An Act of Faith.....Creating a Nursery

     Rod and I felt that it was appropriate to create a nursery for Aliyah as we continued to stand in faith for her complete healing. I enjoyed picking out pieces of furniture from yard sales and then making them into something more beautiful with the strokes of a paintbrush. The long hours of painting also gave me lots of time to listen to many faith inspiring sermons!
     It felt good to be able to create a room for Aliyah. It was something tangible we could do for our little girl. I made sure to incorporate some butterflies into her room since I continued to see them often! 
      Some days I loved to just walk into the room, look around, and marvel at how the Lord was so close to us during this time.

Surrendering

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. 
      

Faith Like Abraham

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!

A Doorkeeper......

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.

Beautiful One Conference

Journal Entries from August 11-14, 2010:                                        

      At the beginning of August, I went to a women's conference called "Beautiful One" in Mechanicsburg with my mom and several ladies from Acts Covenant Church. One of the speakers, Winnie Banov, invited people upfront for prayer. There were many ladies up front praying for people. My mom asked Winnie to pray for the baby. Winnie looked at me and started saying, "Happy baby, happy baby, happy baby." I remember thinking, “This is a strange prayer.” She then put her hands on my stomach and as soon as she did the countenance on her face changed. It was like all fire let loose and she began screaming at my stomach “You will live, you will not die, you will live!!"

    As Winnie was declaring life to Aliyah, I felt that all of the Lord’s fury and anger at what the enemy had done was made known in both the natural and spiritual realm. As she prayed, I could feel the Lord’s jealous love for Aliyah and his hatred for what the enemy had planned for her life.

      I had been praying for more encounters from the Lord and I spent more time in the word I had become fascinated with the stories of angels in the Bible. Two nights after Winnie prayed over Aliyah at the Conference, I had a dream while sleeping in the hotel room. This dream, however, felt just like real life. In the dream, I was lying in the hotel bed and I opened my eyes and looked up at the ceiling. There was an extremely bright light coming down from the ceiling shinning directly on my stomach; the light was almost blinding. And behind the light there was a bright presence and I sensed a being standing there on top of me but I couldn't see any of its features.

      I immediately woke up and shot up in bed. It was completely dark in the room and I noted that everyone else was sleeping in the room. I asked myself, "What was that?" I smiled. The Lord had answered my prayer for an angelic encounter and I felt such incredible PEACE over my entire body and mind.

The Dreams Begin

    There were lots of people who were committed to praying along with us for Aliyah's healing. Many people who were contending for Aliyah's healing began having visions, dreams, and words of knowledge that Aliyah was healed. With each word we received, we continued to press in to the Father's heart in faith.

Journal Entry from July 8, 2010:

Father,
    I received a facebook message from Trishelle saying that she had a dream last night that Rod and I went in to get a follow-up ultrasound for Aliyah. The ultrasound showed that Aliyah was completely normal! Lord.....could it be true? Trishelle is known as a person who has prophetic dreams. She also had the dream on 7/7 which in Scripture represents wholeness and completeness. Lord, may it be so. May Aliyah be healed. Please continue to give us guidance and wisdom! Janae

The Butterflies Continue.....

Journal Entry from July 5, 2010:

Yesterday, Rod and I attended the wedding of some friends, Jon and Carly Buckwalter. While we were enjoying some appetizers at the reception underneath a white canopy, we began talking to Cory and Carrie Martin. They were asking if we had any updates in regards to Aliyah's condition. We started sharing with them about the word spoken over us at Christ Community Church a few weeks before and also about the vision Matt had received with a Gerber Daisy and butterflies.

Cory and Carrie offered to pray for us and began praying for Aliyah's complete healing. At the end of prayer, Carrie said, "Janae, look up." At the top of the canopy we were standing other was a beautiful butterfly circling above us! We felt so known!!