Sunday, June 27, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Come to Sunday School!!!!
Every Sunday Morning!!!!! Come out and learn the Word at COGWC!!!! Sunday School starts at 10:00am!!!!! Don't miss it!!!!Scenes from Pastor Appreciation 2010
Codi Roberts, Kara Gray and Ruby Chastain
Carla Deaton
Jonathan Runion
Codi Roberts
Josh Goodman
Our beloved Pastors - Joey Burns and Brad Stevens
Kara Gray, Carly Short and McKayla Bradshaw
Ruby loves hot dogs!!!!!!!Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Jumpstart 6/4/2010 - Devotions By Bub Owens
Bub's message from Friday night!! He encouraged us all to be happy!!
Part One
Part Two
Part One
Part Two
Friday, June 4, 2010
Testimony: Morgan Asher
Ordinary is a word that can't explain me. Since before I was born, God had his hand surrounding me. He knew what He was doing when he created me. I was born with a larger amount of fat in the right cheek of my face. Initially, doctors believed I had a tumor or some type of growth. My parents searched for surgeons that would perform a surgery on my face, but I was so young that no doctor in the state of Kentucky would even touch me. They all feared the possibility of paralyzing my face. My parents continued to pray for God to open a door for them in order to find a distinguished surgeon that would be able to perform a surgery on me in order to find out what the mass was on my face. After many persistent prayers the Lord opened a door. My parents found a doctor willing to perform the surgery on my face in Cincinnati, Ohio.
I was 5 years old when my first surgery was completed. During that surgery the doctor determined that I didn't have a tumor, but rather an extra amount of fat. That surgery was the beginning of many surgeries to come. At the Cincinnati Children's Hospital I had several surgeries in order to remove the extra fat. However, after those surgeries my insurance company refused to pay for anymore plastic surgeries outside of Kentucky. My surgeries were put on hold and didn't resume to many years down the road.
At age 8 I felt the need to resume surgeries. I was tired of being the girl with the ugly face. I was very tired of people pointing and laughing. The torture was a never ending cycle. I was always being made fun of and being called names such as ugly. My parents did their best to comfort me, but they knew it was time to have another surgery. They began to pray again for God to give them guidance on what to do and to send them to another well respected and great surgeon. Their prayers continued and one day the answer came. My mother was flipping through some very old mail while cleaning and stumbled upon a letter from my former surgeon in Cincinnati. Within this letter was the name of a very talented plastic surgeon at the University of Kentucky. When she found this letter she knew that this was the answer she had been praying for.
Before I knew it we were in the doctors office. He was a true blessing. He knew exactly what to do. He took his time and did the best job he could in removing the extra fat. God had put us in his office for a reason. God truly used him to perfect my face. However, the extra fat on my face was not the only thing wrong with my face. My teeth were a complete wreck. Plastic surgeries were not enough. Braces were inevitable for me. I had to have them in order to make my teeth look normal, nice, and straight. However, that wasn't the only problem. My teeth were not aligned correctly and the gum on the right top teeth covered all my teeth on the right side. I was sent to another very talented doctor. This surgeon performed one amazing surgery. He broke my jaw bone and shifted it right in order to align my teeth correctly. In this process he also cut the right gum line down in order to raise it and added it to the left side in order to level it. When I came out of that surgery I looked like I had been in a horrible car accident. I remember being pushed through the waiting room in his office in order for some stitches and other things to be removed the next day. I couldn't hold my head up on my own because my face was swelled the size of a basketball. I was so bruised and bloody. I also had to wear this white wrap around my face in order to hold it all together. My mouth was wired shut for two complete weeks because it was dangerous for me to eat whole foods and my mouth didn't need to move that much.
That surgery made the world of difference. After that I had a face lift performed. This was going to be the end to my surgeries. I had it a few weeks before starting my 8th grade school year. The only thing I had left was taking the small amount of extra fat off my lip which was an in office procedure. However, I started school on a Wednesday and by Thursday my face had begun to swell. My mother called the doctor's office Friday because my face looked like I had a softball attached to it. She didn't speak directly to the doctor, but his assistant. He told us to wait till Monday to come in because the office was closed. When Monday came the swelling was enormous. I arrived at the doctor's office and they were all in shock at the amount of swelling I had. The problem was that I had infection. I was rushed to have it removed. They cut a hole in the side of my face right in front of my ear in order to let the infection out. They left this hole open so that my mother could clean it every day and let it heal on its own. Now I'm left with a very large scar with a beautiful story behind it.
You ask, "How can that be a beautiful story?" My answer to that question is, you just haven't heard the rest of the story because my God is greater than any infection or any amount of extra fat on my face! He is the healer and performs miraculous things. Of course after that happened to me I was crushed because I just knew that that face lift would be the end to many years of cruelty that I received. I had always believed that I was the ugliest person that had ever walked the planet. All of the surgeons at the University of Kentucky that I met were completely amazed at how I looked. They had never seen anything like that. My case was so unique that they wrote medical books about me. That is a pretty amazing story to tell, but I that isn't the story that I want everybody to know. I want everybody to know what God did for me on November 20, 2009.
On November 19,2009 my loving papaw passed away. I was deeply crushed. He had always been there for me and supported me through everything, surgeries included, and always told me how beautiful I was and how any guy would be lucky to have such a beautiful and smart girl like me. His passing was hard for me. On the day of my papaw's death revival started at my church, Church of God Worship Center. Brother Jay Boyd was there preaching the word. I didn't go that night, but the next night my little brother wanted to go. I decided to just go with my parents to get some stuff for the funeral instead of going to church. We dropped my little brother off and headed towards town, but I didn't make it far till I was hit with conviction. God put it upon my heart to go back to church. I told my parents and my dad turned the vehicle around and took me back to church. As soon as the doors opened I could feel the presence of the Lord. I went to my usual spot with my friends. Then Jay Boyd began talking about healings and I could feel my face begin to tingle. It was something I had never felt before. Then all of the sudden Jay said, "Little girl with the swelled face come here. " I began walking towards the stage and he asked my pastor what was wrong with my face and he told him how I was born that way. He said, "I'm not calling you up here to embarrass you, because I would never do that, but the devil keeps saying what are we going to do when we pray for you and you don't get healed and I'm telling him what is he going to do when they prayed for me and I was healed!" At that very moment they began to pray for me and God's hand touched my face. I had never felt such an amazing touch from God like I did that night. After the service everybody was like "Morgan, I can tell such a big difference already. I can't wait to see what you look like in the morning!"
I was so amazed at what God had already done that night. My parents were too. We had waited for so long and our miracle had finally come. The next morning I didn't really pay much attention to my face. I knew I was healed, but I had been so used to seeing my face like it was that I didn't give it much attention until I got home from Sunday morning service at church. My family got out of the vehicle and my mother began to witness to somebody that had stopped by our house. She told them of my amazing healing the night before and she began to touch my face. Then she said, "Morgan! That mass in your face is gone!" I had chills run up my spine. No matter how many plastic surgeries I had had to remove the extra fat a small amount still remained, because it was wrapped around nerve endings and the doctors couldn't remove it without the possibility of paralyzing my face. However, my God had removed that extra amount of fat! It was gone and is still gone.
God knows the perfect time for everything. He knew that November 20,2009 was the right time for my healing. Though I was in the middle of pain and sorrow, God brought a miracle to life. You never know when God has amazing things in store for you. I had spent so many years hurting because I had people say such hurtful things to me. I had always heard I was ugly and I could never find anybody to love me because of the way I looked, but God had a different plan. I believe that God made me like this for a reason. Though my face isn't symmetrical because it has been stretched so far I still received an amazing healing. God gave me this face because He knew that He wanted me to be the one to glorify his name with the amazing story of my life. I feel truly blessed to have the face that I have because I know that God is going to use me to teach other people about him and what He can do. My face is a blessing to me. It has allowed me to grow and be strengthened by God. The Lord has placed so many wonderful people in my life that love me and accept me for who I am and I couldn't be more blessed to have them. God has helped me realize that I am beautiful not only on the inside, but the outside too because I am His creation and He never makes mistakes. I am more than excited to see how God uses me and what I've been through. I thank Him for all the wonderful things He has done for me. He has blessed me beyond belief. He is the Mighty God! The author and finisher of our faith. He is going to continue to do miracles. If he can do a miracle for me and bless me like He has, He can surely do the same for you. I can never give Him the honor, glory, and praise that he deserves because it is such a great amount. He has created a beautiful young girl out of me and I'm going to continue to do His will for my life. Praise God for his mighty touch. I have changed so much over the years not only in looks, but as a person and it is all because of Him. I thank Him and praise His holy name.
I was 5 years old when my first surgery was completed. During that surgery the doctor determined that I didn't have a tumor, but rather an extra amount of fat. That surgery was the beginning of many surgeries to come. At the Cincinnati Children's Hospital I had several surgeries in order to remove the extra fat. However, after those surgeries my insurance company refused to pay for anymore plastic surgeries outside of Kentucky. My surgeries were put on hold and didn't resume to many years down the road.
At age 8 I felt the need to resume surgeries. I was tired of being the girl with the ugly face. I was very tired of people pointing and laughing. The torture was a never ending cycle. I was always being made fun of and being called names such as ugly. My parents did their best to comfort me, but they knew it was time to have another surgery. They began to pray again for God to give them guidance on what to do and to send them to another well respected and great surgeon. Their prayers continued and one day the answer came. My mother was flipping through some very old mail while cleaning and stumbled upon a letter from my former surgeon in Cincinnati. Within this letter was the name of a very talented plastic surgeon at the University of Kentucky. When she found this letter she knew that this was the answer she had been praying for.
Before I knew it we were in the doctors office. He was a true blessing. He knew exactly what to do. He took his time and did the best job he could in removing the extra fat. God had put us in his office for a reason. God truly used him to perfect my face. However, the extra fat on my face was not the only thing wrong with my face. My teeth were a complete wreck. Plastic surgeries were not enough. Braces were inevitable for me. I had to have them in order to make my teeth look normal, nice, and straight. However, that wasn't the only problem. My teeth were not aligned correctly and the gum on the right top teeth covered all my teeth on the right side. I was sent to another very talented doctor. This surgeon performed one amazing surgery. He broke my jaw bone and shifted it right in order to align my teeth correctly. In this process he also cut the right gum line down in order to raise it and added it to the left side in order to level it. When I came out of that surgery I looked like I had been in a horrible car accident. I remember being pushed through the waiting room in his office in order for some stitches and other things to be removed the next day. I couldn't hold my head up on my own because my face was swelled the size of a basketball. I was so bruised and bloody. I also had to wear this white wrap around my face in order to hold it all together. My mouth was wired shut for two complete weeks because it was dangerous for me to eat whole foods and my mouth didn't need to move that much.
That surgery made the world of difference. After that I had a face lift performed. This was going to be the end to my surgeries. I had it a few weeks before starting my 8th grade school year. The only thing I had left was taking the small amount of extra fat off my lip which was an in office procedure. However, I started school on a Wednesday and by Thursday my face had begun to swell. My mother called the doctor's office Friday because my face looked like I had a softball attached to it. She didn't speak directly to the doctor, but his assistant. He told us to wait till Monday to come in because the office was closed. When Monday came the swelling was enormous. I arrived at the doctor's office and they were all in shock at the amount of swelling I had. The problem was that I had infection. I was rushed to have it removed. They cut a hole in the side of my face right in front of my ear in order to let the infection out. They left this hole open so that my mother could clean it every day and let it heal on its own. Now I'm left with a very large scar with a beautiful story behind it.
You ask, "How can that be a beautiful story?" My answer to that question is, you just haven't heard the rest of the story because my God is greater than any infection or any amount of extra fat on my face! He is the healer and performs miraculous things. Of course after that happened to me I was crushed because I just knew that that face lift would be the end to many years of cruelty that I received. I had always believed that I was the ugliest person that had ever walked the planet. All of the surgeons at the University of Kentucky that I met were completely amazed at how I looked. They had never seen anything like that. My case was so unique that they wrote medical books about me. That is a pretty amazing story to tell, but I that isn't the story that I want everybody to know. I want everybody to know what God did for me on November 20, 2009.
On November 19,2009 my loving papaw passed away. I was deeply crushed. He had always been there for me and supported me through everything, surgeries included, and always told me how beautiful I was and how any guy would be lucky to have such a beautiful and smart girl like me. His passing was hard for me. On the day of my papaw's death revival started at my church, Church of God Worship Center. Brother Jay Boyd was there preaching the word. I didn't go that night, but the next night my little brother wanted to go. I decided to just go with my parents to get some stuff for the funeral instead of going to church. We dropped my little brother off and headed towards town, but I didn't make it far till I was hit with conviction. God put it upon my heart to go back to church. I told my parents and my dad turned the vehicle around and took me back to church. As soon as the doors opened I could feel the presence of the Lord. I went to my usual spot with my friends. Then Jay Boyd began talking about healings and I could feel my face begin to tingle. It was something I had never felt before. Then all of the sudden Jay said, "Little girl with the swelled face come here. " I began walking towards the stage and he asked my pastor what was wrong with my face and he told him how I was born that way. He said, "I'm not calling you up here to embarrass you, because I would never do that, but the devil keeps saying what are we going to do when we pray for you and you don't get healed and I'm telling him what is he going to do when they prayed for me and I was healed!" At that very moment they began to pray for me and God's hand touched my face. I had never felt such an amazing touch from God like I did that night. After the service everybody was like "Morgan, I can tell such a big difference already. I can't wait to see what you look like in the morning!"
I was so amazed at what God had already done that night. My parents were too. We had waited for so long and our miracle had finally come. The next morning I didn't really pay much attention to my face. I knew I was healed, but I had been so used to seeing my face like it was that I didn't give it much attention until I got home from Sunday morning service at church. My family got out of the vehicle and my mother began to witness to somebody that had stopped by our house. She told them of my amazing healing the night before and she began to touch my face. Then she said, "Morgan! That mass in your face is gone!" I had chills run up my spine. No matter how many plastic surgeries I had had to remove the extra fat a small amount still remained, because it was wrapped around nerve endings and the doctors couldn't remove it without the possibility of paralyzing my face. However, my God had removed that extra amount of fat! It was gone and is still gone.
God knows the perfect time for everything. He knew that November 20,2009 was the right time for my healing. Though I was in the middle of pain and sorrow, God brought a miracle to life. You never know when God has amazing things in store for you. I had spent so many years hurting because I had people say such hurtful things to me. I had always heard I was ugly and I could never find anybody to love me because of the way I looked, but God had a different plan. I believe that God made me like this for a reason. Though my face isn't symmetrical because it has been stretched so far I still received an amazing healing. God gave me this face because He knew that He wanted me to be the one to glorify his name with the amazing story of my life. I feel truly blessed to have the face that I have because I know that God is going to use me to teach other people about him and what He can do. My face is a blessing to me. It has allowed me to grow and be strengthened by God. The Lord has placed so many wonderful people in my life that love me and accept me for who I am and I couldn't be more blessed to have them. God has helped me realize that I am beautiful not only on the inside, but the outside too because I am His creation and He never makes mistakes. I am more than excited to see how God uses me and what I've been through. I thank Him for all the wonderful things He has done for me. He has blessed me beyond belief. He is the Mighty God! The author and finisher of our faith. He is going to continue to do miracles. If he can do a miracle for me and bless me like He has, He can surely do the same for you. I can never give Him the honor, glory, and praise that he deserves because it is such a great amount. He has created a beautiful young girl out of me and I'm going to continue to do His will for my life. Praise God for his mighty touch. I have changed so much over the years not only in looks, but as a person and it is all because of Him. I thank Him and praise His holy name.
Testimony: Kara Gray
Looking back, three years ago I never would have imagined myself being where I am today. Never even thought it was possible to have such friends that actually care about me. And definitely didn't know of what a real home should be. I've never really been the "normal" girl, always quiet, just a loner, basically. I was young when my family stopped going to church. Maybe around five, six, seven, I don't know for sure. I was in seventh grade before I ever walked into another church. Going for all the wrong reasons, I still can't really remember if I learned anything about God or not. I came for my friends, just a hang out where we got to spend time together. I remember in the middle of the services the preacher would always interrupt himself with a laugh and say, "Teenagers, caught you not paying attention, move up to the front." It wasn't really as controlling as it just sounded, but yeah. A pentecostal church, looking back I wonder why they still consider themselves such. Quiet as mice and never even leaving their pews. I really just went along with everything, not really knowing what I was doing, just going with the flow. After all, I was only twelve years old. I guess I just wasn't old enough to know any better. I guess I randomly just stopped going to church, I don't really remember.
But somehow in eighth grade I began to go through an awkward stage. I mean, I know I'm an awkward person now, but just imagine me, about ten times more awkward. I'm going to call this my "dark stage" because that's basically what it was. I relied on the world for my happiness, which in the end only makes you miserable. I acted like a complete idiot, basically. I let the devil use me, let him embroil my mind. I always thought I was clever because I thought different than everyone else. Now I know it's a blessing from God, but yet the devil still uses it against me to this day. Manipulating my mind, I was molded into an atheist. I don't know another way to put it, other than I was careless, stupid. I probably influenced others I didn't even know. No one really tried to change my mind, no one even asked me about it. Only three people acted like they even cared. I was in a relationship, I guess. Him, his best friend (who is still my friend), and Paige Maggard were the only ones to tell me how stupid I was being. They were the only ones who tried to help me. I still thank God for them.
Life as an eighth grader was officially over, I didn't know what would be next in my life. Finally, God began to work. I met up with my cousin, Danielle Owens, and she invited me to Teen Camp. I packed up and went, taking my best friend with me. My first time at Teen Camp was something...crazy. It felt like home. I didn't know everyone, I just knew a couple people to be honest. But somehow, it felt like a true home to me. God opened my eyes, he made me realize that I needed him. It made my summer the best one of my entire life, honestly. I got saved on July 14, 2009. People think they've gotten saved in odd places; I kneeled down in my shower and asked God for forgiveness. My freshman year started. This was the beginning of something beautiful.
The past ten months really haven't been easy on me. Having a real relationship with God has opened up so many doors for me, though. Things I couldn't do back then, I can now do with ease. God's blessed me with a lot of patience and faith and I couldn't picture where I'd be right now if He hadn't taken away all my heartache and sorrow. He's taken away the anger and bitterness I've had bottled up inside me. He's replaced it with peace and joy, not the happiness that this world beckons you with. I've learned that the happiness here is limited, in the end it only brings misery. I've been praying that my best friends will soon have their eyes open, so they'll finally realize that what they can get here is nothing compared to the eternal life and God's promises for his followers. Not long after Teen Camp, I remember Cait talking to me. She would say "God, for the win." And now I can think of that, and just cry, wishing this never would have even been an option for her. I'm still struggling with my temper and some other things, but I know that if I keep faith in God, he will take it all away and replace it with positive emotions. The other night I sitting in the back of Randy Craft's car with my best friend Mckayla, she asked me, "Kara, a year ago, would you ever believe we would be in the trunk of a policeman's car with a pink toilet in the middle of the night?" No, I never would have imagined God would bless me with such a wonderful family, never in a million years.
But somehow in eighth grade I began to go through an awkward stage. I mean, I know I'm an awkward person now, but just imagine me, about ten times more awkward. I'm going to call this my "dark stage" because that's basically what it was. I relied on the world for my happiness, which in the end only makes you miserable. I acted like a complete idiot, basically. I let the devil use me, let him embroil my mind. I always thought I was clever because I thought different than everyone else. Now I know it's a blessing from God, but yet the devil still uses it against me to this day. Manipulating my mind, I was molded into an atheist. I don't know another way to put it, other than I was careless, stupid. I probably influenced others I didn't even know. No one really tried to change my mind, no one even asked me about it. Only three people acted like they even cared. I was in a relationship, I guess. Him, his best friend (who is still my friend), and Paige Maggard were the only ones to tell me how stupid I was being. They were the only ones who tried to help me. I still thank God for them.
Life as an eighth grader was officially over, I didn't know what would be next in my life. Finally, God began to work. I met up with my cousin, Danielle Owens, and she invited me to Teen Camp. I packed up and went, taking my best friend with me. My first time at Teen Camp was something...crazy. It felt like home. I didn't know everyone, I just knew a couple people to be honest. But somehow, it felt like a true home to me. God opened my eyes, he made me realize that I needed him. It made my summer the best one of my entire life, honestly. I got saved on July 14, 2009. People think they've gotten saved in odd places; I kneeled down in my shower and asked God for forgiveness. My freshman year started. This was the beginning of something beautiful.
The past ten months really haven't been easy on me. Having a real relationship with God has opened up so many doors for me, though. Things I couldn't do back then, I can now do with ease. God's blessed me with a lot of patience and faith and I couldn't picture where I'd be right now if He hadn't taken away all my heartache and sorrow. He's taken away the anger and bitterness I've had bottled up inside me. He's replaced it with peace and joy, not the happiness that this world beckons you with. I've learned that the happiness here is limited, in the end it only brings misery. I've been praying that my best friends will soon have their eyes open, so they'll finally realize that what they can get here is nothing compared to the eternal life and God's promises for his followers. Not long after Teen Camp, I remember Cait talking to me. She would say "God, for the win." And now I can think of that, and just cry, wishing this never would have even been an option for her. I'm still struggling with my temper and some other things, but I know that if I keep faith in God, he will take it all away and replace it with positive emotions. The other night I sitting in the back of Randy Craft's car with my best friend Mckayla, she asked me, "Kara, a year ago, would you ever believe we would be in the trunk of a policeman's car with a pink toilet in the middle of the night?" No, I never would have imagined God would bless me with such a wonderful family, never in a million years.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)