Healed, part two

Previously: God has healed me

I was at church Saturday night when someone prayed for me to be healed of intestinal trouble. The lady who prayed for me prayed for all the lining of my intestine to be healed, for all the balance of bacteria to be restored, and for the gluten allergy to be gone. I didn't feel a thing at the time. After church, I went out with my family for a snack, and ordered something with gluten in it which I wouldn't have normally eaten. Not a lot of gluten, but enough to trigger a reaction. Nothing happened!

So the next morning, my husband and I were getting breakfast. I made two pieces of wheat toast. I sat down at the table with my two pieces of toast on a plate, just looking at them. Because I was scared, frankly. Although it is not likely, the not having an allergic reaction the night before might have been explained away by the fact that it wasn't a HUGE amount of gluten. But you can't get much more gluten than in a piece of wheat bread.

My mind was telling me, "I can't believe you are going to eat that and put yourself in the hospital, are you crazy?" etc. I was thinking back to last fall when I accidentally ate a wheat cracker instead of one of my rice crackers, and I broke out in hives within 10 minutes all over my body and my husband had to run and get Benadryl fast.

But our pastor had just said something in his message the night before, about believing what God has told you, believing God's word and not doubting it - that is what makes us BELIEVERS, LOL. The enemy likes to put his word up against God's word and get us to believe him instead of God, if he can. He is really a one trick pony -- that is what he has been doing since Genesis 3 in the Garden of Eden. Who are we going to believe?

I was thinking about that, while I was looking at the toast, and just all of the sudden I said, "I don't receive the devil's words," and took a bite. As soon as I did, the most amazing thing happened. I felt a warm glow start at the top of my head and kind of flow down over me, that same feeling you get at church sometimes when God's presence is very strongly in the room. So I chewed that bite, and swallowed. And waited for a second for the auto vomit response. Which never came! So I took a second bite, and chewed, and swallowed. I ate two pieces of toast for breakfast and never had any reaction whatsoever. I ate gluten that whole day and was completely fine! This was Sunday!

This year at Thanksgiving I do not have to make my own little meal separate from everyone else's! My husband never has to eat brown rice pasta again!. We can go to Chinese restaurants for dates out once more!

Thank you, God, for what You did! I am very grateful!

God has healed me

God has been healing people miraculously at church lately - it has been going on most of the summer. People have been healed from aches and pains, sprains, dislocations, all the way up to heart disease, kidney failure, and cancers (verified by x-rays, blood tests, and other diagnostics. It has been amazing!) My oldest daughter fractured the top of her foot when one of her kids dropped a heavy toy on it, and God healed that fracture miraculously. That was about a month ago.

So many of you know I developed an allergy to gluten about five years ago. I figured out that it happened after a double course of strong antibiotics one winter - I couldn't get rid of a nasty case of bronchitis. Now I don't take antibiotics anymore, and this bronchitis incident was the last time I ever took them. (I was even sick with pneumonia last winter, but I never took antibiotics - I strengthened my immune system so that my body could do what God designed it to do, and I got over the pneumonia without any complications on my own.)

After those antibiotics, I developed a systemic yeast infection. The yeast multiplied so overwhelmingly that I even developed thrush. What happens during a bad yeast overgrowth like that, is that the yeast grows through the lining of your intestine and sends "fingers" into your blood stream, in such a way that the lining becomes damaged. The lining is normally like a nylon stocking, but after a yeast overgrowth it can be like a burlap sack. This condition is called "leaky gut." Large protein molecules, then, which are normally broken down in your intestine, can leak through the large holes in the lining, and get into your blood stream undigested. Your antibodies detect a foreign substance in the blood, and a full blown immune response is triggered. Gluten is a large protein molecule. I never had a single problem with gluten until after this bad yeast infection. It just took me several years to figure out the connection.

So the lining of your intestine replaces itself every 14 days, but as long as there is yeast, new damage can be done. I was on probiotics for quite a long while, I did several detoxes and colon cleanses, I started following the dietary laws in Scripture, I did a parasite cleanse, I was off "white" or quick-digesting carbs, I was off sugar -- I made many changes in my diet to overcome the yeast and give the lining of my intestine a chance to heal. None of which ever made any difference to the gluten allergy.

In fact, in July my husband and I were having coffee with our kids and grandkids after church one night at a Starbucks. (The grandkids were of course having milk, and I was having herb tea - I was also off caffeine). Everyone had gotten a "treat" from Starbucks, and my husband went next door to the grocery store to get me a Nana's No Gluten cookie. (He is so sweet!) Only he didn't realize that not all of Nana's Nos are gluten- free, and I took a bite without checking, for some reason. Within 2 seconds of swallowing one bite, I had to run to the ladies room to throw up - it is the body's way of protecting itself from ingesting the allergen. It hasn't happened often, because I have learned to be so careful, but that is my typical response to ingesting any gluten, even unwittingly.

So we were in church this past Saturday night, when someone had a word from the Lord that He wanted to heal an intestinal problem. So I raised my hand, thinking a little prayer could never be a bad thing. I was thinking maybe He would heal the stubborn yeast overgrowth and give my system a chance to get back into balance. I was so shocked at what He actually did do!

To be continued ...

The Lord deserves praise, thanksgiving, and glory

Warning: long post ahead, of a glorious testimony to the Lord God!

Some of you may remember me blogging about a Christian homeschooling family we had been praying for. One of the children rebelled and left home at 16. The life this child then lived for the next two and half years was the kind that leaves children dead on roadsides or in motel rooms. Then about a year and a half ago, this teen came to church with his parents, and went up to the front of the church at the end to rededicate his life to Jesus. It was a true miracle, and there was much rejoicing.

Only after a few weeks, the teen left church again. He could not break away from his circle of friends, or the drugs, which had bound him. So we started praying again, and that is where it has been since then. There had been no change, other than the teen was no longer a teen, and by long practice he seemed set in a lifestyle that would one day kill him.

Then this year, the parents began learning the things I have been blogging about recently. That to safeguard your investment in your children, the parents need to walk in the paths and the ways of the Lord. That if the parents repent and return to the Lord with all their hearts, and do all that He has commanded, then the Lord will circumcise the hearts of the children.

Now all of us knew that if there was one child among us that needed a circumcised heart, it was this one that we had been praying for, for nearly five years now. But this is the toughest case any of us had ever heard about. This child: lived with Satanists, pagans, and witches; did hard drugs including meth; stole to support the drug habit; and worse; and that is only what I know about. There were children of evangelical parents who had left the church years ago in much better (in man's eyes) circumstances than this child, who had never yet returned, so why did we think this child would?

Well, the parents did indeed repent, and do everything they could learn about: No pork or seafood. Doing no work on the Sabbath day and keeping the Sabbath day set apart. Celebrating the feast days of the Lord. Dedicating themselves living olahs on every Sabbath, new moon, and feast day. Remembering Jesus, our sacrifice for sin, with the bread and the wine. The mother is now researching how to write the Commandments on the doorposts of their house. (We learned something cool about that, a blog post will be coming up about it.) If it is found in the Scripture, they are doing it, Old or New Testament, doesn't matter. Their motto is the Word of the unchangeable God is everlasting, so they have committed themselves to obedience, without assuming themselves wise enough to figure out what to follow and what to discard - they are just following all - out of love for the Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth.

I guess all the repenting started about April, and the more the parents learned, the more they repented of and changed. Then in August, we learned in church about the perfect heart. One of the things we learned was the meaning of the Hebrew word for "perfect": that its root means "a reciprocal friendship." In other words, He whose heart is perfect toward God does what the Lord asks of him, and likewise, the Lord does what the man with the perfect heart asks of Him. They reciprocate.

As the mother was falling asleep that night after church, the Lord spoke to her: "You have been faithful to obey Me in everything you have learned so far. Is there anything you want Me to do for you?" And she replied, "I want my child (meaning this one that we have all been praying for) to have a circumcised heart toward You."

A few days later was a new moon, and the mother had made a feast to honor the Lord on the new moon, and invited all the children. But this one child, she couldn't track down to invite. An hour before the dinner, lo and behold, this child shows up on the doorstep. The mother, thinking one of the siblings had managed to find him and let him know about the dinner, was thrilled that he would come to a celebration honoring the Lord. She just welcomed him in with a big hug, prattling on about how delighted she was that he came, and all that the Lord had been showing them about the new moon and the feast days. She didn't even find out until later that the child did not know that anything special was going on, and just got the idea in his head to show up at his parents' house.

During the dinner the parents were sharing with their children all that they had learned, and at the close of the dinner, the father took the bread and the cup, and reminded all the children that Jesus, who knew no sin, endured the cross, the breaking of His body, and the shedding of His blood, to take our sin upon Himself, so that we, who knew no righteousness, could become the righteousness of God in Him, by faith through grace -- not by works, lest any man should boast of anything before God, who would receive ALL glory.

And this child was blinking back tears, and took the bread and the cup. But then after that night, the parents did not hear from him. But he, without saying a word to anyone, started coming over for the Friday evening Sabbath dinners at his parents' house. The next new moon day was the Feast of Trumpets, on September 13th. On that feast day, this child told his parents that he had spent the last week collecting his things from all his drug friends, cutting ties, telling them not to contact him again because he wouldn't reply. He flushed whatever he had that was connected with that lifestyle down the toilet. He began praying, and quit smoking. He walked into a Bible bookstore and bought himself a Bible, because he became so hungry for the Word of God that he couldn't stand it. He has been devouring the Bible as he used to devour the drugs. I can hardly type this without crying.

He has been in church with his parents and his family every Saturday night since. He has been at every Sabbath dinner at his parents', and at every Feast of Tabernacles dinner since the Feast began. He is absolutely glowing with new life. He is talking about getting his GED and then going to school. He wants to be a missionary. It wasn't this way before, when he went up to the front of the church before. He has a circumcised heart now; that is the difference.

I just want to let everyone know, that the Creator of heaven and earth lives, that His word is true, and His promises are true, and when He says: "Repent and return, and I will circumcise your heart, and the hearts of your children;" He meant it, and He did it, and He will do it. Hallelujah!

Healing hearts one child at a time

I have just found a wonderful ministry based in Israel. Shevet Achim is named for the Hebrew from Psalm 133, "How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity." Shevet Achim searches the Middle East for children from Muslim families who are in need of life- saving heart surgery to repair congenital heart defects. They help the child and his parent obtain travel documents and visas, meet them either in Jordan or at the Israeli border, and bring them to a partner hospital in Israel. Israeli cardiologists, some of the best in the world, donate their time and services to examine and stabilize the children, and give them the life- saving surgery they need. The hospitals slash their rates for these children, charging just $7000 per child, even if the child needs 3 or 4 surgeries to be made completely well, and even if their hospital stay reaches into 3 or 4 months or more.

Shevet Achim raises the funds for their operations and living expenses while in Israel. They are involved with the family every step of the way, often providing counseling for grief- stricken parents and the hope of the gospel if the families ask, "Why are you doing this? No one in our country would help us." Shevet Achim partners with several Arabic Christian churches in Israel who "adopt" families while they are in Israel, giving them a little taste of a familiar language and culture.

All of the staff of Shevet Achim are volunteers, raising their own funds from home congregations back in the US, so 100% of Shevet Achim donations which are designated for life- saving operations go to children and their medical care. One of the staff families was back in the states recently and was visiting with us. He said, "The parents are at first scared to enter the country of their "enemy." Soon they realize, however, that what they have been told about Jews and Christians are lies. They experience God's love as they never have before; and their lives are changed forever. Sometimes they become believers before they leave for home. But I can tell what they and these children will never become: suicide bombers."

Follow the journey of seven- year- old Iraqi girl Niga and her father as she arrives in Israel for her surgery through the lens of veteran Israeli photographer Nati Shohat. These are the children currently in Israel already who are going through surgeries and treatment. These are the children still waiting to arrive in Israel for their surgeries depending on the availability of funds. Can you help?

If you seek Me, you will find Me

I just have to praise the Lord today. While He is always working, does it seem to anyone else that this year He is really working, and bringing much that He has been working on to visible fruition? It seems that way in our lives, anyway. He has been calling us to a deeper, undistracted, focused seeking- His- face- with- all- your- heart- kind of intensity in our relationship with Him this year. He has been instilling in us a hunger and thirst for righteousness, and His kingdom. He has been raining living water on hard ground, and making it soft. He has been exposing the lies of the enemy, and opening blind eyes and deaf ears. He has been bringing together in unity, and making a sharper division between His kingdom and the world. That is what I have been seeing.

He has called me to repentance in areas I didn't realize needed repenting; He is establishing Himself in areas of our children's lives that we had been praying for for some time. He is revealing Himself in my original family in ways that have surprised and delighted me. At the beginning of the year, my sister and I started getting together once a week to pray for our extended and nuclear families, and God is answering those prayers! I can hardly wait for Bible study and prayer at my sister's house every week, because God is leading us in amazing ways! And I also can't wait for church every weekend -- no matter what problem, issue, question someone in our family is dealing with, He reveals truth in some way during the service every week. He has answered questions, given insight for problems, and healed illness that wasn't even on our conscious radar screen.

Are we somehow special? No - the Bible clearly teaches that God does not respect any person, in the sense that He shows favoritism. He is, in fact, only fulfilling His promise: If you seek Me, you will find Me. And when we find Him, we find that He is the same sea- parting, manna- giving God of old; the same good God who blessed the children, taught the questioners, and healed the sick and oppressed. Who still loves us with everlasting love! In His presence is fullness of joy, indeed!

Thank you, Jesus

How can I thank Jesus for what He has done for us on the cross? No one can give a gift to Him, that He might need to repay. But, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." Therefore today, since it is my desire to show my love to Jesus, have I:

Repented? What sin is besetting me? Who is on the throne of my heart today?
Given to the one who begs of me?
Loved and prayed for my enemies and persecutors?
Forgiven the one who has hurt me the most?
Sought the kingdom of God and His righteousness above everything else?
Removed the log from my own eye, before I concern myself with the speck in my brother's eye?
Done unto others as I would wish others do to me?
Acknowledged Jesus before men?
Came to Him, so that I may find rest?
Denied myself, taken up His cross, and followed Him?

Good news Friday

Good news Friday

Good news Friday

There is so much bad news in the world. But the good news is out there; this is what I have found this past week:

In the culture wars:
Plan to cut ACLU money pipeline advances
Rules convince another abortionist to quit
First amendment victory goes to Christians
Pro-life group gets abortionist’s license revoked

In advancing the gospel:
Creation museum expands in anticipation of April 07 opening
Pope preaches against chance evolution
Latin American lawmaker helps bring the Bible to fellow Ecuadorians
Soap opera star tells of life transformed by God

In the nation:
Town strengthens illegal immigration law
GOP’s Santorum, DeWine surging, according to Zogby
Katrina’s floodwaters far less toxic than feared
States, feds crack down on [s-x] offenders

In the war on terror:
Army sees new turnaround in recruiting
CIA: 5000 terrorists captured or killed since 9/11
Feds cutting off terrorist financial channels
Afghan troops retake town from Taliban insurgents
Gunmen repelled at U.S. Embassy in Syria
Ship with North Korean weapons seized enroute to Syria

In the economy:
AAA: gas prices down 40 cents in the past month
Treasury: Federal deficit down 14.1 percent
Perdue announces plan to eliminate state income tax for seniors (Georgia)

Around the world:
Miracle as lost divers found after four hours
Girl recovers with transplanted 55-year old heart

Don’t forget the greatest good news ... and have a wonderful weekend.

Good news Friday

The world is full of bad news, but there was a surprising amount of good news I noted this week:

Some border towns begin strict enforcement of immigration laws
Waco ordinance struck down, pro- life protesters celebrate
Democracy triumphs in Mexico
Australia keeps terror suspect in check

Sting rounds up 25 foreign child predators
Court favors Christian literature on campus
Gasoline prices could keep falling
Would- be migrants finding US border tougher to cross
US economic growth revised up

Gays must change, says Archbishop of Canterbury
Israel rejects UN blockade appeal
Ernesto fizzles over Florida
Army meets its retention goal
Christian Pakistani teen escapes death
Italy: world will not tolerate Syrian arms shipment to Hezbollah
NIST refutes 9/11 conspiracy theories

Redwood Christian Schools get day in court
Evangelist first to promote gospel book in China

And don’t forget the best good news ... Have a wonderful weekend.

Good news Friday

There is so much bad news in the world, wouldn’t it be nice to have some good news for a change? There were actually several good news stories I noticed this week:

Half- dozen abortion clinics shut down
Nurse won’t lose license for discussing Schiavo case on TV
Armed customer stops KFC robbery
Judge: Oklahoma 10 Commandments monument OK
Embattled church regains tax status
Liberal politics will prove fruitless as long as liberals refuse to multiply
Colorado hiker survives 800- foot fall
Boy Scouts save girl from drowning
Former Marine takes down man after clerk is hit
U.S. ends ‘catch and release’ at border
Creation Museum continues amazing growth
Church loses property, but wins war

And don’t forget the best good news ...

Have a nice weekend.

One of life’s little necessities

I had a Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate Truffles for the first time today. Now that was some very good chocolate. If I had to pick between Green & Black’s Maya Gold, or Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate Truffles, the Green & Black’s would still win. That is my absolute favorite chocolate of all time. But you can get Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate Truffles at Walmart, so there you go.

I am babbling on about nothing in particular because my dh is working late, and I am waiting for him to get home ...

Pajamas Media kudos

Pajamas Media has done the best job of anyone hands down in posting all the latest news, developments, and opinion concerning the Mideast War; now they have interviews with UN ambassador John Bolton and the top brass in Iraq! This is the kind of stuff we wish we could get from the MSM; but since we can’t, thank goodness we have Pajamas M.

Thankful for the perfection of God’s Word

God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
   the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
   the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
   the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
   the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
   the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
   sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Psalm 19:7-10

My covenant I will not break; nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. Psalm 89:34

Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. Luke 21:33

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1, 14

Thankful for men of honor

We have the most honorable men in the world serving the United States in combat. What a blessing. Case in point:

During a rally for more than 8,000 Georgia troops, Vice President Dick Cheney administered the re-enlistment oath ... to a 24-year-old Army gunner determined to remain in the ranks after losing his left leg last year to a bomb blast in Iraq.

Flanked by risers crowded with his fellow 3rd Infantry Division troops, Cpl. Jerrod Fields of Chicago raised his right hand before Cheney and pledged to serve another four years. The Army approved Fields to remain in his cavalry unit after he passed his physical fitness test with flying colors, including running 2 miles in 14 minutes, 9 seconds with a prosthetic leg.

Read more about this heroic soldier here.

He reminds me of Carl Brashear. Did anyone see the movie Men of Honor with Cuba Gooding Jr.? That movie told the true story of Carl Brashear, who lost his leg in a Navy diving accident and went on to complete the grueling training required to become a Navy master diver.

“It’s not a sin to be knocked down,” Brashear told the Salt Lake Tribune in 2002. “It’s a sin to stay down.”

Carl Brashear died Tuesday, at age 75. Rest in peace, honored soldier, and brave American.

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord

After several years of getting bad news or having one trial after another, lately it seems that we are getting good news or having favorable answers to prayer all of the sudden taking place one on the heels of another. We received good news on two fronts last night; and as I reflect on it, the past four weeks has been one series of blessing after another. It feels good to praise the Lord for an answer to prayer; we have been praising the Lord just for who He is for so long in the face of difficulty that I almost forgot what it felt like to praise the Lord for an answer to prayer! It is a good thing.

Thankful for the glory of God

We were visited by members of the secular web last week, who left comments in different places in the blog ridiculing belief in the Word of God. A common adjective used was “silly,” that our belief was silly, or that the Word was silly.

I got to thinking about this over the weekend. Webster’s defines “silly” as “weak in intellect, foolish; exhibiting or indicative of a lack of common sense or sound judgment.” I am sure their purpose in using this adjective was to make us feel inferior. However, I cannot help but be amazed that those who deny God, who place all their trust in the limited discipline of science, and in the limited scope of the wisdom of man, have proven the very Scriptures they disparage true in every aspect.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalm 14:1

Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge. Proverbs 14:7

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words. Proverbs 23:9

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Romans 1:18-23

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

All glory to the living Lord, who uses the words of His enemies to establish the truth of His word, and the honor due to His name!

Create your own Bible listening plan

Today I am thankful for the neatest web resource I have seen in quite a while. Create your own listening through the Bible in a year plan; then tune in every day for about 12 minutes. Thank you, AiG!