Divine Healing Doesn't Have to be a Spectacle

 Jesus guiding the Surgeon's hand. 

This morning I was blogging about the Glock Pistol over on Chief's blog knowing that I had a surgical appointment later this morning for a surgical procedure called a Mediastinoscopy.  Back in early April, I slipped on some ice and took a spill while getting out of my big rig, and suffered a rare injury which basically was diagnosed as a Sterno-Clavicular Sprain. Basically my collar bone was almost or slightly dislocated from the joint where it attaches to the breast bone.  It's quite a ways down from the top step and I landed on my shoulder with all my weight.  The injury was painful but it could have been much worse.  Even when it happened I was marveling that I hadn't hit my head on the curb. Thank God.  Also, thankfully, I had a benefit called Accidental Occupational insurance.  This insurance covered every penny of my medical expenses, including a trip to urgent care, x-rays, Cat-Scan, follow up visits, Physical Therapy visits, prescription meds and a nice pay check every week to help me get by until I'm able to go back to work.

Recovering Nicely at Home

When I got my Cat-Scan the diagnosis was that I strained some tendons and muscles in the joint where my Collar bone attaches to my sternum.  Thankfully, the Cat-Scan was in just the right location to detect another problem that I was unaware of.  They found some enlarged lymph nodes hiding between my heart and lungs that needed to be removed ASAP.  The doctor said I was very fortunate to have found this problem, because if it were left undetected it could have fatal ramifications.  They sent me back for a Cat-Scan of my chest and it revealed that those lymph-nodes were indeed very large, so they scheduled me for surgery which took place earlier today (4/14/15). They had to make an incision just below my Adam's Apple and follow my windpipe down to the affected area.  In addition to removing the Lymph nodes a camera was deployed to the same area to perform an expedition that would search for traces of cancer or lymphoma.  Biopsies were taken and sent to the lab.  All this took the better part of 5 hours and I'm now at home feeling a little loopy from the Anesthesia but amazingly hardly any pain.

I could have gone to someone like Ashmore and made a spectacle out of things, but I just said a few prayers and went about my business.  I personally feel that life itself is a blessing from God; and we live and breathe because God cares enough about each one of us to allow it.  I also feel that God has answered my prayer; and I'm grateful that the outcome has been very favorable.  The Surgeon said everything looked really good and went very well.  I do have to wait for the results of the Biopsy before I know if there is to be any further treatment needed.

Preop Surgical Ink - My First Tatoo

In conclusion, God has been very good to me.  While I consider this to be divine healing, I do not lay claim to any of the glory; nor do I want credit for having faith to be healed.  I believe that God loves His people and that I am one of those people.  I don't think that a trip to your nearest faith healing apostle is necessary for healing.  I can say with a degree of certainty that if I would have went to an ntcc minister that this healing would have a tithe mandate attached to it.  I probably would have been told by Ashmore or Kekel in either one of their ministries that I would have to repent of the things that we have shared on this blog before God would even consider healing me.  I would have never known that God would heal me because he loved me, not because a big spectacle was made.

Surgical Incision-no
Stitches just
Crazy Glue

I remember when I was attending church at the Servicemen's home in Fort Bragg, I had surgery to remove two wisdom teeth.  I was given "Quarters" (mandatory bed rest) by the Doctor; and because I lived in the Servicemen's Home was allowed to stay there during my recovery which was 48 hours.  I had to explain to my pastor, which I believe was Medrano, that I was not allowed to go soul winning because I was on Quarters; and if I was seen breaking those orders from the Doctor, I could get in trouble.  I was still expected to attend church since it was in the house.  I don't remember anyone ever praying for divine healing for me in those days, just felt uncomfortable having to explain why I couldn't go soul winning.

Do yourself a favor and find yourself a church that doesn't treat you like a slave.  Those kind of ministers and people always have strings attached and hoops to jump through and they are not worth associating with.   Find yourself a church that doesn't capitalize on your gullibility.  If you have to pay a church, or they expect you to give to their programs and conform to their rules as a requirement to receive God's blessings, you don't need them as much as they need you.  You are better off without a church then you are if you let others capitalize on your suffering.  Don't let a bunch of religious Shylocks make merchandise of you.  If someone you trust with your spiritual welfare is getting rich while their congregants are struggling to get by, then shake the dust off your feet and find God for yourself without a bunch of religious nuts dictating God's conditions to you.

Return to Normalcy Toolkit

It has been shared that when a person leaves the ntcc, there is an undeniable transition that takes place.  There is a healing process that also takes place and for many this is something that happens over the span of  the rest of their lives.  Talking on the phone with Jeff the other day he said something to me that bears repeating.  You never fully recover from the ntcc experience.  You never get over it.  Jeff is doing a very great work and we admire his resolve in this fight.  If anyone has done a great job of getting on with their life it is Jeff.  I believe that God has blessed him for taking a stand against the ntcc.  He has his priorities straight, he is prospering in so many ways and he enjoys his life with his wife and children.  I'm not saying this to eat a bunch of cheese, but I'm saying this because in spite of everything he has and all he does,  Jeff has stated that the ntcc experience stays with you for the rest of your life.

We have scoured the blogs and found countless stories of lasting damage caused by the ntcc in peoples lives.  This damage in many cases seems irreversible and only God can heal those whose hearts have been broken.  When that happens there still remain memories and questions that people have a hard time dealing with.  Many will say give it all to God and let time and God heal you.  When everything is said and the veneer wears away, there are voices that must be heard.  There is a need to share.  When you keep things bottled up inside you, they eat away at you and that is where true bitterness takes place.  When you begin to share those experiences with others that have gone through the same thing you begin to feel true healing.

Many people just want their lives to be normal.  In the words of Doc Holiday, there is no normal life, there's just life.  This is true in many cases but when you have been living on the edge of  "extreme" you desire a return to normalcy in your life.  We have a life outside of the blogs.  Blogging is very therapeutic but you have to do things to enjoy your life so you can bring things into perspective and achieve balance in your life.  God has given us a planet to enjoy.  When I come home from work, sometimes I have to wind down before I can fall asleep.  When your life has been going a trillion miles per hour, sometimes you have to wind down and enjoy yourself a bit.  What do you enjoy doing?  Can you allow yourself to have fun without feeling condemnation?

The following is a list of things that people might consider to bring about a sense of normalcy in their lives.

1.  Treat yourself.  Do something for you and you alone.  Go somewhere or buy yourself something that you've always wanted.  Realize that it's okay to have nice things and it's not a sin to do something for yourself.

2.  Do something nice for the loved ones in your life.  It feels great to make a difference in the life of the ones you love the most.  I buy my wife plants and flowers and stuff.  It feels so good when you give to someone you love.

3.  Show kindness and take opportunities to help those that are in need.  Example:  When I see another truck driver that needs help, I take the time to help them.  If they need a jump or help securing their load, I think, what if it were me or someone I love?  There is satisfaction that goes along with loving your neighbor as yourself.

4.  Show kindness and have charity towards a complete stranger that doesn't have anything.  Buy a KFC dinner or a combo meal for someone that is homeless or afflicted.  It's not a sin or a waste of money to help someone who is helpless.  We have been taught that they are in that position because they made the wrong decisions in life, but allow your heart to be tender towards those in need and you will find a degree of peace in your heart.

5.  Load up your family, wife, kids or friends and go somewhere fun.  Go see something you haven't seen.  Find a state park or something in your area that you've always wondered about and enjoy the afternoon.

6.  Get a dog or a cat.  I'm not crazy about cats but to me dogs are very cool.  If you like cats don't allow the ntcc teaching to deprive you of having something you want. It's not a sin to have a dog or a cat or an alpaca as long as you take care of it.  This sounds crazy but before I met Ange, I had a dog that kept me company in my truck and I enjoyed it.  That dog loved me without any conditions.  Don't let the ntcc dictate to you that you can't love animals or have one of your own.  I'm not talking about anything freaky or unnatural.  It's sad but sometimes a dog can be better company than some humans.

7.  Try to separate false teachings from what's really in the bible.  Download the blue letter bible for free and study the scripture on each questionable subject that you were taught by the ntcc.  Look at every scripture pertaining to that subject  in the bible and take it in context.  Filter out all the garbage and trash that the ntcc taught you and keep only what is in God's word.  Try to unlearn all that was said that never made sense by studying what God says about it in His word.  Keep that which is written and get rid of the rules that restrict your freedom in God.

8.  The greatest of all commandments is to love God and your neighbor.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.  If you concentrate on these two everything else will fall into place.

9.  Don't condemn yourself for past mistakes and failures.  Try to learn from your past by changing the way you do things now.  We can't find any peace if we condemn ourselves all the time.  What is done is done and can not be changed.  But we do not have to repeat our past mistakes.  Forgive yourself and you will find it is easier to forgive others.

10. Share your past experiences with others.  If you do not feel comfortable talking about it with anyone you know, try blogging.  Post anonymously if you want and realize that there are many that have gone through what you are going through.  We all have differing opinions and views but don't take things personally if someone disagrees with you.  If you don't feel comfortable with this than get some professional help.  Find someone that you can talk to and let it all out.  All you need is a listener and if you can get some of this off your chest you will feel much better.

11.  Trust your instincts and believe in yourself.  Don't let others walk on you or think less of you because you no longer live under the delusions of the ntcc.  If it looks or smells bad, it probably is bad.  The ntcc has spent years teaching us not to trust our own feelings and even after you've been out for years they still want to tell you that you are wrong.  Don't let them tell you that you are bitter and angry.  You know the real deal.

12.  Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't be too quick to believe everything you hear.  Study things out in life before making big decisions.  When people want you to believe something really bad, question their motives.  That doesn't mean to think bad about everyone or not to trust anyone, but don't be too quick to jump on somebody's bandwagon without knowing what they are all about.

We hope some of this might help you.  These are things that we try to practice in our lives but there will always be memories and clouds of doubt that try to obscure the true light.  This is our way of getting on with life.

Don and Ange