The GIFT

So, it was 1978. The LORD had  guided me to help a young mother and her sister through some tuff times for them. The Husband of the sister worked in a chemical company that produced famous brand Shampoos and Body lotions and the like.

A few miracles had taken place while we all walked a very difficult road together for a season and The husband wanted to do something for me to repay their gratitude. How silly I thought, I hadn't done anything but pray for them and help them through a hard few years.. The husband and his wife had come to my attention through her sister and we all experienced the GRACE of GOD in miraculous ways together over a four year period. It all had nothing whatsoever to do with me. It was the LORD who blessed us all! I was just the blessed human who experienced the miracles along side these folks.

The husband would not take no for an answer from me! He kept offering me money, gifts, and the like, to repay me for my kindness.  I kept turning him down, firmly no! No favor I pleaded, PLEASE, stop!

He was so determined to do something for me, thinking I deserved it somehow. He was really very sweet, and thankful.

So being that he worked in management for a major chemical company he choose to do something for us in a practical manner. He drove by my home very early one day and left two, one gallon bottles of the company's most famous shampoo and conditioner on the door step.  I was passing the front window that morning and I saw something go by the house,  and looked quickly out the window as he dropped off "something". I then watched him get into his car, close the door, and then Drive away,  I got up from the kitchen table and went to the door wondering what had just happened here? I saw the two gallon jugs sitting there on the bricks with a note and curly colored confetti attached to them. The note read "please except SOMETHING for our gratitude", we love you! After I read the note, I laughed and said to myself, "well now this is a great gift", we can surly all use this! 

With that I closed the door and went into the house and put the shampoo and conditioner in the shower and didn't think of it again!

It just left my thoughts.

We used the "gift" every night with every shower, my husband and my two boys and myself. I marveled at how having a gallon of this stuff really made a difference as it seemed to never run out.

I thought to myself, from now on, I'm always buying in this bulk size!  It lasts forever! And again I forgot about it.

Life went on and showers happened every night!

A year later I was at the store and I was going over my grocery list. I thought to myself, gee, I'm so sick of that gallon of shampoo, perhaps I should get something new? I was sick of looking at the big jug on the shelf in the bathroom! But then I thought, "well, it's more frugal to wait until it runs out I guess, were not millionaires, I won't spend the grocery money on shampoo if I still have some left, It does smell really good and heck, we have hardly used any of the conditioner"!

So with that I again just forgot about it.

A year later, YES, a year later, I looked at that large jug of shampoo and conditioner and said, "HEY, wait a minute here, this is still half full"! "How can that be"? "What's going on here"? I asked my boys and husband if they remembered the kind husband two years ago that dropped this off to us as a gift? They all said, "yes", I said, hey guy's, that was two years ago! We still have shampoo and conditioner left! This is a miracle! There is no other way to explain it. My oldest son Jason said "Mom, I use that every night" I said as do I, and I use it on your brother, and my husband said I have also only used that stuff! We all sat there quietly for a moment and then just burst into laughter! Why? Shampoo? Really?

YES, really! It was an anointed gift. GOD showed us great favor.

We to this day still talk about the miraculous shampoo incident.

Miracles happen every day, we don't always recognize them but none the less they happen!

I'm grateful, very grateful to see how GOD cares for us in ways we would never expect!

It's hard to believe I just forgot about it over and over for two years. I wonder if the LORD allowed me to "Not recall" how long we were using the "gift" so we would experience that wonderful moment together?

Truth my friend is always stranger than fiction!

A Battle Won

So, it was the summer of 1977. I was in my first home in Florida .
I had been praying and asking the LORD to speak to me as how I could serve HIM.  I was the Mother of two young boys which was a full time job and yet I wanted to do more, If I could.

I had been helping a young mother and her 3 children rehabilitate their lives and finally there was relief after a year, so I felt I was ready for what was next to come.

While speaking that day with Hilary, (the woman I was helping with her children) she shared, she had a sister that was pregnant from a one night stand a few months earlier with a co-worker, and was heading off to an abortion clinic the next day to terminate the baby. Hilary knew I didn't believe in abortions. 

When I heard of this I asked her to please let me speak to her sister before she went for the abortion! She said her sister was the sort of girl who was very head strong and she didn't think she would welcome me or my thoughts. I said OK, but just let me try, Please!

She called her sister, Jennifer, and said she had someone who had been helping her and her kids for the last year, and wondered if she would allow her friend "Teri" to talk to her. Jennifer said,

"no way, I don't need anybody or their pressures on me now at this time"!

She told Hilary she wanted to end the pregnancy and get on with her life. She said this was just a momentary set back, embarrassing and unwanted, it was just unfortunate and she was going to ask the "one night stand guy at work, Brian", to help with the money for the abortion. 

Hilary asked her to "just come and pick me up at Teri's" the next day so she could go with her to get the abortion. Hilary was still staying in my home at that time with her 3 children, so she gave Jennifer my address and said she would see her in the morning.
I was babysitting Hilary's girls for her as they went to the clinic together.

The next day when Jennifer arrived to pick up Hilary, Hilary waited for Jennifer to come to the door. I had asked her to do this so I could meet Jennifer and possibly speak with her.
I was committed to helping her change her mind about the abortion!

The plan worked, and Jennifer made her way to the front door.

I asked her in and told her Hilary was getting ready.

As I spoke to Jennifer alone, I felt the LORD say to me audibly and very clearly, "help her change her mind". With that I knew now what I needed to do. I spoke to Jennifer and told her that I was willing to pay for all hospital and doctor bills for the birth of this baby and also allow her to move into my home so I could help her save money to begin her new life once the baby was born, no strings attached, she could move on with her life, and keep all her money! I also told her I would fully support her, food, clothes and all as well as find a home for her baby if she did not want it.

Jennifer thanked me and said she didn't think so. I could see her tears, but she was determined to abort. She said she didn't want to be a mother! She had spoken to "Brian" and he was going to give her the money for the abortion. He agreed he didn't want anyone to know about the baby at work and he was willing to help her "deal with it".  He was meeting them at the clinic later to pay for the surgery.

With that, Jennifer and Hilary walked out the door and headed to the clinic.

I fell on my face before the LORD as soon as I closed the front door, and cried out to GOD! I said "LORD, hear me now! I did all I could for that child, everything humanly possible to save it, but I ask again to change her mind, just miraculously change her mind"! It was no small prayer"! I was shocked that as I cried out I felt this was a baby boy I was fighting for! Being the Mother of two young boys I could not bear the thought of murdering a baby boy!

I knew Jennifer was desperate, I understood her pain, but still I wanted to change her thinking. I was not judging her, I only wanted to save the life of this child!
 

That night, Jennifer and Hilary ended up back at my home. Jennifer had not had the abortion! She said my offer caused her to rethink the whole thing! She said someone at the clinic showed her what abortion looked like in a pamphlet, and it scared her!  So, she moved into my back bedroom in my small home and we were on! She had some Insurance from work we found she could utilize for a pregnancy. This was a huge blessing for me! I thought I was going to have to put a second mortgage on my home!  She remained with me for three months. Brian, "the one night stand" from work, began changing his mind about Jennifer the longer she was pregnant with his child and they actually started dating! That was a shock! Jennifer and I began praying together every day. He asked her to move into his apartment with him, and she gladly accepted this!

WOW, now she was 6 months pregnant, and there was talk of marriage! I was so blessed I could only shout "Thank GOD" over and over again. This was the MIRACLE I had hoped for!

The rest of the story is so beautiful, three months later Jennifer and Brian welcomed a new baby BOY, they named Bradley, into their lives. I still cry when I think of what might have happened to him!

I am so grateful, I went out on a limb for Bradley and GOD showed me PRAYER works!

There is so many more miraculous things that happened in this story but this is all I will share here.

Truth is stranger than fiction, and believe me,

Prayer does really work! 



The Ticket

So, it was 2104 and we (My fiance and I) were on vacation heading from Florida to North Carolina.

We were going to do interviews of a few people in Pensacola FL on our way as well as in Georgia. This was going to be an expensive trip. There were many stops planned along the way and we were very excited.

We stayed in wonderful bed and breakfast haunts as well as wonderful areas where we knew many oddities had happened.

We were having such a wonderful time.

We had completed our week in Pensacola and went on to Georgia. We had such a marvelous time there interviewing and photographing our person of interest we stayed longer than we probably should have! I kept thinking, wow this is costing us a fortune, but we were elated at all the information we were gleaning!

So after a few days we finally packed up our gear and headed to North Carolina.

 

I wanted to visit the grave of my Mother so badly as I hadn't been there in a few years. I was really missing her that year. So much more than most other years.

Grave sites are so interesting. I know the loved one is not there, but a remnant of the flesh that I had loved so was all that was really there. Yet, it always amazes me as we sit and meditate in these areas where our loved ones who have passed once lived, we feel a connection to them. Their home turf if you will. Those things that were dear to them. The sights, sounds and smells of where they had chosen in this life to make home.

So as I sat in the very cold Carolina winter sun at the site of the mausoleum where my Mother is buried, I reflected on all things I held dear in her remembrance. Hours had passed.

It was starting to really get cold and uncomfortable as the wind was whipping up on the high mountain area she is buried on. My ears were freezing, I said my goodbyes quickly wondering when I would come this way again? I was pretty sad for the most part but I knew she was always with me, so I smiled and pondered the whole visit for a moment and then we headed off to the city to get a warm cup of coffee.

We also needed gas, so we stopped at one of my Mom's favorite haunts. The infamous "Hot Spot" in the center of Franklin. It's nothing special, but for those who live so far from the big cities these little stores are a regular happening. She always stopped there with me to get her gas when I visited her. She said they had pretty good prices all the time and great coffee.

I went inside remembering her being there with me only a few years before. I got my  extra large hot coffee and decided to sit on their tables where many local workers would have their lunch breaks inside the store.

It was a pretty busy day in the little store and I heard people saying we would be getting snow later on in the evening. I could see Kevin pumping the gas outside. It was a fun memory. He was waving at me!

It was then as I waved back at Kevin and I turned and watched all the chatter and goings on in the store that I clearly heard my Mothers voice say, "go ahead Ter, get yourself a lottery ticket for fun". I laughed out loud as this was comical to me. I'm so frugal, I never purchase lottery scratch offs or the lottery tickets EVER!

But it was so clearly her voice. I thought to myself, "that's just nuts" that was clearly her voice!

But "Why" would I do that I thought, I never get those things? So , as if led by the fun of the thought, I got up and walked over to the counter and asked to purchase a lottery scratch off ticket, I thought, what the heck, why not?

So I did.

I was shocked as I scratched this ticket to find I just won $100.00 dollars! I screamed for Kevin as he was walking in the store to get his coffee and said to him, "please look at this, my Mom told me to buy a ticket, so I did and look at this thing, I think I won $100.00 dollars".  

He looked at it, laughed, and then I showed it to the clerk. She immediately shelled out my $100.00 to me.

I was dumbfounded! I never win anything as I never gamble! I never buy those silly scratch offs, but when Mom said, go ahead Ter, I knew if I ever was going to do it, it would be then! I was so happy! Here we're on the second week of vacation and we really needed that extra cash.

I smiled as I sat down to finish my coffee and thanked my Mom for the "Tip off".

That was just like her too! She always wanted me to have "enough"

and once again from beyond the veil she was keeping herself real to me!

Truth is always stranger than fiction and this truth is no exception.

 

The Gift of Tenacity

So, it was 1970. My boyfriend and I were going downtown St. Petersburg, FL to get some papers he needed from Tomlinson adult education center in the Mirror Lake area of St. Pete. He had just purchased a new motorcycle and we were so excited to drive it down town.  It was around 11:00 am, a bright and very hot summer day in July. We pulled up in front of the school parking area, he parked his motorcycle in one of the spots for bikes and we headed into the office to pick up his paperwork.

As we did, I had a strange feeling come over me. Like something was about to happen. I laughed at the thought of me thinking this way and simply literally laughed it off.

We were both in the Tomlinson office for around a half hour or so. We got his paperwork settled and were relived to be heading out the front door so quickly. We walked over to the area where he had parked the bike and it wasn't there? It was simply gone?

 

We stood there for a moment, just looking at each other. My boyfriend said he was so upset! He hadn't even made two payments on the bike and it was stolen! He was very distraught. I was shocked to see him this way. It hurt to see someone you cared so much for to be so upset and helpless. I remembered feeling strange before going into the office and having laughed it off as if it were nothing. This made me mad, why didn't I question that feeling? What had I missed here? Why was this happening to such a great guy? Oh, and it began to set in that, hey, we were walking 7 miles home at this point!

That didn't sit well with either of us.

 I suggested he call the police and make a report, so we went back into the office where we had just been and he called the police and said he would wait where the bike used to be to make his report to the police. They assured him they would be there in about ten minutes.

We walked back across the street and I felt a very powerful cloaking come over me, as if I were feeling an anointing come on me. It is really hard to put into words. But it was all over me and my hair was standing on end! I was feeling very strong in the spirit!

It was then, all of a sudden I said to my boyfriend, stay here for a moment, and wait for the police I am going to find your bike for you! I was very matter of fact when I said it. It almost shocked me hearing "myself" saying that to him! But somehow I knew I could find it! I just knew it! There was no doubt at all in my mind. I mean NONE! My boyfriend said no, just wait here with me, don't worry, I replied, NO, I'm going to find that bike! I then turned and started walking down the street as if being led by the hand by an unseen powerful presence. I was actually very angry that some creep had done this to my boyfriend! What a horrible thing to do I thought, steal something so valuable from someone! How could some creep do that, we were only gone for a half hour?  I was going for vengeance while I walked towards the buildings in front of me!  I looked in every shop window, I walked around this one two story  apartment building that was right across the street from where we had been. This was it! I just knew this was the place I would find the bike! I prayed, please take me to the bike! Someone led me to the second floor, I knew I was headed in the right direction. It was as if I could smell the dishonest soul that had done this and I was getting closer. Closer still, closer still with every step! It was like nothing I had ever experienced until now. I was focused completely on finding this bike! I walked past more than 10 apartments on the second floor and then...BINGO... the screen door was open to one of the apartments and inside was a very young and I must say, actually very good looking young man  (this shocked me as I had an ugly creep in mind) sitting on the floor of his apartment living room disassembling  my boyfriends motorcycle! He was right there, he had looked up at me as I passed the door just briefly,  I was shocked, there he was, there was the bike! I had found him right there in his apartment living room. I was elated! I had been led right to the very spot I wanted to be! I walked past the door and then stopped once out of his view. After seeing the bike in that room with this young man, I knew I had found the stolen bike! I asked the Lord, what do I do now? Here it is, here I am, I thought and before I even heard back from the Lord,  and with my heart pounding in my chest, I walked back past the door and looked in and said to the man very calmly,  "hey", that's a nice looking bike, why are you disassembling it, as I smiled and acted very flirty? He rose from the floor and said after looking quite shocked,  "I need to get some new parts for it", and he looked at me rather strangely. I asked him if  he would mind if I could come in and use his phone? (where that came from I have no idea?) He said "sure", come on in. We both smiled at each other as he opened the screen door and pointed to the phone on the counter in this very tiny little room. I acted as if I was calling someone and said, gee, the numbers busy, but thanks for letting me use your phone, I then had a sense of almost fear come over me, and knew I had to get out of the apartment immediately, I knew he was very suspicious of me and I could see he was holding a very large craftsman tool in his hand! I smiled at the man very kindly and said, "Thanks, have a good day", maybe I'll see ya around again some time? He smiled at me, but I also noticed a strange look in his eye, like he was beginning to really question this whole interaction so I quickly walked straight to the screen door and headed out to the hallway. Once out the door I made haste to go back downstairs and find my boyfriend!

The police were with him and I said, "I found the bike"! My boyfriend smiled and said, "you're kidding", I said "no", I'm not, so I told the police exactly where to find the bike and they went and handcuffed the young man and that was it! The bike was not ride able so we took the bus home. But I was elated that we were able to locate the bike and get it back. I was so grateful for the tenacious spirit that walked me to the site of the stolen bike!

I never thought twice about not looking for that bike that day, and I had a certain knowing that I would find the bike. It's very interesting to me how the spirit world works. GOD gives us a knowing, we can have complete confidence in HIM when the anointing comes over us, regardless if we feel qualified or not!

Isn't HE good! I will always treasure that day. That was the day that the LORD gave me the gift of tenacity.

I treasure it with all my heart!

 

The Dream Before The Deliverance

 So, I never knew anything really about how the dream world works in the spirit realm, when someone is possessed or has an attachment or a familiar spirit hanging around. But in 1973 I embarked on a very strange calling. It was not my desire for this gift, but non the less the gift came to me. I was clearly chosen for it. I received it from the LORD.

The way this gift has always worked with me for Deliverances, possessions, exorcisms.  oppressions, cleansings as well as clearings and the like, is that I will go to bed just like I always do every night.

Then, while in the night I will have an extremely vivid dream.  A very clear dream. Sometimes seeing a certain room or the color of the walls or drapes, recognizing a place, or I will hear a mother speaking to her child. Hear a name or see a certain person. The dream is always clear in some way to me.  Leaving me  certain memories to hold onto once I awake.

 "Someone" in the dream is usually fighting a fight they are not able to win, or in some form of battle they are weary from. Fighting an unseen entity. They are also sometimes just crying or complaining to me in the dream of their defeat over an enemy or entity which they cannot get free of on their own. I will watch this scenario in the dream for a few moments and begin to see the powerful entity they are fighting or upset about. 

The entity is always large and in charge of the person. Having full control. The dream will usually start with a person or persons whom I do not know. I will have a "Feeling" in the dream that this person needs my help to be free from something attacking them that they cannot deal with any longer. 

 They want to be free of it finally. 

I immediately take the issue on in the dream and protect the person in the dream by instructing them to leave the area so I can now take over the fight. It is then that I see the entity more clearly. It is never an easy thing to see it.

It is as if I am a warrior in the dream for the poor soul who could not handle the battle, I know I am to "take it over from here". 

 I feel the Aura of the LORD anoint me! It's very powerful! I feel much more powerful than that person who was losing the battle. I know I will win this battle against this entity I face now before me. There is never any doubt of this. I assess the situation and then go to the LORD  in the Spirit for HIS instruction. "Like saying, How do you want me to handle this spirit, or demon or entity"? 

 I will feel the answer immediately. I will know how to proceed. I then begin the battle in the spiritual realm. It is always a very strong enemy I fight. The enemy or entity is an enemy of my very soul, as well as the soul of the person they were fighting. I know which type of entity I am fighting as they always reveal themselves in the battle against me. I don't want to know who they are, I just happen to know it. I am always amazed at how easy it is to fight them, but yet it is usually a long, strange process. 

The gift of tenacity is strong with me while fighting, as this battle can and sometimes will last all night long. I do not relent! I am committed to win at any cost. The enemy is always weakened eventually and the victory is the LORDs, and finally mine. It can get very hard at times, and it certainly can take a lot out of me. I often wake up the next day exhausted. Like I didn't even sleep at all, and then throughout the day, I find myself tired and a bit lazy. I need to recharge myself. It effects me for at least one full day.
 Once awake from the dream  the next day or within a few days, or sometimes hours, I will get a phone call from someone who will be "that person" I just fought for all night long. 

It is so rewarding to know I did not stay up all night fighting in vain!
 

Yes, that is how it has always happened and still to this day does!

The fight FIRST in the spiritual realm, then, the phone call in the physical realm!

I am always careful to mention these fights to my husband or son right away as I wake, as I want verification once the call comes to me. This validation process is very important.

It never fails to come.

 

I remember being aided by Holy angels a time or two while in the spiritual battle. 

These entities or demons I fight are "strong men" or strong "leader type demons" I fight. Once in a while these Holy angels come to help me. Sometimes the evil spirits hit harder and stay in my face longer. It is literally a spiritual battle. I pray in the spirit and rebuke and bind these entity's. The effort I use against them is no small fight. Those are the more difficult possessions or attachments. If the Holy angels show up or come I know the battle will be very difficult. I will be up in the spirit all night. Many spirits only last a few minutes, or hours, however. I walk away amazed every time at how many types and strengths there are in the spirit realms. Sometimes it's easy, and sometimes it isn't.
 

The phone calls come from all over the United States. Mostly close to home, but not always. I am always expecting the call once the dream and fight have taken place!

This has happened this way for over 40 years now.

It's no coincidence!

This year for the first time my husband had the dream. I heard him yelling out in his sleep  this week, Monday night. He woke me up two times. I prayed a short prayer that he would get peace and go back to sleep! The next morning he revealed to me he fought a demon all night long, it was very scary he said and difficult. I told him I heard him in the night and prayed for his peace and sleep to come to him.

He said it was very hard to fight this demon and that there were two spirits who were claiming the souls of those he was fighting for. I said you didn't believe the lies of the entity did you? He said no, but it was all very confusing. I asked him to write it all down and remember as much as he could. He did. He said to me, this time the LORD gave me the battle. I replied to him, "GOOD"! We will now wait for the call!

By Wednesday night the phone rang and it was a young couple having a very frightening happening in their apartment. They needed us to come. We agreed, told them we had the dream and were waiting for a call, and we will be there on Saturday.

Isn't GOD good! They are already free from the attack, we know this! The battle has already been fought and won and they will have victory! I gave them instructions on what to do until we get there to stay safe and free from any harm.

"We" look forward to going to finish the fight!

This is a gift given to me and now my husband is having dreams as well. I am so pleased to serve this way. I pray the LORD never retires us from helping those in need!