Believe
I Believe …
There is power in what we Believe. I didn’t quite understand the depth of that statement until I endured all I did with my health challenges. During my life I would watch and hear countless times where someone received a health diagnosis and they instantly go down hill when the day before they were as strong as a racehorse. I actually believed for awhile that their illness just must have been so advanced it took a sudden turn for the worst. Then I walked my journey and was shown living proof of the power of what we Believe. Time and time again my diagnosis would spell out that there was nothing more the doctors could do for me. Each and every time without fail (no faltering) I would look at them and Believed whole Heartedly that God will decide when my time is up and not a man or woman on this earth no matter what letters are behind their name. I refused to accept or Believe what others so easily accept because to them the proof was right before their very own eyes and backed by scientific fact. Proof in this world meant nothing to me so I stared down Death and said, “Oh no, you are not coming for me. God has a plan for me and He will decide when my time is up.” You have to know my Faith is that of a child. I was not going to church. I was not reading the Bible. I Loved God. I Believed. I was then sent miracles that would have the doctor’s scratching their heads. I continued to face more and more critical times where death knocked on my door and I would yell, “Go away! I have something to Believe in!” I would then receive another miracle. I then would face another critical crash in my blood disorder and find myself in ICU again with the doctor’s doing everything they could to save my life. One time they were giving me 6 units of blood at the same time (even warming it before transfusing to try and reduce the rate of rejection) but my body rejected it as fast as it went in. On top of it my bone marrow had shut down, my body was rejecting the blood being put in so in this world it appeared I was goner again a time when there was nothing more they could do. I then received another miracle. No matter how weak I was in that hospital bed I would still utter the Words, “God you have a plan for me. I trust You and I Love You.” I NEVER gave up, NEVER. I have had countless miracles in my Life. Why? What makes me so special? Why is my story so different than others? It’s simple, because I Believe. What do you Believe?
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie
Believe …
Last weekend I woke up early Sunday morning my Heart was so drawn to get outside into nature. I put on my yoga pants, my sweatshirt and tennis shoes. I grabbed my IPhone and began to listen to the songs saved in my playlist. The sun had already ascended as its rays peeked over the roof tops. The sky dawn was beautiful and cool brisk air filled my lungs with life. The birds were singing so much I could hear them thru my earbuds. I took my right earbud out so I could hear more. Their music was filling the air with something very special indeed, different than past springs. Their songs were speaking right to my Heart. It’s as if I could see the notes form beautiful words floating through the atmosphere. I could see and feel words of Hope, Faith, Love, Peace and Thankfulness being sung into the earth. The sun’s reflection on the lake was dancing to the sound of the music filling the air. The ducks and geese were basking in the light as if they were being showered with gold. On the beautiful lake usually the ducks are in their group and the geese in theirs but this morning was different. They were all intertwined as they gracefully swam together. I stopped to watch them and thanked God for the gift of Life. Tears filled my eyes as He brought me back to years ago when I laid in a hospital bed facing death over and over again. I had failed every treatment and there was nothing more the doctors could do. At that time I didn’t have a church and wasn’t reading the Bible but I had God. I Believed. It was Him and me in that hospital bed. I cried out asking for the chance, just one chance, to share the Heart He has given me with the world … the whole world. Asking Him to heal me and help me to take the Faith and Love He has put in my Heart and put it into each and every Heart. I said, “God, please if you will bring me this miracle I will spend the rest of my days bringing Your Faith and Love to every Heart that crosses my path. Will you give me that chance, please Father, just one chance?” What I discovered was that childlike Faith He has instilled within my Heart is all I needed. He moved mountains on account of my Faith and sent me miracle after miracle. There I stood before the lake, tears streaming down my face, my Heart overflowing with thankfulness of how wonderful God is.
And the answer is so simple … Love Him and cling to Him like a little child. I learned we truly cannot comprehend all He will do for those who Love Him. He continues to shower my life with Blessings that seem too good to be true. He continues to make the impossible possible in my Life and He can do it for you too … Love Him and Believe.
He will not forsake you. He has plans to prosper you, not harm you but to give you hope and a future. It’s time for that future to begin today, it’s a New Day.
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie
My journey has taught me …
On this journey I continue to learn and grow more each day.
My journey has taught me …
The only way to teach a baby Love is to Love them. They don’t understand any other language.
No matter how strong our Faith, we go through life lessons to draw us closer to God, not away from God.
The Hearts that are True are the ones people are drawn to when the world crumbles under their feet.
The most important relationship we will ever have is with God but it is often the one people spend the least time investing in.
Believing in God is not a religion but a way of Life.
When we Bless others then we are Blessed.
Change can happen but it has to start with us first.
The mind is a powerful thing but is useless unless the Heart is beating.
Words cannot be taken back.
Surrender is one word that has the power to change your Life forever.
Truly all things are possible, ALL THINGS, when we Believe.
Without Love, we have nothing and we are nothing.
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie
Condition of the Heart …
In this race of Life, there are some who choose not to sign-up at all, others train vigorously for the race, some enter in unprepared … some finish, some don’t and some regardless of how much training they put in don’t finish the race because their heart fails.
This race of Life is all about the Heart. You can train and train and train but if your heart isn’t right then it will not be strong enough to finish the race. A human heart is not strong enough to endure this race. The challenges we face on earth are far too great. Those challenges are meant to shatter the hardened heart and bring Life to a new Heart, One that will never fail. A Heart that always Hopes, always Believes and always Loves. To get this Heart it must be rooted in Love … Love for God and Love for others. That begins with you introducing yourself to Him and spending time with Him. He wants a relationship with you. He wants to know you. I like to use this simple analogy in my workshops. I have received emails from people who say after reading my book they feel like they know me. The more they read it the more they feel like they know me and maybe they even know people who know me but if I were to pass them on the street would I know them? It’s the same for God, He needs to know us. You can go to church every week and read your Bible every day but does He know you? If not, I want to encourage you to open your heart to Love God, to spend time with Him so He can train you for the race. So He can give you a Heart that will finish the race because it never fails. Love never fails, ever.
You are meant to finish this race.
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie
Believe …
The word Believe keeps coming up from every direction and God is taking great measures to ensure I hear it. The other day I awoke around 3:30 am to hear music trickling down through my ear buds. I thought, how is music playing? My laptop is shut and I certainly haven’t clicked anything. I quickly sit up, put in my ear buds and open my laptop. It is playing Believe by Josh Groban and Beyonce. I don’t remember ever hearing this song. I sat there in awe with tears in my eyes. God is getting ready to do the impossible, a miracle like no other. This song is beautiful, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJICdI8T6hg
I then get an email from my friend Joe. It is a little girl with the voice of an Angel singing “To be Believe”.
We are in the time where the impossible is becoming possible. Open your Heart and Believe …
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie
Our Christmas Miracle …
For the last several months my mom has had a difficult time breathing. The doctor ran some tests and found that there was a valve in her heart that was leaking. She needed to have open heart surgery to repair or replace the valve. Many years ago she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure so due to her current health condition, the surgery would be very high risk. Mom’s ejection fraction was 36% (a normal, healthy heart is 55-70%). The decision her and my step dad had before them, was not easy. If she didn’t have the corrective surgery then it would have eventually resulted in heart failure and if she did decide to have the surgery the chances were high she wouldn’t survive. Mom knew in her heart she had to have the surgery and soon. She had gone to the doctor a few times but it seemed there was always a delay in getting the surgery scheduled. Finally, the date for her open heart surgery was set – Monday, 12/19/11.
Mom has had open heart surgery before and had her share of hospital visits but this one was different, she requested that all of us kids were there. When I came in for the surgery, she told me to take home the special light night I love so much (its two turtle-doves that so beautifully lights the upstairs bedroom where I stay). I knew mom was feeling something in her heart she didn’t want to verbalize to any of us.
We had a nice visit that weekend. On Monday morning we all headed out to the hospital and waited patiently in the waiting area while mom underwent the surgery. Six hours later mom was out of surgery and it went well. The first hurdle was behind her. We were so thankful God had pulled her thru the surgery. She now had another hurdle to get over and that was the healing required to get her off of the breathing tube. They expected her to be in intensive care 7 to 10 days. Mom did incredibly well after surgery, better than anyone had expected. She got out of ICU in a couple of days and was moved to a regular room. I headed back to Chicago with plans to come back when she came home from the hospital to help her and my step dad.
That week I had a dream. My mom was in the hospital and had died right before me. I was by her side praying for a miracle. But in my dream it was up to the surgeon (the man upstairs) when he would bring her back to life (not IF but WHEN). When I woke up, I couldn’t wrap my head around it because the surgery was behind us now and mom was doing wonderful. I told my sister and said, “Well maybe I am seeing what happened while she was in surgery last week because we were praying the whole time on Monday.” But I knew in my heart God always prepares me for every major event in my life through a dream so He was showing me this for a reason.
I called to check on her Friday, 12/23 and mom wasn’t doing good. I was reminded of my dream and knew I had to go. I packed up my car, arranged for the kids to be with their dad and hugged them tight telling them I loved them and asking them to pray for grandma. Samantha didn’t want me to go. I kneeled down and said, “Honey, grandma needs me. She is very sick. I know it is Christmas but it could be the last Christmas I have with her and I know in my heart I have to be by her side.” She hugged me even harder – there just weren’t any words that could be said at that time to make it any easier.
I got to the hospital and I could tell Mom was relieved we were there with her. My sister and I stayed at the hospital in her room. It brought me back to all of the times I was the one in that hospital bed over the holidays. During those times I always had an extra sense of comfort and peace when someone would stay with me. It felt good to be able to do the same for my mom. They had put her on a bi-pap machine at night to help her breathing. Christmas Eve I told Susan I would stay with mom so she could go home to be with her family. Christmas morning while I was helping her God gave me a vision of her walking down the hall in her gown. I was so thankful and had hope that soon she would be up and walking. Mom was doing okay and seemed to be pretty stable so I thought I may head home for a day so I could see the kids on Christmas (it’s about a 3 ½ to 4 hour drive to Ft. Wayne, IN). My step dad, sister-in-law and sister would be coming to the hospital late morning so we would work out a schedule so someone would be with her and she wouldn’t be alone.
Mom was tired and wanted to rest but couldn’t get comfortable. My dream played out in front of me again and although she looked okay I felt she could slip away any second. I pressed the nurse’s button. The nurse tech came in and was trying to check her oxygen thru her finger but it wasn’t registering. She was trying to warm up her finger to get it to register. I looked at her and said, “Something is wrong, something is really wrong – please get help, please.” I know they medically know better than me but my heart knew any minute she would slip away just like in my dream. I am so thankful the nurse ran out to get help and didn’t question it even for a second. As soon as she stepped out of the room to yell for help suddenly, I mean within a matter of seconds, mom’s lips turned blue, her eyes opened wide and were unresponsive. Her pupils instantly reduced to the size of pins. I then saw my mom’s spirit leaving her body. I prayed and prayed and prayed asking for God to save her … please bring us a miracle on this Christmas day, please Father.
Within moments her room was flooded with doctors and nurses and they made me leave the room. I called my step dad, sister and brother and told them mom was coding and they needed to get here as soon as possible. I stood in the hospital hallway alone praying for a miracle. Soon I felt the Angels surround me and flood my mom’s room (since my miracles, God has blessed me with seeing Angels ascending and descending from Heaven just as it is written in scripture). I knew everything was going to be okay despite it appearing that everything was anything but okay. My step sister was crying and scared, my step father was petrified at the thought of losing his wife. I had this unexplainable peace beyond comprehension. From the outside I’m sure it must have looked cold and uncaring but I had peace that I couldn’t describe because God had prepared me for all that just happened. As a result, I was able to be His pillar to help bring comfort to my family while it appeared everything was crumbling around us.
They hooked mom up to the breathing machine and settled into ICU. They did a test on her heart to see why she took a sudden turn for the worst. The doctor came in the ICU and was sharing the results with us – results they did not expect to see. Her ejection fraction worsened after surgery instead of improving. It was now 20%. The outcome did not look good. I said, “Doctor we are praying for a miracle.” I shared with him a little of what has happened in my life and despite what seems medically impossible it can become possible. I smiled and said, “God gave me many miracles and can do it for my mom too.” I have to say many doctors look at me like I’m speaking a foreign language when I share my experiences but this doctor I could feel that his heart held onto hope right along with us.
My sister shared a dream with me that she had Christmas Eve. She dreamt that mom was sitting up happier than ever saying it was rough but she feels incredible now. I said, “Susan we have to hold onto that. God is showing us what is to come. She’s going to be okay.” She said, “I hope so.” I said, “She is.” Mom made a miraculous recovery, within two days she was off the breathing tubes and doing unexplainably great. She was full of life more than I have ever seen her. She began to tell us how she didn’t remember anything that happened on Christmas day. She said, “But I saw myself grayish and I looked dead.” She described exactly what she looked like Christmas morning. I said, “How did you see that?” She said, “I was out of my body.” I had chills run through me because I saw her spirit leave her body. She then said she was in a room that she looked up to the ceiling and it was the most beautiful bright pink you’ve ever seen. I wanted to cry because to me pink has always symbolized God’s Pure Unconditional Love. She said she then saw Angels floating all around (different colors like rainbows but the most vibrant you have ever seen). Tears welled up in my eyes, I saw the Angels flood her room and know those colors all too well :) She said, “I then saw the brightest white light I’ve ever seen.” I smiled and said, “Mom, God sent you a miracle on Christmas day just like He did me. What you just experienced has forever changed you. It is impossible to experience a miracle and not bring a piece of Heaven here. Welcome to the Miracle Club.”
I look forward to mom sharing that Beauty, that Love, that Light with the hearts around her. We are all so thankful for the best Christmas gift any of us could have received … Life being returned to a very special heart, a very special woman … our Mom.
We ARE in the time of Miracles … Believe.
With much LOVE, hugs!!!
Ammie :)