We were at Lake Ozark , Missouri , for our churches annual 8 day celebration . My husband Leo and I sang in the Choir . On Tuesday morning we sang backup music to open the worship service . We had just finished practicing for choir and I came down from the stage to my seat for church services . It wasn 't long before Mrs . Petcu ( my daughter 's mother - in - law ) was at the end of our isle motioning for me to come to her . She said , " I noticed you smiling and waving and thought maybe you haven 't heard . " I said , " Heard what ? " She said , " Ronda ( my daughter ) and Matt ( my grandson ) were in a camper that blew - up and have been taken to the hospital . " My heart just almost stopped ! She continued saying that they were in an explosion / implosion and they were burned . I started looking around for Stacy ( my daughter ) and she was looking for me . We found each other just about the same time the announcement for prayers for my daughter , her son and the Mitchell 's , some good friends of ours , came over the speaker . My heart fell to the floor and my knees went weak . I asked my husband and my brother to watch Stacy 's son . Stacy and I went to the hospital . They weren 't there . They transferred them to another hospital up in Columbia . They were immediately placed in the Burn Unit . Now I was frantic and the only thing I could think was , " Oh God , please let them be OK ! Ronda and Matt were having breakfast with Donny and Donny 's parents and Grandma . As they were eating their eggs , Mrs . Jean Mitchell ( Donny 's mom ) , smelled gas , and Mr . Don Mitchell ( Donny 's dad ) , said he would check it out . He lit a match and the gas exploded . Donny was telling me that Ronda was O . K . , but Matt was burned a couple of places on his face and that he was coming from the hospital and Ronda needed clothes for her and Matt , and Donny needed to go see how Mom and Grandma were . I said , " O . K . , you go see about them . We 'll get clothes and go to Columbia . It took forever to get to Columbia ! We went into the ER and they said they weren 't there yet . The ambulance they would have traveled in was outside , so after waiting way too long in the ER I was going to find admitting or someone else who could tell me something when the ER person said , " Oh , they took them straight up to the burn unit . " It scared me some more ! I think I held my breath going up the elevator ! The doors opened and with instant relief but still much concerned , I saw Matt standing down the hall with this way too big blue hospital shirt on . He was burned on the left side of his face , his hair was matted where it was burned , his eyelids were red and puffy , and he was just standing there drinking some water . Then I turned and saw Ronda sitting on a chair with hardly anything wrong , just some minor cuts and matted hair . Then she told me they still had Don , Sr . in the room . I got permission to see him . His hands were bandaged and IV 's were going . He had some second degree burns but that didn 't stop him from giving me a big smile ! Then the nurse came in and said after he got a shot he could leave too . Later my husband and I went over to the trailer camper and when we saw it we couldn 't believe it ! It was TOTALED ! The camper had glass blown everywhere , the walls were bowed out . Cabinets were off the wall . It was a mess ! Mrs . Mitchell told us that she smelled gas , she was standing at the sink and her husband was below the sink looking at the tank . Matt was sitting behind them and to one side . When Don Sr . went to check the pilot … BOOM … . Matt said he saw a blue ball come right at him as cabinets blew off the wall and fell into the chair where he was sitting . ( He ducked his head which kept a cabinet from hitting him . ) The fire wrapped around Jeans ankles as Ronda grabbed Matt and raced out the door . Donny pulled grandma out while he was trying put out the fire in her hair at the same time . Don , Sr . took the full blast on his face and hands , and then had to get into his pocket for keys to get to the big tanks to shut them off , breaking blisters that had already formed . I didn 't know until later that Donny 's ear was burned in the fire also . People who were camping to one side of them emptied 4 fire extinguishers and put out the fire , keeping it from the big tanks . People on the other side were catching victims as they jumped out of the demolished camper . The fire department said they expected to find everyone dead , that with an explosion / implosion like that usually no one survived . The EMT 's said that they must have been protected by angels . Yes , the angels were very busy that day , and so were the thousands of members who were praying for all the injured people heading to the hospital . Before they were transported from the accident scene they were all anointed by our minister . Mr . Petcu had anointed Don , Sr . and Matt and Ronda at Lake Ozark Hospital and on the ride to Columbia , Mo . Don , Sr . said he couldn 't feel the pain . God was already intervening and healing ! For the remaining 6 days of that Festival I thanked God every day ! When we sang praises to Him I sang with all my heart ! There were six people in that camper trailer , and I don 't know how many angels , but to this very day I thank God , and I thank God , and I thank God . One day , when I was a freshman in high school , I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school . His name was Kyle . It looked like he was carrying all of his books . I thought to myself , " Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday ? He must really be a nerd . " I had quite a weekend planned ( parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon ) , so I shrugged my shoulders and went on . As I was walking , I saw a bunch of kids running toward him . They ran at him , knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt . His glasses went flying , and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him . He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes . My heart went out to him . So , I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses , and I saw a tear in his eye . As I handed him his glasses , I said , " Those guys are jerks . They really should get lives . " He looked at me and said , " Thanks ! " There was a big smile on his face . It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude . I helped him pick up his books , and asked him where he lived . As it turned out , he lived near me , so I asked him why I had never seen him before . He said he had gone to private school . I would have never hung out with a private school kid before . We talked all the way home , and I carried his books . He turned out to be a pretty cool kid . I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends . He said yes . We hung all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle , the more I liked him , and my friends thought the same of him . Monday morning came , and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again . I stopped him and said , " Boy , you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday ! " He just laughed and handed me half the books . Over the next four years , Kyle and I became best friends . When we were seniors , we began to think about college . Kyle decided on Georgetown , and I was going to Duke . I knew that we would always be friends , that the miles would never be a problem . He was going to be a doctor , and I was going for business on a football scholarship . Kyle was valedictorian of our class . I teased him all the time about being a nerd . He had to prepare a speech for graduation . I was so glad it wasn 't me having to get up there and speak . Graduation day , I saw Kyle . He looked great . He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school . He filled out and actually looked good in glasses . He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him . Boy , sometimes I was jealous . Today was one of those days . I could see that he was nervous about his speech . So , I smacked him on the back and said , " Hey , big guy , you 'll be great ! " He looked at me with one of those looks ( the really grateful one ) and smiled . " Thanks , " he said . As he started his speech , he cleared his throat , and began . " Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years . Your parents , your teachers , your siblings , maybe a coach … but mostly your friends . I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them . I am going to tell you a story . " I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met . He had planned to kill himself over the weekend . He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn 't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home . He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile . " Thankfully , I was saved . My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable . " I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome , popular boy told us all about his weakest moment . I saw his mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile . Not until that moment did I realize it 's depth . Never underestimate the power of your actions . With one small gesture you can change a person 's life , for better or for worse . God puts us all in each other 's lives to impact one another in some way . Look for God in others . Last December 20th I had a experience that changed my life and nearly ended it . I had personal questions that were answered also that I had in my mind for a while . I had been feeling a little under the weather on the 16th of December and decided not to work that following Monday or Tuesday . I thought since I had a lot of sick days built up I may as well take advantage of them since I didnt really feel well . I had very little appetite and was just not energetic at all . That Tuesday night at 11 : 30 I decided to go to bed and get some sleep . I stood up and with the remote in my hand I turned the television off and at that point the world stopped and life ended . The next thing I knew I was in Barnes hospital in an ICU unit . I thought I was in a dream because everything looked wrong to me . I could not see very well or very clearly . I could see maybe ten feet and it was very very murky and cloudy looking . Giving it a dreamlike appearance . I saw people that I worked with and thought " hmmm I Ive never dreamed of them before ! After about a few times of going in and out of consciousness , I came to my senses and realized that I was not dreaming ! I really was here in the hospital ! " How did I get here ? " I thought . I wondered did I have wreck or what . I noticed that the television had the date as the 23rd of December on it . I was completely baffled about the whole thing . I noticed I was hooked to all kinds of electronic things . There was a red light on my finger and a wire that went into my chest to my heart . My legs were attached to a massage machine and my arm to a blood pressure machine that took readings every 15 minutes it seemed . " What happened to me ? " My legs hurt really bad and I was weak . When I realized that I was REALLY in a hospital I thought " How did I get here ? Did I have a wreck ? I was lost . About 15 minutes after I had regained consciousness , a doctor came in and explained to me how I had been in a coma and how a lucky young man I was to be here . His words were very serious words , but the only thing I thought was what I was going to do when I get out . Later on during my hospital stay I learned from friends what had happened the four days that I was missing in my mind . I thought about God . God , in my view , did not let me die . He did an amazing thing in my book by saving my life . Here is what I am thnkful for . Life ? Of course ! But I am glad that God saw me when I was dying in my bed and before anyone had prayed a prayer about me , He acted ! God , I now know , really loves me a lot ! I didnt know that I was about to die that Tuesday night , but He did ! He did NOT allow it . For whatever reason . Maybe He was just being Himself … nice ! I loved Him and admired Him long before any of this thing happended to me . What a Great Person He is ! He defies logic to me . A Person Who can not only be smart and ever in control of things but He can be , and is , NICE ! ! He has been my Friend Who I have talked to for years and this is not the only time He has saved my life but that is for another time . I may not know who the beast is or false prophet or whatever . But I will go to my grave knowing that the God that I know really is a friend and that I am crazy about Him . By the way … He does love you deeply too . He will do for you what He has done for anyone . He really is No respecter of persons or any of the stuff we hold is high esteem . Thank Him that He is not . God … You are amazing ! My daughter , Kathleen , was 15 … too young to seriously date but she had a boyfriend . One evening , when I was leaving to pick up my son , Paul , from baseball practice , she asked if she could just go with her boyfriend to pick up his little brother at a friend 's house . She said they would come right back . I said , " All right , just make sure you wear your seat belt , and come right home . " After leaving the school , Paul and I ran in the store for the cake and some last minute goodies . As we were getting into the car , we heard and saw paramedics , fire trucks , three ambulances and of course a multitude of police cars . I got a sick feeling in my stomach and said to Paul , " Somebody needs our prayers , quick . " I wondered if there was a fire or a bad car accident . At one of the intersections I had to stop to let more emergency vehicles through , and prayed , " Lord , those people need you right now , go to them and place your protective hand over them . " We stopped at my parents to drop off the food , before going home to pick up Kathleen , but my father met me at the car and told us to not to rush , the party could wait a bit , because Therese had fallen asleep . " Which way did you go to the school ? " he asked , " Because there was a bad accident on the back road , I heard someone was killed . It happened just about the time you had to pick up Paul at the school and I know you always go that way . I was so happy to see you pull in , where 's Kathleen ? " I explained I was going back home to get her . As I drove the short distance home , I couldn 't help but worry what if she was involved in the accident ? I ran in the house and called out her name , dead silence . Then , the phone rang . It was her friend 's mother , who worked in the emergency room of our local hospital . She only told me that the three of At the hospital emergency room , I could hear one of the paramedics softly talking to another parent there , saying " I 'm so sorry , so very sorry " . I rushed by him and found the doctor in the hallway . He looked at me and asked if I believed in God , and with that my knees gave way . I wasn 't ready to accept the fact that Kathleen might be … " Oh please , not my girl " . " No , " he said , " you don 't understand , do you believe in divine intervention ? " I sammered , a weak , " Yes . " Not having a clue what he was talking about . He smiled at me and asked , " Do you know what shirt your daughter is wearing tonight ? " Nodding no , he told me to go down the hall and look . " Your daughter is blessed with angels and so are you . From what the emergency personnel told me , there is no way that your daughter should be alive , let alone only have a few scratches . " Kathleen was laying on a cart , waiting for more x - rays . When I got to her , we both sobbed . As I was hugging her I had the urge to check her shirt , unzipping her jacket . I read the words , " Jesus Saves . " I knew then , what the doctor had meant . All three were treated and released . On the way home that night , Kathleen told this story : " It was really weird , about a quarter of a mile before the accident , I said , ' Wait , we forgot to put our seat belts on , my Mother will kill me . ' Then a car was coming towards us in our lane , he swerved , and I knew we got hit in the passenger side of the car , where I was sitting . We got hit a total of three times because the car kept spinning in a circle . I felt his little brother 's hand on my shoulder , holding me tightly in place . " But Mom , after it was all over , I could still feel the hand on my shoulder . I looked and his little brother had flown out the back window of the car , as we later found out , on the first spin . " It was an angel , Mom , I know it ! " I knew it too , especially when we went the next day to look at the car , it had been split in half , right underneath my daughter 's seat . The driver of the other car , witnesses said , must have been traveling between 90 - 95 miles per hour and the point of impact was directly at Kathleen 's door . The police report stated that the car door was found fifty feet away from the accident scene , with the seat belt attached . So when the door broke loose , " the hand " was the only thing that saved my daughter 's life . I have been meaning to write this story for the past couple of years . Kathleen just turned 21 . While I was writing this I smiled and cried , but it 's all true . My name is Susan Rule . I am thirty - two years old and from New Jersey . I would just like to start out by giving God all the glory and praise for letting me be here to share this with you . I grew up in a Christian home with loving parents and two wonderful sisters . I was very involved in church up till about the age of seventeen , then my friends came first . My addiction started out by smoking and drinking alcohol . By the age of twenty - one I lived in the bars day and night . I started lying and stealing from my own family . I met my boyfriend who I loved very much and we moved in together . My boyfriend was involved in drugs and we started selling them out of our apartment . At first I was able to just sell the drugs and not use them . After a while of watching people come into my home and get high I started getting very courious , and I started using . Heroin became my best friend I always had to have it to get through my day . Heroin is a drug that if you don 't have it , you will do anything for it . I remember the last time my boyfriend and I went to pick up our package , we saw someone on the side of the road being searched . I remember us looking at each other and saying that will never happen to us , we have been doing this to for to long . Well , on the way home it did happen to us , I remember being on the side of the road and just being so humiliated and embarrassed . By that evening I was being booked and entered the county jail , they had taken my boyfriend to an another jail because of outstanding warrants . I remember just feeling so alone at that point . For the first week I just basically stayed to myself , I was very sick and weak , from coming off the heroin . I decided to call my parents after I started feeling better . My father came immediately to see me , my mother just couldn 't bare to see me . I could just see the hurt in my fathers eyes as he asked me what my plans were if I got out of jail . I didn 't know at that point in my life , I was tired and ready to just die . Since then I have dedicated my life to the Lord . God has helped me reconcile with my family , God has help me build up and my self - esteem , and God has even given me a hope and a future . I complete the program on July 31st , and I am already working as a staff member here . I thank god for forgiving my sins and making me his child . I 'll never forget my frustrating experience when I went to Chicago 's Union Station early one morning to pick up an elderly relative who was arriving by train . When I got there , she wasn 't where I thought she would be . With increasing anxiety I scoured the place - to no avail . Thinking she had missed her train , I was about to leave when I glanced down a hallway toward the baggage area . There she was , luggage at her feet , patiently waiting for me to arrive . She had been there all the time . And , to my chagrin , she was right where she was supposed to be . It 's that way with God . He 's there , patiently waiting for us . He assures us , " I did not say . . . , ' Seek Me in vain ' " ( Isa . 45 : 19 ) . Why , then , do we often have trouble finding Him ? Probably because we are looking in all the wrong places . You 'll find Him right where He is supposed to be - in His Word , in prayer , and in the voice of the Holy Spirit who lives within you . The God who says " seek , and you will find " ( Matt . 7 : 7 ) also promises that " He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him " ( Heb . 11 : 6 ) . So , you can rejoice that God is right where He is supposed to be , and He 's waiting for you right now . Jim Davidson was climbing down Mount Rainier when he fell through a snow bridge and into a crevasse ( a pitch - black , ice - walled crack in a glacier ) . As Jim stood bloodied and bruised in that dark ice cave , he reflected on his childhood and recalled how his father had repeatedly reminded him that he could accomplish great things if he pressed through adversity . Those words helped to sustain Jim as he spent the next 5 hours climbing out of that dark ice cave to safety with very little gear and under extremely difficult circumstances . The psalmist seemed to climb out of his own crevasse of affliction and pain by recalling his heavenly Father 's words . He admitted that if God and His Word had not sustained him with joy , he would have died in his misery ( Ps . 119 : 92 ) . He expressed full confidence in the Lord 's eternal Word ( v . 89 ) and in the faithfulness of His character ( v . 90 ) . As a result of God 's faithfulness , the psalmist made a commitment never to forget God 's words to him because they had a central part in rescuing his life and bringing him strength . The engine revved , but our jeep 's wheels spun futilely in the sand . Stuck ! It was another hot night in the fall of 1945 , on the Pacific island of Saipan , and my corporal had taken me out on patrol duty . Sometimes service members would sneak a vehicle off base to cruise around the island , then ditch the vehicle when they were though . It was our job to bring those vehicles back . We 'd noticed a set of tire tracks trailing off towards the beach and pulled off the main road to investigate . Now , the jeep refused to budge from its place , lodged in the sand . While the corporal radioed base for help , I climbed out of the jeep to see if I could get us moving again . I thought of my mother back in Pittsburgh . " I 'll be praying for your safety till the day you come home , " she 'd told me on the day I left for duty . I was only 18 - years - old at the time , and she worried about me terribly . Actually , Mom 's prayers must have been working . I hadn 't been in grave danger since my arrival on Saipan . Initially I 'd been scheduled to go to Okinawa , the heart of combat . But the army had another plan for me . " You 'll stay here in Saipan , " they informed me , " and serve in the military police . " I greeted this with relief , knowing that my chances of seeing home again were now considerably higher . I took a closer look at our jeep . The frame had caught on a mound of sand , so that the tires were slightly elevated and unable to gain traction . Nothing to do but wait , I thought . I could hear the waves of the Pacific in the distance as I scanned the sandy path in the jeep 's headlights . That 's when a dull , metal object illuminated in the headlights caught my eye . Hardly two feet in front of our vehicle , something small and pointy , sticking up from the sand . A 14 " navel shell , unexploded and ready to go off at the slightest touch ! My corporal radioed base again for additional support to help retrieve the bomb . I couldn 't help but think again about my mother 's prayers . Why had our jeep gotten stuck at exactly that moment , when the other vehicle whose tracks we 'd followed had apparently rolled on down the beach ? " Hello ? " I shouted , stepping through the front door of my parents ' house , shaking the snow off my boots . It felt like someone was there , even though I knew there wasn 't . With my dad in Texas for the winter , I came to check up on the house every so often - collect the mail , adjust the thermostat , make sure the winter storms hadn 't caused any damage . This was just a quick stop before I went home to celebrate my 29th wedding anniversary with my husband , Alan . I didn 't feel much like celebrating . Mom had passed away just after our anniversary one year ago . I kept thinking back to the last phone call I got from her . " Happy Anniversary ! " she said . " Mom loves you both so much ! " I wasn 't surprised she remembered . It was like she had some kind of internal " mom calendar " to recall every special occasion of family and friends , even at the age of 72 . When she died , I tried to remind myself that God had blessed her with a long , happy life , but that didn 't make it any easier to go on without her . I walked into the kitchen , mindlessly opening and closing the freezer door , half - expecting to see Mom standing at the counter , cutting up a tray of her famous chocolate - chip cookie bars . But no . Mom was gone . The house was so cold . I turned up the heat and then sat at the roll - top desk in the living room . Lined up across the top were family photos - graduations , weddings , holidays . " I never dreamed this big , " Mom always said at our celebrations . " That life could be this wonderful . " I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and stood up . That 's when I noticed something right by my foot . A small white card lying face down on the bright blue carpet . That 's weird , I thought . I 'd been here just last week and hadn 't seen any clutter on the desk . Where had it fallen from ? I bent over , picked it up , and flipped it over . I have always loved excitement . If something wasn 't happening , I would make it happen . I disliked school and I loved sports , especially hockey . You could say my life back then was a lot like this guy who was going for a bike ride when his chain came off . As he was trying to fix it , a blue Mustang pulled up alongside him . The driver suggested they tie the bike to the car and tow it back into town . " Just ring your bell if I 'm going to fast , " the driver said . As the two cars raced down the freeway , a policeman saw them and radioed back to base . " Pick up this blue Mustang and yellow Corvette . They 're going 100 miles an hour . " Then he paused . " Just a minute . You won 't believe this , but there 's a guy on a bike right behind them . He 's ringing his bell like a madman and I think he 's trying to pass ! " When I was twelve - years - old , I decided to go to a Christian summer camp , mostly because it sounded like a lot of fun . But I had to memorize 100 Bible verses in order to go . With a lot of help from my mother , I did it . My Sunday school teacher was at this Bible camp . His style was exactly opposite to mine . While I was spontaneous and impulsive , he was very steady and detail orientated . But he did have a certain quality that I really admired : He truly cared for me and loved me . One morning after breakfast , he asked me to come with him for a walk . We sat down under a tree . He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said , " Marvin , don 't you want to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ ? " Making a commitment to Christ was something that I wanted to do , but I hadn 't planned on doing until I was older . Inside I knew that it was the right thing to do . But that morning sitting under that tree , I was touched by how much this man cared for me . So I bowed my head and asked Jesus to forgive my sins , come into my heart , and make me the kind of person he wanted me to be . I had no great feeling at this point . I just remember a strong sense of relief , like a knot in my stomach had gone away . It was like I KNEW this is what I was created for . That day , I started on the course of life that God had chosen for me . My course was set ; my goal was heaven . But I had a few things I wanted to do before I got there … My father always encouraged me in the abilities he observed in me . One of strengths he saw was the ability to multiply money . I was a real Tom Sawyer type . When I had to pile firewood , I would let me friends ride my pony if they would pile a certain amount of wood . When I went to Winnipeg with my family , I bought three cap guns then sold two to my friends back at home for double the price . Seeing this , my father told me I would make a good businessman . It helped that I enjoyed work . I could work 12 hours a day and still not be tired . After Kathy and I were married , I used the money we made to help finance a church camp . I also bought myself a lot of toys - a boat , horses , nice cars , and so forth . But at the same time , I started to slowly drift off course . I had taken my eyes off the right goal . God blessed our hard work , and by the time we were 32 , we had reached our financial goals . But that knot in my stomach returned again . My priorities were wrong . My life was like a vacuum cleaner bag that was too full . There was no suction , no power . I had made money , but now I was constantly afraid of losing it . It seemed like I was holding water in my hand , and the tighter I tried to hold it , the more ran through . I remember standing in one of my barns one winter during a heavy , wet snowfall . The roof of the barn was threatening to cave in . I had done everything I could to prevent it , and I was totally exhausted . All I could do was wait and hope . It was one of those rare moments when I actually prayed . " God if you save this barn from caving in , I 'll do anything you want me to do . " The barn didn 't cave in , but I sure did . I forgot about the prayer until some time later . I had lost sight of my goal and I was dissatisfied with life . So , like a fanatic , I doubled my efforts . Soon I was involved in many more businesses . It didn 't take long before I began to realize that material things didn 't satisfy . About this time , a businessman and my brother - in - law encouraged Kathy and me to go to a conference put on by Campus Crusade for Christ in California . California was warm and sunny while it was a cold and rainy November in BC - not a difficult decision . We decided to go but we took a number of people with us . It was at this conference that I finally learned how to live a full and purpose - filled life . I learned that I didn 't have to live the Christian life in my own strength - Christ wanted to live his life in and though me . But he wanted to be president of my life - not just resident . That week , Katherine and I committed our time , our treasure , and our abilities to the Lordship of Jesus Christ . I decided to give it a six - month trial - but when six months had passed , I never looked back . My goal became to seek the Lord and His righteousness and to help fulfil our Lord 's Great Commission . I didn 't really want to accept that at first , because I had done a lot of good things . But I began asking God to give me an eternal perspective on everything I did . As I began to let God direct my life , my priorities started to change . The Bible became the authority for all of my decisions . It became the compass to keep me on course . After I made that commitment , I cut back on my business and began to work with Campus Crusade for Christ . I realized that everything I had was the Lord 's . I was just the manager , so I shouldn 't hold onto things too tightly . God made this clear to me soon after I 'd made this commitment to follow Christ . All of our chickens caught a disease . Egg production came almost to a standstill . Surprisingly , I did not panic . I realized that everything I had was God 's and if He wanted the chickens to die , that was all right . They were , after all , His chickens . This decision also impacted my work as a youth leader in our church . Even though I had always been fairly successful with youth , this group just did not seem to respond until I allowed the Lord to direct my life . Instead of majoring in entertainment , like we had been doing , we started majoring in proclaiming the gospel . A number of these young people were doing drugs - some of them were drug pushers in our area . So we began challenging them to commit their lives to Jesus Christ and help change the world - to become part of the solution instead of part of the problem . Our home was open to these young people every Monday night . Within a period of one year , over 100 young people committed their lives to the Lord . They then went into their high school and the local pool hall and challenged their peers and teachers with the gospel . The result was changed lives ! And a changed community ! One of the fathers and a teacher in the local school told us that the morals , morale , and academic achievement of their students had greatly improved because of these positive , enthusiastic young people . The owner of the school bus system said behaviour on the buses had also improved . Through all of this , God wanted to show me what he could do through me if I was available . And soon I knew without a shadow of a doubt that there was nothing that I would rather be doing than introducing people to Christ and helping them grow in their faith . That 's why we joined Campus Crusade for Christ , to be involved in winning people to Christ , building them in their faith , training them , and sending them out to win , build and train others . At that time , Campus Crusade for Christ 's goals were impossible without the Lord . But we know that God 's love and power know no bounds and barriers . Therefore , our plans should know no bounds or barriers . We have been given the opportunity to use technology , communication tools , manpower , and money to do the will of God I am still very much in love with the Lord . I trust him more than I ever have . But I still have to check my compass daily to see if I am on track . How about you ? Have you checked your compass lately ? In what direction are you heading ? Do you need to make a " in - flight " correction ? If so why don 't you say the following prayer and ask Christ to take over the control of your life . Dear Father , I need you . I acknowledge that I have sinned against you by directing my own life . I thank you that You have forgiven my sins through Christ 's death on the cross for me . I now invite Christ to again take His place on the throne of my life . Fill me with the Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled , and as You promised in Your Word that You would do if I asked in faith . I pray this in the name of Jesus . As an expression of my faith , I thank You for directing my life and for filling me with the Holy Spirit . Amen . History has provided us with thousands of stories of God 's people down the ages who have faced death with an unshakeable faith and a triumphant spirit . What follows are fifty such stories from the many I have gathered over the years . Though this may seem excessive , they are all stories worth telling and preserving for posterity . Though notproving the existence of life after death they certainly give us ample indications of the truth of the gospel . The power of the gospel often shines brightest at such times . More than that , such stories offer us lots of encouragement to so live our lives that when the end of our existence here comes upon us , and in whatever manner it comes , we may also be ready for our homecoming . The Bible associates concepts such as suffering , a bitter taste , bondage , fear , agony , emnity and corruption with death ( Hebrews 2 : 9 , 14 , 15 ; Acts 2 : 24 ; 1 Corinthians 15 : 26 , 53 , 54 ) . As these stories indicate , Jesus offers us an alternative . Jesus calls us not only to live well , but also to die well . In fact , our death can even be an act of worship , offering up our lives to God in death as we have in life . Paul regarded it as such . In the Old Testament , when a sacrifice was made , a drink offering or libation of oil or wine might be poured over it . This completed the offering . In his letter to the Philippians , Paul says , " Your faith in the Lord and your service are like a sacrifice offered to him . And my own blood may have to be poured out with the sacrifice . If this happens , I will be glad and rejoice with you " ( 2 : 17 ) . Esther Popel , in October Prayer wrote : When Charles Simeon , the influential vicar of Trinity Church in Cambridge , was dying , someone bathed his eyes and asked if he was relieved . Opening them and looking up to heaven , he said , " Soon they will behold all the glorified saints and angels around the throne of my God and Saviour , who has loved me unto death , and given Himself for me ; then I shall see Him whom , having not seen , I love ; in whom , though now I see Him not , yet believing I rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory " [ 1 Peter 1 : 8 ] . Then turning his eyes towards his friend , he added , " Of the reality of this I am as sure as if I were there this moment . " When D . L . Moody , the American evangelist , was dying , his son was at his bedside and heard him say in slow and measured words , " Earth recedes : heaven opens before me . " His son 's impulse was to arouse him from what he thought was a dream . " No , this is no dream , Will , " he said . " It is beautiful ! … If this is death , it is sweet ! … God is calling me and I must go . " Later he exclaimed , " This is my triumph ; this is my coronation day ! I have been looking forward to it for years . " Then his face lit up , and he said joyfully , " Dwight ! Irene ! I see the children 's faces ! " referring to his two grandchildren , whom God had taken home within the past year . Again he said later , " This is my coronation day ! It 's glorious ! " [ 25 ] Frances Havergal , the well - known blind hymn - writer , died on 3 June , 1879 . When her family could see the end was near , her sister Ellen recited Jesus I will Trust Thee , and Frances " clearly but faintly sang the whole verse , to her own tune Hermas . Then she was desperately sick again , and lay back murmuring , " There now it is all over ! Blessed rest ! " " And now , " wrote Maria , " she looked up steadfastly as if she saw the Lord … for ten minutes we watched that almost visible meeting with her King , and her countenance was so glad , as if she were already talking to him . Then she tried to sing , but after one sweet high note , ' He … ' her voice failed , and she passed away . Our precious sister was gone - satisfied , glorified - within the palace of her King ! " It is a glorious thing to die . I have been active and busy in the world . I have enjoyed as much as anyone . God has prospered me . I have property enough , but how small and mean does this world appear on a sick - bed ! Nothing can equal my enjoyment in the near view of heaven . My hope in Christ is worth infinitely more than all other things . The blood of Christ - the blood of Christ - none but Christ ! Oh , how thankful I feel that God has provided a way that I , sinful as I am , may look forward with joy to another world , through his dear Son . This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged God . , Joy , meaning , News , plan , point , stories , story . on September 17 , 2013 by admin . God Awareness On the FlightAware website , Kathy checked the progress of the small plane her husband Chuck was piloting to Chicago . With a few clicks , she could track when he took off , where his flight was at any moment , and exactly when he would land . A few decades earlier when Chuck was a pilot in West Africa , Kathy 's only contact had been a high - frequency radio . She recalls one occasion when 3 days had passed before she was able to reach him . She had no way of knowing that he was safe but unable to fly because the airplane had been damaged . But God was always aware of exactly where Chuck was and what he was doing , just as He is with us ( Job 34 : 21 ) . Nothing is hidden from His sight ( Heb . 4 : 13 ) . He knows our thoughts and our words ( 1 Chron . 28 : 9 ; Ps . 139 : 4 ) . And He knows what will happen in the future ( Isa . 46 : 10 ) . A man worked in a post office . His job was to process all mail that had illegible addresses . One day a letter came to his desk , addressed in shaky handwriting to God . He thought , " I better open this one and see what it 's all about . " So he opened it and it read : " Dear God , I am a 83 year old widow living on a very small pension . Yesterday someone stole my purse . It had a hundred dollars in it which was all the money I had until my next pension check . " " Next Sunday is Mother 's Day , and I had invited my last two friends over for dinner . Without that money , I have nothing to buy food with . " " I have no family to turn to , and you are my only hope . Can you please help me ? " The postal worker was touched , and went around showing the letter to all the others . Each of them dug into his wallet and came up with a few dollars . By the time he made the rounds , he had collected 96 dollars , which they put into an envelope and sent over to her . The rest of the day , all the workers felt a warm glow thinking of the nice thing they had done . Mother 's Day came and went , and a few days later came another letter from the old lady to God . All the workers gathered around while the letter was opened . It read , " Dear God , How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me ? " " Because of your generosity , I was able to fix a lovely dinner for my friends . We had a very nice day , and I told my friends of your wonderful gift . " " By the way , there was 4 dollars missing . It was no doubt those thieving bastards at the post office ! ! ! ! ! ! From : moralstories . com Father was a hardworking man who delivered bread as a living to support his wife and three children . He spent all his evenings after work attending classes , hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better paying job . Except for Sundays , Father hardly ate a meal together with his family . He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to provide his family with the best money could buy . The day came when the examination results were announced . To his joy , Father passed , and with distinctions too ! Soon after , he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor which paid handsomely . However , the family still did not get to see father for most of the week . He continued to work very hard , hoping to be promoted to the position of manager . In fact , to make himself a worthily candidate for the promotion , he enrolled for another course in the open university . Father 's hard work paid off and he was promoted . Jubilantly , he decided to hire a maid to relieve his wife from her domestic tasks . He also felt that their three - room flat was no longer big enough , it would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the facilities and comfort of a condominium . Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before , Father resolved to further his studies and work at being promoted again . The family still did not get to see much of him . In fact , sometimes Father had to work on Sundays entertaining clients . Again , whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them , he reasoned that he was doing all this for them . But he often yearned to spend more time with his family . As expected , Father 's hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium overlooking the coast of Singapore . On the first Sunday evening at their new home , Father declared to his family that he decided not to take anymore courses or pursue any more promotions . From then on he was going to devote more time to his family .