Anniversary!

It’s been a very interesting couple weeks. Since I got paid this last Friday , William and I decided to go to Bandon that day to celebrate our anniversary (which is our 5^th on the 5^th - the number for Grace!) because the weather was awesome – sunny and 59 degrees (and predictions were for Wed. to be rainy). We had a wonderful day; started out going to Coos Bay/Charleston to take our showers, do a bit of shopping, then down 101 to Bandon. It was spring break for many of the schools in OR, so the town/beach was very busy with lots of people. We went to the beach for a short time, but the wind made it seem VERY cold! We went into the Face Rock Creamery for the first time and sampled cheeses (wow, great stuff) and then to Cranberry Sweets to sample wonderful candies (after all these years coming to this area, we’ve never checked those places out before), wandered around town and then ended the day with a most wonderful meal at the Edgewaters Restaurant – upstairs with a wonderful view of the bay/lighthouse. Wow, such a treat! It is such a rare thing to go out to dinner any more, let alone to a fancy restaurant! 

Sunny, but cold in Bandon!

Something interesting this past Wednesday – God taught me a lesson through it. First off, it was pouring rain Wed. morning, but William and I had such a blessed morning praying, watching some online sermons, etc. Originally, I wanted to go to the Art Center at 10 to join the quilting ladies, then go over and paint with Pat and the other ladies there; HOWEVER, we got so into God and discussion/prayer, etc. that I didn’t get to the Art Center until almost noon. Pat was already gone for the day because no one came in to paint, so I went in to see who was still in the quilting room. Most were getting ready to leave, so I sat and chatted those who were still there. This one lady wanted to keep working for another couple hours, but didn’t have a key and no one else wanted to stay, so I told her that I would sit there and keep her company, that I had a key, and that I would just work on the care quilts. Since I hadn’t chatted with her before, being the nervous time sometimes that I am when meeting someone new, I just got to chatting away (after everyone left) like I do about everything I’d been learning with God, totally not paying any attention to her reaction, just chat, chat, chat (I don’t know why I do that sometimes, totally running off at the mouth) and all of a sudden, she spoke loudly, “Stop talking like that, I didn’t come here to be preached at!” Wow, that really stopped me instantly! I realized what I had been doing and said that I was sorry, that I didn’t realize … I apologized for not paying attention, not apologizing for WHAT I was saying, just how I was going about it. God really spoke to me about that in that I need to see where THEY are at, not just chat away (and I realized that I was doing it out of nervousness). Anyway, so I asked about her and we ended up having a great couple hours just talking about various things, our lives, etc. What really struck me about this whole thing, was that just that morning I was really asking God to ‘watch’ my mouth for me, to only let what HE wanted me to say come out, to be a blessing to others, etc. I really need God to help remind me about this ALL the time!

We’ve been going to the Foursquare Church the past couple Sundays and REALLY connecting with the people, it’s been awesome! Anyway, we went to the fellowship this morning (today was such a beautiful sunny day – there’s been so few this winter, so it was such a blessing) and I was able to hug on several people and thank one of the prayer team for her many years of dedication and perseverance, not only to that fellowship, but for not giving up in prayer. The prayer team has been meeting there for many decades (ups and downs over the years), prophetic prayer, knowing God was going to do a great thing in this area (and has over the years, brought unity to most all of Coquille’s fellowships with a great move in the 90’s). I told her how we were so encouraged to come to this fellowship, the prayer meetings, discipleship meeting, etc. (William’s been going to the men’s bible study), the presence of the Holy Spirit amongst the members, to finally find people in this area who were on fire! She said that they were encouraged by us telling them that they were on the right track (I’ve heard various members saying how they thought they weren’t doing anything, not impacting people, wish they were other places, etc.) and she was especially encouraged that we confirmed that yes, God is about to do something very big in this area.

Thursday’s prayer meeting at the Foursquare church was especially awesome. I had gone last week by myself to check it out (William wanted to know if there were any men going) and there were several ladies and one man. When I got home, I told William it was the type of prayer meeting that was right up our alley and that there was a guy attending! He was excited to attend this week. We had some very awesome prayer time and William noticed that when he spoke over or prayed over certain things, that this other lady would jump in and confirm/add to – they just really connected in the Spirit. When he talked with her afterward, he found out that she also is a Prophet(ess)/Evangelist. She was lamenting to him how she felt so ineffective over the years, feeling restricted to this area, like everywhere else was more exciting. And that she felt that she was missing something. William was able to confirm in her that she was in the right place at the right time and to keep doing what God is asking her to do. She had also gone to Betty Denny’s I-5 event a couple weeks ago with a couple other people from this fellowship, had attended the Jerusalem Center for Sunday Service and was massively impacted by the move of the Holy Spirit there, of Dave and Gayleen’s ministry; felt such a kinship with everyone there in the Rogue Valley she had met. Anyway, she was so thrilled that we were connected with the same people. Something cool also happened there toward the end of the prayer meeting, she spoke some words over William and I, and another lady spoke some words over me. They both said several things and what I remember was that (I can’t remember who said it) she saw us covered by a black cloak with a hood, which represented being covered by God’s wings of protection and that we were hidden from the enemy (in the spiritual world), being protected, and that from behind us, walking beside us, and in 2 columns ahead of us were angels, like a spear going into dark territory, pushing through passage wherever we went. Wow, that blew me away. Then one of the ladies said she saw the enemy with this huge log, pounding William’s back, like a battering ram, trying to wear him down, break him down both physically and spiritually. This too, was so right on. What she said over me was so right on perfect and for me anyway, a finish work of what was started last Sunday night with that visiting evangelist. I don’t remember everything she said over me, but one thing I remember was that she said she saw in the Spirit, that I had these whip marks on my back from past abuse and that God was stripping them totally off of me, she said it was like tape being peeled off and the marks would no longer affect me. I totally felt that as well, like that was the final cleansing of the past, that I would no longer be held back in any way from anything done to me. Other things were said, but I can’t remember them all.

Coquille Valley - too much rain!!

Anyway, I went to Monday’s meeting, I felt to encourage the one lady I prayed over last week in a couple things, as well as give her the handout of “101 healing scriptures”. She said that she felt like I was picking on her, which I totally didn’t mean to do, only reminded her of one thing I had spoken to her the week before about, and that the only reason I said what I did, was because I told her I totally saw myself in her from when I was going through my healing process. I was only saying what I did to help her in her healing process. She totally understood, yet at the same time, doesn’t seem to like me (still a stranger in some ways) pointing things out to her. I told her I understood. At the end of the meeting, she gave me a hug, so I guess that means I’ve been forgiven. I’ve got to learn how to interact with people when trying to help them. I realize that in my eagerness to help, I come off too strong. I really need God to guide me so completely in this area, that I can’t let my eagerness get ahead of what God is doing, even though I know God is using me in this area.

Last Sunday night, we went back to the Foursquare to see a visiting evangelist (Roger Smets Evangelistic Ministries) who wasn’t really there to preach, but rather, to speak words over people God tells him to speak over. Anyway, after speaking over a few people, he chose William to come up and the Words spoken over him were so perfect. Then it was my turn (he didn’t choose everyone at the meeting, maybe half) and the words spoken over me were so perfect: Ps. 34:22, 126:5, 3:3, Phil. 3:12-14, Isaiah 61:3 & 7, John 15:11, 1 Peter 4:19, with the overall theme “I AM well”. It was so awesome, too, that not only did he put his hand on my head and speak in tongues (he didn’t do this to anyone else), but kept saying that God was going to pour such complete healing in me, such blessing into me, that He would restore everything the enemy has stolen from be double-fold! I received that and felt so ‘healed’ and complete after that, it was refreshing – like a complete work was finally done! I don’t think about the past often and for the most part, have been healed of everything. The thing I had been upset/discouraged about the past few months is the status between me and my girls. I lamented the fact that how I poured my life into them their growing up years, and now that all but shun me, shutting me out of their lives almost completely, to where my grandkids don’t even know me (my daughters don’t know me either, for that matter). I felt like that area was so healed this week (esp. after Thurs.), that I don’t even give it another thought. God WILL restore all that the enemy has stolen from me.

God even further pointed out to me in today’s reading of 2 Samuel 10-20: I’ve been getting revelation by God pointing out to me generational sins and their consequences, even though God forgives us when asked, there are still consequences. He pointed out to me how I shunned my mom all those years  when I was trying to escape my past at 18 by moving so far away, then all those years in the 80’s-90’s where I had so little contact with her due to my pain of past abuse and it being ‘her fault’, etc. Of course, I totally forgave her in 1998 and a more complete forgiveness/restoration in 2002, and then so completely accepting her (never bringing up the past) over these past years since 2007 of me being in OR. That even though my being abused all those years wasn’t my fault, I did forgive, I am now reaping the consequences by my own kids shunning me. Not only that, but what I realized, my mom did that to her own mom as well (though not as many years as I did). What really got me these past few months (and I’m over it now) was how I didn’t give them reason for shunning me – I didn’t abuse them, but rather, protected them! Either way, God will redeem the years and restore, but in HIS time, not mine. In the mean time, I just love them where they are and when (and if) they contact me, treat them as if nothing ever happened. Not only learning to accept God’s timing in all this and the consequences of this particular sin, but to be glad in God’s chastisement of me – it is all for HIS glory and my benefit.

Something really cool this morning; prior to going to church, William was cleaning out some of the papers found in a bible he’s had since the 80’s, which mark his growth in the Lord, he found a sympathy card (for the death of his wife, Theresa, in 1995) from a church he went to 25 years ago - New Horizon Christian Church in Coquille! William realized how God has taken him full circle in this area (Coos Bay/Coquille), in that, God is calling us to not only participate again in the Gay 90’s even in June, but to go even farther and do 1 or 2 weekends of preaching/old fashioned tent revival type thing in the park after that event. As we went down there to the Sturdavant park this afternoon after church, to pray over that gazebo area, claiming it in Jesus’ name, he realized that while he was attending New Horizons years ago as a youth group leader, he used to take the kids down here to the park to play, do activities, etc. AND he remembered how he took them to a Guardian’s concert in North Bend. Not only that, but as we drove home and went to the corner of 8^th and Elliott, we realized THAT was the same church we attended a couple times last November! He said that what threw him off is that the building doesn’t look the same (he can’t place exactly what), especially on the inside – maybe an extra wall was added between the sanctuary and a back room, he doesn’t know. Either way, we were blown away by what God is doing here (in Coquille) and in us!