Home     |     Sitemap     |     Contents CONNECTED AGAIN October 30, 2019 I am connected again to the heart of my heavenly Father. Today, October 30, 2019, John 3:16 became a personal reality. Yes, the meaning of those words came rather late in life at age 86, but praise be to God, they came! For a historic split second I experienced God’s aching heart of love for me, for his children, a world that has gone astray, and a world that has been betrayed. I experienced the enormity of the price He was willing to pay and paid to ransom me and the world out of death’s grip and damnation. His love is now so very real and oh, so very personal! I will never be the same. If I don’t shout and share what happened, I’ll explode. I may even jump out of my skin like Enoch and Elijah did. They got translated. “For God so loved the world that He sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Father/God used our kitchen stove as the sacrificial lamb to make His heart a present and personal reality for a man by the name of Peter. Peter is currently living in Pagosa Springs, Colorado in a log cabin on Lake Pagosa with his wife Rebekah. Peter and Rebekah have been living in that home for the past 42 years. They had no idea that one day their kitchen stove would be used to make the Father’s heart a reality for Peter. Here is what happened that led up to a life-changing encounter as Peter was walking back from the mailbox. The mailbox is a hundred yards from his front door. Maybe three months earlier the front right burner on their stove stopped working. Peter always tries to fix things himself before calling a repairman. Money had never been in abundant supply and if Peter was successful in fixing something, it made him feel like a hero. Sometimes in the process of fixing something, he made matters worse, which he did in this case. This time the fix lasted only a week. The second fix was more successful and lasted longer. Peter tried to get a replacement six-inch burner from Country Charm but they were no longer available through that company. He was routed to the Internet, but could not find the exact burner he needed. He contacted an appliance repair and supply store in Pagosa Springs that found a new burner for him. It turned out, though, that it was not the right model and Peter did not know how to install it. He called Browns Sales and Service who sent one of their employees, a capable appliance technician in his twenties. He had previously repaired their refrigerator and dishwasher. Peter always tries to acquaint folks with Jesus when they walk through the door. After a repairman has done the repairs, he shows them around the house and offers them any of Rebekah’s prints they might like. You can go to this web address to get acquainted with Rebekah’s art: Rebekah's Art Gallery. And if you would like any of the prints, feel free to ask for them. They are yours for the asking as long as any prints are left. Well, things did not go as expected. The replacement burner did not allow the drip pan to be used. Peter asked if Mat, the technician, could make the old burner work. And he did. But it did not work for very long. Peter watched as Mat installed the old burner. Mat was not in a good place that morning. He was in pain and on antibiotics for a tooth infection. He had slept poorly the previous night and was concerned about the expense of a big dental bill. Peter’s heart went out to him. He sensed how fragile and anxious Mat was and wondered if there is something he was to do. There was also a foreboding in Peter’s spirit that “the fix” would not last. In fact, he told Rebekah after Mat left that Mat had used shrink wrap to insulate the positive and negative terminals from arcing. The heat from the burner destroyed the shrink wrap within a few weeks. This caused the terminals to arc and the circuit breaker to the stove to blow. Peter sounded the alarm when that happened on Saturday, October 26. He called and kept on calling Browns Sales and Service. Katie Brown, the assistant manager, did not pick up the phone and Peter had to leave repeated messages on the answering machine. Peter e-mailed letters to Mat and Katie but never got a response. He went to their web site and sounded the alarm with no response. Peter’s sleep was majorly sabotaged. He prayed his heart out without getting any relief. He got up and made himself a cup of hot chocolate. This often helps him to go back to sleep. Peter kept asking Jesus what else he could or should do. The Lord said, “Mat is hurting and fragile but tries not to show it. Be extra kind to Mat when he comes again and give him a copy of your EGO story that has a picture of the stove on it. Put a fifty dollar bill in the envelope and tell him the money is to help with his dental bill.” “Lord,” Peter queried, “Is there anything else you want me do to alert Browns Sales and Service that we urgently need their help?” It was hard for Rebekah to prepare meals without her Country Charm stove. He said, “Write them a snail-mail letter and put it in the letter box up the street.” And that is what Peter did; and that’s when the miracle happened. On the way back to the house the Holy Spirit came upon Peter and revealed to him what Father/God wanted him to know, learn and experience. The Holy Spirit spoke to Peter in a very gentle and clear way. “Peter, your heavenly Father has given you a taste of how He feels when His children do not answer the phone, ignore His Word and are lost in worldly pursuits. Like you tried to repeatedly reach Browns Sales and Service, He keeps trying to reach his children through different means. Some means are gentle, others are thunderous. He tries to reach his children until they take their very last breath. He did with the two thieves on the cross next to Jesus.” God wanted Peter to experience his Father’s tenacious and sacrificial love; and now he has. Peter will never be the same. He has experienced not only his Father’s tenacious love, but also the pain of rejection when we ignore His repeated phone calls, place Jesus on the backburner of our lives and break our promises to Him. Yes, God loves us so much that he gives and gives until there is nothing left to give. And He hopes we will do the same. The stove is not healed yet. Mat has not stopped by to fix the stove and pick up his envelope. That’s OK. What matters is that Peter’s heart has been healed. Peter is willing and more able to wait without fussing, fuming and complaining. Peter has gotten acquainted with the heart of his Father and the pain we inflict on His heart when we reject or ignore the priceless gift of His only Son Jesus. That was the purpose of this strenuous exercise. God used a kitchen stove as the sacrificial lamb to make His love real and personal for Peter. Lord, please let this story trigger a deeper revelation of the Father’s heart in the reader. God planned way ahead. Years ago we bought a two-burner camp stove for an emergency. It uses propane. We have never had an occasion to use it until now. The camp stove is now in our kitchen. It is sitting on top of our Country Charm stove. It works perfectly. It no longer matters if or when the stove gets fixed. God is good. God is good all the time. He knows what He is doing and yes, He is doing it to bring us home to his heart. See you at the Lord’s banqueting table. We want to hear your story. We want you to hear ours. All who sit at that table will have a story they will be eager to tell about God’s amazing grace – how He recycled our trash into treasures, our pain into pearls. November 17 –Friend Barbara writes: Dear Peter and Rebekah, Your letter touched my heart. I love the story about the attempt to repair Rebekah's stove. And I love the photos of the camp stove. What fun! Many times the challenges of life turn into testimonies where God gets the glory. I want to share something with you this evening. We have just experienced something here that has changed my life forever, and the lives of Richard, and grandsons Skye (13) and Chandler (17). We will never be the same. Last night about 9:30, we heard a pickup truck with its engine loud and revved, speeding by our house. We are just one lot from a dead end where our street intersects with another road. The boys and I were visiting in the living room. We heard 2 loud noises that sounded like a vehicle backfiring or even a big gun. Chandler got up and went cautiously out the front door. I asked him not to go outside because I thought someone might be shooting. He said, "Grandma, I have to go see if someone needs help. I promise to stay safe." A minute later he called and excitedly said to send Grandpa. A man had hit a tree and was in bad shape. He had called 911. Richard and Skye went while I called 911 again because I wasn't sure if Chandler had said he did. I followed on foot. Richard had taken his truck so they would have light on the truck. The 27 year old young man had flown though the intersection, hitting a couple of signs and fence, and crashed into a tree. I didn't cross into the pasture where he was but stood in front of our truck and prayed out loud over and over. Richard said Chandler kept trying to comfort the man, telling him to hang on that help was on the way. Two fire trucks, police, and ambulance EMTs came. A car load of the man's family members arrived and walked past me. I reached out to try and stop the sobbing sister. They had to extract the man with jaws of life. When they left in the ambulance with the man, the family came back by me. I reached out to them and asked if they were ok. Two of them grabbed me and hugged. I told them I had been praying out loud for healing and for him to live and would continue praying for them all. I knew in my heart that alcohol was involved, that he was angry and on a suicide mission. I have been grieving ever since, thinking how no one should drive by my house and not be introduced to Jesus. No one should drive by my house and feel unloved and alone, that suicide is their only option. I kept seeing in the spirit that one man would come back to our house. Today, that man came and knocked on our door. He said, "Are you the lady from last night?". He wanted to tell me that his nephew died 5 minutes after they left in the ambulance. He said his nephew had no wife or kids, that he'd been drinking heavily all day, that he'd gotten angry, and they believed he did it on purpose. Richard, Chandler, and I prayed individually with him. I told him that any of them were welcome to come see us any time for prayer or to talk. I am so sad for this young man who may not have known Jesus was the answer. I am propelled to be bolder. And I am asking what I can do in front of my house that will witness to anyone driving by. Everyone who drives by my house should be introduced to the love of God. John 3:16. This sign is now displayed at the head of the driveway at 965 Cloud Cap Avenue, Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Feel free to adopt the sign for your front yard. Sitemap    |    E-mail Us    |    Contents All writings by Peter, the Lord's Scribe and Storyteller and all paintings by Rebekah, the Lord's artist are copyright free.