Tag Archives: prayer

Amazing People, miracles

what miracles are made of ~ one child’s amazing story

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Her name is Annabeth. She was perhaps the most delightful child I’d ever met—beautiful, charming, and keen wit about her. With her dark curly hair and big brown eyes, this adorable child had her mom and two grandparents wrapped around her little finger. She appeared shy as we introduced ourselves, but it wasn’t long before she warmed up to us and was once again a carefree little girl with a huge personality. Right there—waiting in line to attend The Presleys’ Country Jubilee in Branson, Missouri—Annabeth stole my heart.

—Four-year-old Annabeth

Once we found our seats, my newfound friend, Carrie (also known as Sissy), along with her wonderful mom and dad, and of course, Annabeth, were seated right behind us. That was the beginning of a friendship that has grown over the past eight years. Although we live 500 miles apart, Carrie and I connected on Facebook, and I have literally watched her little family live life.  

No one would have suspected this lovable child—cuter than a bug’s ear—would have a troubled past. How much trouble can a four-year-old accumulate in such a short time? Certainly more than her adoptive, single mom bargained for. Annabeth, a bi-racial child in the state’s child care services, had been in fourteen different foster homes at the time Carrie adopted her. Being a “crack baby” at birth, she was not easy to care for. Nonetheless, God had a plan for her life, just as He does for all children. When Carrie made the decision to adopt, God had Annabeth in the right place at the right time.      

Annabeth’s grade school years were met with challenges, yet in spite of her learning disabilities, she is full of life and joy wherever she goes. She adores her big family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Being in a Christian home, Annabeth learned to love Jesus with all of her heart. She loves her church (pastored by her Papa and Nana), her youth group, and singing. And sing she does! But there was still something missing in her life—siblings.

Annabeth and her mom began to pray for her a little brother or sister, and preparations for the baby’s room began. Time passed slowly, yet Annabeth’s faith never wavered. When she was seven years old, Carrie had the opportunity to adopt a newborn baby boy, and the following month, she was offered a newborn baby girl. She accepted both babies and Annabeth’s double-miracle happened.

  —Annabeth and her miracle babies!

Life for this little family was sheer bliss for the next two years. Jayce and Chloee were like twins—both learning to do new things at the same time. Carrie’s quiver was full, and Annabeth couldn’t have been happier with her little brother and sister.

  —Annabeth, Jayce & Chloee

However, when Jayce (called Bubba by his sisters) turned two years old, their heartwarming story took an unusual twist. He was diagnosed with an incurable disease called Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) that would snatch him from his mother’s arms a few months after his third birthday. It was unthinkable that this miracle baby would be taken away so soon. The sorrow that gripped this family was unconscionable, as my sweet friend and her two girls grappled with the painful loss. It has now been two years since Jayce left them physically, but he has never left their hearts.

  —Carrie and Jayce

Just a few days ago, Carrie told me that nighttime prayers still include Jayce as a member of the family. Both Annabeth and five-year-old Chloee continue to talk to Jesus about their brother. One will say, “Jesus, tell Bubba this happened today,” and the other, “Oh, Jesus, remember to tell Bubba that I said….” There are few days that go by without tears from one of the girls, if not the whole family, over the big empty hole in their hearts.

  —Chloee & Annabeth

Yet for people of faith, there is always hope—hope for a better tomorrow, hope for happier times, and hope for another miracle. Although they have walked through difficult circumstances, God is their ultimate strength, and because of Him, they have hope for the future. Recently, Annabeth told her mom that they should ask God for another baby, thinking a baby brother or sister might heal some of their wounds. Her mom said that was a great idea, except that adoptions cost $10,000 and she doesn’t have the money.

That’s when Annabeth had a BIG idea. While one of her disabilities is not being able to comprehend time or money, she believes that she can help raise the funds needed. Her BIG idea was this: she would paint a picture for everyone who donates to their adoption fund. Thus, the “Art for Adoption” fundraiser was born. You see, Annabeth has been drawing and painting for much of her short life, and she has honed her skills such that she knows in her heart she can do this.

  —Annabeth

Annabeth’s story reminds me of Mary in the Bible, the one who broke her alabaster box of expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus’ head. While bystanders criticized her for being wasteful, Jesus called it a noble act of love. Then He said an amazing thing: “She did what she could.”  

Annabeth decided to do what she could to help her mom raise money to adopt another child. It seems strange to me that adoption is so expensive. Most states are overrun with children needing homes and yet the bar of being financially qualified is set so high. But nonetheless, Annabeth is accustomed to her God working miracles—so she is busy doing what she can.

  —Annabeth at her art table

When I saw Carrie’s post on Facebook announcing Annabeth’s plan, my heart was stirred. I clearly heard the Lord whisper how much I was to donate. Because doing what we can is contagious, I wanted to be part of their miracle. I messaged Carrie and told her what God had spoken to me, and that I wanted Annabeth to paint me a picture of a sunrise—something that represents a new day and a new beginning for their family.

A few days ago, I received my package of art for adoption in the mail. I was delighted, but also a bit astonished that this picture was painted by a twelve-year-old! It is painted on canvas, a miracle in itself as another doner brought Annabeth a boatload of real painting supplies. It was Annabeth’s idea to paint a little swing hanging in the tree in my picture—an empty swing now—that represents her faith in God for a new brother or sister in the future.

  —A New Day

This dear-to-my-heart painting hangs in my house where I can see it as a reminder to pray for Annabeth’s next miracle. It has become a conversation piece, and everyone is amazed when I share her story.

Today, I share Annabeth’s story with you. If you want to be a part of making her miracle happen, there are different ways to donate below. She is very creative and paints most anything, including popular action figures for kid’s rooms. Annabeth has been busy in the past few weeks painting the requests that have come in from doners. Be sure to check out Annabeth’s Gallery at the end of this article for some of her completed paintings. She sometimes paints-on-the-move and totally enjoys each new challenge!

 —Annabeth painting on the move!

Perhaps you can’t help financially, but you can still be a part by giving your prayers for Carrie, Annabeth, and Chloee. These things—the things we can do—are what miracles are made of. Consider the Bible stories of the boy with five loaves and two fish that fed a multitude; or the woman who had a jar of meal and a jug of oil that didn’t dry up for three years; or the fishermen who cast their net on the other side of the boat and made a great catch. When all of these gave what they had and did what they could, God worked a miracle!

“Just because we can’t do everything doesn’t mean that we can’t do something,” wrote Miriam Huffman Rockness, in her amazing book Images of Faith.

I am so proud of Annabeth—a girl with BIG faith in a BIG God—for doing what she can! Don’t forget to visit Annabeth’s Gallery! ~ Janie

TWO WAYS TO DONATE:

1)  You can donate to Annabeth’s adoption project by contacting Carrie via email at  momma23miracles@gmail.com  for more information.

2)  You can donate through the GO-FUND-ME link to Art for Adoption. Place cursor over the link below; then press control and click to follow the link. Then click on “Contact” in the Organizer section. This takes you to a screen to type your name, email address, and message about your picture.

https://gofund.me/c40a5255

(If this link doesn’t work properly, copy & paste the above line into your browser.)

Note: When deciding on your donation amount, please take into consideration that the cost to mail your picture to you is approximately $10. Thanks!

~ ANNABETH’S GALLERY ~

You can request a painting from your own idea or request a painting similar to one of Annabeth’s paintings in the gallery.

  —Better Together    

  —America the Beautiful

  —Forever Friends

  —Farm Charm

  —A New Day

  —Morning Surprise

 —Delightful Dolphins

  —Pete the Cat (Personalized)

 —Flash (Personalized)

 —Always There

THANK YOU!

Encouragement, Political

I’m Fed Up! If there is an action plan for Christians, I want to know what it is

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Weary, tired out, worn down, and fed up! That’s me. I can no longer watch the political hullabaloo being paraded before my eyes and ears by the news media. I’m done! Plain. Simple. Done.

I have been collecting my thoughts lately about how I should face the dire predicament in which our nation finds itself—you know, from a personal perspective. I recently determined to read as many articles and social media posts written by men and women of God and people of integrity as time allows. I prefer not to buy into conspiracy theories or doom day rhetoric, and my deepest desire is to know what God has to say to my heart. If there is such a thing as an action plan for Christians, I want it to know what it is.

Our frustration with America’s problems has reached a boiling point, and it is that frustration that fuels our anger. We can see that our elected politicians are not capable, or perhaps willing, to fix any of those problems, so our goal is to repair everything in the November 2016 election. You know—let’s make America great again. But our hope for a change for the better is being vested in a man or a woman—the one we feel has the wisdom, courage and stamina to take on this huge task. Unfortunately, as the struggle to find the right person continues, our hope diminishes day by day.

Pastor Andy Stanley from Atlanta, Georgia said, “We are looking to men to solve a spiritual problem.” Light bulb time! Of course, we are. And none of them, I repeat not one of them, can fix America’s spiritual bankruptcy. It began many years ago and has elevated to alarming proportions, in spite of the warnings given us by God.

As I have turned my attention to what God has to say rather than what the national media has to say, I have come to a conclusion. There is only one answer to our problem: God’s people must actually do what He says to do:

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way, then I will hear from heaven and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

There it is—the remedy for our spiritual sickness. As a nation we have turned away from God; we have broken His laws; we have laughed in His face; and we snubbed our noses at Him. Our sins wreck to high heaven. We need to repent for our nation, and God has promised that if we will do that, then He will hear and heal.

A few days ago Franklin Graham said that God isn’t looking for the masses to call upon Him, but for His chosen people to call. And it doesn’t take a great number of people to move the hand of God—it takes some who do what He said to do. Are you willing to be of them? Am I?

I plan to attend the Decision America Tour in Oklahoma City on April 27th when Franklin Graham gathers with Oklahomans at our State Capitol at 12:00 noon to pray for America. It’s a call to prayer, and I believe it is a big step in the right direction.

What if, over the course of the next six months that instead of watching the news, we use our time to bombard heaven on behalf of our nation? Imagine how powerful that could be if all of those who bear His name would do the same.

I believe that together we can do more. I also believe it is our only chance for survival. ~ Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Quote: “God will make a way, where there seems to be no way.” ~ Don Moen

The Secret Place Secrets

Counterproductive Prayers ~ What’s up with that?

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Do you ever wonder why the typical prayer meeting yields so few results? I do. I grapple with it continuously. I am certain the problem cannot be with an all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful God, so it must be with us and our prayers.

 

After all these years, do we still not know how to pray? I believe that as best we know how, we do pray according to God’s Word and in the Spirit both earnestly and honestly. Yet, more often than not, we see little or no results. Why is that?

 

Could it be that a conflict of interest is the cause of our poor success rate? Perhaps we do not correctly discern the will of God in our circumstances—be it illness, financial woes, or troubled relationships? The Word clearly says we are to count it all joy when we fall into various trials1—the trials of our faith that make us stronger Christians and shape us into the image of Christ.2

 

A closer look might reveal that most of our prayers are asking God to change or remove those circumstances—which are possibly the same circumstances He Himself orchestrated for our shaping. If that is the case, are those prayers not counterproductive to His plan to mature us and make us like Jesus?

 

Of course they are! We may simply have our eyes on the wrong goal. We want the good life—abundant and carefree—and plead with God to keep it so. Yet, God wants us to grow up spiritually and be useful to Him in reaching a lost world. Clearly, there is a conflict of interest here.

 

Jesus came to earth clothed in flesh to provide for God a human body in which to walk, talk, teach, and heal—thus displaying to the world the good nature of our Creator. He perfectly modeled His Father’s character of love, kindness, mercy and forgiveness. Then, sacrificing His life for the sake of others, Jesus set the example for all future believers to follow.

 

Therefore, every born-again Christian is called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus by yielding their own bodies as a living sacrifice for God to work through on earth.3 Our trials and troubles become the opportunities for God to do just that, making the difficulties we face today the will of God for us.4

 

We would all probably admit that some scriptures don’t seem to work for us. For instance, this one: “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.”5 Perhaps we have been tempted to question the validity of this scripture based on our past experience. Yet, if a trial is God’s will for us and we pray for Him to remove it, we are asking against His will rather than according to His will.

 

Counterproductive prayers could very well be the reason we are not getting what we ask of God.

 

Once we understand this, we will still pray over our troubles and woes, but at the end of each prayer we will deliberately give God our permission to do as He sees fit.6 The prayer so perfectly modeled by our Savior, “Yet not my will, but yours be done,” will become our prayer too.7

 

In that place of total surrender to God’s will, we put our lives into the hands of a loving Heavenly Father and accept what He chooses to give or not to give. While it may not be what we want to hear, that is where we will find rest for our souls and more answers to our prayers. ~ Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Scripture: “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” 1 Peter 2:21 (NASB)

 Small footprintKey Quote: “Faith is the willingness to receive whatever He wants to give, or the willingness not to have what He does not want to give.” ~ Elizabeth Elliott

 1James 1:2; 2Romans 8:29; 3Romans 12:1; 41 Peter2:21; 51 John 5:14-15; 6Luke 10:21; 7Luke 22:42

 

The Secret Place Secrets

Be Anxious for Nothing ~ Really, God?

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Being anxious for not one thing is a pretty tall order, wouldn’t you say? I read these words and think surely they were written by someone who lived in another world.

After all, this is the day in which Christians are persecuted for their faith. Entire groups of people are being uprooted and displaced. Nations rock from the winds of cultural shock, financial collapse, and horrifying evil. A world that seems to be spinning out of control sends chills down my spine.

Even closer to home are troublesome issues. The death of too-many-too-young-to-die begs for answers to the why questions. And then there are the sick and the lonely. One cannot visit or call enough to meet the needs all around. Some who have fallen likely won’t get up, be it physically or emotionally.

So how did the old Apostle—or God—expect us not to be anxious? Is a non-anxious existence even possible in our world?

Tall orders call for tall actions! That weary and worn old missionary/preacher recommended prayer as the answer. “Tell God,” he says, “and His peace (which, by the way, you won’t understand) will guard your heart and mind.”1

My heart certainly needs some guarding. Do you ever feel like wearing a sign that says, “Caution: Too many straws dumped here could break this camel’s back!”

Then Paul added another action to the plan for not being anxious: “Think on good things.” Obviously, I’m dwelling on the bad ones: the fear; the pain, the loss, the suffering. How about you? What are you thinking on?

But Paul said we shouldn’t. Apparently, there are better things to focus on that are true, not fabricated; noble, not shameful; just, not unfair; pure, not defiled; lovely, not despicable; and good, not evil.

So what was I thinking? Of course there are things that are virtuous and praiseworthy. Paul said to think about them and meditate on them, and then will come the great promise of God:  P – E – A – C – E.

The peace that God promises to us is a perfect peace that the world cannot receive, but it can be mine and yours. That is, if we follow Paul’s instructions and be careful what we think about.2

You see, Paul knew by experience what he was talking about, for he also lived in a world that persecuted Christians for their faith. He was one of them. The next time our faithless words “Really, God?” question His control over our messed-up world, we must closely listen for God’s calm and loving response:  “Really, my child, really.” I’m certain that Paul did.

I’m praying for each of you to have God’s indescribable peace in your life today in spite of the turmoil in your world. Really. ~ Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Scripture: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” ~ Isaiah 26:3

1Philippians 4:6-9; 2Isaiah 26:3

Vision

Doing something is what we are about ~ even if it doesn’t work

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It comes as little surprise to anyone that doing nothing is not the best option for almost any problem we face. Actually, the only time that doing nothing is acceptable is when God says to “stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” In those times, it is totally in our best interest to do nothing.

 

But instructions to do nothing are rare. God most often gives us something to do, and our greatest challenge is to hear from Him what that something is. While God’s Word is full of commands and guidelines in any given situation, we humans have a tendency to make up our own rules.

 

When God says “believe,” we doubt that believing will be enough.

When He says “trust,” we try to change the circumstances.

When He tells us to “wait,” we rush ahead to accomplish our own goals.

 

As proactive get-er-done people, doing something is what we are about—even if it doesn’t work!

 

In fact, we are so busy doing what we think are the right things that we don’t have time to find out what God actually wants us to do. I fear that is the case in restoring America, repairing our communities and schools, reviving our churches, salvaging our families, and most importantly, saving ourselves from the demise of overload, both physically and spiritually.

 

The truth is—we are tired. We are tired from doing all the many things we believe will fix our problems; yet the things we have spent our energy doing haven’t worked. For starters:

 

  • We hear a Politian commit to fix the nation’s problems; yet all too soon we are vastly disappointed. We quickly look for the next Politian.
  • We participate in an improvement program in our community or school, and eventually see that the task is too big and our resources too small. We set out to recruit more people and raise more money.
  • We get excited when our church announces a new trendy campaign to revive it members, but after it has come and gone, little had changed. We don’t understand why it failed, since it seemed like such a great plan.
  • We commit to spending more time with our family, but when work, school, and sports scream for attention, we yield to their      demands. Family relationships suffer, and we whine because it has to be so hard.
  • And then there is our personal time with God—what we call a “quiet time.” Since there’s no quiet time to be had in my life, surely God understands and will let me off the hook. I’m sure I’ll do better next year, or when the kids grow up, and definitely when I retire.

 

Does any of that sound like your life? It does mine. So why is doing what seems to be perfectly good ideas not working for us?  Here’s why:

 

God did not tell us to look to political leaders for the answers.

God did not promise that our communities and schools will be better through humanitarian efforts.

God is not obligated to bring revival to His people through any manmade campaign.

God said that we will reap what we sow, and family relationships are not exempt.

God does not reveal Himself to those who want to spend time with Him—only to those who do.

 

Be assured that God has something for us to do! Doing nothing or doing the wrong things will never yield the right results. Our nation, communities, schools, churches, families and personal lives are suffering today because we have done too much of the wrong things.

 

It is surprising when at last we discover what it is that God wants us to do. It is not hard, or difficult, or impossible. We would not give our children something to do that was beyond their capability. And neither would God!  ~ Janie Kellogg