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.

Marian Baay reviews Central Park Rendezvous

Central Park Rendezvous

Central Park Rendezvous 
Four-in-one-collection
by Ronie Kendig, Dineen Miller, Kim Vogel Sawyer & MaryLu Tyndall
Barbour Publishing, 2012

Review by Marian Baay

5 stars *****

Dream a Little Dream by Ronie Kendig
Afghanistan War, present day

Jamie Rosso's uncle Alan is a collector of war memorabilia. He reseaches medals and other pieces and tries to find out who they belonged to. He's a Vietnam veteran and when he returned the woman he was supposed to marry was gone. He always kept hoping he would find her. Now after almost 40 years he's ready to move on with life and he's closing his shop. Jamie can't believe uncle Alan is giving up and she decides not to give up. When Alan is not looking she's snatching away a box with letters from the Wolfe Estate. The Wolfe family is very dear to Uncle Alan and Jamie can't believe he wants to get rid of this box with letters. Jamie decides to dig through the box and tries to find the living Wolfe relatives.

Sean Wolfe got injured by an IED in the Afghanistan War. He's suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury and has scars on his neck and jaw. His fiancée broke up with him. He is hurt and swears he is done with women.
Sean comes from a family of warriors. His father served in Vietnam and came back a different man. He killed himself when Sean was just 4 years old. 

Jamie found Sean and gave him the letters from his grandfather. First he didn't want to read them, because of the bad memories they would give. But Jamie told him: "We all need the bad memories to recognize the good ones." (I love that quote!)
Sean starts reading the letters and finds out that his dad was a better man than what his mom let him to believe. When he is reading the letters he finds out about a coin that has passed through the Wolfe family for centuries. He asked Jamie if she also found that coin in the box with letters.

Jamie wonders if Sean knows a woman called Gail. She is the woman her Uncle Alan was supposed to marry. Jamie is convinced there must be a connection to the Wolfe family.

Together Jamie and Sean are reading the Wolfe letters and learn the history of the Wolfe family. 


A Love Meant to Be by Dineen Miller
Vietnam War, 1973
Alan is at his friend's (Sean's father) house and there he meets Gail. He's struck by her beauty and disappointed to find out she's engaged to another man. Gail is in New York City for the Summer. Alan offers to show her around and finds himself falling in love with her. Gail is attracted to him, too, but she's engaged. Can their love ever happen?
When Alan is called for duty to Vietnam. Gail promised him to wait for him and they agreed to meet each other on the Bow Bridge. Alan gave the Civil War coin to Gail as a promise of his love for her. But when he came back there was no sign of Gail. What ever happened that she wasn't there and couldn't be found?

To Sing Another Day by Kim Vogel Sawyer
WWII, 1941
Helen Wolfe is the oldest of her siblings. Their parents died and Helen tries to run the family. But when her sister gets sick for a long time, she must stop working to care for her and they ran out of money. Her brother Henry has the Civil War coin and it's the only thing of worth they possess. Helen went to the pawn shop in hopes to get good money for the coin. There she met shop owner Bernie O'Day. He felt sorry for Helen and gave her more money for the coin than its worth. Some time later Henry Wolfe came to Bernie's shop asking for a job. Bernie decided to hire him although he didn't need an extra hand. He just wanted to help the Wolfe family. He starts to care for the family and hopes it might grow to something more with Helen.
When Japan attacks the US, Bernie signs up for duty. Will the coin return to the Wolfe family?


Beauty from Ashes by MaryLu Tyndall
Civil War, 1865
Permelia and Annie Shaw are sisters who live on the Shaw Plantation. Their parents died during the Civil War and their brother is serving in the Army. Annie is engaged to Wiliam Wolfe, colonel in the Army. When he left he gave Annie the coin with the inscription 'Love Never Fails W W'. He's been gone for years and Annie gave up on William and found a new boyfriend. She stopped writing to William and tossed the coin out of the window. Her sister Permelia found the coin and started writing letters to William. William thought Annie was writing the letters and he discovered that she has more depth than he thought. He started to fall in love with this new Annie. 
When the war is over he rushes over to the Shaw Plantation and wonders what Annie will think of his injury--burn marks on the right side of his face. When Annie sees them she is shocked and she cannot make herself look at him. Permelia is shocked too, but she is not afraid to look at him or his scars. What he sees in her eyes is confusing him.
Annie is hiding in her room for two days and Permelia is trying to encourage Annie to come out and meet William. When she finally meets him she can't look him in the eyes or to his injured face. William finds out that she sounds so much different than she did in her letters. He also finds out that he is no longer attracted to her, but Permelia makes his heart race. 
A Wolfe is man of his word and he promised to marry Annie, so he still intends to do so.
When Annie's other lover comes calling, she must make a decision, but she doesn't. Who will she finally choose? What will William do when he finds out who wrote the letters? Who will meet William on New Year's day on the Bow Bridge?

This was a tremendous read! I loved to see all the novellas get connected to each other. Ronie Kendig's Dream a Little Dream is split up in four parts and is told between the other three novellas. Jamie and Sean's story each time develops further after they have learned more about the Wolfe family (after another novella). Will they also find love?

All novellas center around the Bow Bridge in Central Park - William Wolfe's coin with inscription 'Love Never Fails' - in each story someone is struggling to trust God and in each story a man goes or went to war.

*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my review copy.*

GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week's contest. Drawing will be late Saturday. Your choice of Dineen's books, choice of format*. Void where prohibited by law. *International winners only receive the book in ebook format, not as a paperback.

Teresa Mathews Reviews Central Park Rendezvous

Central Park Rendezvous

Central Park Rendezvous
Four-in-one collection

By Ronie Kendig, Dineen Miller, Kim Vogel Sawyer and MaryLu Tyndall
Barbour Publishing, 2012

Reviewed by Teresa Mathews

4.5 Stars

In this novella we are introduced to various members of the Wolfe family through four generations, each family tied together by three common threads, one of war, one of a coin passed down from the Civil War Era., and the  romantic Bow Bridge in Central Park.

Dream a Little Dream by Ronie Kendig

Afghanistan War, Present Day

Jamie Russo was raised by her uncle, Alan James, since a young girl when her parents were killed. Alan never married and when Jamie tries to talk to him about the reason why, Alan doesn’t want to talk about. Now that he has gotten older he has come to the conclusion that part of his life is better left alone and forgotten. So he packs up some boxes of old letters from his past and is going to throw them away. Without his knowing Jamie retrieves them and sets out to find out the mystery behind her uncle’s sorrow.

The more Jamie reads, the more she decides she must find this Sean Wolfe that is mentioned in the letters.

 When Jamie finally gets in touch with him and sets a date to met, they are both surprised by the other one. Jamie surprised that she is so drawn to this handsome man, physically scarred by an IED explosion in Afghanistan and mentally scarred by things in his past he endured from an abusive mother. And Sean is surprised because he was expecting a guy and not a beautiful sweet spirited girl that seems to see beyond his flaws to the person he wants to become. As they begin to read the letters and unravel the mystery of Sean’s family will they find out more about the long lost love Jamie’s uncle has been mourning all these years and will they find that same type of love for themselves?

A Love Meant to Be by Dineen Miller

Vietnam War 1973

In this second book in the Central Park Rendezvous Novella Dineen Miller picks up the story of Sean’s dad Patrick Wolfe and his best friend Alan James. Both men are preparing to head to Vietnam, Patrick for another tour and Alan for his first tour.

Alan James is going to a party at the Wolfe home to visit one more time with his best friend, Patrick before he has to go back to Vietnam. When he gets there Alan is greeted by Patrick’s wife, Marcia, who has let her feelings for Alan be known to him. Rumors have it she is enjoying the new “free love” movement while her husband is out fighting in the jungles of Vietnam. Before Patrick leaves he gets Alan to find the prefect ring for Marcia in hopes it will transform her back into the sweet girl she used to be.

Henry Wolfe loves Alan like a second son and he is proud of the way Alan has taken the antique shop and made it into a prosperous business. While at the party Henry hands Alan a gold coin that has been in their family for years, he wants Alan to look into the manufacturer and polish it, so he can give it to Patrick before he ships out.

While at the party Alan meets Marcia’s sister, Gail Gibson who is in town for the summer. He is immediately attracted to her beauty. Alan offers to show Gail around New York while she is in town. When Alan finds out Gail is engaged he is disappointed but determined to still spend time with her as friends. But the more time they spend together, the more Alan is convinced they belong together.

After finding her fiancé in a compromising position with his secretary, Gail calls off their engagement, she is relieved she can now be with Alan without feeling any guilt. When she meets with Alan before he leaves for Vietnam; he gives Gail the gold coin that Henry Wolfe gave him when Patrick refused it. Gail promises Alan she will meet him at Bow Bridge when he returns from the war. But will their lives really have the happily ever after ending they desire?

Dineen did a wonderful job continuing the story of the Wolfe family. I liked how she effortlessly was able to pick right up where the previous story left off. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it made me want to read more by Dineen!

To Sing Another Day by Kim Vogel Sawyer

WWII 1941

Helen Wolfe’s mother and father were killed in a trolley accident and she was left to care for her 3 much younger siblings. Because of this new responsibility she had to sacrifice her dream to be a singer. With no money left, in desperation Helen asks her brother Henry if she can have the gold coin he was given by their father. Helen takes it to the local pawnshop to see how much she can get for it, there she meets Bernie O’Day. Even though Bernie knows the coin is worthless he hears God tell him to give Helen money anyway, so he gives her forty dollars for something he will never be able to sell. After a series of events, including Henry showing up by chance to his door looking for a job, Bernie and the Wolfe family draw close. Bernie gives the coin back to Helen but when he has to leave to join the war, they give the coin back to Bernie with the promise they all will be waiting for him at Bow Bridge when he returns.

Beauty From Ashes by MaryLu Tyndall

The Civil War 1865

Permelia and Annie Shaw are sisters that have endured much sorrow because of the war, they have lost both parents and now their brother is presumed dead. Before the war Annie was engaged to William Wolfe, a colonel in the Union Army, and to show his love before he leaves he gives her a twenty dollar gold piece with the words “Love Never Fails W. W.”, which Annie throws out her window in anger because William has been gone too long. Thankfully Permelia sees it and keeps it safe, and that’s not the only thing Permelia has done. When Annie refused to write William anymore letters, Permelia kept sending letters to him signing Annie’s name. Those letters were filled with the love Permelia has for William, but he doesn’t know they are written by Permelia. William is in love with the Annie that wrote  the beautiful letters.

What will happen when William returns? Will Annie still have the same love for William or will she be so appalled by his disfigured face that she will refuse his proposal and stay with the man she met while William was away fighting? Who will be the one to meet him at Bow Bridge?

　

This was a great story written by marvelous writers, although it was a bit unconventional in the way the first story was divided up between the other three stories. I was thrown off at first when Sean and Jamie’s story stopped abruptly and A Love Meant to Be picked up. By the time I got to the end of A Love Meant to Be, and Sean and Jamie‘s story once again picked up, I had it figured out… there’s a pattern here! J Well done ladies for giving me something that warmed my heart and challenged my mind!

*I was given a copy of this from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.* 

GIVEAWAY:  Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week’s contest.  Drawing will be late Saturday.  Your choice of  Dineen Miller’s books, choice of format*. Void where prohibited by law. *International winners will only receive the book in ebook format not as a paperback.

Carrie Fancett Pagels Interviews Dineen Miller

Dineen Miller

Dineen Miller is the author of the novella A Love Meant To Be, part of the Central Park Rendezvous Collection, and of The Soul Saver and Winning Him Without Words: 10 Keys to Thriving in Your Spiritually Mismatched Marriage.

Dineen, welcome to Overcoming Through Time – With God’s Help.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

Carrie, it’s an honor and a pleasure to be here! Thank you so much.

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

Oh goodness, that could describe my whole life. LOL! I can’t imagine doing life without Him. My family and I have experienced some major events in the last few years, but I’ll share one that is miraculous and ongoing. In 2008, my youngest daughter was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. During this time of surgeries, recovery and seven weeks of radiation therapy (which would have been chemo too if not for God’s clear intervention) I have never seen God so present and “vocal.” It’s a long story full of clear miracles that even tie into my book The Soul Saver as far as elements in that story (I’d written about the loss of their child due to a brain tumor BEFORE we even knew our daughter was sick) and the completion of the story during the time of her recovery.

There are ongoing issues for her that keep me at God’s feet claiming the promise He clearly spoke to my heart three days before we knew something was wrong. I clearly heard, “She’ll be okay.”

I don’t begin to understand God’s reasons, but I trust His character and His ways. He has proven His faithfulness over and over again. Though we still have ground to recover, my daughter is well and we only have the scar down the back of her head to prove it ever happened (that and a thick medical file). She even marvels that it happened herself.

I could not have walked through this time without God, without His help, and more importantly, without His presence. And all this feeds into who He is molding me into today. So perhaps the short answer to this question is learning to trust God with every area of my life and with those I love.

What is your favorite bible verse and why?

Romans 8:28: 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.

I have believed and lived this verse as truth since I was a very young child, before I ever read it in the Bible. I know without a doubt God put this truth in my heart from a very young age and kept it there to strengthen me through some very difficult times. This verse speaks of God’s goodness, His provision, His preparation and His redemption. From this perspective, we can look at everything we go through in life and find God there working to redeem it and bring out the good. Just like He did with Joseph. Now that’s a great example of Romans 8:28.

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 know that our book Winning Him Without Words is available in large print. As far as audio, I wish I could say yes but that blessing hasn’t come to me as of yet. I understand you can do audio with the Kindle, but I’m not entirely sure how it works to be honest. I’m so hooked on my iPad that I gave my Kindle to my daughter to use. 

What has been the most important thing you hope your readers will get from your books and why?

God is always there working for our good. And He is bigger than anything we face. As long as we keep our eyes on Him, we don’t lose hope. It’s a truth that was missing from my teenage years and one I wish I’d understood better. I can’t imagine living life outside of this truth. God is my life!

As you researched your books, did you learn anything that particularly touched your heart?

I think it was when I was researching Hugh Baltimore’s character in The Soul Saver and visited Stanford University to speak to a professor. I wanted to get a better understanding of what Hugh’s profession as a physics professor was like and what drove these highly intelligent professionals to seek publication in the scientific world as part of their pursuit of tenor. This scientist described it as a “publish or perish” mentality. Or reality. This is the world they live in. I knew I had to make that part of the Hugh’s drive to succeed, often at the expense of his family.

How often do we do that same in our lives—pursue that one thing we think we absolutely need or we’ll fail, be miserable, or lose everything. Perish. And there stands Jesus offering us life. This not only touches my heart but humbles me greatly. As a recovering perfectionist, it’s a perspective I hold onto as a reminder that no matter what, God is enough, God is enough, God is enough.

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

Not in my novella, but Ronie Kendig does an excellent job showing her war hero’s ongoing recovery from a brain injury and PTSD. All her wonderful military books do.

If I may speak to one of my other books, The Soul Saver deals with the issue of being spiritually mismatched and the struggles inherent in these kinds of marriages. I wrote it to partner with our Winning Him Without Words book to give those of us in mismatched marriages hope and understanding that God desires us to thrive in our spiritually mismatched marriage.

Thank you, Dineen, for agreeing to answer these questions.  Have a blessed day and keep on writing!!

Thank you again, Carrie! Thank you for letting me share my heart and see yours! Blessings to you!

Bio:

Dineen Miller readily admits that one of the greatest lessons she’s learning about life is that there’s purpose in our trials. It’s all about trusting God and putting our hope in Him. Her favorite stories are of the miracles God has wrought in the lives of her family.

Through this lens she also believes her years as a youth counselor, a Stephen Minister, a women’s ministry leader, and a small group leader fuel her desire to ignite the souls of others through words of truth.

In addition to writing for Spiritually Unequal Marriage, Dineen has won several prestigious awards for her fiction, and her devotional writing has been featured in Our Journey and Christian Women Online Magazine. She’s also a C.L.A.S.S. Communicator and has been featured on the Moody Radio Network, Family Life and Focus on the Family Radio.

Married for 24 years to a guy who keeps her young, she lives in the Bay Area with her husband and two adult daughters, who surprise her daily with their own creativity.

She is the co-author of Winning Him Without Words: 10 Keys to Thriving in Your Spiritually Mismatched Marriage and the author of The Soul Saver.

You can reach Dineen at: 

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

Facebook pages:

https://www.facebook.com/DineenMiller.AuthorSpeaker

https://www.facebook.com/SpirituallyUnequalMarriage

Personal Blog:  http://authordineenmiller.com/journal/

Twitter:  @dineenmiller

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

GIVEAWAY:  Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week’s contest.  Drawing will be late Saturday.  Your choice of Dineen’s books, choice of format*. Void where prohibited by law. *International winners will only receive the book in ebook format not as a paperback.