

It's always great to reflect upon God's blessings on our lives at Thanksgiving ... although we truly should be thankful each and every day. For 2006, we had a bit extra for which to be thankful in our ministry.
Brenda, my sister and partner in this ministry, has suffered since 1983 with major allergies. Although she has several triggers, her top indoor allergy is cigarette smoke; her top outdoor, ragweed. While she can, for the most part, control the inner trigger, ragweed blooms in late summer and doesn't die out until the first hard frost (in Ohio, that means from August until mid to late October). When first diagnosed, her ragweed sensitivity was off the chart; even after 20+ years of allergy shots, her ragweed sensitivity is still in the "high" range.
Because of her allergies, her home and car a/c run from April through October ... and she about freezes me out in the van and hotels while traveling. But, we've found simple solutions and things have worked well in that regard. But outdoor summer concerts can really be a struggle for her. In fact, an outdoor concert actually triggered allergy-induced asthma for her. So she deals with both!
In late July, we joined the COUNTRY GOSPEL MUSIC ASSOCIATION and went to their Eastern USA Convention in late August. They not only hold evening concerts, but also morning worship services. During the Friday morning worship service, Brenda received prayer for her asthma. Since that time, she has not used her inhaler ~ which she normally uses two to three times daily during peak ragweed season.
In late October, we were at the CGMA's International Conference in Branson. After one of the morning worship services, a guy came to her and said the Lord wanted him to pray for Brenda for her sinuses. He did and she immediately began doing something she hadn't done in eight years ~ breathing through her nose! While pregnant with her daughter in 1998, she began using nasal spray for relief since she couldn't take her normal medication ... and she became addicted to the spray. She was constantly
spraying her nose, although she was trying to ween herself slowly by diluting it with saline. Once again, God provided her with a miracle.
I just want to encourage each of you to be thankful for things that may even be tough your life. One day, you may find that God is ready to give you the miracle you need.
In HIS Service,
Donna Strong
HEARTS OF FAITH
CGMA 2006 Eastern USA
"Acapella Artist of the Year" &
"Duo of the Year"
http://www.hearts-of-faith.com
LATEST RELEASE: "Mercy's Gift"
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