Conference yukon::christian_v7

	October 5, 1985.

	I was awakened from sleep by the sound of a fire alarm.  Thanks
	to all the wonderful fire drills in college, I proceeded to do
	what I would have done then, namely, open my bedroom door and
	walk out the front door.  Unfortunately, I was met by a wall of
	smoke, and was sent rushing back into my bedroom.  I ran to
	the window, planning to jump out of my third story apartment,
	but couldn't figure out how to get the screen off.  I'd only
	lived there a month.  With the window open, the smoke seemed
	to race through the room.  I screamed for help at the window
	as long as I could, then dropped to the floor hoping to find
	better breathing air.  When that failed, I grabbed the comforter
	off my bed, and tried to use it as a mask to filter the smoke.
	Suddenly, I knew it was over.  I was definitely going to die.
	My last thoughts were, "I'm going to die.  Oh, Please Lord, I'm
	going to die."  I was unsaved at the time, but I was not afraid.
	I felt comfort in that last moment.

	One hour later, I woke up in a hospital emergency room.  The nurses
	were around me, one said, "She's awake!".  They surrounded me, and
	began to ask me questions.  I was fairly lucid, remembering that
	my parents were out of town, my mother was away, and only my sister
	would be around.  I remembered the phone number, and one nurse went
	off to call.  The other nurses went back to cleaning me up.
	Eventually, I was transferred to ICU.  I was monitored closely
	and was treated for two small burns on my leg.  I was released to
	a semi-private room 36 hours later, and was sent home the next
	morning.  I was perfectly well.

	When I returned to work, my boss gave me a copy of the newspaper
	article about the fire.  To quote, "By the time (the firefighters)
	found her, (the captain) said Ms. Shields was unconscious and bleeding
	from the mouth.  'If she wasn't dead, she was as close as you want
	to be in this lifetime,' (the captain) said."

	The fire started in my apartment, due to the "careless disposal of
	smoking materials".  At the time, we didn't know whose smoking
	materials.  I'd had three friends over earlier; two of us smoked.
	I'd had several beers before going to bed.  I know now that the
	cigarette was mine;  I know by the burns on my leg that I fell asleep
	smoking a cigarette after everyone left, then woke up sometime later
	and went to bed.  The fire smoldered for 3 hours, then erupted.  The
	smoke detectors in my apartment should have gone off hours before the
	fire, but did not.  My assumption is that they did not go off until
	the heat of the fire reached them.

	So, what's all this got to do with my testimony ?  Well, I was unsaved
	at the time of the fire.  Had I died then, I'd have been in a much
	worse fire.  I believe the Lord heard my cry, and saved me from death.
	I was a rank sinner, half-drunk at the time, caught in a fire of my
	own doing, yet His grace and mercy were on me that night.
	Also, I have since learned that most victims of sudden death are
	not resuscitated.  Those that are unconscious for more than 4 minutes
	are almost certain to sustain brain damage.  Those unconscious for
	more than 10 minutes are very unlikely to live.  Now, you do the math.
	The firestation received 10 to 12 calls at virtually the same time
	reporting the fire.  I lived 3 miles from the station.  I know that
	the calls coincided with my screams, and that I was unconscious
	a minute later.  Give the firemen 5 minutes to get to the building.
	Upon arrival, they did not know the apartment was occupied.  They
	began to put out the fire.  Tenants of the building told the firemen
	they heard screams.  They could not enter immediately.  Even if they
	did, we're at at least 7 minutes, probably more.  There were no
	efforts to revive me while inside.  I was carried outside, then
	administered CPR.  I can see no way that I was gone for less than 10
	minutes.  I suffered no brain damage, nor any other injuries or
	repercussions from the fire.  Praise God!

	It took me three and half years after that to accept Jesus as my
	Lord and Savior, but I'm eternally grateful that I got the chance!!

	I'll save the specifics of that story for another note...

	Karen

	>It took me three and half years after that to accept Jesus as my
	>Lord and Savior, but I'm eternally grateful that I got the chance!!


So am I, Karen.  :^)


Sandy

    Praise the Lord Karen! Sometimes He allows earth wrenching experiences
    in our lives to call us to Him! When we turn down the volume of our
    own minds and begin paying attention to His Voice, what a wonderful,
    new beginning! Glad to have you aboard!
    Deborah

PRAYER WORKS, FAITH WORKS, GOD IS ALIVE AND WELL AND CARING FOR HIS CHILDREN!!!!

    God has really done some wonderful things with late... and guess what
    through TRIALS... yup through some very painful and difficult things.  
    My daycare provider raised her rates $260 per month.. of which I could
    not pay... not at all... so, I've had to leave my entrusted Christian
    daycare provider.  Which has sparked some reall interesting bittersweet
    emotions.
    
    However, God provided not only for the month of May at half the cost
    I'm currently paying, but also has afforded me an opportunity for which
    I need your prayers of hiring a live-in Nanny [I typed live-in Nancy
    and had to correct it :-)]  !!!  Which would not cost me any more then
    what I am currently paying for care.  Please pray this works out for
    me.
    
    Secondly, I went out soul winning last night and the Lord led me to
    Barry's house.  Barry is a Christian for 5 years, saved at 32, but
    living a very defeated, guilt-ridden life.  As I began to testify [he
    told me couldn't talk to me], the Holy Spirit not only opened his
    apartment door, but his heart.  He was thrilled to have someone who
    didn't blast him for his backslidden state, but offered the
    unconditional love of God's forgiveness.  He's going to visit the
    church. :-)  Pray that a work continues in his heart.
    
    Thirdly, but was actually firstly, cuz it happened on Sunday .. was how
    God gave me my Sunday School lesson and then how he continued to use it
    to minister to someone else that afternoon.  Acts 15 was our scheduled
    lesson... and another one that I couldn't connect to... went through
    the Bible expecting for God to show the *real* lesson I was supposed to
    teach... as of Sunday morning 8:00 A.M.  No Spirit-filled lesson had
    bit me in my bahondas... so, whilst I was eating breakfast the Lord,
    spoke [no not audibly] very clearly to go back read Acts 15 and my
    lesson would be given.  I did and by verse 5 my lesson was there.
    
    The pharisees were demanding that all gentiles observe the law of
    circumsion to ensure their place in Heaven... Several reasons come to
    mind as to why they *would* say that, though they'd all be false
    beliefs, but God gave me two statements.
    
    1.  The Pharisees were holding onto old doctrine.
    
    2.  What are you holding onto since you received Christ?
    
    He then led me to Galatians 5 where the works of the flesh and the
    fruits of the Spirit are defined, I quickly pulled out some colored
    construction paper and began listing the works of the flesh on one
    paper and the fruits of the Spirit on the other.
    
    Then, explained the Christ paid a price for us, and that our bodies are
    the temple or dwelling place of the Holy Spirit... etc, etc.
    
    And then in closing, to Galatians Chapter 6:7, Be not deceived, God is
    not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.
    
    The girls in my class responded to this lesson very well, many praying
    for the Spirit of God to be more evident in their behavior.  
    
    Then God threw in more confirmation that this was His lesson, when I
    shared it with a friend who began to weep and it was used to minister
    to his heart to give up something he had been holding onto!
    
    Amen, Amen, Amen, Praise you God!!!
    
    Nancy

    Wow! Nancy sounds like you have had a very fruitful week!!!  I will be
    praying for your Nanny situation.
    
    Love,
    
    Sasha

    First, and foremost let me declare my love to you all in here.  It has
    been this fellowship, though not perfect that has helped me grow in the
    Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ this past year.  
    
    This month is not only my birthday month, but celebrates one year that
    I have been reading/participating in this notes conference.  I smile to
    myself as I recall the "fear and trepidation" at which I felt as I
    pondered entering that first note.  I assumed my first note would be
    one that would be gentle and soft so that folks would *like* me. 
    After all, being liked is/was very important to me.
    
    Then, I was following this note from "Konan the Librarian" on abortion
    and he said something that tweaked the passion inside of me, and my
    first note was telling him that his problem was his inability to have
    faith and furthermore, if his way was had, I'd have never been born,
    cause my family was considered poor white trash.  SHeeesh... was
    anybody going to like me after that?  I hit ctrl z and sat back and
    waited to be blasted.  But nobody even acknowledged that I'd written.
    :-)   HAH!  How rude of them to not even not like me! 
    
    My divorce had just become final the prior January and my Christianity
    was in a very fragile state.  But through the encouragement of a dear
    Pastor in my church [who gave me my Sunday School Class], and this
    notesfile, which helped me to set my mind on things above, I can
    honestly declare, GOD LOVES *ME*... and though I've been saved since
    14, and I've felt God's love before, I never truly melded with it.
    
    Thanks to all of you for being in this conference.  Your participation
    no matter how large or how small has helped me to grow.  I have a big
    heart, which is on my sleeve a lot and many of you wrapped yourselves
    around it in protection from harshness.  And honestly, I don't think
    you even know who you are or how you did it.
    
    If you are reading in this conference and/are participating in this
    conference, and you feel as though you've been overlooked, please don't
    go away.  Keep entering your notes, keep writing your heart and believe
    it or not we are all listening and reading, even if we don't always
    acknowledge.  Be stubborn for God, He works through *you*, ya know!  
    
    Praising God for you,
    Nancy 

This is sort of a Praise/Testimony combination.
    
At the end of April, I was informed that my children's long time care 
provider was upping my day care rate 80%, to a figure that I couldn't afford. 
Her reasons being she was cutting her daycare back [as forced by law]
and she needed make up the loss by raising her rates.  Now before
anyone thinks rotten things about this, let me state that my sitter's
original rates were below the norm here.  Her raising 80% brought her
up to the average full-time rate.  The problem I had was that she
wanted me to pay the full-time rate for 2.5 hours a day.  This was 
compounded by the fact that she told me that she wouldn't raise her 
    rates on me til school was out, then at the last minute changed her
    mind.  This gave me literally 4 days to find alternate care.
    I felt betrayed.

Now I was dealing with finding new care and really struggling with 
forgiveness.  I had requested for prayer as I was more concerned with my 
Spiritual state of resentment.  Then, I began to pray about it.  God 
filled my being with complete peace.  I knew He was going to take care 
of me.  Now, I could've just sat back and really exhibited some blind 
faith that he would do so, but instead I placed an ad in the San Jose 
Mercury News and went through near 100 applicants.  Narrowing down to 12 
inteviews, then to 3 finalists last Saturday, May 22.  I needed someone 
to move in May 29th.  All three finalists plunged on me for one reason 
or another.  I was standing in the newly painted nanny's room and 
*thought* mind you, [tho' some may consider it prayer], "God, there are 
2000 people who go to my church, surely there is one who could benefit 
from a position like this."

Knock-knock on my door.  "Hi Kim, thanks for doing the ironing for me."

"No problem Ms. Morales."  Kim smiled at me very sweetly, and then 
walked back to the boys room to hang up their clothes.  She passed by 
the nanny's room and said, "Oh that's really pretty."

"Thanks, well, it's for a nanny.  I'm trying to hire a nanny for the boys.  
Did you know I was looking for one?"

"Yes ma'm.  Ulzanna told me." [Luke's sister, Luke helped me paint] 

Next thing you know Kim tells me that she had prayed about the job and 
decided not to say anything to me.  That if God had wanted her to have 
the job, I'd have to ask her! :-) :-)

God provides... even when we think there are no options. Thank you Lord!

Now about my resentment and unforgiveness.  Whilst my resentment may 
have had justification, God calls us to forgive our enemies and love 
them, as it heaps coals of fire upon their heads.  You know, in the 
process of forgiveness, God blessed me beyond my wildest dreams with Kim 
[I've known her and her family for 6 years]!!!  But He has shown me that 
even during times when I feel changes are occurring in my life, that I 
wouldn't have made, that He knows best for me.

    In Him,
    Nancy

 Amen!




 

    
    Hi Nancy,
    
    >God calls us to forgive our enemies and love
    >them, as it heaps coals of fire upon their heads. 
    
     What did you mean by that???
    
    Dan

    Dan, it's in the Bible, anybody got a concordance to find it on line?
    
    Nancy

    If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty,
    give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his
    head, and the LORD shall reward thee. Proverbs 25:21-22
    
    Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto
    wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the
    Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him
    drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
      Romans 12:19-20

    Thanks Markel!
    
    I found the Romans passage and was about to put it on line. :-)
    
    Nancy

I think Dan's question might have been more along the lines of:

Let us beware that we not use a mental image of burning coals being heaped upon
the head of the person we are 'forgiving' by our 'forgiveness' as a means to not
really forgive them at all.  Forgiveness that is hoping and praying for 
spiritual burning coals to be heaped upon the head of the forgivee is not
forgiveness, it is a simply a shifting of vengeance from physical, this world
vengeance to spiritual, eternal vengeance.  Christ on the cross, when He said 
"forgive them, for they know not what they do," was not forgiving them in order
to really punish them worse later. When Christ said "pray for those who 
persecute you," He didn't have in mind praying that they be incinerated.
We are to truly forgive and desire the best from God for our enemies, and leave
the rest in God's hands.

I know that's what you meant, Nancy, but the way you said it it didn't come out
quite that way.

Paul

    I remember hearing (or reading here) a very good explanation of the
    "coals on the head".  To us, this saying carries a sort of harsh,
    "get-even" image.  But I don't think this is what was implied at all by
    the original metaphore (if that is the correct linguistic term) -- it
    was one of really returning a blessing, I believe.
    
    Anyone?
    
    Mark L.

    Er, uh, if that's how it reads, I need to rewrite it.
    
    sigh,
    Nancy

    
     I believe the text is pretty clear. By showing love to someone whose
     intentions are evil or misdirected, they are convicted by their own
     conscience. The conscience that was written into the soul of man by
     God. For did not God say that he has written the trueth into mans
     heart, but we are too sinful to recognize it. Maybe we can not, but I
     do not discount our spirit as seeing it and "feeling" it. The "coals"
     therefore is the heat of knowing that love should be returned, but
     recognizing that the person can not, because it would mean that God
     was right. 
    
      -or something like that....
    
     PDM_not_sure_if_stated_it_quite_right__a_hurry_note...

    mark L was actually the closest to what that verse really means.
     
     You see as the people moved from place to place they would carry the
    hot embers of fire upon their heads ( in a container of course so that
    the would not get burned) when they passed through your town you were
    supposed to replenish the embers so that they couls move on. It was as
    giving life to the "strangers" and so therefore when we forgive someone
    who has done a wrong we are to give the life giving embers to them so
    as to show the ultimate in forgiveness and to not only say it,but to do
    it! This is the Love we are to show through our forgiving of one
    another, to forgive and say here take the burning embers along on your
    journey so that when you bed down at nite you will have a fire to ward
    off the preying animals, and so that during the day you can cook to
    feed your family.  So forgiveness is never used to put vengeance upon
    anyone, we are to forgive just as Christ has forgiven us.
    
     I hope this is as much a blessing to you as it was to me when I first
    heard it.
    
    Dan

 A few days ago while cleaning my apartment (a feat in itself) I decided it was
time to pack up a bunch of bootleg tapes leftover from my days as a Deadhead.  
While I hadn't listened to them in some time (since December I believe) they've
been taking up space in my living room, and I decided to make better use of
the space.

At any rate, while taking the tapes out of their drawers and putting them
in a box, I came across one dated 7-2-88.  And I sat down and started thinking
about that day,  and all that has transpired since then.  At that time, I 
was still married, though things were a bit rocky, and my relationship with 
Christ was pretty much a dying ember.  Family crisis, reduced faith and sin
had taken care of that.  And I had decided that the solution was to tune in
turn on and drop out, something that I had already tried back in the late 60's.
So, I bought a ticket, and when I should have been home celebrating my son
Chris' 12th birthday, on July 2, 1988, I drove up to Oxford, Maine to see 
the Grateful Dead for the first time in 14 years and life as I knew it was
about to change drastically.

Within 3 weeks of that date my lifelong commitment to being faithful to my
wife was broken, drugs and alcohol had re-entered my life and within 7 months
I was divorced.  I became involved in a destructive relationship that destroyed
what little self esteem I had left, spent a great deal of money having "fun"
and saw my relationship with my kids deteriorate, but what did I care?  I was
having fun and I deserved it.  I'd proudly proclaim to new friends that that
date of July 2, 1988 was the turning point in my life, the day when I finally
got my life on the right track, all the while abusing alcohol and other drugs,
legal and illegal, laughing and dancing all the way.

Friends from my past Christian life would call me to see how I was doing,
but I was too busy to talk to them (and I didn't want to hear that I was
heading in the wrong direction).

But, there were many nights spent home alone as a result of the relationship
I became involved in.  And during those times I'd think about where my life
was going.  If I were to drop dead that night, what would my kids know of me?
That I spent a lot of time with them?  That I loved them?  Or that I was an
unfaithful husband, a man who told them more about the Grateful Dead than 
he did about God, a man who didn't have much time for his kids?  That one of
them had to drive his Dad home from a cookout because he had too much to
drink? 

But, I continued on having fun, ignoring those stirrings within me.  Until
one night when somehow God started breaking through the smoke, and alcohol
and other poisons I'd prefer not to mention.  A brief stirring perhaps.  And
one day while on a train going to California for Thanksgiving I met a couple
who were Christians and we shared  our lives for a few days while riding
the train, and by some "coincidence" these folks were on the same train
I was on coming home from California.

I didn't surrender immediately.  I continued participating in a lot of
the activities I had been participating in, but I was slowly finding that
they weren't as much fun as they used to be.  One night, a year ago this 
month I was at a concert when all of a sudden I looked all around me and
realized that one of these days it (the Grateful Dead scene) would all
be over, and where would all these people be?  Where would I be?  I began
to see that something was missing, something was really missing. (interestingly
it wasn't long after that that the leader of the Grateful Dead became quite
ill and many of us Deadheads felt that the end of the world was near)  No
longer could drugs, music, alcohol and other worldly influences meet the
need that was stirring inside me.  Each drink, smoke, whatever instead of
lifting me, dragged me deeper into the emptiness I was feeling.

But, I hung in a little while longer.  A string of "coincidences" happened.  I
began thinking of an old friend in Colorado Springs to whom I hadn't spoken
in a couple years, and what a blessing this man had been to my life.  And
within a day or 2 I came home from somewhere and there was a message on my
answering machine from him.  And then, a note entered in the Digital 
Notesfile by someone who had never noted there, sharing what Christ had done
in her life and how He was helping her to cope with the uncertainty that was
becoming life at Digital.  Within 2 weeks I had recommitted my life to 
Jesus Christ.

My walk with Christ has grown stronger than ever, as has my love for Him
and His grace that saved me.  And ever so slowly, but with a purpose, my
life is coming back together.  God has put me in a church where I have
found more love and fellowship and committment to the Word of God than I
have ever encountered, which is precisely what I need.  

Yes, July 2, 1988 was indeed a turning point in my life, but it wasn't
by any stretch of the imagination the day I finally got my life on track
(for the record that date was December 20, 1993).  It was the day my life
began to fall apart, and came close to destruction.  Its amazing that in
the 5 years since that date, that I have come pretty much full circle.  But
instead of my family beginning to fall apart, as it was on that day, there
is the very real possibility of it coming back together.  

Maybe somebody reading this conference is teetering on the edge of backslid-
ing, surrendering to the temptations of the world that can be so inticing. I
pray that this note may help you to get off of that path.  The pain and de-
stuction left behind are not worth it. If there are problems in your marriage,
or family life, escaping is not going to solve them.  Drugs and alcohol are
not going to solve them.  Only through Christ can they be solved.  


Jim

Thanks Jim....

� (for the record that date was December 20, 1993).  

Guess that was '92'?  God bless you, ya new-born 6-month old!

					love you. bro

							Andrew

	Praise you Lord, for your outstretched palm...

	So happy to "have you back", Jim!

	Karen

    Jim,
    
    Still brings a tear... :-)
    
    Nancy

.� (for the record that date was December 20, 1993).  

.Guess that was '92'?  God bless you, ya new-born 6-month old!


 Oops....92 it was :-)



 Thanks..



Jim

>Maybe somebody reading this conference is teetering on the edge of backslid-
>ing, surrendering to the temptations of the world that can be so inticing. I
>pray that this note may help you to get off of that path.  The pain and de-
>stuction left behind are not worth it. If there are problems in your marriage,
>or family life, escaping is not going to solve them.  Drugs and alcohol are
>not going to solve them.  Only through Christ can they be solved.

I am so sorry that some people learn the hard way about the lies of Satan.
Thanks, Jim. I'm glad to know you.

MM

    Jim that was VERY inspiring. Thank you for sharing that. I have flirted
    in and out of christianity too. The prodical son parable has special
    meaning for me. - All of heaven rejoices when one of the children comes
    home.
      Thanks Bro,
    	PDM

    Jim,
    
    Your testimony was very moving and had to have touched the hearts of
    many people.  I think that sometimes we take our faith for granted
    and have to slide to bring us back into focus.  I know that through
    this renewal of faith you have been witnessing to a lot of people.
    Keep on reaching!  See you around!
    
    Barbara
    

    Dear Brothers & Sisters,
    
        I've never told the people of this conference how I came to know
         God.And after reading Jim's I felt it was time to do so.You know
        God and Jesus have always meant something special to me,and I
         never knew why because everytime I saw something on TV or read
        something about the Lord God Almighty or Jesus Christ it really 
         hit hard.Well after being a rebellious most of my life as a kid,
        adolescent,and an adult I never knew where I was headed.I began
         to use drugs and alcohol in high school thinking it was cool.
    
    
        After not doing well in school and being compared to my brother
         and sisters all my life,I decided to go into the the military
        to get away from all that,the drugs and the alcohol more readily
         available so I used them more and more because I thought it took
        away the pain and responsibilty of the past and every day life.
         Oh, how wrong I was,I got married after four years in service,and
        married a very young lady all of 16 yrs. of age.I reenlisted 
         because I was going to make the military a career,and continue
        to use drugs and alcohol and get my wife involved in them also.
         That marriage lasted only 5 yrs.but through that I have a beau
        tiful daughter who is 18 now.My divorce was a very nasty divorce
         on the grounds of adultry on my partners part.I had out because
        my wife no longer wanted me in it,and she said we would divorce
         if I stayed in.I moved to Louisiana where she was from,my
        drinking and drug use became much worse after my divorce.
    
    
       Well my parents moved me to New Mexico to get me away from the
        situation to see if would help it did for awhile but then I went
       back to it again until I got a DWI,and problems remembering my
        name and things that people said to me.I'd started working for 
      digital then so I asked them for help and recieved it.While in
        recovery a recovering episcopal minister said in lecture he was
      giving said that if we really wanted to get rid of our alcoholism,
        we needed to pray for forgiveness and ask Him (The Lord)to take 
      it from us,so I did that night and have been sober for 14 yrs.Shortly
       after that a lady I worked with asked me to come to church with her,
      and on Easter Sunday of 1983 I asked the Lord Jesus into my heart.
       This lady has since gone to be with the Lord,through this I've met
      a beautiful lady who is now my wife,and she and the Lord have given
       me two beautiful children and we've been married ten yrs. this June
      9th.Now my life hasn't been that productive in the Lord and I've
       put her through some real hell,but she stood beside me through all
      of that and the Lord Jesus has helped us through those peaks and
       valleys and is still doing so because I'm still having physical and
      mental health problems,and I thanked the Lord God Almighty and all
       of you for all that has been done for me.
    
                                              I LOVE YOU ALL,
                                                Steve Alton
    
    
        uation
    
        
    

 Praise, God, Steve....the Lord is good, isn't he...glad you're here with
us and may God bless you and your family.





Jim

    Steve,
    
    Thanks for writing your testimony of salvation, God truly is merciful.
    

    Steve,

    Thanks for the testimony.  It is always great to see how God has worked
    in people's lives.

    As I was reading your testimony a song that I like a lot came to mind.
    The song is titled Light at the End of the Darkness, written by Larry
    Gatlin, and I have a recording of it by Chris Christian.  The next to
    last line is:

	I was looking up from the bottom when it finally shined on me.

    But then the very last verse is a minor modification of the previous:

	I was looking up through the bottom when it finally shined on me.

    The song is about how low we sometimes have to get before we finally
    turn to God, and the last line shows how we sometimes have to get lower
    than we ever dreamed we could possibly be before repenting.

    Thanks again,

    Ron

 It was a year ago this past Sunday that I recommitted my life to the Lord..
 It was a special treat for me to have been able to participate in the
 Cantata on the day of that anniversary.


 Its been an interesting year that's for sure..I thank the Lord for what He 
 has done and continues to do in my life.





 Jim

    Yup... and we [you and I] also have a special anniversary of sorts to
    remember... the day you wrote me from the DIGITAL notesfile.  I'll
    never forget... and you know you've been a better for me this past year
    then any vitamin I could take! :-) :-)
    
    So glad you are with us Jim and very happy to have witnessed your
    return.  Talk about a sequel to E.T. !!! :-) :-)  Just kidding!
    
    With Love,
    Nancy

 :-)

Brothers & Sisters,

        Today as I listened to Dr. Bob Featherstone's "Think About It", as
usual, he related an interesting story.  A young lady, recently separated
from her husband, was invited by her friend, who she was staying with,
to visit her church.  She did, the pastor preached a gospel oriented
sermon, and gave an altar call.  The young lady went forward.  All she
could say, not knowing the 'christian terminology' was that she needed to
pray.  They offered to take her to a more private room for counseling, but
she said that she needed to be at the altar, just like everyone else.  They
explained the gospel to her again, that Jesus loves her and died to pay the
penalty for her sins, ours too.  She prayed and asked Jesus to be her Lord
and Savior.  (John 1:12)  He went on to say that this is a normal event in
many churches across America on Sunday, but this was no 'ordinary' young
lady.  Her name is Tonya Harding!

        He went on to say that many would question her 'jailhouse' conversion,
however, as christians, we shouldn't be so cynical.  Her salvation is between
her and the Lord, not between her & other believers.  How true!

In Him,
~Gary

    	Recently my family took a camping vacation.  For the trip we
    	bought a small utility trailer to pack all the gear in.

    	We were driving along a sparsely populated 2-lane Colorado 
    	highway to a mountain destination.  Suddenly I noticed a driver 
    	flashing his high beams at me (it was daytime.)  My first 
    	thought was that I was not going slow at all, in fact we were
    	behind a parade of about 5 other cars, so even if I pulled 
    	over he wouldn't be able to get anywhere.  But then I wondered
    	if he was trying to tell me that the trailer's tarp had come
    	undone and camping gear was falling out.  So I stopped.  

    	When I looked at the trailer I saw that a wheel had come off.
    	All 4 lug nuts were gone.  It was just riding on its axle!
    	With the windows up, and air conditioner and radio going, I
    	hadn't heard anything strange, and the trailer was so light
    	that I didn't feel anything strange while driving.  My
    	annoyance at the driver who was behind me, and now long gone,
    	quickly turned to gratitude.  And then my gratitude turned to
    	panic.  What do I do now?

    	So I unhitched the trailer, and left my wife and kids and dogs
    	with it.  The rim of the axle left a small gouge in the road,
    	so I figured if I followed it back up the road I'd find my
    	wheel.  One mile.  Two.  Five.  

    	After seven and a half miles I lost the trail, so I stopped and 
    	got out to see if I could find the wheel nearby.  Nothing.  I
    	was pretty sure that this was the start of the line, but the
    	wheel was nowhere in sight.  I started running up and down the
    	road, looking in the ditches, the bushes, the fields.  It was
    	hot and dry, and my mouth was sticking to itself.  I started to
    	pray.  "Lord, help me here.  This is supposed to be our vacation,
    	not an ordeal like this.  If I can't find a wheel, what will I
    	do?  Where will I get a new one out here in the middle of nowhere?
    	Help me find a way to resolve this..."  and I kept uttering all
    	manner of praises and supplications.

    	I never found it.  It had been nearly an hour.  Surely the kids
    	were cranky by now.  I had to get back.  Along the way back I 
    	passed a commercial campground.  I stopped there to ask where I
    	could get a new wheel.  "If you go back where you came from there
    	is a town called Ca�on City about an hour back.  On 12th Street
    	you'll find Bob's RV.  If you hurry, you'll make it before he
    	closes."  I sped back and got my family.  I was right.  The kids
    	were cranky, and Linda was at the end of her rope from dealing
    	with them.  I broke the news.  We were heading back to get a 
    	wheel.  As we were driving back, my youngest daughter spoke up.
    	"While we were driving I looked back, and I noticed a wheel rolling
    	next to us and then it rolled into the grass.  It looked silly and 
    	I didn't say anything..."  Amid all the tension the image of that
    	statement made me crack up laughing.

    	We stopped when we got to the part of the road where I thought
    	the groove from the trailer started.  We all got out and looked.
    	I was frantic.  Our vacation was going down the tubes.  I was 
    	fatigued from all the running.  I was thirsty.  I was worried
    	about the trailer we left unguarded back there on the side of the
    	road.  I broke into prayer again, only this time it was different.
    	"Lord, it's me again.  I realize that I only seem to pray to you
    	like this when I need your help -- when I'm in trouble or hurting
    	or feeling bad.  Help me always remember to pray to you more
    	often in good times too..."

    	My daughter said that this wasn't the right place, that the grass 
    	was much taller where the wheel rolled off.  We got back into the
    	car, resigned to the fact that we were going to have to go back
    	to get a new wheel.  Not 100 feet up the road, the grass became
    	much taller, and then my wife shouted out, "There it is!!!"

    	And so it was!  I screeched to a halt.  My son jumped out and
    	picked it up.  It was undamaged.  We went back to the trailer,
    	and I used half of the lug nuts from the other wheel to hold this
     	this one on until we came to the next large town where we got
    	replacement nuts.

    	The incident has affected me ever since.  I truly believe it was
    	the Lord's way of getting my attention, and it was a success.  I
    	have found myself praying and praising much more often at times
    	when I don't need His help.

    That's a wonderful testimony... I'm not sure I'd have laughed at my
    daughter.. how old is she?
    
    :-)

Hi Joe,

Thanks so much for that testimony.  In our simplistic way, we often expect
God to respond to human logic - to answer 'at once' or not at all, as if to 
prove Himself!  When all the time His purpose is to lead, develop, teach 
and mature us in knowing Him and being like Him.  The cynic sneers that it 
would be better for God to keep the wheel on in the first place, ignoring 
the fact that the *loss* of the wheel was just His way to bring you to the 
final point of the second prayer :
  "...Help me always remember to pray to you more often in good times too..."

 - which, as you testify, has been answered positively!

						thanks again
							... Andrew

God can use simple things to teach us much!

On an aside, your daughter watching the wheel roll away remeinds me of 
the time when I was a child & on a similar sort of vacation trip, only
to Bar Harbor, Maine.  My sister, in the rear seat of the stationwagon, 
facing backwards, watched our little, rented pop-up tent trailer's tire
shred to bits and fling off for several miles before there was no tire 
left so that the trailer was riding on the wheel rim and my Dad could feel 
it while driving.  She thought it was rather strange to see those black 
things flinging up behind us, but like your daughter, didn't say anything.

Leslie  

    	re .39
    
    	She's 8.  And I really did laugh.  I was thinking of writing 
    	this story for Readers Digest and using that point as the
    	climax of the story.
    
    	re .40
    
    	I love your nodename.
    
    	Re .41
    
    	Bahabah, Maine?  (I used to live in Mass, and the first time I 
    	heard my native-Lowellian sister-in-law say it, that's what I 
    	thought	she was saying.  Or maybe it was some Jewish retreat 
    	camp or something...)

    I'd like to share a part of my testimony about how I came understand
    and be part of the Body of Christ.
    
    I used to be a very quiet and cautious person.  Not realy shy because
    I enjoyed teaching in front of a large group of people.  But I had to
    feel in control and safe, otherwise I would just hide.  I started
    attending Church and God started calling me.  I didn't know at the
    time what was happening or what I was seeking but it was so strong.  I
    remember one time after the service that I determinely fought the fear
    and habit and terror and pushed it all down and went to talk to the
    Pastor.  To show my confusion and lack of knowledge in seeking
    something I didn't even know what, to people I didn't really know -
    was so hard.  But even then I knew it was something I had to do.
    
    The day when it was time for me to give my life to Christ, it had to
    be publically.  It was my path, the lesson I had to tackle.  The
    unknown, being totally vulnerable in front of all these strangers was
    terrifying.  That day I remember thinking that there must have been
    more people there than ever before.  At first I looked on that as just
    God's way of truely testing my faith.  But then, my whole attitude
    changed just like that.  I saw it as a beautiful gift.  God had called
    even more people to share this special moment with me.  Its amazing
    how God's grace can totally change an attitude in just a split second.
    
    That was the beginning of becoming part of the body of Christ.  That
    moment I saw all these people I didn't even know as my brothers and
    sisters.  After that day it has been a continuous learning process to
    open up and share with these folk.  But God showed me that it was his
    will, this sharing and growing with other Christians (actually mostly
    learning from!).
    
    It was about a year later when I realized, to my great surprise, that
    I really missed the Church when I couldn't be there.  I realized that
    when given a choice to be closely connnected with God on my own, or to
    be closely connected to God at church, I prefered being at church.
    This really surprised me, I had always prefered the privacy before.
    
    Now a year later, I look on the Church as my family.  A new family
    where I belong and am cared for and loved.  What a beautiful
    unexpected gift to a girl who had always walked alone.
    
    
    Jill2
    

 Amen, Jill2...I know exactly how you feel.




 Jim

Beautiful.  I particularly liked this piece:

> Its amazing
>    how God's grace can totally change an attitude in just a split second.

AMEN

Maranatha!

Paul

    >Its amazing how God's grace can totally change an attitude in just 
    >a split second.
        
    Yup, yup, yup! You got it!  I praise God for your ear to listen.  
    
    
    

    CRASH!!!!! Paul!!!

    amen.

    amen Jill - (((((((((( hug ))))))))))

    Thanks Jill - thaat's beautiful
    
    Love
    Ben

I read this this weekend, and really was moved by it.  It was written by
Richard Wurmbrand:

"Missionary to cannibals"

As a child, a girl was borought up on stories of valiant missionaries who had
worked among savages to bring them to Christ and had been eaten by 
cannibals.  Her prayer was, "God, help me also to become such a missionary." 
It was her dream to sacrifice herself for the worst of men.

In time, the dream faded.  She matured, and by the age of 18 her prayer was,
"God, give me a good Christian husband."  Her prayer was answered, and she
was married.  For six weeks she was happy with him.

Then came Pearl Harbor, and the USA entered the war.  Her husband was drafted
into the army and was away from her for three years.  He participated in
battles on the front line.  In the end, he was gravely wounded and spent a
year in the hospital.  When he finally returned home, he was not longer the
same nice, loving husband.  In the war there was drinking, swearing,
womanizing.  He too had fallen into these habits.

One evening, he came home drunk.  His wife was sure had had come from another
woman.  Without one good word for her, he fell asleep on the couch.  She went
into another room and prayed with tears, "God, change my husband."

She received God's reply: "Why should I change him and not you?"

"But there is nothing to be changed in me.  I have belonged to you since
early childhood."

God said, "Between you and I there is a misunderstanding.  I was always
attentive to your prayers.  I liked it when you offered yourself to be a
missionary among cannibals.  But cannibals are scarce nowadays and far away
in Africa or on some island.  To ease your task, I brought a savage into your
home.  Be a missionary to him.  I granted you a cannibal.  Win him for the
Kingdom."

She went back to the other room, looked at her "cannibal," and fell in love
with him again.  She decided her life's task would be to restore him as a
child of God and a loving husband.  It took her a very long time, but she
succeeded.  Now they are both 90, and he still brings her a flower every day
to show his gratitude.

God gratifies us with difficult tasks to ennoble us.

    Thanks for posting that, Paul.

Amen.  That one brough the tears.

							Andrew

Below is a devotion I led to some kids in our church Youth Athletic League
basketball program several months ago, and one I'll likely lead in
our adult Sunday School class on June 16th.
 




 Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men that they may see
               your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven"



 How many of you have heard of Michael Jordan?  How about Chaqueil O'neil?
 How about Joshua Valverde?  Nobody has heard of Joshua Valverde?  Well, let
 me tell you about him, since we all seem to have heard of the others..

 Joshua Valverde is a man with whom I used to work many years ago.  I was
 an order processing specialist, and Joshua worked in our warehouse.  Not
 a lot was known about Joshua at the time, but the word around the office
 was that he had been in jail, and that his sister, who also worked in
 the same company, had recommended him for the job.

 Joshua was a pretty quiet young man, but he seemed to be a hard worker.
 Not long after he came to work there, there was a report of some personal
 property of another worker that had been stolen.  And, because of Joshua's
 past, he immediately became suspect, and the buzz around the office was
 that he had taken this property.  People came to look upon Josh with
 suspicion and there was much talk going on behind his back, and he had
 been spoken to by our manager but the investigation continued.  I noticed
 something about Josh, however, and what I noticed was that while all of this
 talk was going on, while all of this gossip and accusations and speculation
 about Joshua's previous imprisonment (he never told anyone why he was in
 prison), Joshua kept up his daily duties and never argued or challenged the
 talkers.  He came in, worked hard, and did his job smiling and being his
 usual friendly self.

 I was anything but a Christian at the time, but I noticed this, and it
 left an impression with me, particularly because along with the talk
 about Joshua's involvement in this theft, there was talk that Josh was
 a "very religious man..a fanatic"..given that title because he freely
 talked about his love for the Lord, which of course we all thought
 a little strange.

 Ultimately Joshua was cleared of any involvement in this theft, but there
 was never any "I told you so" or attempts at pay back from Josh.

 Eventually, I left this job, and never really had any other contact with
 Josh until about 2 years later, when the Lord worked it that Josh and I
 were working at the same place again, this time in the same office, about
 10 feet apart.  I was still anything but a Christian, and Josh continued
 to show a joy and peace that I could not understand.  One day a bunch of
 us were going out after work and I asked Josh along..no thanks, he said..
 I have church tonight.  Of course we teased him, but again, in my heart
 I felt a tug.  One day I asked Josh about this peace, this joy.."what is
 it about you, Josh"..and he told me "Jesus Christ", and we talked and 
 he gave me a brief presentation about the gospel.   
  
 I did not get saved that day, and it was probably 2 years later that I
 finally did.  But Josh, in letting that light that Jesus talks about..
 his testimony, his joy and peace..shine in his own daily walk, pointed
 the way for me to one day ask the Lord to save me.

 I saw Josh once a few months after I was saved, and it was a joyous reunion.
 I haven't seen him since that day, and likely won't until one day we're in
 heaven.  My walk with the Lord has seen some bumps and twists and turns,
 but I am so thankful for Joshua Valverde and his testimony.  

 We don't know who is watching us on our daily walk.  I pray that each
 of us will remember to follow Jesus urgings in Matthew 5:16..



 

    Thanks for posting that, Jim.

Amen, Jim.  May we each remember that we are ambassadors for Christ.

And we never know who is watching.

Paul

    
    	Thanks, Jim!
    

    Amen for sure... what a great testimony to read first thing in the
    morning!

Thanks Jim.  Only the LORD knows how He uses us in everyday situations too. 
Our calling is to follow...

�                          -< Ha and a Snarf to boot! >-
Is THAT what you do with them, Nancy???? ;-)

								Andrew