We pray that these stories help you in your christian walk. These encouraging stories teaches us that Christ Jesus truly loves us and that He's here to brings us through our trials and tribulations victoriously. We will try to give you encouraging stories each month. We know that an encouraging word help us heal spiritually and phyiscally. So, we all picked out some other healing pages just for you...to help you in the healing process. If you press, the pictures below, it will send you to other encouraging pages.
Jan Patterson from Brady, Texas *
I have Scoliosis(curvature of the spine) and when my twin daughters got to be 12. I started to think that I was seeing some signs in them that they had it. I asked the school nurse to check them and she confirmed there was small curves in both. I was so upset because I was diagnosed at 12 and wore a full body brace for 4 yrs. I just could not think of my babies going through that. Well, I took them to our family doctor. He said, He did not know a lot about scoliosis but, the curve was small and after doing x-rays that showed the curves at 5 degree's in one and 12 degrees in the other. He suggested I wait a year and get them checked again but I know how fast the curve can change. So, I went ahead and made them an appointment at the Children's Hospital, where I had been treated. I went to church a few nights later....I was worried. As I was telling the church to keep us in prayer and also told them how upset I was. My pastors wife stood up and said, "Stop right there! God promises us healing and we need to claim that. Not defeat!" She called me and the girls to the front and prayed for them. She said, "God says, It is done! So, everytime you think about this matter... from now til you get to that hospital... just thank God and praise him for it." And that is exactly what I did. I took the x-rays with us to the hospital and the report from our doctor... saying he could see a curve with the bare eye. He had confirmed it with the x-ray. Well... this hospital is a teaching hospital. One doctor and 5 students came in to look at the girls. They took pictures and x-rays then left. The doctor came back looked at both of my girls again. He told me he seen nothing. He had called his supervisor to come and look. Well, the head doctor, was the doctor that treated me so many years before. He actually remembered me. He looked at the girls and then he said, "Jan, there is absolutely nothing here." I said, Oh, Thank God!!!!! He said, "Yes, I think that is exactly who you should be thanking because, with this evidence and the family history. Well, these girls should have a very noticeable curve and there is nothing!" It was awesome!!!! We praised God all the way home, a 300 mile trip and things kept coming against us all the way. But, we just kept thanking God. God said in His word (the bible), " Praise me in all things!" And I did! Well, that was 4 yrs ago and though I have shared it many times. None mean as much as a few weeks ago. A friend of my girls and her family had recently started going to our church. Her mom stood up in our church and ask prayer for her daughter, who had been diagnosed with scoliosis. She had a 22 degree curve. She was very certain she would have to have surgery. Since, she had been through this with her the year before. She was in tears. I told her, "I have got to talk to you as soon as service is over." I shared our story and told her the same thing that our pastor's wife said to me to do. Just to only...thank God from this minute on and know that it is done. I told her, that he is healed. I wanted her to know, I will be believeing with her. Well, the next week, I got to the bus stop. It was raining and muddy but, as soon as it stopped. She jumped out of her car and ran over to me. I could see in her eyes she was on cloud nine. I got out and she grabbed me. She just held on and we both were in tears. She said, "Thank you so much for showng me what God can do." Well, the story she told me...they got to the hospital and there was no curve. Despite the evidence from their doctor and x-rays before. The next Sunday, she gave her life to God. She told me, if it was not for me and my testimony. She would have never known what God was or what He could do. It still brings tears to my eyes!
Angel Rauch from Nashville, Arizonia * Hi Leonard & Lita, I have a son who was born in 1995. To begin the story, I will start by saying that it took a full 12 months just for us to get pregnant. By this time I had given up all hope (even though others have tried for years) and I quit thinking about ever having a baby. At that point and time, I gave my life to Jesus and asked Him into my heart. 6 weeks later, my dr told me I was pregnant with my first child. You couldn't imagine the excitement that came over me that day! Then the time came for him to be born. I had back labor with him for 2 days and 2 nights before he was finally born. At one point during labor, I had stopped dialating at 6 and he began to show signs of distress. The dr chose to do an emergency c-section right away. Come to find out, I had an extra long umbilical cord and it was wrapped around his neck 3 times. But he was ok. Had he went ahead to be born natural, we may have very well lost him. We believe strongly that God stopped my dialating that night. But he was born at 1:00 am on May 7, 1995. That was a Sunday morning. Due to an infection in the incision, we stayed in the hospital for 8 days before finally going home. I stayed in post-partum depression for 3 months and the baby had colic for 3 months. There were days I thought this child hated me. Lol. But we got through this. The dr gave me antidepressants and then I spoke with my pastor a few days later. I eventually chose to go off the pills and gradually I overcame the depression. As time went on, we battled with development issues with this child. He was 2 yrs and 2 months old when his new baby brother was born. And his vocabulary consisted of mama, daddy, ook (look), and bye bye. That was pretty much it. But, him being my first child, I had know idea that this was an issue. At the age of 3, we decided that something wasn't right with his speech so we contacted a preschool about getting him enrolled thinking he just needed some extra help. We found out that he was delayed in speech, gross motor skills, and fine motor skills. During the next 2 yrs he attended this special ed preschool to get the extra help he needed. As he entered primary school, he was still not yet fully potty trained and he still was delayed in his motor skills, speech and now was learning at a level of 2 yrs behind other kids his age. He wet his pants one time and that was all it took to stop that from happening again. But he dirtied his pants and I could never get him trained from doing that. I took him to the dr every year for 3 yrs trying to convince the dr's that something was wrong with him. But they insisted that he may just be slow at potty training. Finally, in the 2nd grade, they decided that there was a problem and we were sent to a specialist where we find out that he has a colon disorder called Encopresis. He had been constipated for so long (fought it for 3 yrs) that it stretched his colon and formed pockets which is very damaging to the colon and causes the feces to pack up into the pockets (causing more constipation). So now we have him on some meds for that (laxative) to keep his stools very loose until the colon has had time to heal. He should have only needed to be on the meds for a year, but because I have had to fight with babysitters and other people about being consistant with his treatment, it is taking him longer to get well. He not only takes the meds, but also has to do a certain number of bathroom sits each day for 5-10 minutes at a time to practice sitting still and trying to have a bowel movement. Now at the age of 8, he is still delayed 2 yrs, has fine motor skills issues for which he receives occupational therapy, has a speech impediment for which he receives speech therapy, has ADHD which we have him on natural vitamins for instead of medications, and has recently been diagnosed as a "toe inner" ( because of the way he was positioned in the womb, his hip bones can stretch out further than it should be able to causing him to run with his feet going out to the side instead of behind him). We are always going to dr's now and it is a 2 hour drive one way. Between dr visits, 4-7 pair of dirty underwear everyday that has to be washed out by hand in the toilet and then washed in the washer, phone calls from the school at my job, my son's behavior due to ADHD, and all other normal life stressers, my day to day life is nothing less than chaos. No one could imagine what it is like to be in my shoes unless they have been there with their own child. I know there are some who have been there or are there now. But you don't hear about them too often. At times it is embarassing to go the store with your children and your 8 yr old begins to smell like he is dirty. What do you do? You really have no choice but to either put the buggy to the side and take your kids home to clean your son up, or hurry through with the shopping first and then rush home. I have done both. It is a decision you make when in the moment and most of the time, the decision you make is never the right one. It is very hard to hang onto sanity when you can't get others to realize the importance of his type of medical treatment and then get them to cooperate. His dad and I have since seperated and divorced and my son took it harder than onyone else. This was a level of stress he did not need at this particular time, but was something he had to deal with. He is slowly getting into a new routine and his behavior is calming down some. But the stress involved with his treatments and conditions will be neverending at times. It seems like he will always have this condition and that I will never get past this chapter in my life. He is innocent in this whole ordeal and he can't help that he is like this. He did not ask to be this way and he did not choose to be this way. It happened and now he needs love and consistency.THE END
Sherin Tanian from Papua New Guinea * I was born dead, my mum was admitted into hospital two days before she had to have a cesarian. Two days after admission, she had to have one (the big C) because her membrane was raptured (water bag broke). I was then brought into this world.. so tiny purple with no life and still as a dead person. Mum was still unconcious during all that. She had no idea I was dead. Dad was away on business travel. My mums doctor took me in his one arm length and said a prayer. Lord this lady's wish was that I do everything in my power to make sure that this baby and herself be safe..all I ask is for life to be given unto the child. As soon as he said Amen I cried. I haven't experienced that but it was my life toiled there and then. I'm only thankful to the Lord for letting me live up to this very moment. I couldn't be here without him. This I know..and yes he has far blessed me in more ways that I can possibly imagine. You know although I'm not so faithful to him.You know I'd love to have siblings..but that cannot happen. My mum (after me) tried for another child but that nearly cost her her life. My poor brother died in 1987 still-born. The growing up EXPERIENCE with brothers and sisters is an experience I will never know of. I'd love to have siblings. My folks have been more than loving to me..I'm not saying that they were hard..I wouldn't trade them for the world. I LOVE YOU MUM & DAD. I've been given everything I ever wanted or needed. Blessed ..yes ..and beyond. Its not the same though I assure you. You never can know how its like to relate to other people. With cousins its different. Yes they make up for my lack of siblings but its just not the same. I tell you what..being by yourself is ok but it has its quirks.But I'm thankful nonetheless.
Carolyn "Red" * On a Sunday morning, this was in December, week after Christmas, in 1989 - a couple of months after the October 89 earthquake in San Francisco. My dad, my little brother and I were taking a stroll in Chinatown/Financial District after having breakfast in a local cafe. My brother and I were about 11 and 12 years old. As we were walking, my dad stopped in front of a newspaper building where they produce the largest Chinese language newspaper in the west coast. They normally had the day's newspaper posted up on the windows for everyone to see. As we walked by, my dad stood in front of the windows and started to read the headlines for the day. My brother and I waited, but got antsy because we couldn't read Chinese and just wanted to head back to the car. So we begged him to keep moving. It was a Sunday morning after a huge holiday and it was deserted on the streets. All the stores were pretty much closed except a liquor store on the corner. We left that building, walked approximately 1 block towards the car, when we heard a huge explosion. We ran back to see what had happened. Building alarms and car alarms were going off left and right. To our surprise, as we walked back, neighboring financial buildings had windows blown out all over the street. There was glass everywhere, the liquor store had also lost all their windows, a man stood outside of the store with blood going down his arms, and the newspaper building, the one we had just stopped at minutes earlier, had collapsed! The sidewalk in front of the building had blown apart. It turns out that the earthquake had ruptured a gas main in front of the building where we were standing just minutes earlier and it had finally blown two months later. We were lucky to be alive, because if we were still standing there, I would not be typing this email today. The building was eventually torn down and rebuilt. But I still remember it like it was yesterday.
ABUSED??? Encouragement from Beryl
THE STOLEN YEARS Anyone who has suffered from abuse of any kind knows that years of joy, innocence and love are 'stolen' from them. Beryl's life is a miracle, showing God's power to heal and make us whole again. There is hope!
The pain of abuse
We hear the expression the "stolen generation" so often. For women, in particular, a childhood stolen through abuse causes pain and "woundedness" that robs many of the fulfilment of being a woman. One day I was walking in the park and noticed a young father with his little daughter and how she responded lovingly to him. She snuggled up and looked adoringly into his eyes, then relaxed and fell asleep in his arms. How wonderful for a little girl who can be "daddy's little girl" and who can be safe in her father's arms.
Robbed of innocence
As I walked, I thought about the women who have never known a relationship like this. How many have been robbed of the true understanding of a "father image"? How many as adults have experienced the ravages of rape? How many have had their childhood stolen from them? How many have been robbed of their innocence and trust as small girls by a father, uncle, friend or a stranger? The violation of innocence produces a distortion in the understanding of and need for a relationship … particularly with men.
Endless search for love
So often a child or a woman is left to search the wrong places to fill that void, that need for a Daddy to love and trust … the need for a safe relationship. It's an endless search for un-fulfilled love. I remembered my own childhood and how my "father image" was so distorted. As a teenager even the thoughts of an older man being near filled me with the feeling of pain and fear deep hurts like ugly unhealed wounds (tender to the touch) would tearfully and painfully surface. The pain of sexual, physical and emotional abuse and violence had stolen the years of my childhood and adolescence.
Blaming myself and unable to tell anyone
I grew up blaming myself for what had happened as I felt so unworthy and so unclean, so full of shame, thinking that everyone else knew I was somehow unclean but I was locked in a prison where I was afraid to tell anyone of my pain. I longed for meaningful relationship but I just couldn't trust and was always afraid. At times, I hurt so much I didn't want to live. I longed to be loved, accepted, and needed for myself. What I needed was a relationship with someone who really cared, but with what seemed to be like a driving compulsion, I searched only to be used and hurt again. In the light of my past, how could things ever be normal or right in my life? What was normal anyway? I felt so full of shame, so insecure, and so vulnerable.
Feeling His healing touch
Then a friend of mine told me how she had become a Christian. She told me about going to a meeting and being told about Jesus. She said she now had Him as her best friend. Well things couldn't be much worse so I decided I'd find out more about this Jesus and asked Him to forgive me and heal me. I started to learn about the Heavenly Father and sense His healing touch. Old fears came rushing to the fore. Could I really trust this "Father God" as He was called? Would He really love me and not let me down? I was afraid again and struggled mentally with the painful images of childhood, but little by little the healing came deep within as I read His Word, the Bible and as He spoke to my heart with gentle words.
His love like gentle summer rain
"I have loved you with an everlasting love, you are mine, you are precious, the apple of my eye, I love you and I do not condemn you." These soothing words came like gentle summer rain on my hurting and desperate heart, easing the pain. I started to respond back to my Heavenly Father, someone whom I could trust at last. One day in prayer, as I closed my eyes I saw a picture of myself sitting on the Father's knee, looking into His Face, reaching to Him as He held me close. "Daddy", I whispered. The words came from my lips and my heart. I knew at last the pain of the past years and lost childhood was over … or mostly anyway. I sat enjoying this wonderful moment that I hoped would go on forever.
The Holy Spirit freeing me
Was I really free from my past? In the years that have followed, there have been challenging moments as I allowed the Holy Spirit to open and to heal the last of those "doors" where I had locked the most painful of my memories. How wonderful and free I was! I wanted to shout from the mountains, "I'm free, I'm healed, I'm a woman and I'm glad!" I could finally say "goodbye" to the shame and grief of my childhood, the stolen years. As I have grown in my relationship with my Lord, I have learned that my dignity and worth, my security, come from the relationship that I have with my Heavenly Father. I am the person He created me to be.
Restoring my womanhood and forgiveness
I have also come to know the freedom of forgiving the ones who caused my pain. The truth is that it is Satan who comes to rob, steal and destroy. He uses people but he is the one who has set himself to try to destroy womanhood, to steal what God so marvellously created. Our wonderful Heavenly Father paid the price through the death of His only Son Jesus not only to deliver us from the horror and results of abuse but also to fully restore our womanhood. Truly my God is my Abba Father, "Daddy God"! Because of my friendship, I am complete as a woman, wife, mother and "Nanny", just as He created me to be. I live in victory over "something" that happened in my past. Do I remember? Yes! But without the pain because it's like looking on something that happened to someone else. The future is His and mine together and I know that He will lead me through it with all the love of a Father's Heart. He has fully restored my "stolen years". Thank you my "Daddy God", I'm your little girl!
Looking to the future
If you have read this story and you want to know more about Jesus, then simply ask Him to come into your life, to heal you from the abuse you have suffered, and to restore your "stolen years".
He will heal you and walk you through the grief of your "stolen years". He will touch your woundedness and make you whole again. You will be free to be the person you were created to be.
Remember you were uniquely created and you are very special. Put your hand in His and He will lead you into the future.
From the Bible
"Long ago, the Lord said, I have loved YOU ... with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. I will rebuild you (remake you)" (Jeremiah 31:3,4).
"I will never fail you, I will never forsake you. That is why you may say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper so I will not be afraid of what mere mortals can do to me" (Hebrews 13:5b, 6).
May you feel God's healing touch,
Beryl
Looking for love in all the wrong places? Listen to Jeannie Marie Story. LONGING FOR TRUE LOVE After spending a period of time looking for true love through a number of relationships, Jeannie Marie prayed that God might take away her loneliness. Jesus responded by bringing about changes in her married and spiritual life. Jeannie Marie was finally set free from loneliness, alcohol and drugs having found true love.
Jesus calling us I came to know the Lord Jesus when I was about 19 years old. Before this I didn't know much about Jesus. I had seen the Jesus movie but didn't understand why He died on the cross. After graduating from High School, I met a guy who was a Christian and we began dating. We were messing around a lot and not following God's will in our relationship. I went to church with him and his parents and heard the preacher talking about Jesus calling us. He preached the gospel and I remember feeling drawn by the Spirit to go forward. I was afraid so I held back.
Talking to Him
When I went home, I asked my mother why Jesus died on the cross. She told me that He died for our sins and how praying to Him could save me. I went to my room and asked Jesus into my heart and asked Him to forgive me for all my sins. I believed He died on the cross for me and was raised up to life again after three days. I remember feeling very light and joyful. I finally felt free of the guilt and shame of all my past sins. Shortly afterward I was baptised at my boyfriend's church.
Depressed and looking for love
Not too long after this, I started to slide back into my old lifestyle. I was unhappy. I began to look for Mr. Right constantly. I wouldn't listen to my Mother who advised me to wait for him to come to me. I went from man to man, dating several people and committing fornication. I was depressed and had no peace. I finally came to the end of myself when every person I was with just hurt me or I felt unfulfilled. This is when I broke down and prayed for the second time since my acceptance of Christ. I prayed; "Lord, I don't feel like going on anymore. I don't even care what happens to me right now. Please help me and send the one I need in my life. I am so lonely."
Dusted off once again
I didn't realize at the time that Jesus was the one I needed. I didn't realize the importance of reading His word regularly and getting to know Him better until I met my now husband. The Lord sent him my way about two weeks after my prayer that day. We were married about six months later. My husband was not following the Lord at that time and I quickly began to fall back with him. The Lord picked me up and dusted me off once again and showed me what was happening.
Prayer turned our lives around
I then started praying for my husband and our marriage. I stopped doing all those things that where hurting my body (drugs and alcohol in particular). I started to see change in our marriage. My husband began reading the Bible and slowly but surely we started going to church and our lives were turned around completely. It has been a spiritual struggle to overcome those unseen things that have held us back for so long. Today we have two beautiful children and hopefully one more on the way soon. We are both doing biblical theological studies by correspondence. We are waiting on the Lord and trusting for all of our needs. When you see the Lord do awesome things in your life like He has with us, you know that you cannot boast about it. Only boast in what He has done!
God has been good to us.
Jeannie Marie
A poem by Lisa Hart from San Antonio, Texas
I said the prayer that saved me many years ago, but still I felt like Jesus Christ was a man I'd never know.
After nights of endless wishing that God would hear my voice I soon became aware that I was doubtful of my choice.
When my fear was at its worst, and my faith was almost gone, a caring man reminded me that I never was alone;
He spoke about the Father, the love I still received, it was then that I was certain; I really did believe.
