how big is our faith?

Faith...

Believing what we can't see. The evidence of things hoped for. The substance of things not seen. Knowing that what He has promised is true. 

Faith...

Hearing from God and knowing His voice.

How big is our faith? Do we believe for others but not for ourselves? Do we deem others worthy of a miraculous healing touch from God but don't feel worthy ourselves?

Faith...

Commitment to God and His will. Total reliance upon the Lord. Confidence in Christ.

Abraham was a faithful servant. His faith is what prodded his pleading to God on behalf of the city of Sodom. Because of His faithful prayer life, God was willing to spare the city for only 10 righteous people. It only takes the faith of a few to obtain the mercy of God for a nation.

Abraham's faith is what enabled him to trust God completely when He called him to sacrifice his son. "Thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest" (Genesis 22:2). In his own strength and character, Abraham couldn't have done that. But because of the faithful relationship he had with God, he was able. He had faith in God's promise to him regarding the covenant He established with Isaac. He knew that even if he had to sacrifice his son, there would be a resurrection. He knew God would provide the lamb.  He trusted His God and His Word. 

Oh, to have the faith of Abraham. I so desire that kind of dependence on my Lord. To trust Him in all things and for all things. To depend solely upon Him for my direction in life. To place my loved ones in His hands since they belong to Him anyway. To know that He will provide the lambs needed in my life when I am called upon to obey, even  unto sacrifice. 

I want God to be my Jehovah-Jireh. My provider. I want to grow closer to Him each day and know Him like never before. More intimate. More personal. Deeper. Higher. I want to love Him more. I want to know Him...

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves 

to think any thing as of ourselves; but our 

sufficiency is of God"

(2 Corinthians 3:5)

I want to trust Him no matter what. No hesitation. No procrastination. No doubting. No excuses.

Just trust and obey. He is worthy. He is faithful. He is God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mercie had a re-check today and the doctor confirmed that indeed she is healed. (my words, not his..) He also confirmed to Megan what he thought would be the outcome of the blood work. He was sure that Mercie was  very ill. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind whatsoever that my God healed my Mercie on last Sunday morning. I know that He has plans for her and that she will have a mighty calling on her life. I am just so thankful that He allowed me to be a part of this incredible testimony of hers. I will praise Him and testify of this miracle for the rest of my life. I learned a huge lesson about faith and I pray that I don't have to be retaught. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God, you are good. All the time. I love you with all that I am and I am yours.

do I believe in miracles? oh, yeah...her name is Mercie

Do I believe in healing and miracles? Oh, yes. In fact, I have a little miracle asleep in my bed at this very minute. A precious, amazing miracle in the form a 3 year old granddaughter named Mercie.

Last Saturday, as I was visiting my daughter and her 4 children, I noticed that Mercie's neck looked swollen. I began to look closer at it and couldn't believe how big the lymph nodes on either side of her neck were. Like, really big. When she turned her head sideways you could see them protruding. I don't have to tell you that at that very moment my heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach and I felt a cold chill go over me. Trying not to alarm Megan, I asked her if she had noticed it and she said that she was just now seeing it. I asked her some questions about how Mercie was feeling and told her that she definitely needed to go to the doctor first thing Monday morning. I left there that evening with a very ominous feeling and something in my spirit said, 'Beth, your world is about to be turned upside down'.  I spent that evening in a state of denial and tried very hard to put it out of my mind, but couldn't. I didn't sleep much that night at all. I spent the night praying for Mercie.

The next morning, Megan and her family came to our church for the start of our revival services. During the worship service, I was holding Mercie in my arms and praying for God's healing upon my precious little granddaughter. Our worship was being led by 'The Crusaders' and as they were singing  The Revelation Song, I was crying out to my God asking for His Healing Hand to rest upon Mercie at that very moment. As I held her and she had her head laying on my shoulder, I began to feel the most incredible surge of power flooding through me and into that baby. I could feel His mighty healing begin to take over her little body and the tears just began to cascade down my face. The feeling was so overpowering and so overwhelming I can barely describe it. But I knew at that very minute a miracle had taken place.

Early Monday morning, I called to check on Mercie and Megan said that her neck was the same. She called and made Mercie a doctors appointment for that morning and I met her in town so I could be with her. The doctor was very concerned at the size of her lymph nodes and couldn't find anything to rationalize it. No fever. No swelling anywhere else. No ear infection. No throat infection. Nothing. He sent her to the hospital for some blood work and my mind went into overdrive and I almost let the devil get a victory there.

As I was keeping the other kids at the park, Megan took Mercie to the hospital. The Lord and I were having an intense conversation while I was trying to entertain my other grandchildren. I was telling Him that I knew He healed her, so why hadn't the swelling gone down? He was telling me that it was about faith, not about visible results. It was about believing without seeing. Did I trust him or not?

After several hours of waiting on results, the blood work came back normal. The doctor prescribed a strong antibiotic and said he wanted to see her back the next Monday. 

Tuesday morning brought no changes. But still I was wrestling with what I knew to be truth and what I could see with my eyes. Revival services that night were awesome and such a powerful Word was spoken. I kept clinging to what I knew to be true but still struggling with no change in the swelling.

Wednesday morning came and I spent several hours in my study pouring my heart out to my precious Lord and digging into the Word for some revelation. I needed a word from Him. I needed some affirmation of what I knew to be true. I finally got in my car and headed out to Megan's house. On the way, the Lord was telling me that I needed to accept Mercie's healing regardless of what any outward appearance showed. Regardless of any other indications, I needed to trust Him. I began to praise Him for healing her. I began to pour out blessings and thanksgiving to Him. I was driving and crying and praising all at once! Just as I was finally at the point where I knew without a shadow of a doubt that my God had healed my granddaughter, I pulled up in Megan's driveway. I looked at my phone to check the time and somehow still had face book pulled up from earlier. One of my friends had posted this picture and when I saw it, I just lost it. 

The 3 words that are highlighted are Blessings, Healing, Mercies. This was not a coincidence. This was orchestrated by God at just the right time. It was affirmation of what I knew to be true and it was my sweet Savior saying,  'She is healed. Rest in my promise, Beth'. 

I had the most overwhelming and astounding sense of His presence at that very moment. It was all I could do not to shout it from the top of my lungs. I may never know what God healed my little Mercie from, but I do know that He healed her. Completely. He has a mighty calling on her life and I will do whatever I can to ensure that she is a girl after God's heart from here on out. 

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh;

is there anything too hard for me?"

(Jeremiah 32:27)

Indeed, there is nothing too hard for my God. And each time I hold my little Mercie-girl close, I will gaze into her little eyes and see my Father's image shining forth from within. And I will raise my eyes toward heaven and declare, 'that's HIM!'

God at work.... so amazing!

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all

flesh; is there anything too hard for me?"

(Jeremiah 32:27)

~~~~~~~~

"Ah, Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the

heaven and the earth by thy great power and

stretched out arm, and there nothing too

hard for thee."

(Jeremiah 32:17)

When I met my husband 27 years ago, we were living in Shreveport, La. He had a good friend named John who had a sweet girlfriend (soon to be his wife) named Terrylyn. We enjoyed lots of good fellowship with them at their house. We grilled steaks a lot and had lots of laughs and fun times. They were very special to us. Jimbo and I married, started our family and were transferred to Texas with his job. We saw John and Terrylyn one more time after the birth of our third daughter and then lost touch with them. They had moved to Nevada and after we moved a few more times, life just got busy.

About 16 years ago, we were able to find their phone number and Jimbo called John to let him know about the changes God had been making in our lives. Jimbo had re-surrendered to the ministry after years of running from what God had planned for his life. He called John and shared with him how God had given him a wake-up call and that he was back in God's will and was now pastoring a church. That was a HUGE detail in the rest of the story.

I love how God has used what happened to us yesterday to really stir my heart as to the Sovereignty and Omniscience of our Almighty God! I have been able to look back to 27 years ago and see how God placed John and Terrylyn in our lives for a specific purpose. He even used that phone call 16 years ago, to plant the seed of Jimbo being a Pastor in their minds. He even used the Internet and my blogging for the Lord to bring friends back together. For a mighty purpose. For a divine purpose.

About 2 weeks ago, maybe less, Jimbo and I were headed to Monroe on church business and just out of the blue, I said, "I wonder where John and Terrylyn are?" We started talking about old times with them and we realized that we needed to try and get in touch with them. But as usual, life happened and we got busy and we got distracted and forgot all about it. But God didn't.

Sunday after church, I was doing some studying for a class I teach at night and  got on the Internet to look up a bible commentary. I very rarely get on the computer on Sundays, but this was one exception. My email pulls up automatically and I just scanned the emails as I wasn't planning on looking at them right then. I noticed an email address that I didn't recognize, but the subject line had a name in it that popped out at me. I thought there was no way it was the John T. that we knew, but opened it anyway.

The first line made my heart stop...

"If you are not the Beth Herring that I am looking for, I hope that you will forgive me. My husband, John T., was in a tragic accident in August 2009. "

My heart was beating so fast as I scanned the email and realized that indeed this was the Terrylyn I knew and that our precious friend had been hurt badly. She went on to let me know about his injuries and the severity of them. He was in a motorcycle accident that left him on a ventilator for the first 8 weeks after the accident. He then didn't speak for another month or eat for another 4 months. He is still in the hospital or rehab center, 20 months later, with traumatic brain injury. He has no use of his legs or one of his arms. He has no short term memory. The part of his brain that controls his temperature and things like that is affected. He can't do anything for himself.

She says that through all of this, John has asked over and over for Jimbo. (They knew him as Jimmie - he is only Jimbo here in his home town). If someone comes to see him and she says, "Guess who's here to see you?", he will say, "Jimmie Herring?". Now, remember, we haven't spoken to them in over 16 years! Terrylyn remembered that Jimbo was preaching and began searching for us on the Internet. She found me through my blog and was able to email me. She left her phone number on the email and of course we called her last night to talk to her. She wants to fly Jimbo to Las Vegas to see John and talk with him and make sure that John is eternally secure.

I know that God has something amazing in store for John and for Terrylyn. God didn't bring them back into our lives for nothing. He ordained each step of the way. He orchestrated each event that has taken place in these past 27 years up until this point for a specific purpose.  I don't know if God is going to perform a miracle of healing in John's life. But I know that He can. I don't know if John will be healed completely from top to bottom - from his brain to his legs - but I know that God can do it, if that is His will. Perhaps God will heal his memory. Perhaps God will heal his arm. Maybe God will heal his precious soul....

My heart is just broken for our friend and his wife and daughter. I don't know what God is going to do, but I know that He is going to do something! I am asking you all to pray with us for John and Terrylyn. Pray for Jimbo as we begin to work out the details for his trip there. Pray that we will surrender our wills to God and that we will listen to His voice and obey whatever it is that He has for us to do. Pray for this precious family and ask God to wrap His loving arms around them in a huge Holy hug!

God, you are amazing! You are the ultimate Healer and I praise you and I thank you for the mighty work you are already beginning in John's life and in his body. There is nothing too hard for you, Lord. There is nothing out of the realm of your capability.  You are who you say you are and you can do what you say you can do! You are God and I love you with all of my heart!

just one touch...

"For she said, If I may touch

but His clothes, I shall

be whole"

(Mark 5:28)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One touch.

Just one touch from His hand. And I will be made whole.

Whole in spirit.

Whole in heart.

Whole in Him.

On my knees, I reach for the hem of His garment.

Desperately seeking.

Needy.

Lacking..

Yearning.

Stretching forth my arm, I reach out with all

that I have. He is just within my grasp.

Falling on my face, I feel my fingertips graze

the edge of His robe.

Just one touch.

I feel the power of the Almighty course through my body.

Power that only comes from Him.

Power that knows no limits.

It is released in my being and beginning a new work.

A work of healing.

Restoration.

Renewal.

A work of new direction.

New focus.

New commitment.

Just one touch and now I worship.

On my face, I give praise to the One who is so worthy.

Desperately seeking.

Needy.

Yearning for more.

~~~~~~~~~

Thank you, sweet Lord, for the power that comes from just one touch. I love you and I worship you for who you are. You are my all in all.

Seeking More,

Beth

And He was there with Melissa....

Melissa - January 1, 2010

November 27th. ER Trauma room

 the beginning(click to read from the start).....

Do I believe in miracles? Oh, yes. I believe. I have seen miracles. I AM a miracle. My daughter, Melissa, is a miracle.

When I think back to that Friday morning, November 27th, God readily reminds me of what He did in Melissa's life beginning that very day. Indeed, a miracle had just started taking shape.

After several days of feeling bad and not getting any better, I knew that it was time for Melissa to go to the doctor. She didn't want to go. She said she was too weak to get up and get in the car. All the doctors offices were closed due to the Thankskgiving holiday, but I finally managed to get her up and out the door and we headed to the ER at our local, small-town hospital. I was still thinking that she had the flu and just needed some medicine and then we would be on our way home.

When we got there, the nurse asked Melissa what was wrong and she said in a very soft voice, "I think I have malaria". I wish you could have seen the look on the nurses face as she took a step back and just kinda looked at us both for a moment.

Melissa quietly told her it wasn't contagious, but explained about her trip to Africa for 10 weeks and said that she had been home for 10 days, so with the incubation period,  it was possible that she did have it. Melissa saw a lot of malaria while she was working at the hospital in Cameroon, Africa. She was familiar with the symptoms and treatment of it. Most of the time they gave them medicine for 3 days and then they went home, so she didn't seem too worried about it.

As I really began looking at Melissa while we were waiting, I noticed that her eyes and face seemed very yellow. She had been in bed the last few days in the dark, so I hadn't really had a chance to see her face very well. I quietly took out my compact to look at my eyes in that room lighting and my eyes were very white. I handed the mirror to Melissa so she could look at hers and she was a little taken aback and just looked at me with fear in her eyes. It was at that moment that I knew there was something seriously wrong with my baby girl. My heart began beating fast. But, He was there.

As the girl from the lab came in to draw blood, I had her look at Melissa's face and eyes. She agreed that she was very yellow and after she drew several tubes of blood, left to go find the doctor.

The doctor on call sent for another doctor, Dr. Toe Ho, who is from the Philippines, and she was very familiar with malaria. Once she arrived, things started moving and they began drawing more blood and asking many questions. I had told her about Melissa's eyes and skin color and she said that she was definitely jaundiced.

When Dr. Toe Ho came back in, she told me that she herself had done a blood smear and lyced the red blood cells and that based on her knowledge, she was 99% sure that she had malaria. She also noted that her platelets were extremely low - 19,000 - and said that Melissa needed to be at a bigger hospital, where they could give her platelets if necessary.

After 5 hours at the ER in Oak Grove, Melissa was headed to Monroe by ambulance. I was alone as my husband had left that morning for New Orleans to watch a football game. He didn't have his vehicle and had no way home. I was scared and I was angry.  My heart was racing and anxiety was threatening to take over. I began to pray and to seek comfort in the Lord. And He was there.

The next 12 hours  are a blur. We wound up in the ER trauma room all night until they could find her a room in ICU. The doctor on call, Dr. Warnke, was from India and he was very familiar with malaria - God just kept putting the right doctors in the right place.

They spent the better part of the night and morning researching on the computer and trying to find her the medicine that she needed. They contacted CDC in Atlanta and by that afternoon on Saturday, her clinical trial doses of Artesunate and Malarone, were being flown to Monroe on a Delta flight and being picked up by a pharmacist and delivered to the hospital. Her first dose was given with much fanfare. Many came to watch, as this was something new and different.

Final diagnosis was P. Falciparum severe complicated malaria. The parasites had taken over her red blood cells. They had destroyed her platelets. They had settled in her liver and spleen, causing enlargement and pain. Her AST liver enzymes were in the 300's - normal is 5-40. Her hemoglobin fell to below 6 (normal is 12-15). She was almost at the point of blood transfusion, but God took over. Her bilrubin was over 16 - normal is .3-1 mg/dL. Her platelets dropped overnight to 11,000. She was 1,000 away from getting platelets. But God took over. She had fever spikes to 105. She was lethargic and weak. She hurt all over her body. She was retaining fluid from the systematic nature of the illness. She was a very sick girl, or as Dr. Parker put it, "she's one sick little puppy."

Each step of the way, God was there. He was guiding, leading, comforting, strengthening. He was performing a miracle on Melissa. He was letting others see His power and might. He was helping me learn to lean on Him more readily. He was there.

Over the next 6 days, Melissa slowly began to heal. Her counts began to normailze and she began to have a little more energy. By the time we brought her home, she was still very weak, but she was on the road to full recovery. And God was still working.

 At her last 3 check-ups, she has steadily gotten better results. Her last lab work showed her liver enzymes to be normal for the first time. ALT was 32 and AST was 36! Her platelets were 274,000. Her bilirubin was 1.8 ( a little high, but still very good.) Her hemoglobin was still only 10, but he said she was making so many red blood cells, that the differential of them was causing it to be a little low. She goes back on the 28th for more blood work, since her numbers were still a little off.

Did God perform a miracle? Oh, yes. He took my sick little girl, and put the right people in the right place at just the right time. He healed her body. He healed her soul. He was there.

Did this miracle impact others? Oh, indeed. Doctors that came in heard us giving glory to God in all things. Nurses heard the gospel. People in the ICU waiting room were witness to His sovereignty and power. Everyone that asks about her gets to hear about the miracle of her healing.

After 5 weeks, Melissa was finally feeling good enough to get out of the house. She went with a group of 40 kids from her church in Baton Rouge to the Passion 2010 conference in Atlanta. She wasn't feeling well as they left that Saturday morning at 4 am, and called me crying, but I prayed with her over the phone and she was determined to go. I told her if the devil was that intent on causing her to miss it, that God has something amazing for her to experience! She is having a wonderful time and I look forward to hearing about her trip. God saved her for a purpose. He saved her spiritually and he saved her physically.

And He was there all the time.