Just wanted to post some praise to our wonderful Lord today. The last post was written shortly after my daughter Kerri had experienced a stroke. After remaining in the states for a course of treatment with Coumadin, she and her family returned to the mission field in Zambia in May 2009. I thank God for her recovery and for her ministry to her family and the precious people in Zambia. To God be the glory!

I also wanted to thank God for the life of a very special aunt of mine, Sibyl Dellinger, who went home to be with the Lord last week. What a blessing she was to all who knew her! At her funeral and the family gathering afterwards, there were many memories shared of her constant Christian witness and testimony. I'm thankful for my own memories of her and for the whole Dellinger family. They are an incredible bunch, and I'm blessed to call them my relatives!

On January 4, our family experienced a crisis. My daughter Kerri, along with her husband Brent and their children, serve on the mission field in Zambia. They had come home to SC in November in anticipation of the birth of their 4th child. Little Ellie was born, beautiful and healthy, on December 22. Less than 2 weeks later, Brent called to tell me that he had taken Kerri to the emergency room with symptoms of weakness and numbness, vision difficulties, and an excruciating headache. Diagnosed in the ER with bleeding on her brain, she was being transferred to another hospital for further testing when he called. Keeping the panic down and the faith up was going to be difficult for me as I made the 2-hour drive to the hospital.

Early in my Christian walk, I was privileged to be introduced to the teaching ministry of Kenneth E. Hagin. I am aware that many have been critical of Brother Hagin's ministry. But I lived in Broken Arrow, OK, for a year back in 1979-80, and was blessed to be able to regularly sit under Brother Hagin's ministry during that time. I was able to observe him "up close and personal," as they say, and I found him to be one of the most honorable men of God I have ever known.

Brother Hagin died in 2003. One of the ministry tools he had made available was a CD of him reading all the scriptures pertaining to healing. I grabbed that CD on my way out the door for my trip to the hospital. During my drive, Brother Hagin's soothing voice reading the many wonderful promises of God brought peace to my spirit.

Further testing showed a blood clot on Kerri's brain (a stroke), a rare complication of pregnancy, but one treatable with blood thinners. Now, several weeks past that frightening evening, she is doing well and will make a full recovery. I am thankful for the prayers of so many and for the faithfulness of God in bringing her, and all of us, through this trying time. And I am thankful that though he is now with the Lord, God still uses Brother Hagin to speak words of faith and encouragement.

Fondest childhood memories for me include those wonderful visits to my paternal grandparents' house. They were both strong Christians who served God faithfully and loved their family intensely. A most musical family, it was inevitable that our family gatherings always ended up around the piano, with my grandmother playing and all of us singing heartily, from the youngest to the oldest. My grandparents' lives and example strongly influenced the person I would eventually become. My grandmother died in 1971 and my grandfather in 1973. It was not until I lost my own mother in 2001 that I found a precious message from my grandmother. In the very difficult task of going through the many things my mother left behind, I found a worn envelope. Written haltingly on the outside were these words: "To my children and grandchildren after I'm gone." Inside were 5 pages of wisdom and encouragement, written in pencil, that brought me to tears as I remembered this Godly woman. Here are some excerpts from that letter:

"I have much I would love to say to you but can't write too much now so will say the most important things. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life for which I am sorry, but always the one thing uppermost in my thoughts was the desire to raise my boys to be honest, upright, God-fearing men. That is the only thing that really counts in this life......This one thing I want to leave with you now is to trust and serve God to the best of your ability and not compromising with sin in any form but always standing firm for the right. The Christian life is the only satisfying life. All those others things only satisfy for the moment, but when you have done the best you can and lie down at night, there is a peace of mind and heart that the things of this world can't give. And when the end comes you will not be afraid to face the Master. Take your children to church, for there they will come under the influence of the best people and will learn things that will help them to live the good life. Don't ever let anyone shake your faith in the Christian way of life, for I know from experience that there is reality in the religion of Jesus Christ.....Whatever talents the Lord has given you, won't you use them for His honor and glory and the uplifting of your fellow man and not for worldly pleasures and sin. Remember it was the Lord who gave you your talents, and you owe it to Him to use them in His service. Now this last word. You know how we have always enjoyed our little family get-togethers here, but it will be perfect happiness when we all get together in that heavenly home. So won't you see that the family circle is complete up there. I'll be waiting for you. I love you all very much."

From heaven, 30 years after her departure from us, my grandmother spoke words of encouragement and wisdom. I am in awe of the goodness of God in allowing me to find this treasure. Why I had never seen the letter before, and why my mother ended up with it, I don't know. I only know that it is a blessing that I cherish. May the words of this precious saint of God be an inspiration to others as well.