Guest Post: Dependence on God.

"I am the vine you are the branches. If a man remains in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
~John 15:5

What does it mean to depend on God, and do I practice dependency daily? It is faith and confidence in Christ, but sometimes it is a struggle to see, because dependence is deployed from our soul and spirit. It seems easier to depend on the Lord when disease deteriorates the body, than when anger allies with my attitude. Dependence on God means we need Him, and we understand that without Him we are unable to accomplish anything of Kingdom significance.

Reliance on Jesus is the door to faithful and fruitful living. It means we are transformed by what the Lord says and thinks; therefore we can depend on Him for wisdom and insight. Perhaps, He will guide you over the next year to pay down debt, decrease spending, and increase saving and giving. Indeed, we can depend on Him for the fruit of frugality and generosity. Dependence on the Lord deepens your determination.

“This is what the LORD says: “Cursed are those who trust in mortals, who depend on flesh for their strength and whose hearts turn away from the LORD.”
~Jeremiah 17:5

Moreover, another reason you depend on the Lord is because you feel the pressure of others depending on you. You can crumble under the expectations of people, unless you have the inner strength of your Savior to sustain you. Like a branch draws sap from the vine for sustenance, so He energizes you for sustainability. Dependence is a continual connection to Christ that results in a harvest of holiness.

Pride is purged away, and humility grows in its place. Fear is purged away, and faith grows in its place. Anger is purged away, and forgiveness grows in its place. Lust is purged away, and love grows in its place. We depend on God because we are desperate and detached without Him. Jesus is our source of strength and our hope in hard times.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them”. ~Ephesians 2:10, NKJV

What area of your life do you need to surrender, in complete dependence, to Christ?

About the Author: Cindy Laczynski is a phenomenal mother, friend, sister, and wife and an amazing CHILD OF GOD!!! She wants to remind others that though the Word guarantees that in this world you WILL have trouble, we can take heart because God has overcome the world. Cindy is pictured above with her son, Bo.

Guest Post: Cardboard Testimonies

Just what is a cardboard testimony? It’s a visual representation of how God has turned your life around. On one side, a person would write a word, phrase, or sentence about a struggle they had in their lives without God. On the flip side, they would change the words to show how God has blessed them. For example, a cardboard testimony might read, “Always Felt Empty” then on the other side, “Full of Joy.” For a better idea, you can watch this video:

Cardboard testimonies are a powerful way to show the power of God’s amazing love in your life. For those who may be uncomfortable sharing their full testimony in front of a church body, cardboard testimonies are another way to explain how God has changed your life.

Believe it or not, I'm not certain where Cardboard Testimonies actually started. While Hillside Christian Church in Amarillo, Texas, was the first to post a video online in 2006, the church’s pastor mentioned that he “borrowed” the idea from a church in Las Vegas. The idea has since spread to many churches across the U.S. and around the world.

Watching a presentation of Cardboard Testimonies is truly inspiring. People who suffered from all kinds of problems – depression, infertility, drug addiction, anger, and abuse – have found comfort and healing through God’s love. Perhaps you might even think about organizing a presentation at your church, bible study, or conference.

What would your Cardboard Testimony be?

About the Author: Marcia Colgar owns the site, Online Christian Colleges. She writes various articles about faith-based education.

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Alisha Here:
Thank You Marcia, for sharing this idea!!! Our church has done this before, as well, and I agree with you that and it is a VERY powerful demonstration that brings God glory in a special way!!!

I would LOVE to hear from the rest of you!!!! Take a moment now to post your "cardboard testimony" as a "comment" under this post. There is something WONDERFULLY rewarding, and liberating, in sharing our testimonies. And there is something POWERFULLY uplifting and bonding as we boldly, and compassionately, connect through our stories. Are you at a place in your life where you have a "cardboard testimony" to share? Might you consider letting God use you today. Share your cardboard testimony with us. If need be, you can post your comment anonymously, but for those of you who identify your names, you will be entered into a drawing and I will be randomly choosing one person to bless with a "PRIZE" later this week. :) (and no, it won't be made of duct tape and cardboard)

MAY YOU BLESS AND BE BLESSED!!!

Real quick exciting announcement!!!

(Isn't she adorable by the way...like something torn right off of one a them there Pregnancy magazine covers? Just sayin'. She is so cute!!! I KNOW!!! I try to let her know that I am not mad at her for being that cute, but I am not sure if she believes me or not.) Okay, enough being silly. She is cute, but that is not why am writing today. Read on. ;)

I posted a guest post on BeComforted back on July 28 that was written by one of my sweet dear friends from college, Diane 'Slusher' Amoroso who had struggled getting pregnant. If you did not get a chance to read that you may do so here. This is a guest post follow-up. I know that post meant a lot to many of my readers and hit close to home for many of you, so I wanted to bring you up to speed and let you on the latest and greatest.

Diane was actually a very strong 36 weeks into her pregnancy, and on the mend of what had been a very hard season of her life, when I posted her guest post and am happy to announce and she and her husband just recently delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS DIEGO AND DIANE!!!!!

We are very, very, very happy for you and rejoice right along with you!!!
May God bless you and your family today and into the future.
Many, many more blessings to come for you, Diane!

Rhonda's boys: Life with a mother who develops a serious mental illness.

THERE WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THEM...
It was something about the way they looked at me when we came into KFC that struck me as different. I came in with my three kids frazzled, as usual, trying to get a quick lunch. I ordered our usual...kid's meals for all the kids and a popcorn chicken for myself...just something to get everyone happy and get through the afternoon. The twins who worked at KFC were hard workers and they were very kind every time we came in. I always felt relieved when they were working because I knew they were going to be nice to me. I didn't know them by name. I just knew their smile, and I knew what their smile meant to me. The last thing I needed was another person looking at me like I was crazy because I couldn't keep my kids under control, because my kids were not well groomed, because I was feeding my kids fast food instead of fruits and veggies, or because my hair was a mess. After my third child, I had become ultra-sensitive to the disapproving looks of those who did not like my "parenting techniques", (the "looks" were EVERYWHERE) so there was something about the way these boys looked at me that meant A LOT to me. It was the look of grace. I stopped getting that look somewhere after my third kid...or rather, I stopped noticing that look because I became too busy obsessing over the next time I would get the glare of disapproval.

WHERE DO THESE BOYS COME FROM?
"These boys are set apart. They will not always work at KFC. They are going to do something with their lives someday," I remember thinking to myself. They were teen-aged boys. They were not your typical teen-aged boys. They worked with integrity even though nobody forced them to. They worked with a 'can-do' attitude and they were very selfless. "How does a parent raise boys to turn into such well-mannered young men who work hard, as if the world does not constantly owe them something?" I wondered. This is actually very rare around where we live. They seemed so refreshingly different from other teenage boys I knew. This is not to blame any other teenage boys...I just couldn't figure these two out. Where do they come from? :)

WAIT!? I KNOW YOU!?
Later, I saw them walking down the hallway of our church with my friend, Rhonda McMillon. (Rhonda just did a guest post for the BeComforted.com site) "WAIT A MINUTE!!!! ARE THESE YOUR BOYS!?!" I was so excited! I was friends with their mom!!! Yay!!! I not only knew their mom, but I was in a Bible Study with their mom! I learned their names...Marcus and Marcellus English. What a privilege it is to call them my brothers in Christ!

IT'S COMING TOGETHER NOW...
As time went on, I started to understand that it was actually hard times that shaped those boys into who they were. It wasn't a bunch of "fluff and stuff". Those boys were strong in their core TODAY because of the fire they had been through YESTERDAY. WOW!!! I had no idea at the time. {This is only meant to be a teaser people...you must read the book to really get to know these boys.} :) I am not going to lay out their whole story here in this post, but I will give you a parenting thought, and we are going to have a book giveaway SOON. :)

NOTE TO PARENTS...
Pray your kids through the hard times. Trust God to be at work in their lives. They ARE going to go through some rough patches from time to time. It's not going to be all fluff and stuff. Those hard times are going to be their "refining" moments. Do not protect them from those times by pulling them away from those times, but rather, pray them through them and be present as they learn to pull through them, teaching your children to cling to God as they learn to pull through to the other side of their trial. How we deal with our trials today will determine how we fair on the other side. Teach your children to take their problems to the one who can help them sort through them in a healthy way and bring healing in their life.

BOOK GIVEAWAY COMING UP...
As I read Rhonda's book, A Different Kind of Blossom, that she wrote along with her sons and mother, I smiled as I read about how her boys did not want to work at KFC. They wanted, instead, to be ordering food from KFC. (that sounds normal) :) I enjoyed reading about how the family gathered around the table to read the Bible together and I imagined how that was probably strength-building for those boys and how it probably gave them focus, hope to cling to, and something bigger to believe in when they were faced with the hardships of seeing their mother go through the process of identifying how to handle life with a very serious mental illness.

I love this family. I know you will too. Next post. A brief paragraph describing A Different Kind of Blossom and a book giveaway so one lucky winner can get their very own copy of her book.

To read Rhonda McMillon's guest post about discovering, and dealing with, a mental illness you may click here.

Guest Post: One Believer's Struggle with Schizoaffective Disorder, Depressive Type

Rhonda McMillon was the beautiful woman who sat across me at the table at church during my Bible Study group a couple of summer's ago. Her words encouraged me in some of my more challenging mothering years (I'm still in them, actually). I found her tone to be comforting and I liked that. The irony of the situation is that in a room full of what she would have considered to be "normal" people she was the one I seemed to most easily bond with in the room. (Don't read into that) ;) Her spirit is warm and inviting, and her personality is fun, yet deep. Through her journey she has embraced God's grace in her life, and she readily offers it to everyone she comes in contact with. Meet author, mother, and my personal friend, Rhonda McMillon...

MY DIAGNOSIS

Schizoaffective Disorder, Depressive Type is the official diagnosis I received in April of 2006. That's what the attending psychiatrist told me the second or third day of my stay in a psychiatric hospital. She went on to inform me that my mental breakdown was due to the above brain disorder; a type of mental illness in which episodes of schizophrenia (hallucination, delusions, and disorganized thinking) overlap with episodes of depression.

After years of my mind being shattered with crazy thoughts of suicide, sleeping all day long and hearing voices of people that were not present, I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, the verse Isaiah 61:1, "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted," was coming true for me. Here is my story. I hope it will help you to realize that God is there for you in your darkest hours.

MY STORY: Healing For My Broken Heart

After coming home from the psychiatric hospital, I wasn't aware that I was in for a roller coaster ride of seeking diving healing. I asked God to heal my broken heart by completely taking away Schizoaffective Disorder, Depressive Type. I falsely believed that if this mental illness was gone, I wouldn't have any more problems in my life. At the time, I didn't realize I had asked Jesus for something that wouldn't happen.

SEARCHING FOR MY HEALING

I hoped to find my solution by writing to prayer ministries on T.V. and asking to receive healing from my mental disability. Also, I stood in prayer lines at churches requesting that this sickness be taken away. I was assured Jesus would answer my diligent prayers. After about a year...nothing.

I remember asking my psychiatrist to please do something for me. She politely told me to continue taking my medication, seeing my counselor, and start attending an Adult Day Treatment program. I did this for a little while...nothing. Devastation closed in around my heart. I didn't consistently follow through with my doctor's treatment plans because inwardly I was embarrassed about having a mental disability. I just wanted it gone-out of my life for good.

I came up with another one of my "solutions". Instead of overcoming my own stigmas about mental illness, I would go back to school to prove I was "normal". My psychiatrist suggested that if I enrolled in school I should take it slow by attending one class at a time. However, I didn't listen. I decided to enroll full time and attended four classes. Also, I talked myself into needing to make straight A's.

I did happen to make excellent grades. However, because of the stress of a full time school schedule, memory lapses and disorganized thinking (symptoms of Schizo-affective Disorder), I couldn't store information in my long term memory. Therefore, I was unable to succeed at a job in the field that I went to school for. This failure only reinforced my fear that I wasn't normal. I was brokenhearted.

My next solution was to get a job. There is nothing wrong with working. Yet, I returned to work because I was feeling worthless and embarrassed about accomplishing nothing. Once I began working, I did experience better self-esteem. However, when I started having episodes of euphoria, I falsely believed that God had healed me and began taking less of my medication until I just came to the point where I stopped using it. Also, I avoided attending my counseling and psychiatric appointments.

In 2009, because I was no longer seeking treatment, I had another mental breakdown. Exhaustion overwhelmed me as I wondered why God hadn't healed me. That's when I gave up and prayed not my will be done, Father, YOUR will be done.

A couple of days after that prayer, my mother called and said she had been praying for me. She peacefully suggested that it was time for me to take my medication and see my doctors again. Also, she lovingly explained that having a mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. Needing help is nothing to be embarrassed about.

THE SHIFT HAPPENED IN MY HEART, INSTEAD OF IN MY BRAIN.

At that moment, a shift began to take place in my heart. It was grace and love moving through the core of my being like a soft, warm summer breeze. No, my brain disorder was not healed. Don't get me wrong. I do believe that God does completely take away illnesses from many people. However, this didn't happen to me. I don't know why God has other plans for my life. I can just tell you a healing happened on the inside of my heart.

As I began to see my illness with the eyes of my heart filled with Christ's love, I started my recovery process over. This time I realized that God blessed me with medication and doctors to help me to become stable. As the medication lessened the hallucinations, disorganized thinking and depressive episodes, I began to pray that God bless me with the help, love and grace to accept that I will have this brain disorder for the rest of my life. In December of 2009, my prayer was answered. I was surfing the WEB and came across the site, www.NAMI.org (National Alliance on Mental Illness). This is a support group for people with mental disabilities and their families.

SEEKING SUPPORT OUTSIDE OF MYSELF: MY NAMI MEETINGS.

I was nervous when I attended my first NAMI meeting. However, as people with mental illnesses began to speak up, my embarrassment about myself began to melt away. Now I understand that mental disabilities affect many people from various cultures and classes. A deep peace came from within me as Jesus opened my heart to accept that I have no reason to be ashamed of having a mental illness.

It's now July 26, 2011, five years and three months after I have been diagnosed with Schizo-affective Disorder, Depressive Type. At times I still suffer through trickles of depression and days with my mind cracking like eggshells. It's in these moments that I call out to God to help me to love Him and those around me despite having a mental illness. And God, please help me to be faithful with my doctor's treatment plan for me. Then, I'll sense God's grace settle on me like a soft, warm blanket bringing peace to my heart. That's when I remember some of the many ways Isaiah 61:1 is alive and active in my life.

Instruments God has used to bind up my broken up heart these past few years:

1. Jesus has blessed me with a wonderful family who support me. He has even healed our relationship to the point where we have written a book about our experience as a family living with a loved one with Schizoaffective Disorder, Depressive Type. The book is titled: A Different Kind of Blossom, Essays about our Journey through a Mental Illness, which is available for purchase at www.adifferentkindofblossom.com
2. God has surrounded me with a wonderful,caring mentor, Jamie Standefer, and other good friends who love me just as I am, mental illness and all.
3. Before I had treatment for my mental disability, I wandered from church to church seeking for an authentic, intimate relationship with Christ. Now I am blessed with a church home where I can grow in the love of Christ.
4. Most of all, God continues to heal my heart into realizing that my worth doesn't come from money, career, or mental ability but from my identity in Christ. The important thing for me to do is to live out His love for me and my love for Him and others. Amen.

About the author:

Rhonda McMillon lives in Valparaiso, Indiana where she loves being a mother to her three sons, Marcus, Marcellus, and Nicholas. She, along with her three sons and her mother, Essie McMillon, coauthored the book: A Different Kind of Blossom, Essays about our Journey through a Mental Illness, which is available for purchase at www.adifferentkindofblossom.com

BONUS!!!!

BOOK GIVEAWAY COMING UP!!!

STAY TUNED!!

Are you interested in learning more about Rhonda's story? She joined with her mother and her three sons in creating a book that reaches out to those with a mental illness and the famililes of those with a mental illness. If you loved getting to know Rhonda through this post, you will also love getting to know her family through their book. Check for an upcoming post to find out more about our book giveaway. One lucky winner is going to win their very own copy of Rhonda McMillon's A Different Kind of Blossom Book!!!! It could be you!!! Stay tuned!!!!

Guest Post: God provides comfort, hope, and peace.

A couple of months ago I sat with a decaf coffee in hand, soaking in the company of two my dear friends, Sally Wood and Diane Amoroso. Diane and Sally are sisters and I know them both from different seasons in my own life. Diane was a friend of mine from college who I had lost touch with for the most part, except for our few facebook interactions here and there. Diane was visiting for about a week, and the two of them invited me to come and crash their party one night after all the kids were asleep. I was blessed as I listened to Diane's testimony of how God was there for her over the past few years. I asked that she write out her story so other believers might also be reminded to seek God to be their comforter, provider, and emotional healer...in the same way that she has. For me, personally, Diane's story reminds me to peacefully rest in God's promises in my own life even before I see those promises come to pass, knowing that He is ALWAYS FAITHFUL. I hope that God uses her testimony to speak to your heart wherever you are today...

OUR FIRST ATTEMPT

After a couple years of marriage, my husband and I decided we wanted to expand our family. We were so excited when we conceived on our first try! We broadcasted our joyous news immediately, and then I miscarried a week later. It was devastating to me, but people kept trying to comfort me by telling me things like this:

• "It's very normal"
• "It happens to a lot of people"
• "At least it happened early"
• "At least you know you can get pregnant"
• "It won't happen again" etc...
  

Their words were of no comfort to me. I stuffed my pain deep inside, thinking I was being a wimp about it. However, the pain resurfaced time and time again until 6 months later my older sister "gave me permission" to grieve. She validated my pain, and helped me to realize that it was a very real loss for me.

OUR SECOND ATTEMPT
A couple months after that we found out I was pregnant again. This news came with dread instead of joy. What if I miscarry again? There were tears instead of excitement as I told my family of the "happy" news...I was so afraid. My fears were confirmed when I went to the doctor and it was again a very weak pregnancy, and likely to miscarry. My second pregnancy ended a week later. This time, however, I allowed myself to grieve. I found a Christian book on miscarriage that helped me to understand that my baby, though he/she was really a tiny ball of cells at the time of loss, was alive, and that I will see him or her in heaven one day.

OUR WAITING (AND MY OWN OBSESSING).

As the months went by, my husband and I kept trying. However, by this time I was becoming obsessed. Month after month I was disappointed and decided to try something else to take things into my own hands. Not only did this obsessing not help, but it actually worked against the "trying" process because it was causing me to stress. I think I was scaring my husband! This "one-tracked mind" was controlling me, and I started not being able to be happy for other women who were pregnant. It got to the point where I would avoid pregnant women in my life; I couldn't stand to be anywhere near them because it was so painful for me.

AS I DREW CLOSER TO GOD HE DREW CLOSER TO ME.
I knew what I was feeling
was not what God wanted from me, so I began to seek Him more. I did everything I could to draw closer to Him, begging Him to take this burden from me. I was so hungry and thirsty for Him to speak to me and help me. At one point I remember crying out to Him saying,

"I'm like the woman in the Bible who wanted to be healed and was healed just by touching the hem of your garment. Please let me touch the hem of your garment and be healed!"

At that moment He showed me Isaiah 40:11'

"He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart..."

Through that verse, what I felt was a slap in the face saying,

"You are acting like a desperate woman! You are NOT a desperate woman. You act like you have to chase after me, but you don't realize I am holding you in my arms."

That was such a wake up call to me, and from that moment, I had a picture of God holding me, carrying me in His arms, walking me through this time of trial. He became more and more every day my source of strength. Every day I was getting stronger in His word through my own quiet time with Him (I was getting up at 5:30 a.m. just to start my day with God), and through my pastor and other Christian speakers and authors. I verbally bound the spirits of control, obsession, and envy and cast them to the depths of the sea.

GOD SPOKE TO ME THROUGH OTHERS IN MY LIFE.
About 8 months after my second miscarriage, God began to send people to me.

1. MY SISTER.
First he sent my 6 month pregnant sister to visit me. I was very nervous about her visit, but it was therapeutic for me. How could I envy someone I love so much? How could I not love my nephew growing inside her? I felt healing and love where envy had stood.

2. MY COWORKER.
Next, God gave a Christian coworker of mine a "word of knowledge" in the form of a vision. She saw me very pregnant, twice, and said to me, "In the name of Jesus you will have your baby. Thank you Jesus for this baby."

3. A COUPLE FROM ARGENTINA.
Last He sent a Christian couple who was visiting the U.S. from Argentina. They hadn't planned on visiting us, but felt God leading them to share their story of struggling with infertility with us. They also proclaimed that in Jesus name we would have many children. My husband said, "See how much God loves you? He is sending people to speak to you."

MY HEALING.
By this time, I was healed on the inside, not only because of the hope that had been given to me, but because God healed my broken spirit and had grown me immeasurably. I am a different level of Christian today than I was before. I have more faith in God's Word and in His plans for our lives. I thank Him for the difficult time He allowed me to go through (though I am thankful it is over)!

THIRD TIMES A CHARM.
Surely enough about a month later I wasn't feeling well, took a test, and was pregnant. This time the news was received by my husband and I with rejoicing! I knew this baby was here to stay. God needed me to go through the trials of the previous 2 years so that I could find Him as my only source of strength. Our daughter is due in a few weeks, and I rest in the fact that this was His perfect timing for her to arrive, and that He will provide for all our needs.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY.

He is our comforter and our provider.

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About the Author: Diane Amoroso lives in South Florida. She has been married for 4 years to her loving husband, Diego. They met while working at the same school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Diane lived for 3 years. She is an elementary school teacher, currently teaching 4th grade. She attends Calvary Chapel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. At the time of this posting Diane is 36 weeks along in her pregnancy and she and the baby are both healthy. :)

Guest Post: Jennifer Riley tells how God spoke a message of comfort to her at a crucial time in her life.

Our guest post this week is written by Jennifer Riley. Jennifer is a BEAUTIFUL woman of faith who I was blessed to meet while working with the children at our church a few years ago. She has a gentle, sweet spirit and a heart to serve those around her. I hope you are blessed as you read Jennifer's testimony of the Lord's hand in her life. In this guest post she tells of a time when God chose to give her the comfort she needed through a sign and through a handful of believers around her. Here's Jennifer's testimony...

February 8 marked the one-year anniversary of my losing my left eye to cancer. What an event that was in my life. I am changed forever. It was the scariest thing that ever happened to me, but in so many ways it was also a time of the greatest blessing. I want to share this cool story with you.

MY STORY.
It happened on a Sunday morning. The next day was my surgery, and we were sitting in our usual row in church surrounded by so many supportive friends. There was a guest speaker in church that day, a local man named Jeff Kling, who happened to be talking about God healing him from cancer. I was curious to hear him talk.

(If you are interested in hearing Jeff Kling speak, you may hear him share his testimony at a Bethel College Revival, by clicking on this link.)

I want you to know I was NOT expecting a healing for my eye. I know God could do that if it was His will, but I knew that my eye was definitely coming out the next morning, and I was scared. Who wouldn’t be? I remember telling Jeff (my husband), “I can’t believe I’m going to let someone remove my eye tomorrow.” It seemed horrific and unreal--the worst kind of adrenaline rush. It’s hard to explain, but with the upcoming loss of that eye and the very real threat of the cancer further metastasizing to my liver, I could not even see life beyond the next morning’s surgery. Yes, I had all the faith in the world in my salvation through Jesus Christ. It’s not that I was afraid to die; I was afraid about my kids, my family, left without me. But for right now I was sitting in church drawing close to the Lord and knowing that’s exactly where I was supposed to be.
I sat there glad to forget about myself for a little while and listen to Jeff Kling share his story. He gave a miraculous telling of his cancer diagnosis, his surgery, his incredible conversation with God, and his healing! It was truly touching, and I was choked up right along with him as he told about his new-found faith. What an amazing thing to happen! My eyes filled with tears as my heart filled with joy for him.
He was concluding his message by saying he didn’t know why God chose to heal him and not someone else, and talking about putting your trust in the Lord. My own terror came flooding back to me, and I remember feeling agitated as I thought about what I would have to face the next day.

That’s when it happened.

Jeff Kling was still speaking at the front of the congregation and as he was standing there, right up there on the stage with him, I saw a sign! A literal sign! A big sign! I can still picture it now—it looked like one of those boxed signs you’d see high on the wall outside the door of a radio station that lights up in bright red letters: “ON AIR.” Only this one didn’t say “ON AIR.” It said “TRUST ME!” I watched in private awe as the backlit red letters in the sign box actually blinked—yes, they blinked!--on and off, on and off:
“TRUST ME” “TRUST ME” “TRUST ME” “TRUST ME”


Oh!!! God was right there, giving me a message of my own!
I bowed my head and thanked Him. I thanked Him so much for that blessed assurance. Wow! “Okay, God,” I prayed, “I will.”
We went home from church, and I packed my bag for the trip to Michigan. While eating supper at the hotel that night, I told my dad and Jeff what I had seen at church. Trusting in God, I had my surgery the next day.
A couple weeks later, my friend Wendy called me. She had been approached by a member of her church, Jeff Kling (!!!), who had spoken to my congregation. He’d seen my name when she put it on their prayer list and wondered if she thought it’d be okay if he gave me a call. He’d seen a lady in the audience while he was speaking at Agape Christian Church, he said, and felt a connection. He was pretty sure it was me! I told Wendy my story, and told her he was welcome to give me a call.

Not even an hour went by, and I was speaking to Jeff Kling on the phone!!

He asked if I have long blond hair. Yes.
Attend the second service? Yes.
And was I sitting in the middle section several rows back that morning? Whoa! That’s me.
When he was speaking that day, he said his eyes kept coming back to me. He got a feeling that I needed to hear what he had to say. Each time he shares his testimony, he explained, he concludes it in different ways, depending on what the Lord lays on his heart. That morning, he said, the message from God was for me. And that message, Jeff said plainly over the phone, was for me to TRUST GOD!!! “I do!” I said to Jeff, “I do!” And I told him MY story.
You’ve heard of people raising their hands heavenward and begging, “God, if you’d just show me a sign!” For me, this undeserving, fear-filled lady, God did just that. He is so real! He is so amazing! And He loves us so much! It’s not about Jeff Kling. It’s not about me. It’s about Him.

All glory to YOU, God!

I trust You. No matter what. 


Jennifer Riley resides in Westville, Indiana with her supportive husband of 20 years, Jeff Riley, and her two beautiful children, Amanda(18) and Jason(16) Riley.