Phil,

That was excellent and I did call you and you did help me with issues in my
life that needed healing.

I pray that everyone will call you and let you help them. I can say I'm
doing 99 percent better than I was last year at this time, because of you
and The Lord.

I'm even praying about cutting down the Prozak.

Thanks for sharing that with us.

Love and Blessings,
Pat Ferguson
At 11:49 PM 9/27/04, you wrote:
>Jesus Could Be Bald
>
>By Phil Scovell
>
>
>
>      Recently, my wife and I experienced a disagreement.  After
>almost 33 years of being married to the same person, you pretty
>well have covered just about everything at least once in your
>marital arguments.  It is always the nature of argumentation,
>however, to cover old ground repetitively.  Why?  Because it
>increases the level of intensity each person is trying to express,
>or inflict upon the other, whichever the case may be, and
>repeating old stuff, especially old stuff you have seen work well
>in the past, gives you the edge.  Well, at least it seems that way
>at the time.  Later, it never seems that way, of course, but now
>is what we are discussing and not later.  So, as I was saying,
>Sandy and I were in a disagreement over something.  Frankly, I
>cannot honestly recall how it began but this is often true of
>arguments.
>
>      Before continuing, let me give you a tip.  If you can't find
>a soft spot upon which to hammer on while arguing, drag up your
>in-laws and their obvious lack of good character.  This always
>works in raising your point average because, as we all know,
>winning the argument, any argument, is the name of the game.  No,
>we don't care if we are truly right; we only care that we end up
>on the winning side and bless God, if you have to toss in your
>mate's family and sacrifice them to win the argument, by all
>means, do so.  No, it doesn't matter if your in-laws are already
>dead; you can use them as part of the argument.  If you want to
>win, that is.  Now, back to what I was saying.
>
>      So Sandy and I are deep into this disagreement.  Both of us
>were making some fairly good points and to be honest, neither of
>us tossed in our families as fighting elements.  Well, at least
>not this time.
>
>      At this point, I want to clearly state that my wife was 100
>percent correct.  Well, maybe it was more like 98 percent.
>Truly, there was nothing wrong with the feelings she had about
>the issue she had raised.  Strangely enough, I freely admitted she
>was right and that I understood why she was bringing this up and
>why she felt hurt and frustrated.   Being right, however, doesn't
>always win an argument.  Let me try and explain what I mean.
>
>      In this case, as I stated, not only was my wife right but I
>admitted she was.  I made my admission for a couple of reasons.
>First, she was right, I'm not for sure why I keep saying that, but
>secondly, and most importantly, the truth wasn't causing me any
>concern.  You see, over the years, such things would have done
>exactly that; cause me concern, that is, or discomfort.  In fact,
>it likely would have literally hurt my feelings.  It always would
>not be uncommon for me to go away feeling depressed because of
>the feelings stirred up within me during the argument.  In this
>example, no such thing happened.  Why?  Because I was able to
>admit my wife was right and that I, furthermore, understood why
>she felt the way she did, but this time I felt different.
>Literally, what she said wasn't stirring anything up that would
>cause me emotional discomfort, consternation, or pain.  Why not?
>There is only one answer.  In the last two years, I have
>experienced an unmeasurable amount of healing in my life.  In
>fact, through healing prayers, the Lord has touched areas of my
>life which used to bring me discouragement and depression and even
>anxiety.  Let me make up a story to explain what I am saying.
>
>      Let's say the issue is a good friend hurt your feelings.  You
>had decided to go western but you weren't quite certain you wanted
>to go all the way in case somebody called you a cowboy.  So you
>buy, for the first time, a nice pair of cowboy boots.  No western
>shirt, no spurs, no horse, no saddle, no cowboy hat, and no
>rawhide stringed tie with a turquoise clip.  Just boots.
>
>      You and your closed friend meet up at a local coffee shop and
>split a cinnamon bun.  You are feeling good so you pop for the
>coffee and the bun.  During your coffee date with your best
>friend, he comments on your boots, making no unfavorable remarks,
>but simply commenting that he never figured you to be that sort of
>a guy.  You suddenly feel uncomfortable and conspicuous, too, but
>you don't know why.  You are definitely bothered, though.
>
>      Upon leaving the doughnut shop, and just before climbing into
>your car, your buddy says, staring down at your new shiny boots,
>"Nope.  I never would have figured you to be a guy who would wear
>boots.  I wouldn't personally be caught dead in them myself."  You
>both laugh, shake hands, and go your separate ways.  His words
>touched something deep but after spending three days thinking
>about and even awakening in the middle of the night once, due to
>your emotional discomfort, you still can't figure out why his
>joking remarks bother you.
>
>      One day, after the morning service, you are visiting with
>your pastor.  Everyone has left the building by this time so you
>comment on this experience to your pastor because it has caused
>you a great deal of anxiety, for some reason, and you don't like
>how you are feeling.  He invites you into his office and you both
>take a seat.  Your pastor begins to pray and says, "Lord, Tom has
>been stirred up in his emotions about what brother Frank said at
>coffee the other day.  Would you show Tom where these feelings
>first began?"
>
>      After a few moments of quiet, suddenly you remember.  You
>and your bald headed father are walking down a city street one
>evening.  You are four years of age and your dad his holding your
>hand.  Coming to a street crossing, you both stop and wait for the
>light to change.  Some scruffy looking teenage boys are smoking
>and leaning up against the building.  You turn and see them
>laughing and pointing.  At first you don't understand but your
>father says, "It's ok, Tommy.  Let's go."  The light has changed
>and your dad starts walking you across the street.  The boys,
>braver now that distance has been put between you, call out and
>make fun of your dad's bald head.  It feels scary to you and for a
>minute, you sense a strong feeling that the mean boys might
>follow and try and hurt you.  It feels like a sharp stick was
>poked in your back as they mocked and derided your father for
>being bald.  You hear your dad speaking again.  "It's ok, Tommy.
>They can't hurt anybody.  Just don't bother looking back."
>
>      Now you are 48 years old and feeling stupid that you
>purchased a pair of cowboy boots.  Why?  As you pray the prayer
>of agreement with your pastor, the Holy Spirit reveals to you that
>first the boys scared you.  Then you hear Jesus saying, "It is ok
>now, Tommy.  Besides, I was there, too, and I won't let anything
>happen to you."  The anxiety you've been having vanishes as if it
>had never really existed.  The relief, although incomplete, is
>instant.
>
>      "What else Lord does Tom need to see about this memory?" your
>pastor prays.
>
>      Now you see it easily.  You were embarrassed due to your
>dad's bald head and you say as much to your pastor.  You know how
>foolish that seems now as an adult but as a four year old, you
>were simply too small to comprehend the cascading thoughts
>tumbling through your mind at the time.  Besides, the fear was
>their and that made everything feel real to you.
>
>      "then what does Tom need to hear from you, Lord," you hear
>your pastor praying quietly.
>
>      A few short silent moments pass and then you begin laughing.
>It starts out as a soft chuckle but with each passing moment,
>things begin to snowball on you and you find yourself totally
>helpless to stop it.  The wheels suddenly come off your normal
>self controlled demeanor and you are irreversibly and recklessly
>laughing hysterically.  Tears begin running down your cheeks and
>throwing your head back and opening your mouth wide, you bay at
>the ceiling; releasing the loudest laughter you have ever
>experienced in your life.  Your laughter is so infectious, your
>pastor is now laughing as hard as you are.
>
>      After a good fifteen minutes of stopping and starting up
>again, you both finally have regained a measure of control.
>Still, a burst of laughter escapes from one or the other as you
>both sit lost in your own thoughts.
>
>      Finally, after blowing your nose, you ask the pastor what he
>was laughing about.  Instead of answering your question, he asks
>you to go first.  "Well," you say, "like I told you.  Dad and I
>are walking across the street when the light changed and these
>punks are making fun of dad's bald head.  I was seeing this in my
>mind's eye as you prayed, when all of the sudden, I realized the
>person walking next to me and holding my hand wasn't my dad but
>was the Lord."  At this point an entire new fit of explosive
>laughter, volcanic guffaws, and knee slapping howls fills the
>pastor's study; shared by both men.
>
>      Eventually, after a Herculean efforts, you both regain
>control.  "So what did you see, Tom," the pastor said; holding his
>aching temples.
>
>      "Pastor," you reply with the most powerful smile you have
>ever had, "I saw Jesus holding my hand and walking across the
>street with me."
>
>      "Tom," your pastor says, trying to keep from laughing, "You
>are repeating yourself.  What is so funny about seeing Jesus
>walking you across the street instead of your dad?"
>
>      "Because," you detonate with atom splitting laughter, "Jesus
>was bald."
>
>      In my fictitious story, which I have seen repeated endlessly
>in similar prayer sessions, the man with the new cowboy boots was
>trigger by a totally harmless comment by his best friend.  Through
>prayer, the source of this woundedness was discovered, the fear
>was eliminated, the personal embarrassment exposed, and truth
>applied.
>
>      First, let's identify the lies.  The little boy was afraid.
>That was natural.  What wasn't natural about is that the fear
>followed him through his entire life and was constantly being
>triggered in various ways.  The literal lie was, "Those boys are
>going to come and get you and hurt you."  Jesus exposed this for
>what it was, a lie, and because the man heard Jesus say the He,
>Jesus, was with him, the lie lost its worth as a threat and the
>fear disappeared.  What was the purpose of the fear?  It masked
>the demonic lie, that is, the embarrassment the little boy had
>about his father.  Once the fear was eliminated by the healing
>power of the Lord, the lie was easily exposed and removed.
>
>      Secondly, the little boy was embarrassed by the baldness of
>his father.  Again, not an uncommon situation for any child.  I
>can't tell you the number of times I was embarrassed by things my
>mom and dad did when I was growing up.  The lie, in this memory,
>was not that it was wrong for his father to be bald but that he,
>Tom, was somehow apart of this ridicule.  Furthermore, the little
>boy took it personally.  From that point onward, he was always
>sensitive to what others said and thought of him.  In my
>illustrative story, Jesus used His sense of humor to bring healing
>to the little boy by showing him that the one who was walking with
>him now and holding his little hand in his big hand, was the King
>of the universe.  Additionally, Jesus showed the little boy that
>baldness, to Him, was no big deal.   The little boy, and therefore
>the grown man, were healed and the lies never would effect him
>again.
>
>      About this time, I hear someone saying, "How could all that
>be true?"  Call me on the phone and let's pray together.  I'll
>let Jesus prove to you it's true.
>
>      Furthermore, I have had many such personal healings in my own
>life and literally seen hundreds of other memories healed in the
>lives of other Christians through the prayer of agreement.
>
>      Concerning the argument with my wife?  Well, since what she
>was saying was true, there I go again admitting it, and since I
>had been healed in so many areas related to inferiority, a
>worthless self image, and personal embarrassment, what she said
>didn't hurt and could not trigger the lies I once had believed.
>The same thing can happen to you.  Just call me and find out how
>easily you can be healed and your mind renewed.
>
>
>I Flew Kites With Jesus
>www.SafePlaceFellowship.com