An Open Letter To My Readers

I wanted to share some of the odd things that have gone through my mind lately, some things I've learned and some of the personal experiences I've had in the last few weeks....

A donut shop is a donut shop, regardless of what your partner tells you about how great the doughnut place is that he found. Donuts are sweet and some are a little better than others, but there’s only so much you can do with a doughnut. We’re not talking about gourmet cuisine. We’re talking about doughnuts.

I worked with a woman who hands the size of a six year old girl. She wears extra-small gloves when she can find them. I prayed with her for carpal tunnel syndrome, she felt some tingling when I did, but when I ran into her a few days later, she was still experiencing some symptoms. My plan? Wait for the next opportunity to pray with her and teach her how to keep it.

You can pray with faith for a condition that you’ve seen healed a hundred times and still not see any changes in them. But It doesn’t mean you don’t have faith and it doesn’t mean they weren’t healed. It just means they didn’t feel anything happening at the time.

God likes the fact that I'm content to work as a paramedic. He doesn't expect more of me at this time in my life. I find that comforting.

Staying out of deception comes by trusting others more than you trust yourself. This is easier said than done. First you have to care about whether or not you’re being deceived and that means entertaining the possibility that you might be wrong. Then you must believe it’s possible for someone to have more accurate discernment than you do. Such a person must have the guts to confront you and you must have the humility to allow God to reveal your own blindness. Since these things are not likely to occur with regularity – I believe most of us (myself included) are deceived rather often.

When my daughter is gone, I miss her a lot more than I realized.

I received a compliment from a man this week, who doesn't agree with everything I write, but he respects me because he says I'm "balanced". That was a helpful observation. I don't actually try to be balanced, I just write about what I see, experience and what I get from the Holy Spirit and the bible. It's a mix of different sources and it seems to be appreciated by some people.

I’ve always wanted to have a partner who was fluent in Spanish. Now I have one. He took a week off and things weren't the same. I missed him. And now it looks like he might be moving to a different unit. The only constant is change. The only exception is God.

I went to Walmart to get oil and and oil filter for my car. As I entered the store I was met by at least 4 people with obvious injuries and disabilities. I hesitated, but kept going to the automotive section and got the things I needed. I left without praying for anyone. Ins my heart, I wanted to lay hands on all of them. Heck, I could have been there all afternoon - there were so many people in the store that day who could have been healed. But it was one of those days when I just wanted to get back home and take care of things I wanted to get done.

The fact that a patient is small (say, 6 months old) is no reason to be afraid when you’re in the ambulance with them.

More people should take advantage of golfing early in the morning instead of waiting till later in the day when the course is crowded.

I prayed with a young man in sickle cell crisis. His main complaint was back pain. The more I prayed, the more his pain decreased. It was the first time I remember praying for sickle cell anemia.

Arizona has a lot of cool birds. They make enough noise that you can hear them inside the hospital. If you spend a few minutes outside listening to them instead of your fears and worries, you might not be so stressed out.

I prayed with a 68 year old man who was one of the healthiest men of his age that I've ever seen. No heart problems, no diabetes, no high blood pressure or cancer, no chronic health problems to speak of and he took no medications. The only problem was, he had two bad shoulders and bad knee. I told his about the dreams I've had about healing and asked if I could pray with him. He said "yes". As I prayed over his left shoulder it began to feel warm. So warm that I could feel the heat with my hand. I prayed over the other one and his knee. I'm pretty sure he was glad that I asked.

Using a propane torch is a quick way to rid your yard of weeds.

I've been feeling a bit 'left out' lately. While a lot of my pals are going around the country teaching people about healing. I'm sitting in my ambulance cat-napping between calls and being a dad and husband. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad jealous. I received some wonderful comfort from Corma Holmes, who heard God tell her about how I was feeling. She sent me a message and encouraged me and somehow she knew exactly what I was going through. My wife has also been a great encourager, reminding me that God has a special way of using me to reach people. I'm OK with that.

It's important to find the right person to come alongside of if you plan to impact their life for the kingdom of God. While there are hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people you might potentially influence, there are very few you will actually reach in a significant way. I've had a number of partners recently - even a few believers, but not one of them has expressed any interest in learning more about healing or the kingdom of God from me. I'm still looking for "the person of peace." I'll write a separate message on "the person of peace" in a few days.

I like where I'm at. It's been over 20 years since I had a doctor ride in the ambulance with me. I've had two doctors ride with me this week. In both cases we transported a critically ill patient from a clinic to a hospital. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited.

I've been having dreams about doing things with people in Scottsdale, Arizona; a place I visit often on duty and it happens to be the city where those doctors have been riding with me to the hospital. God is up to something...not exactly sure what it is yet.

I've been losing my business cards at different places in the Phoenix area. Mostly at hospitals. If you happen to have found one, let me know. You can keep the card, but I'd love to talk with you. My e-mail address is at the top of the page. You can also find me on Facebook or Twitter.

I prayed with a sweet boy of four years old who has asthma and RSV. I talked with his mother about healing. Sowing seeds....

I love the warm, sunny winter weather in Phoenix. I've decided that the 4 months of hellishly hot temps in the summer are worth it, to have 60's and 70's from November through March.

I have no plans to stop blogging. I only wish I had more time to write, because I'd write a lot more if I could. If you're worried about me pulling the plug....don't worry. I'm planning to be around for a long time.

I've been thinking about writing an article for JEMS magazine about healing and EMS. They're always looking for new, fresh ideas. They like to inform their readers about current trends in medicine. I doubt that anyone else is going to write about healing in the ambulance. So I guess it's up to me.

I had a dream about people being removed from the earth, one at a time by God. It was like what he did with Enoch. He found people who loved Him so much and He just took them up into heaven, but not in large numbers. It happened one at a time. I'll write a note about it and post it on Facebook for discussion.

I've also had dreams where God has been talking about eating healthier and exercising. It's personal. But if might be a good word for you, too. I like the junk food at the hospitals, but I need to lose some weight and get in shape.

The last thing I need is to end up in the hospital or worse, in the back of someone's ambulance.

- 'till next time

p.s. - I've decided to purchase uniform shorts for the summer. But don't get your hopes up. I don't plan on taking pictures ;)