189 – What Goes Around Comes Around and the Lord Provides

189 – What Goes Around Comes Around

and the Lord Provides

May 28, 1986

Today one of our church friends, Pam P, brought her sons to our house to play with the boys while our goal was to mend and sew. Actually, I tended the kids, changed bobbins, made popcorn, passed out popsicles, while she pinned and patched rips in Levis and sewed sleeping bag liners on the machine. Dan figured the kids might not be showering every night as we travel across the country and that liners would help preserve their sleeping bags.

Pam mentioned our clothes would be inadequate for the frigid winter that we were headed for in upstate NY. She said her husband’s uncle was a furrier and that he had given her a beautiful fur coat that was amazingly warm. She offered it to me.

She had an interesting story about the fur coat, which she felt proved that God had actually saved that coat for me!

Two years ago they tried to sell the fur coat at a garage sale and it did not sell. The proceeds of that sale paid their rent. The next month they still had no money, and wrote a check by faith which they could not cover. An envelope arrived with money in it and a return address which they later realized was the church’s post office box number. The message inside said, “God cares for His own.” Their rent check did not bounce, and she said it really built their faith.

WE SENT THAT MONEY TO THEM! I remember clearly Dan putting $350 cash in an envelope with the note I typed! Of course I didn’t tell her, but here she was serving me in my time of need and promising me her beautiful fur coat! She said they had never told anyone, that only God knew!

Yesterday a note and money came from Bonnie M—another person in our church we had given money to when they were in a pinch.

God is reminding me—freely freely you gave, open your hands to receive blessings NOW ! Don’t hesitate in any way to say YES to every blessing God sends your way!

When we prayed tonight, Dan teared up.

188- “Moving East?”

May 3, 1986

The church had given us a SUBURBAN, as a thank you gift to Dan for his work on building the church (and for my long suffering support of him!).

Our plan was to drive the Suburban across the US and to primarily camp out each night in our huge army tent and stay occasionally in motels. On my prayer list was our need for a way to get our furniture and belongings to our new place.

Our friend, Jan, called about an ad she saw in the local paper.

A Reno High School teacher was going to Cleveland, Ohio with a large truck to pick up a backhoe and wanted to take a load of stuff for someone who would pay his gas money! He had some large shipping crates. 4 ft wide x 8 ft high x 12 feet long.

Dan said we could fill three of them with our washer, dryer, fridge, dining room table, chairs, bunk beds, toys, and boxes of household items and clothes. The man wanted $600-$800 for gas money and said he would call us back by May 25. His plan was to leave June 5. The ad will run another week. He’d had 10 calls already. PRAISE GOD! THY WILL BE DONE!

This was a total Godsend! He chose us! Prayer and prayer support is amazing!

He dropped off the cartons, we packed them. We took the scenic route, he drove direct. He left Reno after we did and arrived in front of our house in Livonia, NY, 30 minutes before we rolled into the driveway!!! (No cell phones then, no coordination but God.)

Men from the school came to help Dan do the unloading!

This is one of our most favorite miracles of all the ones God has done for us!

187- Trust in the Lord

May 3, 1986

Dan was reading Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart…

…..and praying about Elim.

The phone rang. It was a student who was helping find homes for new families.

…do not lean on your own understanding….

There is an upstairs apartment in Livonia, a town 9 miles from the school: $185, 4 bedrooms, safe yard!!

Even though this was an amazing deal, I was really worried about taking an upstairs apartment–I could not imagine traipsing upstairs with bags of groceries, a toddler, big wheels, sleds…

but…

We decided NOT to lean on our own understanding. We prayed God would caution us by 5 pm Sunday, if we were not to take it.

There was no caution….

The student called back….

He had made a mistake! It’s a HOUSE with an apartment inside it—not an outside stairway! Praise God – Praise God – Praise God!

Our friend Bill offered to do the garage sale for us. But as it worked out he and his wife, Carol, took all four boys to their house on the day of our garage sale and kept them overnight. They have two boys who are our boys good friends.

We found out our church probably cannot be our non-profit organization so that people wanting to support us would get receipts.

But Fred, District Supervisor told our pastor, “we’ll work something out!”

186- Bible Principles

April 17, 1986

Genesis 12:1-2 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land which I shall show you…and I will bless you…and so you shall be a blessing.

Holy Spirit, precious Comforter and Encourager and Teacher, You are going to have to help me believe that these verses are truly for us. I am so easily shaken. But I saw You build me up in my most holy faith on Sunday through taking me aside to read Smith Wigglesworth and on Monday through praying with Karen and Jackie. I beseech You today to greatly increase my faith and help me to be assured that this is our call and then give me the grace to accept Your details, Your pressures, Your timing. I praise You. I want no idols before me, but I so want You and Your will.

Genesis 14:17 God sent Melchizekek to bless Abram.

God send Your man to bless Dan. Bless him. Anoint him with oil. Prophecy over him. Move, I humbly ask, by Your precious Spirit, on Dan at the prayer meeting right now. His feet are in the Jordan but he does not SEE that the waters are parted for us. Please move through Your servants at that meeting. I ask that the wonderful hand of our God would verify to Dan and the group that the waters are parted, that we are on schedule. Give forth direction, Lord. I pray in Jesus’ name.

(it didn’t happen this day this way, but it did happen!)

185- When to Go?

185-When to Go?

April 14, 1986

Genesis 7:4 For after seven more days I will cause it to rain…

God tells His people what He will do…

Genesis 8:15 Then God spoke to Noah, saying, Go out of the ark…

God can make it clear when to go out—we listen and keep moving toward our destination.

April 15

Karen and I prayed on the phone last night. Both of us were greatly encouraged in our spirits by God. She felt a major breakthrough regarding fear.

I was encouraged to focus on thankfulness of what God HAS DONE, not focus on the problem of how He still needs to provide. This is a great blessing to me. I know I must be quenching the Holy Spirit through my undisciplined negativism. In Jesus’ Name I ask POWER to change! His Spirit to change me!

We were greatly encouraged by these Bible verses about our pilgrimage to relocate to New York, our efforts to be built up in the Spirit, our goal to do God’s work in saving the lost.

Matthew18-21 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

184- Encouragements

184- Encouragements!

April 10, 1986

Genesis 7:16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.

Noah and his family obeyed God, did their part, and He did His part.

Us+Bible School –we are obeying–He will do His part and help us keep doing our part!

Genesis 8:1

Then God remembered Noah…

It was a long time of storm and rain and high water level—BUT GOD CAME THROUGH FOR THEM.

It has been years of seeking to go to Bible school, and God is coming through for us

Genesis 8:15 Then God spoke to Noah…

In His timing, God gave direction…

I am encouraged also that there was lots of unbelief surrounding Noah (the people watching him build the big boat did not ‘get it.’) That did not affect God’s perfect will and plan. And Noah just kept working and doing what God had told him to do.

Dan prayed this morning for encouragement for us through the Word or whatever way God would give it. I got VERY encouraged by the above insights. Dan was VERY encouraged when he went to the prayer meeting. Someone instigated the prayer for him. Jack B encouraged him to talk to Pastor about Life Center becoming our non-profit organization to handle our support money. Praise God for this revelation!

When I went to the Spiritual Warfare class, the leader talked to ME directly—almost as if I was the only one there! It was very uplifting. Jesus, thank You!

183- His Promises

March 24, 1986

Streams in the Desert: (paraphrased)

Quote God’s promise back to Him…“YOU SAID…”

He cannot say no. He must do as He has said.

Make your requests with definite earnestness if you would have definite answers.

Accept God at His Word. Believe that He really means EXACTLY what He says.

Pastor Dave’s sermons have been on a similar theme.

My experience has not taken me here yet. But I am on the threshold.

My experience is: praying in the Spirit on my entire ½ hour walk. And during my day keeping on praying in the Spirit, and NEW LIFE is coming.

Father, it is very sad that I did not obey You one year ago when through Gloria Copeland You told me to pray in the Spirit one hour at the beginning of each day .

Also today I prayed more earnestly than I usually do. I felt a new thrust to do this 2 or 3 days ago. To let go of the self prayers, the woe is me’s, the list of needs. And just to put Your Spirit in the driver’s seat.

182- Keep the Spirit in Control

April 13, 1986

Revelation: I must be fully in the Spirit in my relationship with my children, my circumstances, my body.

My wisdom teeth pulling experience last week was an outrageously beautiful experience and picture of the Spirit being in control.

My body was being torturously dealt with! I can see the grotesque faces of the nurse and the doctor frantically trying to get those teeth out. My cheek felt like it was tearing at one point and the drilling noises were screeching and high-pitched and deafening.

BUT I HAD ASKED GOD CLEARLY: NO MATTER WHAT MY BODY GOES THROUGH LET MY SPIRIT– MEANING YOUR SPIRIT IN MY SPIRIT– BE IN CONTROL.

I was several times reassuring the doctor and the nurse that I was fine. They were apologetic for putting me through so much but I was able to comfort them!

Now two days later, weakened from not eating because of the discomfort in my mouth, the boys are rowdy, my temper is short, there was an early morning phone call…I was going to have to answer the phone…

….but to the Lord I went as my Refuge. How can I reign in this situation with Christ Jesus? I felt He said, “Take dominion over the boys and don’t let the dirty dishes take dominion over you. You are in control. My Spirit will fill you and lead you. Be confident.”

181- Preparation for Elim

181-Preparation for Elim

February 9, 1986

Lord, this is what we are counting on YOU to breakthrough—these are the obstacles we see and right now we can’t see past them:

*finances: Tim’s emergency room bill, IRS due, VW bus debt, Dan’s truck engine debt, mine and Dan’s dental work, moving expenses for furniture, gas, motels, campsites, food.

*relocation expenses: rent, phone & power hookups;

*school fees: tuition $3,500; Dan’s uniforms (blazer with emblem); application fee, books

*living expenses for one year: $22,000 or more, You know, God.

We believe that You will handle all of this, that nothing is too difficult for You.

180- New York is On Our Minds

180- New York is

On Our Minds

January 27, 1986

Were we supposed to wait on God and keep waiting? Or were we supposed to grab His hand by faith and go forward with Him? We had already been delayed a year and a half. We were ready to leave home, friends, church, city, and launch out into our preparation for our calling to be missionaries to Japan.

Dan and I agreed that we are to begin planning to go to Elim.

We also believed that there is wisdom in counsel.

…in the multitude of counselors there is safety. Proverbs 11:17

I asked Jeanette, Betty, and Bev to pray. Dan had already talked to several men and is talking to pastor right now. May Pastor Dave have the discernment from Jesus to guide us, the foresight, the faith, the courage necessary to release us or not, as God Himself wills for us. Amen

Pastor advised Dan to go into pastoring–to find a church or plant a church–not go to school. But he said he would support us whatever we choose.

We kept praying and seeking God.

February 7

We had dinner with Norm and Marge. They paid for the baby sitter. $12. We found out that they know about Elim and the Spencer family (founders). They are excited for us! They encouraged us and prayed for us. We were very lifted up in our spirits.

Our Pastor agreed with the district supervisor that we plant a church. They believed Dan was ready to minister and not in need of further schooling.

Norm and Marge agreed with Paul and Karen–that we begin planning to attend Elim.

In hindsight we were doing a bold thing to step out in faith and trust God. And we have done many bold things since.

We had just received a letter from Elim requesting: $75 fee, reference letter from our pastor, phone interview with their Dean of Married Students, list of indebtedness while attending, and our means of support while attending the school. We replied and mailed it.

March 26