Spokn4's Blog

Our relatively New Pastor and his wife Paula are such a HUGE blessing. Before Pastor Larry had shown up, the church had almost disintegrated. But, my husband Mike & I stuck it out. Neither of us felt called to leave. We weren't there for friends, we were there for the Lord, so we weren't planning to back out as a lot of others did. Our Pastor and his wife both pray fervently along with us....doors just OPEN for them, it is truly God's WILL for our church to be heading into this direction. Everything is positive about The Bussard's and it's obvious to me that this is our New Shepherd. Here is a copy of something they've helped us create for our church. On these little coffee mugs that they made and gave out to everyone, they had put

New Hope Prays......P astoral Care - Galatians 6:2......R estoration, forgiveness & unity - I Peter 3:8......A nswer God's call to reach out - Acts 1:8.....Y oung famiies & Youth are priorities - Matthew 19:14.....S uper sized fun & activities are happening - Hebrews 10:24

Also, it's in the works to get our own website...www.comejoinnewhope.com. They have helped God breathe New Life into our little church.

I just wanted to share my JOY!

At the very tender age of 8 I had met Jesus. All my years as a teen I began to hear his still small voice deterring me away from bad things. But I was an average teen - caught up in alcohol, parties & %#$%.I basically ignored these voices - not really considering what they might be.

Then when I was 21 years old & in a Nissan Pick-up, as I merged onto Cross County in Blue Ash I hydroplaned in the rain. I was on the way to a dr. appt. while on my lunch break. I hit a fully loaded oncoming Semi Tractor-trailer as I flew across the median. The impact sent me out of my truck through the locked passenger door window; thus, acquiring a Subdural Hematoma on my Right Temporal Lobe. The inertia from the impact sent my pick-up through the air back to the side I was originally headed. I was thrown/skidded another 50 yards and somehow I ended up underneath the fully-loaded rear axle. At this point my arm had been nearly severed from the tire pinching my skin not to mention the âRoad Rashâ I had received fom skidding on the asphalt. This took about 5 months to fully heal. Since it was my left side where our heart is, I nearly bled to death. A nurse student had stopped by to see what she could do to helpâ¦..an ANGEL â no less. You know who it was (?) - From the MHS c/o â89, a year younger than me â someone I knew, Tabitha Carmack! She didn't even recognize me, I was such a mess! The damage that I received left me paralyzed on my left side (of course), but with prayer & therapy, I got full use of my arm & leg. When I got to the hospital, they had to put me in a medically-induced coma. The plan was for me to awaken in a week or so. When I didnât awaken as planned (after the medication was removed to keep me down), the dr.âs told my family that I could be down from 6 mos. to a year. I awoke 5 weeks later but do not remember anything until weeks before Halloween of the same year. So this means I was comatose for 3 mos. The dr. had said that this long was considered severe & was how long it took for my brain to heal enough for rehab. I was in the hospital a total of 5 mos. and I walked out w/a walker which I gave up weeks later â my hospital release was 11-15-91. It was truly a miracle - my doctors were flabbergasted! They could not give a medical reason for my swift recovery â to God be the glory!

I still have intention-tremors from the brain-damage making it very difficult to work â although, I have tried to work. I attempted to make a go of it from 93-99 by working for Fifth Third Bank first in their file room, then later on a different floor; I rode the bus to work. Four years after my accident (1995) I began to drive again. I experienced this strange sensation with my vision while driving but didnât tell anyone since I thought it was just exhaustion from planning my wedding. In â96 I was married to the guy I had been with for 7 years â thatâs 5 years after the accident (He is truly a âkeeperâ). In 1999 we had our first child. Then I had another in 2000. When she was three I went back to work â this time at Target. I ended up quitting 1.5 years later due to low performance and the tremors were worse â thatâs w/o medication. This strange feeling I spoke of happened on occasion â but nothing too serious happened. Then, in September â05, I experienced this tunnel vision while driving â Thank God I didnât loose consciousness and/or wreckâ¦.it went away after about 15 seconds. Come to find out 11 years after the first episode that this experience was an Onset to a Simple-Partial seizure. It affects my sight and only lasts a few seconds. At the time of the more severe Onset (in â05) the traffic was light since all were at school or work. Things are better now that Iâm medicated (it has never been that bad again) as things could possibly have became worse. Although, I have an entire array of arthritis in many joints, one of which the joint has disintegrated over the years. This is in my right hand (Iâm right handed). Since Iâm medicated it would be more difficult to work as it makes my tremors worse and makes me extremely tired most of the day. I now take 200 mg. of Lamictal twice a day along with my other meds for allergies, pain & depression. Yet, I thank God every day for my life â he saved me! I was even able to have two babies! By God, they are the height of perfection! I know I sound confident; this confidence is ALL JESUS - He lifts me up everyday!

Anyway, being "saved" isn't the whole picture; we need to be like Him, Jesus Christ w/skin on. Just going to church isn't enough. It's not as important that we know JESUS, He has to KNOW us! By spreading the Good News and believing in Him (For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10:13 NKJV). This is a continual action â a life style. Please know that being a bona-fide Christian will not prevent bad things from occurring (in fact, it will appear worse sometimes â as Satan knows who he needs to afflict), we're human and bad things happen to us all! If you don't ever feel afflicted, Satan doesn't worry about you - He doesn't beed to worry about those who don't fellowship with the Lord. In His word God never says that bad things wonât happen - he says heâll be there with us (going through all the strife while supporting us, giving us strength to endure the flames - as if he's purifying Silver). We must go through the Fire to be refined (like silver), as like a mirror.

Malachi 3:3 (King James Version)
3And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

When He has us ready, heâll see His reflection. When Silver is refined, it is held in the Fire until the Silversmith sees his reflection. So too, when God sees His reflection we have been made like Christï.