If I had to pick a favorite day in the last 5 years, I think I just had it.
Mike and I were invited to Toronto Catch the Fire to share our testimony at a business conference. “Oh, and would you also share on Sunday morning?” Mike and I have done two of these conferences with other Catch the Fire locations, and it has been fun for us to travel together and speak together about all that the Lord has done for us. I guess I’m a little startled that anyone wants to know what I’ve been through because I feel like I’m just like the rest of all of the warriors out there, trying to press in to the more of God. Falling down and getting back up again to try again. But something wonderful has happened since 2020. I’ve been following a path of joy that seems to be getting greater and greater each year.
Going to school at Charis has radically changed my life for the better and as Mike says “all boats get lifted”. I have to say though, I think it’s totally unfair that I’m the one that does the fasting and Mike gets the breakthrough, and I’m the one that goes to school and Mike gets the cream off the top! Of course I’m God’s favorite, so it all works out! Learning that God wants me well, and being taught to replace all of those negative thoughts with the word of God has made me one happy woman! And it seems to get better each year! I’ve learned that it is true that nothing is impossible with God and to dream big dreams that are impossible. And when I look at a situation, I can see the fulfillment for good and not evil.
I actually thought I wouldn’t really speak, because Mike has so much to say! I madly type away all of his ideas and put them on slides and he has way more than for the time allotted, so I think well, maybe I’ll have a few minutes to share, and if I do, what should I share? When you are 69 almost turning 70, you’ve had a lot of thoughts! Last Saturday the 12th of August was our 46th anniversary! And it was so fun to share that with the beautiful people of Toronto Catch the Fire. They carry a hunger and love for God that is unusual to see as we have made our journeys around the United States. And the love they have for each other is also unusual. People have been there for 17 years! And still want to be there! The staff was so honoring and kind and full of joy and the young people couldn’t wait to hear what Mike had to say. I know you’ll think me silly, but people asking me what I’d like to drink every day, and is there anything I’d like was off the charts on the living extravagantly.
Mike began the day with speaking of our journey together, even sharing the story of he and I meeting on a hay rack ride and I was with another date and after I left he told his friend “I’m going to marry that girl” and the funny thing is I had told my friend that I wanted him for Christmas when he walked by one day and he did ask me to marry him on Christmas Eve. And then to the story of me telling him I was going to leave him when we lived in Laguna Niguel California and he gave his life to the Lord! For sure scoring extra points with me for sharing with the people there of his love for me! Wow. And then suddenly he said “Robbie’s going to speak to you”.
I had so many stories in my head, and wondering what in the world I was going to share at a business conference and began to share “the rest of the story” and what was happening at home. It was a pretty tough emotional time to share in 20 minutes but ended with the amazing teaching I got at Charis bible school and how this was available to everyone! I really couldn’t even tell you what I said, except the Lord brought back a story to me regarding a trip I had made to my friend Linda Reid’s house.
It was right after Lexie was born and I had taken her to the doctor and they had told me she had so many issues, there wasn’t much hope. Linda welcomed me into her home and we sat on the floor with Lexie as I cried out my story to her. Suddenly some men in their business suits(Linda’s husband and Pastor Ty and others) stepped out of a meeting they were having to fast and pray for a future center for inner city children.
“Would it be ok if we prayed for Lexie?” Pastor Ty gently asked. I was a brand new Christian and I’d never seen men in suits pray or stop what they were doing and care about a child that came into the room.
“Oh, of course, are you sure you have time?” At that time I didn’t know these things happened.
Pastor Ty said with tears in his eyes “I think I’d be disobedient to God if I didn’t pray”.
As they all came and kneeled around the carseat they began to pray for Lexie and a wail was stuck in my throat at the kindness of these men. And I prayed in that moment as a new believer that someday my husband would be one of those men.
Of course that prayer became true and God was our deliverer from many more of those times.
After the conference, they told us they could have everyone line up and we could just go quickly and pray for each one. ???? there were several hundred. They said “Just lay hands on them quickly and don’t stop”. Well, Mike didn’t get that message and off he went. I started praying and I kept stopping. How do we do that? More coaching. Some people get business coaching, I get laying hands-on coaching. Hahaha! I couldn’t believe how much fun that was.
When we got back to the hotel we stepped into the elevator with a young Middle Eastern man who had a sparkly back suit on with sparkly shoes! We asked him where he was going and he said it was his wedding day! So Michael said “Congratulations! Today is our 46th anniversary and he suddenly leaped forward and said I want to pray for you! And grabbed this man’s shoulders and prayed for him to have just as many years with his beautiful wife as we did and more!” hahahaha! Those of you who know Mike know that was totally the Lord! The elevator dinged and the man looked kind of scared and ran off. I looked at Mike and said “Wow, that was unusual for you! We were laughing so hard and he just shrugged his shoulders and said “overflow”. God you are so fun!
When Sunday morning came, we were prepared to share about 15 minutes each and again I didn’t know what I was going to share. It’s like, I only know our story the way I share it, would this be the right way? Would I be able to share in 15 minutes? Would Michael be able to share in 15 minutes?
Michael shared our story and then shared what God had done in the business world. It was amazing. And then I got up and knew I was supposed to share about trauma, but also what had happened to me at Charis. I helped them to see that God is not done with us yet and that we don’t have to carry around grief and sorrow and we could replace those feelings and thoughts with the word of God and we all shouted out what we were going to get rid of and what we were going to receive. And then they played a song the Lord had given me a while back, “Trading My Sorrow” by Darrell Evans.
I told everyone to get ready to dance! And Mike told me I had to stay on the stage and dance, which I was not really prepared to do, but I thought “What the heck, I’ll never see these people again!
So the song went on and as people came forward we all began to dance and traded our sorrows and our shame for the joy of the Lord. And when yes! Lord! Yes Lord Yes yes Lord! Came on we were dancing like crazy! Jumping up and down, at one point Mike grabbed me and we started dancing together on the stage and I later saw another couple dancing together. It was crazy. Murray got up and we stepped down but the crowd was still going crazy and we started doing conga dances through the crowd! What???? I don’t have that kind of energy!
It was thrilling and I’m saying thank you Lord for that. But then there was another service. Would it be possible to do that again? What in the world will we do? I’m already sweating and thinking there’s no way. This time the worship band learned the song so they wouldn’t be cut off by YouTube and they played it over and over! And we did it again!
I was a little overwhelmed by all the people that wanted prayer and I wanted to pray for them all! But the team wisely ushered us to the “green room” hahaha I’ve never been in one of those! And I was able to rest. But really I wanted to hear all of their stories, but I don’t know how to move on to the next one. So I’ve gotten lots of tips on how to do that…because it might happen again. Hahaha. I don’t care if it ever does, it was magical.
The next morning we had breakfast with Grace. She had connected with us at the business conference and she shared her story about being forced to marry at 14 in Iraq and then escaping and becoming homeless and finally finding a husband who then left her 4 years ago. She is beautiful and pure and has now become a trauma therapist. We were so blessed to be able to hear her story. She has written a book called Hope.
As we drove away to the airport yesterday morning I leaned against Mike and we both just breathed a sigh of “Wow, that was amazing”. And I heard this little song in my head and as I. began to listen it was “la la la la, the magical mystery tour…lalalalala” and I shared it with Mike and we began to sing “lalalala the magical mystery tour is coming to take you away take you away”. When we were visiting our new friends in Ohio, I felt like the Lord gave me that song (Anyone who knows Mike knows his love of the Beatles and their songs) so it was funny that God gave it to me. And when we were preparing for Toronto, I got the song again, so fun that it came as we were driving away.
We are in Omaha now, getting ready to go and see our kids in California. I miss them so much and am grateful I get to go and see them. Our house has not sold. We’ve had 3 couples say they were going to make an offer and no one has, so we still have our home, waiting for God to show us what our next adventure is….who knows, maybe we will just stay here. Waiting for God to take us on His Magical Mystery Tour!