eremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

As a good father, God has great plans for his children. When people live their lives without the guidance and insight God can offer them, they miss out on the miracle power and great blessings He has planned for them. We are taught from childhood to be self-sufficient and most of us grow up extremely independent, but God wants us to depend on Him for what we need in life. Finding a church is one of the things we should depend on God for, since it can make a huge difference in the quality of life here on earth and in our rewards for eternity. Revelation 22:12 Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.

God is the only one who knows where we can learn the things that will prepare us for his work. He knows where our personalities will fit with others and where we will find teaching for prosperity in every area of our lives. He takes the guess-work out of finding the right church. As a young person I didn't think it mattered where I went to church but after being truly born again, I found that the people who teaching me were not giving the in-depth teaching to inspire me to be as the Word said.

1Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize .

I realized that a good teacher was one of the most important ingredients for a better life. So I began seeking God about where to go to church and who to learn from in order to receive the most from Him for the effort and time I was able to spend. God began to give my husband and I directions on where He wanted us instead of us picking a denomination and a church. This is the events that led us to Mt. Paran Church of God.

Before we moved to the Atlanta area we were living in Florida. I was a Sunday school teacher in the children's department. The last Sunday before we moved, a young lady came rushing up to me and said, "I've been looking for you and someone directed me to this room." She introduced herself by name and announced firmly, "I hear that you are moving to Atlanta." I scarcely got the word "yes" out when she continued. "We've just moved from there this week. We went to a church in Atlanta and you've just got to go there. It's Mt. Paran Church of God," she continued, as she pushed a piece of paper into my hand with the name written on it.

Even though I'm selective about where I go to church, what else could I say but "Okay"? Then just as quickly as she came, she was gone. I remember just standing there sort of in a daze. I figured it was because I was tired, I put a lot into teaching and always felt drained right after class. She came and went so fast that I couldn't even describe what she looked like or what she was wearing, but I had that paper to prove it happened. I never saw her again but can't wait to see her in Heaven and to thank her for her love and direction.

We moved to a town below Atlanta where there were lots of churches to choose from within the various Spirit Filled denominations of churches. As I prayed and fasted, we checked out the churches close to our home. I've always dreamed of going to a church within a mile or two from where we lived. Then after we looked around and didn't feel satisfied with what was in the area, I said to my husband "Let's find the church that lady wrote down on the paper." So my husband called to find out what time services started. The church was a forty-five minute drive away; right through the busiest part of Atlanta.

We went on a Sunday evening and sat in the balcony. As the pastor preached, giving scriptures to show where each point of his sermon could be found in the Bible, I was impressed. After service we asked one of the sound workers, whose booth was close to where we sat, if Dr. Cooper always preached from the word like that and he said yes. That made me eager to go again.

The second time we went to Mt. Paran the service opened with the congregation singing praise and worship songs. I could not sing at that time because several years earlier I had caught a virus and the doctor had a hard time getting me over it. I took antibiotics for two weeks and was sent to bed. Then I was better but it only lasted two weeks so he repeated the process. This went on for three months and when I was finally better I had acquired several allergies and was left with asthma; which left me short of breath with a gravel sounding voice.

Although I had other miracles before this and believed that God would heal me, we hadn't been taught the depth of the Word about God's covenant promises. This left us strictly at the mercy of God and the pastor of which ever church we were attending at the time. A pastor should bring his congregation into the maturity of the Lord; maturity to live by, trust in and use for yourself to receive the things you need and want from God. We were young Christians struggling to learn what was in the Bible and how to use it. Where previous pastors failed us, the pastors at Mt. Paran quickly made up for it. They had been close to God learning his ways and the Holy Spirit had been teaching them. They had a heart to help people to become self-sufficient in the Lord's maturity, yet to be dependant upon God for everything they needed. Someone finally had worked out the balance of strength and dependency that I had read about in the Bible and needed to know how to put into action. Their ability to be humble before God as well as before other people allowed the power and anointing of God to flow from the very beginning of each service.

It was such a delight. We were used to waiting till the end of a service before the power of God would move for people's needs. I thought from reading in the Bible that we should experience God's presence the whole time during a church service, but that never happened where we went before. Matthew 18:19-20 "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. "

God's Healing Touch Delivered Me From Asthma And Allergies

It was so wonderful when, during the singing, the anointing of the Lord began to flow. It seemed that I was transported to the pool of Bethesda but I could still hear the congregation singing. I wasn't sure what was happening to me but I had no fear. I knew I was standing in church but my eyes saw something else. It was a pool of water, like a beautiful small lake. Then I saw myself getting into this large pool of water while others were standing around. I can remember thinking "Why don't they get in; it's wonderful?"

This wasn't anything that I did on my own, nor could I repeat it. I can't even explain it in the perfection that God produced it. It was a supernatural event from the Lord because I had a need and had been trusting in him. He loves everyone and uses different manifestations of his power to bless each of his children in a personal way when they hold to the faith that He will meet their need.

God answered my prayer that day and I began to hear my own voice start to sing. It sounded just like it did before I caught that virus. I had breath and could even get a deep breath now. It was wonderful. When the singing was over someone gave a prophesy; something to the effect that God had come down, and just as in the days of Jesus when the angel came to treble the water in the Pool of Bethesda, that now people all over the church was receiving miracles and healings. It was wonderful to find that others were in the water at the same time I saw myself there. Others may have had visions too.

Acts 2:17-18 In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

God loves people so much. He will move for your needs just as he did mine when you endure your trials with faith; faith that He loves you and will take care of you and bring you out of the situation you are in. Nothing is too hard for God.