Showing posts with label True Story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label True Story. Show all posts

Monday, July 23, 2012

God Said Yes

June 19, 2011 is a day our church will always remember. Five young men were driving home from our annual Bible Conference, a tire blew, the car rolled seven times, landed on the opposite side of the freeway, two young men died, one was paralyzed from the neck down, and two were rushed to the hospital for severe injuries.

We prayed, believing God for mighty miracles in the three boys' lives that were facing physical pain and injuries. People around the world began to pray. God moved and all three have experienced healing in various ways.

In this time of great turmoil, a dear friend of mine told me about the book God Said Yes by Heather Horn-Bland and Ninie Hammon. It's the testimony of a little girl that overcame the odds and experienced 13 medical miracles in her body. It immediately brought me hope in the midst of a difficult situation. It strengthened my faith that nothing is impossible for God.

What It Says On the Front Cover:
“When four-year-old Heather was run over by a car, doctors told the family she wouldn’t survive. Now 34 years, 187 operations, and 13 medical miracles, Heather is alive to tell her story.”

Overview:
Heather and Ninie beautifully recount the amazing story of Heather’s life. Heather overcame different obstacles in her life: emotionally, physically, and spiritually. She jumped into the front seat of the car at the age of four, the door opened and she fell out. The front tire was on her stomach. It's not known how she got out from under that tire. But, God knows and saved her. God said, "Yes"--Heather would live. Even after Heather's accident, Heather endured abuse from a neighbor down the street that brought deep emotional pain. In addition, the man she married left her during a very hard time in their lives. Yet, despite all of the pain and trials, Heather pressed forward, trusting God.
 
A Few Quotes:
Heather, age 4, still in the hospital after the accident… “I stood there proudly, beaming, as the doctors and nurses-including the orthopedist who had pronounced solemnly that I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life-burst into applause. But I wasn’t finished. With a grin that threatened to split open my whole face, I lifted one foot and carefully took a shaky step forward. And then another. And another. I didn’t even limp-astonishing given that there was still an inch-wide gap between the broken halves of my pelvic bone.”

“As Mom sat in the chair beside my bed, staring with unseeing eyes out the window at the street below, I just knew the tired old phrase was echoing in her head:  This many bad things can’t possibly happen to one person! How many times over the years had we heard somebody say that about me? Every time yet another ghastly thing occurred, we could count on fielding that comment from someone.”

 Towards the end of her story Heather says,

“Despite decades of suffering, pain was not the driving force of my life. It never had been. I had been propelled through life by the engine of joy. Over the years, I made thousands and thousands of individual decisions not to be controlled by pain. If I had been unwilling to suck it up and go on, if I had allowed self-pity and bitterness to snag fishhooks into my soul, I would have missed everything. Everything that mattered.”

 “I thought back over the events of the last year, the hardest year of my life, and I was filled with an overwhelming gratitude. The bleaker my life got, the brighter God’s incredible gifts of joy sparkled in the darkness.”

"the joy of the Lord is your strength" Nehemiah 8:10
My Thoughts:
This was such an inspirational story to read. It helped and encouraged me in my walk with God, to hear how another Christian endured trials and suffering with joy. 

It reaffirmed my faith that:
  • God is real...God saved Heather's life-against all odds she survived the accident
  • He will send His angels to watch over me...an angel was with Heather in her hospital room after the accident
  • God's grace is sufficient for me..Heather continuously made the decision to trust God and choose joy in the midst of her pain throughout her life
  • God works miracles in people's lives, and He can for me, too...Heather technically died two times, but lived
  • God is my healer...God healed Heather's body to the degree that she conceived two children
  • God provides my needs whatever they may be...God used people to buy Heather's incredibly expensive medicine, when she had no means to buy it herself
Heather's story ignited my faith once again for these things personally, and for others that I know enduring difficult situations. It gave me hope as I read through the book, for the young men in our church that were in the accident.

I've struggled in my life with a lot of unnecessary fear, especially while being pregnant. I've worried about my upcoming cesarean surgeries and what would happen to me and/or my baby. I struggled with the fear of the unknown...wondering if I'd survive the surgeries or the fear that the doctors might make a mistake. But, reading Heather's story gave me a peace and comfort that God is in control. With God, I have nothing to fear. I can trust God to watch over me and those I love. Heather went through 187 operations and God took care of her. No, everything wasn't perfect, but God carried her through every step of the way. 

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
2 Timothy 1:7

I highly recommend this book for anyone to read. It touched my heart and opened my eyes to see my loving Savior in a new light. God is good. 


Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Book Review: Same Kind of Different as Me

I received a Nook for Mother’s Day last year, and the first book I purchased was Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. I heard it was a great book and wanted to read it for myself.  Also, I love true stories--they usually inspire me to change in some way and to be more like Jesus. 

Best For: People that want to be reminded that God can do so much more with our lives if and when we surrender to Him completely; people desiring a fresh perspective on homeless people; people wanting to be reminded that we never know the power of our influence; people wanting to know that God sees each person as valuable

        Overview:   The book shares the story of how Deborah and Ron met, fell in love, and were married. It describes how they both gave their lives to Jesus and their marriage struggles. One thing that God showed Deborah was to go help at the Union Gospel Mission in Fort Worth, Texas. When Ron joined her, she encouraged him to build a relationship with Denver, a homeless man that stayed at the mission. He described himself as a "nasty, homeless, in scrapes with the law, in Angola prison, and homeless again for a lotta years..." This is the story of the weaving of their lives and how it brought about an incredible, life changing friendship between these three people.

Few Quotes:

“I Woke Up!” (Denver's response when he was asked why he was so happy.)

It so affected Ron and Deborah that Ron said,

" 'We woke up!' were the first [words] to come out of our mouths, a tiny prayer of thanksgiving for something we'd always taken for granted, but that a derelict had had the wisdom to see as a blessing fundamental to all others."

“Are you sure you own them [things], or does they own you?”
(Denver asked Ron about all the keys on his keychain, wondering if he owned something for every one of the keys). 

“Money can’t buy no blessing.”

“Our limitation is God’s opportunity.”

“People think they’re in control, but they ain’t. The truth is, that which must befall thee must befall thee. And that which must pass thee by must pass thee by.”


My Thoughts:  This book challenged me to my core. Have you ever heard the saying that you can’t judge a book by the cover? It’s true. You can’t do that with people either. You have to get to know a person before you can make any type of assessment or know if they can be someone that will be a friend. 

     As I read the book, it took me back to my days living in Southern California. I lived close to the beach and frequently traveled a path along the ocean bluffs. It was a village of homeless people scattered around with make-shift homes. I admit I rarely took the time to serve the homeless there. Once in high school when I was a part of the Christian club, we made sack lunches for the homeless and handed them out. I think I was more concerned with doing my "good deed" than caring about who they were. I never really thought about their personal stories and how they ended up homeless.

     I realized by reading this book how hard and calloused my heart had become to homeless people or anyone "different" than me. It was a hard lesson to learn about myself. I did compare myself to Ron and Deborah Hall who so willingly stepped out in faith and obeyed God. I asked myself,
 “Would I do that?” 
"Would I so willingly obey God and go serve the homeless at a shelter?" 
The answer was "no". I learned that I had subtly shut myself into a bubble and didn’t want to break out of it. 

Photo source: istockphoto.com

·         I was challenged by how Ron and Deborah Hall lived out their Christianity. Ron said   
        of his wife, "She did have one other fear, though: missing the call of God."
·         I was challenged to step out of my comfort zone and befriend someone different  
        than me (whether with a friendly smile or greeting).
·         I was challenged to try and see people through God’s eyes, and not my own.
·         I was challenged to not jump quickly to conclusions about people.
·         I was challenged to give of myself (time, money, prayer, possessions).
·         I was challenged to live with less "stuff".
·         I was challenged to ask God to use me, even if it was only to reach one person.

 I highly recommend this book and have given it away as a gift because of how deeply it impacted my heart. I don't want to be the same person I was before I read this book. I don't think I will be. My heart has softened. Compassion has grown in my heart. I needed a new perspective, a Godly perspective. I don't want to judge people by their appearances. As Ron Hall stated, "I have learned that even with my $500 European-designer bifocals, I cannot see into a person's heart to know his spiritual condition. All I can do is tell the jagged tale of my own spiritual journey and declare that my life has been the better for having followed Christ." I encourage you to read it. I don’t think you will regret it.



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