View Out The Front Window - September 18, 2016

Check out our posts from the last week at the links below. 

Odie's Saturday Post

Mowing and Preaching

Slight Schedule Adjustment

Weekend Woundup and Weview

Revival In Pictures, West Harrison

View Out The Front Window

Remembering 9/11 15 Years Later

Odie's post from Saturday is one of the best she has ever written and I highly recommend it. The true miraculous story she wrote about is beautiful enough but then she posted a picture of my beautiful little girl when she was four years old.

How could anyone resist a face like this?

We are beginning revival this morning at Dodds Pentecostal Church. Since it is right next door we will remain parked at the barn. I meant to move the bus inside the barn today but did not get to it so this is our view again this week.

If the weather cooperates the Sunday night service will be at 6:00 PM next to the Little Miami River along Hwy 350 near Ft. Ancient and right next to Morgan's canoe rental. We will be having service and then a baptizing. Monday through Wednesday will in the church at 7:00 PM. Come be with us.

Davy

Healing of my Hands

Hey Friends,

This is Odie reporting in again from Waynesville, Ohio. Did you read my Dad's post from yesterday? If you missed it I encourage you to stop right now go back and read it. It is definitely encouraging! I am so thankful that we can look back and see where God has brought us from. We are not always going to be in this trial.

I really did not know what I should write on this week. I kept waiting for something interesting to pop up and I found my inspiration at church Thursday night. Dad mentioned something in his preaching at Dryden Rd. that I think about quite often, but I do not know if I have ever written about it specifically on the blog. 

You may remember that I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy around the age of two. My brain does not send the correct signals to my muscles for me to be able to walk. I count it a blessing that I am mainly affected in the areas from my knees down. I am able to go about life with minimal difficulties. 

I am continuing to pray for a complete miracle, but I can look back over my life and see many little miracles that have made life easier for me. They are like building blocks that have contributed to the strength of my faith. Each small miracle teaches me to believe God for even greater things. 

I want to give you a little background on the first miracle that I remember. My hands were affected by the cerebral palsy when I was younger. I could not button even a big button or tie my shoes. In fact, I struggled to do most ordinary tasks with my hands. As a child I did not realize how much that struggle could affect my entire life.  

In the spring of 1991 I was five years old. Our family was evangelizing and we were attending a camp meeting in Kissimmee, Florida. During a day service of the meeting they had a prayer line. The night speaker of the meeting stopped the service and took about 20 minutes to explain faith to me and read scriptures to me about faith and healing. Some might have thought it was crazy for him to stop the day service to talk to a five-year-old girl and it was definitely unusual. However, that service changed my life! After talking to me, they prayed for me and we went on with life as we lived it. 

The next week I sitting in my Dad's lap at our friend's home in Tennessee. Without realizing what I was doing I completely unbuttoned the little buttons on my Dad's shirt. When he tells this in his preaching Dad always says I unbuttoned his shirt right in front of God and everybody! 

I will never forget Dad looking down and saying "ODIE what are you doing?" Then he realized I was able to do what I could not do before and he sad, "ODIE look what you have done!" From that moment until now I have been able to use my fingers and hands to do many tasks that I would not have been able to do on my own before. 

I am sitting here 25 years later typing this post on my phone. I have tears streaming down my face and a thankful heart that God healed my hands in 1991!! The fact that I can use my hands and fingers has made my life so much easier. 

As a five-year-old girl I wanted God to heal me so that I could run and play with the other kids. I did not realize exactly what God was already doing for me then. For years I have thanked Him for that amazing miracle!! I want to Praise God for being so good to me even as a child!! I am truly blessed!

In closing here is a photo I am looking at right now. This picture was taken in the spring of 1990, so around a year before I received healing in my hands. I remember this day and loving this yellow dress.  I  had my heart set on a yellow dress for Easter. 

 

Odie  

Mowing and Preaching

Thursday was a good day to be alive and well in our little corner of the world. I am well aware that all of that could change in a heartbeat so I am very thankful for smooth sailing. One phone call, one text message, one knock on the door could send our lives into a tailspin and we would be hanging on for dear life.

Some of you may be there right now. You may be dealing with health issues, financial setbacks, marriage problems, wayward children, mind battles or a million other troubles and trials. You may be wishing for calm water and no wind, but the storm may be raging on. I wish I could tell you when it is going to be alright but I can not know the times.

But it will even out down the road. You must trust me on this one. It will get better. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep making right decisions. Keep putting the mess in God's hands. Hold friends and family tightly. Hold grudges and gold loosely. Read your Bible and good material. Pray and pray some more. Go to church and get involved in a good loving church family. Listen to preaching. The Word of God and the preacher are your friends.

I told Kelly Jo Wednesday that I wish some one had told me during some of my darkest times, "Hang on Davy, it is not always going to be this bad. Do the right things and some day you will look back on this dark time from a long distance and you will see that God was helping you all along."

I wish I had known that. Maybe someone did tell me and maybe I was in too much turmoil to hear it clearly or believe it. Can you grab hold of it, brother or sister? Hang on friend. God will help. In fact, God is helping you even now. 

You say you can not see His hand at work? You say you can not feel His presence near you? I get that. I have felt that. I have been there. I have wondered if He was near. But He is near, friend. He is working. He is bringing you to a good end and not evil. It may take a while. It will take a while. But you will see it.

Not everything is perfect in our world right now. We have friends and family that are hurting and struggling to breathe emotionally. We have some areas in our lives that need work. Not all goes according to plan and the prognosis for other things looks dim. However, most things are smooth and I am very, very thankful for that.

That brings me back to our good day yesterday. Kelly Jo and Odie were down in Hillsboro visiting KJ's family and having a good time. My main task for the day was getting the grass knocked down at the Lazy OD Ranch. I worked in the barn until the grass was dry enough to mow and then I went to work. About two hours later, this was the result.

The grass was pretty high so the leftover cuttings look like they need to baled but that does not worry me. I am more of a concrete lawn guy myself but grass is cheaper and more convenient for the time being.

My next task for the day was trying to be prepared to preach at Dryden Rd. Thursday night. It was practically all I thought about since the moment my Pastor asked me Wednesday to be ready to preach.

Thinking about it and actually getting it done are two different things, so I set in trying to find the mind of God pretty early. We did have a good service and I feel like God helped us. I love preaching at Dryden Rd. but that does not make it any less nerve wracking for me.

It was good to be home and to see everyone for one service. I say it a lot, but it is great to have a Pastor and home church that prays for us, believes in us and loves us. We love them too!

Thanks for reading.

Davy