Roses in the Briar Patch

The experience of life, so far, has left its marks deep inside of me, and it becomes more beautiful with each passing day. Mixtures of miraculous, joy-filled, blissful blessings, alongside of horrendous jolts of trauma that awakened and taunted my heart, hovering over my joy with threatening death...the twisting, turning, ever-changing journey whose finish line, upon looking back, reveals a straight line. He was with me. And He still is. And perhaps I am becoming more perfected in love, yet my soul knows well that it has not arrived on the shores of complete safety.

Let me clarify that there are many wonderful moments that will always be carried and cherished in my heart...countless people who kindly, in the midst of their own painful trials, went out of their way to leave a beautiful impression on me and my family. Every word of kindness and every action inspired by love will forever remind me of the goodness of God, especially when doubt tries to push its claws into my skin. Upon remembering life's pains and life's triumphs, I can only say that God IS faithful and His goodness shines even when we forget mankind's.

My reason for writing now is born out of adversity, not my own this time, but of others who have faithfully laid their hearts and lives bare, passionately serving and trusting those within the local church, only to find their families, friendships, and leaderships falling apart. Do not fear, however, for it is merely a passing moment of testing; a violent war that will be overcome with peace, joy, and renewed love, if only those bloodied soldiers will maintain a heart of gratitude...even gratitude for the suffering.

I write to those who walk with people and ARE people who carry great influence and anointing. I used to think that being on the front lines was dangerous. Then I believed it was the safest place to be. But life has taught me it is both. The 'front lines' are dangerous AND safe, depending on who you are surrounded by, and I mean within your own army.

Perhaps the naivete of men and, especially women, in church is to trust others to an unfair depth. Let me explain. This can be said for humanity as a whole, yet I will speak on behalf of women. When loving one another and befriending one another, we must always remain aware of one's ability to cause pain, and we must give the grace to let them do so, yet with the wisdom of serpents and harmlessness of doves. We must realize that every human carries a broken place or a void, that maybe they are not aware of, and that, eventually, that place in them may arise as it is rooted out by a loving, graceful God.

The rooting-out process sometimes hurts, seemingly beyond the ability to bear, depending on one's stubborness or desire to be teachable. Whichever the perpetrator chooses, the grace of Christ is strong enough to keep you as you either walk away or stand by...

Whatever your story, the end result of life's events can amount to immense joy and satisfaction; the ability to smile when revisiting good times, as well as bad. Believe it or not, there's beauty to be found in the dung hill. There's redemption to be witnessed by your eyes in the darkest, most putrid place. Ugliness can call itself a briar rose, even though it is merely the thistles that serve to draw our blood, wrench our gut, and shake our soul at a level that no one can comprehend...only to arrive in the light, where Love lives.

Life leaves impressions. You get to choose which kind. "The roses are found in the briar patch."

Pay Attention or You Might Miss the Miracle

Long story short---This picture was taken of me and my husband, after receiving prayer. Neither one of us had ever felt the presence of God in this manner. The best way that I can describe it: His Spirit penetrating every crack, nook, and cranny of our beings, heart, soul, body, mind, and spirit--a heart surgery in which the Lord transplanted His own heart into ours and the beating of our hearts became one with His...in unison. This is a day I will never forget, and it happened almost one year ago. I did not see the miracle in it until recently. Open your ears, eyes and your heart so that you do not miss out on what God is saying and doing. I almost missed this one.

Eyes Restored! Shoulder Healed!

This past Sunday, we ministered in Midlothian, Texas, where our son prayed for a man who had lost 40-50% of his sight in both eyes. He was diagnosed with severe glaucoma 20 years ago! After a moment of silence, our son said, "Your eyes are healed. Your eyes were made to see...so, see." Immediately, the man began to excitedly yell, "Whoa!! Whoa!!! I can see my hands!" The tunnel vision left and soon he was looking all around, happy that his peripheral vision returned. To make it even more amazing, his eye doctor was in the congregation! The eye doctor that diagnosed him 20 years ago came forward and did a simple eye test, confirming that his vision was restored. Thank You, Jesus!!!!!!

A woman came forward who said she wasn't sure that she believed in healing...especially that healing might come through the hands of a child. My daughter prayed for her injured shoulder and the pain immediately left! Now...she believes.

Miracles in Florida

Last week in Boca Raton, Will Matthews (our friend) prayed for a grandmother whose grandson disappeared 18 years ago. Will saw a vision of a him calling his family. THE VERY NEXT DAY, the grandson contacted his mother to let them know he was doing well. He had been taken away by a family member and hidden. Praise God for this reunion!

A broken foot was healed at the Boca meeting. In Homestead, our son prayed for a woman with a bad knee. She was always in pain before, but after a minute of prayer, she realized that her knee no longer hurt. She began to run around the room, screaming and laughing..."It doesn't hurt anymore!!"

A few months ago, at our Youngstown, OH meeting, numerous miracles occurred. One of the coolest things was that a man went into McDonald's and began to talk to a table of six people about how their sins were forgiven. All six people ended up accepting Jesus as their Savior and they came to the meeting that night!

Letter From a 72-Year-Old, Amazing Woman

The following is from an email I received from a sweet friend who at the age of 72, went on her very first missions trip. She saw amazing miracles happen at her hands:

at the conference(there were pastors from equador, guatemala, mexico, canada, all over USA), God gave me visions for people prior to my prayers for them- the anointing NEVER left the entire five days...and even on the plane on return flight, i was able to release a lady from the fear of flying..( she'd had to have the dr. come the night before to sedate her- she was so afraid.) i showed her in the Bible about the "spirit of fear"- prayed for her- let her know the Father's love for her-she was catholic- she kept kissing my hand and cheek and asking if i were an angel.(there was only one seat left on the plane when i boarded, and it was beside her. she would never fly alone. her daughter would have to fly with her, then get on another plane to return home, then fly back again to get her mom!) and this woman was set free, baby- free!

the hostess of the home where we stayed(they were all bilingual) called when i got home crying, sayin how the family missed me so much, they walked around the house all day crying.....(i had spoken into their lives; the Lord had given me words for all five of them...incredible insight..the man had NEVER had a touch from God and Jesus came to him as i prayed and put a band of love around his neck- i then read him that scripture i had come to the conference with- from hosea 11;4)
the mother had told me earlier that when i left their home for the conference each day, she would go into the bedroom where my shoes were, put them on, walk around the house praying, "Lord, make me like patricia. make me like patrica." (traci, that's how STRONG the anointing was! theyhad never seen the prophetic- the healings.) it was truly like being Jesus in patricia's skin..lance preached a great sermon two weeks ago on "the church with skin on it." i sooo wanted to be that church!
one morning while we were there, he preached about the breath of God- how man was but dirt until God blew into him the breath of life..when the paralyzed lady came to me for prayer, God told me to breathe on her! i asked, "Lord, are you sure??? i should ask her if i can breathe on her?" she said i could, so i took her limp arm, breathed on it and cried out, "la vida! la vida! la vida de dios!" and that's when she was healed...(i mean, just the usual Jesus stuff" happened!) another lady's jaw was healed. she said when i prayed, it felt like God numbed it with novacaine. shane prayed for a man who could not see across the room, and he was healed.

when i went to pray for a man whose leg was shorter than the other,(i had a word of knowledge for him) the Lord told me before i got to the man that he did not feel worthy of prayer...as i was walking back to him, God gave me a vision of Jesus walking along the shore. he put an easel on the sand and told everyone from the church to come up and paint on the easel all the things they were carrying in a knap sack....those things, traci, were unworthiness, sins, etc.when all the people in the congregation had painted their heaviness, Jesus ripped the pictures off the easel and threw them into the "sea of forgetfulness to be remembered against them no more!" when i told the man the vision, he began to cry and told me that his leg was so messed up because he had lived a life with gangs when he was young..he did not think God had forgiven him for that past life...and THAT was why God gave me the vison for him- to know it was ALL ON THE CROSS! he was worthy! when his leg grew out and the pain left, he went running to the stage to testify...

at age 72, this was my FIRST mission trip, and i do not think it will be my last. lance's preaching was really anointed...he taught every day, three times a day- the fire tunnels were incredible..so many set free from the lie of the enemy that sin had caused God's judgment with katrina, then the oil spill...we left them all with the truth of God's love for them!

gotta get to bed.. it's almost 2:30-...reminds me of n.o. i would go to bed at 2, get up every day at 6.... totally sustained by love and the Spirit! need to work on my lesson tomorrow for the mentor group sat., then can't wait to read your story! will give you some feedback soon. was sooo great at the youth group tonight...i got to pray for soooo many kids..i have such a "thing" with Jesus re: short legs growing out- one girl's leg grew out even with the other; also prayed for a girl whose hand was bruised, blue/swollen from injury; pain left and hand was same color/size as other..God just MOVED mightily again...how i love those young people...how i love them, love them, love them!

Healings and Passports

I hardly get on here anymore to write, so I have missed reporting numerous wonderful things. Let's see...backs have been healed, ankles, broken bones, and more importantly, broken hearts. My husband saw a lady in Ohio who was on a walker, crippled by a stroke...but after prayer, she straightened up and walked without any problem. Her family and friends were amazed as she showed no more signs of the stroke.

My family and I felt compelled to get our passports, so we miraculously got an appointment at a post office within 30 minutes, where people typically were having to wait 2 to 3 weeks for an appointment. We got to the counter and filled out paperwork...the clerk told my husband that he had the wrong birth certificate and there was no way it would be accepted. He suggested submitting it while my husband got the certified copy. He also said that passports were taking about 8 weeks to process. Long story short, we received all of our passports (even husband's) in the mail 11 days later!! Wow!

An Incredible Day in the History of Haiti

AN INCREDIBLE DAY in the HISTORY OF HAITI
-by Jerry Miel (Feb 17).

I think that I will remember this day as one of the most significant
in my life, not because of what I did, but for it's meaning...Today
was the one month anniversary of the great Haitian earthquake.

About 3 days ago the Haitian President announced that there
would be 3 days of holiday from work for the purpose of fasting
and prayer. This is absolutely historic. If you have ever been in
Haiti as a visitor or missionary, could you ever have imagined
such a pronouncement? Could you image such an announcement
from the U.S. President? This morning I saw a young Haitian-
American woman, the leader of a work team, crying because the
Americans could not understand the incredible importance of this
day and wanted to go about business as usual. Remember, it was
only about 6 years ago that a former Haitian president called the
nation to come together to rededicate the nation to Satan.

This was not "a minute of silence for the deceased" or something
as equally insignificant. Whatever the President might have
originally intended, this became a real commitment for the Haitian
people. As I sit here this evening, I can hear the preaching coming
from a nearby church. Services have been going on all day...

Let me tell you what I saw and felt today.

I had planned an inspection trip up to the Artibonite
Valley today. As we left the guest house about 7:30 am,
we were met by throngs of well dressed people headed to
various churches. The sounds ofChristian music and worship
filled the air everywhere. The next observation was that there
was NO traffic. Port-au-Prince streets are always clogged
and overflowing with bumper to bumper traffic.
This morning there were only a few vehicles on the roads, a few
small buses (tap taps), some UN and military vehicles, and a few
private cars. We had clear sailing through town. The same was
true of foot traffic. Usually the streets are clogged also with
people walking. Today there were only a few and many of them
dressed for church. The only place that there were traffic blocks
was in front of several churches where the congregations had
overflowed the buildings and the yards and had moved out into
the streets as well.

The next observation was that EVERYTHING was closed! We
could not find even one business or gas station open. There were
no intercity buses running. Whereas the sidewalks are usually
overflowing with millions of street venders, we only saw a few here
and there. The huge outdoor market near the wharf where
thousands work each day and is spread out to cover most of the
street, was EMPTY.

Where were all the people? They were in churches and makeshift
meeting sites. Every church (except a JW church) had services
going on, almost always overflowing into the streets. Beside
broken down churches, services were taking place outside. In
homeless camps, there were services. Everywhere the nation was
gathered to worship and pray. No, I did not see any voodoo,
Islamic, or Buddhist services. This scene was repeated in every
town and hamlet that we passed during the day.

Tonight, Pastor Ignace, who is sharing the room with me, asked
this question: "Can people still say that Haiti is a voodoo country?"
What has been happening and is continuing to happen in Haiti did
not happen because of the earthquake. It has been happening
because the Haitian people know how to pray. This is a tremendous
outpouring of God's power as the result of prayer. Twenty years
ago I started praying for the Gospel to change the Haitian culture.
I think that I am seeing God do that work.

The only sadness that I feel today is for our nation. While a nation
that has long been under Satan's domination is turning to God
with total commitment, our nation, founded on Godly values has
rejected God and is rapidly trying to forget that his name even
exists. Let us pray for revival.

4-MIN VIDEO of HAITI DAYS of PRAYER-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30rWm84z-zg