Special Day!

May 31, 1975 is the day I became Mrs. Rick Danks. We were both so young. Of course, we didn't think so at the time! It was the best decision I have ever made in my life. My husband is a wonderful man. He is very loving, compassionate, thoughtful, and a great provider. Today I celebrate our love and the 34 great years we have been husband and wife. Thank you, God, for my dear sweet husband!

My "To God be the Glory" Story

Yesterday our church choir presented an amazing cantata about God's presence in the midst of our trials. I was privileged to be able to share a short testimony as part of the program but that is not what I am blogging about today. The opening hymn yesterday was one that is very dear to my heart and has significant meaning. This is an amazing story of how God used the birth of a baby to change lives.

Children are one of God's greatest miracles. Being pregnant and knowing that a child is growing in your womb is amazing, exciting, and wonderful ... until you get to the ninth month! Then you just want it to be over and to hold that baby in your arms. This is how I felt in January of 1992. I was ready to have my body back.. What is taking so long? I'm tired and getting a bit grouchy. After all, the due date passed two weeks ago!

Finally, the pangs of labor. Let's get this over with!! What would transpire during the next few days would be among my most precious memories. The labor was difficult. The child was in danger. His heart rate kept dropping. The doctor was very concerned. The nurses prepped me for surgery. One more attempt and then off we'll go to surgery. Nicholas was born with a prayer and a push. When the doctor saw the umbilical cord, he was amazed. It was tied in a true knot. That knot could have cut off or reduce the baby's blood supply causing death or disability. This is the first miracle.

The second miracle is God's timing! While I was in labor my grandmother was admitted to the hospital. She was scheduled for surgery the next day and was dreading it. She was able to come to the birthing suite and hold that new little life. It was a joyful experience for all of us and turned what would have been an evening of dread into a special memory. I believe it was God's perfect timing to delay the birth until the umbilical cord was in the right position for delivery and for him to be used to touch my precious grandmother.

Fast forward a few days. It is Saturday evening. We had been home for a few days. Fatigue and several situations beyond my control have left me frazzled. I decide that Nicholas and I will skip church in the morning. After all, I have been very faithful in attendance and surely God will understand. It is the middle of the night. I am feeding my baby and reflecting upon the events of his birth. A song keeps going through my head. It is the chorus of the hymn "To God be the Glory." It keeps playing over and over. The words are:

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Let the earth hear His voice!

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Let the people rejoice!

Oh come to the Father through Jesus the Son

And give Him the Glory great things He has done!

I thought of my precious baby. His life was spared! He is healthy! God used him to bring joy to Grandma. Suddenly, I realized that by not going to church that I was missing an opportunity to give God the glory for this miraculous birth.

Sunday morning, we arrive at church, precious bundle in my arms. We slip into a pew next to our friend, Margie, lover of babies. We hand him to her and she holds him during the service. After the service we find out that her father had just died. She is now an orphan. Her siblings are gone too. She is the last of her family to survive. Yet God sent a baby fresh from the womb to comfort her and let her feel and experience new life. Thank you Lord for the nudge to go and let my son be used once again!

The presence of God was so close and brought even closer when I opened the bulletin to look at the morning's order of worship. I couldn't believe my eyes for in the program was the hymn "To God be the Glory!" Now I can't hear that hymn without remembering that glorious experience of God's presence and His love shown through a child named Nicholas.

To God be the glory!

Urgent Prayer Request

Please pray for a young man in Honduras who was kidnapped yesterday. He comes from a wealthy family and his life is in grave danger. Please pray for protection and safe release from his captors! Thank you!

Get with it, Lady!

My friends are back! I have been meaning to get my hummingbird feeders out and filled. I knew they would be coming soon but I have been procrastinating. I stepped out the door on Tuesday and lo and behold a ruby throated hummingbird came right up to me. He looked me in the eye and hovered and then he swerved over to the left about 2 feet still staring me down. He seemed to be saying, "lady, you knew I was coming. What kind of a hostess are you?" The feeders are now full.

Somebody's Praying Me Through

God continues to give me messages about Jim the homeless man featured in my essay "Humpty Dumpty."

Tuesday mornings I attend a prayer group. This morning we had a blessed time of sharing and prayer. I told them the story of Jim. They confirmed my belief that my interaction with this man was not by chance, it was a divine appointment. During our prayer time we prayed for Jim and all the broken people. I got in my car to leave. I turned on Family Life Radio. Guess what the first song was that played? "Somebody's Praying Me Through." This is the song that Jim was listening to as I saw him slowly moving by the park. This also speaks of this mission God has sent me on. It is an older song. It has been a year or two since I have heard it played. God's timing is amazing. My mind went right back to Jim. Over 100 people so far have gotten the request to pray for Jim and broken people like him. Hearing that song played at that time in that place was another sign to me that God is hearing our prayers and He is pleased. I've added the song to my playlist. Give it a listen.

Prayer is powerful. I am blessed to have amazing prayer support. My life continues to be transformed through the power of prayer. Maybe right now your life is not going well. I urge you to get a prayer posse going. I pray that this song and testimony will encourage you to do so. And if your life is going great count your blessings and remember the Jim's of the world.

Thanks for listening!

Humpty Dumpty

National Day of Prayer May 7, 2009. I park my car and hurry to the park. It is a dreary and wet day. The downpour has finished but a light drizzle remains. I do my best to ignore the rain and concentrate on the service. A song begins to play and a man begins singing "Somebody's Praying Me Through." What a great song. I embrace the message.I notice a man slowly walking by the park. Something about his demeanor made me feel he was really lost. Not physically but spiritually. God prompted me to bow my head and pray for him. When I was finished he was gone. The encounter that I would have with him after the service was amazing. God came down and tried to reach this man. Only problem is that he is just like Humpty Dumpty. I have never met anyone so broken by life. God put us together at a point where he was vulnerable, searching. It was easy to get him to discuss his life and his views of God. You see, God abandoned him a long time ago. At least that is his viewpoint. He was sexually abused by his parents and beaten if he didn't cooperate. Why, he asked, would God allow something like that? He said he had never felt love. If God loved him, why had his life been so hard. Why is he stuck all alone, homeless in a strange city?

What do you say to such a broken person? Jesus loves you is just not sufficient. I told him that Jesus said that "in this world there will be trouble." I decided to tell him about my cancer. It really is nothing compared to his life but did get his attention. Later in the conversation, he told me that he wished he could take my cancer because his life was not worth anything. How that breaks my heart! The saddest thing that he said to me occurred when Dave, a local Christian radio celebrity walked by and I invited him to pray for Jim. "He doesn't know Jesus," I said. Jim replied "Oh, I know Jesus. He just doesn't know me."

So here I am days later contemplating my encounter, and thinking about Humpty Dumpty. All the king's horses and all the king's men can't put him back together again. He is broken beyond repair by human hands. But there is One who can fix Jim piece by piece. The only way to achieve this is if God's people pray, if they pray for Jim. God came down to Bucky Harris Park on May 7^th and took a piece of that fractured shell. He gently glued it back onto Jim's broken body. I saw it happen. Whether it will dry and become strong is up to Jim and up to me. You see, prayer is the glue that has the potential to heal even the Humpty Dumptys of this world. I plead with you to pray for Jim and all the other badly broken people in our world. Prayer is powerful. God is powerful. He can do anything - even save Jim. But only if God's people pray.

Thanks for listening!

My First Post - Why?

Well, folks. An encounter with a homeless man has prompted me to start a blog. Sometimes things happen in our lives that are just meant to be shared with others. As I intend to keep my Care Page mainly for updates on my health, I thought it might be nice to have a place where I can blog and if anyone is interested, they can follow along. I can't promise that it will always be interesting or inspiring but I guess that is what blogging is all about. It is about sharing what is on your mind and heart at any given moment. This is what I plan to do. I am a wife, mother, follower of Jesus, cancer patient, friend, and now blogger.