Two Pilots Run Out of Fuel, Pray, and Receive a Sign!!!

This is from www.msnbc.com

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - It seemed like an almost literal answer to their prayers. When two New Zealand pilots ran out of fuel in a microlight airplane they offered prayers and were able to make an emergency landing in a field — coming to rest right next to a sign reading, "Jesus is Lord."

Grant Stubbs and Owen Wilson, both from the town of Blenheim on the country's South Island, were flying up the sloping valley of Pelorus Sound when the engine spluttered, coughed and died.

"My friend and I are both Christians so our immediate reaction in a life-threatening situation was to ask for God's help," Stubbs told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

He said he prayed during the ill-fated flight Sunday that the tiny craft would get over the top of a ridge and that they would find a landing site that was not too steep — or in the nearby sea.

Wilson said that the pair would have been in deep trouble if the fuel had run out five minutes earlier.

"If it had to run out, that was the place to be," he said. "There was an instantaneous answer to prayer as we crossed the ridge and there was an airfield — I didn't know it existed till then."

After Wilson glided the powerless craft to a landing on the grassy strip, the pair noticed they were beside a 20-foot-tall sign that read, "Jesus is Lord — The Bible."

"When we saw that, we started laughing," Stubbs said.

Nearby residents provided them with gas to fly the home-built plane back to base.

When the pressure is ON...

In 2006 I managed an apartment community – a very large one – whose owners did not want to make some necessary repairs to the fire alarm system. Despite my continuous efforts to receive funds, my owners refused. I plead with the San Antonio Fire Inspector to PLEASE not cite me for this violation, since I, personally, was not responsible for cutting checks. He cited me anyway. This was a misdemeanor that would go on my personal record. I was forced to appear in court. It was very intimidating… The State of Texas vs. Autumn Chaulklin. And my company would not provide me with an attorney to represent me in court. (Thankfully, today, this company no longer manages properties in San Antonio.) I felt as if I were fighting an uphill battle by myself. Code violations are very hard to defend yourself against. They seem to follow the “guilty until proven innocent” standard of law.

My court date was on its way, and I gathered whatever information I could to prove that my company – not I – was refusing to handle this code violation. I didn’t feel that it would be right for me to pay a fine for their negligence… I didn’t feel that it was right for me to have to serve six months probation for a crime I did not commit! I talked with the prosecutor and plead for her to please have mercy. She didn’t. I told her I would like to have the case seen by the judge. I refused to plead guilty or no-contest.

The judge called the docket and I sat in the courtroom waiting and waiting. I got up to go to the restroom. In the stall I bowed my head and began to pray. I remembered a song by Casting Crowns that says, “I will praise you in this storm.” I said, “Lord, this is a storm. And I don’t know why I am going through this, but I’m going to bless you in it. Bless you. Thank you for this trial.” It was very difficult to say those words and mean it, but it was my OBEDIENCE that the Lord saw in that moment. I left the restroom and headed back for the courtroom. I opened the courtroom doors, and it was apparent that the judge had already called my name. “Autumn Chaulklin?” he asked. I approached the judge, “Yes, sir.” The next two words that came out of his mouth were the answer to my prayer, “Case dismissed.”

I stood there, stunned, for a moment. “What?” I asked. “Is that it? I’m free to go?” I couldn’t believe my ears. He told me, “Yes, you are excused. Thank you for coming in today.”

We need to start believing that the Lord is capable of handling our battles for us. Furthermore, we are told to praise the Lord at ALL times… when the pressure is on us, no matter how tremendous it may be, no matter what the storm, we need to praise the Lord.

God is Bigger than Infertility

I had my first son in October of 2003. In 2006, we were ready for another baby. It wasn’t difficult to get pregnant. I was very excited. When I went for my first doctor appointment, I learned that my precious baby was not in my womb, but was growing outside the womb and would not be a viable pregnancy. It was heart-wrenching to see this image of a baby that would never be. There is no way to save them. Ectopic pregnancies are not only devastating, but fatal if not detected early. Under careful watch, it got to the point where we decided chemotherapy was the best route to preserve my life and my fertility. I was crushed at losing this baby, but determined to still have more children. A couple of months later, I was back to my healthy self and ready to try again. I got pregnant again… but to my dismay, found that the baby - for the second time - was not in the womb. This time, the doctor treated the ectopic pregnancy with surgery and my chances of conceiving another child were reduced by 50%.

I didn’t understand why this was happening to me. I was under spiritual attack, and didn’t know what to do. A friend had recommended a book by Derek Prince, titled Blessings and Curses. After making sure this was truly Bible-based, I read about how curses on people lives could affect the ability to have children. It sounds like a creepy movie, but believe it or not, it’s the truth... It happened in the Bible and it still happens today. I wasn’t about to let the devil take charge of my life. I confessed, and prayed for forgiveness of my sins. I declared the Lord Jesus as the Lord of my life. I praised his name, and revoked any curse over my life. I did this out-loud in my bedroom, and believed that the Lord was going to work a miracle in my life.

I conceived Noah just a few months after that. I have been so blessed by his beautiful life… Noah is an answered prayer and every time I look at his chubby little face, I am reminded that God still answers prayers and performs miracles every day. The Lord is so faithful to us.

Sergio's Miracle

If you read the post below (Titled "Huge Testimony"), what I'm about to post now will make more sense!

I was quick to share this experience with people close to me... people who would not think I’m crazy. I began to open up to strangers and ask them about their faith. I would cautiously tell my story. Often, I found that the more I shared, the more testimonies were shared with me… testimonies of miracles and prayers answered. It was beautiful. I would ponder on my way to the office how some people could not believe in God? How could they not? I didn’t understand how some people refuse to believe what I know to be absolutely true. What could I do to help open their eyes without pushing them away?
There were times I would bring myself to tears just thinking about family members and other people I loved that didn’t believe, and I felt an urgency like I’d never felt before.
I had another dream after the angel sighting. In my dream, I was standing on the balcony of my house. I looked out into the night sky and saw beams of light pouring down on houses in the neighborhood. But the light was not on every house. I looked up and saw that a light was upon my house, and in the sky, was a vision of a king sitting at a table. I spoke to this king in my dream, and asked him, “Am I going to be sitting at the table with the King?” He nodded yes. I then asked him, “Can Jake come with me?” He nodded yes. I know I spent more time conversing with the King, but I can’t remember what was said. I believe what I saw was a vision of the rapture. And that King was a vision of the King of Kings, who I will be reunited with, face to face, one day.
What hurts my heart is that in my dream, the beams of light were not on every house. This is going to be true when we are “taken the way of the saints.” Not all households are going to go. This breaks my heart. It truly pains me to know that some of my neighbors, no matter how good or friendly, will not join me in Heaven. I don’t want to be in a position where I have to ask myself, “Could I have done anything MORE? Could I have saved them? Could I have planted a seed?” I don’t want to have to ask myself that. That is why God has laid it on my heart to share my testimony.

In January of 2008, I remember sitting at my computer reading the local news. I read a story about a young man, aged 17, who got shot in the head at a party. It hurt my spirit to read this. He was at a party when some other party-goers got rambunctious and drove by, shooting. This young man pushed his girlfriend out of the way, and in doing so, he got shot in the head. The news report stated that he was in critical condition. I’m choosy about the news I read. I do not watch the news at night. It sends my blood pressure through the roof! I do, however, look at the news online and pick and choose what I want to read. I find that hearing the news on a daily basis makes people less sensitive to the events that happen around them. Someone might think, “Oh well, another guy got shot. So, what?” But this story pained me. It tugged at my heartstrings. I prayed for this boy. I did not know who he was, but something touched me.
A few days later, I was at work, and had a cable representative named Melissa visit me at my office. I had not met her before. She came into my office with the intention of telling me about a new program I could offer my clients. Our conversation blossomed, and we began talking about our family. We had a lot in common. She was building close to where I lived. She then shared with me that her nephew had just been shot in the head. I didn’t think I heard her right. I asked her about it, and sure enough, her nephew was the same teenager I had read about in the news. I asked questions. His name was Sergio, and he was in poor condition. The bullet had pierced his skull and the impact was so severe causing his brain to swell so much, that his mother had to make a choice – to let her son die, or to remove a portion of his skull in effort to relieve pressure from his brain so he could live. The brain scan reports were showing poor activity, and his mother was told that he could be a vegetable for the rest of his life. But she decided to try surgery. I can’t imagine a mother who wouldn’t. He was in a coma, and they had no idea when he would wake up – if he would wake up. They didn’t know if he would be the same boy they loved and raised. The family felt utterly hopeless.
I shared with her my experience with the angel. I shared my answered prayers about Aidan. I took down all of her family’s information so I could pray for them. Before she left, I told her, “There is ALWAYS hope in Jesus.” I gave her a big hug before she left. After she was gone, I immediately called people I knew who were Christians so they could start praying for this boy. One man of God that I called told me that Sergio was going to be okay… that his mother made the right choice to have the surgery. What I did next scared the crap out of me.
I was afraid to make this call, but something in me had to do it. I called Melissa and told her, “Sergio’s going to be okay. His mom made the right choice to have surgery.” I could hear Melissa’s heart rejoicing. I could hear hope being restored. After I got off the phone, I got down to business and prayed for God to not make me a liar. I believed in Sergio’s recovery. I believed in his healing. I just prayed and prayed.
A couple of days later, I received a text message from Melissa. It read, “Sergio just opened his eyes and moved his leg!!!” Thank God. I called my prayer partners to share the good news. One responded, “Did you believe anything less?” Did I believe in anything less? All I know is that I hoped and I prayed. And I did believe. I believe we have a God of all possibilities. We have a God who answers the prayers of his children. I believe his Word when it says, We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28.
The next day I received another text from Melissa stating, “Sergio is now squeezing his mom’s hand when she tells him to and responding to her voice by opening his eyes!” What fantastic news! I rejoiced and prayed for continuous recovery.
Weeks later, Melissa stopped by my office and informed me that Sergio was moved to a rehabilitation hospital, that he could remember long-term and short-term events, he could laugh and relate happily with others. Sergio is a miracle. I still believe in his full recovery and can’t wait to meet him.
It is such a privilege to see God at work in people close to me. And what I really love to testify is that the miracles and answered prayers do not stop there…

Huge Testimony of Answered Prayer (Long, but powerful!)

I have a hard time deciding where to start my testimony. If I start from the beginning, it begins at the age of four when I asked my mom to pray with me to ask Jesus to come into my heart. Mom might say that the beginning would be when a random stranger laid hands on her pregnant belly with me inside.
I think the best place to start is with a report I received in 2007. My response to this report was the beginning of a miraculous chain of events that are indisputably the work of Almighty God in my life.
I was pregnant with my second son, and like in the beginning of all pregnancies, I had blood work done to screen for all sorts of things. At a doctor’s appointment following these blood tests, my doctor nonchalantly noted out loud that I tested positive for a certain condition that could affect my pregnancy and my life. My mind immediate started reeling. How could I possibly have this condition? I voiced my disbelief, and she mentioned that she could re-test. I agreed to the retest, and doubtfully hoped for the best.
The minute I got back to my office I got on the internet and started looking up the validity of these medical tests. After seeing discouraging news about the accuracy of the tests, I began researching this disorder, and what life changes I could make to prolong my life. I was devastated, and still in disbelief. How could I possibly have this happening to me? Would it be passed on to my unborn child? Nothing made sense to me. I wanted to know how. I wanted to know why. And the moment I felt like this condition and my health was out of my hands, I began to pray.
I prayed that the report was false. I declared the report was false. And then I started to believe that the report was false.
Faith in Jesus can achieve great things. His Word says so much about believing and receiving in accordance to his will. It is not in his will for his children to be sick. His Word does not return void.
Days after the testing, I was afraid to ask for the results. My doctor looked at my chart. My eyes focused in on the papers in my file. I couldn’t make anything out from the distance, but I knew lab papers were there. She looked up at me and said, “Your results came back negative. You're perfectly healthy.”
“Thank God!” I exclaimed. I was smiling on the inside, and my soul was rejoicing on the inside. The miracle I had asked for came to pass and my faith soared.

What I didn’t know was that was the beginning of many tests of faith I received that year. It was the beginning of countless miracles. Big miracles.

My beautiful son, Noah, was born, and my marriage was under fire (and had been for most of my pregnancy). During my prayer time, God kept telling me, “I’m bringing your husband back, but after I do a work in him.” God’s timing may not always seem like it coincides with our timing, but it is always perfect. My husband did come back to me, and God did do a work in him. And it was in complete obedience to the Word of God that we restored our marriage.
Now, when God’s children act in obedience, it sometimes makes the enemy mad. We were about to experience a grand attack.

October 1, 2007 I was taking pictures of our boys, Aidan and Noah. The next day I downloaded those pictures at work and just kept staring at my precious boys. I felt so blessed, and they were so perfect and beautiful. It was shortly after lunch on October 2, that I received a phone call from Aidan’s daycare. The director told me that Aidan had gotten hurt, and he wasn’t walking. He wouldn’t put any weight on his leg, and they felt that I needed to pick him up. I spoke with Aidan, and he was crying. He wanted me to come get him. I felt in my spirit that his leg was broken. I immediately left to get him and take him to the hospital.
When I picked him up from daycare, it was obvious to me that his left thigh was swollen. He held his leg as I drove carefully to the hospital, screaming with every brake, and every corner I turned. It turned out that he did have a femur fracture – which is the most difficult bone in the body to break. I wasn’t prepared for the devastation and road to his recovery we were about to take. We spent 11 days in the hospital with his leg in traction, which meant he was confined to a hospital bed – literally attached to the bed with a weight on a pulley device. It was horrible. The time we had to spend in the hospital was making it difficult to heal a newly-mended marriage. It was difficult to spend the night at the hospital while breastfeeding a newborn, and working full-time. But we did it. I had my Bible with me each day, and the days I would stay at home overnight, I immersed myself in the Word.
Although my faith was strong, I didn’t understand WHY my family was being attacked… Why did it have to be my precious four-year-old? Why did he have to suffer? The answer was on its way, in a way that I did not expect.
I had a dream one night while Aidan was in the hospital. In the dream, I was inside a home with a group of people who were worshiping and singing to the Lord. An older man came up to me and took my hands, looked me in the eye, and said, “Read the Book that is the same as your son’s middle name.” I woke up. While my mind was heavy on Aidan, I knew the man was speaking about Noah. Noah’s middle name is Daniel.
I previously had not read the book of Daniel thoroughly. But I was about to experience God talking to me literally, though his Word, to explain what was happening in my life.
Daniel 3 tells the story of Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They rebelled against a King that ordered them to worship him, and they were punished by being thrown into a furnace. The King was so furious with these boys that he ordered the furnace to burn seven times hotter than normal, and when the friends were bound and thrown in, some soldiers that threw them in fell to their deaths due to the heat of the furnace. These three believers, however, were not killed. The king saw not three, but four men in the furnace – one looked like a god - and the friends walked out, alive, and did not even smell of smoke. Upon reading that, the Lord showed me that I was in the fire. But I was not alone. And I would come out of this trial, and I would not “smell like smoke.” This gave me great comfort and courage. It was further revealed to me that in the way fire purifies gold, I am being “purified” and made perfect through the trials in my life.
This revelation didn’t just comfort me – it gave me great gumption and passion for Christ. I literally told my family that, “The Devil is going to be sorry he messed with me!” I grew passionate about leading people to the Lord.

My passion for leading people to Christ was not motivated so much about living our life on earth, but more motivated by living life in Heaven. I wanted (and still want) more than anything for all of my family and loved ones to be reunited in Heaven one day. When I enter the gates of Heaven, I want to be greeted by the people I love most, and if you’re reading this, you are one of those people.

I read the book 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper, and was so moved by his experience. I’ve always believed Heaven was real, but to have it described by a ‘common man’ changed something in me. I started to realize that this life on earth is not “what it’s all about,” but “seeking first the kingdom of God” is what is most important, and has become a mission for me.

While my passion for the Lord was on fire, my personal “fire” was not quenched yet. Shortly after Aidan was released from the hospital, he went for a follow-up appointment at his Orthopedic Surgeon’s office. They x-rayed his leg, and found that the bone had slid to an improper position. His doctor scheduled surgery for the next morning. He explained to us that one of two things would happen… he would try to pull the bones apart, and put Aidan in traction again for 10 days, or if he could not pull the bones apart, he would have to surgically insert pins into his bone and put Aidan in a fixation devise to ensure proper healing of the bones. That morning, we hoped for the best and prepared for the worst.
There was a third option, however, that had not been banked on. When Aidan went in for surgery, I left to spend nerve-racking time at work. I am the type that needs to keep my mind busy in times of stress. I called my employees to let them know I was on my way and I was describing to them what we were expecting. And then something happened.
I was speaking with an employee who is a fellow Christian, and I described to him “option A and option B.” I then mustered up all the faith in my being and I declared in the name of Jesus, my option C, “They are going to take his cast off and decide that he’s fine, and just slap a new one on him.” My employee agreed.
That’s the great thing about faith. God’s word does not return void. When two or more are gathered in the name of Jesus, their prayers are answered according to His will.
I pulled into my office, and received a phone call from my husband. The words coming out of his mouth were nothing short of a miracle. “Aidan’s surgery is finished. They put on a new cast.” I was shocked. My heart leaped for joy and I wanted to laugh and cry and praise at the same time. I began sharing the good news with everyone around me. I couldn’t call my family fast enough to share the miracle that had occurred.

I still wasn’t out of the fire, though. That week I learned that Jake needed to have back surgery. I had the burden of a newborn, a son in a wheelchair, and a husband who was about to endure a back surgery to fuse two lower discs in his spine. It was difficult to see my husband’s anxiety turn into desperation in the minutes before surgery. I knew he was going to be okay, but I wasn’t the one being cut into. Back surgery is major surgery. His surgery lasted nearly six hours for the surgeon to carefully pull out shattered bone fragments from his spine, and screw the cages in for his fusion.
Prior to his surgery, I received in the mail a CD I ordered from Jesse Duplantis Ministries called “Close Encounters of the God Kind.” I listened to this CD, and was so inspired by his testimony. I could relate to some of his experiences, and stood in awe as I listened to him describe some truly amazing events he experienced. He spoke of seeing angels. I had never seen an angel. I prayed at that moment and asked God to allow me to see an angel of the Lord.
The first night following Jake’s surgery, I stayed with him. The following nights afterward, I stayed at home to care for the baby and Aidan. It was the third or fourth night after his surgery that I experienced something that I will never forget.
I fell asleep early that night, with the baby by my side. I awakened, and felt something in my spirit say, “this is it.” I opened my eyes, and at the foot of my bed was a huge angel, standing quietly with his arms extended towards me and his head tilted to the side. He was wearing white, but he was glowing gold. His hair was golden blonde and his eyes were large and blue. His wings extended to the sides of him, and his presence seemed to be as wide as he was tall. His gown draped over him like white curtains. I was frightened, and clenched my eyes shut and started praying, “I’m not ready, I’m not ready, I’m not ready.” I opened my eyes again and he was gone. I closed my eyes again, and when I closed my eyes I could still see the light imprint of his image – kind of like when you look at a light and then you look into darkness, or close your eyes, you can still see the light imprint. That became evidence to me that I was not dreaming. It’s hard to describe something so miraculous. I could “hear” his presence – even after he was gone. It was like a warm and soft ringing in my ears as if someone were rubbing my face with a blanket… but that doesn’t even describe it accurately. It’s hard for me to describe what I saw and how I felt. It’s as if our English language does not have the right words to give the experience justice. I started to feel as if I were being filled with warmth. It felt as if someone literally opened the top of my head and filled by body with warmth. I could feel it from the bottom of my toes, and rising, rising until the warmth poured out from my fingertips, and overflowed from the top of my head. My heart was leaping with joy. I immediately called Jake and told him what I saw.
The next day I woke up and got ready for work. I felt as if I were given a new body. I felt absolutely fantastic. I called my parents to tell them of my experience, and I found that day that whenever I shared the experience, the warm tingling returned.
In the days following my “sighting,” I began to question what I saw. Why was it a man, when most angels we see on top of Christmas trees are women? If you go to a Hallmark store, pictures of angels are usually women. If you look up angel pictures on the internet, you will mostly see angel “women.” I researched this and found that EVERY angel of the Bible was a “male,” although experts on the subject indicate that angels are neither male nor female. The only exception to this “rule” is in the Bible where it says in Hebrews 13:2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it.

Since then, my life has been so blessed just knowing that the Lord has provided me with so much evidence of his existence. I love sharing my testimony and hope that it provides hope for others!

Tennis Shoes

No prayer is too big or too small... or too insignificant. When I was about 20 years old, I was certainly not made of money. I was working full time as a leasing agent at an apartment community. When I was off work, I'd go to the gym... in my ratty, old, ugly tennis shoes. I had worn them since highschool and while they still served their purpose, I wanted new shoes. So I did something that I hadn't done before. I prayed for new shoes.

Some people don't realize that God hears all of our prayers. The big, the small, the desperate, and the "insignificant." But we must realize that nothing is insignificant to God.

The next day, one of my co-workers came into the office from cleaning the pool holding a pair of women's sneakers. They looked brand new, and no one had claimed them as the day passed. I muttered to another coworker, who was also a Christian, "I just prayed for new shoes. I wonder what size they are?" She took the shoes, looked inside, and showed me the un-worn inner tag that indicated they were a size 7.5... just my size! And brand new! Not a hint of wear or tear!

Those shoes were for me. God knew I wanted new shoes and that I didn't have the money to spend. I was blessed beyond measure that day, because I learned that God TRULY CARES about the little things in our life. And these "little things" make it quite evident that God is at work in every aspect of our lives.