Tag: God Stories

The Desperate Prayer: What if I Didn’t Praise God in the Storm?

This article has been updated and is an adaptation from a chapter in 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This unique book was written by Lacy Ngo, a dietitian nationally recognized as a top expert in faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition. She shares the exact steps that, based on science, produce the most dramatic health and weight loss success in her book, 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This book is like nothing you have ever seen before. It combines faith and science. Both are crucial when it comes to producing real change because real change involves the mind, body, and spirit. 

18 weeks to a healthier, happier, more purposeful life cover

Before the Desperate Prayer

“I love you, God….”were the words that randomly pop in my head…except replace the word love with hate and you get what I actually thought. I still can’t bring myself to write it out. I never said those terrible words out loud. Even the thoughts I controlled were things like, “I love you, I trust you” and any other words I thought would “convince” God to heal my 8 year old son. I thought perhaps I could say the “right” things to MAKE God listen and intervene. We are suppose to praise God in the storm, right? But what happens if one day, you don’t praise God in the storm? This is a true story about a time when I prayed a desperate prayer, and how God answered.

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The Desperate Prayer

“I am So Sorry for My Thoughts, God”

I was eating breakfast that day those awful thoughts swiftly and briefly passed through my head. As soon as those words ran through in my head, I immediately panicked and said, “I didn’t mean that, and I am so sorry God. I DO love you.” And I was telling the truth. I did truly love God. In fact, I loved God so much that it hurt. In truth, I would not have been so upset with God if I didn’t love God soooo much. You know, we get more upset when we feel like the ones we love have abandoned us. I don’t feel nearly as hurt when a stranger does something I dislike, but when a loved one disappoints me…it’s painful.

Basically, I was being a child and having a temper tantrum with my parent. If you are a parent, you have probably heard at least one of your children say, “I hate you.” I know I have heard it a couple of times. When my kids have yelled these words at me, I always knew they loved me. I knew that what my child was really saying was,  ‘I am angry and in pain.’ Although I will never stop feeling guilty for thinking those words, I know that in reality I was literally a child lashing out at my parent.

More Thoughts Ran Through My Head…

Quite honestly, those thoughts in my head scared me. I started thinking, “I really don’t want to make God cross with me so I better make sure I am saying pleasing things. I mean, look at all the pain I’m already going through. What more is God going to do to me now that I had this awful thought?!?!”

Please Heal Him

You see my perfectly healthy son developed a medical condition called Bronchiectasis. We battled this illness for 2 years until the doctors decided it was time to remove a lobe of my son’s lung. This surgery would hopefully cure my son’s bronchiectasis. We had the surgery in August of 2017. September was wonderful. My son played soccer and played like he had never had bronchiectasis.

Then in October, he developed a completely unrelated disease called HSP. HSP or Henoch-Schonlein purpura is a disease involving inflammation of small blood vessels. The inflammation causes blood vessels in the skin, intestines, kidneys, and joints to start leaking. My son’s hands and feet swelled and they HURT so badly that he needed to ride in a wheel chair to get to the doctor’s office. He also had bruises all over his feet and legs, and he had to get his kidneys checked regularly.

The scariest thing for me is that this disease could last for as little as 8 weeks to as long as several YEARS, and could potentially cause permanent damage. I just felt like I couldn’t take ANOTHER several years of battling yet ANOTHER condition. My son had just gotten through one, 2 year battle, now he has to go through another?!?! Why is this happening again, I thought?!?!

What Am I Doing Wrong?

It felt like God wanted my son to have a life long condition. It seemed like God was mad at us for trying to get rid of one problem so God gave my son another disease. As if God was saying, ‘Well if you take the bronchiectasis away, then I will just give your son something else.’ I kept thinking, ‘WHAT was I doing wrong? Was God punishing us or attacking my son?’ Yet even as I lacked trust in God, God seemed to never abandon me. I kept having these “goose-bump” experiences that gave me glimmers of hope.

When my son had bronchiectasis, I felt God’s amazing, awe-inspiring love, support and presence. You can read about that awesome experience here.

I Didn’t Put my Trust in God

You would think that I would have had more faith and trust after the bronchiectasis God moment…but I didn’t.

I was so terrified again…and yet again I had another experience that gave me a glimmer of hope.

You see, the day I was so mad during breakfast wasn’t my rock bottom. I was angry, but I still had faith and hope. I still continued to pray for God’s help. It wasn’t until a few days later that I felt like I was losing my ability to cope and function.

The Desperate Prayer

That night I prayed one of the most desperate prayers I had ever prayed. My children had just fallen asleep so I crept into the hallway near them and prayed with desperation and fear. I told God how I was feeling, and I cried, telling God that the pain and stress were just too much. I was not only worried about my son’s physical health, but also his emotional health as well. My son, who had handled the first condition with resilience, had started randomly saying, “I feel sad and I don’t know why.” Well I knew why. Being sick again was taking it’s toll on him.

During this desperate prayer, I talked to God about all of this. I was raw and honest with God about how I was feeling. After I had prayed this fox hole prayer, I went into my son’s room and prayed over him while he slept.

I finally cried myself to sleep…

After the Desperate Prayer

Do you know the next morning my son’s bruises looked even worse! It was Sunday; yet another Sunday we wouldn’t make it to church. We hadn’t been to church in a month because of this painful disease.

By Sunday night, I was a wreck. I was not only angry, but I felt this shift in my faith and not in a good way. Feeling hopeless, I texted my friend. I told her I don’t think asking God for help does anything so I am going to quit asking.

I still loved God, but I didn’t think God was going to help us. Although, I had given up on God for help, God had not given up on me.

God Can Find Ways to Speak to Us

That faithful night I had pleaded to God to listen and answer me, and yet at the same time I didn’t make it easy for God to speak to me. Remember, I hadn’t been to church in a month due to this disease. I also had finished my devotional about 2 months earlier and hadn’t picked out another one yet. In the past, when I was going through something, either a sermon, a devotional or a Bible verse seemed to somehow speak about exactly what I was going through. In other words, when I was actively seeking God, God always seemed to communicate.

But I currently wasn’t reading or listening to anything about God…until that Tuesday.

A Little Background

A while back I had purchased these conversation starter cards as a Christmas present for my children. I always give my children a Christmas present around Thanksgiving. The gift usually has Christmas pjs, a Christmas movie, or Christmas books that the kids can enjoy during the season. I figure, if you wait until Christmas to give these kinds of gifts then they won’t get to enjoy them during the Christmas season.

I planned on putting these conversation cards into this Thanksgiving/Christmas present. One pack was called the The Art of Children’s Conversation and the other set was “The Art of Christian Conversation” starter questions. I love doing children’s devotionals with my family, and we had done similar conversation cards together before.  These cards were able to get my children talking and thinking about how they felt. I write about how these cards started amazing talks with my children in this post.

God Does Listen and Answer Our Desperate Prayers

On Tuesday these Christian conversation cards came in the mail. My son was stuck in bed so I decided to give this Thanksgiving present a little early. We opened the present that Tuesday night. We decided to try one of the Christian conversation cards right away.

The first cards we grabbed said, “Have you ever prayed a foxhole prayer like the one Jonah prayed in Jonah 2:1?”

Although I had heard the term before, I decided to look up the actual definition of fox hole prayer. This is what I read: A fox hole prayer is a prayer you pray in utter desperation and fear like soldiers have prayed in the fox hole during war.

I was speechless! ‘What?!?! I just prayed this fox hole prayer, and I am currently struggling with the results of THIS desperate prayer.  Because I felt like God was not answering my fox hole prayer, my doubts and fears were overwhelming me!’

Then my next thought was, ‘I wonder what the fox hole prayer was in Jonah 2:1.?”

I frantically looked up Jonah 2:1 which read, “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: In my distress I called to the Lord and He answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and You listened to my cry.”

I can barely describe what I was feeling when I read those words, but the first words that comes to mind is utter relief.

Let Me Just Recap for a Moment.

I prayed a fox hole prayer and “in my distress I called to the Lord.” By Sunday night I had decided God wouldn’t answer me. Then the next Bible verse I randomly read was about how God listened and answered Jonah’s distressed “fox hole prayer!”

I was humbled, ashamed, relieved, and encouraged all at once. I doubted that God would answer my fox hole prayer and then I felt like God said, “I will answer and I am answering your fox hole prayer.”

How could it be that the first scripture I had looked up in a month was THIS!

Even When I Fail, God Doesn’t Leave Me

God shows me over and over…and over that God is listening and answering. How quickly I doubt over and over..and over. You know what amazes me the most? God stays by my side even when I don’t deserve it, and God continues to show me love and devotion. God continues to guide me and comfort me no matter how many times I fail. What a comfort to know that whether I say the right things or wrong things, God still loves and leads. Whether I trust God or doubt, God is still comforting me. Again, I go back to the parent/child relationship. Even when our children mess up, we continue to love, comfort, and help our children. Looks like God really does do the same for us.

When my son was first diagnosed with HSP, I tried to pray the “right” things to MAKE God love me, listen to me, and help me. Turns out, even when I said the wrong things, I couldn’t MAKE God STOP loving me, listening to me, or helping me.

Whew, what a relief because although I will continue to try to do what God wants, I KNOW I will continue to fail over and over. I will be selfish sometimes; I will lack trust sometimes; and I will be quick to anger sometimes. And sometimes… I won’t praise God in the storm, but GOD IS CONSTANT.

Update: My son’s HSP has been in remission for 5 months now. Many times HSP never comes back.

About Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC

Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC focuses on how to live your healthiest, happiest, most meaningful life through faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition.
Several branches fall under the Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC umbrella. One is Mindful Vending, which is one of the few dietitian owned and operated vending companies in the nation! Ngo is also the author of several books including Faith, Mindfulness, & Nutrition, Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals and The Nourishing Meal Builder. You can also find evidence-based nutrition articles, recipes, convenient healthy snack lists, inspiring faith stories, and faith-based mindfulness techniques on her blog, Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

The Nourishing Meal Builder
Create anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory, mood boosting, immune supportive meals that reduce the risk of chronic disease and promote cognitive function, focus, attention, and memory.

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Are These Signs From God? A Call Story

Hearing and Answering God’s Call: Part 4

Are These Signs From God? A Call Story

This is an adaptation from a story in the book, Faith, Mindfulness, & Nutrition. You can get the digital copy or the paperback version of the book here.

This post contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here)

A sotry of God leading you to your purpose through little hints and signs.
Seeing God’s presence today through little signs from God.

I Noticed a Change in Me

After I prayed THAT prayer from part 3… the one when I told God I was ready to do what God wanted instead of what I wanted), I first noticed a change in me.

I truly wanted to know what God wanted me to do each day. Since that prayer, I TRY to remember to pray EVERY morning. Each morning I ask, “God, please help me see the needs of others today.” Do you know God did start giving me little opportunities to serve throughout my daily life? Check out the blog “We Ran Out of Gas” for one example.

I also started trying to pray in the car and pray before I entered any new environment. I started trying to be more mindful of God’s presence in every room I entered. Notice my blog is about Mindfulness? Do you see where all these circumstances are leading?

After Praying THAT Prayer

Because I am more mindful of God’s presence, I have noticed more “God Moments” in my life, and now I have even more “God moments” to share on this blog! If you read part 3, you will remember all of this started because I read a book called The Narrow Road: Stories of Those Who Walk This Road Together (International Adventures). This is a fantastic book about a man praying and waiting for God to lead him in almost every aspect of life. I highly recommend reading The Narrow Road: Stories of Those Who Walk This Road Together (International Adventures). Because of this book, I started incorporating prayer and listening to God in my everyday moments.  (I truly think God lead me to read this book because God knew the reaction I would have. You can see this story in Part 3)

You can read more specific “God Moment” stories by clicking on the links below:

Did that Just Happen!

We Chose the Same Picture!

I prayed and then this happened!

 We Ran Out of Gas

Why Are you So Afraid?

 God Follows Through

 Should I Share My Personal “God Moment” Stories with Others?

I was so thankful that after saying the big prayer, God seemed to be showing me small ways to serve throughout my day, but I also felt like God was leading me to do something specific (part 3). But what? Would I get any signs from God? While I waited…well, I became impatient.  I decided to actively write down a list of some of my accomplishments and talents. ‘Maybe I can use some of my talents to serve God,’ I thought. I jotted down that I enjoy writing and had written nutrition columns for the local newspaper in the past. But how in the world could I use this to serve God? Blogging wasn’t even on my radar at the time.

Still I thought, ‘well I do have several personal God stories that may encourage others. What if I could somehow share some of these personal experiences I have had with God through writing?” Could sharing these personal “God Moments” be my calling? But how would I know that this is something I should do? My goodness, I could do so many different things, how will I EVER know what God thinks I should specifically do?

Signs from God: The Answer is “Yes, Share these Stories.”

Then Sunday rolled around again, and I went to church. Guess what the sermon was about? Our pastor did a sermon on telling your personal call or God story. Well if that wasn’t an answer to my question, I don’t know what was.

In the sermon, the pastor said that a person’s personal call or God story has one of the greatest impacts when you are telling someone about God.   In fact, a person’s personal story is only 2nd to the Bible when you are trying to tell someone about your faith.  How amazing that as soon as I thought about sharing my personal stories and experiences with God, our pastor started talking about how important it is to tell YOUR personal story! So I decided I did want to write my personal stories down in one place so that I can use them somehow later.

Another God Moment: Finding the Time to Write

The next obstacle was finding the time to write. You see, I couldn’t write while the kids slept because I slept in the bed with my 3 year old  (I know I should never have started that habit, right? I was just so tired of the nightly sleeping battles, and I just gave up. My son would go to sleep easily if I was lying with him. Sigh.)

The problem was that if I got up for anything, even to go to the bathroom, he would wake up and cry, “hold mommy, hold mommy!” How was I going to get up and begin writing again? I wanted to not only write, but also, pray and read God’s word more often. Do you know that when I decided to get up to write, my son didn’t wake up! I was able to write, pray, and read about God while my son slept! Could this be yet another of the many sign’s from God?

Doubt and Fear and then More Signs from God

Now, if I was stronger I would not have needed another nudge from God, but unfortunately fears and doubt began to creep in.  I had written some of my stories, but I began to think, ‘do I really want to SHARE these stories with others?’  Just when I started backing away, God called me again.   Literally right after I started backpedaling and doubting, two of the sermons talked about answering God’s call and even emphasized telling our own personal stories.  The words and phrasing used in the sermons spoke to me so clearly that I had chills. Were all these coincidences signs from God again?

Finally Ready to Take Action

Okay, finally I was willing to take action. I still didn’t know what to do, but since our pastor had inspired the idea, I decided to send my written stories to our pastor. This was a total leap of faith. I don’t normally do things like this. These stories were personal, and I felt silly just sending them to someone. This was several years ago, and I still wasn’t familiar with blogging yet. In fact, the pastor was the one who mentioned blogging. (He is a lot younger and more tech than me 🙂 ) Turns out, the pastor had been contemplating starting a church blog, and he was even more encouraged after I sent in my stories that our church should start the blog. Maybe even the pastor was receiving signs from God?

And so a church blog was started. I became one of the admins for the blog. I didn’t know anything about blogging, but I wanted all the amazing stories from church members to get shared somehow. Church members would send their stories, and I would post. Now church members had a place to share their personal call story. After all, like the pastor said, “a person’s personal story is only 2nd to the Bible when you are trying to tell someone about God.”

More Coincidences: The Leap to Starting MY Personal Blog, “Mindfulness in Faith and Food”

This church blog was established years ago, but I still never considered starting my own blog. Then two things happened…

I was still writing down all my “God Moments” as well as any lessons I had learned over the years. I decided I wanted to organize all these stories for my children. So I started working on a little book that I would only give to my children. (See there I go, writing again!) I wanted my children to feel inspired and have hope that God is there even in the tough times.

“Hmmm, Should I Start My Own Blog?”

As I was organizing all of this for the book for my children, I thought, “hmm, some of these stories are so encouraging and give so much hope; I wish I could share them somehow. Well, I could start a personal blog? Then maybe a few more people could see all this ‘stuff’ God has done.” Just like most thoughts, at first I didn’t think much of the idea. But the next circumstance would make me think much more seriously about blogging…

Our Church Combined Faith with Nutrition

I was still working on lessons for my children’s book when one day a church staff member asked me that since I am a dietitian I would be willing to become the coordinator of a new church wellness program. The program was called “FAN: Faith, Activity, and Nutrition”. The goal of the FAN program is to promote, encourage, inspire, and provide opportunities for a healthier life within the church. The FAN program focused on helping the whole person: body and soul. I loved how FAN incorporated scripture, spiritual health, and physical health into their messages. I usually didn’t get to incorporate my professional background in dietetics with my faith in this way, and I loved it!

Again, “Hmmm, I Could Start a Blog?”

When I became the FAN coordinator, I dusted off my nutrition materials (I was currently a stay-at-home mom) to see what I could use for FAN. As I was looking through all the handouts, articles, and client books I had developed, I thought ‘this information is not helping anyone just sitting on my computer or in my desk! I need to find a way people can have access to this!’ Again, the same phrase ran through my head, “hmm, I could start some kind of nutrition blog! But if I started a blog, I would also want to talk about my faith and God experiences. Would combining faith and nutrition even work as a blog? Wait! Look at the FAN program, this program incorporates both!”

Signs from God: Everything Was Falling into Place

And this is how the idea of a faith-based nutrition blog was formed. Everything seemed to be falling into place for me to start blogging. I was already organizing nutrition and faith articles for FAN and my book for my children, and I was already incorporating faith with nutrition at church. The fact of the matter was I was already writing about faith and nutrition, why not go ahead and blog? The timing just seemed right.

My Vision for the Blog Seemed so Clear

The next part might be harder to explain, but I will do my best. My vision for my blog seemed so clear. Let me explain the opposite of clear, so that you can understand what I mean. When I was trying to decide on a name for my private nutrition counseling, I struggled with finding a name and my brand. For one, I wasn’t being true to myself. I settled for something generic, but I cringed when I said the name. The name wasn’t bad; the name just didn’t ever feel right.

When I decided to blog about God and my passions, the name almost immediately fell into my mind. I wanted to call the blog, “Mindfulness in Faith and Food.” I am still relatively new to blogging. In fact, I have only been blogging for about half a year, but this blog still just feels right.

The Creation of Mindfulness in Faith and Food

So I decided to do it! I started a blog. All my past writings- journal entries, nutrition handouts, God stories, and partial books have found a home on this blog. Who knew that I was writing for this blog for so many years and didn’t even know it!

Signs From God: The Ripple Effect

Now, looking back, I can see the ripple effect from each of these events that lead to writing a faith and nutrition blog. Each, by themselves, may not seem like much, but you put everything together from part 1-part 4 of this series, and the sheer number of signs and coincidental circumstances are impossible to ignore!

A Recap of the Ripple Effect

  1. My passion for writing since childhood (See Part 2)
  2. My weight struggles as a middle school child that initiated my interest in nutrition (See About Me)
  3. Being open to following God’s call after reading The Narrow Road: Stories of Those Who Walk This Road Together (International Adventures (Part 3)
  4. Signs from God: After I prayed THAT prayer asking God to show me my call the sermon was about hearing and answering God’s call (Part 3).
  5. Then Even more signs from God seemed to indicate I was going to hear God’s call soon (Part 3).
  6. Reading The Narrow Road: Stories of Those Who Walk This Road Together (International Adventures) further helped me become more mindful of God and God’s call throughout the day. Thus, I was able to notice more God stories or “God Moments.” Now I write about them in my blog! (Part 3).
  7. Even more signs from God? Just when I was contemplating that perhaps sharing all my personal “God Moment” stories is my call, the sermons were about sharing your personal God stories (Part 4).
  8. The church blog was started after I took a leap of faith and sent our pastor all of these God stories (Part 4).
  9. I started organizing all my God stories and lessons for a book for my children. This gave me the thought, “Maybe I should share these amazing stories in a blog?” (Part 4)
  10. Meanwhile I was introduced to the FAN program, which combined faith and nutrition. I loved this, and a concept of a faith-based nutrition blog was born. (Part 4)
  11. My faith and profession as a dietitian also collided when I started incorporating mindful eating and mindful living.  Mindful eating lead to weight loss and lead to mindfulness of the presence of God. (See “The One Thing I Did to Lose Weight AND Strengthen My Walk With God”)
  12. Throughout my life I had already written several ‘nutrition and faith’ blog posts through writing and journaling, I just didn’t know it!
  13. The Blog name and niche seemed so clear. (Part 4)

 Feeling Called to Blog? Want More Information about How to Start a Blog?

Have you noticed any signs from God or coincidences that you think are leading you to your calling?  Are you feeling God’s call to serve in some way? Maybe you are even feeling called to blog?

Do you feel called to blog, but don’t know where to begin? My next post goes through the steps to start your own blog. You can check it out by clicking on this link: “How to start a blog when you feel called to blog.”

About Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC

Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC focuses on how to live your healthiest, happiest, most meaningful life through faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition.
Several branches fall under the Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC umbrella. One is Mindful Vending, which is one of the few dietitian owned and operated vending companies in the nation! Ngo is also the author of several books including Faith, Mindfulness, & Nutrition, Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals and The Nourishing Meal Builder. You can also find evidence-based nutrition articles, recipes, convenient healthy snack lists, inspiring faith stories, and faith-based mindfulness techniques on her blog, Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

Copyright © 2017 Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

You are free to retain any and all content here for personal use, but need permission to use it anywhere else on the internet.

This blog is hosted by Bluehost.

Hearing & Answering God’s Call: Too Unbelievable to Just be Coincidence

Hearing and Answering God’s Call Series: Part 3

This is an adaptation from a story in the book, Faith, Mindfulness, & Nutrition. You can learn more about this inspiring book  here.

Signs of God’s Presence Today: Signs and Coincidences

Recapping Part 1 and Part 2

As I mentioned in Part 2, writing kept creeping up in my life. Even as a child, I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I would put the thought of writing aside, but years later I would find myself writing again. Part 1 of this blog series talks about the 4 clues to finding your purpose. One clue is you have a God-given passion for something. Another clue is that you keep getting signs over and over… and over. Sometimes your passion keeps finding its way back into your life. I think this reoccurrence of you passion could be a sign in and of itself.

(*An important note: Just because you have a passion, does not mean you are called to pursue it. Also, every passion we have is not a calling. After all, we often have passions for not so good things. Passion is just one clue. We need to look at every clue to figure out a calling. Another clue is that your passion matches up with God’s teachings. This series looks at several pieces to “What is your Calling.”)

This post may contain affiliate links (See full disclosure here)

The Call Became Stronger

True, my passion for writing was a nice little clue, but standing by itself this clue really means little.  The call became much stronger later…

We had just joined our church, and my husband and I were in the process of visiting Sunday Schools.  One Sunday, we randomly visited a Sunday school class called “Open Doors.”  During the class, the teacher off-handedly mentioned the book, The Narrow Road: Stories of Those Who Walk This Road Together (International Adventures), which was about a missionary named Brother Andrew.  I thought to myself, ‘that sounds like a good book to read.’   Almost a year later, I still remembered this specific Sunday schools comment about this ONE book, but I couldn’t remember the name of the book. It’s funny how one small comment will just stick in your mind, isn’t it? One day I saw the Sunday school teacher, and I asked her again for the name of the book.  This time I didn’t wait around. I quickly purchased the book, and my journey began…

One Book Changed the Direction of my Life

Brother Andrew’s story was inspiring to say the least! The things that he accomplished when he listened to God’s call were amazing!  When he was truly doing something God seemed to ask him to do, God took care of every one of his needs to get THAT job done.  (I thought this was interesting because we sometimes use God as a wishing well, but when we are truly following God’s wishes to help others; then, he will help us do THAT job).  In other words, if God tells us to do something, then God will help us get it done.  If you want to read some truly amazing God moments, I strongly recommend this book.

Awesome “God Moments” from the Book, The Narrow Road

Some of the amazing things that happened in the book were: 

* Brother Andrew had an injured leg that leg hindered a particular mission work he felt called to do. In fact, he felt the leg would nearly make the mission impossible! One day Brother Andrew talked to God about not being able to do this mission work due to his hurt leg. His leg was healed immediately!

* Brother Andrew felt strongly that he was suppose to take Bibles to persecuted countries, in which Bibles were not allowed. One time some guards stopped him. The smuggled Bibles were right on the seat of his car and the guards didn’t see them!

* Once or twice the money for missionary school was about to run out, and the exact amount came to him in peculiar ways just in time.

My Favorite Brother Andrew Story: This is GOOD!

One of my favorite stories took place during Brother Andrew’s time at missionary school.  Brother Andrew and the other students were asked to do local missions as an assignment.  They were given no money, food, or housing and they were told that they were not supposed to ask churches or anyone else for help. They were asked to trust that God would provide.  This was an exercise meant to teach them how to trust God completely.  This didn’t mean that the missionary school thought that people/charities should not ask for donations; the school just wanted them to practice putting all their trust in God for this particular exercise.

The students were also expected to tithe!  The students were divided into two groups. Brother Andrew’s group tithed at the beginning of each week no matter what challenges they faced.  The other group planned on tithing if they had enough after they fulfilled their own needs.  Interestingly, the group who tithed no matter what, always had enough for themselves and the missions. The other group constantly ran out of money and supplies.

They Needed Cake, and They Got a Cake in the Mail!

God seemed to always answer the needs of Brother Andrew’s group no matter how small.  For example, a church asked Brother Andrew’s group to come to a church event. The church also asked the group to bring a cake to this event. Remember, they have no money! The group panicked about how they were going to get the money for this cake.  They even considered doing something they hadn’t done yet, which was ask people for donations.  Just when the decided against asking for other’s help, they received a package in the mail.  Do you know what was inside the package? A cake, sent to them by a loved one!  The giver did not know they needed a cake; she just thought it would be a nice gesture!

The Prayer that Started it All

This book inspired me! Like Brother Andrew, I wanted to experience God’s power and presence more regularly. But was I willing to follow God’s will no matter what?  I decided to pray. Instead of praying for my needs, I prayed for God to show me what God wanted me to do. I told God I wanted to follow and serve God, and I wanted my life to be about serving God and others, not myself. (Yeah, I’m still working on that.) I asked God to please tell me God’s will. I figured if I really listened AND followed, I would see some amazing things happen just like Brother Andrew.  Basically, I was asking God to call on me.  Then God started talking…

God’s Call: Signs That God Was About to Answer My Prayer

Before telling me my specific call, God seemed to be telling me that my request was heard, and is being answered. Messages about God’s call bombarded me everywhere.

In fact, RIGHT after I prayed for God to call on me, our church started “The Call” series, which was suppose to help us learn how to hear and answer God’s call! Even our church band played songs about hearing God’s call. But here is the kicker; the band did not know the sermon topics when choosing songs!

After church, I experienced another coincidence. After church, I grabbed a veggie tales movie for my son to watch not knowing that out of all the Bible stories; this movie was about Jonah trying to push away God’s call!

Finally while I was putting my son to bed, I was showing my son pictures from his Children’s Bible. He was young, so we were just looking at pictures instead of reading the words.  The bottom of each page had a one liner prayer.  I finally randomly glanced at one of the prayers.  The prayer was literally asking God to help us listen to his call!! Out of all the prayers, why was this the one I randomly read?

I asked God if God would lead me because I was ready to do what God wanted instead of what I wanted. God seemed to answer immediately. God seemed to be saying through signs, ‘Of course, I have been waiting for you to ask this! I will lead you to what I am calling you to do.’

But the next questions was, “What IS God calling me to do?”  Check out part 4 for the answer…

Continue the Story…

How to Start a Blog When You Feel Called to Blog

Did God Give You a Passion for a Reason? Part 2

Are These Signs from God? A Call Story, Part 4

My Weekly Blogging Routine

What is God Calling you to Do? Part 1

About Lacy Ngo, MS, RDN

Lacy Ngo is a dietitian nationally recognized as a top expert in faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition. She shares the exact steps that, based on science, produce the most dramatic health and weight loss success in her book, 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This book is like nothing you have ever seen before. It combines faith and science. Both are crucial when it comes to producing real change because real change involves the mind, body, and spirit. and faith-based mindfulness techniques on her blog, Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

Copyright © 2017 Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

You are free to retain any and all content here for personal use, but need permission to use it anywhere else on the internet.

God Moments: We Ran out of Gas

This is a “God moment”  story about what happened when I asked God to help me help others…

This article has been updated and is an adaptation from a story in 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This unique book was written by Lacy Ngo, a dietitian nationally recognized as a top expert in faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition. She shares the exact steps that, based on science, produce the most dramatic health and weight loss success in her book, 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This book is like nothing you have ever seen before. It combines faith and science. Both are crucial when it comes to producing real change because real change involves the mind, body, and spirit. This is an adaption from a story in the book, 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life.

18 weeks to a healthier, happier, more purposeful life cover

Just a Normal Drive to Work

Class shouldn’t be too long tonight.” I said as I was leaving to teach nutrition to a group of college freshman. I figured I would be home shortly since this was the first class of the semester. I usually just go over the syllabus and class expectation on the first day.

As I was driving to work, I noticed a policeman carrying a gas canister to a car stopped on the side of the road. I thought to myself, ‘oh that’s nice. That driver must have run out of gas, and the policeman brought a canister of gas to the stranded driver.

God Moments: We Ran Out of Gas

The Quick Prayer

This made my mind wonder as it often does. I began to wonder how often I was too busy to notice others in need of some help or assistance on the road or in a store. I’m not sure why, but I decided to pray a very specific prayer. I prayed, “God, if I pass by someone on the side of the road who has run out of gas, please help me notice, AND help me do the right thing.” Then I went to teach my students. As predicted, my class was short. I was glad since I had lots to do at home. So I jumped in my car and headed home…

She Said “We Ran Out of Gas.”

On the way home from class that evening, I kid you not, I see a car on the side of the road! A mother and her middle school-aged son were standing beside the car.

I am going to tell you the truth even though I am embarrassed. My first thought was ‘Are you kidding me? Am I really suppose to stop NOW?!’ What is the likelihood that I would pass by a car on the side of the road right after saying that prayer?’ But I HAD just prayed to God about this very thing. I did ask God to help me notice others in need. Well, I noticed, and now I had to choose to do the right thing. So I pulled over and asked, “Are y’all okay? Do y’all need anything?” (I’m from South Carolina, so you will find I say y’all…a lot). Do you know what the mother said? She said, “We ran out of gas.”

Is that not something! How often is someone stuck on the side of the road because they specifically ran out of gas? This family’s car battery wasn’t dead, and their car wasn’t broken down for another reason. No, this family was not stuck on the side of the road because of any of these more common issues. I asked God to help me notice if someone ever runs out of gas, and here in front of me is this mother and son standing with a car WITH NO GAS!

God moments, answered prayers, helping others, RAK, random act of kindness, inspiring God stories
When God answers our prayer

Filling Their Tank and Filling My Heart

I responded, “Okay, hold on. I will get ya’ some. I’ll be right back.”

I don’t know why I prayed such a specific prayer; maybe I thought that I wouldn’t be much help if the car trouble was much more than an empty gas tank. For whatever reason, I prayed, “Please help me notice and stop when someone runs out of gas,” and the NEXT time I drove, I passed by someone who had run out of gas!

Did God know these people were going to need gas at this time? Did God find a way to encourage me to stop for this family? I don’t know, and I don’t even understand. I just know it happened, and I still remember the look of shocked appreciation on that middle school child’s face when I came back with a canister of gas. Their thankful faces, and God’s answer to my prayer filled my heart that day. As I filled the tank, my heart was filling up too.

Your God Moments

I am so thankful God leads me because my decisions would look very different without God.

Do you have any God Moments you would like to share? I always love to hear how God is working in our lives. Please share your stories in the comments. If you enjoyed these posts, and would like to be notified when a new one is posted, please follow “Mindfulness in Faith and Food.” When you follow mindfulness in faith and food, you will get a free printable Mindful Planner.

You May Also Like

I love journaling! This is one of my favorite ways to learn, grow, and relax. Here are a few awesome prayer journals:

(Click on the journal for more details.)

More God Moments:

  1. God Moments: Did that Just Happen?

2. God Moments: Choosing the Same Picture.

3. God Moments: I Was So Afraid

4. God Moments: We Prayed and Then This Happened

5. God Moments: God Follows Through

What Happend after I prayed "God Help Me Help Others"
What Happend after I prayed “God Help Me Help Others”

Copyright © 2017 Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

You are free to retain any and all content here for personal use, but need permission to use it anywhere else on the internet.

God Moments: God Follows Through

God Follows Through

Signs, Miracles, and "Winks" from God: God Follows Through; A story or giving and receiving
Signs, Miracles, and “Winks” from God: God Follows Through; A story or giving and receiving

In my experience, when God leads us to do something, God usually helps us get it done. I’m not saying hard times won’t happen. I’m not saying that we won’t go through pain, but when God leads us to do something, God will be with us to make it happen. In other words, God follows through. This is post three of the “God Moments” series.

Debt

Like post two, this God Moment story begins at our church. Our church had been trying to pay off a debt for the new children’s building. The building provided a larger place for our growing group of children. Now that the building was built, our church wanted to reduce the debt and free up the church finances so that our church could serve our community and God’s world in other ways.

Paying the Mortgage is Our Responsibility

My husband and I wanted to contribute. In fact, we felt that as members of the church, this was our church and OUR mortgage.  It was our duty to help pay the bills just as it was our duty to pay the mortgage of our home. We just were not sure of the amount we should contribute. When we bought our own home, we cut back on some things because we wanted THAT home. Our home was more important than some of the stuff we cut out of our lifestyle. We felt the same about church home.

But How Much Do We Pay?

My husband and I decided to pray and hoped that God would lead us. After prayer, we came up with an amount that seemed hard for us. We wanted to practice putting God before our own material desires. We had just bought a home, and we had planned on renovating the living room, but we were now going to postpone the renovation for 3 years in order to give to our church. We did this not expecting anything exciting to happen, but something exciting did happen.

Follow God Without Expectations

Before I go on, I want to explain what I am NOT saying. I am not saying that every time you sacrifice God rewards you with money. Many times people have sacrificed for God and even paid the ultimate sacrifice of death. But sometimes I think God does show us just how much we can trust God to take care of us.  When we trust God, God finds a way to show us God’s presence. When God leads us to do God’s will, God helps us get it done.

We Followed and God Helped Us Get It Done

We made a pledge that would not leave us struggling, but would make us have to hold off on some spending. After we took that leap of faith and pledged our financial giving to the church, my husband received an unexpected raise at work AND found out that he was getting some backpay money he didn’t know he had coming!

Giving Changed Our Priorities

You know what was funny? In the process, we realized that we didn’t need the elaborate renovation we had originally planned. With this unexpected money, we were able to do a less elaborate renovation in 2 years instead of three AND we decided to give an extra financial gift to our church as a Christmas gift. In fact, we didn’t count this gift as part of our pledge and gave it as an EXTRA gift.

When I say we, I mean my husband because I wanted to count the gift as part of our financial pledge. I had to bite my tongue when my husband said, “Yeah, I think I am going to give this extra money to the church.” I wanted to say, ‘but when it is time to pay that last chunk of money that we have pledged to the church, aren’t you going to wish you had counted this money as part of our pledge?’ But I knew this was something good my husband wanted to do, so I held back from saying anything.

Photo by jubileelewis

Just Wait, The Story Gets Even Better!

So we gave that extra money without counting it toward the pledge. But a few months later our pledge was due, and we were kicking ourselves for not counting Christmas gift as part of our pledge.  You would think we would have been better at trusting God after all of this, but when it was time for our last payment to the campaign WEEEE WERE NERVOUS! It was year three of the campaign, and we had one BIG chunk of our pledge to give. Oh, did I mention that the amount we gave at Christmas WAS the amount we had left to give!

So with heavy hearts, we reluctantly wrote that check and gave that last sum to the church.

No Really, The Story Does Get Better! Bring On The Arm Chills

Do you know what happened the very next week?!!!! My husband was asked to do an extra one-time BIG job at work that paid him almost the EXACT amount we gave to the church! I mean, just wow! We didn’t get loads and loads of extra money, but we got the money we needed to serve God and our brothers and sisters at our church. I am tellin’ ya! One day, I hope to have more trust, because God keeps blowing me away when God shows up! All I can say is God follows through.

Disclosure: This site may provide affiliate links (See full disclosure)

You May Also Enjoy

This is such a fun Journal! You can use this journal to write down you prayers, questions, thoughts, and God moments. In other words, use the journal to write down all the times in your life when God follows through.

After writing, you can color in the journal while you pray and think about what you just wrote. What a great way to slow down and be mindful!

I love prayer journals and am always recommending them. Since Thanksgiving is around the corner, I want to focus on some Gratitute and thanksgiving focused journals. Check them out below.


And this is a children’s gratitude journal! What a great way to to get the whole family involved!

More God Moments

God Moments: Did That Just Happen?

God Moments: We Chose the Same Picture

God Moments: We Prayed and then This Happened!

God Moments: I Was So Afraid

God Moments: We Ran Out of Gas

18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life

This article has been updated and is an adaptation from a story in 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This unique book was written by Lacy Ngo, a dietitian nationally recognized as a top expert in faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition. She shares the exact steps that, based on science, produce the most dramatic health and weight loss success in her book, 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This book is like nothing you have ever seen before. It combines faith and science. Both are crucial when it comes to producing real change because real change involves the mind, body, and spirit. This is an adaption from a story in the book, 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life.

Copyright © 2017 Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

You are free to retain any and all content here for personal use, but need permission to use it anywhere else on the internet.

God Moments: Did That Just Happen!

Seeing God’s Presence Today

Signs, Miracles, and "Winks" from God; An Amazing story about God's Presence today
Signs, Miracles, and “Winks” from God; An Amazing story about God’s Presence today

Mindfulness can help us stop to notice God’s presence in our lives, but sometimes God does something so cool that we notice even when we are not being particularly mindful. This is one of those experiences. Read until the end because the end is the best part!

Disclosure: This site may provide affiliate links (See full disclosure)

This article has been updated and is an adaptation from a story in 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This unique book was written by Lacy Ngo, a dietitian nationally recognized as a top expert in faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition. She shares the exact steps that, based on science, produce the most dramatic health and weight loss success in her book, 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This book is like nothing you have ever seen before. It combines faith and science. Both are crucial when it comes to producing real change because real change involves the mind, body, and spirit. This is an adaption from a story in the book, 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life.

18 weeks to a healthier, happier, more purposeful life cover

How It All Started

About a year and a half ago, my then six year-old son took an ambulance ride from urgent care to the hospital. Before that ride, he had been on antibiotics but just kept getting sicker. When we arrived at the ER, the doctors diagnosed him with Pneumonia and admitted him to the hospital for five days. After being released, he just couldn’t get rid of that cough and kept getting fevers about every two to three weeks. An X-ray showed that he had a collapsed lung from all these lung issues. They released my son from the hospital in December. It was now June, and he was still coughing, struggling to breathe when he ran, getting tired easily, and getting frequent fevers. He had taken so many antibiotics that I had lost count. He had been put to sleep twice for minor lung procedures.

In June, the doctors decided to get a CT scan to see if he had a condition called Bronchiectasis. The CT scan confirmed he had this condition, which is defined as abnormal widening of the bronchi or their branches, causing a risk of infection. I had never heard of it so, of course, I looked it up online. The things I read terrified me. I was not handling the diagnosis well. I was walking around constantly on the verge of crying, but trying to seem cheerful for my children. Many nights I would pray and let out all of my pent up tears. I was scared of what this meant for my son. I can’t even bring myself to type all of the worries I was feeling. If you are a parent you can probably imagine the fears going through my head.

I Wanted to Cancel

The very same week that I learned of the diagnosis, I wanted to shut myself off from everyone, but our church book club was suppose to meet at MY HOUSE! I came inches from canceling. Most of the book club regulars were not able to come, so I started thinking no one is going to show up anyway. But then a new girl sent me an emailed saying that she would like to come and bring two of her friends. I didn’t want to cancel when new people had expressed interest, so I decided to push through. The funny thing is the new girl who had originally expressed interest was unable to attend, but the two friends she had mentioned in her email did come. These two girls, who only attended this one time, probably didn’t know what they were walking into. I was unorganized and monopolized the whole conversation. I ended up pouring all my emotions out to these brand new people. They were such patient listeners, and although I don’t know if they got much out of book club, I felt much better after that night.

Life Went On…

After that night, life went on. The doctors were trying all kinds of treatments. My son was now on continuous antibiotics three times a week and doing 30-minute treatments twice a day.

Below is a picture of the breathing treatments my son was doing twice a day.

My son was now going to doctors in Rock Hill, Charlotte, and Chapel Hill. Before I knew it, a year had gone by since receiving that initial diagnosis and pouring my heart out to those random new girls at book club.

Can I Ask You A Weird Question?

The doctors decided it was time to talk about having a surgery to remove the damaged lobe of his lung. The doctor gave us a list of surgeons, so I began to go down the list, making calls. I called the first office on the list to set up a consultation with a surgeon in Charlotte, NC. I started talking to the receptionist. She started asking basic questions like, “What is the appointment for?,” and “What is your home address?.” Then she paused and says, “Can I ask you a weird question?” I’m thinking, ‘What in the world is she going to ask me’, but all I said was “Okay.”  She then says, “Do you happen to have a book club with St. John’s?” Shocked and confused, I replied, “Yes!” She then exclaimed, “I think I have been to your house!” When I was answering her questions over the phone, she remembered hearing a similar story a year earlier at this book club she had attended once. She then realized she recognized the address I had just given her. She figured out that she and her friend, who also works in the same office, (you know, that other new girl) had been to my house the week my son had been diagnosed a year ago!

Knowing that people at the surgeon’s office knew our story and had known our story since the diagnosis was such a comfort to me.

God’s Plan to Bring Comfort and Guidance was Put into Action a Year Earlier

You know what else? I thought to myself, ‘wow, when I was walking around terrified and wishing I would feel God’s presence, God was right there’. I felt like God was giving me comfort on that book club night. Little did I know, that same book club social would give me comfort not only that very night but also a year later. Did God somehow help me cross paths with these ladies right when my son was diagnosed? Did God know this journey would lead to a big surgery way back then? (Of course God did!) Many of us have learned that God knows all, our past and our future, but to truly witness this was humbling. This experience made me feel like God was  giving me a warm hug. I could feel God’s Presence and realized just how present God had been the whole time. As, I processed this, the tears began running down my face and chills began running up my arm.

Today my son is doing well. The surgery was a success! We continue to praise God for warm hugs, comfort, and guidance.

Do you have any stories about experiencing God’s presence, comfort, or guidance?

Please share any of your stories in the comments below. I love these stories!

If you are looking for good books about people experiencing God’s presence in their lives, two of my favorites are  The Narrow Road: Stories of Those Who Walk This Road Together (International Adventures) and Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World:


Want More God Moment Stories? Check these Out

God Moments: We Prayed and Then This Happened!

God Follows Through

 We Chose the Same Picture

I Was So Afraid

God Moments: We Ran Out of Gas

About Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC & Lacy Ngo MS, RDN

About Lacy Ngo, MS, RDN and Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC

Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC focuses on how to live your healthiest, happiest, most meaningful life through faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition.
Several branches fall under the Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC umbrella. One is Mindful Vending, which is one of the few dietitian owned and operated vending companies in the nation!

Ngo is also a top expert in faith-based mindfulness and nutrition and is the author of several books including Faith, Mindfulness, & Nutrition, Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals and The Nourishing Meal Builder. You can also find evidence-based nutrition articles, recipes, convenient healthy snack lists, inspiring faith stories, and faith-based mindfulness techniques on her blog, Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

Copyright © 2017 Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

You are free to retain any and all content here for personal use, but need permission to use it anywhere else on the internet.

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