God is good all the time...here's why!

Let's try something new - stories of how God has touched your life in one way or another.

It could be something spectacular such as a miracle to a small event or episode that had God's imprint all over it.

Or it can be just a simple praise to say thank you Jesus for your blessings on me.

Let this be a good news thread. A lift-someone-up thread.

Also let this be a sarcasm and critcism-free thread. No trolls. No sour-pusses. No off-color puns and remarks. No critiques on someone's spelling and writing skills.

Let this be a place where those who have experienced God's mercy and grace can share their experiences with others.

Kent

 

I’ll start the thread with a story about my mother and grandmother.

Before my grandmother died from alzheimers, she had become totally bed ridden.

Because of space constraints in my grandmother’s house, we had set her up in a hospital bed in the middle of her living room.

Someone stayed with my grandmother around the clock.

It had been raining for a day or so and on this particular wet evening it was my mother’s turn to spend the night.

At around 2 am as my mother slept on the couch in the living room with my grandmother, the phone started ringing.

It rang and rang.

In a deep sleep my mother finally woke up and stumbled into the kitchen to answer the incessant ringing phone.

She said hello and no one answered. She said hello again and still no answer.

My mother hung up and went back to the living room.

Instinctively she checked on my grandmother and noticed that water was dripping from the ceiling onto my grandmother’s bed.

The INSTANT my mother moved my grandmother and the bed out from under the drip, a portion of the sheet-rocked ceiling broke loose and collapsed on to the floor right where my grandmother had been.

Would my grandmother have been injured? Possibly.

Did God cause that phone to ring to wake my mother up? Without a doubt.

Could God have used another method or simply prevented the ceiling from collapsing? Absolutely.

But then He wouldn’t have the testimony that I’m sharing now.

God is good. All the time!

Kent

 

Fascinating story.

My wife and I were driving up Millbrook Road near Shelley Lake one afternoon while returning from Crabtree Mall. We were travelling east through the series of curves right there by Shelly Lake when we were approaching the intersection right past the lake. My wife was about 8 months pregnant at the time. We were nearing the intersection and talking when suddenly I was struck dumbfounded and slowed to a stop for a green light. While slowing my wife asked why we were stopping for a green light. Suddenly, a big sedan crossed right in front of us, running their red light and never even braking! From North to South. That is a blind crossover until you're right on top of it. I had no way of knowing that car was coming, but if I had proceeded we would have been hit...very hard. My wife and I looked at each other and realized what had happened. I contributed that to God's divine protection.

When I was 18, I was rather sick, losing about 10 lbs in a week and I couldn't eat. My family knew this senior lady who was a very humble country woman, but was a minister and preached with enthusiasm. She conversed on that occasion that she had felt something was wrong and contacted my parents about me. About 10 years later, my wife had been going through some medical problems of her own for several months. There were a few serious health scares and mentions of disabling diseases and cancer. We hadn't been married long (this was several years before our child's birth) and I fretted and worried so much. This same woman wrote a letter asking what was wrong we me without anyone having contacted her? I had resolved one day to rise up and walk strongly in faith and not worry so much. Still, in my doubts and anguish, God had heard me and through this spirit-filled lady and this further galvanized my faith.

When I was 14, I visited a church with my family. We had visited a couple of times before. It was known to be a very spiritual church (Pentacostal Holiness) and one morning during the service, I saw something that I have for years tried to reason. I feel that I saw an angel in that church that morning. From behind the minister (during his sermon) I saw an opaque glow behind him form and ascend toward the ceiling straight up. I have tried to foolishly reason that because of the stained windows behind him I simply saw his figure transposed in my vision. However, this figure was noticably larger than the minister (probably about 8 feet tall) and outstretched was what appeared to be wing-like appendages that was as wide as the image was tall! It was a profound moment for me.

There have been a few other stories, but those are the three stories I'd like to share at this time. What is so sad, however is that we often are blessed with situations like this and yet we still fall into doubt at times. I know I do, but we need only spare a few moments in prayer to our Heavenly Father, asking in the name of His Son, Jesus to reaffirm our faith and reclaim peace for ourselves in times of trial.

 

Here's one more before I hit the sack.

As a Wake Co. Deputy my platoon's primary responsibility is serving civil papers. (We get about 6,000 per month.)

Last week I was helping out a buddy who was on vacation and I was working the Wake Forest area.

As I finished up the Wake Forest papers I started heading back to my regular zone that covers the 27612 zip code, mostly in the city limits of west and northwest Raleigh.

I normally like to get in my zone to sort out my papers, but on this day something told me to pull over and wait by the old Stony Hill Fire Dept station located on Stony Hill Rd.

Within 60 seconds of pulling over a white cadillac turned off NC98 onto Stony Hill Rd and pulled right along side of my patrol car.

It was a woman with a deep look of concern and relief on her face.

She told me she was having problems with her live-in grandson and he had gotten so out of hand that she and her husband had banished him from their home.

She was afraid to go home and had been PRAYING ever since she left her job that she would meet a deputy to escort her to her home to make sure there would be no trouble when she arrived if her grandson happened to show back up.

Could she have simply called 911 and had a deputy meet her? Sure.

But she didn't think of that and relied on the only method she was raised to use: PRAYER.

Did the Holy Spirit tell me to stop and pull over that day? A big 10-4.

God looks after his children. Amen?

Kent

 

Jester and inthehunt: great testimonies. Looking forward to hearing more.

Kent

 

Yes, I agree. Very good testimonies and faith-inspiring.

 

11 years ago we got pregnant with our second child. Things were not going as smoothly right from the get go. I went back to my dr with some weird symptoms and they diagnosed me with a tubal pregnancy and wanted to do a termination. (This was a Friday). I was alone, my hubby did not come with me to the appointment. So I opted to wait until Monday and have moral support with me.

I didnt tell anyone, I couldnt talk about it yet. Sunday at church we were having a praise and worship service. I got very very hot and thought I was going to pass out. I asked a friend to take my daughter home after the service and decided to leave early.

Once I got outside a very spiritual woman (whom I did not know very well) came outside and told me "God said it would be ok. I dont know what "it" is, but it will be ok." I left, really ready to pass out by then.

When we went to the doc on Monday morning, they did another ultrasound and said."Hmmm, there must have been some mistake, the baby is right where he should be." :-D :-D

My 11 year old son is a very special boy, and we believe he has a special purpose in this world. People we dont even know will comment that he has something special about him.

 

When I was pregnant with my last child, they did an ultrasound at 18 weeks and discovered a cyst that required further monitoring. When they did the next ultrasound they said the cyst was fine but th kidneys were enlarged and they would need to check them again to see if they were okay. When they checked the kidneys later they discovered that my amniotic fluid was low and they would need to monitor it. The kidneys were fine. So they monitored me closely and my amniotic fluid dropped to a dangerous low and they induced my healthy boy. He was 100% healthy and needed no NICU care. If there had not been a reason for them to do an ultrasound at that stage in the pregnancy he would have been stillborn. We kept our faith that he was healthy throughout it all as the enemy tried to make us doubt God's faithfulness.

 

Just got back from church and read the last 2 posts.

Awesome! What a great testament to the Lord.

Reminds me of Mark 5:34: And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction."

Let's lift the Lord up today with 2 songs to celebrate these great testimonies.

The first one is one I stumbled on not long ago, but it has really touched my heart. I had not heard this song before and the guy in the video does a fine job.

http://www.christianclips.com/videos/music/WILLING_TO_HEAL

The second song is from one of my favorite gospel singers, who is also an evangelist with his own show, Carroll Roberson.

http://www.carrollroberson.com/ibelieveSC.htm

Have a great and blessed day!

Kent

 

We have learned that there are no such things as coincidences in life. We now refer to them as "God-incidences". From the adoption of our children, to everything that fell into place with our move to NC...God is Good!

 

Yes, indeed. I think even the most devout still try to put limits on God's greatness. He is interwoven into every single aspect of life, even into the air we breathe.

You know another story came to mind. When I was young, I often pondered how at the time of the Rapture, we would meet Christ in the air. Soon after, I had a dream. I was in my backyard looking upward in one direction when I saw Christ in the clouds with His hands stretch forward as if to receive those He had come for. At the sight of Him, I felt the strongest love and realized that when we indeed see that day, nothing will keep us from His love...including the bondage of mortality. The shackles of our earthly bodies will be loosened and we immediately be drawn to Him.

My wife when she was young lost her grandfather and due to her mother's sickness and her father's time being strained from taking care of his father's personal business and caring for her mother, she wondered about her pa-pa. One night she looked down at the foot of her bed and there was a casket and her pa-pa sat up in that casket, smiled and told her he was okay and her mind was eased. Around that same time period, her father had been under a lot of stress over these events. He was driving his father's pickup truck when one night it completely died on the railroad tracks. Even the lights went dead. Suddenly, he glanced over and saw his father's smiling face and suddenly he was gone. The truck cranked and he carried on back home. I'm not that much a believer in ghosts. I do, believe however that this was a miracle to relieve the family of concern.

A similar event took place recently when a family member lost their wife of over 40 years. Over the years, she had been fascinated with a particular kind of beautiful bird common in this area. Soon after her death, this same kind of bird began pecking at the side mirrors of this family member's truck and constantly. Very odd behavior as this wasn't common until after her passing. A subtle message of comfort perhaps?

Another quick story as told by another family member. My cousin when she was very young came out of her bedroom one day and told her mother that Jesus had came and stood on her bed and had told her she would have a baby sister. Her mother didn't even realize it yet, but she was apparently expecting and gave birth to a girl as told to her daughter.

We read stories like these that are recalled and they reveal a God that is tirelessly laboring for us, protecting us, loving us and occasionally correcting us. What a comfort it is to be loved by the Almighty God and to know that He is forever moving in the lives of those He loves.

 

I was messing around tonight, looking for a Natalie Grant video for my myspace page, when I stumbled across this (*warning, have Kleenex handy!) http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1881692073

Searching a little further, I found a blog that explains the video. Wow, God is GOOD indeed!

[FONT=Courier New, Courier, mono]For those of you who have not been informed...my life was a W-R-E-C-K wreck before Jesus found me. Zero concept of reality lived in my head...college student, parents paying my bills, no job, way to many chemicals and non-existant self respect. That's all I care to say about my past--that person does not exist anymore. I am a new creation. [/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New, Courier, mono]I truly believe that I had denied God in such a way that he removed his hand of protection from my life. A one night stand left me pregnant and alone. Sixteen weeks into my pregancy, a serious birth defect was detected; hydrocephalus. Within a weeks time I had been informed that my son's condintion was of the greatest severity; in addition, a major heart defect was detected that would ultimately result in the deoxygenation of his tiny little blood stream. A table full of various types of specialists informed me that my son was terminally ill and would live no longer than 8 hours off of machines. [/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New, Courier, mono]After heartache that most will never be able to grasp, the doctors took him off of the machines that his life had become dependant upon. Eight hours had come and gone while Jaeden's condition only seemed to improve; I made the decision to take him home on hospice care. God gave me the gift of 29 days with my little guy. On April 13th of 2001, his starved and very sick little body lay nestled against my heart....I held my breath as he drew his last. [/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New, Courier, mono]To this day I cannot possibly find the words to express the peace that held me in that moment. Peace that passes understanding found me that day...Jesus found me that day. Without him I would have lost my mind...there is no doubt in my mind about that. [/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New, Courier, mono]As I reflect on my life and all the pain it has contained, I am constantly reminded that my incredible God has held me close to his heart time after time, observing my ignorant decissions and lessons learned that have resulted in the daily painful deaths of my flesh. From my perspective, God allowed Jaeden to die, not because of my sin, not as some sort of punishment or sick scheme...God allowed this tragedy in my life because his matchelss, sovereign and all knowing self, saw the result of my pain...the Julie before Jaeden and the Julie after Jaeden. He does not enjoy seeing his children in pain...it's quite the opposite really. That's what makes this all so wonderful; He was willing to allow me to go through such a high callabur of heartache because he knew the end result...he saw the thousands of lives that would be changed as they witnessed my God given courage and strength. [/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New, Courier, mono]In the end, Jaeden will be a very real and eternal part of my life...as for now, there are hurting, hopeless people who desperately need revelation of God's love; a revelation that never would have graced my heart had I not walked through the valley of the shadow of death.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?f...&MyToken=2f1eba87-7c87-4728-8aba-543462216892
[/FONT]

 

That blog was really sweet Ready, it almost made me cry.

 

We were bless on Friday. Someone I know, but not really, well called to see if we could use some craft supplies she no longer needed. When we arrive to pick them up, we found there were more than craft supplies.

She had some toys my girls have desired for some time but I could not justify spending the money on them.

There were TWO Crown Financial giving banks... brand new. That very morning I was on-line ready to place an order for TWO of the very same banks but decided to shop around more and see if I could find a lower price.

We were also given some books that will be useful for an up-coming project.

It was an overwhelming blessing to receive things we desired. The person who gave us the items said she had prayed to seek guidance on who to call. Obviously God's hand was in this.

 

While on duty awhile back I was dispatched to a suicide in a well-established, up-scale neighborhood in North Raleigh. A man, despondent over the loss of his job, took his life at his home. His wife came home, found him, and called 911.

As other deputies processed the scene I stayed with the widow and did what I could to comfort her.

I asked her if there were any neighbors she’d like me to call to come and be with her.

In the 9 years she had lived in their subdivision, she didn’t feel close enough to call not one single, solitary soul from her community in a time such as this. Her nearest close contact lived about 30 minutes away.

She said she had not been to church in about 10 years and didn’t know any Pastors to call.

Maybe there are Christians living in that neighborhood who tried to reach out, but this couple chose not to respond. I don’t know.

Maybe local churches have visited this neighborhood and invited them to their church. I don’t know.

Maybe none of these things happened.

Did that man die not knowing Jesus?

The widow asked me to pray for him.

I said there’s nothing I can do for him at this point. He’s now in God’s hands.

But I told her I could and would pray for her and with her. And I did.

Do you know your neighbors? Don’t be a stranger. Be a light to a dying and desperate World and make a difference!

This event just intensified my efforts to always take any opportunity to share the Gospel with anyone and everyone I meet.

I may not get a second chance.

May God's blessing be with you all this week.

Thanks to those who feel led to share these wonderful stories.

Kent

 

(sorry this is long) On February 24th my father came home from Atlantic Beach for our niece's (his youngest granddaughter's) birthday party. For 2 years we have been asking my dad for his "expertise" with helping us get our bonus room started. My dad was the Vice President of a large Construction Company and an extremely smart man when it cam to budgeting and building! So we wanted his opinions and his guidance before we got started our this major project or our home!! So on the 24th my dad brought his brother who was a framer to our house and we decided on a $figure$ and to get started building the following week! After that my dad and his brother went to a shoe store in Garner and hung out together and talked for hours. This was the first time they had seen each other in a LONG time, after that my dad then went to visit his mom and they spent a lot of quality time together, and then to his other brother house .... later that evening the family was together for our niece's birthday! My dad gave us all a BIG hug and a kiss and told us he loved us individually - including the grandkids! Ten days later my dad died on the sands of Atlantic Beach of a massive heart attack! For 2 1/2 years while my dad lived at the beach (his dream job) we would see my dad at least once a month but never had time to stop and plan out the bonus room, he would visit some of the family but not all, he was unable to attend all the parties due to his job.... but on the 24th he was able to do ALL of this and see everyone and tell them how much he loved them. His last words to them was "I love you" to us all! About a week after his death we received an e-mail from our dad (my dad sent this on the morning before his heart attack to a close friend)

AND he signed this poem with "I had a long talk with God last night"
here is the poem -

Perseverance


When all the world is looming dark
And things seem not so clear,
When shadows seem to hover 'round
Lord, may I persevere.


When it seems everything's been tried
And there's no way to go,
Just let me keep remembering
Sometimes the journey's slow.


I may just need to stop and rest
Along the path I trod,
A time to try to understand
And have my talk with God.


As I gain new strength to carry on
Without a doubt or fear,
Somehow I know things will be right,
And so, I persevere.

 

August of 2005 my world came crashing down on me. Literally my world was falling apart. I had 2 circumstances in my life that was unbearable.
I didn't know what to do. I became a part of a evening phone call ministry. We read scripture, prayed, sang hymns, listened and supported each other. Mind you, everyone was from all over the United States and sometimes even a couple would call from Austrailia. We all had similar circumstances, but other than that, we really don't know anyone personally.
I had been and out of church many different times, however, this time was different. This was the first time though that I had made the decision to make Jeses the Lord of my life.
One day in October of 2006, I had left work early because my circumstance had me too emotional to even focus. While driving home, I was crying to God that I could not do it anymore. I was screaming at the top of my lungs telling God that he was not listening to me and that I could not believe that he was not doing anything. On and on I was just crying out my frustrations and telling God I was done.
That evening I went on the prayer conference call, but I was very silent and just listening. After awhile they did a roll call to see who was on the phone. When I said my name one of the other women on the call asked if I was the one from Georgia. I told her yes. She told me that God had given her a vision about a week prior but she and I had missed each other on the call, BUT that was because God was waiting for the right timing.
She proceeded to tell me that God gave her a vision of Daisies and wanted her to tell me. She didn't understand what daisies meant and never did hear from God what they meant. However, she did what God told her do and she told me.
I instantly started crying. She had no idea that daisies were my favorite flower and that I would take daisies over a diamond ring anyday. There is no way this woman in Kansas would have ever known that.
Needless to say, that day changed my life forever and I have never looked back since and have only pressed on.

 

After many years of not getting along with my mom... Now she's my best friend!

It's truly amazing how things turn out totally different than how you think they will.

Life is fragile - Handle with prayer!

 

After 37 years not having my mother I found her November of last year. I was adopted at Birth. I also found my fathers family and I have been accepted on both sides. Life is good.

 

So you DID find them?

That's great news SS....handle the relationship with care, and be sure to let your adoptive parents know how much you love them (sometimes they get a little jealous).