened in my life more times than I can count and more times than I have realized at the time. While the truck was leaving the road and bumping into things and rolling over, I felt assured that I was going to be alright and that God would take care of me this time.
Throughout scripture, miracles were associated with preaching the Kingdom of God to those who would listen. Each one of us can learn from our daily experiences and can learn more of what God has in store for us when Zion becomes a reality. In the beginning paragraph, I quoted from Acts which, in turn, was a quote from Psalm 16. David begins this psalm by saying, “Preserve me, O God; for in thee do I put my trust.” He concludes this Psalm by saying, “Thou wilt show me the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” To all those who read this, may you trust in the Lord and experience firsthand the joys and pleasures that God has in store for you both in this life and the next.
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