Hi, I just wanted to share with you a fun and encouraging story from someone who attended the recent men's conference.

This guy is from a distance away, but found a ride up to the conference. During last week, however, he ended up in the hospital because he has bleeding ulcers and terrible reflux that the doctors said he would have for the rest of his life.

However, he specifically heard God tell him to come to the men's conference. He was determined. He was discharged from the hospital after getting a couple units of blood, but his hemoglobin was lower when he left than when he was admitted. No one knew why the doctors discharged him, but he knew he wanted to come to the men's conference, so he was glad they did. Upon leaving the hospital, he just knew he was healed.

When he arrived at the men's conference he was served dinner, lasagna, which tomatoes and tomato products are a no-no and would have set him back at least a day in excruciating pain. He was hesitant, but tried the lasagna, knowing what God had told him about being healed. He had NO PAIN from this meal. For breakfast he drank orange juice and ate the meal with everyone else, and once again experience NO PAIN.

He went back to the doctor yesterday, and they couldn't find anything wrong with him. He had no ulcers and no reflux. How great is that??
He now enjoys food more than he ever has before. He said he is tasting just about everything because he just wants to know what it tastes like without associating it with pain.

Thank you Jesus for caring about this man!

I came to the Lord about 4 months ago. I smoked marijuana for 45 years and told God I wanted to quit. I had tried to quit many times on my own the past 5 or 6 years. In prayer, I told God I wanted to do His will – not mine anymore. But for another month I still smoked. I tried to quit many times but couldn’t do it. I made it until 8pm one day but I felt I just had to have it. One day, about a month after I gave my life to God, to do things his way, I asked Jesus to help me stop smoking and I believed he would. The next day I just stopped; and it wasn’t that hard! That was over 100 days ago! I haven’t smoked any pot. The night that I asked for help; to me that was a miracle! After smoking pot for 45 years, it was hard for me to do it on my own. I just couldn’t do it – but Jesus could do it. That’s my story.

This story isn’t about me, but I was part of the connecting role. I have a friend that lives in California, who has done a lot of drugs. We are in very limited contact because she can’t talk on the phone (or communicate hardly at all). She has a son and limited contact with the son’s father. She called me the other day and hung up 2 times. I haven’t heard from her in well over a year, so I called back and got her mom. We caught up a little and then she asked if the boys’ dad was in Duluth (he occasionally attends Vineyard). I told her I hadn’t seen him in about a year. Two days later I was walking to work downtown at 9am and literally bumped into the boy’s father on the street! We spent 15 minutes or so catching up. I asked him if he was attending/connected to Vineyard still and he said he wanted to be but wasn’t currently. He said he’d love to reconnect with a guy named Trevor, but wasn’t sure how. We finished our conversation and he gave me his card, hoping we could stay in touch or I could refer business to him (he started a chimney cleaning business). I continued on my way to work at the YMCA and bumped right into Trevor! I told Trevor the story and he said he’d call the boy’s dad that day. I’ve kept in email contact with my friend’s mom in California. She has reported that my friend has had the best few weeks of functionality in years, and to keep her in our prayers.

My Cause Conference story:
 
God has gently been reminding me that we will experience suffering in this world that is our temporary home and encouraging me to find joy in my suffering because then I can identify ever further with Christ's suffering. Recently God has encouraged me to take many risks and speak up about injustices I  experience first-hand or witness others experiencing. At times I have felt like I'm a deer stepping out into a meadow during hunting season!! With God's armor I have stepped out into the meadow to confront dark situations and am amazed at how God has shown His light, His strength, His love, and His mercy time and time again. My trust in God has grown so much! Friday evening at the Cause Conference I was inspired by Jamie's message and the music during the worship and arts gathering to write this poem:
 

The Battle is Won

My stomach turns in knots at the thought of leaving the comforts of my home

                God whispers, “I am your home away from home.”

I tremble in the presence of the evil ones

                God whispers, “I am stronger.”

The weight of evilness brings me to my knees in tears

                God whispers, “Stand up. I have your back.”

I walk forward into enemy territory and brace myself

                God whispers, “Do not be afraid. I am with you.”

My primal instincts tell me to run from danger in order to survive

                God whispers, “I am your armor.”

I take another step forward and leave my fears behind

                God whispers, “I will light your path.”

I experience God as my firewall and face my enemies unharmed

                God whispers, “Continue to trust me.”

I smile knowing that I have a God who will never leave me in the calm or in the storm

                God whispers, “The battle is already won.”

God’s faithfulness never stops – a couple of weeks ago there was a disgruntled coworker that was about to get fired and decided to take people with him. He told a story that put my coworker nurse and myself on leave due to an investigation. It threw me for a loop. I knew her and I were not guilty, but because it was a VA issue it had to be brought to the state. I turned to God, feeling only God could fix this. I went to small group and got deeper prayer. I met with Lynn also and felt God’s peace over me, no matter how this turned out. I was under God’s care. It turned out that the company found everything was fine. We are back to work. But through it all, I was able to lean on God. He is always faithful. He goes to fight for us. I was important enough to die for. He also feels I’m important to fight for.