Journal Entry from October 2, 2010:
Rod and I attended a conference at Life Center Church in Harrisburg, PA. The worship was
incredible and Bill Johnson, the head pastor at Bethel Church, shared a message with the group that evening.
Bill Johnson and his wife Beni are known for their anointing of praying for the sick and seeing them healed by the power of the Lord. I had been extremely impacted by Bill's book on healing that I had read earlier in the year and was excited to finally hear him speak in person.
After Bill shared, he began calling out words of knowledge for different people in the audience to be prayed over. One of the words he shared was, "Is there anyone here with a hole in their head?" Rod and I looked at one another in disbelief. This was exactly what Aliyah's condition was. Her skull had not properly closed and she literally had a hole at the top of her head. There was hundreds of people there that evening and no one else stood up. I STOOD IN FAITH believing that the word Bill had just shared was for Aliyah! Once again, the Lord showed up in big ways and was so extremely close to us!
A group gathered around us and prayed for Aliyah's healing. Later in the evening, we had the opportunity for Bill Johnson to pray and agree with us for Aliyah's healing. It was such an ENCOURAGING evening for us as we continued to press into the Lord!!
Journal Entry from September 29, 2010:
"Father, You continue to be SO GOOD. This past Monday night before our class started at church, an older gentleman approached me and said that he had received a word for me. He is a gentleman who prays often at Gateway House of Prayer. He shared that a few weeks ago he had seen me praying at Gateway and had felt that the Lord gave him a word for me.
He stated, "You have great concern for your baby, but your baby will be okay. The Lord loves your patience, compassion, and the love that you have for Him." I immediately started crying and asked this gentleman if he knew about Aliyah's fatal diagnosis; he said that he had no idea.
On Wednesday evening, our pastor and his wife called us up front to be prayed for at our evening service. They gave us a pink blanket with scripture verses on it and prayed for health and wholeness for Aliyah. I felt such peace during their prayer for us.
As I was walking out of the sanctuary, I had two different people stop me and say that You had given them a word to share with me. The one woman shared that she heard, "This baby is completely fine. It is healed."
Another woman shared that as the church was praying for us, she felt a release from one of her hands and had an extreme peace that everything was okay with our baby. She then shared how she had prayed for a baby recently with a cracked skull and as she was praying she felt and heard the bones coming back into alignment. The baby was completely healed!
Thank you Lord for your continued encouragement and people willing to be used by you."
From some journal entries in September 2010:
"Thank you Father for all the people who have so faithfully come behind us and are lifting us up in prayer at this time. Thank you for people who are willing and able to hear from you. Thank you for friends and family who are willing to have faith and believe your promises for Aliyah.
A friend shared with us that she had received a word from You but did not feel released to tell us until this past week. She felt like You had told her, "Aliyah will live." Our friend also saw a picture of Jesus' fingers on Aliyah's head and felt that "Jesus visits with Aliyah regularly and she lights up when He is there with her." She assured us that, "Jesus knows Aliyah very well and loves her so much."
Another friend shared that as she was praying for us a few months ago, she felt You say, "Daybreak has come, the battle is over!" She had not wanted to share this with us, but felt released to do so recently. Father-let it be so!
Another friend of ours wanted to buy a gift for Aliyah's shower. She prayed and felt You tell her to go to "The Gap" as she was "standing in the gap" for Aliyah's healing. After she walked around for awhile, she asked You what she should get. Her eyes fell upon a shirt and dress with butterflies on them. Her spirit "jumped to attention" knowing that butterflies represent "life." Our friend had no idea how much You had already spoken to me through butterflies!! What an amazing gift to receive for Aliyah."
Journal Entry from September 11, 2010:
Dear Father,
Yesterday I went for a walk at Lancaster County Park on our favorite walking trail. I once again was struggling with the fact that Aliyah might not be healed and that somehow all the words of knowledge we received, all the dreams and visions people had felt that you gave them about Aliyah, the angel that I had seen in my dream.......maybe these experiences were all just a set-up. What if she was not healed and all of our hopes came crashing down on the day of her birth.
As I was talking with You about this, I heard You whisper to my spirit, "Why do you doubt My character? You say that I am a good God, but you don't believe it."
Even though this was extremely difficult to hear, it spoke directly to my soul and went after the unbelief and doubt that I had hidden away within me.
It all comes down to whether or not I am willing to lay myself and my desires completely down in surrender so that I am able to fully reach up to You with open arms. Abba, I need You, You're the one I want, You're the only One who can truly satisfy. I trust You. You truly are a good Father. Your nearness is our good.
Journal Entry from August 26, 2010:
Dear Father,
I have been drawn to verses about FAITH over the past few days........
I love the verses in Romans 4 which highlight the faith of Abraham. Romans 4:18-21 states, "Against all HOPE, Abraham believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about 100 years old- and that Sarah's womb was also dead. YET, he did not waiver through unbelief regarding the promises of God, but was STRENGTHENED IN HIS FAITH and gave glory to God, being FULLY PERSUADED that God had the power to do what he had promised."
Lord, please give us faith like Abraham! That against all hope, we would still believe in your promises of healing and the words of life that have already been spoken over Aliyah!
Journal Entry from August 16, 2010:
At the end of the Beautiful One Conference, each woman was "randomly" given a slip of paper that had been prayed over with some scripture verses on it. These are the verses I received:
Psalm 84: 10-11
"Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless."
I looked up the meaning of "doorkeeper" in regards to the Lord's temple and found that it was a person who was able to lead others into the glory of God. This was our desire in our situation with Aliyah....to usher others into the glory and presence of God....to allow God to work in BIG supernatural ways.
Rod and I were given opportunity after opportunity to share with others as to how God was working in our situation. My new prayer became...."Lord, teach me how to be a doorkeeper in your courts." I sensed that it was an awesome responsibility, but I wanted to do it well. When we are a doorkeeper and standing in the Lord's presence....He becomes a sun and a shield to us....He becomes our light and our protection.
Journal Entry from October 2, 2010:
A group gathered around us and prayed for Aliyah's healing. Later in the evening, we had the opportunity for Bill Johnson to pray and agree with us for Aliyah's healing. It was such an ENCOURAGING evening for us as we continued to press into the Lord!!
