OUR PRAISE TO GOD!!

I WAS SO BLESSED TO BE ABLE TO WALK THROUGH

THE GROUP OF ABOUT 200 KIDS WHO HAD BEEN

ABDUCTED BY THE LRA IN THE SOROTI AREA.

I MET SO MANY, LOVED SO MANY,

AND IN 11 YEARS NOW,

I TRULY WOULD LOVE TO KNOW HOW EACH ONE

HAS THEIR LIFE CHANGED THROUGH THE 

SAFETY OF PEOPLE AND LOVE OF THE LORD.

 

OUT OF DARKNESS!!

I COUNT ON THIS [ON HIM] FOREVER AND EVER!!

AND I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR MY LORD!

CHANDRA AND RAVI

Two of my favorite spiritual brothers from Nepal who are originally from Bhutan.  They are an example.  I had gone with them and their wives and a couple kids to the airport, because another two brothers were arriving that night and a Ravi's son and his wife were coming.  It was quite a night.  They were happy and I was happy to be with them.  Anyhow, the spiritual situation is that some of the Bhutanese were Christians in Nepal...even within Chandra and Ravi's family over there... but these two guys were Hinduism and they came to the Lord a few months after they were here.  Their brothers and wives and kids and grandkids and cousins and a pile of relatives are my friends and "family".   And many Bhutanese are part of my life, day by day.  

To use this Word of God, I was trying to find a way to put it in a photo.  This grabbed me.  They are doing all they can to serve the Lord.

I love so many of the Bhutanese.  And the blessing for me is that many of them love Dave and I and appreciate what we've been doing for them. 

  [I could show piles of photos of them and their family members and so many others, but this is simply connected to the Word.  Gotta keep myself in control, doncha think? ]

FIR TREES AND US...FOREVER

OUR HEARTS AND MINDS AND SPIRITS

ARE ALWAYS HEADING UP!

ALL OF US AND THE TREES AND BIRDS AND FISH

 AND ANYTHING ELSE, TOO.

THAT'S WHAT WE COUNT ON.

STEVE IS 42 TODAY...IT'S A MIRACLE!!

And I have posted more than once about how he was born miraculously... not just from bodies, but from the encouragement for abortion from my doctors.  I'll put most of that in after this next bit of "miracle" news.

He is 42 today now.  I can't forget any of the situations that were piled on me for the 8 months of my pregnancy to his birth.  It was filled with scariness from the Doctors in the Redwood City, CA., area.

Tomorrow Dave and I are meeting Steve and his son, Dyllon, at our house.  Don't know where we'll go, what we'll do, but being with them counts significantly. 


And, again, here's the story of how he arrived...
=======================================================

MY "ABORTION" MIRACLE

 
Every year when January 22nd hits, and the pro-choice and pro-life groups hit the news, I always want to stand up and holler, "LISTEN TO ME!!!!"
The key: My son was born on January 17th, 1973. Last week he turned 39. And it's a miracle he was born.

In the Spring, 1972, I became pregnant for the severaleth time. I had had at least two miscarriages in the previous two years, and, while driving home from church that Sunday afternoon, the pain began again; I was only 6 weeks pregnant. It was the exact feeling and timing of the other miscarriages. I went to a Doctor immediately on that Sunday afternoon, and after checking me, he suggested that I not have this baby, that I let "Nature" bring this to an end. He gave me some pills to take "whenever I felt that pain." At home, even when in pain, I didn't take any pills; I'm not a medicine-oriented person. What I discovered many months later was that the pills would not have relieved the pain, but would have caused a medical abortion.

 Occasionally, during the next several months, other doctors tried to convince me to let them bring the birth to an end. I was told that this baby would be a mental and physical vegetable, that I would always have to care for "it" and would never be free OR that the baby could die very soon and I would suffer from that death; "Mother Nature" had tried to free it "now."

Well, I refused. Can't say I wasn't frightened about what the results would be. In fact, I was terrified during the pregnancy, especially when I was forced to be in bed for about two months that summer and had this fear pouring through my heart and mind constantly. But, I knew it wasn't what God would want me to do, so I simply couldn't; sometimes I felt Him hold my hand and encourage me to stand in that rocky area. The baby's Dad, my former husband, basically just told me to do what I needed to do. Except for one spiritual Mom who gave me a Word when she could, I walked through this alone.

 [You must recall or know that in those days talking to a pastor about these physical issues was not reasonable, going to a counselor wasn't easy (especially since I couldn't afford it), and ultrasound wasn't a medical part of our lives. Life has most certainly changed now. I also had no family I could talk to.]

The baby was due on January 12. On the 16th, I was rushed to Stanford University for the delivery. Labor had kicked in early that evening. When the baby was being delivered, about 6:30 AM the 17th, the nurse asked if I wanted to look in the mirror so I could watch the baby come out. I was obviously more terrified than anyone, including me, knew it. I screamed, "NO!!!"

And then the baby came. And HE was not a vegetable. He looked exactly like his sister had who had arrived about 3 years earlier, he was an ounce heavier than she had been, and 1/2 inch longer  in length. That was all. Period.

I was in the hospital for a few days. Didn't know anything about the Roe v. Wade abortion approval, even though this picture was taken that very day, January 22nd.

 
In fact, I didn't know anything about that for some time; life was extremely stressful and my recovery took several months. Survival was my only focus then.

But to know that the Lord gave me a son at the same time that law came into being, and that He had helped me walk through those horrible times with very caring and concerned doctors, probably some of the most seriously compelled to do the best for me and the "fetus", still just fills my heart with appreciation for Him.  

Steve and Dyllon, 2 years ago on Steve's 40th B-day

Steve's sister, Renae, and his step-dad and I.

 

I TRULY WILL TRUST!!!

AS I OFTEN SAY, "LIFE GETS COMPLICATED!"

I CAN TRUST HIM IN SPITE OF MY

BODY AND BRAIN [MOVING AND SINGING] SITUATIONS.

HE IS TRULY "IT" 

FOREVER AND EVER.

AMEN!!

FOUNDATION OF HOLY FAITH

IN MAY, '06, TWO OF MY SPIRITUAL BROTHERS CAME UP TO THE NORTHERN MINNESOTA AREA, STAYING WITH MY BEST FRIEND, SUSAN, AND I, WHO HAD ARRIVED DAYS EARLIER, PLANNING FOR THEM TO COME, TOOK THEM AROUND AND ABOUT UP THERE.  WE HAD BEEN SPIRITUALLY INVOLVED IN MANY PORTIONS OF OUR LOCAL STATES WHERE WE LIVED  [NEBRASKA, KANSAS, MISSOURI], AND I WANTED TO HAVE THEIR SPIRITUAL DOORS OPEN WIDER, IF POSSIBLE.

MY FRIEND FROM KANSAS CITY, JOHN GROSS, BROUGHT ONE OF THE BOYS FROM HIS CHURCH.  A FEW YEARS EARLIER, JOHN HAD BEEN DROPPED INTO MY LIFE  IN THE K.C. AREA.  MY HUSBAND AND I HAD MET THE BOY'S PARENTS  WHEN  DOWN THERE AND VISITED THEIR CHURCH.  THAT WAS A BLESSING THEN, AND A BLESSING TO HAVE HIM IN MY LIFE AGAIN WHEN HE ARRIVED WITH JOHN.

THE OTHER GUY, GARY NEVE, FROM OMAHA, WHO AT THE PICTURE IS AGAINST THE TREE, HAS BEEN A STRONG SPIRITUAL BROTHER FOR ME FOR ABOUT TEN YEARS.

WE HAVE STUDIED AND DEALT WITH THE DIFFICULTY AND SINFULNESS OF OUR WORLD.

ANYHOW, IT WAS A TREAT TO HAVE  THEM COME UP THERE, AND A TREAT TO DRIVE THEM AROUND AND ABOUT IN THAT PORTION OF MINNESOTA.  AND THEY SPENT SOME WONDERFUL TIME AT SUSAN'S, WORSHIPING, PRAYING, GLORIFYING AROUND AND ABOUT HER HOUSE AND PROPERTY.

AND THIS WORD IS FOR MANY, MANY PEOPLE:

BUILD YOUR LIVES UPON THE FOUNDATION.

THAT COUNTS FOREVER AND EVER.