Wheels When We Needed Them - Jean Schmidt

 Cars!  It’s hard to live without them!  We live close to work and a grocery store, but still, we need a car to get to church, doctor appointments, Wal-Mart, visit our grandkids, etc.  The Lord has blessed us with cars just when we needed them.  I would like to share a few testimonies about those cars.

When we were engaged, Ken had a car, but it died on our way to North Dakota to visit his family for Christmas.  For several months we had to rely on Jean’s parents for rides to Graceland and the grocery store.  But just before our wedding, Ken was able to buy a car for $35.  Think of that!  It was a decent car, not fancy, but needed tires and a few other things.  It served us for a few years and was definitely a testimony to us.

After Daniel was born, we decided to move to Independence because Sariah had so many medical appointments that it didn’t make sense to drive back and forth from north Missouri. He was still an infant when we moved, and Jean was busy caring for two babies.  Ken worked at night and was free to take Sariah to the doctor, and that worked out well. But then our car broke down and we were without wheels.  Friends came to our aid with a car they had that they didn’t use and they just gave it to us!  Once again, God blessed us.

Fast forward several years—to the time when Ken was serving Grain Valley as pastor, about 1991 to 1996.  We drove an old clunker station wagon that had no air-conditioner and the bottom was rusted so badly you could see the road under your feet while driving.  But it was big enough to get all 6 of us to church and back home (we had Ryan by this time).  Some friends at church decided that we needed a better vehicle and one night, just before Christmas, a large, beautiful van came to our street and parked close to our house.  Those friends gave us an envelope containing the keys, title, and money to license it.  What a wonderful gift!  We were so thrilled!  And we all had plenty of room and a comfortable seat to sit in.

After the van had served its useful life, and Daniel was in college and Ryan had moved to a group home, we didn’t really need such a large vehicle anymore.  Just at that time, some friends (we sure have a lot of wonderful friends!) gave us a blue Chevy Citation that was perfect for the 4 of us.  It had a shimmy that got worse as the speed increased, but when we had the tires balanced and the front end aligned, the shimmy went away.  God was looking after us again!  We eventually gave the van to a family in need of a larger vehicle.  It was good to be able to “pay it forward”.

In 2002, Jean began praying for another vehicle as the blue car was showing its age and wasn’t too reliable anymore.  On Easter Sunday, we noticed a different car at our neighbor’s house and thought they had got a new one.  When we asked them about it, our neighbor said, “Oh no, it belongs to my sister and her husband and then brought it up here to try to sell it”.  We took it out for a test drive and liked it very much.  It was a navy blue Ford Crown Victoria.  The price they wanted was just the amount we had saved, so we bought it on the spot.  How great was that—we didn’t have to go look for a car, it came to us!  We drove that car on several vacations and put many miles on it.  It was a comfortable car and got fairly good gas mileage for a V-8.  It was a true blessing.

That brings us to our current car.  In 2008, we knew we were going to have to look for another car.  The Crown Vic was beginning to “nickel and dime” us to death.  Once again, we started praying.  One night at prayer service I mentioned to Sallie that we were looking for a car to buy and told her to keep her eyes open for one.  She immediately said she knew someone who wanted to sell their second car that they didn’t need.  We went and looked at it and it was in good shape, had a new transmission, and was priced right.  It needed a little cleaning and polishing but looked fine when we were done.  We have really enjoyed our minivan and it has been very reliable. 

Who knows what kind of car we will have next time.  But we do know that God takes care of us and is even interested in providing us with cars when we need them.  Every time we prayed for a car, one came.  God is good!

A Book of Mormon Testimony - Sent by Gus Ralston

My childhood religious background consisted of various neighbors taking me to the particular denomination to worship. This did not result in any person commitment to the Lord Jesus on my part.

           

In 1967, when I was 28 years old, I was living with my Aunt Carrie and Uncle J. Baird in Grain Valley, Missouri. Book of Mormon events and characters were always discussed in their home, and I decided to read the Book of Mormon so I could participate in these conversations.

           

There is a passage of scripture in the book of Moroni which says, And if you shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth to you by the power of the Holy Ghost.

“Fair enough. I’ll do that,” I said when I read those words. I began to pray continually for the Lord to manifest the truth to me through some experience. For at least a year I prayed fervently for that experience, but nothing happened.

           

In the meantime I continued reading and studying. It occurred to me that from a theological viewpoint, the Bible and Book of Mormon were compatible. Therefore, I realized that the Book of Mormon must be what it claimed to be. I was baptized and became a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of latter Day Saints. Then I was ordained to the office of priest in the ministry of the church.

           

Three years passed from the time my reading of the Book of Mormon commenced. I had just finished reading the book, He Walked the Americas and I was mentally comparing this book to the Book of Mormon. Suddenly, the Spirit of Truth descended on me in such power that I had to reach out and take hold of something to steady myself. This spirit was so powerful. It was physical, not mental, and it caused my very flesh to know that these books were true. Even the flesh in my little finger knew the truth.

           

I know beyond a shadow of doubt that the Book of Mormon is what it claims to be because of the totality of the experience that was mine, from the inception of the reading to the very powerful spiritual witness. Nothing would cause me to deny it!

           

The Lord may be slow in answering our prayers, but He is never late.

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. ~ John 14:17


From the book, To the Convincing by Ardie Launius page 63

The Potter's Wheel - Sallie Presler

I love pottery. I love to make pottery, read pottery books, study about ancient pottery and teach pottery. Last fall I sold one of my kick wheels so that I might have space and money towards the purchase of an electric wheel. At my age, physical strength and limited funds, I was looking for a middle-of-the-road wheel.

 For many months, I would look each day both morning and evening on Craigslist, EBay, The Star and different pottery sites for a good used wheel. In that time, many have come up for sale. Each time I was too late, out bid, or for some other reason did not get it. Each time I would pray and say, "If this is not the wheel for me, Lord, please make it so." And each time I did not get the wheel, I would simply thank Him.

The last couple of years I have been feeling lost spiritually. I knew that God was there, that He loved me and cared for me, that He knew my name and had plans for me. But, where was He? I had been asking for light and direction. It seemed He was only giving me barely enough for the present moment. I wanted to see farther down the road. I have seemed always to be on edge, almost in a stall pattern. It has been easy to see that He was sustaining me, just as He did the Israelites in the wilderness, but like them I wanted more. I had begged and pleaded. Each time, I would just feel an overwhelming amount of His love and grace, but no direction at all. I wanted a map.

About three weeks ago, a Brent B wheel came up on Craigslist. It would be a perfect wheel for me. Brent is my favorite wheel maker and the "B" is the middle-of-the-road model. The price was right; the seller lived nearby, and it was not too old. But it was Sunday.

I have been trying to keep the Lord's Day holy. I know that we each look at that principle differently and I am not judging anyone for his or her interpretation of what it means to keep the Lord's Day holy. I know emergencies come up even on Sunday. Here, I reasoned, was an emergency for me. I knew this wheel would be gone tomorrow. So I called. Apparently, I was the second to call because she had already accepted a deposit on it. I would have to wait until Friday it see if the other person came up with the money for it. Each day I felt worse. I had rationalized calling on Sunday and now felt sorry about it. By the time Friday came, I had decided that there was no wheel out there that was worth this feeling. I did not get that wheel.

One day last week, as I was praying on the situation, I remembered a book I had read by Stormie Omartian. In it she tells of giving everything to God, then asking Him to sort through it and give back the things He wants for you. I pondered this for a while. I had given my heart, might, mind, will, husband, son, family, work, home, vehicle, health, wealth/or lack of it. What had I not turned over to Him? Then it hit me...my pottery.

So after much thought, I laid my love of pottery at His feet. I told Him I did not want anything in my life that would be a distraction from where He was trying to lead me. No pottery wheel was more important to me than He is. Even pottery itself was not as important to me as He is. "Lord, do you want me to give it up altogether to better follow You?" I prayed.

Then, this past Monday morning, I sat down at the computer and opened up Craigslist. And, you guessed it, there was another Brent wheel. This time it was a CXC. That is like the Cadillac of wheels. It is professional wheel, one that would successfully center a piece of pottery six or seven feet tall. My heart leapt.

Then I looked closely at the ad and realized it had been posted on the day before... Sunday. I knew that wheel; at that low price and young age was already gone. But, I stopped and prayed that if God wanted me to have it that it would be there. I called. It was still available. The seller asked if we could pick it up in the afternoon and pay with cash only. My husband, Aaron, and I were scheduled to take our son, Dane, to the airport that afternoon and I kept thinking is there a way to pick up the wheel and still get Dane to the airport? Finally, I left that in God's hands, too, and told the owner that it would be 9:00 pm before we could be there to pick it up.

Now I realized that we wouldn't even have time to go by a bank to get cash for the wheel and still have time to get Dane to the airport comfortably. A quick check with my relatives (mother, father, husband, brother and sister-in-law) and together we had exactly the amount needed... to the dollar!

On the way back from the airport, my husband asked if I had been anxious about the wheel, thinking that perhaps the wheel had been sold to someone else during our delay to pick it up. I told him honestly, it was almost every thought I had going to and from the airport! But, I also told Him that if I trusted that God really had provided this wheel for me, it would be in His hands waiting for me.

We picked up the wheel that evening.

God desires to bless us. He is a loving Heavenly Father. And, as our pastor's wife, Donna Billings, so often prays, God blessed me with that which was "better than best."

He didn't just give me a middle-of-the-road wheel. He gave me a CXC for virtually the same price as the Brent B wheel had been. He didn't just hint at my question of whether or not pottery was part of His plan for me, He answered it in such a way that there will never be any doubt in my mind.

How great is our God?

Wherefore, seek not the things of this world; but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:38

Walls of Prayer

Today's testimony was published in True Restoration Testimonies, by Clara Thomas (Red book, page 82). 

In Oklahoma, one of our pastors was stricken with a severe illness. He had a long period of recovery, allowing him time to pray diligently for his congregation. One night he was given a dream. In the dream he was taken by one of God's messengers into every home in his branch.

He saw that Satan was not allowed to enter the truly dedicated home. A beautiful wall of prayer was standing firm around every home which had regular family worship. Each day of family worship added another stone of strength to the wall of prayer which Satan could not penetrate.

In the homes where family worship was observed only occasionally, Satan could creep in with sin and sorrow. And in the homes where there was no family worship, Satan freely came and went as his evil heart desired.

This made the pastor realize the importance and great need for constant daily prayer, scripture study, and daily worship in our homes.

Calm in the Midst of the Storm - Laura Handy

In the summer of 1979, we were preparing for our home dedication service. The night before the service I was awakened in the middle of the night with an urgency that something was wrong. The Spirit told me to check the iron in the kitchen. When I got halfway down the hallway I could smell something “hot.”  I quickly went to the laundry closet and saw that the iron was face down on some clothes, and they were smoldering. I unplugged the iron and ran water on the shirt that was almost on fire.

 

I thanked the Lord for waking me in time to avoid a fire. As soon as I was done with my prayer of thanks, there arose a tempest of rushing wind out side. It sounded like a thousand voices speaking at once. I can’t describe the way it sounded, but it was like a roaring. It rattled all the windows and beat at the doors. I realized that we were under attack. The adversary was trying to instill fear and doubt. I rebuked the evil in the name of Jesus, and calm regained control.

The next day we were told by the Spirit that our home would be a place of safety, a refuge in the storm. We would be protected with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night. We were also told that we would never be lacking in basket or store. Over the years there have been many people who have come to stay with us….some for a short time…some longer.

The Lord has greatly blessed us. We have weathered many a storm, and by His grace have always had our needs met. He is my daily bread!

 

 

Psalms 107:28-31

28) Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

29) He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

30) Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

31) Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

An Angels' Handywork - by Barbie Jones

Last fall my husband, Jim, went to Arizona on a missionary trip. He was going to be gone for over a week. In preparation for his leaving, I prayed that my needs would be taken care of while he was gone. Not having my handyman around was a real step out in faith for me.

While he was gone, I had been reading a book about angels. It pointed out the many times they appeared in the scriptures and how they are on duty 24/7 for the Lord’s command to go on a mission. It was such an enlightening book and I really enjoyed it.

As I got ready for bed one night, I went to flush the stool, but to my surprise, the handle didn’t work. Instantly I said, “Oh no, Lord, not while Jim is gone.” I’ve been trying to remember and work on the scripture Philippians 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputing. So instead I said, “This is probably a testimony to help me appreciate my handyman husband.” I tried to see what I could do by looking into the top. Sometimes the chain just gets tangled or comes off, but that was not the case. The tank was not even full of water; the valve just was not working. It would be almost a week to go before Jim would be home, so I prayed, “With your help, Lord, I can handle this problem.” (This meant flushing it manually with a bucket of water.)

That night as I said my prayers, I remembered about the angels on duty 24/7 so I just prayed, almost half jokingly, “If there would just happen to be one of those angels around in the neighborhood and is not too busy, could you have one of them fix my stool?” I then went to bed.

The next morning while getting ready for work, I just realized that the stool had not worked the previous night. As I went to flush it again, I paused and remembered my prayer, so I said, “Lord, if this will work I will tell this testimony.” I have to admit that I laughed as I said it, because I really did not think it would work. However, to my great surprise, it worked! I was so grateful and thanked the Lord over and over, and asked for forgiveness of my lack of faith.

So, here I am sharing my testimony, as embarrassing as it is, but I promised the Lord I would. God is so good and He hears and answers our prayers.

32) ... Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin.
33) And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.
34) Therefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and tom-morrow is cast into the over, how much more will he not provide for you, if ye are not of little faith.
Matt. 6:32-34

A Heavenly Visitor - Jackie Enderle

When my mom passed away in July of 2011, I had the responsibility of explaining to my 2-year-old son where his beloved Grammy went. I decided to keep it honest and simple.

"Grammy doesn't live with Baba Jack anymore. She went to live in heaven with Jesus. She can't come visit us or play anymore. She's busy working with Jesus now and we won't see her for a while. But she loves us and Jesus loves us. And someday we will see her again."

After a double checking that Grammy wasn't at church, Jesus' house, Ben seemed satisfied with the explanation and didn't ask to see or talk to Grammy for almost three months.

We were sending out invitations for his third birthday and I asked him who he wanted to invite. The first two people on his list, "Grammy Jesus." After that, he asked to see Grammy every single day for three weeks or more.

When he asked, I always told him that he needed to pray to God the Father and ask if Grammy could visit him. Then we'd pray together:

Dear God in Heaven,

We love you and praise you. Father, Ben misses his Grammy. Could she please visit him. We love you.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen

One Sunday morning, God answered Ben's prayer. As we walked into the sanctuary at Grain Valley, Ben pointed to the back wall and said, "Look Mama! Grammy Jesus!" He pointed to the same spot three more times, each time excitedly saying, "Look, Grammy Jesus!"

I wasn't privileged to see our heavenly visitors, but I know they were there. That was the first Sunday Ben "sat" through an entire service. (A miracle in itself.)

God is so generous. He answered my little boy's prayer to see his Grammy and gave him the added testimony of seeing Jesus too. Although Ben won't remember this experience into adulthood, what a beautiful blessing.

And what a blessing for our entire congregation to have Jesus come and worship with us on a Sunday morning. God is such a loving and generous father. Glory to God!


Psalm 150
1) Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in the firmament of his power.
2) Praise him for his mighty acts; priase him according to his excellent greatness.
3) Praise him with the sound of the trumpet; praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4)Praise him with the timbrel and dance; praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5) Praise him upon the loud cymbals; praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals.
6) Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord

Pray for Your Enemies - Adriane Howe

I learned to pray when I was a little girl. I was taught to pray for things I was thankful for, my parents, our house, and food on the table. When I was around my teenage years I learned to pray for my friends and family who were sick, for safety when traveling, things I was thankful for and forgiveness for things I had done wrong. As an adult I learned from trials and tribulations to pray for protection, wisdom and strength. There was one particular situation that first taught me the importance of praying for my enemies.

I had worked for a couple that was strong in their Baptist beliefs and they were constantly trying to show me how wrong my faith in the Book of Mormon was and how me and all my family that believed as I did were going to rot in hell. After a brutal verbal assault from them one day, I left work and prayed. Without thinking at all, my car and I drove to Susan Mauck at the clinic.

As I was praying in the car the Lord gave me Psalm 46. I wasn’t sure what it was so when I got to the clinic with tears and snot bubbles, Susan took me to the back and prayed with me. We then looked up Psalm 46, verse one is the part that stood out immediately, “God is our refuge and strength, a present help in trouble”.

Susan encouraged me to pray for my enemies as much if not more than my family. I found this task extremely difficult because I was so upset, but I did pray for my enemies and when I was done I was filled with such peace, no anger, no feelings of revenge, just peace.

When I met my husband Paul in 2007, he had warned me that his ex-wife was a handful and would cause us many problems. He made it clear from the beginning that it would be best if I never really dealt with her one-on-one. I found out that she suffers from several different mental illnesses.

In the first year being married to Paul, I wondered why this woman was so evil, why when I had always treated her with grace and respect was she always so hateful and spiteful towards me. I had many conversations with my mom about my frustrations with this woman and how it didn’t matter what I did she seemed to find a way to influence my house into chaos and negativity. I remember one day when I just felt like I couldn’t deal any longer with the chaotic life this woman seemed to constantly be causing us, my mom asked me if I had prayed for the woman. No, why would I? I haven’t done anything wrong.

Instead I prayed for myself, “Give me the strength to keep my angry thoughts to myself, give me patience to put up with this woman who clearly has no desire to ever deal with me in a civil way”. My prayers were for me, but my mom reminded me that this woman is the one who needed prayers.

So I started praying for this woman who constantly did me wrong, called me names, told lies about me, was in all ways my enemy. I prayed that her heart would be softened, that she would have joy in her life. That the demons that whispered in her ear to create chaos would be bound to the hell they came from.

For the next two and a half years, I prayed almost every day for this woman because I now saw her in a different light. I saw her as Jesus saw her, broken in spirit, joyless, loveless. My heart was so broken for her, that she clearly was lacking Jesus in her life. Even when this woman called me names or sent me terrible text messages I always responded as Jesus would have wanted me to, with love and forgiveness.

I let her know often that I was praying for her. Sometimes in her anger she would scoff at me as though I was mocking her by telling her that I was praying for her. She would respond with a quick hateful jab attacking me as a Christian. There were many times over the past few years that I wondered if God really heard me. Or maybe I wasn’t praying enough or the right way because it seemed like this woman was NEVER going to change and my prayers were never going to be answered.

In October of 2011, this woman called my husband and asked if she could come over and talk to the both of us together. I was a little skeptical, but she seemed adamant that we all talked together. With tears in her eyes she told us that she had a very spiritual experience that had changed her life. That she was so sorry for the way she had treated us the past few years and to please forgive her.

She specifically let me know that she was so sorry for purposely trying to sabotage me and my marriage that she had been angry and jealous and there was no excuse for the horrible things she had done. She said that she had not had joy or love in her life and she finally realized it was her own fault; she had been pushing the joy and love away and embracing anger and hate for far too long and she knew now how toxic she had been to herself and everyone around her. She asked me for my forgiveness which I gladly gave her.

I let her know that I truly had been praying for her, that she would find joy again. She thanked me and promised that she would never act this way again.

I was so grateful that God heard my prayers. This woman will never be the perfect friend to me, she still suffers from her illness and struggles with that, but I know without a doubt that my prayers helped her. That God took the time to listen to the prayers of one small Christian whose heart was breaking for another. It may have taken a few years before my prayers were answered but I know that it had to be in God's time not my own.

God tells us to pray without ceasing, and his promise is that he does hear and he does respond. We need to learn to be patient and wait for Gods time to answer, and when he does answer you will know without a doubt that your Savior hears you!

Matt. 5:45-50
45) Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.
46) But I say unto you, love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you; and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you;
47) That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and unjust.
48) For if ye love only them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans the same?
50) Ye are therefore commanded to be perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

Fingers Healed - Emili Elefson

I was about three or four years old and spending the weekend with my grandparents. My grandmother and I had gone to the co-op grocery store to pick up a few things. I remember I was eating Chili Cheese Fritos when it happened. She was buckling me in for the ride home and somehow I got all four of my fingers in the way of the slamming car door. I remember her opening it and crying with me as we drove off. As soon as we got home, she liberally poured consecrated oil all over my fingers and prayed over them before putting me down for a nap. The next thing I remember is waking up from a three to four-hour nap and feeling no pain. Upon further inspection by my Grandmother, there were no marks or bruises on my hand either. I am grateful for a Grandmother who led me to the Lord, but I am more grateful for a loving Savior who hears our every prayer.

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
~ James 5:16