Disneyland for $20

To many, Disneyland is known as the Happiest Place on Earth, but to some it can also be the Most Expensive Place on Earth.  Who's with me???

This post is a story about how I was able to go to Disneyland for a mere $20. It's true!! 

A little over one year ago, I was writing out a tithe check to our church for my husband's payroll which he received a few days prior. As I was dating it, this thought crossed my mind: You should tithe on your AFLAC reimbursement too.

Um, what? I don't believe the Bible instructs us to tithe on supplemental insurance reimbursements. 

I had never had the thought to do this before, but whatever the case, the thought would NOT LEAVE MY MIND, so I obeyed that "thought", knowing it certainly didn't come from ME, and therefore must have come from GOD. It only meant an extra $20 addition to the check, but I felt better in my heart knowing I'd done what I believed to be the right thing.

The next morning, a friend of mine posted a photo on social media of herself in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland. As soon as I saw it I thought to myself, man, I wish I could go to Disneyland, then went on with my day.

A couple of hours later, I was at work when my boss asked if there was any way I might be able to go as a chaperone with my daughter's choir to DISNEYLAND in three days??? A school administrator had to drop out from going on the trip at the last minute, and because they were in a pinch, my way would be completely paid in addition to being given a meal stipend!!

SAY WHAT?????

Needless to say, I graciously bailed them out 😉 and agreed to go, and as soon as I did, do you want to know what the Lord brought back to my remembrance? My $20 tithe on the AFLAC reimbursement. It was such an odd thought to do that, and because it was so odd, I knew it had to have been God impressing me to do it. So I did, and the return on my obedience was ten fold!! That trip would have easily cost me $200, but I got to go for a mere $20!! SO COOL.

This same kind of thing has happened to me in regards to tithing several times. And those are just the times that I've taken notice! As much as I believe it blesses God when we hear His voice and obey, I wonder if it blesses Him even more when we notice His blessings in our lives and thank Him?

Disney with Megan
 💜March 2017💜







Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 
Malachi 3:10–12

That time I was healed after observing Yom Kippur

Did you know that non-Jewish people, like yours truly, can observe and celebrate Jewish (biblical) holidays? I did not know that! 

My curiosity was piqued when two of my close, non-Jewish friends told me back in December of 2015 that they were going to celebrate Hanukkah with their families.

Say what now???

They explained that there were blessings from the Lord to be had if one set time aside to observe the Jewish holidays. (My sister just told me that she saw a Gentile interviewed who celebrates the Jewish Feasts, and had this to say: "As I read the Old Testament, I realized that they were called 'The Lord's Feasts', meaning, we should ALL be celebrating them. It was just a given that the early Gentile believers would partake in them!" So there you go!!)

It was seven months after that, that I heard a Messianic Rabbi named Jason Sobel speak for the first time. My life has never been the same since.

In October of 2016, Rabbi Jason explained Yom Kippur to us. That it's a day of forgiveness and wholeness, and that our responsibility is to intercede in prayer for our family, friends, nation, etc. We are supposed to feast before sundown on the evening of Yom Kippur, and then fast after that until sundown the following day.

So I did that! My friends invited me to their house for dinner to "feast", and then I spent that following day praying and fasting. I'd prayed and fasted before, but this time felt different ... more purposeful, and hopeful.

That night I broke the fast with dinner, and went to bed expecting to wake up to abundant blessings!

What happened instead, was my sciatic nerve, which had been causing pain down my right leg for several weeks, was so painful when I awoke, that I could barely stumble out of bed and hobble into the bathroom! My husband asked if I was alright? I told him I didn't know!

I got into that bathroom and in my discouragement and maturity thought, "Really God? THIS is the blessing I get for dedicating yesterday to You?! Thanks a lot!!"

I showered and continued getting ready for work, all the while wincing at the pain radiating down my right leg. NOT COOL.

I don't know about you, but sometimes while I'm getting ready, I'll listen to music, or scripture being read on my phone's Bible App, or in the case of this day, listen to an episode of Sid Roth's It's Supernatural. That morning, I chose to listen to their most recent episode with guest Rabbi Jonathan Cahn who was talking about Yom Kippur. Perfect.

Towards the end of the episode, Rabbi Cahn said that he was going to blow the shofar, and if anyone needed healing, all they needed to do was believe that God would heal them as the shofar was sounding. 

I thought to myself, "Why not? Bring it!" So I asked the Lord to heal me as the shofar was blown, and HE DID. I WALKED OUT of that bathroom PAIN FREE, and haven't had an issue with my sciatic nerve since then!! It's been 6 months!!

Oh my goodness, I was SO EXCITED and GRATEFUL to the Lord for having mercy on such a green Yom Kippur observer like myself. He knew my heart was in the right place when I had observed His holiday, and perhaps He allowed my sciatic nerve pain to intensify so that He could show His miraculous power the morning after? Who knows? Whatever the case, the fact remains that I was healed that morning!!

Fast forward about 6 weeks, and I had a doctor's appointment to get a refill on my blood pressure medicine. I've had to take medication plus a diuretic for hypertension the past several years. It's just one of those health issues I've accepted as part of my genetic cross to bear. 

At this point, I had actually run out of my prescription 3 months prior and was trying to get by with only taking the diuretic until even that ran out 3 weeks before. Our insurance had changed, which required me to get established with a new doctor, and needless to say, I had put off the whole process way too long.

Before my new doctor came into the exam room, a nurse took my blood pressure. It was surprisingly low ... for me. I remember thinking how odd that was, as I usually have higher blood pressure at the doctor's office than when I'm relaxed at home.

The doctor came in, introduced herself, and asked why I was being seen that day? I told her I thought I was there for a refill on my hypertension medicine, but that after having been off it for 3 months, and off the diuretic for 3 weeks ... I wasn't so sure anymore, because the nurse had just taken my blood pressure, and it was within a good range for me.

She decided to take my blood pressure as well. Same numbers.

She said, "Well, how about I refill the diuretic, and see if these numbers stay the same with just that? Then maybe next time we'll discuss you going off of that as well?" I told her that worked for me!

As I drove home, the Lord brought to mind my healing experience in the bathroom, the morning after Yom Kippur, and how I was so desperate for healing of my sciatic nerve. Then He spoke to my heart, "You called out to Me for healing of just one thing that morning, but you had no idea ALL of the healing I had in store for you."

And He wasn't kidding.

I took the diuretic for a couple of months, and then stopped. My blood pressure numbers have been even better since being off that prescription!

Want more??? Okay!!! 

For 10+ years, I've suffered from something the internet calls Golfer's Vasculitis. Look it up. It ain't pretty. Basically, anytime I stand or walk for several hours in one day, like at an amusement park for instance, my legs break out in a most unsightly red rash.

Well, three weeks ago I was at an amusement park for 11 hours (after walking 2 miles the day before), and my legs were as milky white and rash free that night as they were first thing that morning!!!!

COME ON!!! That's the abundant life I'm talkin' 'bout yo!!! WOO HOO!!!! 

I may not be Jewish, but my Savior and Healer IS, and if He's wanting to extend blessings to me and my family when we celebrate these Jewish holy days, then WHY NOT?!?!?  I am ALL IN.  

And now for the icing on the kosher cake: My husband helped me celebrate Hanukkah with our daughters this past December 2016!!! WHAT?!?!? 
I KNOW!!!! I'm TELLING you, the BLESSINGS are REAL.

So be encouraged!! And celebrate the Jewish holidays!! Why not?

Shalom!! 💙

Prayer + Fasting = Chiropractor

Do you pray? 

Do you ever fast and pray? 

My mom used to talk about fasting and praying when I was growing up. She always made it sound like such a powerful combination. As an adult I have discovered that she was right!

In Matthew 6:16, Jesus says, "When you fast ..." He didn't say IF you fast, but rather WHEN you fast. I believe that means that He expects us to do this regularly as part of our Christian walk.

I have had many specific answers to prayer when I've added fasting to the mix. It's as if God knows that I really mean business when I'm willing to give up food!

Here are two examples of how specifically God answered a couple of my prayers when I fasted:

Example 1
When my oldest daughter was a toddler, she would suffer regularly from bladder infections. Naturally, her pediatrician was concerned, as was I. The fear was that urine was splashing back onto her kidneys, which could result in the development of scar tissue, and that could lead to problems later in life. In order to find out if this was happening, and if surgery would be needed, she was going to have to endure a very invasive test. Needless to say, I didn't want her to have to go through such a test, so I began to pray. I called my mom, who mentioned some outside factors that she'd heard could contribute to bladder infections, like bubble baths. Well, I did let Amanda take bubble baths, but how was I to know if she had a serious internal issue causing these bladder infections, or if it was strictly caused by sitting in a tub of highly concentrated soap? It would seem that the only way to know for sure would be for her to have the invasive test, which I didn't want her to have unless it was absolutely necessary.

I decided to fast the next morning until lunch time, and my prayer while I fasted was that my mentor Shirley would call me by 11:30 a.m., would ask me about Amanda, and would say to me that bubble baths can cause bladder infections. If all of that took place by 11:30 a.m., I would know for sure what was causing the infections, and would be able to tell the pediatrician with confidence that we would not be going forward with the invasive test. That may sound crazy, but when you have a serious decision to make, especially one that involves your child, you're willing to pray for crazy!

Well, Shirley did call by 11:30 a.m., she did ask about Amanda, and she did say that bubble baths (and colored toilet paper) have been known to cause bladder infections. I was so grateful to the Lord for answering my super duper specific prayer request!! And honestly, if Shirley hadn't called, I would have had a peace knowing that the invasive test was necessary, and that God would carry us through the medical road we needed to walk.

Interestingly enough, when I told the pediatrician that I would not be authorizing the test on Amanda, he said, "Okay, then I'd at least like to order an ultrasound, which will show us how her kidneys are doing." WHAT?!?!? A non-invasive ultrasound was an option all along??? Perhaps the other test would be more detailed, but STILL. So we had the ultrasound, and it showed two perfectly healthy, unscarred kidneys. Praise the Lord!

Example 2
A few years ago, during open enrollment for insurance, I couldn't decide if I should continue paying for AFLAC supplemental insurance. I'd had it for a couple of years, without needing to tap into it, and didn't want to pay for something I wasn't going to use. I don't know why this decision was stressing me out, but it was, so I decided to fast and pray one morning before joining a friend for lunch. My prayer was this: If I was supposed to keep AFLAC, my friend would say the word cancer before lunch was over.

She picked me up, and before she even backed out of my driveway, she said, "Guess who has cancer?" True story.

I continued my AFLAC coverage, and was able to turn in many claims for reimbursement that next year. Thank you, Lord!

So now for the most recent answer to fasting and prayer, and the reason I began this post in the first place.

Amanda is a sophomore in high school and a base on her cheer team. Her body has taken some abuse while participating in this sport, but she absolutely LOVES it (the sport, not the abuse.) About 5 weeks ago her low back started hurting, and her coaches told her she should see a chiropractor. 

There's a parent at our school, Dr. Joe Martin, who owns a gym that's connected to his chiropractic office. I've never been to a chiropractor, but know that my mom avoided carpal tunnel surgery because of chiropractic treatment. My husband, on the other hand, had a less than positive experience at a chiropractor. So I took her to her doctor first, who prescribed muscle relaxers and a week without participating in cheer. When that didn't help, she ordered an x-ray, with the thought that physical therapy would be the next step, depending on what the x-ray revealed.

Okay, here's the deal. I wanted relief for my daughter more than anything, but I didn't want to throw money down a path that wasn't going to ultimately help her. How is one to know what road to take in a situation like this? Well, if you're ME, you fast and pray. It was after fasting and praying last Monday morning, that this thought came to me: Pray for someone to say Doc Martin's name to you before you leave work tomorrow afternoon. If that happened, I would know to take her to him for chiropractic treatment. So, that's how I prayed.

It was 2:00 on Tuesday afternoon, and I was going to leave at 3:30 to take Amanda to get the x-ray, if Doc Martin's name was not spoken to me. That's when her coach, Hope, stopped by my office and expressed her concern for Amanda. I agreed that something needed to be done. She started telling me about one of the other coaches, and how she has a chiropractor who only charges the age of the child getting the adjustment. I listened, and when she paused I asked her, "So is that all?" And she said, "No. I think she needs to see Doc Martin."

DING! DING! DING! DING! Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!! 

I started to cry as I told her how she had just been a huge answer to prayer. Then she started crying because she had been feeling like her prayers for this cheer team were somehow not making a difference. Now she knew better. How cool is that? God blessed us both!

After work I texted our Superintendent, whose family had been treated in the past by Dr. Joe Martin, and asked how I could get Amanda an appointment. He just happened to BE at Doc's, and told me to bring her right then!! WHAT IN THE WORLD?!?!? So I drove Amanda over there, and after one adjustment, she felt SO MUCH BETTER!!! The pain was almost completely gone! No more muscle relaxers or x-ray needed!! We went back a few days later for one more adjustment, and now she is pain free!! THANK YOU, JESUS!! And THANK YOU, DR. JOE MARTIN!!

If you have a need that's weighing heavy on you, why not fast and pray about it?

And if you live in the the Fresno/Clovis, California area, and are in need of an excellent chiropractor, click here for Dr. Joe's website.

Being Seen at Starbucks

Last week I accompanied a group of eighth graders on a field trip. Before meeting at the school to board the bus, my daughter, husband and I hit a Starbucks across the street for some much needed caffeine. The extra long line was all a buzz with excitement, because most of them were my daughter's school mates, all headed on the same trip!

Shortly after placing our order, I noticed a woman sitting alone, waiting for her name to be called. She was beautiful and wearing a headscarf. In a split second, my limited knowledge of headscarves led me to make the assumption that she was Muslim. I then looked more closely at her expression, and couldn't decide if it was one of fear, loneliness, sadness, boredom, irritation ... or maybe all of the above. Everyone else waiting for orders was striking up conversations with others around them. Even with people they didn't know. That seems to happen at coffee houses. We're all so happy to be there, getting our fix. This woman, however, seemed to be invisible, and while it's not in my nature to reach out and chat with a stranger (there are actually fewer things I dislike more), there was something in me, pushing me out of my comfort zone. Dang it.

As I got closer to her, I noticed that she was wearing red scrubs with the logo, "Fresno City College Radiology". So I asked her if she attended Fresno City College, even though it was pretty obvious that she did ... or maybe taught there.

What happened next was the sweetest thing I've ever experienced in a Starbucks. Her stoic expression changed IN AN INSTANT to PURE JOY. It was as if she'd been sitting there, like she probably had done countless times, waiting to be seen. Waiting for someone, anyone, to just talk to her. She told me that she was in a 22 month program at Fresno City College, and was headed that morning to a hospital down the street for hands-on training. That sweet woman talked a mile a minute about her training, her family, her interest in helping people, and all with a sparkle in her eyes and smile on her face. 

Not long after I'd approached her, I was saddened to hear our order announced, because I knew our conversation would have to end. As I left, I told her it was so nice talking with her. She said the same. Then I touched her shoulder and said, "God bless you." She smiled and said, "Thank you."

I walked away feeling so blessed to have met someone so precious. I can only hope she left feeling loved.

It would have been much easier to have pretended I was too busy to exchange a few words with someone who looked to be so different. I'm thankful that on this day, I did the opposite. I hope I continue to choose the uncomfortable and reach out to others, especially when my introvertedness begs me to retreat.

Putting yourself out there and being friendly may feel awkward at times, but the reward is great. For everyone. Especially the one who takes the risk. 

Love is Jack in the Box Tacos

I've had better days.

Today was long and stressful, and by the time I left work at 7:30 I knew one thing: I was NOT going home and making myself dinner. I thought about my fast food options and decided on something I hadn't had in two years or more: tacos from Jack in the Box.

OH MY LANDS. That first bite took me straight back to my adolescence. I thought about how my mom worked so hard as a single parent, which meant that we were often served fast food for dinner, before she jetted off to her second job. I often wished she were able to be home more to cook for us (she's an amazing cook), but also knew that she would if she could.

Now that I'm a mother who works outside the home, I get it. After giving 110% to your employer, what's left? Just enough to drive through a fast food joint for dinner, that's what.

It was kinda funny a few weeks ago, I got home and actually had a plan for dinner: hamburgers. Then, just as I'm getting ready to start pulling everything out of the fridge, my husband, who's almost never home for dinner, walked through the door! His hamburger making skills are SO much better than mine that I said, "You're home! Would you mind barbecuing hamburgers for us?!"  He looked at me like I'd asked him to paint the exterior of the house or something just as taxing, and replied somewhat deflated, "Sure." 

He shuffled toward the sliding glass door that leads to the backyard patio where the grill resides, but stopped short and turned back around. He pulled out a bill from his wallet and said, "OR we could use this to go out for dinner." I started laughing. Couldn't help myself, and said while waving my arms in a circular motion in front of his weary self, "See this? This right here? This, 'I'm too tired to make dinner' thing going on? That's me EVERY SINGLE NIGHT when you're not home and the girls are demanding food." He smiled, and it felt good to know that he 'got it'. 

Life is full, and having to deal with "What's for dinner?" day in and day out can be a parent's undoing, but take heart! Some 35-40 years from now, your child just might have an epiphany in a fast food drive thru and actually appreciate you and the efforts you're making to keep them fed.

Blessings and greasy tacos to you and yours.

Crazy Summer Miracles

When summer comes to an end, it means a couple of things in our family:

1) Megan's birthday is coming up.
2) It's time to shop for school clothes.

Both of these events require money, and normally that would stress me out, but I work a fair bit of overtime during the summer which results in a nice paycheck right around the middle of July. This past summer was no different, so while I didn't know the exact amount of my overtime pay, I was pretty sure it would cover the cost of Megan's birthday wish list as well as school clothes. Until, that is, she showed me her list:

1) Braces (please)

2) Pink (Pink is only an option. If you only want to get me braces, that's fine too!)

3) Family time/swim

So, yeah. Braces is the main event here. A mere FIVE THOUSAND DOLLAR GIFT, is what she wants. Oh, and if we want, we can throw in something of the brand "Pink", from Victoria's Secret.

Needless to say, this list made my heart sink. I mean it's one thing for her to ask for a hamster at Christmas, knowing that there was maybe a 2% chance that her father would allow it. (He didn't, by the way.) But here's the thing about braces, she's wanted them since second grade, and honestly, while her teeth are nowhere NEAR as bad as MINE were as a kid, she still could benefit from having them. 

She's asked for them countless times, and my answer has always been that we can't afford them. Twice in the last 18 months, she's raised her hand in church when prompted to do so by our worship leader who asked if anyone "needed a miracle". She'd look up at me both times and mouth the word BRACES, so we both raised our hands and prayed for that miracle. 
(Here's a photo of her many years ago sporting homemade braces she created with a bobby pin and several earring backs.)

A couple of weeks after getting the list, I had the privilege of hearing a Messianic Jewish Rabbi named Jason Sobel speak at my friend Rachel's house, and his teaching was INCREDIBLE. I was so amazed by his knowledge of scripture as it related to Jew & Gentile, coupled with his genuine humility, that I wanted to give to his ministry financially. Since I really didn't have "extra" to give, I thought about redirecting my tithe from our church to Rabbi Jason. I mean, why not? As long as my husband kept tithing to our church, I figured God would be okay with me giving elsewhere. And yet, I knew I should pray before making the switch, just to be sure. So I prayed, and prayed, aaaand prayed, but instead of a response from God, all I heard were crickets.

Meanwhile, I found out that my summer overtime pay was going to be $1000. I couldn't believe it! When you live paycheck to paycheck, this kind of surplus never happens. That's when it hit me: not only would the girls' school clothes be covered, but it looked like there would be enough for a down payment on Megan's braces to boot!! I was SO excited and grateful to the Lord for His provision, and scheduled two orthodontist consultations.

A day or so later, I was reading in Acts 8 about God telling Philip to go stand next to an Ethiopian's chariot. I read that and thought, "THAT'S an ODD thing for God to tell Philip to do." What I found even more odd, was that Philip DID IT. Turns out, the Ethiopian was reading from Isaiah, and didn't understand what he was reading. So Philip, because he was standing there like God had told him to do, was able to explain the scripture and subsequently share the good news of Jesus with him, which lead to his conversion and baptism.

When I finished reading, I wrote down that I hoped I would hear God's voice when He wanted me to do something, and that I would be obedient to actually DO whatever it was that He asked of me, even if it seemed odd, because if my obedience would ultimately further His kingdom, then I wanted to be a part of that!

I then spent some time in prayer, and got ready for the day. While I was in the shower, I started dialoguing with God. I said, "You know, You've never answered me on whether or not it's okay for me to give my tithe to Rabbi Jason." And then a thought immediately came, which is the way God speaks to me. (I know it's Him, because the thoughts and ideas He places in my head, are ones that I would not normally come up with myself.) He said, "You can't give your tithe, but you can give extra." I argued, "But I don't have any extra." He countered, "You have a thousand dollars." I froze. "Uh ... no, I don't. That isn't extra, that is for my girls school clothes and Megan's one-and-only-heart's-desire-braces deposit. Surely You wouldn't ask me to give their money away, right? RIGHT?!?! HELLO????"

Back to crickets. Ugh.

So I wrote down, right below my sentence stating that I wanted to hear from God, and be obedient to Him, even if it seemed odd, that I thought he was telling me to give the $1000 to Rabbi Jason. I also wrote that He knew I was going to be seeing a woman that night at a home group that heard clearly from Him, and that He would need to confirm through her that I'd heard Him correctly regarding the $1000, otherwise, it was going to be used on my daughters. That's right, I gave God an ultimatum. Isn't that nice?

That evening, I arrived a little early, and wouldn't you know, this woman (her name is Cookie) was the first person I saw. We exchanged some small talk, but she said nothing regarding me hearing from the Lord that morning. Hmm. Well, the night was still young, I figured, and tried to focus on the worship and teaching.

My friend Aly was giving a message from Isaiah 55, and began reading aloud:

"Come all you who are thirsty, 

come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.
² Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and you will delight in the richest of fare.
³ Give ear and come to me;
    listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
    my faithful love promised to David.
⁴ See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
    a ruler and commander of the peoples.
⁵ Surely you will summon nations you know not,
    and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendor.”

⁶ Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call on him while he is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.
¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
¹² You will go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
    will clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
    and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
    for an everlasting sign,
    that will endure forever.”

I sat there thinking, I suppose that could apply to my situation, Lord, but that wasn't the deal. You are to confirm through Cookie, remember? Okay, good.

Aly then said that she felt led to share a story about the "miracle clothes" God provided for her daughter back when she was seven years old. Basically, her daughter had no summer clothes, and they only had $30 to make it happen. As she was praying about it, and asking the Lord to direct her to the right yard sales the next morning so as to stretch her $30 as far as possible, He told her to have her daughter make a list of what she wanted. She argued, "Uh, she'll want what I can find." He didn't let her pass on this, so she asked her daughter what kind of summer clothes she wanted? The list included pink and purple sundresses, short sets where the picture on the shirt matched the picture on the shorts, white sandals and pink Converse tennis shoes. GREAT. Thirty dollars might buy the Converse tennis shoes, but that's about it.

The next morning, while it was still dark, she walked out to her garage and stumbled over a box. She opened her car door so that light would shine on it, and when she opened it, there inside were pink, purple and floral sundresses, never worn - with tags still on them from Macy's and Gymboree, all in her daughter's size. WHAT in the WORLD?? Then she dug a little deeper and saw short sets just like her daughter described. Again, brand new with tags still attached. At this point she is mildly freaking out. Below the short sets she sees a pair of new white sandals. And at the very bottom of the box, you guessed it, PINK CONVERSE TENNIS SHOES. COME ON!!! So as she's wiping away the tears and asking God how this could be happening, He reminded her of a time back when her daughter was a baby, and her friend who had a 7 year old at the time, came over with a box of girlie clothes that her tom-boy daughter refused to wear. She said, "I know you don't think your daughter will ever be this big, but trust me, someday she'll want these." WOW!!! AMAZING.

So as I'm sitting there listening to this incredible tale, I give God a "well played" nod, but let Him know that while the testimony I'd just heard was inspirational, and could apply to my situation, that was not the confirmation I'd asked of Him. (Why He puts up with me, I'll never know.)

Next up was prayer. We prayed for a couple of people who needed healing, then my friend Rachel's son suggested that we pray for crazy miracles. Like the time their vacuum broke down right before a bunch of guests were to arrive, and a little while after praying, one showed up on the walkway outside their house!! TRUE STORY. So Rachel asked if there was anyone in the group who needed a crazy miracle? I stared at her, and she stared at me, and I stared back at her, and finally she asked, "Do you need a crazy miracle?" She asked kinda surprised, because we're in a prayer group together, so if I had need of a miracle, she would have already known about it. I said, "I'm not sure. Maybe." She urged me to continue. I said, super lamely, in front of like 20 people, "Well, I think God told me to do something this morning, but it's CRAZY. SO crazy, that I told him He'd have to confirm it through Cookie tonight, but she hasn't confirmed it yet, and now the whole THING is blown, because I've said it out loud and I'm not gonna' know if it was God or not. Ugh." That's when Cookie said, "Well what is it?!" So I told everyone about the clothing/braces money, wanting to tithe to Rabbi Jason, but feeling like God told me to send him my "extra" money, which was earmarked for my girls, yada yada yada. I said, through sobs, "He wouldn't ask me to give away my girls' money, would He?" 

I could tell by the looks on everyone's faces that they believed I had heard from the Lord correctly. And honestly, by that time, I knew I had too, but it was SO HARD to believe that a caring heavenly father would ask me to give up SO MUCH. Cookie said, "Well you know, it says in the Bible that those who bless the Jews will be blessed." Really? I hadn't remembered reading that before. Then my mentor, Shirley, said, "You have such a rich heritage of the Lord providing for your family when you were growing up, in miraculous ways, and for your mom when she was young. I believe He wants to show your girls that HE is THEIR provider as well."

So we began praying for miracles. It was the sweetest time, hearing children praying for me and my girls. And then peers and mentors praying for us. I was a complete wreck by the end of it, but knew what I had to do. Shirley took my hand and said, "I feel like you're going to have so much joy in the giving. It's going to be very joyful."

I believed her.

I left the home group to pick up my husband from work. He got in the car and asked, "So how was it?" I said, "Oh, I'll TELL you how it was." I shared the whole kit and caboodle, pulled into the garage and said, "And now I get to tell our girls that I'm giving away their clothing and braces money! Good times."

I called the girls together and explained as best I could what God was asking me to do. I said, "For whatever reason, God is wanting to show us that HE is our provider, and that we can trust Him with our needs." I have to say, I was extremely proud of them and how they received the news. Megan, after hearing Aly's miracle clothing story, asked if they had to go looking in our garage for school clothes? I told her I didn't think that would be necessary. Amanda acknowledged that it wouldn't be fun waiting for God to provide, but that she was okay with it.

The next morning, I couldn't WAIT to go online and give the $1000 to Rabbi Jason's ministry! I was filled with such joy and expectation as I clicked on the link and waited for the page to load. And when it did, this is the first screen I saw:

And THERE it was, my confirmation from Cookie, just in case I had any doubt that I had heard from Him the day before. "I will bless those who bless Israel." SO AWESOME!!

That night, around 5:45 p.m., I saw that there was a message on our home phone. I listened to it, and called the person back. They were wanting to confirm my address, because they were going to be mailing me something and wanted to make sure it was going to the right place. I listened in disbelief as they told me that the Lord had told them to give me $500 for my girls school clothes.

WHAT???? 

NO LIE. 

They were going to be mailing me a check for FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS for my girls to buy school clothes!! 

I have to fight back the tears now just thinking about that moment.

I told Megan, who was helping me with dinner at the time, and could barely believe the words I was saying to her!! Just then, Megan heard a notification from my phone and said, "Mom, you got a text." So I went over and read the text. It was from someone I'd met the night before, and she was asking me to please call her, so I did.

She proceeded to tell me that after leaving home group the night before, God told her that she was to pay for my daughter's braces.

I said, "What?" Thinking that I had heard wrong, or that she'd said it wrong. Did she say she was going to pay for Megan's BRACES ... as in ALL OF IT? Maybe she meant the deposit, which would be WONDERFUL. But she clarified that God had told her she was to pay for the WHOLE treatment, and that she had to call me and tell me that night. She wasn't to wait until the next day. Honestly, I think she was as stunned as I was. We were both crying, and Megan was laying on my bed watching me and wondering what was wrong?

As the call ended, I got to share with Meg that God had told someone I had just met the night before, to pay for her braces, whom she'd never met. We thanked the Lord, and I texted my husband and oldest daughter what had just transpired in the last 30 minutes. Needless to say, they were floored!!

And as if ALL THAT weren't enough, the Lord prompted someone else to look into a situation where they thought I was owed some money. I thought they were crazy, knowing I wasn't owed ANYTHING. As it turns out, they were right, and paid me what was owed: ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS.

So yeah. How's THAT for a testimony of God's CRAZY MIRACULOUS PROVISION?!?

And the story goes on and on ... When Rabbi Jason heard about all that the Lord had done after the $1000 had been given, he shared the story with another group he was teaching. Afterwards a woman came forward and said that she felt she was to give TWICE the amount that I had given!! ARE YOU EVEN KIDDING ME??? HOW COOL IS THAT???

And there are others, who felt like they too were to give to his ministry, and God returned their gift to them as much as 3 times what they gave!! THAT is what can happen when we daily spend time in God's Word, pray, take time to listen for His voice, and obey what He tells us to do ... even if it sounds odd or CRAZY.

Here are a few photos of our miraculous journey ...

Shopping for school clothes!!













My dear friend Dena surprised Meg on her birthday with the "Pink" shirt she wanted!

BRACES!!!

Me & Rabbi Jason Sobel, partners in ministry!

If you would like to know more about Rabbi Jason's ministry, Fusion Global, or would like to give a donation, click HERE.