Catch up!

Lots to catch up on. I skipped a couple weeks!

First of all, the big drama was great! Thayen was super cute in his costume. For those of you who weren't aware, our church puts on a big drama, "Behold the King," every year around Easter time. It was at the Spokane Operahouse and is free to the community. We were Joseph, Mary, and toddler Jesus. It was fun and even though for the past 3 months I was looking forward to being done with the practices and rehearsals, I was a little bummed when it was all over. We were so blessed to have my mom, Keely & Jarrod come to the drama and stay with us over Easter weekend.

Speaking of Easter, even though the weather was dreary, we managed Thayen's first egg hunt. I put Goldfish, pretzels, animal cookies, and Gushers (yes, those were his favorite, and no, I won't be giving them to him again--BLUE POOP!) in plastic eggs and laid them in the lawn. Once he figured out there were goodies in the eggs, he wouldn't slow down until he had eaten them all... Other than that, we had a pretty mellow day. It's nice to have those days.

By the way, notice Thayen's hand? He literally sucked the skin off of his thumb, so we've been putting a sock on it to give it a break and let it heal. After a week, it's looking much better. He doesn't mind it at all--maybe we'll break him of the habit? I think it'll have to stay on for several more weeks before that happens, but who knows?!

Next up is softball! I haven't played since college and I'm sooooo excited! Our first game is this Saturday--I'll have to remember to bring my camera. I hope the weather isn't gross. It's been windy, wet and cold--miserable! This morning we woke up to a couple inches of snow! What the heck? My tulips are coming up and it's still snowing! I sure hope they survive.

Oh, and I should be faithful to update: My dear friend who I spoke of in the last blog who I prayed over was migraine free for a couple days, which hasn't happened for her in a long time. I'm bummed they are back, but not discouraged. We battle on. "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.."

I am currently reading "When Heaven Invades Earth" by Bill Johnson. It is EXCELLENT. That's why I haven't blogged in a while--my spare time has been used devouring that book. If you haven't heard of Bethel church in Redding or Pastor Bill Johnson, you gotta get with it! Get your hands on any of his books or go see him speak when you get a chance. His entire church has the healing annointing. I am more than inspired when reading his material; every part of me is intensely affected. My spirit is leaping inside of me... I want to display more of Jesus in every way. I want to move in the miraculous and see the restoration, deliverance, and healing that the church so desperately needs today. It's the beginning of a revival, I tell ya! The bride is being perfected. I'm just so darn pumped!

I'm so high right now...

Where, oh where do I begin? Have you ever been so excited you just can't shut up or sit still? That's me. I'm so spiritually high right now, I might pass out. I'm going to try to only write the really big things and not all the little details so this blog isn't ginormous. Please stick with me and read through the end--it's really cool.

First of all, you need to know that Tim and I have been in this place for a couple months where we are waiting on the Lord for....something. We don't even know what! The Holy Spirit has made it evident to us that we are being called to do....something....bigger than just the ordinary, which is where we are at now. Even my dreams have revolved around this big unknown event: like I'm driving somewhere specific, but I don't know where and I can only see 4 feet in front of the car. Or I'm hiking a windy trail and I can't see what's beyond the next bend. But I'm excited about it, because I'm headed somewhere great! So lately we have been pursuing clarity, direction, and vision in prayer.

Now, the crazy cool part. There was a guest speaker at our church this last Sunday. (Her name is Sherry Simpson, although I don't know if I spelled it right) Her and her husband minister in the gifts of prophecy and healing. Her message was about not fearing and just doing what God has called us to do; bringing life to dry bones (Ezekiel 37). Now, it's a message most of us have heard, but part of it spoke to me about healing the sick, and giving life to the desolate. The Spirit inside me was screaming, "Preach on, sister!". As usual, I forgot to write down exactly what was spoken that impacted me so much, but it did stir something in me to get prayer from this couple after the service.

So it was our turn to get prayer, and boy, was it cool!! The first thing out of Sherry's husband's mouth to Tim was confirmation from the Spirit: "God is telling me that you are very analytical." Ha! So true! He went on speaking directly to Tim and his responsibilities as the spiritual head. I won't delve into that because it was more personal and pretty intense. Then he said that God wants us to start a couple's group in our home. Whether only one couple comes or ten, we need to lead that. That has been Tim's desire for a while now--so now we have the "go-ahead" from the Big Man. Next he said, "You are on a spiritual fast track. The Holy Spirit is pouring so much knowledge and wisdom into you both. You are going to learn and grow so much so fast right now, because God has something for you to do. He is going to have you do something so unusual and out-of-the-ordinary, you won't believe it. He will send someone to tell you what it is, and it will be so extraordinary that you won't believe it. So He will send someone else you don't even know to confirm it. You will literally walk by people and the Holy Spirit will come upon them and you will see lives changed." HOW COOL IS THAT?! And that's not all! Sherry spoke to us, and said, "Whoa! You are a special couple. You have a very strong annointing!" Then she spoke directly to me and said, "Don't be afraid. Do not have fear. Lay hands on people and declare healing. It may not happen the first or second time you do it, but soon it will happen. Jesus will heal them through you." HOW IN THE WORLD CAN I BE CALM AFTER THAT? Is it no wonder I have been seeking this gift from God that He affirmed it?

So guess who has been looking for sick people? The Holy Spirit is so bubbly inside of me I am leaking it all over! Just this morning I laid my hands on a friend who has had horrible migraines for a while now. God told me to lay my hands on her a while ago, and I was afraid she would think I was weird so I didn't. Shame on me! Anyhow, this morning I did and I prayed over her and declared health and wholeness and freedom of pain. Words were coming out of my mouth that were obviously not from me, but the Spirit. I spoke into her life things I didn't even really know about her that were true! When I was done, she turned and said, "Wow, I felt something! It was like a shock down the entire left side of my back, where the pain is." Then I had a chance to share about healing and prophecy with her, things she didn't even know. God is opening up an entire realm of Himself to her, that she didn't even know existed. NOW THAT'S THE COOLEST PART--THE SPIRITUAL GROWTH. I have faith that God took the migraines from her. I will update you later when I get a chance to talk to her. Sometimes we have an initial healing from the Lord, but that doesn't necessarily mean the enemy won't try to attack us there again and steal that healing. It's a battle, you know? As soon as the pain starts we literally need to declare victory in Christ and tell the enemy to take his pain and sickness and run.

There is no formula, no equation to how, why, who God heals. It can be different every time. Sometimes people with no faith at all are healed miraculously, and sometimes our faith in His healing heals us. And what about the blind guy who Jesus healed with mud & spit? Ever thought what that was about? Some people are healed just by listening to someone else's testimony of healing! Sometimes it happens in an instant, and other times it is gradual. What about the people that don't get healed? Oh, I wish I knew. All I do know for sure, is that his healing is real, and touches more than the physical but reaches to our very core. Our spirit is strengthened, He shows us more of Himself. And HE IS GOD! He can do anything; we just need to take Him out of the box.