Reni Mouse says...."Cheese!"


March 15th, 2009

       The Power of Prayer: An Act of Faith

Does prayer really change things? ABSOLUTELY!!! Let me say it again....Does prayer really change things? AB..SO..LUTE...LY! We should never underestimate the power of prayer. Take Elijah for example, he prayed that it would not rain and it did not rain for three and a half years. Then again he prayed and the rain showers came and the land once again become fruitful. (James 5: 17-18) Prayer most certainly moves the hand of God. It is a powerful tool when used in connection with God's will.

God moves by faith! Every blessing that we will ever receive is received through faith! All the way from our very salvation to the smallest of blessings! We receive them all by faith.
Prayer is an act of faith...for if you did not have faith in God...you would not pray. Prayer is an act of faith therefore prayer moves the Hand of God.

It is true God is omnipotent. He knows all. He knows how every situation will turn out. Which also means, He knows whether or not we will be faithful in doing our part.

Do you remember the story of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garment. She knew that if she could just touch him she would be healed. She didn't say, "if I touch him he might decide to heal me?" NO! She KNEW she would be healed. Within a multitude of people who were pushing, touching, and tugging on Jesus. He felt her touch. Why? Because her faith actually drew His healing power from Him. Jesus replied, “Who touched me? Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” "Daughter be of good comfort, for thy faith has made thee whole; go in peace" (Luke 8:40-48). We have to be open to receive God's blessings. We have to BELIEVE that we WILL receive them. When we pray we have to EXPECT God's promises to be fulfilled in our lives.

There have been times in my life when I've been awaken in the middle of the night, knowing that I needed to pray for a particular person. Out of obedience I prayed. Later I would find out that particular person was in a terrible car accident and miraculously walked away, or had a relapse in an illness but somehow made it through. These were all incidents of the power of prayer. On the other hand I have experienced a couple of people who died very suddenly and I never felt led to pray for them. Why do you ask? Simple...it was their time to go. When we feel the need to pray it's because God is wanting to move in a certain situation. He is wanting to make a change! Our faith filled prayers are the instruments He chooses to use! Prayer is a POWERFUL thing!! It should never be taken lightly or spoken in vain.

We must expect God to answer our prayers and we must EXPECT Him to do that which He has promised according to His Word. It's all about our belief! Just like the Israelites I talked about in this blog entry (also posted on August 13th of our July/August journal page). All of the Israelite children were promised a land flowing with milk and honey but only a few received God's promise. Why? Many lost out on God's promised blessing because of their presistant unbelief. Many chose to believe the negative report of the spies. Caleb, however, received the promised land because even though the circumstances said something else, he chose to believe a God that can not lie. He did not see the worldly circumstance! He chose to only see God's promise laid out before Him. He chose to believe the report of the LORD! We too must CHOOSE to believe.

There are nearly 100 times in the Bible where Jesus said, "I tell you the truth! I tell you the truth!" The circumstances in this world often SCREAM out worldly facts. But Jesus said, "I tell you the truth!" "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" Matthew 17:20
"Whatsoever you ask in my name, that will I do that the Father might be glorified in the Son!" 1 John 5:4. We have to ask....then believe He will do just as He says!

If we doubt even for a moment...we have already lost the battle. "For verily I say unto you. That whosoever shall say unto this mountain be thou removed, and be cast into the sea, AND SHALL NOT DOUBT IN HIS HEART, but shall BELIEVE that those things which he saith comes to pass; he shall have whatsover he saith. " Mark 11:23

We pray according to His will, we ask in the name of Jesus, and we BELIEVE our prayers are answered. We EXPECT the promises of God to be made manifest in our lives.

When his disciples failed in delivering a boy from an evil spirit, they asked Jesus why and Jesus replied "because of your unbelief" Even Jesus when visiting His home city, would not perform miracles because of the city's abundant unbelief. (Mark 6:1-6)

Sometimes we get so caught up in the Almighty being that God is, we tend to forget that He is also our Heavenly Father. He only wants what is best for His children. He does not want us to suffer, not even in this world. That is why Jesus said, " And now I come to thee: and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them they word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray that thou should not take them out of the world, but that thou should keep them from the evil. They are not of this world, even as I am not of this world. Santify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. " John17:13-17 . We do encounter the things of this world. However we are governed by a different truth than worldly truth. We are governed by a GODLY truth. A truth that offers us VICTORY in all aspects of our life.

Satan would love for us to believe that it may not be God's will to save, deliver or heal. He would love for us to believe that prayer is not effective. His battle DEPENDS on whether or not we buy into LIES! He wants to destroy our faith. Corrupting our faith or placing our belief in his lies is what hinders us from God's blessings. Satan is the one who wants us to suffer. He's the one that wants to keep us in bondage. Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) Christ came to save, deliver and heal. That's why we must HOLD ON TO God's promises! We must HOLD ON TO THE TRUTH!

If you do not believe in the protection of God. I incline you to read Psalms 91. For a thousand may fall at my feet and 10, 000 at my right hand, but it shall NOT come near me. No plague shall come nigh my dwelling. For God has given His angels charge over me to watch me in all my ways. We have protection as the children of God!! God allows trials in our lives to perfect the vessel He has created us to be (James 1). But we belong to Him, He loves us and He remains in control. And he says do not fear the things of this world for "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, EVEN OUR FAITH." 1 John 5:4.

It's a given, that God's first and foremost concern is our salvation. There are times when he uses situations to bring salvation to someone and/or their loved ones who might not have received it otherwise. There are times when He delivers us from unknown circumstances in our futures they could eventually overwhelm us. In these circumstances He grants us the ultimate healing of going home to be with Him.

God's omnipotent wisdom and mercy knows the very best for us. Sometimes He answers prayers differently than we expect. But WE NEVER DOUBT HIS GOODNESS! WE NEVER DOUBT HIS ABILITY and WE NEVER DOUBT HIS WORD WHICH DECLARES UNTO US.....BY HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED!

"Pray at ALL times in the Spirit, with all prayer and entreaty. To that end, keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints. And pray also for me, that utterance may be given me, that I may open my mouth to proclaim boldly the mystery of the Gospel. For which I am an ambassador in a coupling chain Pray that I may declare it boldly and courageously, as I ought to do." Ephesians 6:18-20

"....For the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16


March 16th, 2009

I was washing dishes while the kids were eating lunch and out of the blue Eli says,  Eli says, "Mommy!" Still washing I say, "Yes dear?" "Mommy, do I have something on my face?" "What was that?" "Do I have something on my face?" "Just a minute honey and I'll look." I finish rinsing, dry my hands and turn around to see this....


                     
"Uh yeah, I think you got a little something there!" I immediately start laughing and Eli responds to my laughter by saying, "What?  What Mommy? Wipe it off!"  I start laughing even harder.  So then it suddenly became a game.  He kept blurting out "Wipe it off! Mommy!" Then waited for the laughter...Then  "Wipe my face off Mommy!"  He had the whole kitchen in an uproar. 

                     


Evidently, Eli really enjoyed his lunch, but he wasn't the only one, Reni liked hers as well....


                         

March 18th, 2009
I've been asked on a few occasions, "What's the point? What's the point of telling Serenity's Story?"

I can not express the compassion God has placed in my heart. I can not put into words the magnitude of it's affect on my life. There are times when it completely overwhelms me. There are times when I lie awake in bed and just cry for those I have never even met.
Now I'm not talking about just feeling sorry for someone or pity. I'm talking about compassion, the feeling of truly wanting to make the situation better! True compassion can ONLY come from God!

When we were in the PICU and received Serenity's diagnosis of Restrictive Cardiomyopathy, my husband and I wanted to know exactly what we were up against. So we made a trip to the hospital's computer lab to do some research. We spent hours trying to find just ONE positive sentence to hold on to. We tried to find just one MEDICAL hope. It all came down to Transplant or death...and even then the outcome was not very comforting. Underneath was a list of all the possible side effects of a heart transplant then stated even IF she survived the transplant, she would need another a few years down the road, then another one a few years after that. The medical prediction of my daughter living a long fruitful life was not good!

If it had not been for our hope in Jesus, there would have been NO hope at all. From that moment I vowed that the next time a mother had to type in those dreadful words, She would find at least ONE positive story! At least ONE testimony of Hope to hold on to! Even if our daughter endured a heart transplant, her story WOULD be a positive one and God WOULD receive ALL the Glory for it!

A few months ago I received a comment from a mother in California who was stuck in the hospital awaiting her son's heart transplant. She was also doing some research on Restrictive Cardiomyopathy and came across Reni's website. She wrote, "Serenity's story gives me so much hope and has helped to strengthen my faith. Thank you so very much for posting her story and being open enough to share your journey."

That's it folks....That IS the point!

That is the reason what I feel compelled to SHOUT our story from the mountaintops. That is the reason why I want to scream..."GOD HEALED MY DAUGHTER...GOD HEALED MY DAUGHTER and HE CAN DO THE SAME FOR YOU!" It's an excitement that fills me. It fills the pit of my stomach. It burns within me like a comsuming fire! I want to share the good news! I want people to know MY God is a God that saves, delivers and Heals. I want everyone to see the goodness of the LORD that I know!

The compassion God places in my heart doesn't just stop with children facing heart transplants. Oh NO! It goes far beyond that! It goes from the most difficult form of cancer or birth defects to the simplest colds or conditions. God's healing power stretches far across ALL sickness, whether mind, body or spirit!

I want EVERYONE to receive God's blessings. When faced with someone who is not willing to receive the message of hope. I can hardly contain my sorrow. I feel like my spirit has been completely broken and I just want to grab them by the shoulders and shake them. I have found myself alone at night weeping and crying out to God..."Why won't they believe.. Why won't they believe." In the stillness of my prayers, I am reminded that we ALL have a choice. We can not make everyone believe. Not everyone will receive ALL of God's blessings. Not everyone will even receive God's salvation. There will be those who will parish.

However, I am also reminded the intense sorrow that overtakes me, to the point where I can barely function and I suddenly have a revelation. This tiny bit of compassion that God gives me, is merely a drop of rain in His own Ocean of Love. Oh how He must feel to see His children parish! How frustrated He must become when they choose NOT to accept His blessings!

You see, this blog is not about me or my family. Serenity's website is not about promoting her, as cute as she may be :) No...it's about doing what I feel God is calling me to do. It's about spreading a message of Hope to a dying world (physical and spiritual). It's about quenching this fire of compassion burning within me. It's about making a difference in a Godly way.

Not everyone will receive the message of Hope! Not everyone will be open to receive the blessings Jesus has provided. But if one person's life is made better because of our story...then our journey has fulfilled it's purpose!

It's ALL about God's Glory! So that others may see the HOPE we have! So others may witness Goodness of the LORD in their own lives.

You want what we have? All you have to do is ask...then Believe!

March 20th, 2009
       The Young Lady who lived in the Shoe's trip to the Zoo!

     Once upon a time there was a young lady who lived in a shoe. 
         She had so many children she didn't know what to do. 
                   
They hung from the roof and slept on the toe. They were stuffed inside and out with no where to go! So time it came to move away. Off they went to find a new place to stay. They search on the ground. They search in the air.
                     
They searched in the mountains, but not a spot to spare. So the search went on day and night. Looking for a home, a place just right.

Danger and trouble soon caught them unaware 
An unexpected hero came through armed only with prayer.

Walking soon began to tire them some.

Their legs were sore, their feet were numb.

They decided it would serve them better to ride for awhile

Some were natural born riders,
while others were....well....just in denial.

Horses were not the best option for all. So they looked for another animal to make the haul. They found hippos helped to carry the load. 

They all rode together down the bumpy road.

Finally the time came when the jouney was over,
no more need to roam
      
They found a house big enough
to call HOME SWEET HOME!


             Here are some more pix from our trip to the zoo today.