Alabama and Tennessee

Our recent trip to the south-east was very successful. Thanks for everyone’s prayers! I intended to write several blog posts while we were on the road, but my laptop was experiencing a lot of problems. So, I only used my laptop for business, but this lead us to the decision, “It’s time for a new laptop!” We have lots of ministry traveling planned this summer, and I don’t want to end up in the same computer deficiency disaster again. Fortunately everywhere we stayed at had computers I could use, but it was still frustrating. Don’t you hate it when something that’s supposed to take two minutes takes twenty?


We started out in Alabama. Our first ministry engagement there was at a small storefront church. It reminded me of another storefront church I had shared at once in TN. Upon arriving we were greatly welcomed and accepted by the pastors, Tim & Angie Mitchell. Before we started we received prayer by two ladies on their intercessor team which was great! After the worship was over Taylor started first, and we played a slideshow of pictures of some of the gemstones we have found. The church was really full for its size, and I believe many people came simply to see the gems. Although I sure many people there had experienced the manifested presence of God’s glory before, it seemed like there were still many who had never seen anything like ‘gemstones from heaven’. We answered questions and just shared how God’s presence had been showing up in our home. The response was great and challenged people to expect new levels of God’s manifested presence.


We prayed for people after the service. Some were touched by the Holy Spirit while we shared, and wanted us to bless what God was doing in them already. Others wanted prayer for prosperity, or physical healing. I prayed for one lady that had severe pain problems in her back and neck. She had been getting injections in her spine for the chronic pain, and could not move her head around because of her neck. One of her kids had invited her to come to the service, and she endured a long (and very painful for her) road trip to attend that night. I prayed for her in the name of Jesus, and for Him to release healing over her body, and her symptoms began to improve! We first prayed for her neck, and ask Jesus to restore mobility, and He did! He didn’t stop there, but all the pain left her body! She had been experiencing this pain in her back for 60 years, and Jesus took it away! Praise the Lord! It doesn’t matter to God how long a physical condition has been going on, if it doesn’t exists in heaven, then God can heal it!

Our next meeting was at a Healing Rooms service. Charlene Hughes invited us to share at one of their weekly meetings on a Wednesday night. Normally the meetings were intercession times, and sometimes a guest speaker would speak. Going into the meeting, I wasn’t really sure what to do, or how it would go. As we worshiped the Lord gave me some things. So when it was over I got the lights on and began to preach what I had felt God had given me to share. There were a couple of points I received that evening, and I shared what I felt the Holy Spirit wanted me to say. The response was a little trying. It seemed that there were some people that were really into it, and I could feel them pulling on me, and drawing the anointing. One man, I saw faith being imparted to him (I’m a seer, it’s hard to explain, but I saw it while I was speaking). However, it seemed there were also people there who respectfully and politely listened, but showed little interest in me preaching. They mainly came to ‘see’ the heavenly gems we had found. I don’t mean to say there is anything wrong with this at all, if anything, I may have misjudged what the majority of the group wanted. Wanting to see, and experience what God is doing is an awesome thing, and this was what most people wanted. If seeing what God has done, brings you into an encounter with His love, then that’s awesome! So, we should the gems afterwards, and many people were touched. I’m not too sure how many people received much from my preaching, but I’m not perfect … and I hope it blessed some people.


Since many of the people at the Healing Rooms Center were visitors that night, I believe Charlene was asked many questions about our ministry and these ‘signs from God’. Because of this, she scheduled us a second time, on the following FR. night. At this meeting, Charlene got up and shared about her relationship with us, and laid a wonderful foundation for the supernatural realm. This intro made a world of difference! I really wish she had shared before our first meeting there! This time, we let people come up and look at our gems collection before we spoke, and then Taylor and I preached. At one point while I was speaking, I felt the spirit of Revelation come into the room. The atmosphere changed, and people began getting touched. Taylor and I began giving prophetic words to people, and the prophetic realm opened up.


We both finished giving a word to one lady, and I had just asked her to sit down when I noticed a small cast on her hand. I told her to wait, and stand back up. I said we need to pray for her to be healed. So I prayed from the front of the room, and Taylor went back and put her hands on her and prayed. As I was praying, I felt like there had been something spoken by a doctor or nurse, that the enemy had used to “jump on” and sustain her injury. (Maybe something like, “You will never be able to use this part of your hand again,” was spoken to her. Something like that, but there are no impossibilities in the kingdom of God right.) I said something like, “Whatever was spoken, is not true, Jesus is breaking what was spoken about your hand right now, and healing you.” I kept praying, and then she said, “I have feeling in my writs now!” (I didn’t know it, but the cast us supporting her thumb. She had severed a tendon in her wrist, and had lost the use of her thumb, and feeling in it and in part of her hand and wrist.) She said her pain had gone down, so I ask her if there was any way she could test out her thumb. She just said, “I’ll take the cast off!” (Which I did not ask her to do, she did it on her own initiative, and her own faith!) Then she just started unwinding it and took it all off. Then she began moving her thumb, and it was completely healed, pain free! The feeling nerves in it were restored, and she could move it again, completely normally! Everyone rejoiced and praised God for this creative miracle and demonstration of His power.


The night before we left Alabama to go to Tennessee a group of about 12 people came over to worship and pray together. Many of them had just heard us speak at the Healing Rooms meeting and were hungry for more of God. Hunger draws the anointing! Jesus always answers prayer, but real, authentic, spiritual hungry seems to draw His presence in greater amounts. I was in the kitchen showing someone some of the gems we had received, when someone yelled in the other room. A gem had just appeared on the floor! Everyone got really excited, and soon everybody was crawling around on the floor! Then more gems started showing up! This was the first time that Taylor and I had seen gems show up in AL, and the first ones for most everyone there. (Taylor’s mom had found one before, a few weeks ago in a church.) It’s hard to describe the atmosphere that night. Every time someone found one, people would yell and scream, and flip out! I wish I had a video camera; it was awesome just to watch people’s reaction to God’s glory. When you get a present from Jesus in heaven, people tend to get excited. Thank Jesus when you receive gifts from Him! For my wife and I, thankfulness has positioned us for more. Gifts are things that are given, not earned. When Jesus gives us a gift, all He wants is for us to enjoy it and use it, and to thank Him. Thank you Jesus for all you extravagant gifts!


The next part of our trip was in Nashville. This was a great time, and we got to witness an amazing demonstration of radical giving at Grace Center Church, my home church in Nashville. The church was having a small week-end conference that had been targeting the poverty mindset in Franklin TN. This poverty spirit is overcome by radical generosity, and faith in God for all our needs. At a Saturday meeting the church decided to do an offering, but only told the church every penny would go to some need in the city of Franklin. A group of about a hundred people just gave in abundance, not even knowing where the money would go. This is a great attitude when it comes to giving. So… that small group of 100 people gave over $115,000. !!! That’s right a hundred fifteen thousand dollars! Wow praise God. Taylor and I were not there, but they shared about what happened the day before at the Sunday service we went to. After sharing what had just happened on Saturday, they churchy just did another offering the same way, still not telling where the money would go. This time about 800ish people gave over $100,000 making the total amount of the two days offerings: $200,000+ !!! I can’t remember the exact amount, but it was huge, maybe around $203,000! (I know for sure it was over $200k, sorry I don’t have the exact amount) Then after the offering, we found out where the money was going to go. Grace Center’s pastor and leadership had decided where they felt like the Lord wanted to give the offering. A small church located near Grace Center was recently completely destroyed by a tornado. The Church of Fernvale, has about 50 members, and had been meeting in a small church building for many years. Their church building had much history, and was greatly loved by its community. Obviously this was a devastating event for them, but Fernvale Church’s pastor remained faithful, and encouraged his church members to trust in God. That Sunday they were temporarily meeting in someone’s barn. Jeff Dollar and the Grace Center staff decided this was where they would sow this huge offering! They gave the whole $200k to this small church! Now, I’ve been a part of Grace Center for a while, and have visited many times since I moved out of Nashville. Grace Center is experiencing healthy church growth, and really, really needs a new building of their own. They meet in an overcrowded gym, and can’t seat everyone who comes on Sunday mornings. Isn’t it just awesome that a church would completely forget about their needs, and bless another church in their community? Grace Center needs to save for their own church building! It was a beautiful thing to witness. The group of church members at Fernvale were overjoyed at this huge blessing, and were so thankful for this timely gift. I believe as Grace Center Church keeps sowing into other people’s needs, God’s grace will fall on them and supply all their needs, even a new building!



That's about it... Gems started showing up at my parents house in Nashville as well. God's glory will cover the face of the Earth right? Yay praise God for releasing His glory!