This mama is still reeling from the awesomeness of God ! God is so good to His people!!
Here is my testimony about my son....
Raising my son (so far) hasn't been easy... he has had a rough start, to say the least.... he started out as a colicky baby that cried nonstop for almost 2 years. (Much of his babyhood is hard for me to recall except in vague terms. Talk about postpartum-- I was a mess--During this time, I was both mentally and physically exhausted. )
After a couple months of crying literally nonstop since the day we brought him home from the hospital, we were told he was allergic to the protein in my milk which was causing severe stomach issues. The doctor actually encouraged me to discontinue nursing altogether. They tried him on a variety of formulas but to no avail; while some worked better than others, in the end, he remained an extremely fussy and unhappy baby/toddler.
He began to grow out of some of his difficulties physically, as he got older. When he turned 3, I began to feel more like myself again finally. I began to actually enjoy my son. I know that sounds terrible but that's truly how it was. I loved him fiercely but I didn't enjoy him very much because he was always so disgruntled and unhappy. (having a baby crying for hours on end without anything you do for him helping him and easing his discomfort messes with you mentally, not to mention how it wears on you physically. I couldn't go anywhere. I couldn't do anything.... (it was a very rough period of life)
But I digress, anyway, year 3 and 4, were okay. Like I said, I was finally getting to the point that I actually began to enjoy being Mommy to my son. But just as we began to make progress, then he was faced with new challenges as he began to start school...( I do homeschool my children, by the way)
From the start, he struggled with reading and other issues. I tried everything in my power to help him but nothing seem to help it click with him.
This went on for a while. Several years, in fact... talk about feeling like a failure. (I totally can relate to those feelings, all you homeschooling mommies out there!) I tried different curriculum. I tried different methods. I tried all the trendy programs but nothing seemed to work for him.
Each day, it seemed he fell further and further behind in his grade level because of his reading. He could do the rest of the work... math and other subjects wasn't too much of a struggle, except for the fact he needed constant help reading the basic instructions to complete the paperwork.
Two years ago, we sought out a tutor to work with him to improve his reading skills. It was a very slow process. He was improving, but at an extremely slower pace than the typical peers his age.
Because of him falling behind and realizing he wasn't where he should be, He was so frustrated with himself and his inability to read proficiently. Reading was a constant struggle/battle for us both. He would get aggravated at himself and act out in frustration and then, I would get on him for his attitude... it was a never ending cycle.
I was so afraid he had a learning disability or something.... ( no shame whatsoever to anyone who is in that situation, but I was just at a loss on how to help him overcome these struggles) I was not sure how to go about teaching him in a way he could easily grasp.
Like I said this went on for quite a while. I even held him back a grade level in hopes he would get caught up. But nothing we did seemed to help and he just turned 10 in April... I was beginning to really, really worry about him and his future--- if he couldn't get this concept down... (it was solely reading. He seemed completely normal in all other areas of learning and activity)
BUT GOD....
The Lord started really stirring up our home spiritually this past year especially in the early summer months. God really started dealing with my husband and I both about climbing higher in Him. My son's interest in the Lord too began to wax greater as the focus in our home began to really be more toward the Lord-- and he began to start to seek the Lord himself.
He was really wanting to get the Holy Ghost !! In July, we attended Flatwoods Pentecostal Holiness Tabernacle's family camp. He sought the Lord and sought the Lord that week. God really came down and met with him and several times, the Holy Ghost was all over him so strongly that there was no doubt in my mind, that He had filled him, but after praying each time, Asher could still not believe it. He said he just didn't feel like he had gotten it (despite praying, speaking in tongues, and shouting ) -- so we kept encouraging him to keep seeking the Lord until he got what he was looking for...
Around this same time, I think it was the Sunday following that camp, we had a visiting preacher come by the church. He preached simple message about habits. It really touched my husband's heart and he "took it home with us" and that evening, we all sat down and talked about the message we had heard, and how we could apply it to our lives. We tried to identify our individual bad habits that we needed to work on, and what we could do to help us break those unnecessary or unChristlike patterns....after identifying the bad, my husband said he felt like the Lord was dealing with him to start some good habits for our family so we decided that we were going to start praying and reading the Bible together as a family each day.
My son went to pieces the first day we sat down to read when he realized he was gonna have to read out loud when it was his turn to read around the table. He started crying and saying he couldn't read the Bible; it was too hard for him to read! I encouraged him saying we didn't expect perfection and God wanted him to just try.
The first several readings were rough... He limped through his 2 verses of reading each time it came his turn. I had to help him a lot. But gradually over the course of the next few weeks, I noticed his reading began to improve as did his confidence. He began to read harder words with little effort. One day he was doing so well that I looked over and nudged my husband and was like, "can you believe this? Listen to him!! "
Each time we read, he began to improve more and more. We had taken a little summer hiatus from tutoring for a couple weeks during this time. When we returned to tutoring after those couple weeks, his tutor asked me what I had been doing with him... he had jumped an entire grade level in his reading proficiency in just a couple weeks!!!
I was inwardly thanking God for this amazing turnaround. But as I was thanking Him for His amazing works, I was brought back to my own pappaw. My pappaw lived during a very rough time. He was one child among many-- born to a very poor family. Pappaw had to quit school during the third grade to go to work to help provide for his family.
As of result, he never learned to read. He worked hard and did his very best to raise his family with a strong work ethic, but he, himself, never had any formal education and was limited by this glaring disability of illiteracy. When my pappaw got saved, however, God put the burning desire down inside his heart to read the Bible. But, remember? He couldn't read. Still, he was determined so he got some Bible on cassettes and began to listen to the Bible being read to him. While he would listen to the Bible being read to him, he would open up the Bible and try to follow along with the reader. It didn't happen overnight, but gradually as he read and listened, somewhere along the line, the Lord blessed him with the ability to read. He was never a scholar or theologian but what was formerly impossible, had now became possible.
Pappaw was quick to give God the praise for this miracle. In fact, one of His most memorable quotes concerning this amazing turnaround was this----
I got into the Word and let the Word get into me.....
God's Word is Powerful! It is alive! It is the Living breathing Word of God! It will accomplish what it set out to do!!
I began to praise God for being the same, yesterday, today, & forever. What he had done for my pappaw all those years ago, He was doing again for my boy! What modern schooling, programs, curriculum, and methods failed to accomplish, God accomplished. He healed my son! He gave Asher ability that he didn't possess in himself. WOW! What a God we serve... yes, Asher is still on the journey to even better reading proficiency, but the difference that has been made is such a mind blowing miracle.
This kid went from having a full meltdown, full of frustration and self loathing, to now joyfully reading on his own (even to the point of trying to "help" out others read on their turn lol 😂) our God is such an awesome God! 👏🏼 we have been reading the Bible for 4 months now, and each day, there is more and more progress! That is 100% God! To God be the glory!!
But the Lord didn't stop there!! He was still moving and working, both in our home and in our hearts !!!
For those of you that don't already know, my 10 year old, Asher, received the baptism of the Holy Ghost on Friday night, Sept 29th at a Youth Camp in IN. (It was our first year attending that camp but Lord willing, and He tarries, it sure won't be the last.)
It was my son's first year staying in the dorms as well. Leading up to camp, he was both super excited and a little anxious about being on his own in the dorm. I did my best to assure him that he was fully capable of handling such responsibility.
Once we arrived, I was relieved to see how quickly the kids settled in and really began to participate and enjoy themselves, not only outside of the church with friends and in the games and activities, but most importantly, how they responded to the Spirit in the services. From the first service, God was meeting with us in the sanctuary!! 🙌🏼
On Friday morning at the camp, Asher prayed and was speaking in tongues but again, when he was done, I asked him if he felt like he got the Holy Ghost this time.... but He said no…. 😢
Backstory: A few months ago, my dad was sharing with Asher his own personal story of him having trouble believing. My dad said what helped him believe was one night when he was praying and began to speak in tongues, our pastor grabbed a mic and stuck it in his face and said “ listen, church, Bro Tony is speaking in tongues” and that was the little push that helped Dad cross over into belief!
So later, Friday afternoon, Asher and I were talking about him getting the Holy Ghost (he had been saying before camp that he was going to that Yourh Camp to get the Holy Ghost)-- so, I asked him what he expected to happen when he got the Holy Ghost. I explained nothing more was needed than what he had already experienced. (I wanted to make sure he understood what actually happened when you get the Holy Ghost ) --he said he didn’t really know but he didn’t feel like he had got it yet, but he would know when he did. (I definitely didn’t want to “talk” him into it, he needed to know for himself without any persuasion)
Earlier in the conversation, he had said he didn’t want to say he got it when he wasn’t sure— he didn’t want to lie) I definitely didn't want to influence him in any way to say he got it when he himself wasn't sure or completely satisfied-- but I did ask him what might help him fully believe— he said, “ I honestly don’t know, Mom. Maybe if someone would stick a mic in my face like they did for Grampa. It might help me believe it was for real! )
Well, Friday night… he got in there and got to praying again. The Holy Ghost fell in such a mighty way. Bro Rocky Kirk grabbed a mic and stuck in his face and said this boy’s got it! And Asher started crying and screaming-- I got it ! And when he said that….The Holy Ghost fell on him — he started speaking in tongues like completely loosed! 😭🙌🏼
He shouted and prayed forever!
Then he told me later that he had always liked that song “ you should’ve been there when I prayed through, church was on fire, and the Holy Ghost too. From the top of my head, to the soles of my feet, felt the Spirit moving all over me” — and he had asked the Lord that the night he got the Holy Ghost, if they would sing that song. (Because he wanted to sing it for himself with firsthand experience )
So after praying and shouting and speaking tongues, for long time, he jumped on the platform and grabbed a mic and started singing it from his heart, and the Holy Ghost just fell on him again, he took off again.
Those of you who know my son, Asher, know… he’s usually kind of backward and quiet and to see him just break loose like that was amazing.
Then he started laying hands on people. It was kinda funny… you know how it is when the Spirit gets on you and you just don’t know what to do. Lol 😂
Definitely a high watermark for Asher spiritually
One of those experiences that he will be able to look back on for years as his own "personal story of glory".
This mama’s heart is still overflowing ! There isn’t anything like seeing God touch your children!
There isn’t anything worth trading this sweet Spirit for! God is so awesome! So glad He is still saving, filling, calling, and healing !! You can trust Him with your kids.... He loves them more than we do! If we will get those babies to Jesus, He will do a work in them too!!
Just a Thankful Mama,
-Tiphanie ❤️