The people;

The people who came to join in the Bible reading were from all different walks of life.

All made an impression with me due to their passion for the word, and their belief that Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17 and that their words would make a difference in their city their county, and their country. God managed to bring like minded individuals from all around and put them in one place for one purpose.

Each one of the participants, had more than one reason I am sure for reading. From these I’d like to briefly share two of these stories that impacted me greatly.

Meet Charlene. Charlene came to us on the very first day. Her name was not on the sign up
list, so I had her begin to read the New Testament, simultaneously with the reading of the Old Testament.  I expected that she, like the others would read for her 15 -30 minutes and be gone. Imagine my surprise when she stopped reading – AFTER 8 HOURS!

When asked why she was compelled to read for so long, her story emerged. She proceeded to tell me that she learned to read not as a child, but as an adult. The Holy Spirit taught her to read, by reading the Holy Bible. She could not read too much, and certainly not too much if the readings were the scriptures.

Charlene came back every day to read for as long as we would let her. She was with us on last day as we finished our readings. What a sweet blessing she became to us, as new friends and sisters were made.

Story #2 is not as much a story as it was a HUGE impression.

Meet the family of Brian,and Abigail, with their little ones Joel, Shekinah, and Jaaziah. (With their toddler in tow.)

Since I didn’t know them before the event, I saw their name on the list and thought it great that an entire family would come and read together. What I was not prepared for, was the Presence that they brought along with them!

When they read, the Word came alive. The biggest surprise was when little Shekinah got up on the stool. She planted her little feet, she planted her little hands on each side of the Bible, and began to read. Loud. Clear. Now I kid you not, I almost fell over. The crowd of listeners fell silent. Whether it was the Holy Spirit coming out of that little body, or the culmination of His Presence being made manifest from every ones combined readings, I don’t know. What I do know is that HIS Presence was huge.

Imagine my surprise when I checked my mail that night, to see that they have signed up yet again the next day.

Join me in the next post for two more stories that I am sure you will love.

Blessings.

The Needs That Were Met;

As I said in a previous post, God saw the holes in the reading schedule, and filled every one. Every time I told Him He had a problem, He fixed it.

We talked once in our small group how God wants to lavish us with not only with grace, but also physical blessings;

Ephesians 1:7-8 (NASB) … according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight…

Isaiah 25:6 (NASB) The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain;…

I knew going in that personally, I was in for the long haul, but God had a plan for that beforehand. I am not accustomed to 18 hour days, but the Holy Spirit “lavished” me with strength, He “lavished”me with helpers, and He “lavished” me with new friendships.

This post is primarily about the help that He sent.

The first day, my husband helped me set up stayed on site until every thing was rolling well.

Along came my friend Heather, who for this event (and many others before) came to be by my side. My armor bearer, if you will. My Aaron. She covered a few open reading slots, brought coffee refills, lunch and even breakfast one day. She made sure I drank plenty of water, and got to go on appropriate potty breaks. She put in many hours at my side. She “lavished” me with her love and support. I am grateful.

Then there was Joy, who was there for 3 of the 4 days, always with her smile, her humor, and her hugs. Her smile and her laugh gave me joy and strength.

What can I say about Earl? Who read and read, provided donuts and support when it came time to load the truck. Thank you Earl (and Dana). Your hearts for Jesus and God’s word is contagious!

Last but not least, were Dale, Patty and Brian. They all read a few places where it was needed. However the thing that stuck me most, was how they all showed back up at 10:00 so that loading time would be 5 minutes instead of 30. Whatever they were doing, they dropped and gave of themselves so that I could get another 20 minutes of sleep. Can you spell love? They not only spelled it, but they showed it by their actions.

So you see, the girl who started out pretty alone, ended up not alone in the least, and she was feeling  “Lavished” I tell you “Lavished”.

My story.

Back in the spring, my husband and I attended the Iowa Bible Reading Marathon on Des Moines. It was held in the rotunda of the Iowa State capital. We were quite touched and honored to be allowed to do so, because so many Christians in the world do not have that privilege.

After the reading in our state capital, the leaders of that event, and intercessors across the state saw a great many changes not only at the state level, but on the local level as well.

The dream of reading at each county courthouse in Iowa had begun.

Governor Brandstad signed a proclamation encouraging all Iowans to participate in the Bible reading events, and to read their Bibles every day until Christ returns.

The moment I heard of the 99 County Bible Reading Marathon, I called and signed up to lead the charge in Muscatine County. The moment I hung up the phone, of course, I wondered just what I had gotten myself into.

I was discouraged by some who said that the Board of Supervisors may never let that happen. Faith in place. Check. The call came after their meeting, that the vote was UNANIMOUS to allow the event.

Turns out, that was the easy part. Problems came from every direction. From computer glitches, to nay sayers, to just too, too much on the schedule. Distractions of every kind.

I was sent the names of two who wanted to be co-captains with me. They never answered my calls. How could I possibly go four days without sleep? I ended up captaining the entire event by myself, seemingly and to a point. (More on that later) 

A group of folks thought they may be able to cover the overnights. They tried, but just could not make it happen. At any rate, the overnight hours just never filled up, so it was decided to scratch them off the list. If you read the other posts, then you already know that GOD had a problem, and HE was going to have to handle it.

And handle it He did. You’ll notice in the posts that there was quite a bit of what  “I” did, but somewhere in there, “I” became “We”. God sent so many people to help along the way. (There will be a separate posts for these people) The only tenacity I can claim, is the faith that God would cover it all. If it failed, it would not be on me.

Our God, Does Not Fail.