The Miracle of Dally

It was the July 2012.  Do you remember the extremely hot days that we had last year?  I walked out my door and noticed that Dally, our blue heeler, did not come up to greet me as usual.  That was odd, but perhaps she was out running in the woods.  I didn't really give it another thought but later in the day I realized I had not seen her at all.

As I looked for her I found her to be listless and not wanting to move.  I thought it must be this heat that has her feeling bad and brought her some water to drink.

 Here I must rewind the story.  Last year my son had gone to Dalhart, TX for an internship and he was gone again this summer.  Dally is his dog.  The summer of 2011 we found his blue heeler, Casey, dead.  So when I saw Dally I thought "I can't let Dally die" and brought her in the house.

Thinking it was due to the heat, I thought once Dally was inside she would get better.  But she just laid in one spot and would not eat or drink.  I began to bring the water to her and she would drink a little.  I would have to lift her up and carry her outside to do her business.

A day or two went by and she wasn't improving too much, so we began to doctor her with what we thought would help her.  The thought came to me to try to feed her some chicken fat and she ate it from my hands.  We began to give her power aide to drink.  As long as I brought it to her she would drink.  She still would not eat dog food but if I cooked her deer meat she would eat it from my hands.  She didn't have the strength to stand up.

As the days progress she was not improving so I took her to the vet.  His response, "Has she had her distemper shots?"

"Yes"

"We don't have record of it," says the doctor.

"No, sir.  We gave her the shot."

"Well I believe she has distemper.  I will give her a shot to help her with her breathing and a vitamin C shot, but I don't have much hope of her making it.  If she happens to have a turn around then if  you want to bring her back in the morning I will give her another vitamin C shot."

As I left the vet's office I began to pray for Dally.  Now this would not have been my normal response to pray for an animal, but I had seen my friend Kathy Raburn's post on Facebook of how she had prayed for one of her dogs and God had answered her prayer.

I didn't want to loose another dog of Cole's!  Besides when Dally was a puppy we had to bring her in the house because she had cut her eye and Cole didn't want her outside until the eye had healed.  But who was the one who got up with her at 4:30 in the mornings so she could go outside to do her business.  You guessed it me!   But it was a good thing because it helped me to establish some new habits at that time of prayer.  Dally was my prayer partner!  HA! HA!   So Dally and I had a special bond.

I don't remember exactly what I prayed I just know that I prayed and asked God to heal her.  The next morning she did have a turn around so I took her back to the vet for another vitamin C shot.  After that we began to give her Essence C in her water.  Each day she would get a little better.  She still would only eat cooked deer meat or cooked chicken fat.  But at least she was beginning to walk, although robotically.

Soon Cole would be home from Texas.  Thankfully each day Dally improved to the point when he got home had we not told him he would not have known she had been sick.  She wasn't 100% but she was so much better than she was!  She had a few set backs and we would start the regiment of vitamins and cooked deer meat again.  But at last she was a 100%.  Seven weeks ago she had a litter of puppies.  She birthed 11 and 7 lived.

As I was in the garden 2 weeks ago I thought about last summer and how I had prayed and asked God to heal Dally.  When I was a child and my mom prayed with us for anything she always ended the prayer, "and Lord we will be sure to give you the praise and the glory.  In Jesus Name we pray.  Amen."

So I want to give the praise and the glory to God for an answer prayer and to thank Him for healing Dally and giving us the guidance of how to take care of her.

 
Here is a picture of one of Dally's pups.

My Story of the Zinnia Seeds

April 23, 2012

Tonight my mind is going back to June 2005.  Kristi had a colonoscopy performed that day in June and we did not get the report that I had hoped to hear.  I sat on my back steps crying out to God.  How I wanted to handle the situation correctly!  How I handle this would affect my children. 

But I must admit I was very disappointed in the report received and wondered how long before we saw the manifestation of what we were standing on God’s Word for.  In 2001 Kristi was diagnosed with Crohn’s. I believed God gave me a promise.  John 16:14 says the Holy Spirit will transfer the things of Jesus to us.  I believed God was showing me that His healing power would be transferred to Kristi.  I also knew God had spoken to me that Kristi would come out of this affliction and she would be blessed double.  Yet on this night none of this seemed to be happening.

I had a choice.  Was I going to believe circumstances or was I going to believe God’s Word?  Tonight as I was looking through journals I found the prayer that I offered to God and my determination to be thankful for His faithfulness in so many other areas.  I was not giving up and I was going to hold fast to my profession of faith.

The next day my son called me outside to see something in our yard next to our deck.  Much to my surprise were some beautiful zinnias that had come up voluntarily!  I had not seen them previously.  I thought how beautiful! 

As I drove to church that night my thoughts went to how wonderful my God was that He planted the seeds in the ground so that just when I needed uplifting the zinnias would be in full bloom! I was rejoicing in the gift, when I began to sense the Holy Spirit stirring inside me speaking to me.  It was as though He was reminding me of Abraham and the covenant promise God had spoken to him concerning how God was going to bless him through his seed.  When Abraham got discouraged God brought him outside and told him to look at the stars and that the number of his descendants would be more numerous than the stars.  God also had him look at the sand and asked him could he count the number of grains of sand.  Of course Abraham couldn’t and God told him that his descendants would outnumber the grains of sand. (Of course I am paraphrasing this.  You can read the accurate account for yourself in Genesis).  I believed the Holy Spirit was speaking to me that just as surely as God had given Abraham a sign He was bringing me encouragement as well.  Just as surely as there was power in the zinnia seed to burst through the ground and bring forth the flower and that God had tended to the seed for me so that I could enjoy the beauty of the flowers He would also tend to the seed of His Word and that Kristi would be healed of Crohn’s.

I rejoiced all the way to church.  When I got home I made everyone go outside with me including her boyfriend at the time and told them what I believed God had spoken to me.

We were not going to give up!  We were not going to allow discouragement to rule over us!  We were going to continue to believe God and the power of His Word! 

Praise God!  Today I heard the words I have longed to hear a doctor speak, “There is no sign of Crohn’s!” 

I share this in part because many months ago a friend asked me to write in a blog my story of the zinnias.  I had shared it in a Bible study and God used it to minister to her.  Today it seems appropriate to share!

Thank God for His faithfulness!  Thank God for His grace – the grace to give us the strength to stand when we wanted to give up.  Hebrews 11:11 says that God strengthened Sarah that she might conceive the seed. 

All I can say is “Thank you, Jesus!” 

EYE OPENER

It was a 100+ humid August day.  I didn't really want to be in the hay field but I had no choice.  Byron needed help.  I was hot, tired, and thirsty!

Byron had his problems too.  He was missing Cole.  He was use to Cole knowing exactly what needed to be done.  Cole knew his hand signals.  Need I say that in the hay field sometimes we have a communication  problem?

Byron had given me instructions on how to rake the field.  Hay was sparse due to the drought we had been experiencing.  He needed me to rake the field a certain way in order for  him to have enough hay for the baler to pick it up.  The hay also had to be raked a certain way to give him room to turn the tractor.

I followed his instructions.  Or so I thought until I got that "look" from him and I knew somehow my efforts were not right.  I was fuming inside!  Couldn't he see that I was trying!  I was having myself a real nice pity party and getting angrier by the minute.

Then I heard the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.  Who knows more about tractors?  Who knows more about putting up hay?  Who knows more about raking the hay to get the results he needs? 

I could sense that Holy Spirit was saying to me, "You have misunderstood.  Why get angry with Byron?  Find out what you misunderstood and gain understanding.  Isn't it better for you to learn and gain understanding from someone who knows what they are doing, rather than being mad because you didn't do it right."

I repented and did find out what was it that I misunderstood and how to do it the way it needed to be done.

But that incident also got me thinking about how we treat God.

God the Father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the creator of the universe has all wisdom and understanding.  Yet how many times do people get angry at God thinking He failed them when all along they misunderstood teaching and failed to follow instructions that would lead to abundant life.. Rather than getting angry they should stop and go back to their creator and ask for understanding.Wouldn't it be better to ask their Heavenly Father, "Where did I miss it?  What did I misunderstand?  Show me what step did I take wrong."

When we aren't seeing the results in our life that we think we should be seeing let us go the Master who knows the end from the beginning.  Let us go to the Master who is the author and finisher of our faith.  He has a good plan for us and He wants us to know His plan.  But sometimes in our feebleness we misunderstand or make the choice to go our own way.  Yet our Heavenly Father is patiently waiting for us to turn to Him, to gain understanding, and to follow His ways.

Wouldn't you think the creator knows the best way?  I read a book "The Way of Cain" by Billy Rash.  That was Cain's problem.  He expected God to bless his efforts rather than make his life line up with the instructions God had given.  We serve a God who is love.  In His love He has prepared a way for us to experience His goodness but we must be willing and obedient to His instructions and leading.

It would not have done Byron any good to have "blessed" my efforts and just let me keep raking the hay my way just to make me feel accepted and appreciated.  If I had continued doing things my way we wouldn't have gotten the most from our hay crop and it would have caused Byron unnecessary difficulty.  It was much better for him and me in the long run for me to change my way to his way, After all he knew what he was doing.  I am still learning.

Likewise our Holy Father knows the best way.  It is much better for us to do things His way than expect Him to bless our efforts when our efforts are going the wrong direction.  He sent us His Spirit to lead, teach, guide, council, and strengthen us if we will follow His voice.  After all we are still learning!  But He knows the way!

Is Your Child too Young?

I have heard of people saying, "My child is too young to know if he/she wants to ask Jesus to come into his heart."  Or they feel their child is too young to fully understand what the child is doing.  This disturbs me.


Do we stop our children from playing sports because they are too young to understand fully the rules of the sport?  Or do we stop our children from beginning piano lessons because they are too young to know how much practice it is going to take to become great pianist?  No we don't!


 Generally we get very enthused that the child is showing interest in the sport or activity we enjoy.  We encourage them to try the sport.  Then why would a parent discourage a child from asking Jesus to come and be Lord over their lives?  If a child is old enough to recognize that Jesus loves him and that he wants Jesus to be involved in their life I would encourage you as a parent to do everything within your ability to encourage the child to take that first step by asking Jesus to come into his life.


Do I have any experience is making this statement?  I would say, "Yes, I do."  I remember as a 4 year old child at a vacation Bible school making the decision that I wanted Jesus to come into my heart.  From that moment on it has been the desire of my heart to serve Jesus and to have Him be the Lord and Master of my life.  

I am a parent who has raised 3 children who are now adults.  Each one of them knows when they asked Jesus to come into their life as a small child.  Each of them have been faithfully serving Jesus and allowing Him to direct their lives.

Some people say they can't remember asking Jesus into their heart as a young child even though someone in their family tells them they did and they use this as an excuse to hinder their child from making that first step.  
A person may not remember when they first picked up a ball but I don't remember that ever being an excuse for not allowing a child to pick up a ball when they see the ball and desire to pick it up.  Do you?
 
I remember being told that communist knew that if they could get a child and train them in the first 5 years of their life they would have that child the rest of their life.  God's word tells us, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Prov. 22:6  How is it that Christians sometimes do not understand this very principle.  The communist didn't come up with the idea.  It is God's Word telling us to train our children up in the things of Him.  If we do we can be assured they will not depart from the training they have received from God.


If a child is old enough and he is asking questions and wanting Jesus to come into his life I plead with you do not hinder him.  The Bible says it would be better for a millstone to placed around your neck and you to be thrown over into the sea than to offend one of these little ones. (Matthew 18:6)  One of the definitions for offend is
                to cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey
By not allowing the child to ask Jesus into his life you are essentially offending the child, causing him to turn away from the one person who will be a friend that will stick closer than a brother throughout his life!

Yesterday I learned of a young boy who came to our church's vacation Bible school a couple of weeks ago.  In one of the services he was drawn by the Holy  Spirit to ask Jesus into his life.  He recognized LOVE and wanted the God who is Love to be in his life.  Thankfully no one stopped him and said you are too young to make this decision!  This past weekend the child drowned.  His parents do not attend church.  I pray that they will come to know Jesus and receive His comfort and council rather than blame God.  It is the devil who comes to kill, steal, and destroy.  

If your child is being drawn to Jesus by the Holy Spirit I pray that you will not hinder him from making the most important decision in his life!   Understanding will continue to come!  I am 48 years old and I am still gaining understanding every day!  But that day as a 4 year old was the best day of my life and I made the best decision of my life by asking Jesus to be the Savior of my soul, the Lord and Master of my life.  I have not regretted one day having made that decision.  You can ask my children, also.  They will tell you they do not regret their decision as young children.