God Still Performs Miracles

This past weekend was a struggle for Ben & I. One of our close friends was electrocuted while he was at work. He got 10,000 volts of electricity throughout his body. It crossed his heart. We were terrified that we were going to lose a friend & we were devastated. 

The only thing that we knew to do was to fall down at God's feet & pray. We reached out to everyone we knew to reach out to & asked for prayers. Christian is 19, & just shy of being married for a year. He & his wife have been through a lot already & we begged God to get them through this.

We knew that a lot of times, people die from 120 volts of electricity & Christian had 10,000 volts go through his body. We knew the odds. But we prayed anyways. We knew our God was a God of miracles.

Christian was put on a ventilator & placed in a hypothermic state to rest his body so that his body could begin healing itself. We knew that those 36 hours were crucial to his case. We desperately prayed for healing or a miracle or anything at this point.

The first time that the doctors tried to wake him up, Christian fought his restraints & fought the ventilator so they had to put him back under & wait to try again. We were all nervous, but knew that by him fighting he was at least there in some way.

That night? Christian woke up. He responded to commands. He was able to answer questions nonverbally. He knew everyone that was in the room with him.

I was in the Springbrooke Pool parking lot when Ben told me. I shouted for joy. I praised God.

God woke our friend up. God worked a *miracle* in Christian's life.

Christian is continuing to make progress & God is continuing to move in all of our lives through this.

Right now he & his family & friends need continued prayer. While he's making progress, he still has a ways to go before he's completely healed. But God has proved that He isn't done with Christian yet & that He still has some awesome plans for him.

A woman spoke a prophesy over their lives in the waiting room. It was yet another sign from God that He's got some huge plans for him.

At the end of all of this, I am just so thankful that my friend is still alive & that God is moving mountains for Him. He is showing His faithfulness to us all. He is showing that He truly is the Great Physician. I am so in love with my father.

"...Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." - Matthew 17:20.

xoxo
S.Graciebelle

A Girl With a Huge Dream

I think that I've written this post at least three times now trying to find the best way to talk about this person & the dream she is chasing. I started out simply asking for everyone's help, but I wanted this post to be more than just asking for help for my friend. There's so much more to her & her dream than that. So I decided to tell you guys about my friend & just let God do the work from there.

I've known this beautiful girl since we were both in high school. She is a year below me but she has some incredible faith in God & is an absolutely brilliant young woman. I was blessed to see her begin to flourish in God my last year in youth group, & then watched from afar as her relationship with God continued to grow. She began to attend a newer church in our area called High Praises & it seems like her faith in God & her relationship with God took a complete 180 change. It was so encouraging to see God & the Holy Spirit at work like that. Her life change was a testimony in itself.

I finally got to hang out with this girl again during a young adult group meeting with our old church. It was immediately evident to me that the changes I had seen from afar were the real deal & that made my heart so happy. Spending time with her & the other young women & men at that dinner did a lot for my heart & really encouraged me in my own faith.

Recently, this young woman has been given an incredible opportunity. God has opened a huge door for her & she is running through this door headfirst & completely relying on Him & trusting in Him. He has called her to further her education in becoming a disciple of God. He has given her a place in the Patmos Reality Discipleship program this fall. He has placed everything out neatly in front of her. But He has given her one obstacle that requires her entire faith & trust in Him. He has given her one task that she has to complete that requires her to open up to others & seek help from her brothers & sisters in Christ.

She needs to raise a significant amount of money by July 13th. She needs to raise $2,625 by July 13th. If I were in her shoes, I would be so stressed & would feel completely at odds. That's two weeks to raise so much money! I wouldn't even know where to begin. But that's the thing with this young woman. Instead of freaking out, she is completely & totally trusting in God. She isn't relying on herself. She is using the gifts that God has given her to raise money & then leaving the rest up to Him. She's asking for help. She feels that God is leading her to become a full on disciple of God & that the place He is leading her is Patmos.

So I've told you about this wonderful young woman. Now, it is time for me to introduce her to you.

Her name is Alex Tietjen.

She is a beautiful woman of God with so many talents & one of the biggest hearts I've ever been blessed to come into contact with.

She needs some help. I'm asking that you take a little time & just ask God if He is leading you to help Alex out. She has a GoFundMe page that you can donate at. But you can also use the talents that God has given you to help her out. Maybe you can play guitar & sing really well. You can go play outside & then take tips & then give those tips to Alex's dream. Maybe you're an awesome artist. Create something & use the commission that you get to help Alex get to where God is leading her. Maybe you can cook or bake, or maybe you're really good at cleaning houses or washing cars. You can do anything that God leads you to do to help Alex out.

If you can help, it would mean the absolute world to Alex. It would mean a great deal to me as well. I want to see Alex go far in her discipleship journey with God. I want to see her accomplish the dreams that God has given her.

Just think about whether or not you want to help Alex.

xoxo

S.Graciebelle

An Update on Kylie

Not too long ago, I posted about a beautiful little girl that I love to death that is fighting a really hard battle with cancer. I informed you all that she was given a time frame the last time she went to St. Jude & that there is no longer anything the doctors can do for her except make her as comfortable as possible until her time comes. I asked you all to help achieve her final wish, to travel back to Disney World one more time.

About two weeks ago, the nurses informed Kylie's momma that she would not be able to go to Disney World. They were afraid that she wouldn't be able to make the trip down. Kylie's mom, Nikki, posted on her Facebook that the money donated towards Kylie going to Disney would now be used for her to have wishes come true on a local scale such as going to Build a Bear or the Aquarium. Anything left at the end would go towards funeral costs. 

I'm asking now that you would simply pray for Kylie. She is very uncomfortable right now from the pressure in her brain & from the steroids that she is having to take. It has caused her body to swell & her brain is no longer telling her metabolism to work, so her food is not being used in her body like most people's are. 

I'm also asking that you would pray for her momma, Nikki. Nikki is struggling right now as well to make sure that she can keep Kylie happy while balancing the emotions that come with knowing you're going to be losing a child. I can't even imagine the pain that she is experiencing. 

I will continue to update on Kylie & ask that everyone can just continue to pray for this sweet girl & her family & friends & loved ones.

xoxo

S.Graciebelle

Seeking Prayers

This week I didn't write a Music Obsession post for the week because I have been preoccupied writing a song of my own that I cannot wait to share with you all as soon as it's done & recorded. 

As you all may remember, I wrote a post about two women that provided me with inspiration when I was least expecting it. Graysen, one of the women I wrote about, brought back some more inspiration to my life. & one more incredible young lady brought inspiration into my life.

On Memorial Day, I got to spend time with a beautiful angel named Kylie that I wrote about a few posts ago. This one time brought so much to my life. Kylie's spirit & courage & strength is a huge inspiration.

Because of these two beautiful ladies, I have written a song, something I've not in about a year & a half. I'm really excited about this song & I'm really excited to finish this song & get it recorded so I can share it with everyone.

But the song is only part of this post. The main reason for this post is to talk about Miss Kylie.

Last week, Kylie & her momma traveled to Saint Jude for an MRI to see what the status was on the tumor in her brain. The outcome was not what anyone wanted to hear. Kylie couldn't have an MRI or a CT Scan because she has so much pressure on her brain that sedating her would cause dangerous repercussions. Her doctors are giving her a few more months. 

Kylie has received timelines that are very short like this before & God kept her alive much longer than those timelines. This time, though, her body is in a much worse state than it has been before. She has cancer cells flowing through her spinal fluid. She has incredible pressure on her brain. The mass in her brain is turning into another tumor. There is no more treatment that can be given to her.

Now, all that is left to do, is meet all of her wishes & pray to God for His will to be done. 

I used to ask for prayers for a miracle whenever I was faced with negative situations. I used to pray for complete healing of anyone that I knew that was sick. But I've stopped doing this. Not because I don't believe God can do it, but because God's Word has changed my outlook on everything that happens in life. I read Matthew 26:39 & understood His Word better for the first time in my life.

"And going a little farther, He threw Himself upon the ground on His face and prayed saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will [not what I desire], but as You will and desire."

Jesus was afraid & begging God to save Him…if that's what He willed. Of course He didn't want to go through this painful ordeal & be tortured & die on a cross & then face all of hell just to save our lives! Who would want to do that? But He knew that God wanted us to be saved & wanted us to be able to live in His Kingdom with us. So He spoke His heart to God & admitted He was scared & didn't want to go through this, but He wanted God's will above His own desires.

So that's where I'm at now. I don't want Kylie to continue to suffer & I don't want this precious little girl's life to end, but that may be God's will. If He plans to perform a miracle in her life, I will be overjoyed. If He plans to bring her home, I will praise Him for ending her pain & bringing her into His arms & into His Kingdom.

So I'm asking everyone to please, please pray that God's Will will be done in Kylie's life. I'm asking you to please pray that God will grant Kylie's family & friends & everyone she has touched His peace & comfort during this time.

The last thing, Kylie wants to go to Disney one more time. There are many ways that you can help her, & if you can & want to, it would mean the world to me for you to give for her. I love this girl so much, & her situation is very close to me after I've lost my grandfather a few months ago to a similar situation & since my step-uncle, Stephen, is fighting a similar battle.

There are tons of ways that you can help out this sweet girl. If you live in the Knoxville area, this Friday & Saturday there will be a yard sale that is being held to raise money for Kylie at The Church at Sterchi Hills. You can donate your time or your money. Friday, the yard sale will start at 9am.

You can purchase a keychain from this site on Etsy! You can use this keychain to show your support & also tell about Kylie's story.

You can purchase Mary Kay products through Amelia Durand & she's donating part of the proceeds to Kylie. You can purchase through Amelia here: http://www.marykay.com/ameliadurand

You can donate through YouCaring & can even donate anonymously if you want to remain anonymous.

The best way to find out more ways to give to Kylie is visit the Facebook page that has been set up specifically for her.

If you can't help financially, please just pray for this sweet girl & her family, friends, & the lives that she has touched. & share her story. She is a beautiful little girl with one heck of a spirit & a strong story.

xoxo

S.Graciebelle<3