How Prayer Changed My Life

We all face various upheavals in our lives from time to time, and today's passage is telling us as believers, what we should do in those times.
James 5: 13 - 18 says, "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess you sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
Prayer is so powerful - and there have even been reports on non Christian tv shows that focus on people who have undergone dire sickness, and then have been reported to have had miraculous recoveries because of the power of prayer. I've been witness to that first hand, not only in my own life, but in the lives of friends who have faced sudden tragedies.
Here is the story of a time in my life when I was very close to death, and how prayer was so powerful in my being here now to tell about it!
I was 27 years old, and had a dental procedure done that was supposed to have an easy recovery. Well three days after it was done, I found myself actually in a near death experience. After bleeding profusely for about 6 hours or so, and being taken to several local hospitals, only to be turned away because my problem was dental and not medical, I was taken to a dental emergency clinic.
When we walked into the lobby, the nurse looked at me and gasped, and took me into a room immediately. After the dentist looked at me and saw what was going on in my mouth, he stepped out of the room and called my husband over - I heard the dentist telling my husband to call the family, and if we had a pastor, to call him to pray because there was nothing more they could do for me to stop the bleeding, and I was going to be dead in a matter of hours. They didn't know I had heard that death sentence pronounced over me.
Well my pastor was called, who in turn called many members of our church, and they began to pray. I was taken back to a hospital, and they accepted me into the ER and called in an oral surgeon. I was so weak, and could feel myself slowing dying. I had no fear - I knew I was going to heaven, but I had two little children that would be without a mommy.
My husband had left the ER to get some coffee, and I was fading in and out of awakeness. Then this man walked into the room; he was the spitting image of my daddy, and when he spoke to me, his first words were, "Baby girl, I'm here to try to fix you". Well I thought I had died and gone to heaven - not only did this man look just like my daddy, he referred to me by the same name my daddy had always called me! He said no, he wasn't my daddy, he was Dr. Keister. I felt so safe with him, and asked him if he was a Christian, to which he said YES! I then asked him if before he started to work to stop the bleeding in my mouth, would he would pray for me and for God to guide him. He then prayed, and I knew that things were going to be ok whether I lived or died - I had total peace.
Dr. Keister was the one who not only let God guide his hands and have the wisdom to know how to repair the damage, but he went an extra step and researched this other "dentist" that had botched up my mouth to begin with. He had found that this man did not have a license, nor was he registered anywhere in the state of Florida to practice dentistry!
Now I could have gone after him with a law suit and probably gotten quite a large sum of money, but that wasn't as important to me as being alive was! My children needed a mommy, and God allowed me to stay here to fulfill that need.
My point in telling that story is this: We are told that if we are sick, to call the elders and get prayer. If they had've been in the hospital with me, I would have also had them anoint me with oil, but in this case, the prayer was powerful and effective on it's own!
I pray that your Saturday is blessed in every way - that you will have good health, love of family and friends, and peace in your own heart.

Blessings,
Janelle

Remembering My Mother

On September 12, 1997 my mother died - just a few weeks shy of her 69th birthday. The last time I'd spoken with her before she left this earth was on my 39th birthday, and sad to say, it was not a great chat; typical of our conversations.
To say we had a "strained" relationship is pretty accurate; it was the same way with her and all my other sisters as well. She just didn't know how to nurture her children, and I'm sorry that she missed out on the opportunity to have really good, loving relationships with the four daughters the Good Lord blessed her with.
There were so many unresolved issues with her and I, and I wish we had of worked them out before her death, as it made having closure even harder. There were things I'd not forgiven her for that haunted me for several years afterward.
Growing up in a household in which the mother was great at things like cooking, sewing and cleaning, had it's benefits, but I really wish she had been more of a "Mom". I craved a relationship with her that I saw my friends have with their moms, but my mother was bitter towards my daddy, and that affected all her other relationships - especially with me, as I was a daddy's girl from the start.
I have since her death, forgiven my mother for not protecting me, and allowing certain things to happen to me that shouldn't have happened. I have learned from her how NOT to treat children, and for that I am grateful. My heart's desire when I had Sarah and Dude was to be the Mom to them that I never had - to listen to them, to protect them, to have the kind of trust that enabled them to come to me with any and everything.
My advice for anyone - make sure you forgive quickly, do all that you can to make the most of your relationships and tell the ones you love that you love them - don't take it for granted that they know.
I know that my mother was a Christian, and that she just had things that she didn't know how to deal with. I know that I'll see her when I get to Heaven. All the past hurts that we had here on earth will be gone, and at last I'll be able to have the best relationship with her - one in a place where there is no hurt, no crying, no sorrow, and no pain.
Have a safe weekend - pray for our leaders, our soldiers who are protecting our freedoms here in the USA, and for those who are in the path of Hurricane Ike.

Janelle

Reincarnation Argument

Today I'm taking on the argument of reincarnation. I had a friend who had a family member die in a car crash, and at about that same time, another family member had become pregnant. He asked me if I thought that the baby could be the spirit of the dead family member in a new body. I quickly replied, "NO"! Of course, he wanted to know why I was so adamant in my view on this, and I referred him to this passage in Hebrews 9:27.
"Just as a man is destined to die once, and after that to face the judgement". A cross reference to this is in Genesis 3: 19 - Adam and Eve had sinned, so God was telling them of the curse that was now on them. "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return".
We have but this one lifetime to come to salvation; it's our decision to make. God doesn't "send" anyone to hell - he gives us the choice to make while here on earth. Once we die, our eternal destination has been sealed. We will each live on forever, but where will you live - in Heaven, or in eternal torment in Hell?
Make today the day that you can answer that question with assurance of eternal LIFE - let the Lord know you have realized your sin and need for a savior - he will immediately meet you where you are and fill your heart with his love and forgiveness, giving you the promise of eternal life.