Are you going through a storm in your life right now?
Do you feel like it is going to consume you?
Are you struggling with fear of something or someone?
Are you overwhelmed and you're not sure where to turn?
Trust me... I've been there
In today's episode, I'm going to be going over God's protection and the hedge of protection that he puts around his people. I'm going to talk about my personal experience with the tornados that hit on December 11th in Kentucky. I pair this with prayer and scripture and I'm also making an announcement about where the money from my journal "Christ Transforms Me" is going.
First I want to say a quick prayer... Lord, I pray that you lift up every single person listening to this right now. Please open up our eyes, our ears, our hearts, and our minds to you Lord. I pray that whatever it is that they're supposed to receive from this episode they receive it and they implement it in their lives and I pray that you just continue to protect your people. Lord, I pray that you continue to help those that were affected by the tornadoes in my town in Kentucky and surrounding counties and I just thank you for your love, for your protection, for your guidance, and for every single thing that you've done Lord. I love you with every ounce of my being. In Jesus' name, Amen.
I know that someone listening to this may be going through their own storm in their life and you may feel like you're never going to make it out. Maybe there's a situation that you're facing and you feel like it's going to overcome you, but I want to let you know that whatever circumstance you're facing, whatever you're afraid of, God will protect you. You just have to put your hope and your trust in him, he's got you and he's never going to leave or forsake you.
So I want to share my own personal experience with protection that I received from the Lord with the tornadoes that had hit my hometown in Kentucky around 1 a.m. On December 11th, 2021 I was staying at my sister's apartment with my nephew and my sister, and there were some pretty strong winds and some rain but I didn't think too much about it. I was just watching tv, my nephew and my sister were in different rooms, actually, my nephew was sleeping at that time or laying down to go to sleep and then we got alerts on our phones saying there was a tornado warning for a few hours in our area. With a tornado warning that means that they have spotted a tornado touched down. It's different than a watch. So I was a little worried but I still was thinking "in Kentucky, we don't ever get tornadoes." I mean the whole 27 years of my life, I never really experienced a tornado. There was one time when I was four years old, there was a lot of hail and different things. I don't think there were any full-blown tornadoes, but I know it was like a big storm during that time but that's the only thing that I had experienced.
I wasn't too afraid of there actually being any tornadoes coming through, but then the wind started to pick up, and there started being hail coming down and the power went out. My sister's crazy self went outside to go look and see where the tornado was coming from or how bad it was outside, but she came back in after a couple of minutes. I started getting a little bit worried and I just kept praying and praying. And then after a few minutes when the power went out and they told us to seek shelter, my sister was listening to the radar and then we weren't even able to use our phones because our internet is not good without any wifi in my sister's building, so we went to the bathroom. My sister lives in an upstairs apartment so there was no way to go to a basement or anything like that. So we just went to the place that we thought would be the safest place in the house which is the middle bathroom with no windows and we all went in there. We sat there for it felt like a while, we were in there just waiting and using the flashlights on our phones. We couldn't even keep up with what was going on because none of us had any internet. My nephew has 5G so his internet was a little bit better, but I don't even think that he could get anything on there. We just kept hearing these strong winds and this rain and I was praying to myself pretty much the whole time just saying little prayers in my head. I closed my eyes and I prayed to myself also, and then the craziest thing happened.
The storm really started to pick up and my nephew just took me and my sister's hand and we just all started praying, and I think he started praying first, and then my sister and then me. I don't know exactly how it went, it was kind of was just a blur because we were in the midst of a disaster. But we were praying, it felt like the whole apartment was shaking, we could feel the storm getting stronger and stronger and the tornado passing over us, and we literally prayed that tornado right over us. After we prayed, it started to calm down and we got out of the bathroom after a few minutes.
Once everything started calming down my sister went outside and there were some neighbors out there and they talked and they said that the tornado literally went down the main road that we live off of and came right over us and didn't touch down on us. It just passed right over us and that was right at the time that we prayed over us. When I went into my niece's room, that is the room that I had been staying in, I looked at her wooden wall decoration on her room that says her name, it's like a wooden plaque with her name on it, and it was sideways where it had fallen down. That's how the wind and stuff had shaken the walls, that plaque was moved sideways.
After the tornadoes had passed over and I knew that we were okay, I was just so grateful and so thankful that we have such a mighty awesome God. We have such an awesome God that protects his people and hears our prayers. I know there were a lot of people affected by the tornadoes, some people lost their lives, and it was such a horrible thing that happened. I just pray that those people knew God and that they went to heaven. But it was kind of an eye-opener for me that I need to make sure I spread the gospel no matter what, I need to stand firm in my faith, and let as many people as I possibly can know about Jesus, how he has changed my life, how God protects his people and just all of the amazing things about God and Jesus, and that when we're saved we have eternal life in heaven and there's nothing to fear.
Sorry to interrupt this blog but I have a couple of little announcements or updates that I want to tell you guys about. So first, the Lord has been putting something on my heart lately. I wasn't sure exactly what it is until literally just now but I kept feeling like I need to do more and something was missing with people purchasing these journals and different things like that. Like I can help people with their transformation with Christ through the journals but I felt like I could still do more. While I was going through and getting this episode completely finished, I had it edited but I was putting in the title, the description, SEO, and all of that, I just felt this urge that I've got to give the money that I receive from the journal "Christ Transforms Me" that I created, to help the people affected by the tornadoes.
At first, when I had this revelation I was like yeah I need to give some of this money but I was thinking "okay well how much do I need to give?" I was just going to give a portion, but after praying it is very clear exactly what I need to do. So all of the money that I've received so far from the journal purchases and also going forward until further notice, I'm not exactly sure how long it will be going on. I mean there's so much destruction still and so much work that still needs to be done in my county and surrounding counties, so I don't know exactly how long it's going to take for all of this, but I know at least for now it's in my heart to give all of the money that I've received so far and going forward until further notice to help with the people affected by the tornadoes.
So if you've purchased a journal so far or if you want to purchase a journal, all of that is going to be donated and it's going to go towards disaster relief. I was actually looking up different ways of how to donate or how to help or where to donate and different things like that. I saw the Kentucky disaster relief fund, which had a certain goal and they've actually reached past that goal. I feel like this was another Holy Spirit moment and I was just thinking like "the church." My church has where you can donate for disaster relief and I know that they will know exactly what to do with it. They are filled with the Holy Spirit and I know that it will be in the right hands if I donate it to them. I also know of some families that have been directly affected by the tornadoes that hit, they lost their house, they lost everything.
So all of the money that I receive from the purchases of this journal is going to be donated either to the church with their disaster relief or directly to certain families that were affected by the tornadoes. I'll keep you guys updated on exactly where all the money is being donated. If you don't care anything about purchasing the journal, If you just want to help people that were affected by the tornadoes, you can go to www.hillvue.com. Once you go on there it'll say "give online," you just press that, and then for the fund, you'll just click on "missions/disaster relief" if you want to do that. If you do want to purchase the journal "Christ Transforms Me," you can go to www.faithfuelsmyfire.com/journal. All of the money and the proceeds from the purchases of that journal will be donated for disaster relief for the people that were affected by the tornadoes that were hit in my hometown in Kentucky. Alright, now let's get back to this blog.
I was praying for the protection of my family, but while I was praying, I wasn't afraid at that moment because I knew that God has got me. I was fully ready and prepared to go to heaven and see Jesus and God the Father if that's what was intended for me. If God wanted that tornado to pull me up and take me to heaven,
I was prepared for that. In my prayers to myself, I was just praying and letting God know that I trusted him completely and I was praying for his protection, but I also was praying and letting him know that whatever his will is, that's what I wanted to be done. I put my trust and hope in him and I was fully prepared to go to heaven if that's what he wanted.
Now I'm not discounting the disaster that happened because I know there were a lot of people that lost their houses, their houses got destroyed, they lost their loved ones, and it was such a horrible disaster that happened. But in my experience, I was just so grateful for the protection of the Lord and it was just an experience I'll never forget, literally praying that tornado over us. Oh and also a couple of days later I looked at the roof of the apartments where my sister lives and her roof was messed up on her apartment so that just goes to show you how strong the winds and the storm were, but the tornado didn't touch down. It wasn't really messed up, there are houses that I went down through my town that their roof was completely taken off, and there's still so much destruction, and it's just insane.
Disasters happen because sin was brought into this earth, and it's a horrible thing that happens, but there's nothing that we can do to stop it or help it. But we can rely on the Lord for his protection and we can rely on putting our hope and our trust in him no matter what, just like I was fully prepared to go to heaven. Whenever you are saved and you know that you have eternal life in heaven with Jesus and God the Father, then you don't have anything to fear. You don't have to worry about what's going to happen if you die or what's going to happen when disaster strikes because the worst thing, which in my opinion is the best thing, that could happen is you go to heaven with Jesus and God the Father if you're saved by Jesus Christ.
Here are some Bible verses that I want you to read:
"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
-Isaiah 41:10
"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you."
-Psalm 5:11
"May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you." -Psalm 20:1
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." -Psalm 46:1-3
"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." -John 10:28-30
"The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them." -Psalm 34:7
"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." -Deuteronomy 31:8
So whatever situation you're facing right now, whatever storm you may be going through in your life, maybe you went through an actual disaster or maybe it is a storm in your life of a certain situation, maybe there's something that you're afraid of or someone that you're afraid of, or whatever you're going through with your personal situation, the Lord will protect you and guide you and he will never leave or forsake you. You just have to put your hope and your trust in him and don't be afraid. If you're saved, you have eternal life in heaven, you belong to Jesus, and no one can snatch you from his hand and no one can snatch you from God the Father's hand.
There is nothing or no one that God cannot overcome and that you cannot overcome with God by your side.
I have a few different stories of God protecting me in times where I was so weak and times where I thought that was the end, I thought that is where my story ends, but God wasn't done with me and he protected me and guided me. There were times that God protected me and I didn't even acknowledge him, I had pushed him so far away, and then the time like in the morning of December 11th,
early that morning around one or two in the morning, I did fully put my trust in God and I did acknowledge him and he protected me and he protected my family, and I know he will protect you too. He's right there with you, you just have to reach out to him and put your trust and your hope in him.
So I hope this episode helped you guys to really understand that God protects his people and the hedge of protection that he puts over us doesn't just go over us,
but also the people that we're with and the people that were close to, and God is right here with you and he's got you. Now next week I'm going to be going into how disaster brings the community together and how through this disaster of these tornadoes that hit in my town, so many people became the hands and feet of Jesus and they came together to help others, provide donations, and just all of these things. The love that this community has shown each other during this disaster is just incredible and I'm going to be going over all of that stuff next week, so make sure you stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
p.s. If you'd rather listen to Faith-based, spiritual growth, mindset, and mental health tips, then check out my podcast. There I will share my personal experiences, stories I've never told before, and bring you along with this hot mess life of mine. New episodes every week.
For more info on the "Christ Transforms Me" journal or to purchase it click here
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights
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