Depression: "In Everything Give Thanks"

"In everything give thanks for this is the will of GOD in CHRIST JESUS concerning you." I Thess. 5:18

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.

 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they 

 shall not overflow you.When you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, Nor  shall the flame scorch you.  For I am the LORD your GOD. The Holy One of Israel, your SAVIOR." Isaiah 43:2,3

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

     Last night, Johnny and I and my dear Mother- in- law had the privilege of going to hear our old pastor, Aaron Johnson, preach at a nearby church where he was leading a revival.  We weren't the only ones there from First Baptist, in fact, half or better of the crowd was probably from First Baptist where Br. Aaron used to be all of our pastor before leaving to go to a church in Acworth, Ga.  

     Someone had told Johnny that Br. Aaron was going to be preaching on depression.  I knew Br. Aaron had struggled with depression a while back, and I had a pastor friend of mine earlier in the week told me  he thought i might be suffering from depression.  I told him, i definitely have periods of depression with this valley i'm going through with my health, and I struggle with despair and discouragement at times that things will never get better.  It's not like GOD hasn't helped me through a thousand difficult places and more in my life...but this trial is this trial...and right now, is the place i'm struggling and GOD is stretching my spiritual muscles. 

     "GOD is good. Whether or not HIS choices seem good to us, HE is good. Whether or not we feel it, HE is good.  Whether or not it seems true in my life or yours, HE is still good." Nancy Leigh DeMoss, www.reviveourhearts.com

           "YOU are good and do good; teach me YOUR statues." Ps. 119:68

     We got there a few minutes before the service started and Br. Aaron looked so handsome in his yellow shirt and pullover sweater.  He came over and shook hands with us as he went through the congregation speaking to everyone he could before the service started.  We sang Br. Aaron's favorite hymn, "Victory in Jesus," and a few more hymns before Br. Aaron got up and started speaking.  He told us right off that the sermon was going to be part testimony and part sermon.  The passage he chose was out of Jeremiah 20:1-7.  He talked about the prophet Jeremiah being obedient to GOD and prophesying to the priest Pashhur about Israel going into captivity because of their sins.   Pashhur didn't like what Jeremiah prophesied and he struck Jeremiah and put him in stocks.  

Br. Aaron Pushing Jordan in the Impossible /Possible Race in Kennesaw, Georgia 

                      

    Br. Aaron started sharing about his journey, he's had two bouts of colon cancer, and in one of the surgeries to help one problem, another long term problem developed...that resulted in another surgery.  During that surgery where a pacemaker was installed in Br. Aaron's hip, he also received, MRSA, a type of staph infection, which made him very sick for a year.  The doctor's didn't discover it until they had to remove the pacemaker because of complications.  It was then i believe that Br. Aaron took 10 Percocets for pain over the course of several days and the medicine threw him into a deep dark depression.  He also shared that their house was flooded, his father in law and grandmother had died , his daughter found out she was married to a homosexual, (she is married to a wonderful CHRISTian man now, and they are expecting Br. Aaron and Denise's first grandbaby!).  If you read my letter last week, you realize that Br. Aaron's son recently fell 26 feet and broke his pelvis, and several other injuries, and one neurosurgeon walked in Jordan's room in Grady Hospital and told him that he'd never walk.  Tuesday, Jordan walked 420 feet!  Praise the LORD from WHOM all blessings flow!!!  Br. Aaron had to resign his church in Acworth, Georgia earlier this year, because of his health problems...he's like me, he has to take IV's occasionally to keep him going, and the stress affects him worse.  

Jordan-Standing with his Mother, Denise-"He's Walking Again!" Praise the LORD!!!

     So, Br. Aaron was sharing about the time of depression and other hard trials he's been through and he encouraged us that when GOD brings us through a difficult period in our lives we need to be prepared to help others who are walking behind us. 

Nov052011 From Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for HIS Highest:
. . . but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings . . . —1 Peter 4:13
If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, “Oh, I can’t deal with that person.” Why can’t you? God gave you sufficient opportunities to learn from Him about that problem; but you turned away, not heeding the lesson, because it seemed foolish to spend your time that way.
The sufferings of Christ were not those of ordinary people. He suffered “according to the will of God” (1 Peter 4:19), having a different point of view of suffering from ours. It is only through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us. When it comes to suffering, it is part of our Christian culture to want to know God’s purpose beforehand. In the history of the Christian church, the tendency has been to avoid being identified with the sufferings of Jesus Christ. People have sought to carry out God’s orders through a shortcut of their own. God’s way is always the way of suffering— the way of the “long road home.”
Are we partakers of Christ’s sufferings? Are we prepared for God to stamp out our personal ambitions? Are we prepared for God to destroy our individual decisions by supernaturally transforming them? It will mean not knowing why God is taking us that way, because knowing would make us spiritually proud. We never realize at the time what God is putting us through— we go through it more or less without understanding. Then suddenly we come to a place of enlightenment, and realize— “God has strengthened me and I didn’t even know it!”

 He used the verse from Psalm 84:6-7 to remind us of the springs of refreshing that are found in the LORD JESUS as we pass through these "valleys":

     As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools, they go from strength to strength; Each one appears before GOD in Zion." 

     Br. Aaron reminded us of the springs of refreshing that GOD provides for us as we walk through the Valley of Baca's in our lives...how thankful i am for those springs of refreshing, for times in the WORD to encourage my heart with GOD's promises, for CHRISTian brothers and sisters who encourage me like Br. Aaron with his own honesty and transparency, and with the help GOD brings us in so many ways.  Earlier this week, Johnny and I reminisced about the many times the LORD blessed us going to see the gospel group, the Greenes , before Tony died last year.  What a dear blessing they were to us and to so many, to encourage and strengthen us through their songs of the LORD, their laughter, and warm fellowship in CHRIST JESUS.  I was going through some hard times in those years too, and the LORD used the Greenes to be such a refreshing to me in the Valley of Baca.

    Br. Aaron shared that depression is prevalent...i was sharing with my friend Wanda that when Br. Danny, the pastor at New Life asked us to raise our hand if we had ever suffered with depression or knew someone, almost everyone in front of us raised their hands, including me, and i'm sure it was the same way behind us as we sat near the front.   He said that depression is not something we should be ashamed of but it binds us together.  He said that whenever we are in a season of depression, GOD has a plan and as Corrie ten Boom who suffered through a Nazi Concentration Camp and  her Daddy and sister there...."GOD doesn't have problems, only plans."  That sure is comforting for me to think about in this season of my life now. 

     Br. Aaron reminded us that during a season of depression is a time that we can join in the fellowship of CHRIST's sufferings: "That I may know HIM and the power of HIS resurrection, and the fellowship of HIS sufferings, being conformed to HIS death." Phil. 3:10," and we can draw closer to GOD.  This has been a  season for me, in that i don't "feel," close to the LORD, as i would like to.  I was listening to the song..."Praise You in the Storm," by Casting Crowns, recently and part of the lyrics are "how can I carry on if I can't find YOU?"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0LV_p3HQQI.  I have been struggling with trying to find the LORD though I know HE is here with me...sometimes it seems as if I can't find HIM.  One of the precious verses I read this morning reassured me that GOD's thoughts toward me are constant: "How precious also are YOUR thoughts to me, O GOD!  How great is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;" Psalm 139:17-18.

"The TRUTH is, GOD does love you.  Whether or not you feel loved, regardless of what you have done or where you have been, HE loves you with an infinite, incomprehensible love." Nancy Leigh DeMoss, www.reviveourhearts.com

        "You are loved with an everlasting love...and underneath are the Everlasting Arms." Deuteronomy 33:23 and Jer. 31:3 

   Br. Aaron shared  he was driving along in his car when he was going through the deep depression and "How Firm a Foundation," came on the CD.  He said  the third  verse really spoke to him:

     When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, thy grace all sufficient shall be my supply.

     The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design, thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine."

   Those words encouraged me too, as i thought about them...i hadn't thought of them in a good long while, but to be reminded of them put courage in my heart....GOD's grace will be sufficient and the flames won't hurt me.  GOD's just consuming my dross, and refining my gold. It does hurt though, trials hurt or they wouldn't be trials to shape and mold and conform us to the image of CHRIST. 

    The passage Br. Aaron really centered on was verse 7 out of Jeremiah 20.

      "O LORD, YOU induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I am in derision daily;"

    Br. Aaron shared very honestly  about that verse, and just like Jeremiah we can often feel like the LORD has done us wrong when things aren't going the way we anticipated.  We all love that about Br. Aaron, how he is so real, and he expresses what we all feel, we're just afraid to share those feelings with each other...or with GOD.  He encouraged us to be honest with GOD and tell him how we really feel and lay it all out before HIM.  I know when this first happened to me with my health struggles early this summer, i was mad at GOD.  I was being able to take more supplements than I ever have, and I was planning to return to nursing school so I could help more people the way i had been helped, and then all of the sudden, i find myself in a hole again, struggling to stay afloat with my health. That wasn't the way I thought things were supposed to happen...i was supposed to get better and better...but GOD had another plan, and honestly i think i am getting better, i just have to go through this pain to get there. I also am very thankful the LORD kept me from returning to nursing school...HE knew the better plan, and  I praise HIM for using my health struggles to block the way.

          Br. Aaron encouraged us that our prayers must be honest, and we must be broken and humble before the LORD.  I know that once again, the LORD is breaking me.  He said that our prayers should always lead us to praise-just like Jeremiah's was a few verses later:"But the LORD is with me as a mighty, awesome ONE...But, O, LORD of hosts, YOU who test the righteous, And see the mind and heart, Let them see YOUR vengeance on them; for I have pleaded my cause before YOU.  Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For HE has delivered the life of the poor from the hands of the evildoers."

    Then Br. Aaron mentioned Jeremiah's depression again immediately following these verses of praise: Verse 14:  Cursed be the day in which i was born!  Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!  Let the man be cursed Who brought news to my father, saying, "A male child has been born to you!"    You ever wish you hadn't been born?  I have a few times, and i told my doctor just yesterday, i would just as soon skip this part of my life, but i guess life doesn't work that way. I remember when i was 13 and I suffered from depression, a real depression.  I realize now that we had new carpet at that time in my life...and my little detox  system that GOD made me with didn't detox those chemicals well in that new carpet...and I was depressed.  I had no idea why or how long it would last.   I remember it being an awful time...but I grew closer to the LORD.   Thankfully, the depression eventually lifted and i had no idea why until years later when i began learning about my detox system from my doctor not "firing on all cylinders."  A few years later, i had "panic attacks," when i moved away to college...again, no idea why, but probably had something to do with that "detox," system not being able to process the different chemicals i was around. It too was "awfully," hard...but I grew closer to the LORD.   GOD delivered me from that eventually, as well, as many other uncomfortable health trials HE's allowed me to pass through, and HE will this one too, eventually.   That's the key...as that verse says that i opened with...when we "pass" through the waters, I will be with you.   These trials are something we're "passing" through, and GOD, our heavenly FATHER is with us... Our trials don't last  forever, though the devil tries to fool us and make us think that things will never change from the way they are now. Even if we're sick unto death, like my friend Darlene who went to be with JESUS a few weeks ago...her trials have ended, no more sorrowing or suffering or pain for her. Though her family grieves and misses her so very much, they know they will see her again and be with her forever and ever in heaven.  The devil tries to tell all of us that things will never change, i know,cause that's what i'm wrestling with right now...it's spiritual warfare and "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Eph. 6:12.

"The greatest things are always hedged about by the hardest things, and we, too, shall find mountains and forests and chariots of iron. Hardship is the price of coronation. Triumphal arches are not woven out of rose blossoms and silken cords, but of hard blows and bloody scars. The very hardships that you are enduring in your life today are given by the MASTER for the explicit purpose of enabling you to win your crown." Streams in the Desert, Nov. 16

      Our current pastor at FBC, Athens, Br. Edwin Jenkins preached on spiritual warfare recently and he too has suffered with bouts of depression throughout his ministry.  Br. Aaron said that many great men of the Bible wrestled with depression, Elijah, David, Moses all probably did...and this morning i was reminded that the great "Prince of Preachers," Charles Spurgeon, wrestled with deep depression, along with the great hymn writter, William Cowper, who wrote, "There is a Fountain."  So, if you suffer from seasons of depression, you're in a lot of good company.

     When my pastor friend, Br. Mike Dawson, said i sounded like i might be suffering from depression, i bristled inside a little at that, but i told him i am depressed at times about these circumstances i find myself in, and the nature of the problems i'm having makes me feel depressed at times.  Most of the time i really feel "depressed," is when i have taken a drug, or i'm trying to detox things in my body.  I have really been fighting discouragement, and the LORD reminded me yesterday of the verse from Isaiah 41:10:

"Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed for I am thy GOD; I will strengthen thee; I will help thee; I will uphold thee with the right hand of MY righteousness." Is. 41:10.

    This morning's reading from Springs in the Valley was a real encouragement to me about GOD being able to untangle our tangles...such as depression or whatever it is that concerns us.   I feel like i'm in a tangle right now, and i don't know how to untangle the tangles.

     "LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me." Isaiah 38:14

     Are you feeling that life for you has become a tangled skein; tangled with problems that seem to be desperately hard to unravel?  If so, examine them and see whether it be not true that somewhere in the tangle there is the golden thread of an obvious present duty.  Commence with that thread:  what ought you to do next?  Now?  Never mind tomorrow!

Father, my life is in tangle,

Thread after thread appears

Twisted and broken and knotted,

Viewed through the lapse of years.

I cannot straighten them, FATHER;

Oh, it is very hard;

Somehow or other it seemeth, 

All I have done is marred.

I did not see they were getting

Into this tangled state;

How it has happened I know not-

Is it too late, too late?

Is it? "Ah, no!" Thous dost whisper,

"Out of this life of thine

Yet may come wonderful beauty

Wrought by MY Power Divine."

Take then, the threads, O my FATHER,

Let them Thy mind fulfill,

Work out in love a pattern

After THY holy will!

                                                                                   -Charlotte Murray     

     The case looks utterly hopeless.  Hope is dead-yea, hurried, and the bones are lying scattered at the grave's mouth.  But the eye fixed on the living GOD can bring a resurrection.  Hope may yet flourish again.  The net of terible entanglement may be broken by a FATHER's hand, and liberty and life abundant may yet be mine!

         "The SAVIOR can solve every  problem,

The tangles of life can undo,

There is nothing too hard for JESUS,

There is nothing HE cannot undo." 

    

I  was thinking about these "tangles," recently as i was taking "Troy" our Maltipoo out and he got tangled up in the leash around his feet.  He would have never been able to get all the tangles out, but for me it was easy.  Our tangles are easy for our MASTER, i just have to keep reminding myself of that when i get discouraged...and not give in to thinking things are hopeless.


     "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And HE shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!"  Psalm 27:13,14

     "I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them.  I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground.  These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16

And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. I Peter 5:10

"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

       The Greene's were sure faithful to encourage others who were going through a difficult time, even in the midst of their own struggles.    The very first time i heard Tim and Tony and Taranda sing "Hold On," in Boaz, Alabama at Snead State Junior College , it blessed me so much.  This week as i listened to it in my kitchen, it encouraged my heart again to "Hold On."  This is a really encouraging video as it has Tony's testimony about his kidney failure on it...i hope you will take time to watch it  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPXBnJOSx48, and let GOD use it to encourage your heart. Almost everytime i saw the Greene's, Tony would share the verse below just like he did on the video...Tony Greene you're still encouraging me to "Hold On," and I sure do thank you for your faithfulness to encourage me, when you were "Holding On," yourself.  Not anymore, though, you're in heaven with JESUS, with Darlene, with more and more of my loved ones and I can't wait to see you again. So thankful for the Greene's and their special ministry in my life. 

       "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they 

 shall not overflow you.When you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, Nor 

 shall the flame scorch you.  For I am the LORD your GOD. The Holy One of Israel, 

 your SAVIOR.Isaiah 43:2"

     

     I love you and thank you for your prayers for me and my family....I hope and pray that you have a most wonderful THANKSGIVING with your family and friends. I am so very thankful for each and every one of you and your faithfulness to encourage me and my family and pray for us.  We all have so much to be thankful for...including our seasons of depression and distress.  It is a season, and GOD loves us and has a plan for each and every one of us...plans for good and not for evil as Jeremiah tells us in Jer. 29:11-13.  "For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  And you will seek me and find ME when you search for me with all of your heart."  One thing about it...GOD uses these trials to help us to seek HIM with all of our hearts that HE may be found to be the Fountains of our Refreshing and our All in All.  Have you found HIM?  Do you know HIM as your LORD and SAVIOR?  HE so wants to reveal HIMself to you and to me that HE sent HIS only SON JESUS to die on a wooden cross to pay for your sins and mine. I pray that you would cry out to HIM today and ask HIM to forgive you for all your sins, and invite HIM to be the LORD of your life.  HE loves us so very much, that HE allows things in our lives to cause us to seek HIM....things like depression and other difficult trials, that is a cause to give HIM thanks for HIS plans and purposes HE is working out through those trials. I tell you this...i am so thankful for my CHRISTian brothers and sisters who are helping me through this trial, and praying for me, and encouraging me, and i hope that i won't forget when i am on the other side of this trial to help someone else who is going through a difficult time...or maybe i can be like Tony Greene, and help someone even while i'm still in the midst of this trial and encourage their weary heart that JESUS loves them, to "Hold On," and Give Thanks for the plans and purposes that GOD has for our trials..."exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think." 

                                                                                                                                                 With all HIS love,

                                                                                                                                                       mitzi

     This was on my friend Melodye Reeves FB site today as she gave thanks for Queen Esther (going through the alphabet for the month of Nov. today was thankful for things starting with the letter "Q".  Powerful words that spoke to my heart about GOD's plans for us. Melodye writes:

       "Also, I am truly thankful for the life of QUEEN ESTHER and her role in the history of God's people. It's a great reminder to me that I was placed here in this time and place "for such a time as this!" Priscilla Shirer put it so well in her study on the life of Esther:
"Follow Him -- Impossible as it may seem. Let him take you places, even to places you honestly don't feel all that great about seeing firsthand. You may not grasp what He's got in mind for this, but if you'll follow where He's leading, You will walk yourself right out onto the stage He has set for you. You will locate a significance bigger than you are because it's not based on your own smarts and planning and goal strategies but rather on your utter submission to the Father's eternal, all-wise plans-- plans that are "higher than your ways" (Isaiah 55:9), beyond anything you could "ask or think" or imagine."

--

"Praise GOD in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens.  Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness." Psalm 150:1-2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuI3PP3MIGA

"O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing"

"MASTER, Carest Thou Not That We Perish?"

My Daddy being interview by Channel 48 News

"Pour out your hearts to HIM, for GOD is our refuge." Psalm 62:8

"Now it happened on a certain day, that HE got into a boat with HIS disciples.  And HE said, unto them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake...as they sailed HE fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in jeopardy.  And they came to HIM and awoke HIM, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" Then HE arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was calm. But HE said to them, "Where is your faith?"

     

Dear  Praying Friends and Family,

     This morning, the LORD blessed me with with the opportunity to go to the Veteran's Day Parade in Decatur with my dear Daddy who is a Veteran of WWII.  I was so thankful to be able to go with him, after feeling rather awful yesterday.  When I went to the back door of Mom and Dad's house, Daddy had his WWII Veteran's Cap on and was ready to go to the parade.  We got there early, and as we were waiting for the parade to start, Bobbie Shuttleworth with Channel 48 news came over and interviewed my Daddy.  Bobbie did the same thing last year at the same place we were standing...i thought that was really sweet of the LORD to bless my Daddy twice with getting to be interviewed on the news for his service to our country.  

     As I thought about my Daddy serving on a battleship in WWII, I wondered if there were ever times that my Daddy felt like he was going to perish.  He was a shopkeeper on the ship, in charge of ordering all the supplies and keeping the store running.  I remember Daddy telling me that they did have a Japanese suicide plane heading for their ship and it was shot down thankfully.  I know there were a lot of men and women in circumstances during WWII and the other wars that have been fought, and who are serving our country today in foreign lands who have wondered if they were going to perish during their time of service, and as you all know, many of them have so that we might enjoy the freedoms that we have.  Thank you, LORD for all the men and women and their families who have sacrificed and given their all.  Thank you, everyone reading this, for all of you who have served in the military and for all who have had loved ones who served.

    Daddy may not have come close to perishing from the bullet of an enemy in WWII but I know that there have been hard times in his life that he wondered if our family was going to make it.  One of those times Daddy told me about several years ago in my kitchen when I was wondering if I was going to make it with my sickness, and homeschooling my kids.  Daddy recalled the time when my Mom was very sick and her doctor bills and drug bills were very expensive and she had to be in a hospital for a good long while.  His insurance from work had paid all they were going to pay, and Daddy with 7 mouths to feed, including his, was wondering how he was going to manage to pay and keep up with all the bills.  He told me he went by after work one day to see our pastor at our Methodist Church, Hobson Clark, and Daddy poured out his heart and cried to him.  Dr. Clark, prayed with my Daddy, and encouraged him that somehow GOD was going to provide for our family.  It was a short time afterward's that the insurance through Daddy's work was changed, and it covered all Mother's doctor bills.  That's just one story of faith how GOD provided my Daddy's and my family's needs and kept our family from perishing under the weight of bills that my Daddy couldn't see how they were going to be paid.  

    I really haven't thought of that story in a long, long time, but as I think about it now, it sure does give me courage, in the place the LORD has me walking...another place of faith, another place to trust HIM that just as HE has always provided in the past, HE will during the future for all my needs in CHRIST JESUS.  That doesn't mean that the "Cross will not get heavy, and the load will not be hard to bear," as the Crabb family sings, in "Through the Fire,"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP4OvUU-ZHU but it does mean that whatever strength, whatever peace, whatever i need, will be provided for me each and every day.  I love the verse I read this morning, and claimed it many times as a younger woman with health issues having to depend on the LORD to help me through each day to homeschool my children.."Your sandals shall be iron and bronze; As thy days are, so shall thy strength be." Deuteronomy 33:25.  I had the opportunity to share GOD's faithfulness to strengthen me with Jean Brinkley this week on FB.  She is a young Mom who has cancer, and she made the comment on FB, it was a whole lot more fun to homeschool, before chemo and cancer.  I haven't had cancer, but i know it can be "rough terrain," homeschooling your kids and not feeling well.  The LORD was ever so faithful to strengthen me and carry me through those years, just as HE is now..."JESUS CHRIST is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8.  When our circumstances change, HE's still the same, and loves us ever just as much as when our circumstances were more pleasing to us...HE is sovereign, has a plan and purpose and "engineers the circumstances," that we find ourselves, or our loved ones find themselves in.

             This week i wanted to share with you the testimony of Jordan Johnson, the son of our former pastor, Aaron Johnson. Jordan is the one I have asked you to pray for after he fell 26 feet in a scissor lift on to concrete. His circumstances sure did change in the matter of a few seconds as he went from being a "young strong buck," and described himself as thinking he was "invincible," to being broken and crumbled on the asphalt, and not knowing if he would ever be able to walk again. Jordan has had an incredible journey, physically and spiritually these past 8 weeks.   Many of us have been blessed all over the world to read about his journey and see the pictures on FB of the answers to prayers as the LORD is restoring Jordan physically, and more importantly spiritually.   This past weekend, Jordan, with his Daddy pushing him in his wheelchair, "ran" a race with his Daddy, sister, and other friends.  It is amazing and a direct answer to pray that Jordan continues to progress faster than the doctor's ever thought, and they decided to let him be in the race that started at 2:00 a.m. and ended at 2:00 a.m. due to day lights savings.  It is amazing that Br. Aaron, who is a colon cancer survivor, with several other surgeries, was able to run and push his beloved son in the wheelchair.  

    Br. Aaron shares on the website after Jordan, that after resigning from Summit Church in Acworth, Georgia, and traveling and ministering in Europe, they were planning to return until Jordan's accident to pastor a church in Germany.   However, GOD had another plan...in the midst of the dark despair that Br. Aaron felt after Jordan's fall, GOD brought together a group of believers and out of that group, that have now started a church, and Br. Aaron is the pastor.  I was so encouraged as i listened to Jordan and to Br. Aaron, to see how GOD had turned tragedy into triumph, and had a plan and has a plan for all that HE has allowed in their lives...and HE does for our lives, though at times it looks like HE is going to let us perish. I know when Jordan's fall occurred, Br. Aaron shared on FB that what his son was going through was far worse than the six years Br. Aaron had been through with all his sickness and treatment...yet just this past weekend on FB, Br. Aaron, his wife, and his wife Denise, declared that this was the best weekend of their lives...GOD has brought joy out of sorrow and HE does that for you and me, giving us "beauty for ashes."   I hope you will take time to listen to Jordan's testimony and be encouraged by the work that GOD is doing, not only in Jordan and Br. Aaron's lives, but all the lives that their lives are touching for JESUS CHRIST  all over the world.   I think this next Tuesday, Jordan will be able to put weight on his legs for the first time, and attempt to walk.  He has been doing much other therapy at the rehab hospital there in Atlanta which is the best rehab hospital in the world to strengthen his muscles, and I would ask you to please remember Jordan and your family in your prayers.  His desire is to walk out of that rehab hospital on Dec. 7, the date his discharge is scheduled.     Pray GOD will give him that desire of his heart.  

                           True Grit...Br. Aaron pushing his son Jordan in the                                                    Impossible/Possible" 5k race in Kennesaw

http://christsbap tistchurch.org/cpt_sermons/jordans-testimonyaarons-recounting-of-cbcs-beginnings/ Jordan's Testimony

   Update added tonight (Friday) from Jordan Johnson's FB account:

   to my knowledge i do not have the credentials or smarts to know when a bone is fully healed or ready to bear weight. The only thing i know for sure is when the ability and timing are given from God you just know its right... today i defied what gradys' doctors ever imagined. I stood back up to a tall six foot three inch Jordan Johnson and i walked! It was only 4 steps, but it was 4 steps GIVEN FROM GOD! Thank god for every breath,step,and day you are given, everything is a blessing, a gift, what you do with it is your choice.

-jordan

    WOW...Praise GOD from WHOM all Blessings Flow!!!


   Another update on Sat. evening: Br. Aaron will be preaching a revival at New Hope Baptist near Athens, Al starting tomorrow morning through Weds. evening for all those around here who would like to go and hear him.  Service is at 11:00 a.m. in the morning and not sure about Sunday evening time, but Monday through Weds. is 6:30 p.m.

   

     Weds night at choir practice as we sang  the words "Master, Care Thou Not That We Perish," Br. Ryan said to sing it with expression, like we mean it.  I thought, i really do mean it...right now i feel as though i'm going to perish at times like the disciples did in the boat in the storm.  I know this in my head, the LORD has never failed to deliver me in the great trials of my life and HE won't this time either, but this old gal sure can be just like the disciples and be fearful wondering when the LORD is going to deliver me...ya'll pray for me and ask the LORD to give me HIS peace in the midst of the storm.  Listen as  Greater Vision sings this great song, "HE'D Still Been GOD," http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hw_lK5qim4.  This is a great song and I have really been blessed by it as I listened to it over and over. If you don't have a place to worship, come and join us this Sunday at FBC Athens at 10:30 a.m. for our worship service and worship our Master.  

     Even if our body does perish, for all those who are in CHRIST JESUS, we will go directly to be with HIM, the Scripture teaches us.  For those who don't know JESUS and haven't surrendered your life to HIM, you are in danger of perishing for all eternity in the firey flames of hell "where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:44.  That is not GOD's will..."The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." II Peter 3:9 I beg you today to surrender your life to the one WHO gave HIS life on the Cross of Calvary to pay for every sin you've ever done and ever will do.  HE loves you so much and I do too...won't you surrender your life to HIM today and ask HIM to forgive you for your sins today?

     The LORD continually has been reminding me that HE is here with me in the boat, and HE is in your boat too.  Below I've shared a devotion from JESUS Calling, a devotion book that has really meant a lot to me this summer, and helping me to practice the presence of JESUS every hour in my life.  A big part of our trials is so that we will draw nearer to our LORD JESUS, and HE longs to reveal HIMself to us and help us and strengthen us and provide all our needs as we depend on HIM.  HE is so faithful and has never let me or you down.                

JESUS Calling, Sarah Young

Sit quietly with Me, letting all your fears and worries bubble up to the surface of your consciousness. There, in the Light of My Presence, the bubbles pop and disappear. However, some fears surface over and over again, especially fear of the future. You tend to project yourself mentally into the next day, week, month, year, decade; and you visualize yourself coping badly in those times. What youare seeing is a false image, because it doesn’t include Me. Those gloomy times that you imagine will not come to pass, since My Presence will be with you at all times.

When a future-oriented worry assails you, capture it and disarm it by suffusing the Light of My Presence into that mental image. Say to yourself, “Jesus will be with me then and there. With His help, I can cope!” Then, come home to the present moment, where you can enjoy Peace in My Presence.

Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
—Luke 12:22–26

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
—Deuteronomy 31:6

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. - http://bit.ly/eF5kSq

     I loved these words from Streams in the Desert this week that reminds me when things look all messed up from our point of view, that GOD will revive us again, and bring new life when it looked like there was no hope of life again...that's what JESUS did on the Cross for us, HE brought life out of death.

Author: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman

Source: Streams in the Desert
Scripture Reference: Hosea 14:7

Seek Communion

"They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn and grow as the vine"

(Hosea 14:7).

The day closed with heavy showers. The plants in my garden were beaten down before the pelting storm, and I saw one flower that I had admired for its beauty and loved for its fragrance exposed to the pitiless storm. The flower fell, shut up its petals, dropped its head; and I saw that all its glory was gone. "I must wait till next year," I said, "before I see that beautiful thing again."

That night passed, and morning came; the sun shone again, and the morning brought strength to the flower. The light looked at it, and the flower looked at the light. There was contact and communion, and power passed into the flower. It held up its head, opened its petals, regained its glory, and seemed fairer than before. I wonder how it took place--this feeble thing coming into contact with the strong thing, and gaining strength!

I cannot tell how it is that I should be able to receive into my being a power to do and to bear by communion with God, but I know It is a fact.

Are you in peril through some crushing, heavy trial? Seek this communion with Christ, and you will receive strength and be able to conquer. "I will strengthen thee."

YESTERDAY'S GRIEF
The rain that fell a-yesterday is ruby on the roses,
Silver on the poplar leaf, and gold on willow stem;
The grief that chanced a-yesterday is silence that incloses
Holy loves when time and change shall never trouble them.
The rain that fell a-yesterday makes all the hillsides glisten,
Coral on the laurel and beryl on the grass;
The grief that chanced a-yesterday has taught the soul to listen
For whispers of eternity in all the winds that pass.
O faint-of-heart, storm-beaten, this rain will gleam tomorrow,
Flame within the columbine and jewels on the thorn,
Heaven in the forget-me-not; though sorrow now be sorrow,
Yet sorrow shall be, beauty in the magic of the morn.

--Katherine Lee Bates

     I know the LORD is doing a great work in Jordan's Johnson's life, in Jean Brinkley's life, in my Daddy's life and our family...and I know that HE is working in mine too...He asks us to be patient in the painful process, and He will revive us again, and bring glory to HIMself and joy to our hearts through our sufferings.  HE will not let us perish...and death is only a transition from this life to heaven and all GOD's glorious blessings for all those in CHRIST JESUS.  Please continue to remember all these in prayer, including my dear Mother and our family. I love you and thank GOD for you, thank you for taking time to read whatever you can, whenever you can...your encouragement and prayers are such a dear blessing to me.  

                                                                                 With all HIS love,

                                                                                          mitzi

-- 

"Praise GOD in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens.  Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness." Psalm 150:1-2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuI3PP3MIGA

"O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing"

"The Solid ROCK"

"My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by HIM; For whom the LORD loves HE chastens, And scourges every son whom HE receives." Hebrews 12:5-6

     Dear Praying Friends and Family,

                This past weekend, my Daddy celebrated his 85th birthday.  My brother Tracy from Sugar Land, Texas, flew in to spend time with Dad and Mom, and my other two brother's and I got to spend time with Daddy throughout the weekend.  It didn't work out for us all to get together at once and celebrate together, but all of us shared our love with our dear Daddy as we could visiting him and spending time with him which he loves the best.

My Daddy with my brother Ralph, in the cap, and my brother Tracy this past Sunday.

                 My dear Daddy has been such a "rock" for our family....if ever GOD made a man to be steady and faithful, and to love his family, my Daddy has been that for us.  Daddy is not a perfect man, as no man is...yes, i can think back, and look at weaknesses in my Daddy and I can see how GOD's grace has been so very sufficient in the midst of them to raise a crop of 5 children, with a wife who has struggled from sickness since the time i was born, 49 years ago.  

                GOD blessed my Daddy with abounding energy and health, and his patience has developed through the years:).  It was a good thing GOD blessed him with all that energy since Mother struggled so with her energy and health.  Yet she continued on preparing us healthy meals, grocery shopping, putting up things from the garden, buying our clothes, washing our clothes, and making sure we got our homework done.   Daddy ran a tight ship around our house...though i will admit he loosened the reigns quiet a bit with me being the baby...my brother's and sis will attest to that.  I'm sure by the time i came along, he and Mother were getting tired of raising young un's.  Nevertheless, i got my share of spankings with Daddy's belt when i was growing up...and the one i can remember the most is when i was supposed to have picked the green beans in our large garden, and i did a less than half way job.  I remember getting my legs striped good for that.  I honestly don't remember any other specific episodes of getting spanked, i just remember i did get spanked...i really did.  

    One of the things my Daddy wanted was for us to use our time wisely...when Daddy came home from work about 4:30 p.m. in the evenings it was a good idea to get up from the TV shows that Mother graciously let us watch after school, and find something to do around the house that was productive:).   Saturday mornings was for cleaning house for us girls, and the boys were usually outside working doing something...I do remember my brother Ralph and i think Joe had to mop and do other chores to around the house too in addition to working outside with Daddy. Jill, my older sis and I had most of the house cleaning, and i'm sure Mom...let me rephrase that...Jill and Mother had most of the house cleaning, and i pitched in.  I remember washing hairbrushes on Saturday, cleaning the bathrooms, the boys and the girls, and vacuuming...oh i didn't like to vacuum!  .   Daddy had Ralph and Joe chopping cotton and picking cotton when they were little guys to help out and make some money.   When the garden came in, there was always plenty to do to keep the Fowler children busy in the summer....picking, shelling, and my sis helped Mom and Dad with the canning.  I think i escaped that chore.  I used to sit on the couch in the summer time with buckets and clothes baskets full of butter beans, peas, green beans....saying, "I hate to shell butter beans, I hate to shell butter beans."  Didn't matter to Daddy, he knew that hard work and discipline was good for his children, and even though we just lived on an acre...he managed to find plenty for us to do around there...and if not there, helping my Granddaddy on his farm "up in the country," where Daddy's favorite pastime, working, was going up to help my Granddaddy on Saturday's and helping him repair his fences or whatever needed doing on Granddaddy's big farm.  

     "If you endure chastening, GOD deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?  But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.  Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect.  Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the FATHER of spirits and live?  For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but HE for our profit, that we may be partakers of HIS holiness." Hebrews 12:7-10

    We had plenty of fun too, growing up...like the camping trips i've told you about in here that Daddy took time out in the summer to take us on...those were a  lot of fun.  Daddy bought a used truck camper, a tent, and a used Crosby fishing boat that we learned to ski behind, and we were like the "Beverly Hillbillies," when we loaded up to go camping.  The boat was piled full of bicycles, lawn chairs, and whatever else would fit, us kids were tucked away in the truck camper and Mom and Dad had a nice quiet cab to ride up front alone in.  My brother Ralph would usually drive down in his Mustang later after he got off work to join us.  My oldest brother Joe, had already gone off to college i think by this time, and he missed out on our family camping ventures.  Speaking of my brother's cars...Daddy didn't have the money to buy new cars for us, and probably Joe and Ralph had to buy their own, i'm not sure.  But three of us kids had 1966-1967 Mustangs that Daddy fixed up and restored for us.  He didn't have much money to go around, but he sure had a lot of patience when it came to fixing up old cars, and restoring them.  In the picture is an old Cub Cadet Lawn Tractor that my Daddy just recently finished restoring...at 84!  Wow, what a blessing...the LORD has given him the health and all to be able to do that.  There is also a picture of the old barn we spent a lot of time in growing up as Daddy always had calves, a milk cow, chickens, dogs, kittens, etc...and a Farmall Tractor he still uses and keeps in the barn.

My Daddy on the tractor he stored this past year at 84!

                                

     One of the sweetest things that i have seen in my Daddy is how he is taking such good care of my Mother at this season of their lives.  Daddy helps her with the meals, grocery shops for them, cares her everywhere because she can't see good enough to drive, and they play Rook together several times a day.  Daddy stays home to be with Mother and cares for her, when he would like to go other places at times.  I really see my Daddy  as a picture of CHRIST who gave HIS life for us on the Cross, and Daddy has given his life for his wife, his family, and his friends over and over and over again.  

     

   

     The LORD has grown my Daddy in a lot of ways, just as HE is growing me and you.  My friend Wanda, who has so much wisdom has helped me to see that marriage is a process that GOD uses to change the both of us.  Wanda and Greg, both in their sixties have a marriage that is so enviable, as they go and do so much together now, but she reminds me of the rough times the LORD brought them through to get them to this point...and I see that in my Mama and Daddy's marriage, and i see that in mine and Johnny's marriage.  It's a refining process, and GOD is every working on us to polish us "HIS little rocks in CHRIST." HE sure has polished my Daddy and my Mother a lot through the trials and things HE has been so faithful to bring them through. 

    This past Sunday, our pastor starting singing as he was preaching, the hymn, "The Solid Rock."  I grew up knowing that hymn from the time i can't remember because Daddy was faithful to take us to church every Sunday, even when Mother didn't feel like going. I'm pretty sure my Mom used to play that song at the old piano in our house, and we would stand by her and sing it together.  JESUS sure has been "The Solid Rock" for our family through it all. When the preacher sang that first verse..."My hope is built on nothing less than JESUS blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on JESUS' name," the LORD really spoke to me.  

            As any of you know who have been reading these emails...i have been going through a time of discipline in my life for the past several months as i've had some new/old health issues crop up.  I have  tried every way in the world i know of to escape this "discipline," this trial, but my heavenly FATHER is going to keep me in it until it's time to come out of it.    I have looked to doctor's, nutritionist, chiropractor's, and  leaned really heavily on my family and friends, including my best friend Wanda, to help me through this trial.   GOD has used each and every one of them to help me and i am so grateful for their help, but they all are human and have limitations.  GOD  keeps reminding me that my HOPE is in HIM, the SOLID ROCK and i "dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on JESUS name."  I definitely think this time of discipline the LORD has been taking me through is teaching me that HE is my ALL and ALL...and HE is my SOLID ROCK. 

       "Through my deepest waters, hottest fires and darkest valleys GOD has taught me the deepest and the most eternal lessons." Elisabeth Elliot, A Path Through Suffering


      "YOU who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again, and bring me up again from the depths of the earth."  Psalm 71:20

       

       My heavenly FATHER, loves me even so much more than my earthly Daddy, and HE is my SOLID ROCK and your SOLID ROCK for all those who have surrendered their lives to CHRIST JESUS and trusted in HIM to pay for our sins on the Cross.  As much as my earthly Daddy loves me, it doesn't hold a candle to how very much my heavenly FATHER loves me...that he would give his SON to pay for my sins....HIS SON is an amazing gift that i can't even fathom....and HE did it for all of us.

      For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS only begotten SON that whosoever believeth in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

     If you don't know CHRIST as your LORD and SAVIOR, HE invites you to surrender your heart to HIM today...to repent of your sins and come to HIM the SOLID ROCK who will be to you the greatest DADDY that You could ever imagine..."Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither has it entered the heart of man the things that GOD has prepared for those who love HIM." I Cor. 2:9  

    Our heavenly FATHER loves us so much, that HE does discipline us...and that discipline is painful, but oh the harvest of righteousness that will come as a result of enduring that painful discipline that our FATHER lovingly lavishes upon us.  My Daddy disciplined us as he thought best, and i am so thankful for that discipline that produced a family of children of love JESUS, and each other, and others.  So thankful for that hard work ethic our Mother and Daddy taught us through discipline...and i am learning to be thankful for this time of discipline my heavenly FATHER is allowing me to go through right now.  HE is the SOLID ROCK, and though earthly comforters and help my fail me, GOD will never fail us as HE is ever faithful and ever working for our good and HIS glory.  

   " Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for yourself, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed." Heb. 12:11-12

    Thank you for letting me share with you about my Daddy, my earthly Daddy that GOD has so blessed me and my three brothers, and one sister with, and my heavenly FATHER, who loves  you and me and cares for us all so much, HE gave HIS SON to die for our sins.  HIS desire is that no one perish, and in these days of prophecy being fulfilled left and right, the time is drawing near for our LORD JESUS to come back for HIS bride, the Church.  JESUS is our Solid Rock, and when the world around us gives way, HE is the ROCK in the midst of the shifting sand. I included this recording a couple of months ago, about the Coming Global Transformation,http://www.thecomingglobaltransformation.org/ but in case you missed it, hope you can take time to listen in now.  This CD is a great witnessing tool about the Rapture and the changes  in our world that the Bible prophesied that are occuring all around us, even now...are you keeping up with Israel and their possible plans to attack Iran?  This could be the start of the war it talks about in Psalm 83.   Pray for Israel, and all that concerns them.

       I've included a version of "The Solid Rock," from You Tube that includes a little different variation of this old hymn.  I hope you are encouraged by it as i am....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQgD_Wg9DG4 .This coming Sunday we're singing "How GREAT is our GOD," by Chris Tomlin...this song and the video are beautiful in praise to our great GOD who loves us and planned your life and mine before we were born...HE knows the plan and HE has it all under control  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi0yLRX4d2M.  Come join us at FBC, Athens if you don't have a place to worship our GREAT GOD...worship service is at 10:30 a.m. and Sunday School is at 9:15 a.m.

      I sure would appreciate your prayers for my Mom...she has not been feeling well for several weeks and has been having some tests run recently.  Thank you for remembering her in your prayers, along with your continued prayers for our family.   Hannah Beth seems to be feeling okay even though she tested positive for mono and we are very thankful...she is studying hard, and gave her first injection this week, took out an NG tube, and last week helped start an IV.  John Mac started his training for the Apple store and will be doing that through Monday.  Please pray for him as he  searches for some answers to some health problems.  We all need your prayers, and we appreciate so much you praying for us.  It is always a privilege to pray for you and i love hearing from you.   

                                                                                     With all HIS love,

                                                                                         mitzi

                                        "The Solid Rock"

     "My hope is built on nothing less than JESUS' blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on JESUS' name.

      When darkness veils HIS lovely face, I rest on HIS unchanging grace; in ev' ry high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil.

     His oath, His covenant, HIS blood support me in the whelming flood; when all around my soul gives way, HE then is all my hope and stay.

     When HE shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in HIM be found, dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.

     Refrain:  On CHRIST, the solid Rock, I stand-all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand.

     

    

"Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall.  My soul still remembers and sinks within me.  This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because HIS compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; GREAT is YOUR faithfulness.  The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in HIM.  The LORD is good to those who wait for HIM, to the soul who seeks HIM.  It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD." Lamentations 3:19-26

         

     

   

      

--

"Praise GOD in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens.  Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness." Psalm 150:1-2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuI3PP3MIGA

"O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing"