IMMEASURABLY MORE.....

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us..." Ephesians 3:20 NIV

He has surrounded me in His constant Love!  Certainly, there is more than I have asked or ever imagined!  As I have shared about the newest "kindred spirits" in this blog...there are "immeasurably more"! 

Throughout my life there have been so many "special" people!  My extended family, obtained after the death of my mother, was an unexpected gift!  My father had found a new beginning!  And then...he was gone as well, along with my daughter, sister, and brother.  That "gift" of a new beginning remained.

My dearest and great friend from my teen years helped me at a time I realized God was so in control of my life!

Keitha Story-Stephenson, Ph.D.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CEsQFjAJ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wcmessenger.com%2F2012%2Fnews%2Fstepping-stones-of-faith-keitha-story-stephensons-mission-takes-her-to-africa%2F&ei=gwa2U47vEYa1yASIoYDYBQ&usg=AFQjCNFD6cZudgp8HIEeZO-CwlRVJR8SVQ&sig2=iowjIYTYxgCykAbttSaaVA&bvm=bv.70138588,d.aWw

Having attended Southwestern College in Phoenix, AZ after Arizona Bible College had closed, I have remained in close contact with many of my colleagues.  Vince Trujillo and his lovely wife are currently very busy in His Purpose.  I know they have prayed for so many, unceasingly...

 Vince and Gail Trujillo /Missionaries
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mexicanmedical.com%2Fpeople_detail.php%3Fid%3D57&ei=7Qa2U4DbII6VyASlnILYBw&usg=AFQjCNF_cLuxPPlJweotuTB8U8TRoqupWw&sig2=DRkhgo1DhfvRsllihF0W4g&bvm=bv.70138588,d.aWw

"Immeasurably More"...the blessings of my children.  Four daughters!  Amy, Sherry, Geri Ann, and Jenny...more than I had ever dreamed of!

 Amy is amazing!  She has suffered with Muscular Dystrophy all of her life, but rarely complains.  Her father and grand-father also had this disease...both are now in Heaven.  Her disease led to many different specialty Doctors through MDA.  When first we found out about her disease, my heart trembled.  I must have cried a river wondering how I could best help her.  Through prayer and determination she achieved things beyond normal duration.  The day she graduated from Salisbury State University was a huge achievement! She is wonderfully blessed with twins...a boy and a girl!!  She remains strong and enjoys her job as a Computer Analyst today.

Sherry is determined!  Thankfully, she did not inherit the MD and was so helpful with Amy.  What a team they became and still are.  Perhaps Sherry felt badly because her sister had something more difficult to bear, but she was always smiling at her sister, saying, "yes you can"!  If ever there is something I need done quickly and efficiently...it is always, Sherry.  Her achievements through being a great wife, mother of two daughters, and becoming an Area Manager are a "wow" factor!

Geri Ann, lives in Heaven!  This inconceivable pain, was more than I ever imagined!  She died in womb at 36 weeks and per the autopsy, without reason.  The Doctors likened it to SIDS.  I carried her alive...and then... dead.  Carrying death.... within me.... was so alien...the worst place I have ever been.  Psalms Chapter 23 pressed my mind's eye.  My current "idiopathic" place...becomes... nothing... in comparison. 

You can never replace any spirit in this world.  They are all specific.  To have my next daughter, was not "ever" to replace Geri Ann,.... He gave me a "healing" through Jenny.

Jennifer is sparkle!  The day she was born, a huge cloud drifted from me and re-opened my body, soul, and spirit.  If ever there was more of a desire in my life...I cannot remember it.  She grew with such enjoyment of music! (she plays the piano so beautifully)  He knew how I needed her...I was blessed with again "immeasurably more"!  She is a wonderful wife, mother of a son and daughter, and enjoys being a part of the following journey:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDgQFjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.childfund.org%2F&ei=FQm2U9PAN9SyyATOk4LQDA&usg=AFQjCNEFP5qikOVJPyIks2Ez7xevX85Lbg&sig2=uS6RC-bQ2RNeQ99ZuHPfLQ

"His power at work within us...."

Many "Angels among us" have touched me so deeply. This is where my words are not enough!  I need something deeper to communicate, because these "kindred spirits" took my breaking heart and made it whole.  Never in my wildest dreams, did I ever think there was one such human spirit, in our world. But there are many! Through God's "power at work" within them...there is consistently...."HIS" PLACEMENT OF IMMEASURABLY MORE!

FAMILY TO FAMILY....DR. RICARDO HANEL BROUGHT ME TO LUCY....THROUGH GOD'S GRACE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKXD4hndlWs
"O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him".Psalm 34:8

This photo is very special to me. The weekend we found out my mom had a brain tumor I told her grand-baby number six was on the way and due in May. My mom told her doctors she had needed to have her surgery and heal fast so she can meet her grand-baby. After nine months, two surgeries and still fighting her illness, she's made it to Richmond and holds her littlest grand-daughter for the first time in this photo. — Jennifer 

So says my daughter, above, to the "Miracle" in our lives!  Actually it was Dr. Ricardo Hanel who called me after my MRI on November 5, 2013 to say..."We need to remove the tumor, sooner than later."   And then I told Dr. Hanel about my new grand-baby who was coming...I needed to be here!

So very thankful for Dr. Hanel's "purpose in life" and the gifts God gave him.  Others before him had "ranked" it impossible...inoperable...that's why we call this a "miracle" in our family!  I am still here!

Through so many minutes, hours, days,weeks, and months...prayer upon prayer...His light shined through all that could have "darkened" this event.  And here we are!  Lucy was born on May 22, 2014!

That sweetness of "baby dew" was still on my cheek when the phone rang.  The sound of a well known voice, brought tears to my eyes.  Kim, Dr. Hanel's nurse, said my name.  I have missed her!  Closing my eyes, I still feel her hugging me after my brain tumor removal.

Kim had received my e-mail.  The content had expressed changes that occurred since Dr. Hanel had left Mayo Clinic.  I was unsure if he would still be able to help me with the new problems I now faced.  She was calling to say, she shared this e-mail with Dr. Hanel.  His response was for her to call and say...we are "family"...they will always take care of me.  And I sobbed...in comfort...

God's Grace is ever present.  I just need to come here and remember it often!!    

These wonderful moments ...His gifts of Family to Family!!

REMEMBERING THEM.....

I Corinthians Chapter 13 ...helpful in so many ways...it is called the Love Chapter. Verse 13 "And now abideth faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love."  Whether it is money, property, intellect, reading, writing, sports....love...if we do not share...it will become "dust" assuredly as our body.  

BETWEEN MOTHER'S DAY AND FATHER'S DAY...I REMEMBER THEM...

http://www.virtual-memorials.com/main.php?action=view&mem_id=5459&page_no=1
  The love of my mother, father, daughter, sister, and brother are still with me...even though they reside in Heaven.

There is a country song that I relate to, and listen to every now and again.  It is called "This Ain't Nothin" by Craig Morgan.  It is about an older gentleman whose house was destroyed by a tornado.  There is a plethora of "reporters" encompassing the area.  Compassion, yes, but still the mighty "roar" of  intensity, to make the news.  The gentleman compares this rubble to nothing...compared to the love of his dear wife, his brother, and his father.  Yes...I "get it"!
http://www.cmt.com/videos/craig-morgan/494013/this-aint-nothin.jhtml

When I was a volunteer for Tidewell Hospice, so many people did "get it"....and then there were others who just did not.  Did I really want them to???  Yes, for assured belief that there is more to life! More than "stuff you can't take with you" when your spirit moves on...eventually...everyone will.  I read to them.

I am reminded of a time when I was a bank manager. A very wealthy person requested that I add up all of their millions. They had wanted to impress me. This person came many times, adding more money each time. (Listening to this "idol" of gold ...my bold thought at the end was; ("Would you like me to write a bank check when you die and put it in your casket?")  

So, as I continue to review, research, and reside in this "idiopathic" place, the importance is just to share His love. Whether it be in support of those who are suffering, or helping others in healing. Through all of my sins and imperfections, I pray He will still use me.

I Corinthians Chapter 13 verses 1 -3
"If I speak in the languages (tongues) of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing."


http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/enter.cfm?l=eng

A FAVORITE VERSE

And Jesus said: John 5:24 :"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth Him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life."