Ms. Lindsey

My husband and I spent 45 mins in the home of Ms. Wally Lindsey, sharing with her the precious Word of God. I'm sharing this with you in hopes it will encourage you to pray for Ms. Wally in a specific way, she has quite a story. She is the sweetest little lady. A little history...a couple of months ago she came into our morning service. A very sweet lady of whom I never would've guessed was about to turn 70! On a follow up visit we heard her amazing story, over 40 years ago she was in a church, a single mom raising 2 boys barely making it. She says she knew she was supposed to tithe but she didn't fell right about it when she was having to borrow money from her parents to buy food. One day the Pastor got up and said they were going to make public all the names of those who were not tithing, he began naming names...she said she was so humiliated, her sons too. None of them have been back in church since, until she came a couple months ago. Then she began telling of an experience she had recently had, she had had surgery and while on the table they lost her, she said you know you hear stories of people seeing "bright" lights and everything being so peaceful, she said that wasn't the case for her, everything was dark and scary. She knew she would have gone to hell had they not brought her back. She said she knew it was a warning she needed to get right with God. What that means to her, well I'm not sure. But she has been pretty faithful on Sunday mornings, she has agreed to the Basic Bible Truths study and we completed lesson one tonight. She was very open. Please pray that she will allow the Lord to open her eyes and her heart to the truth of salvation. I really believe she needs to be saved, but the world and the devil have had 70 yrs to blind her mind to "true" salvation! But greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world!!! I'll keep you posted!

Grace...Amazing Grace

June 17, 2004, one of the hardest days of my life. Rewind a bit, in February, Shane was contacted by Emmanuel Baptist Church to come preach in view of a call. Wow this was not in our plans, we had another two years before we would be stepping out on our "own". Also found out that we were expecting child #3. A little unexpected but definitely excited! Well amid much "all day" sickness, we starting preparing ourselves for what lie ahead. From the first visit at Emmanuel Baptist we knew this is where the Lord wanted our family. (Scared, excited, nervous, happy, sad) However they were not sure what to do, for the next 3 months or more our lives were a roller coaster ride. Do we put the house up for sale or not, should I start packing or wait, and on and on. We did not understand why it was taking so long, but the Lord had a plan...as He always does. On June 17th I woke up crampy and spotting...I was about 17 1/2 weeks along in my pregnancy. This was a Thursday and my 18 week ultrasound was scheduled for Monday. I called Shane and he told me to call my doctor. Unfortunately he was out of town, but thankfully his nurse got me in to see one of the other doctors, rather than send me to the ER. When we got to the office they did an US...the outcome was not good. I knew by the look on the techs face that something was not right, she excused herself and went to get the doctor. She came in and looked at the US herself then explained that the baby had died. There was no heartbeat at all and no movement. She took us to the next room and explained I would have to be admitted into the hospital and labor would be induced to deliver the baby. (I had had a miscarriage in 1994 at 13 weeks, but that started on its own.) So I asked if we could go get the girls settled and then come back. So that's what I did, the next few hours were extremely hard yet I had peace. Totally unlike what I experienced in 94. You see I was in church then but not saved. This was a much harder time for me, yet the peace I had was much different.

Well I was checked into Labor & Delivery, then taken to a room. The Lord gave me such a great nurse, for which I'm very thankful. We brought the CD player and put in one of my favorite CDs, the Trebletones. They said it could take many hours for this to happen, before the delivery process would be finished. But thankfully, it wasn't too long and it was over. I asked the nurse if she thought we would be able to tell what the baby was, she said maybe, it would depend on when the baby had died. But yes you could tell...a baby boy. There was a perfect little baby boy, just not completely matured, but a perfect little baby. Andrew Shane... would be his name. They brought him back in in a little basket. They took pictures, gave me some nice keepsakes and just gave us time to grieve. A few days later we had a graveside service surrounded by our Pastor and his wife and our closest friends. The Lord is soooo good to me.

Just 3 days later on Fathers Day, Emmanuel Baptist Church called my husband as Pastor. Wow...then it was like the Lord said...this is why it has taken so long. I was going to need my church family to get through this really tough time. I have to say it would have been much harder to go through being in a new town, new church. The Lord kept me where I needed to be to go through one of the hardest times in my life. So again I see the Lord's timing is perfect.

Just a few months later, in October I found out I was expecting. Emma Mae was born the next May, and what a joy she is!

Yesterday we had a busy day, and while I had thought about the date that morning I just went about my day. While driving I decided to change the CD, and put in the Trebletones, and was taken back to that specific time in the hospital room with my husband. I know the Lord allows things in our lives to grow us but also to be able to be a help to others. So, I have truly tried to let that experience grow me, but also to think back on that time and truly see the Lord's hand, and timing moving in my life.

Andrew Shane--"I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." I Sam 12:23 (this is what Shane chose to put on his stone, I think is perfect. Wish I was there in Springfield to put flowers on...

A Change In Our Family Tree

It's February 10, 1994 Shane and I are approaching our 1st anniversary. Our first year of marriage has not been...well...full of bliss I guess I could say. We both want what we want and really didn't know how to love each other. We came from "dysfunctional" families you might say. Unfortunately we had some doozie (is that a word) of fights that first year, and we have said probably wouldn't have made to our first anniversay if not for the phone call we received. It goes something like this...Ring, ring (a little Michael Trenty hee hee) I answer the phone..."Hello"--"Hello Ms. Tammy this is Sam Varghese from Calvary Baptist Church how are you tonight? Diane and I were wanting to stop by to visit with you and Shane is tonight a good time?" (I cover the phone and say its Sam from the church wanting to come over again!, you see they had tried on several occasions and we would make excuses. Sadly we were even those people who when you are door knocking would pretend to not be at home! So I say to Shane why don't we let them come over, then maybe they will leave us alone, he agrees.) In a sweet voice I reply,"Sure that would be fine what time." From the time they entered our home we knew they cared about us, they talked about this and that just spent time making us feel comfortable, then Bro. Sam asked a question. You see the Lord had been dealing with Shane for some time but he kept going back to that profession and baptism that had occured as a child, I would tell him you should talk to that preacher maybe he can help you. But when the question was put to him that night "Do you know where you will spend eternity?" Shane answered, "No" then Sam asked,"Would you like to know?" Shane said,"YES!" So they went to the back bedroom of our little 2 bedroom mobile home and Bro. Sam opened the Bible and showed him how to be saved. Shane called upon the Lord that night and it literally changed his life. Which in turn changed mine...

Bro. Sam and Diane took an interest in us, they knew we had been avoiding them, they never acted like it. They immediately started having us over to go through the ABC's of Christian growth. They didn't criticize me for coming to their house in blue jeans, never even made me feel uncomfortable, they didn't preach at us about music or movies, they loved us where we were. Why because that's what the Lord wants us to do. We aren't the ones to change people He is, if we are the cause for the change, it won't last! I truly thought I was saved, they had enough discernment to know I wasn't but they put that in the Lord's hands as well. It wasn't until about 5 months later that I got saved. That's for another day....

But the thought for today...there are those who seem disinterested...don't give up! We were those people we thought we could just go to church here and there, but the Lord had other plans, and thankfully the Varghese were faithful! Didn't give up! The Lord loves people, even those hard to love ones, and He loves them through us!!!

Taylor Grace

It is hard for me to believe that it was 10 years ago that I was in the hospital getting ready to have my first born child. A couple of weeks after she was born, Shane and I would celebrate our 7th anniversary. It took 7 years for the Lord to answer my prayer--to be a Momma, to hold my own baby in my arms! As most of you know those were not easy years for me, but truthfully I wouldn't change them, why? Because the Lord made Himself real in my life. He showed me that no matter how much I wanted a baby if that wasn't His perfect will for me, then 10 babies wouldn't give me true joy. I had to learn that living in the Lords will and doing what He wanted, being who He wanted me to be is what would truly give me joy and make me happy. It took a long time but when I finally realized that...WOW what a change it made in my life. PEACE....but guess what happened then...He gave me the desire of my heart. After probably 100 negative pregnancy test I saw what a positive one looked like! I'll never forget being able to share that joy with the special people who had prayed for us. Taylor's middle name is Grace because it is my Father's grace that got me through those tough times. Taylor has truly been a joy to us, and I'm so very thankful the Lord answered my prayer! Praying for her salvation...

Waiting

Here is my first attempt to blog...sometimes you just need a place to spill out. Why not a place where no one can tell you to shhhhh. Today has been one of those days where feel like I haven't got much accomplished, except you guessed it waiting. Waiting on the phone to talk to a nurse, waiting to be called back to see the doctor, then waiting for the dr to come into the room. Then I had to wait over an hour for meds. Left there then had to wait for a train to pass...

I am not a patient person so waiting is not something that is easy for me, but it is a very necessary part of life. It is ironic that one of my favorite passages is Psalm 34:3-7. But many years ago the Lord showed me these verses and made me realize that waiting is a part of the Christian life, how we wait is another story...During the waiting period is where I have learned a lot about myself,it is a time that I have drawn closer to the Father and grown in my Christian life. So as I was waiting impatiently today, the Lord reminded me of these verses, and reminded me of the special times in my life...the waiting period. How I can look back and see what He was doing in my life. It made me think, what should I be doing during the waiting?..making every moment count for HIM! Others are watching at my response to the waiting...