Ohhhh this snow coming down so hard and yet soft.

It doesn’t make a sound when it hits the earth and keeps piling up.

Indescribable.

This is my view in my back yard today.

This kind of snow falling always reminds me of the old hymn, “Whiter than Snow”, by Nicholson and Fischer.  Looking back into this old hymn book I got at the second hand store for 25 cents a while back….   It amazes me that many of these great hymns of faith were written and sung while my Great Grandma Maggie was a child, and then came across to America on the ship in the horrible snowstorm of the winter of 1889.

They shouldn’t have lived through that.  It was a miracle.

But there’s a reason that we are here.  Five generations later.  So we have a purpose that God wants us to fulfill.

This hymn was written by two men who lived during the time period of 1828-1912.  During that time, my Great Great Grandfather Cornelis deBruyn was taking his wife and seven children across the Atlantic in February in a blasting snowstorm.

Simultaneously, I imagine these two composers, sitting in front of their pianos and pieces of paper.  Writing and scratching notes out, humming and praying.  Maybe sipping coffee in front of their fireplace.  Not knowing how much a mother, over 100 years later, would appreciate their song.

When my family came to Iowa, they probably would have sung this very same hymn as I sing today.

The first two verses are:

“Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole; I want Thee forever to live in my soul; Break down every idol, cast out every foe;

Now wash me and I will be whiter than snow.

Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies, And help me to make a complete sacrifice; I give up myself, and whatever I know,

Now wash me and I will be whiter than snow.

Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

Thank you for washing me whiter than snow.  And help me to make my life and all that I know, to be a complete sacrifice to you.  Only with your power Lord Jesus.

Do you have a story about your ancestors?  Please follow and tell us about it.

Hey there!  

I’m sure when many of you hear those words, you immediately think….OHHH  she’s super spiritual, or I could never do that, or what for??

Please read on!

Yes, I have completed my second fast in my entire life!  I never fasted until last year.  Let’s talk about last year first.

Last year, I got the idea when a friend wanted me to do it with her.  We followed a “Daniel Fast”.  That is when you are basically on vegetables and water, no meats, no sweets, no bread.  We did a 21 day fast following many of the principles which evangelist Jentezen Franklin has on his podcasts and website.  It was a tough, but amazing journey.  

The reason I say, tough, is because by the end of the first week, I never wanted to see another vegetable in my life, and by the end of the third week, I was craving a hunk of meat and bread so bad that I could not wait until midnight on the last day of the fast!!  I ran to the kitchen in search of something of substance at the stroke of twelve! 

The journey was amazing, because I really felt like I was hearing God in new ways.  One of my main goals for that fast, was to be able to listen to the voice of God better.  I journaled a lot during that time.  I also was still experiencing many physical ailments at this time last year.  Nothing life threatening, just some very annoying, frustrating and painful situations.  I won’t get into all of them here, but for one thing, I was at the tail end of plantar fasciitis.  It is a painful condition in your feet which makes walking and everyday tasks noticeably difficult.  

I had prayed to hear the Spirit’s call on my life.  I wanted clear direction on what to do next and how to do it.  I’ve had the desire and some idea of what I wanted to write, since I was a teenager and never got much done.  To make this blog post shorter, I’ll just say in August, I got a lot more information practically “thrown in my lap”, like the Holy Spirit yelling at me, saying, “Write The Story”!!!

So I tried to obey.  I started writing with more fervor and passion.  I went to my first ever writing conference in the fall.  I was getting serious now. I talked to everyone I possibly could without abandon.  What did I have to lose?  I still hadn’t written much and had no book proposal!  I was a total rooky anyway.  So the editors and publishers had nothing to reject.

THE FEARS started creeping in….

I’ve continued to write and now am rolling along pretty well.  But the evil one always wants to get back in my face and tell me lies…..”You are not a writer, don’t fool yourself”, “Everyone wants to be a writer!”, “No one would ever publish what you write”, etc.  

Well, I know that God has nudged me for many years to write, but now I know that he is SHOUTING at me to write!  So I continue to fight the lies and keep on writing and trying to learn.  I’m trying to learn several social media sites and am clumsily maneuvering them.  I am reading lots of books and other people’s blogs.  I am working on this blog, so excuse my humble beginnings!

A fast.  Yes.  That’s what the main point of this post was….  It is a spiritual discipline which does something very special.  It brings you to a point that you have to depend on God.  It is not a “super spiritual” person who can do it.

It’s a broken person who does it.  Craving the bread from her Father in heaven. 

Please tell me if you have experiences like this.  Am I the only one who has these fears??  I would love to have you follow and tell me your stories of life, faith and dependence on God.  

Courage

Do you wish you had more?  I sure do!  In the Bible, in Joshua 1:9, it says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”    God himself actually commands us not to be afraid.  Fear wants to keep its ugly grip on me and keep me from doing a lot of things that I know God wants me to do.  The discouragement can even come from friends and family.

This verse from Joshua is becoming my “verse of the year”.

What do I feel that God has placed upon my heart?  If he has commanded me, then I must do it!  Where does my help come from?  It comes from the Lord.  I love the song by Chris Tomlin, entitled “Whom Shall I fear”.  You can listen to it here  www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x5aEvl6Zdk .  It has beautiful lyrics which address this whole issue.  “I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind, the Lord of angel armies, is always by my side”….  That song has been in the back of my mind all week.

Blessings to you.  Press on!  We have the the one who holds the whole world in His hands.  They are capable.

If you want to study more about the Long QT gene and recent articles, a very good reference is Mayo Clinic.  I want to keep studying this.  I pray that there’s a possibility for my children and grandchildren to wipe this heart defect out of the family line!  Here is a link to some of his work:

http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/mayo/research/ackerman_lab/

I am reading studies which Dr. Ackerman at Mayo Clinic has done.  Very interesting findings!  He is a world wide expert.

Let me know and follow on this blog, if you would like to share your family stories and anything you have done in your family concerning the Long QT.  I want to create a network of people who are interested, so we can help and support one another.

The Long QT gene which runs in my family is Long QT syndrome Type 3.  It is the kind which almost always happens when one is resting or sleeping if it’s going to cause problems or death.  Sometimes a person has the gene and it never causes death.  Sometimes, a person may have many episodes and heart problems.  

In my case, I have the gene, but I have been asymptomatic my whole life.  I haven’t experienced prior problems with it, and was surprised that I tested positive as having it.  Just because you are asymptomatic, also doesn’t mean that you couldn’t die from it.  Sometimes the first symptom you ever have is death.  I know that sounds terrible, but it is true.  There are several different variations of Long QT which have been identified.  A few years ago we went to Dr. Michael Ackerman at Mayo Clinic, who is a world wide specialist in Long QT and published author of many books and articles.  He said that when one has the gene, like I do, there is a 50/50 chance of one or both of your children having it.  Some of my relatives have been tested.

We found out recently, that my second cousin has also doctored with Dr. Ackerman at Mayo.  Many of her family members have it.  Some of them have died, some do not have it, some have it and have chosen to get a defibrillator, and some have taken a medicine for it.  I just recently learned about this medicine.

Below is a clip off from the Mayo Clinic website.  It very briefly describes what Long QT syndrome actually is.  If you want more information, you can go their website.  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/long-qt-syndrome/DS00434

Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff

Well this is going to get very interesting!  One of my sisters is researching and has gone all the way back to the late 1700’s, into the Dutch genealogical data base and has traced our Volkema family and our Scheltema family.  So far she has found names and dates.  Way back then, of course they didn’t know about the heart defect of Long QT syndrome, but it is going to be a great history lesson!  I can’t wait to sit down with her and see what she has found!  Stay tuned for more information.

Do you have a story to tell of your family’s roots and origins?  How did you get the information?