WHEN DIAGNOSIS COMES:

Surviving your child’s diagnosis.

By:
Elizabeth Mareno

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 Prologue: Diagnosis does not equal death.

I remember the phone call like it was yesterday. May 21, 2004, the pre-op blood
tests run on Stefani for a tonsillectomy came back. The general practitioner’s office called
us to say that her blood was anemic and it looked like leukemia.
The first thing that ran through my head was, “What is leukemia?” I knew it
couldn’t be good, but to be honest, I didn’t know it was cancer. The next thought was,
“Okay, now what?” So, I called the phone numbers they had left with me and talked to
an Oncologist. Even after I spoke with her I still didn’t grasp the whole picture. My mind
was in a fog. All I knew was that they were telling me my baby was sick and that she had
to meet with doctors as soon as possible. So we did what we had to do and set up
appointments. We didn’t tell Stefani anything other than that the doctors wanted to look
at her blood again. I certainly wasn’t going to fill her little head with all the maybes. We,
also, told very few other people what the doctor’s had said.
May 24, 2004 is Stefani’s official diagnosis date. That is the day that the world
just stopped moving. We had plans. My husband, Tony, and I were being licensed as
youth ministers the following weekend. In a month, Stefani was going to her first year at
Bible camp. Our summer was full. We had lots to do, but the gears of life came to a
screeching halt.
After meeting with her oncology doctor we understood what leukemia was. I
guess I still didn’t grasp the fact that it was cancer until a few weeks down the road. It
was a word I just couldn’t let myself think about. However, the wheels of diagnosis move
extremely fast. Everything around you is in hyper speed and you are in slow motion. One
minute you hear, “Your child has a disease.” The next is “Here’s the plan”.
The doctors have a prescribed order of things that they will do, all in the interest
of healing their patient. Many of them have tunnel vision because they know the outcome
if things are not started rapidly. Unfortunately, some of them tell you too much and others
don’t tell you enough. In our case, our doctor wanted to ease us into everything so that we
didn’t overload on information and panic. Wonderful intentions, but the poor man didn’t
know me. I needed information. Information was my tool, my weapon. Your head begins
to tell you things but this is where your victory will begin. Take every thought captive,
according to 2 Corinthians 10:5 and formulate your own plan!

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 Chapter 1
PUT YOURSELF IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT
4 Steps to Being Prepared
1. Choose carefully whom you tell what information to.

I will give you an obvious answer. Don’t tell everyone on the street. For us
that included our child. Some of the best counsel we got was, “Don’t let Stefani
claim that disease as her own”. She is very melodramatic (aren’t all girls?) and
she would have taken the name leukemia and run with it, making it her disease,
her sickness. If she accepted it, then what? How do you teach someone that their
body is healed when they’ve accepted the disease? It can be done, but it takes
twice the amount of work. It was just easier to keep key pieces of information
from her until we felt she could hear them and not be affected in an adverse way.
We didn’t allow her doctors or nurses to talk about it in front of her until
we brought it up. It’s not like we withheld information from her for months. It
only took about three or four days before the doctors were able to talk freely in
front of her. We eased into it by converting our language from “bad blood cells”
to “leukemia cells”, always reinforcing that this was not hers. It was a foreign
disease inside of her and it didn’t belong to her. We let her know that this disease
didn’t have the right to be in her body. She belongs to Jesus. Evil and
righteousness cannot abide in the same body. Therefore the sickness had to go.
You have to get your mind set on the fact that if satan doesn’t have the right to
accuse the righteous according to Romans 8:33, he doesn’t have the right to make
them sick either. Let’s look at that:
Romans 8:33-35, NKJV, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s
elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died,
yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword?”
Romans 8:37, NKJV, “Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him that loved us.”
Nothing can separate us from the love of God. God’s love sent His son
Jesus to die for us, so that we might live life eternally with Him, and not die an
eternal death. Jesus took the stripes and bore all sickness on the cross.
Isaiah 53:5, NKJV, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with
his stripes we are healed.”
It doesn’t belong to you or me or your child anymore.

2. Find partners in Jesus Christ to stand with you.

Part of being selective in who you give information to includes finding

prayer partners to stand with you.

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 One of your most important allies in a situation like this is your Pastor and
his wife. They are the ones that God has placed over your life to guide you,
chastise you, protect you and grow you up. They are the ones that will faithfully
go before God and intercede on your behalf.
Ephesians 4:11-12, NKJV, “And he (Jesus) gave some, apostles; and
some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the
perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ.”
They are in the position they are in because:
1. They obeyed God
2. They love you and want to help you.

Another good partner in prayer will be the Ministering Elders of your church.
James 5:14-15, NKJV, “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders
of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of
the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him
up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
The Word of God states it plain as day right there. Any sick among you?
Call for the elders. You purpose to call them. It’s their privilege and their
anointing to come and lay hands upon your child and anoint them with oil
(praying the prayer of faith and they will be healed). Specifically, “the prayer of
faith shall save the sick.” Could it be any more complete? The key factor in all of
this is, when they pray the prayer of faith, do YOU believe it? It is critical that
you make up your mind before doing this. You either trust God or you don’t.

3, Decide what path you are going to take, the Bible or the Doctor’s prognosis.

Matthew 17:20, NKJV, “ And Jesus said unto them, Because of your
unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye
shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove;
and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
Every new piece of information was a mountain that had to be overcome.
What were we going to believe? What were we going to accept? We decided that
we were going to fight. We decided that we were not going to accept disease and
death. We were not going to accept any of the side effects or sickness that can
come from chemotherapy. We decided that Stefani’s life was going to be the most
amazing “God” testimony ever. We handed ourselves over to God and he
protected us, especially Stefani.
The path we took was the Bible path. When we had our original meeting
with her oncologist we got a lot of information, including her ‘prognosis’. If she
had less than 25,000 white blood cell count, her prognosis was good. If she was
under the age of ten, her prognosis was good. If she this, and if she that…well,
she was, on every point. That is the favor of God. ALL or Acute Lymphoblastic
Leukemia is a very curable childhood cancer. They gave her a cure rate of 89%,
which is the highest cure rate you can get, at least, at this time.

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 Everything the doctor told us became one more thing to speak the Word
to. He said her cure rate is 89%. When we left we said, “No, in the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, her cure rate is 100%. Not only is it 100%, but it’s 100% with
complete restoration of her body.” Not only would the disease have to leave her
body and not return, but her entire body (blood, organs, functions, weight, etc)
would be restored to perfection. Not so that we could say “Look at how holy we
are, we spoke this into being”, but so that we could stand before the world and say
“Look what my God has done for me and He can do it for you, too!”
With ALL, they attack the disease aggressively with lots of chemotherapy.
Stefani was on a cocktail of several different chemos at once. They do this so that
they can force the disease into remission. What that means is they kill the disease
right away and the rest of the time is spent continuing to prohibit the body from
forming immature cells. If they form, they are killed so quickly because of all the
chemo in her body. In this initial period, they expect to see the “blast” (leukemia
cell) percentage going down rapidly. When Stefani was diagnosed her blasts were
at 84%. That means that 84% of her blood was full of immature cells or leukemia.
By the second week of treatment, her blasts were supposed to be at 25% or lower.
Hers were at 65%. Their goal was to get her blasts to 5% or less in her blood. The
average person is said to carry 5% or less in their blood stream. If she didn’t
respond faster, she would be considered a ‘slow responder’ and they would have
had to use a more aggressive approach, which would have been extremely hard on
her body.
We began at the end of week two speaking specifically to her blood. We
said this exactly, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I call Stefani’s blood
whole and healed. I speak to the blasts in her blood stream. I command them in
the name of Jesus to die and flush out of her system. I tell her white blood cells to
lower. I tell her healthy red blood cells to increase in the name of Jesus. I plead
the blood of Jesus Christ over Stefani’s body. Satan you don’t have the right to
kill her. Take your hands off of her now, in the name of Jesus. I command those
blasts to become less than 1% in her body.”
Her bone marrow test came back reading .5% blasts in her blood. That’s
‘point’ 5%, not 5%!! Less than half of a percent!!
HALLELUJAH, THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!
Her doctor looked amazed. We knew it was God.
Her blasts went from 65% to .5% in a week and a half. That could only BE
God!
We decided we were going to take whatever information the doctors gave
us and use it as a weapon on the devil. He was not going to defeat us, Stefani or
our God!

4. Get organized: Find scripture to stand on and keep a journal.

We had to decide that we were not going to be moved by what we felt,

what we heard, or what we saw. We were only going to be moved by what the
Word of God had to say about the situation. We immediately began to search the
scriptures. We started out with scriptures about healing, but soon realized that

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there was so much more to what Stefani needed. She needed peace, tranquility,
joy, productive sleep, etc. We began to search out other scriptures that she needed
to hear. Every day, I would sit and read scriptures until she fell asleep for naps and
bedtimes. We would play scripture CD’s in the background. We wouldn’t
allow the TV to be on. I didn’t want her head being filled up with the world and
the poison and death it brings. I wanted her mind and attention focused on God
and his Word and what it was going to do for her. If you need a place to start,
there is a chapter in the end of the book dedicated entirely to the scriptures that we
used every day.
One way that we got organized was by getting a seven day pill divider.
She had so many pills to take in the beginning that there was no way for me to
remember them all in the orders they belonged in. For me, the easiest thing was to
divide them all into their respective time slots and dole them out accordingly.
Every time Stefani took a pill, it didn’t matter how small, we laid our hands on the
medicine and prayed over it, pleading the blood of Jesus on it. This is the prayer
we prayed. “We lay our hands on this chemo in the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth. We thank you Father God that this medicine is effective in Stefani’s
body with no ill side effects. We plead the blood of Jesus over this medicine and
over Stefani’s body. We call her healed and whole in the name of Jesus.” This was
also the prayer that we prayed in the hospital. We didn’t let anyone administer
medicines to her without us first having the chance to lay our hands on it and
speak over it. What did we care if they thought we were off our rockers? We were
fighting for our child’s life!
The other way that I got organized was by keeping a journal. It seemed
like Stefani would go through mood swings and bouts of fatigue at different times
of the day. It wasn’t until I began to journal that I found a pattern in her behavior.
I needed to know this information so that I could respond appropriately toward
this behavior. It can be hard to believe that a medicine can cause inappropriate
actions in a person, but they can. Even though your child should never be allowed
to just “express” themselves or behave disrespectfully towards you, sometimes
they just cannot help them selves. Through this pattern I was able to discover
times of day and medicines that adversely affected her. Then, to counter the bad
behavior, we would set it up so that at those times of the day she either had quiet
time with scriptures on or she could take a nap. Whatever it took to put her in a
place of rest and peace. Once again, I gave myself information to fight back with.
It may seem trivial, but your child’s comfort and peace of mind are as important
as the attack you launch on the devil. When you are in a situation where your
child cannot control their behavior it is as stressful for them as it is for you.
James 3:13, 17-18, NKJV, “Who is a wise man and endued with
knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with
meekness of wisdom. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then
peaceable, gentle and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without
partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace
of them that make peace.”

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 Your goal for your child should be peace through the eye of the storm.
Organization on your part will go a long way in helping to provide that
atmosphere.

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 Chapter 2
PLEADING THE BLOOD
What does that mean?

In the last chapter, I spoke of “pleading the blood” over Stefani’s

medicines. This is speaking of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for
us on the cross.
When the prophet Isaiah prophesied about Jesus, the Messiah, coming, he
spoke of his death as well:
Isaiah 53:5, NKJV, “ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with
his stripes we are healed.”
Jesus shed his blood on the cross to cleanse us. When we “plead the
blood” over our bodies, our minds, our medicines, our food we are asking for a
cleansing to take place. That whatever would touch us could not harm us because
it has been sanctified by the blood of Jesus.
1 John 1:7b, NKJV, “…and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us
from all sin.”
We pled the “blood” over Stefani’s medicines because we were not willing
to let any extra harm come to her body because of her treatment. The medicines
they gave her had the potential to cause all kinds of complications later in her life.
The Word of God and the Blood of Jesus Christ have and will continue to prove
those words wrong!

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 CHAPTER 3
SPEAK TO THE FIG TREE

Your roll as parent/guardian equals in the spirit realm the shield, the
sword, and the armor of God. Your responsibility to your child in the spirit realm

is no less great than in the natural realm. Just as you have to clothe them and feed
them, you must do the same in the spirit. As a matter of fact, it is greater. Until
they come to an age where they can defend them selves spiritually it is your
responsibility to stand in the spiritual gap for your child. You have a huge call on
your life. You are in the ministry, whether you wanted to be or not.
One of the things that my mother told me when Stefani was just an infant
was “When you got married and had kids, you gave up the right to have a bad
day.” It was a statement that hugely impacted my life. Whether you are married or
not, it applies with your children just the same. I know it seems unfair, but let’s
look at the reality of our bad day.
When you and I have a bad day when we are in battle it is much akin to
Moses on the mountain in Exodus 17:8-13:
NKJV, “Then came Amalek, and fought in Israel in Rephidim. And Moses
said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I
will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did
as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur
went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand,
that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But
Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat
thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the
other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the
sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.”
Until Moses had Aaron and Hur to help him hold his hands up, Amalek
prevailed against Israel. We don’t want to lose the battle because we have gotten
tired. This is one of the reasons why prayer partners are so important. They are
our Aaron and Hur.
If you allow yourself the emotional pity party that we all want to allow
ourselves and say “Why me, why my baby? This is unfair!”, then we spend all of
that selfish time being unproductive in battle. As my Pastor would say, “You are
either moving forward, or you are moving backward, there is no stall in the
spirit”. In a pity party, you are trying to stall in a “No-Stall” Zone! Yes, it is unfair,
but you don’t have the luxury of falling apart right now!
The same goes for doubt and worry. In Mark 11:13-14, 20-26, Jesus had
just entered Jerusalem and had gone to a fig tree to find some fruit. There wasn’t
any fruit because it was not the time of the figs. Jesus said to the tree in verse 14,
“No man eat of thee hereafter for ever.” In verse 20 it says, “they saw the fig tree
dried up from the roots.” Jesus didn’t curse the fig tree because he was upset with
the fig tree. He used it as a lesson to teach his disciples the power of their words!

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 What we need to be focusing on is, “What is coming out of my mouth?”
The disciples did not grasp the lesson that Jesus was trying to teach them very
quickly. He had to go on and further explain him self. In verses 22-24 Jesus tells
them “Have faith in God. Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be removed
and cast into the sea and doesn’t doubt their words, will have what they say!” My
paraphrase, of course. Your fig tree is your child’s diagnosis.
Part of us not allowing ourselves the pity party is we give no place for the
devil to come in and attack our emotions.
Ephesians 4: 26-27, NKJV, “ Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go
down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.”
When our emotions are attacked we more easily stand in unforgiveness.
Forgiveness is KEY to having the words of your mouth be effective. Verses 25 &
26 of Mark 11 talk all about it. “When you stand praying, forgive, so that your
Father in heaven may forgive you. If you don’t forgive, neither will God forgive
you.” My paraphrase again. This is telling me that if I don’t stand in forgiveness
towards others, then my prayers are hindered. Not theirs, MINE. God cannot
commune with sin and if I’m not forgiving, then I’m sinning and my words of
“faith” mean nothing.
When Jesus spoke to the fig tree he expected to see it dead. The only ones
that were surprised were the disciples. Can you just imagine Jesus talking to the
disciples? “I cursed the fig tree. Did you expect it to keep living after I cursed it?”
Our words have life in them. What we bless or curse, will be blessed or cursed,
same as the fig tree. We need to be as certain of the words of our mouths
concerning our children’s lives.
Don’t you doubt for a second that you won’t get what you say!! God has
said it in His Word! Straight from the mouth of Jesus, Himself!
Mark 11:24b, NKJV, “what things soever you desire or ask for; when you
pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.” When we speak to
the mountain, it HAS to move!
It is God’s intention for you to be victorious!
Jeremiah 29:11-14a, NKJV, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward
you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken
unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all
your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your
captivity,”
If Abraham had not gotten a hold of the vision that God was trying to give
him concerning the nations He was planning to make from him, then it never
would have come to pass in his life. Just like Abraham, if you can’t see it
happening to you, it won’t happen.
Whether we like it or not, we will prophecy. We will get what comes out
of our mouths.

This was a lesson that I had to learn later in Stefani’s diagnosis. We had
been at it for probably two years at that point. I was thinking about all of the

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things that we had just come out of. We were scheduled to complete protocol in
about six months.
Chemotherapy just ends. There is no weaning off of the drugs, no easy let-
down. Just *snap* your done. While I was thinking about the sudden end coming
up, fear began to chew at the back of my mind. What if it comes back? What if
the chemo wasn’t strong enough? What it…what if…what if??? That was when
God led me to the story of the fig tree.
Do we really think that if we curse something, with the power of the name
of Jesus backing it up, that it has the right to keep living? I don’t think so. I had to
remember, I have cursed this disease and it doesn’t have the right to stay! You do
the same!

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 CHAPTER 4
AFRAID OR CONFIDENT, JUST DO IT!

Imagine if you will, what it must have been like for the Israelites running
from Egypt and Pharaoh. They had a God that had just performed miracle after
miracle for their freedom. (Exodus 3-13) They fled from the only land they had
ever known based upon the words of one man and the miracles of one God. They
had their freedom, so to speak. But God didn’t take them the easy route. He didn’t
take them through the nearest populated area, the easy way. No, he took them the
route of the Red Sea. An impassable, insurmountable obstacle.
Why? Why would God take them the “hard” way?
Exodus 13:17, NKJV, “ And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the
people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines,
although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when
they see war, and they return to Egypt.”
He didn’t want them to see the war in the land of the Philistines and say,
“Oh man, have these people got it hard. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m
going to go back to Egypt where I had it good! At lease we weren’t at war and our
people weren’t dying!” No, they were just in 400+ years of slavery and bondage.
But, when you are going through a hard time, sometimes the old ways look good.

Ok, for what purpose did I tell that story? Let’s look at the next scripture.
Exodus 13:18, NKJV, “ But God led the people about, through the way of
the wilderness of the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of
the land of Egypt.”
Harnessed here means they were under the control of another…obviously
God! He took them the way of the Red Sea so that he could show them just how
big a God he really was. Watch what happens next.
Exodus 14:8-9, NKJV, “And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king
of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel
went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, and the horses
and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them
encamping by the sea, beside Ph-hahi-roth, before Baal-zephon.”
God had orchestrated where the Israelites were going to be camping. God
had hardened the heart of the Pharaoh, so he pursued them and caught up to them.
What is God doing??
God is creating a miracle! The children of Israel lift up their eyes in
Exodus 14:10 and see Pharaoh and his army marching on them and they are sore
afraid. That means they are scared out of their wits. They ask Moses in verse 11,
“Did you bring us out here to die? We told you back in Egypt to leave us alone!
We would rather have served the Egyptians than come out here and die!” What
did Moses say?

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 Exodus 14:13-14, NKJV,” Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of
the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom you have seen
today, you shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and
you shall hold your peace.”
After this is the part where God tells Moses to stretch his rod forth over
the sea and divide it. He said “the children of Israel shall go on dry land through
the midst of the sea.”
Let’s stop right there. The rest of the story is great. The Egyptians chase
after them and God causes the sea to swallow them up. But I want to focus on the
Israelites, who moments before, had been crying out to Moses asking them if they
were led out to the wilderness to die. Obviously God’s plan had been much
greater than the human mind could comprehend, because in their ‘reality’ they
were going to die. In their ‘reality’ they had the Egyptian army on one side and
the Red sea on the other. Can you imagine how scared they had to be? Can you
imagine how Moses was feeling? But, what did Moses do? He spoke out not his
‘reality’, but God’s promises! He didn’t turn on God and say, “Yeah, what were
you thinking God?” He told the people to be quiet and watch God save them.
Mom, Dad, Guardian, you are the Moses of your household. You cannot
be moved by the words of the people around you. You cannot become involved in
speaking out your fear, your doubt, or your unbelief. Just as Moses had to go and
stand before Pharaoh afraid, you have to go and stand up to this attack from satan
afraid. Just as Moses had to believe that God would save them, you have to
believe that God will win this battle. As Reverend Kate McVeigh would say, “He
will turn your test into a testimony.”
What about all of the Israelites that all of this was happening to? Have you
ever walked between to massive walls of rushing, gushing water? The sound must
have been deafening! Well you, my friend, can walk on the bottom of the Red sea
if you choose to. Afraid or confident, the Israelites had to do it and so can you.
Satan would have you think that God has done this to you to teach you
something. That if God wanted to, he could have kept this from happening. God
has not brought you to this hard place, but he will use it for his glory. When all
this happened with Stefani, we searched ourselves to see if there was something
we had done, some sin that we had perpetrated to cause this horrible disease to
come upon her. We were afraid that the sins of the fathers had been visited upon
the children. We even had people close to us ask our Pastor, “What kind of
‘hidden sin’ were we in that something like this could happen?” It took a word
from a Preacher of Righteousness for us to understand and be free from the lie
that we didn’t do this to her, it was simply an attack from satan.
God no longer causes plagues and sicknesses to teach lessons or get our
attention. We do not live in Old Testament times under the old law. That’s why
Jesus came. He redeemed us from the curse of the law. We no longer have to die,
because Jesus already took care of that. He took every infirmity, every sickness,
every disease upon his body when he hung on that cross. His name covers it all.
Galatians 3:13-14,29, NKJV, ”Christ has redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangs
on a tree. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus

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Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. And if you be
Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Don’t ever believe the other lie satan wants you to grab a hold of either.
“Too little, too late. Your child already has the disease. You should’ve been
speaking in faith a long time ago. If you had, then this never would have
happened. Nothing can help you now!” PHOOEY! Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda
never changes anything! Only the Word of God on your lips will change this
situation around! God’s Word promises deliverance! There are so many scriptures
to stand on, but this is one of my favorites:
Psalms 18:2, NKJV, “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my
deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of
my salvation, and my high tower.”
Just so you can grab this scripture with both hands, I will explain it a little.
Buildings are built upon a cornerstone. This stone bears the most weight. The
Lord is your cornerstone. You can imagine what an old medieval fortress looks
like, large and formidable. The Lord is your fortress. A buckler is a small round
shield that was used in hand to hand combat to break blows from the enemy. Your
faith is your buckler. The horn was blown to communicate during battle. The
truth of God’s Word is the horn of your salvation. The high tower was a place of
retreat from battle. This is where the king’s family would be put to keep them
from harm. God is your high tower. In Him is where you will rest.
God is ALL of those things and MORE for us! He WILL deliver you!
Afraid or confident, you must trust God and use His weapons!
God does not want you walking through this, going the route of the
Philistines “which is near you.” The route of the Philistines is the world and all of
the fear it perpetuates. It will take you in and hold you and let you cry and let you
feel bad about it and let you wallow in self-pity about it…it goes on and on. But
the way of the Red sea is God’s choice for you. It is the harder path, but you will
emerge on the other side of the Red sea, having walked upon dry land while huge
walls of rushing, gushing fear surround you. Let me remind you, though, the
angel of God went to the rear of the Israelites and the cloud of God stood between
them and the Egyptians. God will do the same for you. The Egyptians died and so
will this disease!

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 CHAPTER 5
WHAT REALLY IS GOD’S WILL?
God’s will is so vast and expansive it would take two books to write it all down,
so I am going to hit on the two points that I believe he wants you to know right now.
A lot of Christian authors lately have been talking about fulfilling the destiny that
God has given us. Being a generation driven by destiny. To me, destiny has always been a
‘pie in the sky’ kind of mentality. The first thing I think of is the 1985 film “Back to the
Future” when George McFly tells his bride-to-be “I am your density.” I looked it up and
the word destiny is not in the Bible. Webster’s New World Dictionary gives this
definition for destiny:
1. That which is bound to happen; one’s fate [Was it my destiny to be a teacher?]
2. That which seems to make things happen the way they do; fate [Destiny
brought us here.]
There are too many questions and too many maybes. “Bound” and “seem” are not
definitive words. They are words that leave things to chance. God is not a god of chance.
He is a God of defined ends.
Jeremiah 29:11 says that God knows what he thinks towards us. He does not have
thoughts of evil. He thinks thoughts of peace. Why does he think thoughts of peace? To
give us an expected end. Let’s read it together:
Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith
the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
It’s pretty self-explanatory except for the expected end. If you are a “glass half
full” kind of person then , in your mind, your expected end is a happy thought. If you are
a “glass half empty” kind of person then your expected end might be a gloom and doom
story. So let’s find out what God really meant by an expected end.
When you break the word ‘expected’ down into the literal Hebrew that it was
written in, it means: Literally a cord (as an attachment) taken from the primitive root
word which means to bind together (perhaps by twisting). And when ‘end’ is broken
down, it means: The last or end, hence the future; the hind part; to loiter, by implication
to procrastinate. Ok, so what does all of this mean? Before I answer that let’s read some
more in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 29:12-14a, NKJV, “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and
pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye
shall search for me with all your heart, And I will be found of you….”
Here it is in a nutshell: God thinks thoughts of peace and not of evil toward me so
that he can give me an end. A future that is corded and attached, bound and twisted
together with him. I will call, He will answer. I will seek, He will be found by me. Our
lives intertwined. Although God exists without us, we cannot exist without Him.
God wants to provide a solid, corded future for all of us. One that is twisted and
bound to him. He cannot answer if I do not call. He cannot be found if I never seek.

The second thing I believe God would have you know is this: He is the giver of
good.

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 John 10:10, NKJV, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly.”
In John Chapter 10, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees about the sheepfold. You and
I would be considered the sheep. If we make Jesus the shepherd of our lives, then we will
know his voice and we will not follow a stranger’s voice. Anyone that enters the
sheepfold by any other door than the front door is a thief. Satan is the thief that comes to
steal, kill and destroy. Jesus is the shepherd that provides abundant life for his sheep.
What would abundant life be to a sheep? Let’s look at the basics. Sheep are fed
and watered daily. They are taken out to pastures where they can eat fresh grass. Sheep
are scared animals, so they are watered where the water is calm. Each year in the Spring,
sheep are sheared. Their hair is cut off both as a use to the shepherd and for safety
reasons for the animals. The wool can become so heavy that it poses health risks to the
sheep. The shepherd also vaccinates the sheep against disease. Every night they are taken
into the sheepfold and protected from predators. The shepherd even mucks out the
sheepfolds stalls to make sure the sheep are not standing in their own mess. He provides
them with a clean, dry place to lie down. The shepherd watches carefully over the
animals making sure their needs are completely taken care of. If one should get lost, the
shepherd will search for the lost sheep and bring it back into the sheepfold.
Now we’ll apply this to us. God feeds us his word, as well as, provides us with
daily nutrition. He provides peace for us and saturates us with His spirit. He gives calm in
the midst of the storm. He provides shelter for us and protects us from the enemy. He
vaccinates us with the blood of Jesus. He shears us often. He trims away the heavy wool
from our eyes and our hearts (if we let him). We don’t always like it when He brings out
the trimmers, but we always come out of the shearing with so much less weighing us
down. When we allow ourselves to be trimmed, he takes the wool and weaves a beautiful
tapestry. If you think about it, God could have left us standing in our own mess, be he
didn’t. He provided a clean, dry place for us to rest our heads by giving us Jesus. He said
all we have to do is call out to Him.
Life more abundant is not sickness. It is not disease. It is not debt and poverty and
lack. It is not being left destitute and without. It is NOT having your life robbed from
you! The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. Not your shepherd! What a counter-
productive shepherd that would be! As if God would say: “Here, let me scare you, make
you sick, and take all of your money….now, Trust Me!” No, No, NO!! Let’s stop thinking
so foolishly! It is not God’s will for your child to have this disease!
Jesus went on later in chapter 10 of John:
John 10:12, NKJV, “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no
man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
Our Father, which is God, gave us Jesus. God is greater than all; and no man or
disease is able to pluck us out of our Father’s hand! Hallelujah!!
If it were God’s will for us to be sick and have disease, He would not have sent
Jesus here to die and conquer all of these things, thus giving us the authority to come
against it.
Luke 9:1-2, NKJV, “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them
power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the
kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.”

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 We would be going against God’s will, wouldn’t we? If it is God’s will for us to
be sick and we are supposed to be taught lessons from these things, then how dare we go
to the doctor and get help!! As ridiculous as that sounds, it’s the truth. If we are going to
believe that it is God’s will for us and our children to have diseases, then we have no
business walking into a hospital to get help. We’d better just grin and bear it.
That is one reason why I know that it is NOT God’s will for me or my child to be
sick! I am Jesus’ disciple. He has given me the authority to cure diseases and heal the
sick. You don’t provide doctors and cures and solutions for people if they are supposed to
be that way! And just get that thought out of your head, if it’s there- ‘satan could have
provided the solutions and cures as a way to get in God’s way’. Satan can’t create
anything, he can only pervert it. He is not the author of life, he is the author of death.
Why would he create cures to diseases that kill people? He is the prince of darkness, not
light. Do not believe the lie.

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 CHAPTER 6
PEACE THROUGH THE STORM
Achieving Tranquility

The tranquility and peace of God is achievable only one way. To immerse
yourself in God. Shut off your TV and radio. Get rid of extra-curricular reading.
Get rid of distractions. Get out your Bible and immerse yourself in God. Where
do you begin? Right here. This is the list of subjects we spoke to every day. I pray
they bless you and give you a solid beginning.

Answered Prayers
2 Chronicles 16:9”For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout
the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is
perfect toward him.”

Psalms 9:12 “When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth

them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.”

Psalms 18:6 “In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my
God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into
his ears.”

Psalms 34:15 “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears
are open unto their cry.”

Proverbs 15:29 “The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the
prayer of the righteous.”

Isaiah 59:1 “Behold the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot
save; neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear.”

Jeremiah 33:3 “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great
and might things, which thou knowest not.”

James 4:2b “Yet ye have not, because ye ask not.”

Anxiety
Proverbs 16:3 “Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall
be established.”

Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on
thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

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 Isaiah 41:10 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I
am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee
with the right hand of my righteousness.” ** This verse is our life motto**

Authority
Deuteronomy 28:13 “And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the
tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou
hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee
this day, to observe and to do them:”

Joshua 1:5 “ There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the
days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor
forsake thee.”

Psalms 8:2 “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained
strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the
avenger.”

Deliverance
Psalms 17:13 “Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver
my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:”

Psalms 34:7 “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that
fear him, and delivereth them.”

Psalms 56:13 “For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou
deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the
living?”

Psalms 116:8 “For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes
from tears, and my feet from falling.”

Isaiah 10:27 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall
be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke
shall be destroyed because of the anointing.”

Matthew 16:19 “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of
heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Romans 8:2 “ For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made
me free from the law of sin and death.”

2 Corinthians 1:10 “Who hath delivered us from so great a death, and

doth deliver; in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;”

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Discouragement
Psalms 27:13-14 “ I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness
of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and
he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”

Faith
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen.”

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that
cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.”

Favour
Proverbs 3:3-4 “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about
they neck; write them upon the tablet of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and
good understanding in the sight of God and man.”

Fear
Exodus 14:13 “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the
LORD,”

Psalms 34:4 “ I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me
from all my fears.”

Psalms 118:6 “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do
to me?”

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power,
and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Guidance
Psalms 31:3 “For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy
name’s sake lead me and guide me.”

Psalms 32:8 “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou
shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eyes.”

Psalms 37:5 “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he
shall bring it to pass.”

Psalms 119:105 “ Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my
path.”

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 Psalms 143:8 “Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for
in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up
my soul unto thee.”

Isaiah 30:21 “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This
is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the
left.”

Isaiah 55:12 “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace:”

Healing
Exodus 15:26b “…for I am the LORD that healeth thee.”

Exodus 23:25b “…and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.”

Psalms 67:2b “…thy saving heath among all nations.”

Psalms 91:10 “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague
come nigh thy dwelling.”

Psalms 107:20 “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them
from their destructions.”

Proverbs 3:7-8 “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and
depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.”

Isaiah 53:5 “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised
for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed.”

Isaiah 57:9 “I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far
off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.”

Jeremiah 17:14 “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I
shall be saved: for thou art my praise.”

Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when
ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,
that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; By whose stripes ye
were healed.”

Hope
Psalms 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the
desires of thine heart.”

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 Psalms 71:14 “But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more
and more.”

Psalms 145:18-19 “The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to
all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he
also will hear their cry, and will save them.”

Integrity of God’s Word

1 Kings 8:56 “Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people
Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his
good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.”

Psalms 33:4,9 “For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are
done in truth. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.”

2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in
him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.”

Joy
Nehemiah 8:10 “…For the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Psalms 5:11 “But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them
ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name
be joyful in thee.”

Psalms 35:9 “And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in
his salvation.”

Isaiah 12:3 “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of
salvation.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice evermore.”

Long Life
Psalms 36:9 “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see
light.”

Psalms 91:14-16 “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I
deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call
upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him,
and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”

Psalms 118: 17 “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the
LORD.”

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 Protection
Psalms 61:2-3 “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my
heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast
been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.”

Psalms 121:7-8 “The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall
preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from
this time forth, and even for evermore.”

Sleep
Psalms 3:5 “I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained
me.”

Psalms 4:8 “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD,
only makest me dwell in safety.”

Psalms 116:7 “Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD has dealt
bountifully with thee.”

Strength
Psalms 73:26 “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of
my heart, and my portion for ever.”

Psalms 118:14 “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my

salvation.”

Joel 3:10 “… Let the weak say, I am strong.”

All of the scriptures read here were borrowed from Scriptures to Live By, written
by Greg Mohr of Trinity Word Church, Decatur, Texas.

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