Three miracles that have already happened
By Stovall Weems
First, it was a miracle that I even felt led to go at the age of 40 to fly halfway across the country (at a very busy time) to the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, TX to get a thorough physical that included heart scans that regular physicals do not perform. I have never had any health problems and have been in great shape all of my life. I even had my heart checked earlier last year in the spring when it felt weird because I pulled a muscle in my ribcage near my heart when I went waterskiing. I couldn’t tell if it was my heart hurting or the muscle near it I pulled. Anyway I went to the hospital and they found nothing, no murmers, etc. I did a follow up with the doctor and he found nothing also. He did want to do some more tests but I was so busy I never got around to it. Also, I constantly exercise and eat well and was experiencing no symptoms whatsoever. I even did P90X this summer! But all of a sudden I just thought hey I’m turning 40, I think I will go get one of these types of physicals. I knew a couple of guys who had gotten one (they were older than I) so I just did it. This condition I have with my aortic root has gone undetected all my life until this physical. The very fact that I went and they found it is a MIRACLE!
P.S. – I went to this physical in the middle of a 21 day fast and never broke my fast even after I got the news. Thank you Jesus for your grace!
Second, the fact that I have had this enlarged aortic root all my life basically means I have been at risk for a possible fatal rupture probably most of my life. The doctor told me that there are 2 things you don’t want to do as a young person if you have this condition I have. If you do these things you elevate your risk in a major way. Don’t play contact sports like football and don’t lift heavy weights. I said, “Are you kidding me? These are the 2 things I have basically done almost all of my life!” I played football for basically 10 yrs as a kid and in high school and have lifted heavy weights for all of my life. Then you compound that with my crazy drug usage in college that elevated my risk for rupture even more! The doctor said, “Stovall, it’s like basically your whole life you have been running around on a busy freeway not really paying attention and it is just a miracle you have not been hit. You were an accident waiting to happen.” The truth is the hand of God has protected me my whole life even when I was running from Him. It is a MIRACLE that nothing has happened to me. Proverbs 2:8 says “The Lord preserves the way of His saints.”
Third, it is a miracle how quickly they were able to hook me up with a great team of doctors who specialize in this type of surgery. It has only been 16 days since we found out about this and I am headed to Mayo in Minnesota on Tuesday for the surgery. I am so grateful to God for all He has done and His favor and protection in this entire situation. I am so grateful for all the love, support and encouragement me and my family have received from so many of you. Thank you for all the letters, emails, texts, calls, and comments. I receive and read all of them. I read all your comments on my blog and facebook.
Thank you Celebration Church for being such an incredible church family. I love you so much.
Stovall
Another update from Stovall
By Stovall Weems
Well, it’s on! My surgery is scheduled for February 9 (this Tuesday) around 9am. I am so grateful to God for Him bringing this to light and I look forward to a speedy recovery. I want to thank all of you for your continued prayer and support. My family and I are just overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and encouragement we have received from so many of you.
I am really looking forward to church this weekend and will share some additional news about my surgery and what the next few weeks will look like here at Celebration Church. It is times like these where I am so glad that we have such a great staff and team here at Celebration Church. We will not skip a beat and February is going to be a great month and this year is going to be the best year ever!
Actually, I was going to be out for a couple of weeks anyway this month speaking at a couple of great conferences. I was scheduled to speak at the C3 conference this month in Dallas, TX hosted by Fellowship Church and Pastor Ed Young. It is an amazing conference and I encourage every leader and pastor who has a passion for the local church to attend. This conference has had a tremendous impact on my life and Celebration Church as well. I was also scheduled to speak at the Corazon Conference this month in Lima, Peru. This is another great pastor’s conference hosted by Pastor Robert Barriger and Camino de Vida Church. Obviously I will not be able to make these due to my surgery and recovery but look forward to being part of those again in the future.
I will try and send out as many updates as I can from the hospital via Twitter and Facebook. I should be out of the hospital in about a week and will hopefully be fully recovered in about 4 weeks. My goal is to be back in church the last weekend of February and back to preaching soon after that.
I pray for a safe and successful surgery. I pray for a quick and speedy recovery. But most of all I pray that I glorify God during this time of rest and repair and make the most of knowing Him in this difficulty. I humble myself under the hand of the Almighty and know that He will lift me up.
Keep God First! (Matthew 6:33)
Stovall
Mission. Vision. Strategy.
By Stovall Weems
Personal update from Stovall
By Stovall Weems
Dear Church,
This weekend at church was amazing—what a strong finish to the Awakening fast! Kerri and I are so excited about all the things God has in store for us as a church. 2010 promises to be full of God’s strength and grace!
If you missed church this weekend, I would like to take a moment to fill you in on some personal news that has come to me recently. A couple of weeks ago, during a detailed physical, a heart murmur was discovered. After more tests were run, it was discovered that I have what is called a bicuspid aortic valve. The condition is an abnormality in the valve that pumps blood through the aortic root into the heart. Although my valve is in good shape and does not need to be repaired, a side effect of this condition is an enlarged aortic root, which I have. The more the aorta enlarges, the thinner the wall becomes. As the wall grows thinner, it risks rupturing. This has found to be a condition I was born with and have lived with all my life.
Upon examination, my aortic root was discovered to be enlarged to a state of high risk. Because of this, the cardiologist recommended that I go in for surgery to repair this problem as soon as possible. By the favor of God, I’ve connected with one of the nation’s top surgeons in this field. After prayer and planning, I will be visiting the surgeon this week for consultation and plan to follow his best recommendation for surgery. The surgeon may recommend immediate surgery, postponed surgery, or discover that God has intervened in some other way. One way or another, I am confident that God has it all under His control.
“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.” Isaiah 58:8
I count this all joy and gladly endure any trial that my Lord has allowed me to experience! (James 1:2) Jesus is my Healer and I trust in Him and Him alone!
Although this surgery is serious, as is any open-heart procedure, Kerri and I have tremendous peace. We feel that the Lord brought this condition to light so that it can be addressed. Thankfully, it is a mechanical condition that can be completely repaired with surgery. I can go on to live a very active long life and I am very grateful for this. I would appreciate your prayers over the next few weeks. It is a joy to pastor Celebration Church, and I am looking forward to being at church this weekend (Feb 6-7th) to further update you on my progress.
All for JESUS!
Stovall
Awakening interview with Catalyst
By Stovall Weems
Last week, I had a chance to catch up with Brad Lomenick, Director of the Catalyst team. It’s awesome to see everything God continues to do in and through Catalyst to reach next generation leaders. In this interview with Brad, we talked about why I felt it was important to launch Awakening and open it up to other pastors, churches and ministry leaders:
“As a church and within our staff and key leadership, we’ve experienced such tremendous momentum from doing this each year. We just know the results first hand from praying, fasting and seeking God like this at the onset of the year. From this has come our passion to inspire other pastors, churches and ministries to experience this for themselves and establish a culture of prayer and fasting in their own churches and ministries.”
Right now, over 1000 pastors, churches and leaders are participating in Awakening, and many are still signing up. We’ve also asked these pastors and leaders to please focus their prayer, fasting and giving efforts towards the people of Haiti. What an incredible opportunity as we are all praying and fasting for one another to also come together in supporting the relief efforts in Haiti.
If you haven’t jumped in for Awakening, I really encourage you to do so. It’s not too late – you can still be a part of this powerful experience. Visit www.awake21.org to sign up and checkout the free fasting resources available for pastors and ministry leaders.
Stovall
To read the entire interview with Brad Lomenick, Director of the Catalyst Team, click here.
Prayer & relief for Haiti
By Stovall Weems
Urgent Message from Pastor Stovall:
http://www.vimeo.com/8761772
Join us for a Night of Prayer
Monday, January 18th 8pmET
Celebration Church, Midtown Campus
For more information on how you can help, Click Here.
Awakening: 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting
By Linda Riddle, Awakening Coordinator
Awakening is right around the corner! If you haven’t already, now’s a great time to register. As of right now, 1007 pastors, churches and ministries from all around the world have signed up to participate, and the number is growing daily. It’s exciting to see all these incredible leaders preparing to pray and fast together as we start this New Year – this New Decade.
Checkout awake21.org to hear what other pastors are saying, register your church or ministry and download several free resources. Here’s just some of what’s available at awake21.org:
- Sermon series ideas on prayer and fasting (including message transcripts, sermon notes ,etc.)
- Informational videos with tips for pastors and ministry leaders
- Awakening 21 day devotional
- Practical information on different types of fasts, fasting calendars, preparing to fast, etc.
- Fasting for kids and youth
- Awakening branding, graphics and media (including blog and website banners)
We hope you’ll join us as we pray and fast together for each other, for our churches, ministries and leadership and prepare ourselves for what we will see God do in our time.
Linda Riddle
Awakening Coordinator
www.awake21.org
Follow Awake21 on Twitter
Celebration Christmas Spectacular!
By Rachel Grogan, Executive Assistant to Pastor Stovall Weems
The Celebration Christmas Spectacular begins Wednesday night at Celebration Church and I absolutely love all the buzz! The demand for tickets has been incredibly high and our teams of staff and volunteers are hard at work to make this a special event!
Having a ticket will allow you to receive priority seating to the ticketed option. Even though all tickets have been taken, we will do our very best to get you in even if you show up without one. God is going to do incredible things as our family and friends come together and Rekindle the Simple Joys of Christmas. There will be creative elements and surprises that will be spectuacular!
Celebrate with us at our Midtown Campus on Wednesday, Dec. 23rd at 7pm, Thursday, Dec. 24th at 2pm, 4pm, or 6pm. If you live near the Orange Park Campus, join us Thursday, Dec. 24th at 4pm, 6pm, or 7:45pm.
Merry Christmas! I can’t wait to see you there!
Rachel Grogan
The Name
By David Branker
Matthew 1:21 “And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” NLT
The Bible does not say much about Joseph except that he obeyed God. The angel of the Lord commanded him to do two things. First, he must take Mary as his wife, and secondly, he was instructed to name the child Jesus. Not only was he responsible to care for Mary, the mother of Jesus, he was the only one with the privilege of naming the child. And so he called him Jesus – the one who would save his people from their sins. Though Joseph seemed insignificant in the miracle of the birth, he was no less purposeful or powerful in his impact. His hands wrote the name that today is the most precious name in the hearts of millions of people throughout the world.
We can all feel that our role, our life lacks significance or our story is not as impressive as another. Yet, our purpose – our true impact, can only be realized in being obedient to what God has placed before us.
Perhaps God has placed a name of someone on your heart that needs to know Him. Only time would tell the significance of that name, that life, once in the hands of our Savior. Like Joseph, follow through with what God has placed before you. Bring that name to God in prayer, reach out to them in love, and invite them to personally discover God’s purpose in their lives. It starts with a name…
David
A New Decade…
By Stovall Weems
A new decade begins next month. What if it were to be the last decade? How would you live? Preachers, how would you preach?
Stovall
