By Susan Shanklin

Do you ever have one of those jump-up-and-down moments? Like when you lift up the name of Jesus higher than situations? Like when you get to utter the promises of God over the works of the devil? Like lift-off-over-the-moon excitement?? 

If not, you sure are missing out on the best part of life!

Yesterday, a friend from my water exercise class who has offered to help me decorate cupcakes for a bridal shower, called to say she wasn’t coming to class due to a fitful painful sleepless night of back pain. I was supposed to loan her some cupcake tins to experiment with.

Tom and I were just finishing up our daily prayer time together when she called. 

“Why hi,” I say. Folks, I don’t even know her last name. She is just a lady in the same pool as me. Her and I are a wee bit of troublemakers—a splashing and joking around duo. Surprising I know.

She tells me she’s not coming and how much pain she is in, and my heart aches for her. Have YOU ever experienced back pain?

As she is talking, I just interrupt and say, “Can we pray for you? Tom is here too.”

There is a longer than usual pause. 

She says, “That would be wonderful!”

I tell her that she is on speaker phone and Tom begins to pray about God’s love for her and how He died on the cross for her sins, sicknesses, and pains.

Oh, she was touched. She was touched by our care for her. She was touched by God’s love for her. People, she was touched!

I took back the phone and said, “We love you! Take care, and I will see you when you get back.” She was leaving for South Dakota.

She said she loved us too! Her voice had life. Her voice had joy. 

I hung up and started jumping up and down. I was holding my phone and was doing a happy dance. Twirling for Jesus! 

I tell you, it set the course for my day. How easy is it to find someone to pray for or share Jesus with. The whole world is full of needs, and we know just the right Person to meet that need. Glory! What fun!

On a Different Note … But the Same Sweet Song

Finally, after years of prodding, poking, and praying, Tom finally produced one of the best, anointed life-changing CDs called Peace Scriptures and Prayers. For months, I have been playing practice copies in my kitchen and car. I wore out one Healing CD and am on number two, but this Peace CD is even better. It’s GOLD! Now, I’m not just saying this because “you know who” did it, but it’s life-words that cuts through the dross and sets you free. I start my day with it. I play it while I’m cooking, canning, washing and doing all the mundane duties of life. I play it in my car—soaking it in, then stopping it and meditating on the scriptures.

Yesterday, I was traveling to my daughter Heidi’s house in Minneapolis. It’s dark and raining and there are miles and miles and miles of road construction with two-lane traffic, orange sticks, trucks, and jogs. 

I’m not a huge fan of driving in the rain in the Twin Cities. It’s not in my comfort zone.

Tom prays for me before I leave, and I gas up and start my Peace CD. It’s like sipping ice tea on a hot day while floating on a rubber raft in a swimming pool. I soak in the life-giving words. Oh, it may be dark outside and the wind be a blowing, but I have peace … God’s peace. 

I get about an hour from home, drawing closer to the cities. There is more and more traffic and more and more BIG trucks. It’s raining, and the roads are wet, but I have peace as I go through a very busy intersection with lots of trucks. I know the road well. We should be picking up the pace more than we are … and it’s bumper to bumper. 

My car kind of sits up high. I can see the semis in front of me putting their brakes on, but we all are still moving. The driver of the compact station wagon in front of me puts her brakes on and slows to a crawl. I don’t know why we are braking. I slow down. but I’m still moving. I look in my rear view mirror and see a huge semi picking up speed. 

I look ahead and see that the two huge semis in front of the little compact station wagon are crawling with their brake lights on. I look behind and see a BIG truck barreling directly towards me. 

I hold my right arm up (like the truck driver can see me) and say calmly as can be, “Hey, you’re going to have to stop, dude.”

A quick glance to the front, nothing has changed. Can’t switch lanes. But I’ve got very “un-Susan-like” supernatural peace! 

I look back quickly and see the truck start to jackknife. I look to my side, and suddenly it’s open. Pedal to the metal, and I roar past the little compact car, trucks, and cars. I don’t look back.

But I have peace. I’m calm.

I don’t hear any crashing. No noise—just rain and ice tea.

The Word is power. The spoken Word has power. 

If I were you, I would get me one of those Peace CDs. 

Peace Scriptures and Prayers by Tom Shanklin>>>