God's Love

God is love. There is no doubt in the world about that one. What but love could give their own Son to the hands of wicked people? What but love could lay down on a cross and let men drive nails through His hands and feet? I know God loves me,even in the times when I am most unlovable. It hurts me to know that some people actually believe that God doesn't love them. Some believe that they have done too much wrong for God to love them. Others believe that because of their chosen lifestyle,God cannot love them. Through the eyes of these people,life is hopeless. It really breaks my heart. So many have bought into the devil's lies. Overcome the lie! God does love you! God loves everyone. Not just the Christian,the church goer,and the pastor,but God loves the drunkard,the thief,the lost man,the prostitute,the homosexual,and even the murderer. He is broken hearted by their sinful lifestyles,but He is willing to forgive and forget because He loves them so much. He sent His Son to die for all people. All races,all people. All they have to do is ask for forgiveness and ask Him into their hearts. I believe God is broken hearted at all the souls that are being lost. I pray that this post may reach someone today,that feels as though no one,not even God loves them. If that person is you,remember that God does,and He always will love you. He is just waiting for you to call on Him.

~John 3:16-For God so loved the world,that he gave his only begotten Son,that whosoever believeth in  him should not perish,but have everlasting life.~

He shall cover thee with his feathers....

"He shall cover thee with his feathers,and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler."
Psalms 91:4

Miracle:Update

I just thought I would update you all on the miracle story I posted a while back. I just wanted to let you all know that Mrs. Hicks is now out of the hospital! Not only is she out of the hospital, but she is now off of the oxygen tank and out of her wheel chair! Praise the Lord! She uses a walker now. She has lost quite a bit of weight though. She told us she went from 160 to 120. Other than that she is fine. It is an absolute miracle. The doctors thought for sure that she would have passed away in that ICU unit. THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT GOD KNOWS!
Please continue to pray for her that she would continue to gain strength.:)
~Blessings~
-Emily

Changing

I miss being small.

Lately I find myself changing a lot. Things are more real. Problems trouble me more, and joys I experience so much deeper. I had a conversation with my Mother about wishing I was older. She said not to wish it away. I think I'm beginning to see it. I'm getting ready to close a chapter in my life. I will never get this time back. In some ways it is scary, and in others it is exciting. God gave me a beautiful childhood,a beautiful teenhood(is that a word?),and soon(January 25,2014) I will be entering adulthood. Since I'm graduating a year early some of it will come early I suppose. In some ways I feel it already has. Inside I am changing. I can see so much now how God is shaping and molding me into who He wants me to be. Sometimes it hurts,sometimes it's joyful. The long and the short of it is, life is a grand adventure. It has its peaks and valleys,but I wouldn't trade my life for anything. God has a plan for my life. I can't see it,but I know it is there. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. I know this probably has made little sense,but to all of my lovely readers,just remember......God has a plan for you. He is shaping you and molding you. He loves you. Each person is special. You have a place in this world.....

~Blessings~

Emily

Miracle

Hello lovely readers,

Something has been on my mind lately. I have been meaning to share it with you all. Something so miraculous that God has done. It all came back to me yesterday in church service. This post will quite possibly be very long,but the story I have to tell will surely touch your hearts.

 

 It's been,oh, probably about 4 or 5 months back, a dear lady in our church, Shirley Hicks, went to the hospital for a procedure. When the doctor checked her situation,he found fluid on her lungs. She was put in ICU. I cannot remember all the details that went on during her hospital visit, but I do know that she was in and out of consciousness the whole time. She was in the hospital for over a hundred days. There were several close calls where she just about left us. Her husband was there for her through it all. They are a very tight couple. Impossible to separate. Our pastor would call him every morning just to check up on her situation. Not to mention all the countless visits to see her. I don't think she would remember half the people that came to see her because of her subconsciousness. Our whole church family was praying and praying that she would get better. We had a special prayer meeting just for her one night. Even first-time visitors went to the altar after they heard her situation,praying for her.

 

The Hicks always sat beside me and my family on our pew at church. Mr. Hicks always gave us gum or Mentos. Mrs. Shirley was always ready with a hug. She sang in the choir as much as she was able and always came to the prayer room. So hearing that this special lady was close to deaths door was heart wrenching to me. She was in the hospital so long and I just heard constant bad reports. Every time the phone rang I expected to hear the bad news. Don't get me wrong. I knew God could heal her if He so chose. I guess I was afraid that He wanted her to come home. Maybe it's selfish,but I wanted her here. I asked God that if it was His will to please let her stay with us.

 

After a very long period( about four months all spent in the ICU) the doctors said she was in the clear. After awhile of recovery and rehab, she was able to come home. She came back to church. She gave testimony the night she came back to church. Mr. Hicks pushed her in her wheelchair to the front of the sanctuary.  She thanked us for our prayers and visits and then she told us her story. What had been going on that we couldn't see. Things that she saw and heard in her unconsciousness. She said she saw a beautiful room in a beautiful land. She saw a person shining. She knew it was Jesus. I can't describe it to you like she can. Mrs. Shirley had caught sight of Heaven. She was so close. She said she knew that God was not through with her. That is why He kept her here. Mrs. Shirley actually did die. I don't know how that works,but she did. God saw more work for her here and wasn't ready for her yet. She said that as Mr. Hicks rolled her through the waiting room of the hospital,through all the family members of other critical patients, she knew she had something to say. She looked at them and told them what she had been through. She said that if God could bring her out then He could bring their loved ones out too.

 

She has been OK for awhile now. She has still been in a wheel chair and on oxygen,but she is still smiling. Here recently she has been put back in ICU with the same thing. Fluid on her lungs. She told me just a week or so before that if she had to go through it again, she wanted God to take her on home. Please pray for her. I want her to keep smiling and have peace. I want her to pull through. I hate that she is back in ICU. But God is in control and I know He is watching over her. The Hicks have been like grandparents to all the young people at church. They are loved by all. Please pray.

 

Her story is a miracle. The doctors could not explain how she was able to go out of that hospital alive. It was all God. The Hicks have been at church as much as they could. It would be so easy for them to say,"It's too hard," but she keeps on doing everything she can to serve God. I think of how pitiful my excuses seem. I am healthy and strong. Yet sometimes I get the least little problem and I find it so easy to complain about how bad I have it. I am so ashamed sometimes when I have petty, little problems and start to whine, when there are millions of people having to deal with things I can only imagine. One of my goals as a Christian is to keep my attitude in check and not complain so easy. I have been SO BLESSED. God has been so good to me. I am so thankful for everything He has done.

 

Please keep the Hicks in your prayers!

The Hicks-Homecoming 2012   ( Picture Credit to Tickle Photography)
-Emily