6/14/06

HOST_Carolann: . Welcome again everyone! And a special welcome to Linda Shepherd who is our guest speaker for today.
HOST_Carolann: She is talking about Reaching for God in the midst of a battle with pain.
HOST_Carolann: Linda has written over 20 books and is the president of Right to the Heart Ministries, ministers to the depressed on line, is an international speaker, and radio host of the nationally syndicated Right to the Heart radio.
HOST_Carolann: Welcome Linda, and I will turn our time over to you.
GUEST_Linda: (Blush) Glad to be here. I'm looking forward to talking about how I've beat pain of the body and soul.
GUEST_Linda: Shall I start?
HOST_Carolann: yes please do!
GUEST_Linda: 17 years ago I was in a tragic car accident. My baby was thrown into the freeway in her car seat
GUEST_Linda: She spent the next year of her life in coma
GUEST_Linda: The doctors said she was PVS (Persistent Vegetative State)
GUEST_Linda: But I could feel that her spirit was still with us
GUEST_Linda: I had to stand up, as a young mother, to the entire medical community who wanted to give up and wanted to pull her plug.
GUEST_Linda: I said "No, you don't know what my God can do."
GUEST_Linda: We were out of town when the accident happened and we finally got back to Denver. I thought the team there would have a plan to pull Laura out of coma.
GUEST_Linda: Instead, 24 health care pros told me there was no hope.
GUEST_Linda: I was devastated. My husband was out of town, that night, and I decided to spend the night in my daughter's room. About 11 pm. the enemy begin to mock me.
GUEST_Linda: "Your daughter is a vegetable. You and she can never escape this living hell."
GUEST_Linda: In my despair, I listened to that voice and made a plan.
GUEST_Linda: I knew how to turn off Laura's life support, though I knew I couldn't live with myself if I did that. So, I decided I would swallow a bottle of pain reliever.
GUEST_Linda: Just then, I remembered a conversation I had had earlier that day with my own doctor's nurse. She had told me that she thought I might be pregnant.
GUEST_Linda: I knew it was true.
GUEST_Linda: I decided that the three of us would live and that I could not give up on my daughter, on my baby and on my God.
GUEST_Linda: Nine months later, our son Jimmy was born.
GUEST_Linda: It was the excitement surrounding his birth that pulled baby Laura out of coma.
GUEST_Linda: It was so exciting!
Cherbear: Amazing!!
GUEST_Linda: However, Laura was still multiply disabled.
GUEST_Linda: She was still paralyzed and on life support.
GUEST_Linda: I begin to seek God to heal her. I KNEW he could do it.
GUEST_Linda: I took Laura to faith healing services. I studied how to pray the prayer of faith and I prayed it.
GUEST_Linda: After four years, I hit a wall.
GUEST_Linda: You see, God had healed my own brother when he had been thrown out of a car during a tragic car accident, several years earlier. I had thought that God would heal my daughter too.
GUEST_Linda: After all, my brother was a rascal, and my daughter was sweet and innocent.
GUEST_Linda: My brother broke his vertabrae at c5
GUEST_Linda: God miraculously healed him.
GUEST_Linda: But I realized he had turned a deaf ear to my prayers for my baby.
GUEST_Linda: That night I went to church, hopeless. The pastor said that the Lord had shown him that there would be someone there who had lost her hope.
GUEST_Linda: I knew he was talking about me. Then he said that God said to look up and to trust him.
GUEST_Linda: This is not what I wanted to hear.
GUEST_Linda: I'd wanted the pastor to say that God would heal my baby.
GUEST_Linda: That night when I drove home, I pulled into the garage and thought about the pastor's words.
GUEST_Linda: That's when I realized that I had been trying to have faith in my faith, instead of trust in God.
GUEST_Linda: I prayed and asked God to forgive me and told him, no matter what, I would trust him.
GUEST_Linda: And then the healing happened.
GUEST_Linda: But it wasn't what I had expected.
GUEST_Linda: Laura is going to be 20 this summer, and she's still paralyzed and on life support.
GUEST_Linda: The healing did not take place in her body. It took place in both our hearts.
GUEST_Linda: We are joyful.
HOST_Carolann: wow that is so awesome
GUEST_Linda: I can hear Laura singing in her room right now.
GUEST_Linda: The world has no idea what a treasure, one like my daughter is. So innocent, so pure, so joyful.
GUEST_Linda: During the Terri Schiavo situation, we invited the media to meet Laura.
GUEST_Linda: After all, Schiavo was not on life support, but Laura is.
GUEST_Linda: The media was afraid to meet her.
GUEST_Linda: But one by one, I had them hold her hand and she would look into their eyes and smile.
Cherbear: Why???
GUEST_Linda: People are always afraid of the severely handicapped. They don't know how to respond to them.
GUEST_Linda: Their hearts would melt and she would convert them to 'pro-life' without having said a word.
GUEST_Linda: Anyway, that's the first part of my healing, the healing of the heart.
GUEST_Linda: I've also had another healing, of my body and I want to tell you about it.
GUEST_Linda: Fourteen years ago, I got a rash and migraine that lasted for 21 days.
GUEST_Linda: I went to the doc but he couldn't help me.
GUEST_Linda: I'd never had migraines before.
GUEST_Linda: The migraines continued, 5 - 7 days a week.
GUEST_Linda: for years
GUEST_Linda: We now believe we know what caused them.
GUEST_Linda: This started days after I'd returned from the Nile. My doc and I now think I had contracted West Nile Virus.
GUEST_Linda: What it did to me was cause me to become severely allergic to my environment.
GUEST_Linda: I finally made the connection that foods would trigger the pain in my shoulder, then that would pull my spine and neck out of alignment and thus trigger the migraines.
GUEST_Linda: I learned that if I rotated my food, that would help.
GUEST_Linda: But I still had major struggles. I thought I would never write or speak again.
suznrae: what foods specifically Linda?
GUEST_Linda: Finally, I made the connection that exposure to certain foods and scents caused the problems.
GUEST_Linda: Almost everything. Meats, fruits, vegetables, and especially processed foods. The only thing I could eat in those days was rice and hamburger meat.
GUEST_Linda: I went to the allergist and they ran the blood work and said I was not allergic to anything.
GUEST_Linda: (They are now discovering that those allergy tests are not accurate.)
GUEST_Linda: But I finally found medical treatment.
GUEST_Linda: The reason I am telling you about this is because I now believe that a lot of pain, including much of the fibromyalgic pain that so many people experience are caused by hidden food and scent allergies.
GUEST_Linda: I was allergic from everything from carpeting to perfume.
GUEST_Linda: I never knew what or when I would set off a severe migraine.
GUEST_Linda: Then I found out about the medical technology Nambuicpads
GUEST_Linda: It's an allergy treatment discovered by an MD about 25 years ago.
GUEST_Linda: See: www.Naet.com for details.
GUEST_Linda: Here's how the treatment works. They hook you to an electromagnetic meter, and test you for allergies.
GUEST_Linda: If you are allergic, the natural energy in your body, ebbs, and they can see this immediately.
GUEST_Linda: So you immediately know what you are allergic to.
GUEST_Linda: My mother who has fibromyalgia used this testing to discover she was allergic to the pain medication
GUEST_Linda: they were giving her to treat it.
suznrae: wow
GUEST_Linda: Once we got her off that 'nurrotten' or however you spell it, she was a brand new person.
GUEST_Linda: But there's better news.
GUEST_Linda: They can treat you for each allergen.
GUEST_Linda: So you never react to it again.
GUEST_Linda: I've been treated for 60 allergens with 100 percent success.
GUEST_Linda: I hardly ever have migraines now.
HOST_Carolann: that's quite impressive!
GUEST_Linda: The way they treat your migraines is they use a cold laser treatment (much like acupuncture) while you touch the toxin.
GUEST_Linda: After three treatments, you no longer react to it. It's like you've told your central nervous system, "Forget about it."
GUEST_Linda: Again, you can learn more about the treatment at naet.com
GUEST_Linda: Be sure you use a practioner that has the meter, to test and retest you. Otherwise, find someone else.
GUEST_Linda: A lot of MDs have been learning how to use this treatment because it's worked on their families.
GUEST_Linda: This will become more popular in the coming years because it works and there's science behind it.
suznrae: it sounds promising
GUEST_Linda: Though this treatment, God has given me my life back. My health and my ministry. I can't tell you how good I feel.
GUEST_Linda: Okay, so does anyone have any questions about either part of my story?
Pilgrim: how did the rest of your family get through the accident you had
GUEST_Linda: My husband is a rock. He's a scientist and had the most wonderful attitude.
GUEST_Linda: Instead of saying, "Why me," he said, "Why not me."
GUEST_Linda: We are both better people today for what we've been through. By the way, we've just celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary.
Pilgrim: congrats
GUEST_Linda: Thanks!
Mary_Lou: Yes, congratulations!
GUEST_Linda: I feel so blessed and feel that God has used the events in our lives to bless us.
HOST_Carolann: I like what you said earlier about how we strive to have faith in our faith instead of in God Himself - how true
GUEST_Linda: Yes! A lot of people get caught there. They begin to get angry at God.
GUEST_Linda: They think God is there to do their bidding.
Pilgrim: yes people tell us alot of times we just don't have enough faith
HOST_Carolann: yes, it would be a reason for frustration and discouragement
GUEST_Linda: That's silly, Pilgrim. The next time someone says that, say, "Fine, use yours."
HOST_Carolann: that's true Pilgrim and it's not right
GUEST_Linda: Don't listen to that kind of talk. God loves you and he hasn't forgotten you.
Pilgrim: they take the verse "according to your faith"
Mary_Lou: AS someone with fibromyalgia, I can tell you that this is very encouraging to me.
GUEST_Linda: What the enemy means for evil God means for good.
Pilgrim: amen
HOST_Carolann: I need to have that pasted on my forehead right now!
Mary_Lou: I have never heard of the allergy elimination process you've described here, but am definitely going to look into it.
GUEST_Linda: I think a lot of unexplained muscle pain is about hidden allergies. And it could be shampoo or anything. One of the things I turned out to be most allergic to, was toothpaste.
suznrae: I am also
Pilgrim: yes the allergy thing is real interesting
GUEST_Linda: I wish more people were warned to look into the allergy connection.
Mary_Lou: Did you have any trouble getting your family doctor to support you?
GUEST_Linda: Even though I've had countless pain, shoulder pain and numerous migraines, God used them in my life.
GUEST_Linda: (Are you kidding? My doc said I had pain because I was a woman. I had to figure this out by myself.)
Cherbear: I see a traditional allergist 29th August Hope it does some good
Mary_Lou: So many doctors pooh-pooh alternative approaches to health problems.
GUEST_Linda: I didn't even bother to tell them.
Mary_Lou: I can understand that.
GUEST_Linda: Whenever I did, their eyes would start to flip.
GUEST_Linda: LOL
Pilgrim: rofl
HOST_Carolann: yes, they get that glazed expression on their face, like they are humoring us the mere patient
GUEST_Linda: Lucky for me, I live in Boulder County, CO.
GUEST_Linda: So, it wasn't hard to find people to talk alternative medicine with you.
GUEST_Linda: This was a good thing. That's how I found out about the allergy treatment that helped. But I always had a rule of thumb.
GUEST_Linda: I never tried anything that didn't have a scientific basis to it.
Pilgrim: when u got past the faith thing and trusting God did u falter any after that and how did u handle it
GUEST_Linda: Pilgrim, God gave me a gift in that pain and let me tell you about it.
Mary_Lou: I have reached an all-time low physically because of my fibromyalgia and have been praying re: finding something to alleviate it.
Mary_Lou: You may just bee the answer to my prayer, Linda!
GUEST_Linda: As I came to realize that my pain came whenever I ate, I begin to realize it was connected to what I was eating. In the early days, I did not know about the allergy treatment. So I learned to be still before the Lord, regarding any food I popped into my mouth. I learned to ask him if it was okay to eat. I learned to hear his voice.
GUEST_Linda: That has been a gift that has served me well in ministry.
HOST_Carolann: yes indeed!
GUEST_Linda: I hear God's voice daily. By that, I mean I feel his sweet presences and he speaks quietly to my heart.
GUEST_Linda: The pain turned into a gift.
Pilgrim:
GUEST_Linda: YES!!
GUEST_Linda: I wake up, feeling his presence and hearing his voice.
HOST_Carolann: it's hard to have hope where you are in the midst of pain, to believe it can turn into a gift
GUEST_Linda: He speaks to me throughout the day.
GUEST_Linda: The pain, I could have lived without. But I cannot live without God. He takes all things and turns them into good.
HOST_Carolann: amen
Cherbear: Praise God!!!
Mary_Lou: Yes, I have seen him work like that in my life, too.
Pilgrim: oh this is such good for me to hear
GUEST_Linda: You can really trust God with your very lives -- when you begin to live your life as a living sacrifice to him.
Cherbear: I'm waiting and willing
GUEST_Linda: Did you know that Laura's story is on a website and in the last two and 1/2 years, 230,000 people have come to faith there?
GUEST_Linda: www.godtest.com
Pilgrim: wow
Mary_Lou: Fantastic!
Cherbear: OH MY!!!
HOST_Carolann: wow, praise God - that is SO awesome!
GUEST_Linda: Laura told, though her smiles and body language that when she was in coma, she was with the Lord. She remembers sitting in his lap.
GUEST_Linda: No wonder this kid glows.
GUEST_Linda: If you were to ask her if what she's been through was worth it, she would be confused. What she's been through?
GUEST_Linda: All she knows is love. Her purpose is to love and to be loved. Is there a higher purpose?
Pilgrim: amen
GUEST_Linda: She's disabled. So?????????????????
GUEST_Linda: Who isn't?
GUEST_Linda: LOL
suznrae: your story is a blessing Linda, thank you for sharing
HOST_Carolann: so true!
Cherbear: They just don't know it lololo
Pilgrim: yep
GUEST_Linda: You are very welcome. I knew of all groups, you would hear what I was saying.
Pilgrim: thank u and bless u and ur family Linda
GUEST_Linda: Please know that God loves you and that he has a plan.
Mary_Lou: You really bring a message of hope that is so important to hear!
Mary_Lou: Thank you for that!
GUEST_Linda: You are very welcome.
HOST_Carolann: amen Mary Lou - I know I have needed to hear that message today
Pilgrim: yes
co-host_Debbie: Thank you Linda..what a blessing!
Mary_Lou: Yes, I really feel this is a direct answer to my prayers of the last few weeks.
HOST_Carolann: thank you Linda for sharing with us your testimony and also about Laura's testimony - thank her for us too!
GUEST_Linda: Good Mary Lou.
Mary_Lou: God knows what we need and provides it, doesn't he?
Mary_Lou: We just have to be patient.
GUEST_Linda: I will. We've been busy making brownies today, as a birthday gift to her special teacher.
GUEST_Linda: She was sooo cute making them. She held the bowl while I stirred.
HOST_Carolann: that's so neat!
GUEST_Linda: Mary Lou, God is there for you.
Mary_Lou: Yes, Linda. He is! Thank you for reminding me of that!
GUEST_Linda: My pleasure.
Mary_Lou: Sometimes when he's quiet, I get frustrated.
Mary_Lou: I always wish he'd work in MY time, not HIS.
GUEST_Linda: I will tell Laura thanks -- from this group. She loves that.
HOST_Carolann: great Linda! give her a big hug from all of us
GUEST_Linda: I know, but God doesn't have a steering wheel.
Mary_Lou: That's a good way of putting it!
GUEST_Linda: You bet I'll give her a hug for you. That's my job!
HOST_Carolann: she is blessed to have you and your husband as her parents too - God has really been glorified in your lives
GUEST_Linda: God put us all together. And her brother too, who is now 17.
HOST_Carolann: I pray that He will continue to use you to bring others to faith in Him and to live in hope and trust