Miracle after Miracle

I want to say that I know in my heart that God directed us to this conference. It was obvious. For one thing, there were plenty of "coincidences" and outright miracles littering the pathway to the conference.

First, all of this started when Stephen decided to go with Justin Adams to a Fan Day at the Ranger Stadium in Dallas. Sissy and I had planned to stay home until we found out that Justin was going to bring his family.

So I asked if Sis and I could go and just hang out in the hotel while he was down at the ballpark.

That really changed the course of everything...because that's when Stephen and I got the idea to ask Pastor Keith Williams if we could go to The Potter's House that Sunday morning.

And he agreed.

So we went to TPH one day in January and Bishop Jakes was there. He was talking about finding our purpose in 2012 and how we must learn to "glean behind the reapers."

It was an amazing service, but as we were driving north, out of town and toward Oklahoma, I turned to Stephen and said, "I feel like we're supposed to go back there." And he said he felt the same way.

--------------------------------------------Not even a week and a half later:

I came home from work and sat down to the computer to get on Facebook. I don't always do this, but I did that day. I remember feeling a "need" to do that. And in scrolling one page down, I saw why: Bishop Jakes had posted a short invitation to The Gideon Project--saying there were just a few spots left.

I contacted his contact person right away, in the hope that there would indeed be spots available. There were.

Two miracles came then:

(1) The conference was advertised for those "Under 40." I am 40. I asked if I could come anyway.

I received a "yes" in reply.

(2) When I told Stephen about the conference, he told me that he wished he could go--but that he had no more free days at work to take off. He said he would ask his superintendent if there was any way.

I sent a text message to all of my praying friends the morning that he went to the superintendent's office. They assured me they would pray.

Walking into my 10:00 a.m. speech class that morning, I received a text saying, "We are going."

I shrieked and then had to explain to my students what I was so excited about.

----------------------------------------------Another Miracle:

Then, we had to find the finances to go. In January, the tax commission took TWO PAYMENTS instead of one out of my account. That put me negative $1100. There was no way we could afford to go when that happened.

We didn't know until THREE DAYS BEFORE if we would actually be able to go. We had paid a $200 deposit, but we didn't know if we would be able to go because we just did NOT have the money to go after the tax commission debited so much from my account.

So we prayed.

I remember looking up and saying, "God, yes, I want to go to this conference, but if you are telling us NO, by the zapped funds and impossible budget, then I understand and apologize for getting so over-eager. I know TDJakes is just a man. I'm not going to see a celebrity. I need direction, and I need him to speak into my life right now. I am HUNGRY for it. Please, if this is your will, make it obvious. PLEASE, make a way."

I kid you not, it was the next day or day after that that we received our IRS refund. It was amazing. Stephen called me after school and said, "We got it. The funds are there!"

And that's when I KNEW. No, I KNEW, that God was in this.

--------------------------------------------So, this Blog:

So, this blog is to take seriously what God made a way for. This blog is to honor what God did and take inventory of what Bishop Jakes said to us in those two days and then apply it, as best I can with the leading of the Holy Spirit, to my life, to our ministry, to the calling of God on my life.

And it is my hope that this blog will be beneficial to me and others.

Let it be, Lord.