WE OVERCOME
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” – Revelation 12:11
Purpose: “We Overcome” is a compilation of real-life testimonies submitted by regular, everyday people. Please review the topics listed below. If you have a testimony that fits into that area, you can either write or send an audio of your testimony. This publication will not be sold, it will be given to those that are in need of an encouraging word. Therefore we are asking for voluntary, non-compensated submissions for this endeavor. We hope to have Volume 1 published by June 2019.
Submission Details and Deadline: Testimonies must be submitted by January 31, 2019 by clicking on the submit button above, in person to Prophetess Mona Fambro, by mail at: A Place 2 Connect, PO Box 2363, Elk Grove, CA 95759 or via email to: [email protected].
Topic: You can submit as many testimonies as you like as long as they pertain to the topics listed below. Please notate the title section of the testimony you complete on the submission.
The Truth Shall Make You Free:
Share your testimony of how God’s truth released you from the bondage of sin. The truth can be one that exposed a lie that you embraced which kept you in bondage or a lie that you weren’t aware of that held you in a form of bondage or a pattern which you could not escape.
God’s Protection:
Share your testimony of a time when God protected you. This could be a time when you were either saved or unsaved, being sure to give God the glory by revealing His hand in it!
Repentance:
Share your testimony of repentance, salvation and or baptism (water and/or Holy Spirit).
Casting Out Demonic Forces by the Power of God:
Share your testimony of a time when God worked through you to cast out a demon from someone.
Persecution:
Share your testimony of a time you were talked about or persecuted for doing the will of God and its outcome.
Loving Your Enemy:
Share your testimony of a time when you showed love to an enemy and/or blessed those that did you wrong and its outcome.
Being a Blessing:
Share your testimony of a time when God either used you to be a blessing to someone to meet a need or when you received a blessing from someone that met a need.
Miracles Unveiled:
Share your testimony of a time in your life when God worked a miracle yet at that particular time you did not realize it was from God. Also, explain how it was ultimately revealed to you.
Deliverance & Restoration:
Share your testimony of time when you saw a demonstration of God’s power/authority in your life. It could be by witnessing God move in your life, or deliverance from something/someone, or His restoring something/someone that was lost.
Following Instructions:
Share your testimony of a time when you received instructions from the Holy Spirit and the outcome of your response; whether you followed the instructions or didn’t.
Faith & Humility:
Share your testimony of a time in which God worked in you to either increase your faith or when He decreased your pride to increase humility within you.
Offenses Will Come:
Where there are relationships, there will be offenses. Share your testimony of a time when you were either offended or offended someone. Explain how it was handled (good or bad) and the outcome. Tell whether God was glorified or how God had to correct/reprimand you.
Steadfast in Prayer:
Share your testimony of a time when you were tempted to give up on a matter, yet continued to pray. Tell of the outcome and how long you had to pray before it was made manifest in your life.
Times of Rejection:
Share your testimony of a time in which you shared the gospel with someone and they rejected it. Share how that made you feel and what you did afterwards. Or share a time when someone presented the Gospel to you and you rejected it. Share what you were feeling and why you didn’t receive it at that particular time.
Exposing Deception:
When truth is revealed a lie or deception will always be exposed. Share your testimony where God used you to expose a deception or lie in someone else. How did you do it? What method was used? What was the person’s response and what was the outcome?
Receiving the Holy Spirit:
Share your testimony of how you came to recognize and understand your need for the Holy Spirit and how you submitted to His Power and Authority in your life.
Submission Details and Deadline: Testimonies must be submitted by January 31, 2019 by clicking on the submit button above, in person to Prophetess Mona Fambro, by mail at: A Place 2 Connect, PO Box 2363, Elk Grove, CA 95759 or via email to: [email protected].
Topic: You can submit as many testimonies as you like as long as they pertain to the topics listed below. Please notate the title section of the testimony you complete on the submission.
The Truth Shall Make You Free:
Share your testimony of how God’s truth released you from the bondage of sin. The truth can be one that exposed a lie that you embraced which kept you in bondage or a lie that you weren’t aware of that held you in a form of bondage or a pattern which you could not escape.
God’s Protection:
Share your testimony of a time when God protected you. This could be a time when you were either saved or unsaved, being sure to give God the glory by revealing His hand in it!
Repentance:
Share your testimony of repentance, salvation and or baptism (water and/or Holy Spirit).
Casting Out Demonic Forces by the Power of God:
Share your testimony of a time when God worked through you to cast out a demon from someone.
Persecution:
Share your testimony of a time you were talked about or persecuted for doing the will of God and its outcome.
Loving Your Enemy:
Share your testimony of a time when you showed love to an enemy and/or blessed those that did you wrong and its outcome.
Being a Blessing:
Share your testimony of a time when God either used you to be a blessing to someone to meet a need or when you received a blessing from someone that met a need.
Miracles Unveiled:
Share your testimony of a time in your life when God worked a miracle yet at that particular time you did not realize it was from God. Also, explain how it was ultimately revealed to you.
Deliverance & Restoration:
Share your testimony of time when you saw a demonstration of God’s power/authority in your life. It could be by witnessing God move in your life, or deliverance from something/someone, or His restoring something/someone that was lost.
Following Instructions:
Share your testimony of a time when you received instructions from the Holy Spirit and the outcome of your response; whether you followed the instructions or didn’t.
Faith & Humility:
Share your testimony of a time in which God worked in you to either increase your faith or when He decreased your pride to increase humility within you.
Offenses Will Come:
Where there are relationships, there will be offenses. Share your testimony of a time when you were either offended or offended someone. Explain how it was handled (good or bad) and the outcome. Tell whether God was glorified or how God had to correct/reprimand you.
Steadfast in Prayer:
Share your testimony of a time when you were tempted to give up on a matter, yet continued to pray. Tell of the outcome and how long you had to pray before it was made manifest in your life.
Times of Rejection:
Share your testimony of a time in which you shared the gospel with someone and they rejected it. Share how that made you feel and what you did afterwards. Or share a time when someone presented the Gospel to you and you rejected it. Share what you were feeling and why you didn’t receive it at that particular time.
Exposing Deception:
When truth is revealed a lie or deception will always be exposed. Share your testimony where God used you to expose a deception or lie in someone else. How did you do it? What method was used? What was the person’s response and what was the outcome?
Receiving the Holy Spirit:
Share your testimony of how you came to recognize and understand your need for the Holy Spirit and how you submitted to His Power and Authority in your life.
Feel free to read some present-day testimonies below and be encouraged!
TESTIMONIES OF PROTECTION
God My Protector by Prophetess Mona
God has protected me through many dangers, especially during my time of being unsaved. I didn’t appreciate His protection then, and never even gave Him credit or praise; but as I got closer to God He began to open my eyes and show me His presence and protection.
One incident that comes to mind was when I was 17 years old. I was driving home from a girlfriend’s house who lived in Del Paso Heights. It was a summer evening around 7pm on a Sunday; and I was traveling southbound on Business 80 near Cal Expo. I remember it was a Sunday because my friend’s grandmother had come from church and asked me when I would come to church with her. My response to her was that I didn’t see a point in going to church and that it wasn’t the place for me. She nodded her head and said, “one day, you will change your mind”. As I was coming up to the stretch where you could see Cal Expo, I looked out of my rear view mirror and saw a car speeding from behind. I heard sirens, and saw a couple of police cars in pursuit. At this time I was in the middle lane with a car on each side of me. The car to my left sped up and cut in front of me across my lane into the far lane to avoid the speeding car coming up from behind. This should have given the speeding car access to continue forward, however, the driver decided to cross into my lane as well and then changed his mind and tried to go back into the open lane. Moving too fast to correct properly, the driver of the speeding car hit the back of my car and sent me into a tailspin. I tried to correct, but the steering column locked and I slammed into the middle divider as my car spun to face oncoming traffic.
His protection: As the speeding car hit me I felt a presence with me and a “hand” cover my head. Upon impact to the center divider my head went through the windshield. Before impact I saw a police car speed past and two others slow and block the lanes so that no cars would hit me head on before I blacked out. I regained consciousness at UC Davis Hospital with my mother and father next to me. My mom was crying holding my hands. A nurse was next to me, picking glass out of my head. Glass that never broke skin and said, “God must really love you child, I’ve been working in this ER for 15 years and have never seen someone who’s head has gone through a windshield, has glass all in their head, shattered eye glasses and don’t have a scratch on them. God has something special planned for your life, you need to find out what it is!”
My car was completely totaled. The force of impact from behind smashed the trunk into the back seat, while the impact into the divider smashed the front end as well. The car looked like an accordion and everyone was amazed that the officer was able to pull me out of the car, which I do not remember. I would like to say that the incident caused me to change and brought me to Jesus, but it didn’t. I shrugged off what the nurse said, and continued in my life of sin, never even giving Him thanks for protection. I know now that it was one of my angels that protected me that day, that God placed the policemen in the right position with the frame of mind to block other cars from proceeding. God was my protector and provided provision for me. And I am so grateful!
One Testimony October 2009 by Valerie Cole Fulton
I had no idea when I woke up that morning that my life as I knew it then would be changed forever. It was a usual day. I went to work and headed home at the end of the work day. Somewhere at the end of this day I decided, as I so often did, that I wanted a drink. So of course I stopped by the liquor store and got my bottle and some cigarettes. You see, until this day in October I smoked cigarettes and I drank alcohol, you could say that I was a functioning alcoholic but of course I didn’t see it that way. And I frequently drove ‘’drunk”.
This particular evening, I was at my daughter’s home hanging out, drinking my alcohol, smoking my cigarettes, talking, gossiping and whatever else. Later that evening I decided it was time to go home, so I and my granddaughter got into my Jeep and I headed off down Franklin Boulevard. I knew I’d drank too much but told myself (like I always did) that we would be okay, and so we were until I turned into oncoming traffic at the intersection of Franklin Boulevard and Florin road.
There was one car in the oncoming lane and it was coming right at me! My granddaughter was screaming “Nana, you’re going the wrong way!” and when I looked at the one car and knowing there was nothing I could do, I believe I threw up my hands, said or thought God, it’s going to happen just before my jeep and the car in front of it slammed into each other head first.
Yes, it was a horrific head-on collision. But one thing that keeps coming back to me every so often and that stands out strongly in my mind is the fact that we were not alone in that car that night. The minute I knew it was hopeless, there was nothing I could do to compensate and the accident was going to happen, I threw up my hands and let go – at that very moment-God took over. The airbags deployed but I believe just for a split second before I passed out, I saw an angel in the front seat with us shielding my granddaughter and myself.
Both cars were totaled but the more important and miraculous thing to note is that NO ONE DIED, and NO ONE WAS HURT except me and my injury wasn’t life threatening. My left knee was shattered in that accident and I spent a week in the hospital, had surgery and spent three months recuperating and learning to be mobile again. Another miracle God did for me – from that night on He REMOVED the taste for cigarettes and alcohol from me. I’ve never experienced any withdrawal symptoms, it’s just gone! I haven’t smoked a cigarette, had a drink or had a desire to have either since October 2009.
God saved all our lives that night and looking back on the path I was on and where I’m headed now, all I can do is say Thank you, Lord. I truly know that “With God all things are possible.”
God Protection by Andrea Sparks
When I was 19 years old I was at a friends house waiting for her too come back from the store. Normally Id go with her but I didnt feel like it this day particularly. About 20 minutes after she left there was knock at the door as went to look out the front window to see who it was I recognized the guy at the door it was a mutual friend so I thought.
I let him in so he could wait for her. We were sitting the living room watching T.V. I noticed that he was acting strange. So I got up and headed into the kitchen as I was walking with my back turned he krept up behind me a grabbed me my heart began to race. As I tried to free myself he forcefully pushed me into her room. I quickly got up to run to the bedroom door and he then grabbed my throat at this point I wasn't sure what was going to happen but I knew I had to get the heck out of there. Tears started running down my face because he began to try to tare my clothes off. I started to scream for help, I began to fight as much as I could while screaming. He became very frustrated and began to get very angry he kept trying to cover my mouth. Not realizing her bedroom window was open a couple of guys happen to be hanging outside in the parking lot and heard me screaming before I knew it they snatched the screen off the window. At this point he got scared he tryed run out the bedroom door. It was locked and he couldn't get the door opened fast enough. One of the fellas helped me outside while the other 2 handled him. I started crying and thanking him and his friends.
I knew God was there because he gave me the strength too fight. No matter what I been through in my life I could always since Gods presence he has always showed up especially when I should've been hurt or dead.
I know that God has always been there for me. Even when I haven't been right.
The Risen Lord By Jennifer Blish
Somehow at a young age I knew that God always protected me. The first time I felt the presence of the Lord I must have been 7 or 8 years old. It was mid-summer, probably on the weekend because my Mom, her boyfriend, Mark; and some of their friends were having a party. My brothers and I had come back from the community pool at Washington Park in Sunnyvale. It’s a small town just outside San Jose. At first it was nice to hear laughter in a house of so much sorrow. We were all listening to music and us kids were playing a board game and singing along. The adults were in the dining room just a few feet away; drinking, smoking, and changing between dominos and cards. As the hours grew later and later the party was losing its festive atmosphere as the alcohol does when too much is consumed. Mark’s comments and despairing remarks got crueler and angrier and people started to get up and leave. We were told to go to bed. I started to get that slow sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as the fear started to slowly seep into my bones.
Shortly after we went to bed, voices started to raise, and got louder. From our rooms we could hear angry slurs, furniture moving, and glass breaking. They were fighting again. Part of me was afraid of the dark, but I worried more about turning on a light and draw attention to myself. My Mom’s screams of pain made my blood run cold and I clutched my teddy bear tighter and tighter. I never can remember how long they would last. But as a child everything seemed to take forever. As windows broke, I could hear my Mom’s struggles to get away as they traveled up and down the hall and into different rooms. I struggled with the dilemma of to leave my room and join my brothers at the back of the house. My fear almost keep me on my bed hiding under the covers.
There was a brief lull, and the eeriness and quietness of the house and I got the courage to peek my head out of the door. They were fighting on the front lawn. I made a break for it and ran to the back and nearly scared my brothers. We were whispering to each other about what was going on. All of a sudden there was a blood curding scream and a shuffle. The moment of sudden silence froze us standing in the middle of the room. Our hearts seemed to stop as we heard Mark enter the house shouting. We heard him open the door to my room looking for us, then come stomping down the hall towards us. We all took a small step towards each other as he got closer and closer. We nearly screamed as the door slammed open.
I remember the look in his eyes. They were filled with hate and murder. We all froze to the spot. He stood there starring at all three of us, and out of nowhere he turned around and left the house. It took what seemed like minutes as the moments and the silence cut like a knife. My brother Jon said “Wait here.” And went to go look for my Mom. I ended up following him. We found her clasped near the garage door barely moving. I don’t remember what she looked like. God has taken that image away, but she spent two weeks in the hospital with a broken jaw and other scrapes and bruises. We had to spend the times with our other family members. My brother Scott and I went to stay with my Uncle David and Aunt Eileen, Jon went to Aunt Cheryl.
I wanted to go with Jon, but my cousin Renee always seemed to fight and I didn’t want to cause problems. It wasn’t until after I was saved that I dreamed about this night. I saw Jesus standing near us right before the door opened. I saw Mark’s eyes meet Jesus as Jesus lifts his hand and shakes his head. I’m the only one who remembers Jesus was there, but that dream and others have left me awed and speechless. I might of have to endured this and other sufferings to be made worthy to see the Risen Lord, but I still ask myself, “Why me, Lord?” and “Thank you that I am worthy.”
God’s Answer Of Healing by Randy Keith
IT all started, “IT” being God’s undeserved mercy when I along with my girlfriend and our children were staying at an old hotel called ‘The Dodge City Inn’. Which had a reputation of being a hotel for drug dealers and prostitutes before being taken over by a group of pastors who turned the place into a recovery program for addicts, people with C.P.S. issues and the My girlfriend and I were addicts and had 4 young children. Sometimes I would work on the cars of the pastoral staff to help pay our rent. On one occasion, I changed the head gasket on Pastor Paul’s van, during the test drive the engine got hot. When I figured out that the bottom radiator hose was leaking I got under the van to tighten the hose clamp. As soon as I touched the clamp with my screwdriver the hose came off the radiator and hot Antifreeze burst out both the hose and radiator. I was barely able to cover my eyes, nose, and mouth with my hand before the water hit. The pain was excruciating! I sprung from underneath the van running to turn on the water hose, as I screamed for someone to call 911. I knelt as I poured running water over my head; I could feel large patches of my skin peeling off my face. As I looked at the skin on the ground I heard my girlfriend screaming and my best friend holding her back saying “Stay back! You don’t want to see him like this!”
On the ride to the hospital in the ambulance I received 3 shots of Morphine, which did nothing to give me any release from the pain. Afterward, as I lie on a bed at the hospital I heard nurses talking about some “Poor Guy” who had come in with severe burns and blisters on his hands, neck, and head and how he would be horribly scarred for the rest of his life. I thought “They’re talking about someone else.” Until a few days later when the bandages were removed. I could tell by the look on my girlfriend’s face and the fact that she was crying that who the nurses were talking about was me! That told me all I need to know without looking in the mirror. I had to face of a “Monster” when I would go outside my room, children who used to love being around me would run from me in terror. This was breaking my Heart, I wouldn’t go outside anymore and was considering suicide.
One of the pastor’s wives had been a nurse was helping with my bandaging asked if she and with other women of the ministry could lay hands on me and pray. I said yes, not really expecting anything to happen, but the next day we removed the bandages; my head, hands, and face were all restored as though the accident never happened!! Praise Be the Lord! “He healed me even though I had no confidence in Him. By His Great Mercy, He was Himself, the God Who Loves Us All as we are not as we ought to be.” Behind my left ear is a patch of skin with a rough and wrinkled texture left to remind me of what the Lord has DONE for ME!!
God's Protection by Reggie Fambro
I believe that you have to go through something to be protected. The first time I can recall is when I was about 3-5 years old, I had swallowed some Drano. I was looking under the sink in the kitchen for some soda to steal and drunk it. It began to eat the inside of my mouth and my lips and tongue had swollen, and became "inside out". The chemicals were strong, not like it is today; so I know it was God. I have seen others that have gone through things that left them disfigured. I remember staying in the hospital, in a bed that resembled a metal cage, but I praise God because I shouldn't be able to talk. God Protected me!
God has protected me through many dangers, especially during my time of being unsaved. I didn’t appreciate His protection then, and never even gave Him credit or praise; but as I got closer to God He began to open my eyes and show me His presence and protection.
One incident that comes to mind was when I was 17 years old. I was driving home from a girlfriend’s house who lived in Del Paso Heights. It was a summer evening around 7pm on a Sunday; and I was traveling southbound on Business 80 near Cal Expo. I remember it was a Sunday because my friend’s grandmother had come from church and asked me when I would come to church with her. My response to her was that I didn’t see a point in going to church and that it wasn’t the place for me. She nodded her head and said, “one day, you will change your mind”. As I was coming up to the stretch where you could see Cal Expo, I looked out of my rear view mirror and saw a car speeding from behind. I heard sirens, and saw a couple of police cars in pursuit. At this time I was in the middle lane with a car on each side of me. The car to my left sped up and cut in front of me across my lane into the far lane to avoid the speeding car coming up from behind. This should have given the speeding car access to continue forward, however, the driver decided to cross into my lane as well and then changed his mind and tried to go back into the open lane. Moving too fast to correct properly, the driver of the speeding car hit the back of my car and sent me into a tailspin. I tried to correct, but the steering column locked and I slammed into the middle divider as my car spun to face oncoming traffic.
His protection: As the speeding car hit me I felt a presence with me and a “hand” cover my head. Upon impact to the center divider my head went through the windshield. Before impact I saw a police car speed past and two others slow and block the lanes so that no cars would hit me head on before I blacked out. I regained consciousness at UC Davis Hospital with my mother and father next to me. My mom was crying holding my hands. A nurse was next to me, picking glass out of my head. Glass that never broke skin and said, “God must really love you child, I’ve been working in this ER for 15 years and have never seen someone who’s head has gone through a windshield, has glass all in their head, shattered eye glasses and don’t have a scratch on them. God has something special planned for your life, you need to find out what it is!”
My car was completely totaled. The force of impact from behind smashed the trunk into the back seat, while the impact into the divider smashed the front end as well. The car looked like an accordion and everyone was amazed that the officer was able to pull me out of the car, which I do not remember. I would like to say that the incident caused me to change and brought me to Jesus, but it didn’t. I shrugged off what the nurse said, and continued in my life of sin, never even giving Him thanks for protection. I know now that it was one of my angels that protected me that day, that God placed the policemen in the right position with the frame of mind to block other cars from proceeding. God was my protector and provided provision for me. And I am so grateful!
One Testimony October 2009 by Valerie Cole Fulton
I had no idea when I woke up that morning that my life as I knew it then would be changed forever. It was a usual day. I went to work and headed home at the end of the work day. Somewhere at the end of this day I decided, as I so often did, that I wanted a drink. So of course I stopped by the liquor store and got my bottle and some cigarettes. You see, until this day in October I smoked cigarettes and I drank alcohol, you could say that I was a functioning alcoholic but of course I didn’t see it that way. And I frequently drove ‘’drunk”.
This particular evening, I was at my daughter’s home hanging out, drinking my alcohol, smoking my cigarettes, talking, gossiping and whatever else. Later that evening I decided it was time to go home, so I and my granddaughter got into my Jeep and I headed off down Franklin Boulevard. I knew I’d drank too much but told myself (like I always did) that we would be okay, and so we were until I turned into oncoming traffic at the intersection of Franklin Boulevard and Florin road.
There was one car in the oncoming lane and it was coming right at me! My granddaughter was screaming “Nana, you’re going the wrong way!” and when I looked at the one car and knowing there was nothing I could do, I believe I threw up my hands, said or thought God, it’s going to happen just before my jeep and the car in front of it slammed into each other head first.
Yes, it was a horrific head-on collision. But one thing that keeps coming back to me every so often and that stands out strongly in my mind is the fact that we were not alone in that car that night. The minute I knew it was hopeless, there was nothing I could do to compensate and the accident was going to happen, I threw up my hands and let go – at that very moment-God took over. The airbags deployed but I believe just for a split second before I passed out, I saw an angel in the front seat with us shielding my granddaughter and myself.
Both cars were totaled but the more important and miraculous thing to note is that NO ONE DIED, and NO ONE WAS HURT except me and my injury wasn’t life threatening. My left knee was shattered in that accident and I spent a week in the hospital, had surgery and spent three months recuperating and learning to be mobile again. Another miracle God did for me – from that night on He REMOVED the taste for cigarettes and alcohol from me. I’ve never experienced any withdrawal symptoms, it’s just gone! I haven’t smoked a cigarette, had a drink or had a desire to have either since October 2009.
God saved all our lives that night and looking back on the path I was on and where I’m headed now, all I can do is say Thank you, Lord. I truly know that “With God all things are possible.”
God Protection by Andrea Sparks
When I was 19 years old I was at a friends house waiting for her too come back from the store. Normally Id go with her but I didnt feel like it this day particularly. About 20 minutes after she left there was knock at the door as went to look out the front window to see who it was I recognized the guy at the door it was a mutual friend so I thought.
I let him in so he could wait for her. We were sitting the living room watching T.V. I noticed that he was acting strange. So I got up and headed into the kitchen as I was walking with my back turned he krept up behind me a grabbed me my heart began to race. As I tried to free myself he forcefully pushed me into her room. I quickly got up to run to the bedroom door and he then grabbed my throat at this point I wasn't sure what was going to happen but I knew I had to get the heck out of there. Tears started running down my face because he began to try to tare my clothes off. I started to scream for help, I began to fight as much as I could while screaming. He became very frustrated and began to get very angry he kept trying to cover my mouth. Not realizing her bedroom window was open a couple of guys happen to be hanging outside in the parking lot and heard me screaming before I knew it they snatched the screen off the window. At this point he got scared he tryed run out the bedroom door. It was locked and he couldn't get the door opened fast enough. One of the fellas helped me outside while the other 2 handled him. I started crying and thanking him and his friends.
I knew God was there because he gave me the strength too fight. No matter what I been through in my life I could always since Gods presence he has always showed up especially when I should've been hurt or dead.
I know that God has always been there for me. Even when I haven't been right.
The Risen Lord By Jennifer Blish
Somehow at a young age I knew that God always protected me. The first time I felt the presence of the Lord I must have been 7 or 8 years old. It was mid-summer, probably on the weekend because my Mom, her boyfriend, Mark; and some of their friends were having a party. My brothers and I had come back from the community pool at Washington Park in Sunnyvale. It’s a small town just outside San Jose. At first it was nice to hear laughter in a house of so much sorrow. We were all listening to music and us kids were playing a board game and singing along. The adults were in the dining room just a few feet away; drinking, smoking, and changing between dominos and cards. As the hours grew later and later the party was losing its festive atmosphere as the alcohol does when too much is consumed. Mark’s comments and despairing remarks got crueler and angrier and people started to get up and leave. We were told to go to bed. I started to get that slow sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as the fear started to slowly seep into my bones.
Shortly after we went to bed, voices started to raise, and got louder. From our rooms we could hear angry slurs, furniture moving, and glass breaking. They were fighting again. Part of me was afraid of the dark, but I worried more about turning on a light and draw attention to myself. My Mom’s screams of pain made my blood run cold and I clutched my teddy bear tighter and tighter. I never can remember how long they would last. But as a child everything seemed to take forever. As windows broke, I could hear my Mom’s struggles to get away as they traveled up and down the hall and into different rooms. I struggled with the dilemma of to leave my room and join my brothers at the back of the house. My fear almost keep me on my bed hiding under the covers.
There was a brief lull, and the eeriness and quietness of the house and I got the courage to peek my head out of the door. They were fighting on the front lawn. I made a break for it and ran to the back and nearly scared my brothers. We were whispering to each other about what was going on. All of a sudden there was a blood curding scream and a shuffle. The moment of sudden silence froze us standing in the middle of the room. Our hearts seemed to stop as we heard Mark enter the house shouting. We heard him open the door to my room looking for us, then come stomping down the hall towards us. We all took a small step towards each other as he got closer and closer. We nearly screamed as the door slammed open.
I remember the look in his eyes. They were filled with hate and murder. We all froze to the spot. He stood there starring at all three of us, and out of nowhere he turned around and left the house. It took what seemed like minutes as the moments and the silence cut like a knife. My brother Jon said “Wait here.” And went to go look for my Mom. I ended up following him. We found her clasped near the garage door barely moving. I don’t remember what she looked like. God has taken that image away, but she spent two weeks in the hospital with a broken jaw and other scrapes and bruises. We had to spend the times with our other family members. My brother Scott and I went to stay with my Uncle David and Aunt Eileen, Jon went to Aunt Cheryl.
I wanted to go with Jon, but my cousin Renee always seemed to fight and I didn’t want to cause problems. It wasn’t until after I was saved that I dreamed about this night. I saw Jesus standing near us right before the door opened. I saw Mark’s eyes meet Jesus as Jesus lifts his hand and shakes his head. I’m the only one who remembers Jesus was there, but that dream and others have left me awed and speechless. I might of have to endured this and other sufferings to be made worthy to see the Risen Lord, but I still ask myself, “Why me, Lord?” and “Thank you that I am worthy.”
God’s Answer Of Healing by Randy Keith
IT all started, “IT” being God’s undeserved mercy when I along with my girlfriend and our children were staying at an old hotel called ‘The Dodge City Inn’. Which had a reputation of being a hotel for drug dealers and prostitutes before being taken over by a group of pastors who turned the place into a recovery program for addicts, people with C.P.S. issues and the My girlfriend and I were addicts and had 4 young children. Sometimes I would work on the cars of the pastoral staff to help pay our rent. On one occasion, I changed the head gasket on Pastor Paul’s van, during the test drive the engine got hot. When I figured out that the bottom radiator hose was leaking I got under the van to tighten the hose clamp. As soon as I touched the clamp with my screwdriver the hose came off the radiator and hot Antifreeze burst out both the hose and radiator. I was barely able to cover my eyes, nose, and mouth with my hand before the water hit. The pain was excruciating! I sprung from underneath the van running to turn on the water hose, as I screamed for someone to call 911. I knelt as I poured running water over my head; I could feel large patches of my skin peeling off my face. As I looked at the skin on the ground I heard my girlfriend screaming and my best friend holding her back saying “Stay back! You don’t want to see him like this!”
On the ride to the hospital in the ambulance I received 3 shots of Morphine, which did nothing to give me any release from the pain. Afterward, as I lie on a bed at the hospital I heard nurses talking about some “Poor Guy” who had come in with severe burns and blisters on his hands, neck, and head and how he would be horribly scarred for the rest of his life. I thought “They’re talking about someone else.” Until a few days later when the bandages were removed. I could tell by the look on my girlfriend’s face and the fact that she was crying that who the nurses were talking about was me! That told me all I need to know without looking in the mirror. I had to face of a “Monster” when I would go outside my room, children who used to love being around me would run from me in terror. This was breaking my Heart, I wouldn’t go outside anymore and was considering suicide.
One of the pastor’s wives had been a nurse was helping with my bandaging asked if she and with other women of the ministry could lay hands on me and pray. I said yes, not really expecting anything to happen, but the next day we removed the bandages; my head, hands, and face were all restored as though the accident never happened!! Praise Be the Lord! “He healed me even though I had no confidence in Him. By His Great Mercy, He was Himself, the God Who Loves Us All as we are not as we ought to be.” Behind my left ear is a patch of skin with a rough and wrinkled texture left to remind me of what the Lord has DONE for ME!!
God's Protection by Reggie Fambro
I believe that you have to go through something to be protected. The first time I can recall is when I was about 3-5 years old, I had swallowed some Drano. I was looking under the sink in the kitchen for some soda to steal and drunk it. It began to eat the inside of my mouth and my lips and tongue had swollen, and became "inside out". The chemicals were strong, not like it is today; so I know it was God. I have seen others that have gone through things that left them disfigured. I remember staying in the hospital, in a bed that resembled a metal cage, but I praise God because I shouldn't be able to talk. God Protected me!
Testimonies of Repentance, Salvation & Baptism
Sneak Attack Salvation by Prophetess Mona
I can honestly say that I never considered being saved. I wasn’t raised “in the church” and my family wasn’t regular church goers. By the age of 16 I was submerged in sexual addiction and had multiple abortions. I had given up hope of ever being free from that bondage by the time I had my first son (Tymothye) at 20 and had resolved that I was going to hell. Now while that was okay for myself, it wasn’t okay for my son, I wanted him to have a chance. So when his paternal grandmother asked if I would take him to church to dedicate him to the Lord I agreed. From that time on I began taking him to church on a regular basis at their family’s Baptist church. I bought a bible so that I could read it to my son, even though I had no intention of being saved myself and during that time I was still engaged in sexual relations with three different men (one of them a minister of the church I was attending). What no one told me was that if you listen to the Word of God long enough you are bound to change your way of thinking. I continued that way for about a year before a visiting minister came to the church for Easter Sunday. He approached me after service and introduced himself. He then asked if I would like to bring Tymothye to his son’s birthday party. Tymothye was 2 at this time and his son was 4. I assumed that he was like all the rest and was using the “party” drag to try to come on to me, but for some odd reason I agreed and figured if nothing else I could get a free meal out of it.
The party was held at one of those kid’s play places that has different apparatuses to jump on. With Tymothye being as active as he was he took off. A few of the older children was watching the kids when the minister asked me to come with him out on the patio to talk. My first thought was, “here it comes, this negro is gonna try to make a move!” When we took a seat he seemed a little uncomfortable as if he was having a hard time thinking of what to say. He eventually said, “Mona, I know this may seem like a silly question, but do you know Jesus as your Savior?” My reply was quick and in a matter of fact tone. I replied, “No, there is no point.” When I said that he looked a bit shocked and asked what I meant by there isn’t any point. I really didn’t want to get into details of my life, especially when I didn’t really know him like that, so I just shook my head. He then said, “Well the reason I asked was because the Holy Spirit told me to ask you, I just assumed that since they said you were always at every service that you were saved.” I told him that I did not go to church for myself, but so that Tymothye could have a good chance at life. He continued to pry and ask why I wouldn’t want to be saved and I told him that I didn’t believe God was real. I believed that Jesus existed and walked the earth, but that was a matter of history, but I didn’t believe in God or even knew what the Holy Spirit was. He then nodded his head and said, “Well, whether you believe or not, God is real and He loves you. He does not want you to go hell.” By this time I was done, a part of me had wished he had tried to come on to me because that was something I was used to and could handle, but this sneak attack evangelism was worse! So, I said to him something that I thought would end the conversation, “if God is real, He would have to prove it to me before I become saved”.
He paused for a moment, and I thought the conversation was over, however, he looked at me and said, “The Holy Spirit is saying that those three men that you are sleeping with can never satisfy what you need. Everything that you are searching for you will find in God.” My mouth dropped. First of all, this man didn’t know me, secondly no one knew my business like that because I was a very secretive person. Most people knew that I had one lover, only my close friends knew about the second; but no one knew about the third! I asked him to repeat what he said and when he did the tears began to flow. For the first time in six years I had some hope. He began to tell me how I could be free from sin and shame, how Jesus came on this earth to die for my sins and every scripture I had read came back to my memory. Those scriptures finally had meaning and I was ready to receive God as my Savior. The minister then began to tell me about the Holy Spirit and how He was a gift to those that believe. That through His power we could live as God would have us to live. By this time I was excited! I was determined to give my life to Christ and get me some of this “Holy Spirit” he was talking about! But not at that moment. So when he asked if I would pray the prayer of repentance, I told him not at that moment, I would be saved and filled with the Holy Spirit the next day because there was something that I needed to handle first. He looked at me puzzled by nodded his head and said “ok”. Then went back into the facility.
When I got home that afternoon, I began making phone calls. I was determined to be truly “saved” and had felt that I needed to sever ties. I called up my current lovers, one by one and told them that I won’t be seeing them anymore because I was going to be saved on Sunday. Two of them fell out laughing and made statements to the effect of, “yeah, whatever, you’ll be back!” The last one (a minister) didn’t laugh, but seemed a bit nervous and began to try to talk me out of being filled with the Holy Spirit, saying that it wasn’t necessary. That was the wrong thing to say because at that time, I did not take to men telling me what to do or what I needed unless he was my daddy; which he wasn’t. He tried to explain to me that receiving the Holy Spirit took time and I probably wouldn’t get it so easily. That statement caused something to rise up in me and I told him that I didn’t care how long it took anyone else. The bible said it was a gift to those that believe and on Sunday I was going to receive my gift. Then I hung up on him!
The next day was Sunday and I was ready. I waited until altar call and went up to confess Christ and receive my gift! And you better believe that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit met me at that altar. Tears were flowing before I got up there and I felt a wave of peace and love that I had never felt before. I didn’t start shouting like some people do, but I fell to my knees in reverence to Him. I felt Him all around me, touching the depths of my spirit. I heard the voice of God, which caused every cell in my body respond, say, “You are Mine”. I don’t know how long I was on the floor, but when God released me, the service was over and people was leaving out the door. The church mother, Tymothye’s grandmother and the minister that spoke the word of knowledge was there smiling. From that time on, my life became new!
The Gift of Salvation and Honor by Jennifer Blish
For my birthday that year in 2002, my twin brother Jon sent me my first Study Bible with my name in gold. At first I was excited and wondered if it was a sign that was meant to be. But as life usually does, worries and stress got in the way and I set it aside. As I moved to Sacramento with only a few things that ended up in storage except some clothes and that Bible that started me on the journey I now walk.
Even though I had a general sense of who Jesus and God was I did not attend church regularly as a child. It wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties and living in Sacramento when I ended up at a Women’s Center for the homeless that I learned all about Jesus. The Center was a part of the Life Church on El Camino and from the day I walked in their doors I wanted what everyone seemed to have. I saw bits and pieces of the Lord in the home, but it was the peace I saw in others that had had as hard of a life as I had that made me hunger for more.
I had only been at the Center and Church for a little less than a month when during the alter call I was led to pray the ‘Sinner’s Prayer.’ The church had a metal dunking tank that they kept at the house I was at and two days after service I had asked to be baptized. The pastor made his monthly trips to the house for morning devotional and me and two others asked to be baptized that day as well as at church the following Sunday. My daughter, Allishia, being only 3, wanted to do what Mommy was doing and a minor fuss was made. But when I asked her if she understood what she was doing she only shook her head and said “I love Jesus too!” Everyone praised the Lord and she was given her opportunity.
At service that Sunday the pastor announced that in the upcoming week they were going to do a church wide fast, all were encouraged to participate and on Sunday they announced they were going to baptize in the Holy Spirit with the ‘Gift of Tongues’ for those never baptized before. Those that wanted to could stay in the church for the 3 days that the fast was going on or whatever their heart led them to do. I tried to stay the three days, but it was my first fast and I lasted a couple of hours when my flesh started giving out. I went home to rest but stayed in the Word as much as I could with a house full of women and kids all about.
On Sunday I was at the back of the church as the pastor gave a short message and told about a lady who grabbed her own chair and stuck it on the end at the front who got the gift first. In my heart I wanted to be her. The pastor asked us to bow our heads and pray before we began. As I closed my eyes the usual darkness was there. Then all of a sudden a light appeared from behind me. I tried turning my head to see with my eyes closed but the darkness returned. When I looked forward again the light reappeared and I saw movement. Out of the light walked a man! At first I didn’t recognize him, but as he got closer I got my first real glimpse of Jesus! He had a robe that looked like the color of burlap and adorning the edge of the garment was a strip of crimson going all the way around. As He started to come to my shoulder he placed His hand on me and smiled. Then continued His way to the front. Tears were streaming so hard and my voice caught in my throat and the pastor finished his prayer and asked those to come forward.
I did have to find a chair and place it on the end, as the pastor walked by I spoke to him about what I saw and his eyes grew big and wide in disbelief! When he got my message through tears and whispers he shouted the message to the congregation and everyone cheered. As we got started those who already spoke in tongues placed hands on those who wanted to receive the gift. I was not the first one to get the ‘Gifts of Tongues’ that day because I first I almost resisted and then I was not sure what I was speaking was an actual language. Those who were given the gift helped those who were already praying. However, I could feel a kind of power run through my body as I spoke and it seemed like every nerve was on fire. I was overjoyed when the pastor confirmed that I was speaking in tongues. I do remember that out of 8 who went up, only one did not receive. I had always wondered why until I realized after watching her for a few months her heart was not in the right place. I did pray for her until God told me to stop. I remember later on causing a minor disagreement in some folks who said that you could not pray in Tongues any time you wanted to or just because you wanted to. It made my heart sad and I started to question myself until later when God confirmed in me that is was possible. Jesus has showed Himself to me many times after this and every time I see Him I am filled with awe and wonder. I still feel that I am unworthy of such attention when there is so many hurting but blessed that He would choose someone like me to reveal Himself to. To God Be the Glory and Honor Forever! Amen!
Repentance by Valerie Cole-Fulton
I’ve been baptized quite a few times. No one really explained why I needed to get baptized just that I should do it so I wouldn’t go to hell. So, after I’d “backslid” for a while, I would go and “re-dedicate” and call myself trying to “be good”. I didn’t really change anything about my life, I still did all the things I’d done previously but now I was told and assured that I was going to heaven because Jesus said I had to be baptized in order to qualify. I know it’s a lie now, but I didn’t know it then because I wasn’t really reading the Word and knowing a lot of the difference for myself.
The Pastor(s) would say, “Do you believe in Jesus?”
I’d say, “Yes.” (of course I did, didn’t everybody who was in that church at the time?).
“Do you believe he died for your sins?”
“Yes.” (Pastor just said he did when he gave the message today).
“Do you believe he rose again on the third day?”
“Yes.” (thought that had something to do with Easter but never could figure out where the bunnies and candy came in at).
“You’re saved and born again!”
I might have been saved and I might not have, I didn’t feel any special way. I was still the same old Valerie, go home after that “life-saving” event, have a drink, smoke cigarettes and talk junk.
BUT – all of that changed when I had the accident. During my time of recuperation, I watched some religious programs on television, one was called Daystar I think. I had questions and as I read and studied the Bible a little more each day eventually the words began to take on new meaning and some of the scriptures even started to make sense to me now! I asked for and believe I received forgiveness, (seriously, I didn’t want to go to hell then, and still don’t now!), so glad I didn’t have blood on my hands from innocent lives being lost because of my actions, and from then on my life began to take on new meaning, twists and turns.
I got baptized one last time. It was REPENTANCE for me and a renewed commitment. One that would have meaning this time. Thank God that even though I didn’t deserve it, He bestowed His grace upon me.
Becoming Saved by Reggie Fambro
I was baptized a few times. I remember as a child that I went to church all the time with my mom and grandmother. I can honestly say that I was brought up in the church world but didn't know the things that I know now. Yet I always held in my heart that He knew us in our mother's womb and I can remember that when the choir would sing that I would always try to get in the choir stand to sing with them and then pitch a fit when I couldn't. The first time was being baptized as a child, I was around 10/11. I made the confession of Christ but really didn't have a true understanding of what I was doing. It wasn't until I was in my teens that I began to gain an understanding of who God was. From that time on, as I went to different churches and would say the prayer of salvation. As I would say it, the battle would begin within myself afterwards. No matter how good I felt after I said it, the war would begin and I would continue to do the same stuff. It was years before I won that battle with Christ on my side and I have been serving Him ever since.
I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in my teens. I was in the Baptist church when I received, but did not speak in tongues and was told that I had not received the Holy Spirit because I didn't. However, I knew what I felt. I wasn't like them and didn't believe their words. I felt an unspeakable joy and I just knew that I was filled.
The Key by Randy Keith
Baptism by Water, Baptism by the Holy Spirit, Repentance, and Salvation. What does it all mean? How do you get it? How do I know when or what happens when I do get ‘IT’?
These are questions I’ve asked myself time after time. The ‘Time After Time’ being the many times after being baptized and that ‘Good Feeling’ wore off and I reverted back to the “Old Randy.” Doing things same old ways, you know; going to church, paying tithes, singing songs, and even praying in the Spirit. All the things a “Good” Christian does. Yet what about change? Difference? Grace? Forgiveness? I had little or none for anyone, including myself. I didn’t understand. I read my Bible. Why wasn't I seeing and feeling what the New Believers in the Book of Acts was seeing and feeling?
It wasn’t until I saw an excerpt from a film I believe was called “The Closet in The Hall,” that I realized what was wrong. In the film, a man invited Jesus into his ‘Home.’ Jesus was given access to every room in the house except the closet at the top of the stairs. The man would not give up the key to the locked door. Jesus told the man he could not do the work that was necessary unless he handed over the key and gave Him the authorization to totally clean the Man of Sin. But without the man’s permission to enter every space, Jesus turned to leave. The Man got the point, and gave the key over to Jesus... and so did I!
That day I gave Jesus ALL the keys to My House! I had learned to trust my entire heart to Jesus! This is so that I can live in the fullness of what Christ has to offer. I encourage you to by all means be baptized, just remember to be sure to give UP the keys to Jesus!!
To see video: https://youtu.be/WJiVcDmAoS4
I can honestly say that I never considered being saved. I wasn’t raised “in the church” and my family wasn’t regular church goers. By the age of 16 I was submerged in sexual addiction and had multiple abortions. I had given up hope of ever being free from that bondage by the time I had my first son (Tymothye) at 20 and had resolved that I was going to hell. Now while that was okay for myself, it wasn’t okay for my son, I wanted him to have a chance. So when his paternal grandmother asked if I would take him to church to dedicate him to the Lord I agreed. From that time on I began taking him to church on a regular basis at their family’s Baptist church. I bought a bible so that I could read it to my son, even though I had no intention of being saved myself and during that time I was still engaged in sexual relations with three different men (one of them a minister of the church I was attending). What no one told me was that if you listen to the Word of God long enough you are bound to change your way of thinking. I continued that way for about a year before a visiting minister came to the church for Easter Sunday. He approached me after service and introduced himself. He then asked if I would like to bring Tymothye to his son’s birthday party. Tymothye was 2 at this time and his son was 4. I assumed that he was like all the rest and was using the “party” drag to try to come on to me, but for some odd reason I agreed and figured if nothing else I could get a free meal out of it.
The party was held at one of those kid’s play places that has different apparatuses to jump on. With Tymothye being as active as he was he took off. A few of the older children was watching the kids when the minister asked me to come with him out on the patio to talk. My first thought was, “here it comes, this negro is gonna try to make a move!” When we took a seat he seemed a little uncomfortable as if he was having a hard time thinking of what to say. He eventually said, “Mona, I know this may seem like a silly question, but do you know Jesus as your Savior?” My reply was quick and in a matter of fact tone. I replied, “No, there is no point.” When I said that he looked a bit shocked and asked what I meant by there isn’t any point. I really didn’t want to get into details of my life, especially when I didn’t really know him like that, so I just shook my head. He then said, “Well the reason I asked was because the Holy Spirit told me to ask you, I just assumed that since they said you were always at every service that you were saved.” I told him that I did not go to church for myself, but so that Tymothye could have a good chance at life. He continued to pry and ask why I wouldn’t want to be saved and I told him that I didn’t believe God was real. I believed that Jesus existed and walked the earth, but that was a matter of history, but I didn’t believe in God or even knew what the Holy Spirit was. He then nodded his head and said, “Well, whether you believe or not, God is real and He loves you. He does not want you to go hell.” By this time I was done, a part of me had wished he had tried to come on to me because that was something I was used to and could handle, but this sneak attack evangelism was worse! So, I said to him something that I thought would end the conversation, “if God is real, He would have to prove it to me before I become saved”.
He paused for a moment, and I thought the conversation was over, however, he looked at me and said, “The Holy Spirit is saying that those three men that you are sleeping with can never satisfy what you need. Everything that you are searching for you will find in God.” My mouth dropped. First of all, this man didn’t know me, secondly no one knew my business like that because I was a very secretive person. Most people knew that I had one lover, only my close friends knew about the second; but no one knew about the third! I asked him to repeat what he said and when he did the tears began to flow. For the first time in six years I had some hope. He began to tell me how I could be free from sin and shame, how Jesus came on this earth to die for my sins and every scripture I had read came back to my memory. Those scriptures finally had meaning and I was ready to receive God as my Savior. The minister then began to tell me about the Holy Spirit and how He was a gift to those that believe. That through His power we could live as God would have us to live. By this time I was excited! I was determined to give my life to Christ and get me some of this “Holy Spirit” he was talking about! But not at that moment. So when he asked if I would pray the prayer of repentance, I told him not at that moment, I would be saved and filled with the Holy Spirit the next day because there was something that I needed to handle first. He looked at me puzzled by nodded his head and said “ok”. Then went back into the facility.
When I got home that afternoon, I began making phone calls. I was determined to be truly “saved” and had felt that I needed to sever ties. I called up my current lovers, one by one and told them that I won’t be seeing them anymore because I was going to be saved on Sunday. Two of them fell out laughing and made statements to the effect of, “yeah, whatever, you’ll be back!” The last one (a minister) didn’t laugh, but seemed a bit nervous and began to try to talk me out of being filled with the Holy Spirit, saying that it wasn’t necessary. That was the wrong thing to say because at that time, I did not take to men telling me what to do or what I needed unless he was my daddy; which he wasn’t. He tried to explain to me that receiving the Holy Spirit took time and I probably wouldn’t get it so easily. That statement caused something to rise up in me and I told him that I didn’t care how long it took anyone else. The bible said it was a gift to those that believe and on Sunday I was going to receive my gift. Then I hung up on him!
The next day was Sunday and I was ready. I waited until altar call and went up to confess Christ and receive my gift! And you better believe that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit met me at that altar. Tears were flowing before I got up there and I felt a wave of peace and love that I had never felt before. I didn’t start shouting like some people do, but I fell to my knees in reverence to Him. I felt Him all around me, touching the depths of my spirit. I heard the voice of God, which caused every cell in my body respond, say, “You are Mine”. I don’t know how long I was on the floor, but when God released me, the service was over and people was leaving out the door. The church mother, Tymothye’s grandmother and the minister that spoke the word of knowledge was there smiling. From that time on, my life became new!
The Gift of Salvation and Honor by Jennifer Blish
For my birthday that year in 2002, my twin brother Jon sent me my first Study Bible with my name in gold. At first I was excited and wondered if it was a sign that was meant to be. But as life usually does, worries and stress got in the way and I set it aside. As I moved to Sacramento with only a few things that ended up in storage except some clothes and that Bible that started me on the journey I now walk.
Even though I had a general sense of who Jesus and God was I did not attend church regularly as a child. It wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties and living in Sacramento when I ended up at a Women’s Center for the homeless that I learned all about Jesus. The Center was a part of the Life Church on El Camino and from the day I walked in their doors I wanted what everyone seemed to have. I saw bits and pieces of the Lord in the home, but it was the peace I saw in others that had had as hard of a life as I had that made me hunger for more.
I had only been at the Center and Church for a little less than a month when during the alter call I was led to pray the ‘Sinner’s Prayer.’ The church had a metal dunking tank that they kept at the house I was at and two days after service I had asked to be baptized. The pastor made his monthly trips to the house for morning devotional and me and two others asked to be baptized that day as well as at church the following Sunday. My daughter, Allishia, being only 3, wanted to do what Mommy was doing and a minor fuss was made. But when I asked her if she understood what she was doing she only shook her head and said “I love Jesus too!” Everyone praised the Lord and she was given her opportunity.
At service that Sunday the pastor announced that in the upcoming week they were going to do a church wide fast, all were encouraged to participate and on Sunday they announced they were going to baptize in the Holy Spirit with the ‘Gift of Tongues’ for those never baptized before. Those that wanted to could stay in the church for the 3 days that the fast was going on or whatever their heart led them to do. I tried to stay the three days, but it was my first fast and I lasted a couple of hours when my flesh started giving out. I went home to rest but stayed in the Word as much as I could with a house full of women and kids all about.
On Sunday I was at the back of the church as the pastor gave a short message and told about a lady who grabbed her own chair and stuck it on the end at the front who got the gift first. In my heart I wanted to be her. The pastor asked us to bow our heads and pray before we began. As I closed my eyes the usual darkness was there. Then all of a sudden a light appeared from behind me. I tried turning my head to see with my eyes closed but the darkness returned. When I looked forward again the light reappeared and I saw movement. Out of the light walked a man! At first I didn’t recognize him, but as he got closer I got my first real glimpse of Jesus! He had a robe that looked like the color of burlap and adorning the edge of the garment was a strip of crimson going all the way around. As He started to come to my shoulder he placed His hand on me and smiled. Then continued His way to the front. Tears were streaming so hard and my voice caught in my throat and the pastor finished his prayer and asked those to come forward.
I did have to find a chair and place it on the end, as the pastor walked by I spoke to him about what I saw and his eyes grew big and wide in disbelief! When he got my message through tears and whispers he shouted the message to the congregation and everyone cheered. As we got started those who already spoke in tongues placed hands on those who wanted to receive the gift. I was not the first one to get the ‘Gifts of Tongues’ that day because I first I almost resisted and then I was not sure what I was speaking was an actual language. Those who were given the gift helped those who were already praying. However, I could feel a kind of power run through my body as I spoke and it seemed like every nerve was on fire. I was overjoyed when the pastor confirmed that I was speaking in tongues. I do remember that out of 8 who went up, only one did not receive. I had always wondered why until I realized after watching her for a few months her heart was not in the right place. I did pray for her until God told me to stop. I remember later on causing a minor disagreement in some folks who said that you could not pray in Tongues any time you wanted to or just because you wanted to. It made my heart sad and I started to question myself until later when God confirmed in me that is was possible. Jesus has showed Himself to me many times after this and every time I see Him I am filled with awe and wonder. I still feel that I am unworthy of such attention when there is so many hurting but blessed that He would choose someone like me to reveal Himself to. To God Be the Glory and Honor Forever! Amen!
Repentance by Valerie Cole-Fulton
I’ve been baptized quite a few times. No one really explained why I needed to get baptized just that I should do it so I wouldn’t go to hell. So, after I’d “backslid” for a while, I would go and “re-dedicate” and call myself trying to “be good”. I didn’t really change anything about my life, I still did all the things I’d done previously but now I was told and assured that I was going to heaven because Jesus said I had to be baptized in order to qualify. I know it’s a lie now, but I didn’t know it then because I wasn’t really reading the Word and knowing a lot of the difference for myself.
The Pastor(s) would say, “Do you believe in Jesus?”
I’d say, “Yes.” (of course I did, didn’t everybody who was in that church at the time?).
“Do you believe he died for your sins?”
“Yes.” (Pastor just said he did when he gave the message today).
“Do you believe he rose again on the third day?”
“Yes.” (thought that had something to do with Easter but never could figure out where the bunnies and candy came in at).
“You’re saved and born again!”
I might have been saved and I might not have, I didn’t feel any special way. I was still the same old Valerie, go home after that “life-saving” event, have a drink, smoke cigarettes and talk junk.
BUT – all of that changed when I had the accident. During my time of recuperation, I watched some religious programs on television, one was called Daystar I think. I had questions and as I read and studied the Bible a little more each day eventually the words began to take on new meaning and some of the scriptures even started to make sense to me now! I asked for and believe I received forgiveness, (seriously, I didn’t want to go to hell then, and still don’t now!), so glad I didn’t have blood on my hands from innocent lives being lost because of my actions, and from then on my life began to take on new meaning, twists and turns.
I got baptized one last time. It was REPENTANCE for me and a renewed commitment. One that would have meaning this time. Thank God that even though I didn’t deserve it, He bestowed His grace upon me.
Becoming Saved by Reggie Fambro
I was baptized a few times. I remember as a child that I went to church all the time with my mom and grandmother. I can honestly say that I was brought up in the church world but didn't know the things that I know now. Yet I always held in my heart that He knew us in our mother's womb and I can remember that when the choir would sing that I would always try to get in the choir stand to sing with them and then pitch a fit when I couldn't. The first time was being baptized as a child, I was around 10/11. I made the confession of Christ but really didn't have a true understanding of what I was doing. It wasn't until I was in my teens that I began to gain an understanding of who God was. From that time on, as I went to different churches and would say the prayer of salvation. As I would say it, the battle would begin within myself afterwards. No matter how good I felt after I said it, the war would begin and I would continue to do the same stuff. It was years before I won that battle with Christ on my side and I have been serving Him ever since.
I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in my teens. I was in the Baptist church when I received, but did not speak in tongues and was told that I had not received the Holy Spirit because I didn't. However, I knew what I felt. I wasn't like them and didn't believe their words. I felt an unspeakable joy and I just knew that I was filled.
The Key by Randy Keith
Baptism by Water, Baptism by the Holy Spirit, Repentance, and Salvation. What does it all mean? How do you get it? How do I know when or what happens when I do get ‘IT’?
These are questions I’ve asked myself time after time. The ‘Time After Time’ being the many times after being baptized and that ‘Good Feeling’ wore off and I reverted back to the “Old Randy.” Doing things same old ways, you know; going to church, paying tithes, singing songs, and even praying in the Spirit. All the things a “Good” Christian does. Yet what about change? Difference? Grace? Forgiveness? I had little or none for anyone, including myself. I didn’t understand. I read my Bible. Why wasn't I seeing and feeling what the New Believers in the Book of Acts was seeing and feeling?
It wasn’t until I saw an excerpt from a film I believe was called “The Closet in The Hall,” that I realized what was wrong. In the film, a man invited Jesus into his ‘Home.’ Jesus was given access to every room in the house except the closet at the top of the stairs. The man would not give up the key to the locked door. Jesus told the man he could not do the work that was necessary unless he handed over the key and gave Him the authorization to totally clean the Man of Sin. But without the man’s permission to enter every space, Jesus turned to leave. The Man got the point, and gave the key over to Jesus... and so did I!
That day I gave Jesus ALL the keys to My House! I had learned to trust my entire heart to Jesus! This is so that I can live in the fullness of what Christ has to offer. I encourage you to by all means be baptized, just remember to be sure to give UP the keys to Jesus!!
To see video: https://youtu.be/WJiVcDmAoS4
Testimonies of Messages, Miracles, Preaching and/or Casting Out Demons
A Reason For Thanksgiving by Randy Keith
I don’t know if this fits into any of the categories we’re supposed to write about, but here it is anyway, because Our Lord God Almighty manifested in Great Love and Mercy.
It started ten days before Christmas last year in 2015. My oldest brother, Greg’s wife, called to say that he was dying from Stage 4 Prostate Cancer. She stated that the doctors could do no more than to try and make him comfortable; that she should call the hospice service, surround him with his loved ones and prepare to say goodbye. He wasn’t going to make it to Christmas. I called my sister and little brother. We rented a SUV with 4 Wheel Drive. There were major snowstorms in all the mountain ranges from California to Colorado, and Greg lived in Denver. Before we left I called every person I knew who walked daily with Jesus. I just knew in my heart that the holy Spirit was going on before us and everything would be alright.
As we drove along it seemed as if the storms subsided to let us pass by before returning to its full force again, I told my sister, who was crying and frightened almost the whole way (about 20 hours of driving); that the storms making a way for us was a sign from God not to worry. So I didn’t worry, I trusted God.
When we got to Denver, my sister thought after we knocked on the door of Greg’s house, his wife would open the door and say we were too late or Greg would be lying in a hospital bed with tubes and machines everywhere hooked up to him. Instead, there was Greg standing in the door of his bathroom, toothbrush in one hand and his dentures in the other. Before anyone could say anything, Greg says “What are ya’ll doing here?”
When we said “We were told you were dying!”
He said “That’s what they told me too. I just got home, I was out riding the bus all day, doing some site seeing.”
That was the best Christmas any of us had had in a long time. Greg is still with us, his birthday is right around Thanksgiving, I think we’ll all go up and see him. This year Thanksgiving has a whole new meaning!! Thank you Jesus, Praise and Glory to You My King!!
MIRACLES IN MY LIFE by Valerie Cole Fulton
I haven’t had the pleasure of delivering any messages to people. I haven’t cast out demons or preached the kingdom gospel to anyone unless you count speaking to individuals on a conversational basis. As for a miracle that’s been performed in my life, those happen regularly and are continuing even now.
It’s a miracle when I open my eyes every morning and step out of bed healthy, whole and in my right mind.
When God sent my cousin to rescue me from a life of continued childhood abuse and molestation, that was a miracle.
When I prayed to God and he sent an angel to assure me that an abusive and stalking boyfriend would not be bothering me anymore, that was a miracle.
When I lost my house and had to move out in less than a week, God led me to the home that we would be living in for the next 10 years. That was a miracle.
When my great grandson was very sick and in the hospital and the doctors kept predicting that he might die, I, along with many others, prayed to God and He healed him. That is a GREAT miracle!
It’s a miracle that, though my mother and 4 brothers are all gone on home, He has allowed me to still be here to see my children grow older, my grandchildren grow up and my great grandchildren be born healthy and whole.
I desired to be placed in a “church” where I could learn the truth about Him and be useful (as in serving where needed) and He placed me with a wonderful group of people who have a heart and desire to worship and serve Him wholeheartedly and named us A Place 2 Connect.
He has seen me through some crazy stuff that either I created or someone created for me and saved my life more than once, held my sanity in check and pulled me up and out when depression threatened to take over. I have all this and whole lot more to be thankful for God’s miracles in my life.
My Saving Miracle by Reggie Fambro
Not too long after I started going back to church which was about 8 years ago I experience the miracle of my life. I woke up one morning and started my day just like all the rest. At the time, I was staying with my Godfather who was not doing well in his health. I had my drunk my coffee, watched a little TV, then went outside to the front of the house to get some fresh air. I remember It was a nice summer morning and I spent a little time just enjoying the morning air and looking around. I decided to take a short walk over to the corner. After I had been standing on the corner for a while it seemed that my mind went blank. Just then, I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to move, and walk away from the corner. It was a loud voice, I was not familiar with His voice but I knew I needed to move quickly. So, I walked away from the corner and only got about 20-30 feet away when two cars ran into each other. One of the cars jumped the curb and hit a rock in the very place I was standing. The two guys got out of their cars and asked each other if they were alright before breaking out into an argument about who’s fault it was. I was in shock and just stood there for a while thinking, “Man, I could have been dead if I hadn’t listened.”
The Miracle of Life by Prophetess Mona
As I pondered over the topics of the lesson it was hard for me to decide which to share. I could testify of my first message (which was not well received), or even one of the instances of casting out demons, however when I inquired of the Lord, He prompted me to share one of the miracles He has done in my life before I became saved. Sharing this testimony was very difficult for me because it exposes a lot of me, however it seems that exposing myself is part of my path.
God has been there with me in some rough times; times when I was homeless, times without food or job, times without some of the comforts in life and even times when I was without any emotional support. Yet, all of these times were after I had become saved. I had believed that before my salvation that I had never experienced God, that was until He brought an incident back to my memory.
I was about 15/16 years old and was pregnant for the 2nd time in my life. I had resolved to get an abortion because I did not want a child disrupting my plans for my life. I also did not want my parents to know and made the arrangements on my own. The day of the abortion I told my parents that I was headed to work and took off on my bike. The only person who knew that I was headed to the abortion clinic was my older sister. The clinic was downtown on Alhambra blvd (for those that are familiar with Sacramento) and I lived on 8th Ave and Stockton Blvd; approximately 3 miles away.
I checked in at 10am, had the abortion and was ready to be discharged by 12 noon. The nurse asked if my ride was present because they could not allow me to leave without transportation home. I lied and told her that I told my ride to wait outside, went over to a window and pointed to a car that was parked on the curb. From our vantage point, you couldn’t tell if anyone was even in the car so I was sure she would believe it. Since there weren’t any cell phones back in those days, it wasn’t as if I could call them, so she let me leave.
I got on my bike and proceeded to ride the 3 mile trek back home. I was a little weak and lightheaded from the anesthesia but knew I had to get home. With every pedal I could feel blood leaving my body and had become a bit unsteady and struggled to keep my balance. By the time I reached Alhambra and Broadway, I had begun to get dizzy. The last thing I remembered was waiting for the light to change before everything went black.
When I regained consciousness, I was home in my bathtub, covered with bloody water. My sister was shaking me with a whisper-yell pleading with me to wake up. I didn’t know how I got there. She helped get me cleaned up, dressed, and into my bed which I slept until 11am the next day. When I finally regained some strength I asked my sister how did she find me. Her reply shocked me as she said, “I found you in the tub, mom said you came in and went straight to the bathroom”. When I told her that I didn’t have any memory of getting home and how I blacked out she just shook her head and said, “I told you not to go”, and left the room. I remember lying in the bed trying to figure out what happened. A bit later my mom came into the room to see how I was doing and brought me some hot chocolate. I told her that my cycle popped up on me and was heavier than normal and I was a bit drained. She just looked at me, I know she knew that I was not telling her the truth, but just let it go with a nod and said, ”drink that, it will make you feel better”, then left the room. I drunk the hot chocolate but didn’t feel better. Physically I was fine but emotionally I was in turmoil over what I had done to my unborn child and myself, so I decided to bury the memory of that day in the back of my mind.
It wasn’t until 25 years later when I was ministering to a young lady contemplating aborting her pregnancy that God brought back the memory of that day and the question that was never answered… how did I make it home? God choose to show me the details of that day in a dream state vision. I was with the Holy Spirit as He took me back to that day, to the very moment I blacked out on the corner. He allowed me to see that day as a spectator. I saw myself on my bike waiting for the light to change. All of a sudden I heard a flutter of wings come from behind where I was watching and an angel appeared and went directly to me on the bike as I had gotten dizzy and held me up. I could see that my eyes had closed but he was holding me upright on the bike. He placed a hand over my uterus as light came from him. He then “entered” my body and took me home. When “we” entered the house my mom looked at me and said, “you’re home early” when she saw the blood on my clothes she stood up and said, “you’re bleeding! Are you alright!” I saw myself respond as I continued to walk to the bathroom, “I’ll be alright”. As “we” got into the bathroom “we” ran a bath and got into the tub. At that moment the angel exited my body. A few minutes later, my sister entered.
God showed me how the miracle of that day played out. I should have died. I deserved death for taking a life. But because of God’s unfailing love, grace and mercy, He not only allowed me to live but performed a miracle just so I could. That vision changed my life and showed me that God’s love has no boundaries, and while I was deep in sin, not even acknowledging Him, He loved me. He cared for me. He was there for me when I didn’t even know or appreciate Him. I am so grateful for the opportunity to truly know Him. What an awesome God we serve!
I don’t know if this fits into any of the categories we’re supposed to write about, but here it is anyway, because Our Lord God Almighty manifested in Great Love and Mercy.
It started ten days before Christmas last year in 2015. My oldest brother, Greg’s wife, called to say that he was dying from Stage 4 Prostate Cancer. She stated that the doctors could do no more than to try and make him comfortable; that she should call the hospice service, surround him with his loved ones and prepare to say goodbye. He wasn’t going to make it to Christmas. I called my sister and little brother. We rented a SUV with 4 Wheel Drive. There were major snowstorms in all the mountain ranges from California to Colorado, and Greg lived in Denver. Before we left I called every person I knew who walked daily with Jesus. I just knew in my heart that the holy Spirit was going on before us and everything would be alright.
As we drove along it seemed as if the storms subsided to let us pass by before returning to its full force again, I told my sister, who was crying and frightened almost the whole way (about 20 hours of driving); that the storms making a way for us was a sign from God not to worry. So I didn’t worry, I trusted God.
When we got to Denver, my sister thought after we knocked on the door of Greg’s house, his wife would open the door and say we were too late or Greg would be lying in a hospital bed with tubes and machines everywhere hooked up to him. Instead, there was Greg standing in the door of his bathroom, toothbrush in one hand and his dentures in the other. Before anyone could say anything, Greg says “What are ya’ll doing here?”
When we said “We were told you were dying!”
He said “That’s what they told me too. I just got home, I was out riding the bus all day, doing some site seeing.”
That was the best Christmas any of us had had in a long time. Greg is still with us, his birthday is right around Thanksgiving, I think we’ll all go up and see him. This year Thanksgiving has a whole new meaning!! Thank you Jesus, Praise and Glory to You My King!!
MIRACLES IN MY LIFE by Valerie Cole Fulton
I haven’t had the pleasure of delivering any messages to people. I haven’t cast out demons or preached the kingdom gospel to anyone unless you count speaking to individuals on a conversational basis. As for a miracle that’s been performed in my life, those happen regularly and are continuing even now.
It’s a miracle when I open my eyes every morning and step out of bed healthy, whole and in my right mind.
When God sent my cousin to rescue me from a life of continued childhood abuse and molestation, that was a miracle.
When I prayed to God and he sent an angel to assure me that an abusive and stalking boyfriend would not be bothering me anymore, that was a miracle.
When I lost my house and had to move out in less than a week, God led me to the home that we would be living in for the next 10 years. That was a miracle.
When my great grandson was very sick and in the hospital and the doctors kept predicting that he might die, I, along with many others, prayed to God and He healed him. That is a GREAT miracle!
It’s a miracle that, though my mother and 4 brothers are all gone on home, He has allowed me to still be here to see my children grow older, my grandchildren grow up and my great grandchildren be born healthy and whole.
I desired to be placed in a “church” where I could learn the truth about Him and be useful (as in serving where needed) and He placed me with a wonderful group of people who have a heart and desire to worship and serve Him wholeheartedly and named us A Place 2 Connect.
He has seen me through some crazy stuff that either I created or someone created for me and saved my life more than once, held my sanity in check and pulled me up and out when depression threatened to take over. I have all this and whole lot more to be thankful for God’s miracles in my life.
My Saving Miracle by Reggie Fambro
Not too long after I started going back to church which was about 8 years ago I experience the miracle of my life. I woke up one morning and started my day just like all the rest. At the time, I was staying with my Godfather who was not doing well in his health. I had my drunk my coffee, watched a little TV, then went outside to the front of the house to get some fresh air. I remember It was a nice summer morning and I spent a little time just enjoying the morning air and looking around. I decided to take a short walk over to the corner. After I had been standing on the corner for a while it seemed that my mind went blank. Just then, I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to move, and walk away from the corner. It was a loud voice, I was not familiar with His voice but I knew I needed to move quickly. So, I walked away from the corner and only got about 20-30 feet away when two cars ran into each other. One of the cars jumped the curb and hit a rock in the very place I was standing. The two guys got out of their cars and asked each other if they were alright before breaking out into an argument about who’s fault it was. I was in shock and just stood there for a while thinking, “Man, I could have been dead if I hadn’t listened.”
The Miracle of Life by Prophetess Mona
As I pondered over the topics of the lesson it was hard for me to decide which to share. I could testify of my first message (which was not well received), or even one of the instances of casting out demons, however when I inquired of the Lord, He prompted me to share one of the miracles He has done in my life before I became saved. Sharing this testimony was very difficult for me because it exposes a lot of me, however it seems that exposing myself is part of my path.
God has been there with me in some rough times; times when I was homeless, times without food or job, times without some of the comforts in life and even times when I was without any emotional support. Yet, all of these times were after I had become saved. I had believed that before my salvation that I had never experienced God, that was until He brought an incident back to my memory.
I was about 15/16 years old and was pregnant for the 2nd time in my life. I had resolved to get an abortion because I did not want a child disrupting my plans for my life. I also did not want my parents to know and made the arrangements on my own. The day of the abortion I told my parents that I was headed to work and took off on my bike. The only person who knew that I was headed to the abortion clinic was my older sister. The clinic was downtown on Alhambra blvd (for those that are familiar with Sacramento) and I lived on 8th Ave and Stockton Blvd; approximately 3 miles away.
I checked in at 10am, had the abortion and was ready to be discharged by 12 noon. The nurse asked if my ride was present because they could not allow me to leave without transportation home. I lied and told her that I told my ride to wait outside, went over to a window and pointed to a car that was parked on the curb. From our vantage point, you couldn’t tell if anyone was even in the car so I was sure she would believe it. Since there weren’t any cell phones back in those days, it wasn’t as if I could call them, so she let me leave.
I got on my bike and proceeded to ride the 3 mile trek back home. I was a little weak and lightheaded from the anesthesia but knew I had to get home. With every pedal I could feel blood leaving my body and had become a bit unsteady and struggled to keep my balance. By the time I reached Alhambra and Broadway, I had begun to get dizzy. The last thing I remembered was waiting for the light to change before everything went black.
When I regained consciousness, I was home in my bathtub, covered with bloody water. My sister was shaking me with a whisper-yell pleading with me to wake up. I didn’t know how I got there. She helped get me cleaned up, dressed, and into my bed which I slept until 11am the next day. When I finally regained some strength I asked my sister how did she find me. Her reply shocked me as she said, “I found you in the tub, mom said you came in and went straight to the bathroom”. When I told her that I didn’t have any memory of getting home and how I blacked out she just shook her head and said, “I told you not to go”, and left the room. I remember lying in the bed trying to figure out what happened. A bit later my mom came into the room to see how I was doing and brought me some hot chocolate. I told her that my cycle popped up on me and was heavier than normal and I was a bit drained. She just looked at me, I know she knew that I was not telling her the truth, but just let it go with a nod and said, ”drink that, it will make you feel better”, then left the room. I drunk the hot chocolate but didn’t feel better. Physically I was fine but emotionally I was in turmoil over what I had done to my unborn child and myself, so I decided to bury the memory of that day in the back of my mind.
It wasn’t until 25 years later when I was ministering to a young lady contemplating aborting her pregnancy that God brought back the memory of that day and the question that was never answered… how did I make it home? God choose to show me the details of that day in a dream state vision. I was with the Holy Spirit as He took me back to that day, to the very moment I blacked out on the corner. He allowed me to see that day as a spectator. I saw myself on my bike waiting for the light to change. All of a sudden I heard a flutter of wings come from behind where I was watching and an angel appeared and went directly to me on the bike as I had gotten dizzy and held me up. I could see that my eyes had closed but he was holding me upright on the bike. He placed a hand over my uterus as light came from him. He then “entered” my body and took me home. When “we” entered the house my mom looked at me and said, “you’re home early” when she saw the blood on my clothes she stood up and said, “you’re bleeding! Are you alright!” I saw myself respond as I continued to walk to the bathroom, “I’ll be alright”. As “we” got into the bathroom “we” ran a bath and got into the tub. At that moment the angel exited my body. A few minutes later, my sister entered.
God showed me how the miracle of that day played out. I should have died. I deserved death for taking a life. But because of God’s unfailing love, grace and mercy, He not only allowed me to live but performed a miracle just so I could. That vision changed my life and showed me that God’s love has no boundaries, and while I was deep in sin, not even acknowledging Him, He loved me. He cared for me. He was there for me when I didn’t even know or appreciate Him. I am so grateful for the opportunity to truly know Him. What an awesome God we serve!
Testimonies of Persecution, Love and/or Charitable Acts
The Measure of Hope by Jennifer Blish Keith
Once long ago, on a late November day in 2003; we sat a Chevy Cavalier in a department store parking lot. Randy showed me an emerald ring. He said he wanted to take it back to get his daughters diamond earrings for Christmas.” It was not the first ring he wanted to give me. That the first ring he wanted to give me was a diamond ring,” he said.
And at that moment he asked me to marry him. Tears came to my eyes as my heart soared like a majestic eagle upon the wind. Soaring so high I lost my breath for an instant. I said yes through those tears as I handed back the emerald. Later, he replaced it with the diamond I still wear today. A symbol I will cherish all the rest of my days.
He said then it would be a long engagement and that I would have to have hope for the both of us. At the time, I didn’t know what to do or if I could go the distance it would take; but I replied I would. Then, like a message, a voice said “For those who have the faith like a child shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.”
So, in my mind I went back. Back to a time when I was eight years old. Back to before my spirit crashed among the rocks of life. Before my young mind was crowded with the complexities of an adult world I could neither understand nor was ready for. Back to where the hopes and dreams still lived, back to where the promises of a bright future still shown. Back to where the wonders of the world were still waiting to be seen and admired by my young heart. Where the hopes, dreams, and love still yearned to a child who wanted and needed desperately, and hope was felt as fathomless as the heavens. Where my own belief about who God was, was not crowded by the world.
There I tried to gather and obtain as much as I could hold, letting it surround my heart and soul. And there was still more than I ever dreamed possible, settling a wonderful peace in my heart. Back when the love of a child is pure, open and honest. And in my mind, I turned around and before me stood a man I never thought I would see again. In overwhelming surprise, awe, and unworthiness, I knelt before Him with my head down, tears streaming down my face almost unnoticed. Trembling in His presence, I raised my hands of all the hopes and dreams I had gathered and offered it up to Him. For Jesus to what He would of it. I don’t remember if anything was said, as He placed His hand upon my brow.
Then I felt Jesus take up all that I had gathered in my hands, but the room was still filled with what I couldn’t. I saw a kernel as big as a mustard seed placed in both our hearts to be kept there always and forever. Still my tears ran, tears of loss and sorrow that seemed to never end, was taken from Randy and myself. Replaced with the hopes and dreams I had gathered in my hands.
My eyes slowly opened, and I found myself in Randy’s loving arms, holding me close. As our eyes, locked and our lips met; the peace, love, and honor we felt for each other enveloped us as lightening drew our souls together and become one. When we got home as we made love the feeling grew and when it was over we could not tell where one soul ended and another began. Holding each other we fell asleep basking in the peace our souls dearly craved.
I Didn’t know at the time that the love we shared would transcend all things and follow us through the years ahead. Or, at that time, what the future would hold. After that the trials and tribulation started. The doctors gave Randy a year to live without medicine. As Randy told me this, my heart started breaking in two. As I cried tears for a week, each tear was a rip in my heart and blood that bled through my body. At one point Randy said he didn’t want to see me cry anymore, so I stopped and cried my loneliness at night alone, Finally, I started praying God’s will be done, not mine, and in that prayer, I found the peace to go on.
Still more trials came, alcohol and drugs were added to an already tribulate lifestyle. In our darkest hour, with voices rose in anger, and an overpowering fear that all hope was lost, and the blackest midnight lay all about. We almost let go, several times; but a light showed in the distance to guide our way back. At first we didn’t acknowledge that the light was there, stuck in the darkness we created; but it caught hold of the kernel placed in our hearts. Slowly, calling us back from the brink. We turned towards it, first seperately walking it tandem. Then we reached for each other’s hands, amazed it was still there to hold. Slowly and painstakingly we walked forward toward the Light, the kernel burning brightly in our hearts as we slowly let go of our anger and fear, and as our hands clasped one another it was like lighting went off and the darkness faded away.
Since then we’ve been walking toward the Light. Feeling a love stronger than it once was. For it had been through the fire and has become like the eight-year-old child who once held up all that she possessed and has been brought back to be pure, open and honest with all the hopes, dreams, and wonders of the world placed back at their feet. To be picked up once again and taken forward into a new life.
DEAR JESUS,
As we walk forward to put our past behind us, never let us forget where we came from, who we really are, and how we got here, for it has made us who we are today. May you always rejoice in our love and honor. And may we never forget the eight-year old child that gave up all she had to save another. Bless all that we have, all that we are, and all that we are going to be through You. Bless this family and marriage as we bind together as one formerly before Your eyes, and always let our love be as pure, open and honest as a child.
May peace, love, and comfort fill this home. Thank you for the honor and privilege of our love, may it always bring comfort, joy, grace, mercy, honor, peace happiness, compassion in times of sorrow or trouble. Let hope for the future never fade. Thank you for all Your Blessings, great and small, the ones we can’t see and those we can. May Jesus always be welcome in our hearts and in our homes. May our love transcend all that we do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!
Charity of a Different Kind by Reggie Fambro
The summer of 2016, about 3 months ago, I got on my bike and rode to see the love of my life. Just as I arrived close to her job, my front tire went flat. I didn’t understand why because I didn’t run over any glass or anything. I got off the bike and walked to the love of my life’s job and told her that my tire was flat. After visiting for a while I got ready to walk back home. After declining my love’s offer to take her car to get the tire fixed I returned walking in the same direction that I came. I just knew that I needed to walk and only got a half a mile down the road when a guy drove up in his car, as I was crossing the street pushing my bike. The man was in a green truck and was an older black man. He yelled out the window and asked if I needed a ride. I was hesitant at first and was checking him out, but my spirit said, “go and get in the car”. So I did. As I got in the car I started looking for a seat belt to put on but there wasn’t any, as I looked at him, he grabbed a strap and put it over his chest to simulate a seat belt. I was like, “oh Lord, I’m in this car.. this man ain’t got no seat belts!!”
I was a bit scared because I didn’t know what to expect due to being in multiple accidents in the past. He said, “I’m sorry I don’t have any seat belts”. So I said, “Lord you have to protect me!”
And I really meant that because I didn’t even get a strap to fake like I had a seat belt on while riding with this man. I wasn’t really trippin’, he seemed cool, like a working man, but I could have been deceived. It was just at that moment that the man blurted out, “thank you for riding with me, I needed someone to talk to.”
I was like, “Ok Lord, what’s going on, you made my bike flat and I don’t know what’s going on”.
The man then said, “I feel like I am ready to kill myself!”
I set up , my eyes got big and I felt the Holy Spirit say “Speak” and I said to the man, “Really? It ain't going to work.”
The Holy Spirit spoke to me again and said, “Tell him.”
For a moment I questioned what was I supposed to tell him, but the Holy Spirit revealed me to share with him my testimony of when I tried to commit suicide. I told him about the time in my life when everything seemed too hard to bear. I was alone and I believed the lies of the enemy that I didn’t fit in anywhere, that my family didn’t care about me and it would be better if I just ended my life. I wasn’t in church at this time and decided to kill myself by overdosing with Tylenol and alcohol. So with my mind set on having nothing to lose, I walked into the Safeway on Alhambra Blvd, grabbed a bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol (100 capsules). I then walked over to the alcohol aisle and grabbed a 40 ounce of beer and boldly walked out the store, daring anyone to follow me. With my method in hand, I found a seat right in front of the store, and took the whole bottle of aspirin with the beer. The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital, still alive, with an upset stomach.
I also told him about the things that I had been through, starting with how God protected me when I was a child. He then opened up to me about why he wanted to end his life. He shared that he had a beautiful wife and believed that she was cheating on him. I continued to minister to him about God and some of the things that I have been through in my life. By the time we reached my drop off point I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray with him before he left. He agreed and after our prayer, he shared that he had been away from church for 30 years and was now resolved to return and to let go of those things that are going on in his life. He had regained a mindset to live. I thank God that He allowed me the chance to speak into this man’s spirit and help him on the path back to God instead of the path that the enemy had for his destruction. Also, I was grateful for the chance to experience a different kind of charity; by just giving of my time and sharing the glory of God in my life, I was able help change his life for the better.
The Love of God by Randy Keith
It was an early Fall day, just before the start of the rainy season. I was just finishing a brake job on a neighbor’s car when a young man approached me saying that his car had broken down and he needed help. He informed me that after a week of letting someone else “help” him that all his money was gone and he couldn’t get home to his wife and three kids in Oakland. He stated that he was in great distress. He went to a small church across the street from where I lived and prayed at the altar for approximately 45 minutes or move. It was then that the Holy Spirit told him to seek out a “Man of God”. He then asked me if I was a “Man of God”. Before I could say anything, two of my neighbors who were standing there exclaimed, “Yes he is!”
I then remembered as I looked back over the past week, seeing someone working on the car which turned out to belong to the young man. The Holy Spirit had prompted me to see if they needed help but I didn’t heed to the prompting. It turned out that the guy who was “helping” him turned out to be a meth addict who was getting money from the young man to buy new parts but instead would disappear for hours before returning with parts that he had stolen from Pick and Pull. Parts that were stolen from the wrong type of car, I might add. In the meanwhile, “Mr. Meth” as I would like to refer to him as; had taken every sensor, relay and sending unit from the young man’s car and eventually disappeared once he realized that there wasn’t any money left to take from the man.
I felt bad for him as I knew that it would be too expensive to replace everything that was taken along with fixing the problem which caused the car to break down in the first place. So, my wife, Jenny and I decided to send him home via Greyhound bus; however, the next bus wasn’t scheduled to leave Sacramento for 13 hours. So, I decided that I would drive him to Oakland instead.
As I was driving the young man to Oakland, the Holy Spirit started speaking to me, telling me that Jenny and I had two cars and we only needed one. Therefore, we should provide this family, who needed a car, with one of ours. Again, I resisted the urging of the Holy Spirit but for a week I couldn’t sleep as I tried to rationalize reasons for not giving the car away. Finally, I said to myself, “If I tell Jenny that the Holy Spirit told me to give away one of our cars, she would get mad and tell me that I was crazy. Then it would be her fault that I didn’t give the car to them and I would be off the hook!” However, when I told Jenny what the Holy Spirit wanted me to, she replied, “Go ahead, why haven’t you done it yet?”
I realized at once that the evil one had been lying to me. I apologized to Jenny for trying to blame her for my disobedience and drove to Oakland to give the car to the young man’s family. As I was preparing to head back to Sacramento, the young man’s son, who was around eight years old said to me, “I’ve heard about people talk about the love of God but when you gave us this car because God told you to and you didn’t even know us or want anything for it; I now know that God and His love are real no matter what my friends say I saw for myself what God’s Love looks like!”
I later discovered that the young man and his wife were struggling with drug addiction which created turmoil for their family. However, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that our act of obedience was not so much for the benefit of the parents; it was a light in the darkness for their children.
Once long ago, on a late November day in 2003; we sat a Chevy Cavalier in a department store parking lot. Randy showed me an emerald ring. He said he wanted to take it back to get his daughters diamond earrings for Christmas.” It was not the first ring he wanted to give me. That the first ring he wanted to give me was a diamond ring,” he said.
And at that moment he asked me to marry him. Tears came to my eyes as my heart soared like a majestic eagle upon the wind. Soaring so high I lost my breath for an instant. I said yes through those tears as I handed back the emerald. Later, he replaced it with the diamond I still wear today. A symbol I will cherish all the rest of my days.
He said then it would be a long engagement and that I would have to have hope for the both of us. At the time, I didn’t know what to do or if I could go the distance it would take; but I replied I would. Then, like a message, a voice said “For those who have the faith like a child shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.”
So, in my mind I went back. Back to a time when I was eight years old. Back to before my spirit crashed among the rocks of life. Before my young mind was crowded with the complexities of an adult world I could neither understand nor was ready for. Back to where the hopes and dreams still lived, back to where the promises of a bright future still shown. Back to where the wonders of the world were still waiting to be seen and admired by my young heart. Where the hopes, dreams, and love still yearned to a child who wanted and needed desperately, and hope was felt as fathomless as the heavens. Where my own belief about who God was, was not crowded by the world.
There I tried to gather and obtain as much as I could hold, letting it surround my heart and soul. And there was still more than I ever dreamed possible, settling a wonderful peace in my heart. Back when the love of a child is pure, open and honest. And in my mind, I turned around and before me stood a man I never thought I would see again. In overwhelming surprise, awe, and unworthiness, I knelt before Him with my head down, tears streaming down my face almost unnoticed. Trembling in His presence, I raised my hands of all the hopes and dreams I had gathered and offered it up to Him. For Jesus to what He would of it. I don’t remember if anything was said, as He placed His hand upon my brow.
Then I felt Jesus take up all that I had gathered in my hands, but the room was still filled with what I couldn’t. I saw a kernel as big as a mustard seed placed in both our hearts to be kept there always and forever. Still my tears ran, tears of loss and sorrow that seemed to never end, was taken from Randy and myself. Replaced with the hopes and dreams I had gathered in my hands.
My eyes slowly opened, and I found myself in Randy’s loving arms, holding me close. As our eyes, locked and our lips met; the peace, love, and honor we felt for each other enveloped us as lightening drew our souls together and become one. When we got home as we made love the feeling grew and when it was over we could not tell where one soul ended and another began. Holding each other we fell asleep basking in the peace our souls dearly craved.
I Didn’t know at the time that the love we shared would transcend all things and follow us through the years ahead. Or, at that time, what the future would hold. After that the trials and tribulation started. The doctors gave Randy a year to live without medicine. As Randy told me this, my heart started breaking in two. As I cried tears for a week, each tear was a rip in my heart and blood that bled through my body. At one point Randy said he didn’t want to see me cry anymore, so I stopped and cried my loneliness at night alone, Finally, I started praying God’s will be done, not mine, and in that prayer, I found the peace to go on.
Still more trials came, alcohol and drugs were added to an already tribulate lifestyle. In our darkest hour, with voices rose in anger, and an overpowering fear that all hope was lost, and the blackest midnight lay all about. We almost let go, several times; but a light showed in the distance to guide our way back. At first we didn’t acknowledge that the light was there, stuck in the darkness we created; but it caught hold of the kernel placed in our hearts. Slowly, calling us back from the brink. We turned towards it, first seperately walking it tandem. Then we reached for each other’s hands, amazed it was still there to hold. Slowly and painstakingly we walked forward toward the Light, the kernel burning brightly in our hearts as we slowly let go of our anger and fear, and as our hands clasped one another it was like lighting went off and the darkness faded away.
Since then we’ve been walking toward the Light. Feeling a love stronger than it once was. For it had been through the fire and has become like the eight-year-old child who once held up all that she possessed and has been brought back to be pure, open and honest with all the hopes, dreams, and wonders of the world placed back at their feet. To be picked up once again and taken forward into a new life.
DEAR JESUS,
As we walk forward to put our past behind us, never let us forget where we came from, who we really are, and how we got here, for it has made us who we are today. May you always rejoice in our love and honor. And may we never forget the eight-year old child that gave up all she had to save another. Bless all that we have, all that we are, and all that we are going to be through You. Bless this family and marriage as we bind together as one formerly before Your eyes, and always let our love be as pure, open and honest as a child.
May peace, love, and comfort fill this home. Thank you for the honor and privilege of our love, may it always bring comfort, joy, grace, mercy, honor, peace happiness, compassion in times of sorrow or trouble. Let hope for the future never fade. Thank you for all Your Blessings, great and small, the ones we can’t see and those we can. May Jesus always be welcome in our hearts and in our homes. May our love transcend all that we do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!
Charity of a Different Kind by Reggie Fambro
The summer of 2016, about 3 months ago, I got on my bike and rode to see the love of my life. Just as I arrived close to her job, my front tire went flat. I didn’t understand why because I didn’t run over any glass or anything. I got off the bike and walked to the love of my life’s job and told her that my tire was flat. After visiting for a while I got ready to walk back home. After declining my love’s offer to take her car to get the tire fixed I returned walking in the same direction that I came. I just knew that I needed to walk and only got a half a mile down the road when a guy drove up in his car, as I was crossing the street pushing my bike. The man was in a green truck and was an older black man. He yelled out the window and asked if I needed a ride. I was hesitant at first and was checking him out, but my spirit said, “go and get in the car”. So I did. As I got in the car I started looking for a seat belt to put on but there wasn’t any, as I looked at him, he grabbed a strap and put it over his chest to simulate a seat belt. I was like, “oh Lord, I’m in this car.. this man ain’t got no seat belts!!”
I was a bit scared because I didn’t know what to expect due to being in multiple accidents in the past. He said, “I’m sorry I don’t have any seat belts”. So I said, “Lord you have to protect me!”
And I really meant that because I didn’t even get a strap to fake like I had a seat belt on while riding with this man. I wasn’t really trippin’, he seemed cool, like a working man, but I could have been deceived. It was just at that moment that the man blurted out, “thank you for riding with me, I needed someone to talk to.”
I was like, “Ok Lord, what’s going on, you made my bike flat and I don’t know what’s going on”.
The man then said, “I feel like I am ready to kill myself!”
I set up , my eyes got big and I felt the Holy Spirit say “Speak” and I said to the man, “Really? It ain't going to work.”
The Holy Spirit spoke to me again and said, “Tell him.”
For a moment I questioned what was I supposed to tell him, but the Holy Spirit revealed me to share with him my testimony of when I tried to commit suicide. I told him about the time in my life when everything seemed too hard to bear. I was alone and I believed the lies of the enemy that I didn’t fit in anywhere, that my family didn’t care about me and it would be better if I just ended my life. I wasn’t in church at this time and decided to kill myself by overdosing with Tylenol and alcohol. So with my mind set on having nothing to lose, I walked into the Safeway on Alhambra Blvd, grabbed a bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol (100 capsules). I then walked over to the alcohol aisle and grabbed a 40 ounce of beer and boldly walked out the store, daring anyone to follow me. With my method in hand, I found a seat right in front of the store, and took the whole bottle of aspirin with the beer. The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital, still alive, with an upset stomach.
I also told him about the things that I had been through, starting with how God protected me when I was a child. He then opened up to me about why he wanted to end his life. He shared that he had a beautiful wife and believed that she was cheating on him. I continued to minister to him about God and some of the things that I have been through in my life. By the time we reached my drop off point I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray with him before he left. He agreed and after our prayer, he shared that he had been away from church for 30 years and was now resolved to return and to let go of those things that are going on in his life. He had regained a mindset to live. I thank God that He allowed me the chance to speak into this man’s spirit and help him on the path back to God instead of the path that the enemy had for his destruction. Also, I was grateful for the chance to experience a different kind of charity; by just giving of my time and sharing the glory of God in my life, I was able help change his life for the better.
The Love of God by Randy Keith
It was an early Fall day, just before the start of the rainy season. I was just finishing a brake job on a neighbor’s car when a young man approached me saying that his car had broken down and he needed help. He informed me that after a week of letting someone else “help” him that all his money was gone and he couldn’t get home to his wife and three kids in Oakland. He stated that he was in great distress. He went to a small church across the street from where I lived and prayed at the altar for approximately 45 minutes or move. It was then that the Holy Spirit told him to seek out a “Man of God”. He then asked me if I was a “Man of God”. Before I could say anything, two of my neighbors who were standing there exclaimed, “Yes he is!”
I then remembered as I looked back over the past week, seeing someone working on the car which turned out to belong to the young man. The Holy Spirit had prompted me to see if they needed help but I didn’t heed to the prompting. It turned out that the guy who was “helping” him turned out to be a meth addict who was getting money from the young man to buy new parts but instead would disappear for hours before returning with parts that he had stolen from Pick and Pull. Parts that were stolen from the wrong type of car, I might add. In the meanwhile, “Mr. Meth” as I would like to refer to him as; had taken every sensor, relay and sending unit from the young man’s car and eventually disappeared once he realized that there wasn’t any money left to take from the man.
I felt bad for him as I knew that it would be too expensive to replace everything that was taken along with fixing the problem which caused the car to break down in the first place. So, my wife, Jenny and I decided to send him home via Greyhound bus; however, the next bus wasn’t scheduled to leave Sacramento for 13 hours. So, I decided that I would drive him to Oakland instead.
As I was driving the young man to Oakland, the Holy Spirit started speaking to me, telling me that Jenny and I had two cars and we only needed one. Therefore, we should provide this family, who needed a car, with one of ours. Again, I resisted the urging of the Holy Spirit but for a week I couldn’t sleep as I tried to rationalize reasons for not giving the car away. Finally, I said to myself, “If I tell Jenny that the Holy Spirit told me to give away one of our cars, she would get mad and tell me that I was crazy. Then it would be her fault that I didn’t give the car to them and I would be off the hook!” However, when I told Jenny what the Holy Spirit wanted me to, she replied, “Go ahead, why haven’t you done it yet?”
I realized at once that the evil one had been lying to me. I apologized to Jenny for trying to blame her for my disobedience and drove to Oakland to give the car to the young man’s family. As I was preparing to head back to Sacramento, the young man’s son, who was around eight years old said to me, “I’ve heard about people talk about the love of God but when you gave us this car because God told you to and you didn’t even know us or want anything for it; I now know that God and His love are real no matter what my friends say I saw for myself what God’s Love looks like!”
I later discovered that the young man and his wife were struggling with drug addiction which created turmoil for their family. However, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that our act of obedience was not so much for the benefit of the parents; it was a light in the darkness for their children.
Testimonies of Fasting, Wealth, Worrying, Judging, Asking, Seeking and/or Knocking
A Lesson in Worrying by Reggie Fambro
Just before Thanksgiving of this year, the Monday before, I got a phone call from my daughter asking if I had talked with my mother. I told her that I hadn’t yet but was going to and hung up. Right after, my mother called me to tell me that she didn’t feel well and was bleeding when she went to the bathroom. I told her that I was on my way to take her to the ER and got in my car to pick her up from her home downtown. When I arrived, I called her to let me in the building but saw someone was leaving out so I walked in and just went up to her apartment. When I got to her apartment she looked very weak so we got ready to leave and got on the elevator to get down to my car. As soon as we got to the ground floor and exited the elevator she fainted. I began to yell, “Momma! Momma!” Hoping that she would hear me, and after what seemed like a long time but really was only a minute or two, she regained consciousness.
I told her not to move and called for an ambulance. I didn’t want to move her because I wasn’t sure where her bleeding was coming from. The ambulance came quickly and by the time they got there I was okay because she was talking to me. But when I saw them but her on the gurney I began to get a little worried. There weren’t any sirens when they came and they quietly took her away to the hospital as I followed behind which was a bit difficult getting through the streets of downtown Sacramento. As I drove I began to think on how the Holy Spirit had been putting my mom on my mind a lot. I was worried about if she truly had an understanding about salvation due to her living with a learning disability. I was also concerned about her overall health, living alone and not eating right.
She was immediately admitted into the hospital and later that evening the doctor found where the bleeding was coming from which was an artery that leaking. The doctor seemed excited as he felt that what he had given her would stop the bleeding, I however, wasn’t a hundred percent sure in my spirit. Yet, as I prayed my spirit and confidence was lifted and my worry level went down. I felt spiritually strong, knowing that God was going to do something miraculous and great. The next day, the bleeding continued but my faith held strong knowing God was working. However after the third day and she was still bleeding, I began to start worrying again. Truth be told, as I look back, I now understand that the worrying we experience can be caused by ourselves, and it can also be caused by the people around you and the atmosphere they were creating. That was the source of my worrying, others around her were fearful, worrying and not confident in the power of prayer.
I also learned that even though it was my mother who was going through all this, that I was actually the one being tested in different levels of my spirit. It took some faith building, some belief building and some strength to bring me out of a worrying mindset. A lot of people don’t know that worrying doesn’t just have to be you, it can be the atmosphere that you’re in that can cause you to start worrying. I had to ask the Holy Spirit to help me come out of the worrying. Because what I did learn is that a second of doubt can cause a lifetime of pain. And if you don’t keep your mind where you need to have it, the enemy will put worry and doubt in front of you to move it to a wrong place. I saw that when my faith fell everything slowed down regarding my mother’s healing. But when I got back to where God needed my faith to be, things began to speed up. My mother did have to have a minor surgery to repair the artery on that Wednesday and was back home by Friday. God received all the glory and I learned a valuable lesson about worrying and faith.
Fasting by Valerie Cole
November 19, 2016 during our monthly intercessory prayer meeting, the Holy Spirit revealed to the group, through the Prophetess, that we as intercessors were all being called to individually fast. Some of the intercessors knew immediately what they needed to fast from, some would have to pray about it and listen for the answer.
Sounded simple enough. But not for me. I agonized for days afterward about what it was that God wanted me to fast from and when would He let me know? I prayed, cried, became frustrated because I kept asking what I should do but couldn’t hear His answer. I cried some more as I wondered why He wasn’t talking to me. Everyone else was hearing from Him, why not me?
All the while I continued to tune in Monday through Wednesday for the DTC Bible trainings and kept up with my own personal studies on the side. Oddly enough, it seemed that everything I was reading and/or studying started to have a certain theme - one of giving thanks to and spending time with the Lord. Below are some of the morning devotions I read where certain parts seemed to jump out at me:
While sitting, and talking with Mona one afternoon everything came into perspective! God had been speaking to me all along! The problem was me! I was waiting to hear an audible voice when all along He was answering my questions through His Word. I now know what my fast should be and it isn’t one that will end in a few days or a few weeks or a few months. It’s a “fast” I should gladly be on until he comes again.
Just before Thanksgiving of this year, the Monday before, I got a phone call from my daughter asking if I had talked with my mother. I told her that I hadn’t yet but was going to and hung up. Right after, my mother called me to tell me that she didn’t feel well and was bleeding when she went to the bathroom. I told her that I was on my way to take her to the ER and got in my car to pick her up from her home downtown. When I arrived, I called her to let me in the building but saw someone was leaving out so I walked in and just went up to her apartment. When I got to her apartment she looked very weak so we got ready to leave and got on the elevator to get down to my car. As soon as we got to the ground floor and exited the elevator she fainted. I began to yell, “Momma! Momma!” Hoping that she would hear me, and after what seemed like a long time but really was only a minute or two, she regained consciousness.
I told her not to move and called for an ambulance. I didn’t want to move her because I wasn’t sure where her bleeding was coming from. The ambulance came quickly and by the time they got there I was okay because she was talking to me. But when I saw them but her on the gurney I began to get a little worried. There weren’t any sirens when they came and they quietly took her away to the hospital as I followed behind which was a bit difficult getting through the streets of downtown Sacramento. As I drove I began to think on how the Holy Spirit had been putting my mom on my mind a lot. I was worried about if she truly had an understanding about salvation due to her living with a learning disability. I was also concerned about her overall health, living alone and not eating right.
She was immediately admitted into the hospital and later that evening the doctor found where the bleeding was coming from which was an artery that leaking. The doctor seemed excited as he felt that what he had given her would stop the bleeding, I however, wasn’t a hundred percent sure in my spirit. Yet, as I prayed my spirit and confidence was lifted and my worry level went down. I felt spiritually strong, knowing that God was going to do something miraculous and great. The next day, the bleeding continued but my faith held strong knowing God was working. However after the third day and she was still bleeding, I began to start worrying again. Truth be told, as I look back, I now understand that the worrying we experience can be caused by ourselves, and it can also be caused by the people around you and the atmosphere they were creating. That was the source of my worrying, others around her were fearful, worrying and not confident in the power of prayer.
I also learned that even though it was my mother who was going through all this, that I was actually the one being tested in different levels of my spirit. It took some faith building, some belief building and some strength to bring me out of a worrying mindset. A lot of people don’t know that worrying doesn’t just have to be you, it can be the atmosphere that you’re in that can cause you to start worrying. I had to ask the Holy Spirit to help me come out of the worrying. Because what I did learn is that a second of doubt can cause a lifetime of pain. And if you don’t keep your mind where you need to have it, the enemy will put worry and doubt in front of you to move it to a wrong place. I saw that when my faith fell everything slowed down regarding my mother’s healing. But when I got back to where God needed my faith to be, things began to speed up. My mother did have to have a minor surgery to repair the artery on that Wednesday and was back home by Friday. God received all the glory and I learned a valuable lesson about worrying and faith.
Fasting by Valerie Cole
November 19, 2016 during our monthly intercessory prayer meeting, the Holy Spirit revealed to the group, through the Prophetess, that we as intercessors were all being called to individually fast. Some of the intercessors knew immediately what they needed to fast from, some would have to pray about it and listen for the answer.
Sounded simple enough. But not for me. I agonized for days afterward about what it was that God wanted me to fast from and when would He let me know? I prayed, cried, became frustrated because I kept asking what I should do but couldn’t hear His answer. I cried some more as I wondered why He wasn’t talking to me. Everyone else was hearing from Him, why not me?
All the while I continued to tune in Monday through Wednesday for the DTC Bible trainings and kept up with my own personal studies on the side. Oddly enough, it seemed that everything I was reading and/or studying started to have a certain theme - one of giving thanks to and spending time with the Lord. Below are some of the morning devotions I read where certain parts seemed to jump out at me:
- “keep your focus on the path just before you, leaving outcomes up to ME.”
- “Thank Me for everything, trust in Me at all times.”
- “Thanksgiving and praise put you in proper relationship with Me.”
- “Let thankfulness rule in your heart.”
- “The ultimate protection against sinking during life’s storms is devoting time to develop your friendship with Me.”
- “Keep your focus on Me.”
- “But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” *(Hebrews 13:15).
- “A thankful attitude opens windows of heaven.”
While sitting, and talking with Mona one afternoon everything came into perspective! God had been speaking to me all along! The problem was me! I was waiting to hear an audible voice when all along He was answering my questions through His Word. I now know what my fast should be and it isn’t one that will end in a few days or a few weeks or a few months. It’s a “fast” I should gladly be on until he comes again.