All things are possible for God. I wanted to share a little bit of why I am writing to you and to perhaps give you and your family a little comfort. My daughter Hannah was born at only 24 weeks (She was what medicine calls Micro-Preemie). She was so small and so defenseless and I couldn’t even begin to imagine what would become of her.

I had to learn to be patient and wait on God for everything. God showed me that I needed to trust Him; that there was nothing else in the world but Him. I just didn’t know what to do. I was so torn inside because I had previously miscarried a baby. This was my little piece of heaven and I didn’t want God to take her away from me. She was going through so many things. Her eyes were fused together at birth. Her skin was as thin as paper. She was on a breathing machine, she had a little hole in her heart (which they treated and was ok after a while), and to top it all off, her small intestine was blocked/dead. At only two weeks of life, she was going through her first surgery. They gave us all the bad possibilities and hardly any hope. God on the other hand had another plan in mind. He guided the Doctors hand through surgery and she was still alive.
From there on, she began to develop normally and it looked like God was going to keep her healthy. At 2 months, she had a routine check and that is when they discovered that the blood vessels in her eyes were bleeding. She was diagnosed with Retinopathy of Prematurity. They told us that it was too soon to find out whether or not she had lost her sight. Surgery was the only way to prevent total blindness. Again, at only 2 months of age, she was in surgery. When the Doctor came back in after the surgery, they told us that they had been able to save both of her eyes. However, they said that she would not be able to see from certain angles because of the scaring of the blood vessels. Nevertheless, I trust that God will heal her and keep her in His hands.
Seek Him, and He will give you peace (Jeremiah 33:3 Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.) In the book of Deuteronomy 31 verse 6 its says, “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will be with you. He will not leave you or forget you.” Trust in Him he will be there for you. Remember that you can walk on water. Keep your eyes on Him and He will walk along with you.
Thank you so much for your time. Trust God! I cannot stress that enough. Trust Him. God Bless you and May his Mercy and Grace be with you.

Jane Doe

P. S. I wish you could see what she looked like at birth and what she looks like Now. She is a true fighter.

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."
In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.
"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

I don't know if Matt will ever see this but I just had to let you know - you have made a Huge change in my life, I was brought up in a full on Christian house hold - but as i got older(I'm now 34) I drifted away from the Lord, I was hanging around the wrong people and doing stuff my parents would be ashamed of (as I to am) But in the last month I've been watching the UFC session 1 and session 2, I knew who Matt was but never really followed him until watching Session 2 UFC TV series which at the end of it I heard you say you were a Christian - so i started watching your fights and at the end of them you are thanking Jesus Christ for being in your heart - the emotions that stirred up inside me were of so much joy and happiness, I have tears of joy running down my face while I'm typing this, Cause I have asked Jesus back into my Heart, and I have You to thank for that, You would have to be one of the Toughest Badest people in the UFC but also one of the Kindest, you have been blessed with an amazing gift, and I'm sure I'm not the only one you have changed, but keep up the good work of spreading the word of God.
I truly do thank you.
Yours Truly,
Iain

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Guess our national leaders didn't expect this, hmm? On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton , Colorado , was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well.
It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.

"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder, I would be their strongest opponent.

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best. This was written way before I knew I would be speaking here today:

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999 , at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!

My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"

"When I lifted weights I didn't just lift to maintain my muscle tone. I lifted to increase what I already had and to push to a new limit. Every time I worked I was getting a little better. I kept moving that limit back and back. Every time I walked out of the gym, I was a little better than when I walked in."

Favorite Stories: The Small White Envelope

It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past ten years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas--oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it--overspending... the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma---the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike.

The inspiration came in an unusual way.

Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears.

It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat.

Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them."

Mike loved kids - all kids - and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That's when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition--one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.

The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn't end there.

You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more.

Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing to take down the envelope.

Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit will always be with us. May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always.

by Nancy Gavin
(This story originally appeared in Woman's Day magazine 12/14/1982)

Well friends the fight is over and we won the war! At 5:00 AM this morning Trey was healed, his body fully restored. Trey went home to be with Jesus. What an amazing kid. Trey’s last day of living cancer free was October 19, 2004 and now it is his first day of living cancer free again exactly two years later.

Everyone who received this email has been such an important part of this battle the last two years. I can not begin to tell you how your love and support was felt by Trey and has changed the lives of my family forever. Trey fought with courage and dignity. He never complained. Every night I would pray with him. Before we prayed I would ask “Trey is there something special you would like me to pray for?” His response was “yeah dad that I would have a good day tomorrow.” I would always ask “was today a good day?” and he always replied “yes.” That was the type of kid he was and how he lived his life, positive. So friends Lea said it last night that we will never tire of hearing how Trey and his situation has changed the lives of everyone who has received these emails over the last two years. If you have a moment please take the time to let us know. His memory, spirit, smile, zest for life, joy and laughter will live in our hearts and minds forever. When you receive this email please take a moment and pray that Jesus will shepherd Trey into Heaven and that it will be a glorious celebration. Please also pray for my family too. Trey was a great young man and will be missed. But we know God was triumphant!