Child Overcoming a Malignant Brain Tumor - Testimony by Dineen Miller

Dineen, welcome to Overcoming With God blog.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

Thank you for having me! Always happy to share. Testimonies are powerful and encouraging. I love being encouraged by them and also love encouraging others with my own.

Would you tell us about one of the most difficult things in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help? 

In 2008, our 14-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Things moved very quickly after that—two surgeries, radiation treatments, MRIs, doctor appointments...and a string of miracles that continued to be revealed several years after it all culminated.

Before we even knew what was wrong, God answered in a moment of fervent prayer from a worried mother’s heart, “She’ll be okay.” I was relieved but realized God was telling me this because whatever was coming would be big. And He continued to answer and be very present through all of it.

Amazingly this unfolded after I had developed the story of The Soul Saver, a story about a mismatched couple, Hugh and Lexie Balitmore, who lost their toddler daughter to a malignant brain tumor. In the story, Hugh is a physics professor at Stanford University. In real life, a physics professor at Stanford University designed my daughter’s radiation treatments. It was all very surreal. Trips to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford Hospital also became research for the story I was writing. 

Through this and various challenges sine I learned that God is very complete and multifaceted in His love and provision. His ways are surprising and He always seems to have more than one purpose in what He does. But He always works to bring good out of everything we face. And since then I’ve learned that for every challenge we face, He’s already put a promise and provision in place for us.

What passages in the Bible have been most helpful to you in those times?

Romans 8:28 has been a life long favorite but truly came to life during that time. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (NIV)

Psalms 91 and 27 are a powerful prayers of protection over ourselves and our family. 1 Peter 5:6-10 is about giving God our worries and trusting Him to restore and make us strong, firm and steadfast.

There are so many promises in the Bible. God’s Word is one big promise revealed in Jesus. I love 1 Cor. 14:1 so much. It follows the love chapter. It’s my ultimate verse to guide me in every thing I do. “Let love be your highest goal.”

How has praying helped you to overcome?

In the beginning of 2014, everything around me looked ideal. Yet inside I completely collapsed. My body rejected a medication I’d been taking for my thyroid, and all the stress of taking care of my daughter, ministry, writing and striving hit me with a powerful punch.

I met with God every morning on my porch with my Bible and my journal. Each day I would start with reading the Scripture the Holy Spirit had shown me to write down the day before and pray it out loud over myself. This is the key to what Romans 12:2 calls the transformed mind. I did this every day for several months. The result was a healed mind and thyroid. I continue to speak the truth and promises of God’s Word out over myself and my family. God spoke the world into existence and Jesus is the Word (John 1). That’s why the Bible says our words are life and death. What are we speaking everyday over ourselves, our family, our friends, even our nation? Praying Scripture is powerful and life giving. Jeremiah 1:9 says that God watches over His Word to perform it. That’s a HUGE promise!

What helped you get through or helped you cope with this difficulty?

Knowing without a doubt that no matter how bad things may look, that doesn't change or diminish God’s goodness and power. Romans 8 where the Holy Spirit sat me for weeks and began to reveal the lies I’d believed and brought me to the freedom we truly have in God’s love. I recommend that chapter a lot. It’s life changing.

Disability friendliness: Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio?  Do your e-books have audio capability? Do you have any in large print? 

I wish I did have more to offer there. My two nonfiction books, Winning Him Without Words, and Not Alone are available in audio.

In this latest work, do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?  

The Soul Saver deals with being spiritually mismatched and shows how we stand in faith in these places and learn to love others unconditionally just as Jesus loves us. Many of the keys I wrote about in Winning Him Without Words are shown through the characters in this story. So, if you’re in a spiritually mismatched marriage, I pray this book encourages you and inspires you to pray and hope for more what you can think or imagine for your marriage and your spouse (Eph. 3:20)

Question you’d like to ask readers:

What kind of stories inspire you? What parts of a story stay with you and continue to inspire you in your life?

CFP: MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR WRITING!!! Thank you for sharing with us, Dineen. What a powerful testimony of God's faithfulness!

Thank you! 

Bio:

Dineen Miller is passionate about God’s Word and truth. She’s been featured the Moody Radio Network, Focus on the Family Radio, Dr. James Dobson’s FamilyTalk, FamilyLife Today and INSIGHT on Miracle Channel. Dineen is the coauthor of the award winning book, Winning Him Without Words and Not Alone: Trusting God to Raise Godly Kids in a Spiritually Mismatched Home. She is also the author of the ACFW Carol Award winning book, The Soul Saver. She and her husband love to collect shells and walk the famous white sands of Siesta Key Beach. Visit Dineen online at SpirituallyUnequalMarriage.com and DineenMiller.com.

My Links:

My books: http://dineenmiller.com/books/

Websites:

http://www.dineenmiller.com

http://spirituallyunequalmarriage.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/dineen.miller

Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/SpirituallyUnequalMarriage

Twitter:  @dineenmiller

GoodReads author page:  http://www.goodreads.com/dineenmiller  

GIVEAWAY: We're giving away Dineen's ACFW Carol Award winner The Soul Saver and we have a secret Christmas book (from Barbour) we're also giving away during this Barbour-palooza month on OWG blog. Leave a comment to enter.

Interview with Christine A. Henderson

Christine A. Henderson, welcome to Overcoming With God. We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

Would you tell us about one of the most difficult things in your life you have had to overcome, with God's help?

One of the most difficult times in my life was when both my husband and I lost our jobs and my

dad died suddenly. This all occurred within a three week period. For many people, that would be

enough to cause them to go into a deep depression. However, I found peace and comfort during

that time. Now I don’t want you to think I walked around with a halo on my head and was totally

serene. I did have my tears and grief, but I grew closer to God and had no doubt that he was with

me.

I’ve often heard from other committed Christians that they know he is very near in times of crisis. Our senior pastor is Max Lucado and one of his teaching series included learning this prayer… "I’ll get through this. It won’t be painless. It won’t be quick, but God will use this mess for good. I won’t be foolish or naïve, but I won’t despair either. With God’s help, I will get through this."

What passages in the Bible have been most helpful to you in those times?

For me, Psalm 23 and Psalm 91 are words of hope and strength.

What helped you get through or helped you cope with this difficulty?

I like being immersed with Christian Praise music such as Mandisa’s “He is with you” or “Blessings” by Laura Story and “Fall Apart by Josh Wilson. Each of these songs shows me ways to refocus and connect with God.

In addition, we all need a good support group and that comes with having relationships with other Christians who can pray for us and guide us though our difficulties. I had that plus family to see me through tough times.

Question you’d like to ask readers:

How do you share the hope of God’s salvation with others who don’t know Christ as their

Savior?

Noela Nancarrow's Testimony in "Trusting Him When Life's Messy," by Charlotte Holt - Review by Bonnie Roof

Trusting Him When Life's Messy, by Charlotte Holt, is a compilation of testimonies from 15 people, including Charlotte, herself - relating how God guided them through trials, hardships, and messy situations. His hand is seen in the simple everyday frustrations of life as well as the more serious issues: conquering fears, financial problems, drug addiction, dementia, sexual abuse, infidelity, physical abuse, insecurity, guilt, unworthiness, rebellious children, disease, etc.. Each story is followed by comments from Charlotte and a prayer.

I was touched by Noela Nancarrow's moving testimony, "Breaking the Chains", relating the fear she and her siblings experienced while growing up in a home with a father who displayed almost daily outbursts of raging temper and physical abuse. One evening, at the age of 13 years, during one of her father's rages - she retreated to her bedroom seeking solitude and calming quietness. Feeling an immediate overwhelming peace when entering the room and not wanting to disturb that peace - she was sitting on her bed in total darkness when she experienced a vision of a man who appeared to be enclosed in light. Although she and her family weren't Christians and her religious experience was limited to Sunday School classes when she was very young, she had no doubt she was seeing Jesus. 

She related further experiences of His using more visions, as well as help from friends, to guide her through difficult situations during her teen years and into adulthood, marriage, and the rearing of her children - by using her childhood experiences to help break the chains of her past. A beautifully inspiring story of God's perfect plan fulfilled through His love and using Noela's trials for her good. A significant scripture in her story: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27 (KJV)

Trusting Him When Life's Messy is a wonderful encouragement that God will see us through all of life's "messy situations" because He loves us. 

Other books in the Trusting Him series:

Trusting Him in the Midst of Medical Madness

Trusting Him With Your Addicted Child

Trusting Him - Life After Divorce

Trusting Him in Your Grief 

Giveaway: An ebook copy to one blessed commenter on Bonnie's review! Be sure to leave an email address written (at) and (dot) to protect against spammers.

Tracy Cooke Wainwright - Testimony of Overcoming

Tracy Cooke Wainwright

We all have challenges. There are certainly times in life when those challenges seem overwhelming. Looking back on the many I've faced, it's interesting how clearly God's hand is revealed.

When considering what to write about, the whole gamut ran through my mind. The eighteen month time period my parents got divorced, moved out of state separately, I graduated high school, started college, and then ran out of money, lost my place to live, got dumped by my fiancé, and couldn't find a job. Then there are the many times I've dealt with depression. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 31. Then there's my current situation: my family of six is living in the upstairs of my in-laws house.

As you can see, there are many trials I've experienced and been brought through by the grace of the Lord. However, the issue that surfaced and I feel led to share about is my chronic back pain.

I remember lower back pain as early as 16. I remember people always telling me I was too young for back pain. I generally replied that I wished they'd tell my back that. My father and I nailed down the initiating incident to when I hyperextended my knee about age 13. As the years continued, a handful of minor traffic accidents seemed to contribute to my discomfort. Then, when my children were little I pulled my back out for the first time. A couple years later, I did it again. And in December 2012 I pulled it out a third time. This is the one that really knocked me down.

I had some speaking commitments the week after. Plus, it happened three weeks before Christmas. That I had a busy schedule would be an understatement. (You know how that time of year can get!) It was the week before Christmas my mom and sister showed up and took over. This meant I was able to do what I should have been doing since day one - staying off my feet. The bigger problem was sitting didn't work. I had to lay down. All the time.

I struggled with both the pain and being basically incapacitated. I watched about as much Netflix as I could stand and still had lots of recovering to do. One day I randomly did a search for Galatians on YouTube. I came across some well-known believers reading the whole book at a conference. It was a blessing! Especially since it led me to listening to two new preachers I didn't know about before. 

I didn't want to be flat on my back the weeks before and week after Christmas. I'm not good at doing nothing. However, God used (and I'm thinking maybe even brought me to that place on purpose) that time to speak some powerful things into my life. It started a journey of digging even deeper into scripture. It proceeded some of the deepest growth in my relationship with the Lord that I've ever experienced.

I've never completely recovered. I still deal with back pain almost every day. While I never would have wished it, and would be very grateful for complete healing, God has used it to teach me more about Him. And He's used it to help my ability to have compassion on others. 

Hmm. So He's used my injuries and discomfort to teach me to love Him and others better.

In His grace and mercy, He not only upheld His promises and has been with me every step of my pain, but He's also used it to bless me. I'm so grateful I've learned not to dwell on what I don't want to deal with, but instead focus on what He's doing through my circumstances! God has truly used this and other situations to transform my thinking to be more intentional about focusing on Him regardless of what's going on in life.

About Tracy: Tracy Wainwright is a wife, mother of four, women’s ministry team leader, women’s conference director, speaker, and multi-published author. She loves sharing the lessons God teaches her with other women through Bible study, over coffee, at women’s events, and in her books. She’s written fiction, nonfiction, adult, young adult, and children’s books. Her latest book, A Transformed Mind: Changing Your Thoughts to Change Your Life, is the first of a twelve part series.

Giveaway: One of our commenters will receive an ebook copy of the first part of Tracy's new series.

Premature and Orphaned -- Testimony by Melony Teague

Author Melony Teague

“You killed my daughter!” It was shock that caused my grandmother to scream this from the front seat of the old Studebaker. This was directed at the driver behind the wheel of the car which had collided with the car I was in. Well, let me specify, I was safely encased in my mother’s womb, but I was not due to make an appearance for another three months. My mother sat in the back seat of my grandfather’s car, (I don’t think they even had seat belts at the back in those days) and due to the collision I had a rough start to life. Within days, three months too early, I arrived on the scene, all of two pounds and small enough to fit in a shoe box.

I was told that I stopped breathing a few times before my mother even got to hold me, full of tubes and half blue. Were it not for the vigilance of the doctors and nurses, and the prayers of my family, I might not be the 5 ft. 5 inch woman I am today, with size ten feet!

Maybe it was a rough start, but I will forever be grateful that I arrived three months early. That meant I got to be with my mother three months longer than I otherwise would have. My auburn haired, five foot tall mother, Anne was taken too soon due to a car wreck when I was six months old. 

I lived with my heartbroken six foot tall father, Melville until he too died due to a collision. (South African roads are notorious for being deadly) I ended up being half way between, sharing their names and their character traits.

I came to live with my grandmother who was aged fifty at the time.  I called her ‘mother’ for the rest of my life. She was a women of faith, a survivor and even though she was widowed when I was seven years old and left to raise me on her own, there was no doubt in my mind she overcame all of life’s tragedies and challenges because of her faith. She taught me what real, sacrificial and unconditional love looked like in action. She is the lady who taught me how to pray as a child, through bedtime prayers and grace before meals. She’d always tell me to pray about things when I was worried about something.

Growing up, I have no doubt that it was prayer kept me out of trouble. Neither of my two grandmothers were perfect, no one is, but they were women with a tremendous love for God. Their unwavering faith taught me how to overcome whatever I may face by putting my own faith in my Saviour, Jesus. To me there is nothing more powerful than a grandmother’s prayers and I was blessed with two faith-filled grandmothers. They never stopped praying for me. These ladies taught me that prayer makes a difference. Not only in the situation I am facing or praying for, but in my own heart.

Author Bio:

Melony Teague was born in South Africa and immigrated to Canada in 1999. She is a freelance writer who believes everyone has a story to tell, with each story being unique and sometimes wilder than fiction. Melony loves to uncover the good news in society and writes human interest and community pieces. She is an editorial contributor for newspapers and magazines in the Greater Toronto Area, and has contributed numerous articles for the local media over the years. Her guest columns address issues pertaining to life and health, and she loves to inspire and motivate others through her written words. Melony is also a ghostwriter who has worked with diverse subject matter. Melony also handles communications and PR for two non-profit mission organizations in Canada. Her book, As the Ink Flows, Devotions to Inspire Christian Writers & Speakers released April 1, 2016, was written in collaboration with four local authors. Melony lives in Toronto with her husband and their two children.

LINKS TO BOOK:

Asthe Ink Flows: Devotions to Inspire Christian Writers & Speakers

Authors: Glenda Dekkema, Melony Teague, Carol Ford, Claudia Loopstra and Marguerite Cummings.

Amazon.com:

http://amzn.to/1Vxoiij

Thanks for visiting with us, Melony, and sharing your powerful testimony of overcoming!!!